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Trail Blazers’ Donovan Clingan Sprains Ankle

January 15th, 2025 at 6:41pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Trail Blazers rookie center Donovan Clingan exited Portland’s matchup with Brooklyn early on Tuesday night, hobbling to the locker room with just over a minute left in the game.

Now, Portland has announced (Twitter link) that the 7’2″ big man has been diagnosed with a mild sprained left ankle. The two-time NCAA champ will have the injury reevaluated in a week, the Blazers add.

During his first season for the 13-26 Trail Blazers, the 20-year-old has averaged 5.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 0.6 assists and 0.5 steals per game in his 31 healthy outings.

Another Portland reserve center, former All-Defensive Teamer Robert Williams III, missed Tuesday’s clash with an illness. Depending on Williams’ availability, Portland will have to lean on starter Deandre Ayton and perhaps fourth-string center Duop Reath for its next few games.

Clingan has already impressed defensively in his first year as a pro, though he remains fairly raw on the other end of the floor. With veterans Ayton and Williams both looking like potential trade chips, a healthy Clingan could get more minutes and touches soon enough.

The Trail Blazers selected Clingan with the No. 7 overall pick in this past summer’s draft following a run as an All-American Honorable Mention during his second and final college season with the Huskies.

Trail Blazers Notes: Clingan, Sharpe, Thybulle, Grant

January 11th, 2025 at 8:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rookie Donovan Clingan posted his first double-double in nearly two months during the Trail Blazers‘ loss at Dallas Thursday night, writes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. With Robert Williams resting, Clingan served as Portland’s primary backup center and played more than 24 minutes off the bench.

“I thought DC played great,” coach Chauncey Billups said. “I really did. His minutes were good. … He had some big finishes around the basket and he played really tough.”

Fentress notes that Clingan hasn’t put up those type of numbers since November 13 when he had 17 points and 12 rebounds while starting in place of an injured Deandre Ayton. He suffered a knee strain later that month that sidelined him for seven games and affected his conditioning, but he appears to be fully back in game shape.

“It was good to see him back to being DC again,” Billups added. “That was extremely positive.”

There’s more from Portland:

Even though the Blazers remain near the bottom of the West at 13-24, they’re coming off a promising five-game road trip, Fentress adds in a separate story. Portland went 2-3, but could have been 4-1 if two big leads hadn’t slipped away. “Learning how to play down the stretch of games,” Billups said. “What’s important. How to take care of the ball. How to get the right shots. Getting the ball in the right guy’s hands. We can preach it until they’re blue in the face, but until you’re actually in the hit, in the moment, is when you actually learn it.”
A potential rookie-scale extension for Shaedon Sharpe will be one of the most important decisions facing Blazers management this summer, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report states in a mailbag column. Current projections have the max for Sharpe’s 2022 draft class at nearly $247MM over five years. Highkin expects a new deal for Sharpe to be more in line with the Pelicans’ Trey Murphy at $112MM over four years or the Magic’s Jalen Suggs and the Hawks’ Jalen Johnson, who each got $150MM over five years. Sharpe would become a restricted free agent in 2026 if he doesn’t reach an extension before the start of next season.
Swingman Matisse Thybulle will be reevaluated in two weeks as he works his way back from a sprained right ankle, the Trail Blazers announced (via Twitter). Thybulle, who appeared in 65 games last year, has yet to play this season.
Jerami Grant will miss his sixth straight game tonight with a face contusion. Billups said Grant continues to experience jaw and neck soreness, but he will start ramping up soon in preparation for a return, Highkin tweets.

Northwest Notes: Finch, DiVincenzo, Wolves, Clingan, Jazz

January 7th, 2025 at 10:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After Saturday’s loss to the Pistons, the Timberwolves‘ third consecutive defeat, head coach Chris Finch insisted that he was not going to make any changes to his starting lineup, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

“You guys ask me this question all the time,” Finch said. “If I felt that the magic bullet was changing the starting lineup, I would’ve done that already. I don’t think I’m being particularly stubborn. There’s a chain reaction to everything you do. There are other combinations and things that go on on the floor that are just as important if not more so than the starting lineup.”

