Alex Caruso

Thunder Notes: Records, Wiggins, Caruso, SGA, Hartenstein, Presti

April 3rd, 2025 at 10:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder won’t be able to match the 73-win record set by the 2015/16 Warriors, but they’re putting the finishing touches on one of the best regular seasons in NBA history, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

As Slater details, the Thunder’s point differential of +13.4 points per game would be an NBA record. They still have a shot at setting a new single-season record for net rating as well — their +13.2 mark is just shy of the +13.4 record set by the 1995/96 Bulls. Oklahoma City also established a new high-water mark for the best cross-conference record in league history by going 29-1 against Eastern Conference opponents and has tied the NBA record for most double-digit wins in a season (50).

Even though they’ve long since clinched the top seed in the Western Conference and have started to get their key players some rest, the Thunder continue to roll — they haven’t lost since March 10 and a 70-win season remains in play with six games left on their schedule. Still, as Slater details, Oklahoma City’s players appear unimpressed by their regular season accomplishments, stressing that a title is the only thing that matters to them.

“We don’t care not one bit about any of those records,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said this week. “They mean something, but in the grand scheme, they don’t. We’re after one thing and one thing only. That’s what’s on our mind. Everything else we don’t care about.”

“It’s cool,” Jalen Williams added. “That stat stuff is more for y’all than it is for us. That’s my only answer. Sorry.”

Here’s more out of OKC:

Aaron Wiggins, who has missed the past five games with left Achilles tendinitis, isn’t on the injury report for Friday’s game in Houston and should be available to make his return, tweets Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. Alex Caruso also isn’t on the injury report after sitting out Wednesday’s win over Detroit due to left ankle soreness.
In addition to being knocked out of last year’s NBA playoffs in the second round, Gilgeous-Alexander suffered an early exit at the Paris Olympics with Team Canada. Sam Amick of The Athletic takes a closer look at how those two tough losses are driving the MVP frontrunner — and how they remind him not to take any opportunities for granted. “Like (Thunder head) coach (Mark Daigneault) said a couple weeks ago, this group that we have today could be the best group of players I ever play with,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “You think, ‘Oh, we’re all 25 or under, so we have a whole runway in front of us.’ But you never know what happens.”
In a wide-ranging interview with Rylan Stiles of SI.com, big man Isaiah Hartenstein explained why the Thunder’s culture helped convince him to sign with Oklahoma City last year, expressed respect for general manager Sam Presti, and shared his impressions of playing alongside fellow big man Chet Holmgren.
Presti is clearly the NBA’s Executive of the Year and deserves to be honored with that award this spring, Stiles argues in a separate SI.com story. In Stiles’ view, Presti has built the deepest roster in the NBA, with last offseason’s signing of Hartenstein and trade for Caruso making this season’s version of the Thunder even more formidable than last year’s team.

How Giddey/Caruso Trade Has Become Win-Win Deal

April 1st, 2025 at 9:23am CST by Luke Adams

Josh Giddey faced his former team for the first time back in October, when the Bulls hosted the Thunder during the first week of the regular season. But Monday’s contest represented the first time that Giddey had returned to Oklahoma City since the two teams completed the trade sending him to Chicago in exchange for Alex Caruso last June.

Giddey was a former lottery pick who had started all 210 of the regular season games he played for the Thunder through his first three NBA seasons, but his unreliable three-point shot and inconsistent defense resulted in him being pulled from the starting five during the second round of the playoffs last spring. He was traded about a month later.

“No player wants to be in the position where you’re the one that’s getting adjusted to in the playoffs,” Giddey said ahead of his return to Oklahoma City, per Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune. “That was a tough pill for me to swallow, but it was probably what I needed at that point of my career. It’s better to learn that lesson as you get deeper into your career.

“Looking back in hindsight, it was probably the best thing for me. Most of the time you feel like, ‘Oh, you don’t want to go through that.’ But … they made the right decision in what they did, in terms of the playoffs, that whole series, and matchup-wise they did it for the right reasons. I don’t ever look back in anger or whatever towards OKC. I had nothing but great things to say about OKC.”

Given that Giddey was coming off a playoff demotion and Caruso had just earned his second consecutive All-Defensive nod, the trade was widely viewed as a steal for Thunder general manager Sam Presti, with fans and analysts alike calling out the Bulls for not getting more in return for one of their top trade chips.

