Sixers rookie Jared McCain out with major knee injury

Philadelphia 76ers rookie Jared McCain reported left knee soreness after a recent game against the Pacers.

An MRI today revealed a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee. The injury will require surgery and he is likely out for an extended period of time.

Per the Philadelphia Inquirer, “this news comes after McCain, the No. 16 pick in the first round of NBA draft from Duke, appeared to suffer a third-quarter head injury after falling to the court while being fouled. McCain bumped the back of his head on that play.”

Raptors sign AJ Lawson to two-way contract

The Toronto Raptors recently signed guard AJ Lawson to a two-way contract.

Lawson, 6-foot-6, 185 pounds, averaged 24.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 35.1 minutes in 11 games (all starts) this season with the Long Island Nets, the NBA G League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets. He shot .440 (85-193) from the field and .829 (34-41) from the free throw line. Lawson scored 20+ points eight times and 30+ points twice, including a career-high 37 points on Nov. 22 at Raptors 905.

A native of Toronto, Ontario, Lawson holds career averages of 3.4 points, 1.2 rebounds and 7.4 minutes in 57 career games with the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves over the last two seasons. During this span, he also averaged 21.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 34.1 minutes in seven games with the Texas Legends in the 2023-24 NBA G League season and 20.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 31.9 minutes in 22 games with the Legends, Iowa Wolves and the College Park Skyhawks in the 2022-23 campaign.

Prior to the NBA, Lawson played three collegiate seasons (2018-21) at South Carolina where he posted averages of 14.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 30.2 minutes in 81 career games. In 21 games as a junior, he averaged 16.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 31.4 minutes and earned Second Team All-SEC honours.

Raptors waive DJ Carton

The Toronto Raptors last week waived guard DJ Carton.

Carton signed a two-way contract with the Raptors in March after originally signing a 10-day contract on Feb. 21. In eight games with Toronto, he averaged 1.8 points, 1.0 rebounds and 8.6 minutes.

Toronto’s roster now stands at 15 players, with two two-way players.

Rockets’ Ime Udoka, Tari Eason and Alperen Sengun fined by NBA

Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, forward Tari Eason and center Alperen Sengun have been fined $50,000, $35,000 and $15,000, respectively, it was announced today by Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.

Udoka has been fined $50,000 for confronting and directing profane language toward a game official, failing to leave the court in a timely manner after being ejected, and public criticism of the officiating during his postgame press conference.

Eason has been fined $35,000 for throwing a towel and directing inappropriate language in the direction of a fan in the spectator stands after the game had concluded.

Sengun has been fined $15,000 for directing inappropriate language toward a game official.

The in-game incident, for which Udoka and Sengun were both assessed technical fouls and ejected, occurred with 1:52 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Rockets’ 120-111 loss to the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on Tuesday, Dec. 3.

Jared McCain named East Rookie of Month for October and November 2024

The NBA announced that Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain has been named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in October and November.

McCain is the seventh 76er to capture Rookie of the Month honors, and the first since Ben Simmons in March 2018.

In 18 appearances across October and November, McCain’s 16.0 points per game average led all rookies. His eight games with at least three triples were the most among first-year players, while his 40 three-point field goals ranked second.

McCain also leads all rookies with seven games of at least 20 points and two games of 30-plus points, including a career-high 34 points against Cleveland on Nov. 13. He also added 10 assists that night, joining Hall of Famer Allen Iverson and Simmons as the only three 76er rookies to ever tally at least 30 points and 10 assists in a game.

McCain’s 38 three-pointers through his first 15 games were the most by a rookie in franchise history, surpassing Iverson’s record of 36 in 1996.

Jaylen Wells named West Rookie of Month for October and November 2024

The NBA announced that Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played during October and November.

Wells (6-6 ½, 206), selected with the 39th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, started 15 of his 20 appearances and averaged 12.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 25.3 minutes while shooting 45.4 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from 3-point range to help guide the Grizzlies to a 13-7 record (third in the West) through the end of November.

The 21-year-old led West rookies in both scoring average and starts and ranked second among all qualified rookies in field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. He placed fourth in minutes per game.

Wells scored in double figures 12 times, leading West rookies, and scored at least 20 points twice: 20 points in Memphis’ Nov. 6 home win over the Los Angeles Lakers; and a career-high 26 points in the Grizzlies’ Nov. 23 road victory over the Chicago Bulls, in which he became the first rookie in franchise history to record at least six 3-pointers and at least six assists in the same game.

The Sacramento native, who was named the California Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year as a sophomore at Division II Sonoma State before playing his junior year at Washington State, is the first Grizzlies player to earn Rookie of the Month honors since Ja Morant during the 2019-20 season.

