Kevin Durant

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Durant, Simmons, Trent

November 14th, 2022 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

“Joel Embiid is very good at basketball” is how teammate Tyrese Maxey summed up the unprecedented stat line the Sixers center posted Sunday night, writes Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice. In addition to scoring a career-high 59 points, Embiid narrowly missed a quadruple-double with 11 rebounds, eight assists and seven blocks in a win over Utah.

“I’ve seen a guy score a lot of points. I haven’t seen a guy score a lot of points, rebound, and then the blocked shots. That was impressive. He was getting everything,” coach Doc Rivers said. “No, is the answer. I have never seen a more dominating performance when you combine defense and offense.”

Embiid has been forced to take on a greater share of the scoring with James Harden out for a month with a strained tendon in his left foot. He’s also the centerpiece of a defense that has improved to fifth in the league. Most importantly, according to Neubeck, he provides hope every night for a team that has often seemed in danger of fracturing amid its 7-7 start.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers reached out to the Nets about Kevin Durant after his trade demand this summer and they’re likely to try again before the deadline, an Eastern Conference executive tells Sean Deveney of Heavy. However, the results of the last deal between the teams could make Brooklyn reluctant to consider Philadelphia as a trading partner. “There is no doubt the Sixers have asked on Durant, they did in the summer, and will keep asking about him,” the executive said. “But the Nets are going to be a little put off by them already because of the Ben Simmons thing because they feel like they were set up to give away James Harden all along. So the Sixers burned them once, do the Nets want to go back and say, OK, sure, we’ll do a KD deal, too.” The executive adds that Maxey would likely have to be included in the offer to get Brooklyn to consider it.
Simmons didn’t play Sunday night because of knee soreness, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPN. It hasn’t been determined if he will need another MRI, but Simmons sounded confident that it’s not a long-term issue, Friedell adds.
Gary Trent Jr. will miss tonight’s game with a sore right hip, leaving the Raptors without three starters, tweets Josh Lewenburg of TSN Sports. Pascal Siakam is sidelined with an adductor strain, and Fred VanVleet is recovering from a non-COVID illness.

Nets Notes: Durant, Simmons, Watanabe, Warren

November 11th, 2022 at 5:59pm CST by Rory Maher

Sean Deveney of Heavy.com recently spoke to a couple of NBA executives, one from each conference, about hypothetical trades involving Nets star Kevin Durant.

As Deveney notes, there’s no indication that Brooklyn is looking to move its best player, but perhaps that could change depending on how the team performs over the next couple months. After starting the season 1-5, the Nets have won four of their past six games, currently sitting with a 5-7 record.

Would the Celtics entertain offering Jaylen Brown for Durant, as was rumored over the summer when Durant requested a trade?

“Oh, it would be zero interest from the Celtics, that would be a non-starter,” the East exec said. “Brown’s an All-Star and he’s eight years younger than KD (who is 34). The team’s playing well, they’re not going to touch that. I am sure it will be talked about again, and maybe the Celtics will struggle and things can change. But that would be shocking.”

What about Suns package centered around Deandre Ayton? Phoenix was reportedly one of Durant’s desired landing spots in the offseason, along with Miami. Ayton cannot be traded until January 15 and has a full no-trade clause for one year after he signed a maximum-salary offer sheet with the Pacers as a restricted free agent (the Suns quickly matched), but as Deveney writes, he could waive it if he wants a fresh start.

“Ayton always made the most sense as a return piece for (the Nets),” the West exec said, per Deveney. “There might have been more to the talks between those teams in the summer if his contract situation wasn’t what it was. But, what else would Phoenix give up?”

Deveney believes the Nets would want Mikal Bridges in addition to Ayton, but speculates that a package of Ayton, Cameron Johnson and Jae Crowder might be enough to get a deal done.

Here’s more on the Nets:

Ben Simmons will come off the bench against the Clippers on Saturday for the third straight game, writes Chris Milholen of Inside The Nets. Simmons has been on a minutes restriction after returning from a four-game absence due to knee soreness and swelling, but head coach Jacque Vaughn said he’s hopeful he’ll gradually be able to increase Simmons’ minutes, per Milholen.
Forward Yuta Watanabe is currently dealing with a sprained ankle, which has caused him to miss Brooklyn’s blowout victory over the Knicks on Wednesday. Vaughn told reporters, including ESPN’s Nick Friedell (Twitter link), that Watanabe is unlikely to play in the Nets’ upcoming road games this weekend in Los Angeles, a back-to-back set against the Clippers and Lakers.
The Nets announced on Friday that forward T.J. Warren, who has yet to make his debut in 2022/23, has begun taking contact with coaches in practices recently. The team is hopeful he’ll participate in contact practices with teammates within the next couple weeks, and Brooklyn will provide another update on his status in two weeks (Twitter link via Friedell). Warren signed a minimum-salary deal as a free agent with the Nets and has appeared in just four games since ’20/21 after undergoing consecutive foot surgeries.

