February 2013 – Page 27 – NBA Blog

Sixers guard Jason Richardson needs knee surgery, out for season

Philadelphia 76ers guard Jason Richardson will undergo surgery on his left knee and will miss the remainder of the 2012-13 season.

The Sixers are currently scheduling a date and time for surgery, which will be performed by Dr. Jonathan Glashow of Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York.

Richardson started 33 games for the Sixers this season, averaging 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.21 steals in 28.4 minutes per game. He recorded 40 steals with just 26 turnovers and would rank third in the NBA in steal-to-turnover ratio (1.54) if he qualified. Richardson missed the past eight games with left knee synovitis.

At 21-27, the Sixers are in 9th place in the Eastern conference. A rough season only gets rougher with this latest injury news.

The team is still waiting for new center Andrew Bynum to be healthy enough to play.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, ““I have a hole the size of a quarter in my cartilage,” Richardson said. “They told me that there is the possibility that if I don’t do something about it eventually it will be bone on bone. I have a life after basketball and I have kids. So I’m going to take care of it.” Richardson said he plans to have the surgery done next week in New York by Dr. Jonathan Glashow. Glashow was one of the examining physicians. Richardson is making $5.8 million this season and is schedule to make $6.2 million next season, the last year on his contract. Richardson has said that he wants to play beyond his current contract.”

Timberwolves sign Mickael Gelabale and center Chris Johnson for rest of season

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed forward Mickael Gelabale and center Chris Johnson for the remainder of the 2012-13 NBA season. The Timberwolves also announced the team has waived forward/center Lou Amundson.

Gelabale, 6-7, has played in 10 games for the Wolves this season, registering averages of 6.5 points, on .543 shooting, and 3.0 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per contest. Gelabale, 29, was signed to a second 10-day contract on January 29 after originally joining the Wolves on a 10-day contract on January 19 after splitting his time playing in Croatia and Spain earlier this season. In 119 career games with Minnesota and Seattle, Gelabale owns averages of 4.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per contest.

Johnson, 6-11, has appeared in six games for the Wolves this season, averaging 9.3 points, on .733 (22-for-30) shooting, and 4.0 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game. Johnson, 27, was signed to a second 10-day contract on January 29 after originally joining the Wolves on a 10-day contract on January 19 from the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Developmental League. Johnson was a free agent invitee at the Wolves training camp this past fall before being waived on Oct. 27, 2012. In 47 career NBA games, Johnson has averaged 3.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game with Minnesota, New Orleans, Portland and Boston.

Amundson, who the Wolves originally signed as a free agent on September 25, saw action in 20 games this season, totaling averages of 1.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in 8.1 minutes per game. Amundson has put up career averages of 3.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 308 NBA games with Minnesota, Indiana, Golden State, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Utah.

With today’s transactions the Wolves roster stands at 15 players.

Kenneth Faried shoots 9-of-10, Nuggets beat Bulls 128-96

Kenneth Faried didn’t wait for the All-Star dunk contest to put on a big show.

The Denver Nuggets’ second-year star celebrated his invitation to the league’s annual slam dunk contest with a series of rim-rattling, crowd-pleasing jams that set the tone for the Nuggets’ eighth straight win, a 128-96 rout of the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.

Faried finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes as the Nuggets won for the 15th time in 18 games since Jan. 1, playing from the opening tip with an intensity that seemed to take the Bulls by surprise.

He had 17 points and eight boards on the break and was on the bench by the fourth quarter along with the rest of Denver’s starters as they relished what had become a laugher.

Wilson Chandler added a season-high 24 points, sinking all five of his 3-pointers, as the Nuggets made quick work of a stingy Bulls team that came in yielding just 91 points a game but watched Denver pour in 100 by the time the third quarter was over…

JaVale McGee put on his own slam-and-jam show, adding 10 points for the Nuggets, who haven’t lost since Jan. 18 and led this one by as many as 35 points…

Carlos Boozer led Chicago’s starters with 18 points. The Bulls again were without starting guards Derrick Rose (left knee) and Kirk Hinrich (right elbow). Center Joakim Noah (right foot) returned to the lineup, but was held to just one bucket and five rebounds. Reserve Daequan Cook led the Bulls with 19 points…

Lawson finished with 16 points and 12 assists and the Nuggets were an astonishing plus-40 when he was on the court.