However, as Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes, Presti didn’t necessarily view it that way. His comments at the time of the deal suggested that he hadn’t really wanted to move Giddey and only did so because the former No. 6 overall pick asked about the possibility of a trade after he was informed that he’d likely be coming off the bench in 2024/25. According to Mussatto, Giddey’s play in Chicago during the second half of this season has shown that Presti was right to be hesitant.

Since the All-Star break, Giddey has averaged 21.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 8.9 assists per game with a .507/.470/.805 shooting line, leading the Bulls to a winning record during that stretch and bumping his full-season averages to 14.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 7.0 APG on .464/.376/.776 shooting. Giddey’s usage rate, which was 19.9% prior to Chicago’s deadline-week trade of Zach LaVine, has jumped to 24.4% since then and the fourth-year guard has thrived in his increased offensive role.

The Thunder believed Giddey was capable of playing like this — in the press release announcing the trade, Presti referred to him as having “All-Star potential.” But Presti’s front office knew it was unlikely to happen in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder were at their best with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander serving as the team’s lead ball-handler.

Caruso’s offensive numbers this season (6.9 points and 2.6 assists per game on .447/.354/.814 shooting) pale in comparison to the ones Giddey are putting up, and the veteran combo guard is playing a relatively modest rotation role, averaging fewer than 20 minutes per game. But his defensive impact has been exactly what the Thunder were hoping for.

Oklahoma City’s 106.0 defensive rating leads the NBA by a wide margin and Caruso has played a key role in that unit’s success. Among players who have appeared in at least 40 games and logged at least 500 total minutes, only Dyson Daniels has averaged more steals per 36 minutes (3.3) than Caruso (2.9). And Caruso is actually slightly ahead of Daniels in deflections per 36 minutes (6.4 to 6.3).

Nearly a year after the trade was finalized, it looks like a clear win-win, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman and Rylan Stiles of SI.com. The Thunder got the type of role player they needed, while the Bulls landed their potential long-term point guard.

It seems like the deal should be a win-win for the two players involved as well — Caruso signed a four-year, $81MM extension in December, while Giddey has taken on the sort of primary play-making role that best suits him and appears poised to cash in as a restricted free agent this summer.

As Lorenzi points out, there can sometimes be hard feelings or bitterness when a player returns to his former home city for the first time, but there was none of that on display on Monday when Giddey played his first game as a visitor in OKC, a testament to the fact that everyone involved was happy with last June’s one-for-one trade.

It’s still fair to wonder if the Bulls could’ve extracted an extra asset or two from the Thunder in their negotiations last June or what the return might have been if they’d sought a return heavier on draft picks. But there’s certainly no guarantee that any of the other deals Chicago could have made would have netted the team a more valuable potential cornerstone than Giddey.

Thunder Notes: Dort, SGA, J. Williams, Caruso, Scouts

March 28th, 2025 at 5:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Asked on Friday about the defensive impact of big men vs. wings in relation to Luguentz Dort‘s Defensive Player of the Year case, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault didn’t fully engage in that debate, but he argued that Dort has been the standout and the constant of the NBA’s top-ranked defense (Twitter video link via Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman).

“We have a lot of really good defenders, but he’s anchored consistently what’s been the best defensive league numerically to this point in the season, by a long shot,” Daigneault said.

The gap between the Thunder’s 106.1 defensive rating and that of the No. 2 Magic (109.5) is greater than the difference between Orlando and the No. 12 Heat (112.5).

For his part, Dort tells Mark Medina of Sportskeeda that while he’s focused on winning games rather than winning awards, he would be honored to make an All-Defense team or to be named Defensive Player of the Year.

“I don’t play for that. I want to win,” Dort said. “And I want to do everything I can to look good for my teammates. But it’s always good to get rewarded for that. So if my name is up there, I’ll be good.”

