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Injury Updates: LeBron, LaVine, Murray, Powell, Knicks, More

April 5th, 2022 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Facing a must-win game in Phoenix on Tuesday and looking to keep their play-in hopes alive, the Lakers will once again be without star forward LeBron James, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. James, who continues to deal with a left ankle sprain, has been ruled out for a second consecutive game and will now have missed three of the last four.

If the Lakers lose to the Suns and the Spurs win in Denver, L.A. would be officially eliminated from play-in contention by the end of the night.

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

Bulls guard Zach LaVine (knee) will likely miss Tuesday’s game vs. Milwaukee, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). LaVine’s left knee has been an issue for much of the season, though he has been able to play through the discomfort for the most part — this would only be the second game he has missed since the All-Star break.
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (ACL) has “really ramped up” his activity in the last week, Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown on Sunday (video link). While Wojnarowski describes Murray as “aggressive” in his efforts to get back on the court, he cautions that the guard is still experiencing some soreness at times in his surgically-repaired left knee.
Norman Powell (foot) will be a full participant in Tuesday’s practice for the Clippers, according to head coach Tyronn Lue, who noted that the team isn’t playing five-on-five today. Lue is hopeful that Powell will be able to return within the next several days, tweets Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group.
Asked today about whether Julius Randle (quad) or Derrick Rose (ankle) will play again this season, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau responded, “I don’t see it happening” (Twitter link via Fred Katz of The Athletic).
Mavericks guards Sterling Brown and Trey Burke are out of the COVID-19 protocols and will be available on Wednesday vs. Detroit, per head coach Jason Kidd (Twitter link via Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News).
Out since March 14 due to a high ankle sprain, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels has been upgraded to questionable for Tuesday’s game vs. Washington (Twitter link). “I think he’s had a really good week, good evaluation,” head coach Chris Finch said (Twitter link via Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic). “Just not sure if he’s ready to play in the game tonight, but try to push him today in our ‘stay in shape league‘ and see how everything goes.”

Injury Notes: Allen, Mobley, McDaniels, Powell, Fox, Sabonis

April 4th, 2022 at 8:03am CST by Luke Adams

Discussions about Jarrett Allen‘s potential return for the Cavaliers have gravitated toward “if” rather than “when,” according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The team has said Allen is making progress in his recovery from a broken finger and hasn’t ruled out the possibility of him returning before the regular season ends on Sunday, but his finger was still in a splint this weekend, says Vardon.

Even if Allen is able to play soon, it’s “highly unlikely” that he’ll be 100% effective, says Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). In Fedor’s view, Evan Mobley – who has missed four games with a sprained ankle and wasn’t walking with a limp after Sunday’s game – is a better bet to be fully effective, or at least close to it, when he returns.

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

Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, who has been out since March 14 due to a high left ankle sprain, “looks really good” in his scrimmages, head coach Chris Finch said on Sunday (link via Chris Hine of The Star Tribune). The Wolves will formally reevaluate McDaniels on Monday. Finch expects him to be on a minutes limit when he returns, per Hine.
Clippers forwards Paul George and Marcus Morris hinted after Sunday’s game that Norman Powell could be close to returning from his left foot injury, according to Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group, who notes that the injured swingman took part in an on-court pregame workout. “It’ll be great for Norm if he could get back out there in the next game or two, just to get a good feel back,” Morris said.
With the Kings officially eliminated from playoff contention, head coach Alvin Gentry acknowledged that shutting down De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis will likely be “something we’ll talk about” (Twitter link via Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee). Fox has missed Sacramento’s last eight games due to a hand injury, while Sabonis has been out for six games due to a knee issue.

Los Angeles Notes: James, Davis, Coffey, Ojeleye, Powell

March 28th, 2022 at 10:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers star forwards LeBron James and Anthony Davis are listed as doubtful to play Tuesday at Dallas, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets. James injured his left ankle against New Orleans on Sunday and under treatment on Monday. In Davis’ case, it’s an upgrade. Davis went through a full, live practice for the first time since he suffered a mid-foot sprain on February 16.

