The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed center Anderson Varejão to a 10-day contract, the team announced on Tuesday.
Cleveland have been ravaged by injuries, and the team was granted a hardship exception by the NBA in order to acquire Varejão.
Varejão, 38, returns to Cleveland, where he spent his first 12 NBA seasons, appearing in 591 regular season games (208 starts) with averages of 7.6 points on .512 shooting from the field and 7.5 rebounds in 25.0 minutes. The center from Brazil still ranks among the franchise’s all-time leaders in offensive rebounds (fourth, 1,479), defensive rebounds (seventh, 2Varejão was also a member of Cleveland’s back-to-back 60-win teams (66-16 in 2008-09 and 61-21 in 2009-10) and six playoff teams (2005-2010, 2015), including the franchise’s first ever NBA Finals appearance during the 2007 Playoffs.
“For more than a decade, I was blessed to wear the Wine and Gold and play for the organization’s incredible fans, who inspired me to give everything I had during each and every play on a nightly basis,” said Varejão. “I am so excited to return to Cleveland and be back in a Cavaliers jersey, continuing to build memories and representing the city and franchise that I love so much. I am so very grateful to Dan Gilbert and Koby Altman for this opportunity and am extremely thankful for the love and support from my wife, Stacy, and daughter, Serenee. I can’t wait to join my teammates and be reunited with the fans, both on and off the court.”
After a stellar career playing for F.C. Barcelona, which includes earning Brazilian League MVP honors in 2001-02, the 13-year veteran was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the 30th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft before being acquired by the Cavaliers in a trade on July 23, 2004. He last played in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors, appearing in 36 games during parts of the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, as well as 17 postseason contests during the Warriors’ NBA Finals run in 2016. Following his stint with Golden State, Varejão played for Flamengo in the NBB (New Basketball Bazil) league in 2017-18 and 2018-19 and led the team to the 2019 NBB title.
Listen below as Varejao talks return to Cleveland:
Fortunately for the Dallas Mavericks(36-28), they do not have to play the Sacramento Kings(27-37) again in the regular season or the playoffs as Dallas fell again to the Kings at home 111-99 on Sunday night.
This season, Dallas has lost three times to the Kings in less than a month, including two times in Dallas.
After the game, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, who was ejected late in the fourth quarter after receiving his second technical foul, made no excuses for the loss.
“There’s no excuses,” he said. “On paper, forget Sacramento’s record. They’ve got some very talented guys down there. They’ve been a tough matchup for us, and we didn’t play well enough.”
Luka Doncic, who, like Carlisle, was ejected late in the fourth after he picked up two technicals on Sunday night, had 30 points, six rebounds and six assists against Sacramento, is not sure why the Mavericks can’t beat the Kings.
“I don’t really know,” Doncic said. “I guess it’s not a good matchup, but we just got to move to the next one. We got bigger things ahead of us.”
According to Jalen Brunson, who came off the bench and scored 17 points, Sacramento is a talented team.
“Unique team, a lot of talented guys,” Brunson said. “It’s really hard to pinpoint what exactly it is, but one thing I know for sure is we matched their energy a little too late. We had spurts where we matched their energy, but they had a lot of energy tonight. Part of that is one me coming off the bench being able to be a spark. I need to be able to match their energy. I messed up on the court. They are a unique team.”
Going forward, Dallas has to worry about Doncic. The two-time All-Star has 15 technicals this season, and one more technical means he will be suspended for one game. However, Doncic says that won’t happen.
“I won’t get another one,” Doncic said. “Don’t worry.”
With the loss, Dallas is now tied with the Lakers and Blazers for the fifth seed in the Western Conference. However, because Dallas holds the tiebreaker, they are still the fifth seed.
This was a bad loss for Dallas, but as Doncic said, they have to move forward, which starts on Tuesday night when they travel to Miami to battle the Heat.
The Atlanta Hawks announced plans to increase attendance for postseason play to 7,625 fans, approximately 45 percent of State Farm Arena’s full capacity, the team announced on Monday.
According to the team, the plan received approval from both the NBA and the Georgia Department of Public Health. The Hawks opened the 2020-21 season with no fans in attendance before increasing capacity to 1300 fans on January 26 and later increasing to 3000 fans for the second half of the season on March 13.
At 35-30 (.538), the Hawks are currently in 5th place in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining (six at State Farm Arena) in the regular season.
