Insert third-year forward Noah Clowney, who came through with 19 points in Friday's 125-107 loss to the Detroit Pistons. It was Clowney's third straight 15-plus point game, as the 21-year-old has started the past three contests for head coach Jordi Fernandez.
After the game, Fernandez spoke highly of Clowney's recent stretch, while acknowledging there is still room for improvement, especially on the defensive end of the floor.
"Noah always takes positive steps. I need him to be better defensively and he knows it," Fernandez said. "His voice needs to grow, embracing the contact, they're playing with the two bigs. Whether you're the low man, whether your communication is on or off the ball, all those things.
"He's really smart, he's about the right things, he knows it. Like everybody else, need to grow into that fast. I know he will. I like his aggressiveness, how he shot the ball. Got to keep taking, like I said, positive steps."
Clowney went 5 of 13 shooting on Friday night, including 4 of 8 from three-point range with all four makes coming in the first quarter. Across his three recent starts (31 minutes per game), the Alabama product is averaging 17.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 steals per game on 44.4 percent shooting from the field, 40 percent from three, and 75 percent from the foul line.
The scoring is a big jump from what he was doing off the bench across the Nets' first six games. Clowney had scored just a total of 26 points (4.3 points per game) over 20 minutes per night prior to starting the past three games.
His hot stretch has also been helpful for rookie guard Egor Demin, who assisted on three of Clowney's four triples. The No. 8 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft believes Clowney can continue being a reliable option with his strong shooting.
"I love him. I think it's really important for me, personally, and for the team, to make sure that he has this confidence to keep shooting, and everybody knows that he can shoot the ball extremely well, as he did today," Demin said.
The Nets will need Clowney to continue scoring at the rate he has as they search for their second win of the season. Brooklyn will take on the crosstown rival Knicks on Sunday evening at MSG in the first of four matchups between the Atlantic Division two teams.
NEW YORK (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 34 points and 10 assists, Jalen Duren added 30 points and 11 rebounds and the Detroit Pistons beat the Brooklyn Nets 125-107 on Friday night in an NBA Cup group opener.
Cunningham was 13 for 18 from the field and made all six of his free throws to help lead Detroit to its fifth straight victory and a 7-2 record. The All-Star point guard has averaged 29.8 points and 11.2 assists while shooting 54 percent from the field during the streak.
Ausar Thompson had 14 points, and Caris Levert added 10 for the Pistons. They have won their last four meetings against Brooklyn.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 28 points for Brooklyn, and Noah Clowney added 19 as the Nets fell to 1-8. They were without Cam Thomas because of a strained left hamstring. He will be reevaluated in three to four weeks.
Detroit fell behind by 10 points in the first quarter and led by five at halftime before Cunningham took over in the third with 14 points as the Pistons had a 34-19 edge in the period.
Cunningham led a 7-0 run with five points to extend the lead to 72-57 with 9:05 left in the period as the Nets called a timeout. He then ignited another 7-0 run with a basket and a free throw before Duren’s dunk capped the spurt to make it 82-65 with 4:04 remaining in the quarter.
Lakers coach JJ Redick and forward Rui Hachimura meet on the sideline after Hachimura scored against the Spurs on Wednesday. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
JJ Redick was already preaching one type of Japanese philosophy, harping to his team about the concept of “kaizen” to improve each day. Off the court, the head coach found inspiration in another Japanese phrase.
Lakers players and coaches have used PechaKucha presentations to facilitate team bonding this season. The slideshows, which come from the Japanese word for chitchat, could be a secret to the team’s hot start as the Lakers (7-2) have won five consecutive games entering a five-game road that starts Saturday in Atlanta at 5 p.m. PST against the Hawks.
The Lakers have pieced together one of the NBA’s most efficient offenses despite injuries keeping LeBron James, Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic in and out of the lineup, relying on a strong team bond that’s developed quickly through an even faster form of communication.
PechaKucha presentations are traditionally 20 slides, each with a photo. The speaker has 20 seconds to explain each slide for a total presentation time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
The Lakers' version consists of five slides: where you’re from; favorite basketball memory; person, event or thing that has impacted your life; your non-basketball happy place; and dealer’s choice.
“A lot of times most of the interactions you'll have with your teammates is on the basketball court,” forward Jake LaRavia said. “So it's good to just kind of either learn some stuff about them outside of basketball, like hobbies and stuff like that, where they come from. And that just helps you kind of understand who the person is a little bit better."
Assistant coach Scott Brooks started his presentation with a photo of a walnut, symbolizing the walnut farm he worked on during the weekends to help his family make ends meet. LaRavia showed a photo of his driveway as the origin of his basketball journey. Doncic spoke about how his daughter Gabriela changed his life.
