NBA News Today: Karl-Anthony Towns out with calf strain, Kevin Durant leads NBA in surprising statistic and more
Minnesota Timberwolves NBA All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to miss an extended period of time due to a calf strain.
In other news, Brooklyn Nets superstar forward Kevin Durant is leading the NBA in a surprising statistic.
On that note, here is the latest news from around the NBA as of Nov. 30, 2022.
Karl-Anthony Towns out for multiple weeks with a right calf strain
Karl-Anthony Towns will miss at least the next few weeks with a right calf strain. Towns’ injury occurred with 5:25 remaining in the third quarter of the Wolves’ 142-127 loss to Washington on Monday. He was helped off the court and did not return.
There was initial optimism that Towns had not suffered a serious injury. However, Minnesota announced on Tuesday that an MRI confirmed that Towns is out indefinitely and will be reassessed in several weeks.
NEWS: The Minnesota @Timberwolves today announced the following injury update on forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns who suffered a lower leg injury at the 5:25 minute mark of the third quarter yesterday at Washington:
nba.com/timberwolves/n…
Towns is averaging 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game on 50.5% shooting this season. Minnesota is just 10-11 and 11th in the Western Conference.
For more on Towns' injury, click here.
Kevin Durant leads NBA in surprising statistic
The Brooklyn Nets are off to a lackluster 11-11 start this season. However, the team is still relying on Kevin Durant as much as ever. According to a recent tweet from StatMuse, Durant leads the entire NBA in total minutes played this season at 807.
KD leads the NBA in minutes played this season.
He’s averaging 30 PPG on 55% shooting.
Doing everything he can. https://t.co/rfK272HKzw
Considering Durant is already 34 and in his 15th season, the statistic has come as a surprise to many NBA fans. However, the Nets have dealt with various injuries as well as the suspension of All-Star guard Kyrie Irving earlier in the season. So they’ve needed every bit of production from Durant.
Durant is averaging 30.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game this season. He is yet to miss a game for the Nets.
Ben Simmons is day-to-day with a knee injury
In another injury update, Brooklyn Nets forward Ben Simmons left the Nets’ 109-102 win against Orlando on Monday due to left knee soreness. Simmons was subbed out of the game with 9:03 remaining in the second quarter and did not return.
The news is concerning for Nets fans as Simmons previously missed four games from Oct. 31 to Nov. 5 due to left knee swelling. Simmons already had fluid drained from his knee as well.
Following the game, Nets coach Jacque Vaughn spoke about Simmons’ latest injury. Vaughn highlighted that Simmons may have played too many games in a short time frame. He also said that Simmons will receive treatment before the Nets decide his status moving forward.
“He had some left knee soreness, that same knee. Asked to be pulled out of the game,” Vaughn said.
“We’ll check him day by day, see how he responds with a little treatment, see what it looks like (Tuesday).
“He hasn’t had this amount of accumulation of games over a period of a long time. Talked to the performance team about that. We were warned about that just as these games start to add up.
"His cumulative load as that begins to add up, it’s really stretching him at some times the amount of games we’ve just had with the minutes that he’s played pretty high going into tonight’s game,” Vaughn continued.
The Nets have since listed Simmons as out for their next game against Washington on Wednesday.
Simmons is averaging 8.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game on 61.4% shooting this season. Following Monday’s win, the Nets are back at .500 (11-11) and ninth in the Eastern Conference.
Former Brooklyn Net takes a potential shot at the Nets
Bruce Brown was one of the Brooklyn Nets’ most reliable role players last season. At 6-foot-4, Brown plays much bigger than his size and is able to finish strong inside the paint. He also has the ability to playmake.
The Nets often used Brown as a big in small-ball lineups during his tenure with the team. According to Brown, this made him feel like his skillset was being undervalued by the team.
During an interview with Mike Singer of the Denver Post, Brown spoke about how he is proving people wrong with his play in Denver.
“I’m doing things people said I couldn’t do," Brown said.
Singer then asked if Brown was referring to Brooklyn. Brown gave a very general answer.
“I’m talking to everyone who thought I couldn’t play a guard," Brown said.
"That’s to a lot of GMs in the NBA,” Brown continued.
BB: “I’m doing things people said I couldn’t do.”
Me: “Like what?”
BB: “Be a guard.”
Me: “Are you talking to Brooklyn?”
BB: “I’m talking to everyone who thought I couldn’t play a guard. That’s to a lot of GMs in the NBA.” twitter.com/msinger/status…
Brown signed a two-year $13.3 million contract with Denver in the offseason. He is averaging 11.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game on 46.8% shooting with the Nuggets. Brown has operated as a versatile glue guy for Denver.
Denver is only Brown’s third team along with Detroit and Brooklyn, and the Nets were the only team that played him out of position. So naturally, most fans have deduced that Brown was taking a shot at Brooklyn. Either way, Brown is definitely proving his value in Denver.
NBA referee was privately suspended after directing profane insults towards Mavs guard Spencer Dinwiddie
The NBA reportedly suspended referee Tony Brothers for one game for profane language directed at a player. This came after he called Dallas Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie a “b---h-ass motherf---er” during a Mavs versus Raptors game on Nov. 4.
The NBA conducted the suspension in private, according to NBA insider Marc Stein, as Brothers is a highly-respected senior referee. Brothers has been officiating games since the 1994-1995 NBA season.
Back when the incident occurred, Dinwiddie spoke about it postgame.
“Everybody’s a competitor out there,” Dinwiddie said.
“I understand it’s the heat of the moment. I’ve definitely said swear words, but like if I was playing against somebody on the other team and they said that to my teammate, I would be like listen, ‘Hey, I’m right here.’
“But because obviously (referees are in) positions of authority and whatnot, you can’t necessarily ask for that address, so I’m just taking my fair stance and saying, ‘Hey, look, if you feel that way, fine by me, just say it to my face, like any other grown man.’ That’s all I want.
“I apologize to Tony Brothers for what seemed to keep him irate, which was a clap," Dinwiddie said. “He thought it was disrespectful. If you watch the games, and I know that’s what refs are supposed to do, you see I clap to get the attention of my teammates, things of that nature, but it was nothing personal, so as a man, I would like to say I'm sorry first and foremost.
“And secondarily I would like to say, not only would I like my [fine] money back, but I would like to not be called a b---h-ass motherf---er to my teammates,” Dinwiddie continued.
There has been growing tension between players and referees over the past few seasons. It is understandable that the league decided to deal with the matter in private.