Minnesota didn’t expect to be in the Play-In Tournament after trading for Rudy Gobert last summer, now they are going to have to go into that tournament without him.
The Timberwolves have suspended Gobert for one game for punching teammate Kyle Anderson on the bench Sunday in the final game of the regular season. He did not travel with the team to Los Angeles to face the Lakers in the 7/8 West play-in game.
Kyle Anderson and Rudy Gobert had to be held back after Gobert swung at Anderson in HEATED exchange 😳 pic.twitter.com/jvB9xawHNn
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 9, 2023
Gobert and Anderson were arguing — reportedly about blown defensive coverages — and despite coach Chris Finch sitting between them, Gobert reached over Finch and punched Anderson in the chest. The duo were separated, and Gobert returned to the locker room, where the argument reportedly continued during halftime. Gobert ultimately was sent home for the game, which the Timberwolves went on to win anyway to secure the No.8 seed. Gobert later apologized on Twitter.
Emotions got the best of me today. I should not have reacted the way i did regardless of what was said. I wanna apologize to the fans, the organisation and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that i truly love and respect as a teammate.
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) April 10, 2023
Stepping over the line like that still forces a team response, and a one-game suspension fits. This is a team, not a league suspension.
Minnesota is already without backup big man Naz Reid due to a fractured left wrist, leaving Karl-Anthony Towns as the only true center on the roster. The Timberwolves also will be without elite defender Jaden McDaniels for the game after he fractured his hand punching a wall in frustration near the end of the first half.
That’s a lot of critical front-line players to be missing against a Lakers team with size up front and playing well.
If the Timberwolves beat the Lakers, they would advance to the playoffs as the No.7 seed. Lose and Friday night they will host the winner of the Thunder at Pelicans, with the winner of that Friday game advancing to the playoffs against the Nuggets on Sunday.
MIAMI (AP) — Quin Snyder’s bags were packed in February for an overseas trip. He was going to spend time with some friends and family, see some coaches he’s gotten to know over the years.
Then the Atlanta Hawks called with a job offer, to bring him on as coach.
And now Snyder’s bags are packed again – for the playoffs, starting with a trip to Boston.
Trae Young scored 25 points, Clint Capela grabbed 21 rebounds and the Hawks earned the No. 7 in the Eastern Conference playoffs by beating the Miami Heat 116-105 in a play-in tournament game Tuesday night.
“Our guys are trying to be the best version of ourselves at the end of the year,” Snyder said. “The year’s not over. So hopefully we can take this and continue to build on it. It’s one game – but it was our game.”
HAWK HUSTLE pic.twitter.com/Z62KPXicCi
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 12, 2023
Dejounte Murray added 18 points for the Hawks, who avenged a five-game Round 1 loss to Miami last season and earned an East first-round matchup with Boston that will start Saturday.
Kyle Lowry scored 33 points – his highest-scoring game in his two Miami seasons – for the Heat, who will host either Toronto or Chicago on Friday to decide the No. 8 seed and a spot against top overall seed Milwaukee in Round 1. The Raptors and Bulls play Wednesday; the winner of Friday’s game opens the series against the Bucks on Sunday.
Tyler Herro scored 26 for Miami, and Jimmy Butler finished with 21.
“Come Friday, we have to play the legit exact opposite of how we played tonight,” Butler said.
For the Hawks, four reserves – Saddiq Bey, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson – combined for 53 points.
The Hawks improved to 3-0 all-time in play-in tournament games; that’s the best mark in the league, one that New Orleans can match when it plays host to Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.
And they earned this one on the boards. Atlanta outrebounded Miami 63-39, including 22-6 on the offensive glass that keyed a 26-6 edge in second-chance points.
“We all understand the moment and the time of year it is,” Young said. “Credit our guys for being locked in, ready and focused on the game plan.”
The Hawks took two timeouts in the first 3:53 of the third quarter, as most of what was a 24-point lead with 2:37 left in the first half – 63-39 Atlanta was the margin – got whittled away, and fast.
Miami cut the margin to 15 by halftime, then opened the third quarter on a 16-6 run. Add it all up, and it was a 27-8 run in about 7 minutes of play to get the Heat within 71-66.
But the Hawks had an answer then, and every other time the Heat made a run. The Atlanta lead was 13 again going into the fourth, and when Miami was within six midway through the final quarter, the Hawks scored five straight to restore a double-digit edge.
And now, a team that was the East’s No. 1 seed last spring is one game from elimination.
“Nothing about this season has been easy,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’re going to do this the hard way.”
