March 2013 – Page 25 – NBA Blog

Suns center Marcin Gortat out 3-4 weeks with foot sprain

Phoenix Suns center Marcin Gortat today underwent an MRI that revealed a Lisfranc (midfoot) sprain in his right foot. The injury is expected to sideline him for approximately three to four weeks.

The 6-11, 245-pound center sustained the injury with 34.6 seconds remaining in the first quarter of the Suns’ game against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday. Including last night’s game, Gortat has appeared in every game since being acquired by the Suns on Dec. 18, 2010—182 consecutive. He has started 138 consecutive games for Phoenix, every game since March 27, 2011, and is the only Sun to start every game this season. He owns season averages of 11.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.61 blocks in 61 games (61 starts).

With a 21-40 record, the Suns have been one of the league’s worst teams this season, and being without Gortat will only make things worse.

LeBron hits winner, Heat top Magic for 16th in row

Game on the line, LeBron James knew he was going to get to the rim.

And he delivered.

James scored 26 points, including a go-ahead layup after getting past DeQuan Jones with 3.2 seconds left, and the Heat scrambled late to beat the Orlando Magic 97-96 on Wednesday night and extend their franchise-record winning streak to 16 games.

”I had no intention of shooting another jumper,” James said.

He missed a pair of 3-pointers about 90 seconds earlier, so he went for the 3-footer instead. From the right wing, James drove diagonally through the lane, then used his left hand – after all, he is left-handed – for the basket that won it for Miami. It was the first time he came up with what became a game-winning basket in the final five seconds of a game since a 3-pointer beat the Magic in the 2009 playoffs, according to STATS LLC…

Dwyane Wade scored 24 points on 10-for-16 shooting – he’s now shooting 62 percent in his last seven games – and Chris Bosh added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who blew a 20-point, second-half lead and then rallied from a five-point deficit in the final minutes.

Nik Vucevic had 25 points and 21 rebounds for the Magic, who got 16 points apiece from Jameer Nelson and Tobias Harris, 13 from Arron Afflalo and 12 from Maurice Harkless…

The foul discrepancy in the game – 30 for the Magic, 17 by Miami – was a hot topic in the Orlando locker room afterward. The Magic went 10 for 12 from the foul line, Miami 27 of 31.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Dion Waiters out Wednesday with flu

Cavaliers starting rookie guard Dion Waiters will miss his second straight game with the flu.

Both Waiters and reserve guard Daniel Gibson are out for Wednesday’s game against Utah. Waiters, selected the Eastern Conference rookie of the month in February, also missed Monday’s game against New York along with rookie Tyler Zeller.

Zeller is feeling better. He practiced on Tuesday, took part in the shoot around and has been cleared to play. Wayne Ellington will make his second straight start for Waiters.

— Reported by the Associated Press

J.J. Redick fitting in well for Bucks

J.J. Redick has played five games with the Bucks and the team has won four, after losing by one point in his debut against Atlanta.

Not a bad start.

And Redick has made a big difference coming off the bench, averaging 15.4 points and providing another backcourt weapon to go along with Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings. Redick scored eight of the Bucks’ 10 points in overtime in their 109-108 victory over Utah on Monday night.

But Redick knows plenty of challenges await his new team, beginning Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center. The Bucks had a team meeting at the hotel Wednesday morning as they prepared for the opener of their three-game California trip.

— Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Kris Humphries not in rotation for Nets

Kris Humphries’ official divorce from Kim Kardashian is fast approaching, but his divorce from playing time will come much sooner.

According to a league source, Humphries was informed by coach P.J. Carlesimo Wednesday morning that he will no longer be part of the Nets’ shortened rotation.

Carlesimo has said in recent days that he wants to limit the rotation to nine or 10 players as the Nets head into the stretch run before the postseason.

The 6’9″ forward is averaging 18.4 minutes per game this season, a number that has dwindled substantially since the beginning of the year. He has grabbed 5.9 rebounds per game while scoring 5.5 points per contest.

The decision to bench Humphries is curious given how fervently the Nets have worked to keep him.