One coach and one player present, and then they each nominate the next coach or player to go. With about half of the players and coaches left, Redick said he’s already noticing the holdouts actively planning their presentations before their nominations.
“We're just constantly encouraging and empowering our guys to get connected,” Redick said. “I believe if you're connected off the floor, you're connected on the floor. You need buy-in to that. I'm not trying to take credit for my staff here. It's the guys on the team, they're bought into that.”
Doncic, for one, isn’t sold. He deadpanned that he doesn’t think the exercise helps.
Just the fact that Doncic made the joke meant it’s working.
Settled after last season’s jarring trade, the 26-year-old’s personality has started to emerge among his teammates. He is a sarcastic jokester who expresses love for his teammates by threading passes to them through pinhole-sized gaps in the defense and then trash talking them right soon after.
Lakers coach JJ Redick, with injured forward LeBron James next to him, questions a call along with guard Marcus Smart during the game against the Spurs on Wednesday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Doncic’s smiling antics, whether he’s trying to sit on Austin Reaves’ lap on the sideline or swishing halfcourt shots in a contest with Reaves, Maxi Kleber and staff members, show just how connected the superstar feels to the team.
“Honestly, the feeling is I'm enjoying, very much, playing with these guys,” Doncic said. “AR [Reaves] can’t play. We're still missing LeBron. So this team has a big potential. But everybody who steps on court, gives maximum, man, everybody. So it's very enjoyable to play.”
Reaves is present on the road trip but will miss a third consecutive game Saturday. The Lakers ruled him out after practice Friday as his right groin injury progressed to a strain after previously being categorized simply as soreness.
James did not make the trip to Atlanta. He progressed to on-court basketball activities this week after missing four weeks because of a sciatica on his right side. He was playing one-on-one with coaches, Redick said. A stint with the South Bay Lakers is on the table, but no decision has been made.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer hasn’t played a single minute for the Lakers yet. Reaves, averaging 31.1 points and 9.3 assists, has missed the last two wins, and Doncic has played in only half of the games. But the Lakers are still fifth in the NBA in offensive rating.
“It shows how professional we are,” guard Marcus Smart said of the team’s chemistry despite constantly changing personnel. “I think a lot of people, especially who aren't in the brotherhood, they forget that you build a relationship with guys, and then one guy or a couple guys, you get traded and you got to rebuild another one. You don’t understand how tough that is, how much of a toll that takes.”
Just as Smart spoke, Doncic appeared behind the group of reporters, clapping loudly. Then Doncic made sure to put on the record that he would beat Smart at a team-building competition that night. Both smiled as they walked away.
As if things were not rough enough to start the season in Brooklyn...
Cam Thomas, the Nets' second leading scorer at 21.4 points per game, is out with a left hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks, the team announced.
Brooklyn Nets Medical Update:
Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain. The injury occurred during the first quarter of Wednesday’s game at Indiana. Thomas will be reevaluated in approximately three to four weeks.
This has been an ongoing issue for Thomas: This is his fourth left hamstring strain since the start of last season (he only played 25 games last season because of it).
The big question for Thomas is whether this impacts his free agency next summer. Thomas is playing on a $6 million qualifying offer with Brooklyn this season, which will make him an unrestricted free agent next July 1. Thomas bet on himself, and was putting up 21.4 points a night and shooting 35.6% from beyond the arc this season (although his true shooting percentage of 54.6 is a little below the league average). There are certainly teams that could use his scoring, but his injury history could (will?) give teams pause, and that might cost Thomas money. It depends on how he plays when he returns, but teams will remember.
Brooklyn already had the 25th-ranked offense in the NBA and just lost one of its two most reliable shot creators for a month. With Thomas out, Brooklyn will be looking for more shot creation next to Michael Porter Jr. Look for Terance Mann, Tyrese Martin and Egor Demin to get more run and get their chance.
Green led the Warriors with 17 points and made five 3-pointers, two fewer than the rest of his teammates combined. That was long forgotten, watching how the Nuggets scored with ease against the Warriors.
The only finger Green pointed regarding the Warriors’ defensive letdowns was at himself.
“I’ve failed,” Green said. “If our defense looks as s—-y as it does, I’ve failed. You can send as many messages as you want. Until we do it, I’m failing them.”
The Warriors opened the game with a corner three from Green and then forced the Nuggets into a shot clock violation. It was almost all Nuggets the rest of the way. They responded with an immediate 12-0 run, forcing a Golden State timeout.
Any fire the Warriors came into the game with was quickly extinguished. They trailed by as many as 14 points in the first quarter, 19 in the second, 22 in the third and 28 in the fourth before an eventual 25-point loss.
