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Randle, Brunson, Butler All Questionable For Game 2

May 1st, 2023 at 10:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson are both listed as questionable to play on Tuesday in Game 2 of the Knicks’ second-round series against the Heat, the Knicks’ PR department tweets.

It’s a mixed bag for New York, which trails 1-0 in the series. Randle, who is nursing a sprained left ankle, missed Game 1. His status give the Knicks hope he’ll return to action sooner rather than later. Randle only played 16 minutes in the closeout game against Cleveland on April 26 when the ankle flared up.

The Brunson prognosis, a sore right ankle, is a little more troubling. He played 40 minutes on Sunday and scored 25 points but missed all seven of his 3-point attempts and committed five turnovers. Brunson blamed himself for the loss, calling his performance “terrible.” The Knicks’ offense will be greatly impacted if their floor leader can’t go.

Heat forward Jimmy Butler is also listed as questionable for Game 2 due to a sprained right ankle, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. Butler scored 25 points in 43 minutes but only attempted one shot after rolling the ankle with just over five minutes remaining.

Miami has already lost third-leading scorer Tyler Herro for the remainder of the postseason due to a broken right hand suffered in Game 1 of the first-round series against Milwaukee.

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Ankle Sprain Leaves Jimmy Butler In Doubt For Game 2

May 1st, 2023 at 7:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The’s Heat‘s series-opening victory in New York included a sprained right ankle for star forward Jimmy Butler that might affect his status for Game 2 and beyond, writes Andrew Lopez of ESPN. Butler didn’t address the media after the game to talk about his condition, but he said in a brief ABC interview that it felt “like a rolled ankle.”

Butler was injured on a drive to the basket with 5:05 left to play. He collided with Josh Hart, who inadvertently kicked Butler’s ankle as both players fell to the court. Butler remained in the game, but was used almost entirely as a decoy and was clearly hobbled as he tried to move, Lopez adds.

“You just don’t know with ankle sprains,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I don’t even know if we’ll know more by (Monday). We’ll just have to see. It’ll be a waiting game.”

Butler had 25 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals as he played nearly 44 minutes and didn’t come off the court in the second half until the final seconds when the game was decided. He only took one shot after injuring the ankle, but he promised Spoelstra that he could stay in the game without hurting the team.

“I know him,” Spoelstra said. “I know when I can look in his eye. He assured me that he wasn’t going to be a liability and wanted to stay in there and make sure we get this swing. I mean that’s the most important thing. We’ve had a lot of chaos and a lot of things going on, but main thing being the main thing, we got to secure it and get the win and then we’ll figure out what happens in the next 48 hours.”

Butler has one day of rest before the series resumes Tuesday in New York, then a longer break before Game 3, which is Saturday in Miami. The first injury report for Game 2 will be released at 5:30 pm Monday, so we’ll get a better idea then of Butler’s status.

The Heat are already dealing with a depleted roster after first-round injuries to Tyler Herro, who is sidelined until at least early June following hand surgery, and Victor Oladipo, who will miss the rest of the playoffs following surgery on the torn patellar tendon in his left knee.

“This group has been through a lot,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve been through a lot this entire year and we’re not being insensitive to when guys get picked up or get hurt, but our group has learned to compartmentalize and focus on the task at hand and that’s what it was. There wasn’t an overreaction. We’ve had enough tears behind the scenes, some guys getting hurt and stuff like that. We have to get the job done.”

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Heat Notes: Vincent, Butler, Love, Herro

April 30th, 2023 at 9:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Gabe Vincent‘s performance in Wednesday’s close-out victory over the Bucks should help make him a popular free agent this summer, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The Heat guard had 22 points and six assists and delivered two clutch plays that contributed to Miami’s improbable win. He sank a three-pointer with eight seconds left that cut Milwaukee’s lead to one point and threw the pass that Jimmy Butler converted to send the game to overtime.

Vincent also shut down All-Star guard Jrue Holiday, limiting him to 4-of-11 from the field while defending him. He held Bulls star Zach LaVine to 1-of-7 shooting in their play-in game, and Jackson notes that Vincent has been one of the league’s best defensive point guards throughout the season.

“Guys were feeding him a bunch of confidence at the shootaround (before Game 5), telling him we needed him to score, be aggressive, be assertive,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “When Jimmy and Bam (Adebayo) are telling you that, you feel like you can conquer the world.”

