Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

James Harden

Giannis Antetokounmpo To Miss Monday’s Game

August 10th, 2020 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks and Raptors will face one another on Monday night in a possible Eastern Conference Finals preview, but the MVP frontrunner won’t be taking part in the game. Milwaukee announced in this afternoon’s injury report that Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t play against Toronto due to oral surgery.

It’s probably safe to assume the ailment wouldn’t sideline Antetokounmpo for an important playoff game, but with the Bucks and Raptors locked into the East’s Nos. 1 and 2 seeds, respectively, there’s no real need for the two teams to go all-out tonight.

It’s possible the Raptors will be without some of their key rotation players as well. Kyle Lowry (lower back soreness), Fred VanVleet (hyperextended right knee), and Serge Ibaka (right knee contusion) are all listed as questionable for the second end of a back-to-back set.

Here are a few more injury and availability updates from around the NBA:

  • Rockets star James Harden will sit out on Tuesday vs. San Antonio for rest purposes, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. However, Houston will get two other guards back this week, per Feigen, who says that Russell Westbrook (quad) will return on Tuesday and Eric Gordon (ankle) will play on Wednesday vs. Indiana. Each player will suit up for one of two games in the back-to-back set.
  • The Pelicans have listed Jrue Holiday (right elbow contusion), Brandon Ingram (right knee soreness), and Zion Williamson (right knee soreness) as out for Tuesday’s game vs. Sacramento. Head coach Alvin Gentry said today that the three players are sitting out for “precautionary” reasons, per ESPN’s Andrew Lopez (Twitter link). New Orleans was eliminated from playoff contention over the weekend.
  • It’s not an injury, but Suns center Deandre Ayton didn’t start this afternoon’s game vs. Oklahoma City because he missed his scheduled COVID-19 test on Sunday, tweets Gina Mizell. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links), Ayton was re-tested on Monday morning and received clearance to rejoin the team, arriving late to the game against the Thunder.
Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA Announces Finalists For 2019/20 Awards

August 8th, 2020 at 12:01pm CST by marksuleymanov

The NBA has announced the finalists for several awards as the seeding games on the Orlando campus move forward and the postseason nears. It was announced in July that all awards for the 2019/20 season would be based on games up until March 11, when the coronavirus pandemic shuttered play. Media members made their votes before the seeding games began on July 30.

NBA Most Valuable Player Finalists:

NBA Defensive Player of the Year:

NBA Rookie of the Year:

NBA Most Improved Player:

NBA Sixth Man of the Year:

NBA Coach of the Year:

  • Mike Budenholzer (Bucks)
  • Billy Donovan (Thunder)
  • Nick Nurse (Raptors)

The winners for the awards will be announced during the NBA playoffs after the seeding games period concludes on August 14.

Retweet 4 Share 0 Send via email0

Southwest Notes: Zion, Burke, Doncic, Harden

August 2nd, 2020 at 9:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Zion Williamson played just 14 minutes in Saturday’s blowout loss to the Clippers, and his time is expected to remain limited in Monday’s showdown with the Grizzlies, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Williamson was barely a factor yesterday, making 3-of-7 shots and committing three turnovers in the 23-point defeat. The Pelicans came to Orlando with hopes of reaching the playoffs, but have now dropped to 12th place with six games remaining.

The team was heavily criticized for not using Williamson down the stretch of its opening loss to the Jazz, but vice president David Griffin explained yesterday that the star rookie didn’t have much practice time to get back into game shape after the four-month hiatus. Williamson briefly left the Walt Disney World campus to tend to a family matter and was quarantined upon returning.

“It makes sense to me that there’s so much attention — obviously, he’s a phenom,” Griffin said. “The league office itself takes as much interest in this as the fans do, and I’m grateful, frankly, that the fans take as much interest as they do. What I’m frustrated by is that there has to be a conspiracy theory involved when literally there’s not one thing different that’s being done with him than was done for every player on this roster when we got here, and he missed 13 days of what those guys got. Now all of the sudden, because the stakes are raised and because, unfortunately, we were selected for seven national (television) games, we’re supposed to reinvent the wheel.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • Trey Burke had a memorable debut with the Mavericks, scoring 31 points and hitting eight 3-pointers Friday night, but barely played in the fourth quarter as Dallas saw a big lead slip away, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. “I think some of the guys on the side were wondering the same thing,” Burke said, referring to his teammates. “I just got here. I know Coach has a lineup at the end of the game that he trusts at this point.” Coach Rick Carlisle explained that Burke, who was signed as a replacement player for Willie Cauley-Stein and has only been in Orlando for about a week, was tired late in the game.
  • The Mavericks feature an offense that statistically ranks as the NBA’s best ever, but they have trouble holding onto leads, notes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Luka Doncic believes that will eventually change with experience. “We’re a young team. We’ve got a lot to learn,” he said. “We’ll get better for sure. I know we’re going to get together when it matters most in the playoffs, so I’m not worried about that.”
  • Ahead of their meeting tonight, McMahon examines the history of the feud between Rockets star James Harden and the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, which began with last year’s MVP race.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Southwest Notes: Popovich, Powell, Finney-Smith, Harden

