Month: December 2019

Devin Booker wins NBA Cares Community Assist award for November, 2019

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker has received the November NBA Cares Community Assist Award. This in recognition of his efforts to impact the lives of local children and families through his Devin Booker Starting Five initiative.

The award recognizes a player each month who best reflects the passion that the league and NBA players share for giving back to their communities.

Booker created the Devin Booker Starting Five to further his commitment to the Phoenix community, pledging $500,000 annually to five different youth-serving nonprofits in Arizona, and a total of $2.5 million over the course of five years. In November, he announced Special Olympics Arizona, Ability 360, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, UMOM New Day Centers and Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center as members of the Starting Five. Booker invited the organizations to Talking Stick Resort Arena to surprise each of them with an initial $100,000 donation. The funding will allow the organizations to address critical areas of need, including the construction and refurbishment of facilities, expansion of family services, improved patient support and investments in research.

Wizards bring back Gary Payton II

The Washington Wizards signed guard Gary Payton II today.

Payton (6-3, 190) has played in 16 games (15 starts) this season for the South Bay Lakers, averaging 21.4 points, 9.5 rebounds, 6.8 assists and a NBA G League-leading 3.2 steals per game. Payton has tallied 14 double-doubles this season (nine point-rebound and five point-assist). The fourth-year pro was recently named NBA G League Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 16 after averaging 30.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 10.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks while shooting 58.7 percent from the field.

Payton signed a 10-Day contract with the Wizards in January 2019, appearing in three games and averaging 3.7 points per game off the bench. After completing his 10-Day contract, Payton returned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, helping lead them to the NBA G League championship. In his four year career, Payton has played in 32 total games with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers and Wizards.

Per the Washington Post, “Washington recently applied for and received a hardship exception, which allowed the team to bring in another player even while having the league maximum amount of 15 players and a pair of two-way players.”

The Wizards’ roster now stands at 16, not including two-way players Garrison Mathews and Anzejs Pasecniks.

 

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LeBron James misses first game of season, Lakers lose to Nuggets

LeBron James finally missed a game this season, as the Lakers fell to the Nuggets Sunday. Here’s the Denver Post reporting:

The Nuggets strode into the Staples Center and rocked the Lakers 128-104 on Sunday night, improving to 20-8 and stretching their winning streak to six. They’ll go for seven on Monday night in Phoenix against the Suns.

Though James was ruled out with a rib injury — the first game he has missed all season — the Nuggets put together a fantastic collective effort that might have won them the game had he been healthy.

Paul Millsap scored 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, but his dogged effort on Lakers superstar Anthony Davis was arguably more valuable. Though Davis finished with 32 points, Millsap chased him around the court and hounded him as the Lakers fought fruitlessly to get back into the game.

And the OC Register:

Unlike his trademark unibrow, Anthony Davis does his best work in a pair.

That’s not to say that the 26-year-old’s 32-point, 11-rebound, four-block game on Sunday night didn’t make him look like a star. But the performance came without a win, which has become the ultimate bottom line in a Lakers (24-6) season with renewed championship aspirations.

It was telling that even as Davis checked back in to start the fourth quarter, the visiting Denver Nuggets (20-8) kept on pulling away. In a 128-104 loss — the Lakers’ third straight and the largest margin of defeat this season — it was clear that Davis sorely lacked his running mate, LeBron James.

The Lakers have gotten national attention all season — quite justifiably — but the Nuggets deserve big praise as well. They’re 20-8 this season and their win Sunday was their sixth straight victory.

They’re being led in scoring this season by Jamal Murray (17.5 ppg), Nikola Jokic (17.3 ppg), Will Barton (14.6 ppg), Paul Millsap (13.0 ppg) and Gary Harris (11.3 ppg). But defense is why the Nuggets are having an excellent year. They’re second best in the league in that department, only behind the Bucks.

 

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Another huge game by Hassan Whiteside

Trail Blazers big-man Hassan Whiteside is doing big things lately. Here’s NBC Sports Northwest:

He had another monster game Saturday night, helping the Trail Blazers push past the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-106. And all Whiteside did was grab 22 rebounds, block seven shots and score 16 points. He is averaging 16 rebounds and four blocks over his last seven games and is coming off rebound games of 14, 23 and 17 prior to his 22 against the T-Wolves.

The Timberwolves were without star center Karl-Anthony Towns, which certainly made things easier for Whiteside – but still, a big performance is a big performance.

 

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Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon okay to play Sunday vs Bucks

Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, the Indiana Pacers hit the road for a trip to Milwaukee. It’s an especially big game for Pacers point guard Malcolm Brogdon, whose first three NBA seasons were with the Bucks. But this summer came big money and a nice role with the Pacers, so Brogdon got himself a new squad, and it’s actually worked out well for both teams.

