Doncic led the league in scoring (33.9 points per game) and finished second in assists (9.8) while also grabbing 9.2 rebounds per contest. Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to the top seed in the Western Conference by averaging 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.0 steals per contest. Jokic, who is widely considered the favorite to win his third MVP trophy, averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists per night.
The NBA also announced the finalists for six other postseason awards. Here are the finalists for all of those awards:
Note: Sengun appeared in just 63 games but was eligible for award consideration based on the season-ending injury exception described in our glossary entry on the 65-game rule.
The Sixers won’t consider shutting down Joel Embiid after his second injury scare in eight days, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
The reigning MVP, who missed more than two months following meniscus surgery on his left knee in late January, collapsed to the court with pain in the knee after a spectacular play late in the first half on Saturday. He was eventually able to slowly walk to the locker room and was cleared to return after intermission.
“I knew when I went in at halftime that they were checking him out,” coach Nick Nurse said. “And that he was up and moving. And they did say we are seeing. They didn’t rule him out yet. They just took him all the way to the end there to get him ruled back in.”
Embiid, who didn’t speak with reporters after the game, was injured with 2:37 left in the second quarter when he ducked under Mitchell Robinson, threw the ball off the backboard and finished the play with a highlight dunk (video link). He landed on his left leg before collapsing in pain. It was similar to a play against Orlando last week when he fell to the court after a drive to the basket late in the first half, but returned after being checked out by team doctors.
“It was a great play. It was an amazing play,” Kelly Oubre told reporters, including Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. “Oh, man, it’s scary. Our bodies are what we use as our vehicles out here. It’s tough, and he’s seven-foot, 300 pounds. … It’s tough, man. I couldn’t even imagine being seven feet and being able to move like a guard and do the things that I can do but being that big. It’s tough, but he’s a warrior.”
Embiid’s health is obviously going to play a huge role in deciding the series with the Knicks, as he posted 29 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals in Saturday’s Game 1 loss. The Sixers were plus-14 in his 37 minutes on the court, but minus-21 in the other 11 minutes. However, Bontemps notes that he was much less effective after the injury, shooting just 2-of-11 from the field in the second half.
There’s no word yet on Embiid’s availability for Game 2, which will take place Monday night in New York, but there were no plans Saturday night for him to undergo more medical imaging on the knee, sources tell Vorkunov. He adds that Embiid was able to leave the arena without a limp.
Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer cautions that the Sixers need to be smart about how they use Embiid going forward because the strain he’s putting on his knee ligaments could result in a long-term injury. But Embiid has expressed a desire to keep playing, and it appears Nurse and team officials will honor that.
“I don’t think so,” Nurse responded when asked about the possibility of sidelining Embiid. “He’s really a warrior and he’s battling. I think he absolutely wants to play. Let’s see how he turns out here tonight.”
Bulls defensive ace Alex Caruso will be available for tonight’s play-in tournament game in Miami, head coach Billy Donovan said (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago).
Guard Ayo Dosunmu (quad) and center Andre Drummond (ankle) will be active too, Donovan added. All three players had previously been listed as questionable.
Caruso was said to have sustained a “significant” left ankle sprain in Wednesday’s play-in victory over Atlanta, but the swelling subsided over the past couple days and he told reporters on Friday morning he expected to suit up. The injury was an aggravation of a previous sprain.
Duncan Robinson, who has been battling a back issue, will be available tonight for the Heat, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Robinson was technically active for Wednesday’s loss to Philadelphia, Chiang notes, but he didn’t see any action — that might change with Jimmy Butler sidelined due to a knee sprain.
Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
Bucks guard Damian Lillard was a full practice participant on Friday, but two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (left calf strain) was unable to do any live drills, according to a report from ESPN. Reserve guard A.J. Green, who sat out Tuesday’s practice with a left ankle sprain, was able to go through most of Friday’s practice. There have been mixed messages from Milwaukee on Antetokounmpo’s status, with president Peter Feigin saying he”definitely will not be back for Sunday,” when the Bucks will host the Pacers in Game 1 of their first-round series. Head coach Doc Rivers is still holding out hope that the perennial All-NBA First Team member will be ready though, per ESPN. “I don’t know yet,” Rivers said. “We’re still hoping. He hasn’t done anything. Would we throw him out there? Yeah, we would. For us, still we’re not sure.”
Speaking of Lillard, the Bucks‘ All-Star said he aggravated his Achilles tendon in Sunday’s loss to Orlando, but his adductor has been giving him the most trouble, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic relays (Twitterlinks). Lillard missed four games over the past few weeks with various injury designations, but he said the week off has helped him recover.
Sixers center Joel Embiid is officially questionable for Saturday’s Game 1 in New York with what the team is calling left knee injury recovery, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic. Embiid, who missed a few months after tearing his meniscus in January, has been considered questionable for nearly every game since he returned to action at the beginning of April.
