- Taylor Jenkins of the Grizzlies and Erik Spoelstra of the Heat were named the NBA’s December Coaches of the Month for the West and East, respectively, the league announced on Tuesday (Twitter link). Jenkins led Memphis to a 12-4 record despite missing star guard Ja Morant for 10 games, while Spoelstra navigated a series of injuries and COVID-19 cases to lead Miami to a 10-5 mark.
After briefly having no players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols for the first time in weeks, the Raptors placed Svi Mykhailiuk and Yuta Watanabe in the protocols today, tweets Eric Koreen of The Athletic.
According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (via Twitter), only three players on the Raptors’ roster have avoided entering the protocols in the last month. Two of those players – David Johnson (injury) and Goran Dragic (personal) – have been away from the team, leaving Chris Boucher as the lone active player not to be affected.
Here are a few more protocol-related updates:
- Thunder guard Tre Mann and big man Darius Bazley have cleared the health and safety protocols, acting head coach Mike Wilks said today (Twitter link via Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman). That leaves rookie Jeremiah Robinson-Earl as the only Oklahoma City player still in the protocols.
- Celtics center Enes Freedom returned to practice today, having exited the COVID-19 protocols, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link). Aaron Nesmith is the only Celtic who remains in the protocols.
- Isaiah Stewart has cleared the protocols and met the Pistons in Charlotte, tweets James Edwards III of The Athletic. It’s unclear if the big man will be available on Wednesday vs. the Hornets or if he’ll need more time to get back into game condition.
- Heat guard Max Strus is no longer in the protocols, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Miami now has four players in the protocols, with six hardship additions on 10-day deals, so not all of those players will be able to be active going forward.
- The full list of players in the COVID-19 protocols can be found right here.
- Jimmy Butler exited the Heat‘s game in the third quarter on Monday due to a right ankle injury and will undergo further testing today to assess the severity of the ailment, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. For his part, Butler – who has already experienced some right ankle problems this season – doesn’t seem to believe it’s a significant injury. “If you talk to Jimmy right now, he says he’s fine,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We will have to evaluate it and see how he feels.”
The NBA has announced the rescheduling of the 11 games postponed in December due to COVID-19 issues, listing the changes in a press release.
Additionally, eight other scheduled games have been shifted to accommodate the postponements. A pair of others have been shifted to new starting times.
Most notably, Kyle Lowry‘s return to Toronto will take place two days earlier than anticipated, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN points out.
The Raptors will now host the Bulls on February 3 instead of the Heat. Lowry’s return will occur on Feb. 1 in Miami’s rescheduled visit. The game that Toronto was originally scheduled to play that day against the Hawks will now be played on January 31.
The first two makeups will occur next week — the Nets at the Trail Blazers on Monday, January 10 and the Pistons at the Bulls on Tues, Jan. 11.
“There’s no easy way to do this,” Nets coach Steve Nash said to Bontemps and other media members. “If we were expecting it to be a sweet little add to the schedule, and no blood drawn, that would be foolish.”
The other rescheduled dates are as follows:
- New Orleans Pelicans at Philadelphia 76ers
- Previous: Dec. 19
- New: Jan. 25
- Denver Nuggets at Brooklyn Nets
- Previous: Dec. 19
- New: Jan. 26
- Toronto Raptors at Chicago Bulls
- Previous: Dec. 22
- New: Jan. 26
- Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors
- Previous: Dec. 16
- New: Feb. 3
- Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs
- Previous: Dec. 29
- New: Feb. 3
- Washington Wizards at Brooklyn Nets
- Previous: Dec. 21
- New: Feb. 17
- Orlando Magic at Toronto Raptors
- Previous: Dec. 20
- New: March 4
- Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets
- Previous: Dec. 30
- New: March 7
- Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks
- Previous: Dec. 19
- New: March 31
Players around the NBA continue to enter and exit the league’s health and safety protocols. Here’s the latest update:
- Timberwolves stars Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell have exited the protocols but won’t play against the Clippers due to reconditioning, the team’s PR department tweets.
- Heat forward P.J. Tucker has been upgraded to questionable to play on Monday against Golden State after exiting the protocols, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets.
- Nuggets rookie Bones Hyland has exited the protocols and is expected to be available for Monday’s road game against Dallas, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets.
- Knicks center Mitchell Robinson has cleared the protocols, the team’s PR department tweets.
- Wizards center Thomas Bryant and guard Raul Neto have cleared the protocols, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. However, Tremont Waters, who is on a 10-day hardship contract, has entered the protocols, Robbins adds in a separate tweet.
- Bucks forward Jordan Nwora has entered the protocols and will miss Monday’s game against Detroit, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets.
- Rockets big man Usman Garuba has entered the protocols, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
When veteran guard Mario Chalmers received a call about signing a 10-day hardship contract with the Heat, the two-time champion found it hard to believe, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes.
