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Donovan Mitchell, star guard for the Utah Jazz, said that he will be available for Game 6 against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, a day after an MRI on his left hamstring came back negative.
Mitchell stated he’s suffering from soreness as a result of a bilateral quadriceps contusion, as diagnosed by the team’s medical staff. He did, however, state unequivocally that he would be able to play in Thursday’s home game against the Jazz, who are in danger of being eliminated.
Via ESPN.com
The following is a medical update on Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell:
Mitchell (6-3, 222, Louisville) was re-examined Tuesday morning by the Utah Jazz medical staff and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) testing on his left hamstring. The results were negative. Mitchell has bi-lateral quadriceps contusions and will continue treatment. His status for Game 6 of Utah’s First Round series against Dallas will be updated on Wednesday.
Jaxson Hayes of the New Orleans Pelicans was ejected from Game 3 of the NBA Playoffs on Friday night in the second quarter after receiving a flagrant foul 2 for shoving Phoenix Suns player Jae Crowder.
Hayes was pounding the boards from the left corner after a made CJ McCollum jumper with 5:15 remaining in the first half when he crashed past Crowder, slamming him to the ground.
Initially, no foul was called, but play was paused and the play was reviewed as Crowder rushed across the floor to confront Hayes and Suns guard Chris Paul quickly sprinted to another official.
– Via ESPN.com. See full article.
Via the New York Daily News:
Steve Nash wants fans to think that the Nets’ playoff aspirations aren’t just dependent on Kevin Durant; his team’s success is a result of good teamwork rather than the superstars they signed to max contracts.
The Nets’ 114-107 Game 2 defeat to the Celtics, as well as a regular season that spiraled while both of those stars were unavailable, proved otherwise. The Nets’ supporting cast couldn’t handle the weight in a game where none of their stars showed up.
Durant, a two-time NBA Finals MVP and four-time NBA scoring champion, bowed to the pressure and intensity of the league-best Celtics’ defense for the second game in a row. And the Nets paid the price with a loss for the second game in a row, which hurt even more than the buzzer-beating game-winner that lost them Game 1.
In Game 2, Durant turned the ball over six times after missing 15 shots and turning the ball over six times in Game 1, and he shot 4-of-17 from the field for 27 points, almost all of which came at the foul line. He went to the free throw line 20 times, converting on 18 of them.
Young Patrick Williams has a big role on the Chicago Bulls as they face the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the 2022 NBA playoffs. Via the Chicago Tribune:
Patrick Williams is well aware that guarding two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is a difficult task.
Williams is seven years younger, four inches shorter, 30 pounds lighter, and four inches shorter than Milwaukee Bucks star Nikola Mirotic. He has never participated in the NBA playoffs and missed the entire regular season with the Chicago Bulls due to a wrist injury.
But the Bulls forward can not let uncertainty enter in if he wants to slow down one of the league’s top players.
“I feel like a lot of people in this league are scared or nervous to guard guys like that,” Williams said Wednesday ahead of Game 2. “Obviously (Antetokounmpo) is good. He’s a two-time MVP. But he puts his pants on the same way I do. He is good, but he’s not God.”
Despite his youth, Williams is a perfect match for Antetokounmpo’s defense. Williams is long enough to hinder Antetokounmpo’s shot around the rim while also being quick enough to disrupt his straight-line drives to the rim. [But] no one expected to slow Antetokounmpo down in a one-on-one matchup.
Game 2 of the series is tonight in Milwaukee at 9:30 PM ET on TNT TV.
Here’s the San Francisco Chronicle on the fun and games the Warriors are unleashing in the form of a new ‘death lineup’ edition:
The Golden State Warriors thrashed the visiting Denver Nuggets for the second straight game on Monday, and the debate erupted right on time. Are the Warriors on their way back? Is the Chase Center as rowdy as the Oracle? Will fans of Joel Embiid ever say something positive about Nikola Jokic? These are all direct questions, and perhaps someone has the time to respond. But there was another issue floating around, one that sparked a collective frenzy: What in the world are we meant to call Golden State’s new death lineup?