There’s more on the Heat:

  • Tom Thibodeau, Butler’s first NBA coach, will try to find a way to limit him as the Knicks prepare to host Miami in Sunday’s series opener, notes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Thibodeau believed the rookie had a bright NBA future when he first arrived in Chicago, but he’s surprised by the level Butler has been able to reach. “I’ll be honest — I didn’t see this,” Thibodeau admitted. “I saw the things that stood out were his toughness, his competitiveness. He played a lot of power forward (in college). But when you look at him, you say OK, I felt like we were getting a rotation player. I didn’t know how good he would become.”
  • Kevin Love is enjoying his first playoff experience since he reached the NBA Finals with Cleveland in 2018, per Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. The 34-year-old big man was confident that he picked the right team after his buyout with the Cavaliers. “I wanted to come. I wanted to win. I wanted to be a part of winning. I wanted to be a part of this and help make these guys’ lives easier,” he said. “And I felt like in a lot of cases I was able to do that. But I was definitely, even in my 15th year, trying to find my way. Us being here, advancing to the second round, beating a one seed after being in the play-in, yeah, I think it checks a lot of boxes. Obviously we have a lot of work to do, but, again I felt like I could still play, still contribute, and potentially be a part of something special.”
  • Tyler Herro‘s absence may be more significant in the second-round series than it was against the Bucks, Winderman suggests in another Sun Sentinel story. Winderman notes that Herro averaged 23.0 PPG against the Knicks during the regular season, and his creativity was vital in breaking down New York’s defense.
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Heat Notes: Oladipo, Butler, Love, Adebayo, Lowry

April 28th, 2023 at 4:48pm CST by Rory Maher

Guard Victor Oladipo underwent successful surgery on Thursday to repair the torn patellar tendon in his left knee, the Heat announced (via Twitter). There’s no recovery timeline yet, per the team.

While that’s the official stance, there’s a “hope and belief” that Oladipo, who turns 31 years old next week, will return to action at some point during the 2023/24 season, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).

Oladipo holds a $9.45MM player option for next season, and another major knee injury essentially guaranteed that he will exercise it, as he’s highly unlikely to find any offers that lucrative in free agency.

The veteran guard appeared in 42 games (26.3 MPG) for the Heat in ’22/23, his most games played since ’17/18, when he made his first All-Star team. He averaged 10.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.5 APG and 1.4 SPG on .397/.330/.747 shooting this season.

Here’s more on the Heat:

  • Jimmy Butler won’t wither under the bright lights of the postseason and Madison Square Garden like the Cavaliers did, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News, who refers to the Heat star as a “worthy enemy” for the Knicks in their second-round series, which begins Sunday afternoon. “A lot of guys play the game of basketball in this league. He competes to win. That’s a different language,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said of Butler. “He’s desperate and urgent and maniacal and sometimes psychotic about the will to try to win. He’ll make everybody in the building feel it. And that’s why he is us and we are him. That’s the way we operate as well. The psychotic meets the psychotic. And it gets a little bit whatever.”
  • The Cavaliers, Kevin Love‘s former team, were eliminated by New York on the same night the Heat defeated the top-seeded Bucks to advance, notes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Love reached a buyout with the Cavs after his role was reduced, and Cleveland’s bench struggled once again in Game 5 just as Love had his best game of the Bucks series, Jackson adds. Love is understandably focused on his current club. “We’re resilient,” Love said. “We have guys that do a lot of stuff that may or may not show up in the stat sheet but we’re all about winning. We all bring the ego that got us here but for the betterment of the team.”
  • Bam Adebayo‘s left hamstring strain is improving, Spoelstra told reporters, including Jackson (subscriber link). “He just got done with a workout,” Spoelstra said Friday. “He feels much better.” Adebayo was hampered by the injury throughout the five-game series versus Milwaukee, though he was able to play in every game.
  • Point guard Kyle Lowry was moved to a reserve role after dealing with a knee injury, and Spoelstra said the Heat decided to stick with Gabe Vincent in the starting lineup for “stability and consistency,” writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “He has been great about it,” Spoelstra said of Lowry coming off the bench. “He is all about winning right now. He’s playing a massive role with us right now. But that’s why he is who he is. If you’re all about winning, you’ll sacrifice if you need to, take on a little bit of a different role, if you need to, if it makes sense for winning. You can always look at it like he’s a sixth starter.”
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Heat Notes: Butler, Salary Structure, Oladipo, Highsmith

April 25th, 2023 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Jimmy Butler was reluctant to accept the “Playoff Jimmy” moniker, even after one of the most remarkable postseason performances in Heat history, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN. Butler set a franchise record with 56 points and led an incredible comeback on Monday night to give Miami a 3-1 lead in its series with the top-seeded Bucks.

