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Atlantic Notes: Claxton, Simmons, Boucher, Brown

November 5th, 2024 at 9:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nets center Nic Claxton received his first start of the season on Monday. Claxton, who signed a four-year deal worth up to $100MM during the summer, had 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in a win over Memphis. He missed the preseason due to a hamstring injury.

“It’s just still getting back into the swing of things. I had like one stint where I was really tired, but other than that, I was good. Just trying to communicate, just find my balance again,” Claxton told Brian Lewis of the New York Post.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Ben Simmons sat out Monday in the second game of a back-to-back. Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez wants Simmons to shoot more often — he’s taken five or fewer attempts in his six games, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post notes. “He is physically getting where he’s supposed to be, and those attempts need to go up,” Fernandez said. “Because then we are all going to benefit from it. I don’t care about makes-misses. I just want to see shots going up. He’s more than capable of doing it, so he’ll get there for sure.”
Chris Boucher was in and out of the Raptors‘ rotation last season. He came back this season determined to reestablish himself as a reliable reserve. So far, so good. He’s averaging 9.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 17.3 minutes per game. “I think there was a lot of stuff that I was doing that I kept saying I gotta do better, but I never changed it,” Boucher told Josh Lewenberg of TSN. “Obviously, when things are going well and you’re playing all the time you [think], well, I’m just going to keep doing what I’m going. But by the time I wasn’t playing, I was like, all right, well, now I’ve gotta figure it out or I won’t be here no more.” Boucher will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown will miss his third consecutive game on Wednesday, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets. Brown is dealing with a hip flexor strain. He’s averaging 25.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest in the early going.

Heat Notes: Love, Jaquez, Third Quarters, Rotation, Larsson, Ware

November 5th, 2024 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kevin Love won’t make his season debut on Wednesday. The veteran power forward has already been ruled out by the Heat for their road game in Phoenix due to “return to competition reconditioning,” the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang tweets.

Love recently returned to the team after missing the first few weeks due to personal reasons.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. will also miss Wednesday’s contest due to a stomach illness. Jaquez didn’t travel to Phoenix but is expected to rejoin the group at some point during the team’s six-game trip, Chiang adds in a separate tweet. Love did make the trip to Phoenix and is expected to make his season debut during the road swing.

Here’s more on the Heat:

The team has a third-quarter problem and might need to tweak the lineup to fix it, according to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. Replacing Nikola Jovic with Jaquez or Haywood Highsmith might be the simplest way to address the problem, according to Jackson, who notes that Miami has outscored opponents by 17 points in the first quarter, 25 points in the second quarter and 17 in the fourth but has been outscored by 52 in the third. The Heat are the NBA’s lowest-scoring team in the third quarter.
Despite the absences of Love and Jaquez on Monday, coach Erik Spoelstra went 11 deep into his bench during the first quarter alone, Chiang writes. Highsmith and rookie Pelle Larsson were the first two players off the bench, followed by Alec Burks, Thomas Bryant, Josh Richardson and Duncan Robinson.
Larsson continues to look like one of the steals of the draft. The No. 44 overall pick had 13 points, two rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes on Monday, Chiang adds. “He is a two way player,” Spoelstra said. “Even though he’s a rookie by NBA standards, he has a great deal of competitive experience. He’s savvy, has the toughness we like, can guard multiple positions.”
The Heat’s first-rounder, Kel’el Ware, has been forced to take a wait-and-see approach. He has only made two brief appearances off the bench. “I can’t control what the Coach does,” Ware told Chiang. “So whenever coach Spo decides to put me in, I’ll be ready.”

NBA Suspends Embiid Three Games For Altercation With Columnist

November 5th, 2024 at 7:26pm CST by Luke Adams

7:26pm: Embiid’s suspension will cover Wednesday’s game against the Clippers, Friday’s contest against the Lakers and Sunday’s game against the Hornets, ESPNs Shams Charania tweets. He’ll be eligible to make his season debut next Tuesday in the NBA Cup opener against the Knicks at Philadelphia.

