Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Kristaps Porzingis suffers torn ACL

 

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The single worst thing that can happen to the Knicks this season has now happened. Young star Kristaps Porzingis has suffered a serious injury. Here’s New York Newsday reporting:

Kristaps Porzingis’ beautiful breakout season, the one that began with his setting a Knicks record by scoring 300 points in his first 10 games, ended in the most ugly of fashions with him rolling around underneath the basket and clutching his left knee.

MRI? It was more like MR-Cry. At least that’s how many Knicks fans felt Tuesday night after the team announced that that the test had shown that their star has a torn left ACL. Not only does that mean Porzingis is out for the season. He likely won’t be back for the start of next season if you go by the average time it takes to rehab such injuries. Former Knick Derrick Rose took 16 months to come back from his torn ACL, while Iman Shumpert took nine months.

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And here’s the New York Post:

“It’s deflating,” Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said, and that was before he knew of the awful diagnosis to come. “Very deflating.”

Porzingis was on the floor. He was pounding his fist when he wasn’t grabbing for his left knee. Earlier in the season, on the other end of the floor, Porzingis had nearly bent his ankle in half against the Heat, thrown a shivering scare into the Garden, missed a few games, admitted how scary it is to have your body betray you like that.

This was different. This wasn’t the ankle. This was the knee, twisting in a way it wasn’t intended to twist. The replay went up on the Garden board and the gasp was immediate and it was unambiguous. He struggled to his feet, hobbled off the floor.

Soon, he flashed a thumbs up as he walked out of the Garden, his leg wrapped in a knee stabilizer, bound for an MRI tube that would deliver the devastating news: torn anterior cruciate ligament. Out for the year. And who knows how much more after that.

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And another New York Post report:

The Knicks didn’t announce a timetable, but the 7-foot-3 Latvian will need surgery and is done for the season. His availability for training camp in late September is in doubt.

A review of torn ACLs in the NBA in recent years show absences that range from seven to 12 months.

The injury, which occurred after his dunk over Giannis Antetokounmpo occurred 12 days before Porzingis was slated to make his first All-Star appearance, in Los Angeles for Team LeBron.

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Seth Curry will reportedly not play this season

Seth Curry, brother of Stephen, played one game for the Cavs and one game for the Grizzlies in the 2013-14 season, played two games for the Suns in 2014-15, then played 44 games averaging 15.7 minutes per outing for the Kings in 2015-16, and last season he really put himself on the map playing solid basketball for the Mavs. He’s still on the Mavs now, but injury has erased his season. Here’s ESPN.com with the latest:

Dallas Mavericks guard Seth Curry will have season-ending surgery on his left tibia, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Curry has missed the entire season with the injury.

The recovery process is expected to take 12 to 14 weeks, and Curry is expected to be fully recovered and on the court by the start of his free agency in July, sources said.

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Hassan Whiteside playing fewer minutes this season

Talented Heat big-man Hassan Whiteside is receiving fewer-than-expected minutes per game from the Heat this season, and is often finding himself watching 4th quarter action rather than participating in it. He played 29.1 minutes per game in 2015-16, 32.6 minutes per game last season, but this season he’s at 25.5 minutes per game through Monday’s action. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting:

Back from a one-game absence following a stomach ailment, Whiteside again found himself as fourth-quarter spectator in Monday night’s 111-109 loss to the league-worst Orlando Magic at AmericanAirlines Arena.

“I played my average minutes, you know. I average, what, 22 minutes, 23 minutes? So that’s pretty much how it’s been,” said Whiteside, who was utilized for 22 minutes, 44 seconds, nonetheless closing with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

With the emergence of rookie center Bam Adebayo and the addition of Kelly Olynyk, Whiteside is averaging 25.3 minutes per game this season, down from his 32.6 last season, when the Heat’s primary backup big man was journeyman center Willie Reed.

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Paul George says he is happy being with OKC

Is Paul George’s long-term future with OKC? Or elsewhere, like perhaps in Los Angeles? That will remain a lingering question, certainly through the summer. Here’s the Norman Transcript reporting:

Paul George feels “a real brotherhood” with Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony, he told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols in a sit-down interview, which aired Sunday.

Talk of the Los Angeles Lakers has surrounded the five-time All-Star, who will become a free agent at the end of this season. The Lakers are not only George’s hometown team. He also requested to be traded there when he informed the Indiana Pacers he would not be re-signing come 2018 free agency.

George has, however, been complimentary of the Oklahoma City Thunder since the team traded for him over the summer.

“I obviously would’ve loved to go home. That was ideal when it was that time,” George told Nichols. “But now, being here and playing alongside Russ, playing alongside Melo, I feel a real brotherhood with those guys. If we’re here right now, then where can we be next year? Where can we be the year after that?”