Aside from the Warriors starting the second quarter on a 10-0 run to bring the game within one while Nikola Jokić was given his first rest, the Nuggets had almost no problems slicing and dicing a leaky defense. The game became a breeze for Jokić, scoring 26 points on 12-of-15 shooting and 2 of 3 from deep. Even his backup, Jonas Valančiūnas, scored 16 points in 16 minutes, going 6 of 8 from the field and 2 of 3 on threes.
Jamal Murray’s 23 points came on 8-of-12 shooting and 5 of 7 from three, and Aaron Gordon got up to 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting and was 3 of 4 behind the 3-point line.
The Nuggets scored at least 30 points in all four quarters, finishing the game with a 56.1 field goal percentage and went 48.5 percent beyond the arc. They dominated around the rim and downtown. Trailing from behind for almost all 48 minutes, the Warriors were called for three more fouls than the Nuggets and saw them take 10 more free throws than them.
“No. 1, it’s taking the challenge – a personal challenge,” Green said of the Warriors’ defense. “You’ve got to take the personal challenge to guard your man. Then if you get beat, there’s help. But I think right now we’re just relying on the help to beat everyone. When you don’t give effort, then help can’t get there.
“It starts individually. Everybody must take the challenge individually of guarding their man, and then you build out from there.”
Clearly, the Warriors have a point-of-attack problem. They’ve seen young players trying to make a name for themself like Ryan Rollins and Quenton Jackson drive downhill right past them in losses, and most recently, a contender in the Nuggets pick them apart without breaking a sweat. They can get back to the drawing board, but it all starts up top.
Coach Steve Kerr sent a strong statement to his younger players, calling out a lack of purpose and hanging their heads as the problems piled up on them. Green didn’t mince his words, and neither did fellow veteran leader Jimmy Butler. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Quinten Post, a third-year center and a second-year center, respectively, took it upon themselves to follow the words of the team’s leaders.
“There were multiple guys that came from the bench tonight that were talking about bringing the energy, and sometimes it’s tough,” Post said. “It doesn’t go your way, but the guys are in the right mindset, and this switch will be flipped. We’ll flip the switch. We got to keep bringing it, the fire, and just go out there and we’ll make it work.”
The schedule has been a battle of its own, mentally and physically. The Warriors already have played 10 games in 18 days, including three back-to-back. And it’s not about to get any easier.
After a flight home and a day off Saturday, the Warriors play the Indiana Pacers at Chase Center on Sunday, and then they hit the road for a six-game trip that opens with a back-to-back in Oklahoma City and San Antonio.
“I mean, hell, every game up to this point is supposed to be one to set the tone,” Butler said. “Now what I will say is – and I say this a lot – when you win, everything’s masked and everything is covered up. So if we go out there and win, it’s going to look like we played hard, it’s going to look like we executed.
“Let’s just win, and then we’ll take it from there. Let’s learn from wins instead of from losses.”
Bradley Beal's two seasons in Phoenix didn't exactly go as planned. Injuries limited him to 53 games each season, and while he put up numbers — 17.6 points and 4.3 rebounds a game — and he shot efficiently (60.3 true shooting), his impact was more role player than third star.
Back in Phoenix Thursday night for the first time since he was waived and stretched by the Suns, Beal was booed during introductions and when he touched the ball. Suns fans got what they wanted out of the night, Beal shot 2-of-14 from the floor as the Clippers fell to the Suns 115-102. Los Angeles was without Kawhi Leonard or James Harden in the game, which put more on Beal's plate, and he is still on a minutes restriction after having his knee scoped.
After the game, Beal said the biggest problem with his performance in Phoenix was how the two coaches — Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer — used him, speaking to Law Murray of The Athletic.
"When you allow me to be that guy, I'll be that," Beal told The Athletic. "But when you have two coaches that want you to set screens and play in the dunker, you're not Brad Beal. You're somebody else."
Phoenix gave up a lot to acquire Beal — four first-round pick swaps and six second-round picks, plus Chris Paul — in hopes of forming a championship big three with him, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker. It didn't exactly work as planned (to put it kindly). Budenholzer and Vogel were championship coaches, but they could not get an ill-fitting roster — with numerous key injuries — to mesh. Durant is now in Houston and the Suns are trying to retool their roster around Booker, but gave away a lot of building blocks to take that big-three swing.
Beal was an All-Star and All-NBA player averaging 31.3 points a game as recently as 2021. However, he hasn't played in more than 53 games in a season since then, and his efficiency has slid. The Clippers are betting on him to fill the scoring role Norman Powell did for them a season ago, but this offseason, Beal underwent knee surgery, which has the Clippers easing him back in. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said ultimately Beal is going to have to play a key role if the Clippers are going to make any noise in the West.
