December 2011 – Page 2 – NBA Blog

Deron Williams and Dwight Howard grab dinner

Deron Williams didn’t want to even address it, but Dwight Howard didn’t mind admitting that, yes, he and Williams went out to dinner Wednesday night when Williams arrived in town with the Nets.

“Since he’s been in the league, every time he comes to town, we go eat dinner and just kick it,” Howard said after the Magic’s shootaround today. “We’ve been friends since the Olympics, and so we go out to eat, have a bite.”

Earlier, Williams had stammered and said, “I don’t even know — I really don’t,” when asked if he had dinner with Howard.

— Reported by Colin Stephenson of the Newark Star-Ledger

Boston Celtics off to 0-3 start

It’s too early to panic, but the Boston Celtics haven’t looked good early on in the 2011-12 NBA season, losing their first three games.

There is no cause for alarm just yet, because all three games were on the road, and the team has been without small forward Paul Pierce.

One surprise, though, is that opponents of the Celtics have shot 49.6% from the field and 45.2% from three-point range in the three games. Opponents have also gotten far more steals and blocks. Boston is supposed to be a top defensive team. That hasn’t been the case, yet.

A bright spot has been the play of Rajon Rondo, who in three games is averaging 22.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 10.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Also, Ray Allen’s been swishing his shots. And new addition Brandon Bass has been solid.

But, Kevin Garnett hasn’t been impressive. And there isn’t much help on the bench.

Keep an eye on Boston in the near future, especially once Pierce is back in action.

Phoenix Suns sign guard Michael Redd

The Phoenix Suns have signed former All-Star guard Michael Redd, the team announced today. According to the Associated Press, it is “a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum of about $1.3 million.”

“Michael Redd has a proven pedigree as a first-rate NBA scorer,” said Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby. “He will work with our renowned training staff to get into basketball shape. When he is ready to play, Michael will be a welcome addition to our team.”

An 11-year NBA veteran, Redd developed from an undervalued second-round pick into one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA over the last decade. A 6-6, 220-pound guard, he was originally the 43rd overall pick (second round) of the 2000 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, with whom he spent all 11 of his professional seasons. Redd joins the Suns with career averages of 20.0 points, one of only 12 active players averaging 20 or more, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 578 games (427 starts). Redd is a career 44.9-percent shooter overall, including 38.3 percent from three-point range, and owns 1,003 career threes, one of just nine players in NBA history to make 1,000 three-pointers with a single team.

Injuries have destroyed Redd’s career in recent years. He played just 53 games for the Bucks in 2006-07, 72 games the following season, but just 33 games in 2008-09, 18 games in 2009-10, and just 10 games in 2010-11.

An All-Star and All-NBA Third Team selection in 2004, Redd has ranked in the top-11 in the NBA in scoring on five different occasions (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008), and averaged 20 or more points in six-straight seasons from 2003-09. In fact, only 10 NBA players scored more total points in that span, a list that includes Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, Carmelo Anthony, Paul Pierce, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett and Joe Johnson. A former Eastern Conference Player of the Month (January 2004) and two-time Player of the Week (Dec. 3, 2006; Dec. 31, 2006) Redd increased his scoring average in each of his first seven NBA campaigns, including a career-high 26.7-point average in 2006-07, fifth-best in the league overall.

A highly-regarded outside shooter, Redd was selected as a member of the “Redeem Team,” the gold-medal winning U.S. Men’s National Team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Redd played in a total of 61 games over the last three seasons after tearing the ACL and MCL in his left knee on two separate occasions in both 2008-09 and 2009-10. He returned to play the final 10 games of the 2010-11 season, averaging 4.4 points in 13.4 minutes with Milwaukee.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Redd was a three-year standout at Ohio State University where he averaged 19.6 points and 6.2 rebounds and was named Honorable Mention All-America as a sophomore and a junior.

Heckler recommends burger to Andray Blatche

Andray Blatche approached the scorers’ table to check in the second quarter of the Wizards’ 101-83 defeat at Philips Arena, when a heckler seated nearby decided to give him a hard time. The man shouted, “Have another burger, Dray!”

Blatche looked up, spotted the heckler and replied, “Got one?”

Blatche may have had a decent retort to a detractor, but he and the Wizards didn’t have any such response to the Atlanta Hawks on a night when the Wizards didn’t bother jumping out to an early lead only to get disappointed as they did in the season opener. They simply got down early, came back against the Hawks’ reserves, then went down for good.

Since jumping out to a 21-point lead in the second quarter against the New Jersey Nets in their first game, the Wizards have been outscored by 45 points over their past 79 minutes.

