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Southwest Notes: Jones, Pelicans, Thompson, Whitmore, Wemby

January 22nd, 2024 at 5:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Despite an impending salary crunch, the Pelicans are not open to trading defensive ace Herbert Jones, Marc Stein reports in his latest notebook. Jones signed a four-year extension during the offseason.

By dealing Kira Lewis Jr. as part of the three-team trade featuring Pascal Siakam, New Orleans moved under the luxury tax. However, the Pelicans still face long-term financial challenges with Trey Murphy III eligible for a rookie scale contract extension this summer and generally trying to retain all the key pieces on arguably the league’s deepest roster.

The Pelicans are one of two NBA franchises to never pay the luxury tax.

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The Pelicans’ starting unit has not fared well in the second half of games and coach Willie Green is open to making changes, according to Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times Picayune. “We have enough data to know that it’s an issue, and we are working on it,” Green said. “Right now, we want to give them a chance to correct it. But we’re at the point where anything is on the table.”
With Fred VanVleet, Jeff Green, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason sitting out on Sunday, the Rockets started rookie first-rounders Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore. In the last few weeks, both have earned more playing time due to their attention to detail and physical traits, Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes. They got a defensive education trying to guard Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis. “They did pretty well,” forward Dillon Brooks said. “Most of the time, they were on Porziņgis because (Boston) was trying to get the switch, but they played them well and physical enough. They should take that and bring it to every game.”
The first half of the Spurs’ season is over and The Athletic’s Mike Monroe takes a closer look at how Victor Wembanyama fared up to the midway point, noting that the rookie big man has produced despite being on a minutes restriction. Wembanyama has not played more than 27 minutes in his last 12 appearances after suffering minor ankle sprains, but has averaged 21.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game during that stretch.

Southwest Notes: Mavs, Pelicans, Murphy, Eason, Rockets

January 4th, 2024 at 9:41pm CST by Rory Maher

The Mavericks had a couple of frontcourt rotation players go down with ankle injuries in Wednesday’s blowout victory over Portland, as Dereck Lively sprained his left ankle in the third quarter and Grant Williams sprained his right in the fourth, writes Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News. Neither player returned to the game.

However, head coach Jason Kidd said after the game that the two sprains were “mild,” tweets ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, and on Thursday, both players were listed as questionable for Friday’s rematch with Portland (Twitter link via Mavs play-by-play announcer Mark Followill). Dante Exum (right heel contusion) and Richaun Holmes (personal reasons) are doubtful.

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Instead of folding after being blown out by the Lakers during the in-season tournament, the Pelicans have played their best basketball of the season over the past few weeks, going 9-3, including seven double-digit wins, per William Guillory of The Athletic. As Guillory writes, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson playing selflessly and “doing the little things” has contributed to the team’s success, as has CJ McCollum adapting to a more spot-up role while being a locker room leader.
Pelicans guard/forward Trey Murphy is still considered day-to-day after missing the past three games with left knee soreness, head coach Willie Green said on Thursday (Twitter link via Christian Clark of NOLA.com). Murphy is questionable for Friday’s matchup with the Clippers, Clark tweets. It’s worth noting that the third-year wing had left knee surgery to repair his meniscus in September.
Second-year Rockets forward Tari Eason has drawn praise from head coach Ime Udoka and has been very impactful when he’s able to suit up lately, but the stress reaction he suffered in his left leg during preseason continues to be an issue, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscriber link), who notes that rookies Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore have gotten more playing time when Eason is out. “It’s day-to-day at this point,” Udoka said of Eason. “He might have reaggravated here and there. It acts up a little bit. So continue to monitor it, but it’s something we’re going to deal with for a while. He’s been getting looked at, checked out, a ton of treatment, rehab. Rest is good for it, has been. On those games he’s played back-to-back, had to limit his minutes. The games we had days off in between, we were capping him at 25. We’d obviously like to play him more when he’s playing really well.”

Southwest Notes: Collins, Thompson Twins, Rockets, Pelicans

January 1st, 2024 at 9:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said center Zach Collins could be sidelined “two to four weeks” with a right ankle sprain he suffered Friday at Portland, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. The team had Collins stay home for Sunday’s game rather than put more pressure on his ankle by attending to sit on the bench.

Collins began the season as San Antonio’s starting center before recently moving into a reserve role. He’s in his third year with the Spurs and has been able to revive his career after missing the entire 2020/21 season due to a fractured fibula.

Popovich also provided a medical update on Charles Bassey, saying he’s doing well after undergoing surgery to repair his torn ACL (Twitter link). Bassey suffered the injury last month in a game with the Spurs’ G League affiliate.

