Author: Inside Hoops

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George Hill may return soon for Cavs

The Cavs are 4-15 this season, tied for the second worst record in the league. They need bright spots. Is one such bright spot the return of their not-too-impactful veteran point guard? I guess. Here’s Cleveland.com with the latest on George Hill, who has started all 10 of his games this season and put up an average of 12.6 points and 3.0 assists per game:

George Hill played four-on-four with teammates and coaches, taking contact once again, prior to the Cleveland Cavaliers leaving for their two-game road trip Tuesday afternoon.

He’s “progressing,” according to head coach Larry Drew. Hill could even make his return Wednesday night against Oklahoma City, a team source told cleveland.com.

The Cavs had him go through the post-practice contact session and he’s expected to take part in Wednesday’s shootaround in Oklahoma City. His official status will be determined after that, as the training staff wants to see how Hill responds after two straight days of on-court work.

Goran Dragic remains out for Heat

The Heat will be without Goran Dragic tonight as they face the Hawks. They still should be able to win, because, they’re playing… the Hawks. But it will still be nice when Dragic finally returns from an injury that is lingering a bit longer than expected. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting:

Goran Dragic’s seemingly minor knee issue has extended into a major absence with the Miami Heat point guard out for a fifth consecutive game Tuesday night against the Atlanta Hawks at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Dragic initially missed two games with the knee injury before returning for an uneven four-game span that included pair of 20-point games but also pair of games when he went scoreless in one and scored eight in the other.

He has been out since, starting with the Nov. 18 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He then had his knee drained the following day, missing the Heat’s just-concluded two-game trip against the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors.

EuroLeague: Alexey Shved injured

Here’s Euroleaguebasketball.net with an update on guard Alexey Shved, who played in the NBA from 2012-15:

Khimki Moscow Region suffered a big injury blow on Saturday, learning that it will be without services of its leader and this season’s most productive player Alexey Shved. This past week Shved earned back-to-back MVP of the Round performances in a span of just 48 hours, and led Khimki to a pair of important victories, but also injured his left pinkie finger during Round 9 road win against Zalgiris Kaunas.

During his NBA years, Shved played for the Timberwolves, Sixers, Rockets and Knicks, averaging 7.4 points per game over that stretch.

Blake Griffin says he is happy on Pistons

The 9-7 Detroit Pistons are the East’s 5th seed through Friday’s games. Power forward Blake Griffin is leading the team in scoring at 25.3 points per game, and he’s second in rebounds at 10.4 per game, but surprisingly he’s leading the squad in assists, dishing 4.8 per contest. While that’s a very low assist average to lead an entire NBA team, it’s still impressive on Griffin’s part. For more on him, mostly on his transition from the Clippers to Pistons, here’s the LA Times:

Yes, he chose to sign a five-year contract worth more than $170 million to remain in Los Angeles with the Clippers. Yes, the Clippers balked less than eight months into the deal and sent him to the Pistons. Yes, there are things Griffin misses in Los Angeles. He wishes he was closer to his children on a full-time basis. He misses some Clippers fans and people in the organization.

But being in Detroit instead of playing for the Clippers, Griffin is fine with it.

“Yeah, I’m glad it happened,” Griffin told the Los Angeles Times. “I’m not saying I don’t miss certain people. There were some awesome fans that I got to know and I felt like I was very close with them. And there are some people you miss over there, but it was just time for a fresh start.

“I’m glad to be here.”

Griffin, who turns 30 in March, is really happy — it’s something everyone says when you ask about him. Detroit and the surrounding suburbs are more like his native Oklahoma than Los Angeles, so he’s more comfortable. Teammates say he’s thriving in a role of being the lead voice in the locker room. Staffers say he’s been terrific to deal with. Others love that he seems to know everyone in the organization by name. The mood swings that at times in Los Angeles could be volatile haven’t been an issue.

The Pistons seem good, but definitely not great, and will need more consistent play from guys other than Griffin and Andre Drummond if they want to raise their status as an actual East contender. Griffin, this season, is doing his part.

Clippers 8-1 at home so far this season

The Clippers have been a success so far this season, especially when playing as the Home team — they are 8-1 when hosting the contest. Here’s the Daily Breeze reporting:

Their eight consecutive wins since that opening-night loss to the Denver Nuggets represent the best current home winning streak in the NBA.

