Recent big game might be turning point for Heat guard Victor Oladipo

Via the Miami Herald:

After not completing a dunk in his first 10 games of the season, Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo finally threw one down in his 11th game.

It was worth the wait, as Oladipo used his burst to dribble into the paint before jumping over and through 7-foot Jazz center Walker Kessler for a right-handed slam in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s road win over the Jazz.

“Man, he dunked on that man,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said to reporters afterwards.

It was the highlight of Oladipo’s season-best offensive performance, as he finished Saturday’s victory with a season-high 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field, 4-of-9 shooting from three-point range and 5-of-7 shooting from the foul line, five rebounds and five assists. He also played a season-high 35 minutes off the bench.

“Everybody celebrated him in the locker room because only the locker room understands what he’s been going through for the last two years,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about Oladipo following Saturday’s game in Salt Lake City. “So much of his journey has been solitary.”

The Heat are 19-18 this season, which ties them with the New York Knicks for the 7th best record in the Eastern conference.

Their leading scorers so far in 2022-23 are Jimmy Butler at 21.8 PPG, Tyler Herro at 21.4 PPG, and Bam Adebayo at 21.2 PPG.

Pair of young Warriors playing great lately

Via the San Jose Mercury News:

Expectations shape reality, but for the Warriors, a new reality needs to shift their expectations.

The Baby Dubs — namely Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga — have thrived since the Warriors’ Christmas Day win over the Grizzlies, the first game of the team’s eight-game home stand. Following that win over Memphis with strong performances in the clutch against the Hornets, Jazz, and the Blazers have given the Warriors their first four-game winning streak this season.

For a team whose only intention with Steph Curry injured and out of the lineup was to keep its head above water — to win as many as it loses — this home stand is already a success.

But this is also a team that has found a new gear this past week, without Curry or do-it-all forward Andrew Wiggins.

It’s time for the Dubs to be greedy.

Injury update on Lakers center Anthony Davis

Via the Los Angeles Times:

Lakers star big man Anthony Davis said pain in his right foot has been significantly reduced and imaging has shown that he’s progressing in his healing.
Though Davis hesitated to put a timetable on his return, he said things are moving in the right direction.

“It’s healing pretty quickly,” Davis said. “So when we get back to L.A., we’ll do another image of the foot, and see how far it’s healed since the last time I did it, which was the 22nd or the 23rd. And it’s really just about pain. The pain is still there, I still feel it a little bit, not as much as I did before. More like a two [out of 10], trending down to one. I’ve been lifting, and lifting is fine. Everything I do in the weight room is fine.

“If I see that it’s healed properly, or enough where I can go start ramping up on the court, then we’ll start that process.”

The Lakers are 15-21 this season, which is the 13th best record in the Western conference.

Davis is averaging 27.4 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists in minutes per game.

Jeremy Lin cuts basketball season in China short

Via the New York Post:

Jeremy Lin, who captivated New York in 2012 during his magical run with the Knicks, is leaving the Chinese Basketball Association, cutting his season with the Guangzhou Loong Lions short.

Lin now plans to come back to America, though he is leaving his basketball future open.

“After lots of consideration, I’ve decided to leave the CBA for this season,” Lin wrote in an Instagram post. “It wasn’t an easy decision. I still love the game of basketball and look forward to getting back to the court one day. As for now, I’m gonna go back to the US to rest and reset before I make a decision with my family for my next step.”

Bulls guard Alex Caruso set to return

Via the Chicago Tribune:

Guard Alex Caruso plans to return to the Chicago Bulls lineup in Friday’s game against the Detroit Pistons after missing three games due to concussion protocol and a shoulder injury.

Caruso suffered the pair of injuries in last Wednesday game against the Atlanta Hawks after attempting to dive parallel to the court to snatch a steal out of mid-air. Instead, he crashed directly into a Hawks player. Caruso described the moment as baffling in real-time — one second he thought he had secured a flying steal, the next he was flat on the hardwood with the entire right side of his body aching.

The Bulls are 15-19 this season, which is the 10th best record in the Eastern conference.

Their leading scorers so far in 2022-23 are DeMar DeRozan at 26.5 PPG, Zach LaVine at 22.2 PPG, and Nikola Vucevic at 16.7 PPG.

Raptors waive Justin Champagnie

Forward Justin Champagnie was waived by the Toronto Raptors on Thursday, the team confirmed.

In 39 games throughout the course of his tenure with the Raptors, Champagnie, a 6-foot-6, 202-pounder, averaged 2.2 rebounds, 1.9 rebounds, and 7.5 minutes. Twice he reached double digits, including a 14-point career best in January versus San Antonio. In the summer of 2021, Champagnie initially agreed to a two-way contract with Toronto.

Toronto’s roster currently has 14 players, and a pair of two-way players.

Injury update on Suns guard Devin Booker: Out at least four weeks

Per the Phoenix Suns:

Further evaluation has confirmed that Devin Booker has sustained a left groin strain. He will be re-evaluated in four weeks.

And via the Arizona Republic:

“You feel for Devin, but it’s the nature of our business,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “It’s the nature of a guy who puts in a lot of work and lays everything on the line, you’re going to run into this from time to time. I’m actually grateful that it wasn’t worse. He has a tissue injury. When you look around the league, see guys who play with that kind of drive and passion and play that hard, it could be worse.”

Booker sustained the injury in the first quarter Sunday after he only played four minutes of the Christmas game. He went back to Phoenix right after the game was over for further evaluation.

Nets beat Hawks, extend winning streak to 10 straight games

The Nets have won 10 games in a row. Tonight’s win, a tight 108-107 victory against a short-handed Atlanta Hawks team who were without Trae Young, Clint Capela and supporting cast players, was too close for comfort. But the win streak continues. Via the New York Daily News:

“[Winning 10 in a row] sounds good, especially since there’s just been an up and down vibe with our team the past few years,” Kevin Durant said postgame. “So it’s good to win a game and have some fun.”

The Hawks built a 15-point second-quarter lead in part due to Jacque Vaughn’s first truly confusing move since taking Steve Nash’s post as head coach in Brooklyn. His rotations have traditionally been tight, even tighter when it comes to the two superstars: Durant normally plays the entire first quarter, while Kyrie Irving traditionally sits the final few minutes of the first to lead the reserves in the second quarter while Durant gets a rest.

On Wednesday, Vaughn veered from the norm. He played both Irving and Durant the entire opening period — and sat both of Brooklyn’s stars to start the second quarter.

Of course the Hawks went on a run and built a lead five points shy of 20. Vaughn had a lineup of Patty Mills, Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Yuta Watanabe and T.J. Warren on the floor until taking a timeout at the 5:25 mark of the second quarter.

Via the New York Post:

Kyrie Irving had a team-high 28 points while Kevin Durant added 26. The pair combined to double Hawks star Dejounte Murray — who had 24 — into the fateful, final miss at the buzzer, preserving the rally.

“They’re playing great basketball and as I said to the team, they’re hot as a firecracker,” Atlanta coach Nate McMillan had warned. “They have of course, Kyrie and Durant that are elite players; but the supporting cast is playing really good basketball, shooting the ball extremely well from the floor.

“They’re playing a lot of guys, they have a lot of dangerous guys that are playing off of those guys. So they’re playing, I think they’re becoming the team that a lot of people thought they would be. And right now they’re playing the hottest team.”