Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash isn’t an NBA All-Star this season. But he’s cool with it. The Arizona Republic (Paul Coro) reports: His assist average has been on a steady recovery from the first 13 games, when he averaged 7.6 assists in a slower offense that took the ball out of his hands more. “The truth is I don’t really deserve it,” Nash said of being selected for the All-Star Game. “The team’s in seventh place (in the West). Maybe if we were in fourth or fifth, it’d be a different story. There are others who are more deserving.” Nash passed Terry Porter on Thursday for 11th on the NBA career assists list.
Month: January 2009
Al Jefferson not picked for All-Star reserves
The 2009 NBA All-Star reserves are official, and a young star big-man likely came close to getting picked, but big old Shaq won out instead. The Minneapolis Star Tribune (Jerry Zgoda) reports: Western Conference coaches passed over Timberwolves forward Al Jefferson and chose now 15-time All-Star Shaquille O’Neal as the reserve center for next month’s All-Star Game. Jefferson’s averages of 22.7 points and 10.5 rebounds — he’s one of only three NBA players averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds a game — and the Wolves’ 16-28 record didn’t convince the coaches. They instead chose O’Neal, who at age 36 often doesn’t play in back-to-back games. The Feb. 15 game is in Phoenix, where O’Neal now plays.
Economy slows future Kings arena
The Sacramento Bee (Mary Lynne Vellinga) reports: The NBA’s urgent effort to get a new arena for the Kings built at Cal Expo has gone into slow motion because of the sputtering real estate economy. “There’s no lending out there right now, so real estate development is absolutely flat,” said NBA point person John Moag. Moag said this week that the NBA and Cal Expo likely will push forward with planning for a mixed-use project at the fairgrounds that would include an arena and a revamped venue for the State Fair. The two parties expect to seek proposals from developers in March, he said.
Ginobili leads Spurs past Suns
The AP reports: “We’re scoring way too many points,” Popovich said jokingly after the Spurs beat the Suns 114-104 on Thursday night. “We shouldn’t be having this much fun.” Manu Ginobili had the most fun. He made 18 free throws, setting a franchise record for foul shots in a game without a miss, and finished with 30 points and nine rebounds. Tony Parker added 26 points, and Tim Duncan had 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Southwest Division leaders (31-14)… Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Grant Hill had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Steve Nash finished with 16 points and 18 assists, and Shaquille O’Neal and Matt Barnes each scored 13 points. It was the first time in 20 games that O’Neal failed to score at least 15 points.
Magic beat Cavs 99-88
The AP reports: The Orlando Magic are looking more and more like a contender in the Eastern Conference. Dwight Howard had 22 points and 18 rebounds, Hedo Turkoglu added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and the Magic took advantage of LeBron James’ shooting struggles to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-88 on Thursday night… Orlando finished 11-of-31 from 3-point range—most of them open shots because Cleveland double- and triple-teamed Howard down low… Mo Williams, trying to prove he belonged in the All-Star game over Nelson, was 4-of-15 shooting and finished with 12 points. Wally Szczerbiak scored 14 points in his first 7 minutes on the floor, but he didn’t get another bucket the rest of the way.
All-Star reserves announced
The 2009 NBA All-Star game is set. Today the All-Star reserves were revealed:
East reserves: Jameer Nelson, Devin Harris, Joe Johnson, Danny Granger, Paul Pierce, Rashard Lewis, Chris Bosh
West reserves: Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups, Brandon Roy, David West, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Shaquille O’Neal.
For more info click that reserves link above.
Also read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum thread.
Carmelo Anthony set to return
Denver Nuggets F Carmelo Anthony was cleared to return to action by the team’s medical staff today. He will play tomorrow night when the Nuggets face the Charlotte Bobcats at the Pepsi Center.
Anthony suffered a non-displaced third metacarpal fracture on his right hand on Jan. 5 against Indiana and has missed the last 10 games.
In 31 games this season, Anthony is averaging a team-high 21.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 3.6 apg.
Share your Nuggets analysis on the InsideHoops Denver Nuggets message board.
Desmond Mason out for season
Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that guard Desmond Mason will miss the remainder of the season after hyper extending his right knee.
“We are disappointed to lose Desmond for the remainder of the season,” said Presti. “He is a valuable part of our efforts on and off the court. We will support Desmond and work with him throughout the rehabilitation process. Unfortunately, the timing of the injury does not allow Desmond to return this season.”
Mason suffered a hyper extended right knee at 4:02 in the third quarter of last night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies. He underwent an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) exam this morning that revealed bruising to his right femur and tibia. Team physicians will perform arthroscopic surgery to remove debris caused by the hyper extension.
The Oklahoma State product appeared in 39 games (19 starts) for the Thunder this season. He averaged 7.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 27.3 minutes per contest.
Discuss your Thunder opinions on the InsideHoops OKC Thunder message board.
Bobcats sign Cartier Martin to 10-day contract
Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed forward Cartier Martin to a 10-day contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Bobcats roster now stands at 15 players.
The 6-7 Martin has played in 21 games for the Iowa Energy in the D-League this season, where he is averaging 20.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 37.6 minutes per game. Martin is shooting .477 from the field, .390 from beyond the three-point line, and .813 from the free-throw line. He has scored in double figures 17 times, with nine games of 20 points or more and five games of at least 30 points. Martin scored a season-high 37 points on January 3 at Fort Wayne and recorded his lone double-double of the season with 31 points and a season-high 11 rebounds on January 27 against
Tulsa.
Martin spent the 2007-08 season playing for Antalya BSB in Turkey. In 25 games, he averaged 8.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Martin scored in double figures on nine occasions, including a season-high 20 points against Turk Telekom on November 10, 2007.
Martin played four seasons at Kansas State University, where he became the third player in school history to top 1,500 points and 500 rebounds in a career. He was named Second Team All-Big 12 after his junior and senior seasons and received the inaugural Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Award as a senior in 2006-07.
Luke Ridnour suffers concussion
The Bucks are in Toronto today preparing for tomorrow night’s 6:00 p.m. (CT) tilt with the Raptors. The game can be seen on FS Wisconsin and heard on AM 620 WTMJ and the Bucks statewide radio network.
In last night’s loss to Indiana, Luke Ridnour received a blow to the face in the fourth period that resulted in a bloody nose. Ridnour left the game and was examined by Indiana doctors. The exam revealed a mild concussion and Ridnour did not return to the game. Ridnour was evaluated this morning and has been cleared to play tomorrow night.
Ridnour will be listed as probable and joins Andrew Bogut (day-to-day; lower back spasms) and Michael Redd (out; left knee injury) on the Bucks injury report.