Highlights, notes, even injury updates from 2023 NBA All-Star Game

By Feb 20, 2023, 1:27 AM EST
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SALT LAKE CITY — Jayson Tatum set an NBA record by dropping 55 points, earning him the All-Star MVP award. Damian Lillard put on a shooting exhibition (just like he did the night before). Ja Morant put on a dunking clinic.

Those moments of skill gave us plenty to remember from the 2023 NBA All-Star Game. As usual, guys didn’t pack their defense for the trip to the Rocky Mountains, it was not a particularly entertaining game (and certainly not well played), but they gave the fans what they wanted — this is an exhibition, after all. It made for good theater.

Here are some highlights, as well as some notes from the 2023 NBA All-Star Game:

• Team captain Giannis Antetokounmpo scored the first bucket of the game on a dunk, then instantly fouled Luka Donicic, subbed himself out and did not return. He sprained his wrist in the Bucks’ final game before the break and had a wrap on it for this game.

“Hard decision, but it was my decision to kind of take a break here, and hopefully I can be available for my team [when play restarts],” Antetokounmpo said.

Antetokounmpo is headed to New York for a specialist to look at his wrist, according to a report.

• The other team captain, LeBron James, had maybe the dunk of the night with this alley-oop off the backboard to himself.

• LeBron did not play in the second half due to what the Lakers called a hand contusion. LeBron said postgame he suffered that when he tried a chase-down block and caught it on the rim. He was expected to play limited minutes even if he was healthy, so there is no surprise here, the hand injury is nothing Lakers fans should worry about.

• This is Antetokounmpo’s first win as a team captain (1-2) and the first loss for LeBron in that role (5-1).

• If it hadn’t been for Tatum’s historic night, Donovan Mitchell would have been MVP — and it would have been fitting in his return to Utah. He got some of the loudest cheers of the night.

• One of the more entertaining parts of the night was when MVP Tatum and fellow Celtic Jaylen Brown started isolating on each other in the third. They both got their shots in — and Brown hit Tatum with the “too small.”

• The third quarter became all about the 3-ball, with Tatum and Donovan Mitchell trading off-deep 3s (Tatum had five in the quarter on his way to 27 points in the frame). Mitchell was hitting from almost the logo.

Damian Lillard watched all this and said, “hold my beer.”

• The always-clutch Lillard also closed out the game from 3.

• Nikola Jokić is the two-time MVP and looks like the frontrunner for a third, yet he was the seventh of eight starters picked. Did that bother him?

“I would not draft myself either. I’m not meant for this game,” Jokić said with a laugh.

He also said he felt terrible about the pre-game draft, where he started walking over to LeBron before his name was called, leaving Lauri Markkanen just sitting there. Jokić said he didn’t know the Jazz forward was there and thought he was the last pick.

• On Saturday, Ja Morant said no to doing future Dunk Contests, then on Sunday night showed why everyone wants him to do it.

• Before the second half, the NBA brought out the second and third all-time scorers in NBA history — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone (the latter of whom the Jazz crowd loved but makes much of the NBA wince now) — to honor the new all-time leading scorer LeBron James.

• DeMar DeRozan‘s reaction when the announcer called him the “master of the midrange” was fantastic.

• The Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, coming off a facial fracture that caused him to miss games, played with a mask on. He still scored 35, it didn’t seem to slow him down.

• “I played and had fun, and that’s what All-Star Game is all about,” said Joel Embiid, who had hinted over the past couple of weeks he might skip the All-Star Game to let his body rest. Not only did he play, he scored 32.

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Seven-time All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge officially retires

By Mar 31, 2023, 5:56 PM EDT
Indiana Pacers v Brooklyn Nets
Mike Stobe/Getty Images
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LaMarcus Aldridge retired once due to a heart condition (Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome), back in 2021. That time it didn’t take, he came back to the then-a-super-team Nets and showed there was something in the tank averaging 12.9 points (on 55% shooting), 5.5 rebounds and a block a game. However, the Nets did not bring him back this season (leaning into Nic Claxton) and no other offers were forthcoming.

Friday, Aldridge made it official and retired.