The Heat weren’t in touch with Chalmers and his agents throughout the week. Rather, the opportunity for Chalmers came quickly on Thursday afternoon, a deal he accepted without giving much second thought. The team also badly needed players as it dealt with a sudden COVID-19 outbreak.
“I’m not going to lie. My immediate reaction is I didn’t believe it,” Chalmers admitted. “I thought my agent was playing with me.”
Here are some other notes out of Miami tonight:
- New Heat guard Kyle Guy praised the team’s system and history of developing players, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. Miami also gave a 10-day contract to Guy, who recorded an impressive 17 points, four rebounds and three steals off the bench against Houston on Friday. He shot 6-of-8 from the floor and 4-of-6 from three-point range in the contest.
- In a separate article for the Sun Sentinel, Winderman examines whether Guy’s strong first impression may prompt the Heat may reconsider their depth chart. At full strength, Miami has a second unit consisting of Victor Oladipo, Tyler Herro, Max Strus, Markieff Morris and Dewayne Dedmon, along with impressive third-stringers Gabe Vincent, Caleb Martin and Omer Yurtseven.
- Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald explores why a reunion between the team and Goran Dragic is unlikely this season. Dragic is currently away from the Raptors and was recently seen working out at Miami’s facility, but the Heat are ineligible to reacquire him unless he’s traded to another team. Miami can’t acquire him in a trade with the Raptors or sign him if Toronto releases him.
- The Heat have its entire coaching staff back for Sunday’s game, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. Assistant coach Caron Butler was previously in the health and safety protocols.
Here’s are the latest updates regarding players entering or exiting the league’s health and safety protocols or on 10-day contracts:
- Zylan Cheatham‘s 10-day contract with the Heat expired after the team’s game against the Rockets on Friday, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. The Heat still have six other players on 10-day contracts and six players in protocols. Cheatham never appeared in a game with the Heat and entered protocols on Dec. 29.
- Charlie Brown Jr. won’t receive another 10-day from the Mavericks, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Brown made three cameo appearances for Dallas.
- Gabe York agreed to a 10-day contract with the Magic on Dec. 29. However, he tested positive for COVID-19 the next day, scuttling the deal, Justin Spears of Tucson.com reports. York has been playing with the G League Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers’ affiliate.
- Guard Zavier Simpson agreed to a 10-day with the Thunder on Monday. However, he has also entered protocols, according to Shaw. It’s still possible Simpson could sign a contract once he’s cleared.
The Heat, who have signed six replacement players in the last two days, will have some additional reinforcements for Friday’s game in Houston. Point guard Kyle Lowry has exited the health and safety protocols and is listed as available to play vs. the Rockets, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).
Lowry only entered the COVID-19 protocols on Christmas Day, so he may have benefited from the NBA’s new shortened minimum quarantine period. It’s also possible he tested out of the protocols by returning two consecutive negative results at least 24 hours apart.
The Heat still have seven players in the protocols for the time being, including Duncan Robinson and P.J. Tucker.
Miami’s opponent on Friday also got some good news today, as Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate has cleared the protocols, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Like Lowry, he’ll be available for tonight’s contest.
Tate’s stay in the protocols was even shorter than Lowry’s — he just entered them on Wednesday, so he likely got the two negative tests he needed. His teammates D.J. Augustin, Garrison Mathews, and DeJon Jarreau remain in the protocols.
The Heat have officially announced three previously-reported hardship signings, confirming in a press release that they’ve finalized 10-day deals with Mario Chalmers, Chris Silva, and Nik Stauskas.
Chalmers, 35, spent the first seven-plus years of his NBA career in Miami from 2008-15 and won a pair of championships with the franchise. The veteran guard appeared in a total of 646 regular season games and 99 postseason contests for the Heat and Grizzlies, but hasn’t played in the NBA since 2018. He recently joined the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s G League affiliate, in the hopes of making an NBA comeback.
Silva, who just completed a 10-day contract with the Timberwolves, began the season with the Iowa Wolves, averaging 15.1 PPG and 9.8 RPG in 12 games (25.6 MPG) for Minnesota’ G League affiliate. Like Chalmers, Silva has a history with the Heat — the former South Carolina standout began his career in Miami, appearing in a total of 55 games with the team between 2019-21 before being dealt to Sacramento at the ’21 trade deadline.
Stauskas, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2014 draft, appeared in 335 regular season games from 2014-19 for the Kings, Sixers, Nets, Trail Blazers, and Cavaliers. After a brief stint overseas, Stauskas signed in the G League for the 2021 bubble and then returned to the NBAGL this season. In 12 games (38.3 MPG) in 2021/22 for the Grand Rapids Gold, the 28-year-old has recorded 21.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 4.4 APG on .429/.352/.915 shooting.
The Heat now have seven players on 10-day hardship contracts, as Chalmers, Silva, and Stauskas join Kyle Guy, Aric Holman, Haywood Highsmith, and Zylan Cheatham. Cheatham is in the health and safety protocols, but the other six players should be available for Friday’s game in Houston.