October 2011 – Page 4 – NBA Blog

Josh Howard charity basketball game in Dallas

Josh Howard announced that he will host an all-star charity basketball game in Dallas, Texas featuring an all-star cast of professional basketball players. The Josh Howard Celebrity All-Star Basketball Game Presented by Free Move Texas will be held Saturday, Nov. 12, 6 p.m., at the P.C. Cobb Center, at the city’s fair grounds.

On November 11 it was announced that Howard has added Kevin Durant to the lineup. Dallas-area fans will be treated to basketball at its best in the charity game featuring Josh Howard, Kevin Durant, John Wall, LaMarcus Aldridge and many others at the P.C. Cobb Center and via live web-stream on TheBasketballChannel.net. Tip-off is 6 p.m. Central Time / 7 p.m. Eastern Time.

Team White: Josh Howard, John Wall, Reggie Evans, Marquis Daniels, Quinton Ross, DeSagana Diop, Anthony Randolph, Damon Jones, Jeremy Evans and Kevin Durant. Coach is Jason Terry.

Team Blue: LaMarcus Aldridge, Andray Blatche, Hamady N’diaye, Nick Young, Corey Brewer, Damion James, Isaiah Thomas, Jarrett Jack, Jason Maxiell and Damien Wilkins. Coach is Trevor Booker.

Tickets for The Josh Howard Celebrity All-Star Basketball Game Presented by Free Move Texas are available at www.JoshHowardFoundation.com,The Fade Shop and Ten Sports Grill. Ticket prices are: $15 in advance, $25 on-site and $50 for floor seats.

The Josh Howard Celebrity All-Star Basketball Game in Dallas, Texas will benefit The Josh Howard Foundation: all money will be used to continue its mission. During the past six months Howard has hosted multiple events in Dallas, Texas, Winston-Salem, N.C. and Mauldin, S.C. to fundraise, and has supported an equal number of charity events hosted by other professional basketball players.

Read NBA fan opinion and share your views in this basketball forum topic.

Amar`e Stoudemire pitching a TV sitcom

NBA players with time on their hands due to the league’s ongoing labor dispute are finding that showbiz offers an opportunity to fill their schedules. While some star athletes have long maintained production companies or record labels, the lockout has provided a chance for new business.

Earlier in October, New York Knicks star Amare Stoudemire pitched to a handful of major networks a half-hour scripted comedy that he is developing with producers Jeff Kwatinetz and Happy Walters, who is Stoudemire’s agent and president of Rogue Sports, Relativity Media’s sports business.

In September, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant decamped to Baton Rouge, La., to play himself opposite Brandon T. Jackson in Warner Premiere’s Switch, a family comedy centered on a magic twist that transfers Durant’s skills to an enthusiastic fan.

— Reported by Daniel Miller of the Hollywood Reporter

Devin Harris trying to improve jumpshot

Utah Jazz guard Devin Harris on pushing himself: I know what I need to work on and where I need to be. You would like to play against NBA talent, but you’ve got to make the best of the situation.

Harris on what he’s specifically working on: Yeah, I’ve been working a lot on my jumpshot. Pullups, 15 to 18 feet and the standstill 3. Just trying to shoot for a better percentage and knock it down at a higher pace.

Harris on keeping in touch with Jazz teammates: I spent a little time with Al working out in Santa Barbara … and Gordon, Jeremy, as well as Favors. That was the beginning part of the summer. Actually I just saw Al about two weeks ago.

— Reported by Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune

Dirk Nowitzki to train in Germany if NBA lockout drags

Dirk Nowitzki plans to return to Germany to train with his personal coach after watching his hometown Texas Rangers play in the World Series—unless there’s progress toward starting the NBA season.

Nowitzki has said he would wait until early 2012 before considering playing for a European team. With only training camp and the first two weeks of the season canceled so far because of the NBA lockout, he is keeping to that timetable.

“It’s time to really get back in the routine,” he said after throwing out the first pitch for Game 3 of the World Series between the Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night. “Got to keep the options open, maybe see what’s going on overseas.” …

Nowitzki is still wearing a splint on the middle finger of his left hand— an injury he sustained during Game 2 of the NBA finals the Miami Heat. He aggravated it while playing for Germany in the European championships last month.