Nets Notes: Vaughn, Marks, Durant, Irving, Sumner, Curry

November 10th, 2022 at 9:57pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Under newly minted head coach Jacque Vaughn, the Nets have surged to a solid 3-2 record. Brooklyn seems to be thriving, at least in the short term, under the new leadership, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. Vaughn had been a seven-year assistant with the Nets under various head coaches before he was promoted, first to interim head coach, and then to head coach in the wake of Steve Nash‘s dismissal earlier this year.

“I was excited for him,” Brooklyn All-Star Kevin Durant said. “I know the work that he puts in every day. I know how much he cares about the development of each player, and this team as a whole. Look forward to playing for him. All the guys have responded to how he wants us to play, so I’m looking forward to how we progress after this.”

The hiring of Vaughn marks a historic moment for the league at large, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape, as he is the 16th current Black head coach in the NBA, an all-time high. Spears notes that the NBA is comprised of 71.8% Black players, per Statistica.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports opines that the hiring of the player-friendly Vaughn represents an important move for Brooklyn’s future.

“You could see the way the guys gravitated towards Jacque and his coaching and teaching and charismatic attitude,” a Nets employee told Fischer, referring to his previous stint as an interim coach in 2020.

There’s more out of Brooklyn:

According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, the Nets intend to see if Vaughn will be able to continue winning with the team’s current personnel before ultimately making a determination on how to move forward, be that trying to contend or attempting to retool the roster.
Nets team president Sean Marks indicated that he spoke with Durant prior to making the official decision to hire Vaughn for the long haul, but wasn’t necessarily soliciting his input, tweets Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News. “I update the players and the players knew ahead of time, but again, Kevin’s job here is to go and play basketball, and that’s what he wants to do,” Marks said. “So that decision was not up to Kevin.”
With point guard Kyrie Irving suspended indefinitely, the Nets have been significantly improved in every way, writes Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post. The team has gone 3-1 since Irving was banished. Vaccaro adds that lately Brooklyn has been actively looking to share the ball and appears to have stepped up defensively.
Part of the reason Brooklyn has improved as of late has been depth. Mark W. Sanchez of The New York Post notes that guards Edmond Sumner, starting for Irving, and Seth Curry have been key contributors recently. “He’ll continue to do that, set the tone,” Vaughn said of Sumner, who missed the entirety of the 2021/22 season following an Achilles tendon tear. “He just makes a difference. He’s engaged, he gets the rest of the group engaged.” Curry, meanwhile, is one of the league’s most lethal long-range specialists. “I still got a long ways to go physically, I’m still working my way back,” Curry noted. He has been recovering from a left ankle scope in May. “Just trying to keep a good mindset of work every day and come to the game bringing energy no matter what. I’m going to make shots, like I said, eventually.”

Nets Rumors: Irving, NBPA, Durant, Udoka

November 8th, 2022 at 12:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

The players union has objections to the six conditions that the Nets are requiring Kyrie Irving to meet before he can resume playing, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. NBPA vice president Jaylen Brown said the union will likely file an appeal on Irving’s behalf. Brown calls the conditions unreasonable and points out that social media posts aren’t addressed in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Irving, who is slated to meet today with commissioner Adam Silver, was suspended last week for a minimum of five games. Before he can return, he is required to condemn an antisemitic film that he promoted on his Twitter account, meet with team owner Joe Tsai, meet with Jewish leaders in Brooklyn as well as the Anti-Defamation League, complete a sensitivity training course, go through antisemitic training and donate $500K to anti-hate organizations.

Irving could theoretically begin playing again by this weekend, but a report on Monday cited “growing pessimism” that he’ll ever suit up for the Nets again.

“He made a mistake. He posted something,” Brown said. “There was no distinction. Maybe we can move forward, but the terms in which he has to fulfill to return, I think not just speaking for me, speaking as a vice president from a lot of our players, we didn’t agree with the terms that was required for him to come back and we’re waiting for this Tuesday meeting to happen to see what comes of it. But we’ll go from there. That’s all I’ll say.”

