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Nuggets Notes: Murray, Nnaji, Playoff Rotation, Spurs

April 5th, 2024 at 11:12pm CST by Rory Maher

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray missed his seventh consecutive game in Thursday’s two-point loss to the Clippers, but head coach Michael Malone said his team’s second-best player is “getting closer and closer,” to a return, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link).

Murray is officially questionable for Saturday’s contest vs. Atlanta due to right knee inflammation, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.

Here are a few more notes on the defending champs:

  • While he didn’t get any playing time, big man Zeke Nnaji was active on Thursday for the first time since March 17. He has been dealing with a right adductor injury the past few weeks. The 23-year-old isn’t on the injury report ahead of Saturday’s game.
  • In addition to Christian Braun and Reggie Jackson, Malone mentioned Peyton Watson and Nnaji as players who might crack the playoff rotation, though he suggested others could get a look depending on the matchup, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “A lot of it’s gonna come down to who we’re playing, to be honest,” Malone said. “If we’re playing a team that’s really big, I’ll probably have to play a bigger lineup and some other guys. Obviously, trying to get Zeke Nnaji back healthy. He’s been out for a little while now. We know that we can go with Aaron (Gordon) as our backup five. … But there’s a lot of guys that we can throw into games. And obviously, Christian, Reggie, Peyton, Zeke, D.J. (DeAndre Jordan) — whoever the game calls upon, those guys will all be ready. I have no doubt about that.”
  • It’s a tall order, to be sure, but general manager Calvin Booth says the Nuggets hope to emulate the Spurs‘ dynasty in the years to come, per Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Led by Tim Duncan, San Antonio won four championships from 1999-2007, and a fifth title in 2014. “It is of utmost importance and something I believe in a lot. As a front office, we understand the importance of studying historical patterns and what things have worked,” Booth explained. “The Spurs are the standard.”
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Southwest Notes: Zion, Luka, Kyrie, Clarke, Spurs

April 4th, 2024 at 4:13pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pelicans got some good news on Thursday. As Christian Clark of NOLA.com writes, Zion Williamson exited Wednesday’s loss to Orlando with a finger injury, but appears to have avoided a significant injury. Head coach Willie Green said the former No. 1 overall pick is considered day-to-day, with his status for Friday’s game up in the air.

“Z is good,” Green said at Thursday’s practice. “X-rays were negative. Everything structurally was fine. Just some soreness in his finger.”

New Orleans has dropped four of its past five games to fall to 45-31, the No. 7 seed in the West. Only two games separate the No. 5 Mavericks from the No. 9 Lakers in the hotly-contested conference, Clark notes.

Williamson, 23, recently became eligible for postseason awards after appearing in his 65th game this season.

Here’s more from the Southwest:

  • When asked whether the Mavericks would consider resting Luka Doncic and/or Kyrie Irving in the final few games before the postseason, head coach Jason Kidd said it would likely depend on the standings, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). “As we go forward, somewhere over the weekend, we could talk about where we stand,” Kidd said as part of a larger quote. “ … But right now it’s full go and those guys are playing.” With seven games remaining, Dallas is a half-game ahead of No. 7 New Orleans.
  • Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke had an uncertain future after tearing his left Achilles tendon in March 2023. However, the 27-year-old forward/center has looked good in his first four games of 2023/24, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal, which is an encouraging sign for both the player and the team. Clarke, who is in the first season of a four-year, $50MM extension, is averaging 12.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 1.3 BPG while shooting 60.5% from the floor in 21.0 MPG.
  • The Spurs have one of the worst records in the league at 18-58, but they have gone 7-10 over their past 17 games and head coach Gregg Popovich said watching the team progress has been a “real joy,” writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “They have gotten better and better as the year goes along,” Popovich said. “In the beginning, it was weird. Nobody knew what to do around Victor (Wembanyama). He didn’t know what to do around them. They had never played before and with someone of Victor’s size. So it took time, but they are much more comfortable now.“
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Injury Updates: Embiid, Lillard, Hart, Sharpe, Turner, Sochan, Huerter

April 3rd, 2024 at 9:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Joel Embiid returned to the Sixers‘ lineup Tuesday, but he may not be available for an important showdown in Miami Thursday night, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The reigning MVP is listed as questionable for the contest after playing nearly 30 minutes and scoring 24 points in his first game since undergoing meniscus surgery in late January.

Tomorrow’s game will go a long way toward determining which teams wind up in the play-in tournament. The Heat are currently in sixth place at 42-33, followed by the Pacers at 43-34 and Philadelphia at 41-35. Miami can clinch the tiebreaker over the Sixers with a win.

