Jeff Teague is better than ever and has been integral to the Hawks’ success.
That’s why he’s an All-Star and why he’ll be busy in New York that weekend.
Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hawks guard Jeff Teague will participate in the Skills Challenge as part of All-Star Weekend. #ATLHawks
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) February 5, 2015
Teague also participated in the skills challenge in 2013, when he finished last with a time of 49.4 seconds. He didn’t make a single pass on his first try, and he even missed the closing layup.
You can watch the carnage at the 2:33 mark here:
Teague has the speed to win this year – if he’s not as nervous. He won’t have to fend off Damian Lillard, but Teague will likely have to contend with defending co-champion (with Lillard) Trey Burke.
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) In Celtics/Heat game lacking stars, Adebayo reminds us he is one
It’s become THE story in the NBA lately, and it washed up on the shores in Miami on Tuesday night: A young fan flew more than 4,000 miles from Argentina to see Jimmy Butler play… and he sat out the game.
💔 #heatculture pic.twitter.com/ImYKVMYDJn
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) January 25, 2023
Two quick things here. First, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel said Wednesday that Butler was legitimately ill and not just taking a night off. Second, the Heat organization still did right by the kid with a signed ball, a jersey and a seat upgrade.
One thing Felipe is headed 4,405 miles back to 🇦🇷 with… a lifetime memory pic.twitter.com/tIIamTyvLz
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) January 25, 2023
The core issue is still there for the league: Here was a nationally televised TNT game, a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, and sitting out are Butler, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon and Al Horford. Maybe all the injuries/issues are legitimate in this case, but the number of star players sitting out regular season games has been an epidemic this season that cheapens the value of the regular season (where the teams are making most of their money). It’s an issue.
One too often overlooked player did pay — Bam Adebayo. He had 30 points and 15 boards, and hit the game-winning jumper with :20.4 seconds left (he has become such a great shooter from 10-16 feet straight on).
🔥 30 points
🔥 15 boards
🔥 Game-winning jumper
What a night for @Bam1of1 as the Heat top Boston to open #NBARivalsWeek! pic.twitter.com/lYJSdnXYKa
— NBA (@NBA) January 25, 2023
Jayson Tatum looked like an MVP with everyone on the Celtics out and him still scoring 31 in the loss. Boston has been one of the best clutch teams in the NBA and they were 15-5 in games within five points in the final five minutes this season heading into Tuesday night. Now make that 15-6.
Tuesday night, LeBron James was put on a show scoring 46, but that was not near enough — especially with the Lakers “defense” — and the Clippers scored 77 points in the first half and ran the Lakers off their home floor 133-115.
Wednesday night, things look up for the purple and gold because the Lakers get the return of Anthony Davis. He missed 20 games with a stress reaction in his foot — the Lakers went a respectable 10-10 thanks to LeBron’s heroics — and Los Angeles needs him if they are going to make a push up the standings in a tight Western Conference.
In a soft landing spot against the Spurs, this is also the game where just traded for Rui Hachimura will make his Lakers debut.
Some other quick injury notes.
• After missing two months with a foot issue, Brandon Ingram is set to return for the Pelicans on Wednesday night. The Pelicans need him, they have gone 3-9 in January without him and Zion Williamson.
• Speaking of Zion, the team announced Tuesday that he is out for at least a few weeks with his strained hamstring. Don’t bet on him playing before the All-Star Game.
• Kevin Durant is reportedly progressing well from his sprained knee but will be re-evaluated again in a couple of weeks. He says he wants to return before the All-Star Game and play in that event.
The coaches will have a tough time picking the Eastern Conference frontcourt All-Star reserves. Whichever player of Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid doesn’t start will obviously make the team, as will Pascal Siakam from Toronto. Jimmy Butler has been good enough if the coaches think he’s played enough games. But then the cuts get more challenging with Adebayo, DeMar DeRozan, Myles Turner.
