- Thunder forward Gordon Hayward exited Friday’s game early due to soreness in his lower left leg, tweets Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. He and Jalen Williams are both listed as questionable for today’s game at Charlotte.
The Celtics currently hold a 14-game lead for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, making them a very strong favorite to reach the NBA Finals, though that outcome is far from assured.
The standings are much more competitive in the West though. The seedings are still up for grabs, but the top 10 teams are all but secured after Golden State beat Houston on Thursday.
The Timberwolves are currently the No. 1 seed due to a tiebreaker over the defending-champion Nuggets, who hold an identical 53-24 record. The upstart Thunder are one game back at No. 3, followed by the Clippers, Mavericks and Suns.
The Pelicans, Kings, Lakers and Warriors are currently the Nos. 7 through 10 seeds, meaning they’d be in the play-in tournament if the season ended today. Only two games separate Phoenix and the Lakers, however, so things could certainly change between now and April 14, when the regular season concludes.
Each of the top teams in the West has question marks ahead of the postseason, mostly due to injuries. Minnesota may not have Karl-Anthony Towns back before the first round, and the team has only advanced past that stage one time in franchise history. Denver, which went 16-4 in last year’s playoffs en route to its first title in 2023, has been playing without star guard Jamal Murray of late, though he may return soon.
Oklahoma City is young and is not playoff tested, plus MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been sidelined recently with a quad injury. Kawhi Leonard is currently dealing with a knee injury for the Clippers.
The Mavericks have dealt with injuries to rotation players throughout the season, though they’re the hottest team in Conference at the moment. Phoenix’s “big three” has only played in 36 games together in 2023/24. New Orleans, Sacramento, the Lakers and Golden State have all been inconsistent throughout the season.
With so many unknowns, it makes it difficult to pick a favorite. That leads us to our question of the day: Who do you think will advance out of the West and make the NBA Finals? Head to the comments and let us know what you think.
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss his third straight game on Friday in Indiana due to a right quad contusion, tweets Rylan Stiles of Inside The Thunder.
Head coach Mark Daigneault said the MVP candidate was sent back to Oklahoma City on Thursday and he’ll also miss Sunday’s game in Charlotte, which is the finale of a four-game road trip, per Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman (Twitter link).
“We need to make sure he doesn’t decondition during this time and gym access on the road is much more difficult to come by,” Daigneault said.
Second-year guard/forward Jalen Williams will also miss his third straight contest on Friday due to a left ankle sprain. He was initially listed as doubtful.
Here’s more on the Thunder:
- In an interesting story for The Athletic, Fred Katz examines Luguentz Dort‘s defensive impact for OKC, describing how the 24-year-old has added layers of complexity to the way he approaches many aspects of the less glamorous end of the court, including certain “quirks” he uses to throw star players off-balance. According to Katz, Dort has spent more time guarding the opposing teams’ highest-usage player than anyone in the NBA. “We can shift him anywhere,” Daigneault told The Athletic. “He can guard any player. There’s no one he can’t guard.”
- He hasn’t played much at the NBA level in 2023/24, averaging just 11.0 MPG in 31 appearances, but second-year forward Ousmane Dieng has been more assertive this season with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s NBAGL affiliate, Stiles writes for Inside The Thunder. Dieng, the No. 11 pick of the 2022 draft, hit a game-winner in the first round of the G League playoffs, eliminating the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s affiliate.
- Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle expects Daigneault to be one of the frontrunners for the Coach of the Year award in ’23/24, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “They’ve drafted with the idea that positionless basketball is the future and there’s a lot of evidence that is the case,” Carlisle said. The second-youngest team in the NBA, the Thunder won 40 games last season and already have 54 in ’23/24 with six games remaining in the regular season.
Stockton Kings head coach Lindsey Harding has been named the NBA G League Coach of the Year in a vote by G League head coaches and general managers, NBA Communications tweets. Harding is the first woman to win the Coach of the Year award in the NBA G League. She’ll receive the Dennis Johnson Trophy.
Harding was hired to coach Sacramento’s NBAGL affiliate last June. Harding spent the past four seasons as an assistant/player development coach with the NBA’s Kings.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Sharife Cooper has signed with China’s Liaoning Flying Leopards, according to Sportando. Cooper signed a 10-day contract with the Cavaliers in late February but didn’t play at all and didn’t receive a second 10-day contract. He has spent the bulk of this season with the Cavs’ G League team, the Cleveland Charge.
