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Nets Notes: Irving, Harden, Durant, Vaughn, Curry

December 17th, 2022 at 10:40am CST by Luke Adams

After being described by head coach Jacque Vaughn on Wednesday as “extremely engaged” as of late (link via Mark W. Sanchez of The New York Post), Nets guard Kyrie Irving made the first game-winning buzzer beater of his career on Friday in Toronto, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN.

Although Irving’s game-winner improved the Nets’ record to 11-3 since he returned from an eight-game suspension, Alex Schiffer of The Athletic remains hesitant to call Brooklyn a legitimate contender, suggesting that next week’s games against Milwaukee and Cleveland should help create a clearer picture of where the team stands in the Eastern Conference hierarchy. Still, the Nets appear to be hitting their stride after a slow start to the season.

With the Nets on the rise and Irving’s future beyond this season uncertain, there’s a sense around the NBA that the club could be in the market for win-now upgrades prior to the February trade deadline, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. One league scout who spoke to Bulpett said that Brooklyn should be looking to add more frontcourt help.

“Their biggest problem is they can’t defend and can’t rebound,” the scout said. “They don’t have enough size. They just get beat on. They need somebody who can command the lane. In today’s game, they’re not letting you take hard fouls, so you’ve got to have someone who can block a shot.”

Here’s more on the Nets:

Within a feature on James Harden, Yaron Weitzman of FoxSports.com cites multiple Nets sources who say that Harden and Kevin Durant “butted heads” last season when both players were in Brooklyn. According to Weitzman, Durant didn’t think Harden was in top physical shape and told him so, while Harden “struggled to adjust to an ecosystem where everything was no longer catered to him.” Harden also became frustrated with the approach the Nets training staff took to maintenance, rest, and recovery, and tells Weitzman he felt like there was “no structure” in Brooklyn.
Here’s more from Harden on his exit from Brooklyn, via Weitzman: “I just feel like, internally, things weren’t what I expected when I was trying to get traded there. I think everybody knows that. And I knew people were going to talk and say, ‘You quit’ and all that stuff, but then the following summer, the other superstar there (Durant) wanted to leave. So it’s like: Am I still the quitter?”
Vaughn, who has a 16-7 record since replacing Steve Nash as the Nets’ head coach, is winning over Durant, Sanchez writes for The New York Post. The superstar forward stated earlier in the week that Vaughn is doing a “great job” making in-game adjustments and has handled the team’s injury absences well. “I’ve liked the brand of basketball we’ve played on both ends of the floor,” Durant said. “Regardless of who is on the court, we still played our system.”
Nets guard Seth Curry received an MRI on his injured hamstring on Thursday before being cleared for Friday’s game in Toronto, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Vaughn suggested that the MRI was merely precautionary. “We MRI everything now, we do an MRI every time,” he said.
In a pair of features for NetsDaily, Matthew Brooks explained how the Nets are continuing to prioritize the development of their young players while contending for a title and took a closer look at Vaughn’s unique approach to practices and shootarounds.

Sixers Notes: Melton, Rivers, Harden, Embiid

December 10th, 2022 at 9:35am CST by Luke Adams

De’Anthony Melton had his best game since joining the Sixers – and arguably the best game of his career – on Friday night. The fifth-year guard established new career bests by scoring 33 points, making eight 3-pointers, and racking up seven steals in Philadelphia’s overtime victory over the Lakers.

As Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com writes, Melton was a difference-maker in a game the 76ers almost gave away and continues to show why the team was willing to give up a first-round pick for him in the offseason. Melton is averaging 11.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.3 APG, and 2.3 SPG in his first 23 games in Philadelphia (29.5 MPG), making 38.5% of his 3-point attempts and playing strong perimeter defense.

Melton has enjoyed a career year despite battling a back issue — he has hardly practiced at all this season, Joel Embiid told reporters on Friday. Melton has instead used the team’s off days to take care of his body and go through what he calls a “maintenance” process, according to Neubeck.

