Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Toronto Raptors will stay based in Tampa, Florida for entire 2020-21 NBA season

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday that they will finish the 2020-21 season in Tampa, Florida. Because of ongoing border restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and mindful of public safety measures in Canada, the team has decided they will continue to play their home games at Amalie Arena.

“Florida has been really welcoming to us and we’re so grateful for the hospitality we’ve found in Tampa and at Amalie – we’re living in a city of champions, and we intend to carry on the tradition of winning for our new friends and fans here,” Raptors President Masai Ujiri said. “But home is where the heart is, and our hearts are in Toronto. We think often of our fans, of our Scotiabank Arena family, and all those we are missing back home, and we can’t wait until we can all be together again.”

The Raptors initially announced in November that Amalie Arena, in downtown Tampa, would serve as their home court for the first half of the 2020-21 season. A schedule release for the second half of the season is expected in the coming days.

Pacers fall to Nets for 4th straight loss

The Pacers are in a rut lately. Via the Indianapolis Star:

Exactly seven days ago, the Indiana Pacers trailed by 40 to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Wednesday, they had season-lows for first-quarter points (18), points in a half (30) and trailed by 36 in what became a 104-94 loss at the Brooklyn Nets to open a three-game trip.

The difference was Milwaukee, which has had the conference’s best record the previous two seasons, played well. The Nets, one of the league’s worst defensive teams, didn’t. And they didn’t have Kevin Durant.

The Pacers (12-13) were just that bad. Yet again.

They played late into the shot clock, had two violations in the first quarter and there wasn’t anything special that the Nets did to earn those turnovers.

The Pacers have a young star shooting guard in Caris LeVert. But after being traded by the Nets to Indiana, a health issue has prevented him from making his Pacer debut, and it’s unclear when his return to action will be.

But there’s no time to rest. Up next for the 12-13 squad is a game in Detroit tomorrow against the Pistons, who just yesterday handed a Nets squad that was without Kevin Durant a loss.

Patrick Beverley returns to action for Clippers

The Clippers have their scrappy, defensive-minded point guard back. Via the OC Register:

“Super-fired up!” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said before Wednesday’s game in Minneapolis, where Beverley made his return to action after missing eight games with right knee soreness. “That’s what me and the coaches were just talking about – he’s excited to be back, and we’re happy to have him.”

Beverley started in his return Wednesday, joining a lineup that was short superstar Paul George (bone edema right toe) but still featured Reggie Jackson, who’d been starting in Beverley’s place.

Following four days of pain-free on-court workouts, Beverley was cleared to play Wednesday, said Lue, who noted that the 32-year-old would be on a minutes limit, the specifics of which he declined to detail.

Without Beverley these past couple of weeks, the Clippers went 4-4 and their defensive rating in that span slipped to 112.2, a couple of ticks above what it was – 110.1 – before that.

The Clippers have one of the league’s best offenses this season, but have been merely average on defense. Getting Pat Bev back clearly should help there.

Nets fans can attend home games starting February 23, limited to 10 percent arena capacity

New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced today that Barclays Center has been approved to reopen beginning Tuesday, Feb. 23, when the Nets take on the Sacramento Kings at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Following State guidelines, the venue will be limited to 10 percent capacity until further notice.

Per BSE Global, who manage and operate Barclays Center and the Nets, “Barclays Center will employ robust health and safety protocols that have been developed in coordination with the New York State Department of Health, the National Basketball Association and the Global Biorisk Advisory Council® (GBAC). These protocols include: a negative PCR test for all patrons, administered within 72 hours in advance of the game; mandatory temperature checks; social distancing and use of face masks; and thorough cleaning and sanitation procedures. To help further ensure the safety of Barclays Center fans and employees, the venue will also continue to provide COVID-19 testing to all arena employees prior to each game. Barclays Center has achieved GBAC STAR™ accreditation, the gold standard for prepared facilities.”

“Thank you to Governor Cuomo and his team at the Department of Health for collaborating with us in creating a robust health and safety plan that allows fans to return to our arena,” said BSE Global CEO John Abbamondi. “The Governor has played a tremendous role in getting New York businesses back on their feet and we are proud to announce that for the remainder of the season we are donating a portion of ticket proceeds to support vaccination efforts here in Brooklyn. We would also like to thank our fans for their support this season and we are looking forward to bringing their energy back to Barclays Center!”

Dennis Smith Jr. happy for fresh start with Pistons

Sometimes, players make no secret of being happy about a change of scenery. Such is the case with former Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr., who is now a Detroit Piston. Via the NY Post:

Dennis Smith Jr. said he was “smiling all day’’ after hearing on Sunday he was being traded from the Knicks to the Pistons for Derrick Rose.

At the time, Smith, a key acquisition in the Kristaps Porzingis trade, was in the G-League’s bubble in training camp for the Westchester Knicks — upon his request.

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau had banished him from the rotation after an early season quad injury, and Smith, 23, knew his chances of getting back weren’t good.

“I was super excited,’’ Smith said in his introductory Zoom call Wednesday after his first practice. “I was down in the ‘G’ getting ready to have our first scrimmage. I heard the news. I was just smiling all day. I couldn’t really sleep that night. I was looking at it as an opportunity and a fresh start and make the most out of it.”

