Day: April 29, 2023

The New York Knicks are entering their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Miami Heat a little banged up. New York could be down two starters for Game 1 against Miami on Sunday.

Julius Randle is still dealing with a sprained left ankle. Randle was hurt towards the end of the regular season and reaggravated the injury during the Knicks first-round victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Quentin Grimes missed both Games 4 and 5 against the Cavs due to a right shoulder contusion. Grimes was injured during New York’s Game 3 win over Cleveland.

The Philadelphia 76ers know they have a tough task ahead of them against the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs. But that task will be even tougher if Joel Embiid can’t play due a sprained right knee.

Sixers coach Doc Rivers gave an update on Embiid’s inactivity at Saturday’s practice before casting doubt on the potential MVP’s availability for Game 1 on Monday.

“There is no latest,” Rivers said. “Obviously, the doctors looked at him, and he didn’t do anything today.

“I’ll say this, but if I was a betting man, I would probably say doubtful for at least Game 1. But we’ll see.”

Embiid missed Game 4 of the 76ers sweep of the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. That would give him 11 days off before facing the Celtics in Game 1. However, recovery times from a sprained LCL can vary greatly, and the Sixers haven’t said what grade of sprain Embiid is dealing with.

The Memphis Grizzlies were disappointed after their first-round series loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Multiple Grizzlies expressed that they know they need to be better moving forward, including franchise player Ja Morant.

Morant took ownership of Memphis’ shortcomings, starting with himself.

“I just got to be better with my decision-making. Off-the-court issues affected us as an organization,” Morant said.

When asked a follow-up, Morant reiterated that making better decisions starts with him, as the team’s leader.

“Like I said before, my (takeaways) are off the court and on the court. Just, being disciplined. Off the court, it’s about making better decisions. On the court, it’s about being locked in even more,” Morant said. “Being the leader of the team, it starts with me. However I attack any situation, I know my guys will follow. I just have to be better in that area.”

The drawing for the group stage of the 2023 FIBA World Cup was completed on Saturday. The competition will be jointly hosted by Indonesia, Japan and Philippines and will be played from August 25 through September 10.

The groups are as follows:

Group A

• Angola
• Dominican Republic
• Italy
• Philippines

Group B

• China
• Puerto Rico
• Serbia
• South Sudan

Group C

• USA
• Greece
• Jordan
• New Zealand

Group D

• Egypt
• Lithuania
• Mexico
• Montenegro

Group E

• Australia
• Finland
• Germany
• Japan

Group F

• Cape Verde
• Georgia
• Slovenia
• Venezuela

Group G

• Brazil
• Iran
• Ivory Coast
• Spain

Group H

• Canada
• France
• Latvia
• Lebanon