April 2024

Photo: San Antonio Spurs/XSan Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan’s season may conclude earlier than expected due to a left ankle impingement.Sochan, who aimed to participate in every game, suffered the injury during the first half of Friday’s win against the New York Knicks.Consequently, he was sidelined for the remainder of the game and has been ruled out for Sunday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors.Jeremy Sochan Could Miss Rest Of Season With Ankle Impingement https://t.co/2yAOJylNfd— RealGM (@RealGM) March 31, 2024

Photo: Portland Trail Blazers/XPortland Trail Blazers rookie Toumani Camara will be sidelined for the rest of the season due to a broken rib and kidney laceration sustained during the team’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.Camara, who remained in Atlanta for treatment but has since been discharged, will return to Portland shortly but will sit out the remainder of the season.As a rookie, Camara started 49 out of 70 games for the Trail Blazers, averaging 7.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.Toumani Camara Out For Season Due To Broken Rib, Kidney Laceration https://t.co/xPftUhjMsu— RealGM (@RealGM) March 31, 2024

Photo: Canes Men’s Basketball/XThe U Miami Hurricanes were ranked as high as #8 in the AP Poll early on, and started off the season 5-0 led by Norchad Omier, Matthew Cleveland, Nijel Pack, Wooga Poplar, Bensley Joseph, and Kyshawn George. However, ever since getting blown out at Kentucky in their sixth game, things pretty much went downhill from there (this team clearly missed the leadership of Isaiah Wong & Jordan Miller).Here’s Canes head coach Jim Larranaga on the two major factors that caused his group to go 15-17 this past year.(via InsideTheU):Reporter: “Looking back on the course of the season, what do you think went wrong?”Larranaga: “Well, I’ve said this way, way too many times, but I think when we were 100%, we were a very good basketball team. It’s hard enough to be successful missing one of your key players, but it’s almost impossible to be successful when you have a different guy injured almost every game and you can’t develop the kind of chemistry and bond. That’s the first thing, the injuries impacted us in a huge way. Second, I thought our bench players were very inexperienced younger guys that hadn’t really been through the wars and weren’t able to help us overcome those injuries had the bench been a little bit more mature, a little older guys like last year’s Final Four team where Anthony Walker, Harlond Beverly, and even Bensley Joseph were experienced players, had been in the battles before… Then maybe you can make up for a key starter being out. But when you look at the injuries to Nijel Pack, and then to Wooga Poplar, and then Norchad [Omier] misses a game, and then Matt Cleveland misses several games, and then Kyshawn [George] misses a game… When there’s no continuity in practice or preparation, you lose a lot of close games, and we did.”[embedded content]

Photo: Panini America/XAndy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune highlights the Utah Jazz’s challenges as they suffered their eighth consecutive loss on Friday night.The team is grappling with the adjustment of starting three rookies, Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, and Brice Sensabaugh, who are facing efficiency struggles while acclimating to significant minutes in the NBA.Despite their difficulties, the organization remains dedicated to their development, with coach Will Hardy praising Keyonte George for his mental approach to the game.“Keyonte is really, really smart. He’s really, really smart in general, and that applies to basketball,” Hardy said. “He watches a lot on his own, which is very rare these days. He’s at home watching League Pass, watching games.“So with that he has pretty quick recognition of things. He has an ability to learn things fast. He has really good recall. He can remember plays that we ran three weeks ago that we haven’t scripted in a while.”Northwest Notes: Wolves, Jokic, Murray, George, Giddey https://t.co/qTppnY9HKF pic.twitter.com/BPDo2dLz0V— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) March 31, 2024

Photo: Denver Nuggets/TwitterBennett Durando of The Denver Post suggests that the Nuggets might need to prioritize health over their pursuit of the No. 1 seed.Despite finishing with an impressive performance of 32 points and 10 rebounds on Friday night, Nikola Jokic played with his right wrist taped, indicating ongoing discomfort.Coach Michael Malone acknowledged Jokic’s struggles, stating, “His wrist has been giving him a lot of trouble,” but praised his resilience.Meanwhile, Jamal Murray remained sidelined for his fourth consecutive game due to an ankle injury. Malone expressed optimism about Murray’s return before the playoffs begin.Northwest Notes: Wolves, Jokic, Murray, George, Giddey https://t.co/qTppnY9HKF pic.twitter.com/BPDo2dLz0V— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) March 31, 2024

Photo: Minnesota Timberwolves/TwitterThe dispute over control among Minnesota Timberwolves ownership hasn’t impacted the team’s performance, notes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.Despite the public squabbles between majority owner Glen Taylor and minority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, Minnesota secured one of its most significant victories of the season on Friday night against Denver.The Wolves are currently tied with Oklahoma City for the top spot in the West with just nine games left in the season.“I don’t think it affects the players as much,” Mike Conley said of the ownership situation. “Maybe it affects the image of the team, the aura of the team around a little bit. But as far as the players are concerned, I think we just are like, ‘Damn, that’s crazy.’“Then we go back to watching film and worrying about (Nikola) Jokic, Jamal Murray and (Michael) Porter and those guys. It’s a unique situation and it’s something we don’t have any control over. We’re trying to do our job.”Northwest Notes: Wolves, Jokic, Murray, George, Giddey https://t.co/qTppnY9HKF pic.twitter.com/BPDo2dLz0V— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) March 31, 2024

Photo: Peter BabaThe Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis made his return on Friday after sitting out Wednesday’s game to address his sore knee. According to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times, Davis doesn’t foresee needing another night off for the remainder of the season.“Nothing serious,” Davis stated. “That’s why I played tonight. I felt like I could play through it. Nothing that I plan to miss any more games for or have to be on a minutes restriction or anything like that.”Pacific Notes: Vincent, Davis, Doncic, Green https://t.co/umZfO4l4Ke pic.twitter.com/ixkYqx0QD2— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) March 31, 2024