BNT NBA

Zion Williams remains a game-time decision for Friday night's matchup with the Phoenix Suns as he recovers from a right posterior hip issue and a lower back contusion, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski:

.@wojespn shares the latest on Zion's injury:

"There's a real likelihood that his return may wait until Sunday. " pic.twitter.com/DV11LHS4sR

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 28, 2022

"I'm feeling better. That was a hard fall. I've taken a lot of falls, but damn," Williamson told reporters on Thursday regarding a hard fall he took during a Sunday loss against the Utah Jazz. "But I'm feeling a lot better each day. Just got some ones in with [Pelicans assistant coach Corey Brewer]. Feel great. Just me and the team will talk about further progression."

Zion suffered a hard fall on this play

He continued playing before going to the bench https://t.co/ltWe9q5yVR

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 24, 2022

Williamson, who said he lost his balance in the collision with Jordan Clarkson, initially downplayed the fall before realizing it was going to impact his play.

"At first I was just like, damn, that kind of hurt," Williamson said. "But I stood up and I was like, 'All right, I'm gonna be straight.' But then I tried to make a quick move and I was like, 'Nah, I need to go chill.'"

The Pelicans held Williamson out of Tuesday's 113-111 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, a game that Herb Jones and Brandon Ingram also missed. The 3-1 Pelicans have dealt with a number of injuries to start the season, but they have gotten off to a strong start nonetheless.

Ditto for Williamson. After missing the entire 2021-22 season, he's responded by averaging 22 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and two steals per game while shooting 49.1 percent from the field.

The new-look Williamson, who came into this season appearing to be in the best shape of his career, hasn't missed a beat. Any injuries are going to be of particular interest and concern, however, given his issues staying healthy throughout his young NBA career.

So if the Pelicans hold Williamson out of Friday's game for precautionary reasons and he next sees the court on Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers, it will be hard to fault the team for taking the careful approach.

The Los Angeles Lakers will bring Russell Westbrook off the bench for Friday night's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team announced.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Westbrook, who's set to return from a hamstring injury that caused him to miss Wednesday's loss to the Denver Nuggets, will be dropped to the reserves in favor of a more traditional two-guard lineup for the "foreseeable future." Though Anthony Davis is not playing Friday, the Lakers practiced with this lineup and will likely start games with it when everyone is healthy:

• G: Patrick Beverley
• G: Lonnie Walker IV
• F: LeBron James
• F: Anthony Davis
• C: Damian Jones

The nine-time All-Star hasn't come off the bench during a regular-season game since his rookie year with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008-09.

Westbrook came off the bench during the Lakers' preseason finale against the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 14. After that contest, he blamed the role change for a hamstring injury he suffered that limited him to five minutes:

"Absolutely. I've been doing the same thing for 14 years straight. Honestly, I didn't even know what to do pregame. Being honest, I was trying to figure out how to stay warm and loose. For me, obviously the way I play the game, it's fast-paced, quick, stop-and-go. And I just happened to, when I subbed in, I felt something. Thought it was... didn't know what it was, but I wasn't going to risk it in a preseason game. But definitely wasn't something I was used to. Wasn't warm enough. But that's something I just wasn't accustomed to."

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham defended the team's medical staff in response:

Darvin Ham said he talked with Russell Westbrook after he said his bench role “absolutely” contributed to his injury. Ham defended the Lakers and their medical staff pic.twitter.com/EZGn72QH9Z

— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) October 21, 2022

Any hope Westbrook could produce a bounce-back season following a forgettable first year in L.A. has started to fade. He's averaged 10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting 28.9 percent from the field, including a 1-of-12 mark on threes (8.3 percent).

While the 2016-17 NBA MVP didn't sound thrilled about coming off the bench in the preseason, it likely represents the Lakers' last chance to get value from him.

Playing a majority of his minutes when James and/or Davis are off the floor, allowing him to play a more ball-dominant style with the second unit, could provide a spark.

Otherwise, the chorus of questions about why the Lakers front office didn't do everything in its power to trade Westbrook over the summer will grow louder.

