Alex Caruso Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Randle, Wolves, Thunder, Blazers

October 30th, 2024 at 10:08am CST by Luke Adams

One key reason the Nuggets were unable to defend their title last season was a lack of roster depth, which forced head coach Michael Malone to lean too heavily on his starters. Malone found himself falling back into old habits in Monday’s overtime win over Toronto as he tightened his rotation down the stretch and played all his starters at least 39 minutes in the first game of a back-to-back set.

“Obviously we found ourselves in a game (Monday) night that we kind of shortened our rotation up a little bit in the second half, feeling the pressure of trying to get the first win of the season,” Malone said before Tuesday’s game vs. the Nets, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “And when you look at the box score after the game, especially going into the second night of a back-to-back in Brooklyn, you have your starters all at or near 40 minutes. And that’s not sustainable. We can’t do that. Game three, it was cool, man. Let’s get our first win, kind of take a deep breath. But that’s not sustainable.”

Several key Denver players also logged major minutes on Tuesday as the team once again required overtime to get past a non-playoff opponent. Nikola Jokic helped seal the victory with 29 points, 18 rebounds, and 16 assists in nearly 41 minutes of action.

Still, it was evident Malone was trying to avoid overextending his starters — four of the five played fewer minutes on Tuesday than they had on Monday, with Russell Westbrook stepping up off the bench to contribute 22 points and five assists in his best game as a Nugget so far.

“It’s hard to win in this league,” Westbrook said. “People think it’s easy, man. It’s hard. Especially when you’re a team that’s won year after year and always been in the running for NBA championships. It’s hard. We’ll get everybody’s best shot. We’ve gotta be prepared for it. However we’ve gotta get wins right now, we’ll take them.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Timberwolves forward Julius Randle spoke to Marc J. Spears of Andscape about the impact the preseason trade to Minnesota had on him and his family and how his adjustment period is going so far. Randle admitted that he was “really thrown off” by the timing of the deal but was happy about his destination. “We had training camp in two or three days. My mindset was ready to go to Charleston for (Knicks) training camp,” he said. “It took me like a night or two (to accept it). The next morning. I was extremely happy because I forgot everything else and thought about the basketball side … It’s not that I was thinking I couldn’t get traded. I kind of had an idea (trade talks) were going on, but I think it would happen more during the season or closer to the trade deadline because the summer already passed.”
The Timberwolves had the NBA’s No. 1 defense last season, but they’re still figuring things out on that end of the court following their offseason roster changes, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes in the wake of a 120-114 Wolves loss to Dallas. “We do feel like we have some physicality now in Donte (DiVincenzo) and Julius. It gives us a little bit more defensive versatility too,” head coach Chris Finch said. “That’s not to say we have all the answers right now even in that. We’re still trying to figure out some defensive chemistry.”
No NBA team is winning the turnover battle more effectively so far this season than the Thunder, who have forced the most opponent turnovers per game on defense (20.7) while committing the second-fewest per game on offense (10.7). Zach Kram of The Ringer takes a closer look at how replacing Josh Giddey with Alex Caruso in Oklahoma City’s rotation has helped make an already strong defense even better in the early going.
The Rip City Remix (the Trail Blazers‘ affiliate) and the Grand Rapids Gold (the Nuggets‘ affiliate) are among the G League teams to recently announce training camp rosters. Former lottery pick James Bouknight‘s headlines the Remix’s roster, while the Gold’s squad includes former Bulls two-way player Andrew Funk.

Thunder Notes: Caruso, Bulls, Giddey, Holmgren

October 27th, 2024 at 10:59am CST by Rory Maher

Alex Caruso, whom the Thunder acquired for Josh Giddey in an offseason trade with the Bulls, had nothing but good things to say about his former organization ahead of Saturday’s matchup in Chicago, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Bulls head coach Billy Donovan lavished Caruso with praise following Oklahoma City’s 19-point victory.

“He’s great; I love him,” Donovan said. “I obviously had the chance to coach against him for four years when I was at Florida and he was at [Texas] A&M, and I give him a lot of credit because the way he played in college was totally different than the way he’s played in the NBA. I think it just speaks to his IQ, his willingness to do whatever a team needs him to do to impact winning, impact his teammates. He’s the same guy every day. You feel fortunate when you get to be around a guy like that every day.

