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And-Ones: Pate, Ignite, Awards, Combine, Players’ MVP Pick

April 18th, 2023 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

Dink Pate, a 6’8″ point guard and a five-star recruit, has signed with the G League Ignite, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

Having just turned 17 in March, Pate will be the youngest known professional basketball player in U.S. history, according to Givony, who notes that the youngster won’t be draft-eligible until 2025. That means he’s committing to spending two seasons with the Ignite, like Scoot Henderson did from 2021-23.

According to Pate, he considered the possibility of committing to a college program and was leaning toward Alabama over Arkansas, but believes he’ll have a better opportunity to continue developing his game with the Ignite.

After graduating high school a year early, Pate intends to move to Las Vegas later this month and begin training at the Ignite’s practice facility with new teammates Matas Buzelis and London Johnson, per Givony. Buzelis is a candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, while Johnson currently projects to be a first-rounder.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • After naming Jaren Jackson Jr. the Defensive Player of the Year on Monday, the NBA will announce another major postseason award winner for each of the next three evenings (Twitter link). Newly added award Clutch Player of the Year is due up on Tuesday, followed by Coach of the Year on Wednesday and Sixth Man of the Year on Thursday.
  • According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (Twitter links), the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement will make it mandatory for prospects who receive an invite to the draft combine to attend and do what’s required of them there (that will likely include medical testing but not scrimmages). A player who declines a combine invite without an excused absence won’t be draft-eligible until the following year, says Pincus.
  • The Athletic’s NBA writers polled 108 current NBA players on a series of NBA-related questions, including their MVP pick, their title prediction, and much more. Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of The Athletic have compiled the results, which include Sixers star Joel Embiid (50% of the vote) comfortably beating out Nikola Jokic (25.5%) as the players’ MVP choice; Hawks guard Trae Young getting the most votes (14.5%) for the NBA’s most overrated player; and Bucks guard Jrue Holiday earning the nod as both the best individual defender (28.7%) and most underrated player (17.5%).
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Jaren Jackson Jr. Named Defensive Player Of Year

April 17th, 2023 at 6:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. has been named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, the NBA on TNT tweets. Jackson received 56 of the 100 first-place votes, according to an NBA press release.

The Bucks’ Brook Lopez and Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley were the other finalists. Lopez was the runner-up, notching 31 first-place votes while Mobley received eight. Draymond Green (3) and Bam Adebayo (1) also received first-place votes and finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Joel Embiid claimed the final first-place vote, though the Sixers star finished ninth overall, behind Giannis Antetokounmpo, OG Anunoby, and Jrue Holiday. Nic Claxton, Alex Caruso, and Jimmy Butler also appeared on at least one ballot.

Jackson led the NBA in blocks per game (3.0) and also averaged one steal in 63 regular-season appearances for the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed. He had a career-best 2.0 Defensive Box Plus/Minus rating and a 3.8 Defensive Win Shares rating, ranking him among the top 10 in the league in both categories.

Lopez averaged a career-high 2.5 blocks while serving as the defensive anchor for the Eastern Conference’s top seed. His total of 193 blocks in 78 games led the league during the regular season.

Mobley averaged 1.5 blocks per game and, along with Jarrett Allen, anchored a defense that limited opponents to a NBA-low 106.9 points per game.

The Celtics’ Marcus Smart scored a rare victory for a guard when he won the award last season. Rudy Gobert won it as a member of the Jazz three of the previous four years. Antetokounmpo won it during the pandemic-shortened 2019/20 season.

Among active players, Green (2016/17 season) and Kawhi Leonard (2014/15 and 2015/16) have also earned the honor.

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Pistons To Interview Rex Kalamian For Head Coaching Job

April 17th, 2023 at 3:27pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pistons will interview assistant coach Rex Kalamian this week for their head coaching vacancy, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Kalamian is a veteran assistant coach who is currently in his 26th NBA season in that role. He has made previous stops with the Clippers (twice), Nuggets, Wolves, Kings (twice), Thunder and Raptors, and has been with the Pistons for the past two seasons.