As for Brogdon’s health status, here’s the Indianapolis Star reporting:

Malcolm Brogdon will take the taped-up fingers on his right hand if it means he can be on the court for his Milwaukee homecoming on Sunday.

After the Pacers starting point guard dislocated his right pinkie and tore a ligament in it earlier this month, he’s been forced to wear surgical tape stabilizing it with his right ring finger, and the traditionally laser-focused Brogdon said it’s been giving him fits on the court the past two weeks.

“It’s definitely something I notice when I’m on the court, but I feel like I’ve been able to do the best I can with it,” he said. “People here have been playing with all types of injuries that the media or other people don’t know about. It’s just something minor.”

The game is worth watching. Even as the Pacers continue to await the eventual return of start shooting guard Victor Oladipo.

 

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Devin Booker returns, but Suns fall to Thunder

The Suns got their star back, but fell to a fellow mid-level Western conference squad. Here’s Arizona Sports reporting:

The Phoenix Suns got Devin Booker back on Friday after his three-game absence due to a right forearm contusion.

That was great news, even better considering the Suns are in the middle of a four-game losing streak and received a blow on Tuesday when Deandre Ayton sprained his ankle in his first game back from a 25-game suspension.

A strong bounce-back game from Booker could represent the team’s own.

Instead, Phoenix’s defensive shortcomings came back to bite them once again and Oklahoma City beat them 126-108.

The Thunder are now 14-14, the Suns 11-17.

Phoenix was a stronger team earlier in the season, but have fallen back down to Earth — yet they should remain competitive. It’ll be interesting to see how they do in the coming weeks now that Deandre Ayton, coming off a 25-game suspension that has mostly erased his season so far, is back in the mix.

Melo out for Blazers vs Timberwolves game

The Trail Blazers won’t have veteran forward Carmelo Anthony in action vs the Timberwolves. Here’s NBC Sports Northwest:

More bad news on the injury front for the Trail Blazers. Starting power forward Carmelo Anthony will not play tonight against the Timberwolves due to a left knee contusion…

Anthony suffered the injury in the first half of Friday’s win over the Magic. He took a jump shot with 8:12 left in the second quarter and subbed out at the 7:59 mark. He did not return.

The game is in Portland and starts at 10 p.m. ET.

More on the latest Raptors injuries

We posted about this earlier today, but here’s the Toronto Sun with more on the latest batch of Raptors injuries:

Losing three key rotation players including two starters hasn’t managed to sap Nick Nurse of his sense of humour.

Arriving for his pre-game news conference, Nurse looked down at the podium at some left-behind tools of the trade and remarked, “Just what we need: Some duct tape.”

Nurse lost Pascal Siakam to a groin stretch, Norm Powell to a left shoulder subluxation and Marc Gasol to a left hamstring strain in Wednesday’s win over Detroit.

He might have walked out after that duct tape line, but there was this little thing about a season which had to go on without the services of his leading scorer in Siakam, his lead defender in Gasol and the red-hot Powell, who is either his lead source of offence off the bench or a guy he was considering promoting to the starting five.

One thing we’ve learned this season, however, is to not underestimate the Raptors. Even in cases like this.

Nets guard/forward David Nwaba undergoes season-ending surgery

Brooklyn Nets guard/forward David Nwaba underwent surgery today to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon.

The injury, which occurred during last night’s game at San Antonio, will result in Nwaba missing the remainder of the season.

In 20 games played this season, Nwaba recorded averages of 5.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game, shooting 52.1 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3-point range.

Raptors hit with injuries to Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol and Norman Powell

The Toronto Raptors just got hit with a series of injuries:

Marc Gasol sustained a strained left hamstring in the first quarter of play Wednesday, Dec. 18 at Detroit. He was reevaluated on Thursday and it was determined he will be out indefinitely.

With 6:47 to play in the fourth quarter, Pascal Siakam sustained a stretched groin after an awkward landing. He was evaluated Thursday and will be listed as out indefinitely.

Norman Powell left the same game with 3:17 to play in the fourth quarter after a collision with another player. After testing in Toronto on Thursday, it was determined he had sustained a subluxation of the left shoulder. He will also be out indefinitely.

Per the Toronto Star, “every time it has appeared Toronto was about to get healthy this season, another player or two has gone down. First it was Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka. Then it was VanVleet. This latest setback could be the most difficult one to overcome yet as it takes away the Raptors’ leading scorer in Siakam, the recently surging Powell and Gasol, who has been a lockdown defender in the post.”

All three players will be reevaluated in the coming weeks.