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Magic forward Chuma Okeke undergoes surgery

Orlando Magic forward Chuma Okeke has undergone an arthroscopic surgical procedure on his left knee.

A chondroplasty was performed and he will be re-evaluated in four weeks.

Okeke (6’8”, 230, 8/18/98) has played in 18 games (seven starts) this season with Orlando, averaging 5.4 ppg., 4.2 rpg. and 1.4 apg. in 21.8 minpg. He has missed the last 14 games (Nov. 25-Dec. 19) due to left knee soreness.

Originally selected in the first round (16th overall) of the 2019 NBA Draft by Orlando, Okeke has appeared in 133 career NBA regular season games (46 starts), all with the Magic, averaging 7.9 ppg., 4.5 rpg., 1.8 apg. and 1.17 stlpg. in 24.6 minpg., while shooting .802 (101-126) from the free throw line.

Damian Lillard is now the leading scorer in Portland Trail Blazers history

Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard scored his 18,041 career point in the third quarter of tonight’s game at Oklahoma City to pass Clyde Drexler (18,040) and become the franchise’s all-time leader in points.

“Damian’s commitment to Portland is now incapsulated with this prestigious career milestone,” said Portland Trail Blazers General Manager, Joe Cronin. “His dedication, humility and hard work have been pillars for his path to this very moment. On behalf of the organization, we would like to congratulate Damian on this great achievement and look forward to many more.”

Named to the NBA’s Top 75 Greatest Players of all time ahead of the 2021-22 season, Lillard, entered tonight’s game averaging 28.3 points (45.1% FG, 39.8% 3pt, 89.4% FT), 3.8 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 34.4 minutes per game in 18 games for the 2022-23 season.

Lillard, 32, is the only player in franchise history with six All-NBA honors and one of three players to be named All-NBA First Team while with the Trail Blazers (2017-18). Lillard is a six-time NBA All-Star, a 2021 Olympic Gold Medalist and the unanimous 2012-13 NBA Rookie of the Year.

The Weber St. product is the all-time franchise leader in scoring average, three-pointers made (2,229) and free throws made (4,047). Additionally, he is second in field goals (5,883), second in minutes (26,484), third in assists (4,857), fourth in games played (730) and sixth in steals (698).

Donovan Mitchell reflects on trade from Jazz to Cavs

Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell reflects on the trade that sent him from the Utah Jazz to Cleveland, via the Salt Lake Tribune:

Donovan Mitchell: “I look at it as a win-win. Everybody’s flourishing, doing well, happy, and sometimes a new beginning is just what you need. That’s for both sides. I don’t know what the vibe is in the locker room over there, but when I talked to the guys it just seemed like a fresh breath. Sometimes your time just runs out. I just think for me personally, I’ve said this on several occasions, I’m happy in a different way. They seem to be that as well, they’re playing well as a group. I’ve watched a bunch of games. It’s great to see both sides thriving after something that took a whole summer to kind of figure out.”

Scotty Pippen Jr. named G League Player of Week

Los Angeles Lakers two-way guard Scotty Pippen Jr. has been named the NBA G League Player of the Week for games played Monday, Dec. 12, through Saturday, Dec. 17, the league announced today.

Pippen Jr. averaged 26.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.3 steals while shooting 51.0 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3-point range as South Bay tallied a perfect 3-0 record for the week.

In South Bay’s win over Santa Cruz on Wednesday, Pippen Jr. scored 30 points (10-20 FG) with five assists, one rebound, one steal and one block, good for his fourth 30-point outing of the season. He finished with 27 points (9-14 FG), four rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block in South Bay’s road win against the Clippers on Thursday. He also tallied 22 points, three rebounds, five assists and a career-high four steals in 32 minutes on Saturday night against the Kings, helping South Bay clinch the No. 1 overall seed in the NBA G League Winter Showcase.

Through 15 games this season, Pippen Jr. is averaging 23.6 points (.453 FG%, .364 3P%), 3.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.7 steals in 28.8 minutes. Additionally, the guard is leading all reserves in scoring amongst players who have appeared in at least 10 games off the bench.

