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Dallas Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber suffered a tear of his right hamstring at practice on Tuesday, December 13.
Treatment options are being considered.
At this time, there is no timetable for Kleber’s return and updates will be given when appropriate.
Via the Detroit Free Press:
Cade Cunningham made the right decision for himself and for the Detroit Pistons. But that doesn’t mean it was an easy decision.
Cunningham, who will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left shin later this week, took a few weeks to make the biggest decision of his young NBA career. He had been dealing with shin soreness off and on since at least last season, but the team didn’t suspect there was a more severe cause until it flared up again toward the start of this season. There was a chance his shin would’ve healed after an extended period of rest, but surgery should ultimately fix the issue for good.
Cunningham will miss the rest of the season. His final game came Nov. 9, and he only played in 12 games before the team decided to shut him down. It’s an unfortunate development for a rebuilding Pistons team that expected to be better this season, with Cunningham, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2021, leading the way. While they don’t anticipate Cunningham’s surgery negatively impacting their rebuild long term, they will have to navigate the near future without him.
The Charlotte Hornets announced today the team’s plans to honor the legacy of former head coach Paul Silas, who passed away during the weekend.
Prior to Wednesday’s game vs. Detroit, the Hornets will hold a moment of silence and show a video tribute in recognition of Silas.
Starting with tomorrow’s game and throughout the remainder of the 2022-23 NBA season, the Hornets coaching staff will have a commemorative “Silas” patch on the left sleeve of the pullovers they wear on the bench. The commemorative black patch is in the shape of the traditional Hornets cell pattern with the pattern’s outline and the “Silas” wordmark in teal.
ABOUT PAUL SILAS
Paul Silas spent eight seasons with the Charlotte Hornets across two different stints with the franchise. During his first tenure, in which he spent two-and-a-half seasons as an assistant coach before becoming interim head coach to conclude the 1998-99 season, he posted a record of 161-120 (.573). In each of his three full seasons, the Hornets won at least 44 games and made the playoffs, advancing to the second round in both 2000-01 and 2001-02. He returned to Charlotte to once again become interim head coach during the 2010-11 season and remained the team’s head coach in 2011-12.
Silas ranks third in franchise history in games coached (401), games won (193) and winning percentage (.481), and is the all-time leader in each of the three categories for playoff games with an overall record of 11-12 (.478) in 23 games total. He is the only head coach in franchise history to lead the team to three playoff appearances and two Eastern Conference Semifinals appearances. The team’s three straight playoff berths from 1999-2000 through 2001-02 is the only time in franchise history that the Hornets have gone to the playoffs in three straight seasons.
Following four years at Creighton in which he became one of only five players in NCAA history to average more than 20 points and 20 rebounds in his college career, Silas played 16 seasons in the NBA, where he was a three-time NBA Champion (1973-74 Celtics, 1975-76 Celtics and 1978-79 SuperSonics) and a two-time NBA All-Star (1971-72 and 1974-75). He retired after the 1979-80 season and immediately became head coach of the San Diego Clippers, spending three seasons in the role. In 12 seasons overall as an NBA head coach, Silas had a career record of 387-488 (.442).
The San Antonio Spurs have signed forward Stanley Johnson.
Johnson becomes the 11th G League to NBA “Call-Up” so far in the 2022-23 season.
Johnson, 6-6/240, has currently been playing with the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the NBA G League, appearing in three games. Originally drafted by Detroit with the eighth overall selection in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft, the former Arizona Wildcat has spent seven seasons in the NBA playing for the Pistons, Raptors, Lakers and Pelicans. In 419 career games, he’s averaged 6.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 20.1 minutes.
John will wear #34 for the Silver and Black.
The Spurs roster now stands at 17 players.
Via the San Jose Mercury News:
The Warriors have looked like champions on their home court this season, where they’ve been nearly unbeatable, posting a 12-2 record.
But it’s been a totally different story outside the Bay.
Golden State hasn’t been able to sustain that success on the road, falling to a head-scratching 2-11 hole in the first two months.
That leaves the Warriors at 14-13 overall, a record that isn’t entirely reflective of their play. They’ve had several games stolen or given away late. That includes their most recent road debacle in Utah, which featured a pair of mental lapses in the game’s final 13 seconds that allowed the Jazz to squeak away with a wild win.
The Warriors entered Monday in eighth place in the Western Conference standings, sitting 3 1/2 games out of first place. They’re set to embark on a six-game road trip that’ll span five cities in nine days.
The Miami Heat are just 13-15 so far this season. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel on the team’s modest start:
The expectations have been muted.
Depth that had been considered a Miami Heat strength entering the season largely has proven to be something considerably less.
Part of it has been injuries. Part of it has been the shift of 2021-22 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro into the starting lineup, with energetic former reserve Caleb Martin now also a starter.
So these days, even the small steps are celebrated, such as Monday night’s 87-82 victory over the Indiana Pacers, when the Heat’s three-man bench of Max Strus, Dewayne Dedmon and Victor Oladipo combined for 20 points.
While hardly overwhelming, it was a step forward, considering it provided the Heat with nearly a quarter of the team’s scoring and that the trio outscored Indiana’s bench.
The San Antonio Spurs today announced that the team has waived forward Alize Johnson.
Johnson appeared in four games for the Spurs this season, averaging 1.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game.
The Spurs roster now stands at 16 players.
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal has been cleared to resume all on-court basketball activities following a re-evaluation of his right hamstring strain.
He will be out for tonight’s game vs. Brooklyn and his status moving forward will be determined by his clinical evolution.
Via the San Jose Mercury News:
A trio of young Warriors players led the Santa Cruz Warriors to a 122-111 win over the Oklahoma City Blue Sunday afternoon at Kaiser Permanente Arena.
James Wiseman tallied 24 points and 16 rebounds on assignment from the NBA’s Warriors, while Ryan Rollins led Santa Cruz with 26 points, adding nine rebounds and seven assists. First-round pick Patrick Baldwin added 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting (6-of-9 from 3).
All five Santa Cruz starters scored in double digits as Lester Quinones, Wiseman’s college teammate at Memphis, added 20 points and Jerome Robinson scored 16.