Health update on Kings guard De’Aaron Fox

Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, who sustained a left ankle sprain during practice on July 15, continues to make progress and has returned to on-court, non-contact basketball activities. Fox is ruled out for tonight’s scrimmage vs. the Miami Heat and his return to game action will be updated as appropriate.

A third-year guard and fifth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft out of Kentucky, Fox is averaging 20.4 points (.475 FG%, .307 3pt%, .703 FT%), 4.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 31.7 minutes per game in 45 games (43 starts) for the Kings during the 2019-20 season.

NBA scrimmage schedule, with TV listings for the scrimmages on NBATV

NBA scrimmages begin today, with different teams scrimmaging against each other. It’s sort of like the NBA restart version of a preseason.

They will be televised on either NBA TV or NBA League Pass. See below.

First, the complete dates, times and team matchups for the scrimmages:

THE NBA TV SCRIMMAGE SCHEDULE

These are the 16 scrimmages (games, basically) that will be televised on NBATV.

All times Eastern (ET).

Wednesday, July 22

Orlando Magic vs. LA Clippers (3 p.m.)

Washington Wizards vs. Denver Nuggets (5 p.m. — Tape Delayed)

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Brooklyn Nets (7 p.m.)

Sacramento Kings vs. Miami Heat (9 p.m. — Tape Delayed)

Thursday, July 23

Portland Trail Blazers vs. Indiana Pacers (3:30 p.m.)

Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Lakers (7 p.m.)

Friday, July 24

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Boston Celtics (5 p.m.)

Houston Rockets vs. Toronto Raptors (7:30 p.m.)

Saturday, July 25

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Orlando Magic (Noon)

Miami Heat vs. Utah Jazz (4 p.m.)

Sunday, July 26

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (Noon)

Indiana Pacers vs. Dallas Mavericks (4 p.m.)

Portland Trail Blazers vs. Toronto Raptors (6 p.m.)

Houston Rockets vs. Memphis Grizzlies (8 p.m.)

Monday, July 27

Washington Wizards vs. Los Angeles Lakers (3 p.m.)

Utah Jazz vs. Brooklyn Nets (5:30 p.m.)

From http://www.insidehoops.com

Tuesday, July 28

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Miami Heat (2 p.m.)

San Antonio Spurs vs. Indiana Pacers (4 p.m.)

Kings forward Marvin Bagley out with foot injury

During an intra-squad scrimmage on July 19, Sacramento Kings forward Marvin Bagley III sustained a right foot injury. Evaluation of his MRI results by a foot specialist today confirmed a lateral right foot sprain.

The team has decided to hold Bagley III out for the remainder of the season.

Here’s the Sacramento Bee:

This represents the latest setback for a player who has appeared in only 75 games over two seasons since the Kings selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft following his freshman year at Duke. His second season has been especially difficult for the 21-year-old big man.

Bagley missed 22 games after breaking his thumb in the season opener against the Phoenix Suns in October. His return to action lasted only eight games before he suffered a left midfoot sprain that caused him to miss 29 of the last 33 games before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

During the 2019-20 season, Bagley III has accrued averages of 14.2 points (.467 FG%, .806 FT%), 7.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 25.7 minutes per game in 13 games (6 starts) for the Kings during the 2019-20 season.

In EuroLeague news, Jordan Mickey signs with Khimki Moscow Region

Here’s Euroleague.net reporting on Jordan Mickey:

Khimki Moscow Region and center Jordan Mickey are together again after the sides put pen to paper on a new one-year contract on Tuesday. Mickey (2.03 meters, 25 years old) arrives from Real Madrid, where he averaged 9.0 points on 67.7% two-point shooting, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 26 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games last season. He also helped Los Blancos win the Spanish Copa del Rey title.

Mickey played briefly in the NBA between 2015-18, suiting up for the Celtics and Heat, for a career average of 2.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game.

Grizzlies forward Justise Winslow done for season with hip injury

During Monday’s practice, Memphis Grizzlies forward Justise Winslow fell after absorbing contact during an intra-squad scrimmage. Medical evaluation revealed a hip injury, which will cause him to miss the rest of the season.

Winslow is expected to make a full recovery, the team says.

Injuries have wrecked his season. After being traded by the Heat to the Grizzlies in February, Winslow has yet to suit up for Memphis.

Today, Winslow tweeted the following: “Last night during a scrimmage, I experienced a contact injury in my hip that unfortunately will keep me out until next season. I was excited to join my brothers on the court & will be supporting them throughout. I’m focused on coming back 100% towards a full recovery.”

The Grizzlies, who at 32-33 are 8th in the Western conference, are one of 22 teams the NBA has included in their restart plan. League scrimmages begin this week, and “seeding games” for the playoffs start next Thursday, July 30.