Donovan Mitchell and Nikola Jokic named NBA Players of Week

The NBA announced today that Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic have been named the Eastern Conference and Western Conference Players of the Week for Week 9 (games played Monday, December 12, through Sunday, December 18).

This marks Mitchell’s fourth career player of the week award (once in 2021-22 and twice in 2018-19) and the 65th time a Cavalier has ever won the weekly honor, including the first time this season.

Mitchell led the Cavaliers to a 3-1 record this past week, will all three victories coming against teams with winning records. The sixth-year guard averaged 32.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists, while shooting .539 from the field, .425 from three-point range and .882 from the foul line. He topped the 25-point mark in all four games and was one of only two players in the East to average 30.0 points with at least a .500 clip from the field and .400 mark from beyond the arc (Kevin Durant). Among Eastern Conference leaders, Mitchell ranked first in field goals made (48, no other NBA player made more than 36), second in three-pointers made (17), third in points per game (32.0) and 16th in field goal percentage (.539). Additionally, he made at least six three-pointers in a game twice last week and now has seven such games this season, which is already tied for second-most in a season in Cavaliers history behind only JR Smith’s nine games of six threes or more in 2015-16.

Mitchell opened the week by nearly helping the Cavs overcome a 19-point deficit in San Antonio after tallying a game-high 28 points and five rebounds in 37 minutes on Dec. 12. He followed that up with 34 points (27 in the first half), a 6-9 (.667) clip from beyond the arc, three rebounds, four assists and one steal in 38 minutes during Cleveland’s 105-90 win at Dallas on Dec. 14. In the 118-112 victory over Indiana on Dec. 16, the Cavaliers overcame 13-point fourth quarter deficit by going on a 28-9 scoring run in the last nine minutes of the game, with Mitchell scoring 16 points during that run and finishing with a game-high 41 points and eight three-pointers made. He also scored his 9,000th career point that night (his 371st game), becoming the fourth-fastest active NBA player to reach 9,000 points, behind LeBron James (336 GP), Joel Embiid (343 GP) and Kevin Durant (346 GP), and is the quickest in NBA history to total 9,000 points and 1,000 three-pointers. The 6-3 guard closed out the week with another come-from-behind victory after his 25-point, four-rebound, three-assist and one-steal performance in a 100-99 overtime win against Dallas on Dec. 17.

Through his 27 appearances this season (all starts) with Cleveland, Mitchell is averaging a career-best 29.5 points (eighth best in NBA) on career highs in field goal percentage (.503), three-point percentage (.424) and free throw percentage (.889), to go with 3.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.37 steals in 36.9 minutes per contest. He is one of two NBA players with at least 100 three-pointers made on at least .400 shooting from deep (Stephen Curry), and his 106 three-pointers made rank fifth in the NBA. The Cavaliers’ 20-11 record is the third-best mark in the Eastern Conference and the franchise’s best 31-game start since 2017-18 (23-8).

Jokić wins the award for the first time this season and has now earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors 12 times in his career, the most in franchise history.

Jokić, 27, averaged 36.0 points, 17.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 3.66 steals while shooting .623 from the field en route to a 2-1 week. He ranked first in the NBA in total rebounds for the week and among the Western Conference he ranked first in steals, second in assists and third in points. The Nuggets have now won four of their last five games and currently sit tied for second in the Western Conference at 18-11.

Joker kicked off the week by registering 43 points (17-20 FG’s, 9-10 FT’s), 14 rebounds, eight assists and five steals in a home win against Washington on 12/14, becoming the first player in NBA history to post those numbers in game. He followed that up with 25 points (8-15 FG’s), 11 rebounds and eight assists in Denver’s lone loss of the week on the road against the L.A. Lakers on 12/16. He capped the week by posting 40 points (12-26 FG’s), a career-high 27 rebounds, 10 assists and two steals in a 119-115 win over the Charlotte Hornets. His 20 rebounds in the first half set a new franchise record for most rebounds in a single half and was the most by any NBA player since Dwight Howard in 2018.

