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Heat Notes: Herro, D. Robinson, Starting Lineup, Love

April 17th, 2023 at 10:58am CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat picked up a surprising win in Game 1 at Milwaukee, but they’ll have to figure out a way to finish off the series without Tyler Herro, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Herro broke two fingers on his shooting hand on Sunday and is projected to be sidelined for four to six weeks.

The injury happened as Herro dove for a loose ball in the closing minutes of the first half, Chiang notes. He stayed on the court until the buzzer sounded, and the team announced at halftime that he wouldn’t return. He’s Miami’s third-leading scorer at 20.1 PPG and one of its best three-point shooters at 37.8%.

“You can’t fully make up what Tyler has been for our team all year long,” Jimmy Butler said. “But guys got to step up, including myself, including Bam (Adebayo) and whoever (coach Erik Spoelstra) calls upon to do an offensive assignment, a defensive assignment, to bring some energy, to dive on the floor, get a loose ball or rebound. It’s like all hands on deck at all times and now more than ever.”

There’s more on the Heat:

  • Duncan Robinson started the second half in place of Herro, but he may not be the best choice for that role going forward, Chiang adds. Max Strus has already taken over a starting job, and Chiang notes that the Heat were outscored by 15.5 points per 100 possessions during the 316 minutes that Robinson and Strus played together during the regular season.
  • Chiang cites Victor Oladipo, Caleb Martin, Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love as other choices to replace Herro in the starting lineup. Oladipo fell out of Miami’s rotation over the last month of the regular season and didn’t play at all Sunday; Martin was replaced in the starting lineup after Love signed with the team in February; and Lowry has been effective off the bench since returning from a knee issue. Love would provide more size in the starting lineup, along with outside shooting to help make up for Herro’s absence.
  • Love’s transition to Miami hasn’t always been smooth, but he came through in his first playoff game with the team, Chiang states in a separate story. The veteran big man had 18 points off the bench in 23 minutes, hitting 5-of-9 shots from the field and going 4-of-7 from three-point range. “You can just never underestimate the decorated veteran experience of guys that have been proven winners, and that’s what Kevin brought us tonight,” Spoelstra said.
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Tyler Herro Breaks Hand; Giannis Injures Back

April 16th, 2023 at 8:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

8:10pm: Herro broke the middle and ring finger on his shooting hand and is expected to be out appropriately four-to-six weeks, Chris Haynes of TNT tweets.

7:39pm: X-rays on Antetokounmpo’s back came back “clear,” according to Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer, Jamal Collier of ESPN tweets. “We’ll monitor him and see how he wakes up tomorrow,” Budenholzer said.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra confirmed Herro will miss the remainder of the playoffs, Darnell Mayberry of ESPN tweets.

6:38pm: Heat guard Tyler Herro suffered a broken right hand in Game 1 of the Heat‘s series against the Bucks, Marc Spears of ESPN tweets. Herro’s injury occurred late in the first half while diving for a loose ball.

Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo left Sunday’s game earlier in the half due to a lower back contusion, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Antetokounmpo suffered his injury when he crashed into Miami forward Kevin Love while driving to the basket.

Herro’s injury most likely is a season-ender, no matter how far the Heat might advance. Herro averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists during the regular season. He’s a 38.3 percent career 3-point shooter.

In 40 career playoff games, he has averaged 14.0 points. Caleb Martin and Duncan Robinson figure to play more prominent roles in his absence.

Herro’s four-year, $120MM contract extension kicks in next season. Herro scored 12 points prior to the injury.

Antetokounmpo’s injury could be an even bigger development, depending on his ability to return for the remainder of the series. He had six points in 11 minutes before he was declared out for the game.

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Strus' Scoring Explosion Came At Right Time

April 16th, 2023 at 7:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Max Strus‘ 31-point explosion, including seven 3-pointers, in the Heat‘s play-in victory over Chicago on Friday came at an opportune time in his career. Strus will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

That fact didn’t escape Heat teammate Jimmy Butler, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. “Honestly speaking, I think Max made himself a lot of money tonight,” Butler said.

