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Kawhi Leonard To Miss Game 3 Due To Ankle Injury

May 20th, 2017 at 11:52am CST by marksuleymanov

Spurs forward and finalist for the 2016/17 NBA Most Valuable Player award, Kawhi Leonard, will miss Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors tonight due to a sprained left ankle, the team confirmed.

Leonard initially suffered the left ankle sprain in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Rockets, forcing him to miss most of the contest. After also missing the Spurs’ series-clinching Game 6, he returned to play Golden State, but re-injured the ankle on a controversial closeout by Warriors center Zaza Pachulia — who ironically will also miss Game 3 due to an injured heel — in the third quarter of Game 1. Leonard missed Game 2 as the Spurs fell to a 2-0 series deficit.

“In the end, I guess it’s my decision,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters, including Melissa Rohlin of the San Antonio Express-News, at shootaround on Saturday. “He’s not thrilled that he’s not playing, but he’s not ready, so we’re not going to play him.”

In a separate piece, Rohlin spoke to Leonard about what needs to improve in his ankle before he’s ready to return to the court.

“Just seeing if I can run and at least be myself on the court,” Leonard said. “Don’t want to hobble around or shoot off balance shots. Just want to be able to push with both legs. Just that, really.”

In 12 postseason games, Leonard has averaged 27.7 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 4.6 APG while providing his usually stellar defense. Instead, the Spurs will enter tonight’s game without its best player as the team tries to salvage a win against the defending Western Conference champions.

Pacific Notes: Kerr, Pachulia, Ball, Suns

May 17th, 2017 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Steve Kerr isn’t expected to coach the Warriors in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, but he will accompany the team on its trip to San Antonio, according to Connor Letourneau of SFGate. GM Bob Myers relayed the news in a radio interview today. It’s the latest sign of improving health for Kerr, who watched from the locker room during Game 2 in Oakland. He has been out of action since health problems stemming from his 2015 back surgery forced him to leave the team midway through its first-round series. Lead assistant Mike Brown has guided the team to an 8-0 record in his place.

There’s more tonight from the Pacific Division:

Spurs fans may get a chance to vent their anger at Warriors center Zaza Pachulia after all. Pachulia, who became a villain in San Antonio after his collision with Kawhi Leonard in Game 1 aggravated the Spurs star’s sprained ankle, left Game 2 in the first quarter with a right heel contusion. Pachulia underwent an MRI today, which came back negative, tweets Chris Haynes of ESPN.com. Pachulia is listed as day-to-day.
Many experts believe the Lakers should grab Lonzo Ball with their No. 2 pick, writes Mark Medina of The Orange County Register. Although Washington’s Markelle Fultz is considered a standout choice to be taken first, Ball is “potentially a transformational-type point guard,” according to Stu Jackson of Turner Sports. “What makes him special are the same qualities that made a guy like Magic Johnson or Jason Kidd special,” Jackson said. “Lonzo sees plays most players don’t see.”
The Suns were among the losers in Tuesday’s lottery, but they still have plenty of attractive draft options, according to Doug Haller of The Arizona Republic. Phoenix entered the night with the second-best shot at a No. 1 pick, but slid to fourth as the Lakers and Sixers both moved up. Haller states that Suns fans can console themselves with the possible addition of Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox, Kansas’ Josh Jackson, Duke’s Jayson Tatum or Florida State’s Jonathan Isaac. Opting for Fox, Haller notes, would probably make Eric Bledsoe expendable in a trade.

Pacific Notes: George, Bogdanovic, Pachulia, Woodson

May 16th, 2017 at 1:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel tried to serve as a Lakers recruiter with guest Paul George Monday night, relays Scott Horner of The Indianapolis Star. George can opt out of his contract next summer and is rumored to have strong interest in playing in his hometown of Los Angeles. “We would really like him to become a Laker,” Kimmel said in his introduction, then asked George several questions about joining the team. George talked about his plans to work out with Kobe Bryant this summer and said the former Lakers star is “the biggest person in my house. Not even me.” He made sure to tell Kimmel, “I love Indy, though,” leaving some doubt about how his free agency might play out next year.

