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Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers has been fined $15,000 for hitting Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin in the throat with a forearm, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.
The foul on Chalmers, which was called a common foul on the floor, has been upgraded by the league office to a Flagrant Foul 2. The incident occurred with 8:05 remaining in the third quarter of the Heat’s 102-97 win over the Clippers on Thursday, Nov. 7, at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Detroit Pistons are lucky to have a talent like Greg Monroe. He’s good. But can be better. Here’s the Detroit Free Press reporting:
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Add Detroit Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks to the chorus.
For power forward Greg Monroe to take the next step in his development, he must become proficient at knocking down midrange jumpers.
That has been known for some time, but Cheeks said he mentioned it again to Monroe during Wednesday’s practice.
“I just told him today that if I was him, I’d practice that jump shot right at that left and right elbow,” Cheeks said.
The New York Knicks aren’t off to a good start. They’ve been without the services of J.R. Smith, but still, the team hasn’t played as competitively as hoped. Here’s the New York Post on the situation:
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After Tyson Chandler went down and the Knicks were beaten by the Bobcats on Tuesday night, Carmelo Anthony initiated a players-only team meeting in the locker room.
Anthony said he and others spoke and one of his messages was the Knicks must “want it more’’ and stop playing as if they don’t believe in themselves. The reeling Knicks are off to a 1-3 start, and suffered a devastating loss when Chandler was sidelined for 4-6 weeks with a broken leg. Their mental state seems very fragile, too.
“We shut the door after the game, talked it out a little bit,’’ a downbeat Anthony said Friday at the morning shootaround at Time Warner Cable Arena ahead of a road rematch with the Bobcats. “Try to figure out what was happening and going on. We just weren’t competing the way we know how to compete. We weren’t playing the way we know how to play. Hopefully the conversation we had after the game made everyone else realize, though it is early, there are things we need to fix and fix now.’’
Should the Boston Celtics give minutes to Kris Humphries, or instead focus in developing some of their younger talent? Here’s WEEI reporting:
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The Kris Humphries Minutes Watch is one of the more interesting subplots of this Celtics season.
By sticking him on the end of the bench early this season, the C’s benefit twofold, accelerating the development of rookies Kelly Olynyk and Vitor Faverani while improving the team’s lottery chances.
On the flip side, the Celtics might also benefit from increasing Humphries’ playing time. He’s a 10-year NBA veteran who’s averaged a double-double per 36 minutes over his career, so there’s little doubt he gives Brad Stevens a better chance to stay afloat until Rajon Rondo returns than Faverani. Meanwhile, showcasing him might actually increase his expiring contract’s trade value in the coming months.
No, Kevin Love has no plans to retire from basketball and try this out, but Mavs coach Rick Carlisle is a fan of Timberwolves forward Kevin Love’s throwing arm. Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram blog:
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From Rick Carlisle’s standpoint, Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love could probably have a pro career with the Minnesota Vikings if he wanted it.
“The guy can throw a chest pass 100 yards,” the Dallas Mavericks’ coach said after Friday’s shoot around. “He should be an NFL quarterback and can throw chest passes to the receivers.”
One player well known for his chest passes was Wes Unseld, who led the Washington Bullets to the 1978 NBA title. Carlisle sees some Unseld in Love.
“I remember Wes Unseld,” Carlisle said. “Unfortunately, that’s how old I am.”
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Dallas Mavericks guard-forward Vince Carter has been suspended one game without pay for throwing an elbow and making contact with the head of Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.
The incident, for which Carter was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected, occurred with 4:01 remaining in the third quarter of Dallas’ 107-93 loss to the Thunder on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Carter will serve his suspension tonight when the Mavericks visit the Minnesota Timberwolves.
To view the play, click on this link.
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The Brooklyn Nets have assigned forward Tornike Shengelia and guard Tyshawn Taylor to the Springfield Armor of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by General Manager Billy King.
Shengelia appeared in 19 games last season with the Nets, averaging 1.6 points and 1.2 rebounds in 4.9 minutes per game. In 10 games for the Armor last season, Shengelia held D-League averages of 24.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game. He has not appeared in a game with the Nets this season.
Taylor appeared in 38 games last season with the Nets, averaging 2.2 points in 5.8 minutes per game. Taylor averaged 24.6 points, 7.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds in eight D-League appearances last season. He has not appeared in a game with the Nets this season.
Both players will join the team tomorrow for the start of Springfield’s training camp.
Good news from the Golden State Warriors this afternoon. Not that an injury to Stephen Curry is good news. Rather, that it’s minor, and no big deal.
Curry suffered a left ankle bone bruise during last night’s 106-93 victory at Minnesota, an MRI conducted this morning in Minnesota confirmed. He is listed as day-to-day.
According to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group, “Warriors point guard Stephen Curry got some good new Thursday. An MRI revealed he sustained a bone bruise in his left ankle, per Golden State. No ankle sprain.”
Look. You can’t just attend a sporting event and watch the sport. You have to eat, and drink, and then eat and drink some more. And then halftime comes, and you keep eating and drinking. And on it goes. It’s important. And here’s the Sacramento Bee on the situation at Kings games:
The Sacramento Kings acknowledged they’re having “growing pains” with some of the new services available to fans at Sleep Train Arena.
Most notably, fans have taken to social media to complain about long lines and slow service at the arena’s revamped concession stands. Those stations are offering food from local farms and ranches, along with some local beer and wine.
Fans have generally had good things to say about the quality of the food – but say it isn’t getting to them fast enough.
If there’s one reason for a professional basketball player to leave right in the middle of a game, this is it. The Associated Press reports:
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Memphis forward Zach Randolph left the Grizzlies’ game Wednesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans when his fiancee, Faune, went into labor.
Randolph played 8 minutes of the first quarter and hit his only shot before leaving the arena in the second quarter.