Month: November 2015

Thunder coach Donovan says Kevin Durant injury is not serious

The OKC Thunder are 5-3 this season, but are currently without the services of Kevin Durant, who through eight games is averaging 28.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 3.0 apg. Here’s the Oklahoman reporting the latest:

Thunder coach says Kevin Durant injury is not serious

Thunder coach Billy Donovan said Thursday that Kevin Durant’s injury is “nothing too serious” and that Durant hasn’t been frustrated by his latest injury setback.

On a day when Durant was not made available to the media, Donovan was asked about Durant’s mood since straining his hamstring against the Washington Wizards this week. Durant was third in the league in scoring (28.1 points per game) before the strain, which will keep him sidelined at least 7-10 days.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist helping Hornets coaching staff

Here’s the Charlotte Observer reporting on injured Hornets small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who is still being put to work in an intelligent way by the squad:

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist helping Hornets coaching staff

You might describe Charlotte Hornets small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist this season as the NBA’s highest-paid, quality-control scout.

Kidd-Gilchrist is out for the season following shoulder surgery last month to repair a torn labrum. He’s now out of his sling and traveling with the team, something he insisted on doing.

Between his physical rehabilitation sessions, the Hornets have put him to work filling out game reports on what the team does well and what needs improvement.

Kidd-Gilchrist loves it.

“I’m actually on the coaching staff now, so that helps,” Kidd-Gilchrist said during the team’s recent three-game road trip. “I have homework for every game on what I see out on the floor and how can we get better at the defensive end. It’s fun learning the game from the other side.”

Arron Afflalo makes Knicks debut

Wednesday night in Charlotte, the Hornets edged the Knicks, 95-93. Knicks shooting guard Arron Afflako, coming off injury, made his debut and in 28 minutes shot 6-of-13 for 12 points and six rebounds. For more, here’s the New York Post:

Arron Afflalo makes Knicks debut

Lost amid the commotion over the final frantic 30 seconds and Kristaps Porzingis’ near-miracle buzzer-non-beater was Arron Afflalo’s first game as a Knick.

Putting aside the heartbreaking defeat, it went very well. Afflalo, a key free-agent signing for two years and $16 million, had more bounce than rust, hitting three of his first four shots as the Knicks seized control in the first quarter. Afflalo also hit a big 16-footer with 1:27 left to tie the score, but admitted to fatigue after his big start.

“I haven’t played since training camp,’’ said Afflalo, whose last action was Oct. 21 in the preseason finale in Boston. “Mentally, you feel you can take on the world until you get out there and you’re short on oxygen. It was good for a first game, getting tired battling with those guys in a close game. But I expect myself to be much better Friday.’’ …

With Afflalo, the Knicks seem like a different club. Even point guard Jose Calderon looked a lot smoother playing alongside the 30-year-old vet. Calderon had a nice night, shooting 6-of-9 from the field for 13 points. The Calderon-Afflalo pairing makes sense.

Rockets defense not up to par

Here’s the Houston Chronicle reporting on the Rockets, who are off to a disappointing 4-4 start:

Last season, the Rockets were the NBA’s sixth-rated defensive team, allowing 100.5 points per 100 possessions and were considerably better when Dwight Howard played.

Through eight games this season, they rank 27th, allowing six more points per 100 possessions with opponents making 47.1 percent of their shots, the third-worst field goal percentage defense in the league.

The problem, they said, was made clear when the low-scoring and previously winless Nets burned them for 106 points on Wednesday.

“Effort and rebounding,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said of the primary issues. “We have not been very good defensively.”

Nets beat Rockets for first win of season

Coach Lionel Hollins and the Brooklyn Nets have been working hard all season with nothing to show for it.

That work finally paid off Wednesday night with their first win of the season.

Bojan Bogdanovic came off the bench to score a season-high 22 points with nine rebounds and lead the Nets to a 106-98 victory over the Houston Rockets…

Joe Johnson added 16 points and 10 assists for Brooklyn. Brook Lopez had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

— AP

Wilson Chandler to undergo season-ending hip surgery

Wilson Chandler to undergo season-ending hip surgery

Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler will undergo surgery to repair a labral tear in his right hip and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, Nuggets General Manager and Executive Vice President Tim Connelly announced today.

“Since his arrival in Denver in 2011, Wilson has embraced everything that has been asked of him and more,” said Nuggets President and Governor Josh Kroenke. “No one has worked harder, and to see him miss our entire season is devastating as I know how badly he wants to be on the court helping his teammates. Knowing the person behind the player and the character he has displayed during previous periods of adversity, Wilson will embrace this challenge and come back as a healthy and improved player next season. We look forward to assisting him every step of the way in his recovery.”

“While we are extremely disappointed by the news, we are confident that Wilson will be at full strength to start next season. Wilson is one of the league’s elite workers and we are going to be there for him during this entire process,” Connelly stated.

“I’m incredibly disappointed at this point, I put in so much work over the summer to make myself a better player,” said Chandler. “I was really looking forward to this year, being out there battling with my teammates, being a part of the change. I dedicated my whole summer to self-improvement and all I had on my mind this off-season and preseason was ‘this was my year, I was going to help this team win.’ So this is very frustrating and heart-breaking to say the least. I just want to say thank you to the whole organization for supporting me at a time like this.”

Chandler, 28, has spent the last five years as a Denver Nugget, appearing in 212 games (163 starts) and averaging 13.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He has played in 445 total games (343 starts) over eight seasons with Denver and New York, owning career averages of 13.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists.

Chandler was originally drafted out of DePaul University by New York with the 23rd overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft.

Kevin Durant out with hamstring injury

Kevin Durant out with hamstring injury

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) today that confirmed he has a strained left hamstring that he sustained during the second quarter of last night’s 125-101 victory at Washington, the team announced today. Durant will be re-evaluated in 7-10 days at which time a further update will be provided.

This season, Durant is averaging 28.1 points (fourth in NBA), 7.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.25 blocks and 34.7 minutes in eight games (all starts).

Kobe Bryant dealing with sore back

This is probably Kobe Bryant’s final season in the NBA, and if so, every chance to see him play is special. But according to the Los Angeles Daily News blog, fans won’t see him in action tonight vs. the Magic:

Kobe Bryant dealing with sore back

Kobe Bryant will sit out when the Lakers (1-5) play the Orlando Magic (3-5) on Wednesday at Amway Center because of back soreness. This marks the second game in consecutive games the Lakers’ 37-year-old star will miss after reporting his back tightening up.

Bryant said on Tuesday night that he hurt his back during training camp through normal “wear and tear” of a 20-year NBA career. But he reported minimal issues up until Tuesday.

Sixers off to 0-7 season start

Even with the drafting of talented rookie Jahlil Okafor, everyone knew that the Philadelphia 76ers were facing another tough season. And everyone was right. They are 0-7, and on paper not much better than their record suggests — though they have played a very tough early-season schedule. Still, the struggle was expected. Here’s CSN Philly reporting:

In his lone season at Duke, Jahlil Okafor was in just four losing games and just one in his final 19 games. T.J. McConnell only lost four games at Arizona last season with just one defeat in his final 15 games.

But in their first seven NBA games, Okafor and McConnell have nearly doubled that total.

Though both rookies have impressed through the first two weeks of the season, the Sixers haven’t come close to cracking the win column. At 0-7, the Sixers are last in the NBA in point differential at minus-13.3. They are also in the bottom fifth in field goal percentage, points and points per possession.

Defensively, the Sixers rank in the bottom fifth in those categories, too. In fact, the only aspect of the game in which the Sixers have been better than the opposition this season has been in trips to the foul line and three-pointers attempted.