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Phoenix Suns forward Cameron Johnson is reportedly expected to miss one to two months with a knee injury.

According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the timeline was determined after Johnson underwent a procedure to remove part of his meniscus Tuesday.

Johnson tore the meniscus in his right knee against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, and he has missed Phoenix's past two games as a result.

In eight games prior to the injury, Johnson was averaging career highs in multiple categories, including points (13.0), three-pointers made (2.8), assists (1.8) and steals (1.1).

Johnson was also averaging 3.4 rebounds and shooting 44.6 percent from the field and a career-best 43.1 percent from beyond the arc as the Suns' starting power forward.

The 26-year-old was originally selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the No. 11 pick in the 2019 NBA draft out of North Carolina, and he was traded to Phoenix on draft night.

Johnson has been a three-point shooting threat for his entire career, and his role has continued to expand in each of his first four NBA seasons.

The 6'8" forward was primarily a bench player in his first three seasons before taking on a starting role this season in the absence of disgruntled veteran Jae Crowder.

In terms of full seasons, last season was the best of Johnson's career thus far, as he averaged career highs with 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 trifectas, 1.5 assists and 0.9 steals, while shooting 46.0 percent from the floor and 42.5 percent from deep.

Johnson was also a key contributor during the Suns' playoff run last season, averaging 10.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.7 threes and 1.5 assists in 13 games.

The Suns are tied for the second-best record in the Western Conference this season at 7-3, and they have enough top-end talent to thrive without Johnson.

Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges will continue to anchor the starting lineup and lead the way, while Torrey Craig will likely see the biggest increase in minutes since his skill set is most similar to Johnson's among Phoenix's bench players.

Draymond Green praised Stephen Curry for a 47-point performance that carried the Golden State Warriors to a 116-113 win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.

"It was very Game 4 of the [2022] NBA Finals to me. He just wasn't going to allow us to lose," Green told reporters. "Take that with a grain of salt because I'm not saying this game was as important. But you know when to get out of the way. It was one of those times where he was taking over."

Along with the game-high point total, which was built on the strength of seven three-pointers, Curry also recorded eight rebounds and eight assists with no turnovers in 38 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abc7XHEQjQU

In Game 4 of last season's Finals, with the Warriors trailing the Boston Celtics 2-1 in the series, the eight-time All-Star tallied 43 points as part of a crucial 107-97 victory. Golden State went on to capture the championship in six games.

As Green mentioned, an early November game isn't anywhere close to the same scale, but it could still be an important turning point for the Dubs.

Golden State is off to a sluggish start in its latest title defense with a 4-7 record, including five straight losses prior to Monday's triumph over the Kings.

Curry made 17 of his 24 shots from the field, including a 7-of-12 mark on threes, and compiled a game-high plus-20 to carry the Warriors.

"Steph was just breathtaking," head coach Steve Kerr said. "He's obviously one of the greatest players of all time, and he plays so well on so many nights. But this even seemed like something special for him."

The 34-year-old point guard pushed aside the idea he has the burden of carrying the team, saying it's important to the younger members of the rotation time to grow.

"We have to understand that [the young players] are all going to get an opportunity to perform, and there are going to be some struggles—some real high highs, and some real low lows," Curry said. "That's the story of this team. As vets, you understand every year is a little different and you are ready for that challenge. For these young guys to try to find themselves in this league and also a specific role, it's challenging."

Golden State has a favorable schedule through Thanksgiving, giving the team a chance to bounce back toward or above .500 after the slow start.

The Warriors can't depend on Curry to have that type of performance every night, though. It's going to take a more balanced offensive attack to build some sustained momentum.

The calls for the Los Angeles Lakers to shake up their roster continued after Monday night's 139-116 loss to the Utah Jazz, which dropped the team's record to 2-8.

LeBron James missed the contest with a foot injury, while Patrick Beverley and Lonnie Walker IV each sat out with an illness. The shorthanded Lakers allowed the Jazz to shoot 55.8 percent from the field and knock down 16 threes. Utah also won the rebounding battle, 41-33.

