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The National Basketball Association game scheduled for tomorrow between the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics at TD Garden has been postponed in accordance with the league’s Health and Safety Protocols.
Because of testing and contact tracing within the Celtics, the team does not have the league-required eight available players to proceed with tomorrow’s game against Orlando.
Pistons rookie Saddiq Bey is worth keeping an eye on. Via the Detroit News:
In the final minutes of Friday’s surprising win over the Phoenix Suns, the Pistons went with a different look to the lineup. Instead of one of their regular lineups, they used rookie Saddiq Bey as the shooting guard, to go along with the starting frontcourt.
Bey isn’t quite a typical shooting guard but when it came down to crunch time, coach Dwane Casey went with the players he trusted.
“I was just looking for hard-playing guys who have attention to detail in the zone and Saddiq was one of them,” Casey said…
In his last eight games, which includes three starts, Bey is posting 11.9 points, 5 rebounds and is shooting 46% on 3-pointers, with 6.3 attempts per game. More impressively, he’s scratching out significant playing time, with 25.5 minutes, playing primarily with the second group, but then getting a look to finish games.
The Pistons are just 2-8 so far this season, and being led in scoring by Jerami Grant at 25.1 points per game, Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin each at 13.9 PPG, Josh Jackson at 12.5 PPG, and Bey at 10.6 PPG.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Yogi Ferrell to a 10-day contract.
The Cavs were able to make this move after being granted a hardship exception by the NBA in order to acquire Ferrell.
Ferrell (6-0, 180) played in 50 games for Sacramento last season, averaging 4.4 points in 10.6 minutes. In four NBA seasons, he owns career averages of 7.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 20.4 minutes over 249 games (53 starts) with Brooklyn, Dallas and Sacramento. Ferrell went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team while a member of the Mavericks in 2017. The Greenfield, Indiana native played four years collegiately at Indiana University from 2012-16.
Ferrell will wear jersey #5 for the Cavaliers.
The NBA games scheduled for tonight between the New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Arena and tomorrow between the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls at United Center have been postponed in accordance with the league’s Health and Safety Protocols.
The NBA and NBPA will be meeting today about modifying the league’s Health and Safety Protocols.
To nobody’s surprise, a Tom Thibodeau-coached NBA team features some players who are racking up some extremely high minutes. Via the New York Post:
RJ Barrett and Julius Randle lead the NBA as a 1-2 punch in one category.
It’s not in scoring but minutes per game. RJ Barrett, after playing 44 in the Knicks’ loss to Oklahoma City on Friday, entered Sunday’s 114-89 loss to Denver averaging 38.8 minutes. Randle was close behind at 37.7…
At age 19, Barrett played 31 minutes per game as a rookie . Former coach David Fizdale was asked early in Barrett’s rookie season if he were worried about giving a 19-year-old too many minutes. But Barrett remained sturdy and mostly injury free — save one ankle sprain.
The Knicks are off to a solid 5-5 start this season. They’re being led in scoring by Randle at 23.2 points per game, Alec Burks at 20.7 PPG (but in just three games played) off the bench, Barrett at 16.5 PPG, Elfrid Payton at 14.5 PPG, and Austin Rivers at 11.8 PPG off the bench.
Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic suffered a right knee injury during the second quarter of last night’s game against the Hornets on the road in Charlotte and didn’t return to the contest.
Following an MRI earlier today at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex, he has been diagnosed with an avulsion fracture in his right knee with associated soft tissue inflammation and a bone bruise.
His treatment plan is being reviewed and will be updated later this week.
The Hawks are off to a decent 4-5 start so far this season. They’re being led in scoring by Trae Young at 24.7 points per game, John Collins at 17.2 PPG, De’Andre Hunter at 16.4 PPG, Kevin Huerter at 12.2 PPG off the bench, Cam Reddish at 11.6 PPG, and Bogdanovic mostly off the bench at 9.9 PPG.
The National Basketball Association game scheduled for tonight between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics at TD Garden has been postponed in accordance with the league’s Health and Safety Protocols.
Because of ongoing contact tracing with the Heat, the team does not have the league-required eight available players to proceed with tonight’s game against the Celtics.
Wizards center Thomas Bryant has been diagnosed with a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He suffered the injury as a result of incidental contact with two Miami players during the first quarter of the team’s game vs. the Heat on Saturday night.
The injury was revealed following examination and MRI testing by Wizards Orthopedist Dr. William Postma of MedStar Health in conjunction with Monumental Basketball Chief of Athlete Care & Performance Dr. Daniel Medina.
There is no timetable for when Bryant may return, but it’s quite likely he will be out for the remainder of the 2020-21 NBA season.
According to the Washington Post, “Bryant fell under the basket less than two minutes into the game Saturday, after which he writhed on the floor in pain and smacked the court with one hand before walking to the locker room with a Wizards staffer supporting him on either side. The 23-year-old’s injury comes just as he was hitting his stride in Washington.”
Bryant was averaging 14.3 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting .648 from the floor and .429 from three-point range in 10 games this season.
The Clippers are 6-4 this season. Not bad. But if they want to look like a championship contender, there’s much more work to do. Via the Los Angeles Times:
For the fourth time in 10 games, a Clippers lead of at least 22 points was gradually whittled away in Friday’s 115-105 loss at Golden State. This was the first time it ultimately cost them, after being outscored by 30 points in the final 15 minutes.
“We just got to come in and be able to execute,” said Kawhi Leonard, who scored 24 points. “If the other team is scoring that easy, you’ve got to come down and get into something on the offensive end. That’s it, but I don’t know — we just have to change, pretty much.
“We’ve got to change it. We’ve got to get better.”
The Clippers offense has been on point this season. Team defense has been the issue.
It was Ball brother against Ball brother on Friday, as the Hornets beat the Pelicans 118-110. with Lonzo Ball starting for the Pelicans and rookie LaMelo Ball coming off the bench for the Hornets, here’s what went down, via the New Orleans Times-Picayune:
LaMelo Ball checked in midway through the first quarter and immediately started guarding Lonzo Ball. In their first game against each other at the NBA level, the brothers were matched up on one another a fair amount. Surprisingly, LaMelo won Round 1 handily. He had 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists — a near triple-double. Lonzo had a five-point, three-assist dud.
Nine games into the season, Lonzo doesn’t look like a much different player than he was last year. He is a capable defender, and he makes multiple gorgeous passes every night. He also remains wildly inconsistent, is hesitant to drive the basketball into the paint, and can’t get to the free-throw line.
Remember New Orleans’ opening-night win in Tampa, when Ball attempted six free throws? In the 272 minutes he’s played since then, he’s attempted four free throws. In that same stretch of games, Nicolo Melli has attempted four free throws in 47 minutes, and Willy Hernangomez has attempted four free throws in seven minutes. Ball’s unwillingness to try shots at the rim further restricts the Pelicans in the half court, where they already don’t have much shooting to begin with.
LaMelo is still brand new to the league but is already flashing some very big-time talent.