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Injury Updates: Finney-Smith, Green, Beal, Williamson, Payne

December 27th, 2022 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith will be out for several more games. He’ll be reevaluated in two weeks, per coach Jason Kidd, Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com tweets. Finney-Smith hasn’t played since Dec. 19 due to a groin injury. Guard Josh Green, who has been out since Dec. 9 due to a sprained right elbow, will get an examination on Friday.

We have more injury-related news:

On a night when the Wizards finally had a full, healthy roster, star Bradley Beal departed with just over four minutes remaining on Tuesday due to left hamstring soreness, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Beal has been limited to 23 games this season after missing time with thigh and right hamstring injuries.
Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, who has missed three games due to a stint in the league’s health and safety protocols, is listed as probable to play on Wednesday against Minnesota, according to a team press release. Herbert Jones, who was also placed in protocols over the weekend, is listed as questionable.
Suns guard Cameron Payne, who has not played since Dec. 13 due to a right foot strain, is hopeful of returning during the team’s in-progress six-game road swing, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports. “It’d be hard just sitting back and watching, but kind of got to fight through the discomfort,” Payne said. “Just try to get me back to 100%. Just get me back to normal. I think I’m getting close. It’s been a rough two weeks, week and a half, but it’s coming to a close. Just getting close.”

Eastern Notes: VanVleet, Strus, Vincent, Nets

December 27th, 2022 at 9:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Fred VanVleet has played more off the ball this season and the Raptors guard admits it hasn’t been an easy adjustment, William Lou of Sportsnet tweets. “I’m always willing to do what’s best for the team and it’s something we’ve been trying,” he said. “There’s games where I dominate the ball and we need that, but for the most part I’m in a completely different role than last year.” VanVleet is shooting a career-low 33.5% on 3-point attempts this season. He left Tuesday’s game early with lower back stiffness, Marc Spears of ESPN tweets.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

Max Strus made half of his 10 three-point attempts for the Heat on Monday, a sign he may be breaking out of a shooting slump, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. It was the first time Strus made more than three 3-pointers in a game since Nov. 30. Strus, an unrestricted free agent after this season, shot 24.7% from deep in 11 games prior to Monday’s breakout.
Guard Gabe Vincent scored 11 points in 18 minutes on Monday after missing eight consecutive Heat games with tendinosis in his right knee. “It’s hard to not be present,” he told Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “But it’s hard to see something that you can help and not being able to help. I think that applies to every aspect of life, when you feel like you can help a situation but you’re not able to. It’s difficult.” Vincent is also headed to unrestricted free agency after the season.
Putting controversies aside and just focusing on the game has keyed the Nets’ nine-game winning streak, Nick Friedell of ESPN writes. “The most important part of today is we’re trying to win this ballgame,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “When we step into the gym every single day it’s about basketball. How we’re going to take care of each other on the floor, cover for each other on the floor, it’s about basketball.”

Payton Pritchard Attracting Trade Interest

December 27th, 2022 at 8:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Numerous teams have checked on the availability of Celtics guard Payton Pritchard in the trade market, Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com reports.

Pritchard, currently sidelined by a bruised thigh, has mostly been out of the rotation this season due to Boston’s guard depth. He has appeared in 21 games this season, averaging just 10.5 minutes per night. The past two seasons, Pritchard was solidly in the rotation, appearing in 66 games during his rookie campaign and 71 regular season games and 24 postseason contests during Boston’s run to the Finals.

The acquisition of Malcolm Brogdon has left Pritchard, who averaged 6.2 points and 2.0 assists in 14.1 minutes last season, as the odd man out. Pritchard’s ability to run the offense and shoot (4o.5% from deep in his career) makes him an attractive, low-salary target.

He’s still on his rookie contract, making approximately $2.24MM this season and $4.04MM next season. He’ll be eligible for restricted free agency after next season.

He’s certainly a nice insurance policy for Boston, given his proven production. But if the front office sees a more pressing need and the right offer comes along for the No. 26 pick in the 2020 draft, the Celtics could be convinced to move him.

Atlantic Notes: Toppin, Randle, Powell, Mazzulla

December 27th, 2022 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks forward Obi Toppin is still in the early stages of rehab from his right leg injury, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.

Toppin, who has not played since Dec. 7, said his workouts are limited to spot-up shooting, pool work and upper-body weightlifting. The Knicks’ primary backup to Julius Randle will need “couple more reevaluations” before returning from the fractured bone in his leg.

