Kevin Love Says He’s Not Ready To Retire

A recent TNT report (video link) indicated that Kevin Love might be considering retirement, but the Heat big man clarified today that he’s not ready to end his career, writes Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.

Chris Haynes relayed the story of a team meeting after the Game 3 loss to the Celtics in which Bam Adebayo “challenged his teammates to bring it.” One of the players who spoke up was Love, who according to Haynes, told the locker room, “Listen guys, I don’t know how much more basketball I have left in me. So we cannot go out like this.” Haynes added that Love’s comments “resonated” with everyone on the team and helped them put the series in perspective.

Speaking to reporters after this morning’s shootaround, Love explained that the meeting actually happened several weeks ago and he didn’t mean to imply that his retirement is imminent.

“I said we have to take advantage of this opportunity and this situation because whether you’re [Nikola Jovic], and you have who knows how many left, or you’re myself, who also doesn’t know how many he has left, we got to take advantage of this,” Love said. “It could be one more year. It could be two years, three years, four years, five years. But the truth is you just don’t really know. You could miss the playoffs. You could get beat in the first round, second round, third round. Like no matter what it is, that was more like what I was saying, is we need to take advantage of the opportunity.”

Love, 35, is in his 16th NBA season and his first full year with Miami. He has a $4MM player option for next season and although he didn’t indicate whether he intends to exercise it, he made it clear that he plans to be in the league somewhere.

Chiang notes that Love’s minutes have been limited during the first-round series because of matchup problems with Boston. He was a useful backup during the regular season, appearing in 55 games and averaging 8.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 16.8 minutes per night.

After coming to Miami in February 2023 following a buyout with Cleveland, Love became part of the Heat’s rotation and had a consistent role during their run to the NBA Finals. He explained that his speech was intended to create the same mindset that led to last year’s playoff success.

“I think my message to the guys was like, ‘Take advantage of the time we have together,’” Love said. “Even last year, too, I felt like we did that and that run is something that will stick out in my mind forever. I think it will for all Heat fans and players who were a part of it.”

Community Shootaround: Nuggets/Timberwolves Series

Only one second-round matchup has been set so far in these NBA playoffs, but it looks like it has the potential to be one of the very best postseason series of 2024. The defending-champion Nuggets will face the Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals beginning on Saturday.

Denver had a target on its back entering this season after winning a title in 2023, but the team responded admirably, tying for the West’s best record (57-25) and then quickly dispatching LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Lakers in round one.

The Nuggets are led by the NBA’s probable 2024 MVP (Nikola Jokic), along with one of the league’s best clutch playoff performers (Jamal Murray). They also have a series of role players, led by Aaron GordonKentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Michael Porter Jr., who complement their stars perfectly. They’re widely considered the favorites to come out of the West, with many NBA fans and experts viewing them as a good bet to repeat as champions.

But the Timberwolves showed in their first-round sweep of Phoenix that they’re a legitimate threat to make a deep playoff run of their own this spring.

Minnesota, which had the NBA’s No. 1 defensive rating during the regular season, wasn’t quite as dominant on that end of the floor against Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and the Suns, but they made up for it by raising their offensive game to new heights — the Wolves’ 123.2 offensive rating in round one easily ranks first among the 16 playoff teams.

Three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and four-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns own the most award hardware of any Minnesota players, but it’s rising star Anthony Edwards who is raising the team’s ceiling and gives the Wolves a chance to be more competitive than they were in the first round against Denver a year ago.

Just 22 years old, Edwards averaged 31.0 points per game on .512/.438/.839 shooting against Phoenix and has fully embraced the postseason stage, repeatedly directing trash talk toward Durant and the Suns. In Edwards, the Wolves have a player whom they can increasingly rely on to get them a basket in clutch moments, which is crucial in the playoffs.

And like Denver, the Wolves have no shortage of talented role players, with Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker leading the defense on the perimeter, Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid providing scoring off the bench, and veteran point guard Mike Conley serving as a stabilizing force on both ends of the floor.

It’s a fascinating intra-divisional matchup that should make for a terrific series. Sports betting site BetOnline.ag considers the Nuggets (-195) the solid favorites, but the Wolves’ resounding first-round victory over Phoenix signaled that this roster is built for real postseason success.

We want to know what you think. Are you picking Denver to advance or do you think Minnesota can pull off the upset? Do you expect the winner of this series to represent the West in the NBA Finals, or do you anticipate seeing the Thunder, Mavericks, or Clippers come out of the conference?

