Chris Paul to make Suns debut tonight in preseason

Chris Paul will reportedly make his debut in a Phoenix Suns uniform tonight in preseason. Via Arizona Sports:

After not playing in the Phoenix Suns’ preseason opener on Saturday against the Jazz, Chris Paul said he’s playing Monday night in Utah.

The point guard was listed as questionable on the injury report with right ankle soreness, the same ailment that had him out on Saturday, but the 35-year-old said after shootaround he will make his debut.

Phoenix stayed in Utah and will play the Jazz again on Monday, a new twist in the NBA schedule for the 2020-21 season during the COVID-19 pandemic that will see teams playing the same matchup in the same arena in back-to-back games.

Rookie Isaac Okoro hits preseason game-winner for Cavs

NBA preseason began Friday. On Saturday, the Cleveland Cavaliers won in a really fun way, with a rookie hitting a game-winner. Via the News Herald:

It was the preseason opener of their 51st season, but for the 2020-21 Cavaliers, their game against the Pacers played Dec. 12 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse was like a playoff game, or at least the first game in franchise history.

The Cavaliers are truly in a new beginning under Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, and it could not have ended better. Rookie Isaac Okoro made a layup, was fouled with 0.3 seconds to play and then made the free throw to win a 107-104 thriller.

Unfortunately, no fans were there to witness it. They are banned from preseason games because of the novel coronavirus, which means the FieldHouse will also be fanless Dec. 14 when the Cavs host the Pacers in their second of four preseason games. State and local officials have set the maximum number of fans at 300 for regular-season games.

Okoro finished with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

The Cavs will face the Pacers again tonight, then head to New York for two preseason bouts with the Knicks.

Wizards rookie Deni Avdija plays well in NBA preseason debut

Washington Wizards rookie Deni Avdija looks very good in his NBA preseason debut yesterday. Via the Washington Times:

Even for Deni Avdija, a rookie who comes to the Washington Wizards already with professional experience in Israel, it took a moment to settle in after stepping onto the court for his first NBA preseason game Sunday night.

“In the beginning, I’m going to be honest and I’ll say, like, ‘Whoa,’” Avdija said postgame. “Like, you’re in Barclays Center and you’re playing against all those players you saw on TV.”

But Avdija wasn’t star-struck — at least not for long — in a matchup against Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets. In Washington’s first preseason game, the first-round draft pick soon came into his own, showing a confidence that helped buoy his team during the 119-114 loss.

The 19-year-old finished with 15 points on 6-for-6 shooting to go along with four rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes. While Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook didn’t play — meaning Wizards fans didn’t get a real hint of what the squad might look like this season — Avdija’s debut shows early promise that he could be a key contributor in his first year.

Avery Bradley’s defense should help Heat this season

Defensive-minded guard Avery Bradley left the Lakers this offseason and joined the Heat. Here’s the Miami Herald quoting Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra’s analysis of the squad’s new addition:

“You see him as a 6-2, 6-3 guard, but he’s able to literally defend one through four,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And offensively, he’s a player that can fit in any system, because he can play off the ball, you can put the ball in his hands. He can play as a point guard. You can play him running off of dribble hand offs. Or he can just play off of your great players or your great offensive threats. And he’ll find a way to be effective. And that’s what we’ve already seen in a couple of days.

“I know he’s going to make Tyler [Herro] and [Kendrick Nunn] better just from practices. His level of intensity and his on-ball defense is incredible. It’s an area we felt we could improve, not only in player development, but with a personnel addition. He has checked that box, just with what we’ve seen in a short period of time.”

Point-of-attack perimeter defense was a Heat weakness opponents tried to take advantage of last season, with teams repeatedly running isolation sets against players such as Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson in the playoffs.

Bradley (6-3, 180), who turned 30 on Nov. 26, will certainly help in that area this season.

Pistons waive LiAngelo Ball, Louis King and Anthony Lamb

The Detroit Pistons have waived guard LiAngelo Ball and forwards Louis King and Anthony Lamb.

King played on a two-way contract with the Pistons last season while Lamb and Ball were signed on December 3, 2020.

Ball, King and Lamb did not play in the first Pistons preseason game on Friday, but King and Lamb did get a few minute of action on Sunday.

Per the Detroit News, “King’s departure is somewhat surprising because he was one of the Pistons’ two-way contracts last season. A 6-foot-7 forward, King played in 10 games last season and averaged 2 points, 1 rebound and shot 36% on 3-pointers.”

Ball’s two brothers, Lonzo and LaMelo, are both in the NBA. But LiAngelo has been considered a longshot to make the league.

On the Detroit Pistons preseason opening night scene

The Pistons went above and beyond in their quest to make their first home preseason game feel as regular as possible in the wake of coronavirus-related restrictions. The team hosted the Knicks Friday on NBA preseason opening night, and will host them again today. Here’s the Detroit Free Press on what the preseason opening night scene was like in Detroit:

After walking into an NBA arena for the first time in nine months Friday, the most surprising aspect wasn’t the new COVID-19 protocols for team personnel and media, or the absence of fans in the arena — those were anticipated changes the rest of the sports world has already embraced.

What stood out was the loudness, and pervasiveness, of the music. The Detroit Pistons tipped off their preseason slate Friday, and it was their first live basketball game since their 2019-20 season ended March 11. Throughout the entire game and in the time leading up to it, Little Caesars Arena played the usual mix of top-40 rap hits and stadium classics.

I, like much of the rest of the world, have been working from home and avoiding loud, public environments since mid-March. I’m not sure I had heard or even thought of “Yeah!” by Usher during the nine months leading into the game. But hearing it while the Pistons played the New York Knicks made me realize how much I missed those environments.

It was one of multiple steps the Pistons took to create something resembling a normal game day environment. John Mason, their long-tenured public address announcer, did his usual pregame introduction routine. Cheerleaders still danced in the stands. Fake crowd noise reacted after every made and missed shot. Eventually, it all melded into something resembling a basketball game in a normal year.

Early look at Knicks center rotation of Mitchell Robinson and Nerlens Noel

The Knicks have a talented young center prospect in Mitchell Robinson, and a new-addition journeyman veteran center in Nerlens Noel. In the team’s first preseason game, a win over the Pistons, Noel started, though his time on the court was just three minutes more than Mitchell’s. Here’s the New York Daily News with an early preseason look at it:

There’s redundancy with the Knicks two centers and Mitchell Robinson noticed it when his team signed Nerlens Noel.

“It was just like, ‘Oh well, I mean, now we’ve got like two players who do the same thing,” Robinson said. “Got to live with it, keep working.”

Despite the hype over Robinson and the expectation of a big leap in Year 3, the 22-year-old was again a reserve in the preseason opener Thursday. Noel, 26, started and was highly effective, scoring 10 points with eight boards on 5-of-7 shooting in 25 minutes.

Robinson had just two points and four fouls in 22 minutes, but also collected four steals and two blocks. He denied that his pregame “No loyalty” Instagram post was about being benched.

And the New York Post:

After all, the center tag team duo of Noel-Robinson was a gem defensively in Friday’s preseason-opening 90-84 victory with the tall duo combining for 15 rebounds and four blocks. Robinson also had four steals.

“It is what it is,” Robinson said Sunday after the Knicks’ morning shootaround in Detroit. “I’m going to go out there and play hard. I really don’t mind starting or don’t mind not starting. I don’t have hurt feelings. I’m just going to go out there and just be the best me.”

When pressed on how much he cares about it, Robinson stated, “Not really. As long as I can go out there and help my teammates I really don’t care if I start or not. It’s early. I’m not going to sit down and pout about it. I’m not going to make a problem or whatever. As long as I get to play, I’m fine with that.”

Heat preseason home opener will be different

Things are different for everyone in 2020, in and out of sports. Including, of course, the Heat, who like all NBA teams will have a home arena environment that faces serious adjustments due to the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel on the Heat’s first of two preseason games, which will be at home in Miami Monday night against the New Orleans Pelicans:

After the NBA completed last season in a quarantine bubble at Disney World, the coronavirus pandemic will have the Heat playing their 7 p.m. preseason opener against the New Orleans Pelicans in a setting like no other in the two decades they have called AmericanAirlines Arena home.

No fans. The coaching staff wearing masks. No dancers, mascot or any timeout entertainers on the court, due to protocol limitations.

“I think everybody is just getting used to the fact that nothing is the way it was before,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “The quicker you’re able to accept that and make the necessary adjustments, the better.

“Our world is different. But we have an opportunity to continue to compete and continue our season. So I think everybody is just grateful for that, even though it will have a slightly different feel.”

It was an incredibly short NBA offseason, especially for Heat and Lakers

Here’s the Miami Herald discussing how short the offseason was for the Heat. Of course, this also applies to the Lakers, who beat the Heat in six games in the 2020 NBA Finals:

The Miami Heat had a two-month offseason to recover from a season that took about a year to complete.

The NBA offseason lasted just 71 days, which is the fewest between the end of a season and the start of the next season in NBA, MLB, NHL and NFL history, according to Elias Sports.

COVID-19 is the reason for the abbreviated offseason, with the pandemic extending last season all the way to October. The Heat lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Oct. 11, and the Heat begins the 2020-21 regular season on Dec. 23.

“If I’m honest, nobody cares if you’re ready or not,” guard Goran Dragic said when asked if the Heat will be ready after the short break.

Pistons hoping for better frontcourt production Sunday vs. Knicks

The Knicks beat the Pistons yesterday on Day 1 of NBA preseason. The two teams have a rematch tomorrow. Via the Detroit News:

The rematch will feature some adjustments from Friday’s Knicks win, as the Pistons committed 22 turnovers and shot just 32.5% from the field and 26% on 3-pointers. In a typical season, coaches would move on to the next opponent, but one of the benefits of the new setup is that they can make adjustments and try them out on the same opponent without having to wait as long…

Another concern was the lack of production from Jerami Grant (1-for-11 from the field) and Blake Griffin (3-of-11), and the two combined to go 2-of-12 from beyond the arc. Grant settled for some long jump shots, which Casey’s offensive philosophy tries to limit.

There are plenty of players of interest in this game, but the ones at the top of our list are Griffin, Grant, Pistons rookie Killian Hayes, and Knicks rookie Obi Toppin.