Just as the Magic get Paolo Banchero back comes this potentially troubling news.
Orlando forward Franz Wagner left Sunday's game against the Knicks in Madison Square Garden after going to the ground when, on a first quarter transition opportunity, New York's Mitchell Robinson came in to block a pass to Wagner, and the German went to the ground and instantly grabbed his left knee. He stayed on the ground for a while before being helped back to the locker room by his brother, Mo Wagner.
Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner landed awkwardly and held his left knee in pain for a while. Wagner was helped to the locker room by his brother, Moe Wagner, and another Magic player. pic.twitter.com/x66iqwcPOU
The Magic only said that Wagner would not return to the game due to a "lower left leg injury" and "will be re-evaluated upon the team's return to Orlando."
Wagner had been playing at an All-Star level for the Magic, averaging 23.4 points and 6.2 rebounds a game, shooting 35.4% from 3-point range. He had been the best player on the team through the Magic's run of elite play in recent weeks.
The murmurs surrounding a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade have heated up in recent days, which has naturally thrust the Knicks — now at 15-7 and winners of seven of their last 10 — into the rumor mill.
Despite having seven different champions in seven different seasons, one thing stayed constant about modern NBA champions: employing a generational superstar. Now while Jalen Brunson deserves every superlative in the book, including MVP candidate, Antetokounmpo is undoubtedly in another tier of greatness.
For reference, Giannis is averaging 29.9 points, 11.8 rebounds and six assists on 57.7 percent shooting from the field — over the last seven seasons. He was off to an even hotter start this year before injury.
He’s only five seasons removed from an NBA Championship and Finals MVP, and another year from back-to-back MVPs. He’d have more hardware if not for other rising stars and the Bucks roster slowly disintegrating around him.
So it’s easy to imagine this peak-Shaq-esque production in an improved context and not really gripe much about the cost. Care about losing Karl-Anthony Towns and you’re replacing him with an equally threatening scorer, care about losing OG Anunoby and you’ve replaced him with another Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner.
A Giannis trade will likely have to cost two of them or other key rotation pieces, along with draft capital, a predictable and necessary pill to swallow to pair him with Brunson. Doing so maximizes your championship ceiling, which has been the ultimate goal of the Leon Rose era in New York.
Concerns about filling out the rest of the roster can be addressed at the trade deadline and by calling on current fringe rotation guys to step up. Last year’s Thunder were an aberration with their impressive depth, built up by years of tanking and trading — most recent champs grinded it out with a core eight-man rotation.
Those worried about Antetokounmpo’s fit with a smaller guard after the Damian Lillard combination blew up should note that Brunson’s younger and much more adept at screening and being a threat off the ball. Lillard also needed a year to adjust to his new surroundings, and the Bucks went through a midseason firing trying to right the ship.
The Knicks have a far stronger foundation to build a winner around Brunson and Antetokounmpo, with even their ill-fitting assets being valuable enough to swap if need be. You can nitpick fit and asset management to death, or you can trade for a top-five talent in the league and live with the results.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) dribbles as New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) defends during the second half at Madison Square Garden / Vincent Carchietta - Imagn Images
The case against trading for Giannis
Unfortunately, the concerns with an Antetokounmpo fit are more than nitpicky. Almost any variation of this trade, save for moving Brunson, leaves more basketball questions than answers.
Dealing Towns leaves New York’s center rotation down to an ailing Mitchell Robinson, Ariel Hukporti and Trey Jemison III. Outside of the overall talent, none of them can space the floor for Antetokounmpo, a long-standing must out of his frontcourt mate.
Antetokounmpo never spent more time at the five than he had to in his youth, and likely won’t want to do it more now that he’s past 30. Assuming the trade is Towns and a wing, you could trade one of Josh Hart or Mikal Bridges for a five to help smooth out the starters, but it’s impossible to ignore how thin the rotation looks after all these moves.
If the Knicks deal “Wingstop” for Antetokounmpo and manage to keep Towns, they’ll be in a similar glut on the wing, forced to rely on Hart, their guards, potentially Kyle Kuzma, Mohamed Diawara and whatever a potential Robinson trade could bring. Even if that’s addressed, the on-court chemistry may take longer to materialize than people expect.
Towns hasn’t found his full rhythm in this Mike Brown offense yet. How would that go with a second alpha in front of him on the touch ladder? Defensively, would he still be able to anchor things come playoff time without the strong defensive depth once surrounding him on this team?