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

L.A. Notes: LeBron, Bronny, George, Harden, Lue

LeBron James‘ desire to play with his son Bronny James next season may be overstated, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said during an appearance on NBA Today on Tuesday (YouTube link). Citing his conversations with agent Rich Paul, Wojnarowski suggested that if Bronny decides to remain in the 2024 draft, the James family is more focused on getting him into the right developmental situation rather than steering him toward the Lakers.

“The idea of them playing together is not a priority. It’s not foremost – at least any longer – in LeBron James’ mind,” Wojnarowski said. “… If (Bronny) does go in the draft, he very likely would spend next year in the G League.

“… I think that’s the priority for them as a family, what’s best for Bronny James. And if it ends up them together, that would be great, but I don’t get a sense it’s playing much – if any – role in LeBron James’ decision on next season.”

Wojnarowski’s comments on NBA Today represented the latest in a series of reports about LeBron’s motivations and potential player option decision entering the offseason. James, who shut down that line of conversation following Monday’s Game 5 loss to Denver, took to Twitter on Tuesday in another attempt to quell the speculation about his contract situation.

“I’ve seen, heard a lot of reports about my future,” James wrote. “I said it last night and I’ll say it again. I do not know yet as I’m only thinking about spending time with my family and friends! When I know after speaking with the fam, my counsel, as well as my representation about it then you guys will know.”

Here’s more on the NBA’s two Los Angeles teams:

  • The Lakers are spending the day on Wednesday conducting exit interviews with their players, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN, who tweets that the team is still going through the process of evaluating its season — and evaluating head coach Darvin Ham. Reporting earlier this week indicated that Ham’s job is very much in jeopardy but that the team will take a few days to finalize a decision.
  • Appearing on ESPN’s Hoop Collective podcast with Brian Windhorst (YouTube link), Ramona Shelburne identified the Magic as another team (along with the Sixers) that is “paying very close attention” to Paul George‘s contract situation entering the 2024 offseason. Teammate Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers agreed to an extension worth a little less than the max earlier this year, but George has yet to reach an agreement on a similar deal and could become a free agent in July. “It’s just a matter of whether the Clippers are gonna give him the max, which is something they don’t want to do because they didn’t give it to Kawhi,” Windhorst said (hat tip to NBC Sports).
  • Weighing James Harden‘s underwhelming playoff history against his poised, disciplined performance during the Clippers‘ first four games against Dallas this spring, Jim Trotter of The Athletic considers whether or not it’s time to start believing in the postseason version of the veteran guard.
  • With Tyronn Lue seemingly unfazed by the absence of Leonard for much of the first round so far, Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times explores how the rest of the Clippers have adopted the steady, even-keeled demeanor of their head coach.

Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Horford, White, Tatum

Holding a commanding 3-1 lead against an injury-riddled Heat team, the Celtics may not need any more contributions from Kristaps Porzingis to get through the first round of the playoffs. But Boston’s odds of winning a title this spring would take a serious hit without a healthy Porzingis available in future rounds.

After the Celtics announced on Tuesday that Porzingis would miss Game 5 on Wednesday due to a right soleus (calf) strain and Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the big man is expected to miss multiple games, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe clarifies (via Twitter) that no one considers it to be a season-ending injury.

According to Himmelsbach, the Celtics have yet to provide a specific timeline for Porzingis’ recovery and potential return because they want to see how he responds to treatment first.

Appearing on FanDuel’s Run it Back show on Wednesday morning (Twitter video link), Shams Charania of The Athletic said he expects the club to treat the soleus strain like a “week-to-week” injury, suggesting that Porzingis might end up missing just a week or two, though there’s a chance he’ll be sidelined for longer than that.

