- Multiple recent reports have identified Doc Rivers as a possible candidate for the Lakers‘ head coaching job, but the Sixers head coach dismissed those rumors on Tuesday and said he and his staff are happy with in Philadelphia. “I have a job,” Rivers said (Twitter link via Tom Moore of The Bucks County Courier Times). “We want to win here.”
- Sixers assistant Dave Joerger was away from the team for over two months this season, leaving in November to undergo cancer treatments before returning to the bench on a full-time basis in February. Speaking to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Joerger opened up on what he has gone through in the last year. “Where I’ve been, it runs the gamut,” he said. “There’s times you feel, ‘This is not going to stop me. There’s nothing that can stop me. I’ve got such a great support system,’ and then there’s times you just don’t know if you can go on anymore. Physically, mentally, it’s like, ‘This hurts.’ It’s given me a great appreciation for all the gifts and all the things that we have been given.”
The Mavericks put out a press release on Tuesday formally confirming that Luka Doncic is dealing with a strained left calf and announcing there’s no timetable for his return.
Dallas won’t have to officially list Doncic on the injury report until Friday, so the club will likely continue to be cagey about his availability for Game 1 vs. Utah. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd declined to offer any specifics on Tuesday, offering coy responses about Doncic’s ability to practice and the possibility that he’ll play on Saturday, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.
For what it’s worth, Kidd said multiple times that Doncic is “in great spirits,” while Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie offered a positive assessment of his teammate’s status (Twitter link via Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News): “He seemed solid to me. I mean, he don’t seem like a guy that’s going to miss too much time, if any.”
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- The Cavaliers have officially listed Jarrett Allen (finger) as out for Tuesday’s play-in game vs. Brooklyn. An earlier report suggested there’s some hope that Allen would be able to play on Friday if Cleveland loses tonight.
- Clippers sharpshooter Luke Kennard (hamstring) had been officially listed as questionable for Tuesday’s play-in game, but he didn’t make the trip to Minnesota, according to head coach Tyronn Lue (Twitter link via Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times).
- Hawks big man John Collins, out since March 11 due to finger and foot injuries, played some 4-on-4 over the weekend, but head coach Nate McMillan isn’t sure whether he’ll be available for Wednesday’s play-in game vs. Charlotte, writes Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He’s been moving a lot more, and today was pretty much shooting. … We’ll see tomorrow,” McMillan said on Tuesday. “We’ll see how he feels after the weekend of play and what he went through today.”
- After missing the last two games of the regular season with a knee issue, Sixers forward Georges Niang was able to practice on Tuesday and should be ready for Game 1 on Saturday, head coach Doc Rivers told reporters, including Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
LeBron James may be leaning toward playing out his current contract and making a decision on his future next summer, sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic. In August, James will become eligible for a two-year extension that would pay him $97.1MM and tie him to the Lakers through the end of the 2024/25 season.
Although that’s more than he could get from any other team, the organization’s turmoil and lack of success on the court could make him think twice about extending him commitment to the Lakers. James, who said in February that he would like to someday be on the same team with his son, Bronny, could return to playing on one-year contracts the way he did during his second stint in Cleveland, Amick adds, citing sources close to the situation.
James is intrigued by by the idea of setting the all-time scoring record in a Lakers’ uniform, but he also wants to contend for championships, which may be out of reach in L.A. When asked about the extension on Monday, he didn’t offer a direct answer.
“The conversation hasn’t been talked about,” James responded. “Technically it’s because (with) the collective bargaining agreement (it) cannot even be discussed until later on in the year. So, you know, I know what’s out there. But we can’t even — myself and (agent) Rich (Paul) — can’t even begin to talk with (GM) Rob (Pelinka), or the front office at all, because of the collective bargaining agreement. So (when) we get to that point, we’ll see.”
There’s more on the Lakers:
- If Russell Westbrook remains with the team next season, there will be “significant pressure” for him to become a sixth man, according to Amick, who states that “some key Lakers figures” thought that should have been his role this year. Westbrook clashed repeatedly with just-fired head coach Frank Vogel, so it’s possible that he would be more accommodating to a new coach.