There’s also more to the Brunson-Antetokounmpo question than simply dismissing the Lillard situation at face. Antetokounmpo captured his title alongside two big guards in Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday that ran a ton of pick-and-roll with him as both handlers and screeners.
Even with his off-ball game, it’s not clear Brunson can replicate that formula, especially making the tough passes to Antetokounmpo when crowded on screens at his size. Those were also relatively low-usage guards that could defer to Giannis at any time, while Brunson, though flexible, primarily needs his hands on the ball.
Finally, the cost of the trade is going to eat the Knicks' present and future chances of winning, for only a small bump to their championship ceiling. The Spurs and anybody with a similar asset pile is ready to offer up the boat for Giannis, and to match New York will have to part with every remaining scrap of its draft capital and rotational depth.
You do that for a sure thing, and while Antetokounmpo is as close as you’re getting, he’s 31 years old with a battery of injuries down his resume and a ton of questions to answer once he arrives. This doesn’t even get to the opportunity cost of such a trade.
Right now, the Knicks are a favorite to get out of the East, and few of their counterparts have the juice for an Antetokounmpo trade. That means New York can stand by, count its wins, watch him likely leave the conference and only have to worry about a bunch of teams they’ve already bounced out of the playoffs in years prior.
Why sacrifice that, and this impressive core that’s coming together, in a midseason blockbuster trade? The Knicks are in contention mode, not desperation mode, and this move reeks more of the latter than the former.
It took nearly 40 minutes of the Knicks’ 146-112 win against the Utah Jazz on Friday night for Guerschon Yabusele to see the floor.
The forward was able to cobble together a season-high 11 points in just nine-plus minutes of an already decided game. But the final quarter signified that Yabusele is far away from the role he was expected to assume this season. The return of OG Anunoby from a nine-game absence in the 34-point drubbing pushed Yabusele further out of the rotation. Rookie second-round draft pick Mohamed Diawara also saw minutes over the forward in the first half.
The Knicks signed Yabusele to a two-year, $11.3 million deal with a player option in the second year, using the taxpayer midlevel exception. The move was an attempt to bolster a bench that finished last in the NBA in scoring last season.
Though Yabusele was supposed to be a key factor in New York’s bench redemption arc this season, the free agent acquisition has been left behind in head coach Mike Brown’s lineups. Through 21 games, Yabusele is averaging 3.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.1 minutes. Those numbers are a far cry from last year, when the forward put up 11.0 points and 5.6 rebounds in 70 games.
As New York has gone to a smaller lineup, Yabusele hasn’t played more than about 17 minutes in a game all season. His stints on the floor are often a quick three or four minutes before being subbed out.
Yabusele’s role on the floor is much more muted than it was in Philadelphia. Due to a series of injuries that limited 76ers centers Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond to 19 and 40 games played, respectively, last season, Yabusele was given plenty of time at the center. According to Basketball Reference, 73 percent of Yabusele’s minutes with the 76ers last season were at the five.
With the Knicks, that number has dropped to 40 percent. Karl-Anthony Towns starts at center and Mitchell Robinson usually takes up the other minutes at the five. When Robinson has sat, second-year big Ariel Hukporti has received playing time. Brown explained earlier this week that Yabusele being at the four has limited chances for him to be used as a screener.
Yabusele is like a locomotive train. When he’s given momentum on a drive, he’s hard for defenders to slow down. As the five, Yabusele was involved more often as a screener with the 76ers. It gave him the opportunity to rumble into the paint for drives or to post up against smaller defenders on switches.
Ways to generate offense
In New York, Yabusele has been nailed to the three-point line as a floor spacer, with 65.6 percent of his attempts coming from beyond the arc, up from 48.7 percent in 2024-25. Though he’s getting up threes, Yabusele is shooting a paltry 27.5 percent from the three-point line. Mixing up drives and shots in the paint would help get him in a better flow. Last year, Yabusele had 44 dunks, and this year, he has just one slam.
Playing in transition could also be helpful for Yabusele. According to NBA Stats, 12.4 percent of Yabusele’s points came off fast break opportunities with Philadelphia. This year, that figure has dropped to 4.8 percent. Though Brown has talked about the Knicks playing faster, they are currently ranked 26th in pace.
