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Injury Notes: LaVine, White, Harden, Garland, Hayward, More

February 4th, 2022 at 11:02pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls All-Star Zach LaVine has been suffering through back spasms recently, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic relays. LaVine was noticeably wincing during Chicago’s 127-120 overtime defeat to Toronto on Thursday. Center Nikola Vučević says the team appreciates LaVine’s commitment to winning despite not being fully healthy.

“It tells us a lot about Zach playing through back spasms,” Vučević said. “It’s not easy. It limits you a lot. You just don’t have that freedom of movement, especially in the back. It’s a big, important part of your body, especially when you play basketball. I’m sure it was bothering him a lot, especially on the offensive end trying to score and be aggressive.

“But it speaks a lot about his commitment to winning and to this team trying to still be out there. Even him not being 100 percent helps us a lot, so we appreciate him being out there.”

Coach Billy Donovan told reporters, including K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link), that the Bulls are hopeful LaVine will return Sunday after sitting out Friday on the second game of a back-to-back. However, Donovan also said that LaVine is still battling the knee soreness that sidelined him for a handful of games last month.

Here are some more injury updates from around the NBA:

LaVine wasn’t the only Bulls player absent from Friday’s 122-115 win at Indiana, as Coby White also missed the game due to a groin strain, Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. Donovan said White has had lingering discomfort in the groin, but it was aggravated against Toronto.
Nets coach Steve Nash said James Harden was held out of Brooklyn’s 125-102 blowout loss at Utah on Friday for precautionary reasons, per Nick Friedell of ESPN (via Twitter). The team is giving Harden a couple extra days rest to ensure his hamstring is feeling better. Nash doesn’t think Harden will need an MRI and is hopeful he’ll return to action Sunday at Denver. Rudy Gay exited the game early for the Jazz with right knee soreness and didn’t return to the court, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets.
Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, recently named an All-Star for the first time, missed his third consecutive game Friday at Charlotte with lower back soreness, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Gordon Hayward returned to action for the Hornets in the team’s 102-101 loss after missing the past two weeks due to COVID-19, Boone notes.
Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony will likely be out Saturday vs. New York, providing extra rest before the team re-evaluates his strained right hamstring next week, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. LeBron James is also doubtful for the contest against the Knicks with knee swelling, per Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link).
Heat center Omer Yurtseven has cleared the health and safety protocols and is available for Saturday’s game at Charlotte, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports (via Twitter).
Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 draft, missed his second straight game for the Pistons Friday with a hip pointer, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. Coach Dwane Casey said the injury isn’t considered serious, but the team is being cautious with its rising star. The Pistons fell to the Celtics, 102-93.
Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon missed his second consecutive game Friday with hamstring tightness, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link). The Nuggets lost to the Pelicans without Gordon, 113-105.

Injury Updates: Mitchell, Gobert, Green, Iguodala, Anthony, James, Birch

February 3rd, 2022 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert were named as All-Star reserves on Thursday. The Jazz also got positive injury news regarding their top players.

Mitchell has cleared the NBA’s concussion protocol and will be available for the team’s game against the Nets on Friday, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. Mitchell hasn’t played since January 17. Gobert won’t play on Friday but could return early next week, MacMahon adds. The big man is dealing with a calf strain and hasn’t seen action since January 23rd.

We have more injury-related news:

Warriors forward Draymond Green is skipping the All-Star Game due to a back injury. Green said on Thursday he won’t need surgery but estimates it will be at least three-to-four weeks before he can play again, Marc Stein tweets.
Another Warriors forward, Andre Iguodala, says he’s close to returning from a left hip injury, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Iguodala hasn’t played since logging 31 minutes on January 20. Iguodala indicated that persistent knee swelling created a “chain reaction” that has led to other ailments.
Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony exited the team’s game against the Clippers on Thursday due to a right hamstring strain, McMenamin tweets. LeBron James missed his fifth straight game due to swelling in his left knee, McMenamin adds in another tweet.
Raptors big man Khem Birch played on Thursday for the first time since January 14. He only saw five minutes of action. Birch required plastic surgery after his nose was fractured. He’ll have to wear a mask for approximately six weeks, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca tweets.