We have more on the Los Angeles teams:

Amir Coffey has been a steady contributor since Clippers forward Paul George was sidelined and his status won’t change when the perennial All-Star forward potentially returns on Tuesday, Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register tweets. Coffey is averaging 8.9 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 1.8 APG in 23.6 MPG in his third NBA season. “He’s earned it, last three years, the work he’s put in … this season he’s kind of kept us afloat,” Lue said.
Coffey had his two-way contract converted to a standard one this weekend and Semi Ojeleye was waived to make room for him on the 15-man roster. It was due to the franchise’s desire to reward Coffey rather than anything regarding Ojeleye’s play. Lue said Ojeleye “did everything right” and was sad to see him depart, Greif tweets.
Norman Powell still has a number of steps to go before returning from his left foot injury. The Clippers forward has done some shooting but hasn’t progressed beyond that in his recovery, Greif added in another tweet.

Paul George Practices With Clippers

March 24th, 2022 at 3:11pm CST by Rory Maher

Clippers star Paul George practiced with the team on Thursday for the first time since he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. George hasn’t played in a game since December 22.

George is listed as out for Friday’s game against Philadelphia and there’s no official timetable for his return, but he’s clearly making progress as he recovers from the injury.

“He is doing good,” coach Tyronn Lue said prior to Thursday’s practice. “He hasn’t felt any pain so that is a positive thing. Just working on his conditioning and just making sure he can continue to go through the minimal contact without having any issue. So as of right now, it hasn’t been a problem.”

Lue also said that Norman Powell has begun shooting on the court with the team, but is still limited to non-contact work. Powell broke a bone in his left foot after just three games with his new club. He was acquired in a trade with the Blazers ahead of the February deadline.

At 36-38, the Clippers are currently the No. 8 seed in the West. Despite losing four straight games, their place in the standings is pretty secure, as they trail the No. 7 Timberwolves by six games and hold a four-and-a-half game lead on the No. 9 Lakers with only eight games remaining.

Youngmisuk states that the Clippers hope to reduce the minutes for veterans Nicolas Batum, Marcus Morris, and Reggie Jackson ahead of the play-in tournament.

Injury Notes: N. Powell, LeBron, Suggs, Raptors

March 23rd, 2022 at 3:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on TNT during Tuesday’s broadcast of the Clippers/Nuggets game, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports provided a positive update on Norman Powell‘s recovery from a fractured left foot (video link via Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints).

“Norm Powell, sources tell me, is itching to get back out there and is expected to return at some point before the end of the regular season,” Haynes said.

Responding to the report, Powell seemed to take exception to Haynes’ assessment of his situation, tweeting, “What sources? Is saying how I feel? It’s either from me or fake news. Chill with the sources talk. Smh.”

It’s unclear what part of Haynes’ report Powell was objecting to — presumably, the veteran swingman is doing all he can to make it back on the court before the Clippers participate in the Western Conference play-in tournament next month.

Here are a few more injury-related updates from around the NBA:

Lakers star LeBron James has been ruled out of Wednesday’s game vs. Philadelphia due to left knee soreness, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Since Los Angeles doesn’t play again until Sunday, holding James out tonight will give him nearly a full week to rest his knee, which has bothered him for much of the season.
Magic guard Jalen Suggs has missed four straight games due to a right ankle bone bruise, but the team isn’t shutting him down for the rest of the season, head coach Jamahl Mosley said on Tuesday, per Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. “Him and I actually just had a very good conversation a moment ago about his competitive nature and what he wants to do,” Mosley said. “For that young man, playing is the thing he loves to do the most. Being around his teammates is what he loves to do the most in these situations. We’ll focus on his health, which is obviously the biggest thing. If he’s healthy, we’ll have him on the court ready to play.”
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet told reporters that sitting out a game in back-to-back sets is “not doing much” to alleviate his nagging knee pain, but said he understands why the team is going that route (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca). “I probably would’ve been even less effective than I was (Monday vs. the Bulls) if I would’ve played (Sunday vs. the Sixers),” VanVleet said after Monday’s loss in which he shot just 7-of-22 from the field. “It’s a difficult situation. I gotta figure it out.”
Eric Koreen of The Athletic (all Twitter links) passed along several more Raptors injury updates, noting that OG Anunoby (finger) practiced on Wednesday, while Gary Trent Jr. (toe) didn’t. Both players are officially listed as questionable for Thursday’s game vs. Cleveland but seem closer to doubtful, says Koreen.

