Eastern Notes: Bucks, Powell, Brunson, Johnson
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers shuffled his lineup and it worked on Saturday, as the team ended a four-game losing streak with a 113-99 win over Utah. Giannis Antetokounmpo was joined in the starting five by Ryan Rollins, Myles Turner, Kyle Kuzma and Ousmane Dieng, Eric Nehm of The Athletic notes (Twitter links).
“I love the starters because of our size,” Rivers said. “I loved how we played the first seven minutes of the game. The ball just flew up the floor.”
Cam Thomas only saw six minutes of action off the bench, his lowest single-game total since joining the Bucks.
“Tonight wasn’t the night,” Rivers said. “And we’ve got a lot of guys that can play.”
Antetokounmpo sat out Sunday’s game against Orlando.
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- While the Nets were pulling off a stunning comeback at Detroit on Saturday, Drake Powell was in the G League with the Long Island Nets. C.J. Holmes of the New York Daily News notes that over his last 17 NBA appearances, Powell has averaged just 5.2 points in 19.1 minutes per game, and his efficiency dropped to 35.4 percent from the field and 20.9 percent from deep. Powell was recalled by Brooklyn on Sunday, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets.
- Jalen Brunson‘s shooting numbers have dipped as of late, but the Knicks floor leader has become a high-volume and highly composed facilitator during that stretch, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post notes. Entering Sunday, Brunson had racked up three consecutive double-digit assist games. He had seven assists on Sunday against the Lakers but also committed seven turnovers. He has shot 36.2 percent from the field in five March games. “He’s taking what the defense is giving him,” coach Mike Brown said. “They’re switching, they’re blitzing, they’re trying to throw the kitchen sink at him. And he’s doing a great job of getting off [the ball and passing].”
- The Hawks won their sixth straight on Saturday, thanks to Jalen Johnson. He scored nine of his 35 points in the fourth quarter of a 125-116 win over Philadelphia. He added 10 rebounds and seven assists. “I think I’m always locked in,” he told Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “Yeah, I’m always locked in. I mean, obviously, you get in when the momentum’s high, you’re on a run and stuff like that, emotions are running much higher than they are at the beginning of the game. So maybe the emotions piece of it looks locked in more.”
Injury Notes: Murray, Gordon, LeBron, Cunningham, Giannis
Nuggets fans can breath a sigh of relief: Jamal Murray‘s left ankle sprain isn’t serious. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), the star point guard is expected to be listed as questionable for Monday’s matchup in Oklahoma City and is considered day-to-day.
Murray sustained the injury in the second quarter of Friday’s blowout home loss to New York and was unable to return. Head coach David Adelman said after the game Murray was “really sore” but typically bounces back quickly from ankle injuries, which proved prescient in this case.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- While Aaron Gordon wasn’t happy with his performance in his return to action on Friday, he’s “grateful” to be playing again and says he’s in a good spot physically after missing 17 straight games with a right hamstring strain, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Gordon has actually missed 36 total games as a result of right hamstring issues — he originally strained it on November 21, returned for 10 games, then aggravated the injury on Jan. 23. “I’ve gotta stay on top of it. But I play without worry,” Gordon said when asked about the risk of re-injury. “When you’re worried about an injury out there, that’s usually when it happens. So I feel great. My body feels good. It’s just the timing and the pace of the game that needs to come back to me now, but I feel good.”
- Lakers forward LeBron James missed his second consecutive game on Sunday vs. New York due to a left elbow contusion and left foot arthritis, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com relays. ESPN’s Malika Andrews reported (Twitter video link) during the game that James’ absence was more due to the foot injury than his bruised elbow. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer is considered day-to-day, per Andrews. Deandre Ayton and Maxi Kleber are both active Sunday after previously being sidelined with knee and back injuries, respectively.
- After missing Saturday’s loss to Brooklyn with a left quad contusion, Pistons star Cade Cunningham has been upgraded to probable ahead of Sunday’s contest at Miami, tweets Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Cunningham, a fifth-year guard, has played in 55 of Detroit’s 62 games so far this season. Caris LeVert (left wrist sprain) has been ruled out for the second of a back-to-back, Patterson adds.
- The Bucks will be without their best player on Sunday, as Giannis Antetokounmpo (right calf injury management) won’t play against Orlando on the second of a back-to-back, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link). Forward Kyle Kuzma is questionable to suit up due to a thoracic spine contusion.