The Knicks brought the Frenchman in for offense, and if he’s not contributing, it’s hard to envision him seeing much more time on the floor. The Knicks have more depth than last year, but there’s a lack of size on the perimeter. Reserves Miles McBride, Jordan Clarkson, Landry Shamet and Tyler Kolek are all shorter than 6-foot-4.
Eastern Conference foes like the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons have length across the entire roster, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Yabusele could find his footing later in the season. But so far, the early returns are a concern.
After seven weeks in which there were light game nights in short supply, NBA teams should be able to get ample rest during Week 8. With the Emirates NBA Cup moving into the quarterfinal stage with games on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by the semifinals on Saturday and the championship game on Tuesday, December 16, the 22 teams that did not advance were assigned two games each to fill out their 82-game schedules. While some fantasy leagues have combined weeks 8 and 9 due to the light schedules, others have not. Let's look at the Week 8 schedule and some of its key storylines.
- Three of the six teams playing on Monday are guaranteed to have three games on their Week 8 schedules.
For those competing in leagues that separate Weeks 8 and 9, this is an important fact. The Pacers, Timberwolves and Kings are guaranteed to play three games during Week 8, which makes their less-heralded fantasy options a bit more valuable. While most of the Pacers have underwhelmed in fantasy basketball this season, does someone like Jay Huff (25 percent rostered, Yahoo!) or T.J. McConnell (15 percent) hold greater value since they'll play three games?
The same can be asked of Kings rookie Maxime Raynaud (14 percent), who made his first career start on Saturday and did nothing to suggest that he should not retain that role for the foreseeable future. As for the Timberwolves, Jaden McDaniels (46 percent) and Donte DiVincenzo (44 percent) are still available in more than 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues. Seeking out those players on league waiver wires before Monday's game would be a good idea.
- Phoenix and San Antonio could have three games during Week 8, but that's still to be determined.
Whether five teams are playing three games in Week 8 depends on the Suns and Spurs. Both will play NBA Cup quarterfinal games on Wednesday, with the former visiting the Thunder and the latter visiting the Lakers. If Phoenix and San Antonio lose, their next regular-season game could be scheduled for December 11, 12, 14 or 15. December 11 can probably be ruled out, as asking teams to play a back-to-back under those circumstances feels unlikely. If their second game falls on either the 12th or 14th, that would make for three games in Week 8 for both teams. The best way for this to become a non-issue would be for the Suns and Spurs to advance to the semifinals scheduled for Saturday, December 13.
- The four NBA Cup quarterfinal losers will play their second game on December 11, 12, 14 or 15.
While the West quarterfinals are scheduled for Wednesday, December 11, the East will play its quarterfinals the night prior. Orlando hosts Miami, followed by the Raptors hosting the Knicks. Regardless of what happens in those matchups, all four Eastern Conference teams will play two games in Week 8. That's good news for Orlando's Paolo Banchero and New York's OG Anunoby, as they returned from groin and hamstring injuries on Friday. Not having to deal with a jam-packed schedule immediately upon returning should benefit both fantasy managers and those players, and it should also mean fantasy managers can rely on those players to be active in each of their respective teams' Week 8 contests.
- Will Memphis get Ja Morant back during Week 8?
Morant, who has not appeared in a game since November 15, is doubtful for Sunday's game against the Trail Blazers. That status represents an upgrade for the point guard, so does it mean anything for Week 8? The Grizzlies only play once in Week 8, hosting the Jazz on Friday. One game of Morant is better than none, and this could be a good time for the Grizzlies to work him back into the lineup. His availability affects Vince Williams Jr. and Cam Spencer the most, with the former having filled the starting point guard role in Morant's absence. However, Spencer has provided superior fantasy value despite coming off the bench, due mainly to Williams' poor percentages and turnovers.
- Will the Warriors have Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler III at all?
While the Warriors play twice during Week 8, their first game isn't until that Friday against the Timberwolves. Golden State plays its second game of the week two nights later in Portland. How does that schedule affect the availability of the team's two best offensive players? After suffering a quad contusion, Curry missed the Warriors' final home game before their three-game road trip and did not travel. Sunday's game against the Bulls will be the fifth that he's missed.
As for Butler, Saturday's win over the Cavaliers was the second he has missed due to a sore knee. Add in Draymond Green's midfoot sprain, and the Warriors have been without their three most important veterans. Could all three return to action during Week 8? If so, Curry and Butler would be especially impactful with the Warriors playing twice over the final three days.
