Month: December 2008

Nathan Jawai cleared to play

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday that forward-centre Nathan Jawai (pronounced JA-why) has been cleared to begin physical activity. Jawai has been sidelined since training camp.

Jawai, 22, had been held out for precautionary reasons after an abnormality was detected during normal procedural pre-season cardiac screening.

The club acquired the draft rights to Jawai from the Indiana Pacers on July 9. He was the 41st overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft. He is the first indigenous player from Australia to be drafted by an NBA team.

Ex-Warriors GM Dick Vertlieb dies

The San Francisco Chronicle (Tom Fitzgerald) reports: In 1974, general manager Dick Vertlieb pulled off a controversial trade that immediately helped bring the Warriors their only NBA championship since moving west in 1962. He dealt future Hall of Fame center Nate Thurmond to Chicago for center Clifford Ray and $500,000. Ray teamed with Rick Barry to help the Warriors beat Ray’s former team, the Bulls, in the Western Conference finals before sweeping the Washington Bullets in the NBA Finals. Mr. Vertlieb, a passionate, eccentric club executive who left an even bigger mark on the sports landscape in Seattle, died Dec. 5 in Las Vegas after a long bout of stomach cancer. He was 78. He helped found the Portland Trail Blazers and the Seattle SuperSonics. As the Sonics’ first general manager, he tried to negotiate a sale of the Warriors to a group of investors from the Northwest. He failed, but Warriors owner Franklin Mieuli was so impressed that he hired Mr. Vertlieb as GM.

No Mike Dunleavy yet

With 8 wins and 16 losses, the Indiana Pacers are struggling. A big reason for this is the continued absence of Mike Dunleavy, who has not played a single game yet this season due to a knee injury.

Danny Granger has been fantastic, TJ Ford and Troy Murphy have been very solid, and Marquis Daniels has stepped up and tried to make the most of extra minutes while he still has them. But the team needs help and won’t be getting it from Dunleavy just yet. The Indianapolis Star (Mike Wells) reports:

Pacers coach Jim O’Brien said on his weekly radio show Tuesday that the earliest guard Mike Dunleavy will return to the lineup is some time in January. Dunleavy, the Pacers’ second-leading scorer last season, has not played this season because of bone spurs in his right knee. He is doing limited court work as the Pacers’ medical staff determines if he can do more.

Indiana is actually a decent team. They’re only being outscored by an average of 2.5 points per game this season. But for now, they’ll likely continue to struggle.

Dec 16: Lakers 116, Knicks 114

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored nine of his 28 points in the last 7 1/2 minutes, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to beat the New York Knicks 116-114 Wednesday night. Trevor Ariza scored the go-ahead basket with 1:03 remaining to give the Lakers (21-3) their 14th win in 16 games. Nate Robinson, who scored a season-high 33 points, had a chance to give New York the lead, but missed a short jumper with about 12 seconds to play… The Lakers played without Pau Gasol, who has strep throat. Gasol, averaging 18.0 points and 9.3 rebounds, came to Staples Center for the game, but was sent home. Lamar Odom made his first start of the season in Gasol’s place and had season-high totals of 17 points and 12 rebounds. Fisher had 15 points and a season-high seven assists; Luke Walton scored a season-high 14 points, Ariza added 13, and Andrew Bynum had 13 points and 11 rebounds… David Lee had 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Quentin Richardson also scored 18 points for New York.

Dec 16: Blazers 109, Kings 77

The AP reports: Brandon Roy scored 29 points before sitting out the fourth quarter, and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a three-game losing streak Tuesday night with a 109-77 victory over the struggling Sacramento Kings. Playing with a splint on his injured right pinkie finger, Roy fell just short of scoring 30 points for the fourth straight game…  LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Blazers, who stopped their longest skid of the season. John Salmons had 16 of his 21 points in the first quarter for the Kings and he didn’t score in the second half. Sacramento fell to 1-1 under interim coach Kenny Natt, who took over for the fired Reggie Theus on Monday. Francisco Garcia was the only other Sacramento player in double figures with 12 points on 2-of-8 shooting.

Dec 16: Rockets 108, Nuggets 96

The AP reports: Tracy McGrady did it all, Yao Ming dominated inside and Ron Artest provided support off the bench. Finally, the Houston Rockets showed a glimpse of how good they can be. McGrady notched his fourth career triple-double and first this season, Yao scored 32 points and the Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 108-96 on Tuesday night. McGrady had 20 points and reached season highs in rebounds (14) and assists (10) for his first triple-double since last December. Artest scored 20 points and backup point guard Aaron Brooks added 18 for the Rockets, who’ve won five of their last seven games despite a seemingly unending rash of injuries… Carmelo Anthony scored 22 and J.R. Smith had 17 for the Nuggets, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.

Dec 16: Clippers 98, Thunder 88

The AP reports: What the Los Angeles Clippers used to get from Elton Brand they’re now getting from Zach Randolph, and it’s proving to be a winning formula. Randolph had 22 points and 13 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double, and rookie Eric Gordon fueled a 10-point run in the fourth quarter as the Clippers put away the Oklahoma City Thunder 98-88 Tuesday night to stretch their win streak to three… Eric Gordon, who scored the first six points in a 10-0 run that provided the Clippers with an 87-73 lead, also finished with 22 points. Baron Davis scored 19, Marcus Camby added 13 points and 15 rebounds, and Al Thornton had 12 points as all of the Clippers starters’ reached double figures. Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 23 points, and Jeff Green and Chris Wilcox scored 13 apiece.