- Who are the highest-paid players who have never received All-NBA honors? HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto ranks the top 50 in that category, with the Timberwolves‘ Mike Conley ($276.5MM), the Thunder‘s Gordon Hayward ($271MM) and the Celtics‘ Jrue Holiday ($259.4MM) topping the list.
- Alpha Kaba, a 2017 draft-and-stash prospect, has signed with Valencia, the Spanish team tweets. The Rockets acquired the NBA rights to Kaba in a five-team trade last summer, though it appears unlikely that Kaba is planning on an NBA career. The big man had been playing with China’s Jiangsu Dragons.
- Bronny James has entered the transfer portal, college basketball expert Dick Weiss tweets. Following an underwhelming freshman year at USC, Bronny is considered more likely to stay in college for another year than to be drafted in 2024. LeBron James‘ son posted averages of 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 36.6% from the field in 25 games for the Trojans.
[UPDATE: Weiss has since walked back his report on Bronny entering the transfer portal, tweeting that it’s not yet confirmed.]
The NBA announced the 2023/24 finalists for a pair of awards on Tuesday, naming the six players who are eligible to win the Sportsmanship Award for this season, as well as the 12 players who are in the running for Teammate of the Year honors.
The Sportsmanship Award honors the player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” per the NBA. Each of the league’s 30 teams nominated one of its players for the award, then a panel of league executives narrows that group to six finalists (one from each division) and current players voted for the winner.
The trophy for the Sportsmanship Award is named after Joe Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame guard who won the inaugural award back in ’95/96. This season’s finalists are as follows (via Twitter):
- Tyrese Maxey (Sixers)
- Jarrett Allen (Cavaliers)
- Kevin Love (Heat)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
- Harrison Barnes (Kings)
- Tre Jones (Spurs)
None of this year’s finalists for the Sportsmanship Award have earned the honor in the past, so the 2023/24 winner will be a first-timer. Mike Conley won the award last year for a record fourth time.
Meanwhile, the NBA also announced its finalists for the Teammate of the Year award for 2023/24. According to the league, the player selected for the honor is “deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.”
The voting process is similar to the Sportsmanship Award — a panel of league executives selects 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award, then current players vote on the winner.
Like Conley with the Sportsmanship Award, last season’s Teammate of the Year – Jrue Holiday – has the record for most times winning the award (three), but isn’t among the finalists for 2023/24. Of this season’s 12 finalists, the only one to take home the award in the past is Conley, who claimed it in 2019.
The Teammate of the Year finalists finalists are as follows (via Twitter):
- Mikal Bridges (Nets)
- Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
- Al Horford (Celtics)
- T.J. McConnell (Pacers)
- Georges Niang (Cavaliers)
- Markelle Fultz (Magic)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Nuggets)
- Mike Conley (Timberwolves)
- Jalen Williams (Thunder)
- Harrison Barnes (Kings)
- Larry Nance Jr. (Pelicans)
- Dwight Powell (Mavericks)
Given a rare opportunity to crack the rotation on Wednesday in Denver with Jusuf Nurkic out, Suns forward Thaddeus Young played well, posting six points, nine rebounds, and a +15 mark in 18 minutes of action.
However, Young was a DNP-CD again in Oklahoma City on Friday, with head coach Frank Vogel explaining this week that the team views the veteran as a small-ball center who’s a better fit in some matchups than others, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
“That’s why we didn’t go out and get just another guy that’s the same as Drew (Eubanks) and Nurk,” Vogel said. “We went out and got somebody that has a little bit of a different dynamic. I think in a next-man-up setting like this, it helps, but if you get in a playoff series where there’s certain matchups that we’re struggling against, you have somebody that can give a different element to our attack. We’re excited to have him.”
According to Young, he and the Suns had conversations before he signed with the club about the certain lineups and sets he might be used in, so he’s not bothered by the fact that his minutes have been sporadic.