“I’ll take (Melton not practicing) every time if he’s going to show up to the game and do what he does every single night,” Embiid said. “He knows it, I appreciate the effort, because I find myself in that same situation quite a bit, and every single chance that I can even when I’m hurt, I want to be on the floor. So to be able to do the same even though he’s dealing with a back injury, I appreciate the effort.”

Here’s more on the Sixers:

In two more articles for PhillyVoice.com, Neubeck considers why the Sixers have been hard to watch this season and fields readers’ mailbag questions, discussing Doc Rivers‘ job security, among other topics. Although he doesn’t believe Rivers is a lock to make it through the season, Neubeck does think the veteran coach has “more security than people on social media want him to have.”
James Harden has been a Sixer for only 10 months and has played with Joel Embiid in just eight games so far this season, so head coach Doc Rivers is preaching patience, telling reporters this week that the pairing is “going to take time” to fully jell, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. As Pompey observes, Harden favors an isolation-heavy style of play and is ball-dominant, while Embiid thrives when the offense flows through him. The duo had perhaps its best game this season as a tandem on Friday, totaling 66 points and 17 assists.
There has been plenty of speculation about whether Embiid will choose to play for the U.S. or France in the 2024 Olympics, but the star center isn’t interested in discussing his FIBA future during the NBA season, as Marc Stein writes at Substack. “I don’t want to talk about international stuff,” Embiid told Stein. “I’m focused on us getting better as a team and me getting better as a player. I’m focused on making it to the playoffs and doing something there. I’m gonna worry about the rest later. For now, it’s all about trying to do whatever is possible to win a championship.”

Injury Updates: Harden, Wiggins, Poole, Grizzlies, Jazz

December 5th, 2022 at 4:04pm CST by Rory Maher

James Harden is on track to return tonight for the Sixers as they face the Rockets in Houston, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The star guard has been sidelined for a month with a right foot strain, missing 14 games in the process.

“As much as I love basketball, I want to be out there to compete, especially for my teammates,” Harden said. “So this month has been patience, putting the work in, making sure I’m ready to come back and help this team get to where we can get to.”

Head coach Doc Rivers indicated on Sunday that Harden would be on a minutes restriction.

“Hopeful, he’ll be ready for [Monday],” Rivers said. “And if he is, he’ll be in a limited role. But it’s still better to have him than not, if we can have him.”

After winning four of five, the Sixers have dropped two straight games and currently hold a 12-11 record.

Here are some more injury-related updates from around the NBA:

Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins will miss Monday’s contest against the Pacers with right adductor tightness, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Golden State guard Jordan Poole is questionable with an ankle injury, which he suffered on Saturday.
Grizzlies star Ja Morant is doubtful for tonight’s game vs. Miami due to left ankle soreness, Memphis announced (via Twitter). In addition to Morant, injury-replacement starter John Konchar (right toe soreness) and rookie forward Jake LaRavia (left foot soreness) are also doubtful, while All-Defensive big man Jaren Jackson Jr. has been ruled out on the second of a back-to-back for injury management (he had offseason foot surgery and just returned a few weeks ago). On a positive note, second-year wing Ziaire Williams, who has yet to play this season due to right patellar tendinitis, is listed as doubtful instead of out for the first time and was sent to the G League to practice ahead of Monday’s game (Twitter link). Head coach Taylor Jenkins recently said Williams was nearing a return.
Jazz veterans Mike Conley (knee) and Rudy Gay (hand) were full participants in Monday’s practice and both hope to play on Wednesday against Golden State, though they’re still experiencing some pain (All Twitter links via Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune). If Conley returns Wednesday, he’ll likely be on a minutes restriction, tweets ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. The Jazz have missed Conley’s steadying influence, going just 2-6 over the past two weeks without their starting point guard.

Atlantic Notes: KD, Warren, Barnes, Embiid, Harden

December 2nd, 2022 at 5:37pm CST by Rory Maher

Kevin Durant only played 90 of 154 regular season games from 2020-22, but he h as appeared in all 23 so far this season. He currently leads the league in total minutes played and field goals made, while ranking sixth in the league in minutes per game (36.7). Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn is keenly aware of his superstar forward’s heavy workload, writes Mark W. Sanchez of The New York Post.