Bucks Notes: Losing Streak, Rivers, Kuzma
The Bucks have made the playoffs in each of the past nine years, but they’re running out of games to do so again in 2025/26, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. The team was up 13 points after the first quarter on Wednesday vs. Atlanta, but was outscored by 31 for the rest of the game, ultimately losing by 18.
Wednesday marked Milwaukee’s fourth straight loss. And the Bucks aren’t just losing, they’re getting blown out — they’ve lost those games by a combined 97 points, the largest combined margin of defeat in a four-game losing streak in franchise history, per Nehm.
Dropping the game to the Hawks was particularly rough for the Bucks, Nehm notes, as they’re trying to catch Atlanta and Charlotte to make the play-in tournament. With 21 games remaining, Milwaukee is now five games behind Atlanta and four-and-a-half behind Charlotte for the final two play-in spots.
“I feel like we have the answers,” said Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished with 24 points, five rebounds and four assists in his second game back from a calf strain. “The team is extremely talented. We have guys that can put the ball on the floor, guys that can put the ball in the basket.
“At the end of the day, it’s like your spirit, what are you playing for? That’s what we gotta decide. Are we going to wave the white flag, or are we going to come together in the last 21 games and try to play hard and try to make a push?
“Atlanta was the team above us, and a game like this counts for two. I feel like we came out and set the tone. We were shooting 60 percent from the field, but after that, we just fell flat.”
Here’s more on the Bucks:
- The four-game skid was directly preceded by Milwaukee winning eight of 10 games. Veteran big man Bobby Portis wonders if that surprising stretch was a fluke, Nehm adds in the same story. “Kind of fool’s gold, for real,” Portis said. “Rolling eight out of 10, playing against bottom teams, teams that’s trying to lose, right? (Now we are) playing against some teams that are jockeying for position. We used to be in that position, too. Jockeying for position, you got certain games on your schedule that you can’t lose. Guys are circling us, and we’re the can’t-lose team, so, they’re coming in and trying to win that game. That’s a must-win game for them, can’t drop it. That’s how they’re looking at us. So, credit the other teams for locking in and getting a dub, but on our side, we gotta look at it as the hungry team, the team that’s hunting them now. Crazy how fast time and things can change and shift, but so much season left, right? We got five-and-a-half, six weeks to fix it, and I think we will.”
- ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith claimed on his radio show that Doc Rivers plans to retire after the season. The 64-year-old head coach said there was nothing to that speculation, according to Nehm of The Athletic. “No, I’m not getting into that,” Rivers said when asked about Smith’s claim after Friday’s practice. “That’s something that; I think he feels that way, but not for me.” Rivers is under contract through next season, Nehm observes.
- Forward Kyle Kuzma received the first DNP-CD of his career on Monday. Speaking to the media on Friday for the first time since that game, Kuzma said he wasn’t informed of the decision in advance (Twitter links via Nehm). “At the end of the day, Doc is the final arbiter, right? So he can make decisions on whatever he wants and rightfully so, he’s the coach,” Kuzma said. “So, that’s not my job to worry about. My job is to come out and just be a professional. That’s who I am. … You just take it in swing. At the end of the day, we trust our coaching staff to make the right decisions on this team or whatever they think can win us games.”
NBA Explores Launching Streaming RSN Hub For 2026/27
The NBA has let its teams know that there’s a chance it will introduce a streaming hub for local broadcasts as soon as next season, sources tell Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal. Many clubs’ local broadcasts have been thrown into disarray due to the fact that Main Street Sports Group, which has regional TV agreements with 13 NBA teams, is likely headed for insolvency.
That group of 13 teams – which includes the defending champion Thunder, along with the Spurs, Pistons, Cavaliers, Clippers, Heat, Timberwolves, Magic, Hornets, Hawks, Pacers, Grizzlies, and Bucks – would be the most likely candidates to be involved in the NBA’s new streaming hub.
As Friend points out, there are a few more teams (the Suns, Jazz, Trail Blazers, Mavericks, and Pelicans) who have already abandoned their respective regional sports networks and could be candidates for the new venture as well. On top of that, Friend’s sources suspect the four teams who have deals with NBC Sports – the Celtics, Warriors, Sixers, and Kings – could be in play due to a sense that NBC may want out of the regional sports network business.
The other eight teams broadcast games on their own networks, which doesn’t necessarily rule them out, but would make it more complicated for the league to negotiate deals with each of them.
While it remains unclear exactly what the new setup will look like, Friend hears that the NBA has engaged in talks with potential partners like YouTube TV, DAZN, Amazon, and ESPN as it considers a package that might resemble NFL Sunday Ticket.
