Wizards guard Bradley Beal out with wrist injury

Wizards guard Bradley Beal has been diagnosed with an injury to the scapholunate ligament of his left wrist. He will miss the team’s next four games, beginning with tonight’s game at Milwaukee, and will be re-evaluated in approximately one week.

The injury, which Beal suffered at the 7:47 mark of the third quarter at Memphis on January 29, was revealed following examination and testing by Wizards Head Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. William Postma and Hand Specialist Dr. Curtis Henn of MedStar Health in conjunction with Dr. Michelle Carlson of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York and Monumental Basketball Chief of Athlete Care & Performance Dr. Daniel Medina.

The three-time All-Star has averaged 23.2 points, a career-high 6.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 40 games this season.

Houston Rockets weekly team notes: January 31, 2022

KJ Martin had a season-high 17 points vs. Portland on 1/28 and is averaging 14.7 ppg on 74.1% shooting over the past three games… he is shooting 53.1% overall this season and 52.0% for his career.

Christian Wood has grabbed 14+ rebounds in four of the past five games and 14 times overall this season after doing so eight times prior in his career… he is averaging a career-high 10.3 rpg overall this season and ranks 11th in the NBA.

Following Wednesday’s game vs. Cleveland, Houston will have seven games remaining heading into All-Star break, five of which will be on the road… post All-Star break, the Rockets will play 15 of their final 24 games at Toyota Center.

The Rockets have already outrebounded their opponent 20 times this season after doing so 19 times in 2020-21… Houston has also outrebounded its opponent by double digits five times this season after doing so twice in 2020-21.

Trail Blazers forward Nassir Little will undergo season-ending should surgery

Portland Trail Blazers forward Nassir Little will undergo surgery to repair the torn labrum in his left shoulder.

The surgery will be performed on Tuesday, February 1 by Dr. James Andrews at the Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine in Gulf Breeze, Florida.

Little will miss the remainder of the season.

In 42 games this season (23 starts), Little averaged career highs of 9.8 points (46.0% FG, 33.1% 3-PT, 73.4% FT), 5.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.86 blocks and 25.9 minutes.

Per the Oregonian, “losing Little hurts the Blazers in a variety of ways. Little was having the best statistical month of his career. In eight games, Little averaged 13.1 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 45.4% from the field and 40.3% on threes. On the season, Little averaged 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Defensively, Little had proven to be one of the team’s best perimeter defenders. His athleticism and energy helped lead to fast break points, offensive rebounds, captured loose balls and high-flying dunks.”

Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles suffers torn ACL

Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles was examined Monday by the Utah Jazz medical staff and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) testing. The MRI revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee with no other structural damage.

Ingles will remain out indefinitely with surgery taking place in the next several weeks. A torn ACL is quite typically a season-ending injury.

Ingles (6-8, 226, Australia) is in his eighth season with Utah, owning averages of 7.2 points, 3.5 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 24.9 minutes per game. He is Utah’s all-time three-point leader, having knocked down 1,071 during his career.

Per ESPN.com, “Ingles has started 40 of 45 Jazz playoff games over the past five seasons. He was the runner-up to teammate Jordan Clarkson for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award last season. Ingles is in the final year of a $13 million contract, and his expiring contract could still be useful to the Jazz in trade discussions.”

Heat re-sign Chris Silva to fourth 10-day contract

The Miami Heat have re-signed forward Chris Silva to a 10-day contract, using the COVID-Related Hardship Allowance.

Silva, who has previously signed three 10-day contracts with the HEAT using the hardship allowance, has appeared in seven games with Miami this season averaging 3.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 9.0 minutes of action while shooting 61.5 percent from the field and 80 percent from the foul line.

Per the South Florida Sun Sentinel, “each of Silva’s 10-day contracts has been worth $95,930, bringing his earnings on the four such Heat contracts now to $383,720. He also previously had played under one such emergency contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, after starting the season with their G League affiliate. To put the $479,650 in earnings on Silva’s five 10-day deals into perspective, the Heat’s Caleb Martin ahead of the season signed a two-way contract worth $462,629.”

Earlier this season he appeared in one game with the Minnesota Timberwolves and 12 G League games with the Iowa Wolves where he averaged 15.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.00 steals and 26.1 minutes while shooting 57.3 percent from the field, leading the team in blocks and free throws made while finishing second in rebounds and field goals made.

Suns coach Monty Williams will coach Team LeBron in 2022 NBA All-Star Game

Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams and his staff will coach Team LeBron in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, which will be played on Sunday, Feb. 20 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. The 71st NBA All-Star Game will air live at 8 p.m. ET on TNT and ESPN Radio in the United States.

Phoenix (40-9, .816) defeated the San Antonio Spurs 115-110 tonight to clinch the best record in the Western Conference through games played on Sunday, Feb. 6. As a result, Williams has earned a spot as a head coach in the NBA All-Star Game for the first time. He will be the Suns’ first NBA All-Star Game head coach since Mike D’Antoni in the 2006-07 season.

Under Williams, the Suns have the best record in the NBA this season and are off to their best start in franchise history through the first 49 games of a season. Phoenix won a franchise-record 18 consecutive games from Oct. 30 – Dec. 2 and has a current 10-game winning streak. Williams was named the NBA Western Conference Coach of the Month for games played in October/November.

Williams is in his third season as Phoenix’s head coach. Last season, he guided the Suns to a 51-21 record and their first appearance in the NBA Finals since the 1992-93 season. Williams previously served as head coach of the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans for five seasons.

Each head coach in the NBA All-Star Game will lead the team that includes the captain from the same conference. Williams will coach the All-Star team captained by Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James.

The eligible head coach of the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference through games played on Feb. 6 will coach the All-Star team captained by Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant. Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers is ineligible because he served as a head coach in the NBA All-Star Game last season.