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Kyle Kuzma wins NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award for November, 2023

The NBA today announced Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma as the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award November winner for giving back to his hometown of Flint, Michigan and hosting a special event through his foundation (Kyle Kuzma Family Foundation).

“Helping to uplift the communities that are special to me is a privilege, so being recognized for that work is a humbling experience, particularly when it takes place during the season of giving,” said Kuzma. “I’m proud to share this honor with my family and support system as well as my teammates and the entire Wizards organization, as all of us are committed to continuing to make a difference in the lives of others.”

Each month, the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award recognizes a player monthly for their outstanding work in the community.

Pistons losing streak reaches 28 straight games

Per the Detroit Free Press:

It was a familiar ending for the Detroit Pistons. But the path to get there was still one of their better efforts of the season.

They faced the NBA’s best team, the Boston Celtics, on the road and went toe-to-toe with them for most of the game at TD Garden in Boston. But it was another collapse for the Pistons, who led by 21 points in the second quarter and by 19 points at halftime before giving up a massive run that gave the Celtics a four-point lead early in the fourth quarter, and, eventually, a 128-122 victory in overtime.

The loss extends the Pistons’ losing streak to 28 games, an NBA record for a single-season skid. It also ties them with the 2014-15/2015-16 Philadelphia 76ers for the longest skid regardless of season. (Those 76ers lost 10 games to finish the ’14-15 season and 18 to start the ’15-16 campaign.) Detroit can claim the record outright with a loss in its next game, Saturday night against the Toronto Raptors at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

FULL ARTICLE Detroit Free Cruise.

Lakers win over Hornets features rare Rui Hachimura starting lineup appearance

Per the LA Times:

Who was that masked man who stepped into the Lakers’ starting lineup Thursday and turned what might have been an uncomfortable situation into a forceful bounceback victory over Charlotte during a particularly difficult stretch of a still-difficult season?

With Cam Reddish unavailable against the Hornets because of a sore groin, coach Darvin Ham coyly said before the game he’d play “someone” in Reddish’s place. That “someone” turned out to be Rui Hachimura, who’s still required to wear a face covering after undergoing surgery for a nasal fracture he suffered in November.

The lineup change, born of necessity rather than choice, proved a good one. Hachimura combined with reserves Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Max Christie and Christian Wood to close the third quarter with a 14-5 surge that helped extend what had been a one-point lead at halftime to 19 after three. The same five players also started the fourth quarter, putting enough space between the Lakers and the Hornets (7-22) to allow LeBron James and Anthony Davis to be spectators for the final 12 minutes of an eventual 133-112 romp.

FULL ARTICLE

On Kevin Love and his role on the Heat

Per the Sun Sentinel:

Kevin Love arrived prepped for the assignment. Such was an unintended consequence of previously slowly being shuffled out of the mix with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Even before arriving to the Miami Heat at last season’s buyout deadline, the veteran big man already had begun the transition from championship starter to mid-career reserve.

Now, after being utilized in a variety of roles by the Heat, Love appears to have found his sweet spot with Erik Spoelstra’s second unit, as Bam Adebayo’s backup.

For 11 seasons, after his first two with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Love played all but one game as a starter, including during the Cavaliers’ four runs to the NBA Finals. Then the Cavaliers transitioned in their post-LeBron James era to something new, something young to something that had Love almost solely as a reserve in 2021-22.

FULL ARTICLE

Celtics survive overtime battle with Pistons

Per Boston.com:

The Celtics narrowly avoided a deeply embarrassing loss on Thursday with a 128-122 victory over the Pistons in overtime…

At some point, the Pistons will win a game. When they do, the team they beat will have the ignominy of being the team that broke the longest losing streak in NBA history.

Last year’s perpetually frustrating Celtics would have been a prime candidate to be that team, and for 24 minutes to start the game, this year’s Celtics looked a little like last year’s group that routinely found the most infuriating ways imaginable to lose. They turned the ball over constantly, they let Cade Cunningham get into a nice groove, and after putting up impressive scoring totals throughout their West Coast road trip, they managed just 20 points in the second quarter and 47 by halftime. The Pistons took a 19-point lead into the break.

The Celtics couldn’t play much worse, and they are a much better basketball team than the Pistons, so a rally was somewhat inevitable. They needed just six minutes to get themselves back into the game, and they traded leads with the Pistons into the fourth quarter. Things appeared decided when they went up by six with just under two minutes remaining, but Jaden Ivey dragged the Pistons back equal again, and the game went to overtime.

In overtime, however, the talent gap finally swallowed the Pistons, and the Celtics pulled away.

FULL ARTICLE

Mavericks sign Brandon Williams to two-way contract, and waive Dexter Dennis

The Dallas Mavericks have signed guard Brandon Williams to a Two-Way contract.

And in a related move, Dallas has requested waivers on Two-Way guard Dexter Dennis.

Williams (6-1, 190) appeared in 14 games (13 starts) for the G League’s Osceola Magic at the 2023 Showcase Cup and averaged 22.4 points (.479 FG%, .376 3FG%, .833 FT%), 4.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.6 steals in 31.9 minutes per game.

After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft, Williams began his rookie season with the G League’s Westchester Knicks, before signing a 10-day contract and a later a Two-Way deal with Portland. In 24 NBA games (16 starts) for the Trail Blazers in 2021-22, he averaged 12.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.0 steals in 26.7 minutes.

Williams spent the 2022-23 campaign with the G League’s College Park Skyhawks, where he teamed with fellow Mavericks Two-Way guard AJ Lawson. In 40 career regular-season G League games (36 starts) with Westchester and College Park, he has averaged 20.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 32.1 minutes.

The Los Angeles native played one collegiate season at Arizona in 2018-19, where he averaged 11.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists en route to being named Pac-12 All-Freshman Team Honorable Mention. Williams missed the entire 2019-20 campaign recovering from offseason knee surgery.

Williams will wear No. 00 for the Mavericks.

Dennis (6-5, 210) saw action in four games for the Mavericks as a rookie in 2023-24, averaging 5.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 7.5 minutes. The former Texas A&M Aggie also appeared in 13 games (all starts) for the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, the Texas Legends, averaging 15.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 35.8 minutes.

Several Heat rotation players on the mend

Per the Miami Herald:

The Miami Heat’s depth continues to be tested.

Already without three rotation players, the Heat lost a fourth rotation player early in Monday’s 119-113 Christmas win over the Philadelphia 76ers at Kaseya Center when Caleb Martin sprained his right ankle in the first quarter of the victory.

With Jimmy Butler (strained left calf), Haywood Highsmith (non-COVID illness) and Josh Richardson (low back discomfort) already out, Martin played the first 8:43 of the game before exiting late in the first quarter and heading back to the Heat’s locker room. He was then ruled out for the rest of the night.

FULL ARTICLE

The latest on Klay Thompson and the Warriors

Per the San Jose Mercury News:

Nothing about Klay Thompson’s approach changed, he assures. But the numbers certainly have.

It wasn’t long ago that Thompson reached the lowest point of his season, benched for the first time in his career during crunch time in a loss to Phoenix on Dec. 12. He threw towels, kicked chairs and yelled at anyone around him who could hear. For as ugly it looked, something sparked in his vexed mind.

Since the Warriors game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 14, Thompson is averaging 25.7 points per game shooting 50% from 3 on 11 attempts per game. Golden State is a total plus-17 when Thompson is on the floor over those six games in which the Warriors have gone 5-1. He had 28 points, including 11 straight over a pivotal two-minute stretch in the Warriors’ 126-106 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night.

FULL ARTICLE