- Chet Holmgren — the Western Conference’s reigning Rookie of the Month — has exceeded expectations and is changing the Thunder‘s trajectory, according to Rylan Stiles of ThunderousIntentions.com, who says the 21-year-old’s dynamic two-way game could make Oklahoma City a contender sooner rather than later.
Thunder big man Chet Holmgren and Heat wing Jaime Jaquez have been named the rookies of the month for the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively, the NBA announced on Monday (via Twitter). Since the 2023/24 season started in late October, the awards count games played in both October and November.
The No. 2 overall pick of the 2022 draft, Holmgren missed all of last season due to a foot injury. In his first taste of regular season action, he filled the stat sheet in impressive fashion, averaging 17.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.1 blocks on .537/.410/.871 shooting in 18 games over the past two months (30.0 minutes).
The Thunder are currently 13-6, the No. 2 seed in the West. Holmgren is tied for second on the team in points per game, and leads OKC in rebounding and blocked shots.
Jaquez, who was selected No. 18 overall in this year’s draft, has stepped into a major rotation role for Miami and fit in seamlessly, averaging 12.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals on .529/.390/.875 shooting in his first 19 games, including four starts (26.6 minutes).
The Heat have dealt with several injuries again this fall and are currently 11-9, the No. 7 seed in the East.
According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other nominees in the West were Jordan Hawkins, Dereck Lively and Victor Wembanyama, while Brandon Miller, Craig Porter Jr. and Ausar Thompson were nominated in the East. Porter, who went undrafted out of Wichita State, is the lone player on a two-way contract who was nominated — all the others were first-round picks.
For the last few seasons, the Thunder have been a paper tiger.
Top executive Sam Presti built a head-spinning stash of future draft picks through his wheeling and dealing. Oklahoma City is still owed 10 future first-rounders and even more second-round picks – it could easily create two additional teams in the next couple of years with all those selections.
The on-court performance began to perk up last season, as the Thunder collected 40 regular-season victories and won a game in the play-in tournament before getting eliminated by Minnesota.
Oklahoma City appears poised to make an even bigger mark this season. The Thunder sit second in the Western Conference and have won eight of their last 10 games.
Even a 30-0 Dallas run on Saturday didn’t deter the Thunder, as they emerged with a 126-120 victory.
A stable lineup, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, has facilitated the hot start. Gilgeous-Alexander, a first time All-Star and All-NBA First Team selection last season, is once again filling up the stat sheet. He’s averaging 29.9 points, 6.3 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals while keeping his turnovers down (2.2).
After missing a full season due to foot issues, Chet Holmgren is making a strong case for Rookie of the Year. He’s posting quality numbers across the board – 17.6 points, a team-high 8.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
Jalen Williams is also averaging 17.6 points and the lineup is filled out by Josh Giddey and Luguentz Dort. Giddey gives the lineup another adept ball-handler – though he’s currently being investigated by law enforcement and the league for an alleged improper relationship.
Dort has had to sacrifice offensive opportunities after averaging 17.2 points per game two seasons ago but he’s still a key to their defense. Isaiah Joe is the team’s sixth man and rookie Cason Wallace has also made an impact.
That brings us to our topic of the day: What is the Thunder’s ceiling this season – can they make a deep playoff run? Should they trade some of the future draft picks from their stockpile for another impact player? If so, what do you think they need the most?
Please take to the comments section to weigh on this topic. We look forward to your input.
Heavy is the head who wears the crown? According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, that’s what the Nuggets are experiencing. Jamal Murray was out an extended period, they had to play five games in seven days, and they are taking everybody’s best punch.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone was proud of the way his weary team hung around in a loss to Sacramento on Saturday. They don’t play again until Wednesday. “We can certainly use the break,” Malone said.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic has been fined $2K for flopping, the NBA announced (via Twitter). Upon league office review, Jokic was assessed the flopping penalty after he fell backward while taking a shot in the fourth quarter against the Kings following minimal contact from Domantas Sabonis.
