- Playing their second game since Chris Paul was sidelined with a fractured right thumb, the Suns were blown out at home by the Pelicans Friday night, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Paul remained active on the bench, coaching and encouraging his teammates, but Phoenix will have to adjust to his absence on the court in order to keep the top spot in the West. “We just have to find ways,” Devin Booker said. “I think every game is going to be a new learning experience for us. Figuring things out.”
With Chris Paul out for six-to-eight weeks with a thumb injury, the Suns might seem more vulnerable. Coach Monty Williams says opponents shouldn’t underestimate the resolve of his team, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets.
“I think our guys are looking forward to the challenge because they hear what everybody is saying,” Williams said. “As soon as the news got out, everybody forecasted fear and that’s not who we are.”
Phoenix extended its winning streak to eight games by defeating the Thunder on Thursday.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers will have to go without Anthony Davis again for several weeks due to a foot injury. Russell Westbrook says he’s mentally preparing for Davis’ absence, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register writes. “For me, I already kind of (adjusted my) mentality, changed my mindset a little bit knowing kind of what to be expected,” he said. “Our job is to hold it down until he gets back.”
- Isaiah Hartenstein has been stellar in a backup role with the Clippers and he could cash in after the season, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe. Hartenstein is shooting 62% from the field and has emerged as one of the best passing bigs in the league. Hartenstein will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after playing on a minimum contract and he could be in a line for a non-trivial portion of some team’s mid-level exception, Lowe believes.
- The Clippers are continuing to look around for upgrades, particularly at the point, but there may not be anyone made available that they’ll sign, according to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times. They are happy with the recent play of Terance Mann and would have to waive a player to add a free agent.
Suns head coach Monty Williams enjoyed being involved in the All-Star festivities over the weekend, leading Team LeBron to a 163-160 victory in Sunday’s contest. However, he didn’t let the event distract him from preparing for life without Chris Paul after the break, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic writes. The All-NBA guard is expected to miss at least six-to-eight weeks due to a fractured thumb.
“Naturally, you have to,” Williams said of preparing to play for Paul’s absence. “I’ve had meetings with our coaches about what we’re going to do going forward. Different lineups. Rotations. How we’re going to play. Chris is a huge part of what we do. And so we’re not going to try to replace him. We’re just going to try to play the same way and keep our standard at a high level and I’m grateful for the depth that we.”
Examining the impact of Paul’s injury on the Suns, Cole Huff of The Athletic suggests it might not be a disaster for the team. Huff believes Phoenix – which has a 6.5-game lead for the West’s No. 1 seed – can hang onto the top spot in the West, and points out that even if Paul’s absence extends into the first round of the playoffs, the team would still be heavy favorites against a No. 8 seed.
Here are a few more notes on the Suns:
- After previously reporting that the Suns expected Cameron Payne to return from his right wrist injury in the first game after the All-Star break, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) now says the veteran point guard may need a few more days before he’s back on the court. With both Payne and Paul sidelined, Devin Booker, Aaron Holiday, and Elfrid Payton figure to take on more ball-handling responsibilities.
- Noting that JaVale McGee and Deandre Ayton have been two of the NBA’s most effective pick-and-roll big men so far this season, Zach Harper of The Athletic wonders how their production might be affected with Paul not in the lineup.
- Speaking to reporters at All-Star Weekend, NBA commissioner Adam Silver didn’t provide an update on the league’s investigation into Suns owner Robert Sarver, simply stating that it’s “ongoing.” However, general manager James Jones said he believes the probe should be completed “soon,” Rankin writes for The Arizona Republic.
- Suns head coach Monty Williams is happy to see Jalen Smith get a new opportunity with the Pacers, as relayed by James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). Smith was traded from Phoenix to Indiana earlier this month. “I’m happy for him,” Williams said as part of a larger quote. “He’s a guy that worked his tail off every single day with us. He just couldn’t crack the rotation.” Smith has appeared in four games with the Pacers, averaging 12.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in 21 minutes per contest.
Suns star Chris Paul has suffered a right thumb avulsion fracture and will be re-evaluated in six-to-eight weeks, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. Phoenix currently holds the best record in the NBA at 48-10.
As we previously relayed, Paul sustained the injury against Houston on Wednesday night and underwent an MRI on Thursday. He has yet to miss a game this season.
“We’re 48-10 and if we do miss some time, I know the guys are going to hold it down,” Paul said before his timetable was announced. “There’s always going to be a frustration with injury. My hand surgeon is part of my family now.