The total number of teams that opt in figures to be a major factor in determining the viability of this new streaming hub, Friend writes, citing sources who think the NBA would need to guarantee a broadcast partner a certain threshold of clubs in order to secure a significant deal. With enough teams involved, industry insiders believe an agreement would be worth billions, Friend adds.
Due to its financial woes, Main Street has missed payments to its teams on January 1, February 1, and March 1, per Sports Business Journal. The NBA originally didn’t plan on launching this sort of streaming hub until down the road, Friend writes, but it has become a higher priority in order to help teams make up for those lost rights-fee payments.
Although the league has informed its teams that it’s trying to get something together for the 2026/27 season, there’s no guarantee that will happen, so Main Street clubs have been advised to explore lining up a bridge deal for their local broadcasts. Those teams are exploring both linear and streaming options, Friend notes.
Friend also points out that, since a new league-wide streaming hub may overlap with League Pass, the NBA may need to either restructure League Pass or eliminate it all together down the road. Amazon currently distributes League Pass as part of its national broadcast agreement with the NBA, so those negotiations would be simpler if the league ultimately strikes a deal to make Amazon its partner on a new streaming RSN.
Rivers Concerned About KPJ's Knee, Says Kuzma Won't Remain Out Of Rotation
- Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. is missing Wednesday’s game with swelling in his right knee, which is the same knee that he tore his meniscus in early this season. Coach Doc Rivers is hoping it won’t lead to another extended absence, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link). “We’re hoping not. I’ll just leave it there,” Rivers said. “They’re gonna do more stuff tomorrow to check, but it’s a lot of swelling and then you have concerns. … It’s been bothering him the last couple of weeks really, but it just hadn’t swollen up the way it has, so there’s some concern there.”
- Kyle Kuzma was kept on the bench as the Bucks lost to Boston on Monday, but Rivers said that won’t be a regular occurrence, Nehm adds (Twitter link).
Central Notes: Strus, Ivey, Bulls, Rollins
Cavaliers wing Max Strus still isn’t ready to make his season debut following offseason foot surgery, but recent imaging on his foot has shown “progressive healing” and he has advanced to participating in individual on-court workouts, the team announced on Tuesday in a press release.
According to the Cavs, Strus will go through a “structured ramp-up program” that will include controlled team activities and practices at both the NBA and G League level.
There are now just five-and-a-half weeks left in the regular season, so while head coach Kenny Atkinson said recently that he still expects Strus to return before the postseason, time is running out for the 29-year-old to make an impact on the 2025/26 Cavaliers.
We have more from around the Central:
- Bulls guard Jaden Ivey won’t travel with the team on its five-game road trip that begins on Thursday in Phoenix and runs through next Friday in L.A., but it doesn’t as if the club has seriously considered shutting him down for the rest of the season, writes Brian Sandalow of The Chicago Sun-Times. Head coach Billy Donovan added that forward Patrick Williams (quad) and big man Jalen Smith (calf) both have a chance to play during the upcoming trip.
- These Bulls, who have lost 12 of its last 13 games, seems as far away from contention as any version of the team in recent years, but Josh Giddey remains hopeful that it won’t take long for the front office to rebuild a roster capable of contending, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “When I was in Oklahoma, we went from the worst team in the league to the best team in the league in 24 months,” Giddey said. “We did it pretty quickly. A lot of rebuilds don’t necessarily happen that fast. Obviously, with the people and personnel we had it got sped up pretty quickly. Over those three years, we built a lot of really good habits, winning habits.” Cowley notes that replicating what the Thunder did is “completely unrealistic” for the Bulls, but suggests there’s no reason why the team needs to spend the next several years deep in lottery territory.
- Bucks guard Ryan Rollins spoke to Marc J. Spears of Andscape about turning things around after a challenging start to his NBA career, which included being cut by Washington in January 2024 at around the same time he was charged with seven counts of petit larceny for shoplifting. Now in his fourth NBA season, Rollins has emerged as a candidate for Most Improved Player by averaging 16.8 points, 5.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game on .466/.411/.761 shooting this season. “I always knew I was this good,” he said. “I just needed the opportunity and needed a coach to trust me to be able to let me work through my mistakes and grow. I always knew my capabilities.”
Cunningham, Wembanyama Earn Player Of The Month Honors
Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham has become the first player to be named Player of the Month twice this season, earning the Eastern Conference award for February after also having done so in October/November, the NBA announced today (Twitter link).
