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Raptors make change, start Alex Len at center

The Raptors aren’t off to a good start this season, so it’s no surprise that head coach Nick Nurse is making some rotation adjustments. And today, with the team on the road in Sacramento, Alex Len started at center against the Kings. Via the Toronto Sun:

Nurse didn’t make it official until he was obligated to by league rules, but taking Aron Baynes out of the starting five could not have come as a shock to many.

Baynes, outside of a few early games, has looked rather lost for the Raptors at either end of the floor. He was replaced last night by Alex Len.

When Baynes was performing earlier in the season, he was taking inside passes and converting them into points, but even that has dried up.

Defensively, he just doesn’t seem to be in step with everyone else, whether that’s protecting the rim on drives from the perimeter, or even rebounding the misses to get the Raptors back on offence.

The Raptors came away with a 144-123 victory tonight, but Len and Baynes played little part of it. Len played five minutes, Baynes none. But the team won thanks to big performances from Fred VanValeet, Norman Powell, Pascal Siakam, and Chris Boucher off the bench.

Jazz off to modest 4-4 start this NBA season

The NBA season is little over two weeks old, so it’s a bit early to jump to big conclusions. But it’s perfectly reasonable to start what’s happened so far, which is, the Jazz aren’t off to a great start this season.

The Salt Lake Tribune:

Is a 4-4 Jazz record a disappointment? Is it familiar? Is it… both?

2021′s slow start to the season has brought down the spirits of Jazz fans, and that’s understandable: the loss side of the ledger has seen some disappointing defeats. Utah’s loss to Phoenix is more acceptable given that they rank first in the conference right now, sure. But losses to Brooklyn (sans Kevin Durant), the New York Knicks, and worst of all, the Minnesota Timberwolves, have made for some disappointing nights.

And yet, this isn’t anything new for Jazz fans. In the Quin Snyder era, the Jazz have always started at least somewhat below expectations. Then, they surge on to have a solid remainder of the season, and end up with a quality record.

The Deseret News:

In [Donovan] Mitchell’s rookie season, the Jazz started out 5-5 on the year before racking up quite a few losses and then bouncing back at the end of the season and finishing off the year with a 29-6 run. They were bounced in the second round of the playoffs.

In Mitchell’s second year, the Jazz started with a 4-6 record and played pretty up and down throughout the season before they were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.

Last season, the Jazz started out with a 6-4 record and racked up most of their losses toward the end of the season. Again, they only survived a single playoff round.

Leading the Jazz in scoring through eight games are Mitchell at 21.3 points per game, Mike Conley at 17.4 PPG, Jordan Clarkson off the bench at 15.5 PPG, Rudy Gobert at 13.9 PPG, Bojan Bogdanovic at 11.8 PPG, and Joe Ingles off the bench at 10.0 PPG.

The team’s offense and defense has been close to the league average this season thus far.

Their upcoming opponents are the Bucks, Pistons, Cavs and Wizards.

Magic guard Cole Anthony’s role will now increase

Markelle Fultz has been a nice comeback story, but unfortunately that story was forced to reset and start anew yesterday after he suffered a season-ending injury. On what comes next for the Orlando Magic, here’s the Sentinel:

For starters, rookie Cole Anthony becomes the team’s primary point guard.

“Cole, in my opinion, he’s the starter right now and I think that he’s ready to take it and grow with it and we all have great confidence in him,” Clifford said.

Anthony’s competitive nature is part of what the Magic like about him, and Clifford sees the characteristic as a plus as Anthony moves into a more pivotal role with the team. Anthony will experience growing pains, particularly with the Magic playing 14 games in the next 24 days to close out January, but Clifford likes the mindset of his young point guard.

The Magic are off to an impressive 6-2 start this season. Fultz was averaging 12.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 26.9 minutes per game. Anthony has actually been getting good court time for a rookie: 21.5 minutes per game, averaging 8.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists. That court time will now increase.

Magic guard Markelle Fultz suffers season-ending knee injury

Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz suffered a left knee injury with 7:35 remaining in the first quarter in yesterday’s game againt the Cleveland Cavaliers. He underwent an MRI and results revealed that Fultz has sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, “Fultz’s knee gave out as he planted his foot on a drive to the basket against Cleveland’s Isaac Okoro at the 7:35 mark of the opening quarter. Fultz yelled in agony as he fell to the floor, then clutched his knee and pounded the floor with his fist. He was helped off the court and taken to the locker room in a wheelchair.”

Fultz will be out the remainder of the season.

Fultz (6’4”, 209, 5/29/98) played and started in eight games with the Magic this season, averaging 12.9 ppg., 5.4 apg., 3.1 rpg. and 1.00 stlpg. in 26.9 minpg., while shooting .895 (17-19) from the free throw line.

