Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld was the Bucks General Manager for four years prior to joining the Wizards; a stint that included three playoff berths and the drafting of current Bucks guard Michael Redd with the 43rd overall pick in the second round of the 2000 NBA Draft…Bucks forward/center Michael Ruffin played three seasons in Washington from 2004-07…Bucks swingman Awvee Storey was with the Wizards during the 2005-06 NBA campaign…Bucks forward Bobby Simmons was a Wizard from 2001-03.
Month: January 2008
Jerry Stackhouse out 1 week
Jerry Stackhouse had an MRI today that revealed he has a mild right hamstring strain. He will miss approximately one week of action.
In 38 games with two starts, Stackhouse has averaged 9.9 points, 2.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 24.4 minutes this season. The 12-year pro suffered the injury at Charlotte on January 23, 2008.
Brent Barry out 3-4 weeks
The San Antonio Spurs today announced that a MRI had revealed that Brent Barry suffered a grade II strain of the medial head of his gastrocnemius muscle in his left calf. The injury occurred during the third quarter of the Spurs-Miami Heat game on 1/24. He is expected to miss three-to-four weeks.
Barry had previously torn the plantaris muscle in his left calf on 12/26 against Chicago. He missed nine games due to the injury.
Jazz assign Morris Almond to D-League
Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has re-assigned rookie guard Morris Almond to the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League (D-League). Almond joins fellow rookie Kyrylo Fesenko, who is already on assignment with the Flash.
Almond, a 6-6, 225-pound guard out of Rice was selected by the Jazz in the first round (25th overall selection) of the 2007 NBA Draft. He has appeared in six games for the Jazz, totaling three points, one assist and one steal in 25 minutes of action. He appeared in two games for the Jazz during his most recent stint with the team, averaging 1.5 points and 0.5 assists in 7.0 minutes per game.
Almond was previously assigned to the Jazz’s D-League affiliate from December 6 – January 8 and appeared in 10 games (all starts) for the Flash, averaging a league-leading 29.8 points, along with 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 37.6 minutes per game. He was named D-League Player of the Week (Dec. 17-23) after averaging 43.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals while shooting 32-of-68 (.471) from the field. During that week, Almond scored a D-League record-tying 51 points in a win over the Austin Toros on December 21.
Almond will join the Flash for its game vs. Sioux Falls tonight.
Sasha Pavlovic may be out 2 months
The start of the Cavaliers season was a mess due to injuries and unsigned players. Now, one of the two key guys who rejoined the team after the season had already started may be gone for a while. The AP reports:
Cavaliers guard Sasha Pavlovic could miss up to two months because of a sprained left foot, a blow to the defending Eastern Conference champions, who are playing their best ball this season. Pavlovic got hurt during the third quarter of Wednesday night’s win over Washington.
The Cavs have played great basketball over the last month. This hurts their flow.
Bobcats assign Jermareo Davidson to D-League
The Charlotte Bobcats have assigned rookie forward Jermareo Davidson to their NBA Development League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Davidson is expected to see his first action on Friday, January 25, against the Utah Flash.
The 6-10, 230-pound forward has appeared in 16 games this season with averages of 2.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 7.1 minutes of action. His draft rights were acquired by the Bobcats along with guard Jason Richardson from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Brandan Wright, whom the Bobcats selected with eighth pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.
Davidson, the 36th overall selection in the June draft, played four seasons at the University of Alabama and averaged 10.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 126 collegiate games. He was named All-Southeastern Conference Second Team in 2006-07 by the league’s coaches and Honorable Mention All-SEC by The Associated Press.
As a senior, he ranked second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.0 points, ranked first in total blocks with 70 and ranked second in rebounding (8.2). He also reached double-figure scoring 25 times and posted 11 double-doubles on the season.
Basketball Without Borders India in July
The National Basketball Association (NBA) will stage its first-ever event in India with Basketball without Borders, the league’s global basketball development and community outreach program. A series of activities will be held in New Delhi July 3–6, the NBA, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) announced today.
The Basketball without Borders camp uses basketball to influence positive social change and features dozens of current and former NBA players and team personnel working as camp coaches. Top young basketball players (ages 19 and under) from across Asia will come together in New Delhi to take part in basketball instruction and competition. They will also participate in motivational and life-skills seminars that promote education, leadership, character development and healthy living.
“We look forward to hosting this most prestigious basketball camp,” said Harish Sharma, BFI Secretary General. “This will be an extraordinary opportunity to work with both the NBA and FIBA to help promote basketball in India.”
“The NBA is pleased to partner with BFI and FIBA to stage the league’s inaugural camp in India,” said Heidi Ueberroth, NBA President, Global Marketing Partnerships and International Business Operations. “We look forward to working together on the first of many activities to target basketball participation.”
