March 2010 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Wizards sign Cedric Jackson to ten-day contract

Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed guard Cedric Jackson to a ten-day contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced.

As the NBA’s 32nd GATORADE call-up from the D-League this season, Martin (6-3, 190 lbs.) has averaged 16.4 points and 7.4 assists (including a season-high effort of 34 points and 13 assists vs. Dakota on Feb. 26th) in 34 games (24 starts) for the Erie Bayhawks. Jackson also appeared in eight NBA games this season (three for San Antonio, five for Cleveland), and saw his teams go 8-0 in those contests. A rookie out of Cleveland State, Jackson is best remembered for connecting on a game-winning three-pointer from three-quarters court in a Cleveland St. upset win at Syracuse during the 2008-09 NCAA season.

Jackson will be in uniform tonight in New Orleans (8:00 pm on CSN, 106.7 The Fan, and 1370 Sports Radio in Baltimore) and will wear uniform #9.

Thunder assign Mustafa Shakur to D-League

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has assigned guard Mustafa Shakur to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

Shakur, who was signed by the Thunder on March 31, has not appeared in a game for Oklahoma City. In 43 games (all starts) this season with the Tulsa 66ers, Shakur is averaging 20.4 points while shooting 49.8% from the field (312-626 FG) and 40.3% from beyond the arc (50-124 3FG), 7.1 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 2.33 blocks and 39.0 minutes while helping guide the 66ers to a 25-21 record. Tulsa currently owns a half game lead over Reno for the eighth and final D-League playoff spot.

He is expected to be in uniform tonight when the 66ers match-up with the Toros in Austin at 7:30 PM.

NBA fans given Most Valuable Player vote

NBA fans now have one small vote in the league’s Most Valuable Player award voting. The league is giving fans as a collective group the equivalent of one vote out of 125 for who wins the award. More details here.

I am OK with fans getting one small voice here, but it probably shouldn’t ever be made any larger than this. Because team fan bases are not created equal. Some players will always be more popular than others, regardless of how good they are. It’ll never be even, impartial or fully fair.

While tons of fans will vote in honest fashion, many others will just vote for their favorite star whether he’s actually MVP-worthy or not.

And I hate to remind you of what worldwide fans do regarding Yao Ming in NBA Fan All-Star voting.

So, this is nice. Good to get the fans as a group slightly involved. Maybe in the future it should be raised to 1/100th of the voting. But not more than that. And for now, 1/125th is good.

Timberwolves assign Nathan Jawai to D-League

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the club has assigned second-year forward Nathan Jawai to the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. Jawai has appeared in 39 games for the Wolves this season, averaging 3.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per game.

Jawai was previously assigned to Sioux Falls on Feb. 19 and recalled on Feb. 21. He appeared in two games for the Skyforce, averaging 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game.

Per NBA rules, a first- or second-year player can be assigned to the team’s D-League affiliate a maximum of three times in a season. Sioux Falls, the D-League affiliate for Minnesota and Miami, is led by head coach Tony Fritz and is in second place in the East Conference with a 30-18 record.

Sioux Falls plays back-to-back away games against the Bakersfield Jam on April 2 and April 3 to complete its regular-season schedule. Sioux Falls clinched a playoff berth on March 25. The 2010 NBDL Playoffs are set to begin as early as April 7.

Thunder sign Mustafa Shakur

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced that the team has signed guard Mustafa Shakur. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Shakur, who was originally signed to a 10-day contract by the Thunder on March 16, is a free agent call-up from the Tulsa 66ers, NBA Development League affiliate of the Oklahoma City Thunder. During his first stint with Oklahoma City Shakur did not see action in five games.

Since his return to Tulsa, Shakur has appeared in three games and helped lead the 66ers to a 2-1 record. This season, the D-League Western Conference All-Star averaged 20.4 points while shooting 49.8% from the field (312-626 FG) and 40.3% from beyond the arc (50-124 3FG), 7.1 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 2.33 blocks and 39.0 minutes in 43 games (all starts).

With his signing, Shakur becomes the 31st Gatorade Call-Up from the D-League this season. He will wear uniform #11.