— Reported by Seth Walder and Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News

Hawks recall Mike Scott from D-League

The Atlanta Hawks have recalled rookie forward Mike Scott from the Bakersfield Jam, their NBA Development League affiliate, Hawks President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.

Scott was assigned on March 1st and started three games for the Jam, averaging 24.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 37.3 minutes (.482 FG%, .909 FT%), recording at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in each contest. The three-game stretch was Scott’s second assignment to the Jam this season.

Scott, a second round pick (43rd overall) from Virginia in the 2012 NBA Draft, has seen action in 25 games for the Hawks this season, averaging 3.0 points and 2.1 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game (.452 FG%, .750 FT%).

He will be available for tonight’s game against the 76ers.

Luke Babbitt barely playing for Blazers lately

Over the last five Blazers games, Babbitt has played a total of just 9 seconds. There have been four “DNP — Coach’s Decisions” etched next to Babbitt’s name in NBA box scores during this time as he has taken a back seat — along the Blazers’ bench — to emerging rookie forward Victor Claver.

It’s a sudden and emphatic role change for Babbitt, who earlier this season — particularly after that big outing against the Bobcats — was a semi-regular in coach Terry Stotts’ always-evolving rotation as a “stretch four.”

During a three-game run in December, when the Blazers defeated the San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Hornets and Denver Nuggets in consecutive games, Babbitt reached double figures in scoring each outing. He seemed poised for a consistent, impactful season.

— Reported by Joe Freeman of the Oregonian

Heat, Greg Oden will talk more over summer

The Miami Heat considered center Greg Oden for their final roster spot before last week signing a guy who is 15 years older. But Oden will be back on the Heat’s radar this summer.

Mike Conley Sr., the agent for Oden, said Wednesday he had discussions with Miami president Pat Riley about the spot the Heat had open between Feb. 20 and last Saturday, when they signed 40-year-old Juwan Howard to a 10-day contract. But Conley Sr. said it was decided it’s best to wait until the summer before talking further about Oden, the NBA’s top draft choice in 2007 who is trying to make a comeback after not having played in the NBA since December 2009 due to knee injuries.

“The Heat are interested in him, and he’s interested in them,’’ Conley Sr. said in a phone interview with FOX Sports Florida. “In Miami’s situation, it just made sense to wait until after the season.’’

Oden, who is continuing to rehab in Columbus, Ohio, where he had played at Ohio State, isn’t ready yet to play this season anyway. Conley Sr. had looked into the possibility of Oden signing with a team for rehab purposes, but he said no team stepped up with an offer.

— Reported by Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports

Chris Kaman hopes to stick with Mavs

For the Mavericks, that’s 60 percent of the team — nine of 15 players, assuming O.J. Mayo doesn’t exercise his player option for next season, which would seem unlikely.

Chris Kaman is one of those players. He signed a one-year deal last summer at $8 million and as far as he’s concerned, he’d like to stick around longer. But he knows now is not the time to make an issue of it.

“Hopefully, I’ll have an option to come back here next year,” he said. “I like Dallas. The people here do a real good job. It’s one of the most professional organizations I’ve ever been a part of. For me, the top one. I like how they do things and maintain their professionalism throughout the whole year, whether we’re up or down.”

— Reported by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News

Iman Shumpert still trying to regain form after torn ACL

He admittedly isn’t the player he was last season when he ranked seventh in the NBA in steals, made the All-Rookie first team and was the only first-year player to receive Defensive Player of the Year votes.

The explosiveness isn’t there. The lateral quickness isn’t the same. Things the athletic Shumpert would do easily, like finishing at the rim, aren’t happening nearly as much.

“It [ticks] me off,” he said.

In 20 games, Shumpert is averaging 4.7 points, shooting 30.8 percent from the field, 34 percent from three-point range and 64.7 percent from the foul line, and collecting 0.90 steals a game.

He’s playing fewer minutes and doesn’t have the ball as much. Most of his stats are markedly down from last year, when Shumpert averaged 9.5 points, converted 40.1 percent of his shots, 30.6 percent from three-point range and 79.8 percent from the line and averaged 1.71 steals.

— Reported by Al Iannazzone of New York Newsday