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Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson will have their first NBA meeting tonight when the Rockets host the Pistons, and Kelly Iko and James L. Edwards of The Athletic talked to the twins about the role that older brother Troy had in shaping their careers. “Without him, I don’t know if I’d like basketball as much as I did growing up,” Ausar said. “Troy always believed in us … ever since I was little, he always thought we were the greatest basketball players at our age that he had ever seen. He just didn’t think we could beat him. Having someone, and even my whole family, who believes in you like that, it makes you believe and keep going.”
With Detroit finally getting a win Saturday after dropping 28 straight games, it’s the Rockets who will come into tonight’s contest on a losing streak, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston has lost three in a row, all at home, and the defensive identity the team built early in the season is slipping. Feigen notes that the Rockets have the league’s worst defensive rating over their past three games and have allowed their last three opponents to shoot a combined 41.3% from three-point range. The defense might get a boost with the return of Jabari Smith, who missed Friday’s game with a sprained ankle but was upgraded to questionable on Sunday.
Zion Williamson believes the Pelicans‘ embarrassing 44-point loss to the Lakers in the semifinals of the in-season tournament might have been “one of those blessings in disguise,” per Christian Clark of NOLA. New Orleans has gone 7-3 since that game, including a 20-point win Sunday night in a rematch with L.A. “We went to Vegas hoping for a different outcome,” Williamson said. “I think it definitely brought us together more as a team. It definitely brought us closer as a staff. Everyone communicating. I feel like we have been playing great. We still have some things to figure out. But so does every other team.”

Southwest Notes: Cuban, Brooks, J. Green, Pelicans

December 27th, 2023 at 11:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mark Cuban has clarified his role once the Mavericks‘ sale is finalized, confirming that he will continue to handle most of the team’s personnel decisions, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Cuban spoke with reporters tonight after he finished a pre-game shooting session at American Airlines Arena and said he looks forward to working with the Adelson and Dumont families, who will soon have the controlling stake in the team.

“Nothing’s really changed except my bank account,” Cuban said. “I feel really good. I think it’s a great partnership. It’s what the team needed on the court and off. I’ll still be overseeing the basketball side of it, but having a partner like Patrick and Sivan (Dumont) and Miriam (Adelson) and their ability to build and to redevelop the arena and whatever comes next beyond that just puts us in a much better position to compete. That’s all. That’s what it comes down to.”

Cuban confirmed that there’s “no contractual language” in the purchase agreement that outlines his authority, but he has an understanding with the new owners about what he’ll do. He will keep a 27% stake as the Mavericks’ sole minority owner, but admitted that Patrick Dumont, who will serve as the team’s governor, will have “final say” on every decision.

Cuban expects the new owners to focus mainly on business interests, including a long-term plan to build an arena with a resort hotel and casino. He added that the new facility will be located somewhere within the city of Dallas.

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Rockets forward Dillon Brooks sat out tonight’s game with a strained oblique he suffered Tuesday and the team doesn’t have a timetable for him to return, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Jae’Sean Tate took Brooks’ place in the starting lineup, Feigen adds, while rookies Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore both got minutes in the first quarter.
After Tuesday’s game, Rockets coach Ime Udoka told reporters that he has “not thought about” moving guard Jalen Green to the bench, according to Michael Shapiro of The Houston Chronicle. Green has struggled in his first season under Udoka, averaging 16.7 PPG while shooting career worsts from the field (39.4%) and three-point range (31.9%). “Obviously, with [Green] playing that way, if he was playing the other way we obviously wouldn’t struggle as much offensively and have to lean on other guys as much or play other guys minutes,” Udoka said. “We’ll continue to keep him confident, continue to [help] him improve in certain areas, and he’ll take a jump eventually.”
The Pelicans announced the renewal of naming rights this week for Smoothie King Center, relays Rod Walker of NOLA.com. A statement from the team said the name will remain in place “for the foreseeable future.”

Injury Notes: Thompson, Edwards, McDaniels, Hunter, Irving, Markkanen, Kessler, Little

December 10th, 2023 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Amen Thompson, the fourth pick of the draft, will return to action on Monday. He’s no longer listed on the Rockets’ injury report.

Thompson will jump right back into the rotation when his team faces San Antonio, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. He’s been out since Nov. 1 due to a right ankle sprain.

“The plan is to incorporate him back into the lineup,” head coach Ime Udoka said. “Obviously, we have guys playing well, so we have to find minutes and opportunity there, and we’ll tweak our rotation some once we get him in with certain groups.”

