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Northwest Notes: Jokic, Roby, Micić, Beverley

March 29th, 2022 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic appears to be the favorite as the MVP race enters the home stretch, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. In its latest straw poll of 100 media members, the network found 62 first-place votes and 860 overall points for Jokic, putting him ahead of the Sixers‘ Joel Embiid, who had 29 first-place votes and 719 points, and the Bucks‘ Giannis Antetokounmpo with nine first-place votes and 593 points.

Bontemps notes that the race appears similar to last year’s when Jokic built late momentum to capture his first MVP award. ESPN’s previous poll, taken in mid-February, showed Embiid with a slight advantage.

Jokic’s statistics are nearly identical to last season as he’s averaging 26.3 points and 8.0 assists to go with a career-high 13.6 rebounds per game. He has kept Denver in the playoff race despite injuries to Jamal Murray and Michael Porter, but his candidacy could suffer if the Nuggets fall into the play-in tournament. They’re currently in sixth, two games ahead of seventh-place Minnesota.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Thunder fans may not have wanted to win Monday’s game at Portland, but Isaiah Roby did, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. With Oklahoma City locked in a tight lottery race and having only had eight available players, all of whom started in the G League this season, Roby delivered a career-high 30 points, including a clutch shot that sent the game into overtime. “With the amount of talent that we have out, nobody’s counting on us to win any games,” Roby said. “The fact that we’re going out competing against playoff teams (Denver on Sunday) and we’re winning games like tonight, that’s very encouraging. I’m just proud of the guys. Proud of the eight guys we had out there tonight.”
Vasilije Micić, whose rights are owned by the Thunder, is only interested in coming to the NBA if he believes he’ll get regular playing time, according to Eurohoops. The 28-year-old signed a three-year extension with Anadolu Efes last summer that contains an escape clause after each season. “Honestly, I have a desire to go to the NBA,” he said. “But in a way, and I told that to the people from Oklahoma, to actually play there. I don’t see myself going there to tell my neighborhood friends that I was in the NBA and bring them back an OKC jersey. That doesn’t inspire me. I also came to Efes when they were at the bottom, and I had offers of some, perhaps, better-standing names.”
Patrick Beverley has completely changed the culture surrounding the Timberwolves since arriving in an offseason trade, states Cole Huff of The Athletic, who adds that the veteran guard has inspired toughness everywhere he’s been in his NBA career.

Joel Embiid Describes Ben Simmons Situation As "Draining"

March 29th, 2022 at 10:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Andre Drummond has been a valuable addition for the Nets since being acquired in the James Harden trade, but he understands the arrangement may be short-term, writes Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News. Drummond has taken over as Brooklyn’s starting center, averaging 12.2 points and 9.8 rebounds in 17 games. However, he’s playing on a veteran’s minimum contract that he signed with the Sixers and will be seeking a raise in free agency this summer.

In an interview with Sam Amick of The Athletic, Sixers center Joel Embiid said it was “draining” to have to deal with the Ben Simmons situation, but it forced him to become a better leader. Embiid was often vocal in the media about Simmons’ absence, saying in October that “our job is not to babysit somebody.” “It was a tough situation to navigate and go through (with Simmons),” Embiid told Amick. “Even to this day, I don’t have any hard feelings towards everything that happened. But being in my position, having to answer questions about that whole thing every single day, it was kind of draining. And I’m sure it was draining for my teammates.”
The Celtics never seriously considered breaking up Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown before last month’s trade deadline, but there was talk around the league and among sources close to both players that Boston might pursue that path over the summer, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. There’s no chance of a split following the Celtics’ recent surge to the top of the Eastern Conference, but Fischer states that a few teams had their eyes on Brown in early February. The Sixers would have pursued him if they hadn’t found a taker for Simmons, and Fischer identifies the Hawks and Heat as other potential suitors.

Sixers Notes: Maxey, Embiid, Harden, Title Chances

March 27th, 2022 at 3:58pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

While All-Stars Joel Embiid and James Harden will play larger roles, the contributions of second-year Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey could be an X-factor in determining the postseason ceiling for this star-studded Philadelphia club, writes Jared Dubin of FiveThirtyEight.

