Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Kevin Love had food poisoning

Kevin Love had food poisoning

The injury bug already reared its ugly head this season for the Cavaliers, taking down J.R. Smith’s thumb, Chris Andersen’s Achilles, and to a lesser extent, Kyrie Irving’s hamstring and Mike Dunleavy’s ankle in its path.

Following the Cavs’ 90-86 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday, Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue revealed his team is also dealing with the flu.

Kevin Love had it worst, as he exited the game with 6:54 remaining in the fourth quarter and did not return because of his illness that began as food poisoning, believed to be linked to sea bass he ate on the team’s flight back from Charlotte on Saturday, according to Lue.

“When I got the call from [Cavs head athletic trainer] Steve [Spiro], he said [Love] had lost 10 pounds and he was throwing up and whatever else I can’t say,” Lue said.

— ESPN.com

Quick Take: Love is having an excellent season. He’s averaging 21.8 ppg, 10.9 rpg and 1.7 apg. He’s taking a team-high 6.8 three point attempts per game, hitting 39.7% from outside the arc, and 44.8% FG. The Cavs are 26-7 this season, and for now their only series competition in the Eastern conference is the Toronto Raptors.

Cody Zeller placed in NBA concussion protocol

The Charlotte Hornets announced today that center Cody Zeller has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol. Zeller was hit with an elbow to the head late in the fourth quarter of Charlotte’s game against Cleveland on Dec. 31, 2016.

Per the NBA’s Concussion Policy, Zeller will begin the process to return once he is deemed symptom free. No timetable is set for his return and further updates will be provided when available.

The fourth-year Indiana product is averaging 10.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks on 59.5% field goal shooting in 26.1 minutes per game, marking career-highs in all categories. Zeller has played in 31 games for Charlotte this season (starting in 29 of those contests).

James Harden gets 53-point triple-double

James Harden gets 53-point triple-double

As often as James Harden had given the Rockets whatever they needed, part of the magic was knowing just what was required at any given time.

On Saturday against the Knicks, that was obvious.

They needed everything.

They needed more points than any Rockets player had ever scored in a triple-double, more points than he had ever scored in a game, and then they still needed more.

When he was through, Harden became the first player in NBA history with 50 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in a game, driving the Rockets to a 129-122 win at Toyota Center.

With that, the Rockets went 15-2 in December, matching their most wins ever in a month. They sent it out in style.

Harden had a career-high 53 points, and matched his career high with 17 assists. His 16 rebounds were one shy of matching the most in his career.

— Houston Chronicle

Hornets have not beaten the elite East teams

A line of demarcation has formed between the Charlotte Hornets and the top teams in the NBA’s Eastern Conference – and it goes deeper than what is now a combined 0-6 record this season against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics.

“There’s a reason why they’re the three best teams,” said coach Steve Clifford after his team lost 121-115 to the defending champion Cavaliers on Saturday at Spectrum Center. “Every team has a talent level. For us to beat the top teams, we’re going to have to be at or near our best. For (Cleveland on Saturday), for instance, they were really good, but they really didn’t have to be.”

The loss to the Cavs dropped Hornets to 19-15, good enough to remain in first place in the Southeastern Division as they head to Chicago for a game Monday against the Bulls. Do the math: the Hornets are 19-9 against the rest of the league.

— Charlotte Observer

Bulls bench Rajon Rondo

Bulls bench Rajon Rondo

Rajon Rondo stood for plenty of moments during the Bulls’ 116-96 beating at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks, the first full game of his benching after sitting the entire second half Friday night against the Pacers.

The Bulls guard stood at his locker moments later, candidly and honestly answering questions from the media about his future — one that seems to be in doubt some 30 games into his first season as a Bull.

“Absolutely,” said Rondo when asked if he accomplished enough in the NBA for the Bulls to accommodate him on a trade or some transaction to allow him to seek another team should the benching continue.

“Gar (Forman, Bulls GM) and I will have a talk. We’ll talk tonight and go from there. I don’t know if it’s right now, maybe the next 30, 18, 45 minutes. Tonight, before ’17 (the clock strikes midnight).”

By then, one wonders if the Bulls and Rondo will be working on a buyout to free him from the remainder of his contract — one that includes a $3 million buyout that has to be exercised before next July.

“No, I’m not surprised. Not surprised,” Rondo said. “It’s been a tough season. Certain buttons are being pushed and the Bulls are trying to figure things out.”\

— CSN Chicago

Quick Take: This is now a common theme with Rondo. If he can’t succeed alongside the likes of Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler, it’s hard to guess who he’d fit in with at this point.

Russell Westbrook gets super quick triple-double

Russell Westbrook gets amazingly fast triple-double

Jim Tucker was popping champagne Saturday night, and not just because it was New Year’s Eve. The 1950s NBAer cult-famous for owning the title of “fastest man to record a triple-double in an NBA game” can rest easy after Oklahoma City’s 114-88 demolition of the L.A. Clippers.

Russell Westbrook forced him to wait nearly until 2017, though.

Westbrook finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists in the win. And more impressively, the rebound he pulled down with under a minute to go in the second quarter gave him a triple-double for the game. He had played only 18 minutes, 42 seconds at that point, about a minute off Tucker’s record for the quickest triple-double ever.

“He really played an incredible floor game,” coach Billy Donovan said. “And I thought he did an incredible job, not even necessarily having to rely on his scoring, but he did a great job in terms of setting everybody else up.”

Tucker went for 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists on Feb. 20, 1955.

— Norman Transcript

Quick Take: Westbrook is having one of the best seasons in modern basketball history. He’s a basketball wrecking crew, and a must-watch player every night. And one of the top stories of the season.

NBA evolution in the form of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Karl-Anthony Towns

Giannis

Antetokounmpo and Towns might be different players. But both represent where the NBA big man is going.

Antetokounmpo plays the point-forward position for the Bucks while Towns is more of a traditional big man in terms of his play in the post. But both can stretch the floor, score off the dribble and find their teammates. Towns had his first triple-double in Denver. Antetokounmpo has two triple doubles this season.

“I’m playing catch-up,’’ joked Towns.

Said Thibodeau: “I think you’re seeing that’s the way of the league, versatility. It’s hard to, or harder to, put a particular player in a particular box.’’

Now, the point-forward isn’t exactly new. Thibodeau threw out old-school names like Paul Pressey, the former Bucks player, as an example, and Oscar Robertson.

— Minneapolis Star Tribune

Quick Take: Giannis this season is averaging 23.4 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 5.9 apg, 2.0 spg and 1.8 bpg. Towns is putting up 22.0 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 2.8 apg, 0.6 spg and 1.4 bpg. Both are worth watching every night.

George Hill the second-leading scorer on Jazz

George Hill the second-leading scorer on Jazz

George Hill’s individual impact on the Jazz is obvious.

On a team that struggles to handle the ball, Hill’s low turnover rate is badly needed. On a team that craves perimeter scoring, the guard is dropping 20 points a night. And on a team that hasn’t defended opposing point guards very well, Hill is one of the NBA’s best in that category.

But for all of the things Hill brings the Jazz — he returned from a sprained toe in Thursday night’s win over the Philadelphia 76ers — the biggest boon Utah receives from his presence is arguably his ripple effect.

Things simply look easier for the Jazz this season when he is on the floor. The defense is whole. The offense looks more crisp, more lethal. And that’s something the Jazz have sorely needed. Yes, they treaded water for the last 13 games, and have even gained a bit of ground. But when Hill plays, the Jazz tend to overwhelm their opposition in spurts. And that’s exactly what happened during the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s win over Philadelphia.

— Salt Lake Tribune

Quick Take:  The Jazz are 20-13 this season and are tied with the Thunder for the 5th best record in the Western conference. Hill is the team’s second leading scorer, behind Gordon Hayward (22.3 ppg), though he’s averaging just 4.3 apg. Overall, they are a very solid squad with definite potential to keep rising.

Patrick Patterson feeling pain in knee

Patrick Patterson feeling pain in knee

The Raptors-Suns game was an abomination and there isn’t much to say about it. Best to forget it happened and move on to 2017.

But first, there’s the Patrick Patterson situation.

The player the Raptors could least afford to lose for any length of time is team MVP Kyle Lowry. After that, one could argue that Patterson would be the guy over DeMar DeRozan, since Norm Powell, Terrence Ross and Cory Joseph would be able to play more minutes and hold the fort. They’d still miss DeRozan quite a bit, but at least capable reinforcements would be around.

Patterson, of course, felt “sharp pain” in his knee during Thursday’s loss at Phoenix. That doesn’t mean panic should set in – he walked to the locker room under his own power – but with no updates likely coming until the weekend, we have to examine what his absence could mean to a squad aiming to top the Eastern Conference.

— Toronto Sun

Quick Take: This comment is more about the Raptors in general than the Patrick Patterson knee issue mentioned above, but: Toronto haven’t received enough praise for their season. They’re  22-10, which is the second best record in the East, and look like the biggest threat in the conference to keep the Cavs out of the 2017 Finals.