Aldridge had a career that will earn him Hall of Fame consideration: 19.1 points a game over 16 seasons, five-time All-NBA, seven-time All-Star, and one of the faces of the Portland Trail Blazers during his prime years in the Pacific Northwest. Teammates and former coaches (including Gregg Popovich in San Antonio) called him a consummate professional after his initial retirement.

This time Aldridge got to announce his retirement on his terms, which is about as good an exit as there is.

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Report: NBA minimum draft age will not change in new CBA, one-and-done remains

By Mar 31, 2023, 1:38 PM EDT
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While the NBA — representing the owners — and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) continue last-minute negotiations on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) before an opt-out deadline Friday night at midnight, one point of contention is off the table:

The NBA draft age will not change in the new CBA, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The NBA one-and-done rule will remain in place.

The NBA one-and-done rule is unpopular with fans and college coaches (and, of course, players coming up). NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had worked to eliminate that restriction saying it was unfair, but he could not get it done.

There wasn’t much motivation from either side to make a move. From the players’ union perspective, lowering the draft eligibility age to 18 would bring more young players in to develop in the league and take away roster spots from veterans (and the union is made up of those veterans, not undrafted players). The union has suggested ways to keep veterans on the roster (possibly a roster expansion) as mentors, but a deal could not be reached. As for the teams, plenty of GMs would prefer an extra year to evaluate players, especially with them going up against better competition in college/G-League/Overtime Elite/overseas.

There are other impediments to a CBA deal, such as the details around a mid-season NBA tournament, the configuration of the luxury tax, veteran contract extension language, a games-played minimum to qualify for the league’s end-of-season awards.

If the sides do not reach a deal by midnight, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league would likely opt out of the current CBA, meaning it would end on June 30. The two sides would have until then to reach a deal on a new CBA to avoid a lockout (although they could go into September before it starts to mess with the NBA regular season calendar and not just Summer League).

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Timberwolves big man Naz Reid out indefinitely with fractured wrist

By Mar 31, 2023, 1:12 PM EDT
Minnesota Timberwolves v Phoenix Suns
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
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This sucks for a Timberwolves team finding its groove.

Part of that groove was the offensive spark of big man Naz Ried off the bench, but now he will be out indefinitely with a fractured wrist, the Timberwolves announced. From the official release:

An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) taken yesterday at Mayo Clinic Square by Dr. Kelechi Okoroha on Reid revealed a left scaphoid fracture. He will be out indefinitely and further updates on his progress will be provided when available.

A scaphoid fracture involves one of the small bones at the base of the hand that connects the wrist and fingers. Reid injured his hand on this dunk attempt against the Suns, he instinctively used his left hand to help break the fall and it took the weight of the landing.

Impressively, and despite being in pain, Reid played through the injury.

Reid developed into the sixth man, spark plug roll for the Timberwolves behind starters Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. In his last five games, Reid averaged 18.8 points on 59.1% shooting (including 45% from 3 on four attempts a night) and grabbed 5.2 rebounds in his 22 minutes.

Reid is a free agent this offseason. The Timberwolves want to keep him and have had talks with him, but he will have plenty of suitors.

His loss will be a blow to Minnesota, especially heading into crucial games down the stretch — starting with the Lakers Friday night (a team Reid had some big games against) — and into the postseason. Expect coach Chris Finch to stagger Towns and Gobert a little more, and he can turn to Nate Knight or Luka Garza off the bench, but their role would be limited (especially come the playoffs).

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Three things to Know: Do the Celtics have the Bucks number?

By Mar 31, 2023, 9:21 AM EDT
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Three Things To Know is NBC’s five-days-a-week wrap-up of the night before in the NBA. Check out NBCSports.com every weekday morning to catch up on what you missed the night before plus the rumors, drama, and dunks that make the NBA must-watch.

1) Do the Boston Celtics have the Milwaukee Bucks number?

I am often the Drum Major leading the “don’t read too much into the regular season game” parade. The marathon grind of 82 games and the circumstances surrounding any single night makes it very difficult to draw conclusions that apply to a playoff series.