Maxey’s true shooting numbers have risen dramatically since Harden joined the team and Maxey shifted to off-ball duties more often, Dubin notes. His scoring averaged has increased, even as his usage and assist numbers have dropped a bit. Maxey, who has yet to be a net positive defender, will need to maximize his abilities on that end for Philadelphia to make a playoff push, Dubin adds.

There’s more out of Philly:

Sixers All-Star guard James Harden thinks his teammate, All-Star center Joel Embiid, is worthy of 2022 MVP honors, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “He deserves it, man,” Harden said. “I’ve only been here for a few weeks, but I already see his mindset. He wants to win. Some guys just want numbers, but he has both. He has the mentality of winning, and he scores the ball at a high level. I think he’s prepared himself, especially coming off last year, for this year to be one of his best years.” Through 60 games for Philadelphia, Embiid is averaging 29.8 PPG, 11.3 RPG and 4.3 APG. With a 46-27 record, the Sixers are currently the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference.
Harden continues to work through lingering left hamstring tightness, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s still not there,” Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said. “But [in] three weeks, we really feel at the time, he’ll be there at 100%.” Harden has put up solid numbers in the games he has been able to play for Philadelphia, averaging 23.0 PPG, 9.9 APG, and 7.6 RPG across 13 contests.
The Sixers now sit atop the Eastern Conference by percentage points over the Heat, losers of four straight. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if, record aside, Philadelphia is truly ready reach the NBA Finals this year. “Our focus is getting better every single day,” Joel Embiid reflected on the team’s development throughout the season. “We are not worried about the standings. We just want to get to a point where we know what we know we are doing at all times on the court, especially on the offensive side.”

And-Ones: Scoring Race, Lottery Teams, EuroLeague, Cole

March 23rd, 2022 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s 2021/22 scoring race could end up being one for the ages, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. As Reynolds outlines, the league is currently on pace for its closest three-way scoring race of all-time.

Currently, Lakers forward LeBron James leads the pack with 30.0 points per game, followed by Sixers center Joel Embiid at 29.8 PPG and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo at 29.7 PPG.

Five more players are averaging at least 27.0 PPG, but are unlikely to crash the top three even with strong finishes. Nets forward Kevin Durant (29.6 PPG) would have made it a fascinating four-way race if were able to meet the required minimum of 58 games played, but he’ll fall just short of that threshold.

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

Dan Devine of The Ringer takes a look at the 10 teams who appear likely to miss the playoffs and the play-in and identifies one silver lining for each club. Devine’s list includes Anfernee Simons‘ breakout for the Trail Blazers, Markelle Fultz‘s return for the Magic, and Kyle Kuzma‘s development for the Wizards.
After initially suspending the Russian teams in the EuroLeague and EuroCup, the Euroleague has opted to expel those clubs for the rest of 2021/22, writes Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net. The decision, made in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, will affect CSKA Moscow, Zenit St. Petersburg, and UNICS Kazan in the EuroLeague and Lokomotiv Kuban in the EuroCup.
In other international basketball news, former NBA point guard Norris Cole has signed with JL Bourg in France, while journeyman wing Sean Kilpatrick has joined Spanish team Zaragoza, according to press releases from the respective clubs. Cole has played in 360 regular season NBA games, while Kilpatrick has appeared in 157, but both have been out of the league for a few years.

Sixers Have Struggled With Just One Of Embiid, Harden On Court

March 22nd, 2022 at 7:44am CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have performed very well when both Embiid and Harden are on the court, but have struggled in recent weeks with just one of their two stars playing, according to Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com, who says the team will need to find a way to address that issue. Both Embiid (back soreness) and Harden (left hamstring injury recovery) missed Monday’s game, but Philadelphia pulled out a 113-106 upset over the top-seeded Heat.

Heat Notes: Beal, Butler, Martin, Oladipo, Haslem

March 21st, 2022 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The belief around the NBA is that signing a new contract with the Wizards is the most likely offseason outcome for veteran guard Bradley Beal, writes Shams Charania of The Athletic. However, multiple sources tell Charania that the Heat are considered a “legitimate” suitor for Beal if he decides to seek a change of scenery in free agency.