James Harden made his NBA debut in 2009 with the Oklahoma City Thunder [Getty Images]
James Harden became the 10th highest scorer in NBA history as the LA Clippers were beaten 109-106 by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Starting the night 11th on the all-time list, Harden passed Carmelo Anthony's total of 28,289 points in the third quarter at Target Center in Minneapolis.
Harden finished with 34 points, taking his career total to 28,303 - 293 behind Shaquille O'Neal in ninth.
"It's a blessing - a testament to the work I've put in," said 36-year-old Harden.
"It's an honour, especially with somebody like Carmelo, who's done so much greatness for this league."
Naz Reid scored a three-pointer with 13 seconds left to give the Timberwolves a fifth straight win and condemn the Clippers to a seventh defeat in eight games.
Julius Randle scored 24 points and Reid 19 off the bench for the Timberwolves, who are sixth in the Western Conference. The Clippers are second bottom.
Warriors upset Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers suffered a 99-94 home defeat by the Golden State Warriors.
Without Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Al Horford, the Warriors gave Pat Spencer his NBA debut at Rocket Arena.
The 29-year-old, who came through the development league four years ago, scored 19 points and landed a three-pointer with 72 seconds remaining to open up a five-point lead.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said: "It's fun to watch a guy who has had to fight for everything finally get his moment and not only seize it but grab it by the neck. This guy is a competitor."
The Warriors are eighth in the Western Conference and the Cavaliers eighth in the West.
NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. tied his season high with 35 points, Nic Claxton had his second triple-double and the Brooklyn Nets beat the New Orleans Pelicans 119-101 on Saturday.
Porter matched his career best by reaching 30 for a third straight game, having also done it last Feb. 3-6 during his final season with Denver. He made five 3-pointers and had nine rebounds after sitting out Thursday to rest his back in the second night of a back-to-back.
Claxton finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He’s the first Nets player with multiple triple-doubles in a season since James Harden (nine) and Kevin Durant (four) in 2021-22, and the second Nets center with multiple career triple-doubles. Shawn Bradley had five from 1995-97.
Day’Ron Sharpe added 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting as Brooklyn won for the third time in four games to improve to 6-17.
Trey Murphy III scored 23 points for the Pelicans, who lost their sixth straight game and fell to 3-21. Saddiq Bey added 18 points and Bryce McGowens had 16.
The Nets shot 63.6 percent and had 13 assists on their 14 baskets in the first quarter, taking a 35-24 lead. Porter scored 13 points in the second quarter on 5-for-6 shooting as Brooklyn made it 62-44 at halftime.
Doncic missed the last two games, but before Friday’s game against Boston, coach JJ Redick was open to the possibility of him rejoining the team in time for Sunday’s road trip finale. The Lakers (16-6) went 1-1 to begin the trip with a thrilling, three-point win in Toronto on Thursday before getting blown out in Boston.
LeBron James, who also missed Friday’s game because of sciatica and joint arthritis in his left foot, is questionable to return Sunday. The 40-year-old has played in only six of the Lakers’ 22 games.
Guard Marcus Smart will miss a sixth consecutive game because of a left lumbar muscle strain.
Doncic, who shared a photo of his new daughter, Olivia, on social media, leads the NBA with 35.3 points per game. If he returns against the 76ers (13-9), the game will feature three of the league’s top five scorers.
Philadelphia guard Tyrese Maxey ranks third with 31.6 points per game and Lakers guard Austin Reaves is fifth with 29.3 points. Reaves’ career season has helped the Lakers go 4-2 in games without Doncic, as Reaves is averaging 40 points per game without Doncic in the lineup.
The Kings went to South Beach and played their best game of the 2025-26 NBA season, coasting to a 127-111 win over the Miami Heat on Saturday at Kaseya Center.
Yes, you read that correctly: Sacramento, in the midst of a losing skid and on the road, put together four impressive quarters against one of the league’s best defensive teams in a city notoriously known for distracting its visitors.
To many teams in the league, it could’ve been any other victory. For the Kings, especially at this juncture of the season, it’s a moment to exhale – and release some built-up tension.
“The preparation has been the same,” Zach LaVine told Kyle Draper, Morgan Ragan and Deuce Mason on “Kings Postgame Live.” “We’ve been fighting through it. Everyone in this locker room is a competitor. I’m a competitor. No one is quitting. No one wants to lose.