"[Beal] is a starter for us. He's gonna play, he has to get his rhythm, like I said, he had knee surgery in May, so just bring him back, making sure he's getting comfortable," Lue said. "We can't just move him to the side, he's a big part of what we're trying to do. We got to bring him along slow, we got to be smart about it, and we just can't rush the process."
SACRAMENTO – Russell Westbrook has a single focus when he trots onto the basketball court, no matter who the opponent is, even if it’s the team that drafted him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and paid him $166 million over 11 seasons.
That was the scenario presented to Westbrook on Friday night at Golden 1 Center when the NBA’s best team so far this season rolled into town
The Oklahoma City Thunder, home to Westbrook during his early NBA days, had the look of a team very much bent on making a trip back to the NBA Finals to defend their title.
True to his word, Westbrook remained calm throughout.
There were no sentimental moments or long-ago memories to ponder over. Just straight pure hoopin’.
“I play the same way every night, compete at the highest level given the opportunity,” Westbrook said after the Kings’ 132-101 NBA Cup loss to the Thunder. “Who’s on the other side doesn’t change the energy and effort I’m going to play with.”
He had scored in double figures in six consecutive games heading into Friday, then extended that streak with 24 points against OKC. Westbrook was 9 of 17 from the floor, made five 3s to go with nine assists and six rebounds.
Not bad for a guy who has been playing out of position lately.
With power forward Keegan Murray still recovering from thumb surgery, Kings coach Doug Christie has tried experimenting with different players and rotations.
Westbrook had adapted fairly well and was one of, if not the only, bright spots on a night when the Kings were taken to the woodshed by the Thunder.
Oklahoma City dominated Sacramento in the paint, forcing 17 turnovers that led to 23 points, and had an easy time easing through the Kings’ defense.
Thunder 7-footer Isaiah Hartenstein destroyed the Kings down low to the tune of a career-high 33 points and 19 rebounds.
He had plenty of help, too, as all five OKC starters scored in double figures, as did backup Isaiah Joe.
“If it wasn’t big fella, Hartenstein, going down the lane, the guard was getting around the corner,” Kings coach Doug Christie said. “Unacceptable. We have to make sure that we can contain the basketball.”
Westbrook said there was a combination of issues that fueled the breakdowns.
“Just (got) real stagnant offensively,” Westbrook said. “When we move the ball and play with pace it allows us to be able to cut, get to the rim, finish. We just missed a lot of our opportunities. It starts with our defense, too.“
DENVER – Cards were stacked high against the Warriors to begin NBA Cup play Friday night against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena, and they couldn’t pick up the pieces enough without Steph Curry. Not even close.
Draymond Green began the game draining a three from the right corner, and the Warriors then forced a shot clock violation on the Nuggets’ first offensive possession. The sequence wasn’t a sign of things to come. The opposite, in fact.
The Nuggets responded with a 12-0 run, and outside of a short stint in the second quarter, the Warriors were completely outclassed in an uncompetitive 129-104 loss.
Green (17 points) and Jimmy Butler (16 points) provided the only offense for the Warriors’ starters. The rest of the starting five scored two points in the first half, and 15 overall.
Quinten Post was a bright spot off the bench, scoring 14 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting and made his two 3-point attempts.
Nikola Jokić in 28 minutes barely missed a triple-double. The three-time NBA MVP scored an easy 26 points on 12-of-15 shooting and also had nine rebounds and nine assists with one turnover.
The play of the game belonged to Bay Area native Aaron Gordon. The 30-year-old stepped into a time machine and channeled his Archbishop Mitty days, crossing Buddy Hield at the 3-point line and throwing down a monstrous dunk on Post.
Along with Curry’s second straight game missed to an illness, the Warriors also were without Al Horford. The veteran center was a late addition to the injury report with left foot soreness. Horford was seen at shootaround getting shots up, but he was icing his left foot pregame in the locker room, something that has been seen frequently to start the season.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors dropping to 5-5 overall and 1-5 on the road.
Future Trio Drops Dud
With Butler and Green playing through pain, the Warriors’ starting five still featured two eventual Hall of Famers flanked by three players who want to lead the franchise into the future. Well, the future looked bleak in Denver.
The Warriors got absolutely nothing out of Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski in the first half as the Warriors went into halftime down 66-49. Kuminga and Moody were both scoreless on a combined 0-of-7 shooting and missed all four of their 3-point attempts. Podziemski added a whopping two points, the same number of turnovers he had.
Kuminga’s one turnover in the first half came from simply dribbling the ball off his leg and out of bounds. He settled for bad shots, got stuck offensively and defensively and was a whopping minus-22 through two quarters. Podziemski was a minus-18 at the time, and Moody was a minus-4.