There’s more on the Nets:

Irving also serves as a vice president for the NBPA, but that role could be in jeopardy after this latest controversy, according to Jared Weiss and William Guillory of The Athletic. Union president CJ McCollum said the NBPA is waiting for events to unfold before making any decisions about Irving’s future on its executive committee. “In this particular instance of (a) situation,” McCollum said, “Kyrie was elected in 2020 and it was a three-year term and that’s the extent of where we’re at with that.”
Irving has been outstanding in the eight games he has played this season — averaging 26.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists — but his off-court actions have virtually destroyed his trade value, per Sam Amick of The Athletic, who talked to 11 unidentified executives from rival teams. One GM speculated that Irving might never play in the NBA again, and a front office member said no one will sign him to anything more than a one-year contract. The view is much different toward Kevin Durant, with many executives believing he’ll be back on the trade market if the Nets can’t turn things around.
Some of the “strong voices” urging Tsai to pass on Ime Udoka as head coach are coming from within the organization, reports Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Lewis hears that the Nets held a recent meeting in which female staff members expressed reservations about Udoka, who was suspended by the Celtics following an affair with a staffer.

Paul George, Kevin Durant Named Players Of The Week

November 7th, 2022 at 2:45pm CST by Rory Maher

Clippers forward Paul George and Nets forward Kevin Durant have been named the NBA’s players of the week, the league announced today (via Twitter).

George, the Western Conference winner, led the Clippers to a 3-1 record while averaging 32.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.3 steals on .560/.447/.818 shooting in 37.6 minutes per contest. L.A. defeated Houston (twice) and San Antonio during that stretch, falling to Utah, and currently hold a 5-5 record to start 2022/23.

Another veteran star, Durant, was the Eastern Conference winner. Like George, he led his team to a 3-1 record, averaging 30.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.8 blocks on .532/.368/1.000 shooting in 36.9 minutes. Brooklyn defeated Indiana, Washington and Charlotte and lost to Chicago last week, and the Nets are currently 4-6.

According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other nominees in the West were Desmond Bane, Luka Doncic, De’Aaron Fox and Lauri Markkanen, while Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Paolo Banchero, Donovan Mitchell and Dejounte Murray were nominated in the East.

Bane, Doncic, Fox, Markannen and Mitchell have all been nominated twice through three weeks. Antetokounmpo (one win) and No. 1 overall pick Banchero have been nominated three consecutive times.

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.

And-Ones: Durant, McCollum, Load Management

November 6th, 2022 at 8:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder potentially selling the NFL team, Nets star Kevin Durant said he’d be interested in joining an ownership group, as he told ESPN’s Nick Friedell.

“In a perfect world, I would be a part of it,” Durant said. “I would love to do it. I would love to give a little bit of my money to be a part of the Commanders, but we’ll see.”

Durant has been a longtime fan of Washington’s NFL team, which is another incentive for him to be part of an ownership group.

“I would probably stay more of a fan than try to get involved with the team,” Durant said. “And it would be something nice for my family, and just to have in our family, that would be incredible to be a part of that group. Just get a little closer to the team if I were to be able to be in that position.”

We have more from the basketball world:

Addressing the Kyrie Irving controversy, NBPA president CJ McCollum said players have to be careful regarding what they do on social media, he told Andrew Lopez of ESPN. “The important thing to learn about this situation is you have a platform. You have to be careful with how you use it,” he said. “You have to vet everything you post. I think this is a situation we can all use as a learning experience for all of us as players. … You have to be careful with what you’re posting.”
The NBA must do a better job of addressing the issue of load management, Rod Walker of the New Orleans Times Picayune opines. In Walker’s view, it’s unfair for many casual fans who buy tickets to see the opponent’s star players, only to have them sit out. While NBA commissioner Adam Silver has stated that he’s cognizant of fans’ frustration with players being rested, Walker believes the league needs to take more action.
In case you missed it, we listed all of this season’s G League “affiliate players” here.

Nets Notes: Irving, Udoka, Simmons, Durant, Curry

November 5th, 2022 at 9:21am CST by Luke Adams

In an in-depth report for ESPN, Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski go into more detail on Wojnarowski’s earlier assertion that Nets owner Joe Tsai faced pressure from the NBA and from Nets management to take a more punitive approach following Kyrie Irving‘s promotion of an antisemitic film and initial refusal to apologize.