“You always hear people say, you have to take care of home,” said Avery Bradley, whose late-game steal against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday secured the victory to elevate the 12-6 Clippers to first place in the Western Conference. “We say it before every game.” …

The Clippers’ early success hasn’t been without drama. Their three overtime victories — all at home — are the most in the NBA.

They rank second in the NBA in “clutch wins,” or those defined by NBA.com/stats as games played within a five-point margin in the final five minutes of regulation, with nine. (The Philadelphia 76ers have 10.)

The West is incredibly close up top, but through Friday’s games the Clippers, via tiebreaker rules, are the No. 1 seed in the conference.

Mitchell Robinson back to bench for Knicks

The Knicks season thus far has focused on rookie development, and one of the key guys to watch is center Mitchell Robinson. Here’s the New York Post with the latest on him:

Mitchell Robinson had his taste of starting and is fine with Knicks coach David Fizdale’s decision to bring him off the bench. The company line was to keep the 20-year-old project out of severe foul trouble.

In the Knicks’ stunning 117-109 win at Boston on Wednesday, Robinson played just 16 minutes but registered six blocks and was 4 for 4 from the field. It was his second straight game coming off the bench for newly promoted center Enes Kanter.

“As you seen, I didn’t get into foul trouble until late in the game,’’ Robinson said. “If I started, I would’ve gotten in trouble and would’ve sat almost the whole game. My teammates need me to come in and challenge shots.’’

For the season, Robinson is averaging 5.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and a very impressive 2.0 blocks in 18.1 minutes per game.

The Knicks play host to the Pelicans tonight.

Wizards sign forward Okaro White

 

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The Washington Wizards signed free agent forward Okaro White today.

The 6-foot-8, 205-pound guard-forward averaged 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 41 career games during the last two seasons (2016-18) with the Miami Heat. He played for Florida State between 2013-17, averaged 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for the Seminoles, and went undrafted.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, White in 2016-17 played in 23 games in the G League for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, and averaged 18.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

There are now 14 players on the Wizards roster, not including Devin Robinson and Jordan McRae, who are signed to two-way contracts.

LeBron James, Lakers play Cavs in Cleveland tonight

LeBron James and the Lakers visit Cleveland tonight to play a Cavs team that has been in shambles this season and looks nothing like the contender they were when LeBron was still on the squad. The game will be on national TV. Seeing the type of reception LeBron receives during pregame intros and an expected video tribute will be fun to watch. More on the game from Cleveland.com below:

Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson opted for the canned answer when asked about the importance of Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Just another game. Another game on the schedule,” Thompson said following shootaround. “Another opportunity for us to play at home and compete and be on our floor.”

Only it’s not. Wednesday marks LeBron James’ first return to Quicken Loans Arena since leaving the Cavaliers a second time in free agency.

Promos have been playing for weeks on ESPN. It’s one of two games nationally televised for the Cavaliers this season. This is the one fans have had circled on the calendar since it was released.

The Lakers through Tuesday’s games are 9-7 and the West’s 8th seed, while the Cavs are an NBA-worst 2-13 and currently dealing with a reported trade request/demand from veteran shooting guard J.R. Smith.

Nuggets have lost 6 of last 7 games

The Denver Nuggets through Tuesday’s games are 10-7, which puts them in the thick of a very tight and crowded set of good Western conference teams. But they’ve been in a general slump lately, and have some things to work out. Here’s the Denver Post on the situation:

The Nuggets have lost two in a row and six of seven heading into Wednesday night’s against the Timberwolves, who recently upended their core by trading Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia. Denver’s defense, ranked as the NBA’s best prior to their slump, is down to seventh overall, and their poor late-game execution has been exposed. They are now a team searching for an identity.

“We’re probably not a team that is 9-1 every 10 games, and I know we’re not a team that’s 1-6 in the last seven games,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said at the team’s shootaround here Wednesday. “The answer is somewhere in between. We’re trying to find out who we are.”

They had some of those answers over the final seven games last season, when they reeled off six consecutive, high-pressure wins before dropping the final game 112-106 to Minnesota. Harris and Paul Millsap said they can glean confidence from that stretch to end the season.

Next up for the Nuggets are are matchups with the Timberwolves tonight, the Magic Friday and the Thunder Saturday.