Hoops Rumors

The Pistons, who have been hit by a wave of injuries in the early going, got some more bad news on Tuesday. Joe Harris has an AC sprain in his shoulder and will be reevaluated in 10-to-14 days, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets. Detroit had six other players out on Monday against Golden State due to injury or illness. Harris, acquired from Brooklyn during the offseason, … [Read more...] about Injury Notes: Harris, Rozier, Middleton, Plumlee, Rose, Hachimura

The Bucks have won their last two games but Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t happy with the team’s defense. They gave up 125 points to  Brooklyn on Monday. “I hope we can be better defensively,” Antetokounmpo told Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I feel like our gaps wasn’t tight. Guys felt comfortable going one-on-one and getting to the rim, drawing fouls. Our help … [Read more...] about Giannis: Defense Has To Improve

Back in the system that he’s comfortable with, Brook Lopez looked like a Defensive Player of the Year candidate again Friday night, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Protecting the rim in drop coverage, Lopez blocked eight shots as the Bucks held off the Knicks in their first in-season tournament game. Lopez finished second in DPOY voting last season as he and Giannis … [Read more...] about Central Notes: Lopez, Ivey, LaVine, Cavaliers

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

Bulls guard Zach LaVine refuted the idea that the team hosted a players-only meeting following last week’s season opener, as detailed by Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill. LaVine said the players didn’t have a team meeting, as suggested by head coach Billy Donovan, but instead had “a basketball conversation.” “We’re having conversations from top to bottom,” LaVine said. “If we … [Read more...] about Central Notes: LaVine, Williams, Craig, Nesmith, Bucks