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Southeast Notes: Mann, Ball, Fultz, Heat, Wizards

February 22nd, 2024 at 12:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

There wasn’t much playing time available for Tre Mann on a talented Oklahoma City team, but he moved into a starting role after being traded to the Hornets, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. With LaMelo Ball still injured, Mann has been tasked with running Charlotte’s offense and he’s averaging 13.7 points and 7.3 assists in his first three games.

“I think I’m fitting in pretty well,” Mann said. “I’m just coming out, trying to play hard around a bunch of talented guys. We’ve all got really good IQ, so it’s easy playing with guys like that. I think I’m playing well. I’m just trying to show off my playmaking ability as much as I can and it’s been fun.”

Ball will miss his 12th straight game tonight in Utah, but he’s making progress toward returning from a sprained right ankle. A source tells Boone that Ball has resumed on-court activities and is steadily increasing his workload. Mann believes the two guards can form an effective combination whenever Ball comes back.

“I think he can play a little bit off ball and I can do the same,” Mann said. “So, It’s his team and I’m going to adjust to whatever is better for him. For right now, I’m just trying to go out there and play team ball.”

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Magic will be without Markelle Fultz for their first game after the All-Star break, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. The seventh-year guard continues to deal with a nagging left knee injury, which has limited him to just 21 games thus far in 2023/24. It’s unclear how much more time Fultz will miss beyond Thursday’s contest in Cleveland, but it’s a situation worth monitoring down the stretch, as the 25-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Star forward Jimmy Butler missed the Heat‘s final three games leading into the break due to the death of a family member, but he was back at practice on Thursday and will be available for Friday’s game in New Orleans, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Josh Richardson (right shoulder dislocation) and Terry Rozier (right knee sprain) will both be out Friday, but they’re traveling on the team’s four-game road trip, Jackson adds. Veteran big man Kevin Love said Rozier was moving well at Thursday’s practice, though he did not do any live drills (Twitter link via Jackson). Richardson, meanwhile, was in street clothes and wearing a sling. Head coach Erik Spoelstra indicated Rozier had a chance to suit up during the road trip, but the prognosis for Richardson was less optimistic, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Guard Tyler Herro is questionable for Friday’s contest due to right foot soreness.
Key labor unions in northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., publicly announced on Tuesday that they are opposed to Monumental Sports’ plan to move the Wizards from D.C. to Alexandria, Virginia, according to The Associated Press (link via ESPN.com). The Northern Virginia AFL-CIO and member unions cited in part an inability to reach a deal for union members to work on construction projects. It’s the latest obstacle in the proposed move, which has drawn opposition from several key figures in the region.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

Heat Notes: Love, Williams, Wright, Jaquez

February 18th, 2024 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

There were reasons to believe Kevin Love‘s career might be nearing the end when he agreed to a buyout with the Cavaliers during last year’s All-Star break, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Instead, the past 12 months have included a trip to the NBA Finals and a new contract with the Heat, as well as the birth of his first child, all of which have combined to make Love very content in Miami.

“I think the thing that’s most gratifying to me is that going to a new location or a new team or a new organization, new city, especially at this stage in your career, you never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “And after that run last year, I got so much fun out of it, as well as guys I’ll have relationships for life, bigger than basketball. My daughter was born on June 10th, right after Game 4 (of the NBA Finals). We bought a new house in Miami. It’s almost like we got to start our life in a place where we have a lot of friends and a lot of great teammates and people in the organization who have become family in a pretty quick time, so it has been a very happy year.”

Love was stuck on the bench in Cleveland, but a big forward who could shoot and rebound and had previous Finals experience was just what the Heat needed. He started 17 of the 21 regular season games he played after signing with Miami and maintained a rotation role throughout the team’s playoff run.

In addition to his on-court contributions, Love has become a veteran leader in the locker room, especially after the retirement of Udonis Haslem, Winderman notes. Love believes he can play for at least another year or two and then may transition into a mentorship role.

