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Pacers agree to contract extension with head coach Nate McMillan

The Indiana Pacers have agreed to a contract extension with Head Coach Nate McMillan.

McMillan is currently in his fourth season as head coach after taking over the position in May 2016. He has compiled a 181-136 record with Indiana, and with the team’s next victory, will pass Rick Carlisle into third place in NBA franchise history for the most wins as head coach. Currently holding a record of 43-28 this season, the Pacers will appear in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season under McMillan’s leadership.

“What Nate has done in four seasons with our franchise merits this extension,” said President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard. “Between injuries and changes in personnel, he and his coaching staff have adapted and produced positive results. He also represents the franchise, the city and our state in a first-class manner.’’

Per the Indianapolis Star, “McMillan didn’t have Victor Oladipo until Jan. 29 as he recovered from right knee surgery and he’s still not 100%, lost his replacement, Jeremy Lamb, soon after to season-ending left leg injuries and top free-agent signing Malcolm Brogdon has been lost to various injuries that have cost him 18 games.”

Previously, McMillan served as Associate Head Coach of the Pacers from 2013-16 and helped guide the Pacers to two playoff appearances, including a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2013-14. He has served as head coach for 16 NBA seasons for the Pacers, Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics, and currently ranks 22nd in NBA history for most head coaching victories (659-588).

More from The Star: “The Pacers are 43-28 and 5th in the conference. Last season, without Oladipo for half of it, they won 48 games before being swept in the first round. The previous season, the Pacers gave the Cleveland Cavaliers their toughest postseason test before losing in 7 to the eventual East champion with LeBron James.”

“I’d like to thank the Simon family, Kevin Pritchard and the Pacers organization for extending my contract during this unprecedented time in our country,” said McMillan. “I’m happy to have this opportunity and look forward to coaching this Pacers team into the future.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo suspended one game by NBA for headbutting Moritz Wagner

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been suspended one game without pay for headbutting Washington Wizards center Moritz Wagner during a stoppage in play, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Antetokounmpo was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected, occurred with 8:50 remaining in the second quarter of the Bucks’ 126-113 win over the Wizards on Aug. 11 at Visa Athletic Center on the campus of ESPN’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando.

Antetokounmpo will serve his suspension Thursday when Milwaukee faces the Memphis Grizzlies at Visa Athletic Center.

Rockets guard Russell Westbrook day-to-day with muscle strain in leg

Per Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey, star guard Russell Westbrook underwent an MRI in Orlando for a quadriceps injury. The results revealed a strained quadriceps muscle in his right leg.

Westbrook will be out for Friday’s game against Philadelphia and his status will be re-evaluated before the playoffs start next week.

The league restarted play in late July at Disney Wide World of Sports in Florida. The Rockets (44-26), currently 4th in the Western conference, are one of the 22 teams included in the restart.

Westbrook this season is averaging 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game, shooting 47.2% FG and 25.8% 3FG.

Knicks hire Kenny Payne as assistant coach

The New York Knicks have hired Kenny Payne as an assistant coach on Tom Thibodeau’s coaching staff.

“I’m thrilled that Kenny has joined my staff as an assistant coach. He has an outstanding ability to forge relationships with players and improve their skills,” said Tom Thibodeau, head coach, New York Knicks. “He knows what it takes to win and has learned from one of the best coaches there is in John Calipari. Kenny will be a tremendous addition to our organization.”

“I want to thank John Calipari, Eli Capilouto (President, University of Kentucky), Mitch Barnhart (Athletics Director) and the University of Kentucky for allowing me to be a part of a special program for the last 10 years that truly epitomizes winning basketball. I am a better coach and leader of young men today because of my time in Lexington under the legendary Coach Cal,” said Kenny Payne, assistant coach, New York Knicks. “I now take the next step in my basketball journey and fulfill my dream of coaching in the NBA. I’m beyond grateful and excited for the chance to work for such a prestigious organization as the New York Knicks under the leadership of Leon Rose, Scott Perry, William Wesley and Tom Thibodeau, who I have such great admiration and respect for.”

Per the New York Post, “the 53-year-old also has longstanding relationships with not only Knicks president Leon Rose, but senior vice president William Wesley. Rose had been Calipari’s agent at CAA, where Wesley also worked. And Payne’s ties with “World Wide Wes” stretch back decades, all the way to his days playing for Louisville.”