Here’s more on the Thunder:

In speaking to Medina, Dort was more interested in advocating for teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to earn MVP honors than to make his own case for award recognition. Thunder forward Jalen Williams conveyed a similar sentiment while talking to D.J. Siddiqi of Basketball Insiders. “I think he’s the MVP,” Williams said of SGA. “Obviously I’m his teammate, so I’m very inclined to say that. From what I see, the amount of Michael Jordan comparisons and the accolades and all that, I think it would be a very big disservice to him if he’s not the MVP, just based on what he’s been able to accomplish this year.”
Williams returned to action on Thursday after missing seven games due to a right hip strain and was effective in his first game back, contributing 20 points, five rebounds, and four assists in 29 minutes as Oklahoma City set a franchise record with its 61st regular season win, Lorenzi writes for The Oklahoman. However, a pair of Thunder regulars – Alex Caruso (low back soreness) and Jaylin Williams (left hip stiffness) – did leave the game early due to injuries, Lorenzi notes (via Twitter). It’s unclear if either player will have to miss any additional time as a result of those ailments — Rylan Stiles of Thunder On SI tweets that Caruso and Williams have been listed as questionable for OKC’s matchup with Indiana on Saturday.
The Thunder are losing multiple members of their scouting department to college programs, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. As Scotto details, amateur scout Corey Evans is expected to be named the general manager at the University of Cincinnati, while fellow scout Andrew Slater has left the team to take the GM position at North Carolina State.

Northwest Notes: Edwards, Caruso, Timberwolves, Cancar

January 13th, 2025 at 8:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was fined again by the league, this time for making obscene gestures toward an official. It’s the fifth time Edwards has been docked by the league this season. He’s also tied for the league lead with nine technicals. Head coach Chris Finch says he has spoken with Edwards about both issues.

“It’s been addressed for sure,” said Finch, per Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Twitter link). “It’s been addressed organizationally, individually. I think he’s aware. We’re all aware.”

Finch believes Edwards will do a better job of controlling his emotions, Hine adds in another tweet.

“He’s extremely self-aware. I think he has emotional control for sure,” Finch said. “I think he’s frustrated on many levels. I think some of that frustration is certainly in & around the whistle no doubt, but he’s just got to figure it out, play through it and he’ll be fine.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Alex Caruso is no longer listed on the Thunder injury report, signaling that he’ll suit up for Tuesday’s game against Philadelphia, Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman tweets. Caruso, who signed a four-year extension last month, has missed the past 10 games with a left hip strain.
The parties involved in the Timberwolves’ ownership battle met for a final time on Jan. 10, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets. Arbitration hearings were held in early November and it was expected to take a few months for a ruling. The decision will likely be handed down within the next 30 days. The dispute over control of the franchise between minority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez and principal owner Glen Taylor moved to arbitration in July.
Vlatko Cancar traveled with the Nuggets to Dallas over the weekend and went through a full pregame workout, Grant Afseth of the Dallas Sports Journal tweets. Cancar underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Dec. 4. At that time, the team indicated that Cancar would be reexamined in eight weeks. The forward/center is currently inked to a one-year, $2.1MM veteran’s minimum deal.

Northwest Notes: Billups, Randle, Gordon, Murray, Caruso

December 26th, 2024 at 2:38pm CST by Rory Maher

Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups will miss the next two games — on Thursday and Saturday against Utah and Dallas, respectively — due to the recent passing of his grandmother, Portland announced in a press release (via Twitter).

According to the team, assistant Nate Bjorkgren will serve as acting head coach in Billups’ stead. Bjorkgren has previous head coaching experience with Indiana, though his stint was short-lived.

Our condolences go out to Billups’ family and friends.

Here’s more from the Northwest:

Following the Timberwolves‘ victory over Dallas on Wednesday, power forward Julius Randle said he’s still getting used to acting as more of a facilitator after spending several years in New York being “wired to score,” according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “That’s really been the biggest change. You’re somewhere for five years, playing a certain way and I come here and it’s a little bit different,” said Randle, who will be an unrestricted free agent next summer if he declines his $30.94MM player option for 2025/26. “I love my role here. I love playing with my teammates, but finding what helps the team and what the team needs the most on a night-to-night basis has been the harder part, but everybody has been great with me, coaches included, helping me adjust and figuring things out.”
The Nuggets are dealing with lingering injuries to Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. In the third quarter of Wednesday’s loss in Phoenix, Gordon aggravated a calf strain which already caused him to miss 10 games in 2024/25. “Thats the unfortunate thing — and the Suns have gone through this themselves — with those soft tissue injuries, is they linger. They hang around. They hang around,” Malone said of Gordon. “And you make one explosive move and you feel it. And I could tell in that third quarter, he goes, ‘I feel like it’s about to, like, really have a bad strain.’ So that was the decision at that point in time. Take him out, get him checked and shut him down for the night to hopefully avoid something a lot more sinister and severe.” Murray, meanwhile, revealed a couple weeks ago that he’s been dealing with plantar fasciitis for “years” and has also battled hamstring and ankle injuries this season, the latter causing him to miss Monday’s game. Denver’s starting point guard suggested he wasn’t fully healthy during yesterday’s game, per Durando.
Thunder defensive stalwart Alex Caruso has been ruled out of Thursday’s game vs. Indiana due to a left hip strain, as Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated relays. According to Stiles, Caruso exited Monday’s contest early when he dove for a loose ball and appeared to land on his hip. Caruso, who recently signed a four-year, $81.1MM extension, will miss his ninth game of the season Thursday, largely due to issues with his left hip, Stiles notes.

