December 2014 – Page 3 – NBA Blog

Ricky Rubio health update

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting on injured Wolves guard Ricky Rubio:

Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio ran with his teammates Friday morning for the first time, another signpost on his road to return since he severely sprained his left ankle on Nov. 7 in Orlando.

Wolves coach Flip Saunders noticed a little hitch remaining in Rubio’s giddyap when he ran during full-court, 5-on-0 offensive work at the team’s morning shoot-around before Friday’s game at Denver.

Saunders hopes Rubio runs without a hitch or limp so he can begin contact work in another week with the New Year’s arrival and then play limited minutes in a game seven to 10 days after that.

Kenneth Faried grabs 25 rebounds vs. Wolves

Here’s the Denver Post reporting on an amazing game power forward Kenneth Faried put up in Saturday’s Nuggets win over the Minnesota Timberwolves:

It’s the little things Brian Shaw hates. The times when his players don’t box out. The times when the ball bounces in front of them and they still don’t go for the ball. The (many) missed free throws. The shoddy defense.

He must have had a hard time sitting through Friday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Pepsi Center.

Coming off a blowout loss at Charlotte and a sloppy defeat at Brooklyn, the Nuggets returned home to host the Timberwolves, the worst team in the West, in a game that, on paper, should have been Denver’s for the taking.

And until the fourth quarter, Kenneth Faried appeared to be the only Nuggets player who wanted it.

Faried, who turned in one of his finest showings of the season against Brooklyn three nights earlier, came back with an even better one Friday with 26 points and a career-high 25 rebounds while leading the Nuggets to a 106-102 victory over the Timberwolves.

Magic assign Devyn Marble to D-League

Orlando Magic guard Devyn Marble has been assigned to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.

Marble (6’6”, 200, 9/21/92) has appeared in five games during his rookie season with Orlando, averaging 0.8 ppg. in 1.0 minpg. Originally selected in the second round (56th overall) by Denver, his draft rights, along with Evan Fournier, were acquired by Orlando in exchange for Arron Afflalo on June 26.

Marble played in 136 career games during four years at the University of Iowa, averaging 12.5 ppg., 3.4 rpg., 2.9 apg. and 1.29 stlpg. in 27.6 minpg. He ranks second on the school’s all-time games played list with 136. Marble also ranks in Hawkeyes’ history in scoring (fifth, 1,694 points), assists (sixth, 397) and steals (seventh, 176).

Rockets sign Josh Smith, waive Tarik Black

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed unrestricted free agent Josh Smith. The versatile big man was the youngest player in NBA to record 500 career blocks, was twice named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week (12/9/07 and 12/10/12) and was named to the 2010 All-NBA Defensive Second Team.

Smith (6-9, 225, Oak Hill Academy) owns career averages of 15.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.0 blocks in 781 games (758 starts) with the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons. The versatile big man averaged career highs of 18.8 points, 9.6 rebounds per game while starting all 66 games of the 2011-12 season. Smith has averaged double-digit scoring in every season since his rookie year in 2004-05. He has also started 52 career postseason contests, averaging 15.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, as well as winning Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Series in 2009, 2010 and 2011

Selected by the Atlanta Hawks 17th overall in the 2004 NBA Draft, Smith rank’s highly among many of Atlanta’s all-time franchise leaders. He ranks ninth in games played (676), seventh in total rebounds (5407), ninth in free throws made (2044), fifth in steals (857) and second in blocks (1440).

The 11th year forward was waived by the Detroit Pistons on December 22, 2014 and was signed as a free agent by the Rockets after clearing waivers on December 24, 2014.

In order to maintain a roster of 15 players, the team has requested waivers on Tarik Black.

Black (6-8, 253, Kansas), has appeared in 25 contests with the Rockets this season (including 12 starts) averaging 4.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game. Undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft, Tarik Black was originally signed by the Houston Rockets on August 27, 2014.

Quincy Acy suspended for foul on John Wall

New York Knicks forward Quincy Acy has been suspended one game without pay for committing a Flagrant Foul Two which initiated an altercation with Washington Wizards guard John Wall. Wall has been fined $15,000 for pushing Acy and escalating the incident, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, which resulted in an ejection for Acy, occurred with 5:31 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ 102-91 loss to the Wizards at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, Dec. 25.