Butler was 19-of-28 from the field and 15-of-18 from the foul line as he tied Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Charles Barkley for the fourth-highest point total ever recorded in the playoffs. He’s now the leading scorer in this year’s postseason at 36.5 PPG.

“I love the competitive aspect of (the playoffs),” Butler said. “This is where all the best players, they show up and they show out. I’m not saying I’m one of those best players; I just want to be looked at as such. I want to do everything for my team to win, along with everybody on this roster. I think (team president Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra) wanted me here for a reason. I feel like this is part of that reason.”

Holding a 12-point lead with 6:08 left to play, Milwaukee was on the verge of evening up the series before Butler took over. He scored or assisted on 22 of the Heat’s final 30 points and personally outscored the Bucks 13-8 over the final five minutes of the game.

Milwaukee used seven different defenders to try to control Butler, Collier adds, but he was able to make 16-of-21 shots that were classified as contested.

“When he gets in that zone, he’s just such a killer,” Kevin Love said. “Lions like to hunt, man. They make their kill, and they keep hunting. That’s what he does. He’s got a huge heart. He wants to see us win. He doesn’t want to make it about him; he just wants to go out there and get the job done.”

There’s more from Miami:

  • The Heat could use another scorer to help Butler, but their salary structure for next season makes that difficult, per Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Butler will earn $45.1MM in 2023/24, and the team has close to $90MM committed to Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Kyle Lowry. Unless Miami can unload some of that salary, the need for Butler to carry the offense is unlikely to change.
  • Victor Oladipo has remained in good spirits despite his latest knee injury, Winderman adds in another Sun Sentinel story. Spoelstra addressed the media Monday for the first time since Oladipo was diagnosed with a torn left patellar tendon that will require surgery. “He said, ‘Don’t shed any tears for me, I’m going to get through all of this,’” Spoelstra said. “That human side, we keep on talking about, when you see how much he’s been able to go through and over time, you just naturally are kind of rooting for him these last three years. But he will. … He has all of convinced he’s going to get through this and he will find a way. He has that kind of a fortitude.”
  • Oladipo’s injury has resulted in a greater role for Haywood Highsmith, notes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The third-year small forward was the first player Spoelstra used off the bench Monday night.
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De’Aaron Fox Receives Inaugural Clutch Player Award

April 18th, 2023 at 6:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kings guard De’Aaron Fox has been named the inaugural recipient of the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year award, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Fox topped the other finalists, the Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan and the Heat’s Jimmy Butler. The award is named after Hall of Famer and Lakers legend Jerry West.

Fox received 91 of 100 first-place votes. according to an NBA press release. He finished with a total of 460 points, far ahead of runner-up Butler, who garnered one first-place votes and 104 points. DeRozan didn’t have any first-place votes while placing third with 77 points. Seven other players received first-place votes but the Warriors’ Stephen Curry was the only one in that group to get two first-place votes.

“When I took the job I didn’t know how consistently he would be in the clutch,” Sacramento coach Mike Brown said of Fox, per NBA.com’s Shaun Powell.

Fox led the league in clutch scoring with a league-best 194 points in 39 games. Clutch time is defined as minutes when the scoring margin is within five points with five or fewer minutes remaining in a game.

Fox shot 52.9 percent from the field and 86.0 percent from the foul line in those situations. He added 20 assists and 10 steals as Sacramento went 22-17 in those close games. That helped the Kings secure the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

DeRozan scored 159 points in 33 games in those situations. He shot 47.1 percent from the field and 89 percent from the foul line while grabbing 30 rebounds and dishing out 16 assists.

Butler also found himself in 33 of those games and scored 151 points. He shot 50.5 percent from the field and 79.1 percent from the free throw line. He added 32 rebounds, 19 assists, six steals and five blocks.