Steve Kerr had a long talk with Kuminga when he first came out of the game where the two didn’t seem to be on the same page, and he was deep in conversation with Podziemski going to the tunnel at halftime.
Another five minutes passed in the third quarter before Kuminga scored his first points. Moody finally did in the first minute of the fourth, and Podziemski ended with seven points – the most between the three of them. Their 15 points came on 7-of-29 shooting (24.1 percent), and they were 1 of 12 on threes.
The Non-Jokić Minutes
After playing the entire first quarter while dropping 11 points, three rebounds and six assists, Jokić took a seat to begin the second quarter. This was the Warriors’ time to make a run and cut an 11-point deficit. They did exactly that, going on a 10-0 run in the first two minutes and 15 seconds to make it a one-point game, forcing a Nuggets timeout.
All the sudden, the Nuggets’ offense wasn’t humming as loud and the Warriors were off to the races after a first quarter where in the halfcourt they were stuck in the mud. But just like that, the Nuggets then went on a 9-0 run of their own before a Pat Spencer 3-pointer put the Warriors back on the scoreboard.
By the time Jokić back in the game at the 4:16 mark of the second quarter, the Nuggets held a 17-point lead, 53-36. His backup, Jonas Valanciunas, scored eight points, grabbed two rebounds and made both his 3-point attempts in the second quarter as Jokic watched from the bench.
That was the game, right then and there. As soon as the Warriors made it competitive with Jokić his rest, they couldn’t find the extra gear to power them through against the bench unit of one of the better teams in the league.
Draymond Goes Boom
Pat Spencer and Will Richard, two role players at the back of the bench, brought the biggest spark when the Warriors were getting blitzed. The most promising sight, however, was Green’s willingness to be aggressive offensively as a scorer and let it fly from deep on a sagging defense.
The Nuggets kept begging Green to shoot, and for the most part, he kept playing into their game plan. And he made them pay on multiple occasions.
Green made two threes in the first half, and three more in the third quarter. He connected on three from the right corner, one from the left corner and another at the top of the arc. The defensive dynamo was 5 of 10 on threes, and the rest of the Warriors were 6 of 22 (27.7 percent) when he came out of the game for good.
Through nine games, Green now is shooting 44.7 percent from three (17 of 38) this season. Teams will keep daring him to shoot them, and he’ll have to keep showing he won’t hesitate to take advantage of that kind of defense
SACRAMENTO – Russell Westbrook had another big game against one of his former teams, but without big man Domantas Sabonis, the Kings spent most of the night on their heels in a 132-101 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday at Golden 1 Center.
Westbrook racked up 24 points, six rebounds and nine assists, falling just shy of adding to his NBA-record list of triple-doubles.
DeMar DeRozan had 18 points and five rebounds, while Drew Eubanks had a respectable night with 16 points on 8 of 11 shooting. Malik Monk added 15 points with three 3-pointers in the first group-play game of the NBA Cup in-season tournament.
The Kings (3-6) lost to the Thunder (9-1) less than two weeks ago when they had a healthy Sabonis, while Oklahoma City was without Chet Holmgren.
The tables were flipped on Friday, but the result was the same.
The Thunder held a dominant 60-34 advantage in the paint, led by center Isaiah Hartenstein, who finished with a game-high 33 points on 14 of 17 shooting from the field.
It didn’t help Sacramento that OKC came to town with a chip on its shoulder. The Thunder were coming off their lone loss of the season when they lost to the Trail Blazers in Portland on Wednesday.
Here are the takeaways from the Kings’ loss:
Doing without Domas
With the 6-foot-10 Sabonis not in uniform, the Kings were without their last line of defense and the Thunder were all too willing to try to take advantage.
The plan to go right at the heart of Sacramento’s D got off to a strong start, as the Thunder easily made their way deep into the paint and scored without much resistance. At one point, they had doubled the Kings’ production down low.
Kings coach Doug Christie tried several different options to fix the situation. Eubanks started and played 24 minutes. Newly signed Precious Achiuwa came off the bench with four points and three boards while rookie Max Raynaud rounded out Sac’s group of big men.
Russ against his old team
It has been seven years since Westbrook wore an OKC jersey but it’s clear he has a little extra juice every time he faces the Thunder.
The nine-time All-Star, who played his first nine NBA seasons with the Thunder, is the franchise scoring leader and all-time leader in triple-doubles. He came out roaring against his former team at Golden 1 Center. He made three 3-pointers and had 11 points in the first quarter and made good on 8 of 16 shots after his first attempt of the night was blocked by Chet Holmgren.