Cunningham’s Pistons maintained their comfortable lead atop the Eastern Conference standings by going 9-2 in March. The former No. 1 overall pick led the way, averaging 25.4 points, 9.9 assists, 6.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.5 blocks in 33.5 minutes per contest, with a .472/.373/.769 shooting line.
Cunningham’s biggest game of the month came after the All-Star break when he racked up 42 points, 13 assists, and eight rebounds in a victory over the Knicks in New York. That was one of six double-doubles he recorded in February.
Cunningham beat out fellow nominees Jarrett Allen (Cavaliers), Desmond Bane (Magic), Jaylen Brown (Celtics), Jalen Brunson (Knicks), Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks), Brandon Ingram (Raptors), Brandon Miller (Hornets), and Ryan Rollins (Bucks) to claim the monthly award in the Eastern Conference, according to the league (Twitter link).
Meanwhile, Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama – another former first overall pick – was recognized for the second time this afternoon, earning Player of the Month recognition in the Western Conference after also having won the Defensive Player of the Month award.
In addition to anchoring the West’s best defense in February, Wembanyama put up big offensive numbers, contributing 22.5 points and 3.5 assists to go along with his 11.3 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game. It was enough to earn the 22-year-old the first Player of the Month award of his career.
San Antonio has dominated the Western Conference’s monthly awards after enjoying an 11-0 February — while Wembanyama took home Player of the Month and Defensive Player of the Month, his teammate Dylan Harper was named Rookie of the Month.
The other nominees for Player of the Month in the West were Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan, Lakers guard Luka Doncic, Rockets forward Kevin Durant, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, and Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard.
Bucks Notes: Giannis, Kuzma, Dieng, Ryan
The Bucks fell behind early at home against Boston on Monday and never recovered, eventually getting blown out by a score of 108-81. Still, the team was encouraged to have star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo back on the court. The two-time MVP had 19 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes and said after the game that he felt good, albeit a “little bit rusty,” per Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
“It doesn’t matter if I play 18 minutes, 20 minutes, 22, whatever, I’m just happy that I’m out there,” said Antetokounmpo, who missed the previous 15 games due to a strained calf. “I’m just in a mindset where I try not to take nothing for granted. Obviously, did not play well tonight, but at the end of the day, I’m just happy that I’m out there being able to help my teammates in any way that I can and just do what I love, which is play basketball.”
That 15-game layoff represented the longest absence of Antetokounmpo’s 13-year career, and he’s on track to play his fewest games in a season since he entered the league. The 31-year-old observed on Monday that he has made a habit over the course of his career of beating his projected recovery timelines and returning from injuries early, but acknowledged that it’s a habit he might have to get away from in his 30s.
“Like, OK, yeah, hurt my groin, had to be out three weeks, four weeks, came back in like 10 days,” Antetokounmpo said, per Nehm. “But I’m 31 years old, just gotta be able to be more smarter moving forward because things that I was able to do in the past, maybe I’m not able to do now. And I’ve just gotta be more methodical with my rehab, the way I take care of my body, the way that I play, but yeah, that’s pretty much it. Moving forward, I just gotta be smarter.
“… I’m not 24 years old anymore. I’m 31. I’m still 31 years old. It’s not like I’m 36 or 37. But yeah, when you deal with a lot of soft tissue injuries, it’s hard. … If you’re not able to take care of your soft tissue injuries, they can linger. And I think that’s what has happened this year. I feel like I’ve been playing the whole year with like a deficit.”
We have more on the Bucks:
- Kyle Kuzma had the best game of his season in December at home vs. the Celtics when he scored 31 points on 13-of-17 shooting, but the veteran forward received a DNP-CD in Monday’s matchup with Boston. As Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes, Kuzma’s DNP-CD was one of a few changes head coach Doc Rivers made to his rotation, as relative newcomer Ousmane Dieng entered the starting lineup and veteran wing Gary Harris saw his first extended stretch of playing time in several weeks.
- Dieng scored 13 points in a team-high 30 minutes on Monday, and Rivers sounded impressed by what he has seen through 10 games from the former lottery pick, Owczarski adds. “I loved what ‘Ous’ did,” Rivers said after the loss. “This young kid, we gotta give him as many minutes as we can while we’re trying to win games.”
- The two-way contract that guard/forward Cormac Ryan signed with the Bucks last week is a two-year deal, Hoops Rumors has learned. That means Milwaukee will have the option of hanging onto Ryan through the 2026/27 season before he becomes eligible for restricted free agency, though teams’ two-way slots typically undergo significant turnover each offseason.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Will Return Monday
5:05 pm: Antetokounmpo will indeed return tonight, the Bucks announced (via Twitter), but he’ll be on a minutes restriction, head coach Doc Rivers said (Twitter link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic).
