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NBA Announces 2020/21 Rising Stars Rosters

March 3rd, 2021 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the pared-down nature of the NBA’s 2021 All-Star weekend, a Rising Stars Game showcasing the league’s top rookies and sophomores won’t be played this year.

However, the league has still announced the rosters for the event, via NBA Top Shot, naming the 20 players who would have been selected to participate if the game was taking place. Here are those rosters:

U.S. Team:

World Team:

The 20-man group includes eight rookies and 11 sophomores. The 20th player, Porter, made the cut as a sophomore since he missed his entire rookie season in 2018/19 due to an injury — this is technically his third year of NBA service.

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Kings’ Woodard Out At Least 3-4 Weeks With Hamstring Strain

March 2nd, 2021 at 8:41am CST by Luke Adams

Kings rookie forward Robert Woodard II has been recalled from the G League, but he won’t be available to play for Sacramento anytime soon. According to a press release from the team, Woodard suffered a left hamstring strain on Sunday while playing for the Austin Spurs and will be re-evaluated in three or four weeks.

The 40th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Woodard has seen limited action for the Kings this season, logging garbage-time minutes in six games before being assigned to the G League at the end of January. Because Sacramento’s NBAGL affiliate (the Stockton Kings) isn’t in action this season, Woodard joined San Antonio’s affiliate at the G League bubble in Florida.

Although the Spurs have no direct investment in his development, Woodard was playing big minutes for Austin at Walt Disney World, averaging 16.8 PPG, 11.0 RPG, and 1.3 SPG in 12 games (31.3 MPG). He struggled with his shot, however, making 41.5% of his overall attempts and just 21.3% from beyond the 3-point line.

Austin is tied for fourth in the G League standings with an 8-4 record, but if the team is going to make a deep run in the eight-team, single-elimination playoff tournament next week, it will have to do so without Woodard.

The Kings, meanwhile, now have a number of players unavailable, as Jabari Parker and Hassan Whiteside remain in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, while Chimezie Metu is out with a broken wrist. Standout rookie Tyrese Haliburton is also day-to-day with a calf injury.

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Fans Will Be Allowed After Break

March 1st, 2021 at 9:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • The Spurs will start allowing fans in the AT&T Center on March 12, according to a team press release. Attendance will be limited to approximately 3,200 fans to help maintain physical distancing. The March 12 game will be the first of 17 home games for the Spurs after the All-Star break.
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Coach Matt Nielsen Bringing Best Out Of Austin Spurs

February 28th, 2021 at 8:59pm CST by JD Shaw

Pelicans head coach Stan Van Gundy believes his team is too dependent on its offense, Jim Eichenhofer writes for NBA.com. New Orleans dropped a 117-114 game to the Spurs on Saturday, allowing San Antonio to shoot 48% from the field and 37.5% from three-point range.

  • Austin Spurs coach Matt Nielsen is bringing out the best of his team this season, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News writes. Nielsen has coached the club to a 8-4 record thus far in the G League bubble. “I love him as a coach,” Spurs guard Tre Jones said of Nielsen. “As a person, he is a really good guy, easy to get along with and talk to on a day-to-day basis. As a coach, he is super encouraging…He is always on our side.” 
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Gregg Popovich Doesn't Expect A Full Roster Until After The Break

February 27th, 2021 at 7:10pm CST by Arthur Hill
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Dejounte Murray Fined $25K By NBA

February 26th, 2021 at 10:22pm CST by Luke Adams
  • Spurs guard Dejounte Murray was hit with a $25K fine by the NBA for kicking the game ball into the stands at the end of the team’s loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday, the league announced in a press release.
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Heat Interested In DeMarcus Cousins, Other Frontcourt Players

February 24th, 2021 at 9:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

DeMarcus Cousins, who was released by the Rockets earlier this week, is one of several additions the Heat are considering for their frontcourt, a source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Cousins is expected to clear waivers at 5 pm Eastern Time on Thursday, making him a free agent.

Jackson’s source identifies four other players Miami is targeting if they become available. That group includes Spurs forward Rudy Gay, Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica and Rockets forward P.J. Tucker, The Heat are also monitoring Pistons forward Blake Griffin, but they wouldn’t take on his contract, which includes a $38.96MM player option for next season, and will only try to sign him if he is released.

Jackson adds that Miami’s front office is doing “due diligence” on all those players and it’s not clear who the preference is.