Jared McCain of the Philadelphia 76ers was the recipient of the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award.

Victor Wembanyama named West Defensive Player of Month for October and November 2024

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama has been named the NBA’s first-ever Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month for October/November.

Kicking off the inaugural season of the award, Wembanyama is joined by Hawks guard Dyson Daniels in the East.

In 16 games to start the season, Wembanyama led the league with 3.56 blocks per game and 57 total blocks while averaging 1.31 steals in October/November. He also accounted for 45.9% of the Spurs total blocks. The sophomore’s 103.8 defensive rating helped anchor the Spurs to an eighth-ranked defense and has put them among the top three shot-blocking teams in the league.

A season after becoming the first rookie in NBA history to be named All-Defensive First Team, opponents shot 104-262 from the field last month when guarded by Wembanyama as he held a 39.7% defended field goal percentage. Within four feet of the rim, teams took 3.3% fewer shots when Wembanyama is on the floor and shot just 38.2% within four to 10 feet.

Dyson Daniels named East Defensive Player of Month for October and November 2024

Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels has been named the inaugural Defensive Player of the Month in the Eastern Conference for games played in October and November, the NBA announced.

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama wins the award in the Western Conference.

The 21-year-old Daniels appeared in 19 games during October and November, recording 57 steals, 16 more than the next closest players (Tari Eason, Jalen Williams: 41). He also tallied 18 blocks, becoming the first player since Michael Jordan in 1988 to record at least 57 steals and 18 blocks within the first 19 games of a season. The 6-7 guard’s 75 stocks (steals + blocks) were the most in the Eastern Conference and second-most in the NBA, trailing only Wembanyama.

Jayson Tatum named East Player of Month for October and November 2024

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has been named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for October/November, the NBA announced.

Tatum earns the first NBA Player of the Month award for the third consecutive season. He also collects his fifth career monthly honor for the second-most Player of the Month awards in Celtics history, next to Larry Bird (7).

In October/November, Tatum was the only player in the Eastern Conference to average at least 28.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. Tatum scored the third-most points in the East with 546 points and ranked first in clutch points (46), tied for first in clutch assists (12), third in total three-pointers made (76), and second in plus/minus per game (10.5). He helped lead the Celtics to a 16-3 overall record for the second-best winning percentage in the NBA and tied the second-longest win streak with seven consecutive wins (11/13-11/29).

The five-time All-Star is averaging at least 25.0 points per game in his fifth-straight season and has tied his career single-season high 55.2 effective field goal percentage. Tatum is on pace to become only the second player in NBA history to lead their team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and three-point field goals in multiple seasons, joining fellow Celtic Larry Bird.

Kenny Atkinson named East Coach of Month for October and November 2024

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson has been named the NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for games played in October and November, the NBA announced.

This marks the first time Atkinson has earned Coach of the Month accolades in his career. He is also the 8th coach in Cavaliers history to win the award.

Atkinson led the Cavaliers to a 17-3 record in October/November, which was the best record in the NBA and helped secure 12 wins in the month of November alone, marking the second-most wins by the Cavs in the month of November in team history (13 wins in November in 2008). The Cavaliers started the 2024-25 campaign with a franchise-best 15-0 record from October 23rd to November 17th, breaking the previous mark to start a season of 8-0 set in 1976-77. The Cavs 15-0 record also tied the 2nd-best start to a season in NBA history, with Atkinson becoming the first head coach in NBA history with an undefeated record through his first 15 games with a new team. His 15-0 mark was also the best start to a tenure with a team for any coach in NBA history, surpassing the previous mark held by Lawrence Frank, who won his first 13 games with the Nets from January 27th to February 24th, 2004. Cleveland’s 15-straight wins was also the longest winning streak in franchise history.

Cleveland led the NBA in October and November in points per game (122.4 PPG), field goal percentage (.511 FG%) and three-point percentage (.402 3FG%). The Cavaliers also ranked in the top 10 in the NBA in points per game differential (3rd, +9.8), steals per game (7th, 9.25 SPG), turnovers per game (5th-fewest, 13.1 TO), assist to turnover ratio (3rd, 2.15) and defensive rating (7th, 112.2). Offensively, Cleveland scored at least 110 points in 18 of their 20 games and scored 130 or more points six times, already setting the franchise record for games with 130 or more points in a single season (surpassing the previous record of five games with 130 or more points in 2016-17). Atkinson and the Cavaliers finished the month of November with a 10-1 record at home (2nd-best home record in the NBA) and a 7-2 record on the road (T-2nd best road record in the NBA).