“… I always want to play. When I felt that in my hand, I was mad for all types of reasons. Obviously we’re not going to (rush it). I’m going to try to heal as fast as physically possible. The second I’m able to play, I guarantee you I will be playing.”
The Suns do expect both Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet to return after the All-Star Break, which is perfect timing with Paul expected to be sidelined for much of the rest of the regular season. Elfrid Payton and newly-acquired guard Aaron Holiday will also be in the mix for backcourt minutes.
Paul, 36, is in his 17th NBA season and second year with Phoenix. He’s averaged 14.9 points, 10.7 assists and 1.9 steals per contest this campaign, shooting 49% from the floor. The Suns are coming off their first NBA Finals trip since 1993.
While the Suns, who have a 6.5-game lead on the No. 2 Warriors, may not need Paul in their lineup in the next few weeks to clinch the top seed in the Western Conference, they’ll certainly need him back if they want to make another deep playoff run. If CP3 is able to return in six or seven weeks, he’d be available for the start of the postseason, but a timeline of eight weeks or longer would carry over into the playoffs.
There were some complaints around the league regarding the circumstances that led to the Sixers’ trade for James Harden, but the team isn’t under investigation for tampering, writes Joe Varden of The Athletic.
Some executives in rival front offices considered asking for tampering charges based on suspicions that Philadelphia was talking to Harden about signing in the offseason if a trade with the Nets couldn’t be completed, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported recently. Harden has a close relationship with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and chief executive officer Tad Brown from his time in Houston, and he’s a friend of co-owner Michael Rubin.
[RELATED: Sixers/Harden Chatter Raises Tampering Suspicions]
NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the situation tonight during his annual All-Star Weekend press conference and confirmed that no investigation is being conducted.
“It’s no secret that I’ve expressed my unhappiness with public trade demands,” Silver said. “I think you’re dealing with a situation where you have players with literally a unique skill on the planet, and that’s always going to give them leverage. And you have teams with leverage. … I mean there may be tools that we can think of to create stronger incentives for players to comply with those agreements, but there’s no silver bullet here, that we’re going to go in and collectively bargain and say, ‘now we fix this problem.’”
Silver touched on numerous other topics during the media session:
- He continues to express optimism about an in-season tournament, saying the play-in tourney has helped build momentum for change, Varden adds. “In some ways, the players have been more receptive to the possibility of an in-season tournament because the play-in has been a bit more successful,” Silver said.
- Silver expressed concern about the situation involving Rockets guard John Wall, saying, “Of course I think it’s a problem when players are paid not to play,” tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Wall hasn’t played at all this season under a mutual agreement with the rebuilding team.
- With COVID-19 regulations easing around the country, Silver hopes a resolution can be reached involving the New York City vaccine mandate that has prevented Nets guard Kyrie Irving from playing in home games, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
- Silver confirmed that the investigation into the Suns organization and owner Robert Sarver is still ongoing, but didn’t offer any updates, according to Bontemps (Twitter link).
- Silver said no regular-season games will be played in Europe next year, but some teams may travel there during the preseason, Bontemps adds (via Twitter).
- The halftime ceremony for Sunday’s All-Star Game will honor the 75th anniversary team, and Silver expects about 50 of the 61 living members to be on hand, tweets Marc Stein of Substack.
Suns star Chris Paul could miss some time after suffering a thumb injury this week, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com writes. Paul wore a cast on his hand during his team’s All-Star practice on Saturday, but he was vague when discussing how long he could be out.
As we previously relayed, Paul suffered the injury against Houston on Wednesday night. The team has yet to release his MRI results from Thursday.
“We’re 48-10 and if we do miss some time, I know the guys are going to hold it down,” Paul said. “There’s always going to be a frustration with injury. My hand surgeon is part of my family now.”
On the season, Paul has averaged 14.9 points, 10.7 assists and 1.9 steals in 33 minutes per game. His 10.7 APG represents his highest mark since the 2013/14 campaign.
“I always want to play,” said Paul, who hasn’t missed a game this season. “When I felt that in my hand, I was mad for all types of reasons,” Paul said. “Obviously we’re not going to (rush it). I’m going to try to heal as fast as physically possible. The second I’m able to play, I guarantee you I will be playing.”
