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Wizards create new team award named after Dr. Edwin Bancroft (E.B.) Henderson

The Washington Wizards announced today that a new team award will be named after Dr. Edwin Bancroft (E.B.) Henderson. The annual award will go to the Wizards player most philanthropically active in the Washington, D.C. community.

FROM THE WIZARDS:

Known as the “Grandfather of Black Basketball” in Washington, D.C., Dr. Henderson was a sports historian, educator, administrator, coach, athlete, and civil rights activist. He wrote over 3,000 letters to the editor for The Washington Post and other newspapers on civil rights and race relations.

The University of the District of Columbia recently honored Dr. Henderson by renaming its athletics facility as the Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson Sports Complex. To help kickstart the public fundraising efforts, Ted Leonsis, through the Leonsis Foundation, Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Washington Wizards, donated $200,000 to the fund which will support capital upgrades to the sports complex, student scholarships and sports camps for youth.

Celtics sign forward Matt Ryan to two-way contract

The Boston Celtics have signed forward Matt Ryan to a two-way contract.

Ryan, 24, has played in 28 games (seven starts) for the Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA G League in 2021-22, averaging 15.8 points on 42.7% shooting (38.5% 3-PT, 95.2% FT), 3.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 28.7 minutes. He has scored in double figures in 19 of 28 games this season, including a season-high 39-point performance on 12-of-23 shooting against Delaware on Jan. 16 (one of three 30-point games).

A 6-7 forward, Ryan has connected on at least five 3-point field goals eight times this season, shooting over 40.0% from beyond the arc in five of those contests. He made a season-best nine 3-point field goals and tallied 34 points against Cleveland on Jan. 8.

Ryan played in two games for Team USA at the most recent FIBA World Cup Qualifiers from Feb. 24-27, ranking second on the team in scoring at 13.5 points while shooting 9-of-18 from beyond the arc in 18.0 minutes.

A New York native, Ryan competed collegiately in four seasons over five years with Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, and Chattanooga, averaging 7.9 points (40.4% FG, 36.3% 3-PT, 84.2% FT), 2.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists, and 18.9 minutes over 134 NCAA games (62 starts). He concluded his collegiate career at Chattanooga in 2019-20, producing 15.4 points (42.3% FG, 35.9% 3-PT, 87.9% FT), 4.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 30.6 minutes in 33 games (all starts).

Raptors sign forward D.J. Wilson to third 10-day contract

The Toronto Raptors have signed forward D.J. Wilson to a third 10-day contract.

The Raptors originally signed Wilson to a 10-day contract Dec. 23, then a second 10-day deal Jan. 7 – both via the COVID hardship exception.

Wilson, 6-foot-10, 231 pounds, averaged 8.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 16.0 minutes in three games during his first two stints with the Raptors. He recorded 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a career-high five steals Dec. 26 at Cleveland.

A native of Mount Shasta, California, Wilson has also appeared in 31 games (23 starts) with the Oklahoma City Blue in the NBA G League this season. He is averaging 17.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 27.8 minutes. Wilson is shooting .530 (214-404) from the field, has scored 20+ points 12 times and recorded 17 double-doubles with the Blue. He set career highs with 37 points Jan. 29 at Agua Caliente and 17 rebounds Feb. 9 vs. Sioux Falls.

Wilson was picked 17th overall by Milwaukee in the 2017 NBA Draft after three collegiate seasons at Michigan (2014-17). He holds career averages of 4.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 12.4 minutes in 145 games (six starts) with Milwaukee, Houston, and Toronto.

Weekly Washington Wizards notes: Feb. 28, 2022

WIZARDS TEAM NOTES

Washington is shooting the ball at a .430 clip (65-151 3PT) from beyond the arc during the last five games. This ranks as the HIGHEST mark among all teams in the NBA during that span.

The Wizards are averaging 9.0 steals per game over the last six contests which is tied with Phoenix for the best mark in the league over that span.

Wizards rookie forward Corey Kispert is tied for sixth among all NBA rookies in three-point field goal percentage (.319) this season. Kispert recorded a three-point field goal in 13 consecutive games (1/23 to 2/25), a Wizards rookie franchise record.

The Wizards returned from the All-Star break with back-to-back games versus the Spurs and Cavs. The Wizards begin a three game homestand on Tuesday, March 1.