"I don't want to be 2-8 at all," Anthony Davis, who scored a game-high 29 points, told reporters. "We got guys out ... you got to look at big picture as it's only been 10 games, but 2-8 is a hard pill to swallow."

Here's a look at some social-media reaction to L.A.'s latest loss:

Uh oh. The reigning 11th seed in the #NBA Western Conference lost *again*? #Lakers pic.twitter.com/VyB163zPms

— J-T Richards (@JT_Richards) November 8, 2022

We need to do a trade!!!!! #LakeShow

— KOBE | THANK YOU NICO HARRISON!! (@Laker4lyfe824) November 8, 2022

Make a trade already Lakers pic.twitter.com/a3pODUTRyH

— EskoAKid47 (@N8tiveAKid) November 8, 2022

Lakers need to do right by their stars. Trade Russ to a team that will buy him out so he can choose where he wants to play & send AD home to Chicago 🤷🏾‍♂️

— 👑King Slaya⚔️ (@TruuGawd) November 8, 2022

Lakers fans wait for a loss to talk about our team. pic.twitter.com/0fNcBOWAOJ

— Belbiaro Touta (@belbiaro_touta) November 8, 2022

https://twitter.com/Lukanator97/status/1589950733641998336

Got players literally telling yall @Lakers to trade for them and yall just sitting back like we're in a good spot

— King James (@THAT_GUY_T5) November 8, 2022

Ok look if the Lakers are going to make a trade it needs to happen this week. They are running out of time fast!!

— Sean Davis (@Sean_Davi) November 8, 2022

Lakers fans on the trade machine for the 1,638,045,001,782,774 time this year pic.twitter.com/auPQpw3bcj

— 🦉 Lakers Vino (@VinoUncorked) November 8, 2022

The only silver lining for the Lakers was the continued strong play of Russell Westbrook, who's been far more impactful since switching to a bench role. He tallied 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting along with five assists, three rebounds, a steal and a block in 24 minutes.

Westbrook's trade value should be on the rise given his strong play over the past six games, which could be a factor if the front office does decide to become active in the market.

Head coach Darvin Ham, who was hired in June after the team missed the playoffs last season, remained hopeful L.A. is going to turn things around.

"I would say this, man. And write it, quote it, however," Ham said. "This may be happening now at the outset of what we're trying to force to be a culture change in terms of getting us back to being highly competitive on a highly consistent basis, but it's not going to always be like this. We're going to turn the corner. I didn't come here to lose. They didn't bring me here to lose."

Meanwhile, Lauri Markkanen paced a well-balanced Utah offense with 23 points. Jordan Clarkson (22 points), Collin Sexton (17), Talen Horton-Tucker (15), Mike Conley (14), Malik Beasley (14) and Kelly Olynyk (10) also reached double figures in scoring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGkLuCJ8P1A

The Jazz improved to 9-3, making them one of the NBA's surprising teams after an offseason roster overhaul that included the departures of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.

Utah is back in action Wednesday when it visits State Farm Arena to face the Atlanta Hawks, while L.A. faces off with the rival Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.

All eyes remain on the Lakers front office to see if any deals are on the horizon, though.

Welcome back, Joel Embiid.

The free-throw line missed you.

Embiid shot 16-of-16 from the charity stripe and led the Philadelphia 76ers to a 100-88 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday. Philadelphia snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 5-6 as the big man returned after missing the previous three contests with a non-COVID-19 illness.

James Harden was sidelined with a foot injury for the second straight game, but Embiid led the way with 33 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while using his ability to draw fouls to overwhelm Phoenix's frontcourt.

Social media had plenty to say about the five-time All-Star's showing:

https://twitter.com/MG_Schindler/status/1589794995196030976

Joel Embiid is locked in defensively tonight. He's been awesome.

— Paul Hudrick (@PaulHudrick) November 8, 2022

big fella's up to 18 points! 📈 pic.twitter.com/V8XtXgCxcx

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) November 8, 2022

Joel Embiid going 16-of-16 on free throws after 3 quarters pic.twitter.com/98ZK82CNA6

— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) November 8, 2022

Sixers lead Suns 33-20 at the end of the first quarter

By far the best effort this season by Joel Embiid and the Sixers which are certainly correlated

— Sean Barnard (@Sean_Barnard1) November 8, 2022

Probably the Sixers' best quarter of the season. Joel Embiid has been aggressive getting downhill tonight, not settling for midrange jumpers. Already 6 of 6 from the line.

