The Houston Rockets, not the Dallas Mavericks, will land Robert Covington in a reported four team trade.
In the scenario on the books:
- The Atlanta Hawks win the Clint Capela sweepstakes, landing the Rockets’ big man and the experienced Nene
- The Denver Nuggets receive Keita Bates-Diop, Gerald Green, Shabazz Napier, Noah Vonleh, and a first-round pick from the Rockets
- The Houston Rockets receive Jordan Bell (an opportunity for my former Oregon Duck, in my opinion), Robert Covington, and a second round pick
- The Minnesota Timberwolves would receive Malik Beasley, Juancho Hernangomez, Evan Turner, Jarred Vanderbilt, and a 2020 first round pick from the Hawks
Reports are that Houston is not yet done shopping and is targeting a viable center before tomorrow’s 3 p.m. EST deadline. At least Clint Capela can get his Chinese fans back after the Daryl Morey-Hong Kong fiasco.
Minnesota lost out on the opportunity to add D’Angelo Russell because they weren’t interested in meeting Golden State’s value on the point guard. There are still 33 hours remaining until the trade deadline, though.
Also, already widely reported that the New York Knicks fired Steve Mills yesterday, but are considering going the route of the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors and hiring a player agent to fill Mills’ former role, and are eyeing Austin Brown. Of course, owner James Dolan (who should have fired himself long ago), truly wants Toronto’s Masai Ujiri, but that’s an uphill financial battle. I’m not sure hiring the player agent for Jaren Jackson Jr. and Zion Williamson is the way to go to try and persuade big men to come to New York. Get Andre Drummond today.
Who do you think got the best of the deal?
- Atlanta
- Denver
- Houston
- Minnesota
Other names still bandied about in the next day and a half: Drummond, Russell, Kyle Kuzma, Marcus Morris, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Derrick Rose (though it’s reported he wants to stay in Detroit).
Stay tuned …
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Milwaukee Bucks 120
New Orleans Pelicans 108
New Orleans got the jump early on at home, but a 42-24 third quarter performance by the Milwaukee Bucks wiped out any hopes, lead and progress by the Pelicans last night as they fell to the Bucks by 12 in the end. Zion Williamson called Giannis Antetokuonmpo “the former MVP.” Antetokuonmpo is the reigning MVP and showed it to the young protege last night, scoring 34 points and grabbing 17 caroms. Williamson has aspirations like Antetokuonmpo’s, but equaled Khris Middleton’s effort in the game, while Brandon Ingram’s leadership has been indelible all season long. Ingram led the Pelicans with 32 and seven.
| BUCKS (43-7) 1st in the East, NBA | PELICANS (20-31) 12th in the West |
| Giannis Antetokuonmpo 34 points – 17 rebounds – six assists – one steal – one block | Brandon Ingram 32 points – seven rebounds – one assist – two steals – one block |
| Khris Middleton 20 points – eight rebounds – eight assists – three steals | Zion Williamson 20 points – seven rebounds – five assists – one steal |
| Wesley Matthews 17 points – two rebounds – two assists – one block | J.J. Redick 13 points – one rebound – two assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Philadelphia at Milwaukee – Thursday
New Orleans at Chicago – Thursday
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Charlotte Hornets 110
Houston Rockets 125
After getting beat 34-22 in the first quarter, the Houston Rockets scored 103 over the final three quarters, including 70 over the second and third, to squash the Charlotte Hornets by a 15 point margin last night at the Toyota Center. James Harden had his second straight 40 point effort and the Rockets won their third straight game. The Rockets won handily despite the absence of Russell Westbrook and Clint Capela. Miles Bridges continued his emergence of late, again leading the Hornets, this time with 20 and 15 in the loss.