- James would be “very enthused” to see Mark Jackson become the team’s next head coach, Amick adds. Jackson, a broadcaster for ABC and ESPN, has been out of coaching since the Warriors fired him after the 2013/14 season. Amick notes that the Lakers haven’t always taken coaching advice from James, who preferred Tyronn Lue and Jason Kidd before Vogel was hired in 2019.
- Many of the prominent names mentioned in the Lakers’ coaching search are already under contract and may be out of reach, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Quin Snyder‘s deal with the Jazz runs for at least another year, and sources tell Turner that Snyder has less interest in the L.A. job after seeing how the organization mishandled Vogel’s firing. Nick Nurse has two years left on his contract in Toronto and it’s assumed around the league that the Raptors won’t let him leave, Turner adds, while Juwan Howard reportedly wants to stay at Michigan and coach his sons. However, even though he has three years left on his contract with the Sixers, Doc Rivers “should not be discounted as a candidate,” a source familiar with the situation tells Turner.
- Matisse Thybulle remains ineligible to play Games 3 and 4 in Toronto due to his vaccination status, Sixers coach Doc Rivers confirmed to ESPN’s Malika Andrews (Twitter link) and other media members. Thybulle explained why he decided not to get fully vaccinated to Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com, among others, on Sunday. “I was raised in a holistic household, where anti-vax is not like a term that was ever used, it’s a weird term that has been kind of been thrown around to just label people,” Thybulle said. “We grew up with Chinese medicine and naturopathic doctors. Just with that upbringing, coming into the situation, I felt like I had a solid foundation of medical resources that could serve me beyond what this vaccine could do for me.”
Sixers center Joel Embiid has been named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week for the final week of the 2021/22 regular season (April 4-10), while Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has won the award in the West, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).
Embiid, putting a stamp on an MVP-caliber season, averaged 38.7 PPG, 14.3 RPG, and 2.7 APG on .609/.444/.757 shooting in three games (37.7 MPG) before resting in Philadelphia’s regular season finale on Sunday. The Sixers had a 3-1 week as Embiid earned his second Player of the Week award of the season.
Doncic, meanwhile, put up 30.3 PPG, 10.0 APG, and 9.0 RPG as the Mavs won their final three games of the season by an average margin of 26 points. It was his third Player of the Week award this season. Doncic’s season ended on a sour note though, as he left Sunday’s finale early due to a strained left calf. He’ll undergo an MRI today to determine the severity of the injury.
Embiid beat out fellow nominees Pascal Siakam, Kevin Durant, and Obi Toppin in the East. The other Western nominees were Rudy Gobert and Klay Thompson (Twitter link).
Should the Sixers suffer an early playoff exit, there has been speculation that coach Doc Rivers might be on the hot seat, and with Frank Vogel expected to be fired after the season, Rivers has surfaced as a name to watch for the Lakers‘ head coaching job.
Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com explores the topic of whether Rivers makes sense as a candidate in Los Angeles — assuming he’d even be interested in the job. Neubeck states that Rivers deserves credit for publicly embracing the team’s championship aspirations, but it could lead to him being the fall guy if the Sixers fail to make a significant postseason run.
Here’s more on Philadelphia:
- A league source tells Neubeck that there’s no indication that Matisse Thybulle has changed his stance about getting vaccinated. Toronto won Friday night, clinching at least the No. 5 seed in the East. As ESPN’s Tim Bontemps notes (via Twitter), the Bucks will either be the No.2 or the No. 3 seed after Friday’s victory, and the Sixers can finish no better than third, because Milwaukee holds the tiebreaker. Point being, the odds have increased that the Sixers could face the Raptors in the first round of the playoffs.
- Rivers was vague in his response to Thybulle being ineligible to play in Toronto, per Gina Minzell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). “It’s one game tonight. We’ll go from there,” Rivers said before Thursday’s meeting. When asked how it might impact the team in the postseason, Rivers said, “We don’t know who we’re playing yet, so we’ll just handle that when it comes.” Philly lost to Toronto this week in Thybulle’s absence.