Paul George Shows Progress In Recovery From Elbow Injury

March 21st, 2022 at 10:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Paul George is progressing in his rehab and Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said he’s willing to play George, Kawhi Leonard or Norman Powell when they’re ready, even if they don’t return before the end of the regular season, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

George has not played since December 22 due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He participated in a 4-on-4 practice against assistant coaches with minimal contact on Sunday.

“He’s feeling better,” Lue said. “That is part of his rehab, having minimal contact with the coaches and trying to get his wind and just kind of see how he feels. To get him on the court for the first time was really good to see, got to continue to keep working and see how he is feeling going forward.”

The Clippers, who have lost three straight, are essentially locked into the play-in tournament. They’re currently eighth in the Western Conference, 6.5 games behind the sixth- and seventh-place Timberwolves and Nuggets with nine games to play. They’re 4.5 games ahead of the ninth-place Lakers.

Leonard hasn’t played this season after undergoing knee surgery last summer. Powell, who fractured a bone in his left foot shortly after he was acquired from Portland at the trade deadline, shed his walking boot last week but hasn’t yet cleared been cleared for contact, according to Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register.

Lue won’t hesitate to use any of them in the playoffs.

“To hit the playoffs going at 100, from zero to 100, that is pretty tough. But if the medical guys say they are cleared and they are able to do that, that is totally up to them,” he said.

Damian Lillard Out For Rest Of Season

March 21st, 2022 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

2:51pm: The Trail Blazers have confirmed that Lillard’s season is over, announcing the news in a press release.

“(Lillard) has met several key performance benchmarks to date and will continue end-stage rehab over the next few weeks,” the team said in a statement.

8:57am: Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard will miss the remainder of the season as he continues to recover from abdominal surgery, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Sources tell Charania that Lillard is “making tremendous progress” and looks good in workouts, but Portland has decided to have him sit out the remaining 12 games on the team’s regular season schedule.

The news comes as no surprise. If the Blazers were in the playoff picture, it might be a different story, but the club pivoted to retooling mode when it traded CJ McCollum, Norman Powell, and Robert Covington away prior to last month’s deadline and is prioritizing lottery positioning rather than pushing for a play-in spot.

The club hasn’t issued a recent update on Jusuf Nurkic, who is sidelined due to plantar fasciitis, but it won’t be a shock if he is also ruled out for the rest of 2021/22.

The Blazers, who will continue to take an extended look at some of their young players down the stretch, are currently 26-44 and have lost 10 of 11 games since shutting down Nurkic at the All-Star break. As our reverse standings show, they’d be seventh in the draft lottery standings if the season ended today.

Pacific Notes: DiVincenzo, Sarver, Wiseman, Powell

March 18th, 2022 at 8:08am CST by Luke Adams

Kings guard Donte DiVincenzo is coming off his best game since being traded from Milwaukee to Sacramento at last month’s deadline. On Wednesday, facing his old Bucks team, he put up 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting (4-of-8 on threes), chipping in four rebounds and three steals.

According to James Ham of ESPN 1320 in Sacramento (Twitter link), head coach Alvin Gentry said after Wednesday’s game that there’s a good chance DiVincenzo will move permanently into the Kings’ starting lineup before the regular season is over. Gentry added that he almost made that move for Wednesday’s contest.

DiVincenzo started all 66 games he played in 2020/21 for Milwaukee, but has started just one of 31 games for the Bucks and Kings this season following his return from ankle surgery.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

A coalition of social justice activists is calling on the NBA to remove Robert Sarver as the owner of the Suns, writes Howard Beck of SI.com. The American Sports Accountability Project published a letter on its new website stating that the group is “profoundly disturbed by the reports of racism, misogyny and abusive behavior allegedly committed” by Sarver. An independent investigation into the allegations against Sarver is ongoing.
After playing three games in the G League, center James Wiseman was recalled to the NBA by the Warriors on Wednesday. He’s practicing with the team this week and could make his season debut with Golden State as early as Sunday, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Clippers wing Norman Powell, who is recovering from a fractured left foot, had the boot removed from his foot this week, tweets Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. There’s still no guarantee that Powell, who last played on February 10, will be back before the regular season ends in 23 days.

