Atlantic Notes: Thibodeau, Sixers, Raptors, Nets

Asked before Tuesday’s Game 5 about the outside perception that Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is running his players into the ground, Josh Hart – who leads all NBA players with 44.1 minutes per game in the postseason – scoffed at the idea, according to Peter Botte of The New York Post.

“You expect ignorance when people have no idea what goes on in this building,” Hart said. “People love to have a narrative or a label and run with it. None of those guys are here watching us practice. None of those guys are watching what we do. At the end of the day, seventh year of my career, I’ve probably had more off days than I’ve had in other days. We don’t go contact in practice. Everyone thinks we do three-hour practices of scrimmaging. It’s idiotic to put (the Knicks’ injury woes) on him. He’s not going to say anything about it. He’s going to take it on the chin and keep on moving.”

Within an in-depth feature on Thibodeau, Tim Keown of ESPN notes that the Knicks’ head coach has a knack for staggering his timeouts during games in order to give his players as much rest as possible even when they’re playing heavy minutes. That’s something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by those who play for him.

“I would say he’s one of the most prepared coaches,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “That’s not a shot at any other coach, but Thibs is on a whole ‘nother level. He knows every single movement they’re going to do, every single adjustment they’re going to make. We go through it all, and being the more prepared team makes you more confident, and when you’re more confident, you play more loose.

“The way he runs a game,” DiVincenzo added, “you kind of forget the minutes sometimes.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer considers whether the Sixers are likely to use their substantial 2024 cap room on free agents, noting that many of the top players on this year’s market could end up being unavailable, since they’re candidates to sign extensions or free agent contracts with their current teams. “The main mistake that could be made that we won’t make is if some of the better options don’t go our way,” president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said last month. “Trade into our cap space, free agents, turn our draft picks into things – if all those things don’t yield what we want, we are definitely not going to just sign some player for a lot of money who’s just an OK player.”
  • Sunday’s draft lottery results mean the Raptors won’t control their own first-round pick – No. 8 overall – this year, having committed it to San Antonio in last year’s Jakob Poeltl trade. As Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes, that outcome gives the franchise an opportunity to learn from its past mistakes and to have a clean slate going forward. Toronto holds all of its own first-rounders beginning in 2025, so if the team wants to take a patient approach to its retooling process, the front office won’t have to worry about losing a lottery pick in a stronger draft year.
  • Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily rounds up a few items related to the Nets‘ offseason, including following up on the report stating that the Rockets asked Brooklyn earlier this year about swapping draft assets. According to Kaplan, league sources say the talks between the Rockets and the Nets “reached nothing beyond light-hearted conversation.”

And-Ones: M. James, M. Howard, Tavares, Canada, Awards

Veteran guard Mike James, who played for Phoenix and New Orleans in 2017/18 and Brooklyn in 2020/21, has officially been named the EuroLeague’s Most Valuable Player for the 2023/24 season. James has thrived overseas with AS Monaco in recent years — he made the All-EuroLeague First Team in 2022 and the Second Team in 2023.

This season, the 33-year-old ranked second in the EuroLeague in scoring (17.9 points per game) and seventh in assists (5.1 per game). He chipped in a career-high 4.1 rebounds per night and made 37.2% of his three-pointers while also becoming the EuroLeague’s all-time leading career scorer.

James led AS Monaco to a 23-11 regular season record, tied for the second-best mark in the EuroLeague. However, his club was knocked out of the EuroLeague playoffs by Fenerbahce in a hard-fought best-of-five series that included a pair of overtime losses, including a one-point defeat in the deciding game.

James is just the second U.S.-born player to win a EuroLeague MVP award, joining Anthony Parker (2005 and 2006), according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (Twitter link).

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • A pair of former NBA players have agreed to contract extensions with their teams in Spain. Ex-Nuggets guard Markus Howard has signed a new deal that extends his deal with Baskonia through 2028, per a press release from the club. Meanwhile, former Cavaliers and Hawks big man Edy Tavares has reportedly agreed to a three-year extension with Real Madrid, per Ramon Alvarez de Mon of La Galerna (Twitter link). There had been some speculation that Tavares might try to return stateside this summer, but unless his new deal with Madrid falls through, it seems that won’t happen after all.
  • Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray could end up squaring off in the Western Conference Finals later this month. They may also be teammates this summer on the Canadian national team that will compete in the Paris Olympics. Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca takes a look at how the formidable play of the two Western Conference stars continues to raise expectations for Team Canada ahead of its first men’s basketball Olympic appearance since 2000.
  • The NBA will announce its Sportsmanship Award on Thursday before revealing its All-Rookie, All-Defensive, and All-NBA teams next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, according to the league (Twitter link). While most of those announcements will happen during the day, the All-NBA teams will be unveiled on TNT on Wednesday evening’s broadcast.