Philadelphia could be missing several rotation players even if Embiid is cleared, Pompey adds. Also listed as questionable are Tyrese Maxey, who missed the past two games with tightness in his left hip, Tobias Harris, who has a hyperextended left knee, and Mohamed Bamba, who sat out Tuesday’s game with an illness.

There’s more injury news to pass along:

  • Bucks coach Doc Rivers provided an update on Damian Lillard, who sat out Tuesday and tonight with a right groin strain, tweets Eric Nehm of The Journal-Sentinel. Rivers said Lillard is “feeling a lot better” today and there’s hope that he’ll be able to return Friday. “I think he’s closer,” Rivers said. “I cannot guarantee that, though. … Now that’s one (injury) that if it’s not 100 percent or 90-whatever percentile they put him in, then no. With that one, we’re just not going to take any chances. It’s not worth it.”
  • Josh Hart is the latest addition to the Knicks‘ injury report, being listed as questionable for Friday’s game at Chicago with a sprained right wrist, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link). Hart was icing the wrist at the morning shootaround before Tuesday’s contest, Bondy adds.
  • Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe, who hasn’t played since January 11 due to core muscle surgery, is moving closer to a return, coach Chauncey Billups told reporters, including Casey Holdahl (Twitter link). “(Sharpe) is getting better, getting on the court with us,” Billups said. “He did a few things in our practice the other day, I thought he looked good so I was really excited about that. … We’ll just keep trying to ramp him up, challenge him physically to see if he can take it.”
  • Pacers center Myles Turner sat out Wednesday’s loss at Brooklyn after dislocating his right index finger while dunking on Monday, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.
  • Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan confirmed that he underwent successful surgery today on his left ankle, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Sochan hopes to be recovered in time to join the Polish national team for this summer’s Olympic qualifying tournament, Orsborn adds.
  • Kings guard Kevin Huerter had successful surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). The team expects him to be ready for the start of next season.
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Southwest Notes: Green, Ivey, Wemby, Popovich, Pelicans

April 3rd, 2024 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Early-morning workouts and late-night phone calls with assistant coach Royal Ivey have been a factor in Jalen Green breakout this season, according to the Rockets guard, but Ivey is happy to give all the credit to Green, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required).

“It’s all kudos to Jalen,” Ivey said. “I’m just empowering him and encouraging him. He’s doing the work. At the end of the day, that’s a credit to his resiliency, his determination. And not being in that situation before, facing adversity, sitting down at the end of games, not being in (the game) in defensive possessions, he took that personally. This is the result of that.”

Green’s play earlier in the season was up and down, but he has been one of the league’s top scorers in recent weeks, averaging 28.0 points and 3.9 assists on .479/.394/.798 shooting in his past 17 games. Ivey said the former No. 2 overall pick has had the ball in his hands more lately and has looked more comfortable reading defenses and being aggressive.

“I can say his decision-making is A-1, making the right reads,” Ivey said. “And the finishing, it’s been (about) concentration, not looking for fouls. He’s so athletic, if he gets to his launchpad, good things happen. He’s working with his finishing every day. He’s been more assertive to get to that rim. I just think it’s confidence. It goes back to his mindset. That’s everything.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • Spurs star rookie Victor Wembanyama admitted he was a bit surprised to be hit with a $25K fine for throwing the game ball into the stands at the end of last Friday’s win over New York, calling it “funny,” according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “When I threw the ball, I thought, ‘Yeah, I remember players being fined for this,'” Wembanyama said. “But they always threw it in a bad way. I threw it to please somebody. It’s not like I was trying to hurt anybody.”
  • Warriors head coach Steve Kerr doesn’t expect long-tenured Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to call it a career anytime soon, as Orsborn relays. “He was supposed to have retired five years ago, so why would we predict he is going to retire any time soon?” Kerr said when asked if he expects Popovich to fulfill the five-year contract he signed in 2023. “He is still going strong and still doing a great job and loving his work, so I can see it.”
  • Pelicans head coach Willie Green is still figuring out how to distribute minutes at center as the postseason nears, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. The team has gone back and forth between Jonas Valanciunas and Larry Nance Jr. at the five for much of the season, depending on the matchup. However, Green has also experimented with other options, including using Zion Williamson in that role for the last five minutes of Monday’s game vs. Phoenix, Clark notes.
  • Green was critical of his defense after it allowed Devin Booker to score 52 points in New Orleans for a second time this season on Monday. “Quite frankly, we were soft guarding him,” the Pelicans‘ head coach said after the game, per William Guillory of The Athletic. “We just had a soft mentality.”
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Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller Named Rookies Of The Month

April 2nd, 2024 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama and Hornets forward Brandon Miller have been named the NBA’s Rookies of the Month for a third straight time, the league announced today (via Twitter). The top two picks in the 2023 draft also earned the honor in both January and February.

