Month: February 2020

Celtics guard Kemba Walker out with swollen knee

Celtics guard Kemba Walker’s knee is in need of some rest. Here’s the Boston Herald today:

Kemba Walker, who had been on a minutes restriction prior to last Sunday’s NBA all-star game, pushed through that barrier with a 29-minute appearance, after also playing well beyond the restriction with 46 minutes in the Celtics’ double-overtime win over the Clippers on Feb. 13.

And now, after the Celtics guard had to have his swollen knee drained this week, load management appears to be back in place. He’ll miss tonight’s game against the Timberwolves after also taking an anti-inflammatory injection, though Brad Stevens stressed at this morning’s shootaround that Walker is not expected to miss a long stretch of time.

If the Celtics could do this past week over again, Kemba wouldn’t have played in the All-Star game. But what’s done is done. Fortunately, he should be back in action soon. The question is, at what strength. Every player’s knees, and certainly those belonging to a star point guard, need to be at 100 percent for the playoffs. Which don’t begin until mid April. So that’s not a concern for right now. But here’s hoping we aren’t discussing this a few weeks from now.

Injury update on Pelicans forward Kenrich Williams

New Orleans Pelicans forward Kenrich Williams, who has missed the last 18 games of the 2019-20 season due to right lower back soreness, received an injection to treat pain and inflammation over NBA All-Star Weekend. The injection was performed by Dr. Rey Bosita at the Texas Back Institute.

Williams will be re-evaluated by the team in one week.

The Pelicans are 23-32 this season, which is the 11th best record in the Western conference.

Clippers sign Reggie Jackson

The L.A. Clippers signed free agent guard Reggie Jackson today.

“Reggie is a proven playmaker and scorer, and we are looking forward to adding his experience and creativity to our team,” said Frank.

Jackson, 29, appeared in 14 games for the Detroit Pistons this season, averaging 14.9 points, 5.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 27.2 minutes. The 6’3”, 208-pound guard holds career averages of 12.9 points, 4.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 544 appearances across eight NBA seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit. Before being selected by Oklahoma City with the 24th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Jackson played three collegiate seasons at Boston College, where as a junior he was named first-team All-ACC.

Timberwolves forward Jake Layman cleared for practice

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jake Layman, who has missed the last 39 games while recovering from a sprained left toe originally suffered November 18 at Utah, underwent evaluations by multiple foot specialists. Following the assessments, Layman was given clearance today to begin practicing.

Layman will continue to be monitored closely by the Timberwolves medical staff as he progresses. He is expected to be re-evaluated in one week and further updates to his playing status will be updated as appropriate.

In 14 games, two starts, this season with Minnesota, Layman is averaging a career-high 10.5 points on 46.2 percent shooting, including a career-best 35.2 percent shooting from deep.

Kings forward Marvin Bagley remains out at least three more weeks

Although Kings forward Marvin Bagley III (left midfoot sprain) continues to progress through the reconditioning process, under the supervision of the team’s physicians and in coordination with foot specialist Dr. Martin O’Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery, he is not yet ready to return.

Bagley recently incorporated stationary shooting and partial-weight bearing conditioning activities into his regimen, in addition to ongoing strength work.

An update regarding Bagley’s status will be provided in three weeks.

Al Horford coming off the bench for Sixers

For the time being, it appears the Sixers will be bringing veteran power forward Al Horford off the bench. Here’s Philly Voice reporting:

Al Horford will remain in a bench role with the Sixers moving forward, which he revealed to reporters himself during media availability on Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s what the team needs right now, and that’s what we’re doing,” Horford said. “I didn’t really give it much thought to be honest, I’m just refreshed being back and ready for the second half of the season…I’m playing similar to how I was playing before.” …

Exactly who will start in Horford’s place was left purposefully unclear, though if we’re looking at the Clippers game as a guideline, Furkan Korkmaz and Glenn Robinson III were the first two players to get a crack at starters minutes.

As has been said pretty much all season, the chemistry experiment between Ben Simmons, Horford and Joel Embiid remains ongoing.