Any package, including a proposed deal with the Indiana Pacers that included guard Buddy Hield and center Myles Turner for Westbrook and a pair of first-round picks, could have provided the revitalized vibe L.A. sorely needed after missing the playoffs last season.

With the Lakers sitting at 0-4, Ham and Co. are already being forced to shuffle the rotation in a desperate attempt to find chemistry.

The NBA reportedly is seeking to add an "upper salary limit" in its negotiations with the National Basketball Players Association on a new collective bargaining agreement, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Unsurprisingly, the proposal has been met by the "firm resistance of the NBPA, to the point of the union considering it a non-starter in discussions, sources said," per Wojnarowski.

Essentially, the league is proposing a hard cap in an effort to keep payrolls from skyrocketing as teams re-sign their veteran players to lucrative deals and exceed the soft cap. The classic example is the Golden State Warriors, who already have a scheduled $214 million active roster cap for next season with the salaries they have on the books.

Per Woj's report, the hard cap would replace the current luxury tax system, which allows teams to exceed the soft cap but charges them increasing financial penalties as they further exceed the cap.

Technically the NBA currently has a hard cap, but it is only triggered after a very specific set of events:

The league currently has a hard cap but that is triggered only when a player is acquired via a sign-and-trade or a certain exception is used. https://t.co/XBN1h8ipUu

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) October 28, 2022

From the player perspective, however, instituting a hard cap would inevitably decrease their earning potential, disincentivizing or even preventing teams entirely from signing veterans to lucrative deals. It's not a system they'll soon be interested in pursuing.

"There will be a lockout," a source from the player's side of the situation told NBA reporter Marc Stein, "before there's a hard cap."

One reason the players might draw a hard line is that the league is about to be even more flush with cash.

As Stein reported: "A lucrative new television deal, expected to be worth at least double the NBA's current nine-year, $24 billion (with a B) TV pact, should be in place starting with the 2025-26 season. The prospect of expansion later in the decade, after that new television contract is secured, promises to pump billions more into ownership coffers."

The perspective of the league's owners, outside of obviously wanting to keep a greater piece of the revenue pie for themselves, is that smaller-market teams may struggle to keep up with the spending power of more lucrative franchises like the Warriors.

Forbes, yesterday: "The average NBA team is now worth $2.86 billion, 15% more than a year ago, an impressive feat considering the stock market is down more than 15% over the same span."

Today: Owners need a hard cap to save them from themselves. https://t.co/A2vS25Dmg1

— Dan Devine (@YourManDevine) October 28, 2022

https://twitter.com/HowardBeck/status/1586064072100945920

Good luck with the hard cap against the 2nd strongest union in sports.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) October 28, 2022

I don't think NBA players will ever agree to a true hard cap, under any circumstances.

More money in the marketplace. Owners like Ballmer/Lacob put pressure on other owners to spend while also limiting the supply of available players, which increases demand for everyone else.

— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) October 28, 2022

But the players are going to be hard-pressed to feel too bad for billionaire owners—whether they are in smaller markets or not—who are about to benefit from a massive new television deal. If the owners persist with this proposal, a lockout could indeed be coming.

After missing Wednesday's game with a hamstring injury, Russell Westbrook is expected back for the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Westbrook has been upgraded to probable for the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski added Westbrook could come off the bench, but that might be determined by whether or not Anthony Davis will be able to play as he recovers from a back injury:

Westbrook's status could be impacted by Anthony Davis' game-time decision on his back. If Davis is out, that could keep Westbrook in the starting lineup, sources said. https://t.co/O4sxRngIoA

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 28, 2022

Westbrook has been dealing with a hamstring injury since the Lakers' final preseason game against the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 14. He attributed the injury to being used off the bench and the change in his usual routine while speaking to reporters:

"I’ve been doing the same thing for 14 years straight. Honestly, I didn’t even know what to do pregame. Being honest, I was trying to figure out how to stay warm and loose. For me, obviously the way I play the game, it’s fast-paced, quick, stop-and-go. And I just happened to, when I subbed in, I felt something. Thought it was… didn’t know what it was, but I wasn’t going to risk it in a preseason game. But definitely wasn’t something I was used to. Wasn’t warm enough. But that’s something I just wasn’t accustomed to."