The Heat can exceed the cap to re-sign Strus up to his maximum salary because they hold his Bird rights. Comparable shooter Joe Harris signed a four-year, $72MM contract with the Nets in the 2020 offseason, Chiang notes. Strus’ teammate Duncan Robinson received a five-year, $90MM deal in 2021.

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Heat Notes: Adebayo, Lowry, Vincent, Strus, Lillard

April 15th, 2023 at 5:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat didn’t need much offense from Bam Adebayo to get past the Bulls in Friday’s play-in game, but that’s likely to change in their series against the Bucks, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Miami eliminated Chicago even though Adebayo shot just 1-for-9 from the field and finished with eight points and four turnovers. He made up for it with 17 rebounds and a stellar defensive performance that included a late blocked shot to wrap up the victory.

“The reason I love Bam is even if you don’t make shots, you can affect the game in a lot of ways,” Jimmy Butler said. “That’s the definition of a star player, a superstar player. When you lock in on the defensive end, that’s the part that gets everybody excited.”

Jackson notes that Adebayo has seen a reduced role in the Heat’s offense over the past two months. After averaging 21.6 points per game before the All-Star break, he has fallen to 16.6 PPG since then. Miami is 11-5 this season when Adebayo scores at least 25 points, but that hasn’t happened since March 15.

“I’ve got to shoot my shots, pick my spot and live with the results,” he said. “I feel I had a big impact on that game (Friday) even though my shots weren’t falling.”

There’s more on the Heat:

  • Kyle Lowry left Friday’s game early in the fourth quarter after aggravating his sore left knee, but he doesn’t believe it’s a long-term concern, Jackson adds. “I’m good. Just a little tweak, little pressure on it,” Lowry said. “But I’m OK. All good. I’m ready to go on Sunday. If coach would have asked me to go back in the game, I would have gone back in the game.” Lowry is listed as questionable for Sunday’s series opener in Milwaukee, as is Gabe Vincent, who’s dealing with a right hip pointer.
  • Max Strus scored 31 points in 36 minutes against the Bulls, but it might be hard to keep him on the court against a bigger Bucks team, notes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Winderman points out that the Heat were able to use a small-ball lineup Friday because Chicago didn’t start a traditional power forward, but it will be difficult for the 6’5″ Strus to defend either Giannis Antetokounmpo or Brook Lopez. The matchup may require more minutes from Caleb Martin and Kevin Love.
  • The Heat are ready to pursue another star player this summer, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN (video link), who considers them a team to watch if Damian Lillard asks the Trail Blazers for a trade.
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Poll: Eastern Conference’s First Round Playoff Series

April 15th, 2023 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

With the play-in tournament complete and the playoff field set, the NBA’s postseason will begin in earnest on Saturday. Since three of Saturday’s four games are Eastern Conference matchups, we’re zeroing in on those first round series this morning before shifting our focus to the West later today.

Here are the four first round series in the East:

Milwaukee Bucks (1) vs. Miami Heat (8)

This series holds a little more intrigue than the typical No. 1 vs. No. 8 matchup. The Heat won the most games in the Eastern Conference in 2021/22 and nearly made it to the NBA Finals last spring. This year’s team isn’t much different from that one, even if its in-season results were a lot less impressive. A group led by Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo certainly won’t roll over in the playoffs.

Still, the Bucks were one of the NBA’s most dominant teams in the regular season, winning a league-high 58 games. And despite some injury question marks, they’re the deeper, more talented team in this matchup. This series may not be a repeat of Milwaukee’s four-game sweep of Miami in round one of the 2021 playoffs en route to a Bucks championship, but there’s a reason why Giannis Antetokounmpo are massive betting favorites (-1200, per BetOnline.ag).

Boston Celtics (2) vs. Atlanta Hawks (7)

The Celtics will enter their first round series as even bigger betting favorites (-1300) than the Bucks. Boston’s +6.7 net rating on the season was the NBA’s best mark by a comfortable margin, whereas Atlanta has spent much of the season looking like a league-average team, finishing the year at 41-41 (with a +0.1 net rating) before winning a play-in game over Miami.