Payne, 53, has extensive college coaching experience having served as an assistant coach since 2004 with Oregon and Kentucky. He recently completed his 10th season as assistant coach at the University of Kentucky (2010-20) on coach John Calipari’s staff. In May 2014, Payne was promoted to associate head coach of the Wildcats. Payne’s lasting impact on Kentucky’s basketball history includes advancing to the Final Four four times, including winning the 2012 National Championship. In 2015, Payne helped lead the Wildcats to the first 38-0 record in college basketball history. Payne also played a major role in the recruiting and development of players at Kentucky. In each of his 10 years in Lexington, he was instrumental in securing a top-three recruiting class, six of which were No. 1 in the country. The 2013 class consisted of a record six McDonald’s All Americans and the 2017 class was rated as the best ever by the Recruiting Services Consensus Index. Since Payne’s arrival, Kentucky has had a player selected in the NBA Draft lottery and had multiple players picked in the first round in every year of his service.

Prior to Kentucky, Payne served as an assistant coach with the University of Oregon for five seasons (2004-09). During his time in Eugene, the Ducks qualified for two NCAA Tournaments (2007-08) including an appearance in the Elite Eight in 2007. In the 2006-07 season, he also helped lead Oregon to a Pacific-10 Tournament title.

As a player, the Laurel, MS-native was originally selected 19th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1989 NBA Draft. Over four seasons (1989-93), Payne held career averages of 3.5 points and 1.2 rebounds over 8.1 minutes in 144 games (13 starts). After his time in the NBA, Payne played one season (1993-94) in the Continental Basketball Association. He averaged 16.3 points and 6.3 rebounds over 55 games for the Tri-City Chinook. He spent time playing professionally overseas in Italy, Japan, Brazil, the Philippines, Cyprus, China, Argentina and Australia. A four-year player at the University of Louisville (1985-89), he was a member of the 1986 NCAA national championship team.

Phoenix Suns now 6-0 in Disney NBA Restart Bubble

The final Western conference playoff spot is still in play, with multiple teams chasing it. One of those squads, the Suns, had been playing a very unspectacular NBA regular season, but then showed up to Disney Wide World of Sports for the NBA restart and decided they’re actually as good as any team in the league. Here’s the Arizona Republic reporting:

Oklahoma City led by 15 points early, but the Suns surged back to remain undefeated in seeding games, winning, 128-101, Monday at The Field House in the Orlando Bubble.

Phoenix is now 6-0 in seeding games in the NBA restart.

All-Star Devin Booker scored 35 points in three quarters to tie Walter Davis for most 30-point games in Suns history with 90 as the Suns (32-39) are now a game behind Memphis (8th place) and just a half game behind ninth-place Portland.

Ayton didn’t get the start as he missed Sunday’s COVID-19 testing window…

The Suns (32-39) led by as many as 29 in winning their sixth consecutive game, the longest winning streak since the 2014-15 season.

No matter what happens this week in regard to the West’s final postseason spot, the Suns have to be proud of their play in this restart. And Suns fans have every reason to be legitimately excited about the team’s prospects heading into next season.

Thunder rookie Darius Bazley playing well in Disney NBA Restart Bubble

Thunder rookie Darius Bazley hasn’t gotten many mentions this season, but lately, since the NBA restart, he’s showing some nice signs. Here’s the Oklahoman with some examples:

On an afternoon the Thunder was overmatched from the start — five rotational players, including three starters, were scratched for various reasons — there wasn’t much fun versus the Suns.

Phoenix 128, OKC 101.

But if you’re looking for bright spots, none was more brilliant than Bazley. He recorded his first career double double, scoring 22 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and becoming the first Thunder rookie with a double double since Domantas Sabonis in January 2017.

What’s more, it was Bazley’s second 20-point game in as many days. When Sunday dawned, Bazley had never scored 20 points in an NBA game. By the time the sun set Monday, he had done it twice…

Through six seeding games, he is averaging 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds a game. Before the coronavirus put the season on hold, he was averaging only 4.7 points and 3.7 rebounds.

The Thunder have been an under-the-radar good team all season, and must be pleased to see an additional player step up as the playoffs rapidly approach.