— Reported by Jaime Aron of the Associated Press

Warriors assistant coach Michael Malone talks defense

Here is Golden State Warriors assistant Michael Malone talking about the team’s defensive goals to CSN Bay Area:

“We’re going to be a defensive team. The Golden State Warriors are going to defend every night. We’re going to rebound. We’re still going to look to run but run with discipline — not just running and taking bad shots.

The last thing is taking care of the basketball. If we can do those four things every night, we feel we’ll have a chance to be a successful team. But it starts with the defense, finishing off that possession with a rebound — which they did a very poor job of last year – and then we still want to look to attack.

There’s a common misperception that you cannot be a good defensive team and still be a good running team. We don’t want to take away from our guys’ creativity and their ability to get out and run. They do that very well here.

The difference is we want to run off misses and rebounds instead of taking the ball out of the net and looking to run all the time. So, defend, rebound, run with discipline and value the basketball. Those are the four things we’re going to harp on day in and day out.”

— Reported by Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area

Michael Beasley slims down, takes up ballet

Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley has kept busy during an extended, locked-out NBA summer when he played ball everywhere from China to Manhattan’s famed asphalt playgrounds.

He has also taken up ballet to transform his body and hired a public- relations agency to improve his image.

“I want everyone to know that I’m not this monster that they perceive,” he said. “I’m a really nice guy.” …

He has played with childhood pal Durant and Wall in exhibition games across the country and also has incorporated elements of yoga, karate and, yes, ballet into summer workouts intended to make his body stronger, more limber and help ensure a long, productive career. He has dropped about 15 pounds after playing last season at 240 pounds.

— Reported by Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Driver of Derrick Rose car arrested for DUI

Chicago Bulls superstar Derrick Rose strolled out of an LAPD station at 3:00 AM today … after his BFF was arrested for DUI … and Derrick was a passenger in the car.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ …. the 2011 NBA MVP was a passenger in a black BMW being driven by his close friend and personal assistant Randall Hampton … when cops stopped the car on a routine traffic violation at around 2:00 AM Friday morning.

When cops spoke to Hampton — who played junior college basketball with Rose in Texas — officers claim they detected the odor of alcohol.

— Reported by TMZ

Mike Brown will use Lakers assistants differently than Phil Jackson did

Brown plans to handle his coaching staff differently than former coach Phil Jackson. Jackson assigned specific scouting responsibilities to his four assistants, Brian Shaw, Jim Cleamons, Frank Hamblen and Chuck Person. Brown said at a recent appearance for the release of the video game NBA2K12 that he plans to have all of his assistants, including Person, John Kuester, Quin Snyder and Ettore Messina, coach in all phases of the game.

“Our guys need to hear my voice quite a bit,” Brown said. “I’ll lead the charge in a lot of areas on both ends of the floor. But I’m not one to have my coaches sit back and do nothing. They have to get out there and work. I don’t care what side of the ball we’re on. I don’t care what we’re teaching at that particular time. They’re all coaches. None of them are specialists. They can all coach at both ends of the floor.”

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times Blog

Carmelo Anthony has huge exhibition basketball game plans for the NYC area

Carmelo Anthony’s plans for his barnstorming all-star game in the New York area keeps getting bigger.

During an appearance in Greenwich Village on Thursday, the Knicks forward said he’d like to house the all-star charity event at an 18,000-seat arena, with Izod Center in the Meadowlands being considered.

Anthony said the event, which he hopes will include at least nine All-Stars, will take place around Thanksgiving, unless the NBA lockout is settled.

Fellow Knicks star Amar’e Stoudemire, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul are all committed. Even if Anthony has to go across the Hudson River, he’ll do it. The Garden, as an NBA tenant, is off limits, as is the Nets’ Prudential Center because of the lockout.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post Blog

Mayor Kevin Johnson says Sacramento arena effort will proceed as planned

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said Thursday his effort to build a sports and entertainment complex downtown will move forward despite today’s announcement that the National Basketball Association and its players’ union have broken off contract talks.

The league earlier this month canceled the first two weeks of the season. Further cancellations are expected as a result of today’s negotiations breakdown.

Johnson issued a statement reiterating his intention to build an arena for sports, concerts and other events, regardless of whether the Sacramento Kings play in it this year, or at any time.

— Reported by Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee