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Southwest Notes: Wells, Rockets, Champagnie, Pelicans

March 26th, 2025 at 3:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Although he has fallen to fourth in the betting odds for Rookie of the Year, Grizzlies wing Jaylen Wells has “exceeded expectations” in his first NBA season, according to head coach Taylor Jenkins, who says Wells’ consistency has “blown us away,” per Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.

Fellow rookies Stephon Castle, Alex Sarr, and Zaccharie Risacher have surpassed Wells in terms of scoring and may finish ahead of him in Rookie of the Year voting. However, Jenkins insists that Wells’ all-around impact for a team positioned to make the playoffs shouldn’t be overlooked. The former Washington State standout has handled challenging defensive assignments and knocked down 35.6% of his three-pointers as a complementary option on offense.

“It’s impact on winning,” Jenkins said, according to Medina. “Obviously, we still have a lot more basketball left in the season to see where this team is going to end up. But he’s kind of entrenched himself in First Team All-Rookie for sure. Everyone is going to look at the stat lines, this, that and the other. But his opportunity, he’s playing a unique role where he’s not one of the featured guys offensively. But he’s got great offensive numbers.”

Wells, who spoke at length to Medina about his rookie season and how much he enjoys guarding the top scorers on opposing teams, said that the Rookie of the Year award is “not really something I’m striving for.”

“When you’re on a team like this that has an opportunity to win a championship like this, that’s the main goal,” Wells said. “That’s the end-of-the-season award that I’m looking forward to — a championship. If it happens while playing winning basketball, then I would love to have that (Rookie of the Year) award. But it’s not the number one goal on my list.”

We have more from around the Southwest:

The Rockets‘ twin-tower lineup featuring Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams has been remarkably successful and could come in handy during the postseason this spring, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Through 117 minutes across 17 games, lineups featuring the two centers have an outstanding +33.3 net rating and a 50.0% offensive rebounding rate. “It’s been real big for us,” forward Jabari Smith Jr. said. “I see the numbers on it are crazy. When we get a shot with that offense, it’s almost a 50 percent chance that we’re going to get a rebound, especially with me in there too — I’m crashing too. It’s a great staple. And then with the zone, you got three almost 6-(foot)-10-plus people out there. It’s tough. It’s a good wrinkle we found. I’m glad we found it.”
Spurs forward Julian Champagnie spoke to Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda about how he’s grown in in his second full season in San Antonio, the impact that veteran leaders Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes have had on him, and what has most impressed him about teammates Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle, among other topics.
Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) previews the Pelicans‘ offseason, explaining why he views CJ McCollum as a stronger candidate to be extended than traded and touching on several other decisions facing the team, including whether to entertain trading Zion Williamson and whether to retain head coach Willie Green.

Southwest Notes: Edwards, Nunez, McCollum, Sheppard, Morant

March 24th, 2025 at 7:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Two-way Mavericks player Kessler Edwards is expected to be active for the 50th time this season on Tuesday against the Knicks, NBA insider Marc Stein tweets.

That will make Edwards ineligible to be activated again this season under a two-way deal. The hard-capped Mavs can sign him to a standard contract on April 10. The team can’t do it any sooner because it’s only about $51K away from its first-apron hard cap.

Edwards has appeared in 39 games (17 starts), averaging 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per contest.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

The Spurs have been keeping close tabs on stash-and-draft prospect Juan Nunez, Eurohoops.net relays. “I know we’ve had a lot of people visiting him in Spain and interacting with the Barcelona organization,” interim head coach Mitch Johnson told Mundo Deportivo. “We have a great relationship from everything I’ve heard, that’s what I know about it. I know we’re very aligned in terms of his development and experience there, and we want to continue helping him grow as a young player.” The 36th pick of last year’s draft, Nunez recorded 25 EuroLeague appearances for Barcelona, averaging 5.0 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game. The point guard’s season was cut short by a knee injury.
Following a 40-point outing against the Pistons, Pelicans guard CJ McCollum was rested in the second game of a back-to-back on Monday, according to a team press release. Bruce Brown (return to play reconditioning) and Zion Williamson (low back contusion) were also listed among the players who were ruled out against injury-riddled Philadelphia.
Rockets lottery pick Reed Sheppard did some shooting at practice without a brace on his fractured thumb, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle tweets. He was injured on March 7 and was expected to miss at least four weeks. He’ll still be out for at least another week, Lerner adds.
Ja Morant will miss his fifth straight game due to a hamstring strain when the Grizzlies face Utah on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets.

Southwest Notes: Rockets, Thompson, Grizzlies, Pelicans

March 20th, 2025 at 8:44pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Rockets are guaranteed to at least make the play-in tournament this season after defeating the Magic on Wednesday. It’ll be the first time the team has made any form of postseason appearance since 2020. The Rockets still haven’t clinched a top-six seed, which would allow them to avoid the play-in, but they’re close, with a 5.5-game lead on the seventh-seeded Clippers.

Houston has now won eight games in a row and climbed to second in the West. According to Houston Chronicle’s Danielle Lerner, the Rockets’ energy is high nearing the postseason.

“We’re just hooping,” forward Tari Eason said. “The overall motto that I say is, ‘Just have fun.’ You know, basketball is fun. Sometimes we get caught up in this or that or just narratives, or whatever the case may be, but I think we’re out there having fun. When you’re out there having fun, you play free. You play better.”

Several veterans and young players are helping the Rockets make the push.

“We don’t have one guy,” Alperen Sengun said. “Jalen [Green] is scoring guy, but we have every day, some different guys. So we don’t really care who scores. Everybody do their job. I get my rebounds. Tari, you have to rebound, Jabari [Smith], you have to get the rebounds. You know, we just all make each other’s job easy and I think that’s the really important thing about us, and I think that’s being helping us to win.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Rockets guard Amen Thompson was upgraded to probable ahead of Friday’s game against the Heat, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). Thompson hasn’t played since March 8 as he works his way back from a foot injury. He’s averaging 14.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks in 60 games (33 starts) this season.
The Grizzlies are still seeking late-game continuity, Michael Wallace of Grind City Media writes. When complete, Memphis is one of the most complete contenders. However, Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane have only played 30 games together this season. “We’ve been a resilient team all season; that’s just been part of this team’s journey,” coach Taylor Jenkins said. “But there has to be an urgency that we play with on both sides of the floor.“
Even though the Pelicans are eliminated from playoff contention, they haven’t called it quits on the season, Rod Walker of NOLA.com writes. That was evident after their impressive road win over Minnesota on Wednesday followed a 46-point loss to Detroit earlier in the week.

Ja Morant To Miss Third Straight Game

March 19th, 2025 at 6:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

Grizzlies guard Ja Morant will miss his third straight game tonight due to left hamstring soreness, according to Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link). Santi Aldama has been upgraded to questionable after missing seven of the last eight games with a strained right calf.

Southwest Notes: Thompson, Popovich, Grizzlies, Jensen

March 18th, 2025 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Rockets wing Amen Thompson is making progress in his recovery from an ankle sprain and could return to action as soon as this Friday, head coach Ime Udoka said on Monday, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required).

According to Udoka, Thompson will travel with the team on its two-game road trip to Orlando on Wednesday and Miami on Friday and has “one more hurdle to pass” before he’s cleared to return — he’s still not taking full contact.

“If he does that, could be Miami, could be when we get back (from the road trip),” Udoka said. “Swelling has gone down, pain’s gone down. Flexibility, mobility has gone up, and he’s just got to go through a contact portion. Once he does that we’re going to see how he reacts to that and he’ll be good to go after. So hopefully, sooner than later.”

Thompson, who has missed Houston’s past five games, is enjoying a second-year breakout, with averages of 14.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game in 60 outings (33 starts) this season.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

In an in-depth feature story for ESPN.com, Ramona Shelburne and Michael C. Wright take a behind-the-scenes look at Gregg Popovich‘s recovery from the stroke he suffered in the fall, noting that it remains up in the air whether the longtime Spurs head coach will return to the sidelines next season. “It’s Pop’s decision,” a source close to the situation told ESPN. “He’s earned that.”
The Grizzlies fell to Sacramento on Monday despite getting 44 points from Desmond Bane, just three days after losing to Cleveland in a game in which Ja Morant scored 44 of his own. As Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal writes, the team’s top three offensive scorers – Morant, Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr., who had 31 in Saturday’s win – are all playing well recently, but the challenge for the Grizzlies will be to have them all available and get them all going at the same time. Morant has missed the past two games due to shoulder and hamstring issues.
Mavericks assistant coach Alex Jensen, who has been hired as the University of Utah’s new head coach, explained on Monday that he feels like finishing the season in Dallas is “the right thing to do,” even though it might make it “a little more difficult” to build out his Utes staff. John Coon of The Associated Press has the story and the quotes from Jensen.

Southwest Notes: Morant, Hardy, Jones, Rockets, Spurs

March 17th, 2025 at 4:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant has been playing some of his best basketball of the season this month, averaging 31.3 points per game on 52.4% shooting in his past six outings. However, the two-time All-Star continues to be bothered by nagging injuries.

After missing Saturday’s win over Miami due to right shoulder soreness, which has been a recurring issue this season, Morant has been ruled out of the Grizzlies’ contest in Sacramento on Monday due to left hamstring soreness, tweets Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. It will be the 26th game that Morant missed this season and the fifth time that he has been sidelined for multiple consecutive games.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

The banged-up Mavericks could get some injury reinforcements soon, according to NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link). Stein has heard that Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain) and Kai Jones (left quad strain) are “in contention” to be activated for Wednesday’s game in Indiana. Hardy and Anthony Davis have been recalled from the G League after being assigned to the Texas Legends earlier today to practice (Twitter link).
Kelly Iko and Danny Leroux of The Athletic take a closer look at the Rockets‘ cap situation, exploring what the team might do this offseason with Fred VanVleet, whose contract includes a $44.9MM team option for 2025/26. Turning down that option and signing VanVleet to a new multiyear deal with a smaller first-year salary might be in the best interests of the Rockets while also benefiting VanVleet, who is 31 years old and may not have many more chances to earn a significant payday.
The Spurs will be without their top two players – Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox – for the rest of the season, but acting head coach Mitch Johnson doesn’t intend to use injuries as an excuse as his team has slid down the standings to No. 13 in the West. “I don’t think it’s bad luck. I think it’s the league,” Johnson said of the Spurs’ health issues, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “Twenty-five teams are probably going through this. … Every now and then you have a team that has one of those years and kind of stays healthy, no unexpected circumstances. We have had stuff this year. So have a lot of teams we’ve played. No one cares. No one feels sorry for you.”

Grizzlies Notes: Morant, Wells, Edey, Williams, Allen

March 15th, 2025 at 7:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ja Morant turned in one of his best games of the season, but it wasn’t enough to give the Grizzlies a chance to beat Cleveland Friday night, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. Even though the star guard posted 44 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, the Cavaliers extended their win streak to 16 games with a convincing 133-124 victory.

“We didn’t come out with the right mindset,” Desmond Bane said. “We messed up some coverages early in the game and allowed them to get comfortable. When a good team like that gets comfortable, it’s going to be a long night.”

Losing to elite teams has been a frequent problem for the Grizzlies, Guillory notes, despite the fact that they’re 42-25 and entered Friday’s game second in the West. They’re just 1-5 in the six games they’ve played against Cleveland, Boston and Oklahoma City, and they’ve trailed by at least 20 points in four of the five losses.

“They’re good teams. They’re on a roll,” Jaren Jackson Jr. said. “We’ve just got to be better defensively in those situations. We can’t make excuses about anything, even when we’re not shooting well. We’ve got to be able to guard.”

There’s more from Memphis:

The Grizzlies have been starting rookies Jaylen Wells and Zach Edey for much of the season, but coach Taylor Jenkins has been reducing their playing time lately, Guillory adds. Wells was limited to 17 minutes Friday night and Edey played 11 as the Cavs became the latest team to target them both on defense and offense. Scotty Pippen Jr. and Brandon Clarke provided strong minutes off the bench, but Guillory states that Jenkins is still searching for effective combinations to go alongside Morant, Bane and Jackson.
Morant is missing Saturday’s game against Miami due to soreness in his right shoulder, the Grizzlies announced (via Twitter). Vince Williams Jr. is also being held out because of pain in his right ankle.
Tonight marks the jersey retirement ceremony for Grizzlies legend Tony Allen, who played in Memphis from 2010-17. Known as “The Grindfather,” Allen embodied the “Grit ‘n’ Grind” spirit of the teams from that era. Longtime teammate Mike Conley couldn’t attend because of his duties with the Timberwolves, but he sent a video message, tweets Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian. “We embraced it. It became our identity,” Conley said. “I’m not the loudest person or most physical person in the world, but I felt like I was when I was out there with Tony and Marc (Gasol) and Zach (Randolph). Together we were like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna beat you up.’ That’s just who we felt like we were, and it kind of started with that phrase and the personnel behind it because we didn’t just say it, we actually believed it and acted on that. And nobody could tell us different.”