Finch’s starting five for most of the season was made up of guards Mike Conley and Anthony Edwards, forwards Jaden McDaniels and Julius Randle, and center Rudy Gobert. As Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic details, Finch defended the group’s struggles in the opening frame against the Pistons. In the eventual 119-105 Minnesota loss, the Pistons managed to overcome a 53-point effort out of Edwards.

“In fact, our starters didn’t get us off to a poor start tonight, except they had some low energy,” Finch said. “I didn’t like their defense, particularly… But I thought that, offensively, they looked OK.”

Apparently they didn’t look OK enough, as Finch opted to swap in combo guard Donte DiVincenzo for Conley ahead of a 108-106 victory over the Clippers on Monday, Krawczynski writes in a separate story for The Athletic. Minnesota used the new-look starting lineup again on Tuesday in New Orleans.

“I just read all the papers, and what everybody was telling me and said, ‘You know what, s–t, I should change the starting lineup,’” Finch joked on Monday.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

The 2024/25 iteration of the Timberwolves are still seeking an identity, contends Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. “Every game matters, especially in the West,” Gobert said. “We have confidence in who we are and who we can be as a team, but it has to show on the court. We have to focus on the things we can control, and everything else will follow.” Goodwill writes that the club’s on-court dynamic ahead of the Clippers clash was looking remarkably shaky, adding that the team has struggled to mesh with new additions Randle and DiVincenzo. Although Randle’s shooting from long range has improved significantly from his last season with New York, Goodwill notes that he has been a defensive liability.
Trail Blazers rookie center Donovan Clingan has impressed defensively, but remains very raw on the other end, notes Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report in a reader mailbag (Substack link). Highkin projects that Clingan will be a long-term pro thanks to his already high-level defense, but notes he has a ways to go as a scorer. Highkin also predicts a long-term futures for general manager Joe Cronin and head coach Chauncey Billups and unpacks the upside of his squad’s young core.
As the Jazz‘s youth movement begins to find its footing, Utah has started winning occasional games — entering Tuesday’s action, the team was 4-5 in its last nine games after starting the season 5-20. Those on-court improvements could prove detrimental to the club’s clear goal of maximizing its draft position this summer, observes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Utah currently has only the fifth-best lottery odds. “The messaging doesn’t change,” head coach Will Hardy told Jones. “The players deserve all of the credit. They have dug in, and they have bought into the little things that it takes to win. This has become a cohesive group that’s committed to helping each other.

Northwest Notes: Edwards, Hartenstein, Clingan, Jokic

January 4th, 2025 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

With Karl-Anthony Towns no longer in Minnesota, rising Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is going through some growing pains this year, expressing frustration about receiving so much attention from opposing defenses, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Edwards admitted that he’s sometimes not sure how to handle traps and double-teams and admitted that it’s “not fun” to have his scoring opportunities limited and the ball taken out of his hands. As Krawczynski details, Edwards’ “trademark spirit” seems to be lacking as of late, and it didn’t help matters that fellow stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jayson Tatum has big games in wins over Minnesota this week.

“He’s doing a really good job. It’s tough,” teammate Julius Randle said. “I know it’s frustrating. But that’s just the player that he is. He’s that special that nobody is going to guard him straight up. We gotta continue to try to help him out.”

As Krawczynski points out, players like Gilgeous-Alexander and Tatum are a few years ahead of Edwards on the developmental curve, so there’s plenty of optimism that the Timberwolves guard will eventually figure out how best to attack defenses by balancing his scoring and play-making.