As ESPN’s duo outlines, Tsai hoped the incident could become a teachable moment for Irving, but ultimately gave up and decided to suspend Irving following his media session on Thursday. Irving’s refusal during that session to apologize or outright deny that he held antisemitic views convinced the Nets owner that Kyrie’s joint statement with the team and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) had been insincere.

Another source of frustration for Tsai, according to ESPN’s report, was that he wasn’t able to communicate directly with Irving, with communication being channeled “completely” through Kyrie’s stepmother and agent Shetellia Riley Irving.

When Tsai and the Nets ultimately decided to suspend the star guard for at least five games, the team sent an email to Irving’s agent describing the steps he needed to take to be reinstated, including taking training sessions on the dangers of hate speech, per Shelburne and Wojnarowski.

Although it has been Irving’s off-court behavior that dominated headlines in the last week, the situation seemed to affect him on the court as well. According to Shelburne and Woj, teammates and opponents privately described Irving as “disengaged and seemingly ‘in another world'” on Tuesday when he went scoreless for three quarters vs. Chicago.

Among the other recent developments in the Irving saga? Nike has suspended its relationship with the seven-time All-Star, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN; the Nets and the ADL sent a letter to Jeff Bezos and Amazon leaders asking the website to either remove the book and movie that Irving promoted from its platform or add more details about the misinformation it contains (Twitter link via Shams Charania of The Athletic); and Irving’s former teammate LeBron James said he doesn’t condone Kyrie’s comments, telling reporters that they “caused some harm to a lot of people” (link via Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times).

Here’s more on the Nets:

Brooklyn continues to work through the final stages of vetting the potential hiring of Ime Udoka as head coach, sources tell Shelburne and Wojnarowski.
An MRI on Ben Simmons‘ troublesome left knee came back clean, the Nets said on Friday, per Friedell at ESPN.com. While that MRI didn’t show any serious damage, Simmons has experienced some swelling and had the knee drained this week. He has been ruled out at least through Saturday’s game.
Wojnarowski said on Friday during an appearance on NBA Today that he believes Simmons has been a “source of frustration” for Kevin Durant and others on the Nets (video link via Clutch Points). “He has been unable – now he’s unable – to stay on the floor with a knee injury, but prior to that, he has shown that he is a long way away from being back to being an impactful player,” Wojnarowski said. “I think it’s a big part of the reason why the Nets are at the very bottom of the league defensively.”
If the instability in Brooklyn continues, the Nets will have to be concerned about the possibility that Durant revives the trade request that he dropped in August, Wojnarowski said in another TV appearance on Friday (video link). In the latest episode of his Lowe Post podcast (video link), ESPN’s Zach Lowe suggests that other teams will be hoping for that outcome: “The vultures are going to circle on Durant. Those vultures expect the Nets to put on a strong face for a while. To not rush it, to posture – probably honestly – that, ‘No, he has four years left on his contract. … We control the situation, we’re trying to win, we don’t want to do this.'”
While neither Wojnarowski nor Lowe expects Durant to request a trade again in the near future, Howard Beck of SI.com argues that the Nets should blow things up anyway and move on entirely from the Durant-Irving era in Brooklyn.
Seth Curry, who has played just once this season as he returns from left ankle surgery, is expected to be available on Saturday vs. Charlotte, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

Nets Notes: Durant, Nash, Simmons, Irving, Udoka

November 2nd, 2022 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

Nets forward Kevin Durant said on Tuesday night that he was surprised to learn of Steve Nash‘s exit from his position as Brooklyn’s head coach, as Nick Friedell of ESPN writes.

“You’re always shocked when a move like this happens,” Durant said after the Nets’ loss to Chicago. “But it’s normal in the NBA. It’s about getting ready for the game tonight. It’s a quick turn always in the league, especially during the season. You’ve got practice, games coming up, so you can’t think too much about it. It was on my mind for a little bit today.”

As Friedell notes, Nets general manager Sean Marks told reporters earlier in the day on Tuesday that he hadn’t consulted with Durant and/or Kyrie Irving before making the decision to part ways with Nash. Durant’s comments seemed to confirm that was true.

Asked why he felt like things didn’t work out with Nash in Brooklyn, Durant didn’t blame his former head coach for the team’s shortcomings, even though offseason reports indicated that he had pushed for Nash’s firing.

“We didn’t have a healthy team. We just didn’t play well,” Durant said. “And that’s what happens in the league. S–t happens. That doesn’t take away from Steve’s basketball IQ, how he teaches the game. I don’t think that takes away from anything. It just didn’t work out.”

