With the regular season quickly winding down, teams around the NBA are jockeying for position as they try to stake claim to coveted postseason spots. While all eyes are on the games and the standings, let’s take a look at some of the other big stories from around the league this week.
Cavaliers Suffer Big Blow
At 37-27 and sixth in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the best surprises of this year’s season. While they have played extraordinarily this season, they have been a little sluggish lately, losing six of their last ten.
On Sunday, they got some news that won’t help get them out of their funk. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, big man and All-Star Jarrett Allen will be out indefinitely as a result of a fractured finger.
More specifically, he suffered a fracture in the middle finger of his left hand, his non-shooting one.
Allen has been superb this season, averaging a double-double with 16.1 points and 10.8 rebounds. He is also averaging 1.6 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.
The Cavaliers are currently +5500 to win the NBA Finals, tied for 13th-best odds overall.
Could Zion Return This Season?
While the Cavaliers lost a star in Jarrett Allen, the New Orleans Pelicans could soon be welcoming one back. According to Shams Charania and Will Guillory of The Athletic, it appears that Zion Williamson could be rejoining the club in the near future.
Williamson hasn’t played at all this season as he has been rehabbing from surgery on his right foot. While his foot has shown improvement and he has started to do some non-contact drills, a return may still not be imminent. Still, the chance that Williamson could return is a huge boost for a Pelicans team playing pretty good ball.
In fact, New Orleans is 27-37 overall and have moved into the 10th spot in the Western Conference. If the season ended today, that would put them into the postseason as one of the final four teams to have to play into the postseason.
Last season, Williamson averaged 27 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game over 61 games. While he likely won’t get to that type of production this season, it would still be a huge boost for the Pelicans.
New Orleans is currently +12000 to win the West and +24000 to win the NBA Finals.
Is Randle Finding Himself A Ticket Out Of New York
According to The New York Post’s Marc Berman, the Knicks are starting to grow tired of Julius Randle’s antics and have concerns over where his head is as of late.
This comes on the heels of an ejection Friday that stemmed from an altercation with Cameron Johnson of the Phoenix Suns and ended with him making contact with a referee.
While Randle has played well at times this season, it appears that he has become more of a distraction, especially as he has moved into a secondary role behind RJ Barrett.
Still, Randle is currently averaging 19.6 points, ten rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game. At just 27-years-old, Randle has a lot of basketball left in him, but it will be interesting to see if that basketball will be in New York after this season.
Oladipo Returns
For the first time this season, Victor Oladipo took the floor for the Miami Heat Monday night. The guard has been working his way back from a quad tendon surgery, but he had a successful first night back on the floor.
In 15 minutes, Oladipo had 11 points, four assists, and a rebound in the 123-106 Heat win over the Houston Rockets.
As Oladipo works his way back into game shape, he will serve as a legitimate backup for starter Kyle Lowry.
This season, the Heat are 44-22 and lead the Eastern Conference by three games over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Despite leading the conference, they have just the fourth-best odds of winning the East outright at +500, and they are +1000 (sixth-best) to win the NBA Finals.
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