The Celtics’ No. 2 overall defense should be capable of slowing down the Hawks‘ star backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray; it remains to be seen whether Atlanta will have any answer at the other end of the court for Boston’s star wings, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. A Hawks upset isn’t impossible, but it looks like a real long shot, barring injuries.

Philadelphia 76ers (3) vs. Brooklyn Nets (6)

While the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds are often significant favorites in NBA playoff series, it’s unusual for a No. 3 team to be as heavily favored as the Sixers are over the Nets (-1200). The odds make sense though — Philadelphia had the NBA’s third-best record, trailing only two Eastern powerhouses. And Brooklyn likely wouldn’t have finished as high as sixth in the East if not for the first-half contributions of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, who are no longer on the roster.

The new-look Nets, led by Mikal Bridges, were competitive down the stretch, but they went just 13-15 after the trade deadline. The 76ers, meanwhile, followed up a 12-12 start to the season by winning 42 of their last 58 games, and they’ll be at full strength in the playoffs — stars Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey are all healthy after missing between 16 and 24 games apiece during the regular season.

Cleveland Cavaliers (4) vs. New York Knicks (5)

Now we’re talking. The rest of the Eastern Conference series are viewed as pretty one-sided, but the Cavaliers and Knicks is something a little closer to a toss-up. Cleveland is a -190 betting favorite, per BetOnline.ag, while New York is at +165 to win the series.

On paper, there are plenty of reasons to back the Cavaliers. Their +5.6 net rating ranked No. 2 in the NBA, buoyed by a league-best 109.9 defensive rating. And Donovan Mitchell is the sort of battle-tested scorer a team wants on its roster in the postseason.

On the other hand, besides Mitchell, Cleveland’s top players lack postseason experience. Darius Garland and Evan Mobley will be appearing in their first playoff game on Saturday, and Jarrett Allen didn’t advance beyond the first round in two brief postseason appearances in Brooklyn. These Knicks are well coached and have the East’s best offense (120.4 rating) since the calendar flipped to 2023.

The status of Julius Randle‘s left ankle could be significant — it sounds like he’s aiming to return for Game 1 on Saturday, but he hasn’t played since spraining the ankle on March 29 and likely isn’t back to 100% yet.

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NBA Announces 2022/23 Award Finalists

April 14th, 2023 at 5:55pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA announced its finalists for all the major 2022/23 regular season awards on Friday evening (all Twitter links can be found here).

Here is the full list of finalists for each of the awards, listed in alphabetical order:

Most Valuable Player

Defensive Player of the Year

Rookie of the Year

Most Improved Player

Sixth Man of the Year

Coach of the Year

Clutch Player of the Year

TNT will begin announcing the winners next week during its coverage of the 2023 playoffs, according to the NBA. The three finalists for each award are based on voting results from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Antetokounmpo, the league’s back-to-back MVP winner in 2018/19 and ’19/20, has finished fourth and third in MVP voting over the past two seasons, respectively. He averaged a career-high 31.1 PPG along with 11.8 RPG and 5.7 APG on .553/.275/.645 shooting in 63 games (32.1 MPG) this season in leading the Bucks to the NBA’s best record at 58-24.

Embiid, the MVP runner-up in each of the past two years, led the league in scoring for the second consecutive season, posting a career-high 33.1 PPG along with 10.2 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.0 SPG and 1.7 BPG on .548/.330/.857 shooting in 66 games (34.6 MPG). The Sixers finished third in the East with a 54-28 record, though it’s worth noting that record is also the third-best mark in the league.

Jokic, the reigning back-to-back MVP, averaged 24.8 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 9.8 APG and 1.3 SPG on .632/.383/.822 shooting in 69 games (33.7. MPG). In addition to breaking Wilt Chamberlain‘s record for most assists per game by a center (8.6), Jokic led the Nuggets to the top seed in the West with a 53-29 record.

