April 2012 – Page 18 – NBA Blog

Derrick Rose has a hurt ankle

Derrick Rose’s groin injury and Richard Hamilton’s shoulder soreness appear to be in the past, but that doesn’t mean painful subjects don’t remain for the Bulls.

Rose, for starters, tweaked an ankle at some point in Sunday’s game, which he finished. The extent of the injury is unknown, however sources said Rose wore a walking boot on Monday and his availability for Tuesday’s shot at redemption against the Knicks is a game-time decision.

Beyond that, Rose’s two missed free throws late in regulation raise anew an issue that has clung to him since his lone college season at Memphis. Hamilton, meanwhile, remained rooted to the bench for the final 18 minutes, 14 seconds of the Bulls’ stunning Sunday collapse to lose in overtime.

— Reported by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune

D-League has record-setting season for NBA Call-Ups and Assignments

The NBA Development League (NBA D-League) experienced its most successful season ever in developing NBA talent as it set all-time records with 50 “Call-ups” to the NBA, breaking the previous record of 40 set during the 2009-10 season, and 64 NBA player assignments, surpassing the previous record of 56 assignments established last year.

As the NBA regular season draws to a close, 25 percent of team rosters consist of players with NBA D-League experience (108), including 36 percent from the 2010 and 2011 NBA Draft classes (43). Featuring former Erie BayHawks and Reno Bighorns star Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks, former Los Angeles D-Fenders star Gerald Green of the New Jersey Nets, former Tulsa 66ers star Ramon Sessions of the Los Angeles Lakers and former Rio Grande Valley Viper star C.J. Watson of the Chicago Bulls, all 30 NBA teams now have at least one player who previously made his mark in the NBA D-League.

Other D-League highlights for the 2011-12 season include:

Attendance: The NBA D-League marked its 11th season by reaching the 1 million total attendance plateau for a third straight year (1,055,239).

Affiliations: Demonstrating the NBA D-League’s role as a source of emerging talent, the 16-team league set a record for NBA single-team affiliates this season with nine, up from four last year. Five NBA teams invested in a “one-on-one’ relationship with its NBA D-League affiliate this season: the Cleveland Cavaliers (Canton Charge), the Golden State Warriors (Dakota Wizards), the Los Angeles Lakers (Los Angeles D-Fenders), the New Jersey Nets (Springfield Armor) and the New York Knicks (Erie Bayhawks). These teams joined the Dallas Mavericks (Texas Legends), the Houston Rockets (Rio Grande Valley Vipers), the Oklahoma City Thunder (Tulsa 66ers), and the San Antonio Spurs (Austin Toros), who previously acquired a one-to-one affiliation with an NBA D-League team.

Television Exposure: The NBA D-League experienced the most television exposure in its 11-year history with over 240 games televised across the league’s family of networks, including Comcast SportsNet, the Armed Forces Network, FamilyNet and NBA TV International as games were seen in 194 countries and territories.

Marketing Partnerships: NBA D-League partners conducted activities around key league events throughout the year, including the Boost Mobile National Tryouts, which produced former Springfield Armor standout Dennis Horner, who earned two GATORADE Call-Ups to the New Jersey Nets; the NBA D-League Draft powered by Cisco; the NBA D-League All-Star Game presented by 26 Seconds; and the NBA D-League Playoffs and Finals presented by BBVA. This marks the first season 26 Seconds and Cisco have served as the presenting partner of these respective events and BBVA – a league partner since 2010 – expanded its relationship with the league to present the Playoffs and The Finals for the first time.

Knicks assign Jerome Jordan to D-League

With things going well for the Knicks lately despite injuries to Jeremy Lin and Amar’e Stoudemire, the team will do without the services of center Jerome Jordan for the time being.

New York Knickerbockers Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations and Interim General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has reassigned Jordan to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League.

Jordan, 7-0, 240-pounds, has averaged 1.4 and 1.2 rebounds over 4.3 minutes in 19 games with New York this season. He appeared in five games for Erie earlier this season, averaging 18.0 points, on .485 shooting, 8.6 rebounds and 2.80 blocks over 32.6 minutes.

Deng, Gordon, Byron Mullens to play for Britain at London Olympic games

Ben Gordon and Byron Mullens haven’t worn the Great Britain jersey before but both NBA players have been included in the country’s preliminary squad for the London Games.

The London-born and United States-raised Gordon, who plays for the Detroit Pistons, is a former teammate of British superstar Luol Deng in Chicago while Mullens has a United Kingdom passport because his mother hails from England.

In a statement issued by British Basketball, Gordon said: “I am very excited to pull on the GB jersey this summer and play for my country.

“To be invited into camp is the first step in that journey and I am immensely proud to have the opportunity.” …

Mullens revealed on his Twitter account last month that he would be with the Brits and included a photo of recently received UK passport.

He tweeted: “Yessir. I will be in London this summer! 2012 Olympics.”

— Reported by FIBA.com

Spurs bench stars, lose to Jazz, 11-game winning streak ends

With a playoff spot locked up and a grueling stretch ahead, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich called it a ”no brainer” to rest stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

That was fine by a Utah Jazz team still trying to punch a ticket to the postseason.

After losing to the Spurs by 10 on Sunday night in San Antonio, the Jazz (30-28) rebounded with a 91-84 victory in Monday’s rematch in Salt Lake City.

”We wanted to come out and get a little bit of revenge from last night,” said Gordon Hayward, who started at shooting guard Monday for the injury-depleted Jazz. ”They battled and battled until the end and we were able to come out on top.”

Credit Devin Harris, who scored 11 straight for the Jazz in the fourth quarter and had a team-high 25 points…

Al Jefferson led the Jazz with four blocks. He added 12 points and 10 rebounds and a steal.