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Play-In Tournament, West, Jones

February 2nd, 2022 at 7:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James is looking at a variety of potential treatments for the swelling in his left knee, but he won’t consider platelet-rich plasma therapy, also known as PRP, Dave McMenamin of ESPN said on “NBA Today” (video link). James is being treated away from the team, and Lakers coach Frank Vogel said he has the full support of the organization in that decision, McMenamin adds.

James is listed as doubtful for tonight’s game against the Trail Blazers, and McMenamin said he’s expected to miss his fourth straight game since the swelling developed on the team’s last road trip. He was sent home early from that trip, and the Lakers have no intention of trying to play him until the swelling is gone, according to McMenamin.

There’s more on the Lakers:

James was one of the most outspoken critics of the play-in tournament last year, but it looks like the Lakers’ only hope to save their season, writes Bill Oram of The Athletic. At four-and-a-half games out of sixth place and five games ahead of 11th, L.A. is comfortably in the play-in range. With that in mind, James’ possible extended absence isn’t being met with panic. “The No. 1 goal is that he’s healthy for the long haul,” Vogel said, “and everything else is less important after that.”
Lakers legend Jerry West says his relationship with the franchise has deteriorated over the years, Sam Amick of The Athletic writes in a profile of West as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history. West was particularly upset over the decision last year to rescind the lifetime season tickets for him and his wife that were promised by late owner Dr. Jerry Buss. “Sometimes you feel like you’re discarded, like a piece of trash,” said West, now a consultant with the Clippers. “And there’s a couple of people over there — not (owner Jeanie Buss) — but there’s a couple of people over there that, uh … I don’t get it. I don’t. … I always had a great relationship with Jeanie — at least I thought I did. I don’t know where it is now.”
Lakers two-way player Mason Jones was named the G League Player of the Month for January, tweets JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors. Jones averaged 28 points, 8.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game during the month.

LeBron James May Miss A Few More Games

February 1st, 2022 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

Despite some optimism that LeBron James might be able to return to action for the Lakers as soon as Wednesday, the star forward will remain sidelined for Wednesday’s contest vs. Portland and could miss a few more games, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

James is dealing with a left knee injury. An MRI on the knee only showed swelling and no structural damage, but both LeBron and the Lakers want to play it safe, according to Charania. The plan is to wait until the irritation in James’ knee subsides before having him return to action.

After hosting the Blazers on Wednesday, the Lakers visit the Clippers on Thursday and then host the Knicks on Saturday. It’s unclear whether James will be able to return by the weekend or if his absence will extend into next week. Los Angeles will host the Bucks next Tuesday and visit the Blazers next Wednesday.

While the Lakers’ priority is to make sure James is healthy down the stretch and in the postseason, the team could certainly his presence in the lineup — he has now missed three games, and L.A. lost all three, slipping to 24-27 on the season. The club is the No. 9 seed in the West, but is in no immediate danger of falling out of the play-in picture, with the 11th-seeded Spurs five games back.

Malik Monk has been inserted into the Lakers’ starting lineup during James’ absence and will likely remain there until LeBron returns.

Western Notes: Williams, James, Robinson-Earl, Murray

January 31st, 2022 at 8:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Suns coach Monty Williams and his staff will coach Team LeBron (James) at the All-Star Game in Cleveland, according to an ESPN report. Phoenix is guaranteed to have the best record in the conference before the cutoff date of February 6. Williams will coach in the All-Star Game for the first time, and he’ll be the first Phoenix head coach to do so since Mike D’Antoni in 2007.