Alex Caruso Signs Four-Year Extension With Thunder

December 22nd, 2024 at 5:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Veteran guard Alex Caruso and the Thunder have agreed to a four-year, $81MM contract extension, Shams Charania of ESPN reports. The team has officially announced the deal in a press release.

Caruso became eligible for the $81,096,960 extension on Saturday. Because it has been six months since he was traded to the Thunder, he was allowed to sign for up to 140% of this season’s estimated average salary ($12.93MM) and for up to four new years. Prior to Saturday, his maximum extension would have been worth $48,875,400 over three new years.

The extension will begin at $18,102,000 in 2025/26 and will rise annually by 8%, increasing to $22,446,480 by the final season. It’s unclear whether or not it will be fully guaranteed.

Caruso was due to become an unrestricted free agent after this season. He’s in the last year of a four-year, $36.98MM contract.

Caruso was traded straight up by the Bulls for Josh Giddey in June. He’s one of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders, earning All-Defensive team nods each of the past two seasons.

He started 57 of 71 games with the Bulls last season but has come off the bench in all 19 games in which he’s played for his new team this season. He’s averaging 5.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and a career-high 1.9 steals in 20.2 minutes per contest.

Caruso shot a career-best 46.8% from the field last season but has struggled with his shooting this season (38.5%). However, he has helped Oklahoma City become the league’s premier defensive club. The Thunder have allowed the fewest points per game in the NBA. They also lead the league in opponents’ field goal percentage and 3-point percentage.

Caruso’s extension means the Thunder no longer project to have any 2025 unrestricted free agents on their standard roster.

Alex Caruso Newly Eligible For Four-Year Extension

December 21st, 2024 at 3:47pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been exactly six months since Alex Caruso was traded from Chicago to Oklahoma City, meaning the extend-and-trade restrictions imposed on the veteran guard during that half-year window have lifted.

Caruso is now eligible to sign an extension with the Thunder worth up to $81,096,960 over four years. Prior to Saturday, his maximum extension would have been worth $48,875,400 over three years.

Speaking to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), Caruso admitted he didn’t realized that Saturday was an important day related to his contract status, adding that he’s focused on helping the Thunder win games and compete for a title. But he did concede it “would be awesome” to sign a long-term deal to remain with the Western Conference’s top-seeded team.

“Obviously this is a place that I think is ascending and that’s something I want to be a part of,” Caruso told Fischer. “That’s why I’m here. I think the writing is on the wall. People don’t trade for guys in the last year of their contracts unless they expect to keep ’em for a while.

“That’s just the business part of it. So I’m looking forward to having that conversation with (Thunder general manager) Sam (Presti). Everything that the Thunder stand for are things that I stand for. I think their focus, their drives and desires, are the same as mine. It’s been a good fit and I’m looking forward to hopefully a couple more years.”

Caruso is earning $9.89MM in the final season of the four-year, $37MM contract he signed with the Bulls in 2021. He’s eligible to sign for up to 140% of this season’s estimated average salary ($12.93MM), which would work out to a first-year salary of $18,102,000, with subsequent annual raises of 8%.

It’s unclear if the Thunder are prepared to go up to that maximum extension amount in terms of both years and dollars, but Fischer says Caruso and his camp “would naturally welcome” that annual average value of roughly $20MM per year.

