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Toronto Raptors small forward Joey Graham has emerged as a key contributor off the bench this season. In his last eight games Graham is shooting 55.7 percent for 12.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
He has scored 10 or more points in five straight games.
The Raptors are in New Jersey tonight to face the Nets.
The Orlando Magic have re-signed guard/forward Jeremy Richardson, General Manager Otis Smith announced today.
Richardson (6’7”, 195, 3/1/84, Delta State) has appeared in just one game this season for the Magic and did not score in two minutes. He also played in three preseason contests, averaging 4.0 ppg. in 8.0 minpg. Richardson was waived on December 6.
Orlando’s roster now stands at 15 players.
The Magic begin a five-game, eight-day road trip on Monday, December 8 @ L.A. Clippers. Orlando’s next home game is Thursday, December 18 vs. San Antonio. Game time is 8 pm ET.
The Houston Chronicle (Jonathan Feigen) reports: Tracy McGrady practiced. Yao Ming did not. Yao, battling a cold, will play. McGrady might. Brent Barry, who also practiced for the first time in weeks, probably will not play. Shane Battier will play, but it’s not clear how much. Ron Artest did not practice and will not play. Other than that, things are falling right into place… If McGrady returns and starts tonight against Golden State in Oakland, Calif., the Rockets likely will have their seventh starting lineup in 23 games. This season, Shane Battier has missed 15 games, McGrady seven and Yao one. Artest has played hurt, missed one game and will be out the next two. Barry has missed eight games. As much as the Rockets have missed the players who have been hurt, they have lost chances to build continuity. They had seemed increasingly in sync, with far better balance and ball movement, when they played the Warriors last Friday, scoring 131 points, their most since 1995. But that was with Artest going from dribbling too much and looking to carry the offense against Indiana and Denver, to leading the improved offensive flow. Then he went out and things bogged down again. That has been the pattern of the season with a continuing series of changes, adjustments and improvements, only leading to more changes.
The AP reports: No matter how many ways the Oklahoma City Thunder find to lose, they certainly don’t seem to have any trouble finding people to watch it happen. Despite having an NBA-worst 2-21 record heading into the weekend, the Thunder are one of the bigger draws in the league. Only this week did Oklahoma City fall out of the top 10 in attendance, and that came after the two smallest crowds of the season came to watch losses to Golden State and Memphis — two other teams near the bottom of the Western Conference. Still, the Thunder are averaging 18,473 fans per game to rank 12th in the NBA, just ahead of West playoff contenders Phoenix, San Antonio and Houston.
The AP reports: Turns out, Blazers center Greg Oden is a fan of the television series “Gossip Girl.” Who knew? The big man referenced the popular teen drama on the CW network in a blog post from the road on the Blazers’ recent eastern swing. In New York, he and Steve Blake went out to dinner, he wrote, adding: “and i got to see some of the places that were on this weeks episode of Gossip Girl.”
As previously reported was going to happen, NBA veteran big-man Juwan Howard has signed with the Charlotte Bobcats.
Click that link for the full story.
The Bobcats are weak in the big-man department, so any help they get is much-needed. At this point in his career it’s not likely Juwan will play many minutes. Though the only Bobcats who is sure to get lots of court time is Emeka Okafor, who is scoring just 12.9 points per game despite being their go-to option down low. He barely misses, shooting 59.5% this season, and grabs an impressive 10.8 rebounds per game, but has no other big guys around him who can even pretend to play basketball.
So, Howard can help a bit.
Discuss your reaction with other fans in this forum thread.
The AP reports: It didn’t matter much where Mehmet Okur was lining up for his shots in the first half. From 3-point range or under the basket, everything was falling for Okur in Utah’s 97-88 victory over Portland on Thursday night. Okur scored 21 of his 27 points in the first half and pulled down 10 rebounds. He was 9-for-14 from the floor and made two of the Jazz’s three 3-pointers… Paul Millsap had his 10th straight double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Deron Williams added 14 points and 11 assists to help the Jazz improve to 2-0 against Portland this season… Brandon Roy had 33 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 for Portland, tied with Utah for second place in the Northwest Division. Rudy Fernandez was the only other Blazer to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points…The Jazz also had 23 assists to Portland’s 13.
THe AP reports: Dallas coach Rick Carlisle warned his team that the trade-depleted Charlotte Bobcats were still dangerous. The Mavericks got the message just in time. Dirk Nowitzki hit a key 3-pointer with less than 30 seconds to play and finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and five assists to help the Mavericks hold off the pesky Bobcats 95-90 on Thursday night… Jason Terry had 26 points, 11 in the fourth quarter, to help the Mavericks improve to 10-0 against the Bobcats… Emeka Okafor had a season-high 27 points and 17 rebounds, and Raymond Felton added 16 points for Charlotte. The Bobcats have lost five straight… Charlotte rookie point guard D.J. Augustin went 3-for-16 from the field, finishing with nine points and 10 assists.
The AP reports: At 21-2, the Boston Celtics of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are off to the best start in the franchise’s storied history. Even Bill Russell, Larry Bird and Bob Cousy never were this good this early. Allen and Pierce scored 22 points apiece, Garnett nearly had a triple-double, and the Celtics beat the Washington Wizards 122-88 on Thursday night for the NBA champions’ 13th consecutive victory… Garnett finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in three quarters. Boston’s winning streak is its longest since a 14-game run in 1985-86. Caron Butler scored 19 points for the last-place Wizards, who matched their franchise’s slowest start, dropping to 4-16 for the first time since the 1966-67 Baltimore Bullets.
Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has recalled center Steven Hill from the Tulsa 66ers of the National Basketball Development League.
Hill, who was assigned to Tulsa on November 21st, averaged 9.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 25.6 minutes per contest. Hill appeared in five games, including three starts, for the 66ers.
Hill will practice with the Thunder tomorrow.