Last summer, Damian Lillard made it clear to the Trail Blazers that he would be happy to take their money — he has four years and $216 million left on his extended contract — but he wanted a team built around him that could win now. The Trail Blazers obliged and re-signed Anfernee Simons, traded for Jeremi Grant and tried to trade for OG Anunoby, offering up the No.7 pick in the draft, but when that deal didn’t get done they drafted a rookie project with the potential in Shaedon Sharpe. All of that — particularly the massive check — was enough to appease Lillard and keep him in Portland.
Lillard isn’t looking to push his way out the door now, but at his exit interview this week he once again made clear that he wants the Trail Blazers to go all-in on win-now veterans. Lillard was asked about the team’s draft pick — currently fifth before the lottery shakes things up — and if he is good with drafting another player who needs development (via Sean Highkin at the Rose Garden Report).
“I’m just not interested in that. That’s not a secret,” Lillard said. “I want a chance to go for it. And if the route is to (draft youth), then that’s not my route.”
Portland has the players to take another big swing this offseason: A package of their first-round pick (currently fifth) plus a couple of future picks, Sharpe, and Simons gets the Trail Blazers in the conversation for any star who may be looking to change teams. Whether that is enough to get a player remains to be seen.
But if the Trail Blazers gut their depth to land another star, are they closer to contending? Even with Lillard playing at the All-NBA level he did this season, that’s a big ask. Especially in a conference where Memphis is close to contender status, Phoenix looks like a serious threat for years to come, and teams such as New Orleans and Oklahoma City are on the rise, Portland is going to have to make a massive leap to get in the dance. This season they couldn’t even make the play-in.
Maybe, at some point in future years, Lillard and Trail Blazers will sit down and come to a mutual understanding that it’s time to part ways. Maybe, maybe not. But this offseason, Lillard sounds like a guy who wants to stay put — and wants more help around him.
In the season’s opening weeks, it looked like Paolo Banchero would run away with the Rookie of the Year award. When the votes are counted, it may still look that way, but Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams made it a lot more interesting over the season’s final month.
Here is my Rookie of the Year ballot:
1. Paolo Banchero (Magic)
2. Jalen Williams (Thunder)
3. Walker Kessler (Jazz)
Banchero’s numbers and efficiency slipped as the season went along, but that is a product of being the guy Orlando gave the keys to the car. Banchero finished the season averaging 20 points,6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists a game. His 3-point shooting faded and finished at 29.8%, and his true shooting percentage of 52.9 was well below the league average, and the Magic were better with him off the court than on.
There was still no question he was the Rookie of the Year, even as his numbers faded some. Banchero wore down because of the wear and tear of being the face of the franchise and the guy at the top of every scouting report — he did as well as could be expected in that role as a rookie. For example, he took the eighth most free throws of any player in the league this season — he was attacking the entire time. Most importantly for Magic fans, Banchero looks the part — watch him play and you see the potential of a future All-NBA player and franchise cornerstone. There are other good players in this class, but nobody who showed that kind of potential over the course of the season. This was an easy call.
Jalen Williams came on later in the season and averaged 14.1 points a game for the Thunder and he shows promise as whatever is ultimately built there around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Williams was efficient, shooting 35.6% from 3 and his 60.1 true shooting percentage is very good for a rookie. He is a good fit next to SGA.
Walker Kessler may have been better this year than the guy he was traded for, Rudy Gobert. Kessler became a force inside for Utah, blocking the fourth most shots in the league (trailing only Jaren Jackson Jr., Brook Lopez and Nic Claxton) and averaging 9.2 points and 8.4 rebounds a game. The advanced stats loved him — he led the rookie class in things like win shares or value over replacement players — and so do Jazz fans, who see the guy in the middle for them for the next decade.
DeMarcus Cousins wants to play again in the NBA and doesn’t understand why he is not getting a chance.
To prove his value on the court, Cousins is taking his talent to Puerto Rico, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Four-time NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins is signing with the Guaynabo Mets of the Puerto Rican Professional Basketball League, sources tell ESPN. Cousins, 32, will play this spring there to continue to try and find a pathway back to the NBA.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 11, 2023
Cousins — a two-time All-NBA, four-time All-Star player — will get touches, jumping to a 1-8 Mets team in need of points and wins (the Puerto Rican spring league runs through June, with playoffs it can stretch into August). He showed some offensive game in his last NBA season, 2021-22, when he averaged 9 points and 5.6 rebounds in about 15 minutes a night across time with both the Bucks and Nuggets, in a backup role.
The combination of age (32), leg issues, and a question from GMs if his play is worth the possible disruption — something Cousins said is part of his past now — has held teams back from signing him. Teams have increasingly leaned into younger, more athletic and less traditional athletes as backup centers, not more traditional bigs such as Cousins.
Cousins will get the chance to prove his worth in Puerto Rico, collect a few checks, and be ready to go for an NBA training camp. If he gets that call.