Asked in Miami about Nash’s departure, Steve Kerr – one of the NBA’s longest-tenured head coaches – essentially agreed with Durant’s assessment, referring to Nash as “brilliant” and suggesting that the former MVP could thrive in a more “stable environment,” according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link).

“Erik’s got a (solid situation) here,” Kerr said, referring to Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra. “I’ve got one in Golden State. We’re really lucky. You throw either one of us in that situation, we wouldn’t have done any better than Steve. That’s the truth.”

Here’s more on the Nets:

Ian Begley of SNY.tv, who previously reported that the Nets had briefly engaged in “cursory” trade talks with a Western Conference team, says those discussions were about a veteran shooter, adding that Ben Simmons‘ name came up. While Begley cautions that those talks may not have advanced beyond the exploratory stage, he says Brooklyn was rumored to be “aggressive” in its pursuit of shooting.
Like the NBA did on Saturday, the National Basketball Players Association issued a fairly toothless statement on Tuesday, condemning antisemitism in general terms without mentioning NBPA vice president Irving by name or specifically rebuking his promotion of an antisemitic film on social media.
During Tuesday’s TNT broadcast, broadcaster and former NBA star Reggie Miller called out the players’ response to the Irving situation, expressing dissatisfaction that there has been silence from players who haven’t hesitated to speak out on other social justice issues, writes Ryan Glasspiegel of The New York Post. “The players have dropped the ball on this case when it’s been one of their own. It’s been crickets,” Miller said after lauding the players’ criticism of owners like Donald Sterling and Robert Sarver. “And it’s disappointing, because this league has been built on the shoulders of the players being advocates. Right is right and wrong is wrong.”
If the Nets move forward with their reported plan to hire Ime Udoka as their new head coach, it could be another landmine for the franchise, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post, who notes that the full story on Udoka’s off-court conduct in Boston still hasn’t come out publicly. As Lewis relays, a league insider told NetsDaily that Udoka “repeatedly” sent inappropriate messages to women on the Celtics‘ staff.
Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports makes the case that the best play for the dysfunctional Nets would be to trade Durant.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst passes along all of Sean Marks‘ noteworthy statements from his Tuesday media session, attempting to read between the lines of those comments.

New York Notes: Udoka, Durant, Irving, Marks, Rose, Hartenstein

November 1st, 2022 at 5:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

If you’re wondering what the Nets superstars think of Ime Udoka, whom the team plans to hire as its head coach, SNY.TV’s Ian Begley previously reported that Kevin Durant is a huge fan of Udoka, which is why Durant was interested in playing for the Celtics after making his trade demand this summer, SNY’s Danny Abriano relays. When Udoka was an assistant with the Nets, he had no qualms about challenging Durant and Kyrie Irving and they respected his blunt style.

We have more on the New York teams:

At least one executive interviewed by Heavy.com’s Steve Bulpett’s believes Udoka will be walking into a “no-lose” situation. “Things look so bad there, no one’s going to blame a new coach if it doesn’t get fixed.” the executive said. “We’ll see what Ime can do, but that just isn’t working on any level right now. They’ve still got a ways to go to get where they need to be on a basketball level, but you have to wonder whether they’ll ever have the chance to see that through. Kyrie just always seems to find a way to take the air out of the balloon.”
Irving didn’t speak to the media on Tuesday and GM Sean Marks said he wants to let Irving “simmer down” and not create more “fuss” over his controversial social media posts and retweets, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic tweets. Marks noted Irving’s last media session “didn’t go well.”
Marks said Durant and Irving had “zero input” on the mutual parting of ways between Steve Nash and the organization, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets.
Derrick Rose has only attempted three free throws in six games and his injury history could be the explanation, Fred Katz of The Athletic writes. The Knicks point guard reworked his game to avoid contact, even when he drives into the lane. The thinking is the less he gets hit, the better, even if it means fewer trips to the line.
Isaiah Hartenstein, one of the Knicks‘ offseason free agent additions, has been “terrific” so far this season, head coach Tom Thibodeau said on Sunday, per Peter Botte of The New York Post. “We knew he would be,” Thibodeau said. “He gives you rim protection. He can shoot, he can pass.” Hartenstein has played increased minutes in each of the team’s last two games due to Mitchell Robinson‘s foul trouble and has performed well, recording 12 points and nine rebounds on Sunday.

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