That was pretty much on par with what Westbrook had done against the Thunder in the past. Going into the night, he had an average of 18.8 points, 7.1 assists and 7.5 rebounds in 19 games against Oklahoma City.
Schroder shut down
It was a rough night for Dennis Schroder, at least when it came to scoring.
The 32-year-old point guard missed all 10 shots he took, including five misses from behind the arc. A minus-25 for the night, Schroder finished with two points and eight assists.
One of the Kings’ top offseason acquisitions, Schroder had been one of the team’s most consistent scorers through the first two weeks of the season, reaching double digits in scoring for six of Sacramento’s first eight games.
After winning its first five games (for the first time in franchise history), San Antonio has dropped two straight — not so coincidentally just as Victor Wembanyama had two rather pedestrian games. The Suns and Lakers started being physical with him, denying him positions in the paint, and doubling him at times to get the ball out of his hands on the perimeter.
Watch those games and one couldn't help but think, "this team could use De'Aaron Fox." That wait is now over. Fox is set to return on Saturday when San Antonio takes on New Orleans in the second night of a back-to-back.
Fox had been out since before the start of training camp due to a right hamstring strain. San Antonio traded for him at the deadline last February, and in 17 games with his new team, he averaged 19.7 points and 6.8 assists a game, although expect those numbers to go up a little once paired with Wembanyama. The former All-Star was brought in to be the veteran, star guard paired with Wemby, with the hope that they would bring out the best in each other. However, the duo only got five games together last season due to Wembanyama's shoulder blood clots. The two still have a lot of familiarizing to do.
Fox joins a promising backcourt with reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle (averaging 19.4 points, six rebounds and 5.7 assists a game this season) and No. 2 pick last June Dylan Harper (averaging 14 points a night off the bench, but currently out with a calf strain). The Spurs have started the season looking like a team ready to make a leap up the Western Conference standings this season, but they ultimately were going to need Fox back to do that.
Coach Doug Christie said Friday that Murray has progressed to working out in the gym, although he offered no timetable for the 2022 first-round draft pick to make his 2025-26 NBA season debut.
“He’s in protocol. He’s working hard,” Christie said before the Kings’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden 1 Center. “I like to see him in the gym. I’m seeing him in the gym, but it’s going to be a second. He’s working as hard as he can. We just have to wait till we get the nod, and when we do, he’ll be ready to come.”
Murray has been out since tearing the UCL in his left thumb during a preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers in October. He underwent surgery a few days later.
Christie has tried a variety of options while Murray has been out. Most recently, Russell Westbrook has started at power forward, averaging 24.5 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in games against the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors.
Zion Williamson is out for at least another week with a hamstring injury. Dejounte Murray is not expected to return to the Pelicans from his torn Achilles until the calendar flips to 2026.
That put the ball in the hands of Jordan Poole to be a primary shot creator in New Orleans, but now comes word that he has a strained left quad and will be out for at least a week, with a re-evaluation in 7-10 days.
Injury Update: The Pelicans announced today that Jordan Poole has been diagnosed with a mild left vastus lateralis (quad) strain.
Poole will be re-evaluated in 7-10 days and further updates will be appropriately provided. pic.twitter.com/WVfxhMDjO7
Poole has put up numbers for the Pelicans — 17.3 points and 3.4 assists a game — but has not been efficient doing so, shooting just 34.5% from the field.
Saddiq Bey got the start on Wednesday with Poole out, and both Jose Alvarado and Jordan Hawkins are likely to see more run as well.
Whether you’re in a Yahoo! High Score league, a Sleeper league, a league with a games cap or simply have so many players with games scheduled that you can’t start them all, making a decision about who to start or sit can help you win or lose your matchup.
Obviously, in many leagues, having more games played each week ends up being the difference in a matchup. This is not me saying to bench a player in a points league without a games cap. Even if I’m expecting a terrible game, five points is better than zero!
The Hornets, Clippers, Lakers, Knicks, Pelicans, Suns, Trail Blazers and Jazz only play once this weekend, so if you’re just looking to maximize games, avoid those teams.
▶ Guards
Start: Donte DiVincenzo, Minnesota Timberwolves
Even with Anthony Edwards back, DiVincenzo is still an important part of the offense in Minnesota. They play two games this weekend, with one of those coming against the Jazz, who have allowed the second-most three-pointers per game this season. DiVincenzo has hit at least five triples in three straight games.
Start: Grayson Allen, Phoenix Suns
When Jalen Green made his debut for Phoenix on Thursday, the expectation was that Allen would be moved to the bench. However, Allen remained a starter, with second-year forward Ryan Dunn shifting to a reserve role. Assuming that holds, Allen will get another matchup with the Clippers on Saturday after hitting four three-pointers against them on Thursday.