Jeremy Lamb with Pacers in Orlando but still not playing until next season

The Pacers won’t have the services of Jeremy Lamb until next season, but he is in Orlando, working out as he heals from serious injury. Here’s the Indianapolis Star reporting:

When the rest of the team was locked out, the St. Vincent Center was open to Jeremy Lamb. Because of his rehab after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee, Lamb was allowed access to the practice facility as he continued to work through his injury recovery.

Lamb suffered his knee injury Feb. 23. Just over two weeks later the NBA shut down its season. When basketball stopped for Lamb, so did it for the rest of the world. But for Lamb, he was progressing as he normally would.

“Because basketball had been postponed, no restaurants, nothing was open,” Lamb said. “So yeah, that definitely helped me kind of keep my mind off things rather than just sitting in the house, feeling down.”

Lamb, who is with the team in Orlando, continues to progress with his knee on the sidelines of Pacers practices. Lamb said he can take one-dribble jumpers, finish at the rim and make some cuts, but during practice he’s relegated mostly to the role of rebounder and passer if the team needs an extra one.

At 39-26, the Pacers are tied with the Sixers for the 5th best record in the Eastern conference.

The latest test results on NBA players for coronavirus / COVID-19

Of the 346 players tested for COVID-19 on the NBA campus since test results were last announced on July 13, zero have returned confirmed positive tests.

In the event that a player on the NBA campus returns a confirmed positive test in the future, he will be isolated until he is cleared for leaving isolation under the rules established by the NBA and the Players Association.

Interview: Joe Ingles discusses idea of wearing headband

In the 2018-19 season, Joe Ingles started all 82 games for the Utah Jazz, averaging 12.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.

This season, he’s come off the bench in half the games he’s played, averaging 9.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists, in 1.4 fewer minutes per game.

As for much bigger issues? World-changing issues? Championship-deciding issues? Here’s a video of Ingles discussing the decision to start wearing a headband:

It’s not yet clear how this will affect Vegas betting lines.

Rest assured, we will track this carefully, or maybe a little, or not at all.

Utah Jazz a Western conference team to watch in NBA restart

The Utah Jazz are a team to watch. At 41-23, good for 4th in the Western conference, they’re a main contender in the upcoming quest to send one of the Los Angeles NBA squads home earlier than desired in the playoffs. Here’s the Deseret News summarizing the Jazz situation as they settle in at the Disney NBA restart campus in Florida:

The Utah Jazz arrived at the NBA bubble on July 7, isolated in their hotel rooms for two days, then held their first practice in nearly four months. After six consecutive days on the court the team took a day off on Wednesday. On Saturday, they took their second day off from practice…

The Jazz have six more days before exhibition games begin, with their first scrimmage against the Phoenix Suns on July 23. It’s another week after that before the NBA season restarts on July 30…

The players showed up in great shape as far as conditioning goes but there’s still some fear about being ready for the burst movements in games and some of the things that regular weight training can help prepare the body for. This was a big concern of Donovan Mitchell’s leading up to the team leaving for the bubble and Mitchell has mentioned it as a concern even after going through practices in Orlando.

The Jazz went on wildly erratic runs this season, stringing together stacks of wins for a few weeks, and smaller streaks of losses for briefer stretches. It’ll be fascinating to see which squad shows up come playoff-time.

Return of Jusuf Nurkic big for Trail Blazers in NBA restart

As 22 NBA teams prepare to resume play later this month, the Trail Blazers are getting a key player back in action. Here’s NBC Sports Northwest reporting:

July 23 against the Pacers will be the first competitive game the Blazers have played since mid-March.

For Jusuf Nurkic, it will be the first time he is getting up and down the court against someone other than his own teammates since March 2018, when he suffered a broken left leg.

Even though the Bosnian Beast and the rest of the Trail Blazers starters will play limited minutes, Nurkic is excited about Thursday’s scrimmage against the Pacers.

“Just to play the game. I have no restrictions, so I’m feeling great, excited to play the game. I don’t know about that scrimmage, I think it’s more preseason style. We’re going to have jerseys on, so I don’t know why they call a scrimmage that. We televise it too, so I’m not sure about that. I think it’s just excitement… I’m really looking forward to playing.” — Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic

At 29-37, the Blazers sit 3.5 games behind the Western conference 8-seed Grizzlies. Portland will reportedly be without the services of Trevor Ariza, but getting Nurkic back could be a huge boost. He hasn’t played yet this season but in 2018-19 averaged 15.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

Additionally, Zach Collins will also be active for the Blazers once again.

It’s an incredibly tight race just outside the West 8-spot. The Blazers have a 43.9% winning percentage, while the Pelicans and Kings are a 43.8%. We look forward to seeing what sort of effect Nurkic has for the squad.