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

Serbian star Bogdan Bogdanovic turned aside the latest question about whether he will join the Kings next season, according to Noel Harris of The Sacramento Bee. The inquiry came in an interview Monday with Turkish television. “I don’t like to talk about that during the season,” he said. “I have my goals here.” Bogdanovic has led his Fenerbahce Istanbul team to the Euroleague Final Four, earning all-league honors in the process. The Kings acquired his draft rights from the Suns in a trade last summer. “My interest is not only money,” he added. “I want to prove that I can play in the NBA. I don’t want to go there to sit on a bench.”
After being blasted by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich for his role in injuring Kawhi Leonard, Warriors center Zaza Pachulia received some support from a former employer, writes Monte Poole of CSNBayArea. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban came to Pachulia’s defense, saying, “That’s not how Zaza plays.”
Clippers assistant Mike Woodson, who coached Carmelo Anthony with the Knicks, would be in favor of acquiring him this summer, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com. “I love Carmelo Anthony, that’s all I’m gonna say,” Woodson said in an interview with TMZ. “… He was great for me.” Woodson took over the Knicks midway through the 2011/12 season and served as head coach through 2013/14.

Kawhi Leonard Expected To Miss Game 2

May 15th, 2017 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

While Kawhi Leonard said on Sunday night that he didn’t believe Zaza Pachulia‘s play that re-injured Leonard’s ankle was a dirty one, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich disagreed today with that assessment. Speaking to reporters, Popovich was critical of the play, and confirmed that the team expects Leonard to miss Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals due to his ankle injury (Twitter links via Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com).

Calling Pachulia’s play on Leonard a “totally unnatural closeout,” Popovich also referenced the big man’s history of unsportsmanlike plays, particularly against the Spurs, including an elbow on Patty Mills and an arm-bar on Leonard (video link).

“The two-step lead with your foot closeout is not appropriate,” Popovich said, per Anthony Slater of The Bay Area News Group. “It’s dangerous, it’s unsportsmanlike, it’s just not what anybody does to anybody else. This particular individual has a history with that kind of action.”

While Popovich didn’t go so far as to say that Pachulia was intentionally attempting to injure Leonard on Sunday, the Spurs coach suggested that intent didn’t really matter, likening it to unintentionally killing someone while texting and driving (video links via Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News).

The Spurs have yet to announce an official diagnosis or recovery timetable for Leonard, but assuming he does sit out Game 2, he’d have a few days to prepare for Game 3. Due to a scheduling quirk, the Spurs and Warriors will have three days off after Game 2, with the series not resuming until Saturday.

Warriors Notes: Fraser, Kerr, Barnes, Livingston

April 30th, 2017 at 9:56am CST by Arthur Hill

Having to get by without Steve Kerr for the first 43 games of last season has made the transition easier this year, assistant coach Bruce Fraser tells Tim Kawakami of The San Jose Mercury News. Ongoing complications from Kerr’s 2015 back surgery forced him to miss Games 3 and 4 of the Trail Blazers series and have put his availability in question for the next round and beyond. Former NBA coach Mike Brown has taken over the team on an interim basis and “has been really good with letting our culture stay intact,” Fraser said.

Fraser adds that helping Kerr get healthy is the organization’s primary concern. “I used to ask him a lot at the beginning how he was doing and I could tell after a while he just didn’t like that question,” Fraser said. “He hides it from everyone. I’m no different. But he also doesn’t want you to feel sorry for him. He doesn’t want it to be a crutch for himself or a hindrance to the team or us. He learned how to manage it pretty well. So he was really good with it all–some moments better than others. It just got worse. We just need to get him back.”

There’s more Warriors news this morning:

Brown brings a different tone to Golden State’s huddles, but he is maintaining the same philosophies that Kerr employs, Kevin Durant says in the same piece. “They’re two different voices, two different personalities,” Durant said. “They work well with each other and they learn from each other I can tell. But we play a certain way and we’ve been playing that way the whole season. It’s not like coach Brown is coming in trying to change anything up. He’s coaching us within the flow of the game and whatever he sees he’s going to help us out.”
The Warriors are hoping to have Matt Barnes and Shaun Livingston available when their second-round series starts Tuesday, relays the Associated Press. Barnes, who has been out since April 8th with a foot injury, has been upgraded to probable for Game 1. Livingston remains questionable with a sprained finger on his right hand that he suffered in the opener against Portland. Durant is expected to play without the minutes restriction that was imposed when he returned from a strained left calf for Game 4 against the Blazers.
Center Zaza Pachulia talks the experience of being surrounded by mega-stars in the “Warriors Plus-Minus” podcast with Kawakami.

