Month: March 2013

Miami Heat go for 19th win in a row tonight

LeBron

LeBron James once carried a team to 66 wins. Ray Allen played for a club that won 19 consecutive games. Dwyane Wade led a team that finished with the Eastern Conference’s best record.

For each, it’s a footnote in a season where no championship was won.

There’s no arguing that the Miami Heat are playing better than any other team in the NBA right now. They’ve won 18 straight games, are sitting atop the league standings and have a very real chance of wrapping up the No. 1 seed in the East playoffs by the end of the month. While all that sounds good, it’s not changing the singular priority of this Heat season.

Championship-or-bust was the thinking Miami carried into this year, and not even the seventh-longest winning streak in NBA history has changed that.

“It’s not our goal,” James said. “Our goal isn’t to win games consecutive. Our goal is to win a championship. Right now, our goal is to get better each and every game, to continue to improve. That was never one of our goals coming into the season, see how many games we’d win in a row. Our goal is to win a championship and not take any shortcuts in that process.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

Dwight Howard faces the Magic in Orlando tonight

Dwight Howard

The number 12 is no longer sacred in Orlando.

The man who used to wear it, Los Angeles Lakers’ center Dwight Howard, also once shouldered the Magic’s hopes of attaining an elusive first NBA championship.

But after eight years of chasing it, and taking Orlando through one of the most turbulent seasons in its history last year, the man who called himself Superman is now the city’s biggest villain.

He returns for the first time Tuesday since his offseason trade to the Lakers to face the jilted fans, front office members and handful of teammates that he left behind.

”I’m not sure,” Magic point guard Jameer Nelson said when asked about his expectations for Tuesday. ”Obviously the atmosphere is gonna be probably a little turned up, a littler crazier than we’ve had so far this year.”

Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu and Glen Davis are the only players on the Magic’s roster that have previously played with Howard. With Davis out with a broken foot and Turkoglu serving a suspension for violating the NBA’s drug policy, only Nelson will play in the rematch.

— Reported by Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press

Ticket waitlist in Seattle for Kings announced

The prospective owner of the Sacramento Kings is calling on fans in Seattle to sign up for a “priority ticket waitlist” as a way to show the NBA how much interest there is in bringing pro basketball back to the area.

Chris Hansen made the announcement on his SonicsArena.com website on Monday. It was his first statement since the announcement of the sale of the Kings from the Maloof family to Hansen and Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on Jan. 21. Hansen and Ballmer have a signed agreement to acquire a 65 percent stake in the Kings for $341 million from the Maloofs. That sale is pending league approval.

“In addition to helping us understand and prioritize the demand for tickets, registering your interest will be a critical step in demonstrating to the NBA and basketball fans around the country the unbelievable passion that exists in the Emerald City to BRING BACK OUR SONICS!” Hansen wrote.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Dennis Rodman hopes to meet new Pope

Dennis Rodman — fresh from his basketball summit in North Korea — is now setting his sights on fixing those pesky problems plaguing the Catholic Church … because he’s jetting to Rome today in hopes of meeting the new Pope.

Rodman tells TMZ … his “people” in Rome have been in touch with the mucky muck’s at the Vatican and they’re trying to arrange a sit-down with the next person to don the big funny hat.

Rodman — who wants to be there when the white smoke fills the air — is gambling just a bit, because the Cardinals are voting today and Rodman won’t land until late tonight.  But our top Catholic source — Shevonne — tells us … it’s unlikely anyone will get the nod on the first vote.

— Reported by TMZ

Knicks could make roster move

rasheed wallace

Mike Woodson hinted that the club could make a roster to move to add another player but in a strange twist the Knicks head coach indicated that releasing injured Rasheed Wallace isn’t under consideration.

The Knicks have 13 available players with Wallace and Amar’e Stoudemire sidelined for the remainder of the regular season. In order to sign a player, the Knicks would have to create a roster spot by cutting a player. Wallace, who had foot surgery last month, is the most logical candidate since it is unlikely he will play again this season. In fact, he may be forced back into retirement.