July 17th, 2020 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs enter the NBA’s restart in 12th place in the Western Conference and coach Gregg Popovich has made it clear he’s more concerned with player development than a playoff run, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News reports. “For us in our specific situation, development is more important than anything,” Popovich said. “I’m not too concerned with trying to figure out how to match up with the Lakers or Clippers or Celtics or Raptors or Rockets or Nuggets or anybody else.” San Antonio’s postseason chances have already been dimmed by the loss of LaMarcus Aldridge (shoulder) and Trey Lyles (appendicitis).

We have more from the Southwest Division:

  • Mavericks big man Dwight Powell can’t play in Orlando as he continues to rehab from Achilles tendon surgery but he chose to go to the campus anyway. His reasoning, according to the Dallas Morning News’ Callie Caplan? Powell has steady access to the team’s training staff, workouts and team activities. “I’m still part of this team, whether I can contribute on offense or defense, still proud to be a Dallas Maverick,” Powell said.
  • Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith is brimming with optimism as seventh-place Dallas heads into the seeding games already assured of a playoff berth, Eddie Sefko of the team’s website reports. “I feel like we can beat anybody, especially if we’re healthy and we come out with an us-against-the-world mentality,” he said.
  • Russell Westbrook is still trying to clear COVID-19 protocols but the other half of the Rockets’ dynamic backcourt has returned to the team. James Harden practiced on Thursday after his arrival in Orlando was delayed due to family issues, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “I pushed myself through it,” Harden said.
Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, Harden, Howard, MKG, Brunson

July 16th, 2020 at 12:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies will enter the NBA’s restart with a healthier roster than they’ve had all season, creating what Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com refers to as a “welcome dilemma” for Taylor Jenkins. Memphis has already exceeded expectations this year despite dealing with some injuries — now the team will have added depth to allow Jenkins to try to find even more effective lineup combinations.

“We’re sorting through different combinations, but not trying to lose the lineups that were successful for us to this point,” the Grizzlies’ head coach said. “We’re going to have some really tough decisions to make, but that only means you have some great depth. We’re built on competing. We’re always prepared to have 17 guys ready to go at any given moment.”

Besides having Justise Winslow – acquired at the trade deadline – available for the first time this summer, the Grizzlies will also have Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke back in their lineup. Jackson had missed the team’s nine games leading up to the hiatus in March, while Clarke had been out for eight games.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • James Harden, whose arrival at the Walt Disney World campus was delayed, is expected to practice with the Rockets for the first time on Thursday, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. The club is still waiting on Russell Westbrook and Luc Mbah a Moute.
  • French club ASVEL Basket announced today in a press release that it has finalized a two-year deal with swingman William Howard. It’s an unusual update, since Howard technically remains on a two-way contract with the Rockets — at least for now. Presumably, Howard is on track to join ASVEL Basket when his current deal expires.
  • Mavericks forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had yet to join the team at the Disney campus as of Wednesday evening, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Head coach Rick Carlisle didn’t offer any specifics on Kidd-Gilchrist’s absence: “We’re working to get him here logistically and we hope that it happens soon.”
  • With injuries to Jalen Brunson and Courtney Lee affecting the Mavericks‘ backcourt rotation, the team may lean more heavily on Delon Wright when play resumes, writes Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. Speaking of Brunson, he isn’t with the club in Orlando and won’t play this summer, having remained in Dallas for rehab purposes, Carlisle confirmed today (Twitter links via Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News).
Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0

James Harden Arrives At Orlando Campus

July 14th, 2020 at 8:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Rockets All-Star James Harden arrived at the NBA’s Orlando restart campus on Tuesday evening, five days after most of the rest of his club touched down, per a video tweet from the team’s official Twitter account.

The 2018 NBA MVP did not travel with the rest of the Rockets for undisclosed reasons. Harden is averaging 34.4 PPG, 7.4 APG and 6.4 RPG in 61 games this season, his eighth All-Star campaign in Houston.