Paul Millsap had 18 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for the Jazz, and sealed the win with a put-back dunk with 43 seconds remaining.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Kenneth Faried goes wild in Nuggets win over Warriors

Rookie Kenneth Faried had season highs of 27 points and 17 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets never trailed in their most lopsided win of the season, a 123-84 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

The 39-point margin exceeded Denver’s previous high of 29 points against Sacramento on Jan. 25, and coincided with the return of Danilo Gallinari. He helped pick up the offense by scoring 15 points in his first game since breaking his left thumb against Dallas on March 19.

Arron Afflalo also had 15 points, and JaVale McGee and Corey Brewer each added 13 for Denver. Golden State was led by Klay Thompson and Nate Robinson with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

The Nuggets matched their season high in points and beat the Warriors for the first time in three tries this season. They remained in eighth place in the Western Conference with nine games remaining. Denver is in a tight race with seventh-place Dallas, Phoenix, Utah, and Houston for the last two postseason spots in the conference.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Marc Gasol leads Grizzlies past Clippers

Marc Gasol scored 18 points, Rudy Gay had 16 and the Memphis Grizzlies held on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 94-85 on Monday night.

Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo added 13 each for Memphis, which won for the eighth time in 10 games and moved one-half game behind the Clippers for the fourth seed in the Western Conference.

Marreese Speights finished had 12 points and Zach Randolph added 10 points and 12 rebounds as the Grizzlies finished with a 48-36 rebounding edge, but committed 20 turnovers.

Chris Paul led Los Angeles with 21 points and six assists, while Blake Griffin had 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. DeAndre Jordan added 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Eric Bledsoe and Randy Foye scored 11 points each.

The Clippers snapped a two-game winning streak and lost for just the second time in 10 games.

— Reported by the Associated Press

InsideHoops.com note: Marc Gasol shot 6-of-12 for 18 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.

Grizzlies once again recall Josh Selby from D-League

The Memphis Grizzlies recalled rookie guard Josh Selby from the Reno Bighorns, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.

Selby (6-2, 183) averaged 32.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists on .478 shooting (.400 3FG) in 40.5 minutes in two games with Reno after being reassigned to the Bighorns for a third time on April 5. The 21-year-old scored a D-League career-high 38 points on 13-of-25 shooting (10-of-12 FT) on April 7 at Rio Grande Valley.

Overall, the Baltimore native has averaged 25.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists on .475 shooting (.455 3FG) in 34.1 minutes in eight games (four starts) in three stints with the Bighorns.

Selby has averaged 2.5 points and 1.2 assists on .377 shooting in 8.8 minutes in 23 games during his rookie season with the Grizzlies. Memphis selected Selby in the second round (49th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft after his freshman season at the University of Kansas.

Earl Watson and C.J. Miles suffer injuries

The following is a medical update on Utah Jazz guard/forward C.J. Miles, who left last night’s game at San Antonio at the 5:43 mark of the second quarter with a left calf injury and did not return:

Miles was examined by Jazz team orthopedist Dr. Lyle Mason and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests on the calf on Monday. The MRI tests showed Miles has a moderate strain of his left calf muscle.

Miles will not travel with the team on its upcoming three-game road trip to Houston, New Orleans and Memphis. He will be re-evaluated in one week and an update on his status will be provided at that time.

Now in his sixth NBA season, all with the Jazz, Miles (6-6, 222, Skyline H.S. (TX)) has appeared in 56 games (14 starts) this season, starting each of the last 14 Jazz games. He is averaging 9.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 20.4 minutes per game.

Guard Earl Watson was examined by Jazz team orthopedist Dr. Lyle Mason and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests on the knee on Monday. The MRI tests revealed a torn medial meniscus within Watson’s right knee, which will require surgery. As a result, Watson is out indefinitely.

Watson will not travel with the team on its upcoming three-game road trip to Houston, New Orleans and Memphis. An update on his status and timeframe for his recovery will be provided following the surgery, which has not yet been scheduled.

Now in his 11th NBA season and second with the Jazz, Watson (6-1, 199, UCLA) has appeared in 50 games (two starts) this season and is averaging 3.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 20.7 minutes per game.

Jazz signing Blake Ahearn to 10-day contract

Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team is expected to sign Blake Ahearn of the NBA Development League’s Reno Bighorns to a 10-day contract. Ahearn becomes the NBA’s 50th D-League Call-Up this season. Following the transaction, the Jazz roster will stand at 15 players.

Ahearn is expected to practice on Tuesday and will travel with the Jazz when the team faces the Rockets on Wednesday at 6 p.m. MT (ROOT Sports, 1320 KFAN) in Houston.

A 2012 D-League All-Star selection, Ahearn (6-3, 190, Missouri State) appeared in 37 games, all starts, for the Bighorns this season, averaging 23.8 points, 5.1 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 37.5 minutes. Ahearn scored in double figures in all 37 appearances, including eight games scoring 30 points or more points. During the season, Ahearn established the NBA D-League’s all-time record for consecutive made free throws when he connected on 110 in a row between December 2011 and January 2012. The record tops the NBA mark of 97 set by Micheal Williams in 1993.

A five-year NBA D-League veteran, Ahearn returns to the NBA having played with the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons, respectively. In 15 career NBA games Ahearn averaged 5.2 points, 1.4 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 13.0 minutes.

Ahearn becomes the eighth D-League Call-Up in Jazz history, joining Rusty LaRue (2000-01), Mikki Moore (2003-04), Louis Amundson (2006-07), Sundiata Gaines (2010-11), Othyus Jeffers (2010-11), Marcus Cousin (2011-12) and Kyle Weaver (2011-12).