“I think everybody has been playing good on my team besides me,” Edwards said. “I got to figure it out, figure out ways to help them. They have been hitting shots lately. I got to figure out a way to get myself involved in the offense by not letting the double-team take me out. I’ll figure it out.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

The Knicks tried their best to retain Isaiah Hartenstein over the summer, but the veteran center believes the outcome of his free agency – he signed with the Thunder, while New York replaced him by trading for Towns – has been “perfect” for both sides, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “I’m in a situation here (in OKC) where it’s going really good. They got a great center, one of the best centers in the league,” Hartenstein said before facing his old team on Friday. “So I think for both parties it was perfect. Knowing (Knicks president of basketball operations) Leon Rose, he’ll always find something. He’s been doing a great job, so he made the right adjustment.”
Besides helping to anchor the defense, Hartenstein has added a new dynamic to the Thunder‘s offense with his passing, as Rylan Stiles of SI.com outlines.
Speaking to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Trail Blazers rookie center Donovan Clingan admitted that he’s still adjusting to the speed of the NBA game and that he may have hit the rookie wall “a little bit” during the first few months of his professional career. Head coach Chauncey Billups said he’s got to “do a better job” of putting Clingan in the best possible position to succeed, but noted that the team anticipated it would take the big man some time to get comfortable going up against the best players in the world. “He’s playing against players that are better than players he’s ever seen every single night, to be honest with you,” Billups said. “So the mobility of some of these guys and the versatility of some of these guys have been tough for him.”
Entering the 2024/25 season, Nikola Jokic was a 35.0% three-point shooter across nine years in the NBA. This season, the Nuggets center is making a league-leading 47.9% of his triples. Tony Jones of The Athletic takes a closer look at how Jokic’s work in the offseason and preseason helped the three-time MVP become an even more dangerous offensive player.

Injury Updates: Clingan, P. Williams, Rockets, Pacers

December 10th, 2024 at 3:56pm CST by Rory Maher

Donovan Clingan, the No. 7 overall pick of June’s draft, has been cleared for on-court workouts as he ramps up toward a return, according to the Trail Blazers, who announced (via Twitter) that the rookie center is day-to-day going forward.

Clingan has been sidelined for the past seven games after sustaining a sprained MCL in his left knee. The former UConn big man, who won back-to-back national championships with the Huskies, was off to an impressive start to his professional career prior to the injury, averaging 5.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in just 17.0 minutes per game in his first 17 appearances.

Clingan nearing a return is welcome news for the Blazers, who have lost six of their past seven games, including four straight. He’s not the only reserve big man who has been out lately, as Robert Williams has missed the past six games while in the NBA’s concussion protocol. Duop Reath, another backup center, also missed Sunday’s loss with back soreness.

According to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter link), head coach Chauncey Billups said Clingan was able to do “pretty much everything” during Tuesday’s practice. Billups is optimistic that Clingan will be able to return for Friday’s matchup vs. San Antonio, Highkin adds.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:

Bulls forward Patrick Williams, who has been out since November 18 due to inflammation in his surgically repaired left foot, was a full participant in Tuesday’s non-contact practice and is slated to participate in tomorrow’s “contact, scrimmage-filled practice,” tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network). “It’s been tough. I don’t even know how long it’s been since I played,” Williams said, according to Johnson (Twitter link). Head coach Billy Donovan said last week that there was a chance Williams could return at some point this week — Chicago’s next game is Friday vs. Charlotte.
The Rockets will get a couple of key reinforcements back for Wednesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal against Golden State, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Point guard Fred VanVleet said he’ll return to action after missing Sunday’s game with a right knee injury, and third-year forward Tari Eason has cleared the league’s concussion protocol following a two-game absence.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle recently provided updates on injured wings Aaron Nesmith and Ben Sheppard, as Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star relays (via Twitter). Nesmith, who has been out since Nov. 1 due to a left ankle sprain, is still “weeks away” from returning, while Sheppard, who has been sidelined since Nov. 17 due to an oblique injury, is closer to playing.

Trail Blazers’ Thybulle, Clingan Sidelined Multiple Weeks

November 26th, 2024 at 6:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trail Blazers wing Matisse Thybulle suffered a right ankle sprain while ramping up in an effort to return to the court. He’s now expected to miss an additional three-to-six weeks, the team announced in a press release.

Thybulle underwent an MRI which confirmed a Grade 2 sprain of the ankle. He has yet to make his season debut due to a right knee injury that cropped up during training camp.

