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Dallas down to eight healthy players with few two-way games left, could it have to forfeit a game?

Could Dallas have to forfeit a game because it doesn't have enough healthy players?

It's possible. It's not likely, but it's not out of the question. It's something Bobby Marks first got into at ESPN.

NBA rules require a team to dress at least eight healthy players for a game, or it must forfeit. Dallas has been so ravaged by injuries that it is down to eight healthy players: Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, Caleb Martin, Max Christie, Spencer Dinwiddie, Brandon Williams, Dwight Powell, and Kessler Edwards.

That's because all these players are injured:

• Kyrie Irving (torn ACL)
• Anthony Davis (adductor strain)
• Dereck Lively II (ankle stress fracture)
• Daniel Gafford (knee sprain)
• P.J. Washington (ankle sprain)
• Dante Exum (fractured hand, announced Saturday)
• Olivier Maxence-Prosper (right wrist injury)
• Jaden Hardy (ankle sprain)
• Kai Jones (quad strain)

The concern in Dallas is that two of their healthy players are two-way players nearing their limit of 50 games up with the main club. Kessler Edwards has been with Dallas for 47 games, while Bradon Williams is at 44. Once they reach 50, they can no longer play with the Mavericks and must return to the G-League.

Why don't the Mavericks convert one or both of Edwards or Williams to regular contracts or sign another player on a 10-day contract? Because they can't afford to. Dallas is hard-capped at the first apron of the luxury tax and currently sits just $51,000 below that number, and a standard 10-day contract is double that. The Mavericks have no financial flexibility.

On the bright side, big men Jones and Washington didn't play on Friday but were listed as questionable for the game, suggesting they are close to returning. A week ago, coach Jason Kidd said that the three centers — Davis, Lively, and Gafford — were improving, although no timeline was given.

It's likely by the time Edwards and Williams max out the games they can play in Dallas Jones, Edwards and maybe one or two of the centers can return to the rotation. Dallas will almost certainly field eight players for all the rest of their games.

But the fact this is a conversation shows just how decimated the Mavericks have been by injuries.

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Payton Pritchard makes NBA history in Celtics' win over Nets

Payton Pritchard makes NBA history in Celtics' win over Nets originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

On Saturday, Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard set an NBA record that will make it difficult to vote against him for the Sixth Man of the Year award.

Pritchard notched 22 points on five 3-pointers in the C’s 115-113 win over the Brooklyn Nets. With his fourth make from deep, he surpassed Wayne Ellington for the most 3s off the bench in a single NBA season (219).

With 14 regular-season games still left to play, Pritchard has a chance to own the single-season record by a significant margin. It’s a remarkable feat for the 27-year-old, but it was business as usual for him after the historic performance.

“It just means I did my job off the bench at a high level, and hopefully I can continue to do that,” Pritchard said.

Pritchard isn’t focused on his 3-point record or the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award, which he currently is favored to win. He simply wants to continue his development into one of the game’s best.

“There’s no records, there’s no awards that I ever look at,” he said. “It’s all about self-improvement, looking at every game, what I can do to keep growing and keep bettering myself. Ultimately, that’s all that matters to me is trying to take another step. So hopefully I can keep that going.”

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla is proud of how far Pritchard has come since being drafted out of Oregon in 2020.

“If you count the the amount of timely shots that he’s hitting and the timely offensive rebounds that he’s gotten — he had one tonight coming out of the timeout when they went zone, in the corner, which just has an ability to impact the game in so many ways,” Mazzulla said.

“Just continues to get better and better. His competitive nature and work ethic’s unreal. So that’s an awesome thing and it takes a special person to fulfill that role, and he takes pride and does it every day.”

Pritchard is now averaging 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game this season with a 41.8 shooting percentage from 3-point range. He’ll look to repeat Saturday’s performance when the Celtics host the Nets for a rematch on Tuesday.