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Thunder giving up many 3-points lately

The Thunder defense is clearly not as good with Andre Roberson out. Here’s the Norman Transcript reporting on what’s been going on:

The Thunder have been allowing a bunch of 3-pointers all season, a reaction to personnel changes over the summer and to a 2016-17 defense which gave up a higher percentage of its field-goals allowed at the rim than any other team. The Thunder help more aggressively from the weak side now in an attempt to take away driving lanes. When the strategy isn’t executed well, it’s prone to allowing easier 3s.

The issues have become more exaggerated of late.

“I think it’s just player movement,” Paul George said. “That’s the element of defense that we’re struggling at, understanding guys are moving and causing us to move around.”

The Thunder have allowed 31.5 3-pointers per game over their past eight, up from their seasonal average. Even worse, opponents are making 12.9 of those a game, good for nearly 41 percent. The makes and the percentage are the NBA’s second-worst and fourth-worst figures, respectively, over that time.

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Warriors hope to upgrade bench

The defending champion Warriors still look like the best team in the league, but they’d be even more potent with a better bench. Here’s the San Jose Mercury News reporting:

The Warriors’ goal ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline is clear: They want to upgrade their bench, which has underwhelmed in recent weeks.

Specifically, they’re looking for someone who can provide consistent offense off the bench, and if that player can make a 3-pointer, it’d be a godsend…

Since Christmas, the Warriors’ bench has been a negative unit, allowing six more points than they’ve scored. The culprit behind this turnaround — the Warriors had the second-best plus-minus rating in the league last year (plus-185) — is obvious: they can’t shoot 3-pointers.

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Nets trade Tyler Zeller to Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks have traded guard Rashad Vaughn and a second round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Tyler Zeller. Milwaukee will convey its 2018 second round pick provided that the pick falls between No. 31-47. If the pick is not conveyed in 2018, it will become an unprotected 2020 second round pick.

Vaughn (6’6”, 210) has played in 22 games for the Bucks this season, averaging 2.7 points in 7.9 minutes per game. Selected by Milwaukee with the 17th overall pick in the 2015 draft, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas product holds career averages of 3.1 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 12.3 minutes per contest in 133 games.

According to the New York Daily News, “Zeller has started 33 games for the Nets this season, averaging 7.1 points on 54.6% shooting from the field to go along with 4.6 rebounds. The 28-year-old big man is on a team-friendly two-year, $3.6 million contract with the second year non-guaranteed.”

Zeller, 28, is in his sixth season in the NBA and holds career averages of 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 50.4 percent from the field. This season with the Nets, Zeller appeared in 42 games (33 starts) and averaged 7.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game while shooting 54.6 percent overall. Zeller was in his first season with Brooklyn after spending three seasons (2014-17) with the Boston Celtics, and his first two seasons in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2012-14). The North Carolina product was drafted with the 17th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks, but was traded the following day to the Cavaliers where he began his NBA career.

Bucks center John Henson and Zeller were teammates at North Carolina from 2009-12 where they advanced to the Elite Eight in consecutive seasons in 2011 and 2012.

Report: Nets trading Tyler Zeller to Bucks

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Milwaukee Bucks will be acquiring center Tyler Zeller from the Brooklyn Nets.

In return, the Nets will reportedly receive a protected 2018 second round pick along with Rashad Vaughn, a former first-round draft pick.

Zeller adds frontcourt depth for Milwaukee. The Nets did start Zeller for 33 of the 42 games he played for them this season, but he was still averaging just 16.7 minutes per outing.

The Bucks, through Sunday’s games, are 29-23, which is the fifth best record in the Eastern Conference. And are trying to improve right now. The Nets, at 19-35, are 12th best in the conference and focused more on the future.

Darren Collison to undergo surgery

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Indiana Pacers guard Darren Collison on Tuesday will undergo left knee arthroscopic surgery.

His return date is fairly soon: the team says he should be back in two to three weeks.

The Pacers are 30-24 this season, which is the 6th best record in the Eastern conference. The Bucks are 5th and the Heat are 7th. Only a half-game separates the three teams.

Indiana is led in scoring this season by Victor Oladipo at 24.0 ppg. Then they have five players averaging between 12.0 and 13.7 points per game.

Collison for the season has played 52 games, starting all 52 at point guard, averaging 12.8 points and 5.3 assists per outing, on excellent shooting.

Pelicans sign DeAndre Liggins

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed guard DeAndre Liggins.

Liggins, 6-6, 209, who was signed to two 10-day contracts by the Pelicans in January, has appeared in four games this season for New Orleans, averaging 4.3 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 12.8 minutes per contest.

Liggins will be available for the Pelicans’ game tonight against Utah at the Smoothie King Center. New Orleans’ roster currently stands at 17, including two two-way players (Charles Cooke and Mike James).