| HORNETS (16-35) 12th in the East | ROCKETS (32-18) 5th in the West |
| Miles Bridges 20 points – 15 rebounds – one steal – one block | James Harden 40 points – nine rebounds – 12 assists – three steals – one block |
| Terry Rozier 20 points – five rebounds – four assists | Danuel House, Jr. 22 points – nine rebounds – one assist – three steals – one block |
| Malik Monk 19 points – six rebounds – one block | Eric Gordon 16 points – two rebounds – one assist – two blocks |
NEXT GAMES
Houston at Los Angeles – Thursday
Dallas at Charlotte – Saturday
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Portland Trailblazers 99
Denver Nuggets 127
The Denver Nuggets opened up the game like a shotgun start, jumping on the Portland Trailblazers from all over the court to net a 37-28 first quarter, then putting the clamps on defensively, holding Portland to 10 in the second quarter last night. More importantly, they held Damian Lillard in check. Lillard, who was responsible for 444 points over the Blazers’ last five games, only had 21 points and nine assists last night, shooting 34.8 percent. Trevor Ariza, whose been off to an amazing start as a Blazer, only got five on 33.3 percent and Carmelo Anthony hit for two and those were just free throws, while Hassan Whiteside had a pedestrian eight and five against Nikola Jokic’s interior defense. Jokic, meanwhile, dropped a game high 29 points and 13 rebounds in three quarters.
| TRAILBLAZERS (23-28) 9th in the West | NUGGETS (35-16) 3rd in the West |
| Damian Lillard 21 points – two rebounds – nine assists – one steal | Nikola Jokic 29 points – 13 rebounds – nine assists – two steals – three blocks |
| C.J. McCollum 21 points – two rebounds – one assist – one block | Jamal Murray 20 points – two rebounds – six assists |
| Gary Trent, Jr. 11 points – two rebounds – one assist – two steals | Jerami Grant 17 points – four rebounds – two assists – one steal – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Denver at Utah – Tonight
San Antonio at Portland – Thursday
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San Antonio Spurs 102
Los Angeles Lakers 129
The Los Angeles Lakers may have only scored 21 in the first quarter to San Antonio’s 19, but the Lakers’ scoring kept going up from there – 30 in the second for a 10 point lead at half, 36 in the third for a 13 point lead after three, and 42-28 in the fourth to close out the Spurs by 27 points in the end. The Lakers swept the season series with the Spurs, with last night’s game being the third time the Lakers won. The Spurs have lost five of their last seven. LeBron James scored 19 of his 36 points in the decisive fourth quarter and hit five three pointers in three minutes to give the Lakers the commanding fourth.
| SPURS (22-28) 10th in the West | LAKERS (38-11) first in the West |
| DeMar DeRozan 28 points – nine rebounds – seven assists | LeBron James 36 points – seven rebounds – nine assists – one steal |
| Bryn Forbes 13 points – three assists – three steals | Kyle Kuzma 18 points – 12 rebounds – four assists |
| Dejounte Murray 12 points – four rebounds – two assists | Anthony Davis 18 points – five rebounds – one assist – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
San Antonio at Portland – Thursday
Houston at Los Angeles – Thursday
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WEDNESDAY’S LINEUP
(All Times Eastern Standard Time)
| 7 p.m. Phoenix Suns Detroit Pistons Fox Sports Detroit | 7:30 p.m. Orlando Magic Boston Celtics NBC Sports Boston | 7:30 p.m. Golden State Warriors Brooklyn Nets ESPN |
| 7:30 p.m. Indiana Pacers Toronto Raptors Fox Sports Indiana | 8 p.m. Atlanta Hawks Minnesota Timberwolves Fox Sports North | 8 p.m. Cleveland Cavaliers Oklahoma City Thunder Fox Sports Ohio |
| 8:30 p.m. Memphis Grizzlies Dallas Mavericks Fox Sports Southeast | 9 p.m. Denver Nuggets Utah Jazz ESPN | 10 p.m. MIami Heat Los Angeles Clippers FSN Prime Ticket |
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Tracy Graven is a Senior NBA Analyst for BackSportsPage.com.
He has written the NBA, and done NBA radio, for the last two decades for HoopsWorld, Swish Magazine, and HoopsHype, the Coach Scott Fields Show and NBARadioShow.com, and is also tackling the NFL, NCAA, and will be pinch-hitting on some Major League Baseball coverage for BackSportsPage.
He’s spent 20 years in locker rooms in
- Orlando
- Boise (G League)
- San Antonio
- Phoenix
- Denver
- Oklahoma City
- Atlanta
A corporate trainer by day, he currently resides in SEC Country near Knoxville, Tennessee.
Reach him on Twitter at @RealTMoneyMedia
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