There’s more from Miami:

Alondes Williams was impressive in Friday’s Rising Stars competition, and he might get a shot at more playing time after the break, Winderman states in a mailbag column. Winderman speculates that the two-way player may be in line for a standard contract if the Heat decide to waive Dru Smith, who’s out for the rest of the season after undergoing ACL reconstruction surgery.
Delon Wright was likely promised regular minutes to get him to commit to the Heat, Winderman adds in the same piece. However, the extent of Wright’s rotation role won’t be clear until Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson return from their current injuries.
Jaime Jaquez, who jumped over Shaquille O’Neal for his first entry in Saturday’s Dunk Contest, said clearing the Hall of Fame center was a difficult thing to prepare for, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “Listen, I ain’t gonna lie. I didn’t practice jumping over Shaq,” Jaquez said. “I used Bam [Adebayo] as practice. But there’s a big height difference. So I was really nervous when I saw Shaq out there. I’ve seen him a bunch of times. But when he’s standing there, I was definitely feeling nervous.”

Josh Richardson To Miss Multiple Weeks With Dislocated Shoulder

February 12th, 2024 at 11:50am CST by Arthur Hill

Heat guard Josh Richardson dislocated his shoulder in Sunday’s game and will be reevaluated in a few weeks, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Richardson was injured as he pursued the ball early in the second quarter against Boston. He fell to the court in pain and grabbed his shoulder, then had to be helped back to the locker room. An MRI conducted this morning revealed the extent of the damage.

Richardson, who returned to the Heat as a free agent this summer after starting his career in Miami, has been a valuable addition for a team that has been beset by injuries all season. He has appeared in 43 games, making six starts, and is averaging 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 44.4% from the field and 34.7% from three-point range.

The Heat are also awaiting the results of an MRI on guard Terry Rozier, who left Sunday’s game with an injury to his right knee after an awkward landing on a layup attempt in the second half.

Southeast Notes: Richardson, Rozier, Hawks, Magic, Bridges

February 12th, 2024 at 10:12am CST by Arthur Hill

Injuries have been a season-long issue for the Heat, who may have lost two more players in Sunday’s game, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. MRIs are scheduled today for Josh Richardson and Terry Rozier, creating more potential challenges as coach Erik Spoelstra works to develop a consistent lineup.

Richardson fell to the court and grabbed his right shoulder early in the second quarter, according to Chiang. After being helped up, he headed to the locker room for an X-ray that came back negative. He was wearing a sling after the game.

“I felt my shoulder pop out on the floor and then pop back in when I was laying on the ground,” Richardson said. “So thank goodness for that. But I’ll know more (Monday).”

Rozier was hurt midway through the third quarter when he landed awkwardly on his right leg on an attempted layup. Trainers had to help him to the locker room as well.

Chiang points out that if Richardson and Rozier have to miss significant time, that leaves Tyler Herro and two-way player Alondes Williams as the only healthy guards on Miami’s roster.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Hawks general manager Landry Fields said signs of progress from the current roster convinced him to stand pat at the trade deadline, per Lauren Williams of The Journal-Constitution. Dejounte Murray was considered one of the top names on the market, but Fields believes there’s value in keeping the current team together. “We’ve seen an uptick with Onyeka (Okongwu),” he said. “We’ve seen an uptick with Jalen Johnson. We’ve seen an uptick with Saddiq Bey, and I can go right down the line even down to (the G League team in) College Park where, Kobe Bufkin is developing extremely well in that environment.”
The same approach was taken by Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman, whose team was also quiet at the deadline despite having “lengthy conversations” with some teams, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. “We’re very happy with where we are right now from a big-picture standpoint,” Weltman said. “We weren’t going to be overly aggressive, we weren’t going to get out of our comfort zone and we certainly weren’t going to deviate from our plan.”
Hornets forward Miles Bridges, whose name was involved in trade rumors over the last several weeks, is relieved that deadline speculation is finally over, notes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Bridges said several times that he prefers to stay in Charlotte and ultimately decided to use his veto power to reject any deal the team might have made. “This was my first year dealing with all that,” he said of the deadline rumors. “Me, I’m happy so I can just focus on the season and focus on trying to get us some wins.”

Heat Notes: Butler, Two-Way Players, Richardson

February 3rd, 2024 at 11:19am CST by Tristan Tucker

After losing seven games in a row for the first time since 2008, the Heat‘s coaches and players centered a plan around Jimmy Butler to save the team’s season, writes the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. Butler upped the ante on his aggression, and he’s now scored 24 or more points four times in a row for the first time this season.

