Nissan #ProJackets Basketball Report

March 31, 2017

By Wiley Ballard –

Chris Bosh will not be released in time for a playoff run… Marcus Georges-Hunt wraps up first professional season in pursuit of division title … Anthony Morrow cracks the Bulls rotation and delivers impressive performance … All of that and more can be found in this week’s Nissan #ProJackets Report.

Chris Bosh will not be released in time to join a playoff run, at least that’s the report from Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The Heat defend their decision to deny the sidelined veteran a release on two accounts. First, Miami does not need another roster spot and are not greatly interested by the upcoming free agent class. Secondly, the front office is having a difficult time swallowing the release of a potential hall of famer. Jackson confirms, “Miami wants to keep alive the not-very-likely possibility of being able to trade Bosh (after the season) to a team that might want to trade something Miami wants.” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra conceded that the team has “to guard against trying to be who we were… we have to leave past teams behinds us.”

Derrick Favors remains inactive as the Utah Jazz inch closer and closer to their first playoff appearance in five years. The forward hasn’t played since March 6, missing eleven straight games. So far this year Favors has averaged 9.6 points, 6.2 rebounds while shooting 48.3 percent from the floor. In his absence, Coach Quin Snyder has turned to career swingman Joe Johnson to fill the void at power forward. Utah is back in action tonight hosting Washington at 9 p.m. ET.

The NBA D-League’s Maine Red Claws and Marcus Georges-Hunt endured a challenging 0-3 stretch last week. In the trio of losses, Georges-Hunt added an average of 11.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists. Despite the losing streak, Maine still holds a 2.0 game lead over Delaware in the East’s Atlantic Division. The Red Claws take the floor tonight against Greensboro before wrapping up the regular season tomorrow against the Windy City Bulls. Both games can be streamed on Facebook Live.

Anthony Morrow demonstrated great patience through his first three weeks in Chicago playing in just two of the Bulls’ 14 games. It now looks like that patience is starting to pay off after logging 18 minutes last Friday night. Given the opportunity, the sharpshooter added 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting while finishing with a +14 plus-minus rating in the 117-107 loss. Following his effort Morrow explained, “(Not playing) wasn’t something I was really worried about. I just knew whenever I got the call I would be able to make shots, so it is what it is.” The Bulls host Atlanta Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m. ET to before beginning a four-game road swing.

Iman Shumpert returned from a two-game absence Thursday night in a 99-93 loss to Chicago. In the defeat, Shumpert added a myriad of box score numbers with four points, two rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block in just 22 minutes of action. Cleveland now sits a half-game behind Boston for the Eastern Conference’s top seed with only eight games remaining. The Cavaliers host Philadelphia tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET to begin a three-game home stand.

The Indiana Pacers and Thaddeus Young suffered a “lifeless” defeat last night against the Memphis Grizzlies. The loss was Indiana’s second straight and fourth in fifth games. With only seven games remaining, the Pacers sit just above the playoff-line with a 1.5 game lead over ninth place Chicago. Despite the losses, Young has done his part delivering 14 points on Tuesday night and a double-double (16 points, 13 rebounds) yesterday. The Pacers’ urgency will be tested tonight in difficult road battle against Toronto. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET north of the border.

💛💙 @yungsmoove21 pic.twitter.com/NXqwD8uMAb

— Shekinah Young (@Mrs___Young21) March 28, 2017