— Paul Hudrick (@PaulHudrick) November 8, 2022

the feed from Embiid! pic.twitter.com/OaIrSw4ru3

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) November 8, 2022

Pretty clear that Joel Embiid was protesting the Sixers season starting before the Phillies season had ended

— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) November 8, 2022

Excellent opening quarter for the Sixers. Embiid looked damn good after the layoff, good bench minutes from Reed, Harris with a quick trigger from deep. And even some transition defense!

— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) November 8, 2022

Continue to be baffled by how open Georges Niang is at times. Him and Embiid just carrying the Sixers in the fourth.

— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) November 8, 2022

The game marked an opportunity for the 76ers to regain their form as presumed contenders against one of the top teams in the league, and they came out on fire. The home team built a 13-point lead by the end of the first quarter, and Embiid got to the free-throw line even though his shot was off (8-of-21 overall).

He also impressed on the defensive end, even locking up Devin Booker on one possession. Tobias Harris and Georges Niang scored 21 points apiece.

Booker played well on his way to 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists with more responsibility after Chris Paul was ruled out for the second half with right heel soreness. Booker did have a game-high six turnovers in 43 minutes.

Philadelphia will look to keep things rolling Thursday in a road game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Dwight Howard is on the move again.

The big man announced he will play overseas for the Taoyuan Leopards in Taiwan.

Howard, 36, was one of many Los Angeles Lakers to have a tough 2021-22 season. After winning a title with the team in the 2019-20 campaign, Howard spent a season as Joel Embiid's backup in Philadelphia before returning to the Lakers.

But his third stint in L.A.—who could forget his disastrous 2012-13 cameo?—didn't go as planned. Howard averaged just 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in 60 appearances (27 starts), and the Lakers had a minus-5.7 net rating with him on the court that improved to minus-1.9 when he sat, per NBA.com.

Howard was hardly the main issue in Los Angeles. Any other number of factors—poor roster construction that left the team devoid of solid perimeter defenders and shooters, injuries to superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook's awful fit and even worse form—were far higher on the list than Howard's mediocre play.

Relying on players like Howard, however, was one of the issues in the 2021-22 season for the Lakers. He is a long way off from being the player who was an eight-time All-Star in his prime.

It is perhaps telling from both the player and team perspective, however, that he won't be returning to the Lakers.

Instead, he will be playing overseas.

Boston Celtics star and National Basketball Players' Association vice president Jaylen Brown weighed in on the Brooklyn Nets' suspension of point guard Kyrie Irving for his promotion of an antisemitic film and refusal to disavow antisemitism afterward.

Brown told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe on Monday (h/t Greg Dudek of NESN) the NBPA doesn't agree with Brooklyn's imposed requirements for Irving to return to the organization, and he expects the NBPA to appeal the suspension as well as the terms of his return.

The Nets announced Thursday that Irving was suspended for at least five games for his "failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity" to do so. The team's announcement stated that Irving will not be allowed back with the team "until he satisfies a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct."

According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the Nets have laid out six items required for Irving to return to the team:

Sources: Nets have delivered Kyrie Irving six items he must complete to return to team:

- Apologize/condemn movie
- $500K donation to anti-hate causes
- Sensitivity training
- Antisemitic training
- Meet with ADL, Jewish leaders
- Meet with Joe Tsai to demonstrate understanding

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 6, 2022

Irving is scheduled to meet with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday. Brown said he's been in contact with Irving and believes the checklist is too harsh.

"He made a mistake. He posted something," Brown told Washburn. "There was no distinction. Maybe we can move forward, but the terms in which he has to fulfill to return, I think not just speaking for me, speaking as a vice president from a lot of our players, we didn’t agree with the terms that was required for him to come back and we’re waiting for this Tuesday meeting to happen to see what comes of it. But we’ll go from there. That’s all I’ll say."