“I’m battle tested. I’m prepared to not play a whole bunch of games just like I did and go in and walk right in and fit like a glove. For me, it’s never going to be about the minute aspect of it,” Young said. “Yeah, I would love to play a lot of minutes. I would love to continue to be able to play at such a high level, but at the end of the day, whatever coaches, staff and the team needs me to do, I’m going to do it.”
Here’s more on the Suns:
- After word broke that he was signing a second 10-day contract with Phoenix, Isaiah Thomas said he’s “super thankful” for the opportunity that he’s gotten from the club, according to Rankin. The veteran guard has appeared briefly in just two of six games as a Sun so far, but he has reportedly looked good in practice and earned praise from Vogel for his locker room presence. “He’s been a really important voice,” Vogel said on Friday. “Two-time All-Star that guys respect and he’s got a high IQ. So he can point out things that we can do better, we’re not doing well enough. Everybody in the locker room respects him and likes him and his voice carries weight. That’s what you want with guys in those type of roles.”
- The Suns have slipped out of the top six in the Western Conference and have the NBA’s most difficult remaining schedule, but Kevin Durant believes that, with the postseason around the corner, the club has done a good job building chemistry. “For the most part, we understand each other. We see each other’s tendencies,” Durant said (Twitter video link via Rankin). “That’s what you want from a group is to start to understand each other more. We’re doing that.”
- Following Friday’s loss in Oklahoma City, Vogel called on the NBA to take a closer look at “all the flopping” that Thunder wing Luguentz Dort does (Twitter video link via Rankin). “It’s ridiculous how he gets calls,” Vogel said. “If they’re going to get calls like that, they’re going to have an advantage. You can’t just fall down every time there’s contact and get a whistle.” Given that the Thunder are a potential first-round playoff opponent for the Suns, Vogel’s comments come off as a “preemptive working of the referees” for that possible matchup, suggests Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.
- Thunder swingman Josh Giddey said he used to hate it when teams dared him to shoot from the outside, but he’s learned to use it as a weapon, tweets Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. “Now I’ve changed my mindset going into games,” Giddey said, “where it’s like, ‘If he’s gonna leave me open, I’m gonna punish them. I’m gonna make them pay and change their defensive scheme.’”
Jamal Murray continues to deal with a sprained left ankle and swollen right knee, having missed a fourth consecutive game on Friday vs. Minnesota. According to a report from ESPN, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone told reporters before Friday’s game that Murray is improving, but said he’s “not ready to go out there and compete at the level that we need him to” and hinted that the star guard may remain out for Sunday’s game vs. Cleveland.
Still, Malone isn’t worried at this point that Murray’s health issues will extend into the postseason, adding, “I do think he will be back on the court before the playoffs start.”
It should be an eventful spring and summer for Murray, assuming he gets – and stays – healthy. After seeking a second straight NBA championship with the Nuggets, the 27-year-old hopes to suit up for the Canadian national team at the Olympics in Paris, he confirmed to Eurohoops.
“I’m excited to be there,” he said. “We have a great squad, (it) was great to see them win a medal (at the 2023 World Cup). Hopefully, we can go our way and win gold this summer.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed a second consecutive game on Friday vs. Phoenix due to his right quad contusion. Head coach Mark Daigneault said that Gilgeous-Alexander will continue to be considered day-to-day, so there’s no indication at this point that the injury will result in an extended absence (Twitter link via Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman).
- Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe, who is recovering from core muscle surgery, is with the team on its current seven-game road trip and will continue to be evaluated after participating in non-contact and conditioning drills in the G League earlier this week, per the club (Twitter link). Sharpe hasn’t played since January 11, but there’s still hope that he’ll return in the season’s final two weeks.
- Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said on Friday that he has great relationships with Glen Taylor, Marc Lore, and Alex Rodriguez, so he won’t be taking sides in the franchise’s ownership struggle and doesn’t expect the situation to affect his team at “troop level,” tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “If there was ever a definition of ‘above your pay grade,’ this is it,” Finch added.
- After expressing some concern in mid-February about the frustration level in the Jazz‘s locker room, Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune says the locker room vibes in Utah are “way better” now. However, that comes with an important caveat — according to Larsen, since the Jazz have fallen out of the postseason race, they’re no longer as stressed about winning games, as “the sting of losing is absolutely gone.”
