Jae Crowder bounces back with four threes in Game 1

Jae Crowder
PF, Miami Heat

Jae Crowder bounced back on Wednesday and hit four threes to end with 12 points (4-of-8 FG), two rebounds and two blocks in Game 1.

Crowder's regression was a big storyline in the Eastern Conference Finals, but he finally managed to get his shots to drop tonight. A handful of threes is all the Heat need to get out of Crowder for his minutes to be valuable, but he's usually good for a few more peripherals than he put up tonight. For Miami's sake, hopefully the Crowder Regression storyline has ended for good.

Jae Crowder Miami Heat
October 1, 2020, 1:15 am

Fantasy News & NBA Updates

LeBron James
SF, Los Angeles Lakers

Shams Charania is reporting that the NBA is targeting a December 22 start date for a 72-game season.

Earlier today it was reported that the league was looking at Christmas day as its start, with the potential for a shortened schedule. With the draft going down on November 18 this would be an insanely short runway, and it's unclear at this point if the NBPA would agree to such a condensed offseason. The league is trying to get as close to a "normal" schedule as possible but would still need to figure out how games will be played. A December start likely means no fans in arenas, and the NBA is hoping to play games in-market (i.e., no bubbles) while also reducing travel.

Source: Shams Charania on Twitter
October 23, 2020, 2:46 pm
LeBron James
SF, Los Angeles Lakers

The NBA's Board of Governors is meeting on Friday and will discuss a number of things relating to next season, including a possible start on Christmas day.

The previously speculated start date has been mid-January's MLK Day, which seems far more feasible given that the draft is set for November 18 — just about a month before Christmas — and we still don't know much about free agency. Some owners are apparently hoping to get into things quickly and not wait for fans to be allowed back into arenas. Whatever gets decided in today's meeting would need to be accepted by the Players Association, so it's far from a done deal either way.

Source: ESPN
October 23, 2020, 1:55 pm
Karl-Anthony Towns
C, Minnesota Timberwolves

Confirming what has long been speculated, the NBA Draft will go down on November 18.

It'll be a weird draft season with teams limited in terms of how many prospects they can visit in-person, as well as how little recent film might be available given the suspension of sports around the globe, but the draft is officially locked in. The Wolves hold the top pick and we'll just have to wait and see how it all unfolds.

Source: ESPN PR
October 22, 2020, 3:36 pm
Deni Avdija
F, International

The Warriors reportedly sent personnel to Atlanta for an in-person viewing of Deni Avdija.

Avdija is a 19-year-old who currently plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv and is thought to be the top international prospect in the draft. Despite that standing, the general consensus has been that he'll be going slightly lower in the lottery than where Golden State would pick at No. 2. This is either some extreme due diligence (which seems unlikely given the COVID-related restrictions on prospect visits) or it could signal that the Warriors may be interested in trading down in the draft, which has been speculated elsewhere. Our international hoops expert, Dio Nikiforos, will have more in-depth breakdowns of Avdija's game in the coming weeks.

Source: The Athletic
October 22, 2020, 3:32 pm
DeMar DeRozan
SG, San Antonio Spurs

On Wednesday The Athletic quoted an anonymous NBA agent as saying DeMar DeRozan "doesn't like San Antonio and doesn't want to be there."

DeRozan may not like San Antonio but he most definitely likes the $27 million dollars he'd be passing up were he to decline his player option this offseason. He'll certainly opt in, but he may wind up as a sought after trade piece for a team looking to take a step up next season. While this should still be considered speculation, with the Spurs seemingly interested in rebuilding it would make sense to stock up on assets by trading DeMar.

Source: Ben Standig in The Athletic
October 21, 2020, 10:25 pm