The Pistons were the talk of the NBA yesterday, beating the Nets, who were without Kevin Durant but, on paper, certainly looked like the favorite. Smith didn’t play, but could make his Pistons debut Thursday in Detroit against the Pacers.

Pistons center Jahlil Okafor undergoes knee surgery

The Detroit Pistons center Jahlil Okafor has undergone surgery to clean the lateral meniscus in his left knee.

Okafor is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.

Per the Detroit News, “Okafor, 25, signed with the Pistons in the offseason as a free agent, looking to become the backup center and to allow rookie [Isaiah] Stewart to grow into the position as he learned.”

Phoenix Suns will increase fan capacity for home games to 3,000

The Phoenix Suns are increasing capacity for fans at the transformed Phoenix Suns Arena beginning with the team’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, Feb. 16.

After hosting 1,500 fans during games this week in two-person and four-person, socially distanced pods, the organization has decided to increase capacity to 3,000 fans, adding more two-person and four-person pods in the upper level of the arena, along with a limited number of floor seat pods.

In addition, the Suns are offering Party Pods for groups of four to six fans. Located in the private luxury suites at Phoenix Suns Arena, the Party Pods offer a choice of food and beverage packages, one parking pass for the group, a dedicated restroom within the suite, and a private shopping experience exclusively for Party Pod fans. Party Pods within suites represent 25 percent of normal capacity.

Derrick Rose will initially come off bench for Knicks

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is very happy to once again have Derrick Rose on his team. Via the NY Post:

The Knicks got “one of the elite players in this league’’ for Dennis Smith Jr. That’s at least the take of Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, who has a blind spot for Derrick Rose.

Thibodeau said Rose will “initially’’ come off the bench and is happy to hear his favorite player tell him the great shape he is in.

Using the word “initially’’ could mean Elfrid Payton, the Knicks’ starting point guard, should be on alert if his play does not stay up to standards.

Thibodeau has raved about Payton’s defense, but now he’s got one of his favorite players of all time on his side in Rose. Thibodeau has coached Rose in Chicago, Minnesota and now New York…

A Pistons source said Rose’s production dropped off after 25 or so minutes and they kept him on an unofficial minutes restriction. But Thibodeau has always had a soft spot, despite the knee surgeries, for Rose, who won the league’s MVP award in Chicago 10 years ago when he was 22 and Thibodeau was his head coach.

Last season for the Pistons, Rose mostly came off the bench but put up starter numbers: 18.1 points and 5.6 assists in 26.0 minutes per game, shooting an impressive 49% FG.

This season for the Pistons, Rose came off the bench for all 15 games played, but was a less productive, putting up 14.2 points and 5.2 assists in 22.8 minutes per outing, shooting 43% FG.

Pistons trade Derrick Rose to Knicks for Dennis Smith Jr. and draft pick

The New York Knicks have acquired guard Derrick Rose in a trade with the Detroit Pistons for guard Dennis Smith Jr. and a 2021 second round draft pick (via Charlotte).

Rose, 6-3, 200-pounds, has appeared in 611 NBA games (504 starts) recording 18.7 points, 5.6 assists and 3.4 rebounds over 12 seasons with Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Minnesota and Detroit. In 15 games with Detroit this season, he is averaging 14.2 points, 4.2 assists and 1.9 rebounds over 22.8 minutes.

The Chicago-native returns to New York, where he previously spent one season with the Knicks, after being acquired from Chicago via trade on Jun. 22, 2016. He averaged 18.0 points, 4.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds over 32.5 minutes in 64 games (all starts) as a Knick.

Career highlights for the first-overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft include: 2011 NBA MVP; 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year; three consecutive NBA All-Star selections (2010, 2011, 2012); 2009 NBA All-Rookie Team; two-time Eastern Conference Player of the Month; five-time Eastern Conference Player of the Week and three-time Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month.

Smith Jr., 6-2, 205, was the ninth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks and went to New York as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade on January 31, 2019. In 159 career games (122 starts), the 23-year-old has averaged 12.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.1 steals with Dallas and New York. In his rookie season, he averaged a career-high 15.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.0 steals and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2017-18. He was also selected to play in the 2018 Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, CA.

“We welcome Dennis Smith Jr. to the Pistons family. Adding another young player who was a high draft pick alongside a draft asset advances our goals in building for the future,” said Troy Weaver, Detroit Pistons General Manager. “We thank Derrick Rose for his contributions on and off the court during his time as a Piston and wish him and his family well as they move forward.”

A native of Fayetteville, NC, Smith Jr. played one collegiate season at North Carolina State University where he was named ACC Freshman of the Year after averaging a school-freshman record 18.1 points and 6.2 assists per game. He also garnered All -ACC Second Team honors.

Cavs forward Larry Nance Jr. undergoes finger surgery

Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. underwent successful surgery today to address a fracture in his left fourth metacarpal that occurred during Saturday night’s home game against Milwaukee at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The surgery was performed by Cleveland Clinic Orthopedic Specialist Dr. Steven Maschke and assisted by Cavaliers Team Physician Dr. James Rosneck at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health.

Nance is expected to remain out approximately six weeks and will undergo a period of rest and rehabilitation.