Tonight’s arrival is in line with the targeted mid-week estimate that Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said the team had been aiming for as recently as Sunday, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Before Harden can join his teammates at practice, he will have to quarantine within his hotel room. Next, Harden will have to test negative for COVID-19 over three straight days and undergo a physical conditioning test, per Rachel Nichols of ESPN (Twitter link) and Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link).

Despite the arrival of Harden, the Rockets will continue to be without a few players for now. Harden’s fellow All-Star guard Russell Westbrook announced yesterday that he did not travel with the team because he tested positive for COVID-19. Westbrook hopes to join the Rockets once he recovers.

Forward Luc Mbah a Moute also did not travel with the Rockets last Thursday for undisclosed reasons. Additionally, after accidentally breaking the campus’s quarantine restrictions, Mbah a Moute’s fellow forward Bruno Caboclo has been forced to re-isolate for seven more days.

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Bruno Caboclo To Re-Isolate After Breaking Quarantine

July 13th, 2020 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

Rockets forward Bruno Caboclo inadvertently broke quarantine at the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus and will be required to re-quarantine for another eight days before he resumes team activities, according to Tim MacMahon, Zach Lowe, Malika Andrews, and Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link). Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle clarifies (via Twitter) that Caboclo is now two days into a new 10-day quarantine period.

Any sort of coronavirus outbreak within the Disney campus could throw a wrench into the NBA’s restart plan, so the league is requiring players, coaches, and staffers to strictly follow the protocols put in place. Caboclo is the first player known to have run afoul of those protocols, having left his room during the initial quarantine period, tweets MacMahon. He was unaware he wasn’t allowed to do so, despite having been informed of those restrictions.

Caboclo, 24, was traded from Memphis to Houston at the trade deadline in February, but didn’t see much action after joining the Rockets. He appeared in just five games before the season was suspended in March, averaging 2.0 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 5.6 minutes per contest.

Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni is unlikely to utilize a super-deep rotation in Orlando, but with David Nwaba unable to play due to his Achilles recovery and Luc Mbah a Moute rejoining the team after a long layoff, Caboclo had a chance to move up on the depth chart. Now that he won’t be able to resume practicing until next week, it seems less likely that he’ll play regular minutes during the seeding games.

The Rockets are still waiting for stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook, as well as Mbah a Moute, to report to the Disney campus in Florida. According to Feigen, D’Antoni said on Sunday that those players are working out at “their own home base” and that they should arrive “in a few days.” He declined to offer specifics on why the arrivals of Harden, Westbrook, and Mbah a Moute have been delayed.

“These are things that people are dealing with,” D’Antoni said. “We’re not going to get into why not. They’re on their way.”

[UPDATE: Russell Westbrook Tested Positive For COVID-19]

Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

Southwest Notes: Williamson, Rockets, Winslow, Mavs

July 12th, 2020 at 5:57pm CST by JD Shaw

Pelicans star Zion Williamson primarily worked on fundamentals and conditioning during the NBA’s months-long hiatus, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN.com.

Williamson spent significant time with his stepfather, Lee Anderson, harping on the core principles of his game in recent weeks. With the 2019/20 NBA season officially restarting in Orlando, Williamson is looking to build on what’s already been an impressive rookie campaign.

“His stepfather did a fantastic job of working him out every day, of making him be in good conditioning when we got him back,” head coach Alvin Gentry said. “He’s made a lot of strides in his shooting, I think. Although we weren’t together, he did a lot to improve his game.”

Williamson is averaging 23.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 29.7 minutes in 19 games this season, displaying unprecedented athleticism and power in his first year with the team. New Orleans is tentatively scheduled to have its first scrimmage on Wednesday, July 22 against Brooklyn.

Here are some other notes out of the Southwest Division:

  • Rockets stars Russell Westbrook and James Harden are expected to arrive in Orlando soon, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. Houston had its first team practice on Saturday without the star duo, with head coach Mike D’Antoni hinting that the two All-Star guards will likely join the club in the next few days.
  • Evan Barnes of the Memphis Commercial Appeal examines how Justise Winslow fits in with the Grizzlies, particularly under head coach Taylor Jenkins’ offensive system. Jenkins indicated that Winslow will likely be used in a play-making role during the NBA’s resumed season, Barnes writes. “His versatility is really going to come out in our style of play,” Jenkins said. “That’s why I talk about him being just a great fit and a perfect fit for our system because he can play multiple positions on offense.”
  • Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News explores how much playoff experience will matter for the Mavericks, whose top two players (Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis) have yet to see postseason action in their careers. The typical home and road atmospheres that teams usually encounter in the playoffs naturally won’t be the same this year due to COVID-19. “It’s hard for me to predict that, how it’s going to be,” Porzingis admitted. “This is going to be my first experience and no matter what the circumstances are, I’m going to try to get the most out of it and get the most experience and play the highest level basketball I’ve ever played.”
Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Rockets Notes: D’Antoni, Travel Details, Tucker

July 9th, 2020 at 9:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

69-year-old Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, who says he has cleared his medical screenings with Houston, has flown with the team to Orlando, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (Twitter link). Though D’Antoni was granted no “formal NBA thumbs up,” as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets, the league also did not restrict D’Antoni’s campus attendance following the medical clearance.