- Evan Sidery of BasketballNews.com believes that Aaron Holiday ‘fits right in’ with the Suns, and could eventually supplant Landry Shamet as the fourth guard in the rotation given Shamet’s shooting struggles. “He just continues to play the kind of basketball we like to play,” Suns head coach Monty Williams said after Phoenix beat Houston 124-121 Wednesday. “Defensively, he just gets into stuff and he comes up with balls. I thought the inbounds play under the basket where he stole it and laid it up, that’s Aaron [Holiday], and I like his willingness to take shots.” Holiday was acquired from the Wizards last week for cash considerations.
The Suns anticipate that guards Landry Shamet and Cameron Payne will be back in action next Thursday against Oklahoma City in the team’s first game after the All-Star break, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM in Phoenix (Twitter link).
Shamet has been dealing with a right ankle sprain and hasn’t played since January 30, missing the Suns’ last nine games. He spoke earlier this week about having rushed back too quickly from ankle injuries in the past and not wanting to make that same mistake again this time. If he returns next Thursday, it’s a safe bet that he feels like he’s back to 100%.
Meanwhile, a right wrist injury has sidelined Payne for Phoenix’s last 12 games — he hasn’t played since January 24. With Payne unavailable, Elfrid Payton has taken the reins as Chris Paul‘s primary backup at point guard, but Payne should reclaim that role when he returns next week.
Of course, we still don’t know for sure that Paul himself will be in the lineup next Thursday. The star point guard reportedly underwent an MRI on Thursday on his injured right hand and the Suns have yet to provide an official update on his status. If CP3 has to miss any time, Phoenix will at least be getting some backcourt reinforcements in the form of Shamet and Payne.
On Thursday, we asked you which Eastern Conference team will make the NBA Finals this season. At the moment, no team in that poll has more than 24% of the vote, and five clubs have at least an 11% vote share.
While the East has been the conference of parity this season, the Western Conference has been something quite different. Two teams, the Suns (48-10) and Warriors (42-17), have controlled the top of the standings for essentially the entire season — no other club has cracked the top two since November 10.
Teams that have a ton of regular season success but haven’t yet proven themselves in the playoffs are often regarded with skepticism, not considered true contenders until they make a deep postseason run. But Golden State’s current core, led by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green – has a long history of playoff success. And while Phoenix certainly can’t match the Warriors’ recent track record, the Suns showed last spring that they were no fluke, making it all the way to the NBA Finals and coming within two wins of a title.
In other words, these two teams are legit, and look like the odds-on favorites to meet in the Western Conference Finals. But that’s obviously not a foregone conclusion yet, with a handful of intriguing clubs filling out the playoff picture.
The Grizzlies, for one, are putting pressure on Golden State for the No. 2 seed in the conference — their 41-19 record puts them just a game-and-a-half back of the Dubs. Memphis is one of those teams we alluded to above, whose lack of recent playoff success means they’ll have plenty of skeptics to win over. But Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson, and company have shown they’re not willing to back down from anybody and have made the Grizzlies one of the NBA’s most exciting teams.
The Jazz (36-22) have championships aspirations and look great when they’re firing on all cylinders, but they’ve been up and down this season and have been exposed at times by smaller lineups. The Mavericks (35-24) are hoping that this year’s supporting cast is a better fit for Luka Doncic, but they’ll still only go as far as their All-NBA guard takes them.
The Nuggets (33-25) are one of the Western Conference’s most interesting contenders. Nikola Jokic has kept them firmly in the playoff mix with another MVP-caliber performance, and he could get some help before the end of the season — if Jamal Murray (ACL) and Michael Porter Jr. (back) return for the playoffs and look anything like their 2020/21 selves, Denver will be an extremely tough out.
Like Denver, the Clippers (30-31) and Lakers (27-31) could be dangerous if they’re at full strength, but Kawhi Leonard seems like a long shot to make it back this spring for the Clips, and the Lakers haven’t been able to put it all together even when their stars are healthy.
The Timberwolves (31-28) currently hold the top play-in spot ahead of the two Los Angeles teams and are looking to clinch a playoff spot for just the second time since 2004. It’s too early to rule anything out, but a deep postseason run seems unlikely for a Minnesota team that would’ve been happy entering the season just to earn a playoff berth.
If the nine teams we’ve already mentioned finish in the top 10, that leaves one play-in spot for a group that includes the revamped Pelicans (23-36) and Kings (22-38), the surprisingly-surging Trail Blazers (25-34), and Gregg Popovich‘s young Spurs (23-36). Again, never say never, but it’s a pretty safe bet that none of these teams will be representing the West in the Finals this June.
What do you think? Which Western Conference team do you expect to make it to the NBA Finals? How many legitimate contenders do you think there are in the West?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!