Chicago Bulls guard/forward Max Strus sustained a torn ACL and bone bruise to his left knee on Dec. 21 in the Windy City Bulls game against the Lakeland Magic at the G League Winter Showcase. The diagnosis was confirmed today by an MRI and a physical exam.
Strus will undergo surgery in approximately three weeks after his swelling and discomfort resolves, and he is expected to be out for eight-to-12 months.
The Bulls signed Strus to a Two-Way contract on Oct. 22. He averaged 2.5 points through two appearances for the Bulls this season. In the G League, Strus averaged 18.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 13 games for Windy City.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly set to trade guard Jordan Clarkson to the Utah Jazz for guard Dante Exum.
According to ESPN.com, “the Jazz will send Cleveland a 2022 (via San Antonio) and 2023 (via Golden State) second-round picks, sources said. This was the NBA’s first trade since the Houston-Oklahoma City deal centered on Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul on July 11. Clarkson arrives with a $13.4 million expiring contract. Exum has two years, $19.2 million left on his contract. The Cavaliers will create a $3.83 million trade exception, which it has one year to use, ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks reports.”
The Cavs are 8-21 this season. Clarkson has come off the bench for all 29 games and is averaging 14.6 points in 23.0 minutes per game. Their focus this season should be on rebuilding for the future.
The Jazz are 18-11 and currently on a five-game winning streak. They’re a playoff competitor. And got little out of Exum during his time on the team due to major injury issues. As for this season, Exum is averaging just 2.2 points in 7.5 minutes per game, over 11 games.
Here’s the Chicago Sun-Times reporting on scoring guard Zach LaVine, who this season is averaging 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game for the Bulls (12-19):
In his last 15 games, LaVine is averaging 27.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists and is shooting 45.4 percent from three-point range. That stretch includes a career-high 49-point game in which he went 13-for-17 from behind the arc.
‘‘His last 13 or 14 games, he’s played All-Star basketball,’’ [Chicago Bulls head coach Jim] Boylen said before the game against the Pistons. ‘‘I don’t think anybody can fight that. And before that, he was playing very good basketball, so he’s taking it to another level.’’
The East guard spot is a crowded field this year in regard to All-Star candidates. A number of players have an excellent case to claim one of a very limited number of spots.
Raptors guard Kyle Lowry has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Dec. 16-22. Lowry earns the honor for the sixth time in his career and fifth time with the Raptors.
Lowry averaged 24.5 points, 10.0 assists, 6.5 rebounds and 39.6 minutes while helping the Raptors to a perfect 4-0 record last week. He shot .448 (30-for-67) from the field, .424 (14-for-33) from three-point range and .774 (24-for-31) at the free throw line.
Lowry began the week by recording the first of three double-doubles (20 points, 11 assist) during a 133-113 victory Dec. 16 vs. Cleveland. He then earned his franchise-best 13th career triple-double Dec. 18 at Detroit (20 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds). Lowry finished the week by leading the Raptors in a franchise-record 30-point comeback Dec. 22 vs. Dallas. He scored a game-high 32 points, including 20 points in the fourth quarter rally that resulted in a 110-107 victory.
And on the West side of things, Thunder guard Dennis Schroder has been named Western Conference Player of the Week.
From the Oklahoman, “He averaged 25.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and six assists, lifting the Thunder to a 4-0 record last week. Schroder, an early Sixth Man of the Year candidate, beat out a field of starters to claim the honor.”
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker has received the November NBA Cares Community Assist Award. This in recognition of his efforts to impact the lives of local children and families through his Devin Booker Starting Five initiative.
The award recognizes a player each month who best reflects the passion that the league and NBA players share for giving back to their communities.
Booker created the Devin Booker Starting Five to further his commitment to the Phoenix community, pledging $500,000 annually to five different youth-serving nonprofits in Arizona, and a total of $2.5 million over the course of five years. In November, he announced Special Olympics Arizona, Ability 360, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, UMOM New Day Centers and Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center as members of the Starting Five. Booker invited the organizations to Talking Stick Resort Arena to surprise each of them with an initial $100,000 donation. The funding will allow the organizations to address critical areas of need, including the construction and refurbishment of facilities, expansion of family services, improved patient support and investments in research.
The Washington Wizards signed guard Gary Payton II today.
Payton (6-3, 190) has played in 16 games (15 starts) this season for the South Bay Lakers, averaging 21.4 points, 9.5 rebounds, 6.8 assists and a NBA G League-leading 3.2 steals per game. Payton has tallied 14 double-doubles this season (nine point-rebound and five point-assist). The fourth-year pro was recently named NBA G League Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 16 after averaging 30.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 10.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks while shooting 58.7 percent from the field.