3:35pm: Sixers center Joel Embiid has been suspended for three games without pay for shoving Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes in the team’s locker room on Saturday, the NBA announced in a press release (Twitter link).

“Mutual respect is paramount to the relationship between players and media in the NBA,” the league’s head of basketball operations Joe Dumars said in a statement. “While we understand Joel was offended by the personal nature of the original version of the reporter’s column, interactions must remain professional on both sides and can never turn physical.”

Embiid called out Hayes last week for columns in which he harshly criticized the former MVP and was reportedly particularly upset about one piece in which Hayes said the injured center isn’t providing a good example as a father for his son Arthur, who was named after the 30-year-old’s late brother. Hayes mentioned Embiid’s son and brother by name in the original version of the column before later removing the reference.

Embiid confronted Hayes in the locker room following Saturday’s loss to Memphis and reportedly had a heated discussion with the veteran columnist, directing some profane comments his way before shoving him.

Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer shared more details on the altercation earlier this week, writing that Hayes attempted to apologize to Embiid but “was rebuffed before the confrontation turned physical.” Hayes said he met with Sixers president Daryl Morey and GM Elton Brand and that they apologized, asked for his side of the story, and “agreed that Embiid’s actions were unacceptable,” Mizell relays.

Embiid has yet to make his debut this fall due to left knee injury management and his suspension won’t begin until he’s healthy enough to play. That may happen soon — Sam Amick of The Athletic reported this morning that there was hope within the organization that the star big man could play his first game of the season on Wednesday vs. the Clippers.

That obviously won’t happen now, but if Embiid is medically cleared to return, he could begin serving his suspension that night. In that scenario, he’d also miss Friday’s game vs. the Lakers and Sunday’s matchup with the Hornets before potentially suiting up next Tuesday vs. the Knicks.

The suspension will cost Embiid $1,063,778 of his $51,415,938 salary, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Pacific Notes: Booker, Davis, Curry, Coffey

November 5th, 2024 at 7:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Devin Booker is experiencing wild swings in performance. The Suns guard earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors but now finds himself in a shooting slump, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic notes.

Over the last two games, Booker is 12-of-41 from the field while making just two of 16 3-point tries. Booker’s shooting hasn’t affected Phoenix’s bottom line — it has won five straight.

“You just flush it,” Booker said. “Thankfully, it came in a win. That’s what the game’s about, but obviously frustrated. Just missing shots I feel I can make.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Lakers have listed Anthony Davis as questionable to play at Memphis on Wednesday, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register tweets. Davis is dealing with a left heel contusion, an injury he aggravated in a loss to Detroit on Monday. The nine-time All-Star is averaging a league-best 32.6 points per game.
Stephen Curry returned on Monday from a three-game absence due to a left ankle sprain. The Warriors superstar contributed 24 points and six assists in 24 minutes in a road win over Washington. He was on a minutes limit but coach Steve Kerr believes Curry will see more court time against Boston on Wednesday. “Assuming he feels good, I don’t anticipate a big minutes restriction in Boston,” Kerr said, per The Athletic’s Anthony Slater.
The Clippers posted their first win in their new home, the Intuit Dome, by defeating the Spurs on Monday. Amir Coffey delivered his best outing of the season with 21 points, making all but one of his six 3-point attempts. “Tonight was Amir’s night,” coach Tyronn Lue said, per Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. Coffey needs to have more nights like that — he’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan Fractures Thumb, Needs Surgery

November 5th, 2024 at 5:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Spurs swingman Jeremy Sochan has a left thumb fracture that will require surgery this week, ESPN’s Marc Spears relays via a team press release (Twitter link).

The fracture is in the proximal phalanx of his thumb. Sochan suffered the injury during the second quarter of the team’s game against the Clippers on Monday.