We have more injury-related news with 13 games on Monday’s schedule:

Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is listed as questionable against New Orleans due to a right hip pointer. Forward Jaden McDaniels (right ankle sprain), who hasn’t played since Nov. 20, is also listed as questionable, the team’s PR department tweets.
Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter (right quad tendon soreness) is listed as questionable against Denver, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. He played 37 minutes against Philadelphia on Friday.
Kyrie Irving (right heel contusion) and Josh Green (right elbow sprain) are among the Mavericks players listed as out for their game against Memphis, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal tweets.
The Jazz will be missing two key frontcourt players when they face Oklahoma City. Forward Lauri Markkanen (left hamstring strain) and center Walker Kessler (right foot soreness) won’t play, Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman tweets.
The Suns’ Nassir Little has an orbital fracture and is in the NBA’s concussion protocol, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports tweets. Phoenix hosts Golden State on Tuesday.

Rockets Notes: Whitmore, Thompson, Sengun, Udoka

December 5th, 2023 at 1:04pm CST by Luke Adams

It was a big offseason for Cam Whitmore, who was named the Summer League MVP in Las Vegas, then was voted the biggest steal of the 2023 draft by NBA general managers. However, the rookie forward hasn’t been part of the Rockets‘ rotation this fall, logging just 32 total minutes in five appearances at the NBA level.

Whitmore has seen more action in the G League for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s G League affiliate. In six games as a Viper, the 19-year-old has put up 24.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per night with a shooting line of .486/.431/.786.

While the scoring numbers are impressive, the Rockets have been even more encouraged by Whitmore’s assist totals, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required), who notes that the youngster only had 19 assists in 26 college games at Villanova. Head coach Ime Udoka said the team liked what it saw from the rookie in several other areas too.

“He did well,” Udoka said of Whitmore’s G League play. “He had numbers, obviously. But it’s not really the scoring. It’s shot selection, improvement on defense, recognition. They do the same schemes that we do.

“One thing about the G League, people go down there to score; it doesn’t always translate to the NBA. You’re not always going to get those same looks or other things. It’s how you blend in with the team and the scheme. When you’re getting a lot of time as a young guy, I think it’s invaluable to go down there to … play. We’re looking at everything, from understanding game plans, coverages and everything we don’t get a chance to work on daily.”

Here’s more on the Rockets:

Whitmore was one of four Rockets sent to the Vipers on Tuesday, along with fellow first-rounder Amen Thompson and two-way players Jermaine Samuels and Nate Hinton. Thompson is recovering from an ankle injury and Feigen suggests (via Twitter) that playing with the Vipers may be the next step in his return for the NBA club. Rio Grande Valley has three games in four days beginning on Wednesday.
Rockets center Alperen Sengun has put up All-Star caliber numbers, averaging 21.0 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 5.5 APG through his first 17 games this season. However, he’ll face tough competition as a frontcourt player in the Western Conference, so his case would be strengthened if the Rockets – who have lost six of their last eight games – can reverse their recent slide and remain in the thick of the West’s playoff race, Feigen writes for The Houston Chronicle (subscription required).
The Rockets’ loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Saturday night wasn’t the team’s finest hour. As Kelly Iko of The Athletic details, Ime Udoka was ejected following a verbal altercation with LeBron James, while Dillon Brooks ripped the officiating after the game, referring to them as a “terrible group” of referees. Still, if the team emulates Udoka’s intensity and “don’t get punked” attitude going forward, the game could prove beneficial, according to Feigen (subscription required). “We’re trying to imitate our coach,” Jabari Smith Jr. said. “That’s who he is. That’s how he is. We’re trying to be like that.”

Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, McCollum, Zion, Thompson

November 30th, 2023 at 10:02am CST by Arthur Hill

A practice led by the players preceded the Grizzlies‘ first home win of the season Wednesday night, writes Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal. Reeling from injuries to several rotation members and the absence of Ja Morant amid his 25-game suspension, Memphis played one of its worst games of the season Sunday in a 22-point loss to Minnesota.

Marcus Smart and Derrick Rose both spoke out about the poor performance, and the result was a lengthy practice session that focused on fundamentals and communication. Head coach Taylor Jenkins was the only member of the coaching staff who spoke up during practice, as the players had to call out one another for mistakes.

“That was one of the hardest practices of my career,” Ziaire Williams said. “It was like training camp, for sure. When you’re three and whatever, sometimes you need those.”

Wednesday’s victory over Utah brought some optimism to the team for at least one night. Players were more aggressive from the start, chasing down loose balls and grabbing a season-high 51 rebounds. Despite their early-season struggles, the Grizzlies are only four games away from a play-in spot and Morant is just eight games away from returning.