“Not really any pain, but I could not feel pain and it could still be messed up,” Toppin said. “So it’s all up to [the Knicks’ medical staff]. Whenever they feel I should be back, that’s when I’ll come back.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Randle caused a stir, particularly among Knicks fans, when he sat in the front row of Mavericks-Jazz playoff game last spring. Randle was accompanied by Knicks executives William Wesley and Alan Houston, but Randle insists they weren’t there to be seen by potential acquisitions Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell. Randle, who lives in the Dallas area, claimed Tuesday it was just a coincidence, Bondy writes. “I didn’t even know [Wesley and Houston] were in town,” he said. “Just so happened to happen like that.”
Former Raptors champion and current Clippers forward Norman Powell returned to Toronto on Tuesday for the first time since Feb. 28, 2020, Law Murray of The Athletic tweets. The Raptors were on a road trip when the pandemic hit and then played in the Orlando bubble before spending the next season in Tampa, with Powell traded to Portland midway through that year. He was inactive for the Trail Blazers’ game in Toronto last season and was dealt to the Clippers after Los Angeles had already played there.
The Celtics still don’t plan to remove the interim tag from Joe Mazzulla before the end of the season, according to Adam Himmelbach of the Boston Globe. Ime Udoka‘s suspension is due to end in June. Mazzulla, who missed Tuesday’s game due to eye irritation, according to Jared Weiss (Twitter link), may have been given some assurances about his future privately by the front office. It’s expected that Mazzulla will be retained as the head coach after the season.

Western Notes: Poeltl, Sabonis, Booker, Gobert

December 27th, 2022 at 5:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Spurs center Jakob Poeltl has continued to play limited minutes since returning from a seven-game absence due to a bone bruise in his right knee, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News notes.

Poeltl hasn’t played more than 24 minutes in five games since suiting up again. He was extremely effective on Monday against Utah, contributing 16 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two steals during that time frame in the Spurs’ victory.

“It’s just about finding a rhythm again, getting back in shape,” said Poeltl, an unrestricted free agent next summer who could get dealt prior to the trade deadline if the Spurs find the right offer.

We have more Western Conference news:

Kings big man Domantas Sabonis isn’t considering surgery for the fracture in his right thumb, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets. He hopes to return to action soon and will be reassessed regularly, depending on effectiveness and pain levels. De’Aaron Fox said it will difficult to go without Sabonis if he needs to miss a stretch of games, Ham adds in another tweet. “It’s going to take everybody, it’s going to take a village to make up for the production that’s going to be missing from him,” Fox said.
Suns star Devin Booker returned to Phoenix after Sunday’s Christmas game for further evaluation after reaggravating a groin injury during the first quarter of Phoenix’s loss at Denver, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports. Phoenix is currently on a six-game road trip. Booker had missed three games before his early departure against the Nuggets.
Despite the trade for Rudy Gobert, rebounding remains a major issue for the Timberwolves, Chris Hine of the Star Tribune writes. Minnesota began the week 25th in the league in defensive rebounding percentage. Coach Chris Finch has said the problem is mainly due to a lack of effort from their wings and guards, rather than Gobert and the other bigs.

Nuggets Notes: Power Forwards, Gordon, Jokic, Braun

December 27th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said on Sunday that the team will take a by-committee approach to replacing Jeff Green‘s minutes with the forward expected to miss at least a month or so due to a finger injury.

As Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets, Malone mentioned Zeke Nnaji as a logical replacement from Green at power forward, but noted that Vlatko Cancar, Michael Porter Jr., and Bruce Brown could all see minutes at the four as well. Nnaji was ineffective vs. Phoenix on Sunday, picking up three fouls and no points or rebounds in nine minutes of action.

Here’s more on the Nuggets:

Aaron Gordon had 28 points, 13 rebounds, a highlight-reel dunk, and a key blocked shot in Sunday’s victory and has now been a plus-65 during Denver’s four-game winning streak (the Nuggets have been outscored by 31 points with Gordon off the court during the streak). As Mike Singer of The Denver Post writes, the forward’s ability to contribute all over the court has Malone talking about him as a potential All-Star and Nikola Jokic referring to him as the “soul of this team.”
Gordon is questionable to play on Tuesday in Sacramento due to a right shoulder strain, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.
Voter fatigue will likely work against Jokic as he makes a bid for a third consecutive MVP award, but the Nuggets’ star center is building a strong case for consideration, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. The 27-year-old is nearly averaging a triple-double for the top team in the Western Conference and has scored more efficiently than ever, with a career-best .616 FG%. Additionally, the Nuggets have a plus-11.3 net rating with Jokic on the floor, compared to an abysmal minus-13.6 mark when he sits, per NBA.com.
Within the same Athletic story, Hollinger checks in on Nuggets rookie wing Christian Braun, who has been playing rotation minutes as of late. Hollinger is intrigued by the potential Braun has shown on defense, but acknowledges his role on offense is unlikely to expand beyond “guy who stands in the corner” anytime in the near future.