- Jalen Williams has been an integral part of the Thunder’s early success this season, Rylan Stiles of ThunderousIntentions.com notes. Williams is tied with Chet Holmgren as the club’s second-leading scorer and has often carried the offensive load when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rests at the start of the second and fourth quarters, yet the contributions of the second-year lottery pick are often overlooked.
- Jazz rookie lottery pick Taylor Hendricks hasn’t played much, but he flashed intriguing potential with Lauri Markkanen and Kelly Olynyk sidelined by injuries against Portland on Saturday, according to the Salt Lake Tribune’s Eric Walden. While Hendricks posted modest stats in his 18-minute stint, he made notable defensive contributions, including a couple of blocks. “He was able to switch 1 to 4, and he was able to cause havoc, and that’s what we needed,” guard Collin Sexton said.
The Thunder and forward Davis Bertans have agreed to revise part of the sharpshooter’s contract, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
As Scotto details, if Bertans had appeared in 75% of Oklahoma City’s games this season, his partially guaranteed deal for 2024/25 would have become fully guaranteed at $16MM. However, that clause has been removed. Instead, Bertans will receive a slight increase to his partial guarantee for next season, from $5MM to $5.25MM.
Bertans has only played in five of the Thunder’s 17 games this fall, so it seems unlikely he would have hit the 75% trigger threshold. By agreeing to remove that clause, he’ll earn $250K.
The move won’t have an impact on Bertans or the Thunder in ’23/24, as his salary for this season is fully guaranteed at $17MM.
Bertans, who turns 32 in a couple weeks, is averaging career lows of 3.4 points and 9.2 minutes per night. Nicknamed the “Latvian Laser” for his shooting prowess, Bertans holds a career mark of 39.7% from three-point range. He has converted three of his 12 looks from beyond the arc in ’23/24.
1:30pm: The Newport Beach Police Department has issued an update, announcing that its investigation into the allegations against Giddey remains “active” and putting out a call for more information.
“The Newport Beach Police Department is actively seeking additional information related to these allegations and pursuing all leads and evidence to obtain the facts of the case,” the statements reads (Twitter link via Tim MacMahon of ESPN).
10:58am: The Newport Beach Police Department has opened an inquiry into the allegations against Thunder guard Josh Giddey in an attempt to assess the validity of the claims and determine whether any laws were broken, according to reports from TMZ Sports and Salvador Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times.
As Nolan Clay and Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman detail, a series of posts on social media last week accused Giddey of having an inappropriate relationship with an underage girl who is a student at Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach.
The NBA has confirmed that it’s investigating those claims, and now local police are looking into them as well.
According to The Oklahoman’s reporting, online court records put the Thunder guard in the Newport Beach area in July 2022, when he was ticketed for a pair of traffic violations. However, it’s not clear whether the allegations stem from that time – when Giddey would have been 19 – or if they’re based on a more recent incident.
The age of consent in California is 18. Giddey turned 21 last month.
Clay and Lorenzi explain that a violation of consent laws in California is considered a misdemeanor if the perpetrator and the minor are within three years of age. Otherwise, it can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony.
The latest reporting from TMZ Sports indicates that the alleged minor and her family have thus far been unwilling to cooperate with law enforcement officials in Newport Beach.
Giddey has remained active while the NBA and California police investigate the accusations. Asked on Tuesday ahead of the Thunder’s game vs. Minnesota about the police inquiry, head coach Mark Daigneault cut the reporter short and said he wouldn’t discuss “anything as it relates to Josh off the court” before confirming that Giddey would play vs. the Timberwolves.
Giddey finished with 10 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes on Tuesday. He was booed by the crowd in Minnesota every time he touched the ball.
The NBA in-season tournament will reach the quarterfinal stage next week and the eight qualifiers and their seeds were finalized on Tuesday. The 22 teams that failed to advance had two holes in their schedules that needed to be filled.
