Slippery court forces Bulls, Heat grueling stretch

Slippery court forces Bulls, Heat grueling stretch

The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat will have a stretch of four games in five days later this month after a slippery court issue forced the postponement of a game between the two teams last week.

Ja Morant trade rumors: Destinations, trade ideas, Bucks among teams with some interest

Ja Morant trade rumors: Destinations, trade ideas, Bucks among teams with some interest

With Trae Young in the nation’s capital and Anthony Davis missing time with a hand injury (which ends trade talk about him), Ja Morant becomes the biggest name potentially moved at the deadline.

Memphis should be able to get more of a return for Morant than Atlanta got for Young because teams are “more intrigued by his potential than Trae,” as one former front office person put it to NBC Sports. That said, Morant’s baggage, injury history, and salary mean the Grizzlies are not going to get near what they got last summer for Desmond Bane (Cole Anthony, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, four firsts, and a pick swap). Meanwhile, Morant remains sidelined with a calf injury.

There is a ton of news on potential Morant destinations, so let’s break it down in bullet points:

• The Milwaukee Bucks, desperate for more talent to put around Giannis Antetokounmpo, are interested in Morant, reports the well-connected Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

This pairing seems an odd fit because Morant and Antetokounmpo play a similar style of offensive game — they need the ball in their hands to drive downhill, get in the lane and score or create for others. Neither is great off-ball. This feels like it would be just two stars taking turns, and how much better does that make the Bucks?

Still, this is a legitimate rumor. Owczarski also reports the Bucks are still interested in Zach LaVine, a fit that makes more sense on the court.

• The Sacramento Kings are “lukewarm at best” on adding Morant, reports John Hollinger at The Athletic. Which is the smart move for Sactown, while this team needs talent, Morant is not the roll of the dice this team should take. However, as noted by Hollinger, the unpredictable Vivek Ranadive factor means they can’t be ruled out.

• One interesting name Hollinger brings up as a dark horse: the Brooklyn Nets. They will trade away Michael Porter Jr. at the deadline — he is the player most certain to be traded — and might be the perfect team to take a flyer on Morant, hoping a new situation is what he needs to return to his All-Star form.

• A lot of people bring up Minnesota because it could use a point guard, but league sources told NBC Sports not to expect them to get in the mix (the Timberwolves would have to give up too much depth to make the money work, like a three- or four-to-one deal, and they are looking for a less expensive option at the point).

• Toronto is another team mentioned, with the trade being Immanuel Quickley and other assets to the Grizzlies (which is what the Raptors offered to Atlanta for Young last summer). Does that make sense for Toronto now? The Raptors sit fourth in the East. Why would they mess with their chemistry and send out multiple players to bring in Morant, who would dominate the ball on a team best at sharing it? Expect Toronto to go after a center.

• Miami gets mentioned as having interest, although it’s fair to question if Morant is a fit with the Heat culture. Jake Fischer at The Stein Line reported that the Heat are asking themselves exactly that, “whether the organization could foster a productive environment for Ja Morant to bounce back to his All-Star best.”

• A Morant for LaMelo Ball swap of point guards — something speculated about early in the season — is very unlikely now, Fischer reported. With Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller in Charlotte as key parts of the future, it’s hard to imagine why the Hornets would make this deal.

Josh Allen injury: Buffalo QB heads to medical tent in Bills-Jaguars

Josh Allen injury: Buffalo QB heads to medical tent in Bills-Jaguars

The Buffalo Bills have an early 3-0 lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Sunday’s AFC Wild Card contest.

But the bigger concern is the status of quarterback Josh Allen.

Allen headed to the blue medical tent after a third-down run late in the first quarter. With Buffalo facing a third down just outside the red zone, Joe Brady dialed up a run for Buffalo’s quarterback to move the chains. But at the end of the play two Jacksonville defenders — Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen — landed awkwardly on Allen’s head and neck area.

You can see the play here:

Allen exited the medical tent and picked up a tablet to start reviewing plays, so it is expected that Allen will remain in the game. According to Tracy Wolfson on CBS Sports, Allen was cleared after an evaluation for a concussion.

However, the Bills quarterback has been dealing with a foot injury in recent weeks, and while he was cleared to play Sunday against Jacksonville, Allen has been playing through the condition these past few games.

Update: You can add another issue to the list for the Bills quarterback. Allen scored on a touchdown run in the second quarter, but now there is concern over the quarterback’s knee:

And there is concern over Allen’s throwing hand, which you can see hit on a helmet on this play:

Sources: Grizzlies open to offers on Morant move

Sources: Grizzlies open to offers on Morant move

The Grizzlies are entertaining offers to potentially trade Ja Morant, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania. Morant, 26, is eligible to sign up to a three-year, $178 million extension this summer.