The most intriguing option may be Cousins, a six-time All-Star who tried to revive his career in Houston after back-to-back Achilles and ACL injuries. He averaged 9.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 25 games for the Rockets and was most effective as a backup. His lack of mobility became a more pronounced issue when he was moved into the starting lineup after an injury to Christian Wood.

Miami tried to sign Cousins in 2019, Jackson notes, but he opted for the Lakers. Cousins is also expected to consider the Raptors, Celtics and Warriors, according to Jackson.

Jackson believes Gay would be used in the same role as Jae Crowder, who left Miami to sign with the Suns in November. It’s not certain that San Antonio wants to part with Gay, who makes $14.5MM on an expiring contract, but Jackson notes that an offer of Kelly Olynyk would work under the cap, as would the combination of Avery Bradley and Meyers Leonard, who is out for the season after shoulder surgery.

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Spurs Notes: Aldridge, DeRozan, T. Jones, Mills

February 24th, 2021 at 5:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

LaMarcus Aldridge may be looking at his last chance to prove he can help the Spurs win before the team decides to move in a different direction, writes Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News. Aldridge is expected to return to the lineup tonight after missing the past six games with a sore right hip. He’s officially listed as questionable, but the Spurs need him after losing half their rotation to health and safety protocols.

Finger notes that the team was playing its best basketball last week with Aldridge on the sidelines. A younger, faster lineup strung together six straight wins and pushed San Antonio into fifth place in the Western Conference.

Aldridge is in his sixth year with the Spurs and has helped the team remain a yearly playoff contender after the championship core retired. He remains somewhat productive at age 35, averaging 14.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 18 games this season, but will be a free agent this summer and may not have a future in San Antonio even if he remains with the team past the trade deadline.

There’s more on the Spurs:

  • DeMar DeRozan‘s agent, Aaron Goodwin, is upset that his client wasn’t part of the All-Star reserves that were announced Tuesday despite being the leading scorer and play-maker on a top-five seed in the West. DeRozan has numbers worthy of All-Star consideration, averaging 19.8 points. 5.0 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 25 games. “I’d love to see the coaches’ votes,” Goodwin said. “At some point, the winning has got to matter.”
  • The Spurs are encouraging DeRozan to take as much time as he needs with his family after his father died last week, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. DeRozan missed two games in January to spend time with his father, and teammates have praised his ability to stay focused on basketball during a time of crisis. “It’s a difficult situation,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “But I’ve been in touch with him. He is a very mature, kind man, and he is doing what he needs to do with his family right now.”
  • Rookie guard Tre Jones, who led the G League in assists before being recalled this week, has impressed his teammates with his feel for the game, Orsborn adds in the same story. “He has a huge basketball IQ and understands the flow and what’s needed at times, when to score, when to pass, when to set up the team and get other people involved,” Patty Mills said. Jones saw limited playing time in nine games with the Spurs before the G League assignment.
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Popovich: No Set Timeline For Return Of Players In Protocols

February 23rd, 2021 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams
  • There’s no exact timeline for the return of the five Spurs players who are sidelined due to the health and safety protocols, head coach Gregg Popovich said on Monday night. “Each one is a little bit different,” Popovich said, per Tom Osborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). “It depends on the testing they do. So, I think a few more days, the quarantine period ends, but then there are a couple more days of more tests to see how it has affected them.”
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Spurs Have Five Players Under Protocols; DeRozan Also Out Wednesday

February 22nd, 2021 at 4:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA postponed the last four Spurs games due to coronavirus positives and contact tracing. There’s now more clarity on which players are in the league’s health and safety protocols, as well as hope that their next scheduled game against the Thunder on Wednesday will be played.

The Spurs announced on Monday that Rudy Gay, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Quinndary Weatherspoon and Derrick White remain under the league’s protocols and are not with the team. That group will not travel to Oklahoma City. Additionally, DeMar DeRozan will miss the game due to personal reasons.

However, LaMarcus Aldridge has been upgraded to active, according to Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter links). He hasn’t played since February 1st due to a hip injury.

As previously reported, the Spurs on Monday recalled guard Tre Jones and forward Luka Samanic from the Austin Spurs. That would give the team 10 available players, two more than the minimum required to play.

San Antonio practiced on Monday, Orsborn added.

Weatherspoon was the only San Antonio player prior to Monday to be named publicly as being under the league’s health and safety protocols. The games postponed were all on the road — Detroit, Cleveland, New York and Indiana — which means the Spurs will have a busy schedule in the second half of the season. They also have to make up a January 25th postponement, a road game against New Orleans.

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