Payton signed a 10-Day contract with the Wizards in January 2019, appearing in three games and averaging 3.7 points per game off the bench. After completing his 10-Day contract, Payton returned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, helping lead them to the NBA G League championship. In his four year career, Payton has played in 32 total games with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers and Wizards.
Per the Washington Post, “Washington recently applied for and received a hardship exception, which allowed the team to bring in another player even while having the league maximum amount of 15 players and a pair of two-way players.”
The Wizards’ roster now stands at 16, not including two-way players Garrison Mathews and Anzejs Pasecniks.
LeBron James finally missed a game this season, as the Lakers fell to the Nuggets Sunday. Here’s the Denver Post reporting:
The Nuggets strode into the Staples Center and rocked the Lakers 128-104 on Sunday night, improving to 20-8 and stretching their winning streak to six. They’ll go for seven on Monday night in Phoenix against the Suns.
Though James was ruled out with a rib injury — the first game he has missed all season — the Nuggets put together a fantastic collective effort that might have won them the game had he been healthy.
Paul Millsap scored 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, but his dogged effort on Lakers superstar Anthony Davis was arguably more valuable. Though Davis finished with 32 points, Millsap chased him around the court and hounded him as the Lakers fought fruitlessly to get back into the game.
Unlike his trademark unibrow, Anthony Davis does his best work in a pair.
That’s not to say that the 26-year-old’s 32-point, 11-rebound, four-block game on Sunday night didn’t make him look like a star. But the performance came without a win, which has become the ultimate bottom line in a Lakers (24-6) season with renewed championship aspirations.
It was telling that even as Davis checked back in to start the fourth quarter, the visiting Denver Nuggets (20-8) kept on pulling away. In a 128-104 loss — the Lakers’ third straight and the largest margin of defeat this season — it was clear that Davis sorely lacked his running mate, LeBron James.
The Lakers have gotten national attention all season — quite justifiably — but the Nuggets deserve big praise as well. They’re 20-8 this season and their win Sunday was their sixth straight victory.
They’re being led in scoring this season by Jamal Murray (17.5 ppg), Nikola Jokic (17.3 ppg), Will Barton (14.6 ppg), Paul Millsap (13.0 ppg) and Gary Harris (11.3 ppg). But defense is why the Nuggets are having an excellent year. They’re second best in the league in that department, only behind the Bucks.
Trail Blazers big-man Hassan Whiteside is doing big things lately. Here’s NBC Sports Northwest:
He had another monster game Saturday night, helping the Trail Blazers push past the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-106. And all Whiteside did was grab 22 rebounds, block seven shots and score 16 points. He is averaging 16 rebounds and four blocks over his last seven games and is coming off rebound games of 14, 23 and 17 prior to his 22 against the T-Wolves.
The Timberwolves were without star center Karl-Anthony Towns, which certainly made things easier for Whiteside – but still, a big performance is a big performance.
Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, the Indiana Pacers hit the road for a trip to Milwaukee. It’s an especially big game for Pacers point guard Malcolm Brogdon, whose first three NBA seasons were with the Bucks. But this summer came big money and a nice role with the Pacers, so Brogdon got himself a new squad, and it’s actually worked out well for both teams.
As for Brogdon’s health status, here’s the Indianapolis Star reporting:
Malcolm Brogdon will take the taped-up fingers on his right hand if it means he can be on the court for his Milwaukee homecoming on Sunday.
After the Pacers starting point guard dislocated his right pinkie and tore a ligament in it earlier this month, he’s been forced to wear surgical tape stabilizing it with his right ring finger, and the traditionally laser-focused Brogdon said it’s been giving him fits on the court the past two weeks.
“It’s definitely something I notice when I’m on the court, but I feel like I’ve been able to do the best I can with it,” he said. “People here have been playing with all types of injuries that the media or other people don’t know about. It’s just something minor.”
The game is worth watching. Even as the Pacers continue to await the eventual return of start shooting guard Victor Oladipo.
The Suns got their star back, but fell to a fellow mid-level Western conference squad. Here’s Arizona Sports reporting:
The Phoenix Suns got Devin Booker back on Friday after his three-game absence due to a right forearm contusion.
That was great news, even better considering the Suns are in the middle of a four-game losing streak and received a blow on Tuesday when Deandre Ayton sprained his ankle in his first game back from a 25-game suspension.
A strong bounce-back game from Booker could represent the team’s own.
Instead, Phoenix’s defensive shortcomings came back to bite them once again and Oklahoma City beat them 126-108.
The Thunder are now 14-14, the Suns 11-17.
Phoenix was a stronger team earlier in the season, but have fallen back down to Earth — yet they should remain competitive. It’ll be interesting to see how they do in the coming weeks now that Deandre Ayton, coming off a 25-game suspension that has mostly erased his season so far, is back in the mix.