Even if Beal were interested in going to Miami, it would be a challenge for the capped-out Heat to acquire him. As Charania writes, a sign-and-trade would almost certainly be necessary, and it’s a safe bet the Wizards would drive a hard bargain if they were sending their franchise player to a division rival. Reacting to the report, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald says he’d be surprised if the Heat were willing to move Tyler Herro in a sign-and-trade for Beal.

The entire scenario remains hypothetical for now. Although the Heat are one of several teams that have monitored Beal for years in case he asks to be dealt – Charania reports the Sixers also did plenty of work this season on a possible Beal trade before acquiring James Harden – the longtime Wizard has always remained committed to D.C. It sounds like there’s a good chance that trend will continue this summer.

Here’s more on the Heat:

Caleb Martin (hyperextended left knee) said on Monday that he’ll play vs. Philadelphia tonight, and head coach Erik Spoelstra said that Jimmy Butler (right ankle sprain) will warm up with the intention of playing (Twitter links via Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald). Sixers center Joel Embiid, meanwhile, will sit on the second night of a back-to-back set due to back soreness, tweets ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
Victor Oladipo didn’t travel to Philadelphia due to back spasms, but the Heat don’t seem concerned about the veteran guard, tweets Chiang. “He’s just rehabbing and trying to get ready for Wednesday,” Spoelstra said of Oladipo.
Heat big man Udonis Haslem remains interested in getting involved in the franchise’s ownership group after he retires, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald relays. “This is always the place I wanted to win. This is always the place I wanted to retire. This is always the place I felt I could make the biggest impact,” Haslem said, noting that he took discounts earlier in his career to stay with the Heat. “… You don’t give up $40, $50, $60 million dollars temporarily because it [isn’t] temporarily coming back. So everything I’ve done is to be part of this organization for the rest of my life.”

DeAndre Jordan Discovering Identity As Late-Season Sixers Addition

March 20th, 2022 at 8:13pm CST by JD Shaw

DeAndre Jordan is discovering his niche as a late-season addition with the Sixers, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines. Jordan was waived by the Lakers earlier this month and subsequently signed with Philadelphia. He recorded eight points and seven rebounds in the team’s win over Dallas on Friday, logging 13 minutes off the bench.

Atlantic Notes: Rivers, Embiid, VanVleet, Robinson

March 20th, 2022 at 5:31pm CST by JD Shaw

Sixers coach Doc Rivers disagrees with the perception that his bench needs to score more, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Many league observers believe Philadelphia’s depth could be an Achilles heel, especially after the team gave up Seth Curry and Andre Drummond in last month’s deal for James Harden.

“All year, we were playing with five bench guys. I think that was too many for people,” Rivers explained. “Now, we are playing three bench guys. That’s not enough for people.”

Philadelphia’s bench consists of Shake Milton, Danny Green, Georges Niang and DeAndre Jordan, which likely isn’t better than other Eastern contenders such as Miami or Milwaukee. The team’s starting group certainly makes up for it, however.

“I think the biggest thing everyone is missing is since James has come, we play two starters with the bench,” Rivers continued, alluding to his new substitution pattern. “So when you do that, the bench guys aren’t going to score as much.

“The reason they aren’t going to score as much is because the two starters that are playing with the bench are probably scoring more when they are playing with the bench. So it does change it a little bit for sure.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Sixers superstar Joel Embiid is eager to play in every game before the playoffs, but he understands the importance of being healthy, Pompey writes in a separate article for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Embiid has been playing through a sore back. Philadelphia will need his production in the playoffs, as he’s currently averaging a career-high 30.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet (right knee injury management) will miss the team’s game against Philadelphia on Sunday, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. VanVleet played nearly 47 minutes against the Lakers in an overtime game on Friday. He leads the team in minutes per game (38.2) and is in the midst of his first All-Star campaign.
Mitchell Robinson has provided a boost for the Knicks on the offensive glass, Pette Botte of the New York Post writes. The seven-footer has averaged just over four offensive rebounds per game this season, trailing only Grizzlies center Steven Adams. “Huge … those effort plays, they inspire your team,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Our rebounding has been off the charts, that’s a big part of winning. You have to keep improving … keep fighting, scratching. Whatever we gotta do, we gotta do right now.”