Interview With Aldama

March 15th, 2025 at 9:42am CST by Rory Maher

Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama is posting career-best averages of 12.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 2.8 APG ahead of restricted free agency this summer. In an interview with Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda, the Spanish big man said he has worked to add muscle to his frame and credited the team’s offensive system — and his own improvement — for his output thus far in 2024/25. “The way that we move the ball, just getting more opportunities to actually make some plays,” Aldama told Afseth. “I think that’s, that’s been big, and I think the natural growth. I’m still super young, so I feel like every year, I’m just getting better.”

Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. Cleared To Return

March 14th, 2025 at 6:32pm CST by Luke Adams

Grizzlies forward/center Jaren Jackson Jr. will be available to play on Friday in a showdown vs. the East-leading Cavaliers, the team announced today (Twitter link).

As William Guillory of The Athletic tweets, head coach Taylor Jenkins initially told reporters that Jackson, who has missed the past five games due to an ankle sprain, would be a game-time decision. The big man went through his pregame warmups without any setbacks, clearing the way for him to return to action.

Jackson was initially said to be “week-to-week” as a result of his sprained ankle, so the fact that he’s back just 10 days after that announcement is good news for the Grizzlies, who are battling for playoff position. The club is currently No. 2 in the Western Conference at 42-24.

While the Grizzlies played well during Jackson’s absence, winning four of five games, they’ll certainly be happy to have their leading scorer and defensive anchor back in the lineup. Memphis has a +9.0 net rating this season when the 25-year-old is on the court compared to a +1.4 mark when he’s not.

Jackson’s return also bodes well for his award eligibility. He needs to play at least 20 minutes in seven more games to meet the 65-game minimum and qualify for All-NBA and Defensive Player of the Year consideration. He’s considered a strong candidate for both awards, either of which would make him eligible for a super-max contract extension this offseason.

Injury Notes: Davis, Lively, Gafford, JJJ, Sabonis, Lakers, Walker

March 13th, 2025 at 9:03pm CST by Tristan Tucker

There are no indications that the Mavericks are seriously considering shutting down Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II or Daniel Gafford for the rest of the season, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. If any or all of the three currently injured big men are able to return while the Mavericks are mathematically in the play-in/postseason hunt, they’ll play, says Townsend.

A recent report suggested that it might be in Dallas’ best interest to preserve those players for the long run due to Kyrie Irving‘s season-ending injury and the team’s unfavorable spot in the standings.

“We know how good we can be when everyone’s healthy,” guard Dante Exum said. “But that’s one of the big things about the NBA: timing. Timing is everything. Runs and staying healthy during the season and going into playoffs, that’s a big part, and it’s something that we’re gonna have to figure out, quick.”

Davis is dealing with an adductor strain and Lively is recovering from a stress fracture. Both players, as we wrote, are on track to make their returns before the end of the season, if that’s the path the organization and players agree to. Gafford is recovering from an MCL sprain. His original six-week recovery timeline would have him back toward the end of March or the beginning of April, but there’s a sense he might be a little further off.

We have more injury notes from around the league:

Jaren Jackson Jr. appears to be be nearing a return for the Grizzlies, as he was upgraded to questionable for Friday’s game against the Cavaliers, according to Damichael Cole of Memphis Commercial Appeal. The Grizzlies have gone 4-1 without Jackson, but his return will be a welcome one for a team with aspirations of competing for a title. Jackson has been considered week-to-week due to an ankle sprain.
Domantas Sabonis hasn’t suited up for the Kings since March 1, but he was upgraded to questionable ahead of the team’s Thursday game against the Warriors, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). Sabonis, who is dealing with a hamstring injury, was ruled out just before the game, tweets Anderson. But the fact that his injury status was upgraded at all is a signal that his return should be just around the corner.
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes and forward Rui Hachimura left the team’s road trip to return to L.A. alongside LeBron James for health reasons, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets. Both Hayes and Hachimura are battling knee injuries. They, along with James, are considered day-to-day, according to McMenamin. We previously wrote about James’ injury here.
Sixers guard Lonnie Walker IV was diagnosed with a concussion on Thursday morning, according to PHLY Sports’ Kyle Neubeck (Twitter link). Walker hit his head on the court on Wednesday against Toronto and entered the NBA’s concussion protocol. He’ll be evaluated daily moving forward.