The Western Conference Rookie of the Month, Wembanyama is now the overwhelming favorite to win this season’s Rookie of the Year award. In 12 games in March, he averaged 23.2 points, 11.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 3.8 blocks in 31.6 minutes per game, making 47.3% of his field goal attempts.

Miller, the Eastern Conference’s winner, hasn’t received nearly the same level of attention that Wembanyama has in his first professional season, but he has quietly put together a strong debut season in Charlotte. In 14 games in March, he averaged 18.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 33.4 minutes per contest, with a .362 3PT%.

Last year’s No. 2 overall pick, Miller is a strong candidate to join Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren as Rookie of the Year finalists and looks like a lock for the All-NBA Rookie first team.

Holmgren, Keyonte George, Amen Thompson, and GG Jackson were the other Rookie of the Month nominees in the West, per the NBA (Twitter link), while Jaime Jaquez, Gradey Dick, and Miller’s teammate Vasilije Micic were nominated in the East.

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NBA Announces Finalists For Sportsmanship, Teammate Of The Year Awards

April 2nd, 2024 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA announced the 2023/24 finalists for a pair of awards on Tuesday, naming the six players who are eligible to win the Sportsmanship Award for this season, as well as the 12 players who are in the running for Teammate of the Year honors.

The Sportsmanship Award honors the player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” per the NBA. Each of the league’s 30 teams nominated one of its players for the award, then a panel of league executives narrows that group to six finalists (one from each division) and current players voted for the winner.

The trophy for the Sportsmanship Award is named after Joe Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame guard who won the inaugural award back in ’95/96. This season’s finalists are as follows (via Twitter):

None of this year’s finalists for the Sportsmanship Award have earned the honor in the past, so the 2023/24 winner will be a first-timer. Mike Conley won the award last year for a record fourth time.

Meanwhile, the NBA also announced its finalists for the Teammate of the Year award for 2023/24. According to the league, the player selected for the honor is “deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.”

The voting process is similar to the Sportsmanship Award — a panel of league executives selects 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award, then current players vote on the winner.

Like Conley with the Sportsmanship Award, last season’s Teammate of the Year – Jrue Holiday – has the record for most times winning the award (three), but isn’t among the finalists for 2023/24. Of this season’s 12 finalists, the only one to take home the award in the past is Conley, who claimed it in 2019.

The Teammate of the Year finalists finalists are as follows (via Twitter):

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Spurs’ Vassell, Sochan To Miss Remainder Of Season

April 1st, 2024 at 6:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Spurs guard Devin Vassell and forward Jeremy Sochan will miss the remainder of the season, according to a team press release.

Vassell underwent an MRI Monday morning in San Antonio. The exam revealed a stress reaction to the third metatarsal head in his right foot.

Sochan has been diagnosed with a left ankle impingement and he’ll undergo arthroscopic surgery. That determination was made after the Spurs medical team consulted with outside experts.

Vassell signed a five-year rookie scale extension with $135MM in guaranteed money last October. That extension kicks in next season. He finished this season with averages of 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 33.1 minutes per game. He appeared in 68 games, including 62 starts.

Sochan completes his second NBA season with averages of 11.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 29.6 minutes per game. The No. 9 pick of the 2022 draft appeared in 74 games, including 73 starts.

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Victor Wembanyama Fined $25K By NBA

March 31st, 2024 at 12:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has been fined $25K by the NBA for throwing the game ball into the stands at the conclusion of Friday’s overtime victory over the Knicks, the league announced today (Twitter link).

Throwing or kicking the ball into the stands typically results in an automatic fine from the NBA, regardless of whether it’s done out of frustration or – as in this case – in celebration, so this announcement isn’t anything out of the ordinary.

Fans of social media took notice of Wembanyama’s ball toss (Twitter video link) since it came at the end of the first 40-point (and 40-point, 20-rebound) game of his career, as well as a game in which Knicks guard Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 61 points. The Spurs’ rookie phenom apparently decided that neither of them would be keeping the game ball.

It’s the second fine of Wembanyama’s NBA career — he was also docked the standard $2K for his lone technical foul on the season in November.

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Southwest Notes: Thompson, Sochan, Jones, Mavs

March 31st, 2024 at 9:04am CST by Luke Adams

While Jalen Green has been the breakout star of the Rockets‘ recent hot streak, the contributions of Amen Thompson during the team’s 11 straight wins shouldn’t be overlooked, Tim MacMahon of ESPN said on the latest Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link).