Atlantic Notes: Harden, Sixers, Barnes, Nesmith

March 19th, 2022 at 8:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers have been successful since trading for James Harden last month, but he’s still trying to find the right balance between scoring and setting up teammates, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Harden has averaged 13.7 shots per game since coming to Philadelphia, which would be his lowest total in a decade.

“You have another guy [Joel Embiid] right now who’s leading the league in scoring on my team,” Harden said after Friday’s win over the Mavericks. “Night-in and night-out, he’s used to, he’s confident of getting buckets.”

Coach Doc Rivers said earlier this week that he would like to see Harden shoot more frequently, and Embiid expressed the same sentiment on Friday, saying the former MVP needs to be more aggressive heading into the playoffs. The two players spread out the scoring duties against Dallas, with Embiid contributing 21 of his 32 points in the first half and Harden scoring 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.

“I’m just trying to find a balance like I talked about before, when to be a play-maker,” Harden said. “I think tonight especially in that fourth quarter, me attacking, attacking, attacking, the play-making ability is going to come because we got lobs, we got threes. So that’s going to come with my aggressiveness. You just got to read the game. And tonight, I felt I read the game well.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Rivers indicated that he might consider resting some of his players, particularly with a tough back-to-back looming for the Sixers Sunday and Monday against the Raptors and Heat, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. That wraps up a stretch of six games in nine days with two back-to-backs and a pair of one-game road trips. “You’d rather have this at the beginning of the year,” Rivers said. “But every team, at some point, goes through a stretch like this.”
A crucial mistake in Friday’s loss to the Lakers should be a learning experience for Raptors rookie Scottie Barnes, states Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Although Barnes had a great game with 31 points and 17 rebounds, his late inbounds pass was intercepted by Russell Westbrook, who hit a three-pointer to send the game to overtime. “It wasn’t just him,” Fred VanVleet said. “He really gave us a chance to be in the game, dominated both ends of the floor, had a couple unfortunate plays but … I’ve certainly had my share of them (and) it sucks in the moment but all you can do for those times is grow and get better at it, and Scottie will do that.”
Celtics guard Aaron Nesmith has been upgraded to questionable for Sunday’s game, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Nesmith has missed the past two weeks with a sprained right ankle.

Sixers Notes: Harden, Embiid, Simmons

March 17th, 2022 at 5:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers coach Doc Rivers wants James Harden to shoot more often, even though Harden has connected at a low percentage in recent games, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “You’ve got to be careful to keep him in scoring mode, and not put him in passing mode, because he’ll go there,” Rivers said. Harden has officially taken 11 and 12 field-goal attempts in his last two outings and has averaged 17.6 points over the last five games.

We have more on the Sixers:

The 76ers are 7-2 in games that Harden has played, a promising start with his latest team, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Harden has asserted himself on the court as a leader and has made a good impression on his new teammates. “He’s a good teammate,” Rivers said. “Guys like him. And most of the time, guys like anyone who passes, to be honest. I think guys are already finding ways — ‘I can score off this cut. I can do things like this.’ It’s still a learning process. But you ingratiate yourself to your teammates really quickly when you start passing to them.”
Joel Embiid could use more rest but the team can’t really afford it at this point in the season, Pompey notes in a separate story. “I started feeling (fatigue), but I have to keep pushing because we have 15 more games,” he said. Embiid, one of the NBA’s leading Most Valuable Player candidates, has averaged 35.8 MPG this month and has played 56 games, five more than he has in each of the past two regular seasons.
Embiid remains baffled by the Ben Simmons saga, as he told Draymond Green on the Warriors forward’s podcast (hat tip to Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire). “I just didn’t understand what was going on, honestly. I didn’t understand what happened and what led up to that whole situation. To this day, I don’t understand. Even when you look at it and I don’t have any problems with him and like I say, obviously we didn’t win the championship together, but in the regular season, we went dominant every single season.”

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