Sit: Bradley Beal, LA Clippers
This should be an easy one, but he’s still heavily-rostered in Yahoo! leagues. Beal has started every game he has played this season, but he’s been limited to 20.3 minutes per game. Against the Suns on Thursday, with Kawhi Leonard (ankle) and James Harden (personal) out, Beal had a great opportunity to get back on track, but he ended up having his worst performance of the year. He might figure things out at some point, but until he proves it, he should be left on the bench.
Sit: CJ McCollum, Washington Wizards
McCollum has had a few decent performances this season, but the last two have been quite rough. Now, the Wizards have a back-to-back with the Cavaliers and Mavericks, two teams who are in the top 10 in points allowed per game this season. This isn’t the weekend to bank on McCollum figuring things out.
▶ Forwards
Start: Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
Coming off his best performance of the season, Flagg has a strong opportunity this weekend. Dallas takes on the Grizzlies and Wizards, and both teams rank in the bottom three for points allowed per game. With Anthony Davis (calf) still hurt, Flagg is going to be the focal point of the offense again, and he’ll have the chance to build on his game against the Pelicans.
Start: Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami Heat
Jaquez has been really good so far this season, with a couple of subpar performances sprinkled in. However, with Bam Adebayo dealing with a toe injury, and Tyler Herro still out, there will be plenty of usage available in Miami. The Heat play two games this weekend, including one against the Hornets, who have been bottom five in points allowed and bottom three in turnovers forced.
Sit: Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies
There isn’t a lot going right in Memphis right now, but Coward has been a bright spot. Still, matchups with two strong defenses in the Mavericks and Thunder won’t provide Coward with a great opportunity to stay hot. He’s still a great long-term option, and he appears to be the latest draft success for Memphis, but this isn’t an ideal weekend for him.
Sit: Cam Johnson, Denver Nuggets
It’s been a rough start to the season for Johnson, and I’m confident he’ll get back on track eventually. However, that will happen when he gets going from beyond the arc. Denver will take on the Warriors and Pacers this weekend, and both teams rank in the top 10 in fewest three-pointers allowed per game.
▶ Centers
Start: Deandre Ayton, Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers only have one game this weekend, but it’s against the Hawks, who have the worst rebounding percentage in the league, per NBA.com/stats. Ayton has two straight 20-point double-doubles, and this is a great opportunity for him to keep that streak going. Ayton started the season off slowly, but he’s starting to figure things out.
Start: Daniel Gafford, Dallas Mavericks
Anthony Davis (calf) and Dereck Lively (knee) are still out, and while Gafford won’t play the minutes that many starters will, he’ll be a force on the glass against two teams (Memphis and Washington) that rank in the bottom three in rebounds allowed per game. This should be a strong weekend for Gafford.
Sit: Isaiah Jackson, Indiana Pacers
I know everyone was thinking that Jackson’s three-game hot streak was the start of his breakout, but I’m not confident that’s the case. The Pacers take on the Warriors and Nuggets this weekend, and both teams have been effective on the defensive glass and now allowed many blocked shots. Perhaps that’s because nearly half of the Warriors shot attempts are from deep, and the Nuggets have Nikola Jokic.
Sit: Nic Claxton, Brooklyn Nets
The Nets play the Knicks and Pistons this weekend, and both teams have dominated the glass this year. Claxton has been effective recently, but that has come against some teams that have struggled to rebound this season. This isn’t the ideal weekend for Claxton to stay hot.
Seven or eight games at the start of the season is enough time to make sweeping generalizations about teams and who they should try to trade. Apparently.
The NBA trade rumor mill never stops grinding, so here is the latest on some big names.
Zion Williamson
For the fourth consecutive year, Zion Williamson has been sidelined with a hamstring injury (this is a Grade 1 strain expected to keep him out 7-10 days). Combine that with New Orleans' 2-6 start and bottom-five offense and defense in the league — and a reminder that Joe Dumars came in and traded away their first-round pick next season to move up 10 spots and draft Derik Queen — and there are calls for change in the Big Easy.
Stated simply, even with his unusual non-guaranteed contract over the next two years that offers the franchise protection, Williamson's trade value isn't super high.
"To be honest, their move might be a win-now trade, not a Zion trade," a rival executive said. "His trade value isn't there and they are facing some pressure to win."
Dumars knows there is no Zion trade market. That's why he came in last summer and backed Zion, choosing not to try to trade the former No. 1 pick, because he understood there wouldn't be enough value in return, a league source told NBC Sports. Dumars needed Zion to have a strong season, raise that value, then he would have options. So far, that has not come to pass, and if there is clamoring for change in New Orleans, it could be coach Willie Green who pays the price.