Cavaliers Notes: Rubio, Mobley, Mitchell, Irving

December 27th, 2022 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio, who was cleared earlier this month to participate in 5-on-5 work, is getting close to making his season debut following his recovery from a torn left ACL. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff indicated today that Rubio’s return could come at some point early in the new year, per Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link).

“I would expect him, if things go the right way, sometime early next month,” Bickerstaff said. “So we’re definitely progressing in the right direction.”

Rubio began last season in Cleveland and played a key role in the Cavaliers’ early-season success, but sustained an ACL tear on December 28, almost exactly one year ago. He was subsequently traded to Indiana as a salary-matching piece when the team acquired Caris LeVert.

The Cavs were 20-13 entering the game in which Rubio got injured, but lost that contest and then played .500 ball the rest of the way, falling out of the playoffs in the East after losing a pair of play-in games. They’re off to a 22-13 start this season as the veteran point guard works through the final stages of his rehab process.

Here are a few more Cavs-related notes:

As Russo writes for The Athletic, Nets star Kevin Durant said he believes Cavs big man Evan Mobley has a “bright future” in Cleveland after working out with the former No. 3 overall pick in the Los Angeles area over the summer. “A lot of guys coming into the league who can do pretty much all things on a court, and he’s one of those guys that can dribble, that can guard, block shots, shoot threes, finish over the rim,” Durant said. “So, he showcased that this summer. Seeing his work ethic up close is something I wanted to see as a fan of the game because you can see the potential if you see a guy work.”
Durant also praised Donovan Mitchell for the role he has played in the team’s strong start this season, per Robert Fenbers of Cleveland.com. “Donovan Mitchell is the key to this change for this team, and it’s the reason why you look at them as contenders at this point,” Durant said. “He is such a dynamic, dynamic player since the moment he has stepped into this league.”
Kyrie Irving is typically greeted with boos in Cleveland because of how his tenure with the team ended, but in spite of Irving’s trade request, Kevin Love believes his former teammate deserves to have his number retired by the Cavs, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “Without a doubt. Absolutely. Right away, after his career ends,” Love said. “It’s not even a question to me. He needs to be up there. He made the biggest shot in franchise history and one of the most important shots in Finals history when you consider how it all went down — what it meant for the city, what it meant for his legacy, LeBron (James)‘s legacy and everything else, including that Golden State team that became a dynasty and was historically great.”

And-Ones: G League Ignite, Henderson, Wembanyama, Thornwell

December 27th, 2022 at 2:08pm CST by Luke Adams

After attending the G League’s Winter Showcase in Las Vegas last week, John Hollinger of The Athletic came away curious about the long-term future of the G League Ignite.

A handful of top prospects – like Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, and Dyson Daniels – have played for the Ignite before entering the NBA draft in recent years, and current Ignite guard Scoot Henderson may end up being the best of the bunch. But many of the prospects on the Ignite’s roster only project to be borderline NBA players, as Hollinger observes.

“Why are we paying almost half a million (dollars) for a two-way guy?” one league source said to Hollinger.

Even if the Ignite were attracting only elite prospects, people around the NBA have questioned why the league is paying significant salaries to develop prospects who would simply develop elsewhere if the Ignite didn’t exist, Hollinger writes. The Ignite aren’t playing in front of packed houses and haven’t become must-see television relative to college basketball, where NIL money has helped the NCAA maintain a recruiting edge.

Hollinger adds that most people he has spoken to don’t believe the Ignite are particularly well coached or well run, with prospects like Jaden Hardy looking much better once he left the program.

For what it’s worth, Henderson told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that he thinks his year with the Ignite has been good for him and that it has helped him develop “as a person” in addition to helping him develop as a player.

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

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link) has updated his 2023 mock draft and provided fresh scouting reports for a handful of his non-lottery prospects, including UCF’s Taylor Hendricks, Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh, and Pepperdine’s Maxwell Lewis.
According to Givony, a number of NBA executives who attended last week’s G League Winter Showcase said they wouldn’t be surprised if Scoot Henderson, who is out with a nasal fracture, doesn’t play another game this season, since his spot near the top of the 2023 draft is already assured. However, Givony says G League Ignite officials “emphatically” shot down that line of thinking and said Henderson should be back on the court relatively soon.
Henderson is the consensus No. 2 prospect in the 2023 class behind Victor Wembanyama, who continues to impress fans and evaluators with his two-way talent. The young French star racked up 26 points and 18 rebounds for Metropolitans 92 in his last game of the calendar year on Monday (link via ESPN).
After signing in October with Frutti Extra Bursaspor, veteran guard Sindarius Thornwell has mutually parted ways with the Turkish team two months later, the club announced (via Twitter). Thornwell has appeared in 160 total NBA games, but hasn’t been in the league since 2020/21, when he played for New Orleans and Atlanta.