“As I told them, don’t be satisfied,” Jenkins said. “This isn’t good enough. We got to be better moving forward. But this sets a tone.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Pelicans guard CJ McCollum was able to play 28 minutes and score 20 points on Wednesday in his return after missing 12 games with a collapsed right lung, per Christian Clark of NOLA. McCollum talked to reporters about his recovery process, which included using an oxygen tank. “I felt like an old person,” McCollum said. “I needed oxygen for a while. I asked my wife, ‘Is this what it’s going to be like when I’m older? Pushing oxygen to the bathroom?’ I did that for four or five days and felt great in terms of my breathing. Then it was about ramping up.”
Pelicans star Zion Williamson spoke with Mark Medina of Sportsnaut about how he has been able to overcome his history of injuries and stay on the court this season. The team hasn’t used Williamson in any back-to-backs, but he has played in 15 out of 19 games so far. “A lot of recovery and a lot of extra things off the court in order to keep my body in great shape to lower the risk of injury,” Williamson said. “The training staff has been a big help with that, and setting up things away from basketball. I’m making the most of the technology and equipment that we have.”
Rockets rookie Amen Thompson is getting closer to returning from the ankle injury that has kept him out of action since November 1, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Thompson participated in non-contact drills on Sunday and is expected to join the team’s G League affiliate in Rio Grande Valley before returning to the Rockets.

Southwest Notes: Popovich, Leonard, Spurs, Nance, Thompson

November 22nd, 2023 at 11:18pm CST by Rory Maher

In an extremely unusual — perhaps even unprecedented — move, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich took a microphone from the scorer’s table while Kawhi Leonard was shooting free throws to urge the home crowd to stop booing, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscriber link).

“Excuse me for a second,” Popovich said after telling referee Tyler Ford he was going to interrupt the game to make an announcement. “Can we stop all the bull and let these guys play? It’s got no class. That’s not who we are. Knock off the booing.”

His words had the opposite effect, as Leonard was booed even louder after Popovich stopped speaking (Twitter video link via Nate Ryan of KENS 5).

After Wednesday’s game, Popovich claimed that he didn’t want Leonard to be motivated by the booing, but that’s obviously a much different reason than what he told the fans, notes Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News (via Twitter).

“Anybody who knows anything about sports, you don’t poke the bear,” said Popovich, who declined to clarify those comments.

Leonard asked to be traded from San Antonio back in 2018 after spending his first seven years with the club, and has been relentlessly booed by Spurs fans ever since, Orsborn adds. The two-time Finals MVP said he was nonplussed by the incident, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times.

“They’re probably going to boo me the rest of my career…They’re one of the best fans in the league and very competitive,” Leonard said (Twitter link via Orsborn). “Once I step on this court, they show that they’re going for the other side. When I’m on the streets or going into restaurants, they show love.”

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Prior to their loss to Memphis last weekend, the Spurs held a players-only meeting, Orsborn writes in another subscriber-only story for the Express-News. There was “no drama” involved in the meeting, according to Orsborn, and guard Devin Vassell said he hopes to step into a leadership role — something the young team has been lacking early in 2023/24. “We addressed a lot of stuff,” he said. “I think there’s going to be changes as the year goes on and stuff like that.”
After missing the past four games with a rib fracture, Pelicans forward/center Larry Nance Jr. was able to suit up on Wednesday against Sacramento, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic. Nance finished with four points, four rebounds and a steal in 12 minutes during New Orleans’ victory.
Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said first-round pick Amen Thompson has been able to do more individual on-court work in recent days and may be able to practice in the next week or two, according to Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). Thompson, the fourth pick in June’s draft, has been battling a Grade 2 right ankle sprain.

Southwest Notes: Kennard, Tillman, McCollum, Thompson, Eason

November 20th, 2023 at 10:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies, who have already been ravaged by injuries this season, got some more bad news on Monday. Wing Luke Kennard has a left knee bone bruise and will be reevaluated in two weeks, the team’s PR department tweets. Kennard was off to a slow start, but the Grizzlies will miss the perimeter threat of a 43.5% career 3-point shooter.

Meanwhile, Grizzlies big man Xavier Tillman is considered week-to-week as he recovers from a left knee injury. He’s averaging 9.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists this season.