Here’s more on the Celtics as they prepare for a possible close-out game at home vs. the Heat:

  • For as long as Porzingis is unavailable, Al Horford is expected to move into the starting lineup, with Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman acting as his primary backups at the five, writes Jay King of The Athletic. As King observes, Horford played 21 of the final 24 minutes in Game 4 following Porzingis’ exit, but that level of workload likely won’t be sustainable for the 37-year-old on a regular basis going forward, so the team will need effective minutes from its reserves.
  • Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, and Porzingis combined to shoot just 17-of-47 (36.2%) from the field in Game 4, but Derrick White‘s 38 points on 15-of-26 shooting helped propel the team to victory. In a separate story for The Athletic, King takes a look at White’s career night and details why his teammates want to see him continue to seek out his own offense. “When he’s being aggressive it just opens everything up,” Tatum said. “Whatever they’re trying to take away, maybe for myself, when your teammates are hitting shots and being aggressive and attacking closeouts and making plays, it really makes us very, very hard to guard. You want everybody to be assertive and be aggressive and try to make plays. It just makes us a better team.”
  • As we relayed on Tuesday, Tatum turned an ankle during the fourth quarter of Game 4 when he came down on Bam Adebayo‘s foot while attempting a jump shot after a whistle (Twitter video link). The star forward was ultimately fine, but Horford wasn’t happy about Adebayo contesting Tatum’s shot and getting into his landing area during a dead ball. “I know that we get to playing around and trying to contest shots after fouls and things like that, but there’s levels to contest,” Horford said, per Souichi Terada of MassLive.com. “And if a guy shooting and the play is over with, just kind of let him be. I know he’s trying to compete over there, but I was just mad. I don’t want to see any of my guys get hurt or anything like that. Thankfully, JT is fine, but it could have been bad.”

Timberwolves Notes: Nori, Finch, Ownership, Rebounding

Speaking on Wednesday to reporters, Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori said that Chris Finch‘s knee surgery went well, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter links). According to Nori, the team is still considering options for Finch for Game 1 on Saturday, including the possibility of moving some seats around on the bench to make room for the head coach.

If having Finch on the bench isn’t practical, he may end up watching from a suite and joining the team before the game and at halftime, Nori said. According to the Wolves’ assistant, there were some conversations about the idea of Finch texting the staff with observations during the game, but Finch apparently doesn’t love the idea of meddling in that way.

With Nori set to serve as the Timberwolves’ acting head coach if Finch is unavailable for Game 1, Krawczynski takes a more in-depth look at the veteran assistant whom Anthony Edwards calls a “genius.” According to Krawczynski, Nori has an “encyclopedic grasp of opponent tendencies” and delivers feedback to players in a uniquely humorous way.

“He’s brutally honest but still funny,” said Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who worked with Nori when the coach was on Michael Malone‘s staff in Denver from 2015-18. “He says brutally honest stuff in really funny ways. That’s what makes him a really interesting, really funny guy.”

Here’s more on the Wolves:

  • As reported last week, the mediation session in the Timberwolves’ ownership dispute between Glen Taylor and the Alex Rodriguez/Marc Lore group is beginning on Wednesday. Nick Williams of The Star Tribune examines what that means, noting that if the issue isn’t resolved through mediation, the next step would be an arbitration process that must be completed within six months.
  • Eben Novy-Williams and Michael McCann of Sportico also check in on the Wolves’ ownership situation, noting that the retired judge who will oversee the mediation process (Rick Solum) has a lengthy history with sports lawsuits — he also mediated a 2020 suit filed against Taylor by a group of plaintiffs who accused the Wolves’ owner of “sabotaging their investment into a medical device company.” Rodriguez and Lore chose Solum from a handful of possible mediators provided by Taylor, per Sportico.
  • The Timberwolves’ effective shooting percentage during their first-round series vs. Phoenix was lower than their regular season mark, but their offensive rating was up by 8.6 points per 100 possessions, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune, who points to the team’s offensive rebounding as a key reason for its success on that end of the floor. Minnesota’s 39.2% offensive rebounding percentage has easily been the best mark of any team in the first round, but it will be tested against a Nuggets squad that ranks third in playoff defensive rebounding percentage (78.8%).
  • In case you missed it, the NBA announced today that Mike Conley won this season’s Teammate of the Year award. We have the full story here.

Wolves’ Mike Conley Named 2023/24 Teammate Of The Year

Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley has been named the NBA’s Teammate of the Year for the 2023/24 season, the league announced today (via Twitter).

The Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award “recognizes the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and a role model to other players, and commitment and dedication to team,” per the NBA.

The award isn’t voted on by media members. A panel of league executives select the 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award, while current players vote on the winner. Players receive 10 points for a first place vote, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth, and one point for fifth place.

Here are this season’s full voting results, according to the NBA, with the player’s point total noted in parentheses:

It’s the second Teammate of the Year award for Conley, won also won it in 2018/19 when he was a member of the Grizzlies.