— Via Michael Lee of the Washington Wizards Blog

Kevin Durant wanted Shane Battier to sign with Thunder

In his first game back in Memphis since Game 6 of the second round of the playoffs, Durant admitted that his lobbying last month for former Grizzlies forward Shane Battier was real.

“I was dead serious,” said Durant, who used Twitter in late November to attempt to recruit Battier. “I wanted him since last year, after we beat them in the playoffs. I was telling a few of the guys, ‘Shane would be a good fit here for us.’ He was a guy I was looking forward to playing with, but Miami jumped in and took him.”

Durant said he understood why Battier chose to sign with the Heat.

“Let’s be real,” Durant said. “Guys like LeBron (James) and D-Wade and (Chris) Bosh, they’re lobbying for you as well. And it was me and Nazr Mohammed and Nick Collison lobbying for him. And you look at the names there, you look at Miami, the weather and just that whole aura around those guys and of course he’s going to pick them. But it’s a decision that he made for him and his family. You can’t really be upset about it.

“Shane’s an unbelievable player, a great teammate from what I’ve heard. I wish him the best. If he would have come here it would have been perfect for us.”

— Via Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman

Lawsuit against Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon fails miserably

A nanny and chauffeur who lost their suit against Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon and his wife have lost even more.

A Los Angeles judge ordered them Wednesday to pay $122,000 in attorney’s fees to the Simons.

The judge ruled in September that the employment suit was groundless, holding that the billionaire and his former beauty queen wife, Bui, were extremely generous with nanny Claudia Leite (lye-TAY’) and chauffeur Robert Young.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Pair sue ex-76ers owner over $2 million fee

Two sports executives have sued former Philadelphia 76ers owner Comcast-Spectacor seeking a $2 million finder’s fee over the team’s October sale.

Plaintiffs Robert Whitsitt and Thomas Shine say they introduced investor Jason Levien to Comcast-Spectacor chairman Edward Snider at a lunch meeting late last year. They say they were promised $2 million if they found a purchaser and met certain other conditions.

New York-based leveraged buyout specialist Joshua Harris led an ownership group that completed the purchase in October. Levien, a former NBA player agent and Sacramento Kings executive, is one of numerous owners and investors in a group that includes co-managing owner David Blitzer and Hollywood power couple Will and Jada Pinkett Smith.

Whitsitt is the former president of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trailblazers. Shine is an executive at Canton, Mass.-based Reebok International Ltd.

— Via Maryclaire Dale of the Associated Press

Kwame Brown sells Playa del Rey home

NBA player and former Laker Kwame Brown has sold his house in Playa del Rey for $1.65 million.

The open-floor-plan house had been on and off the market since 2008 when it was listed for sale at $2.999 million or for lease at $12,000 a month. The current listing stated the home had sustained water damage on the main level and needed a new roof, windows, doors and elevator.

Described as a short sale in the listing, the ocean-view contemporary includes four bedrooms and five bathrooms in 6,329 square feet. The breakfast bar can seat up to 10. The basement media room has a built-in projector, screen and a wet bar.

— Via Lauren Beale of the Los Angeles Times

Phoenix Suns want to push the tempo

The Phoenix Suns’ 85-84 loss on opening night to the New Orleans Hornets made Planet Orange’s eyes bleed. A fan base accustomed to a potent offense isn’t used to seeing the Suns struggle through a game with fewer than 90 points. Head coach Alvin Gentry has a solution.

“We got to become more of a running team,” said Gentry after shoot around on Wednesday. “We’re not a running team, we’re a jogging team. We’re not good as a jogging team; we got to find a way to manufacture easy baskets and not to have to work so hard in half-court sets.

Phoenix shot 38% from the field in half-court sets Monday night.

— Via Bryan Gibberman of Arizona Sports

Greg Ostertag seeks NBA comeback, signs contract in D-League

Greg Ostertag, one of the best basketball players to come out of Duncanville and an 11-year NBA veteran, will begin a comeback Thursday night with the Texas Legends that he hopes will lead to the NBA.

The National Basketball Development League team based in Frisco came to an agreement with the 7-2 Ostertag this afternoon and he will make his debut Thursday against Rio Grande Valley in a home game at Dr Pepper Arena.

He’s also expected to play Friday against Tulsa.

Ostertag spent most of his NBA career with the Utah Jazz and was one of the most the best shot-blockers in the league, swatting a shot every 11.4 minutes of playing time.

“I missed playing,” Ostertag said. “I shouldn’t have quit when I did and I feel like I got to give it one last shot to see if I can make it happen.

— Via Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News Blog