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Luka Doncic To Return Wednesday

March 22nd, 2023 at 5:18pm CST by Luke Adams

5:18pm: Doncic has been cleared to play on Wednesday, but Irving will be held out, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.

Coach Jason Kidd confirmed the decision, telling reporters he hopes to limit Doncic’s playing time, but adding, “If he gets to 40 minutes, I’m sure there will be a discussion because he won’t want to come out.” (Twitter link)

12:00pm: Mavericks star Luka Doncic is expected to be back in action on Wednesday night after missing the team’s last five games due to a left thigh strain, tweets ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. The Mavs have formally listed Doncic as probable to play vs. Golden State (Twitter link).

Doncic, who suffered the injury during a March 8 loss in New Orleans, has been bothered by multiple minor ailments this season and has now missed a total of 15 games. Dallas is 5-10 in those contests and has slipped to .500 (36-36) on the season after going 2-3 during its latest stretch without him. All three of those losses came against Memphis.

When he has played, Doncic has been his usual dominant self, posting a team-best 33.0 points per game on 50.0% shooting. He has also contributed 8.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists in 36.3 minutes per night.

Barring a setback, Doncic will suit up on Wednesday in what will be a critical game in the Western Conference playoff race. The Mavs currently hold the No. 8 seed, but would pass the No. 6 Warriors in the standings with a victory tonight.

It’s unclear whether or not Doncic’s fellow backcourt starter will be available. Kyrie Irving is listed as questionable after aggravating a right foot injury in Monday’s loss to the Grizzlies.

Wizards Notes: Play-In Race, Beal, Kuzma

March 22nd, 2023 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards are spiraling at the worst possible time, having lost six of their last seven games as multiple teams around them in the Eastern Conference play-in have heated up. During their recent slump, a two-game lead on the Bulls for the No. 10 seed has turned into a 2.5-game deficit, prompting Bradley Beal to declare that the team must “be better,” per Ava Wallace of The Washington Post.

“We know that. It’s not rocket science. It’s not a secret,” Beal said. “We got — 10 left? We’ve got to push the last 10.”

Second-year sharpshooter Corey Kispert believes the Wizards have made the mistake of “playing to other teams’ games” during their recent slide.

“Cleveland (played more physically than) us — that’s what they do. Tried to go toe-to-toe with (Sacramento) in pace; you’re not going to win that game,” Kispert explained. “And when you try to beat teams that are really, really good at their own games, that doesn’t work out too well. The Magic played really well together, got to their spots, took advantage of mismatches. And we’re trying to find the right formula.”

Here’s more on the Wizards:

The Wizards will be in tough as they try to snap their three-game losing streak on Wednesday. They’re playing on the second night of a back-to-back, are up against the West-leading Nuggets, and will be without their leading scorer. A late addition to the injury report due to left knee soreness, Bradley Beal has been downgraded from questionable to out, according to the team (Twitter link).
Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma will also be unavailable on Wednesday, having been ruled out for a second straight game due to a right ankle sprain (Twitter link). Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said on Tuesday that he was surprised Kuzma was able to continue playing after suffering the injury on Saturday per Wallace. “He’ll be reevaluated as he progresses — hopefully sooner rather than later,” Unseld said. “But it was a pretty significant sprain.”
Speaking to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, Kuzma said he has enjoyed living in D.C. since joining the Wizards. “It’s central and it’s low-key and chill,” he explained. “I love where I live. People are not really bothering me too much. It’s an easy pace of life out here, it’s nice.” While that may be a factor in Kuzma’s free agency decision, the forward, who is expected to turn down a 2023/24 player option this summer, sounds like he’s looking forward to considering all his options. “I have the opportunity to go through that process, go through team pitches and go through the back end of being a free agent and learning and getting to know different people,” he said.

Paul George Sprains Knee, Out At Least 2-3 Weeks

March 22nd, 2023 at 1:42pm CST by Luke Adams

1:42pm: George has a sprained right knee and will be reevaluated in about two or three weeks, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The team has confirmed Wojnarowski’s report.

There are just two-and-a-half weeks left in the regular season, and Woj says (via Twitter) that George isn’t expected to play in any of the Clippers’ nine remaining games. Once he’s reevaluated, his timeline for a potential postseason return will be clearer, Woj adds.

7:55am: Clippers forward Paul George suffered an apparent right leg injury during the fourth quarter of the team’s loss to Oklahoma City on Tuesday and left Crypto.com Arena on a cart with his leg extended, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

It’s not yet clear how significant George’s injury might be. Head coach Tyronn Lue said after the game that he didn’t have any immediate updates, adding that the 32-year-old was still being evaluated. However, it didn’t look good in real time.