We have more from the Western Conference:

An MRI on James’ left knee revealed only general swelling and he might return to action as soon as Wednesday, Lakers coach Frank Vogel told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and other media members. James has missed the last three games. “Just going to keep an eye on it day to day,” Vogel said.
The Thunder assigned Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to their G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, for a Monday afternoon game, according to a team press release. It was somewhat surprising, since Robinson-Earl has started 36 games for the Thunder and has averaged 24.7 MPG this month. Head coach Mark Daigneault said it was part of the development process, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman tweets. “Obviously on the surface it looks a little peculiar,” he said. “What I’d say is, one thing that we’ve learned and that we’re trying to apply is that changing environments, changing circumstances, changing roles is good for development.”
Klay Thompson, Victor Oladipo and Zach LaVine are among the opposing players who have reached out to Nuggets guard Jamal Murray during his recovery from a serious knee injury, Mike Singer of the Denver Post writes. Those players have also gone through the process of a long rehab.

LeBron James Sent Home For Treatment On Knee

January 30th, 2022 at 10:41am CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James, who had already been ruled out of today’s game in Atlanta, has been sent back to Los Angeles to undergo treatment on his left knee, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“As long as the swelling is there, he is going to be out,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said in a pre-game meeting with reporters.

James underwent an MRI on the knee, but all it showed was swelling, according to Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register (Twitter link).

James has missed L.A.’s past two games with what the team is calling “left knee soreness/effusion.” After today, the Lakers don’t play again until Wednesday night when they host Portland.

Pacific Notes: Westbrook, LeBron, Warriors, Fox

January 29th, 2022 at 6:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers hope Russell Westbrook‘s performance Friday night in Charlotte will lead to better things for the rest of the season, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis both sidelined by injuries, Westbrook exploded for 30 points in the second half and nearly rallied the team to a road win.

Westbrook was the Lakers’ prize acquisition of the offseason, but his fit with the other two stars has been questionable so far. Although his name has been mentioned in trade rumors, Westbrook remains confident that he can make it work in L.A.

“I think ultimately when myself and A.D. and Bron is on the court, we got to be able to figure that out to where I can still keep my same speed and pace to the basket and allow me to make the game easy for them,” he said. “And it’s something that we even briefly talked about after the game, about positioning and things they saw tonight from sitting on the bench, to be able to help them out.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

James will miss his third straight game Sunday at Atlanta because of “left knee soreness/effusion,” tweets Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. The Lakers are listing Davis as questionable.
The Warriors had to adjust after Klay Thompson‘s return, but Thursday’s win over Minnesota showed how dangerous Golden State can be when all the pieces are working, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Thompson and Stephen Curry combined for 52 points and the Warriors shot 58.3% as a team from three-point range. “It’s a really good indicator of what our team can look like with Klay back and everybody healthy, for the most part, in terms of our shooters,” coach Steve Kerr said. “With these last couple of games, the spacing that we’ve had and the ball movement, we’ve gotten great shots.”
Kings guard De’Aaron Fox had to miss his fourth straight game tonight with pain in his left ankle, tweets James Ham of ESPN 1320.“Don’t know how long he’ll be out,” said interim coach Alvin Gentry. “It is a sore ankle. That’s been it. He dresses, he tries it and then he’s really the only one that knows the pain threshold of where it is or anything. All it is is an ankle right now, there’s not anything else going on.”

Pacific Notes: Moon, Barnes, AD, LeBron, Johnson

January 28th, 2022 at 6:50pm CST by Rory Maher

Xavier Moon, who recently completed three 10-day hardship contracts with the Clippers, is determined to make it back to the NBA, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Moon’s last game was in New York City against the Knicks, and he said it was a surreal experience.

“Watching these games on TV, Madison Square Garden, everybody doing what they do and getting a chance to take the court?” Moon said. “Man, surreal.”

The 27-year-old NBA rookie has plenty of international experience, having made stops in France, England, Israel and Canada. Upon hearing that some G League teams were interested in his services late last summer, Moon decided to buy out his contract with an Italian club and give things a shot closer to home, Greif writes.

“I was like, I think I’ll hold off from going overseas this year,” Moon said. “And I think that was probably one of the better decisions that I made.”