Hawks’ Seth Lundy Underwent Ankle Surgery

Rookie wing Seth Lundy underwent surgery on his left ankle on May 1, the Hawks announced today in a press release. The procedure, which was performed at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute, removed a medial ankle bone spur.

According to the Hawks, Lundy will miss this year’s Summer League, but the expectation is that he’ll make a full recovery in time for the start of the 2024/25 season.

The 46th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Lundy signed a two-way contract with Atlanta and appeared in just nine games at the NBA level, logging 52 total minutes over the course of his rookie season. The former Penn State standout saw considerably more action in the G League, appearing in 25 games for the College Park Skyhawks and averaging 20.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 32.6 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .462/.400/.803.

Because Lundy’s two-way contract covered just a single season, he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency this summer. If he’s in the Hawks’ plans going forward, they’ll likely issue him a qualifying offer, which would be the equivalent of another one-year, two-way deal. The 24-year-old wouldn’t have much leverage to turn down that offer while he’s recovering from ankle surgery.

If Atlanta doesn’t issue Lundy a qualifying offer by the end of June, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Community Shootaround: Conference Semifinal Check-In

Of the NBA’s four conference semifinals currently in progress, one looks all but over. The Celtics, who entered the series as heavy favorites, hold a 3-1 lead over the Cavaliers, will host Game 5 (and a potential Game 7) in Boston, and are facing a banged-up Cleveland team that might not have its leading scorer (Donovan Mitchell) or defensive anchor (Jarrett Allen) back in action for a do-or-die game on Wednesday.

The other three series, however, remain very much up in the air, with each of them tied at two games apiece.

In the East, the Pacers have overtaken the Knicks as the betting favorites in their series — BetOnline.ag now lists Indiana at -145 to advance to the conference finals, with New York at +125. A fully healthy Knicks team would presumably still be favored to win the series, but this version of the club is anything but.

Already missing Julius Randle and Bojan Bogdanovic when the second round began, New York has since lost Mitchell Robinson to a season-ending ankle injury and OG Anunoby to a hamstring injury that has sidelined him for the last two games and will keep him on the shelf for Game 5. Jalen Brunson also isn’t playing at 100% and hasn’t looked quite the same since briefly exiting Game 2 due to a foot issue. He made just 37.2% of his field goal attempts and 18.2% of his three-pointers in the Knicks’ two losses in Indiana.

New York still holds the home court advantage in the series and has shown impressive resiliency over the course of an injury-plagued season. But will the Knicks finally run out of gas and succumb to a healthier and deeper Pacers team?

Over in the West, after impressive Game 4 victories, the Nuggets (-170) are once again considered the favorites to knock out the Timberwolves (+150) and the Thunder (-157) are back in the driver’s seat against the Mavericks (+137).

Denver and Minnesota combined to go 63-19 at home during the regular season, but the two Northwest rivals are 0-4 on their own courts in this series. Given the Nuggets’ championship pedigree and the advantage that the Denver elevation typically gives the home team, it’s no surprise that they’re now the popular pick to win the series, but it would be premature to rule out the Timberwolves after the way they played in those first two games of the series. The Wolves will need more from Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored just 27 points on 9-of-25 shooting (36.0%) in the team’s two home games.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, will go as far as Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving can take them, and neither guard came up big in Game 4 — the two stars combined to score just 27 points on 10-of-31 shooting (32.3%). Doncic has been hampered by knee and ankle injuries and likely won’t be 100% healthy until he gets some time this offseason to recover, but if he can give the Mavs performances like he did in Games 3 (29 points) and 4 (22 points, 15 rebounds), they’ll take it.

The Thunder, meanwhile, have had to work around the fact that starting guard Josh Giddey is something of a liability in this matchup — Giddey hasn’t played more than 17 minutes in any of the series’ four games. Oklahoma City has the depth to work around the issue, but it puts more pressure on the team’s other top play-makers and scorers, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, to carry the offensive load. Gilgeous-Alexander has delivered so far, scoring at least 29 points in all four games vs. Dallas and handing out 7.0 assists per contest.

We want to know what you think. It seems pretty safe to assume the Celtics will be in the conference finals, but which three teams will join them there?

Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts and make your predictions!

Rudy Gobert Fined $75K By NBA

Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert has been fined $75K by the NBA, the league announced today in a press release (Twitter link). According to the announcement, the fine is in response to Gobert making an “inappropriate and unprofessional gesture that questions the integrity of the league and its game officials.”

After being whistled for a loose ball foul in Sunday’s Game 4 loss to Denver, Gobert was captured by TNT cameras making a “money” gesture by rubbing his fingers together as he walked back up the court (Twitter video link).