Irving's post was a link to a film that contains multiple antisemtic ideas, including falsely claiming Jewish people were heavily involved in the slave trade. When later asked to clarify his remarks, Irving refused to clearly state he didn't have antisemitic beliefs. He later apologized for his promotion of the film and his response in an Instagram post.

Brown further explained that the collective bargaining agreement doesn't have a clause addressing social media posts, so the punishment isn't fair in the eyes of the NBPA.

"The terms for his return, they seem like a lot and a lot of the players expressed discomfort with the terms," Brown said. "It was a violation of our CBA, we don’t have to going into details about that. But I’m expecting the NBPA to appeal and I’m expecting to see what comes out of this meeting on Tuesday."

Brown, who played two seasons with Irving in Boston, added that he doesn't believe Irving is antisemitic.

"He made a mistake. We understand from an outside perspective how important sensitivity is to not condone hate speech and not condone anything of that nature," Brown said. "It’s sensitivity to the dialect around that. We don’t want to stand up for somebody in order to not condemn hate speech, but I don’t believe Kyrie Irving is antisemitic. And hopefully the NBA feels the same way."

The Phoenix Suns announced point guard Chris Paul was ruled out for the remainder of Monday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers with right heel soreness.

Paul reportedly dealt with a quad injury during the Suns' second-round series against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2022 NBA playoffs, though the star guard refused to discuss the issue, per ESPN's Marc J. Spears. Phoenix lost the series in seven games.

The 37-year-old has dealt with a variety of mostly minor ailments over the past couple of years. He hasn't played more than 70 games since the 2015-16 season while with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Paul confirmed he planned to return for the 2022-23 campaign, though.

"I'm not retiring tomorrow, thank God," the 12-time All-Star told reporters after the Suns' postseason elimination. "Hopefully, I'm healthy coming back. But I'm [going to] keep playing."

He's proceeded to average 10.3 points, 10.2 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals in nine games so far this season.

While the Wake Forest alum is still a high-end contributor when healthy, it's important for Phoenix to have reliable backup options at the point given his age and recent injury history. Cameron Payne leads the reserves at the position.

Paul figures to see occasional games off throughout next season in an effort to keep him healthy. The main goal for the Suns, which posted the NBA's best record at 64-18 in 2021-22, is making sure he's as close to 100 percent as possible for the 2023 playoffs.

Ime Udoka was required to forfeit half of his $4 million salary as part of the season-long suspension issued by the Boston Celtics, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

The Celtics banned Udoka for violating team policies, with ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reporting he had an inappropriate relationship with a female subordinate and used crude language toward the woman.

Boston has said little about the nature of the specific allegations.

Per Wojnarowski, a law firm tasked with looking into the matter raised concerns about the power dynamic at play since Udoka is one of the most influential voices inside the organization.

Team governor Wyc Grousbeck declined to provide much new information when addressing the matter at. press conference.

"I am concerned about the situation and its impact on everybody in the Celtics' organization," he told reporters on Sept. 23. "I do hope this represents the beginning of a new chapter, and a chance to turn the page and move forward with things, to some extent, resolved."

Although Joe Mazzulla is only coaching the Celtics on an interim basis, it's unclear whether Udoka will be retained once his suspension ends.

The 45-year-old has already been linked with the Brooklyn Nets' vacancy, with the speculation beginning almost immediately after Steve Nash was fired.

Especially with how rapidly things evolved at first, the absence of a contract between Udoka and Brooklyn could be telling, however. Stein reported Sunday that "strong voices" have pushed for Nets majority governor Joe Tsai to pivot in another direction.

Stein followed up to report Udoka is the "preferred choice" for general manager Sean Marks and star Kevin Durant.

Throughout his NBA career, New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson has been criticized for his weight, and the 22-year-old discussed last week how he has been affected by it.

Williamson told Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports that not enough consideration was given to the fact that he was recovering from foot surgery, which caused him to miss the 2021-22 season.

