NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
The Toronto Raptors revealed on Sunday that forward Thaddeus Young has a hyperextension injury to his left thumb and guard Scottie Barnes has a left ankle strain.
Both players had an MRI today in Philadelphia and are labeled as questionable for Game 2 on Monday.
Late second quarter in the Atlanta Hawks play-in tournament game in Cleveland against the Cavaliers, Hawks center Clint Capela fouled Cavs big-man Evan Mobley. The foul pulled Mobley in the direction of Capela, resulting in a fall that led to what the Hawks say is a right knee hyperextension.
Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Capela went down in pain and immediately grabbed his knee after fouling Cleveland’s Evan Mobley, with Mobley then falling on Capela’s knee. Capela was helped back to the Hawks’ locker room.”
Capela won’t return tonight.
The Hawks are already playing without John Collins, so this weakens their frontcourt even further.
Mid third quarter, the Cavs lead, 70-59.
The winner of this game will win a spot in the 2022 playoffs as the East’s No. 8 seed, and will face the Miami Heat in the first round.
Already playing without Kawhi Leonard, who has been out all season, the Clippers will be without Paul George for their biggest game of the year tonight, per ESPN.com:
LA Clippers star Paul George has entered health and safety protocols after testing positive for COVID-19 and will miss Friday night’s play-in game against the New Orleans Pelicans, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps.
With the NBA playoffs starting this weekend, there is no reason to expect that Ben Simmons will make his Brooklyn Nets debut anytime soon. Via ESPN.com:
As the speculation surrounding Ben Simmons’ potential debut for the Brooklyn Nets continues to be a talking point inside the NBA, Nets star Kevin Durant admitted Thursday that he is preparing as if Simmons won’t return as the Nets get ready for their Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup with the Boston Celtics.
“I’m not expecting him to play,” Durant said after practice Thursday. “That’s easier for me. I’m not putting any pressure on Ben to come out there and hoop. So I’m not expecting him to do anything but just to get his body right and get healthy as fast as he can. So in my mind, I’m preparing as if we’re playing with the team we have.”
Simmons, who was acquired by the Nets just before the February trade deadline from the Philadelphia 76ers, has not played in an NBA game in almost a year after requesting a trade from the Sixers last season, citing mental health concerns. Simmons has been dealing with some back soreness since late February and has not been cleared to participate in a practice since coming to Brooklyn. Nets coach Steve Nash said Thursday that Simmons still isn’t doing any “basketball conditioning” and continues to do individual rehab work.
Here’s the Boston Herald on Jaylen Brown and the Celtics:
Jaylen Brown missed last season’s first-round loss to the Nets due to wrist surgery and it’s not hard to tell that the young Celtics star has some pent-up enthusiasm this time around for a Brooklyn rematch set to begin on Sunday in the Garden.
“You could tell (by the) smile on my face, right?” he said after Thursday’s practice.
“Yeah, it’s exciting. I’ve had a little bit of trouble sleeping. So I’m just trying to calm myself down,” he said. “I’m ready to go, I’m excited, it’s playoff time, it’s the best time of the year. This is what you work for. So ultimately, going out there and just breathing and being yourself is going to be key because I know it’s gonna be a lot of energy in the Garden, there’s gonna be a lot of energy in the arena. So sometimes the more calm, relaxed player is the one who gets the advantage. So just trying to stay balanced as much as possible, but I’m definitely excited.
And now for the hard part. How not for Brown and Jayson Tatum to get too caught up in the scoring derby that Kevin Durant and their former teammate, Kyrie Irving, are about to launch. The Nets are best in the league when it comes to isolation basketball. Indeed, Durant and Irving are two of the most gifted man-to-man scorers in the history of the game.
“It’s exciting. What more could you ask for?” said Brown.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley has been fined $30,000 for, per the NBA, “inappropriate statements during a media interview and on social media, including the egregious use of profanity,” it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations.
Beverley made his comments to the media during a postgame press conference and on a social media post following the Timberwolves’ 109-104 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on April 12 at Target Center.
Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges has been fined $50,000 for, per the NBA, “throwing his mouthpiece into the spectator stands, which resulted in the mouthpiece striking a fan,” it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations.
The incident occurred after Bridges received two technical fouls and was ejected in Charlotte’s 132-103 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on April 13 at State Farm Arena.
Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution on the Atlanta Hawks, who stepped up nicely against the Hornets in their first 2022 play-in tournament game:
They hardly looked like a No. 9 seed just trying to get into the playoffs. I’m sure I’m not the only one tired of hearing about last year, but there’s no way around it after that performance.
The Hawks opened their 2022 postseason looking like the intense and determined team that made it to the 2021 Eastern Conference finals. They’ll have to win again at Cleveland on Friday to earn the East’s No. 8 seed and a first-round series against top-seeded Miami. It’s a road game against a gritty opponent instead of a home game against a squad that prefers to run and shoot.
“It’s going to be tight; it’s going to be loud,” Hawks center Clint Capela said.
I still have some questions about how the Hawks would respond in a hotly contested elimination game on the road. I have fewer of them after the 132-103 victory over the Hornets…
The Hornets tried to make Hawks star Trae Young a nonfactor by forcing him to give up the ball. Young thwarted their plans with a masterful floor game, and his teammates converted most of their scoring chances. The Hornets wanted to run at every opportunity. The Hawks didn’t give them many chances because they took care of the ball and ran back to recover before the Hornets could attack.
Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, P.J. Tucker and the Miami Heat:
The Heat’s No. 1 seed paid worthwhile dividends, too. On Sunday, they’ll open play against a proper eighth seed in Cleveland or Atlanta, depending on their remaining play-in game. Advance and they’d get Philadelphia or Toronto rather than the expected Milwaukee.
The Heat added pit bulls like Lowry and Tucker for this time of year and was open to the development of little-knowns like Max Strus and Caleb Martin. They still don’t have a top-10 player on their team. But they have a few in the tier below that. Enough?
So much still centers on Butler.
“We’ve been a great team all year long,’’ he said. “But now’s the time we talk about. When we had this team meeting, a lot of championship talk happened, but I really, really, really think we have a good shot at this.”
All those players with rings in the team meeting, Butler isn’t one of them. It’s that time of year. He says what several players around the league are this week: “We’re going to find a way to get 16 wins.”
Today, Sacramento Kings General Manager Monte McNair announced that Alvin Gentry has been relieved of his duties as interim head coach of the team.
“The entire Kings organization is grateful for the leadership of Alvin Gentry, who stepped up when he got the call mid-season,” said McNair. “We appreciate his leadership on and off the court.”
Per the Sacramento Bee, “Gentry, 67, has 34 years of NBA coaching experience, including 18 seasons as a head coach with the Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Suns, New Orleans Pelicans and Kings. He came to Sacramento to join former coach Luke Walton’s staff as associate head coach in October 2020. He was appointed as interim head coach in November when Walton was fired after the Kings went 6-11 to start the season.”