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Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Hartenstein, Brunson, Achiuwa

March 9th, 2024 at 9:31am CST by Tristan Tucker

Knicks forward OG Anunoby is at the final step of his injury rehabilitation process, practicing without limitations, as relayed by SNY’s Ian Begley. He’s scrimmaging five-on-five and taking contact.

“Just see how he responds the next day [after a practice], the doctor clears him, then he can go,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said.

Getting Anunoby back from injury would be huge for a Knicks team that is only has a 2.5-game cushion on the East’s eighth seed. New York is 12-2 with Anunoby in the lineup this season and has gone just 8-9 since he went down with his elbow injury.

Anunoby has averaged 15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.1 blocks per night while shooting 51.6% from the field and 39.1% from deep in the 14 games he has played with New York so far.

We have more Knicks notes:

Isaiah Hartenstein was a huge factor in the Knicks defeating the Magic on Friday while holding Orlando to a league-wide season-low 74 points, Begley observes in the same story. Hartenstein had three blocks as he continues to play through Achilles soreness as part of his ramp-up plan to full strength. “Isaiah’s defense to start the game was top of the line,” Thibodeau said. “That’s as active as he’s been in quite a while so it was great to see.” By defeating the Magic, the Knicks moved back into the fourth seed in the East.
After missing the previous game with a knee contusion, Jalen Brunson returned for the Knicks and scored 26 points against the Magic while New York held Orlando to the lowest point total of any opponent since 2012, the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy observes. Brunson’s knee injury looked worse than it was, and he was back to making impact plays quickly. “I thought of a thousand different situations of what [the injury] could have been and I’m just glad it wasn’t,” Brunson said.
Precious Achiuwa, brought in alongside Anunoby, was also big in the win over the Magic, recording a career-high five blocks. He h as been crucial to the Knicks staying afloat despite numerous injuries, starting each of the past 17 games while averaging 12.8 points, 9.5 rebounds. 1.8 blocks and 1.1 steals. Achiuwa expressed gratitude to supporting fans after the win. “Just being able to come back home and represent the city means a lot to me,” Achiuwa said, per Knicks on MSG (Twitter link). “I just want to say thank you, New York City – I love you guys.“

Injury Notes: Curry, LeBron, Wembanyama, Brunson

March 8th, 2024 at 8:07pm CST by Rory Maher

A league source who spoke to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area said there’s an expectation Stephen Curry will likely miss seven-to-10 days (Twitter link). The Warriors‘ two-time MVP rolled his right ankle late in Thursday’s loss to Chicago and was unable to return to the game, with an MRI reportedly coming back clean.

If that timeline is accurate, Curry would likely miss at least three games, and possibly a fourth next Saturday vs. the Lakers. We won’t know that for sure until we see how the 35-year-old heals over the coming days, but Curry has already been ruled out for Saturday’s contest vs. San Antonio, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:

Lakers superstar LeBron James will be sidelined for Friday’s home game vs. Milwaukee, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays. The 39-year-old has been dealing with left ankle soreness for several weeks, and will miss his ninth game of the season against the Bucks after previously being listed as questionable. Prior to the game, head coach Darvin Ham said James was experiencing “severe soreness” in the ankle and is considered “day-to-day,” per Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group (Twitter links). The ongoing injury will reportedly have to be managed for the remainder of the season, though there’s an expectation that James won’t need to miss extended time.
After spraining his right ankle against Houston on Tuesday, Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama missed Thursday’s loss in Sacramento and has been ruled out for Saturday’s contest in San Francisco, but head coach Gregg Popovich thinks the Rookie of the Year frontrunner will be ready to go for Monday’s home game vs. Golden State, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter links). As Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes (subscriber link), Wembanyama rode in a van back to San Antonio to be evaluated — in part due to its proximity to Houston — instead of traveling on the road trip. The Spurs are 0-7 thus far this season without their best player.
Knicks star Jalen Brunson was able to return to action on Friday vs. Orlando after missing Tuesday’s loss to Atlanta with a knee contusion, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv. The All-Star point guard sustained the injury less than a minute into Sunday’s victory over Cleveland, but it thankfully turned out to be relatively minor. Brunon, 27, has missed five games thus far in 2023/24, putting him in strong contention for a spot on his first All-NBA team.

New York Notes: Knicks Injuries, Nets, Johnson, Sharpe, Thomas

March 7th, 2024 at 3:59pm CST by Rory Maher

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau gave injury updates on multiple players on Thursday, as Fred Katz of The Athletic relays (All Twitter links).

Thibodeau said forward OG Anunoby, who is recovering from right elbow surgery, has been doing contract drills and is playing five-on-five, which indicates he’s getting close to returning. He’ll be day-to-day moving forward, though he hasn’t yet been fully cleared to play. Anunoby last suited up on January 27.

According to Katz, Thibodeau gave a brief update on Mitchell Robinson, who has been sidelined since December 8 following foot surgery, saying, “Mitch looks good. He told me to tell everyone that.”

Thibodeau also said star guard Jalen Brunson was able to participate in most of Thursday’s practice, but he wasn’t sure what his status would be for the injury report ahead of Friday’s game vs. Orlando, Katz adds.

Here are a few more notes out of New York:

With 20 games remaining, the Nets are three games behind the Hawks for the No. 10 seed in the East — the final spot in the play-in tournament. As Ryan Dunleavy of The New York Post writes, Brooklyn has the league’s second-easiest remaining schedule, but is embarking on a stretch with 10 of 11 games on the road, where the team is just 9-19 thus far in 2023/24. How the Nets fare over that stretch could determine whether or not they make the playoffs.
Nets forward Cameron Johnson exited Tuesday’s victory over Philadelphia with a right ankle sprain and was unable to return, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “Yeah, it’s just a right ankle sprain and we’re gonna evaluate him [Wednesday],” interim coach Kevin Ollie said. “I imagine they’ll evaluate him [Tuesday night], but we’ll have more information [in the morning].” Johnson is officially out for Thursday’s matchup in Detroit, Lewis tweets. On the NBA’s latest injury report, backup center Day’Ron Sharpe has also been ruled out due to a right wrist contusion he sustained during a hard fall Monday.
In more positive news for the Nets, their second-leading scorer could return this weekend, according to Lewis (Twitter link). Cam Thomas has been battling a right ankle/midfoot sprain and will be out Thursday, but he might be back either Saturday vs. Charlotte or Sunday vs. Cleveland. The third-year guard will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason.

Knicks Notes: McBride, Hart, Milton, Schedule

March 7th, 2024 at 9:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

With Knicks All-Star guard Jalen Brunson nursing a left knee contusion, backup Miles McBride has been thrust into an iron man role, Peter Botte of the New York Post writes.

McBride has been on the court for at least 40 minutes in three of the last four games. After playing 47 minutes and 13 seconds against the Cavaliers on Sunday — when Brunson was injured during the opening minute — McBride logged 45 minutes and 38 seconds in a loss to the Hawks on Tuesday.

“I’m glad Coach (Tom Thibodeau) trusts me to be playing me those minutes. Just wish we would’ve got the job done,” said McBride, who signed a three-year extension in late December. “Honestly, I feel fine. I think I’m more mad about losing than worrying about how my body feels.”

We have more on the Knicks:

Wing Josh Hart is the league’s top rebounder among player who stand 6’7” or less. Hart is just 6’4” but he’s pulled down an average of 7.6 rebounds per game. “Josh is the king of stealing rebounds,” Donte DiVincenzo told Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “He loves stealing them. But I don’t care. As long as we get it, he can steal them all day long.”
Shake Milton has looked for guidance from Knicks executive William Wesley during his career and that played a factor in his decision to sign with the Knicks, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets. Milton became a free agent when the Pistons, who acquired the reserve guard at the trade deadline, bought him out. “He’s there anytime I need him. Whether it’s to talk, do whatever. He’s always there,” Milton said of Wesley.
The banged-up Knicks have three pivotal games coming up, Botte notes. Looking to avoid the play-in tournament, the Knicks face the Magic on Friday and the Sixers on Sunday and Tuesday. “Obviously, you don’t want to be in the play-in. You’d like to have that three or five days of rest going into the first round,” Hart said. The team is hopeful Brunson can return soon but frontcourt regulars Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson remain out, though Randle and Anunoby have been cleared for basketball activities.

NBA Teams That Still Have Open Roster Spots

March 6th, 2024 at 12:55pm CST by Luke Adams

As we detailed on Tuesday, 17 players that had been on two-way contracts received promotions to standard deals between last month’s trade deadline and Monday’s two-way signing deadline.

However, even though those 17 players filled standard roster spots around the NBA and no team currently has an open two-way slot, there are still several openings on 15-man rosters across the league.

[RELATED: 2023/24 NBA Roster Counts]

Here’s a rundown of the teams that still have at least one standard roster spot available, along with some brief observations on how they might fill those openings:

Teams with two open roster spots

Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks
Philadelphia 76ers

Teams are permitted to dip below 14 players on standard contracts for up to 14 days at a time. Currently, there are three teams taking advantage of that rule: the Timberwolves, Knicks, and Sixers.

There’s no real urgency for any of these clubs to sign a player in the short term — Philadelphia doesn’t have to re-add a 14th man until March 15, while New York’s and Minnesota’s deadlines are March 16 and 17, respectively.

Still, I’m not sure any of the three will wait that long to make a move. The Sixers and Knicks have a crowded injury list and could use some additional depth, while the Timberwolves have already reportedly reached an agreement on a 10-day deal with T.J. Warren — it just hasn’t been officially finalized yet.

[Note: Warren officially signed with the Wolves shortly after the publication of this story.]

Philadelphia could still use another frontcourt body with Joel Embiid on the shelf. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Taj Gibson eventually makes his way back to the Knicks, though he’s under contract with Detroit for the next 10 days. Marcus Morris was linked to Minnesota last month, though it remains unclear whether a union for the two sides remains in play.

Teams with one open roster spot

Boston Celtics
Detroit Pistons
- Note: The Pistons’ 14th man (Gibson) is on a 10-day contract.
Golden State Warriors
Phoenix Suns
Utah Jazz

There’s no timeline for any of these teams to fill their 15th open roster spot. I’d expect the Pistons and Jazz to be a little more proactive about making a move though, since they’re both well below the luxury tax line and could potentially benefit from taking a look at some young players on 10-day deals for developmental purposes down the stretch.

The Celtics, Warriors, and Suns are all well above the tax threshold and aren’t in desperate need for depth pieces at the moment, so they’ll probably be patient when it comes to adding a 15th man.

Neemias Queta (Celtics) and Saben Lee (Suns) are candidates to be promoted from two-way contracts near the end of the season. The Warriors already elevated their most obvious candidate for a promotion (Lester Quinones), so it’s unclear what they may have in mind for their final roster move. Given how deep they are, it’s unlikely anyone the Dubs add would play at all in the postseason.

Teams whose 15th man is on a 10-day contract

Cleveland Cavaliers
New Orleans Pelicans
Toronto Raptors
Washington Wizards

The Cavaliers will open up a roster spot on Thursday when Sharife Cooper‘s 10-day contract expires. The Wizards (R.J. Hampton) and Pelicans (Izaiah Brockington) will follow suit next Wednesday, with the Raptors (Jahmi’us Ramsey) opening up their 15th roster spot next Thursday.

Each of those four players would be eligible for a second 10-day deal with his respective team. However, all four clubs seem to be rotating players in and out of that slot, so it’s possible that the Cavs, Pelicans, Raptors, and Wizards all finish the season with a different 15th man.

Toronto and Washington won’t make the playoffs and will likely eventually settle on a prospect who can be signed to a team-friendly multiyear contract. The Cavs and Pelicans could ultimately go the same route, though they’ll want to fully scour the buyout market in case there’s a veteran who could help in the postseason.

Shake Milton Signed Rest-Of-Season Minimum Deal

March 6th, 2024 at 6:54am CST by Luke Adams

As expected, both Shake Milton (Knicks) and Mike Muscala (Thunder) signed rest-of-season, minimum-salary contracts with their new clubs.
The two-way deals recently signed by Jeff Dowtin (Sixers), Jacob Gilyard (Nets), Jacob Toppin (Knicks), Ish Wainright (Suns), Quenton Jackson (Pacers), Harry Giles (Lakers), and Dylan Windler (Hawks) are all one-year (rest-of-season) contracts, so those players will be eligible to become restricted free agents this summer.

Atlantic Notes: Brunson, Bogdanovic, DiVincenzo, Maxey, Lowry

March 5th, 2024 at 6:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks got more good news on Jalen Brunson‘s knee. An MRI on the injured area came back clean, coach Tom Thibodeau told Newsday’s Steve Popper (Twitter link) and other media members.

Brunson, who didn’t play against the Hawks on Tuesday, was diagnosed with a left knee contusion after colliding with teammate Isaiah Hartenstein in the opening minute of New York’s win over Cleveland on Sunday. It initially looked much worse. The Knicks’ All-Star guard was helped off the court after attempting a mid-range shot and did not return.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Bojan Bogdanovic and Donte DiVincenzo combined for 48 points after Brunson left Sunday’s game and snapped out of shooting slumps. They were aided by crisp ball movement, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post notes, as the Knicks had 32 assists on Sunday, the most they had recorded since Dec. 11.
Sixers star guard Tyrese Maxey has entered the league’s concussion protocol, as relayed by ESPN’s news services. He was diagnosed with a mild concussion, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Maxey hit his head against the knee of Mavericks forward Derrick Jones in the third quarter of Sunday’s win and was subbed out, though he did eventually return.
Kyle Lowry, who has taken over as the Sixers’ starting point guard, doesn’t want to reflect on his career accomplishments until he retires, he told Pompey. “Of course, I know what they are,” Lowry said. “I’ve never sat down and really thought about the things that I’ve done. I just continue to live in the moment where I can’t think about what I’ve done, what is there to do, you know? ‘Do you want to win a couple more championships or whatever I can win?’ But I never sat back and thought about it yet. The reason is because I’m still playing.”

Atlantic Notes: Simmons, McBride, Tillman, Celtics

March 5th, 2024 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

The left lower back nerve impingement that is currently keeping Ben Simmons on the shelf is the same issue that affected him earlier this season, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv and Brian Lewis of The New York Post, who confirm that the Nets guard/forward didn’t suffer a new impingement.

Simmons’ agent Bernie Lee, referring to his client as day-to-day, said he continues to seek answers on how to get Simmons past this health issue, which has affected the former No. 1 overall pick for multiple seasons.

“We continue to try and find non-surgical options to allow Ben to move forward on a permanent basis and that is where this is my responsibility and I am (the) one to blame,” Lee said. “When I began working with Ben I made a commitment to him that I would do everything I could to find the right answers and specialists for him to work with (in order) to move forward from the issues he has been having. Clearly it hasn’t happened, and that’s my responsibility.

“… Come the offseason, we’re going to implement some processes and outside input that’ll allow him to finally move forward from this ongoing issue and resume his career at the levels he’s established prior to being injured.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

The Knicks aren’t surprised by the strides that Miles McBride has made as a shooter this season, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic, who notes that the third-year guard is making a strong case for rotation minutes even when everyone is healthy. As Stefan Bondy of The New York Post observes, the signing of Shake Milton will give New York another option in an increasingly crowded backcourt. However, Katz suggests that Milton is viewed as a depth piece and that McBride’s performance should keep him ahead of Milton – and Alec Burks – on the team’s depth chart.
Celtics newcomer Xavier Tillman has made a positive impression on his new teammates, according to Brian Robb of MassLive.com and Jay King of The Athletic. Tillman played just three total minutes in his first seven games as a Celtic (he missed four of those games while recovering from a knee injury), but has scored 13 points across 33 minutes and been a +26 in Boston’s past two games. “X looked good out there, man,” Jaylen Brown said after Friday’s win over Dallas. “It’s like, he fit right in. He came right in and made contributions on defense, got a few rebounds, got some stops. Offense, you could tell he got a good feel for the game. A good screen setter.”
The Celtics‘ offensive success this season stems in large part from the fact that their top eight players are all reliable three-point shooters on relatively high volume, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger considers whether it’s just a matter of time until the NBA features several more teams that look like the Celtics or whether Boston is an anomaly due to the difficulty of building a roster that has that many shooters and still plays strong defense.

Shake Milton Signs With Knicks

March 5th, 2024 at 8:28am CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 5: The Knicks have officially signed Milton, the team announced today in a press release.

MARCH 2: Shake Milton plans to join the Knicks after clearing waivers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Multiple contenders were reportedly interested in the 27-year-old shooting guard, who reached a buyout agreement with the Pistons on Friday night, allowing him to appear in the playoffs with another team.

New York will be the third team of the season for Milton, who signed with Minnesota last summer and was shipped to Detroit at the trade deadline. He appeared in just four games for the Pistons and didn’t appear to be in the team’s long-range plans with a non-guaranteed $5MM contract for next season.

The Knicks contacted the Wolves about Milton prior to the deadline, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.

Averaging 4.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 42 combined games this season, Milton will provide another wing scoring threat for New York, which is dealing with injuries throughout its roster. He will compete for playing time with two other former Pistons, Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, who were both acquired in a trade with Detroit last month.

Milton should clear waivers Monday, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday. The Knicks have two roster spots available, with a third opening over night when DaQuan Jeffries‘ 10-day contract expires, so they can add Milton without a corresponding move.

Jalen Brunson Avoids Major Injury, Questionable For Tuesday

March 4th, 2024 at 9:07pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson is listed as questionable for New York’s Tuesday game against the Hawks after exiting in the first minute on Sunday against the Cavaliers, according to SNY’s Ian Begley (Twitter link). As was expected, it seems Brunson has avoided a major injury.

Brunson departed on Sunday with a left knee injury that looked scarier than it ended up being after colliding with Isaiah Hartenstein while running around a screen. As we wrote earlier on Monday, coach Tom Thibodeau was among those who expressed optimism for Brunson’s ability to play sooner rather than later.

It’s obviously a major sigh of relief for a Knicks team that’s been battling major health issues for the past couple months. After looking impressive and soaring up the standings after acquiring OG Anunoby, the Knicks withstood injuries to the likes of Anunoby and Julius Randle and are now 3-7 in their last 10 games. At fourth in the East at 36-25, they’re closer to the No. 8 seed (2.5 games) than No. 3 (3.5 games).

If Brunson isn’t able to go against the Hawks, his next chance to suit up will be on Friday when the Knicks play the Magic. If he’s unable to play Tuesday, Miles McBride is the most obvious candidate to see an increase in his workload — he didn’t sit for a single second after Brunson went down on Sunday.

Brunson is averaging 27.2 points and 6.6 assists per game while shooting 47.7% from the floor and 40.7% from three in his first career All-Star season.