Head coach Darvin Ham announced before the game Westbrook would come off the bench as the team experimented with lineup combinations before the start of the regular season.

Ham told reporters before tipoff that Westbrook was receptive to potentially being used as a sixth man.

When the regular season began, Westbrook occupied a spot in the Lakers' starting lineup for each of the first three games. His usage rate in those games was only 22.6 percent, which would be the lowest mark of his career.

The Lakers held Westbrook out of their Oct. 26 game against the Denver Nuggets. They lost 110-99, dropping their record to 0-4 for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

Westbrook is only averaging 10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game in three starts this season. He's shooting 28.9 percent from the field and has made just one of 12 attempts behind the arc.

Los Angeles will play the Timberwolves at the Target Center on Friday at 8 p.m. ET. The team will be looking to avoid its first 0-5 start since 2014-15.

Coming off an ugly loss Tuesday to the Phoenix Suns, the Golden State Warriors got back on track with a 123-110 victory over the Miami Heat at Chase Center on Thursday.

Stephen Curry had a vintage performance with 33 points on 13-of-22 shooting and nine assists in 37 minutes. Klay Thompson, fresh off his first career ejection in Tuesday's game, is still trying to find his form after going 6-of-19 from the field.

One early-season trend that continued against the Heat was Andrew Wiggins playing at a high level, as the 27-year-old had his first double-double of the 2022-23 campaign with 18 points and 10 rebounds. He also had the best individual plus-minus mark in the game (+17).

Wiggins' performance Thursday and through the first five games of the season has prompted fans and analysts on NBA Twitter to hype him as Golden State's second-best player after Curry:

Wiggins is officially the Dubs 2nd best player. Dude is just so incredibly consistent game to game. I can’t remember the last time I wondered what he was gonna bring.

— Jake Clark (@mrclarkinc) October 28, 2022

Andrew Wiggins is going to be an All-Star on a yearly basis. Write it down

— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) October 28, 2022

Game-high 10 rebounds for Wiggins. When he’s that active on the glass, they’re nearly unbeatable.

— Brian Witt (@Wittnessed) October 28, 2022

Herro tries to take Wiggins to the cup. Reeeejected and recovered by Wiggs

— Monte Poole (@MontePooleNBCS) October 28, 2022

wiggins is here not prove to anybody that he can win, that parts done.

he's here to show that he's a warriors legend and he's well on his way lmao

— wherestheball97 (@wheretheball97) October 28, 2022

Wiggins just keeps getting better

— Brian Witt (@Wittnessed) October 28, 2022

Wiggins went from the definition of Inconsistency on the Wolves to the exact opposite on the Dubs

He's an instant 17+ points and 5+ rebounds + ELITE defense

— Ramon ⚔️⚡️ (@RamonIsHim) October 28, 2022

The Warriors signed Wiggins to a four-year, $109 million contract extension on Oct. 15, but it was immediately overshadowed by Jordan Poole's new deal announced the following day (four years, $140 million).

Poole certainly figures to be a big part of Golden State's future because of his age (23) and offensive upside, but he has to get better on defense to become a star-level player.

Wiggins established himself defensively last season, particularly in the NBA Finals when he was matched up against Jayson Tatum. Further, Wiggins is averaging 7.0 rebounds per game in five starts this season; his highest single-season rebound average coming into the year was 5.1 per game in 2019-20.

On top of all that, Wiggins is averaging 20.2 points per game on 36.4 percent three-point shooting.

As the Warriors wait for Thompson, Poole and Draymond Green to hit their stride, Wiggins' emergence makes his new contract look like an even bigger bargain than it did when it was announced.

Thursday's game between the Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks was brought to a halt after a fan threw a drink onto the court.

The fan appeared to be aiming for Mavericks star Luka Dončić.

FAN THROWS A CUP AT LUKA 😳 https://t.co/GOM14TNnh7

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 28, 2022

According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, the fan attempted to beat a hasty retreat but was stopped by arena security. The person was arrested by local authorities as well, per Bontemps.

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has now witnessed perhaps the two biggest drink-related incidents at an NBA game inside Barclays Center.