Take last night’s showdown of the top two teams in the East, which saw the Celtics blow out the Bucks 140-99. Jayson Tatum scored 40 while Jaylen Brown added 30. Both Celtics’ stars sat the fourth quarter because this one was decided.

There are reasons for the Bucks’ off night. Milwaukee was on the second night of a back-to-back (they dominated the Pacers on Wednesday) and this was the first game back from a four-game road trip (those first games home are notorious letdowns). In the Celtics’ previous game, they got crushed by a struggling Wizards team.

Yet, it isn’t just this one 41-point game that has me thinking Boston is just a bad matchup and better than Milwaukee.

The two teams faced off in a Christmas Day showcase game and the Celtics won handily, 139-118. The Bucks won the rematch on Valentine’s Day in overtime (131-125), but the Celtics sat Tatum, Brown, Marcus Smart and Al Horford — four starters — for that game.

None of those games matter if these teams meet in the second half of May, when the Eastern Conference Finals tip-off. The No. 2 seed Celtics are lined up for a harder road through the playoffs (they could face the Heat and then the 76ers). Could that take a toll on them physically before matching up with the Bucks?

Maybe it doesn’t matter. It looks like Boston has Milwaukee’s number this year.

2) Julius Randle out until start of playoffs. At least.

The No.5 seed New York Knicks appear headed for a first-round showdown with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks have a puncher’s chance to win that series.

But only if Julius Randle plays.

The Knicks’ All-Star forward and leading scorer will be re-evaluated in two weeks due to a sprained ankle, the team announced. That timeline has him being re-evaluated just a couple of days before the Knicks tip-off in the playoffs (either April 15 or 16).

Randle rolled his ankle going for a rebound and landing on Bam Adebayo‘s foot in the second quarter Wednesday night, and he left the game not to return. Tonight’s game against the aforementioned Cavaliers (in Cleveland) will be the first game Randle has missed all season.

Randle is playing at an All-NBA level again this season, averaging 25.1 points and 10 rebounds a game.

3) Cancel your plans: Must-watch NBA schedule Friday night

We’re approaching the season’s end and the schedule makers lined up some games with some weight for Friday night. It’s not like you had plans you can’t cancel. Here are the games worth watching (times Eastern).

• Knicks at Cavaliers (7:30, League Pass). This a first-round playoff matchup preview, except the Knicks will be without Julius Randle (hopefully he will be back in a couple of weeks for the games between these teams that really matter).

• Clippers at Grizzlies (8, League Pass). Russell Westbrook vs. Dillon Brooks, round two. These also are two of the top five teams in the West, and maybe the two teams in the conference playing the best ball recently (Memphis is 8-2 in their last 10, the Clippers 7-3). While Paul George is out with a sprained knee and Kawhi Leonard is questionable (personal reasons), both of them sat out for the first game in this two-game set Wednesday night and the Clippers won anyway behind a big Westbrook outing. The Grizzlies were without Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones in that first game, all are expected back tonight (the Grizzlies’ defense without Jackson was awful).

• Lakers at Timberwolves (8, NBA TV). Game of the night. Two teams in the middle of that moras at the bottom of the West (both teams are 39-38, but Minnesota has the tiebreaker coming in so is the eighth seed over the Lakers ninth), and both teams desperately need wins. The Timberwolves have been playing their best basketball of late (at least until the loss to the Suns), but will they have an answer for slowing LeBron James, and especially Anthony Davis (who remains the lynchpin to any Lakers’ success)? Matchup within the game to watch: Jarred Vanderbilt trying to slow Anthony Edwards is going to be fun.

• Nuggets at Suns (10:30, NBA TV). This lines up to be a second-round playoff preview (if both teams advance, which in this West is no lock). Does Denver have any answer for Kevin Durant? (Does anyone?) The Nuggets are on the second night of a back-to-back, but Nikola Jokić sat out the first game (a loss to the Pelicans) and is expected to play in this one. Can Deandre Ayton slow the two-time MVP?

BONUS THING TO KNOW: Brandon Ingram went off for a triple-double to lead the Pelicans past the Nuggets last night, scoring 31.