We’re way past the halfway point of the season, but the Sixers are still mixing and matching.

Wendell Carter Jr. set to return for Bulls

The Bulls should have young center Wendell Carter Jr. back in action soon. Possibly tomorrow. Here’s the Chicago Sun-Times:

Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr. watched Friday night as other first- and second-year NBA players ran up and down the United Center court during the Rising Stars game. He wanted to join them but couldn’t because of the high ankle sprain he suffered Jan. 6 in a loss to the Mavericks…

Carter participated in most of practice at the Advocate Center and hinted he could return to the lineup Thursday night against the Hornets.

In other good news, forward Otto Porter Jr., who has been out with a foot injury since November, was a full participant in practice, though his return timeline is still uncertain.

The Bulls are in a state of rebuild. The squad is all about the future. As for the present, winning would be nice, but the team’s main goal should be to develop young talent, like Carter.

More minutes coming for Pacers guard Victor Oladipo

You’re about to start seeing more of Victor Oladipo.

Well, that’s assuming you watch Pacers games. Which you should, because they’re good.

Okay, lately they haven’t been good, winning just three of their last 10 games. Still, overall this season, they’re a solid squad.

Here’s the Indianapolis Star:

Indiana Pacers coach Nate McMillan said Wednesday that Victor Oladipo is no longer on a minutes restriction. The guard will continue to skip the second game of back-to-backs, however, as he continues his recovery from the knee injury that caused him to miss the first 47 games this season.

“The doctors have cleared him,” McMillan said. “No restrictions as far as minutes, but we’re going to be smart about it. I can play him as many minutes as I want, but we’ll look at how he comes out of those games with increased minutes and adjust accordingly.

The Pacers are 32-23 this seaso, good for 6th in the Eastern conference.

Bulls guard Kris Dunn out 4-6 more weeks

Chicago Bulls guard Kris Dunn underwent an MRI and re-examination on Friday, Feb. 14 by Dr. Brian Cole at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush. He will continue his current rehabilitation program of his medial collateral ligament sprain for the next 4-6 weeks before progressing to functional training. A determination will be made at that time if additional treatment is required.

According to ESPN.com, “Dunn has started in 32 of Chicago’s games this season and is six starts from reaching starter criteria and seeing his $4.6 million qualifying offer this offseason increase to $7.1 million, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.”

And the Chicago Tribune reports the following:

Before his injury, Dunn was having a resurgence of sorts. Originally billed as a fast-paced scoring guard when he was picked fifth by the Timberwolves in 2015, he had become a major cog in the Bulls defense and provided one of the rare bright spots on a team with few positives.

Rockets sign Jeff Green to 10-day contract

The Houston Rockets yesterday signed veteran free agent forward Jeff Green to a 10-day contract.

The team will reportedly also soon add small forward DeMarre Carroll, once he clears waivers.

The 6-foot-8, 237-pound Green, now in his 12th NBA season, has played in 890 games with 543 starts, averaging 13.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 29.6 minutes per game.

This season, he played limited minutes for the Utah Jazz.

Last season, in 77 games with 44 starts for the Wizards, Green averaged 12.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.4 3-pointers made in 27.2 minutes per game.

Per the Houston Chronicle:

Green, 33, also fits in the Rockets’ recent history of late-season veteran additions, moves that have brought in Michael Beasley and Joe Johnson and generated mixed results. On Thursday, they are expected to sign veteran forward DeMarre Carroll when he clears waivers, according to two individuals with knowledge of the team’s plans.

Even if Green replaces Sefolosha as the backup center, that would still give the Rockets 10 players in the rotation, assuming coach Mike D’Antoni looks at Carroll down the stretch, too. That would seem to be more than he would play in the postseason, making the final eight weeks of the season valuable to experiment.

The Rockets are 34-20 this season, which is the 5th best record in the Western conference.

The team recently traded the only center who played real minutes, Clint Capela, and didn’t replace him with a similar player. Smallball or bust, apparently.