Then the coach of the Nets, Kidd famously instructed Tyshawn Taylor during a 2013 game to bump into him so he could theatrically drop his drink and cause a lengthy stoppage. The Hall of Fame point guard was handed a $50,000 fine.

The fan who made his presence felt Thursday night is now facing repercussions of his own.

It's unclear what charges he or she is facing.

A Boston Celtics fan was charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon when he threw a water bottle at Nets star Kyrie Irving during the 2021 playoffs. He was also banned from TD Garden, the Celtics' home arena.

The hits keep on coming for the Brooklyn Nets despite the best efforts of Kyrie Irving in a 129-125 overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night at Barclays Center.

Irving scored 39 points on 14-of-31 shooting, but he couldn't prevent Brooklyn from falling to 1-4 to open the 2022-23 NBA season.

Still, the dynamic guard's singular brilliance is partially why the Nets remain so tantalizing as a title contender despite all of the drama surrounding the franchise last year. There's almost nothing an opposing defense can do when Irving is at his best.

He's feelin' it pic.twitter.com/tcW61jY4WN

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) October 28, 2022

Kyrie showing off the handles 🤧 https://t.co/dR33Y0UZPy

— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 28, 2022

Putting on a SHOW 🍿 pic.twitter.com/jxiO8vo5N1

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) October 28, 2022

Kyrie DEEP 3 over Luka 🔥 https://t.co/fMfD8Cgnlv

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 28, 2022

Basketball fans have seen it plenty of times before, yet it hasn't lost any of the excitement.

Kyrie Irving is putting on an absolute show tonight.

— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) October 28, 2022

Kyrie's going crazy

— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) October 28, 2022

Kyrie plays like the game is choreographed

— Kazeem Famuyide 🇳🇬 🍎 (@Kazeem) October 28, 2022

Kyrie Irving's had some insane finishes at the rim tonight, wow.

— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) October 28, 2022

What a fun game to watch. Luka is Luka but Kyrie is going nuclear in the 4th. 110-106, the Nets with 3:11 to play. #Nets #Mavs

— Daisuke Sugiura 杉浦大介 (@daisukesugiura) October 28, 2022

The Nets firmly had the momentum heading into overtime. Ben Simmons helped bring the home fans to their feet when he deflected a Luka Dončić pass to start the fast break and then laid the ball off for a game-tying dunk with 8.8 seconds remaining.

BEN SIMMONS STEAL, KD CLUTCH DUNK IN TRANSITION 🔥 https://t.co/vBW5baCrid

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 28, 2022

Luka Dončić hit a jumper to get the extra frame underway, and the Mavs didn't look back from there. Dončić poured in a game-high 41 points and added 14 assists and 11 rebounds for his first triple-double of the year.

While Thursday's defeat isn't a reason for panic, it has to be at least a little concerning the Nets could get 76 points from their two best players and still fail to come out on the winning end.

A pair of home games against the 1-4 Indiana Pacers could be just what they need to get things turned around.

The Larry O'Brien Trophy is the ultimate prize in the NBA, but some teams without a realistic chance to compete for a championship may be eyeing a different prize: the chance to draft Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 pick of the 2023 draft.

Tanking—and how to curb it—is often a topic of discussion in NBA circles and that figures to be even more relevant this season considering Wembanyama could be a franchise-altering superstar for whichever team is fortunate enough to land the No. 1 pick during the draft lottery.

With that as the backdrop, Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports reported NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was among those in favor of an idea that was discussed that would prevent teams from landing in the top three of the lottery in consecutive years.

According to Goodwill, the idea "gained traction in preliminary meetings but was met with resistance by a small handful of general managers."

ESPN's Baxter Holmes reported Silver discussed tanking during a meeting with Phoenix Suns employees and said he has held "hundreds" of meetings on the "serious issue" and even revealed the league has considered a relegation system that would send the worst one or two teams to the G League and promote teams to take their place.

However, he told ESPN's Malika Andrews (h/t Marc Stein) "I can't say I was deadly serious" about relegation.

Still, Silver pointed out to Suns employees that "we put teams on notice. We're going to be paying particular attention to the issue this year."