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Southeast Notes: Strus, Hawks, Davis, Leonsis

April 16th, 2023 at 7:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Max Strus‘ 31-point explosion, including seven 3-pointers, in the Heat‘s play-in victory over Chicago on Friday came at an opportune time in his career. Strus will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

That fact didn’t escape Heat teammate Jimmy Butler, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. “Honestly speaking, I think Max made himself a lot of money tonight,” Butler said.

The Heat can exceed the cap to re-sign Strus up to his maximum salary because they hold his Bird rights. Comparable shooter Joe Harris signed a four-year, $72MM contract with the Nets in the 2020 offseason, Chiang notes. Strus’ teammate Duncan Robinson received a five-year, $90MM deal in 2021.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Hawks were down by 30 at halftime of their 13-point loss to Boston in Game 1. They’ll have to improve greatly to make it a series but coach Quin Snyder was encouraged by his team’s second-half effort. “The mental toughness to win a series in this league is significant,” Snyder said, per Jeff Schultz of The Athletic. “We have to demonstrate that, and I think we did.”
  • Wizards guard Johnny Davis didn’t resemble a lottery pick most of his rookie season and spent a good portion of it in the G League. However, there were some encouraging signs after the All-Star break, Ava Wallace of the Washington Post notes. In the 13 NBA games Davis played before the All-Star break, he averaged 1.2 points in 4.7 minutes. In the 15 games he played after the break, he averaged 9.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 24.1 minutes. “Definitely a lot of ups and downs,” Davis said.
  • Wizards owner Ted Leonsis needs to turn up the heat on front executives, the coaching staff and his star players, David Aldridge of The Athletic opines. Leonsis must hold everyone accountable as the franchise continues to wallow in mediocrity. GM Tommy Sheppard and coach Wes Unseld Jr. need to produce results next season or else lose their jobs, Aldridge adds.
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NBA Announces 2022/23 Award Finalists

April 14th, 2023 at 5:55pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA announced its finalists for all the major 2022/23 regular season awards on Friday evening (all Twitter links can be found here).

Here is the full list of finalists for each of the awards, listed in alphabetical order:

Most Valuable Player

Defensive Player of the Year

Rookie of the Year

Most Improved Player

Sixth Man of the Year

Coach of the Year

Clutch Player of the Year

TNT will begin announcing the winners next week during its coverage of the 2023 playoffs, according to the NBA. The three finalists for each award are based on voting results from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Antetokounmpo, the league’s back-to-back MVP winner in 2018/19 and ’19/20, has finished fourth and third in MVP voting over the past two seasons, respectively. He averaged a career-high 31.1 PPG along with 11.8 RPG and 5.7 APG on .553/.275/.645 shooting in 63 games (32.1 MPG) this season in leading the Bucks to the NBA’s best record at 58-24.

Embiid, the MVP runner-up in each of the past two years, led the league in scoring for the second consecutive season, posting a career-high 33.1 PPG along with 10.2 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.0 SPG and 1.7 BPG on .548/.330/.857 shooting in 66 games (34.6 MPG). The Sixers finished third in the East with a 54-28 record, though it’s worth noting that record is also the third-best mark in the league.

Jokic, the reigning back-to-back MVP, averaged 24.8 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 9.8 APG and 1.3 SPG on .632/.383/.822 shooting in 69 games (33.7. MPG). In addition to breaking Wilt Chamberlain‘s record for most assists per game by a center (8.6), Jokic led the Nuggets to the top seed in the West with a 53-29 record.

It’s long been assumed that Banchero, Brown and Fox were the runaway favorites for their respective awards. Given Embiid’s excellent play to end the season and Denver’s stumble to the finish line, it seems likely that Embiid will edge out Jokic and Antetokounmpo to win his first MVP — all three finalists are more than deserving, just as they were last year.

However, the other three awards are more up in the air. Jackson and Lopez have been considered the betting favorites for DPOY for much of the second half of the season. Mobley’s inclusion is somewhat surprising, but maybe it shouldn’t be — the Cavs finished with the league’s top defense and he is arguably the best defender on the team.

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Injury Notes: Heat, Sixers, Robinson, Mavericks

April 7th, 2023 at 1:38pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With the seventh seed in the East now sewn up, the Heat will rest their three priciest players and their first-round rookie draft pick tonight against the Wizards, the team has announced (Twitter link).