“We are fighting through a little bit of adversity from top to bottom with the whole team. We’re just trying to figure out how to make it happen. Everybody in this locker room is going to stick with it regardless of what people say on the outside. We don’t care about that. We’re going to keep doing what we have to do.”
Sure, among the Heats’ inactives were guards Tyler Herro and Davion Mitchell, but the Kings, propelled by a season-high 42 points from LaVine, left coach Doug Christie – and Sacramento fans – with plenty to be proud of.
“We work on the defense when get practice days, and when these guys are locked in, we’ve seen them play some really good defense,” Christie told reporters.
“Now, they have some guys out, so you got to understand that. At the same time, they played on a back to back, so there are some things there. But still, their style of basketball plays to everyone on their team. I know with [Heat coach Erik Spoelstra], it’s the next man up. There are no excuses, and for us to come out and play that way mightily impressive.”
"For us to come out and play that way was mightily impressive."
LaVine, who also tallied eight 3-pointers, was supported by a pair of King rookies.
After gaining Christie’s confidence through several strong performances, rookie Maxime Raynaud made his first career start tonight.
The Stanford product finished with a double-double, registering 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
Meanwhile, first-round pick Nique Clifford, coming off the bench, demonstrated his best performance of the season, adding 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
Before returning home, the Kings will make a stop in Indiana to face the Pacers on Monday.
In the meantime, they’ve earned every right to take in some of the Miami experience.
The Warriors wobbled into Cleveland on Saturday and, for the first time this season, summoned the kind of performance that delivers a warm cup of encouragement to everyone on the payroll.
Coming off a distasteful loss Thursday night in Philadelphia, they vanquished a quality opponent, on the road, without the services of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler III and Al Horford.
The Warriors’ 99-94 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers was accomplished behind the horsepower of a patchwork starting lineup, their 12th of the season, and a rotation that mostly made sense even if at times it looked as if the names were drawn from a hat.
No one was more vital to this stunning triumph than Pat Spencer, the Bay Area’s latest unlikely superhero. The two-way guard, making his first NBA start, submitted something of a movie trailer for his own Linsanity moment.
Spencer this week has moved from reliable part-time energizer to critical component of the Warriors. He is vastly outplaying his two-way contract.
“We’ve seen the competitiveness,” Kerr told reporters at Rocket Arena. “We’ve seen what a good player he is over the past couple years. But he’s really improved his jump shot. That’s the big thing. Last year, he would turn down a lot of threes, drive in, shoot a lot of floaters. He’s never going to be Steph, but he’s a threat out there. That’s what it takes. You have to be a threat from the line to pull the defense out. I just think now the shot quality we’re getting with him on the floor is way better than it was the last couple years.
“And the other thing is that his coach realizes that Pat is that motherf–ker. That became clear.”
"His coach realized that Pat is that motherf–ker."
Spencer scored a team- and career-high 19 points, on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including 3 of 4 from distance. He recorded a game-high seven assists, while committing only one turnover, and was plus-nine in 29 minutes.
He was at his best in the fourth quarter, when the moment grew in magnitude and the Cavs intensified their defense, trimming a 13-point deficit with 5:17 remaining to two with 20.9 seconds left. Spencer scored 12 of Golden State’s 27 points in the quarter and assisted on two more buckets.
“It took a collective effort,” Spencer said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Warriors Postgame Live.” “We had 10 guys, but we had 10 pretty young guys today. And [the Cavaliers] were coming off a back-to-back [set]. We knew if we played with pace, got up and down, we’d find some shots that were beneficial for us.”
Pat Spencer discusses how the banged-up Warriors pulled out a big road win tonight 🙌 pic.twitter.com/imK3iKZRcs
All 10 available Warriors provided something that helped the carve out the victory. Buddy Hield finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Quinten Post produced 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks while battling NBA All-Star big man Even Mobley to a virtual standoff. Jonathan Kuminga, making his first start since Nov. 11, scored four only points on 1-of-10 shooting but yanked seven rebounds.
The bench came through with enough solid play at both ends to ensure there would be no significant drop-off from the starters. Golden State generated leads as high as 14 points. Gui Santos gave the Warriors 14 points and three assists, with two crucial free throws with 11.3 seconds remaining. Brandin Podziemski, struggling of late, delivered 10 points, three rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes.