- Veteran Danny Green says he’s not happy about the situation with Thybulle, but it wasn’t clear from his wording whether he’s displeased about the rule that unvaccinated foreign nationals can’t enter Canada, or with Thybulle himself. “I’m not happy about it. It is an opportunity for myself and other guys to get more minutes on the road with James [Harden] and other rotations, but I think we’re a better team when we’re whole and we have everybody,” Green said. He added that it was tough to evaluate the team when it isn’t whole. “Most guys, I don’t want to say [are] disappointed, but. … it’s still a point in the season when we’re still trying to gauge who we are, where we are. The only way to do that is to have everybody together. It’s tough to do that when we don’t have everybody” (Twitter thread courtesy of Mizell).
- DeAndre Jordan has been positive locker room presence for the Sixers, Mizell writes in a story for The Inquirer. Jordan has served as the team’s primary backup center after being waived by the Lakers.
- Rookie Charles Bassey suffered a right shoulder sprain and missed his game with the team’s G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, per Derek Bodner of The Daily Six (Twitter link). Bassey will be reevaluated in about 10 days. The 21-year-old hasn’t played much at the NBA level, appearing in 23 games with an average of 7.3 minutes per contest, but he’s been productive when given opportunities.
Sixers swingman Matisse Thybulle is listed as ineligible to play on the team’s latest injury report and will miss Thursday’s game against the Raptors, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays (via Twitter).
This is significant news because a report last week indicated that the Sixers might have unvaccinated players. On January 15, Canada implemented a rule barring unvaccinated players from entering the country.
If the Sixers face the Raptors in the playoffs, any Philly players who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 would be ineligible to cross the border to play in Toronto. Based on the injury report, the lone player impacted appears to be Thybulle.
Philadelphia is currently the No. 4 seed in the East and Toronto is the No. 5 seed, so as of right now they would meet in the first round of the playoffs, but that could change with three games remaining. The Sixers are in a three-way tie for the second-best record in the East at 49-30, while the Raptors hold a one-game lead on the Bulls.
As Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports observes (via Twitter), Thybulle would presumably miss games 3, 4, and 6 (if necessary) of a playoff series if the two teams are matched up. Thybulle will forfeit Thursday’s game check worth $31,006 due to being ineligible to play, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Thybulle is an elite defender and arguably the league’s premier perimeter stopper. He earned a second-team All-Defense nod last season in just his second season despite only playing 20 minutes a game, a testament to his outsized impact. He will surely be in the conversation for another All-Defensive team honor this season.
Through 64 games this season, including 49 starts, Thybulle is averaging 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.1 blocks in 25.4 minutes per contest. He isn’t an offensive threat, but the Sixers don’t need him to be with fellow starters Joel Embiid, James Harden, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris more than capable of scoring plenty of points.
The Sixers close their regular season schedule at Toronto on Thursday, followed by home back-to-backs against Indiana and Detroit over the weekend.
An offseason coaching change seems inevitable for the Lakers, who could see their hopes for the play-in tournament end as early as tonight, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
Sources tell Fischer that L.A. is expected to fire Frank Vogel after the end of the season. Vogel has reportedly been on the hot seat for some time, and only received a one-year contract extension last summer.
There will be a long list of potential replacements, but Fischer identifies Jazz coach Quin Snyder and Sixers coach Doc Rivers as the most intriguing names to watch. Marc Stein of Substack recently linked Snyder to the Lakers’ job, and possibly to the Spurs as well. Snyder responded by calling it “disrespectful” to the teams involved to discuss rumors while those coaching positions are filled.
Snyder was a Lakers assistant 10 years ago, and Utah may decide to make a coaching change of its own after a late-season slide, but Fischer cites skepticism around the league that he’ll wind up in Los Angeles. The feeling is that Snyder would prefer to wait for the San Antonio job, even if Gregg Popovich returns next season.
Rivers could become available if Philadelphia has an early playoff exit, and he would be considered by the Jazz as well, Fischer adds. Rivers had a long history in Boston with Utah CEO Danny Ainge.
Fischer has more news regarding the Lakers:
- Some rival teams have wondered if Anthony Davis might be available in a trade this summer, but multiple sources told Fischer that won’t be an option the Lakers seriously consider. Davis has been severely limited by injuries the past two years, playing 39 games so far this season and 36 in 2020/21, but L.A.’s front office still believes it has the makings of a championship contender when Davis and LeBron James are healthy.