Bulls Notes: Big Three, DeRozan, Green, Caruso

December 27th, 2022 at 12:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

The “Big Three” that the Bulls formed when they traded for Nikola Vucevic and signed DeMar DeRozan to team with Zach LaVine should be considered a “failed experiment,” writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Chicago’s inconsistent play continued Monday night with a home loss to the Rockets, who entered the game with just three road wins.

The Bulls fell to 3-8 against sub-.500 opponents and have lost to a collection of teams at the very bottom of the NBA standings. It was a disappointing performance after three straight road victories, but the players recognize it as a consequence of not being ready to compete from the start, as Houston built an early 23-5 lead.

“At this point, I don’t think it’s surprising,” Patrick Williams said. “I think we’ve shown ourselves when we play the way that we played tonight, this is what happens. So I don’t think it’s surprising. I just think it’s more so a wake-up call. Just because you win three in a row doesn’t mean a team is going to lay down.”

Bulls management hasn’t shown any signs of wanting to break up its Big Three, but the team is facing a limited timetable if it decides to move in that direction. The trade deadline is only about six weeks away, and a decision will have to be made soon on whether to keep Vucevic, who will be a free agent after this season.

There’s more from Chicago:

DeRozan called the Rockets’ hot start “unacceptable” and said the Bulls have to be more focused regardless of their opponent, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “We can’t feel out games,” DeRozan said. “We gotta go out the gate and treat it like it’s the fourth quarter. That’s just how we have to play. We have to be more aware of that.”
Javonte Green warmed up with his teammates Monday night, but he was held out so the medical staff could see how his right knee responded to the pregame routine, according to Annie Costabile of The Chicago Sun-Times. Coach Billy Donovan said Green no longer has the swelling and soreness in the knee that has forced him to miss eight games this month.
Alex Caruso remains in concussion protocol, but his sprained right shoulder is the main issue preventing him from playing, Costabile adds. “He’s gone through a series of concussion-protocol stuff, which he has passed,” Donovan said. “The next part of him passing the concussion protocol is him doing some form of contact.”

Sixers Notes: Embiid, Harden, Melton, Maxey, Tucker, King

December 27th, 2022 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

Dominant performances from Joel Embiid (35 points) and James Harden (29 points and 13 assists) were the difference in the Sixers‘ comeback win over the Knicks on Christmas Day and served as a reminder that the team’s star power can make up for some shortcomings, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

Before Embiid and Harden really got rolling and helped the Sixers pull away, De’Anthony Melton played a key role in keeping the club in the game, according to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who notes that the guard began the afternoon by making his first five 3-point attempts.

The performance bumped Melton’s season-long 3-point percentage to an impressive 39.2% and contributed to ongoing speculation about whether he might keep his spot in the starting lineup even when Tyrese Maxey returns from his foot injury.

According to Mizell, it’s hard to imagine Maxey not eventually regaining his starting job, but if he has a minutes limit when he returns, the team could bring him along slowly by initially having him come off the bench. Melton also could find himself playing crunch-time minutes in certain situations where a defensive specialist is required, Mizell notes, since neither Harden nor Maxey is a lock-down defender.

Here’s more on the 76ers:

The Sixers’ recent hot streak seems to be renewing enthusiasm about the upside of this year’s squad. Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote after Friday’s win over the Clippers that the 76ers are starting to live up to their preseason billing as a title contender, while Rich Hofmann of The Athletic said after Sunday’s victory over New York that the club is finally showing off its offensive firepower. Philadelphia had the NBA’s 17th-best offensive rating (111.2) through its first 24 games, but has posted the league’s third-best mark (118.1) during its current eight-game winning streak.
Sixers forward P.J. Tucker revealed on Friday that he has been battling a pinched nerve, which he referred to as a “dead hand,” for the last few weeks, tweets Mizell. Tucker has been playing through the injury, but intends to keep working on it with the team’s trainers and physical therapists, Mizell adds.
In the wake of the Sixers signing Louis King to a two-way contract to replace Saben Lee, Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com considers what King could bring to the team, suggesting that the former five-star recruit might be a “more intriguing lottery ticket” than Lee was.