In addition, the Hawks will offer a 500-person vaccinated fan section, in which fans with proof of vaccination can be seated without social distancing. Additional lower bowl seating will be added to the East side of the building as plexiglass will be added behind player benches and other areas throughout the building for additional safety. Masks will continue to be required for all fans inside the arena.
This is welcomed news for the Hawks and gives them more of a home-court advantage come playoff time.
On Saturday night in Dallas, there was a shootout between the Wizards(29-35) and Mavericks(36-27) and a shootout between Russell Westbrook and Luka Doncic.
Doncic finished with 31 points (12-23 FG), 12 rebounds, and a career-high 20 assists, while Westbrook led Washington with 42 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists, but the biggest shot of the game was made by Dorian Finney-Smith, who hit the game-winning corner three with 09.3 seconds left to lift the Mavericks over the Wizards 125-124 at American Airlines Center.
Finney-Smith finished with 22 points, and for the Wizards, Bradley Beal added 29 points.
Doncic became the fourth player in NBA history with 30-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, and 20 assists in a game. He joined Magic Johnson, Russell Westbrook, and Oscar Robertson as the only players to do so, and what was more impressive is that Doncic had only one turnover in this game.
After the game, Doncic was asked about his triple-double, and according to him, he was more impressed with the one turnover.
“I think I’m more impressed with having only one turnover,” he said. “That never happens. I was more impressed with that.”
Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle was impressed with the triple-double and the one turnover.
“I’m actually equally impressed with both,” Carlisle said… “I thought Luka [Dončić] ‘s poise down the stretch was spectacular. He just was very, very focused, made every single right play, and fittingly got the last rebound off the [Bradley] Beal miss. Look, everyone expects greatness from him every single night. Just think about it, at 22 years old, having that kind of expectation put on you every night. But he’s an amazing player and does an amazing job absorbing all of it.”
With the win, the Mavericks are tied with the Lakers for the fifth-seed in the Western Conference, and according to Doncic, the Mavericks are playing solid basketball right now.
“I think we’re playing better basketball now, but we’ve got to focus every game,” Doncic said. “We’ve got to come out like today and just keep having the same energy.”
If the Mavericks stay at five or six, they will play either the Nuggets(third seed) or the Clippers(fourth seed). Dallas is 2-1 against both of those teams, but who knows how much that will matter come playoff time. However, the most important thing is to avoid the seventh-seed, which keeps you out of the Play-in Tournament, and currently, Dallas has a one-game lead on the Blazers.
The Mavericks play the second game of their back-to-back on Sunday night against the Sacramento Kings, who defeated Dallas two times in April.
Notes:
Back to Westbrook, this is the first time that he has missed a triple-double by one point, rebound or assist this season.
Kristaps Porzingis(knee) missed last night’s contest against the Wizards and will miss Sunday’s night game against the Kings. Porizingis hurt his knee on Thursday night against the Pistons. No timetable on his return.
Cavaliers F Kevin Love messed up on Monday night against the Raptors, and on Wednesday for 13-plus minutes, he took ownership for what happened.
On Monday, near the end of the third quarter, a frustrated Love, who was inbounding the ball, tapped the ball in play, which led to a three by Toronto’s Malachi Flynn. Ultimately, the Cavs would fall to the Raptors 112-96. Love did not play in the fourth quarter.
Today, after shootaround, the 12-year veteran, who did not take any questions from reporters, apologized for what transpired.
“I know that I f***** up,” he said. “I apologize for that. I don’t go out there intending to upset anybody, to embarrass myself, to embarrass the organization because I feel like I’m a part of something bigger than myself here…
“My intent wasn’t to disrespect the game; My intent wasn’t even for the d*** ball to go in-bounds. It was a moment that I got caught up in. I didn’t understand what really happened as the possession even played out. I think I was a little bit dumbfounded.”
The 32-year-old Love has battled injuries all season long, and on Wednesday, he discussed how frustrating that has been for him.
“Feeling that guilt in missing games and letting my teammates down, letting the fans down and then having a setback and returning to play and not being able to be my old self,” he said. “I’m so frustrated that I can’t be my full self right now.”
The five-time All-Star called today’s speech a “therapy session.”
It’s great to see Love take ownership for his behavior, and while it does not erase or excuse what happened, it does give you an understanding of what was going through his mind.
Love and the Cavaliers begin a five-game homestand starting tonight against the Orlando Magic.