— Reported by Arnie Melendrez Stapleton of the Associated Press

Celtics beat Lakers 116-95 for 6th straight win

Paul Pierce scored 24 points and led a third-quarter surge as the Boston Celtics routed the Los Angeles Lakers 116-95 on Thursday night, improving to 6-0 since losing point guard Rajon Rondo for the season with a torn knee ligament.

The Lakers had cut a 58-44 halftime deficit to 72-61 with 5:07 left in the third quarter. Then the Celtics went on a 23-8 run and led 95-69 going into the fourth. Pierce started the surge with a three-point play and ended it with a 3-pointer with 41 seconds left, giving him 12 points in the period.

Kobe Bryant scored 27 to lead the Lakers, who suffered their worst loss of the season despite the return of Dwight Howard after he missed three games with a sore right shoulder.

The win was Boston’s biggest of the season.

The Lakers had won six of their previous seven games, including all three without Howard, and had moved three games behind the Houston Rockets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West…

Kevin Garnett had 15 points and became the 16th player in NBA history to score 25,000 when he hit an 11-foot turnaround jumper that gave him six for the game and put the Celtics ahead 39-29 with 8:08 left in the half. Jeff Green had 19 points and Jason Terry added 15.

— Reported by Howard Ulman of the Associated Press

2013 NBA Skills Challenge participants

Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs will defend his Skills Challenge contest title against a field consisting of Jrue Holiday of the Philadelphia 76ers, Brandon Knight of the Detroit Pistons, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, Jeremy Lin of the Houston Rockets, and Jeff Teague of the Atlanta Hawks. The 2013 Skills Challenge competition will take place on Feb. 16, at Toyota Center in Houston as part of State Farm All-Star Saturday Night.

Parker will attempt to join the Los Angeles Lakers’ Steve Nash (2005 and 2010) and the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade (2006 and 2007) as the only two-time winners in Skills Challenge history. This year’s Skills Challenge features an expanded six-player field for the second year in a row. There were five contestants in 2011 and four in 2010.

For the first time, NBA All-Star Saturday Night will feature a new format that pits the Eastern Conference against the Western Conference in a night of competition that will raise money for charity. As part of the new format, points earned by each conference throughout the four All-Star Skills Competitions will determine the conference that earns the title of 2013 All-Star Saturday Night Champion.

Three players representing the Western Conference and three players representing the Eastern Conference will compete in the two-round competition. The two competitors with the fastest times from their respective conferences in the Team Round advance to the Championship Round.

2013 NBA Three-Point Shootout participants

First-time All-Stars Paul George of the Indiana Pacers and Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers headline the field for the 2013 NBA Three-Point Shootout, which will be held on Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Toyota Center in Houston as part of NBA All-Star Saturday Night. Rounding out the field are Ryan Anderson of the New Orleans Hornets, Matt Bonner of the San Antonio Spurs, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Steve Novak of the New York Knicks.

Anderson is the lone returning three-point marksman from last year’s event, won by the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Kevin Love in a tiebreaker round over the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant. Love is currently on the injured list, recovering from a broken hand sustained on Jan. 3, and is unable to defend his title.

Three players representing the Western Conference and three players representing the Eastern Conference will compete in the two-round competition. The highest scoring East and highest scoring West competitors from the Team Round will advance to the Championship Round.

Five shooting stations will be set up around the three-point line, with four Official Spalding NBA game balls worth one point each and one Spalding NBA All-Star 2013 commemorative “money ball” worth two points at each location. Each player will have one minute to shoot as many balls as he can. The competitor with the lower individual score from the Team Round will go first in the Championship Round.

2013 NBA Shooting Stars competition participants

Two teams representing the Western Conference and two teams representing the Eastern Conference will compete in the 2013 Shooting Stars competition as part of All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Toyota Center in Houston

Representing the Western Conference from the NBA are James Harden, who earned his first career All-Star Game nod in his inaugural season with the Houston Rockets, and fellow All-Star Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The WNBA stars for the West are Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx, a 2012 Olympic gold medal winner and 2011 WNBA champion, and the Seattle Storm’s Tina Thompson, the WNBA all-time leading scorer. NBA Legends Sam Cassell and Robert Horry, who played a combined 31 seasons in the league and won 10 NBA championships, round out the West representation. Cassell and Horry were teammates on a Rockets team that won back-to-back titles in 1994-95.