After spending most of his rookie season coming off the bench, Thompson has started the past nine games and is averaging 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 30.2 minutes per game during that stretch. While he has provided secondary scoring and play-making for the Rockets, it’s Thompson’s defensive ability that excites the team the most, according to MacMahon.

“The Rockets believe – and have data to back up – that he can be the best non-big defender in the NBA really soon,” MacMahon said.

The primary knock against Thompson is that he has yet to develop an outside shot — he has made just 8-of-55 three-point attempts this season, for an ugly conversion rate of 14.5%. If he can eventually add that facet to his game, his ceiling would only grow higher.

“He’s a jump shot away from being an All-Star for sure, and possibly higher than that,” ESPN’s Tim Bontemps added.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan suffered a left ankle impingement during Friday’s win over New York, jeopardizing his availability for the rest of this season, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. As Orsborn notes, Sochan hasn’t missed a game this season and had expressed a desire to play in all 82, but he has been ruled out for Sunday’s contest against Golden State and figures to miss more time beyond that.
  • Pelicans forward Herbert Jones met the 65-game criteria for end-of-season award consideration on Saturday night, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. It was technically Jones’ 68th game of the season, but he played between 15 and 20 minutes in five of them, and only two of those outings could count toward his 65-game minimum. Jones is considered a strong candidate for one of the 10 All-Defensive spots and could earn Defensive Player of the Year consideration as well.
  • The Mavericks‘ backcourt duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have come a long way over the past 13-plus months, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required). As Townsend observes, the two stars first played together against Sacramento last February, so this week’s back-to-back victories over the Kings, which extended Dallas’ win streak to six games, represented an encouraging full-circle moment. “I always said, this training camp, when got some practices in together, it would be way easier for us to function better,” Doncic said. “And I think it shows, especially now. I think we’re both happy and we’re both doing some good things on the floor. And we have great teammates. So I think this team is special.”
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Southwest Notes: Daniels, Ingram, Jones, Whitmore, Wemby

March 30th, 2024 at 2:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels, who has been sidelined since February 9 due to knee surgery, has been cleared to return for Saturday’s game vs. Boston, tweets Christian Clark of NOLA.com.

Daniels wasn’t a major part of the Pelicans’ offensive attack earlier in the season, averaging a modest 5.5 points per game on 43.8% shooting (29.1% on threes). However, he started 15 of his 52 games and played 21.9 minutes per contest, in large part due to his defensive prowess. Assuming he’s not slowed by his knee at all, Daniels figures to reclaim a rotation role down the stretch.

There’s also good news out of New Orleans on injured forward Brandon Ingram, who was able to do some on-court work on Friday in what William Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link) describes as a positive step in his recovery from a knee contusion. Ingram will reportedly remain sidelined until at least Friday, but perhaps by next weekend he’ll be nearing a return.

Meanwhile, the Pelicans will be without guard Jose Alvarado on Saturday for a second straight game due to a right oblique strain, per the NBA’s official injury report. It’s unclear how much more time – if any – Alvarado might miss as a result of that injury.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • Christian Clark of NOLA.com makes the case for Herbert Jones to claim a spot on this season’s All-Defensive first team, explaining why the player that Pelicans teammates describe as “our defensive leader” deserves the honor.
  • After missing the past nine games due to a sprained right knee, Rockets rookie Cam Whitmore believes he’s on the verge of returning to action. According to Whitmore, he’s working on getting his conditioning back to 100% and hopes to be cleared in time to suit up against Dallas on Sunday, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “I feel fine. There’s no pain (in the knee),” he said. “No tweaks, no issues, no nothing. I feel back to normal. I just have to feel better moving around laterally.”
  • Now that he has appeared in the requisite 65 games, Victor Wembanyama deserves serious consideration for this season’s Defensive Player of the Year award, writes Mike Monroe of The Athletic. “If you just watch the game you see how (Wembanyama) affects the game defensively,” Spurs guard Tre Jones said. “It’s tough because of our record, but I think most people know he’s already the best defender in the league. He’s already leading the league in blocks; leads in blocks and steals combined, more than previous NBA Defensive Player of the Year winners.”
  • Count Jalen Brunson among Wembanyama’s fans. After the Spurs‘ No. 1 overall pick racked up 40 points and 20 rebounds en route to an overtime win against the Knicks on Friday, Brunson – who scored 61 points in the losing effort – predicted that Wembanyama will be “one of the greatest players this game has seen,” tweets Paul Garcia of Project Spurs. “Just the way he’s built and what he’s been able to do so far,” Brunson said. “Got a lot of respect for him and it’s definitely tough to get a shot up and in over him.”
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