Hoops Rumors

Led by star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who finished with 23 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, the Pacers secured a top-four seed — and home-court advantage in the first round — in the Eastern Conference playoffs by defeating Cleveland on Thursday, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. After starting the season with a 10-15 record, the Pacers have gone 39-16 … [Read more...] about Central Notes: Pacers, Jerome, Holland, Bucks

Bucks big man Bobby Portis returned from his 25-game suspension on Tuesday and made a statement. He recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench, helping lift Milwaukee to a win over the Timberwolves. “My only goal is to get to June,” Portis said, per ESPN. “How can we get to June? We haven’t been there in so long.” Minnesota led Milwaukee by 24 points in the … [Read more...] about Central Notes: Portis, Pistons, Bulls, Allen

Jaden Ivey continues to progress in his recovery from the broken left fibula he suffered on New Year’s Day, according to the Pistons, who announced on Thursday (via Twitter) that the third-year guard has been cleared for basketball activities. Ivey is entering the initial phase of his reconditioning program and will continue to progress in his on-court work, the team stated, … [Read more...] about Injury Notes: Ivey, Ingram, Wells, T. Jones

If the Cavaliers clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference on Tuesday, they’ll do it without Donovan Mitchell. The star guard is listed as out against the Bulls due to an ankle sprain, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets. Mitchell was injured on Sunday when he stepped on Keon Ellis’s foot during a loss to the Kings. We have more from the Central Division: The trade that … [Read more...] about Central Notes: Mitchell, Niang, LeVert, White, Dupree, Cunningham

Having been fully given the keys to the Bulls‘ offense in the wake of Chicago’s Zach LaVine deadline trade, guard Coby White has been playing at the highest level of his career of late, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. The 6’5″ pro has scored at least 20 points in 16 of his last 17 games, and he and LaVine are now the only Chicago players ever to have racked up over 400 … [Read more...] about Central Notes: White, Porter, Cade