“It’s not ideal,” Vaughn conceded on Wednesday after the Nets rode Durant to their first winning record (12-11) of the season. “While we’re in the win-now mode, win today’s game, we are behind the scenes talking about what the stretch looks like beyond tomorrow, beyond the next day. So it is on our minds.”

The problem, of course, is that the Nets have dealt with injuries and absences to key players, and they simply haven’t been good enough to reduce Durant’s minutes given their place in the standings. Brooklyn is currently the No. 8 seed in the East.

“We’ll map out some time where we’ll save a shootaround and maybe not have it, so be strategic that way,” Vaughn added, per Sanchez. “But ideally, he wouldn’t be playing this amount of minutes this early, for sure.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic:

As expected, Nets forward T.J. Warren is available to make his season debut Friday after last playing in late December 2020, Sanchez relays in another article for The New York Post. Vaughn will be closely watching his minutes, tweets ESPN’s Nick Friedell. Warren is ecstatic to be able to play again. “It’s a surreal moment. It’s been a long process – a very long run – and to be able to get to today, it means a lot. So I’m just super, super excited to beat all the obstacles all the uncertainty and unknowns,” Warren said, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link).
Raptors forward Scottie Barnes has had an up-and-down sophomore season after winning Rookie of the Year in ’21/22. He says he knows he’s capable of more. “I feel like I can do way better than what I’m doing,” Barnes told Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. “I can contribute better in different ways. We’re trying to get more Ws in the win column and focus on team success, we’re trying to win basketball games, but of course I feel like I can be way better, yeah.”
Sixers star Joel Embiid is excited for James Harden‘s upcoming return, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.”Like I said, [Harden’s return is] all going to be fun. … We need a lot of help. You know, he’s one of our best players. And he’s so freaking good. So anything we can get at this point, we will get it,” Embiid said. Harden is reportedly targeting a Monday return at Houston, his former team.

James Harden Targeting Monday Return

November 30th, 2022 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Sixers star James Harden is targeting Monday’s game against his former team in Houston for his return from a right foot injury, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter) that Harden is aiming to make it back at some point on Philadelphia’s current three-game road trip, which begins on Wednesday in Cleveland. The team will play in Friday in Memphis before heading to Houston for Monday’s matchup. Charania – like Pompey – says a Monday return is most likely for Harden.

The Sixers have been significantly shorthanded as of late, particularly in their backcourt, where Harden has been on the shelf since November 2 and Tyrese Maxey has been out since Nov. 18 with a foot injury of his own. Star center Joel Embiid also missed some time before rejoining Philadelphia’s lineup on Monday.

Despite the health issues affecting their top players, the 76ers have held their own in recent weeks. They’re 8-4 since Harden went down, including 3-1 in the games that Harden, Maxey, and Emibid all missed.

Maxey’s return is likely a little ways off yet, but the Sixers will be in position to begin solidifying a spot near the top of the Eastern Conference standings if Embiid and Harden are both healthy for the foreseeable future beginning next week. At 12-9, the club currently ranks fifth in the East.

Sixers Notes: Tucker, Harden, Milton, Reed

November 28th, 2022 at 9:45am CST by Arthur Hill

P.J. Tucker only has three combined points in his last seven games, but he’s not concerned about a lack of offense, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Sixers won five of those games, even with their three best players missing time, and Tucker seems comfortable with his current role.

“As long as we’re winning, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “Of course you want to get more shots. What player doesn’t? But with the way we play — Coach (Doc Rivers) talks about a lack of ball movement all the time — it’s one of those things. Sometimes you get shots, sometimes you don’t. You keep playing and figure it out.”

Philadelphia obviously didn’t sign Tucker over the summer because of his scoring. It was his defensive presence and other intangibles that convinced the team to give him a three-year, $33.2MM contract. Still, Pompey states that his lack of involvement in the offense can be concerning. Tucker spends many possessions spotting up in the corner, and he’s often out of rhythm when he does get a chance to shoot.