First-place Suns fall to Jazz

The Phoenix Suns are having a great season, but their current task is to learn to keep the winning going without injured point guard Chris Paul. Here’s Arizona Sports on Sunday’s Suns loss to the Jazz:

Time to dial those expectations back a bit if you were expecting smooth sailing for the Phoenix Suns without Chris Paul (and, for the meantime, Cam Payne).

Even in a game on Sunday afternoon where they played fairly well against a very good Utah Jazz team, it just wasn’t enough, and that “enough” is a much higher bar in this situation. That brought on a 118-114 loss to Utah.

To rinse and repeat the theme from Friday, the wiggle room for a Paul-less Suns to come out with wins is cut off dramatically. The Suns can still execute to that level, and this is not to say the expectation should be .500 ball until Paul’s back, but there’s an obvious adjustment period they’re going through that we’re seeing.

Phoenix shot 51.2% from the field and 46.4% at 3-point range. But the Jazz decisively won the battles in second-chance (27-14) and bench points (43-11), putting the Suns back in an uphill journey despite the great shooting numbers.

The Suns still have a nice six-game lead on the Warriors in the West. And the Warriors are a few games up on the Grizzlies, who are three games up on the Jazz.

Andre Drummond and Seth Curry off to good start for Nets

The Nets are still waiting new addition Ben Simmons to become available to play, but other players in the trade that sent James Harden to the Sixers have quickly shown their high value. Via the NY Post:

How key was prying Andre Drummond and Seth Curry out of Philadelphia in the James Harden-Ben Simmons swap? The pair haven’t just started since the trade went down, but they’ve posted the best plus-minus stats on the whole Nets roster.

Drummond is a plus-34 with Curry right behind at plus-33 in five starts coming into Monday’s tilt versus Toronto, both having filled glaring needs.

The floor-spacing Curry is averaging 19.2 points on 47.4 percent shooting from deep, while Drummond is posting a double-double (11.2 points, 11.0 boards) in just 22 minutes. Both have seemed to fit in seamlessly.

On paper, the Nets are absolutely loaded with talent. But the wait for full squad health continues. In the meantime, there’s a lot of responsibility on Curry and Drummond’s shoulders.

Kevon Looney proving durable this season for Warriors

Kevon Looney has played in all 60 games for the Warriors so far this season, and he’s got his eye on making that number 82 by the conclusion. Via the San Jose Mercury News:

Looney turned 26 earlier this month, but his newfound health has him feeling — and playing — better than anytime since he entered the league. Back then, he said, “I couldn’t play 20-minute games back to back, 30-minute games I’d need a day off.”

This season, he is averaging 20 minutes per game for the first time in his career and has logged two games with more than 30 (and another four with at least 28 minutes). As the Warriors’ only true big man, he is also on track to set career highs in scoring (6.4 points per game) and rebounding (7.5).

The number Looney cares about, though? Eighty two.

“For me,” he said, “it started off with getting to 70 games, getting to 60 games, to get in the rotation. Now I want to be at the point where I can play in all 82. And I feel like my body’s ready for it.”

Looney has been a solid rotation player this season for the 43-17 Warriors.

No set return date yet for Knicks guard Derrick Rose

It’s unclear when Derrick Rose will be back in action for the New York Knicks. Via the New York Post:

Tom Thibodeau wouldn’t commit to Knicks point guard Derrick Rose returning in March.

The Knicks revealed Rose’s “minor procedure” Friday involved cleaning up a skin infection that developed where he underwent surgery in mid-December to remove a bone spur. Hence, it’s unclear on how invasive a procedure it was amid a report which stated he could be back in two weeks.

However, Thibodeau didn’t sound like that timetable was firm. The Knicks said he’s out indefinitely.

Cleveland Cavaliers sign guard Tim Frazier to 10-day contract

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Tim Frazier to a 10-day contract, Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Frazier (6-0, 172) has appeared in 287 career NBA games (84 starts) with Philadelphia, Portland, New Orleans, Washington, Milwaukee, Detroit, Memphis and Orlando. He holds career averages of 4.9 points, 4.0 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 17.7 minutes. Additionally, Frazier has played in 15 postseason games over his career. Frazier has also played in 49 games (47 starts) over two seasons in the NBA G League and was named the 2015 NBA G League Most Valuable Player, posting averages of 16.1 points, 9.5 assists, 7.1 rebounds and 1.66 steals in 35.6 minutes with the Maine Celtics during the 2014-15 season.

This season with the Magic, Frazier appeared in 10 games (3 starts), averaging 3.7 points and 3.3 assists in 20.0 minutes per contest. Frazier will wear jersey number 12 for the Cavaliers.