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — one of leading MVP candidates in 2023/24 — missed his second game of the season on Wednesday against Houston due to a right quad contusion, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
According to MacMahon, Gilgeous-Alexander has been been dealing with the injury for a while — he was kneed in the quad a week ago.
It’s a big game for both teams, but particularly the Rockets, who are trying to win their 10th straight game and stay on the heels of the Warriors for the final spot in the West’s play-in tournament. Oklahoma City, on the other hand, is trying to secure the No. 1 seed — the Thunder currently trail the Nuggets by a half-game.
Here’s more from the Northwest:
- Third-year wing Aaron Wiggins has been a rotation regular for the Thunder for much of ’23/24, but he was a healthy scratch in Wednesday’s victory in New Orleans. When asked what led to the decision, head coach Mark Daigneault, said it wasn’t in his game plan. “He was live,” Daigneault said, per Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman (Twitter link). “I just thought with the start we got off to, with the groups that were out there, I just kind of rolled with them. And it kind of drifted him out of rotation and it wasn’t necessarily pre-planned. In fact, I was planning on using him but we were in such a good rhythm.” OKC holds a $1,988,598 team option on Wiggins for ’24/25.
- The postseason is now out of reach amid a slide down the standings since the All-Star break, but the Jazz are still trying to find ways to motivate themselves as the season winds down, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. “We might not make a deep run … this year, but everybody has something to play for,” Forward Lauri Markkanen said. “Individually, you’ve got to find it and lean into it. We have to set the standard on how we want to play. We have to come out and play hard and play together, and we have to play with pride. So I think there is always something that you can do to improve, and we have to do a lot of that as a team.”
- Speaking of the Jazz, a big part of their recent struggles has been an inept defense, which now ranks dead last in the NBA. As Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune writes (subscription required), Utah is the worst defensive team in the league by a significant margin over the past 10 games. While the roster may not be built to be stout defensively, Larsen argues the Jazz should at least be “acceptable” on that end, and they haven’t been, especially lately.
- Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has missed the past two games with an ankle injury, and he missed his third straight contest on Wednesday vs. Phoenix. However, the injury designation changed — according to Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link), Murray is out with right knee inflammation. The 27-year-old “looked pretty good” as he went through a “lengthy shooting routine” before the game, Wind tweets. That suggests Murray’s injuries aren’t particularly serious, which is certainly good news for Denver.
Second-year Thunder lottery pick Ousmane Dieng is rounding into form with the club’s NBAGL affiliate club, the Oklahoma City Blue, writes Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman.
Dieng’s three-point shooting, in particular, seems to have stabilized across his last eight contests with the club. He is connecting on 41.5% of his 5.1 three-point attempts per night.
All told, Dieng is averaging 16.1 PPG, 7.6 RPG and 5.3 APG in his appearances with the Blue. As Lorenzi notes, the No. 11 pick in the 2022 draft fits the mold of a player who could shore up the wing depth on the Thunder’s roster in future seasons if the team decides he’s ready for a larger role at the NBA level.
There’s more out of Oklahoma City:
- Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault is happy with the play of veteran forward Gordon Hayward, acquired from the Hornets at this year’s trade deadline, per Ryan Stiles of Inside The Thunder (Twitter video link). “His conditioning looks fine. I think he’s kind of got a steady energy on the floor,” Daigneault said. “And he’s done a good job in the system, he’s done a good job of being additive without being [overly] aggressive.”
- All-NBA Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to look like a bona fide MVP candidate late into the 2023/24 season, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. At present, it appears to be a two-man race for the award, between Gilgeous-Alexander and two-time Nuggets MVP center Nikola Jokic. “For sure (winning MVP) would be up there (as a personal goal),” Gilgeous-Alexander told Grange last month. “I think for every basketball player, it is. Obviously, I’m not naive, I can hear (the talk), but right now I channel it out and I try to focus on the day in, day out. It’s what got me to this point. I’d be stupid to focus on anything else.” In 68 games this season for the West’s top-seeded Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.8 PPG on .542/.372/.873 shooting splits, 6.4 APG, 5.6 RPG, 2.1 SPG and 0.9 BPG.
- In case you missed it, wing Josh Giddey is making an effort to make rival defenses for sagging off of him and focusing on other players.