Thybulle, who was acquired by the Blazers in a trade at the 2023 deadline, appeared in 65 games in his first full season in Portland in 2023/24, making 19 starts and averaging 22.9 minutes per night. He holds an $11.55MM option on his contract for next season.

Rookie center Donovan Clingan received additional imaging on the left knee which revealed a Grade 2 MCL sprain. Clingan will be reevaluated in two weeks, according to the Blazers.

The lottery pick has appeared in 17 games, including six starts, averaging 5.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. He was injured during the Blazers’ game against Houston on Saturday.

Additionally, veteran center Robert Williams has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol. Williams left Monday night’s game at Memphis and did not return for the second half. Williams has appeared in seven games since rehabbing from knee surgery.

Trail Blazers Notes: Simons, Henderson, Clingan, Remix

November 24th, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Trail Blazers have been waiting for Anfernee Simons to start taking over games with his scoring like he did in Saturday’s win at Houston, writes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Simons scored 15 of his team-high 25 points in the fourth quarter as Portland got a measure of revenge after dropping an NBA Cup game to the Rockets Friday night.

“It was amazing to see Ant make some shots and kind of carry us down the stretch,” coach Chauncey Billups told reporters.

It’s something that Billups and the Blazers were hoping to see more often, but Simons has been in a shooting slump for much of the season. Before Saturday, he was averaging 15.6 PPG while connecting at career-worst marks of 37.8% from the field and 30% from three-point range. Fentress notes that the team is 4-1 whenever Simons tops 24 points, but only 1-8 when he fails to reach 20.

“I’m proud of him, honestly,” Deni Avdija said. “He struggled a little bit offensively last game. But he bounced back. And that shows a lot about the player, especially their personality. And I feel like today, he showed what he’s made of. And hopefully, he’s going to continue doing it, being aggressive. And he’s big for our offense.”

There’s more on the Trail Blazers:

Scoot Henderson missed both games in Houston after being involved in a minor car accident Thursday afternoon, Fentress adds in a separate story. A source tells Fentress that Henderson was riding in the back seat of a ride-share vehicle that was struck from behind, and a team official said he’s considered “day-to-day.” Henderson is also dealing with a quad contusion that forced him to leave Wednesday’s game, along with a back strain.
Rookie center Donovan Clingan posted an unusual line Saturday night with 19 rebounds and no points, tweets Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. It’s happened 14 other times in NBA history, with seven of them belonging to Dennis Rodman.
The Blazers are using their Rip City Remix G League affiliate to experiment with a different approach to the game, Highkin explains in a full story. While Billups’ focus is primarily on defense, assistant general manager Sergi Oliva, who took over as head coach this season, has the Remix playing at the fastest pace in the G League and taking more than half their shots from beyond the three-point line. The Blazers hope to eventually incorporate that style when they’re ready to contend for the playoffs again. “We’re getting up a ton of threes,” Oliva said. “What we’re trying to find out is, what are the causes that have led to the best of those attempts, and how can those causes be implemented within the Blazers’ system? How can things be adjusted so that it’s a clear net gain, where it’s not, ‘We’re gaining this but we’re losing that’? That takes a lot more time to settle and needs more certainty.”

Northwest Notes: Filipowski, George, Collier, D. Jones, Doncic, Vezenkov, Blazers

November 18th, 2024 at 11:29am CST by Tristan Tucker

Rookie center Kyle Filipowski‘s play continues to be one of the brightest spots of the Jazz‘s season so far, Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. After claiming a starting role last week, Filipowski continues to pass test after test against some of the NBA’s best.

Filipowski is being targeted defensively in his rookie season, but he has responded admirably and recorded three steals against the Kings on Saturday.

“I guess that’s how it is for rookies, especially rookies that stand up to that sort of thing,” Filipowski said. “I gotta pull my big boy pants on, you know, and not back down from that challenge.”