And don’t forget about Julius Randle, who put up 36 and 13, being clutch and leading the Knicks past the Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
Julius Randle comes up clutch, and becomes the first @nyknicks player with 35+ points, 10+ rebounds and 8+ threes in a game! pic.twitter.com/85jfmcSoxQ
— NBA (@NBA) January 25, 2023
There are going to be some ugly All-Star snubs this season.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Grizzlies center Steven Adams will miss three to five weeks because of a sprained ligament in his right knee.
Memphis announced the update. The Grizzlies, second in the Western Conference with a 31-16 record, visit Golden State trying to snap their first three-game skid of the season.
Adams sprained the posterior cruciate ligament in his knee in a 112-110 loss in Phoenix. He hurt his knee diving for a loose ball in the final seconds. He sat out during a 133-100 loss in Sacramento.
The nine-year veteran leads the NBA in offensive rebounds after leading the league in that category last season. He’s a key reason why the Grizzlies rank second in that category behind only the Knicks this season.
Adams is averaging 8.6 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, and he has started all 42 games he has played this season for Memphis.
The Lakers have gone a respectable 10-10 with Anthony Davis out, but Tuesday night was a perfect example of why they need him back. LeBron James was brilliant again scoring 46, but the Lakers’ defense isn’t near the same without Davis patrolling the paint, and the Clippers scored 77 points in the first half and ran the Lakers off their home floor 133-115.
Davis is set to make his return from a stress reaction in his foot on Wednesday against the Spurs, a story broken by Dave McMenamin of ESPN. This is also the game where just traded for Rui Hachimura is expected to make his Lakers debut.
L.A. Lakers star big man Anthony Davis will return to the lineup Wednesday vs. SAS, barring any setback during his pregame warmup, league sources told ESPN. He will be back in the lineup 5 1/2 weeks after suffering a fractured bone spur and stress reaction in his right foot
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 25, 2023
Davis had been playing the best basketball of his career before the injury, averaging 27.4 points and 12.1 rebounds a night, but it was the 2.1 blocked shots per game and his defense that anchored the team. Davis suffering an injury felt like a dark cloud following this team through a hot streak just before he went down, Davis had missed more than half of the Lakers’ games due to injuries the previous two seasons.
This game also will see the debut in Lakers’ colors of Hachimura. He was a solid rotation player off the bench for the Wizards, but he brings a size and skill set that is an upgrade to the Lakers’ rotation. Hachimura averaged 12.4 points per game this season in Washington and has shown to be a good catch-and-shoot player from 3 as well as a decent team defender. Hachimura is not the game-changer Davis is, but he’s an upgrade to the Lakers’ frontcourt rotation.
The Lakers picked a soft landing spot for the Davis return and Hachimura debut in facing the San Antonio Spurs, the team with the fourth worst record in the league and having gone 2-8 in their last 10.
The NBA is leaning all the way in on the playground-style All-Star Game team selections. Everything but shirts vs. skins.
This year the two team captains — the players receiving the most fan votes from the Eastern and Western conferences — will pick their teams right on the court before the game, the NBA announced Tuesday night.
The @NBA and @TheNBPA announced today that TNT will air the 2023 NBA All-Star Draft as a new, live pregame segment at the 2023 #NBAAllStar Game on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 pm ET from Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. pic.twitter.com/SuEw4mvfEE
— NBA (@NBA) January 25, 2023
This s the way it always should have been. The NHL has done this in the past with its All-Star Game, but the NBA has always had the player draft weeks before the game.
Those two captains — and the rest of the starters voted in by the fans, players and media — will be announced Thursday, Jan. 26, on TNT. As in recent years, fan voting counts for 50% of the starters point total, while media and player votes each count for 25%. Once the starters are chosen, the coaches vote for the seven reserves from each conference, those will be announced a week later.
As of the last fan vote the captains would be LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, with the rest of the starters being Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Donovan Mitchell, Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic. LeBron had a clear lead in the West, but Durant and Antetokounmpo are close for the East captaincy.
LeBron has been the captain each of the five seasons the NBA has gone to this format, and his teams are 5-0 in the All-Star Game.
The NBA All-Star Game occurs on Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City. Events from the weekend will be broadcast on TNT.