January 2013 – Page 30 – NBA Blog

Raymond Felton thinks he can return for Knicks in late January

Raymond Felton is relieved that he didn’t need surgery on his right hand and believes he can return in late January, the week after the Knicks return from London.

Felton said if he had required surgery to repair the fracture in his right pinkie that he suffered Dec. 25 against the Lakers, he would have missed eight to 12 weeks because “they would have had to put in pins and screws.” No surgery made it four to six weeks. Felton is shooting for closer to four.

“Once my bone heals, it’s probably up to my comfort,” he said. “Hopefully the bone will heal before we leave for London.”

The Knicks are scheduled to fly to London Jan. 14. He’s targeting Boston on Jan. 24 or Philadelphia on Jan. 26.

— Reported by Al Iannazzone of New York Newsday

Kobe Bryant discusses self-doubt

The NBA’s most confident player showed insecurity on a night he almost single-handedly carried the Lakers to a win.

After posting 38 points in the Lakers’ 107-102 loss Friday to the Clippers, Bryant tweeted on his new account.

“Thoughts of self doubt-Am I done?” Bryant tweeted. “Is this how my career will end?? I REFUSE to give in to these thoughts.”

Bryant elaborated on self-doubt following Saturday’s practice.

“Everybody has it,” Bryant said. “The way I react to it is different than everybody else. I don’t feed into it. I’m able to face it. I’m able to deal with it and I’m able to get through it. That’s probably the difference between myself and other people.”

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News

Chicago Bulls sign guard Daequan Cook

The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has signed free agent guard Daequan Cook.

Cook (6-5, 210) is currently in his sixth year in the NBA. Drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 21st pick in the 2007 NBA Draft (his draft rights were traded by the 76ers along with their 2009 second-round draft pick and cash considerations to the Miami Heat for the draft rights to Jason Smith), Cook has played for the Heat, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets.

In five-plus seasons in the NBA, he has played in 295 regular season games (49 starts) and averaged 6.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg and 0.8 apg in 19.4 mpg, and shot .374 from the field, .365 from behind the arc and .814 from the line. The 25-year old Cook has also made three trips (40 games) to the NBA playoffs, where he has averaged 3.4 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 11.6 mpg, .363 field goal shooting, .330 from downtown and .750 from the free throw line. In 2009, Cook won the Foot Locker Three-point Shootout at NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix.

Chicago’s roster now stands at 14 players.

Allen Iverson wants new judge in divorce case

NBA legend Allen Iverson wants a new judge in his divorce case — claiming the current judge unethically does legal favors for campaign contributors, and he’s afraid she will screw him just like she did Usher’s estranged wife.

Iverson filed a motion for the judge to recuse herself last month, claiming she has accepted campaign donations from his estranged wife’s attorney — and has a track record of making biased decisions for contributors.

As for the Usher connection — the lawyer who repped the singer in his child custody showdown with Tameka Raymond is also repping Iverson’s ex.

— Reported by TMZ.com

Mark Cuban mad at officiating

With his team eight games under .500 for the first time since his first few months as the Dallas Mavericks’ owner, Mark Cuban is firing away at one of his favorite targets: NBA officials.

“Im sorry NBA fans. Ive tried for 13 yrs to fix the officiating in this league and I have failed miserably. Any Suggestions ? I need help,” Cuban tweeted after the Mavs’ 99-96 overtime loss Saturday night to the New Orleans Hornets, the team with the worst record in the Western Conference.

After Vince Carter’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim and to the hardwood, Cuban marched to midcourt and engaged in an animated discussion with referee Bill Kennedy.

Via email, Cuban declined to specify why he was upset with the officiating after the Mavs’ eighth loss in nine games or otherwise elaborate on the incident.

However, prior to the game, Cuban complained about the officiating late in regulation of the Mavs’ overtime loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday, a game he watched from his vacation home in the Cayman Islands.

— Reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas

Clippers step up and smoke Warriors

The Los Angeles Clippers had no intention of going 0-3 against the Golden State Warriors, and they played like it.

Chris Paul had 27 points and nine assists, Blake Griffin added 20 points and the Clippers set a franchise record with their 12th straight home victory, 115-89 over the Warriors on Saturday night.

”We’ve been pretty good at home,” Paul said. ”I think that’s 12 in a row for us here. It’s all about our fans, and we feed off them. So we’ve got to keep making this a tough place to play…

Jordan added 13 points and eight rebounds for Los Angeles, which built a 23-point lead through the first quarter and won for the 19th time in 21 games overall. Coach Vinny Del Negro pulled Griffin and Paul after the Clippers built a 96-60 lead with 2:40 left in the third quarter.

Klay Thompson had a team-high 14 points for the Warriors (22-11), who had won 12 of 15 and were trying to match the second-best start in team history behind the 1975-76 squad that won 25 of its first 33. They were 23-10 in 1955-56 and in 1991-92…

”The Clippers outplayed us in every facet of the game, but it wasn’t due to a lack of preparation,” Lee said. ”NBA players realize that out of an 82-game schedule there are going to be nights like this, and nights where you win by 30. They were on their fourth game in five nights, and they outplayed us from the jump.” …

Shooting guard Jamal Crawford, who leads the Clippers’ reserves with 16.5 points per game, missed his second straight contest because of a sore left foot.

— Reported by Joe Resnick of the Associated Press

Photo: The elevators at Boston Celtics games

Here is what the elevators look like at TD Garden, the Boston Celtics arena. Photo taken by InsideHoops.com.

celtics elevators

Kevin Love re-fractures right hand

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Image) taken this afternoon at TRIA Orthopadedic Center revealed that forward Kevin Love suffered a re-fracture of his third metacarpal in his right hand. The injury occurred during the third quarter of Thursday’s game at Denver.

Love will be examined by Dr. Andy Weiland, a hand specialist at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, later this week. An update to Love’s status will be provided after that examination.

Love initially suffered a fracture of his third and fourth metacarpal in his right hand on Oct. 17. For the season, Love has played in 18 games and leads the Wolves in scoring (18.3 ppg), rebounds (14.0 rpg) and double-doubles (14).

Miami Heat waive guard Terrel Harris

The Miami Heat announced today that they have waived guard Terrel Harris.

Harris appeared in seven games with the Heat this season, averaging 1.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in 4.1 minutes per game. Last season, he appeared in 22 games (one start) and averaged 3.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game.

He originally signed with Miami as a free agent on December 10, 2011 and was re-signed by the Heat on September 10, 2012.

The Heat’s roster now stands at 14.

The team is rebounding very badly this season. It’s possible they look to add a power forward or center to come off the bench and help hit the boards.

Lakers re-assign Robert Sacre to D-League

The Los Angeles Lakers have re-assigned center Robert Sacre to the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League, it was announced today.

Sacre has played in 13 games with the Lakers this season, averaging 0.5 points and 0.8 rebounds in 4.2 minutes.

Selected by the Lakers in the second round (60th overall pick) of the 2012 NBA Draft, Sacre finished his collegiate career at Gonzaga ranked second all-time in school history in career blocks (186), while averaging 9.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 135 games.

Starting at center for the D-Fenders’ first three games of the season, Sacre averaged 7.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 27.0 minutes. Sacre, on his third assignment with the D-Fenders this season, will join the team for tonight’s game against the Sioux Falls Skyforce (NBA Affiliates: Miami, Minnesota, Orlando, Philadelphia) at 6:30 pm in El Segundo.