The team didn’t offer a timetable for Sochan’s recovery. A 2022 lottery pick, the third-year forward has gotten off to a strong start. He’s averaging a career-best 15.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists while starting all seven of San Antonio’s games. He also has a reputation as a defensive pest who can get under opponents’ skin.

The Spurs experimented with Sochan at the point last season but he’s been utilized on the wing and as an undersized power forward this season.

It’s been a rough beginning for the Spurs. San Antonio is now down two starters, as Devin Vassell is still rehabbing from offseason foot surgery. Key backup guard Tre Jones has only appeared in one game due to an ankle sprain. Head coach Gregg Popovich is away from the team indefinitely due to health concerns.

With Sochan out, lottery pick Stephon Castle or sixth man Keldon Johnson could move into the starting five.

Hornets’ Nick Richards Out Indefinitely With Rib Fracture

November 5th, 2024 at 4:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hornets starting center Nick Richards will be sidelined for multiple weeks due to a right first rib cartilage fracture, the team announced in a press release.

An MRI revealed the extent of the injury. He suffered it during an on-court collision in the first half against the Celtics on Friday.

Richards will be evaluated on an every other week basis to monitor progress toward a return to basketball activities. The team will provide its next update on his status following its November 17 road trip.

Richards was averaging career highs in points (11.0), rebounds (10.0) and blocks (2.4) through five starts this season. He appeared in 67 games, including 51 starts, last season despite battling ankle and foot injuries. He averaged 9.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per night.

Richards in the second year of a three-year, $15MM contract.

The injury severely depletes Charlotte up front. There’s still no timetable for center Mark Williams, who is recovering from a strained tendon in his left foot.

Moussa Diabate‘s role will expand and the Hornets will also be forced to used smaller lineups with forwards Grant Williams and Taj Gibson manning the middle. Diabate, a 2022 second-round pick, is on a two-way contract.

Charlotte is off to a 2-5 start and will carry a three-game losing streak into its home game against Detroit on Wednesday.

Nuggets’ Gordon To Miss Multiple Weeks With Calf Strain

November 5th, 2024 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon will be sidelined for “multiple weeks” as he recovers from a right calf strain, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN.

Gordon was listed on Denver’s injury report with right calf inflammation ahead of Monday’s game vs. Toronto. He was cleared to play, but logged just four minutes before exiting with what the team called a calf strain.

“Honestly, I was a little surprised he played last game,” head coach Michael Malone said after the game, per Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. “The schedule has not been overly kind to us early. I think he’s dealing with just bumps and bruises, nothing long-term. But I’ll have to talk to our training staff to get an update on that.”

Based on Charania’s reporting, it sounds like the prognosis for Gordon is worse than Malone had hoped. The veteran forward is the second Nuggets starter to go down with an injury in the early going of the season — point guard Jamal Murray has missed the past two games while in the concussion protocol.

A key connecting piece for the Nuggets on both end of the floor, Gordon was averaging 17.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 34.7 minutes per game, with an excellent shooting line of .529/.550/.846, entering Monday’s game. The team has posted a +10.3 net rating when he’s on the court, compared to a -14.0 mark when he’s not.

The 29-year-old signed a long-term extension with Denver prior to the start of the season and is now under contract through at least 2028 (he holds a player option for ’28/29).

Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther, and Zeke Nnaji all established new personal season highs in minutes played on Monday and are among the top candidates for increased playing time for as long as Gordon remains unavailable. Second-year forward Hunter Tyson will also be in that mix.

Knicks Officially Complete Three Roster Moves

November 5th, 2024 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have formally completed a trio of roster moves, per the NBA’s official transaction log. The three moves, which were previously reported, are as follows:

Signed Matt Ryan to a standard contract (story)
Promoted Ariel Hukporti from a two-way contract to a standard contract (story)
Signed Boo Buie to a two-way contract (story)

As we detailed in our individual stories on the signings, the Knicks had been carrying 12 players on standard contracts and had to get to 14 by Tuesday, since teams are only permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on their standard rosters for up to 14 days at a time. New York had done so since the regular season begin two weeks ago.