The NBA took efforts to curb tanking in 2019 when it changed the lottery odds. Previously, the team that finished with the worst record in the league had a 25 percent chance of acquiring the first pick, while the second-worst team (19.9 percent) and third-worst team (15.6 percent) had lower odds.

The 2019 changes implemented a system where the teams with the three worst records all have a 14 percent chance of that top pick.

In theory, the creation of the play-in tournament could also cut down on tanking since there are more postseason spots available and a greater reason for teams on the bubble to compete down the stretch of the regular season.

Yet tanking remains a serious concern in league circles, and that figures to remain the case while some teams dream of a future with Wembanyama in the frontcourt.

NBA evaluators had one theory for why Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons is so hesitant around the basket.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst said Thursday on NBA Today some scouts "believe the reason that Ben Simmons doesn't go aggressive isn't because he's afraid of missing the shot as much as he's afraid of being fouled."

Simmons is a 59.6 percent free-throw shooter and is 3-of-9 from the charity stripe to open the 2022-23 season.

It's easy to see why somebody outside the team would come to that conclusion.

Simmons' vision and playmaking are two of his stronger attributes on offense. There will inevitably be times he passes the ball off when others would've pulled up or driven to the basket. At this point, we can assume he'll simply never be much of a shooter, too.

Many notable players throughout the history of the NBA were poor free-throw shooters. Most of them either improved over time or worked around it and didn't let it affect how they played.

However, Simmons' passivity to start his Nets tenure isn't encouraging. He's averaging just 8.2 shots per 100 possessions through the first four games, half of his career average (16.3), per Basketball Reference.

Kyrie Irving audibly implored the 6'10" guard to shoot when he got the ball inside the paint in a 110-99 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Kyrie: "Shoot it Ben!" 😬 https://t.co/UyIFUykQsk

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 27, 2022

Irving downplayed the significance of that moment, saying it was "just a clip" and indicative of how he and his teammates "want Ben to be aggressive every single play."

But this illustrates why it might be difficult for Simmons to address whatever the underlying causes for his current slump are.

He's a three-time All-Star who plays on a team with championship aspirations, so nothing he does will fly under the radar and his every move will be thoroughly scrutinized. And the longer he struggles, the more people will talk about it.

That's a recipe for disaster for any player who's battling some sort of mental block.

It's far too early to draw any conclusions about Simmons because missing the entire 2021-22 season meant he might have a difficult adjustment early on. Nonetheless, Windhorst's report shows how he's not getting the benefit of the doubt.

Portland Trail Blazers superstar guard Damian Lillard is going to miss at least one to two weeks.

On Thursday, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Lillard has been diagnosed with a calf strain. He will be re-evaluated in one to two weeks.

Lillard suffered the injury midway through the third quarter of Wednesday's loss to the Miami Heat. He told reporters after the game that he wasn't concerned about it being a significant issue.

"It wasn't nothing that I was overly concerned with," Lillard said. "I just know that it wouldn't make sense to try and push through it in the fifth game of the season."

The 32-year-old veteran is in the midst of his 11th NBA season, all of which have been spent with the Blazers. In five games so far this season, Lillard is averaging 31.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists.

Lillard is a six-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA selection. He also won the 2012-13 NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

The former Weber State standout has improved with almost every passing year in the league, although he entered the 2022-23 campaign coming off the greatest adversity he had ever faced during his career. Lillard was limited to only 29 games last season due to an abdominal injury that required surgery, and the Blazers went 27-55 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

While Lillard playing great out of the gates this season, the Blazers will now have to make do without him at least for the next few games. Lillard is the straw that stirs the drink in Portland, and losing him for any period of time could be disastrous for the Blazers' playoff aspirations.

Anfernee Simons became the Blazers' go-to scorer last season when Lillard was out last season, and that will likely be the case again. Simons has moved into the starting lineup this year and is averaging 18.6 points on 41.2 percent shooting.

The Blazers can also lean more heavily on Jerami Grant and Josh Hart, while rookie guard Shaedon Sharpe could receive a huge uptick in playing time.

The Blazers are off to a 4-1 start this season, but losing Lillard for any length of time takes away the driving force of their offense. Head coach Chauncey Billups should have enough depth to keep his team afloat until his superstar point guard returns.