The No. 32 pick in this year’s draft is averaging 7.9 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 55.2% from the field. In his past five games, including three starts, he has increased those averages to 12.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Keyonte George was benched in the second half of the Jazz‘s Sunday game against Los Angeles, Larsen writes in a separate story. Coach Will Hardy was clear about his reasoning after the game: “I wasn’t happy with Keyonte’s defense in the first half. Keyonte knows how much I believe in him, but sometimes you have to make changes in the moment to reinforce your point.” George played with the second unit and ended up playing the final 19 minutes of the game. He didn’t seem to be phased by the change after the game, Larsen writes. “Urgency levels should be at an all-time high no matter what — but we’re all humans,” George said. “I don’t know if you have a boss, but if they say you should take a break, when you come back you’re going to be on your Ps and Qs.” He’ll need to continue to improve on his decision-making, Larsen opines.
In George’s place, rookie guard Isaiah Collier started the second half and established career highs in minutes (26) and assists (8). Larsen writes in the same piece that Collier has been the Jazz‘s only true point guard and while he’s only getting to his own shot by beating the opposition in fast break situations (he’s shooting 11.1% from three), he’s helping the offense by taking care of the ball. “We know who our scorers are, we know where the ball needs to go,” Collier said. “Doing those little things, it definitely helped us int he second half.” The No. 29 overall pick in 2024 is averaging 4.3 PPG and 2.7 APG this year.
Thunder No. 26 overall pick Dillon Jones set career highs in points (12), minutes (15) and assists (3) on Sunday in a loss to Dallas. The Weber State product made all but one of his six shot attempts. Superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had nothing but praise for the first-round rookie, according to the Thunder’s Nick Gallo (Twitter link). “He’s getting his feet work, getting more comfortable… He’s doing a great job,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He’s keeping his head. He’s getting better. That’s all you can ask for.“
The Nuggets were close to trading up for Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic in the 2018 draft, former Denver Post writer Mike Singer said on Brian Windhorst’s Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to RealGM). “The Nuggets knew that Vlade Divac was not particularly high on Luka Doncic,” Singer, now an employee of the Nuggets, said. “And they had designs on pairing Nikola Jokic with Luka Doncic. On draft night in 2018, they tried. There was a call placed. There was a proposal and the Nuggets attempted to get the No. 2 pick for Gary Harris and two first round picks was what I was told. You can roll your eyes at that price tag, but look in retrospect. The Kings ended up taking Marvin Bagley with the No. 2 pick. I’m not saying this trade was imminent. All I’m saying is this trade was discussed and considered because the Nuggets knew Vlade Divac was not particularly high on Luka Doncic and they tried to exploit it.”
The Nuggets also previously tried to acquire Sasha Vezenkov in 2016, the former Kings forward said in a podcast, per a report from Eurohoops.net. “Jokic called me back in 2016, way before he became a three-time MVP,” Vezenkov said. “Back then, he wasn’t a superstar. He told me the Nuggets wanted me. They were signing European players. But I hesitated. I was an insecure 20-year-old. After playing in Europe, they lost interest. I don’t think about it a lot, but I often wonder what could have been.” Vezenkov made his NBA debut last year for Sacramento, but he was traded and then bought out in the offseason as he decided to head back overseas.
After a 45-point loss last week, the Trail Blazers restored good vibes by winning three in a row, Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report writes. Shaedon Sharpe has 65 points in his last two games, rookie Donovan Clingan is standing out, and bench players like Dalano Banton have played well during the streak.

Northwest Notes: Clingan, Sharpe, Avdija, Gobert, Kessler

November 14th, 2024 at 10:51am CST by Dana Gauruder

With Robert Williams sitting out and Deandre Ayton sidelined by a finger injury, Trail Blazers lottery pick Donovan Clingan had his best outing of the season in a win over Minnesota on Wednesday. In 31 minutes, Clingan racked up 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks.

“I love defense,” Clingan told Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. “It brings energy to the team. That’s how you win ballgames.”

Shaedon Sharpe also had a big night with 33 points in 36 minutes. Coach Chauncey Billups was thrilled with Sharpe’s assertiveness.