Weekly Pacers team notes
The Pacers tied a franchise record with 14 3-pt field goals made at Philadelphia on Monday, Jan. 21. That was the fifth time in their NBA history that the Pacers have hit that figure, but it was the first time ever on the road. Prior to Monday, the last time Indiana made 14 3-pt field goals was in a double-overtime loss to Dallas, Feb. 5, 2002.
In the last four games, Danny Granger has averaged 24.3 ppg, and scored 20 or more points three times. He scored 20 or more points just three times in the previous 18 games and averaged 15.1 ppg in that span.
Including a team season-best 12-12 vs. Golden State, Jan. 16, Granger has made 35 of his 38 free throws (.921) in the last six games.
In his last six appearances, Shawne Williams has averaged 9.8 ppg and shot 22-39 from the floor (.564). He shot 5-12 3-pt FGS (.417) and 10-13 from the foul line (.769) in those six games.
Jeff Foster has come off the bench to lead the Pacers in rebounds in each of the last three games. In those three games, he has averaged 12.0 rpg and has accumulated an average of 5.0 offensive rebounds per game. Foster tied a season-high with eight offensive rebounds vs. Sacramento, Jan. 19. Foster is 12th in the league this season with 124 offensive rebounds
Foster’s three offensive rebounds at Philadelphia moved him past Rik Smits into fifth place on the Pacers’ all-time career list with 1,534 offensive boards.
Including his season-high 25 points at Philadelphia, Kareem Rush has scored 10+ points in 14 of the last 20 games. In those 20 games, he has averaged 12.6 ppg and shot 99-215 from the (.460), including 43-97 from 3-pt range (.443). In his first 19 appearances, Rush averaged just 3.2 ppg and scored in double figures once. In the first 19 games, he shot just 23-74 FGS (.311) and 9-34 from 3-pt range (.265).
Travis Diener has averaged 9.0 ppg and 3.3 apg in the last six games. In that time frame, he has scored a career-best 19 points at Sacramento, Jan. 12, and handed out a career-best six assists twice–vs. Golden State, Jan. 16, and at Philadelphia, Jan. 21. He committed just seven turnovers in those six games for an assists-to-turnover ratio of 2.86:1.
The Pacers had assists on 35 of their 41 field goals against the 76ers at Wachovia Center on Monday and 35 assists are a season-high. The Pacers have had 30 or more assists four times this season, but just once in the last 20 games.
Having posted their 10th road win of 2007-08 at Philadelphia on Monday, Jan. 21, the Pacers are one of just five NBA teams that have more wins on the road than they do at home. The Pacers are 9-10 at home.
Rockets-Sonics team connections
Rockets Assistant Coach Jack Sikma joined Houston after spending four seasons on the Seattle coaching staff … Sikma, who was selected by the Sonics with the eighth overall pick of the 1977 NBA Draft, had his jersey #43 retired by Seattle during a halftime ceremony of a Sonics vs. Detroit Pistons game on Nov. 21, 1992 … Houston Assistant Coach R.J. Adelman worked as an NBA advance scout for the Sonics before coming to Houston … Rockets guard Aaron Brook is a native of Seattle, leading Franklin High School to the Washington 4A State Championship as a senior … originally chosen by the Sonics in the second round (31st overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft, Houston obtained the draft rights to forward Carl Landry from Seattle on June 28, 2007 … Scott Brooks, an assistant coach with the Sonics, played three seasons with the Rockets (1992-95) … Seattle Assistant Coach Mark Bryant also played one season with Houston (1995-96).
Warriors weekly notes
Golden State passed the halfway point of the season last week with a 24-17 record, marking the team’s best record at the turn since the 1992-93 season when they were 28-13.
After going 3-1 on last week’s Midwest trip, the Warriors have now posted winning records on all four of their extended road trips this season (trips of three games or more).
The Warriors are scheduled to play 12 of their next 15 games at ORACLE Arena (team is 11-4 in last 15 home games).
Golden State, which ranks 2nd in the NBA in steals (9.14 spg), recorded an NBA record 12 steals in the first quarter at Indiana last Wednesday before finishing the game with 18 steals.
The Warriors are 25-12 in their last 37 games after starting the season 0-6.
Baron Davis:
– Was named Western Conference Player of the Week after averaging 26.3 points, 7.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 4.50 steals in four games (all road games, 3-1 record).
– Tallied a career-high-tying 40 points at Chicago last Friday, including 28 in the second half of 119-111 victory.
– Notched seven steals at Indiana on Wednesday, the most in the NBA this season.
– In 43 games this season, is averaging 22.2 points (11th in NBA), 8.1 assists (7th in NBA), 4.7 rebounds and 2.44 steals (2nd in NBA) in 39.0 minutes (12th in NBA).