Hoops Rumors

The Hawks will be without two of their rookies for an extended period, according to a team press release. Guard Kobe Bufkin underwent an X-ray and medical review on his fracture left thumb on Saturday. His return to play timeline is 8-to-10 weeks from the date of injury, which occurred on Nov. 2. Bufkin was injured during a practice with the team’s G League club, the College … [Read more...] about Hawks’ Bufkin, Gueye Will Miss Extended Time

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is generating early buzz for Defensive Player of the Year, according to Steve Popper of Newsday (subscriber link). As Popper writes, the 25-year-old effectively stymied No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama on national TV earlier this week, with the French phenom going 0-of-6 with Robinson as his closest defender. Robinson also made a strong … [Read more...] about Atlantic Notes: Robinson, Pritchard, Flynn, Oubre

As the NBA’s 2024 trade deadline approaches, it’s worth keeping in mind which teams hold traded player exceptions that could come in handy to grease the wheels on an in-season deal. As we explain in our glossary, a traded player exception allows a team to take on salary in a trade without sending out any salary in return. The amount of the exception (plus $250K) is the amount … [Read more...] about Largest Trade Exceptions Available This Season

The Celtics made their offseason roster shakeup look seamless while getting off to a 5-0 start, but reality has set in with back-to-back losses, writes Souichi Terada of MassLive. The offense appeared out of sorts through much of Wednesday night’s battle with Philadelphia for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. A late run gave Boston a chance to tie the game on a … [Read more...] about Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Pritchard, White, Brown

While the Raptors have been up and down so far this season, they’ve gotten consistent strong production from third-year forward Scottie Barnes, who has scored at least 17 points and grabbed eight or more rebounds in every game so far. Through seven contests, Barnes is averaging 22.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 2.1 blocks, and 1.1 steals in 36.5 minutes per night, with an … [Read more...] about Atlantic Notes: Barnes, O. Porter, Oubre, D. White

Having made the decision to revert back to the East vs. West format and a standard 12-minute fourth quarter for the 2024 All-Star Game, commissioner Adam Silver tells Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s Andscape that the NBA is also planning additional changes in the hopes of improving the game’s level of play. As Silver explains, a conversation with Chris Paul made him realize that the … [Read more...] about And-Ones: All-Star Game, Bronny, Caboclo, BAL

Warriors guard Stephen Curry (Western Conference) and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (East) have been named the NBA’s players of the week, the league announced (via Twitter). A two-time MVP and four-time champion, Curry averaged 30.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.8 APG and 1.3 SPG on a sparkling .574/.523/.870 shooting line in four games last week (31.1 MPG), though he did struggle with … [Read more...] about Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum Named Players Of The Week

All-NBA Celtics forward Jayson Tatum was initially frustrated about his selection by Boston in the 2017 draft, he mentioned in a recent interview on NBC Sports Boston (Twitter video link). “First of all, I didn’t even want to come because I didn’t think I was going to play,” Tatum said (h/t to Jared Weiss of The Athletic for the transcription). “They had Gordon (Hayward), … [Read more...] about Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Randle, Maxey, Oubre

The Celtics are the NBA’s only unbeaten team and Kristaps Porzingis believes they’re just scratching the surface of how good they can become, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Boston underwent major roster changes during the offseason, but the adjustment has gone smoothly with several dominant performances on the way to a 4-0 start. Himmelsbach notes that the new Big … [Read more...] about Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Tournament, TPE, Queta