NBA Notebook: Collin Sexton's impossible choice

Our post-Thanksgiving NBA Notebook features altercations, suspensions, and a unique home-court advantage. Let’s dive in!

ISAIAH STEWART AND LEBRON JAMES EARN SUSPENSIONS

The incident started like so many others in NBA history, LeBron James grew frustrated by the enthusiasm with which Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart was guarding him, and gave him a shot on the free-throw line as they were set to rebound the ball. Whether intentionally or not, LeBron’s strike hit Stewart in the face. After being stunned for a few moments, Stewart took serious exception to LeBron, and his rage only grew as blood began streaming down the young center's face.

The Piston’s staff seemingly had Stewart calmed down afterward, but he was just biding his time. He broke free from the team’s grasp and shot across the court, knocking down assistant coaches and dragging Cade Cunningham with him - who gamely held on in an attempt to stop Stewart from doing something he’d regret. In the end, both Stewart and LeBron were ejected. LeBron earned his first-ever suspension for his strike, and Stewart earned two games for his repeated attempts to escalate the situation.

Luckily for everyone involved this was no "Malice at the Palace".

COLLIN SEXTON HAS SEASON-ENDING SURGERY

The Cleveland Cavaliers announced that Collin Sexton had season-ending surgery on his torn meniscus this week. Now, meniscus surgeries come in two typical types: a shave or a repair. With a shave, an NBA player can return to action in about one or two months. A full repair takes significantly longer.

Given that Sexton is out for the year, it appears he opted for the meniscus repair over the shave. In terms of long-term outlook, that’s generally the best choice. Shaves have a tendency to shorten a player’s career.

But in this case, it wasn’t an obvious choice. Sexton is entering restricted free agency. Had he opted for the shave, he would have had a chance to play again this year and re-establish his value for any potential suitors. Instead, now he’ll be trying to land a new deal while still recovering from a major injury. It’s no guarantee that Sexton will ever have an opportunity to get a contract as lucrative as the one he might have gotten this offseason. An impossible choice, but you can never fault a player for making health their No. 1 priority.

DENVER NUGGETS PILING UP INJURIES

Michael Porter Jr. was off to a slow start this year, and unfortunately, now it appears we know why. There is worry internally among the Denver Nuggets that Porter might need season-ending back surgery to repair an ongoing nerve issue. It would be the third such back surgery of MPJ’s career, and it raises serious concerns about his future as an All-Star caliber player, let alone one worthy of the massive extension the Nuggets signed him to this offseason.

Back surgery is always a risk, and if the Nuggets are suddenly carrying a maximum contract for Porter and not receiving the star-level play they expected in return, they’re going to find it difficult to reach true championship contender status - something that seemed all but assured before Jamal Murray tore his ACL last April.

And now PJ Dozier is also lost for the season after suffered a torn ACL in action against the Portland Trail Blazers. With Murray already out and Nikola Jokic uncharacteristically missing time too, the Nuggets are running a skeleton crew of a basketball team at the moment.

KINGS FIRE LUKE WALTON

As we dove into yesterday when discussing the NBA’s biggest turkeys, the Sacramento Kings finally pulled the plug on Luke Walton. It was a long time coming, but the Kings couldn’t help but flash further incompetence by floating to the media that they were considering replacing him with Doug Christie. Christie, until this season, was the Kings’ color commentator and had no head coaching experience, which would only have been repeating the folly of hiring Walton in the first place.

Thankfully, they let Alvin Gentry take over instead, but the Kings are nowhere close to being a functional team yet.

THE RAPTORS GAIN A UNIQUE HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE

The Toronto Raptors are about the gain an unprecedented home-court advantage. As of Jan. 15, Canada is set to end vaccine exemptions for visiting professional athletes.

While there is no definitive list of players who have refused the vaccine, Bradley Beal is among the NBA stars who have not. 95% of the NBA is vaccinated, but even gaining a few games against teams missing key players is quite an advantage for Toronto. Particularly if one of those games ends up being the Play-In. Consider it karmic payback for the season they had to play in Tampa.