It was previously reported that Kalamian might receive some consideration from GM Troy Weaver for the head coaching job after Dwane Casey decided to transition to a front office role. Kalamian previously worked with Weaver while they were with Oklahoma City.

Kalamian, who is also the head coach of the Armenian national team, served as acting head coach earlier this season when Casey missed some time due to personal reasons.

While conceding that it’s still early in the process, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack piece (subscriber link) that he’s heard “consistent buzz” that Weaver might favor Bucks assistant Charles Lee and former UConn coach Kevin Ollie for the opening. However, Stein notes that Arn Tellem, Detroit’s vice chairman, is thought to have “considerable influence” in the coaching search.

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Central Notes: Giannis, Lasry, Pacers, Travers

April 17th, 2023 at 10:05am CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks are optimistic that Giannis Antetokounmpo will be able to return from his back injury for Game 2, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. It’s a “pain-tolerance issue,” Charania states, noting that the team “played it safe” by removing him from Sunday’s contest. Charania adds that the injury might be an ongoing concern even if Antetokounmpo is able to play Wednesday, and he’s dealing with a wrist ligament issue as well.

Antetokounmpo landed on his tailbone after a drive to the basket early in the game, writes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He returned to the court in the second quarter, but was moving awkwardly, prompting coach Mike Budenholzer to replace him to prevent any further damage. X-rays were negative, but the team isn’t sure what Antetokounmpo’s condition will be when the series resumes.

“We have to wait and see what the doctor says, most importantly, what Giannis says,” Budenholzer said Sunday. “Certainly we’ve been blessed with him being incredibly resilient and quick to heal, but you just got to take it day by day and see how he’s doing and see how he feels.” 

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • In another Journal Sentinel story, former Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry talks to Owczarski about his decision to sell his stake in the franchise to the Haslam Sports Group. Lasry helped Milwaukee become one of the league’s most successful teams during nine years as an owner. “It’s been a phenomenal experience,” he said. “I think the city of Milwaukee has been great. I’ve been surprised at sort of how welcoming and how nice the people of Milwaukee are. They welcomed us when we came here. I think we’ve been able to establish roots here. It’s been a pretty unique experience.”
  • The Pacers prioritized the development of their young players this year, but they will approach the 2023/24 season with the goal of reaching the postseason, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “Next year, we want to be in the playoffs,” Tyrese Haliburton said. “We’re not going to short-change that at all. We know that’s what we want to do. That’s 100% the goal going into next year.”
  • Australian swingman Luke Travers, who was selected by the Cavaliers with the 56th pick in last year’s draft, has signed a three-year deal with Melbourne United in the NBL, writes Olgun Uluc of ESPN. It’s not clear if the deal includes an opt-out clause, but Travers said he moved from Perth to Melbourne to improve his NBA prospects. “It’s the track record they have of developing guys to the NBA,” Travers explained.
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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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2023 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker

April 16th, 2023 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

With another regular season in the books, multiple teams around the NBA are making head coaching changes in advance of the 2023/24 campaign.

In the space below, we’ll provide regular updates on the head coaching searches for each club that has yet to give anyone the permanent title. Some of these searches could extend well into the offseason, so be sure to check back often for the latest updates.

You’ll be able to access this page anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar on our desktop site, or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu.

Updated 6-10-23 (7:49pm CT)

Active Searches

None

Completed Searches

Detroit Pistons

  • New coach:
  • Previous coach:
  • Other finalists:
    • Bucks assistant Charles Lee (story)
    • Former Overtime Elite coach Kevin Ollie (story)
    • Pelicans assistant Jarron Collins (story)
  • Also interviewed/considered:
    • Heat assistant Chris Quinn (story)
    • Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin (story)
    • Nets assistant Brian Keefe (story)
    • Pistons assistant Rex Kalamian (story)
    • Pistons assistant Jerome Allen (story)
  • Other rumored candidates/targets:

The Pistons went just 121-263 (.315) in five years with Casey at the helm, but his transition to a front office role was framed as his decision rather than the team’s. Casey, 66 in April, may prefer a less hands-on position as he nears retirement age.

Following Casey’s move to an executive role, the Pistons reportedly narrowed their coaching search to Ollie, Collins, and Lee, then didn’t make a decision for weeks. During that time, Williams was let go by the Suns and it became clear that he immediately moved to the top of Detroit’s wish list, supplanting the other three finalists.

Williams rebuffed the Pistons’ initial advances, indicating that he planned to take a year off, but he ultimately relented and agreed to a record-setting six-year, $78.5MM contract to become the Pistons’ new head coach.

After Casey guided the Pistons through the most challenging years of their rebuild, Williams will be tasked with turning the roster from a collection of promising young pieces into a team capable of making it back to the postseason.

Houston Rockets

  • New coach:
  • Previous coach:
  • Also interviewed/considered:

    • Former Lakers coach Frank Vogel (story)
    • Suns assistant Kevin Young (story)
    • Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin (story)
    • Sixers assistant Sam Cassell (story)
    • Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson (story)
    • Former Hornets coach James Borrego (story)
  • Other rumored candidates/targets:
    • Raptors coach Nick Nurse (story)
    • Trail Blazers assistant Scott Brooks (story)

Silas signed up to coach a team led by veteran stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook, but both players were gone 10 games into his first season in Houston. The first-time head coach ended up presiding over a full-scale rebuild — no NBA team posted a worse record during Silas’ three years with the franchise than the Rockets’ 59-177 mark.

After some reports indicated that Houston would be seeking a more experienced candidate this time around, the Rockets seriously considered veteran head coaches like Vogel and Borrego before landing on Udoka, who led the Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first and only season as an NBA head coach in 2021/22.

Udoka’s tenure with Boston ended abruptly after he engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate within the organization. The Rockets presumably did their due diligence on that incident and determined they were comfortable with hiring Udoka, whose on-court résumé is strong. He reportedly signed a four-year, $28.5MM contract and will be tasked with turning a raw Rockets team made up of promising young pieces into a more coherent whole capable of making the playoffs.

Milwaukee Bucks

  • New coach:
  • Previous coach:
  • Other finalists:
    • Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson (story)
    • Former Raptors coach Nick Nurse (story)
  • Also interviewed/considered:
    • Former Hornets coach James Borrego (story)
    • Bucks assistant Charles Lee (story)
    • Trail Blazers assistant Scott Brooks (story)
    • Former Warriors coach Mark Jackson (story)
    • Heat assistant Chris Quinn (story)
    • Suns assistant Kevin Young (story)
    • University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson (story)
    • Wizards assistant Joseph Blair (story)
    • Paris Basketball coach Will Weaver (story)
    • Former Lakers coach Frank Vogel (story)
  • Other rumored candidates/targets:
    • Former Suns coach Monty Williams (story)
    • Clippers coach Tyronn Lue (story)

The NBA is a “what have you done for me lately?” sort of league, so the fact that Budenholzer led the Bucks to a title in 2021 and to the NBA’s best regular season record in 2022/23 was essentially negated by the team’s embarrassing first-round playoff exit this spring. As a result, Milwaukee opted to move on from the veteran head coach, who still had two years left on his contract.

Following an extensive search, the Bucks narrowed their options to three finalists: Griffin, Atkinson, and Nurse. Two of those candidates had prior head coaching experience, but Milwaukee opted to hire the one that didn’t, landing on Griffin, a veteran assistant who has worked for five teams over the last 15 years. He’s reportedly receiving a multiyear deal worth about $4MM annually.

This Bucks roster, headed by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, still looks capable of contending for championships. The organization – including Antetokounmpo, who gave Griffin his endorsement – is rolling the dice on a first-time NBA head coach helping the team once again reach those heights.

Philadelphia 76ers

  • New coach:
  • Previous coach:
  • Also interviewed/considered:
    • Former Lakers coach Frank Vogel (story)
  • Other rumored candidates/targets:
    • Former Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer (story)
    • Former Suns coach Monty Williams (story)
    • Former Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni (story)
    • Sixers assistant Sam Cassell (story)

The Sixers posted an impressive 154-82 (.653) regular season record during Rivers’ three years in Philadelphia, but the team’s inability to make a deep playoff run reflected poorly on the veteran coach, who had similar issues in Los Angeles with the Clippers. The 76ers were eliminated in the second round in three consecutive years, losing home games to end their season in 2021 and 2022 and then getting blown out in a Game 7 in 2023.

With Joel Embiid locked up for years to come, the Sixers have a franchise player to build around, but they could make some significant changes around Embiid this offseason, with James Harden a candidate to depart in free agency and Tobias Harris likely to end up back on the trade block.

Nurse, who led the division-rival Raptors to a championship in his first year as head coach in 2018/19, will be tasked with getting Embiid to the conference finals (at least) for the first time in his career. Nurse was reportedly a finalist for the head coaching jobs in Milwaukee and Phoenix before agreeing to join the Sixers.

Phoenix Suns

  • New coach:
  • Previous coach:
  • Other finalists:
    • Former Sixers coach Doc Rivers (story)
    • Suns assistant Kevin Young (story)
    • Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez (story)
    • Former Raptors coach Nick Nurse (hired by Sixers)
  • Also interviewed/considered:

    • Bucks assistant Charles Lee (story)
    • Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson (story)
    • Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic (story)
  • Other rumored candidates/targets:
    • Clippers coach Tyronn Lue (story)

Williams helped reshape the culture in Phoenix over the last several seasons, leading the Suns to the NBA Finals in 2021 and earning Coach of the Year honors in 2022. However, after suffering embarrassing blowout home losses to end their playoff runs in both 2022 and 2023, the Suns decided to make a change.

Phoenix initially narrowed its search to five finalists before choosing Vogel, who has won a title and will be coaching his fourth NBA team. Given his experience and his résumé, Vogel should command the respect of veteran stars like Kevin Durant and Devin Booker as he tries to get the team over the hump in 2023/24 and beyond.

Vogel’s deal with the Suns will reportedly be worth $31MM over five years.

Toronto Raptors

  • New coach:
    • Darko Rajakovic (story)
  • Previous coach:
  • Other finalists:

    • Virtus Bologna coach Sergio Scariolo (story)
    • Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson (story)
    • Bucks assistant Charles Lee (story)
  • Also interviewed/considered:
    • Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez (story)
    • Suns assistant Kevin Young (story)
    • Spurs assistant Mitch Johnson (story)
    • Heat assistant Chris Quinn (story)
    • Nuggets assistant David Adelman (story)
    • ESPN analyst JJ Redick (story)
    • Former Nets coach Steve Nash (story)
    • Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin (hired by Bucks)
  • Other rumored candidates/targets:
    • Barcelona coach Sarunas Jasikevicius (story)
    • Suns assistant Patrick Mutombo (story)
    • Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse (story)
    • Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon (story)
    • Former Suns coach Monty Williams (hired by Pistons)
    • Former Celtics coach Ime Udoka (hired by Rockets)

Head coach Nick Nurse told reporters on March 31 that he would take some time after the season to evaluate his future. The Raptors took the same approach and eventually announced nine days after their season ended that they were relieving Nurse of his duties.

Toronto exercised extreme patience with its head coaching search and was the last team to make a decision this spring — word of Nurse’s dismissal broke on April 21, while Rajakovic was reported as the team’s choice of replacement on June 10, over a month-and-a-half later.

Nurse won a championship and a Coach of the Year award in separate seasons during his five-year stint as the Raptors’ head coach, so Rajakovic has big shoes to fill as a first-time NBA head coach. His résumé includes head coaching stints in Europe and in the G League, along with a decade as an NBA assistant, so he certainly seems qualified for his new role.

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Bucks Notes: Middleton, Budenholzer, Lee, Playoff Series

April 15th, 2023 at 7:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

Khris Middleton is confident that he’ll be available for his regular role when the Bucks open their playoff series on Sunday, writes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Middleton hasn’t played since he aggravated his sore right knee April 5, but he was able to participate in his second full practice Saturday.

“It took about two days to kind of get it to go away and get back to being myself,” he said. “Doing a little bit more rehab this past couple days. The long break I think has been great for everybody to freshen up and that’s exactly what I tried to do, take advantage of this time to get my body right.”

It has been an injury-plagued season for Middleton, who was only on the court for 33 games. Owczarski points out that he had his most productive stretch after being inserted back into the starting lineup March 7 following a bout with knee pain. In the 11 games since then, Middleton averaged 19.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.0 assists while shooting 47% from the field.

“Playing those minutes, being in the starting lineup, playing with a lot of those main guys out there, I felt like I’d been doing it for years,” he said. “I’d been saying it, my body was feeling great for a while up to that point so it wasn’t a huge a confidence reach. It was a little bit to say, OK, yeah, I could still do this, but I felt more like myself again in that role and in those minutes.”

There’s more from Milwaukee:

  • Mike Budenholzer offered a ringing endorsement for assistant Charles Lee, who is among the candidates for the Pistons‘ head coaching position, Owczarski adds. Lee began working under Budenholzer with the Hawks in 2014 and followed him to Milwaukee four years later. “Charles Lee is, I think, one of the top guys in our league,” Budenholzer said. “… He’s great as the associate head coach. He’s great as somebody the players the trust, the players believe in, the players follow his lead. I trust him to the nth degree.”
  • The Bucks will enter their playoff series with a huge rest advantage over the Heat, who had to go through two play-in games, observes Steve Megargee of The Associated Press. Most of Milwaukee’s regulars haven’t played since they clinched the No. 1 seed on April 5. “It’s kind of tricky because you might go and play the first game and you’re rusty,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said. … “You might play the first game and you have so much energy and play great basketball. We’ll see.”
  • Eric Nehm of The Athletic examines the matchups in the series and speculates on how Budenholzer will handle his rotation with the starters expected to see expanded playing time.
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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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Injury Notes: Wolves, Murray, Middleton, George

April 14th, 2023 at 9:00pm CST by Rory Maher

The Timberwolves will have both of their three-time All-Star big men active for Friday’s final play-in game against the Thunder, Minnesota announced (via Twitter). Rudy Gobert (back spasms) and Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf strain) were upgraded from questionable to available and will start, per the team.

Wolves guard Jaylen Nowell, who was previously questionable with left knee tendinopathy, will also be active. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News was first to report (via Twitter) that Nowell would be ready to go.

In an interesting rotational change, the Wolves are inserting Nickeil Alexander-Walker into the starting lineup for the first time to defend his cousin, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

“They’re cousins, so there should be familiarity there but we like Nickeil’s ability to go get him full court and his size on him,” head coach Chris Finch said before the game (Twitter link via Alan Horton of Wolves Radio).

Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:

  • Nuggets guard Jamal Murray continues to be hampered by a nagging right thumb sprain on his shooting hand, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscriber link). “I’m still thinking about it,” Murray said. “I’m full participating (in practice). It’s just sore. Every catch, every shot, I’m always fiddling with it trying to make it feel better, but it’ll be OK.” Denver’s second-leading scorer has been dealing with the injury for a few weeks, Singer adds, but he’s otherwise healthy and feeling ready for the playoffs.
  • Khris Middleton, a three-time All-Star for the Bucks, was a full practice participant on Thursday, according to an Associated Press report (link via ESPN). Middleton experienced discomfort in his right knee on April 5 against Chicago, causing him to leave the game early. Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton were partial practice participants, per The AP — both players are dealing with right ankle sprains, causing them to miss the final few games of the regular season (four for Allen, three for Connaughton). The Bucks will face the Heat in their first-round playoff series after Miami defeated Chicago and advanced as the No. 8 seed in the East.
  • Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters, including Law Murray of The Athletic, that star wing Paul George, who has been out since March 21 after suffering a right knee sprain, is making progress in his recovery. However, the team won’t rush him back for its first-round series against Phoenix, with Lue saying the Clippers need George to be “close to 100 percent” in order to prevent a possible re-injury. While there’s no official timeline for George’s return, a source tells Murray the veteran forward is targeting a potential second-round return, assuming the Clippers advance (Twitter link).
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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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