"That's nasty because with a lower-body injury, that dictates how you walk, that dictates how you run, how you do everyday activities and how you move," Williamson said. "For the world to critique me like that and all I was trying to do was make sure my foot was straight? It was a lot. I'm not going to lie to you—it was a lot."

Williamson also said he doesn't think the critics considered how their words could affect him.

"What people don't understand is, even the writers and stuff, if they have children of their own, imagine if somebody talked about their child how they spoke about me," he said. "Critiquing my body, critiquing how I look. Every time they talked about me, it was about weight, how bad I looked. I don't even think they realized what kind of impact that can have on you."

A 6'6" power forward with one of the most unique skill sets in the league, Williamson is listed at 284 pounds. When he was recovering from surgery, his weight ballooned after a regression in the bone healing forced him to discontinue his rehabilitation.

Many speculated the Duke product had a poor work ethic. The talk surrounding Williamson became so bad that even his mother and stepfather began questioning his routine.

"I was like: 'Y'all relax. Hearing it from y'all doesn't help me, and it makes it worse for me as a matter of fact,'" Williamson said. "So, when I broke it down like that, they understood. Once my foot heals, I'll get back on track."

To prepare for his return, Williamson trained with sports medicine and performance specialist Jasper Bibbs. He also hired a personal chef, Jhonas Lewis, to make all his food from July through September.

"I don't know if I'm supposed to say the number, but I will say this: [He lost] well over 35 pounds, for sure," Lewis said. "We were dropping almost 7-9 pounds a week. By the third week, he started seeing the results. You couldn't pay Zion to put his shirt on."

Williamson leads the Pelicans (5-4) with 22.7 points per game in seven appearances this season, as he sat out two games with a hip injury. He's expected to be in the lineup when New Orleans visits the Indiana Pacers (4-5) on Monday night.

The Los Angeles Lakers were perceived to be a potential landing spot point guard Kyrie Irving if he was traded by the Brooklyn Nets, but that no longer appears to be the case.

Sam Amick of The Athletic reported Monday that the Lakers have "significant concerns about the prospect of adding Irving at any price and have not been focused on that scenario all season long." Irving is serving a suspension of at least five games for promoting an antisemitic film on social media.

This past offseason, Irving was the subject of substantial speculation as it appeared that the Nets were ready to move on from the controversial point guard. Jake Fischer, then of Bleacher Report, told NBA insider Marc Stein in June that Irving "definitely was considering taking the taxpayer mid-level exception to play for the Lakers" before he exercised his $37 million player option for the 2022-23 season.

Chris Haynes reported for Yahoo Sports in early July that Los Angeles and Brooklyn were "actively engaged in discussions" regarding a potential trade for Irving in exchange for Russell Westbrook. Those talks eventually fizzled, and after the trade request by star forward Kevin Durant was rescinded, Brooklyn moved forward without making significant changes to its core in hopes of contending for an NBA title this season.

However, that didn't end the chatter about Irving's desire to join the Lakers. Last month, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith reported that Irving doesn't plan on re-signing with the Nets when he becomes a free agent next summer and intends to sign with Los Angeles.

Stephen A. Smith: "This is their (Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving) last season together. They're not re-signing with Brooklyn. Kyrie is not re-signing with Brooklyn. Kyrie is planning to go to Los Angeles.”

(h/t @_Talkin_NBA)

https://t.co/BZ46udCwvv

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 12, 2022

Prior to his suspension, Irving hadn't done much to improve his perception around the league. The 30-year-old had already caused tumult off the court for his refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccination and his opposition to vaccine mandates. He became the source of even more controversy when he posted a tweet that featured a link to a film Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.

As part of their announcement of Irving's suspension Thursday, the Nets said they "were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs." The seven-time All-Star later issued an apology with a statement on social media.

Kyrie Irving issues an apology amid antisemitism controversy that led to his suspension by Nets: “To all Jewish families and communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize.” pic.twitter.com/QUXt1WtK2g

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) November 4, 2022

In eight games this season, Irving averaged 26.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists. The Nets were 2-6 with him in the lineup and have since improved to 4-6 heading into Monday's matchup at the Dallas Mavericks (5-3).