The injury occurred with about 4:40 left in the fourth quarter. After Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed a jump shot, George and Thunder forward Luguentz Dort went up for the rebound and their legs appeared to collide. George landed awkwardly and fell to the floor in obvious pain (video link). He stayed down for several minutes, then required assistance to walk to the locker room.

It’s unfortunate timing for George and the Clippers, who had been playing some of their best basketball of the season in recent weeks. Entering Tuesday’s game, they’d won five of their last six contests and George had talked recently about feeling good physically after dealing with a right knee issue last month.

While the hope is that the injury will end up being a minor one, Clippers forward Nicolas Batum said the team will be prepared to continue its playoff push with or without the eight-time All-Star.

“We have players and Norm (Powell) is coming back pretty soon,” Batum said. “We obviously miss our teammate, (but) we still got a good coach, good team. Of course, PG is a huge key for us. If we have to go through some time without him, we just have to go out there and win some games.”

Zion Williamson, Jose Alvarado Out At Least Two More Weeks

March 22nd, 2023 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

If Pelicans star Zion Williamson is going to return to action before the postseason begins, it will have to happen during the final week of the regular season. The team announced today that Williamson has been cleared to resume on-court activities, but will be out at least two more weeks before being reevaluated (Twitter link).

Williamson has been sidelined since January 2 due to a right hamstring strain, having suffered a setback during his rehab process. While the fact that he’s doing on-court work is a positive sign, two weeks from today would be April 5 and the regular season ends on April 9. So even if he gets the OK to return when he’s reevaluated in two weeks, the former No. 1 pick won’t be able to play in more than two or three games.

The Pelicans will wrap up their season with home games vs. Memphis (April 5) and New York (April 7), followed by a road contest in Minnesota (April 9). At 35-37, New Orleans currently holds the No. 12 spot in the Western Conference, but is only a single game back of the seventh-seeded Thunder. Those final three games could determine whether or not the Pels make the play-in tournament.

In addition to being without Williamson for at least two more weeks, the Pelicans will also continue to have another important rotation player unavailable during that time. According to the team, guard Jose Alvarado will be reevaluated in about two or three weeks.

Alvarado has been on the shelf since February 27 due to a stress reaction in his right tibia. According to today’s announcement, he has shown “incremental improvement.” However, it sounds like he may be a long shot to return before the regular season wraps up.

If the Pelicans can earn a playoff spot, either via the play-in tournament or by finishing as a top-six seed in the regular season, there would be a clearer path for both Williamson and Alvarado to potentially return, since the first round will run into late April. The club has had an inconsistent second half though, so even securing a play-in berth could be an uphill battle at this point.

Cavaliers Notes: Allen, LeVert, Mobley, Playoffs

March 22nd, 2023 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The right eye contusion that sidelined Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen for four games still hasn’t fully healed, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. However, the big man was able to return to action on Tuesday in Brooklyn and was effective against his former team in his first game back, scoring 12 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in 35 minutes.

“It’s better,” Allen said of his eye injury. “Not 100 percent. But doctors said it was good to go and good to play and it won’t get worse, so I trust the team and was ready to go again.”

According to Fedor, Allen said before the game that he’s still experiencing some blurriness, which is expected to persist for at least a couple more weeks, but he joked that he’s “not seeing three rims.” While the 24-year-old will likely continue receiving treatment through the end of the month, he’s just relieved that the injury wasn’t as serious as it could have been.

“I think everybody thought it was going to be worse,” Allen said. “The pain I felt was immense. I didn’t know what to expect from it but glad it turned out how it did. … Nothing severely structural was wrong. I can deal with the pain. I can deal with the days of recovery. I just know that my future is stable in terms of my eye.”

Here’s more on the Cavs:

Cavaliers wing Caris LeVert struggled last month after being at the center of trade rumors leading up to the Feb. 9 deadline, but has bounced back nicely in March, scoring at least 15 points in each of his last six games with a scorching hot .514 3PT% during that time. In a pair of articles for Cleveland.com, Fedor takes a closer look at LeVert’s role and his “unsung” contributions, and suggests that the Cavs have interest in signing the 28-year-old to a multiyear deal when he reaches free agency this summer.
Evan Mobley is taking the second-year leap that the Cavaliers were hoping for, Fedor writes for Cleveland.com. Since one of his worst outings of the season against Phoenix on January 4, Mobley has raised his game to a new level, emerging as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate and averaging more than 18 points per game. “It’s hard to say and put a number on it or quantify it, but I think he is a much better basketball player now than he was even in October or December,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “I think people get hung up a lot on the numbers. You can watch it. If you’ve got a feel for the game, you see where he can impact the game in the way that he does. Now for the naked eye, he’s throwing numbers to go along with it.”
Although Fedor recently stated in a Cleveland.com mailbag that Brooklyn is the Cavaliers’ preferred first-round playoff opponent, the outcome of Tuesday’s game made that matchup a longer shot. While the Cavs appear pretty locked into the East’s No. 4 seed (they’re 3.5 games from the next-closest team in either direction), the Nets now trail the No. 5 Knicks by 2.5 games following Tuesday’s loss to Cleveland.

