Cavs
Evan Mobley gave the Cavaliers something to feel good about in their final tuneup before the regular season.
Mobley and James Harden helped the Gold team beat the Wine team 96-82 in Saturday’s annual scrimmage at Public Auditorium, writes Jackson Flickinger of Fear the Sword. Their pick-and-roll work repeatedly created openings near the basket, with Mobley also attacking off the dribble and connecting from three.
“Evan was elite,” coach Kenny Atkinson said.
Atkinson treated the event as a fourth exhibition game, using NBA officials for a 36-minute scrimmage. No official individual statistics were available, but Mobley stood out offensively while showing growing comfort alongside Harden.
“I love what I’m seeing from Evan and James,” Atkinson said.
Peyton Watson also benefited from playing with the pair, hitting catch-and-shoot opportunities when the defense concentrated on their two-man action. Atkinson has indicated he intends to pair Harden and Mobley in his rotation, making their progress together one of the more useful developments from the scrimmage.
Jazz
The Jazz added Tony Bradley without committing to his salary for the entire season.
By claiming Bradley off waivers from the Knicks, Utah inherited his non-guaranteed contract, writes Jared Koch of Sports Illustrated. ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted that Bradley will carry a daily cap charge for the time he remains on the roster.
That gives the Jazz another center while preserving the ability to change course later. Bradley fills their 15th standard roster spot, which had been open since the trade sending Cody Williams and John Konchar to the Timberwolves for Josh Green.
The immediate need is understandable. Jusuf Nurkic has been sidelined by a foot injury, leaving Utah in need of additional frontcourt help.
Bradley’s deal won’t become fully guaranteed until January. His play, Nurkic’s recovery and any other roster needs will help determine whether the reunion lasts beyond that point.
Kings
The Kings finished the preseason 0-5, but rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr. supplied some reason for optimism.
Acuff averaged a team-leading 17.3 points and projects to start alongside Zach LaVine when Sacramento visits the Clippers for Wednesday’s opener, writes Logan Struck of Sports Illustrated.
Struck’s projected lineup also includes Keegan Murray, Ben Simmons and Domantas Sabonis. That is a prediction rather than an announced decision from coach Doug Christie, though Simmons’ preseason play has strengthened his case for a starting job.
The bench is less settled, particularly with Malik Monk’s availability uncertain. Monk missed the entire preseason while dealing with ankle soreness. If he can’t play Wednesday, Struck projects Nique Clifford to handle backup point guard duties, with Emanuel Sharp joining him in the backcourt.
Injuries to Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell also leave Precious Achiuwa positioned to handle minutes behind Sabonis. De’Andre Hunter and rookie Alex Karaban round out Struck’s projected second unit if Christie uses a 10-man rotation.
Getting through the preseason winless wasn’t encouraging. Having several rotation players unavailable didn’t help, either. Christie’s first task is figuring out how much of that projected group he’ll actually have Wednesday.
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