Since January 20, Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein has only played 30-plus minutes five times due to Achilles soreness. However, two of those instances came in his last two regular season games, and he said he’s ready for an increased workload in the postseason, according to Katz (Twitter link).
Harris, who averaged 17.2 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 3.1 APG and 1.0 SPG on .487/.353/.878 shooting in 70 regular season games, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
“Several” league executives believe the Pistons could pursue Harris, who had a previous stint with Detroit, but the 31-year-old is expected to draw interest from a variety of suitors, Pompey reports.
As Pompey writes, Harris wasn’t at his best in Philadelphia’s play-in victory over Miami on Wednesday, recording just nine points (on 40% shooting), though he did grab 10 rebounds and dish out four assists in nearly 32 minutes. Many of his teammates struggled on offense as well, Pompey notes.
Harris was benched for the final four-plus minutes of the fourth quarter, which head coach Nick Nurse primarily chalked up to exhaustion (Twitter video link PHLY Sixers). Nurse said the 76ers will likely choose between “six or seven guys” — including Harris — for closing lineups in their first-round series vs. New York.
Here’s more on the Sixers:
De’Anthony Melton did not practice on Friday and will not play in Saturday’s Game 1, but Nurse said the 25-year-old has not been ruled out for the entire series, per Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports (Twitter link). Melton, who is another of Philadelphia’s many impending free agents, has been limited to just five games since January 12 due to a lumbar spine injury.
As Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic details, Philadelphia pushed for Nicolas Batum to be included in the James Hardentrade with the Clippers back in November, and the veteran swingman showed how valuable he can be on both ends of the court in Wednesday’s victory. The 35-year-old scored 20 points, including 17 in the second half, and had a key block on Tyler Herro‘s three-point attempt with 26 seconds remaining. Batum is playing on an expiring $11.7MM contract and is set to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason.
He is only credited for 84, since the NBA doesn’t officially include the in-season tournament final or play-in games, but sharpshooter Buddy Hield holds the unusual distinction of playing 86 games this season before making the playoffs for the first time in his career, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Hield, who was acquired from Indiana at the trade deadline, has been the league’s most durable player during his eight NBA seasons, Bontemps notes. The Bahamian guard will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
The NBA announced all of the major All-NBA G League teams on Thursday (AllTwitterlinksfoundhere), including the First Team, Second Team, Third Team, All-Defensive Team, and All-Rookie team.
Several current and former NBA players are among the honorees. Here is the full list of winners for the 2023/24 season.
Jalen Brunson was not among the 12 players chosen to represent Team USA in the Paris Olympics. Managing director Grant Hill said it was difficult to leave the Knicks’ star guard off the team, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets.
“You wish you could’ve had three or four more (spots) because there are so many incredibly talented players and incredibly talented people. That was tough,” Hill said. “It was tough having to say no to certain people who I respect and admire. Certainly he was one of them. And there’s plenty of others who sadly and unfortunately we had to say no to. But with that said, we’re really excited about our group.”
We have more on the Knicks:
Philadelphia’s play-in victory over Miami set up a Sixers-Knicks matchup in the first round. While Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson will take turns guarding Joel Embiid, it will require a team effort and a variety of coverages to hold down one of the league’s premier scorers. Fred Katz of The Athletic examines what the Knicks might do defensively in the series to keep the reigning Most Valuable Player in check.
Donte DiVincenzo was deemed ineligible for postseason honors even though he appeared in all but one contest. As we detailed earlier this week, he didn’t qualify because he played fewer than 20 minutes in too many games. DiVincenzo, who was considered a candidate for the Most Improved Player award, believes the league will tweak the qualifications, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post relays. “I think the league will probably look at the rule going forward, but it’s not something where if I got the nine seconds, I’m a shoo-in to win the award,” DiVincenzo said. “It’s not that situation. So, for me, I don’t really care about it. I think going forward, you look at the rule. You adjust it accordingly. And you just go from there. And that’s pretty much the only thinking.”
The Knicks are 20-3 when OG Anunoby is in the lineup and he could play a key defensive role against Tyrese Maxey, Peter Botte of the New York Post notes. “It makes life a lot easier for all of us the things he’s able to do on that [defensive] side of the ball,” Brunson said.
Miles McBride played sparingly during the playoffs last season. He will have an expanded role this time around and he’s ready for it, Botte writes. “I take what I learned last year from the little bit I did play, and just watching the team go out there, and we were able to get one playoff-series win,” said McBride, who signed a three-year extension in late December. “This year, I’m just bringing a fresh mindset and will do what I’ve been doing the whole year.”
When we polled Hoops Rumors readers on Tuesday’s play-in games 24 hours ago, nearly half the respondents predicted victories for both the Lakers and Warriors, with roughly 36.7% forecasting a Pelicans win and only about 13.9% picking both the Lakers and Kings.