UCF’s Taylor Hendricks Declares For 2023 NBA Draft

March 22nd, 2023 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

UCF forward Taylor Hendricks has decided to declare for the 2023 NBA draft and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN. He has signed with agent Raymond Brothers, the president of Roc Nation Sports’ basketball division.

A freshman in 2022/23, Hendricks averaged 15.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game in 34 appearances (34.7 MPG) for UCF. He also posted a solid shooting line of .478/.394/.782 during his first and only college season.

As Givony observes, Hendrick wasn’t considered a top-50 player in his high school recruiting class, but has emerged as a potential lottery pick due to his strong year at UCF. He’s currently the No. 12 prospect on ESPN’s big board for 2023.

According to Givony, NBA scouts have been impressed by Hendricks’ ability to make outside shots and his defensive versatility, as well as his “high-level intensity.” Teams are also optimistic about his potential to adjust to the next level due to the fact that he can be productive and efficient without needing plays called for him, Givony adds.

For his part, Hendricks doesn’t sound like he’s sweating whether or not he’ll be selected in the lottery — or perhaps even the top 10.

“It doesn’t matter where I’m drafted,” Hendricks said. “I’ll be there for a reason. I will make the best of any situation.”

Southwest Notes: Graham, Irving, Brooks, Rockets

March 22nd, 2023 at 9:28am CST by Luke Adams

When the Spurs acquired Devonte’ Graham from New Orleans in exchange for Josh Richardson at last month’s trade deadline, it was the four second-round picks attached to Graham that represented the main draw of the deal. With that in mind, it’s probably safe to assume Graham will be back on the trade block this summer, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required).

Still, given that Graham’s trade value may be limited and the Spurs won’t move him just to move him, the most likely scenario, in McDonald’s view, is that the veteran guard remains with the club for the 2023/24 season. Graham, who is owed $12.1MM next season and has a small partial guarantee on his $12.65MM cap hit for ’24/25, sounds like he’d welcome a full year in San Antonio.

“No complaints,” Graham said of his time with the Spurs so far. “It’s a great group of guys, great coaching staff. Obviously the fans have been amazing supporting me since I’ve been traded. It’s been an easy transition for me, honestly.”

Graham went on to say that he loves playing for Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and has appreciated the opportunity to take on an increased role since the trade. He was averaging just 15.3 minutes per night in 53 games with New Orleans, but has played 28.2 MPG in 13 games since arriving in San Antonio. He’s averaging 15.5 PPG and 4.6 APG on .408/.389/.800 shooting for his new team.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Looking ahead to Kyrie Irving‘s upcoming free agency, Marc Stein writes on his Substack that the early indications in Dallas suggest a multiyear deal for the talented point guard is “certainly feasible.” Stein views the Mavericks‘ negotiating position as “less than ideal,” given how much the club gave up at the trade deadline to land Irving.
After picking up his 18th technical foul of the regular season and earning another automatic one-game suspension, Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks acknowledged that he needs to stop accumulating techs at such a rapid rate, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “I’ve got to tone it down and get back to my mindfulness practice and find ways to channel it better,” Brooks said. A player’s technical foul count resets when the postseason begins, but seven playoff techs would result in a one-game suspension.
Kelly Iko and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic take a closer look at the progress some of the Rockets‘ young players have made this season and explore how the team will approach this year’s draft. According to Vecenie, if Houston gets the No. 2 pick, Scoot Henderson would be a better fit for the current roster than Brandon Miller. If their pick lands outside of the top three, the Rockets should either shop it or take a shot on a high-upside player in the next tier, says Vecenie.

Nuggets Notes: Malone, Jackson, Bryant, Nnaji, Murray

March 21st, 2023 at 10:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets remain atop the Western Conference despite losing five of their last seven games. Coach Mike Malone says it’s time for his team to start playing at a championship level as the postseason approaches, he told Mike Singer of the Denver Post.

“That’s not up to our standards,” he said of the team’s recent stretch. “This is gonna sound weird for most people, but more important than the wins and losses, is how we’re playing. Yeah, we want to win every night, but as I told our players yesterday, with 10 games to go now, it’s all about getting back to playing and developing championship habits. We got away from that.”