Moon appeared in six games with the Clippers, averaging 5.5 PPG, 1.7 APG, and 1.5 RPG in 13.8 MPG. In 17 games with Agua Caliente, the team’s G League affiliate, he has averaged 13.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.6 APG, and 1.4 SPG on .489/.386/.864 shooting.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Kings are in a tailspin, losing 12 of their last 14 games to fall to 18-32 on the season, 13th in the West, and Harrison Barnes is understandably frustrated with the team’s performance, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “It’s a range of emotions: frustration, anger, embarrassment, disappointment. You can go down the list,” Barnes said after posting 28 points and nine rebounds in the loss to the Hawks on Wednesday. “No one prepares and wants to lose, wants to go through losing the way we’ve been going about it. There’s a lot of frustration, but it’s on us to get out of this.”
Anthony Davis said X-rays on his right wrist came back negative after injuring it on a dunk over Joel Embiid in the Lakers‘ loss to Philadelphia on Thursday, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin tweets. Davis will miss Friday’s game against Charlotte with wrist soreness, McMenamin relays in a separate tweet.
LeBron James is also inactive Friday night for the Lakers and is considered day-to-day with left knee soreness, as Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group details. In a follow-up tweet, Goon notes that James’ knee is swollen on top of being sore, so the team is being cautious with the 37-year-old star.
Within the same article from Goon, Stanley Johnson says he’s thrilled he was able to turn his 10-day deals with the Lakers into a standard contract that will cover the remainder of the season, with a team option for next year. “I couldn’t have dreamed of something like this in wildest my dreams,” Johnson said. “Obviously, I wanted it. … Seeing a 10-day guy with a fit like this, it’s happened before. And it will happen again. But it doesn’t happen a lot.”

Andrew Wiggins Named All-Star Starter; Morant Selected For First Time

January 27th, 2022 at 6:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Western Conference starter pool for next month’s NBA All-Star Game included a big surprise.

Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins was chosen along with Lakers forward LeBron James and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic among Western Conference frontcourt candidates. Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was also named a starter for the first time, joining Warriors guard Stephen Curry as the backcourt duo in the starter pool, NBA Communications tweets.

James will be a team captain once again because he is the All-Star starter from the West with the most fan votes in the West.

Wiggins was third in the most recent fan voting results among Western Conference frontcourt players but the fan vote counted for only 50% in the selection. Player voting accounted for 25% and the media also had a 25% say.

Wiggins is averaging 18.1 PPG. He beat out more decorated Western Conference frontcourt players such as Rudy Gobert, Anthony Davis, Deandre Ayton, Karl-Anthony Towns and Draymond Green.

Morant’s selection is much less controversial. He’s averaging 25.8 PPG, 6.9 APG and 5.9 RPG. However, Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell and Suns guards Devin Booker and Chris Paul also had compelling cases to be starters.

Pacific Notes: Green, Kuminga, Curry, James, Howard

January 17th, 2022 at 5:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors announced on Sunday that defensive stalwart Draymond Green would miss at least two weeks of action due to lingering calf and back injuries. Coach Steve Kerr said they’re playing it safe with Green’s injury issues at this stage of the season, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.

“The main thing is to be safe and cautious,” Kerr said. “It’s a long season. That’s my sense. That we’re being cautious.”

With Green out, lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga will get expanded playing time. Kuminga irritated the staff with a disinterested performance in a G League game last week but the Warriors won’t hold that against him, according to Slater.

“He didn’t run the floor hard. It was disappointing,” Kerr said. “We talked to him about it. He understood and responded well. This is all part of the process for JK. There’s a lot to absorb and learn.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Stephen Curry left the Warriors’ road trip early but it shouldn’t be an area of concern, according to Slater (Twitter link). Curry has a hand injury that the club believes is minor. He could play against Detroit on Tuesday.
The Lakers have dropped below the .500 mark by losing their last three games, including a 37-point thumping by Denver. LeBron James went on social media and pledged to fans the team will get untracked soon. “Lakers Nation I apologize and promise we’ll be better,” James proclaimed on his Twitter feed.
The decision to start Dwight Howard against the Nuggets shows the Lakers can only go so far with small ball lineups, Kyle Goon of the Orange Country Register writes. Coach Frank Vogel doesn’t want James banging against top-level centers such as Nikola Jokic. Howard will still have a role off the bench when Anthony Davis returns, Goon adds.