He’s averaging 27.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals during this stretch and — as also noted by Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel — is getting 10.3 free throw attempts per game.

“When he does that, when he really gets himself going, gets in attack mode, whether he’s shooting the ball or getting to the free throw line or setting up other players, that’s when we’re at our best,” Heat forward Kevin Love said.

Forty-one of Butler’s last 56 shots have come from inside the paint and he’s shooting 72.7% from the restricted area, according to Chiang.

“He’s been more aggressive than he was in the beginning of the season,” center Bam Adebayo said. “We know what that man can do when he’s tapped in and is locked in. I feel like he’s starting to get his groove.”

The Heat have won back-to-back games behind Butler’s aggressiveness.

We have more Heat notes:

Responding to NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins, who suggested Butler and the Heat should part ways, Butler’s agent Bernard Lee pushed back strongly against that notion on Twitter. “Put simply he’s never going anywhere.. EVER,” Lee tweeted. “He’s going to win a championship in Miami.” Butler and the Heat are 26-23 entering Saturday, good for seventh in the Eastern Conference and half a game back of the Pacers for sixth.
Because the Heat only have 14 players on standard contracts, their players on two-way contracts are limited to a total of 90 NBA appearances. If they were carrying 15 standard players, their two-way players would be eligible to be active for 50 games each. The clock is currently ticking for Miami’s trio of Jamal Cain, R.J. Hampton and Cole Swider, who only have 25 games left between them if the team doesn’t add a 15th man, Winderman observes. Games in which players are active but don’t play count against their limit “It’s tough, because you mentally prepare like you’re ready to play,” Cain said of being active on a game night and not playing. “When your number is not called, of course it’s going to take a mental, emotional toll on you. But that’s the beauty of the game, because you’re still getting those mental reps on those games when you’re active, as part of it.“
Guard Josh Richardson was out of the rotation when the Heat played the Knicks last week. “I mean, it’s never easy,” Richardson said of being benched, per Winderman. “It’s hard. We got a lot of guys that can play, contribute, so I really had to go home and like think, like figure it out, like, ‘What do I have to do better to get minutes?’ And, ‘How can I help the team win games?’” Then, after Duncan Robinson suffered a concussion, he was right back in the following game. Richardson impressed in his subsequent outings, highlighted by a 24-point performance against the Kings to snap Miami’s losing streak.

Heat Notes: Losing Streak, Rozier, Rotation, Jaquez

January 27th, 2024 at 9:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat are fully healthy for the first time all season, but their long losing streak continues, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Apart from guard Dru Smith, who underwent season-ending knee surgery in December, Miami had a complete roster available for this afternoon’s game in New York. So it was discouraging that the Heat weren’t able to remain competitive against a potential playoff rival, falling 125-109 for their first six-game losing skid in nearly three years.

“Look, right now we’re going to rally around each other, rally around our identity,” coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. “It’s a tough time right now.”

Miami is 0-3 since acquiring Terry Rozier from Charlotte on Tuesday in a move to add another weapon to the offense. Rozier is struggling badly with his shot since the trade, connecting at just 30.3% from the field and 18.2% from long distance.

“He’ll figure it out,” Spoelstra said. “He’s trying to fit in and I get that. We’re all saying the same thing. We want Terry to be Terry. He’s going to unlock other things for us.”

There’s more on the Heat:

Rozier started for the second straight game, alongside Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Haywood Highsmith. Spoelstra used Kevin Love, Duncan Robinson, Jaime Jaquez and Caleb Martin off the bench in the first look at what his rotation might be with everyone available. Chiang notes that Josh Richardson picked up his first DNP-CD of the season, while center Thomas Bryant also didn’t play.
Jaquez returned after missing the previous six games with a strained groin, Chiang adds. He provided six points and four assists in about 24 minutes and played 7:33 in the fourth quarter until the game got out of hand. “There are definitely some things defensively that he needs to fast track on and he knows that,” Spoelstra said. “But offensively, you can definitely see some of the intangibles that he brings. He just has a knack for the play, a knack for getting us some rim pressure and we need a lot more of that.”
Today’s loss shows the Heat need to add size before the trade deadline to have a shot at another long playoff run, states Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. He observes that Miami was outrebounded 29-19 in the first half and frequently had to throw double teams at Julius Randle, leading to open three-point shots.