Gobert was hit with a $100K fine just over two months ago for making that same “money” sign after being called for a foul. In that instance, he didn’t back down during his postgame media session from the insinuation that gambling money was affecting certain referee calls, telling reporters, “Mistakes happen. Referees make mistakes, too. But sometimes I think it’s more than mistakes.”

The NBA’s press release today says that Gobert’s history of “improper conduct” toward game officials was taken into account. This fine was presumably smaller than the one in March because the brief gesture wasn’t quite as blatant and wasn’t accompanied by postgame commentary.

For what it’s worth, $100K is the maximum amount that the NBA can fine a player in cases like this one.

Sam Cassell Among Lakers’ Head Coaching Candidates

Celtics assistant Sam Cassell is among the candidates to become the Lakers‘ next head coach, according to Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, who describe Cassell, James Borrego, and J.J. Redick as the team’s “initial leading targets.” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday that Borrego and Redick are “names to watch” in Los Angeles’ head coaching search.

A former All-Star and three-time champion as an NBA player, Cassell transitioned to coaching in 2009. He spent five seasons as an assistant with the Wizards before spending the next decade coaching under Doc Rivers, including stints with the Clippers from 2014-20 and the Sixers from 2020-23. He was hired by the Celtics as Joe Mazzulla‘s lead assistant last spring.

According to reports from both Charania and Buha at The Athletic and Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Lakers’ initial round of head coaching interviews is expected to focus on candidates the franchise doesn’t know as well and hasn’t previously vetted. After speaking to those candidates, the Lakers will move on to talking to the ones they’re more familiar with before eventually narrowing the full group down to a smaller pool of finalists, per ESPN.

In addition to Borrego, Redick, and Cassell, potential candidates like David Adelman, Kenny Atkinson, Micah Nori, Chris Quinn, and Sean Sweeney have been linked to the Lakers. Here’s more on the search:

  • Sources tell Charania and Buha that the Lakers are seeking a coach who can command the locker room and hold players accountable. Their ideal candidate would also “tirelessly game-plan and provide a level of structure and organization,” according to The Athletic. Wojnarowski and McMenamin add that the term “grinder” keeps coming up in Rob Pelinka‘s conversations with people around the league about what he’s looking for.
  • While the Lakers are hoping to have LeBron James around for at least one or two more seasons, they’re “placing a premium” on finding a head coach who can maximize Anthony Davis‘ talents, per Charania and Buha. “This should be more of a hire about AD than LeBron,” one source told The Athletic.
  • Longtime Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is serving as a useful “unofficial resource” for the Lakers during their search process, multiple sources tell The Athletic. Krzyzewski has a level of familiarity with a number of the candidates L.A. is considering, including former Blue Devils sharpshooter Redick.

Cavs Notes: Officiating, Mitchell, Allen, LeVert, Wade, LeBron

The Cavaliers outscored the Celtics in the paint (42-38) in Monday’s Game 4 loss, but they were awarded just seven free throws on the night, compared to 24 for Boston. As Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes, Cleveland’s players and head coach expressed their displeasure after the game with that discrepancy.

“We drive the ball … a lot,” Cavs guard Darius Garland said, emphasizing the last two words. “Seven free throws, two of those were techs, so five (free throws) in a 48-minute game, it’s tough. … I know how many times I get hit. I know many times my teammates get hit, put on the floor and we can’t reciprocate it. It’s tough.”

“I thought our guys deserved much better, the way that they were competing,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “They were attacking the paint. You know, they were getting after it the same (as Boston). We’re not asking for anything more, but we’re asking for equal. And I don’t think we got an equal opportunity at it tonight from that standpoint.”

The Game 4 loss puts the Cavaliers on the brink of elimination. They’ll face a 3-1 deficit as they travel back to Boston for Wednesday’s Game 5.

We have more out of Cleveland:

  • Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell, who was unavailable for Game 4 due to a left calf strain, admitted that his status for Game 5 is “very much in doubt,” writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). The injury is affecting the same leg that has bothered Mitchell in recent months — he missed 16 games down the stretch as a result of tendinitis in his left knee, and he’s wary of returning sooner than he should and risking a more serious injury. “It’s not just the calf strain,” Mitchell told Fedor. “The calf can lead to an Achilles and then things get much worse.”
  • The Cavs’ issues extend beyond Mitchell. Within the same Cleveland.com story, Fedor says that Jarrett Allen‘s return from a rib contusion “doesn’t feel close” and adds that Caris LeVert aggravated a knee issue on Monday that has been bothering him as of late.
  • Even Dean Wade, who has been able to suit up for the past two games following a lengthy absence due to a right knee injury, isn’t fully out of the woods. According to Fedor (subscription required), the possibility of offseason surgery hasn’t been ruled out for the Cavs forward. “There’s still concern,” said Wade, who declined to offer specific details on the diagnosis. “We’ll see what happens after the season. We had options and we took this option as the best path.”
  • Lakers star LeBron James, who was in attendance at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for Monday’s Game 4, received a loud standing ovation from Cavs fans, as Vardon writes for The Athletic. In a separate story for The Athletic, Jason Lloyd – arguing that James’ public actions are always “calculated” – considers whether another return to Cleveland is a possibility for the four-time MVP before he retires. During a segment on ESPN’s Get Up, Brian Windhorst (YouTube link) also discussed James’ appearance in Cleveland.