The award, which was introduced in ’12/13, had gone to Jrue Holiday in each of the past two seasons (and three of the past four), with Damian Lillard taking it home in 2021.

Hoops Rumors Glossary: Minimum Salary Exception

The minimum salary exception is something of a last resort for capped-out teams looking to add players, as well as for players seeking NBA contracts, but it’s one of the most commonly used cap exceptions.

As its name suggests, the minimum salary exception allows an over-the-cap team to sign a player to a minimum-salary deal. A contract signed using the minimum salary exception can be a one- or two-year deal, but can’t cover more than two seasons.

Teams can use the exception multiple times in a league year, giving clubs that have used all of their cap room and other exceptions an avenue to fill out their rosters. The exception also accommodates teams’ acquisitions of minimum-salary players via trade, as players signed via the minimum salary exception don’t count as incoming salary for salary-matching purposes.

Players are entitled to varying minimum salaries based on how long they’ve been in the NBA. In 2023/24, a player with no prior NBA experience was eligible for a $1,119,563 minimum salary, while a player with 10 or more years of experience was eligible for $3,196,448.

[RELATED: NBA Minimum Salaries For 2023/24]

Under the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the minimum salary is adjusted each season to reflect the year-to-year salary cap change. If the cap increases by 5%, so will minimum salaries. If the cap doesn’t change from one season to the next, neither will minimum salaries.

Our minimum-salary estimates for 2024/25, based on a projected salary cap of $141MM, can be found right here.

There’s a wide disparity between the minimum salary for rookies and for long-tenured players, with a minimum-salary veteran of 10+ seasons earning nearly three times as much as a rookie making the minimum next season. The NBA doesn’t want those pricier deals to discourage clubs from signing veterans, however, so the league reimburses teams for a portion of a minimum-salary player’s cost if he has three or more years of experience, as long as the contract is a one-year deal.

For example, when the Bucks signed 11-year veteran Jae Crowder to a one-year pact for 2023/24 using the minimum salary exception, he locked in a salary of $3,196,448, but the team’s cap hit was just $2,019,706, equivalent to the minimum salary for a player with two years of NBA experience. The league will reimburse the Bucks for the difference between Crowder’s salary and cap hit ($1,176,742).

Many salary cap exceptions can only be used once each season. When a team uses its full mid-level exception to sign one or more players, the club can no longer use that exception until the following league year. Unlike the mid-level and other cap exceptions though, the minimum salary exception can be used any number of times in a single season.

The Suns, for instance, used the minimum salary exception to sign Eric Gordon, Damion Lee, Keita Bates-Diop, Drew Eubanks, Chimezie Metu, Bol Bol, and Yuta Watanabe last offseason. They also used it during the season to add Thaddeus Young and Isaiah Thomas on rest-of-season contracts.

While many exceptions begin to prorate midway through the regular season, the minimum salary exception prorates beginning after opening night. If a season is 174 days long and a player signs a minimum-salary deal after 25 days have passed, he would only be paid for 149 days.

An extreme example of a prorated minimum salary occurred when the Clippers signed Kai Jones to a minimum-salary contract on the final day of the 2023/24 season. Last year’s rookie minimum for a player like Jones – with two years of NBA experience – was $2,019,706, so he received 1/174th of that amount: $11,608.

In cases where a veteran player signs a one-year contract using the minimum salary exception midway through a season, his cap hit is prorated in the same way that his salary is.

When Young signed with the Suns on February 20, 2024, there were 55 days left in the ’23/24 season. He earned a rest-of-season salary of $1,010,371 (55/174ths of his full-season minimum of $3,196,448), while his cap hit was $638,413 (55/174ths of $2,019,706, the minimum salary for a player with two years of experience).

When a player signs a two-year contract using the minimum salary exception, his second-year salary is locked in as part of that agreement. Depending on the amount of the second-year cap increase, he may end up making more or less than the amount he would have earned if he’d instead signed two consecutive one-year minimum contracts.

On a two-year, minimum-salary deal, the player’s second-year salary is worth 105% of the first-year minimum for a player with the same years of NBA experience.

For example, a rookie signing a two-year minimum-salary deal in 2023/24 would be assured of $1,891,857 in ’24/25, once he has one year of NBA experience under his belt — that’s 5% more than the minimum for a player with one year of NBA experience in ’23/24 ($1,801,769).