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Boogie Fland expected to return for NCAA Tournament

Arkansas freshman guard Boogie Fland, who had thumb surgery in January and missed the last 15 games of the regular season, is expected to return to the court for the Razorbacks in the NCAA Tournament, per a release from the program. According to the release, Fland has been medically cleared to resume basketball activities and will begin practicing with the team immediately. Barring any setbacks, he is anticipated to be available to play in the NCAA Tournament.

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Draymond drops epic ‘night night' on Knicks to seal Warriors' win

Draymond drops epic ‘night night' on Knicks to seal Warriors' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green sent the New York Knicks back to the city that never sleeps with an epic “night night” celebration on Saturday night.

Green’s driving layup with 25.8 seconds remaining gave the Warriors a six-point lead in a game they eventually won 97.94 at Chase Center.

Green, after jawing with Karl-Anthony Towns all night, beat the Knicks’ big man to the basket and got the last laugh.

When Green got to the Warriors’ bench, he did the “night night” gesture with injured guard Brandin Podziemski.

Green finished with nine points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field to go along with four rebounds, three assists and one block.

While Steph Curry made the “night night” celebration a global sensation, the Warriors have another term for the action when Green does it.

“We say in the locker room, Draymond do the ‘nightmare,’ ” guard Moses Moody told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke after the Warriors’ win. “Nah, bit it’s cool. That’s something obviously started with Steph, but he passed it on, moved it around and the whole team is sending them home.”

Green and the Warriors have won seven consecutive games and improved to 39-28 with the win over the Knicks, who head back to New York after going 2-3 on a five-game West Coast road trip.

After Saturday’s loss, the Knicks might not sleep well on the cross-country flight.

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What we learned as Warriors' defense fuels gritty win over Knicks

What we learned as Warriors' defense fuels gritty win over Knicks  originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors on Saturday night at Chase Center extended their win streak to seven consecutive games, beating the New York Knicks, 97-94, making more history along the way. 

Steve Kerr now has 558 career regular-season wins as the Warriors’ head coach, giving him one more than Hall of Famer and franchise icon Al Attles. 

Steph Curry scored a game-high 28 points, and added seven rebounds and five assists. The spotlight always belongs to Curry. Moses Moody in this win deserves an equal amount of praise. 

Moody was a plus-12, scoring 18 huge points and draining four 3-pointers, each one feeling more timely than the other. 

The Warriors’ largest lead was nine points. The Knicks’ largest lead was five points. This came down to the last man standing as the Warriors outlasted every punch the Knicks threw their way.

Here are three takeaways from yet another impressive Warriors win.

Draymond, KAT Claw All Game

The matchup to watch was between a Swiss Army Knife who plays point-center and a 7-footer who lives behind the 3-point line. Basketball wasn’t the main reason everybody was locked into watching Draymond Green and Karl-Anthony Towns. Controversy was. 

Towns missed the Knicks’ game against the Warriors at Madison Square Garden on March 4, to which Green on his podcast joked the All-Star center was ducking Butler, his former teammate in Minnesota. The real reason Towns didn’t play was to attend the funeral of a longtime family friend. 

Trash talk began shortly after the opening tip. Towns got Green to jump on pump fake, drove past him and threw down a dunk. When Green one minute later went through Towns for a contested layup, the volume was turned up. The same can be said about Green’s reaction to his first three of the night.

Green’s defensive genius was on display in the second quarter while guarding Towns behind the 3-point line. Towns, dribbling between his legs, tried to lull Green. But right when Towns gathered to get in a shooting motion, Green got right up on him, knocking the ball off Towns and out of bounds. 

All four quarters felt like a heavyweight fight, especially between two big men who are polar opposites. Towns dropped 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but Green hit him with Curry’s signature Night Night celebration after driving past him for a layup with 25 seconds remaining in the game.