Pacific Notes: Temple, Labissiere, Crawford

March 5th, 2017 at 7:10pm CST by Austin Kent

For the first time since his January injury, Kings veteran Garrett Temple went full speed in practice. The 30-year-old has been cautious with the injury, Jonathan Santiago of Kings.com writes, but finally found himself comfortable enough to return to the court.

“I’ve been out longer than I guess expected just because I know that I wanted to make sure that I got it all the way right,” Temple said this week before suiting up for the Kings in Sunday’s contest. “The setback I had last time was during the first day of practice. So after I got through my first day of practice yesterday without any other effects – a nice long two-hour practice – it helped my confidence.”

In 49 contests for the Kings this season, Temple had posted 7.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Thrust into a larger role ever since the Kings traded DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento big man Skal Labissiere has run with the opportunity. Shahbaz Khan of Kings.com spoke with the rookie about his experience during the 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Though he’ll turn 37 years old this week, Clippers guard Jamal Crawford would like to play three or four more seasons, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports. Crawford is averaging 12.3 points per game in his 17th season.
The Warriors will need to re-adapt to life without Kevin Durant but Zaza Pachulia has made an effort to come to terms with it, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. “If I did something on purpose or even if I had flopped, that probably would have made me feel worse,” Pachulia said, “But it wasn’t even a flop. I got pulled. I fell. Nobody had control over it.“
The lawyer of Matt Barnes requested a court date that doesn’t coincide with the NBA Finals, Rebecca Rosenberg of the New York Post writes. Barnes recently signed with the reigning two-time Western Conference champion Warriors.
The return of Chris Paul has thrown the Clippers bench into disarray, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. With Paul back in the starting five, Austin Rivers has had to slide back into the second unit. “Things like this happen,” backup center Marreese Speights said, “But we still got time to get it right before the playoffs. We’ll be all right.”

Zaza Pachulia Wants To Re-Sign With Warriors

February 6th, 2017 at 1:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The acquisition of Kevin Durant was certainly the bigger splash, but the Warriors’ offseason signing of Zaza Pachulia irritated rival executives nearly as much, due to the discount the big man took to join the Dubs. As many of his fellow veteran free agents landed massive multiyear deals, Pachulia signed with Golden State on a one-year, $2.9MM contract, and he hasn’t regretted that decision. As he tells Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle, Pachulia hopes to extend his stay in the Bay Area beyond this season.

“I don’t want the season to end,” Pachulia said. “When people ask me about (free agency) this summer, I say, ‘I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here.’ Even after June, I’m staying here.”

After recording a career-high 9.4 RPG to go along with 8.6 PPG in 76 games with Dallas last season, Pachulia has seen his role reduced a little in Golden State — he’s playing just 18.8 minutes per game, his lowest mark since 2010/11. Still, his field goal percentage is a career-best 52.7%, and he has started each of the 44 games he has played for the Warriors. And even if his raw numbers aren’t impressive, Pachulia is thrilled to be a member of the NBA’s top team.

“Winning means so much,” Pachulia said. “Being around this amazing group of guys, this coaching staff, front office, the fans, it means a lot. This is a huge, huge experience for me.”

With Durant and Stephen Curry both up for new contracts this summer, and the salary cap not expected to jump as substantially as it did in 2016, the Warriors may find it tricky to retain all their complementary players. If the club does want to re-sign Pachulia, he may need to accept another modest, short-term deal.

Pacific Notes: Suns, Pachulia, West, Calderon

February 2nd, 2017 at 9:13am CST by Luke Adams

It wasn’t long ago that Earl Watson was in an NBA locker room as a player rather than a coach, so he knows how to help his young Suns team deal with the trade rumors that will surface this month, writes Doug Haller of AZCentral.com.

“Communication is key,” the Suns head coach said. “And it’s not communication (as far as) who’s going to get traded and who’s not going to get traded, it’s more of transparency (regarding) how much we appreciate you now. All we can control is this moment and our actions and our attitude. Everything else will take care of itself.”

Meanwhile, in the wake of a report that the Suns and Kings had trade discussions about DeMarcus Cousins, Suns general manager Ryan McDonough appeared this week on Arizona Sports 620. While McDonough stopped short of confirming any interest in Cousins, he acknowledged that he’s doing due diligence on any opportunity that may be available.

