NBA Player News

We have no idea why they’re not running the rookie into the ground in order to get him experience, but he’s only worth using in deep leagues by owners who are desperate at center. Byron Mullens, who had been hot over his last couple games, failed to score and had just two rebounds in 12 minutes, as both players were basically run over a Mack truck tonight, in the form of Kevin Love.

Harper slid into the starting lineup with De’Aaron Fox (ankle) unavailable for this game, and he took advantage of the opportunity. Harper split ball handling duties with Stephon Castle and truly looked like a 10-year veteran, not a 20-year-old rookie. If Fox returns for Game 2 on Wednesday, Harper will likely be pushed back to playing a reserve role, though that will still be enough minutes for him to continue to make an impact, especially after how well he played in this one.

With De’Aaron Fox (ankle) sidelined, Castle took on more responsibility as the primary ball handler for San Antonio. The results were mixed; he facilitated well, but he also turned the ball over a ton. He reached double-digit assists for the second time this postseason, but he technically recorded a triple-double due to how many turnovers he had. It wasn’t an efficient performance, but Castle had some bright moments, and they were still able to steal Game 1 on the road without Fox.

In his first conference finals appearance, Wemby made a massive impact early and often. He entered halftime with a double-double and was incredibly active on the offensive glass. He set a new career high for offensive boards for both the regular season and playoffs. Of course, he made a monster impact on both ends of the floor, which included multiple big plays down the stretch to help the Spurs take the first game of this series and homecourt advantage. This was an otherworldly performance, but against a team as talented as OKC, he’ll need to keep it up throughout the series.

Williams was available to play for the first time since Game 2 of their first-round series against the Suns. It was a rough season for him, largely due to various injuries, but he was able to produce at a high level in his return to the lineup. It wasn’t enough for OKC to take the first game of the series, but this team is as healthy as it has been all season. Even with the loss, having Williams play this well has to be encouraging.

It certainly wasn’t the best performance for the back-to-back MVP, but SGA was able to make some big plays late in this game. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, including a layup with three seconds left to force overtime. However, he was held to just two points in the two extra periods, which led to OKC’s first loss of the postseason. He’ll need to be much better moving forward if they want to bounce back from this game on Wednesday.

Over the last few years, Caruso has been at his best when the stakes are the highest. That held true in the first game of the Western Conference Finals, as he had the best offensive performance of his playoff career. He set new playoff career highs for both points and three-pointers while making Victor Wembanyama’s life difficult on the other end of the floor. Even if it doesn’t show up in the box score during the regular season, Caruso is one of the most impactful players in this series, and they’ll need him to continue to play at a high level to get back to the NBA Finals. However, there likely won’t be more 30-point games in his future.

After spending 12 seasons in the NBA, Ingles will return home to Australia on a two-year deal. Ingles had a successful NBA career, but his playing time dwindled over the last few seasons. The 38-year-old Aussie will likely wrap up his professional career back home.

Kornet was initially listed as questionable for this game, but he will be good to go. He’ll continue to fill out the backup center minutes behind Victor Wembanyama.

Up until an hour before tipoff, the expectation was that Fox would suit up for this game. However, the Spurs will be without their star point guard, though if there is a team built to withstand this type of loss, it’s San Antonio. They’ll likely turn to rookie Dylan Harper to replace Fox in the starting unit, with Stephon Castle taking on even more playmaking responsibility.

Nance missed Games 6 and 7 against the Pistons with this illness and could remain out for another game. He played five minutes in the first round against the Raptors but didn’t see the floor at all against Detroit. His status won’t impact the Cavaliers’ rotation for the conference finals.