Another New Starting Lineup

Quinten Post as a rookie already has given Golden State more than the Warriors ever could have asked for this season. The fact is, despite all the winning, the Warriors’ starting lineup hasn’t been working as Brandin Podziemski continues to nurse his lower back soreness. 

The five-man lineup of Curry, Butler, Green, Post and Moses Moody had played four games together going into Saturday night for a total of 32 minutes. They produced a minus-21.9 net rating with a 95.8 offensive rating and a 117.6 defensive rating. Steve Kerr had seen enough, at least for one game, so he opted to use his 36th different starting lineup this season. 

In came Gui Santos for Post. Even with Santos’ first 3-point attempt getting blocked, he showed why he’s the perfect glue guy and fits multiple lineups. 

Kerr’s newest starting five played the first four-plus minutes of the game together, spending five minutes and 25 seconds on the floor as a group in the first half. Through two quarters, they outscored the Knicks 12-11. Santos in 25 minutes had five points and seven rebounds. As a group, the starting five played 12 minutes and 19 seconds together, outscoring the Knicks by one point, 25-24.

Every Detail Matters

Both the Warriors and Knicks have star powers. Big names on the court, and fan bases full of celebrities. A game between two contenders came down to every small detail mattering. 

The Warriors in their previous five games averaged more than 16 turnovers, which resulted in an average of nearly 20 points for the opposition. In their win against the Knicks, the Warriors are two fewer turnovers. As the Warriors totaled 11 turnovers that resulted in eight points for the Knicks, Golden State turned New York’s 13 turnovers into 19 points. 

Though the Knicks had four more rebounds, 10 more points in the paint and eight more second-chance points, the Warriors won the battle of assists, 3-pointers, free throws, steals and fastbreak points. 

Their bench also outscored the Knicks 26-4.

Strong screens. Better box outs. Crisp passes and disrupting the lanes defensively. That’s how the Warriors will beat teams chasing a title like the Knicks, as well as their next two opponents in the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks.

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Kerr becomes winningest head coach in Warriors history

Kerr becomes winningest head coach in Warriors history originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steve Kerr stands on top in the Warriors’ record book.

The Golden State coach now has the most wins in franchise history, earning his 558th victory with the team’s 97-94 triumph over the New York Knicks on Saturday night at Chase Center.

Kerr came into the game tied with Warriors legend Al Attles at 557 franchise wins.

Immediately after the record-setting win, Kerr spoke to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke on the Chase Center court, and in typical fashion, he had a tongue-in-cheek beginning to his answer about the accomplishment.

“It’s amazing to do this without any talent at all. I’ve just had to coach up these guys,” Kerr said jokingly. “Are you kidding me? To be able to coach Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, I mean, we’ve been blessed with such incredible rosters the entire 11 years. And more than anything, this is a reflection of the entire organizational strength, stability, the collaboration we all share, the players, coaches, management, ownership. We have an incredible collection of people and the record is just a reflection of that.”

Kerr’s 558 career wins place him 29th all-time among NBA coaches. His mentor, Gregg Popovich, holds the record with 1,415 wins.

Appointed by Warriors CEO Joe Lacob, Kerr’s head coaching career began with Golden State in May 2014, succeeding Mark Jackson. 

In the 2014-15 NBA season, Kerr and the Warriors won 67 games, becoming NBA champions after defeating superstar LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Kerr, a five-time NBA champion as a player, brought a winning culture to the Warriors from the moment he arrived in the Bay. Along with a franchise-record 558 franchise victories, the 59-year-old has won 91 playoff games and four NBA titles at the helm.

Outside of the 2019-2020 season, the Warriors have finished every season above .500 under Kerr, who also led Golden State to an NBA-record 73 wins during the 2015-16 season.

As it stands, Golden State can benefit from all of Kerr’s coaching expertise as it looks to punch a playoff ticket.

The Warriors currently sit at xx-xx and are the No. x seed, x games back of the Houston Rockets for the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference with x regular-season contests remaining.

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