12:36 pm: Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to play on Monday in the Bucks’ home game against the Celtics, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.
Antetokounmpo hasn’t suited up since Jan. 23 due to a right calf strain. He has missed 15 games due to his latest injury but the Bucks have managed to hang around the fringes of the play-in tournament race without him, going 8-7 during that stretch.
Antetokounmpo has officially been listed as questionable to play tonight by the Bucks, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets.
Milwaukee currently trails the seventh- and eighth-place teams in the Eastern Conference, Orlando and Miami, by five games. Atlanta has a 3.5-game lead over the Bucks, while 10th-place Charlotte has a three-game cushion.
Antetokounmpo also missed three weeks of action in December. He’s averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists while appearing in 30 games. Having been out for 29 games, the two-time MVP is ineligible for postseason awards.
The Bucks theoretically could have improved their chances of making the lottery by having their star sit out the rest of the season, but that wasn’t on their agenda. How they finish up could determine their course of action regarding plans to continue to build around Antetokounmpo or whether he’ll be on the trading block this summer.
The superstar forward is signed through the 2027/28 season but holds a $62.8MM option on the final year of that contract. He’ll become extension-eligible this October.
Central Notes: Bucks, Schröder, Allen, Thompson
A Bucks team that fell to 18-29 on February 1 and was facing the prospect of being without star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo for several more weeks has pulled off an unexpected turnaround in recent weeks, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. With eight wins in its past 10 games, Milwaukee has reentered the play-in race as Antetokounmpo nears a return.
While the Bucks’ current 8-2 stretch began a couple days before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, big man Bobby Portis doesn’t believe it’s a coincidence that the team has been playing better since the deadline passed without Giannis – and most of the rest of the players on the roster – going anywhere.
“So much outside noise about trades, so much outside noise about everything else that doesn’t involve winning, it kind of puts a dark cloud over your locker room,” Portis said. “It’s human nature to go out there and second-guess yourself. Human nature to be like, ‘Am I really gonna be here?’ You know what I’m saying? Now the deadline’s over, guys can just go out there and hoop and just play free and do what’s needed to win.”
As Nehm details, while the Bucks’ recent success has been a team effort, guards Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins are leading the way. The duo has combined to average 43.3 points and 13.2 assists per game during that 8-2 stretch, with Porter shooting 53.5% from the field and Rollins hitting 49.1% of his three-point attempts.
“I think the more that we’ve been working out together, getting some practice (and) some two-mans in, we’re just confident in those stretches,” Porter said of he and Rollins starting and closing games together. “We gotta continue to do it. There’s nothing like game reps at the end of the day. It’s been a long season, so we’ve had those reps early on, but we were able to learn from those reps, also. So, I think that’s what you’re seeing a little bit of.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- With James Harden out on Wednesday due to a thumb injury, one of the other guards the Cavaliers acquired at this month’s trade deadline stepped up — Dennis Schröder made his first start as a Cav and had 26 points and five assists in a hard-fought loss to Milwaukee, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). “I’ve always felt in my mind that he is a starting point guard in this league,” said head coach Kenny Atkinson, who coached Schröder in Atlanta earlier in his career. “That’s the way I’ve always looked at him. He’s done it before. If (Harden is out), then we are covered with Dennis.” Schröder twisted his ankle near the end of the game, but said that he should be “alright” going forward, Fedor notes.
- Although Jarrett Allen has benefited from having Harden as a pick-and-roll partner, the Cavaliers center was already in the midst of a hot streak before the star guard’s arrival in Cleveland, says Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Allen credits a pep talk from Atkinson, who told the veteran big man on January 28 that he needed him to “step up.” Since then, he has averaged 20.8 points and 11.2 rebounds per game during a 9-3 stretch for Cleveland. For what it’s worth, Allen was involved in a few trade rumors leading up to the deadline, but the Cavs opted not to make a move.
- Hunter Patterson of The Athletic takes a closer look at Ausar Thompson‘s value to the Pistons, writing that the third-year wing views himself as one of the NBA’s best defensive players. “One thousand percent. I think I’m the best,” he said. “But I can always get better. And I know there are a lot of great defenders, but that’s just the way I feel.” While re-signing center Jalen Duren figures to be Detroit’s top offseason priority, Thompson will also be eligible for an extension beginning in July as he enters the final year of his rookie scale contract.