Warriors find great D-League talent

Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group reports:

Why are the Warriors so good at finding talent in the minors?

“The Warriors are by far the best team at getting talent out of the D-League,” Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said after Anthony Tolliver and Reggie Williams combined for 54 points against the Suns on March 22. “They should be commended for that as an organization.”

Three of the 20 players called up this season are getting regular minutes with the Warriors and could be in the NBA for good. Throw in swingman Kelenna Azubuike and guard C.J. Watson, past D-League call-ups who have become part-time starters in the league, and the Warriors’ track record is ridiculously successful.

“I don’t think there’s any secret,” general manager Larry Riley said. “We study them a lot. We believe in it. We work at it.”

Fans at Hawks games root for visiting stars

Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

The Los Angeles Lakers are in town on Wednesday.

That doesn’t mean they have to feel welcomed.

Feel free to boo Kobe Bryant. Go ahead and goad Pau Gasol. Let Lamar Odom know there will be no Southern hospitality for the Lakers at Philips Arena.

It seems Hawks fans may need to be reminded, so Hawks coach Mike Woodson will do so. The marquee teams and stars who’ve visited Philips Arena this season have been too warmly received for Woodson’s tastes.

“It shouldn’t be that way,” Woodson said. “There [are] enough people in this city to support the Hawks. I think we are a fun team to watch. We’ve grown definitely over the years, from the time we started to where we are today.

“Sure, I’d like to see more people in their seats and rooting for our guys.”

Instead, the Hawks have seen fans root for opponents in their house.

Mo Williams role change

George M.Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal reports:

With the addition of forward Antawn Jamison, Mo Williams no longer has to shoulder as much of the scoring burden and can focus on running the Cavs’ offense. Although it’s taken some time, Jamison continues to get better and more comfortable in his offensive role.

It’s not just Jamison changing Williams’ role. There’s LeBron James, of course, and J.J. Hickson who is getting more consistent as a scorer and showing more versatility and confidence. When center Shaquille O’Neal, who had begun to assert himself more offensively in Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ absence, returns from his injury, the number of scoring opportunities might further decrease.

”Obviously he’s a terrific scorer,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said of Williams. ”He’s shown that he can score the basketball a lot of different ways, and he’s done that in the past.

”With the addition of Antawn and LeBron being who he is, with all those different types of options we have, Mo is just trying to find his spot within the team.”

Wizards sign Cartier Martin to 10-day contract

Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed guard/forward Cartier Martin to a ten-day contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced.

As the NBA’s 30th call-up from the D-League this season, Martin (6-7, 220 lbs.) averaged 17.3 points (including a season-high 37 points vs. Erie on March 6th), along with 4.5 rebounds per game in 31 games (27 starts) for the Iowa Energy. In 10 games for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors this season, Martin averaged 9.0 points and 4.7 rebounds in 27.6 minutes per game. He has appeared in 43 career NBA games (three starts), including 33 games with the Charlotte Bobcats last season.

Martin will be in uniform tonight in Houston (8:30 pm on CSN+, 106.7 The Fan, and 1370 Sports Radio in Baltimore) and will wear uniform #20.

Dirk Nowitzki gets triple-double in Mavs win over Nuggets

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports:

Either the Mavericks figured something out on Monday night, or the Denver Nuggets aren’t the same team they used to be. Or maybe it’s both.

The Western Conference’s No. 2 playoff seed now is there for the Mavericks’ taking after they dissected the Nuggets, 109-93, Monday night.

Dirk Nowitzki dominated with his second career triple-double, and the Mavericks took the season series, 2-1. That means any tie between the teams will go to the Mavericks when it comes to playoff seedings.

The AP reports:

Dirk Nowitzki’s scoring and rebounding are a given. The Dallas Mavericks’ All-Star forward also prides himself on his passing.

Nowitzki had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career triple-double, and the Mavericks maintained the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with a 109-93 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.

His first 16 double-doubles this season were for points and rebounds. But with the Nuggets throwing double-teams at him, Nowitzki passed to open teammates for easy baskets.