Ja Morant
As written about this week at NBC Sports, league sources have told us there is not much of a trade market for Morant right now, and any offers for him at this point would be lowball ones looking for a steal. Minnesota and Sacramento are reportedly interested, not Houston (why take the ball out of the hands of Amen Thompson and Kevin Durant? The Rockets need a floor general at the point). Memphis is in a tough spot because Morant is still a player people pay to see in a small market, and the business side of the equation matters, as Tim Bontemps mentions at ESPN.
In talking with various sources around the league, Morant is still viewed as a borderline top-10 player at the position -- and that's before factoring in the previous off-court issues -- but there aren't many teams around the league in need of a starting point guard ...
"He sells shoes, he sells tickets, and he wants to play in Memphis when no one wants to," a Western Conference assistant coach said. "So it makes for a really, really difficult situation."
Now, if the Grizzlies were to decide to make a major change, there would be a lot of interest in former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson, ESPN notes.
Trae Young
It's hard to make any call on Young with him out for at least another three weeks with a sprained knee. Young can opt out and become a free agent next summer, but Atlanta's new front office was wisely being patient, not really negotiating on an extension with the All-Star. The Hawks want to see how Young and Kristaps Porzingis fit together (and with the rest of the talented players on this roster, such as Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels) before committing to anything. Young and Porzingis have played just 51 minutes together this season, way too few to make any kind of assessment.
That said, one executive told ESPN that Atlanta would listen to trade offers.
"Atlanta is good enough to keep Trae and be good and make the playoffs," an East executive said. "But with the pick and Jalen, Dyson and [Zaccharie Risacher], they'll at least pick up the phone and listen when called."
If Young leaves Atlanta, a sign-and-trade next offseason seems the most likely scenario. The more likely scenario is that he stays, but there is no need to make a call either way until we see more of what these Hawks could be healthy.
LaMelo Ball
Much like the Hawks' situation, the Hornets came into this season optimistic and wanting to see what a lineup featuring their star point guard, Ball, Brandon Miller, and No. 4 pick last June, Kon Knueppel, looked like. So far, we have seen that trio healthy and on the court together for 16 minutes in one game. The big questions have yet to be answered, and Miller with out with a shoulder injury and no timeline for a return it could be a while before we get answers.
The situation in Charlotte with Ball also echoes what is happening in Memphis in one key way: the star player is very popular in the market and helps sell tickets, while his trade value around the league is not high enough to have the Hornets considering a deal. Here is what one scout told ESPN:
"Would someone take a flier on him? For sure. But Charlotte isn't taking a flier price for him."
Again, a Ball trade is more likely next offseason than at the deadline. The Hornets will be patient, they want to see what this core can do together when healthy (which could boost Ball's trade value).
How to Watch the NBA on NBC and Peacock
Peacock NBA Monday will stream up to three Monday night games each week throughout the regular season. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday presents doubleheaders on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season on NBC and Peacock. On most Tuesdays, an 8 p.m. ET game will be on NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, and an 8 p.m. PT game on NBC stations in the Pacific and often Mountain time zones. Check local listings each week. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026. For a full schedule of the NBA on NBC and Peacock, click here.
The Nets will be without starting shooting guard Cam Thomas for at least the next three to four weeks due to a left hamstring strain, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
Brooklyn had ruled Thomas out earlier in the day for Friday night's NBA Cup opener against the Detroit Pistons, but now it appears he'll miss more time.
Thomas suffered the hamstring injury during Wednesday's win over the Indiana Pacers. He played just six minutes before leaving the court and not returning.
Hamstring injuries have become a recurring problem for the 24-year-old, who missed 57 games last season after injuring it three times, limiting him to just 25 games played.
After agreeing to a one-year qualifying offer before the start of the season, Thomas is averaging 21.4 points on 40.2 percent shooting (35.6 percent from three) over eight games and 28.3 minutes of action per night.
With Thomas sidelined, Brooklyn will need Michael Porter Jr. to continue leading the team in scoring (22.4 points per game). Porter dropped a season-high 32-points (his second 32-point game) to help the Nets earn their first win of the season on Wednesday after a rough 0-7 start.
Additionally, the Nets upgraded rookie wing Drake Powell (right ankle sprain) to available for Friday's contest. The UNC product has played in just two games (11 minutes combined) so far this year. Three other of the Nets five first-round picks -- Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf, and Nolan Traore -- remain on G-League assignment with the Long Island Nets.
Meanwhile, wing Terance Mann, who was previously listed as probable due to left shoulder soreness, is available on Friday. Mann has started and played in all eight games, averaging 11.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game.