“Sometimes you get shots,” Tucker said. “Sometimes you don’t. Sometimes the ball moves, sometimes it doesn’t. Without having (Joel Embiid), (the) ball’s got to pop. Ball’s got to move. Make easy shots for each other. It is what it is.”

There’s more on the Sixers:

James Harden, who has been out of action since November 2 with a strained tendon in his right foot, may be ready to return in a few days, Pompey adds. “It’s different with James because James kind of controls the game,” Tucker said. “He gets everybody the ball. Without James, it’s tough — that’s why the ball has to move even more.”
Shake Milton has made a strong case for rotation minutes once Harden and Tyrese Maxey are back on the court, according to Rich Hofmann of The Athletic. Milton has averaged 22.8 points and 6.8 rebounds over the past four games, along with 7.8 assists and only 2.5 turnovers. He’s also shooting .589/.500/.938 during that span. Hofmann notes that Milton was playing well before the stars were injured and shouldn’t be considered the team’s 11th man anymore.
Paul Reed is learning to be more patient on offense and may be the choice for backup center minutes ahead of Montrezl Harrell once Embiid returns, Hofmann adds.

Atlantic Notes: Banton, VanVleet, Harden, Brogdon

November 17th, 2022 at 9:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The already-shorthanded Raptors lost guard Dalano Banton to a left ankle sprain during Toronto’s 112-104 victory against the Heat on Wednesday, reports Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

Toronto head coach Nick Nurse is pessimistic about the outlook, indicating that the ankle “doesn’t look too good,” per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (via Twitter). Nurse revealed that Banton will be undergoing tests to determine the extent of the injury.

The second-year guard out of Nebraska is averaging 6.4 PPG, 1.3 RPG and 1.1 APG for the Raptors as a reserve in just 11.2 MPG, but had a breakout performance on Monday, scoring a career-high 27 points.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet made his return to the floor for Toronto in its Miami victory following a bad cold. He noted that he is continuing to test negative for COVID-19, tweets Lewenberg. “It wasn’t fun but hopefully the worst is behind me, just happy to be back,” VanVleet said. In 39 minutes, he scored 23 points on 7-of-21 shooting.
Sixers guard James Harden reveals that he has been progressing positively from his tendon strain, per Derek Bodner (Twitter link). Bodner notes that Harden has indicated he is “on pace” to come back to the floor in line with his initially projected one-month rehab window. “We’ve got a plan,” Harden said, according to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). “We’ve got a script that we’re trying to stick to. All in all, I feel good.”
Celtics sixth man Malcolm Brogdon looks set to suit up once again for Boston, having made significant progress in his recovery from a tight right hamstring, reports The Athletic’s Jared Weiss (Twitter link). The 6’5″ vet has not played since November 9.

Atlantic Notes: Udoka, Durant, Embiid, Raptors

November 7th, 2022 at 8:03am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets may be having second thoughts about hiring Ime Udoka as their next head coach, tweets NBA reporter Marc Stein, who hears that “strong voices” are warning owner Joe Tsai about the potential move. Udoka emerged as the “strong frontrunner” for the job almost immediately after the decision to part ways with Steve Nash was announced last Tuesday.

However, league sources tell Stein that people close to Tsai are warning him to reconsider any commitment to Udoka considering the atmosphere of turmoil in Brooklyn. Udoka would bring additional baggage after being suspended for the season as Celtics head coach following an affair with a team staffer.