Finally, it’s worth noting that the minimum salary exception can be used to claim a player off waivers in the same way that it can be used to trade for a player. However, in the case of both trades and waiver claims, a minimum-salary player can’t be acquired using the minimum salary exception if his contract is for more than two years or if his salary exceeded the minimum in any previous year of the contract.

When the Wizards waived Isaiah Livers in April, he was earning a minimum salary for 2023/24 ($1,836,096). But Livers was in the third year of his contract and had earned more than the minimum in his first season of that deal — both of those factors made him ineligible to be claimed using the minimum salary exception, so if a team had wanted to claim him, it would have needed to use cap room or a trade exception.

Here are a few more notes on the minimum salary exception:

  • Players signed using the minimum salary exception are eligible for trade bonuses, but not incentive bonuses. A minimum-salary player with a trade bonus cannot be acquired in a trade using the minimum salary exception unless he waives that bonus.
  • When a minimum-salary player is traded during the season, any reimbursement from the NBA is split between his two teams. It’s prorated based on the number of days he spends with each club.
  • If a minimum-salary player with a non-guaranteed salary is waived before he exceeds the minimum for a two-year veteran, his team won’t be reimbursed for any portion of his salary.
  • Every 10-day contract is worth a prorated minimum salary. The NBA also reimburses teams for a portion of the 10-day minimum salary for veterans with three or more years of experience.

Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ and the Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Earlier versions of this post were published in previous years by Luke Adams and Chuck Myron.

Central Notes: Portis, Giannis, Lillard, LaVine, Morris, Pistons

Bucks forward Bobby Portis, who was ejected in the first quarter of Sunday’s Game 4 loss in Indiana, apologized to his teammates prior to Game 5, then matched Khris Middleton‘s game-high 29 points in Milwaukee’s home win on Tuesday, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN.

“I’m an emotional player, I wear my heart on my sleeve, I give my all every night and take pride of being available for my team,” Portis said on Tuesday. “Game 4, little scuffle, maybe crossed the line. I let my team down by getting ejected and not being available for my team. I owed them an apology for sure.”

With Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf strain) and Damian Lillard (Achilles tendinitis) both unavailable for Game 5, the rest of the Bucks’ starters came up big to extend the team’s season. Portis (29 points, 10 rebounds), Middleton (29 points, 12 rebounds), and Patrick Beverley (13 points, 12 assists) each posted double-doubles, while Malik Beasley and Brook Lopez combined for 30 points.

The Bucks are still down 3-2 to the Pacers in the series, but forcing a Game 6 on Thursday gives Antetokounmpo and Lillard another chance to return to the court. Their availability remains up in the air, but head coach Doc Rivers expressed some optimism after Tuesday’s victory.

“I think they’re very, very, very close,” Rivers said of his two stars, per Collier.

Here’s more from around the Central:

  • Zach LaVine is “well ahead” of the four-to-six month recovery timeline the Bulls set after he underwent right foot surgery in February, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Johnson says LaVine’s goal remains to resume on-court work at around the three-month mark, in the hopes of having a “relatively normal” offseason. Both Johnson and Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times reiterate that trying to make a LaVine trade is the top priority for the Bulls this summer — that task should be less complicated if he’s healthy.
  • After joining the Cavaliers as a free agent in March, veteran forward Marcus Morris didn’t play a significant role down the stretch, averaging 15.0 minutes per game in 12 regular season appearances and sitting out the team’s first two playoff contests. But he was a key contributor off the bench in Tuesday’s Game 5 win, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic, scoring 12 points and grabbing three rebounds in 26 minutes of action. “We knew what he’s capable of,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Morris, who was a +8 in the one-point victory. “He’s just a guy you trust. And he’s been through these battles before. He’s tough as nails. He’s not afraid of s–t.”
  • Within his latest mailbag for The Athletic, James L. Edwards III discusses whether Brandon Ingram is a realistic trade target for the Pistons and checks in on Detroit’s president of basketball operations search. Confirming reporting from Marc Stein, Edwards says Dennis Lindsey is a name to watch for the Pistons. Edwards also mentions Bulls general manager Marc Eversley and Timberwolves executive VP of basketball operations Sachin Gupta as possible candidates to keep an eye on.

Sixers Notes: Maxey, Embiid, Nurse, Harris

After winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award for 2023/24 last week, Tyrese Maxey capped a memorable April with the biggest game of his four-year NBA career on Tuesday. The star guard scored 46 points in 52 minutes, including seven in the final 30 seconds of regulation to force the game into overtime, leading the Sixers to a Game 5 victory that kept their season alive.

