February 2010 – Page 15 – NBA Blog

Stephon Marbury makes debut in China

Marc Berman of the New York post reports:

On the other side of the globe from Coney Island, former Knicks star Stephon Marbury made his debut in China yesterday and told The Post he was suffering from major jet lag.

Marbury scored 15 points and had eight assists as his new team, Shanxi lost 102-101 to Dongguan Marco Polo. He had four steals and four rebounds, but shot 0 for 6 from 3-point range, according to China Daily.

“The time difference is a big problem,” Marbury told The Post via Skype yesterday. “I wake up early, in the middle of the night, and stay up most of the day. It stinks. I have not played since the last game against the Magic [in the second round of the playoffs last May]. So I was tired. I played 28 minutes, all of the fourth quarter. Talk about being tired. Wow. It was fun being out there though.”

Marbury reportedly passed up a final shot with five seconds remaining, feeding to former Knicks teammate Maurice Taylor, who missed the potential game-winning jumper. Shanxi is one of the worst teams in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Stan Van Gundy to coach 2010 East All-Star team

Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy will coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, to be played on Sunday, Feb. 14, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

With a 91-86 road victory tonight over the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills, the Magic (32-16, .667) clinched the second-best record in the Eastern Conference through Jan. 31. The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Mike Brown coached the East in last year’s game and is not eligible for the honor this season.

In his third year as coach, Van Gundy has Orlando poised to win its third straight Southeast Division title and back in title contention a season after guiding the Magic to The Finals. The Magic posted a 111-53 mark during Van Gundy’s first two years at the helm. Including his two-plus-year sting as head coach of the Miami Heat, Van Gundy has earned NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honors on five occasions. With a 255-142 (.642) overall coaching record, Van Gundy is almost certainly assured of owning one of the top winning percentages in league annals when he reaches the minimum requirement of 400 games coached.

George Karl of the Denver Nuggets earned the right to coach the Western Conference earlier this week and will man the sidelines of his fourth NBA All-Star Game of his 22-year NBA coaching career. Los Angeles’ Phil Jackson, who coached last year’s West squad, is not eligible to coach this year’s All-Star Game.

The NBA All-Star Game will broadcast live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide at 8 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 14, from Arlington.

Hawks sign Mario West for rest of season

The Atlanta Hawks today signed guard Mario West for the remainder of the season, according to Executive Vice President/General Manager Rick Sund.

In eight games with Atlanta this season, West has averaged 0.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg and 0.3 spg (.500 FG%, .600 FT%). The Georgia Tech product is in his third year with the Hawks.

The 30-16 Hawks are currently the 3rd seed in the Eastern conference. Two players, guard Joe Johnson and center Al Horford, made the 2009-10 NBA All-Star team.

Francisco Elson out six weeks after hernia surgery

Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond announced today that center Francisco Elson (7-0, 240) had successful surgery on Friday to repair a hernia. Elson is expected to miss six weeks of action.

Elson, 33, has appeared in 11 games for the Bucks this season and averaged 1.2 rebounds in 5.6 minutes per game.

The 20-25 Bucks are currently the 9th seed in the Eastern conference. The team has been led this season by super rookie point guard Brandon Jennings (17.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 6.2 apg, 1.2 spg) and center Andrew Bogut (15.9 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 1.9 apg, 2.18 bpg).