Magic forward Jonathan Isaac undergoes surgery for torn ACL

Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac underwent surgery today on his left knee to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscal tear. The procedure was performed by Dr. Robert LaPrade.

Isaac will be out indefinitely and his return to the court will depend on how he responds to treatment and rehabilitation. He suffered the injury on August 2 during the fourth quarter of the Magic’s victory against Sacramento.

Isaac (6’10”, 230, 10/3/97) has played in 34 games (32 starts) this season for Orlando, averaging 11.9 ppg., 6.8 rpg., 1.4 apg., 2.29 blkpg. and 1.56 stlpg. in 28.8 minpg.

The Magic are currently playing the Sixers. If Orlando wins, they clinch the final-remaining Eastern conference playoff spot.

Earlier today, the Nets beat the Kings, which clinched a playoff spot for the Nets.

The Magic will also clinch a playoff spot if the Wizards lose tonight.

Heat guard Kendrick Nunn reportedly temporarily leaves NBA bubble for personal reasons

The Heat on Saturday will face the Suns without the services of guard Kendrick Nunn. Here’s the Miami Herald with a report:

Heat guard Kendrick Nunn will miss Saturday’s game against Phoenix for personal reasons and has left the NBA bubble, according to multiple sources. Erik Spoelstra did not mention any issue with Nunn during a Zoom session earlier in the day.

Nunn – who previously confirmed he tested positive for COVID-19 in June – has left the bubble for reasons unrelated to COVID-19, according to a source. He’s expected back soon, according to another source, but it’s undetermined how many days he would be required to quarantine when he returns.

Length of quarantines are up to the discretion of the NBA and depend on access to testing, where a player was during his absence and other factors. Nunn is expected to have access to testing while he’s away.

The Heat are currently 4th in the Eastern conference, one game above the 5-feed Pacers.

Nunn has started all 66 games he’s played this season, averaging 15.2 points and 3.3 assists.

The Heat are an unusual team in that their starting forwards average far more assists per game than their starting guards. But Nunn’s scoring and overall hustle is important.

We’ll presume that Nunn is expected to return sometime soon, since the playoffs aren’t far away. But there’s no official concrete info from the Heat on this just yet.

Examining the virtual Raptor fan situation at Disney NBA bubble

At the NBA restart at Disney Wide World of Sports, fans aren’t in attendance at the game, except virtually, by use of video screens that show their faces at the game while they sit at home. It’s a cool thing. Here’s the Toronto Star talking about the virtual Raptor fan situation:

There are about 320 “seats” occupied by the visages of fans that, in the case of the Raptors, will be chosen from the team’s season-ticket base of about 15,000 when the playoffs begin later this month.

For now, team employees are working through the inevitable wrinkles in a process that’s brand new. But they expect to see regular “fans” at post-season games, meaning the likes of Superfan Nav Bhatia and global ambassador Drake might be there — so to speak.

“We’re seeing familiar faces on those screens, and who knows what it’ll evolve to here two months from now” when the Raptors may be playing for their second straight championship, Nurse said. “So I don’t want to discount the home-court thing quite yet.”

The fans have become a quirky sidebar to the actual games as the NBA tries different ways to guarantee spectator involvement.

I thought about suggesting adding more video screens and more fans, but the whole fun of being a virtual fan is that the virtual fan gets to see his or her face on the actual broadcast. If the video screens are high up in the air, away from the court, those fans won’t be visible on the TV broadcast, and that’s not as fun for them.

In other words, the NBA is doing this correctly.

Dwyane Wade to try his hand as a game show host

Retired NBA players need things to do. Talking about basketball on TV or the radio is an obvious move. But there’s a world of business and entertainment to test the waters of as well. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting:

Just when you thought Dwyane Wade has done it all, the retired Miami Heat icon offers yet another spin move.

Fashion guru? Check. NBA television analyst? Check. Vintner? Check.

And now? Game show host.

Moving into a role where he will be the one passing out the cash (quite the contrast from the summer of 2016 and that ugly spat with Pat Riley), Wade will executive produce and host an American spinoff of the British game show, The Cube, for WarnerMedia.

The show will feature contestants performing various competitions within a confined cube. And if they need help, the Heat’s all-time leading scorer will be there to assist.

D-Wade continues to show versatility. Just not in the ways people expected.