East Notes: Pistons, Bojan Bogdanovic, Cavs, Knicks

Pistons

Small forward Bojan Bogdanovic may miss the remainder of the season with an Achilles injury, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Bogdanovic has missed the last three games with what the Pistons are calling bilateral Achilles tendinopathy. So there could be a chance that the Pistons just decide to shut him down, per Charania.

• Along with the injury to Bogdanovic, the Pistons could be without guard/forward Hamidou Diallo for the rest of the year. Diallo has been sidelined with an ankle injury. He will be a free agent this summer.
• The Pistons have a full 15-man roster, but one of those players, forward Eugene Omoruyi is on a 10-day deal. So they could potentially bring in one more free agent for an audition before the season ends.

Cavaliers

Point guard Darius Garland said ex-Cavs teammate and Heat power forward Kevin Love blew him off when Garland first joined the Cavs back in 2019, but the two became close after that, as detailed in a story by Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

“I’m like, ‘Damn, that’s Kevin Love right there,’” Garland told Fedor. “I knew he was like a Hall-of-Famer and stuff. I see a legend. But he doesn’t say anything. He just walked right past me. So, I’m like, ‘Damn, Kevin Love’s just an a——.’”

Obviously, the two became close and their teams very well could meet in the playoffs.

“It was some fun times with him for sure,” Garland told Fedor. “Kev’s like a big brother to me. There’s always going to be love there. I came in and he was one of my vets. Him, (Tristan Thompson) and (Larry Nance Jr.) really took me in. I was like their little brother. We’ll always have that connection. He’ll always be my vet. When I came in, he looked after me, put his arm around me, showed me the ropes, and I love him for that. That’s always gonna be my guy.”

• In case you missed it, I discussed the Cavs’ final stretch and potential playoff matchups with Chase Smith and John Sabol in the latest Cavs on the Break podcast. You can listen to the full thing here. The entire episode is also posted at the very bottom of this post.

Knicks

After winning nine straight, the Knicks’ fun ended with an upset loss to the Hornets. They now are about to embark on a four-game swing through the West — at the Kings, Clippers, Lakers and Trail Blazers, respectively.

“We just ran out of gas, that’s all,” power forward Julius Randle said, via Peter Botte of the New York Post. “We gotta be better and take care of business. We gotta take care of business, regardless.”

• The loss was the first in 10 games suffered by guard/forward Josh Hart since coming over in a trade with the Blazers. “I think we didn’t play our style of basketball. We didn’t play winning basketball,” Hart said, via Botte. “We gotta make sure we’re full of energy and lively every time we step on the court. … I don’t think we can blame this on fatigue. But we have to continue to grow and play winning basketball.”