Those matchups were determined late Tuesday evening, with each team receiving a home and away contest, NBA Communications tweets. The newly-scheduled games will take place next Wednesday (December 6) and Friday (Dec. 8).
The Cavaliers and Magic, who missed the quarterfinals despite their 3-1 tournament records, will face each other in Cleveland on Wednesday. Cleveland will then visit the Heat (2-2 tournament) on Friday.
The Nets, who also had a 3-1 tournament record, wound up with a road game against the Hawks (1-3) and home game against the Wizards (0-4)
The Sixers, who finished 2-2 in the tournament, drew a road game against the Wizards and a home game against the Hawks.
In the West, the Timberwolves were the only 3-1 tournament team that didn’t reach the quarterfinals. They’ll host the Spurs (0-4) and visit the Grizzlies (0-4).
The defending champion Nuggets will visit Los Angeles to face the Clippers (1-3), then head home to take on the Rockets (2-2). The Warriors, who were knocked out of contention by Sacramento on Tuesday, drew a home game against the Trail Blazers (1-3) and a road contest against the Thunder (1-3).
Here’s the full schedule for next Wednesday and Friday:
Wednesday, Dec. 6
- Orlando at Cleveland
- Memphis at Detroit
- Miami at Toronto
- Philadelphia at Washington
- Brooklyn at Atlanta
- San Antonio at Minnesota
- Charlotte at Chicago
- Oklahoma City at Houston
- Utah at Dallas
- Portland at Golden State
- Denver at LA Clippers
Friday, Dec. 8
- Toronto at Charlotte
- Detroit at Orlando
- Atlanta at Philadelphia
- Washington at Brooklyn
- Cleveland at Miami
- Minnesota at Memphis
- Golden State at Oklahoma City
- Chicago at San Antonio
- Houston at Denver
- LA Clippers at Utah
- Dallas at Portland
Two more regular season games will be added to the NBA’s schedule after the quarterfinals of the in-season tournament are complete, since the four teams that lose those matchups will require an 82nd game on their respective schedules.
Pelicans guard CJ McCollum has been ruled out of Monday’s contest in Utah, which will be his 12th consecutive missed game. However, the 32-year-old veteran is aiming to return to action later this week, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that McCollum could play either Wednesday against Philadelphia or Friday vs. San Antonio.
McCollum, who has been out since Nov. 4 with a collapsed lung, is averaging 21.7 PPG, 5.7 APG, 4.8 RPG and 1.5 SPG on .440/.380/.742 shooting through six games this season. He was a full practice participant last week.
Another marquee player will be also sidelined for the matchup between the Pelicans and Jazz. Lauri Markkanen has been ruled out for the second straight game, tweets Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune.
As Larsen observes (via Twitter), Markkanen was previously listed as having a sore left hamstring, but the injury is now classified as a strain — it’s possible the All-Star forward may have undergone some imaging to confirm the diagnosis. On a more positive note, Jordan Clarkson will return tonight after missing the previous game due to an illness.
Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:
- The Mavericks received good news on Monday, as the left thumb injury that Luka Doncic sustained on Saturday isn’t serious. After undergoing an MRI, Doncic was diagnosed with a low-grade sprain and he will be available for Tuesday’s matchup with Houston, though he did wear a wrap on his thumb during Monday’s practice, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscriber link). Rookie center Dereck Lively practiced as well, but he’s questionable with a lower back contusion, Townsend adds.
- Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon will miss his second straight game on Monday due to a right heel strain, while reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic is questionable due to lower back pain, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette. As we previously relayed, Jamal Murray is out tonight, but he could return later this week.
- Thunder wing Jalen Williams is available for Tuesday’s matchup vs. the Wolves, according to Rylan Stiles of Locked on Thunder (Twitter link). Last season’s runner-up for Rookie of the Year has missed three consecutive games with a left hip strain.