For the seven or eight of you not in the know, the (original) death lineup was not an influential 1980s anarcho-crust band but a name lovingly bestowed way back in the 2014-15 season on the genre-bending five-man unit of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green. Skilled playmakers, elite shooting, aggressive long-limbed defenders — this was essentially the platonic ideal of winning small-ball. Steve Kerr (nice guy, good-looking guy!) wisely leaned into this dangerous lineup during the playoffs, and it propelled the Golden State Warriors to their first championship in 40 years. The following season, the same lineup hammered the league nightly and won the most regular season games in NBA history and nothing bad happened after that. And of course, the next year the rich got richer and switched out solid New Republic subscriber Harrison Barnes for human inferno Kevin Durant. The death lineup became the megadeath lineup. And then Durant left. Iguodala was traded. Klay and Steph were injured. Draymond’s attention wandered. The death lineup, for all intents and purposes, was dead.
Hopefully, the league has recovered from its collective death lineup fatigue after a two-year hiatus, because the death lineup is back, thanks in large part to Jordan Poole’s progress and a timely extended hot streak. This is Warriors Dynasty basketball at its finest. That all-too-familiar barrage. It is quite lovely to watch in real time. A deficit turned into a rout in an alchemical blur, life-affirming orderly chaos. It is never boring to watch the life drain from the opposition’s eyes as they do a more-than-acceptable job up until the dam bursts.
The Suns lost a playoff game last night, and have a Devin Booker injury to worry about. Via ESPN.com:
On Tuesday night, Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker suffered a hamstring injury, and the New Orleans Pelicans stepped up all night and put had a tremendous finish to win 125-114 Game 2 and even the series at 1-1.
Booker scored 31 points in the first half, including seven 3-pointers. But he did not score in the third quarter, and he injured his right hamstring when contesting a Jaxson Hayes dunk in transition with 4:45 left in the period. He exited the game and headed straight to the locker room.
Already playing without Kawhi Leonard, who has been out all season, the Clippers will be without Paul George for their biggest game of the year tonight, per ESPN.com:
LA Clippers star Paul George has entered health and safety protocols after testing positive for COVID-19 and will miss Friday night’s play-in game against the New Orleans Pelicans, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps.
With the NBA playoffs starting this weekend, there is no reason to expect that Ben Simmons will make his Brooklyn Nets debut anytime soon. Via ESPN.com:
As the speculation surrounding Ben Simmons’ potential debut for the Brooklyn Nets continues to be a talking point inside the NBA, Nets star Kevin Durant admitted Thursday that he is preparing as if Simmons won’t return as the Nets get ready for their Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup with the Boston Celtics.
“I’m not expecting him to play,” Durant said after practice Thursday. “That’s easier for me. I’m not putting any pressure on Ben to come out there and hoop. So I’m not expecting him to do anything but just to get his body right and get healthy as fast as he can. So in my mind, I’m preparing as if we’re playing with the team we have.”
Simmons, who was acquired by the Nets just before the February trade deadline from the Philadelphia 76ers, has not played in an NBA game in almost a year after requesting a trade from the Sixers last season, citing mental health concerns. Simmons has been dealing with some back soreness since late February and has not been cleared to participate in a practice since coming to Brooklyn. Nets coach Steve Nash said Thursday that Simmons still isn’t doing any “basketball conditioning” and continues to do individual rehab work.
Here’s the Boston Herald on Jaylen Brown and the Celtics:
Jaylen Brown missed last season’s first-round loss to the Nets due to wrist surgery and it’s not hard to tell that the young Celtics star has some pent-up enthusiasm this time around for a Brooklyn rematch set to begin on Sunday in the Garden.
“You could tell (by the) smile on my face, right?” he said after Thursday’s practice.
“Yeah, it’s exciting. I’ve had a little bit of trouble sleeping. So I’m just trying to calm myself down,” he said. “I’m ready to go, I’m excited, it’s playoff time, it’s the best time of the year. This is what you work for. So ultimately, going out there and just breathing and being yourself is going to be key because I know it’s gonna be a lot of energy in the Garden, there’s gonna be a lot of energy in the arena. So sometimes the more calm, relaxed player is the one who gets the advantage. So just trying to stay balanced as much as possible, but I’m definitely excited.
And now for the hard part. How not for Brown and Jayson Tatum to get too caught up in the scoring derby that Kevin Durant and their former teammate, Kyrie Irving, are about to launch. The Nets are best in the league when it comes to isolation basketball. Indeed, Durant and Irving are two of the most gifted man-to-man scorers in the history of the game.
“It’s exciting. What more could you ask for?” said Brown.