Watch below as Love discussed what happened on Monday night:
In Dallas’ loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday night, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle was not happy with the team’s start. Dallas(34-27) trailed by as many as 18 points in the first quarter and trailed by 14 after one quarter. According to Carlisle, the poor start hurt the team.
On Tuesday night against the Warriors(31-31), in the second half of a back-to-back, Dallas got off to the start Carlisle wanted. Dallas led 36-12 after the first quarter and had a 28-0 run from the first into the second quarter. The Mavericks led 62-29 at halftime and would defeat the Warriors 133-103 at Chase Center.
Luka Doncic had a game-high 39 points for Dallas. For the Warriors, Steph Curry led the Warriors with 27 points, and Mychal Mulder added 26.
The Warriors went nine minutes and 38 seconds without a point in the first half and was held to a season-low of 29 points in any half. After the game, Carlisle gave all the credit to assistant coach Jamahl Mosley.
“It was a terrific game plan by Jamahl Mosley,” Carlisle said. “Guys just did a great job.”
According to Doncic, the Mavericks were angry coming into this game against Golden State because of how poorly they played against the Kings on Tuesday night.
“Everybody was pissed off because we didn’t play the right way yesterday,” Doncic said.
Dallas was dominant on Tuesday night, and according to Elias Sports, the Mavericks’ 28-0 run is tied for the second-longest scoring run by any team over the last 20 seasons and the longest since the Knicks went on a 28-0 run against the Raptors on Nov. 22, 2017.
After the game, Doncic acknowledged that he did not realize the team had gone on a 28-0 run.
“I did not know that,” Doncic said. “That’s nice. I didn’t know that… I was watching the scoreboard; I had no idea it was 28-0.”
This was a complete performance for the Mavericks and a great bounce back after Tuesday’s loss to the Kings. Dallas continues to have a hold on the sixth seed. They have a one-game lead over the seventh-seeded Blazers, and they are two games behind the Lakers for the fifth-seed.
Dallas will end their three-game road trip on Thursday night against the Pistons.
The Dallas Mavericks(33-27) came into Monday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings(25-36) with revenge on their mind, These two teams met last Sunday in Dallas, and the Kings, who led by as many as 17 points in the first half, defeated Dallas 121-107.
On Monday night, both teams came into this game looking a little different. The Mavericks were without Kristaps Porzingis(ankle), Josh Richardson(hamstring), and JJ Redick(heel), while the Kings were without their leading scorer De’Aaron Fox(Health and Safety Protocols), but the Kings had just a little more as they defeated the Mavericks 113-106 at Golden 1 Center to snap the Mavericks’ three-game winning streak.
Richaun Holmes led Sacramento with 24 points, Harrison Barnes added 19, and rookie Tyrese Haliburton had 14 points and 10 assists. Luka Doncic’s 24 points paced Dallas, and Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke chipped in with 19 points apiece.
Just like in their previous matchup, the Kings got off to another good start. Sacramento led by as many as 18 points in the first quarter and had a 59-52 lead at halftime. Dallas would take two-point leads in the third and fourth quarters, but Sacramento would pull away late.
According to Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, the bad start led to the loss on Monday night.
“Another poor start really did us in,” Carlisle said after the game. “Just gotta be way better to start the game. The last three quarters were obviously better, but this is very disappointing tonight. We got a quick turnaround and a tough game tomorrow.”
With all that Dallas is playing for right now, keeping the sixth seed and the possibility of the fifth seed, this loss with unacceptable, especially when Sacramento does not have one of their best players.
Dallas has an opportunity to bounce back on Tuesday night as they continue their three-game road trip against the Warriors.
Entering Monday night’s road game against the Toronto Raptors(26-35), the Cleveland Cavaliers(21-40) were missing many of their key players. Cleveland was without their leading scorer Collin Sexton(concussion), Larry Nance Jr.(right thumb fracture), Matthew Dellavedova(neck strain, eye), Isaiah Hartenstein(concussion), and Lamar Stevens(concussion).
In addition, the team was already missing Taurean Prince(ankle) and Dylan Windler(left knee surgery). With all of that working against them, and only nine player available, defeating the Raptors was going to be tough. However, Cleveland fought hard in this game and trailed 49-48 at halftime. They were in striking distance late in the third quarter, but things went awry.
After a Malachi Flynn layin put the Raptors up 76-70, a frustrated Kevin Love, who was inbounding the ball, just taps the ball in play, which led to a three by Flynn. Toronto would lead by nine after Flynn’s three. They would take control from there and defeat the Cavs 112-96.