But that latter scenario is the one that played out, as the Lakers escaped New Orleans with a narrow victory to secure the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed, while the Kings got some level of revenge for last year’s first-round playoff exit by dispatching Golden State in the No. 9 vs. 10 game.
The Pelicans will now host the Kings in Friday’s do-or-die play-in game for the West’s No. 8 seed, but in the meantime, we have a pair of Eastern Conference play-in games on tap for Wednesday night.
In the early game, the No. 8 Heat will visit Philadelphia and battle the No. 7 Sixers for the right to claim the seventh seed and a first-round matchup with New York.
The stakes are high — while either team would be a significant favorite at home in a play-in game on Friday, losing tonight would result in a best-case scenario of a first-round date with the Celtics, who had the NBA’s best record for nearly the entire season. The Sixers and Heat would presumably rather take their chances with the Knicks.
Sixers center Joel Embiid is listed on the injury report as questionable due to left knee injury recovery, but there’s no doubt he’ll suit up — whether or not he’ll be anywhere near 100% is an open question. Embiid has only played five games since returning from knee surgery, and while he scored at least 30 points in three of those outings, his knee seemed to be bothering him on Friday, forcing him to sit out Sunday’s regular season finale.
If Embiid looks like himself, it bodes well for the Sixers, who have a +10.3 net rating in the big man’s 1,309 minutes on the court this season and went 31-8 in the games he played.
On the other hand, the Heat showed last spring that they’re extremely comfortable playing as a lower seed on the road with their backs against the wall, though it’s worth noting that the Miami team that made it to the NBA Finals did lose its first play-in game. The Heat, whose 24-17 road record this season ranked second among Eastern teams, are currently listed as five-point underdogs, per BetOnline.ag.
In the late game, the No. 9 Bulls are three-point favorites at home against the No. 10 Hawks. It has been an up-and-down season for both teams, who haven’t given us much reason to believe that a deep playoff run is in the cards.
The Bulls had the NBA’s 19th-best offensive rating and 22nd-best defensive rating this season for an overall net rating of -1.7 (20th). They also have a lengthy injury report. Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball, Patrick Williams, and Onuralp Bitim are out due to season-ending injuries, while Julian Phillips (right midfoot sprain) remains unavailable and Andre Drummond (left ankle sprain) and Ayo Dosunmu (right quad contusion) are considered questionable to suit up.
Still, Chicago will have DeMar DeRozan, Coby White, and Nikola Vucevic available to provide offensive firepower, while defensive ace Alex Caruso attempts to slow down Atlanta’s star backcourt.
Like Embiid in Philadelphia, Hawks leading scorer Trae Young only recently returned from a lengthy injury absence, appearing in the team’s final three regular season games after missing the previous 23 due to hand surgery. If he’s not in peak form, more offensive responsibilities will fall to fellow guards Dejounte Murray and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
The Hawks had the NBA’s 12th-best offense this season but ranked just 27th on defense and finished behind the Bulls in overall net rating, with a -2.0 mark (No. 21). They also have some key injury absences of their own, with Jalen Johnson (right ankle sprain), Onyeka Okongwu (left big toe sprain), and Saddiq Bey (torn ACL) all sidelined.
Given that the two teams look relatively evenly matched, it’s possible home-court advantage could be the difference for the Bulls. The Hawks went just 15-26 on the road this season.
We want to know what you think. Will it be the Sixers or Heat clinching their playoff berth today? Will it be the end of the road for the Bulls or the Hawks?
Make your Eastern Conference play-in picks in the poll below, then head to the comment section to weigh in with your thoughts!
Knicks swingman Donte DiVincenzo is one of several notable players who will be ineligible for end-of-season awards this season despite playing in far more than 65 games, as James Herbert of CBS Sports observes. DiVincenzo appeared in 81 games this season, but technically didn’t meet the NBA’s 65-game criteria.
As we outlined in our glossary entry on the NBA’s new 65-game rule, a game only counts toward the 65-game minimum if the player logged at least 20 minutes. A player is also permitted to play 20+ minutes in just 63 games as long as there were at least two additional games in which he played 15+ minutes.
DiVincenzo played 20+ minutes in 62 games and logged at least 19 minutes in seven more, including one in which he played 19:51. If he had reached the 20-minute threshold in one of those games, he would’ve been award-eligible, but he just missed out. The Knicks wing would have been included on Most Improved Player ballots from multiple voters, including JJ Redick, who took to Twitter to express displeasure with the rule.
As Herbert points out, DiVincenzo’s teammate Isaiah Hartenstein is another player who might have received award consideration but is considered ineligible despite appearing in 75 games, since he played 20+ minutes in just 50 of those contests. Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, another Most Improved candidate, played in 74 games but had 20+ minutes in just 61 of them, so he’s also ineligible.
Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas (82 starts), Mavericks wing Derrick Jones (76 games, including 66 starts), and Clippers swingman Terance Mann (71 starts) likely wouldn’t have been serious candidates for any awards, but they’re a few of the other players who paradoxically failed to meet the 65-game criteria due to the nature of the rule. For what it’s worth, Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) says he would have put Jones on his All-Defensive Second Team if he could have.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
As Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, the Sixers are once again entering the postseason with questions about the health of Joel Embiid, who sat out Sunday’s regular season finale and has played just five games since returning from knee surgery. However, Embiid is on track to play in Wednesday’s play-in game. He practiced on both Monday and Tuesday, per head coach Nick Nurse; 76ers guard De’Anthony Melton (back) did not (Twitterlinks via Kyle Neubeck and Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports).
After a disappointing season in Brooklyn, the Nets‘ roster figures to undergo an overhaul this summer, and the players who finished this season with the team are bracing for that possibility, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “I don’t think (any) of my years in the league I had the same team two years in a row,” Dorian Finney-Smith said. “Even if you win, teams still make moves, so I can only imagine how this summer’s gonna be.”
Nets forward Mikal Bridges admitted that it was a challenge to maintain a positive outlook during a “really tough” season and said that working on “being better mentally” will be one of his goals for this offseason, Lewis writes for The New York Post. He pointed to a December 27 loss to Milwaukee in which the Nets rested most of their regulars and the disappointing road trip that followed as low points. “The Milwaukee game and losing on that road trip, that was tough. I think that was a part of it. That didn’t help. For the players, I know that I was pretty hurt from that, I was pretty pissed off about that situation,” Bridges said. “That’s just part of it. I think I’ve failed at that part mentally. I was doing pretty good mentally, but I didn’t do a pretty good job of that this year. I let my emotions get to me.”
“My numbers are up there with some of the best of them, honestly,” Thomas told Holmes. “Mine are just overlooked because not that many people know me, I’m not the most vocal, talking and all that stuff. But if you just look at my numbers, my numbers are up there with some of the best of them… I think I just go under the radar a little bit because I’m not really on social media as much.”
Across 66 bouts this season (51 starts), the 6’4″ wing out of LSU posted a career-high 22.5 points per game on .442/.364/.856 shooting, along with 3.2 RPG, 2.9 APG and 0.7 SPG.
“I feel like I have so much more room to grow,” Thomas said. “I just want people to see that I have the potential to do that instead of just trying to keep me low.”
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
Sixers shooting guard Buddy Hield is nearing his first-ever playoffs, writes Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Philadelphia still needs to advance beyond the play-in tournament to officially make the playoffs, however. As Smith notes, Hield is currently the active player with the most games played who has yet to appear in the playoffs. His 631 regular season contests represent the fourth-most ever for a player without a single playoff appearance.
Further details have emerged regarding Celtics combo guard Jrue Holiday‘s lucrative new contract extension, Smith tweets. It’s a fully-guaranteed, four-year, $134.4MM deal, which will not include any bonuses or incentives. The two-time All-Star will earn $30MM in his first season under this new contract (2024/25), and $37.2MM in his last (2027/28).
Newly-acquired Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley will be a restricted free agent this summer and is comfortable with the idea of sticking with his new team going forward. “Obviously the team and my agent have to handle everything but I love being here in Toronto,” Quickley said, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link). “Since the day I got here they’ve done nothing but show me love.”
April 15th, 2024 at 6:18pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum
The Team USA men’s basketball program has determined 11 of its 12 roster spots for this year’s Paris Olympics, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Woj suggests that the final roster opening could remain open for a while. Sources inform Wojnarowski that Hall of Famer Grant Hill, Team USA’s managing director, is waiting for a July training camp and some Las Vegas exhibition games before finalizing that 12th spot.
10 of the 11 players were honored as All-Stars this season, while the 11th was a key two-way force on the 2021 gold medal-winning team, which is officially considered the 2020 Olympic team.
So far, three NBA teams – the Lakers, Celtics, and Suns – will feature multiple U.S. Olympians.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, serving again as the leader of Team USA this summer, will have just one current familiar face in All-Star point guard Curry, who will be making his Olympic debut. Among the other players listed, four others will be making their debuts with the program on this stage: reigning league MVP Embiid and young All-Star guards Edwards and Haliburton.
As Woj notes, 35-year-old Durant is one of just two players to have won three gold medals in Olympic history, along with future Hall of Fame forward Carmelo Anthony. James is playing in his first Olympics since 2012. James and Anthony were also members of Team USA the last time it didn’t win gold at the tournament, in 2004.
In the early game, the No. 8 Heat will visit Philadelphia and battle the No. 7 Sixers for the right to claim the seventh seed and a first-round matchup with New York.