Pacers Notes: Nesmith, Haliburton, McConnell, Siakam

Aaron Nesmith (right shoulder soreness) is no longer on the Pacers‘ injury report heading into Game 5 on Tuesday, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Nesmith was listed as questionable for Game 4 before being upgraded to available and logging 24 minutes on Sunday.

Tyrese Haliburton, who is dealing with low back spasms, a right ankle sprain, and a sacral contusion, is once again listed as questionable, Dopirak notes. But like Nesmith, that was Haliburton’s designation before Game 4 as well and he was able to suit up. The star point guard was a +31 in 28 minutes in Sunday’s win, which evened the series at 2-2.

Here are a few more notes on the Pacers ahead of a pivotal Game 5 in New York:

  • T.J. McConnell struggled in Game 3 but has otherwise been one of the Pacers’ most effective players in the series vs. New York, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The veteran guard has averaged 12.3 points, 6.5 assists, and 1.5 steals in just 21.2 minutes per contest, and Indiana has a +16.0 net rating during his time on the court. “T.J., he’s one of our leaders,” teammate Myles Turner said. “He’s really taken it upon himself to lead that second unit.”
  • With the Pacers/Knicks series now essentially a best-of-three, Fred Katz and Eric Nehm of The Athletic pose five pressing questions for the rest of the series, including whether or not New York has run out of gas and which players could be X-factors in the remaining games.
  • Asked during a an appearance on FanDuel’s Run it Back show (Twitter video link) about his claim in a French-language interview that Pacers forward Pascal Siakam is overrated, Wizards youngster Bilal Coulibaly clarified his comments, but didn’t exactly walk them back. “I just said he’s not overrated, but they were asking me who was the easiest superstar to guard,” Coulibaly said. “And I was like, Pascal, I watched the films and I knew what he was about to do, when he was going left, spinning around, going right. So he was the easiest superstar to guard.”
  • In a story for The Indianapolis Star, Dopirak takes a closer look at the key roster moves the Pacers made in recent years to build a roster that’s just two wins away from securing a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Wolves/Nuggets Notes: Edwards, Conley, Murray, Gordon, Malone

In a series dominated by the visitors, the Timberwolves now find themselves looking for answers as they head to Denver for a pivotal Game 5 on Tuesday.

Wolves guard Anthony Edwards poured in 44 points in Game 4 but it wasn’t enough to prevent from the Nuggets from tying the series. Edwards is unfazed by the prospect of having to beat the defending champions twice more after losing the last two games at home.

“I said it after Game 2, they’re not going to lay down,” Edwards said, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “They’re going to punch and we’re going to punch back. They beat us up (Sunday). The last two nights, they beat us up in the fight. That’s OK. we’re going to be all right.”

We have more on the Western Conference series:

  • Mike Conley also looks at the way Minnesota handled the Nuggets in Denver during the first two games of the series as a reason for optimism, Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune relays. “I don’t think anybody thought this series would be over by now,” the Timberwolves point guard said. “We’re confident in our ability to win in Denver. We’ve done it before. We just have to remind ourselves it’s not going to be easy by any means.”
  • The only name on the injury report for either team for Game 5 is Nuggets guard Jamal Murray. He’s listed as questionable with a left calf strain, Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets. Murray, who has been consistently listed as questionable due to that injury but has yet to miss a playoff game, had 19 points and eight assists in 39 minutes on Sunday.
  • Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon was a game-changer in Game 4 on both ends of the floor, Tony Jones of The Athletic notes. Not only did he post 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists, he stifled Karl-Anthony Towns, who shot 5-for-18 from the field. “He was our best player,” Nikola Jokic said.
  • Nuggets coach Michael Malone wants the Denver fans on Tuesday to provide the necessary boost that’s been lacking for the home teams in the series, Jones adds in the same story. “We came up here (in Minnesota) to get two, and to take home court back,” Malone said. “And now that we were able to do that, we have to go back to Denver and protect our home court. We have already lost two games there, so we can’t afford to lose a third. That’s a message to our fans to come on Tuesday night and make that place an absolute zoo. This was a good win for us, but we can’t celebrate because we have a long way to go.”