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CJ McCollum remains out indefinitely due to a collapsed lung. Pelicans head coach Willie Green offered an update on McCollum on Monday, relayed by Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times Picayune (Twitter link). “They are still working it out with the doctors,” he said. “They want to make sure CJ gets to the floor healthy and safely. … Once they give us his timeline, we will know more. Right now, he can work out. But it’s really in their hands.”
Rockets rookie Amen Thompson, who has been out since Nov. 1 due to a right ankle sprain, is not close to returning, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Thompson has not been cleared to practice and the Rockets will gradually ramp up his activity until he’s ready to play.
Rockets forward Tari Eason is still being eased back into action after suffering a stress reaction in his left leg during the preseason, Feigen reports. He’s playing an average of only 17.2 minutes per night and has been limited in practices. That has prevented him from getting into a rhythm in the games he has played. “I feel all right,” said Eason, who sat out Monday’s game against Golden State. “Right now, we’re going to do injury prevention, stuff like that. So for me, it’s just been hard to get my groove, not be able to get certain extra reps and being able to play and practice. My only time to really be able to play basketball is in games.”

Southwest Notes: Thompson, Holiday, Lively, Grizzlies, Sochan

November 4th, 2023 at 9:27am CST by Tristan Tucker

Rockets rookie guard Amen Thompson sprained his right ankle on Wednesday, with the team ruling him out of the contest shortly after he suffered the injury in the third quarter. According to Ben DuBose of Rockets Wire, head coach Ime Udoka said Thompson suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain.

Thompson also sustained a Grade 2 left ankle sprain over the summer and that injury had a two-to-four week recovery timetable, according to DuBose, so it’s likely he’s looking at a similar return timeline for this injury.

The No. 4 overall pick is Houston’s primary backup point guard behind Fred VanVleet, so Aaron Holiday absorbed the brunt of Thompson’s minutes following his departure from the game. However, Udoka didn’t turn to Holiday right away, moving Jae’Sean Tate to the backcourt before bringing Holiday in, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle observes (subscriber link). Udoka wasn’t ready to fully commit to the idea of Holiday always being the backup in a three-guard rotation.

“I think we’ll go by committee a little bit,” Udoka said. “I think, the lineup that we had out there, even Amen was out there, we had Jae’Sean as another guy that can initiate, so we do have some guys I can kind of play up or down and fill different roles. We’ll look at it as game-to-game.”

Udoka praised Holiday’s playing ability and said he believed Holiday and VanVleet could play together. Feigen writes that improving the bench play of the Rockets is crucial and playing Holiday may be important to finding a consistent rotation.

“Depending on the team, for sure,” Udoka said. “Teams that have bigger wings, obviously that’ll pose some threats. But Aaron is a guy, similar to his brother, doesn’t have the height of Jrue, but he is a very physical, tough guy that can play on or off the ball. Fred does as well.”

According to Feigen, Udoka said there may be situations where he calls on Reggie Bullock, rookie Cam Whitmore or Tate to fill in some of the backcourt minutes.

Holiday signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Rockets this offseason that has just $1MM guaranteed. If Holiday is on the roster on Jan. 10, that contract will become fully guaranteed.

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Mavericks rookie center Dereck Lively II is a huge part of Dallas’s early season success, averaging 7.6 points and 7.0 rebounds while starting in four of the team’s five games so far. Lively said he’s learned from former Mavs champion Tyson Chandler, who joined the organization via the Mavs Legend Program, according to Marc J. Spears of Andscape. Chandler works with Mavericks centers in his role with the team, including the 19-year-old Lively. “He has a willingness to actually learn, listen and take in information,” Chandler said. “He has a great spirit. He reminds me a lot of myself. I feel the duty to actually be there for him and guide him as much as necessary.”
The Grizzlies are a league-worst 0-6 to begin the season, facing a lengthy suspension to Ja Morant and injuries to key players like Steven Adams. Still, the Grizzlies were expected to be more competitive even with their early season issues, considering they brought in former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart and have current reigning DPOY Jaren Jackson Jr., as well as Desmond Bane. Kelly Iko and John Hollinger of The Athletic dive into why Memphis’ struggles go deeper than suspensions and injuries, including Smart being a step slower on defense thus far and the younger players on the roster not taking a step forward. I recommend checking out the article in full if you have a subscription to The Athletic, as the pair explore the intriguing trade options Memphis has, along with a deeper look into the club’s problems.
Experimenting with starting Jeremy Sochan at point guard has produced a mix bag of results for the Spurs. Even still, head coach Gregg Popovich expressed his appreciation with what the second-year guard/forward brings to the table, as relayed by Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). Popovich said Sochan is “trending in the right direction” and has stood out defensively, adding that he likes how the former lottery pick is “taking care of the ball,” according to Orsborn. “It doesn’t matter who he guards, he does a wonderful job, creates a lot of chaos for us,” Popovich said.