Hoops Rumors

Ahead of an eventual win for his new team over his old one, Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart reflected on the Celtics’ decision to trade him as part of the three-team deal that sent center Kristaps Porzingis to Boston. The Celtics went on to win the title in the first year after the trade. As Bobby Manning of CLNS Media (Twitter video link) relays, Smart was surprisingly generous … [Read more...] about Southwest Notes: Smart, Grizzlies, Sheppard, Thompson

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka was unhappy with the officiating in his team’s 120-111 loss in Sacramento on Tuesday night, earning an ejection – along with center Alperen Sengun – when he came onto the court and confronted referee John Goble with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter (Twitter video links). As Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription … [Read more...] about Rockets’ Ime Udoka Blasts Refs After Loss To Kings

Three members of the Rockets were fined on Thursday, the NBA announced in a press release (Twitter link). Head coach Ime Udoka was docked $50K, forward Tari Eason was penalized $35K, and center Alperen Sengun received a $15K fine. All three members of the organization were fined for incidents that occurred on Tuesday, when Houston lost by nine points in Sacramento. Udoka and … [Read more...] about NBA Fines Rockets’ Udoka, Eason, Sengun

The Mavericks are trending upward despite Luka Doncic missing six of their past nine games due to knee and wrist injuries. Entering Thursday, they’ve won nine of their last 10 games and sit at 14-8, third in the Western Conference after reaching the NBA Finals in the spring. The Mavs made midseason changes in each year under general manager Nico Harrison, including the … [Read more...] about Southwest Notes: Butler, Wembanyama, Edey, Eason

Discussing the Rockets on the latest episode of the Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reiterated a point he made last month, stating that rival teams believe Houston is poised to make a big trade, while the Rockets themselves are letting it be known that they’re in no hurry to pull the trigger on that sort of deal. “You look at (their young … [Read more...] about Rockets Notes: Eason, Thompson, Green, Sengun, VanVleet