All-Star center Bam Adebayo will be unavailable due to a left quadriceps tendon strain, small forward Jimmy Butler will miss the bout with a right hand contusion, and veteran point guard Kyle Lowry will rest with a knee ailment. Rookie power forward Nikola Jovic will also be out due to a back injury.

Three other players are considered questionable with various maladies. The statuses of guards Tyler Herro and Max Struss are uncertain due to a right quad contusion and a hyperextended right finger, respectively. Veteran big man Kevin Love‘s availability is murky due to a right rib contusion.

Here are more injury notes:

  • The Sixers will sit All-Star center Joel Embiid, a 2023 MVP hopeful, point guard James Harden, forward P.J. Tucker and shooting guard Tyrese Maxey against the Hawks, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Forward Tobias Harris and reserve guard Jaden Springer are questionable to suit up.
  • The Knicks have announced that they will rest starting center Mitchell Robinson tonight against the Pelicans (via Twitter). At 47-33, New York is now locked into the Eastern Conference’s fifth seed, as the team is three games ahead of the Nets in the East standings with just two games left in its regular season schedule.
  • The Suns will sit their top four players tonight against the Lakers. Sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter) that Phoenix, playing in the second night of a back-to-back set of bouts, will be without All-Star forward Kevin Durant, All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker, future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul, and maximum-salaried center Deandre Ayton against Los Angeles tonight. Charania notes that the Suns have locked up the West’s fourth seed.
  • The Mavericks tweet that All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, guard Josh Green, wing Tim Hardaway Jr., and frontcourt players Maxi Kleber and Christian Wood will all sit out tonight’s game against the Bulls. Dallas is just 0.5 games behind the Thunder for the West’s No. 10 seed, but sitting all these key rotation players appears to signal a subtle surrender of the club’s season. The Mavericks are currently tied for the 10th-worst record in the NBA, and given that they owe a top 10-protected first-round pick to the Knicks this year, it makes sense that they would hope to preserve their future draft selection.
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Southeast Notes: Yurtseven, Butler, Hornets, Smith, Suggs

March 28th, 2023 at 11:16pm CST by Rory Maher

Omer Yurtseven‘s second season was derailed by an ankle injury that required surgery and caused him to miss the first 65 games of 2022/23. After returning in early March, he struggled to gain traction in the Heat‘s rotation despite feeling “100 percent” healthy, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

“It’s not been, I guess, the best,” Yurtseven said regarding the uncertainty currently surrounding his role. “But in terms of the opportunity, it’s there and I think the toughest part has been not knowing and staying ready. But that’s my job right now, so I’m embracing it.”

As Chiang writes, Yurtseven was getting an extended look during the preseason playing alongside Bam Adebayo in a two-big lineup, and Yurtseven started his lone preseason game before the injury. Now his role and future are uncertain — the 24-year-old center will be a restricted free agent this summer if the Heat give him a $2.2MM qualifying offer, Chiang notes.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

  • Heat star Jimmy Butler was ruled out of Tuesday’s loss to Toronto due to neck soreness, Chiang adds in the same story. It’s unclear if he will be available for Wednesday’s game in New York.
  • The Hornets surprisingly have the NBA’s top defense since the All-Star break, writes Nekias Duncan of BasketballNews.com, who takes a look at how Charlotte has made strides on the less glamorous end of the court. One player making a major impact is point guard Dennis Smith Jr., according to Duncan. Smith, who missed Tuesday’s win over the Thunder due to a sprained right big toe, is on an expiring minimum-salary contract and is set to his unrestricted free agency in the offseason.
  • Magic guard Jalen Suggs had a strong performance in Sunday’s win over Brooklyn following a four-game absence due to a concussion, notes Nathaniel Marrero of The Orlando Sentinel. The 2021 No. 5 overall pick recorded 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 24 minutes. Suggs has been hampered by a variety of injuries in his first two pro seasons, but has been playing better the past couple months when active, averaging 10.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.2 APG and 1.6 SPG on .444/.388/.732 shooting over his past 19 games (25.2 MPG). Unfortunately, he finished just 1-of-10 from the field in Tuesday’s loss at Memphis.
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