“What was going through my mind was trying to survive,” Maxey said, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “Our season is on the line. I trust my work. I trust what I’ve done all my life, and I just tried to get to a spot, raise up and knock that shot down.”

The Sixers’ other star, Joel Embiid, had a triple-double in Tuesday’s victory, racking up 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists. But Embiid, who is dealing with a sore knee, a case of Bell’s palsy, and a migraine that forced him to miss Tuesday morning’s shootaround, clearly wasn’t operating at full strength and made just 7-of-19 shots from the field. Last season’s MVP said after the game that he appreciated Maxey coming through when the club needed him most.

“Tonight, obviously based on the circumstances and knowing what was needed, based on what was happening and me not being able to be myself, he just had to do it,” Embiid said, per Bontemps. “And he did it. That’s why he is such an amazing basketball player.”

Here’s more on the Sixers, who now trail the Knicks 3-2 in their first-round series:

  • Embiid has become public enemy number one among Knicks fans during the first round, especially following a physical Game 3 performance in which he was accused of committing a “dirty” foul on opposing center Mitchell Robinson. However, the Sixers star had nothing but praise for the New York faithful after being on the receiving end of their vitriol in Game 5, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “It’s not hostile. I love New York. New York is my favorite city in the world. I have a place here for the past five years. I just love New York,” Embiid said. “And then the (Knicks) fans, when you play against a team they’re always gonna pick that guy. And they seem to have picked me, which is fine. I love it. If I gotta be the punching bag and keep hearing a lot of ‘F Embiid,’ that’s ok. I love it.”
  • Nick Nurse become the second NBA head coach to suffer an injury during the postseason, though it doesn’t sound as if his issue is as serious as Chris Finch‘s patellar tendon tear, which required surgery. As Ian Begley of SNY.tv tweets, Nurse injured a finger during Tuesday’s game when he slammed his hand in frustration over a call. It’s unclear if he broke or sprained the finger, but the 76ers’ coach couldn’t grip a marker to draw up plays during the second half, Begley adds.
  • Prior to Tuesday’s game, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer suggested that it might be a good idea to bring struggling forward Tobias Harris off the bench after he scored no more than 10 points in any of the series’ first four games. However, Nurse stuck with Harris in the starting five and the veteran rewarded his faith in Game 5, Pompey notes, scoring 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Harris was a +11 in 49 minutes of action. “Coach drew up some opportunities for me early on to get me going,” Harris said. “And I think that was just big for myself and overall, and just getting into a rhythm and getting into a flow out there.”

Western Notes: Thunder, Doncic, Spurs’ Arena, Edwards

Youth and playoff inexperience didn’t matter in the Thunder‘s sweep of the Pelicans in the opening round. They’re the youngest team in NBA history to win a playoff series and ESPN’s Tim MacMahon notes that the Thunder got only one basket in the entire series from a player older than 25 (Twitter link).

“There’s a difference between age and maturity,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said, per The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry. “And we have a mature team. We have a committed team.”

We have more from the Western Conference:

  • Mavericks star Luka Doncic has been fighting through a knee injury since the first quarter of Game 3 of their series against the Clippers, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. Game 5 will be played on Wednesday. “It’s hurting, obviously, but it shouldn’t be an excuse, man,” Doncic said after the Game 4 loss. “We just came out a little sloppy. We’ve got to do way better than that.”
  • There’s a hush-hush tone to the discussions about San Antonio building a downtown arena for the Spurs, Molly Smith of the Express-News reports. City officials have not only been trying to keep their talks secret, they’ve signed legally binding contracts that would penalize them for saying anything about the discussions, or even acknowledging that they’re considering building a new arena. The project, if it advances, could cost $1 billion or more, and San Antonio taxpayers could be asked to foot at least part of the bill.
  • Anthony Edwards has quickly grown into a leadership role on the Timberwolves at a young age, according to Chris Hine of the Minnepolis Star Tribune. “One thing about Ant, he’s become more of a vocal leader,” assistant coach Micah Nori said. “But he’s also one of those guys that he puts in the work, so guys see him working. He’s got some self humor — you’ve seen all of his interviews — he’s the first one to congratulate and move all of his glory or whatever over to his teammates.”