It’s long been assumed that Banchero, Brown and Fox were the runaway favorites for their respective awards. Given Embiid’s excellent play to end the season and Denver’s stumble to the finish line, it seems likely that Embiid will edge out Jokic and Antetokounmpo to win his first MVP — all three finalists are more than deserving, just as they were last year.

However, the other three awards are more up in the air. Jackson and Lopez have been considered the betting favorites for DPOY for much of the second half of the season. Mobley’s inclusion is somewhat surprising, but maybe it shouldn’t be — the Cavs finished with the league’s top defense and he is arguably the best defender on the team.

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Pistons To Interview Kevin Ollie, Charles Lee For Head Coaching Job

April 14th, 2023 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons are interviewing Kevin Ollie for their head coaching vacancy, sources tell Shams Charania and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link).

A former NBA point guard, Ollie began his coaching career after retiring as a player in 2010. He was the head coach at UConn from 2012-18 and won a national title with the Huskies in 2014 but lost his job after the NCAA opened an investigation into UConn and its coaches for recruiting violations.

More recently, Ollie was the head coach of the Overtime Elite program for two years, beginning in 2021. He issued a statement last month announcing that he was leaving that position.

In addition to meeting with Ollie, the Pistons have been granted permission to interview Bucks assistant Charles Lee as they seek a replacement for Dwane Casey, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski classifies Lee as a “significant” candidate in Detroit’s search.

[RELATED: Dwane Casey To Transition To Pistons’ Front Office]

Lee is a former Bucknell shooting guard who played professionally in international basketball leagues for several seasons. He has been a longtime assistant under Mike Budenholzer, first with the Hawks (2014-18) and now with the Bucks (since 2018).

Lee and fellow Bucks assistant Darvin Ham received consideration for multiple head coaching openings before Ham was hired by the Lakers last spring — Lee has a chance to be the next Budenholzer assistant to land a head coaching job during this hiring cycle.

Wojnarowski, who previously reported that Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin and Heat assistant Chris Quinn would be candidates the Pistons consider, reiterates today (via Twitter) that Griffin and Quinn are expected to “factor prominently” into Detroit’s search. The Pistons are expected to receive permission to interview both veteran assistants, sources tell ESPN.

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Poll: Friday’s NBA Play-In Games

April 14th, 2023 at 7:42am CST by Luke Adams

This is only the third year that the NBA’s play-in tournament has existed in its current form, so it’s not as if there’s a lengthy play-in history to help contextualize this year’s results. Still, the results through the first four games have been unprecedented.

Coming into this year, no No. 7 seed had ever lost a play-in game — Miami became the first team to do so on Tuesday.

Coming into this year, no No. 10 seed had ever won a play-in game — Chicago and Oklahoma City both achieved this feat on Wednesday.

With three upsets in four games, the play-in results haven’t been easy to forecast. Only 11.55% of our poll respondents picked Atlanta and the Lakers to win on Tuesday, and the success rate wasn’t a whole lot better on Wednesday, with 17.88% of voters taking Chicago and Oklahoma City.

Will Friday’s games continue to produce unexpected results, or will the favorites bear down and advance to the first round of the playoffs?

In the East, where the winner will advance to face Milwaukee in round one, the Heat are six-point favorites at home against the Bulls, according to BetOnline.ag.

But Miami is coming off a disappointing home loss and has played inconsistent basketball for much of the season, while Chicago has played some of its best ball since adding Patrick Beverley on the buyout market in February. It’s also worth noting that the Heat went 0-3 vs. the Bulls during the season and were outscored by 32 points in those games.

Out West, the upstart Thunder will visit Minnesota as 5.5-point underdogs against the Timberwolves, with the winner on track to face top-seeded Denver.

The Wolves entered the season last fall with aspirations of making a deep playoff run, while Oklahoma City seemed more focus on player development than making the postseason. But the acclimation of Rudy Gobert in Minnesota hasn’t gone as smoothly as the front office hoped, while rising Thunder stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Josh Giddey are providing a preview of a bright future in OKC.