Elevating Hukporti from his two-way deal to the standard roster created a two-way opening, which the Knicks filled by signing Buie. The team now has 17 total players under contract.

Ryan’s new deal with the Knicks is a one-year, minimum-salary contract that is non-guaranteed, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv and Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter links). The first year on Hukporti’s new contract, previously said to be a two-year deal with a second-year team option, is also non-guaranteed, Begley adds (via Twitter).

Ryan’s prorated cap hit is $1,919,558, while Hukporti’s is $1,064,049. Those two cap charges bump the Knicks’ total team salary to $188,350,128, giving the team nearly $581K in breathing room below its $188,931,000 hard cap.

New York could swap in a new 14th man by waiving Ryan before his salary becomes fully guaranteed on January 7. If Ryan remains on the roster and the team doesn’t make any trades, the front office will have to wait until February 25 to be able to squeeze in a 15th man on a veteran’s minimum contract below the hard cap, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Landry Shamet is a player to watch over the course of the season, since he appeared to be on track to claiming a roster spot out of training camp before dislocating his shoulder. If he recovers from that injury in the coming months, he could eventually supplant Ryan as the 14th man or fill the open 15th slot (after Feb. 25).

Community Shootaround: NBA’s Last Two Undefeated Teams

November 5th, 2024 at 1:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA season tipped off two weeks ago today and 28 of the league’s 30 teams have lost at least once since then. In fact, 25 of 30 have already dropped at least three games.

One team in each conference still has an unblemished record though, with the Cavaliers leading the Eastern Conference at 8-0 while the Thunder sit atop the Western Conference at 7-0.

Oklahoma City’s performance so far is probably less of a surprise, given that the team’s projected over/under of 56.5 wins during the preseason was four games ahead of any other Western team — we knew the Thunder were going to be really good.

Still, OKC deserves kudos for living up to the hype in the early going despite missing top offseason free agent addition Isaiah Hartenstein, who has yet to make his regular season Thunder debut due to a fractured hand.

Even without Hartenstein, the club has the NBA’s best net rating (+17.1), buoyed by a defensive rating (93.8) that is over eight points per 100 possessions better than that of the second-place Warriors (102.1). The Thunder have won every single one of their games so far by at least 12 points, going 4-0 on the road and 3-0 at home.

Their schedule has certainly helped. Four of the Thunder’s seven wins have come against lottery teams from last season (the Bulls, Hawks, Spurs, and Trail Blazers), while two others have come against teams who have key players injured (the Clippers and Magic). OKC’s most impressive win was its season-opening victory in Denver against a Nuggets team that hasn’t quite looked like itself in the early going.

Still, the Thunder have easily handled the opponents across the floor from them, which is all you can ask for. As they look to extend their win streak, they’ll visit Denver again on Wednesday before beginning a six-game homestand that includes matchups against the Rockets (this Friday), Warriors (Nov. 10), Clippers (Nov. 11), Pelicans (Nov. 13), Suns (Nov. 15), and Mavericks (Nov. 17).

Over in the East, the Cavaliers were considered a potential top-four seed, but few were counting on them to come out of the gates quite like this.

The Cavs have had the NBA’s second-best offense (121.0 rating) and its fifth-best defense (108.3) so far, for an overall net rating of +12.7. They rank atop the league in true shooting percentage (63.0%) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.28-to-1).

Like the Thunder, Cleveland has been missing a key rotation player – starting small forward Max Strus – but has done a good job of getting by in his absence, with Dean Wade, Caris LeVert, Sam Merrill, and Isaac Okoro all providing solid minutes on the wing, while Ty Jerome has thrived as the team’s backup point guard after missing nearly all of last season due to an ankle injury.

