The Warriors’ postponed game against the Nuggets on Thursday may have served as a blessing in disguise, Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes.
That allowed the Warriors to hold a rare scrimmage, which also gave Klay Thompson extended reps next to Stephen Curry under game-like conditions for the first time since the 2019 Finals.
“Being out there, going up and down with the first unit, that was a big moment for me,” Thompson said. “A silver lining in the NBA canceling the game.”
Thompson has been physically ready to play for over a month, but the Warriors have been extra cautious with handling his return to the court.
The target date is said to be January 9th against the Cavaliers, as he’s expected to reassume his role as the starting shooting guard. However, he’s only expected to see around 18 minutes a game to start.
“Somewhere around there,” Thompson said. “We got such a great, deep team. I don’t need to come back and shoulder a huge load. We’re so deep and talented that I can ease into things, which I’m very grateful for.”
More NBA Rumors, News & Notes
- Kyrie Return Date Set: Kyrie Irving will make his season debut on Wednesday against the Pacers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Irving is still only eligible for road games because of his unvaccinated status against COVID-19.
- Draymond to Return: Draymond Green has exited the health and safety protocols, according to Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated. He’s expected to return against the Heat on Monday.
- Iso-Joe Moving On: The Celtics will not keep Joe Johnson after his 10-day hardship contract ends, head coach Ime Udoka said, as relayed by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Udoka believes that the 40-year-old could land elsewhere this year, however.
- Buy or Sell? Although the Celtics finished 2021 with a huge win over the Suns, they still went 6-9 in December. With them competing with several teams for a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics are faced with a tough decision on whether to buy or sell, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports writes.
- Brotherly Affairs: The Trail Blazers have hired Rodney Billups, the younger brother of current coach Chauncey Billups, as an assistant on their coaching staff. Portland is currently 13-22 on the season.
- Bagley to Keep Starting Role: After being out of the rotation to start the year under former coach Luke Walton, Marvin Bagley has found new life, as interim coach Alvin Gentry plans to keep him in the starting lineup and has a great shot of staying there for good, so long as he keeps playing well, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “We’ve been struggling with rebounding,” Gentry said. “We’re a small team when we play the way we’ve been playing. Marvin’s rebounding numbers have been really good, so we stuck him in there and I think his numbers continue to be good. … We’ll continue to play that group and hopefully our rebounding will get better because we’ve got more size out there.”
- Davis Out of Kings’ Rotation: Terence Davis is out of the Kings rotation now that they’re getting healthier, Anderson relays (same article). Davis averaged 21.5 points on over 55 percent shooting during a four-game stretch in December.
- Chalmers Surprised by Heat Return: Mario Chalmers was in disbelief when he found out the Heat were interested in bringing him back on a 10-day contract, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. “I’m not going to lie. My immediate reaction is I didn’t believe it,” Chalmers admitted. “I thought my agent was playing with me.” The two-time champion last appeared in a game for Miami during the 2015-16 season.
- Pelicans in Protocols: Tomas Satoransky has entered the NBA health and safety protocols, Andrew Lopez of ESPN tweets. Jonas Valanciunas (protocols) is questionable for Monday night’s game against the Jazz.