The Warriors pestered the Cavaliers into 34.6-percent shooting from the field, including 23.8 beyond the arc. Stars Donovan Mitchall, Darius Garland and Mobley combined to shoot 25 of 60 from the field.
“We were on a string,” Kerr said. “We were connected. We did a pretty good job taking care of transition, which was our No. 1 key. They are so fast in transition, one of the best teams in the league at scoring in the first eight seconds of the clock. They get the ball down the floor. I thought we took that away.”
There is no doubt, though, that the high-velocity spirit of Spencer was contagious enough to push the entire squad to levels that must be as dynamic as they can reach without the team’s best players.
When Spencer went the line to shoot two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining and the Warriors up 97-94, he followed his first make by waving goodbye to the crowd. He then dropped in the second for the final score.
“We’ll take any win we can get right now,” Spencer said. “Great energy in the locker room, just competing our butts off tonight. We’re trying to weather the storm until we get healthy. But yeah, we’re fired up.”
As well they should be. Who could have imagined the Warriors getting a quality road win with Curry, Green and Butler inactive? Who could have dreamed Spencer would be the driving force?
To be sure, this victory doesn’t mean Golden State’s failed two-timeline plan has been revived – goodness, no. But it’s proof that the supporting cast is hearing the pleas the veterans have been urging for a few weeks.
Given the turbulent play so far this season, there is legitimate value in that.
If you’re not familiar with Pat Spencer by this point, then you probably should be.
After his defiant declaration on Thursday in Philadelphia, Spencer backed it up in the Warriors’ 99-94 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night at Rocket Arena. The 29-year-old point guard — in his first career NBA start — scored a career-high 19 points to go with seven assists and four rebounds.
Steve Kerr offered a priceless moment in his postgame presser, repeating Spencer’s audacious quote that could end up being iconic in Warriors lore.
“I think the other thing is that his coach realized that Pat is that motherf–ker,” Kerr told reporters. “I think that became clear.”
"His coach realized that Pat is that motherf–ker."
Was Kerr previously aware of that quality Spencer possesses? That was the next question for Golden State’s coach.
“No, I was getting the inkling, you know,” Kerr replied. “It was starting to creep in, but I didn’t realize it until he told the world, and tonight it was very clear.”
Minutes later, Gui Santos similarly agreed with Spencer’s assertion.
“A huge compliment for Pat, that guy,” Santos explained to reporters, before asking if he could swear. “Pat is that motherf–ker, you know. He’s great. It’s great to have a guy like that on the team.”
Bulls rookie Noa Essengue will undergo season-ending surgery on his left shoulder.
On Saturday, the Bulls made official what coach Billy Donovan had said a few days earlier: surgery was required, and the usual recovery time is six to seven months. Essengue injured his shoulder in a G-League game and, while the team first said it was a contusion, it turned out to be more than that.
Essengue was the No. 12 pick in last June's draft and at Summer League showed his fluid athleticism and potential, but also was raw (as expected). He was mainly remembered for being on the wrong end of a meme during his first trip to Las Vegas. The Bulls wanted to deal with this injury now so that Essengue will have next summer to work on his game (whether he will play in Summer League remains to be seen).
This season, Essengue played just six total minutes for the Bulls. In four G-League games, Essengue averaged 23 points a game on 50.8% from the floor, plus grabbing 8.5 rebounds a game.
Remember all those games where the Warriors played a team without multiple stars yet still found themselves on the losing side? Saturday night in Cleveland finally was the opposite for Golden State.
The Warriors, without Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, continued to show their competitive spirit. They only had 10 healthy players on the first night of a back-to-back while the Cleveland Cavaliers had their Big Three and the majority of their most important players. As the Warriors have learned time and time again, the game isn’t played on paper but on the hardwood.
Behind the all-powerful Pat Spencer and a spunky bunch of role players, the Warriors pulled off a wild 99-94 upset win against the Cavs at Rocket Arena.
Spencer earned his first career start and continued to dazzle. The 29-year-old on a two-way contract scored a new career-high 19 points and was a plus-9 in 29 minutes. Spencer also had a team-high seven assists.
Scoring came up and down the Warriors’ roster. Gui Santos’ 14 points were second to Spencer, and five players scored in double figures.