- The Lakers will try again to trade Russell Westbrook, but they still may not have any options other than a deal with the Rockets for John Wall that would likely also cost them a future first-round pick. Talen Horton-Tucker, who Fischer said was nearly sent to the Raptors at the deadline in a three-way deal that would have included the Knicks, will also be on the market, along with Kendrick Nunn, who is expected to pick up his $5.25MM player option.
- Malik Monk was the Lakers’ best offseason signing, ranking third on the team in points scored and minutes played on a minimum-salary contract, but he may be somewhere else next season. L.A. only holds Non-Bird rights on Monk and will be limited to a contract that starts at the taxpayer mid-level exception, which is projected to be $6.4MM. Rival executives expect him to get offers with a starting salary as high as $10MM, says Fischer.
Speaking to reporters this weekend, Sixers coach Doc Rivers made a case for Joel Embiid to win the Most Valuable Player award, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. Embiid is currently in the midst of his best season, averaging 30.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
“Listen, I don’t get on this, but I really believe he should be the MVP,” Rivers said.
In addition to his impressive averages, Embiid has led Philadelphia to a 47-30 record. He’ll face stiff competition for the award this year, which will include Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Memphis’ Ja Morant, Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Here are some other notes from the Atlantic:
- The Knicks have been eliminated from playoff contention, but second-year forward Obi Toppin is showing he still cares about the games, Neil Best of Newsday writes. Toppin most recently finished with 20 points, four rebounds and four assists in a loss to the Cavaliers on Saturday, showing potential at 24 years old.
- The Nets dropped a 122-115 game to the Hawks on Saturday despite receiving a superstar performance from Kevin Durant, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Durant finished with a career-high 55 points on 19-of-28 shooting from the floor (68%), but it clearly wasn’t enough. Brooklyn forced just six Atlanta turnovers and allowed over 115 points for a fourth straight game.
- Now that the Celtics have won 49 games, forward Jaylen Brown is halfway to meeting the criteria for a $482K bonus, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Brown will receive the bonus if Boston makes the second round of the playoffs. The incentive was deemed unlikely at the start of the season, Marks notes.
The Sixers scored 144 points in beating the Hornets this afternoon, easing concerns that the offense has stagnated since James Harden arrived. Philadelphia snapped a three-game losing streak as Harden reverted to the playmaker role he adopted after being acquired from the Nets in February, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He took just 10 shots from the field and handed out 13 assists while playing three quarters in the blowout.
“Like I said, it’s possession by possession, game by game,” Harden said. “Some games I need to be a little more aggressive. But with all that said, I think when all of us are playing well together and on the same page, we got a very, very good chance to win.”
Coach Doc Rivers compared Harden’s situation to what Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen experienced when they joined the Celtics. It’s harder to put up impressive stats on teams with multiple scoring options.
“His numbers are not going to be like his numbers in Houston, because he’s playing with a pretty good player [Joel Embiid],” Rivers said. “So those types of numbers I would never compare him to or anybody to.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Rivers was relieved the Sixers were able to work out a deal for Ben Simmons at the deadline, saying his standoff with the team was becoming too much of a distraction, per Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. “The guys were just over it,” Rivers said. “We were winning games, and, every town we went to, we were talking about Ben. I don’t know if we could have gotten through the second half of the season with that hanging over our heads. I was praying something happened.”
- Simmons traveled with the Nets for tonight’s showdown in Atlanta, but he was limited to “light shooting” before the game and didn’t move around much, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Coach Steve Nash said nothing has changed with Simmons’ status, adds Nick Friedell of ESPN (Twitter link).
- Nets guard Goran Dragic, who has entered health and safety protocols, is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, Nash said in a pregame meeting with reporters (Twitter link from Lewis). Nash added that Bruce Brown has the flu and hopefully will return soon. Seth Curry will miss tonight’s game because of soreness in his left ankle (Twitter link).
- Celtics center Robert Williams was happy with the results of his meniscus surgery, tweets NBA writer A. Sherrod Blakely. “Everything went as well as we wanted to (with the surgery),” Williams said. “We have to take our time, make sure I’m healthy … everyone here cares about me long-term.”