After being cut by the Kings on Friday, big man Filip Petrusev should officially clear waivers later today. Nebojsa Covic, the president of Crvena Zvezda, Petrusev’s former team in Serbia, indicated on Saturday that he would be open to bringing back the 23-year-old.
“I heard about it and that Olympiacos made a very decent offer,” Covic said, per Mozzart (hat tip to Eurohoops). “The door of Red Star is open for Petrusev now, but it’s his and his agent’s decision. We’ll let them decide. There won’t be any hard feelings, regardless of this decision.”
Any interest the Serbian club may have in Petrusev appears to be moot. As Covic alluded to, reporting on Friday suggested the NBA rookie is set to join Greek team Olympiacos once he clears waivers, and that deal remains on track to be completed.
Aris Barkas of Eurohoops reports that Petrusev is expected to sign a three-year contract with Olympiacos that includes a third-year team option. The agreement will also include NBA outs in the event that Petrusev is offered another opportunity stateside, according to Barkas.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has updated his mock draft for 2024, making major changes to rounds one and two. Two of the biggest risers are Pittsburgh’s Carlton Carrington and Virginia’s Ryan Dunn, who weren’t on Wasserman’s previous board but are now projected as lottery picks at No. 10 and No. 14, respectively.
- Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype takes a look at a few players who are currently injured or out of their team’s rotation, identifying them as possible in-season trade candidates. A pair of Pistons – Monte Morris and James Wiseman – and Thunder forward Aleksej Pokusevski are among the players singled out by Gozlan.
- Which players are the NBA’s biggest overachievers and underachievers through the first month of the regular season? Mark Medina names three for each category in a story for Bovada Sportsbook, with 10-time All-Star James Harden and five-time All-Star Klay Thompson showing up in his list of underachievers.
The Thunder plan on having guard Josh Giddey available on Saturday – and going forward – while the NBA looks into allegations that he had an improper relationship with a minor, head coach Mark Daigneault told reporters this afternoon (Twitter video link via Andrew Schlecht of The Athletic)
“Just with the information we have at this point, that’s the decision that we’ve made,” Daigneault said when asked why the team feels comfortable keeping Giddey active. “It’s really not even a decision, to be honest with you.”
A Thunder spokesperson later clarified that Daigneault meant the decision on Giddey’s availability isn’t within his jurisdiction and is in the league’s hands, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman (Twitter link). Of course, Oklahoma City could decide on its own to hold Giddey out, but it sounds like the team will continue playing him while the investigation is ongoing unless the NBA advises otherwise.
“It’s obviously a league matter at this point,” Daigneault said. “So the ball’s in their court on that.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- There’s good news and bad news for the Jazz on the injury report for Saturday’s game vs. New Orleans, tweets Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah will be without its top two scorers, as forward Lauri Markkanen has been ruled out due to left hamstring soreness while Jordan Clarkson will be unavailable due to an illness. However, the Jazz appear likely to have their starting center back in the lineup, as Walker Kessler, who has missed the last seven games due to a sprained left elbow, has been upgraded to probable.
- Former Jazz guard Jeff Hornacek remains involved with the organization behind the scenes as a coaching consultant. In a story for The Salt Lake Tribune (subscription required), Larsen explores what that role entails and the impact that Hornacek has had on head coach Will Hardy. “He’s been a really, really good friend and confidant and in some ways like a mentor for me in this role, because he also knows what it’s like to be a head coach and a first-time head coach,” Hardy said. “There are tough moments during the season where sometimes he just offers a ‘Hang in there, you’re doing what you should be doing.’ It’s just a tough stretch over 82 games and so he’s been a really calming influence for me.”
- The Timberwolves had high hopes that their 2022 trade for Rudy Gobert would help create an elite defense. The results were mixed last season – Minnesota narrowly cracked the top 10 in defensive rating – but it has all come together for the team so far in 2023/24, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune, who takes a closer look at the parts Gobert, head coach Chris Finch, and top defensive assistant coach Elston Turner have played in building one of the league’s best Ds.