While the peak version of Caruso would probably be worth that sort of investment, he has gotten off to a slow start offensively during his first season with the Thunder, averaging 5.7 points per game with a .385/.270/.778 shooting line in his first 19 outings off the bench (20.2 MPG). The 30-year-old averaged 10.1 PPG on .468/.408/.760 shooting last season. Despite his struggles on the offensive end, he has been what OKC hoped for as a defender and a locker-room presence.

“He’s just all-team. He always has been,” head coach Mark Daigneault said, per Fischer. “He’s unbelievably present as a competitor. There’s never a time in the game where his feet aren’t on the ground and he’s not focused on the moment of the game and he’s also inside the team. I think over the course of a long game, a lot of possessions, over an 82-game season, that value compounds.”

If the two sides don’t reach an in-season extension agreement, Oklahoma City would hold Caruso’s Bird rights next summer, putting the team in the driver’s seat to re-sign him to a multiyear deal at that point.

Injury Notes: DeRozan, Blazers, Pelicans, Thunder, Bulls

November 29th, 2024 at 8:27am CST by Rory Maher

Kings forward DeMar DeRozan will be sidelined for Friday’s game in Portland due to muscle inflammation in his lower back, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. It will be DeRozan’s second straight absence — and fifth overall — as he continues to deal with the back issue.

The Trail Blazers will also be shorthanded on Friday, announcing (via Twitter) that Jerami Grant (left knee sprain) and Robert Williams (concussion protocol) are doubtful to play, while Donovan Clingan (left knee sprain) and Matisse Thybulle (right ankle sprain) remain out with multi-week injuries.

Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:

Four Pelicans — Jamal Cain (right ankle sprain), Jordan Hawkins (low back soreness), Brandon Ingram (right calf soreness) and Trey Murphy (left knee contusion) — are questionable for Friday’s contest in Memphis, per the NBA’s latest injury report. Of the four, only Hawkins was able to suit up for Wednesday’s blowout home loss to Toronto. Jose Alvarado, Herbert Jones and Zion Williamson remain sidelined with their own respective injuries.
[Update: Cain, Hawkins and Ingram are out Friday, while Murphy is a game-time decision, head coach Willie Green told reporters, including Christian Clark of NOLA.com (Twitter link).]
Although he sustained a right eye injury on Wednesday which caused him to exit the road win at Golden State, Thunder forward Jalen Williams doesn’t appear on the injury report for Friday’s matchup at the Lakers, indicating he’ll be ready go, tweets Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. However, Alex Caruso will miss Friday’s game against his former team, having been ruled out due to a right hip strain. It will be the All-Defensive member’s third consecutive absence.
Three rotation members of the Bulls are questionable for Friday’s contest vs. Boston. Guard Coby White (left wrist sprain), wing Dalen Terry (right ankle sprain) and big man Jalen Smith (left ankle sprain) are the players in question, while guard Lonzo Ball (right wrist sprain) is probable, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link).

Fischer’s Latest: Bucks, Caruso, Ingram, Johnson

November 16th, 2024 at 9:17am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Bucks still aren’t planning on engaging teams on potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trades anytime soon, but Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, echoing earlier reporting, confirms that they are looking for “perimeter defensive adjustments and reinforcements.”

As Fischer notes, Milwaukee’s trade options are limited as a team operating over the second apron. The team can’t package two or more player salaries for matching purposes or send out cash, for starters. According to Fischer, the Bucks are dangling their 2031 first-round pick as trade bait. They value that pick highly, as it would follow Antetokounmpo’s age-37 season.

MarJon Beauchamp was mentioned as a piece the Bucks were interested in moving in October. With his fourth-year option declined, Beauchamp is on the books for $2.7MM and is a free agent after the season. However, while packaging Beauchamp with that 2031 first-rounder seems like a decent offer for a role player, the Bucks couldn’t take back a player earning more than $2.7MM, significantly reducing their potential targets in that scenario.

Brook Lopez has been floated as a potential outgoing piece, but Fischer is skeptical the Bucks will look to move the big man, at least at this point. With Milwaukee trying to improve its defense, Lopez is someone the team might just be better off keeping to stay afloat on that end. Fischer – who reported in the offseason that Lopez was a possible trade candidate – said he hasn’t heard the veteran’s name come up much this season, for what it’s worth.