Injury Notes: Brown, Doncic, Payton, Vincent, Nance, Heat

December 28th, 2023 at 3:52pm CST by Rory Maher

Celtics wing Jaylen Brown has been ruled out of Thursday’s game against Detroit due to a lower back contusion, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Brown sustained the injury on Monday against the Lakers after being accidentally kneed in the back by LeBron James. Both players were down in pain for a few minutes, but were able to return later in the contest.

Brown, who signed a five-year, super-max extension in the offseason, is averaging 22.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.6 APG and 1.1 SPG on .478/.335/.734 shooting in 28 games (33.8 MPG) this season for Boston.

Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:

The Mavericks will be without Luka Doncic for Thursday’s game in Minnesota, as first reported by Marc Stein (via Twitter). Doncic is dealing with left quad soreness. As Stein notes, it’s the second game of a back-to-back for Dallas, which lost to Cleveland on Wednesday.
Warriors swingman Gary Payton II practiced on Wednesday, according to Jon Schultz of The San Francisco Chronicle. “He had a lot of energy today,” Trayce Jackson-Davis said of Payton. “Had a great practice, and we need them out there. Obviously our guard depth is a little shallow right now, and just having another defensive two-way guard on the floor is going to help us a lot.” However, Payton has been ruled out of Thursday’s contest vs. Miami, per the league’s official injury report. It will be the 13th consecutive absence for Payton, who has been battling a right calf strain.
Lakers guard Gabe Vincent underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Wednesday and will be reevaluated in about eight weeks, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Jarred Vanderbilt is one of the players who will receive more minutes with Vincent out, Turner adds. “It obviously hurt. He’s a big component of what we do,” Vanderbilt said of Vincent. “Great player, great system player. So, obviously health comes first. So, we want him to get healthy. For us, it’s the next-man-up mentality. Continue to play the right way and have some guys step up in his absence.”
Pelicans big man Larry Nance Jr. has missed the past month after aggravating a rib fracture, but he’ll be active tonight against Utah, he told Christian Clark of NOLA.com and other media members (Twitter link). Nance has been limited to 14 games thus far in 2023/24.
The Heat have dealt with numerous injuries once again this season and will be shorthanded during Thursday’s contest in Golden State, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Jimmy Butler (left calf strain), Kyle Lowry (soreness), Caleb Martin (right ankle sprain) are all out, Josh Richardson (back discomfort) is doubtful, and Orlando Robinson is away from the team after being assigned to the G League.

Heat Notes: Injury Updates, Trade Assets, Lowry

December 27th, 2023 at 6:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

Even with half the rotation listed on the injury report, there was good news for the Heat as they gathered today for their final practice before leaving on a five-game West Coast trip, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Jimmy Butler, who has missed three straight games with a strained left calf, and Josh Richardson, who was unavailable Monday due to lower back discomfort, were both partial participants in practice. Haywood Highsmith, who sat out Monday due to illness, was able to participate fully.

“I feel much better now,” Highsmith said. “Still trying to catch my wind. Get my breathing down and my chest down. Trying to get up and down, conditioning and stuff, but I feel much better. I think I lost some pounds from not eating and sweating a lot. But I’m good now.”

Miami also got an encouraging update on Caleb Martin, who sprained his ankle in the first quarter Monday and was ruled out for the rest of the game. Martin didn’t practice today and it’s not certain if he’ll be able to play during the trip, but he appears to have avoided a major injury.

“I’m feeling a lot better than expected,” he said. “… X-ray came back clean. So everything, for the most part, is good. Just being smart and taking it day by day. There’s some swelling and bruising, so just working with that.”