Pascal Siakam had a game-high 25 points for Toronto, and OG Anunoby added 20.
Following his meltdown, Love, who, according to Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff apologized to the team, did not play the rest of the game.
“He had a lapse in judgment,” Bickerstaff said about Love after the game. “He’s been great for us from a leadership standpoint this whole year even through his difficulties, injuries he’s been battling, so we’ll leave it at that.”
There were some bright spots in this game for the Cavaliers. Rookie Isaac Okoro led Cleveland with a career-high 20 points, Jarrett Allen had 15 points, and Darius Garland, who struggled with his shot(5/13 FG), had 13 points and 10 assists.
There’s always frustration anytime you’re losing the way the Cavaliers are right now. Cleveland has lost three straight and 13 of their last 17 games, but you don’t expect a 12-year veteran, a champion, and one of the leaders of your team to have a temper tantrum in the middle of a close game. What Love did on Monday night was inexcusable, and it should be interesting to see how the Cavaliers handle this situation.
Cleveland will now return home for five straight, starting on Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic.
Listen below as Bickerstaff, Okoro, and Garland react to the team’s loss to the Raptors:
Mavericks guard Luka Doncic was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, April 19 through Sunday, April 25, the league announced on Monday.
This marks the fourth time in his career and third time this season he has received the honor (Nov. 18-24, 2019; Jan. 4-10, 2021; March 29-April 3, 2021). Dončić joins Denver’s Nikola Jokić and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo as players to have received the honor three times this season.
When Doncic won player of the week earlier this month, he joined Dirk Nowitzki (2002-03, 2006-07, 2009-10, 2010-11) and Josh Howard (2006-07) as the only Mavericks to garner the award multiple times in the same season. He also joined Nowitzki (16 times), Michael Finley (three) and Jason Kidd (three) as the only Dallas players to win the award at least three times in his career. Nowitzki holds the franchise record for player of the week honors in a single season with four (2009-10).
Doncic led the Mavericks to a 3-0 week at home with averages of 26.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 10.0 assists and 1.7 steals.
The two-time All-Star recorded back-to-back 30-point games against Detroit (4/21) and the Lakers (4/22). The games were his 17th and 18th with 30+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists, which leads the NBA.
To open the week against Detroit, Doncic recorded 30 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and two steals in the 127-117 victory.
The following night, in the first of two consecutive victories against the reigning NBA champion Lakers, Dončić led all scorers with 30 points, including 17 in the second half, to go with nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals as the Mavericks won 115-110.
The Mavericks concluded the week with a 108-93 win versus Los Angeles (4/24). Doncic contributed 18 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists on the night.
In 54 games this season, Doncic is averaging 28.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.0 steals on a career-high 48.3% from the floor. Among league leaders, the Slovenian ranks fourth in scoring, assists and triple-doubles (nine).
Washington’s Bradley Beal joins Doncic as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
Without their leading scorer Collin Sexton, the Cleveland Cavaliers traveled to D.C. to battle the red-hot Washington Wizards on Sunday night. Coming into the game, the tenth-seeded Wizards had won seven straight.
Behind the play of Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, Cleveland took a six-point lead into the fourth quarter. However, Bradley Beal scored nine of his game-high 33 points in the fourth as the Wizards defeated the Cavaliers 119-110 to win their eighth straight.
Garland had 29 points and nine assists, and Allen had a career-high 27 points to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds.
The game was tied at 108 with just under three minutes left, but Washington closed the game on a 9-2 run to cement the victory.
According to Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, the team got some good looks down the stretch, but they could not knock down the shots.
“I thought we had some good looks,” Bickerstaff said. “I thought we did a really good job on some of those of penetrating and getting inside the restricted area. We didn’t convert.”
Despite the loss, the 21-year-old Garland was a bright spot for the Cavaliers. In the last five games, he is averaging 25.0 points and 7.4 assists. Bickerstaff discussed what he saw out of the second-year point guard against Washington
“He was doing it all. He was a lead guard,” Bickerstaff said. “He was asked to score, he was asked to distribute and play both ends of the floor, and I thought he was excellent tonight. Anytime you make teams have to make an adjustment on you, that means you’re doing the job. And I thought that he was great tonight in taking that load and carrying that burden.”
The Cavaliers, who have lost seven of their last nine games, are six games behind the Wizards with 12 games left. At this point, it’s going to be an uphill battle for Cleveland to make the playoffs. However, seeing Garland play at this level has to be exciting for the Cavaliers.
