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A diagnostic ultrasound test performed on Sacramento Kings guard Marcus Thronton today at the UC Davis Medical Center revealed a significant hematoma in his left thigh. He is expected to miss approximately one to two weeks of action.
Thornton, the Kings’ leading scorer (16.4 ppg), has missed four games due to the injury.
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Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has exercised the fourth-year option on guard/forward Gerald Henderson for the 2012-13 season.
Henderson has started all 18 games this season and is currently averaging 15.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steal in 34.9 minutes. He has reached double-figure scoring in six straight games, including three of 20 points or more, and is averaging 19.5 points on .538 shooting (43-80) during that span.
“Gerald Henderson embodies the basketball culture we have created here of putting guys on the floor who work hard at their craft, have a passion for the game and are willing to take advantage of the resources afforded to them here in Charlotte,” said Higgins. “He deserves this and we look forward to watching him grow as a player.”
An early-entry candidate from Duke University, Henderson was selected by the Bobcats with the 12th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. He currently holds career averages of 8.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 129 games.
In an effort to help the players avoid mental fatigue during this 66-game sprint, the Sixers’ strength and conditioning coach Jesse Wright and trainer Kevin Johnson suggested to Collins the players do yoga on their rare practice days. The change in training has been a hit.
“We have erred on the side of rest, just trying to keep our guys as mentally fresh as possible,” Collins said. “As a result we have had a lot of slippage in what we would like to do offensively, but I think we have the better chance to win, rather than come in and try to practice for 40 minutes we are better off letting our guys come in and relax and get a nice session of yoga while being together.”
“It was good for us,” Andre Iguodala said. “I have done yoga over the summers so I know what it can do for the body. We have so many games so stretching or release and getting the blood flowing can take your body a long way.”
For a guy like Spencer Hawes, who has missed four straight games with a strained Achilles’ tendon, 30 minutes of yoga was heaven sent.
— Reported by Dei Lynam of the CSN Philly Blog
The Memphis Grizzlies exercised the third-year contract option on guard/forward Quincy Pondexter, guaranteeing his contract through the 2012-13 season, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced Tuesday.
Pondexter (6-6, 225) has averaged 4.4 points and 2.1 rebounds on .469 shooting in 14.9 minutes in 16 games this season after being acquired by Memphis from New Orleans on Dec. 24 for Greivis Vasquez. The 23-year-old scored a career-high tying 14 points on Jan. 8 at LA Lakers, sinking a career-best seven field goals.
The all-time leader in games played (136) at the University of Washington, Pondexter holds NBA career averages of 3.2 points and 1.5 rebounds on .422 shooting in 82 games (six starts) for the Grizzlies and Hornets, who drafted the Fresno, Calif. native in the first round (26th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft.
Winners of their last seven games, Memphis (10-6) will look to tie a franchise record with an eighth consecutive victory tonight when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers at 9 p.m. CST at the Rose Garden. The game will be televised regionally on SportSouth HD.
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One point.
That’s what Carmelo Anthony scored last night in a stunning — and perhaps telling — result. With Anthony muted, the Knicks bombed the Bobcats, 111-78, last night at Time Warner Cable Arena to break their six-game losing streak.
Anthony’s one point was a career low, and it was the first time he failed to sink a field goal since Nov. 28, 2005.
“I needed a night like this, where I didn’t have to do too much and we still won the game by a lot,’’ Anthony said. “We just had it going. Everybody had it going. I needed a night like this when I score one point and we win by 20. We all got tired of losing.’’
Anthony, who has been in a massive shooting slump and vowed to pass the ball more, did just that. But he went 0-for-7 as injuries continue to affect his shot. His lone point came on a free throw off a technical foul in the third quarter after going scoreless as the Knicks built a 52-42 halftime lead.
With Anthony nonexistent offensively, slumping Amar’e Stoudemire and center Tyson Chandler each played their best game in two weeks with rip-roaring performances.
— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post
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Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng hopes he won’t need surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist.
Deng was injured on Saturday against Charlotte and expects to miss at least a few more NBA games after sitting out Monday’s win over the New Jersey Nets. He said the wrist was still sore, but the pain has eased “a lot” the past few days.
“I know it’s a bad injury and it sounds terrible, but really, I think it will fine,” Deng said on Tuesday. “We’ve got a good team, and I think I’m going to be fine.”
Even so, surgery remains a possibility, and coach Tom Thibodeau said he was “week to week.” He said Deng did some dribbling with his left hand and shooting at practice on Tuesday, although Deng disputed that.
— Reported by Andrew Seligman of the Associated Press
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Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love has agreed to a four-year, $62 million contract extension and is expected to sign the new deal Wednesday afternoon in Dallas, a person close to the situation told the Pioneer Press.
Love, 23, and the Wolves are in Dallas to play the defending NBA champion Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Love, who is earning $4.6 million this season, needs to sign an extension before 11 p.m. Wednesday, or he will become a restricted free agent after the season.
— Reported by Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press
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Bobcats guard D.J. Augustin was seen by Charlotte orthopedist Dr. Bob Anderson today and the diagnosis confirmed an inflammatory condition of the sesmoid bones that lie in the flexor tendons on his right big toe.
Augustin re-aggravated the injury, which had bothered him previously, during to the first quarter of the Bobcats’ Jan. 22, matchup at New Jersey. Augustin is expected to miss the team’s next four games (five days total).
Augustin this season has averaged 13.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists in 17 games.
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Don’t call Kyrie Irving another LeBron James just because he’s also a Cleveland No. 1 pick. But if you want to call him another Chris Paul, that might be OK.
In fact, James said he sees plenty of similarities between the Cavaliers rookie point guard and Paul, the Clippers star point.
“He reminds me of CP early in his days as well,” said James, the Miami forward who will go against Irving on Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena for the first time in his NBA career. “They definitely remind me of each other. Just how in control, and how they think the game. They show that you’re not in like a rookie mindset. You’re trying to put guys in a position to succeed. I’ve been looking forward to going against him …. He’s definitely beyond his years as a rookie point guard.”
James won’t be guarding Irving, but they will be the focal points for their teams. James leads the Heat in scoring with a 29.7 average and in assists at 7.3, and Irving tops the Cavaliers with 17.4 points and 4.9 assists.
— Reported by Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida
The Sacramento Kings have recalled rookie forward Tyler Honeycutt from the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League, President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie announced today.
On January 1, Honeycutt and center Hassan Whiteside were assigned to the Bighorns. Honeycutt averaged 5.9 points (.418 FG%, .375 3pt%, .438 FT%), 2.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists, and 12.7 minutes per game in 10 games of which one he started. He scored in double-figures in two games and recorded 23 points (9-14 FG, 2-3 3pt, 3-4 FT), seven rebounds, one assist, three steals, and one block in 29 minutes versus the Austin Toros (1/15). Honeycutt recorded two points (2-2 FT) and one rebound in four minutes off the bench versus New York (12/31). He became the third Kings player to be assigned to the D-League (Donté Greene in 2008-09, Hassan Whiteside last season).
Honeycutt, a 6-8, 188-pound forward, was selected by the Kings as a sophomore out of UCLA in the second round (35th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft. He averaged 10.3 points (.431 FG%, .359 3pt%, .684 FT%), 6.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.7 blocks, and 31.7 minutes per game in 59 career outings for the Bruins.