Here are three takeaways from a huge Warriors win on the road.
Pat Spencer, Starting Point Guard
A major change was seen in the Warriors’ starting lineup with so many injuries. But the move wasn’t made solely because of a lack of players. Spencer on Saturday was rewarded with his first career NBA start after providing a needed spark with perhaps the two best performances of his career in back-to-back games.
Spencer on Tuesday tied his career-high of 17 points with three rebounds, six assists and one steal. He then followed that up with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and one steal. So, what did he do in his first start?
The first quarter wasn’t easy because of two early fouls. But then Spencer got the Warriors going in the second quarter, pushing the pace, getting into the paint and assisting on three 3-pointers. That made Spencer a team-high plus-10 through the first half with four points, two rebounds and three assists as the Warriors led by nine points.
Winning time is Spencer time. He scored six fourth-quarter points against OKC, 12 in Philadelphia and another 12 in Cleveland with multiple clutch shots made. Spencer in the second half scored 15 points with two rebounds and four assists.
How JK, Podz Responded
During Steve Kerr’s pregame press conference, the Warriors coach laid out the best paths to success for Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski, two former first-round NBA draft picks who have struggled as of late.
“Well, JK, it’s always run the floor, take care of the ball – the turnovers have been an issue lately,” Kerr told reporters. “So I’m really urging him to get up the floor instead of, you know, holding back in the backcourt and asking for the ball. I want him to be the first guy down the floor, not the last.”
Kuminga was in the starting five after coming off the bench his past four games. He began by dribbling, dribbling, dribbling and missing between a couple fadeaways inside the arc, a missed three and a blocked layup. Kuminga missed his first seven shots and was the lone Warrior held scoreless in the first half, but he did have three rebounds and three assists.
The game became easier for Kuminga in the third quarter, cutting to the hoop for easy points or getting to the free-throw line. Kuminga only played two and a half minutes in the fourth quarter. Though he did grab seven rebounds, Kuminga was just 1 of 10 from the field for four points.
“With Brandin, he’s got to get off the ball early,” Kerr continued. “When he gets into trouble is when he tries too hard to make plays on his own, instead of doing what he does best, which is to move the ball and be part of a five-man group that is really executing.”
Unlike Kuminga, Podziemski did not get the starting nod. All 10 healthy Warriors played in the first half, and Podziemski was the only one whose plus/minus wasn’t in the positive. Podziemski was a minus-1 going into halftime with five points, two rebounds and two assists.
Podziemski made a huge step-through layup with a minute and a half left and closed the game after not playing the entire fourth quarter Thursday night. The third-year guard ended as a minus-5, scoring 10 points and adding three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Great defense leads to offense, and that was the story for the Warriors in Cleveland. The Warriors’ defense was connected on a string and frustrated the Cavs for all four quarters.
The Cavs came into Saturday night averaging 119.6 points per game, good for seventh in the NBA. They scored 36 in the first half and finished with 94. They average 15.3 made threes per game, good for fifth in the NBA. Their 10 threes made were five below their season average. None of this was by mistake.
Donovan Mitchell averages 30 points per game and scored 29, but needed 26 shots. Nobody else scored 20 points for the Cavs. Evan Mobley (18 points) and Darius Garland (17 points) barely missed the mark. They also were a combined 14-of-34 shooting (41.2 percent).
The Cavs’ 94 points was a season low. The Warriors quietly have cracked the top five in defensive rating and for the second straight game held their opponent to under 100 points.
"I'm just staying ready. I'm hooping right now. I don't know what's next. I'm still scarred by it all. Still processing everything. But I'm staying ready."
The reality of what is next for Chris Paul is a little more complex.
While he is away from the team, the Clippers have not released him and reportedly are working with him on a potential trade. However, league sources told NBC Sports that teams with interest in Paul are going to sit back and wait for him to be released, then sign him as a free agent rather than giving up anything in a deal. The Clippers are up against their first-apron hard cap and can't release Paul and replace him with another veteran minimum contract. LA can't afford that until January (they could release him and promote two-way player Kobe Sanders to a regular contract, staying below that line). Beyond that, Paul signed in Los Angeles to be close to his family, he's not likely to want to go far away to end his career (there is one other team in Los Angeles, but it also is up against a first apron hard cap and is not in a position to bring anyone in for a while, and when they do an older backup guard is not likely the need). It will be interesting to see which teams step up to try to sign him once they can.