We have more on the Nuggets:

Reggie Jackson has shot 31.4 percent since he signed as a free agent. Thomas Bryant has averaged just 9.9 minutes since being acquired from the Lakers. Malone says he’s closer to deciding whether they’ll be part of the postseason rotation. “You have to give them an honest look. Can’t just be one or two games. You have to give them an extended look to see what you have,” Malone told Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. “But now with 10 games to go, we’ve gotta find a group and a rhythm and give them some opportunities to formulate that on-court chemistry moving forward. And I have a pretty good idea of who that is.”
Zeke Nnaji is also getting a look late in the season after returning from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for six weeks, according to Singer. In his first game back, the 22-year-old power forward played 12 minutes and contributed four points, five rebounds and a block against Brooklyn. Malone said Nnaji made the second unit more athletic and versatile defensively.
Jamal Murray has averaged 35.8 minutes per game this month despite dealing with right knee inflammation and occasional left knee soreness. Malone said Murray’s health is being monitored on a regular basis, Singer writes. “It’s a daily conversation with Jamal, the training staff,” Malone said. “See where he’s at, not just physically, but mentally as well.”

Knicks Notes: Hart, Brunson, Hartenstein, Randle

March 21st, 2023 at 10:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Josh Hart is hoping he’s not just a rental with the Knicks, as he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape.

Hart, who plans to decline his $12.96MM option for next season, said he wants to sign a long-term deal and remain in New York. Family reasons are a major reason why he feels that way, since he and his wife Shannon are more comfortable on the East Coast than they were in the Pacific Northwest when he played for Portland.

“I want bigger things for my wife and myself,” said Hart, who grew up in Maryland. “Just find a home somewhere where we are valued and really like living there. And I think that can be New York. I would love for it to be New York and hopefully the organization feels the same way. Coming up, this contract is hopefully my biggest one, one where I’m making sure my family’s fully taken care of. So, I’ve also got to take that into account, too.”

We have more on the Knicks:

Speaking of Hart, he’s thrilled to be reunited with his former college teammate Jalen Brunson. He’s greatly impressed by how Brunson has made himself into an All-Star caliber player, he told Ethan Sears of the New York Post. “It’s really dope for me to see, obviously, knowing him since 2013, watching his progression, watching him grow just as a friend,” Hart said. “It’s amazing cause I’ve seen the work behind the scenes. And he knows this, and I have the most respect for him as almost any NBA guy or basketball player in general because he continues to grind, continues to work.”
Isaiah Hartenstein signed a two-year contract to join the club as a free agent and he’s getting steady minutes. His impact goes beyond the numbers on the stat sheet, Sears notes. “Whether he scores 10 points, 15 points, he rebounds, he defends, gets his hands on plays and deflections and stuff like that,” Julius Randle said. “Sets screens, really good screens. He just does a lot of little things for us that help us win.” Hartenstein is averaging 4.8 points and 6.7 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per night.
Coach Tom Thibodeau lamented that the team couldn’t take advantage of Randle’s career night on Monday, Fred Katz of The Athletic writes. He poured in 57 points, the most by a Knicks player since Carmelo Anthony scored 62 points in January 2014, but the Knicks’ defense went AWOL in a 140-134 loss to Minnesota. “It’s a shame to waste a performance like that,” Thibodeau said. “You couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Pacific Notes: Thompson, Bradley, Leonard, Collins, Sabonis

March 21st, 2023 at 8:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Centers Tristan Thompson and Tony Bradley worked out for the Lakers on Monday, Darvin Ham confirmed, but the head coach said there’s no “imminent” plan to sign either to the team’s final roster spot, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register tweets.

The Lakers wanted to make sure that if they feel the need to sign another player, they’ve already worked him out, Ham explained. Los Angeles could have a need for another big since Mohamed Bamba may miss the rest of the regular season with a high left ankle sprain.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Clippers have won five of their last six games, moving up to fifth place in the Western Conference. Kawhi Leonard believes the club could have a special playoff run, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times writes. “It’s a feeling when you know you have a great team,” he said. “It’s not always [leading] to a championship, it’s just about you knowing that everybody’s on the same page. It’s just a continuous motion. It’s hard to explain. Yeah, there’s something special. You got to feel it, and then you’ll know.”
The Kings added Kevin Huerter last summer as a shooter to play off of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis but the team pursued another Hawks player before they acquired Sabonis from Indiana, Zach Lowe of ESPN reports. They were interested in power forward John Collins and nearly closed a deal with the Hawks that would have sent Harrison Barnes and a protected 2022 first-round pick to Atlanta for Collins. That deal fell apart as the Sabonis one emerged.
Speaking of the Sabonis deal with the Pacers, Fox told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that the versatile big man was just what the team needed to take the next step, even though they had gave up Tyrese Haliburton. “It shocked everybody,” Fox said. “Not only fans and media. It shocked the team as well. Seeing the player we were getting back is obviously big. Someone who’s that big, skilled – a very unique skillset – I felt like he was going to make us better.”