Acy will serve his suspension on Saturday, Dec. 27, when the Knicks travel to Sacramento to play the Kings at Sleep Train Arena.

Carmelo Anthony relates to Knicks fans

Here’s ESPN New York reporting on the Knicks, who keep on losing:

Carmelo Anthony relates to frustrated Knicks fans

There’s a New York Knicks fan out there who lives and dies with the team, a fan who’s been doing much more dying than living with this group.

Carmelo Anthony has a message for that fan.

“I feel what the fans are feeling,” Anthony said after the Knicks fell to 5-26 following a Christmas Day loss to the Wizards.

“The fans are dying, we’re dying. We’re out there, we’re not producing. We didn’t expect, I didn’t expect to be sitting at 5-26,” he said. “So as much as I feel for the fans, I feel for us going through it, too. I don’t expect nobody to feel sorry for us, I don’t expect nobody to feel sorry for me.”

Kevin Durant remains out with ankle sprain

Here’s the Oklahoman with the latest on Kevin Durant’s ankle injury:

Kevin Durant missed his fourth straight game Thursday at San Antonio due to a mild ankle sprain he sustained just before halftime at Golden State last week.

Thunder coach Scott Brooks announced before the game that Durant “could not go if he wanted to go.”

Brooks labeled Durant as day-to-day. But the mounting number of missed games due to what the team diagnosed as a mild sprain has now become a mild concern — especially since the injury is to the same foot Durant recently underwent surgery on to repair a fractured bone.

Raptors assign Bruno Caboclo to D-League

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday they have assigned forward Bruno Caboclo (cuh-BO-clo) to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League. Caboclo will continue to be included on the Raptors’ roster and will remain on the team’s inactive list. He is expected to be in uniform for the Mad Ants on Saturday when they face the Iowa Energy in Des Moines, Iowa (8 p.m. ET).

Caboclo made his NBA debut November 21 versus Milwaukee and scored a season-high eight points in 12 minutes of action. He shot two-for-three from beyond the arc with a rebound and a block against the Bucks. He has played a total of 15 minutes in three games with Toronto this season, recording eight points and two rebounds.

A native of Osasco, Brazil, Caboclo was selected 20th overall by Toronto in the 2014 NBA Draft. He appeared in 16 Brazil League games for Pinheiros/Sky last season, averaging 4.9 points and 3.1 rebounds. Caboclo was the MVP of the 2013 Basketball Without Borders South America camp in Buenos Aires.

Anderson Varejao out for season with torn left achilles tendon

Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao suffered a left ankle/foot injury during the third quarter of last night’s game at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Additional examination and MRI today at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health have revealed a torn left achilles tendon.

While it is anticipated that Varejao will miss the remainder of the 2014-15 season, a timetable for his return to basketball activity will be developed after he has surgery in the near future to repair the achilles and his rehabilitation process is established.

Should Pistons have waived Josh Smith?

Here’s the Washington Post with analysis of the Detroit Pistons decision to waive Josh Smith. Seems to us (InsideHoops) that it will help their chemistry. But, it’s a costly move. Here’s the Post:

Josh Smith move a questionable decision for Pistons

With the considerable problems he inherited by taking over a franchise with years of disillusionment and a roster of mismatched talents, Stan Van Gundy is not responsible for most of the hot mess in Detroit. But Van Gundy cannot escape the blame for mishandling the situation with Josh Smith to the point that the versatile but frustrating forward was stunningly waived with more than $27 million remaining on his contract over the next seasons.

The move, which one rival executive described as “reckless,” rids the Pistons of Smith’s errant jumpers – he was on pace to finish last in true shooting percentage among qualified players for the second year in a row – but keeps him on franchise’s books for $5.4 million per season through 2020 under the league’s stretch provision. The Pistons have attempted to justify annually shelling out the equivalent of the full midlevel exception for nothing by championing the $8.1 million in salary cap room that Smith’s removal will provide and how a steadily increasing salary cap will minimize that salary slot when the league’s new television begins in 2016-17.