Western Notes: Simons, Suns, Jazz, Thunder

March 6th, 2022 at 9:57pm CST by JD Shaw

Blazers guard Anfernee Simons is adjusting to his new role of being the number one option on the team, Casey Holdahl of NBA.com writes. Portland traded away CJ McCollum, Norman Powell and others at the trade deadline and is missing Damian Lillard due to an abdominal injury, clearing the way for Simons to receive a larger role.

“Obviously I’m going to be at the top of the scouting report even more now that (Jusuf Nurkic) is out,” Simons said. Nurkic is dealing with a foot injury and will miss at least three more weeks. “So just learning how to navigate through that. Obviously it’s going to be even more tougher for me but it’s the perfect time to see everything.

“Like, the Warriors threw a box-and-one at me, probably the first time I’ve been boxed-and-one’d since high school. That was an interesting thing to kind of navigate though.”

Simons is in his fourth season with the franchise. He’s averaging a career-high 17.3 points and 3.9 assists per game, shooting 44% from the field, 40.5% from deep and 89% from the free throw line. He most recently finished with 38 points in a loss to the Timberwolves on Saturday.

Here are some other notes from the Western Conference:

Unlikely heroes are stepping up for the Suns in the absences of Chris Paul (thumb) and Devin Booker (protocols), Cydney Henderson of USA Today writes. Phoenix received a key performance from Cameron Johnson on Friday, as the 26-year-old finished with 38 points and a buzzer-beating game-winner. Mikal Bridges also added 20 points, while Cameron Payne recorded 17 points and 16 assists.
The Jazz could be facing an offseason of massive change if they don’t make a deep postseason run, ESPN’s Tim McMahon suggested on The Lowe Post. Utah has had an inconsistent season — the team is 8-2 in its last 10 games but lost by 34 on Friday against New Orleans — and could break up the Donovan Mitchell–Rudy Gobert partnership if it doesn’t succeed this year.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores how the Thunder could drive various blockbuster deals this summer. Oklahoma City will be armed with cap space and draft picks from a massive rebuild. As Pincus notes, the team currently has up to $31.8MM in cap space, but nearly all of it will be lost when the league calendar year flips on July 1. The assessment comes from factoring in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s new extension and assuming Derrick Favors exercises his $10.2MM player option.

Pacific Notes: Powell, Lakers, Shamet, Wiseman

February 15th, 2022 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The current treatment plan for Clippers swingman Norman Powell, who broke a bone in his left foot last Thursday, is non-surgical, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group. Asked about a potential return timeline for Powell, head coach Tyronn Lue couldn’t offer any specifics, but expressed hope that the 28-year-old will be back before the end of the season.

“Hopefully,” Lue said. “I’m not really sure, but hopefully that’s the case.”

As Swanson writes, Powell – acquired in a trade with Portland earlier in the month – had only been a Clipper for three games before he went down with his foot injury. However, he had already established himself as an important part of the rotation, playing nearly 34 minutes in his last game on Thursday, so he’ll be missed. Additionally, the Clippers sacrificed some depth on the wing in their pre-deadline deals.

“It does leave a void, because now you lose Justise Winslow, Eric Bledsoe, who you traded him for, along with Keon Johnson,” Lue said. “… Since (Powell) was here, he gave us great downhill attacks, direct line, quick decisions, getting to the free-throw line and he scored the ball really easy. So we’re definitely gonna miss that.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

During an appearance on The Hoop Collective podcast with Brian Windhorst, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne confirmed the Lakers would have had to incentivize the Rockets to swap John Wall for Russell Westbrook at the trade deadline, but suggested the cost wouldn’t necessarily have been a first-round pick, as had been previously reported. “The way I heard it was it could have been done for a first-round pick, but it was even suggested they could have done it for a pick swap,” Shelburne said, per RealGM. “… Let’s put it this way, they would have had to incentivize Houston to do the trade with some kind of draft compensation. I think it was even less than what people have assumed.”
Suns guard Landry Shamet, who has been sidelined since January 30 due to a right ankle injury, is being careful not to rush the recovery process and won’t return until sometime after the All-Star break, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “I’ve come back from ankle injuries a little too early in the past,” Shamet said on Monday. “With the aspirations this team has and what I have for myself, for us, I want to make sure I’m in the best place possible to be able to sustain for a long time.”
Warriors center James Wiseman was cleared to begin participating in 5-on-5 scrimmages, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Wiseman is working his way back from a pair of procedures on his right knee.