Dec 16: Hornets 91, Grizzlies 84

The AP reports: Chris Paul tied a record for steals, and his New Orleans Hornets played enough good defense to pull out a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Paul had 18 points, nine assists and five steals, James Posey scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, and the Hornets beat the Grizzlies 91-84 on Tuesday night… David West also scored 18 points, but shot 5-of-16. Paul was just 3-of-10 from the field but made 11 of 12 free throws. Rudy Gay led Memphis with 28 points and O. J. Mayo added 20.

Dec 16: Bobcats 110, Bulls 101 OT

The AP reports: D.J. Augustin scored a career-high 29 points in a one-on-one matchup of point guards with No. 1 pick Derrick Rose, and the undermanned Charlotte Bobcats snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 110-101 overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night. Augustin forced overtime by hitting three free throws with 19 seconds left after Rose fouled him on a 3-point attempt, a call that the Bulls vehemently protested… Derrick Rose was held to six points on 3-of-16 shooting, with seven assists. He had a potential game-winning shot blocked by Emeka Okafor at the end of regulation and Okafor blocked him again just before Augustin’s free throws put Charlotte ahead 105-100… Ben Gordon scored 25 points and Tyrus Thomas added 22 for the Bulls, who dropped to 3-10 on the road and failed to reach .500 for the first time in a month. Luol Deng had 15 points, but missed a key stretch at the end of regulation and OT after his legs cramped up… Okafor added 20 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, and Raymond Felton scored 21 points as the Bobcats persevered with a small lineup.

Trail Blazers notes

HEAD COACH NATE MCMILLAN: Nate McMillan is in his fourth
year as the Trail Blazers’ head coach, coming off a season in which he
posted 41 wins, a nine-game improvement from the season prior and
Portland’s first season of .500 or better since 2003-04 … McMillan has
bettered the Trail Blazers by 20 wins since his first year in Portland,
averaging a 10-game improvement each season … Among the 23
head coaches to reach the 300-win plateau during the last 20 seasons
(1988-2008), only Jeff Van Gundy (42 years, 320 days on 12/04/04)
and Mike Fratello (42 years, 312 days on 1/02/90) hit the milestone at
a younger age than Nate McMillan (43 years, 225 days on 3/15/08).

ROY POW-ER: Brandon Roy was named Western Conference
Player of the Week on Dec. 1 for his performance during Portland’s
four-game winning streak from Nov. 24-30 … The NBA All-Star averaged
20.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists while shooting 50.8%
(30-for-59) from the field … Roy has received the honor three times
now, all in December, after being named in consecutive weeks last
season (Dec. 9 and Dec. 16) … Clyde Drexler is the only other Trail
Blazer in franchise history to win the award more than twice.

HEAD START: Portland is 15-10 after 25 games, the best record for
a Trail Blazers team 25 games into the season since starting 17-8 in
2000-2001 … Sixteen of Portland’s first 24 games this season were
contested away from the Rose City … The 1988 Lakers were the last
team to face more road contests (17) in the first 24 games … Fifteen
games have matched Portland with playoff teams from 2007-08 …
Eleven of those 15 games were played on the road … Twenty-four of
the Trail Blazers’ first 35 opponents made the playoffs last year.

30-30-30: Brandon Roy netted a career-high 38 points and added
a game-high nine assists in a double-overtime loss to the Clippers
on Dec. 12 … He has posted 30-plus points in three consecutive
games, the only three games of 30 or more points by a Trail Blazer
this season … Roy is the first Trail Blazer to reach the 30-point mark
in three straight games since Zach Randolph, who accomplished
the feat from Nov. 6-10, 2006 … Roy has scored 20-plus points
in more than two-thirds of Portland’s games this year (17) … The
third-year player has notched at least a share of the scoring lead
for Portland in 17 contests and the assists high in 11 games.

20-20-20-20: LaMarcus Aldridge has netted 20-plus points in four
straight contests for the first time in 2008-09 … The third-year forward
out of Texas now has eight games of 20 points or more on the year.

ODEN-ODEN: Greg Oden notched his team-leading eighth doubledouble
of the season Dec. 12 vs. the Clippers with 15 points and 15
rebounds … His 15 boards is a career high … He has led Portland
in rebounding a team-best 11 times … Every game Oden has
grabbed 10 rebounds or more, he has added at least 10 points …
Oden has only reached double fi gures in scoring only once without
notching 10-plus rebounds.

CLOSE AT HOME: Six of Portland’s nine home games have been
decided by four points or less, or overtime (Portland is 4-2).

WORKING OVERTIME: Four Trail Blazers saw a career-high in
minutes in Portland’s double-overtime loss to the L.A. Clippers on
Dec. 12 (Aldridge, 54; Roy, 53; Oden, 42; Fernandez, 38) … The
Trail Blazers are now 1-1 in extra time this season after fi nishing
last year with a 5-2 mark.

THIRD ONE DOWN: Portland’s 120-112 double-overtime loss to
the L.A. Clippers marks the team’s first three-game losing streak
of the season.

SLEEPLESS INSIGNIFICANCE: The Trail Blazers are 4-3 in the
second games of back-to-backs this season … Portland fi nished
the 2007-08 season with a 12-7 record in such contests.

BLAZING TRAILS: Despite falling to Utah, 97-88, in Salt Lake
City, Portland has won eight of its last 13 road contests and four
of the past six … The Trail Blazers didn’t reach eight road wins in
2007-08 until Jan. 21 … The last time Portland had a .500 record
or better in its first 16 road games was 2002-03 (9-7).

CLOSE CALLS: Orlando’s one-point win on Dec. 9 marked Portland’s
first defeat of three points of less this season … The Trail
Blazers had won all four games decided by three or fewer points
this year after going 10-2 in such close contests in 2007-08 …
Portland also snapped its streak of winning eight such games in
a row, dating back to last year … The Trail Blazers are 25-10 in
games decided by three points or less since the beginning of the
2006-07 season.