But when Woodson was asked if he has reconsidering waiving Wallace, a player he convinced to come out of two-year retirement, the head coach said: “I don’t know where that came from. That was you guys (in the media). I never made that statement about waiving Rasheed. Rasheed still has a chance to bounce back as well but again as we go up this road we’ve just got to wait and see.

— Reported by the New York Daily News

Celtics sign Shavlik Randolph to second 10-day contract

Celtics sign Shavlik Randolph to second 10-day contract

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed forward Shavlik Randolph to a second 10-day contract.

Randolph, a 6’10” forward, has yet to appear in a game for the Celtics since he was signed to his first 10-day contract on March 1. He appeared in 28 games for the Foshan Long Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association earlier this season averaging 32.0 points, 14.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks in 36.5 minutes per game while shooting 53.1% from the floor.

Kyrie Irving out 3-4 weeks with shoulder injury

Kyrie Irving out 3-4 weeks with shoulder injury

Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving experienced a left shoulder injury during the third quarter of last night’s game against the Raptors in Toronto.

X-rays taken at the Air Canada Centre were negative. He was reevaluated today at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health where he received an MRI and physical exam by Cavaliers Head Team Physician Dr. Richard Parker which revealed a Left AC (acromioclavicular) sprain.

Irving will undergo a period of rest and treatment and is currently projected to be out three to four weeks.

The 21-42 Cavaliers are the 12th seed in the Eastern conference. They weren’t going to make the playoffs this season, but losing their young superstar still hurts and will make the team’s remaining games that much more of a struggle.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, “Irving was driving to the basket when he took a hip from Raptors rookie forward/center Jonas Valancuinas and tumbled to the floor with 2:04 left in the third quarter of the Cavs’ 100-96 loss at Toronto. Irving landed on his left shoulder, lay on the floor for a bit, was tended to on the bench by athletic trainer Max Benton and then returned to the game to shoot two free throws — one-handed. He made the first, but missed the second. Toronto’s Landry Fields grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled by Luke Walton. At that point Irving headed directly to the locker room and did not return. After the game, he needed help to get his Duke sweatshirt over his head. Then this afternoon, the Cavs announced he had a left AC (acromioclavicular) sprain or a sprained AC joint, an injury more commonly suffered by quarterbacks when they’re tackled and land on their shoulders.”

According to the Akron Beacon Journal, “Since the Cavs selected him No. 1 overall in 2011, Irving has suffered a concussion, a fractured wrist, injured both shoulders, hyperextended his knee and fractured a finger. He also broke a bone in his jaw this season but played through the injury without missing a game thanks to a protective mask. Irving missed most of his one season at Duke with a toe injury and battled problems with his right shoulder while in high school. He missed 10 games after spraining his right shoulder last season.”

Greg Monroe angry after Pistons loss to Clippers

greg monroe

How’s this for a defensive effort? The Pistons allowed 14 triples and 14 dunks as the Clippers shot 62.5% from the field.

The “effort” angered Pistons center Greg Monroe as he blasted the team.

“Maybe guys don’t care,” Monroe said. “Something has to change, though. This can’t continue. If you don’t want to play, just say it. This has got to stop. It’s unacceptable.

“If you don’t want to play, you should say it. This is unacceptable. It’s gone on too long. If you don’t want to be on the court, if you aren’t going to give 100% on the court, then just don’t play.”

— Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press

Clippers locking into playoff mindset

Winning the Pacific Division will guarantee the Clippers a top four seed but you can throw the seedings out the window if a lower-seeded team finishes with a better record than the Clippers. The team with the better record would capture home-court advantage in any round. So for example in a possible 4-5 match-up, the Grizzlies and Nuggets would have homecourt as the five seed if they finish with a better record.

Though the Clippers have always said they are only focusing on the here and now, with 17 games left in the season, the focus has to shift toward the playoffs and getting the best seed and matchup possible.

It’s only a matter of time before the Clippers capture their first division title and win 50 or more games in a season for the first time in franchise history. But it will be all for naught if they sputter down the stretch and are forced to open the playoffs on the road against Memphis or Denver.

They’d probably like to avoid Memphis and Denver altogether and try to face a team such as Houston, which has lost all three games against the Clippers this season.

— Reported by Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles