It’s likely that the Knicks and Cavaliers will meet in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Knicks failed in their pursuit of trading for Donovan Mitchell, a New York native, during last offseason.
Mitchell is looking forward to the prospect of facing the Knicks in the postseason, according to Peter Botte of the New York Post. “It’s full circle. Wouldn’t want it any other way,” Mitchell said. “What kid wouldn’t want to grow up and play against his hometown team in the playoffs? … It’s going to be a lot of fun — if that happens.”
Following a lackluster offensive start to his Nets tenure, swingman Dorian Finney-Smith is finding his footing in Brooklyn, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post.
Smith had been scoring just 6.4 PPG on 31% field goal shooting across his first 22 games with the Nets prior to a 124-107 defeat of the Hawks. In that contest, he notched 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-6 from deep, and eight boards.
“It feels good, man,” Finney-Smith said of his best scoring night with his new team thus far. “Especially when the whole team is yelling at me when I turn down shots to stay aggressive. It feels good when you got guys who believe in you, so I appreciate them.”
Finney-Smith continues to make a big defensive impact for the Nets. Head coach Jacque Vaughn has even employed the 6’7″ forward as a center in small ball lineups.
There’s more out of The City That Never Sleeps:
- Nets wing Joe Harris has been demoted since Brooklyn added an influx of three-point shooting perimeter players at the trade deadline, and that’s just fine by Harris, per Schwartz in another piece. “It’s definitely a luxury of this team,” Harris observed. “A lot of space on the floor for primary ball-handlers, facilitators.”
- Knicks backup center Isaiah Hartenstein is the only New York player to have been available for all 78 of the team’s games thus far, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post.
- Though they have just four games left in their 2022/23 regular season run, the 45-33 Knicks still need to finalize their postseason rotation, says Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Begley notes that New York’s coaching staff is assessing both active rotation and deep-bench players with the playoffs looming. The Knicks seem to favor a nine-man rotation, Begley observes. Backup point guard Miles McBride became the team’s new ninth man with All-Star power forward Julius Randle out of the lineup for now.
With just one week left in the NBA’s regular season, there are still a number of teams around the league with open roster spots, and there’s little downside to filling those openings before the regular season ends.
For playoff teams, adding one more player would create a little extra depth in the event of postseason injuries or garbage-time minutes. For non-playoff teams, it makes sense to try to convince a young player to accept a multiyear deal that includes little or no guaranteed money beyond this season, since it gives those teams another option for next year’s roster.
Even clubs over the luxury tax line or right up against it shouldn’t have a problem paying one more player a prorated minimum salary for the last day or two of the season — the prorated minimum for a veteran on a rest-of-season deal is just $10,552 per day, which is a drop in the bucket for NBA franchises.
With all that in mind, it’s safe to assume that some – if not all – of the teams with open roster spots should fill them by next Sunday. Here are those teams:
- Boston Celtics
- Brooklyn Nets *
- Charlotte Hornets *
- Houston Rockets
- Los Angeles Lakers
- New York Knicks
- Phoenix Suns ^
- Utah Jazz #
The two teams marked with an asterisk (*) here technically have full 15-man rosters as of today, but one of their players is on a 10-day contract. That’s Moses Brown for the Nets and Xavier Sneed for the Hornets. Both of those contracts run through Thursday night before expiring, so Brooklyn and Charlotte will have the opportunity to sign a player to a rest-of-season or multiyear deal at that time.
The Suns (^) have a full 15-man standard roster but have an open two-way contract slot alongside Saben Lee. It’s possible Phoenix won’t bother signing someone to fill that opening, since two-way players aren’t eligible to play in the postseason and the Suns don’t have a G League affiliate (the NBAGL season is just about over anyway).
As for the Jazz (#), they currently have one open spot on their 15-man standard roster and will open up a second when Luka Samanic‘s 10-day contract expires on Thursday night. So Utah could technically bring in two new players before season’s end without waiving anyone.
The rest of the teams on this list – the Celtics, Rockets, Lakers, and Knicks – are carrying 14 players on standard contracts, leaving one spot available.
Boston and New York are postseason-bound and L.A. is in good position to join them, but that doesn’t necessarily mean each of those teams will sign a “win-now” veteran as a 15th man. They already have enough depth on their respective rosters that they may prefer to promote a player from the G League on a multiyear deal, assuming they decide to fill those openings at all. Boston and L.A. are taxpayers, so a signing would cost them a little more than just $10,552 per day.
Obi Toppin, who started in place of injured Julius Randle on Friday, had a heated exchange with RJ Barrett during the Knicks’ win over the Cavaliers on Friday night. However, the Knicks downplayed the incident afterward, Peter Botte of the New York Post reports.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau and his assistants had to keep Toppin away from Barrett during a third-quarter timeout. Toppin and Barrett hugged on the court shortly afterward.
“We’re brothers. And we’re good. We discussed it,” Toppin said.
We have more on the New York teams:
- Nic Claxton signed a two-year, $17.25MM contract as a restricted free agent last summer. That contract is proving to be a bargain, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Claxton has started 72 games and leads the Nets in blocks and rebounds. Claxton hopes he remains with the franchise beyond next season. “It’s human nature. It’s just in our business, you never really know what’s going to happen as far as trades, contracts and everything,” Claxton said. “But I’ve been here four years, and Brooklyn has been a huge [time], played a huge role in my growth. And I would love to be here.”
- Nets forward Mikal Bridges is on track to play 83 regular season games this season, something that hasn’t been done since Josh Smith played that many games for Houston and Detroit in 2014/15, Nick Friedell of ESPN notes. Nets GM Sean Marks is impressed by Bridges’ durability during a time when players are frequently rested. “You look at how he plays the game,” Marks said. “Obviously, when he was playing in Phoenix, even dating back to college days, the length, the reliability — he’s nearing 400 games played in a row, it’s pretty unique in this day and age. And for somebody who actually wants to play at that clip is also certainly refreshing.”
- With Ben Simmons declared out for the season by the Nets, Lewis interviewed a number of medical experts and Simmons’ agent to determine whether he’ll be healthier next season (New York Post subscription required). Lewis also explored the question of whether Simmons might require surgery to resolve his back and knee issues.
Julius Randle‘s ankle injury came at a very bad time, but the Knicks believe they can keep winning while he mends, Nick Friedell of ESPN writes.
“I think it takes more focus being down an All-Star, but I’m very confident in our team and how we can handle things,” Jalen Brunson said.
The Knicks won their last two games heading into their showdown with Cleveland on Friday. “We have more than enough guys that are capable of helping out,” Brunson said. “That’s what a team is for and that’s what we do, we’re professionals.”
Obi Toppin started in Randle’s place on Friday, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News tweets.
We have more on the New York teams:
- Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley shot 44.8 percent on two-point attempts last season. That stat is up to 52.9 percent this season and he credits associate head coach Johnnie Bryant and personal trainer Reese Whitley, according to Mark Sanchez of the New York Post. Whitley’s workout regimen has made Quickley stronger, while Bryant has devoted extra attention to his on-court effectiveness. “Before every game, I watch a lot of film of the team I’m about to play, spots on the floor that I can pretty much be effective,” Quickley said. “Johnnie Bryant has helped me a lot, just being able to work with him every single day and being able to pick his brain.”
- Long Island Nets coach Ronnie Burrell has been named the NBA G League Coach of the Year, the NBA’s PR department tweets. After defeating the Cleveland Charge on Friday, Long Island advanced in the playoffs and will host Delaware in the G League Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday.
- Cameron Johnson is thriving with a bigger offensive role than he had with the Suns, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post writes. Since being traded in the Kevin Durant blockbuster, Johnson is averaging more minutes (30.4), shots (12.4), points (16.7), rebounds (4.7) and assists (2.1) per game than he did with the Suns. “That’s part of the beauty of the situation,” Johnson said of joining the Nets. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer.
- RJ Barrett is prepared to play more minutes at power forward during Julius Randle‘s injury absence if the Knicks ask him to, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News relays. “I’ve done it before. I’m comfortable with it,” said Barrett, who has played mostly at the three this season. “With the way the NBA is now, it makes it kind of easier.”
Knicks All-Star power forward Julius Randle will miss at least the next two weeks due to a left ankle sprain, the team has announced (Twitter link).
According to the Knicks, Randle will have the ankle reassessed in two weeks. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be ready to hit the floor at that juncture, just that New York could have a better sense of his recovery timeline.
Randle injured the ankle during the second quarter of an eventual 101-92 victory over the Heat Wednesday.
Needless to say, this serves as an incredibly inopportune time for New York to be without perhaps its best player. That will knock him out for the team’s final five games of the 2022/23 regular season. The NBA playoffs will begin two weeks from Saturday, on April 15.
At 44-33, New York is currently the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. Tim Bontemps of ESPN observes that the Knicks are just two wins away from clinching their second postseason appearance in three seasons under head coach Tom Thibodeau. As Ian Begley of SNY.tv tweets, New York is 2.5 games ahead of the No. 6-seeded Nets, and four games in front of the seventh-seeded Heat, so the club is a good bet to avoid the play-in.
Prior to the ankle injury, Randle had not missed a single game this season. In his 77 appearances, the 6’8″ forward averaged 25.1 PPG on .459/.343/.757 shooting splits. He also chipped in 10.0 RPG, 4.1 APG and 0.6 SPG. Randle seems to stand a pretty good chance of landing on his second All-NBA team in three seasons thanks to his consistency, health and team record.
As the East’s fifth seed, the Knicks are currently slated to square off against Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs. New York will face the Cavs, who have already clinched a playoff berth, on Friday.
The Knicks received both good and bad news on Wednesday night versus Miami. The good news is point guard Jalen Brunson was able to play after missing the past two games with a sprained right hand, and the Knicks came away with an important victory (Twitter link via the team).
The bad news is power forward Julius Randle sprained his left ankle after landing on Bam Adebayo‘s foot following an offensive rebound (YouTube link), with Randle remaining on the floor for a while in pain. He stayed in the game to shoot free throws, but headed back to the locker room with a trainer.
Randle was able to limp off the floor on his own, but as soon as he was back in the team’s tunnel he was bent over in discomfort. The Knicks later ruled him out for the remainder of the contest (via Twitter).
Hopefully the injury isn’t severe, particularly so late in the season. Randle has appeared in all 77 games for the Knicks and was named to his second All-Star team last month.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Clippers star Kawhi Leonard was ruled out of Wednesday’s game in Memphis due to personal reasons, per Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter links). Head coach Tyronn Lue said the team is hopeful Leonard will only be out one game. On a positive note, Norman Powell was able to return to action after missing the past 11 games with a shoulder injury — he was previously listed as questionable.
- Sixers stars Joel Embiid (calf soreness) and James Harden (Achilles soreness) were active for Wednesday’s game vs. Dallas, tweets Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN was the first to report the news (via Twitter). Embiid missed Monday’s loss in Denver with the injury, while Harden had missed four straight games.
- The Timberwolves had several late additions to their injury report (Twitter link) ahead of tonight’s game in Phoenix. Kyle Anderson, Anthony Edwards, Taurean Prince, Austin Rivers and Matt Ryan are all dealing with an illness that head coach Chris Finch described as an “intestinal flu,” according to Chis Hine of The Star Tribune (Twitter link). Edwards and Anderson were able to suit up, but the Wolves later ruled out (via Twitter) the other three players as well as Jaylen Nowell, who continues to battle left knee tendinopathy.
- In addition to four starters being held out with various injuries and surgeries sidelining a couple other players, the Trail Blazers added three young players to Wednesday’s injury report ahead of their matchup with Sacramento (Twitter link). Second-year guard Keon Johnson is out with a fractured right finger, while second-year big man Trendon Watford will miss his second straight game with a sprained right ankle. Fourth-year wing Cam Reddish is doubtful due to lumbar soreness.
- Prior to Monday’s blowout win over Houston, Knicks forward Julius Randle had received technical fouls in three consecutive games, all losses. While Randle acknowledged he needs to do a better job of keeping his frustration in check, he doesn’t believe his outbursts adversely impact his standing as a team leader, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. “Name a perfect leader,” Randle said. “Name a perfect human being.”
- The Knicks used a portion of their room exception when they signed DaQuan Jeffries to a two-year contract, Hoops Rumors has learned. A rest-of-season minimum salary for Jeffries would have paid him $163,977, but New York opted to give him $300K for the remainder of the season using the room exception. The swingman’s new deal includes a non-guaranteed minimum salary ($2.07MM) for 2023/24.