Jacque Vaughn continues to serve as interim coach and has led the Nets to a 2-1 record, with back-to-back road wins over the weekend.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Nets star Kevin Durant is interested in being part of the ownership group for the NFL’s Washington Commanders if the team is put up for sale, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. Durant is a long-time fan of the team, but he might have competition from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and recording artist Jay-Z if current owner Dan Snyder decides to sell. “Our market is incredible,” Durant said. “There’s a lot of support in D.C., a lot of money in D.C. to be made. … Regardless of what’s going on, they pretty much built that team up, built that stadium, built the brand up pretty nicely. I know we’ve had some losing seasons, but it’s starting to come around for us. I’m excited as a fan. I’m excited about the sale. I’m excited to see who they bring in and who they sell the team to and see how we move forward with it.”
Sixers coach Doc Rivers believes there’s a “75% chance” Joel Embiid will return tonight after missing three straight games with an illness, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He looked good,” Rivers said after watching Embiid at Sunday’s practice. “I mean listen, he had the flu and it’s hard. Your lungs are burning and he [still] looked pretty good.” Rivers plans to run the offense through Embiid while James Harden is sidelined with a strained tendon in his right foot. Harden is wearing a walking boot, and the foot is currently non-weight-bearing, tweets Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Raptors will need someone to replace the contribution of Pascal Siakam while he’s out of action with an adductor strain, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Veterans Thaddeus Young and Otto Porter looked good in Sunday’s win over the Bulls. “They just know kind of where to be … so that felt like the right move, playing those guys tonight just because the schemes were pretty tricky,” coach Nick Nurse said.

James Harden Suffers Foot Strain, Out One Month

November 3rd, 2022 at 1:47pm CST by Rory Maher

Star guard James Harden has sustained a strained tendon in his right foot and is expected to miss one month for the Sixers, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

It’s a tough blow for both the player and the team, as the Sixers have gotten off to a slow start, currently sitting with a 4-5 record after dropping Wednesday’s game to the Wizards. According to Wojnarowski, Harden suffered the foot strain during last night’s loss, with testing revealing the injury today.

A 10-time All-Star and former league MVP, Harden is averaging 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 10.0 assists and 1.1 steals on .441/.333/.929 shooting through nine games (36.8 minutes per contest). He’s also turning the ball over at his lowest rate since the 2011/12 campaign.

If Harden returns by Philadelphia’s game on December 5, he’ll have missed 14 games with the injury. As ESPN’s Tim Bontemps notes (via Twitter), it’s a difficult stretch of games for the 76ers, who face the Knicks, Suns, Hawks (twice), Jazz, Bucks and Timberwolves over their next seven contests.

With Harden sidelined, look for Joel Embiid (who has already missed three games, one with a sore knee and the past two with the flu), Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris to increase their shot attempts. Reserve guard De’Anthony Melton, who missed Wednesday’s contest with a sore back, will likely start in Harden’s place.

It will also be an opportunity for players like Shake Milton, Matisse Thybulle and Furkan Korkmaz to carve out potential rotation roles, since Harden is second in the team in minutes played, only trailing Maxey.

Sixers Lose 2023, 2024 Second-Round Picks Due To Gun-Jumping

October 31st, 2022 at 3:10pm CST by Rory Maher

After discovering that the Sixers held early free agent discussions with forwards P.J. Tucker and Danuel House prior to the permitted date, the NBA announced today (via Twitter) that it has rescinded the team’s 2023 and 2024 second-round picks.

The league noted that Philadelphia “fully cooperated” with its investigation into tampering, or “gun-jumping.” The Sixers released a statement confirming the news (Twitter link via ESPN’s Tim Bontemps).

“The Philadelphia 76ers fully cooperated with the NBA’s investigation and acknowledge the league’s ruling. We’re moving forward, focused on the season ahead.”

As Shams Charania of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), while the NBA did dock the Sixers for the early discussions with Tucker and House, it found no wrongdoing with James Harden‘s significant pay cut, which gave the Sixers the flexibility to use their full non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Tucker and their bi-annual exception to sign House. Both players previously played with Harden on the Rockets under former president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who is now Philadelphia’s top basketball executive.

Some around the league have wondered whether the Sixers and Harden already have a future deal in place, which is against the rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Such a handshake agreement would involve declining his player option in 2023 and signing a lucrative new contract at that time.

Marc Stein first reported that the Sixers were likely to face a tampering investigation, and he was also one of the first reporters to link Tucker to Philadelphia, with rival teams reportedly convinced that Tucker was signing a three-year deal for the mid-level multiple days before free agency officially opened.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), the NBA and the Players Association are expected to discuss tampering and the punishments that teams face when found guilty, as early free agent discussions are “rampant, but hard to police and largely impossible to eliminate.” The two sides are currently in early negotiations for a new CBA.