“What I will say, generally, is that we have conversations with every other team in the league about every elite player in the league,” the Suns GM said. “Our interest level, obviously, differs on those players. … This time of year I think some of the rumors get a little bit out of control. Some of them, there is a shred of truth to them. Some of them, there’s no truth to them. And obviously, from the team side, it’s not great when your own players are mentioned in a deal either individually or in a package, but that’s part of the business.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

The Warriors‘ frontcourt remains banged up, with Zaza Pachulia joining David West on the injury report. According to Anthony Slater of The Bay Area News Group (Twitter link), Pachulia will miss at least a week due to a right rotator cuff strain. Meanwhile, West will miss at least two more games with a thumb injury, and is expected to be re-evaluated next week, tweets Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com.
After a recent Spanish report suggested that Lakers point guard Jose Calderon could return to Europe and play for Real Madrid later this season, Calderon shot down that notion, suggesting that the writer ought to get new sources (English link via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Calderon, 35, has seen his minutes significantly reduced this season and is a free agent this summer, so he may be a buyout candidate, but he intends to finish the season in Los Angeles.
Among our Pacific-related items from Wednesday: Kings guard Garrett Temple is expected to miss two to three weeks, and former Suns guard John Jenkins is headed to the D-League.

Pacific Notes: Gay, Joerger, Griffin, Warriors

January 22nd, 2017 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rudy Gay will have surgery Monday to fix a torn Achilles tendon, the Kings announced on their website. The procedure will be performed at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, and Gay will be out for the remainder of the season. The injury may affect the free agent market, as Gay had planned to opt out of his $14,263,566 deal for next season.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Garrett Temple has taken Gay’s spot in the starting lineup for now, but long-term decisions may not be made until next month, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. If the Kings continue losing and slip out of the playoff race, coach Dave Joerger may elect to give more minutes to younger players. Rookie guard Malachi Richardson was used in the first half Saturday for the first time all season. “Just be a buncha different dudes running in and out of there,” Joerger said. “Trying to find something that fits as you go through it.”
Blake Griffin plans to be ready for the Clippers game Tuesday at Philadelphia, relays Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Griffin has missed 17 games since undergoing minor knee surgery December 20th. “It’s as close as I can be, I think,” Griffin said Saturday. “It was good to get some contact in yesterday. So it’s good to get some like real work in besides just running and shooting. It’s kind of up to them.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr is using seven low-salaried big men in a rotation at center, writes Anthony Slater of The San Jose Mercury News. Zaza Pachulia, David West, JaVale McGee, Kevon Looney, James Michael McAdoo, Anderson Varejao and Damian Jones are all getting minutes at the position, depending on the matchup.

Pacific News: Clippers, Afflalo, Pachulia

January 5th, 2017 at 6:20pm CST by Austin Kent

The Clippers may be turning the corner, at least as far as their health is concerned. Superstar point guard Chris Paul has missed seven of the last contests but is expected to be back in the lineup uninhibited on Friday, says Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Daily News.

A return from Paul, coupled with news that rookie Brice Johnson has been cleared for contact, will give Clippers head coach Doc Rivers that much more confidence heading into the middle portion of the season. Johnson is a power forward out of North Carolina that Los Angeles drafted with the 25th overall pick last summer.

Additionally, Woike writes that Blake Griffin is expected to make his own return to the Clippers later this month.

Also out of the Pacific Division:

It wasn’t long ago when Arron Afflalo‘s future with the Kings looked to be in doubt. Now the veteran has upped his standing in the team’s rotation. “I’ve evolved into getting over myself,” Afflalo told the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones. “We have a great opportunity as a team – playoff position. There will be nights where I can perform at a level I was expected to perform at, and there will be nights where other guys take the lead.”
Things haven’t always gone well for Shaun Livingston since he was drafted in 2004, but he’s settled into a great role with a dominant Warriors team. The veteran point guard spoke with Basketball Insiders’ Michael Scotto about his career thus far and his future. “I’d love to stay [with Golden State].” he said, “It’s been home for me, the Bay has welcomed me with open arms. I love it out there. But, we’ll see what happens. Obviously, decisions have to be made and you just roll with the punches.”
The NBA recently changed how All-Stars are to be selected and it’s already foiled Warriors big man Zaza Pachulia‘s second consecutive campaign as a dark horse possibility, tweets Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.