The Cavs’ schedule to open the season was somewhat soft, with their first three victories coming against Toronto, Detroit, and Washington. They’ve also benefited from getting to play the Magic (without Banchero) and the struggling Bucks (twice) at the right time. But they had good wins over the Knicks (in New York) and the Lakers (by 24 points).

The Cavs will be in New Orleans on Wednesday before hosting the Warriors and Nets for a back-to-back set on Friday and Saturday. Next week, they play in Chicago (Nov. 11) and Philadelphia (Nov. 13), then return home to face the Bulls (Nov. 15) and Hornets (Nov. 17).

We want to hear your early impressions of the league’s two remaining undefeated teams.

When do you expect the Thunder and Cavaliers to take their first loss? Could they stay perfect for another week or two? Are their hot starts the beginning of big seasons in Oklahoma City and Cleveland, or do you expect the two clubs to start sliding in the standings a little after their win streaks come to an end? Has their play this fall made you any more bullish about their chances to get past the second round of the playoffs in the spring?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Lakers Notes: Davis, Centers, Reddish, Christie

November 5th, 2024 at 12:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers big man Anthony Davis is averaging a league-leading 32.6 points per game on a career-high 57.1% field goal percentage through seven games, but he aggravated a left foot injury in the fourth quarter of Monday’s disappointing loss in Detroit, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Sources tell McMenamin that Davis has not yet been ruled out for Wednesday’s game in Memphis, which is the last stop on the team’s five-game road trip. However, the Lakers figure to be cautious with the nine-time All-Star, who dealt with the foot issue from the end of last season through the Paris Olympics.

“I’ll talk to my trainer and just kind of figure out what exactly is going on,” Davis told reporters. “I’ve been managing it since this summer, honestly, and my goal for every game is to be on the floor. And I just kind of landed directly on the spot that’s been killing me. So, we’ll figure it out.”

The Lakers’ other star, LeBron James, declined to speculate on how the club might handle a situation in which Davis misses time, but he acknowledged it would be difficult to replace the league’s leading scorer in the lineup.

“I don’t play the ‘if’ game,” James said, per McMenamin. “We’ll go off what AD says and see how he feels over the next couple of days and go from there. But it don’t take a rocket scientist to know (the impact) if AD’s in or out. C’mon.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

If Davis does have to miss Wednesday’s game or any time beyond that, the Lakers will find themselves pretty shorthanded in the middle, notes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Jaxson Hayes remains available despite the NBA reopening its investigation into a 2021 domestic incident, but Christian Wood (knee surgery) and Christian Koloko (return-to-play conditioning) are out, as is small-ball center Jarred Vanderbilt (foot surgeries). When Hayes isn’t on the floor, L.A. might have to turn to rookie two-way big man Armel Traore or use a small lineup with James or Rui Hachimura at the five, according to Buha, who says neither option would be ideal.
Veteran forward Cam Reddish played a season-high 14 minutes on Monday after appearing in just one of the Lakers’ first six games. He didn’t score, but he grabbed five rebounds and was a plus-10 in the 12-point loss to the Pistons, as Khobi Price of The Orange County Register writes. Head coach J.J. Redick said that Reddish “earned some trust” as a result of his showing on Monday. LeBron also lauded the former first-round pick for stepping in and acquitting himself well. “Cam was great,” James said. “He did exactly what was asked of him. He came in and he defended at a high level. He was great.”
Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times takes a closer look at how veteran point guard D’Angelo Russell attempted to pull struggling teammate Max Christie out of his slump and increase his confidence ahead of Monday’s game in Toronto. Christie – who signed a four-year, $32MM contract over the summer – had his most effective outing of the season, with seven points and five rebounds in 13 minutes, but was unable to carry that momentum into Wednesday’s contest. He played just four first-quarter minutes against Detroit, with Reddish taking his spot in the rotation for the rest of the night.