NBA notebook: Warriors' Thompson sidelined with thumb injury

This comes on the heels of Stephen Curry being ruled out for at least the next
four games as he continues to nurse a sore right ankle.

Thompson, who was originally diagnosed with a sprained right thumb suffered in
a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, is expected to be re-evaluated
on March 22.

Curry already has missed two games with the ailment, which forced him out of
Golden State's Thursday game against the San Antonio Spurs after two minutes.
The Warriors announced Tuesday that he is progressing in his rehab and that he
will be re-evaluated March 20.

--Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love hopes to rejoin the team on March 23
against the Phoenix Suns after going down with a broken hand on Jan. 30, he
told Cleveland.com.

The Cavaliers are currently 10-9 during the stretch Love has been out and are
mired in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings. Love was averaging
17.9 points and 9.4 rebounds this season at the time of his injury.

He'll return to a squad that has a lot of new faces -- Jordan Clarkson, George
Hill, Rodney Hood and Larry Nance Jr. Gone are Isaiah Thomas, Dwyane Wade, Jae
Crowder, Iman Shumpert, Derrick Rose and Channing Frye.

--Marcus Smart's thumb injury could end up being a season-ending ailment.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Smart will evaluate the treatment options next
week and make a decision on how to proceed. One of the options would cause
Smart to miss the rest of the 2017-18 campaign.

"He's gotta figure out what his next steps are," Stevens told Boston radio
station 98.5 FM. "He told me today that he's going to take a couple of days,
see what it feels like early next week, get all of the different doctors'
opinions (then) sit down early next week and weigh his options.

--The New Orleans Pelicans plan to sign guard Larry Drew II to a 10-day
contract, according to multiple reports.

Drew has played in 15 games during his NBA career, including three this
season. He's averaged 3.2 points and 3.1 assists.

Drew, 28, signed a 10-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers in January.

--As students around the U.S. participated in walkouts to protest gun
violence, former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal suggested more police officers in
schools would help stop future tragedies.

O'Neal, who has a long history with law enforcement and plans to run for
sheriff of Henry County in Georgia in 2020, says he's against banning guns,
however.

"The government should give law enforcement more money," Shaq said on the
"Curtis and Cosby" radio show, per ESPN. "Give more money, you recruit more
people, and the guys that are not ready to go on the streets, you put them in
front of the schools. You put 'em in front of the schools, you put 'em behind
the schools, you put 'em inside the schools, and we need to pass information.
... I would like to see police officers in schools, inner cities, private
schools."

--Field Level Media