On behalf of the Eastern Conference from the NBA are Chris Bosh, an All-Star and key member of the reigning NBA champion Miami Heat, and All-Star Brook Lopez of the Brooklyn Nets, who earned his first All-Star nod. The WNBA Eastern Conference stars are Swin Cash of the Chicago Sky, a three-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, and Tamika Catchings, who guided the Indiana Fever to the 2012 WNBA title and earned Finals MVP honors along the way. The NBA Legends on the East squads are Muggsy Bogues, the shortest player in NBA history at 5-3, who enjoyed a 14-year NBA career, and Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, a nine-time NBA All-Star, who finished with 26,668 career points.

In last year’s competition, Team New York, which featured Landry Fields, Allan Houston and Cappie Pondexter, defeated Team Texas in the final round with a time of :37.3. Team Texas was comprised of Chandler Parsons (Houston Rockets), Sophia Young (San Antonio Silver Stars), and Kenny Smith (NBA Legend).

Shooting Stars is part of All-Star Saturday Night, an all-inclusive skills showcase, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Toyota Center in Houston and will be televised live by TNT at 8 p.m. ET. The other events consist of the the Skills Challenge, a contest of top guards working against the clock to complete a series of passes, free throws, layups and agility drills; the Three-Point Contest; and the Slam Dunk contest. For the first time, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night will feature a new format that pits the Eastern Conference against the Western Conference in a night of competitions that will raise money for charity.

The Shooting Stars contest features one current NBA player, one current WNBA player and an NBA legend on each team. There are six numbered shooting locations of increasing difficulty, with each team attempting to make all shots in numeric order in the fastest time. Each team will select a specific player rotation to follow throughout the competition. Each shot must be made before the next player begins shooting in succession. Teams have up to two minutes to complete the entire shooting course.

2013 NBA Dunk contest participants

The 2013 NBA Slam Dunk contest will feature six dunkers competing in a two-round competition as part of All-Star Saturday Night. The new format will pit the Eastern Conference against the Western Conference in an exciting night of competition that will also raise money for charity.

The Western Conference will be represented by the 2012 NBA Slam Dunk champion Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz along with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Eric Bledsoe and Denver Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried. The Eastern Conference lineup will include the Indiana Pacers’ Gerald Green, Toronto Raptors’ Terrence Ross and New York Knicks’ James White.

The 2013 NBA Slam Dunk contest will consist of the three Eastern Conference players competing against the three from the Western Conference in a two-round competition. The highest scoring East competitor and the highest scoring West competitor from the Team Round will compete head-to-head to determine the champion. Fan voting will open at the beginning of the Championship Round and the player with the highest percentage of combined votes from all platforms will be champion.

Evans won the 2012 Slam Dunk contest, defeating Houston’s Chase Budinger and Indiana’s Paul George in a tight race that included over 4 million fan votes to decide the champion.

Pau Gasol inured, out at least 6-8 weeks

Los Angeles Lakers forward/center Pau Gasol, who injured his right foot in Tuesday’s game against the Nets in Brooklyn, returned to Los Angeles from Boston this morning where he was examined by foot specialist Dr. Kenneth Jung.

Jung’s diagnosis confirmed that Gasol has a tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot. Gasol is expected to be out a minimum of 6-8 weeks.

Kevin Love hopes to return in mid or late March for Timberwolves

He still hopes to return in mid to late March. But he’s not going to rush himself. Love was asked, again, if he came back too soon from his broken hand the first time. And while he said no, he at least suggested that maybe the breaks didn’t heal properly the first time. “Because, at the time I broke it, I was 10 weeks out (from the initial fractures),” Love said. “So I gave it enough time to heal. … But now that it’s fixed it feels great, and I can continue to progress.”

Love said the season has been frustrating, given his high expectations coming off the Olympics and the team’s high hopes entering the season. When asked what there was left in the season to salvage, here’s what he said: “I think coach (Rick Adelman) mentioned it today,” he said. “That we can’t look at making the playoffs right now. We can just look at our next game and our next practice and what we can do to get better every single day. Even though myself, and Chase (Budinger) and Brandon (Roy) and (Andrei Kirilenko) are out right now, we can still look at getting back on the court and getting better.”

— Reported by Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Blog)