Paul may need to be hooping and staying ready on his own for a while.
Before NBA training camp opened, rumors about Giannis Antetokounmpo pushing the Bucks to have trade talks with the Knicks were everywhere. That's when, at media day, Antetokounmpo tried to quash all that saying he was all in on this team now, and in six or seven months maybe he would change his mind.
Then the Bucks stumbled out of the gate, and this week the rumor mill cranked up into high gear this week when a report came out that Antetokounmpo and his agent would meet with the Milwaukee front office to discuss his future with the franchise. Antetokounmpo hasn't spoken to the media since all this started (he is currently out 2-4 weeks with a calf strain), but he did talk with NBA insider Chris Haynes, who discussed that conversation on Amazon Prime's NBA coverage Friday, with Antetokounmpo reportedly echoing what he said before the season started.
"I want to run through the wall and make things work." As a reminder, here is what Antetokounmpo said at media day that was along the same lines:
"I've said this many times, I want to be in a situation that I can win and now I'm here. I believe in this team. I believe in my teammates. I'm here to lead this team to wherever we can go and it's definitely going to be hard. We're going to take it day by day, but I'm here. So, all the other extra stuff does not matter... Now, if in six, seven months, I change my mind, I think that's human too, you're allowed to make any decision you want, but I'm locked in. I'm locked in to this team. I'm locked in to these guys, to this group and to this coaching staff and to myself."
There should be no doubt that Antetokounmpo wants to make things work in Milwaukee and that he will make every effort to do so. He is not going to be a disruptive force. It's also possible to play hard and try to make things work while understanding the bigger picture about the Bucks' competitiveness and what that might mean in the long term.
Milwaukee is only going to trade Antetokounmpo if he pushes for it — it's the only reason for the conversations with New York in August (after the Knicks had extended Mikal Bridges and couldn't really make a decent trade offer). There are a lot of questions that flow if and when that request is made — starting with if the Bucks would help get Antetokounmpo to his preferred destination, or if they are taking the offer on the table that's best for them — but it all has to start with Antetokounmpo willing to forcefully push his way out.
Antetokounmpo being traded still feels more like something that will happen in the offseason, when roster size limits are expanded and the concerns of the luxury tax aprons are less pressing. However, if the Bucks stumble further down in the East while Antetokounmpo is out injured, that dynamic could change.
The 19-year NBA veteran’s self-assessment? Harsh yet honest and accurate.
“I’m not where I want to be,” Horford told Friedell on Thursday. “I would say I haven’t been very good. I understand that there’s a lot of work ahead of me, there’s more that I need to do, and I need to be better, and I feel like I will. But right now, I’m not where I want to be.”
The former All-Star and NBA champion, who won’t play back-to-back games this season, only has featured in 13 games for Golden State, averaging career-lows of 5.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 21.5 minutes.
On Thursday against the Philadelphia 76ers, Horford returned after missing two weeks due to sciatica.
“It’s not so much frustrating,” Horford told Friedell. “It’s just that there are a lot of different circumstances going on. Whether it’s injury, missing time away from the team, there’s a lot of factors, and there’s no excuses, but I take all of this first part with a hint of salt, and I know that I will be better. So I know that I will be better.”
Outside of adjusting to a new system, injuries and playing for a team based west of the Great Plains, Horford and his wife, Amelia, recently welcomed their sixth child.
It has been a whirlwind, but Horford knows exactly what parts of his game he has to improve on.
“For me, it’s continuing to figure everything out defensively,” Horford added to Friedell. “So being more of a support on the defensive end. And then on offense, getting more comfortable in spots so I can impact the team.
“Being able to get to the right spots to shoot the three, and just giving the team more on the offensive end. Whether it’s setting screens, getting guys open, things like that. That’s always something that I’m going to continue to try to be better at.”
Horford made his first start of the season in the Warriors’ 99-98 loss to the 76ers.
And although his performance wasn’t the most convincing, it’s a step in the right direction for the veteran, especially during a time in which an injury-riddled Warriors could benefit from the brand of basketball that has kept Horford in the league for nearly two decades.
“That’s always been my mindset,” Horford told Friedell. “And I understand it, but right now the team needs me. We need to be a little better, and this is a part of it; it’s a part of the journey. But in my mind, I know where I need to be when that time comes.”
Eric Samulski