“Shae is such a teammate and he doesn’t want to step on anybody’s toes and wants to just kind of fit in,” Billups said. “And I’m telling him, ‘No, you need to go.’ I’ve got to force him. But he’ll get used to it. He loves that we depend on him to do some of those things. The more that happens, the more he’ll get used to it.”

Sharpe will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Deni Avdija, who is now coming off the bench for the Trail Blazers, had a notable outing against Minnesota on Tuesday. He accumulated 17 points, four rebounds and five assists in 25 minutes. In Wednesday’s win, Avdija added seven points and six rebounds in 18 minutes. Billups believes Avdija is well suited for a bench role, according to Aaron Fentress of Oregonlive.com. “Deni is tough,” Billups said. “He plays with a lot of fire. And we need that. We got a lot of kind of easy-going chill guys out there, and his mentality, we need it.”
The Timberwolves have a 6-6 record after those back-to-back losses to Portland. Rudy Gobert told Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he blames himself for the latest defeats. “Those two games are mostly on me defensively,” Gobert said. “I need to set the tone for the team, and I haven’t done it these last two games.”
Jazz center Walker Kessler hasn’t played since Saturday and he’ll miss Thursday’s game against the Mavericks, Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. The team is labeling the ailment as right hip bursitis. Kessler is averaging 9.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per contest.

Northwest Notes: Braun, R. Williams, Mitchell, K. Williams

November 10th, 2024 at 11:16am CST by Rory Maher

Third-year wing Christian Braun is learning from Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic in his first season as a full-time Nuggets starter, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Murray, whose locker is next to Braun’s, often tells the 23-year-old to stay in attack mode.

“‘Keep shooting the ball. Keep being aggressive. Get up more attempts,’” Braun told The Post. “Constantly. When he’s hurt. When he’s not playing. He’s, before the game, telling me he wants me to do this. During the game, he sees this. He’ll point it out. … It’s not just shooting. He wants to challenge me. ‘Hey, I want you to pick this guy up full court.’”

Braun has been one of the bright spots of the early portion of the season in Denver, establishing new career highs in several categories (16.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.0 SPG and 1.0 BPG on an elite .558/.500/.818 shooting line in 35.3 MPG) while being tasked with slowing down the opposing teams’ top perimeter scorer. He has also posted a positive plus/minus in each of the Nuggets’ nine games thus far.

Here are a few more notes from the Northwest Division:

In his first regular season game in a little over a year, Trail Blazers big man Robert Williams made an immediate impact, per Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (subscriber link). Williams only played six games last season due to a serious knee injury, then was slowed by a hamstring strain in training camp. In Friday’s loss to Minnesota, the 27-year-old notched 13 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 17 minutes, only missing one field goal attempt and converting his first career three-pointer. “Defensively, he’s all over the place,” head coach Chauncey Billups said. “He’s vocal. He’s talking. His activity, Rebounds, blocked shots, he kind of does it all. He’s got a knack for it. And then on the other end, you never look at him as a three-point threat, but he stepped up and knocked that one down.”
Williams’ return was obviously a welcome sight, but it will also impact the Trail Blazers‘ rotation. Minnesota’s lineup features plenty of size, so Billups felt comfortable playing Williams alongside Deandre Ayton or Donovan Clingan. However, that won’t always be the case, Fentress writes. “There’ll be some nights that it doesn’t happen, that we won’t play that way based on matchups,” Billups said. “But some teams, they present opportunities for you to do so.”
Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, the No. 38 overall pick of June’s draft, continues to impress in his rookie season, according to Rylan Stiles of SI.com. Mitchell, who has played in each of the Thunder’s nine games during their 8-1 start, recorded 12 points (on 5-of-6 shooting), two rebounds, and career highs of seven assists and three steals in Friday’s victory vs. Houston.
Thunder swingman Kenrich Williams, who is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, is making progress toward a return. He was assigned to the Oklahoma City Blue — the Thunder’s G League affiliate — for a practice on Saturday before being recalled, Stiles tweets.