Entering Friday’s game, the vibes certainly seem better on the Thunder’s side, where no one has punched a wall or a teammate lately (as far as we know, anyway). And perhaps the fact that no one expected them to be here will help the Thunder play freer and more confidently than the Timberwolves, whose season would be considered an even bigger disappointment if they can’t secure a playoff berth.

We want to know what you think. Are we in for more upsets on Friday, or will the higher-seed Heat and Timberwolves claim the NBA’s last two available playoff spots?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section to share your thoughts!

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NBAGL Announces 2022/23 All-League Awards

April 13th, 2023 at 9:30pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA G League named the recipients of its All-League, All-Rookie, and All-Defensive teams on Thursday (all Twitter links found here). Many of the honorees are on standard NBA or two-way contracts.

Here’s the full list:

All-NBA G League First Team

All-NBA G League Second Team

All-NBA G League Third Team

NBAGL All-Defensive Team

NBAGL All-Rookie Team

  • Kenneth Lofton
  • Lester Quinones – Santa Cruz Warriors *
    • Note: Quinones placed second in ROY voting.
  • Darius Days
    • Note: Days placed third in ROY voting.
  • Jamaree Bouyea
  • Moussa Diabate

(^ denotes standard NBA contract)

(* denotes two-way contract)

(# Bouyea signed 10-day deals with the Heat and Wizards, but is now an NBA free agent)

Both Dunn and Samanic signed standard contracts with the Jazz, while Harrison signed with the Lakers at the very end of the season after playing with Portland on a 10-day deal. Duke and Lofton recently had their two-way contracts converted into standard deals.

Cooper, Chiozza and Anderson all hold NBA experience as well. Cooper spent 2021/22 — his rookie season — on a two-way deal with the Hawks; Chiozza has played for the Rockets, Nets and Warriors, and recently signed with a Spanish team; Anderson has appeared in 242 NBA games with six teams in as many seasons.

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Blazers Notes: Lillard, Potential Trades, Nurkic, Little

April 13th, 2023 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

After saying earlier this week that he wants the Trail Blazers to pursue veteran additions during the offseason, Damian Lillard doubled down on those comments on Wednesday in an appearance on “Stephen A’s World” (Twitter video link). Following two straight years of losing marked by late-season tanking, Lillard said the organization understands how important it is for him to part of a contending team.

Lillard clarified that his statement shouldn’t be interpreted as a threat and indicated that he won’t demand a trade if personnel moves don’t turn out the way he hopes. However, he wants Portland’s management to make a firm decision on whether it plans to compete right away or try to rebuild.

“I ain’t gonna say I’m putting them on the clock,” Lillard told Stephen A. Smith.” I’m just saying if those things can’t be done — if we can’t do something significant like that — then we won’t have a chance to compete on that level. And then, not only will I have a decision to make, but I think the organization will, too. Because at that point, it’s like, ‘Are you gonna go young, or are we gonna get something done?’ I think we just kinda been on the fence with fully committing to either one. I just think we at that point now where everybody wants to win. They believe I deserve that opportunity.”

There’s more on the Trail Blazers:

  • The Knicks, Nets, Heat, Warriors and Clippers are the teams most likely to pursue Lillard if he becomes available, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy. General managers throughout the league don’t expect the Blazers to consider trading Lillard unless he requests it, but he could throw the league into a frenzy if that happens. “They’re not just going to ship him out to get rid of him,” an NBA executive told Deveney. “He has shown them loyalty and they’re going to do the same. But more and more, there is a bigger chance he will ask out. He could very well be the focal point of all talk in the next couple months.”
  • Jusuf Nurkic prefers to stay in Portland, but his contract could be a useful piece for salary matching in the type of trade that Lillard wants, writes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. The veteran center still has three seasons remaining on the four-year, $70MM deal he signed last summer. “As long as I’m wanted, if people want me here, I’m going to be here,” Nurkic said. “I’m not going to ask for a trade to try to go somewhere else.”
  • Nassir Little underwent surgery on Thursday for a right-side core muscle injury, the Trail Blazers announced in a press release. Little was limited to 54 games this season and has been sidelined since March 31.
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