There’s more on the Heat:

Miami seems to be mentioned as a potential destination for every star who becomes available, but Heat players are confident that the current roster can compete for a title if there’s not a major addition before the trade deadline, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The organization didn’t land Damian Lillard, who was rumored to be headed to Miami all summer, and it lost Gabe Vincent and Max Strus from last season’s NBA Finals team, but it has remained competitive, sitting at fifth place in the East at 18-12. Vardon points out that the Heat still have plenty of draft assets and young talent on hand to make a run at any of the available players in Chicago or Toronto or even Donovan Mitchell if Cleveland decides to part with him.
Among the reasons for the Heat’s success is point guard Kyle Lowry, who continues to be productive at age 37, Vardon adds. Lowry is starting and averaging 29.3 minutes per game during his 18th NBA season, and he made an impression on his former coach in Monday’s contest against Philadelphia. “When the ball goes up, man, deep down inside, he just competes,” said Nick Nurse, who spent several years with Lowry in Toronto. “I can’t tell you the amount of times that we talked about ‘We’re going to take you out here, we’re going to play you this amount of minutes,’ … and when the ball went up and the game got tough and we needed him out there, he wanted to be out there. He’d crash right through all those plans and keep on playing and keep making plays.”
The Heat also have a talented young core in place that can keep the franchise competitive after veterans like Lowry and Butler are gone, observes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel, who envisions a future built around Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez.

Heat’s Jimmy Butler Ruled Out With Calf Strain

December 25th, 2023 at 2:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Christmas Day showdown between the Heat and Sixers lost some more star power as Miami announced that Jimmy Butler will sit out due to a strained left calf, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. This will be the third straight game that Butler has missed because of the calf issue. Haywood Highsmith (illness) and Josh Richardson (low back discomfort) also won’t play.

Philadelphia revealed on Sunday that reigning MVP Joel Embiid will be unavailable because of an ankle injury he suffered in Friday’s game. Embiid didn’t make the trip to Miami, and his status for Wednesday’s contest at Orlando hasn’t been determined. The Sixers are also without Nicolas Batum because of a strained right hamstring.

Butler has played in 23 of 29 games for the injury-riddled Heat, who rank among the league leaders in games missed as a result of injuries and illness. He’s averaging 21.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per night while shooting 46.2% from the field and 37.7% from three-point range.

Miami is 3-3 without him in the lineup, notes Winderman, who points out that Butler has missed at least 18 games in each of his first four seasons with the Heat.

Winderman also reports that guard Dru Smith, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury in a November 22 game at Cleveland, is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday. Smith’s injury led to numerous safety complaints about a courtside drop-off at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

Southeast Notes: Heat, T. Jones, Wizards, Suggs

December 21st, 2023 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat used their 16th different starting lineup in 28 games on Wednesday at Orlando, but they keep finding ways to win, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo returned this week, but Jimmy Butler was held out with a strained left calf and Kevin Love had a stomach illness, forcing coach Erik Spoelstra to continue the personnel juggling that has been necessary since the start of the season.

“We do feel like we have great depth,” Spoelstra said. “We have great continuity, so I’m not as concerned when we’ve had to deal with guys missing games. It’s more about developing the consistency to our identity, which we know. We have the continuity. It’s about whoever is out there, we know what we need to try to do. We just need to do it more consistently.”

Chiang notes that only the Grizzlies, Hornets and Pistons have more missed games this season than Miami, and all those teams are near the bottom of the standings. Miami is tied for sixth in the East at 16-12 while getting contributions from up and down its roster. Reserves played a huge role on Wednesday as Josh Richardson, Duncan Robinson, Thomas Bryant and Haywood Highsmith all contributed to the win.

“Thomas was a plus-20. Obviously, (Highsmith) was really good defensively and then knocked down threes,” Spoelstra said. “So that makes everybody else notice out there. But he did a lot of other intangible things to contribute to winning. And J-Rich and Duncan were both so rock solid in this game. We don’t win this game without that production from those guys.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Wizards traded for point guard Tyus Jones this summer to be the on-court leader for a young team and he has excelled in that role so far, per Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports. Jones is posting career highs with 11.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game, and Washington ranks second in the league in pace and 10th in scoring.“You can have play-makers, but there are a lot of guards in the league who are score first,” coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “They are capable of making plays and facilitating, but it’s very unique to have a guy who sees the game that way and is able to put other guys in the right spots.”
With the Wizards off to a 4-22 start, David Aldridge and Josh Robbins of The Athletic examine the roster and look at how management can get the team moving in the right direction. Sources tell the authors that Washington plans to emphasize “positional length,” basketball IQ and work ethic in next summer’s draft.
Michael Pina of The Ringer talks to Jalen Suggs about how he has helped the Magic improve by taking on a non-glamorous role.