Bradley Beal scores 60, but Wizards lose to Sixers

Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal had himself a game on Wednesday, shooting 25 of 35 and hitting 7 of 10 three-pointers for 60 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but unfortunately it was one that ended in a loss. Via the Washington Post:

Bradley Beal’s career night was sealed at the free throw line, an anticlimactic ending that belied the thrilling performance the Washington Wizards’ star guard delivered in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Beal came achingly close to breaking Gilbert Arenas’s franchise single-game scoring record set 15 years ago, just as the Wizards nearly completed a stunning comeback against the 76ers.

Beal led his team with 60 points, tying Arenas’s tally from Dec. 17, 2006. But he could not will his team to a win.

The Wizards lost, 141-136, falling just short of a 21-point comeback mounted midway through the third quarter. Beal shot 20-for-35 from the field, 7-for-10 from three and made 13 of 15 at the free throw line, notching his fourth career 50-point game.

He had 57 points through three quarters but shot 1-for-6 in the final 12 minutes.

Malcolm Brogdon steps up for Pacers in win over Rockets

In tonight’s Pacers win over the Rockets, guard Malcolm Brogdon shot 13 of 25 for 35 points, seven assists and three steals. Via the Indianapolis Star:

With Victor Oladipo struggling and another big in foul difficulty for the Indiana Pacers, they still had Malcom Brogdon.

Brogdon, who made the winning shot in the previous game vs. New Orleans, led the Pacers past the Houston Rockets, 114-107, on Wednesday. It was his second consecutive 30-plus-point game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The Pacers (6-2) had 4 shot-clock violations in the fourth quarter, including with the score tied at 103. T.J. McConnell and Oladipo passed up open 3s as they flirted with disaster.

John Wall (28 points) led Houston, which mostly played small-ball.

Kyle Lowry, Chris Paul played a part in resumption of NBA play

Some basketball players work together off the court even if they aren’t teammates on it. Here’s the Toronto Star on Raptors guard Kyle Lowry and Rockets guard Chris Paul:

Lowry and Paul, who renewed their on-court rivalry when the Raptors played the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night, were singled out by commissioner Adam Silver, along with Toronto’s Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks, for their leadership in getting the league re-started last summer and again this fall.

They were the conduits between the league and the players association on everything to matters relating to the bubble life that ended last season and to health and safety protocols for this year.

“I’ve known Chris for a long time, me and him have been frenemies for a long time,” Lowry joked. “I was on the competition committee and we kind of just got a group together and I kind of felt like I could help just with my opinions as much as I possibly could.” …

Lowry was deeply involved in the scheduling process that got the league back after a short off-season for last year’s bubble teams and one that was months longer than usual for the eight teams whose 2019-20 season ended last March.

Cavs guard Dante Exum injured, out 6-8 weeks with calf strain

Cavaliers guard Danté Exum left Monday night’s road game against the Orlando Magic in the first quarter with a right calf strain and did not return to action.

An MRI performed Tuesday afternoon confirmed the injury.

Exum will undergo a series of treatment and rehabilitation and is expected to miss approximately 6-8 weeks of basketball activity.

Cavaliers guard Darius Garland was held out of Monday night’s road game against the Magic with a right shoulder sprain. Garland experienced discomfort in the shoulder following the Cavs’ win on Jan. 2 at Atlanta. Further evaluation and an MRI on Tuesday confirmed the injury. Garland could miss up to one week, but will be re-evaluated daily through treatment and rehabilitation.

Hawks guard Rajon Rondo out with knee soreness

Atlanta Hawks guard Rajon Rondo will enter a period of rest and rehabilitation to strengthen his right knee.

After missing two games with left knee soreness, he was medically cleared for last night’s game against New York. But he will miss the next three games and will be reviewed prior to the team’s three-game West Coast trip.

The Hawks are 4-3 so far this season. In 15.5 minutes per game, Rondo is averaging 6.0 points and 7.0 assists. That’s just in two games played, though.

In search of more offense, Hornets rotation may change

For those of you keeping a very close eye on the Charlotte Hornets player rotation, more offense is needed, and therefore some changes are likely to be made. Via the Charlotte Observer:

Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego needs more offense, and that will change the rotation for Wednesday’s road game with the Atlanta Hawks.

The Hornets are 24th among 30 NBA teams in offensive efficiency, and that number has fallen in three consecutive losses heading into the Hawks game.

“There are lineup tweaks that will be made for tomorrow. Not necessarily in the starting lineup. But along the way, trying to find some different combinations of guys as we move throughout a game to give us more offense,” Borrego said following practice Tuesday…

Borrego didn’t specify what changes to anticipate. But based on Monday’s loss in Philadelphia, the trend could be more of Malik Monk with Cody Martin edged out.