D’Antoni is the league’s second-oldest head coach, after 71-year-old Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. The 40-24 Rockets are currently the No. 6 seed in the West, 1.5 games clear of the seventh-seeded Mavericks.

There’s more out of Houston:

  • D’Antoni and Rockets general manager Daryl Morey are relishing the opportunity for the team to practice together ahead of the league’s scheduled July 30 restart, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “Because we had a major change in the components of the team, we do think a second training camp benefits us,” Morey said. “Because when you’re integrating a starter onto a very good team, getting more time to drill… will allow us to integrate (Robert) Covington in, and I do think that slightly favors us.”
  • Rockets All-Stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook did not travel with the rest of the team to Orlando today, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link). They are expected to arrive later this week. Newly-signed substitute player Luc Mbah a Moute and player development coach John Lucas also did not travel with the rest of the Rockets, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
  • 35-year-old Rockets forward/center and defensive stalwart P.J. Tucker has indicated that he would like an extension on his current four-year contract, which expires after the 2020/21 season, per Fox 26 Houston’s Mark Berman (Twitter link). “I want to retire as a Houston Rocket,” Tucker said. “The fans, the city have embraced me since day one. So fingers crossed, I hope we can strike a deal and get it done.”
Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Rockets’ Morey Talks D’Antoni, Harden, Playoffs

June 11th, 2020 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets currently rank sixth in the Western Conference at 40-24, and have just a 1.5-game cushion on the seventh-place Mavericks. However, they’ll also have a chance to move up in the standings when play resumes, since they’re tied with the fifth-place Thunder and are only one game back of the fourth-place Jazz.

There has been a little uncertainty about whether head coach Mike D’Antoni will be on the sidelines when play resumes, since D’Antoni’s age (69) may put him at increased risk of suffering more serious symptoms – or even dying – if he contracts the coronavirus.

However, speaking to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey dismissed the idea that D’Antoni won’t be part of the NBA’s restart in Orlando. Morey also recently appeared on an episode of the Pomp Podcast with Anthony Pompliano (video link) and addressed a number of topics, including his perception of Rockets superstar James Harden and why he feels as though the NBA should play shorter postseason series.

Here, via MacMullan, Drew Shiller of NBC Bay Area, and the Pomp Podcast, are a few of Morey’s more interesting comments on those subjects:

On D’Antoni participating in the resumed season:

“Mike will be coaching our team. It would be such a huge disadvantage to lose him. We would never stand for that. In fairness to the league, they set up a process whereby everyone will have to submit a medical record. I’m sure the doctors told them that some people over a certain age shouldn’t go. But Mike is in great health. He’s in better shape than some 40-year-old coaches we have. Besides, I think his dad lived to be 108 or something.”

On the general perception of James Harden:

“I don’t think the media is super fair with him. … Part of it is he has a tight circle of people that he trusts. With those people who he knows have his best interest at heart and who he’s had a history with, he’s very gregarious, very open, very smart — just this great guy. And with everyone else, he’s not the opposite — he’s just reserved. He’s not someone who is going to be a big media guy or things like that. So, I think that hurts him a little bit. But I can I can tell you privately he’s like a basketball genius. He’s a great quality human being.”

On why Morey feels as if he hasn’t held up his end of the bargain with Harden:

“We’ve worked together for eight or nine years now and I couldn’t have a better partner to try and win a title with. And in fact, most days I wake up saying, ‘I’ve let him down because I haven’t gotten him the right players to win a title.'”

On why he thinks the NBA should have shorter playoff series:

“It’s the hardest to win a title in the NBA. There’s less variance. The favorites have a much bigger edge. … On an individual game basis, an NBA game is generally the most predictable of all the major sports. And just to make sure the right team wins, we play seven times. We should be one-and-done and the NFL should play seven times, for example, if you wanted to try to balance out the general variance.

“In my opinion, we should have shorter series so there’s more variance injected, because right now it’s too deterministic. It’s why you’ll see teams win six times in eight years or three times in five years. … It’s rare that you just win one, because once you get a systemic edge – which has happened many times, it’s usually you have the best player in the league – you end up winning multiple times.”

Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0