Jokić joined Wilt Chamberlain as only the second player in NBA history to post a triple double with at least 40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists. Additionally, over this past week, he became the Nuggets NBA franchise leader in rebounds passing Dan Issel (5,707) for first all-time.

The Sombor, Serbia native, leads the NBA in PER, is third in assists per game, sixth in rebounds per game and seventh in field goal percentage while averaging 25.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 1.50 steals in 32.9 minutes per game.

Bradley Beal returns, but Wizards lose 10th straight game

The good news is, Bradley Beal is back in action for the Washington Wizards. The bad news is, his return couldn’t prevent the team from losing their 10th game in a row. Via the Washington Post:

Sunday’s game ended with drama appropriate of a Hollywood script, but the Lakers emerged as the heroes. They prevailed, 119-117, to hand Washington its 10th straight loss, making it 41 days since the Wizards have won on the road.

A back-and-forth thriller in the fourth quarter came down to one scrambled possession.

James had the ball just inside the half-court line when Deni Avdija and Kuzma trapped him in a double team, forcing a turnover out of James that he ended up sending off Kuzma’s leg. A scramble for the ball ended up with James recovering and getting the ball to former Wizard Thomas Bryant for a smooth, go-ahead dunk with less than eight seconds to play. Kuzma missed a desperation three-pointer on the other end to end it.

“I felt like they were not at our level,” a visibly agitated Kristaps Porzingis said, trying to find his words. “We just lost the game. Obviously LeBron did his thing and played well, but — some mental mistakes from us. I don’t know what to say. It’s tough, it’s tough, it’s tough. But, yeah, we’re going to get out of it.

“If [Kuzma’s three-pointer] went in, it would have been a completely different movie. Nobody wants to be in this position, but we’re going to have to find a way out, to dig our way out of this.”

The Wizards are 11-20 this season, which ties them with the Orlando Magic for the 12th best record in the Eastern conference.

Damian Lillard says he should be in discussion of greatest shooters ever

Who are the greatest shooters in NBA history? Stephen Curry appears to be a very solid choice for best ever. But which players are in the running for second? In the opinion of Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, a great choice for 2nd place is… himself. Via NBA.com/blazers:

Lillard, who reached 2,222 three-pointers in nearly half the number of games that Crawford, Terry and LeBron James, who is ninth all-time, needed to make the Top 10, also took the opportunity to wonder why he’s not considered one of the league all-time great shooters despite his ranking. He was quick to note that Stephen Curry, whose 3,248 threes is first on the all-time list by a considerable margin, is the best shooter in NBA history, but that he’s no slouch either, despite what some of his detractors might argue.

“I always see stuff on social media where they talk about the greatest shooters of all-time and they always act like it’s just crazy for people to mention me,” said Lillard. “I think for how many threes I’ve made, for how consistent I make them, the level of difficulty that I shoot threes with over years and years and years, I just think it’s kind of crazy people don’t mention me in those discussions.

“Obviously I think Steph is the greatest ever, but I think after him, I don’t see why I’m not clear-cut in that discussion, not just by makes, but how I shoot it, how I make tough ones all the time, how easy I shoot the ball. I’m looking forward to keep climbing that list so once I get up there in that top two, top three, I’m curious to see what people will say about me as a shooter at that point.”

The Blazers are 17-13 this season, which is the 6th best record in the Western conference.

Their leading scorers so far in 2022-23 are Lillard are 28.3 PPG, Anfernee Simons at 23.4 PPG, and Jerami Grant at 21.9 PPG.

Celtics’ Al Horford fined by NBA

Boston Celtics forward-center Al Horford has been fined $25,000 for making unnecessary and excessive contact to the lower body of Orlando Magic center Moritz Wagner, it was announced today by Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.

The contact, for which Horford was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected, occurred with 10:39 remaining in the third quarter of Boston’s 117-109 loss to Orlando on Dec. 16 at TD Garden.