If the Bucks aren’t moving off either Damian Lillard or Khris Middleton, their only other potential trade pieces earning over $3MM are Bobby Portis ($12.6MM in 2024/25, player option for next season) and Pat Connaughton ($9.4MM in ’25/25, player option in ’25/26).

We have more sourced notes from Fischer:

An extension for the Thunder‘s Alex Caruso seems to be on the horizon, according to Fischer. That’s always been the goal since Oklahoma City acquired the defensive-minded guard in exchange for Josh Giddey this past summer. Caurso, whose extension eligibility remains limited for now, will become eligible for a deal worth up to four years and roughly $81MM as of Dec. 21, six months from the date he was acquired by OKC.
The Pelicans‘ injuries continue to pile up to an insurmountable level, but New Orleans’ isn’t giving the indication that it’s pressing the panic button on this current build, Fischer says. That means there’s been no serious talks on any potential Zion Williamson trade. Instead, Fischer says this situation gives Brandon Ingram a runway to build on his trade value. As we’ve previously relayed, Ingram and the Pelicans couldn’t bridge the gap on any potential extension talks during the offseason — Fischer hears that Ingram was asking for close to $40MM annually. The Pelicans explored possible trades involving Ingram but couldn’t find a suitable offer due to the fact that he’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer and any team acquiring him would have to make a similar financial investment.
The Spurs have won three of their last five games under interim head coach Mitch Johnson, with their two losses in that stretch coming by a combined six points. Fischer confirms that Johnson was a leading candidate to fill Washington’s head coaching role that ended up remaining with Brian Keefe, and says Johnson was also a strong candidate for the Hawks‘ head coaching role after they let go of Nate McMillan. Johnson, filling in for Gregg Popovich as he recovers from a mild stroke, is a name to watch on the coaching market whether he stays with the Spurs and succeeds Popovich down the line or ends up in another head coaching role, Fischer says.

Northwest Notes: Caruso, Hendricks, George, Collins, Westbrook

November 7th, 2024 at 9:32am CST by Dana Gauruder

Guard Alex Caruso, acquired from Chicago in an offseason trade, has been a non-factor offensively for the Thunder through eight games. He’s averaging just 2.6 points and 2.5 assists while shooting 23.7% from the field. He’s also averaging just 4.8 shot attempts in 19.9 minutes.

Caruso, a defensive ace, isn’t worried about his limited contributions on offense.

“I just try to do whatever the team needs to win,” Caruso told The Oklahoman’s Joel Lorenzi. “The last couple years in Chicago, we had guys out. I was on the ball a little more as a lead guard, but here we got Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander), we got Dub (Jalen Williams). Even Cason (Wallace)’s on the ball a little more. We got a lot of options. So for me, it’s just about figuring out how I help us win games. Right now, it’s not taking 10 shots a night.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks underwent surgery on his right leg on Wednesday, Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake City Tribune tweets. He suffered a fractured right fibula and dislocated ankle in the second half of Utah’s game at Dallas on Oct. 28. Hendricks’ injury occurred on a non-contact play as he was running into the offensive lane. Utah has not released a timetable for his return.
The Jazz recorded their first win of the season on Monday, thanks to Keyonte George‘s career night. The second-year guard had 33 points, nine assists and two turnovers in 39 minutes, Larsen notes. With Lauri Markkanen (back spasms) and Hendricks out, John Collins played exclusively at power forward and looked much more comfortable, making 12-of-17 shots for 28 points while grabbing 13 rebounds. Collins failed to mesh well with Markkanen and Walker Kessler last season because he wasn’t as involved in screens and thus couldn’t take advantage of mismatches, Larsen adds.
Russell Westbrook has averaged 25 points, six rebounds and six assists in two Nuggets victories this week. Yet coach Michael Malone has high praise for another aspect of Westbrook’s game, according to Bennett Durando of the Denver Post. “I think defensively he’s been a rock star,” Malone said. “And what I love about Russell Westbrook: 17-year vet, leopards don’t change their spots, but he is trying so hard to be disciplined. He’s trying to do the things we’re asking him to do, and I appreciate that so much. Because a lot of times at 17 years in, you are who you are. But he cares, man. He is so invested in this team and what he’s bringing to this team, and he’s so hard on himself. I can coach a guy like Russell Westbrook any day.” Westbrook signed a two-year, minimum-salary contract with Denver during the summer — the deal includes a second-year player option.

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