“And to his credit, he figured things out. ‘OK, these are the things I need to do,’ and a lot of times those things are not sexy, so to speak. That’s what makes him so unique; he’s willing to do things that a lot of times other players won’t, whether they’re incapable or unwilling.”

A former undrafted free agent who has earned All-Defensive nods each of the past two seasons, Caruso is in the final year of his contract, which will pay him $9.9MM in 2024/25.

Here’s more on the Thunder, who improved to 2-0 after Saturday’s win:

Giddey also had nothing but good things to say about the Thunder, per Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated. “When you play your former team, you obviously circle it on your calendar,” Giddey said before Saturday’s game. “But you’ll never, ever hear me say a bad word about that organization. Top to bottom, unbelievable people. I’m looking forward to seeing them all. I love that organization.” The sixth overall pick of the 2021 draft, Giddey will be a restricted free agent next summer after he did not sign a rookie scale extension before the ’24/25 season began.
Big man Chet Holmgren had some insightful comments about the Thunder’s reunion with Giddey after the game, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. “I think you can get wrapped up in the business of what this is,” Holmgren said, “because it is a business, and it’s an extremely serious business. But you can’t lose sight of the relationships that you build with guys you know along the way. I don’t think anybody’s ever played with the same 15, 17 people their entire career. That’s how the league works. People and teams have to do what’s best for them business wise. And you can’t hold that against anybody. When you get to go out there and hoop against guys that you know and you really like, you enjoy it all the same.”
Holmgren added muscle to his lean frame in the offseason and has dominated the paint in OKC’s two victories, Lorenzi adds. The former second overall pick is averaging 23.0 points, 15.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 3.0 blocks in the early going after an excellent rookie season in which he averaged 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 blocks.

Central Notes: Giddey, Caruso, Trent, Middleton, Haliburton

October 26th, 2024 at 9:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls don’t have any buyer’s remorse about parting with Alex Caruso to acquire Josh Giddey from Oklahoma City, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago was criticized for not getting any draft compensation in the deal, but executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas explained that they valued Giddey highly enough to accept the trade without draft picks. Even though it’s early in Giddey’s Bulls tenure, his teammates seem to agree.

“I think the play-making is huge and a thing that is going to help us a lot,” Nikola Vucevic said. “He makes passes that not many people can see, and I think his size is something that people underestimate a little bit. For him it’s the same as it is for us, just getting used to playing next to each other. As a team we need to build that chemistry, but I think he’s a player that can help us a lot, especially with his vision. We want to play fast, and I think that’s his style as well.”

The Thunder were in Chicago tonight, creating a perfect opportunity to reflect on the deal. As one of the NBA’s best defensive guards, Caruso was a valuable part of the Bulls’ rotation for the past three seasons, so reporters asked coach Billy Donovan how he reacted when he learned about the trade.

“That’s hard, it’s hard, especially when you’ve been with him for three years and the relationship we built,” Donovan said. “The one thing for Alex in all this for me is I just hope that he’s really, really going to get compensated. He obviously got a great situation, but he’s also at the point where his age, some of the things he’s had to deal with health-wise too. He’s always played banged up and hurt. They came to me and thought this was best for a variety of reasons. I believe this is Alex’s last year of his contract, but they didn’t share with me the representation conversations.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

The Bucks were impressed by Gary Trent Jr.‘s defensive effort in his debut with the team, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Trent was used as the primary defender on Tyrese Maxey, who had to carry the offense for the short-handed Sixers. “It’s hard guarding one of the quickest players in the NBA, full court, always being in front, navigating screens, putting your body on the line, and that’s what he did tonight and he was incredible,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said. “(Maxey) took a lot of shots. He made a lot of shots. He missed a lot of shots, but I think (Trent) was there for every one of them and he did an incredible job. He’s probably tired.”
Three-time All-Star forward Khris Middleton will miss the Bucks‘ game Sunday in Brooklyn as he continues his recovery from two offseason ankle surgeries, Nehm tweets. Middleton is considered day-to-day.
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton vowed to work on his shot after being held scoreless Friday in New York, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Haliburton is shooting 1-of-16 from beyond the arc in the team’s first two games. “I’m going to get in the gym and I’m gonna shoot,” he said. “We’re all gonna shoot and we’re going to be ready to go on Sunday (against Philadelphia.) … I’m gonna get a lot of shots (Saturday). I’m gonna get a lot of shots on Sunday and I’m gonna be ready to go on Sunday.”