NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog
NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
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Further medical evaluation confirms that Portland guard Evan Turner sustained a fracture of the third metacarpal in his right hand.
He is expected to be sidelined for 5-6 weeks. The injury will not require surgery.
Turner injured his hand during the third quarter of Portland’s 114-113 win at Dallas on Tuesday.
In 50 games (10 starts) this season, Turner, 28, is posting averages of 9.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
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Lance Stephenson is trying to get back on the basketball map.
The Timberwolves, who recently lost guard Zach LaVine to a season-ending injury, signed Stephenson to a 10-day contract today.
Stephenson, 26, played in six games for the New Orleans Pelicans this season, averaging 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists before being waived on November 7.
The 6-5 guard played his first four seasons (2010-14) with Indiana after being drafted by the Pacers in the second round (40th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft. His best season came in 2013-14 when he averaged 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 78 games and led the NBA in triple-doubles with five.
In addition to Indiana and New Orleans, Stephenson has also played with Charlotte, LA Clippers and Memphis. He has career averages of 8.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 346 games. Stephenson has appeared in 46 playoff games, posting averages of 10.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
Stephenson will wear uniform No. 7.
It’s been a rough season for the Timberwolves. At 19-33, they have yet to live up to their potential, and are currently on a 4-game losing streak. Though with a young squad and new head coach, there’s still hope they will show improvement in the second half of the season.
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Charlotte Hornets guard Ramon Sessions has undergone successful surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee. The surgery was performed by Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, NY. Sessions is expected to miss approximately four to six weeks. Updates on his status will be provided when available.
The ninth-year pro out of Nevada is averaging 6.2 points, 2.6 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per game, appearing in 50 games this season (including one start).
The 33-19 Jazz have the 4th best record in the Western conference. Things look good. But after averaging 16.0 points per game or more over the last two seasons, power forward Derrick Favors, coming off injury, has had a fairly quiet season, putting up 9.4 points and 6.1 rebounds in 23.0 minutes per game. That court time could very well increase as he gets more comfortable, of course. Here’s the Deseret News reporting:
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Jazz coach Quin Snyder said he had a chat with Favors before Monday’s game, trying to keep his talented 25-year-old’s spirits up. On Saturday night, Favors seemed dejected, admitted he was frustrated and said he was just trying to get to the offseason healthy.
Two nights later, Favors was back to his old self after a 20-point, 10-rebound outing in a 120-95 thrashing of Atlanta.
“We talked a little bit about it before the game. It requires him to stay upbeat and stay positive and continue to do the things that he’s been successful doing,” Snyder said. “He’s done a great job preparing himself this year. It will come. It’s happening. Just sometimes things don’t happen as quickly as you want. He just can’t get discouraged and frustrated. Keep working and we’ll keep making sure he’s in a good place.”
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Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins has been suspended one game without pay for receiving his 16th technical foul of the 2016-17 season, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
Under NBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended without pay for one game once he receives his 16th technical foul during a regular season. For every two additional technical fouls received during that regular season, the player or coach will be automatically suspended for an additional game.
Cousins received his most recent technical foul with :01.1 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Kings’ 112-107 loss to the Chicago Bulls at Golden 1 Center on Feb. 6. Cousins will serve his suspension on Feb. 8 when the Kings host the Boston Celtics at Golden 1 Center.
In addition, Cousins has been fined $25,000 for making an inappropriate statement and gesture after leaving the playing court following the Kings’ 109-106 overtime win against the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 4 at Golden 1 Center.
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Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has been fined $25,000 for verbal abuse of game officials and failing to leave the court in a timely manner after his ejection, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
The incident occurred with 3:34 remaining in the third quarter of the Warriors’ 109-106 overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 4 at Golden 1 Center.
Dakari Johnson of the Oklahoma City Blue today was named NBA Development League Performer of the Week for games played Monday, Jan. 30, through Sunday, Feb 5.
Johnson (7-0, Kentucky) led Oklahoma City to a 2-1 week, averaging 24.3 points on 60.9 percent shooting to go with 10.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists. On Jan. 31, he notched a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds in a 120-115 overtime victory over the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Johnson scored the first four points of overtime to help secure the win, which moved Oklahoma City into first place in the Southwest Division. On Feb. 4, he logged his 10th double-double of the season with 26 points and 13 rebounds in a 106-86 win over the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
Johnson is averaging 18.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals on the season. This is the second Performer of the Week award for Johnson, who was the 48th pick in NBA Draft 2015 presented by State Farm.
Other top performers considered included Austin’s Hollis Thompson, Canton’s Quinn Cook, Delaware’s Shawn Long, Fort Wayne’s Ben Bentil, Grand Rapids’ Jordan Crawford, Greensboro’s Cheick Diallo (on assignment by the New Orleans Pelicans), Los Angeles’ David Nwaba, Northern Arizona’s Elijah Millsap, Raptors 905’s Brady Heslip, Rio Grande Valley’s Darius Morris, Sioux Falls’ Keith Benson, Westchester’s Von Wafer and Windy City’s Denzel Valentine.
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The Phoenix Suns have signed guard Ronnie Price to a second 10-day contract.
Currently in his third tenure with the Suns, Price has not yet appeared in a game this season since initially signing a 10-day contract with the team on Jan. 27.
An 11-year NBA veteran out of Utah Valley University, Price most recently played last season with the Suns when he averaged a career-best 5.3 points while appearing in a career-high 62 games. In addition to 2015-16, he averaged 3.6 points and 1.9 assists in 36 games with Phoenix in 2011-12. For his career, the 6-2, 190-pound point guard has averaged 3.8 points and 1.8 assists in 530 games with Sacramento, Utah, Phoenix, Portland, Orlando and the Los Angeles Lakers.
In the NBA’s 2016-17 GM Survey, the 33-year-old floor general tied with Suns forward Jared Dudley as each received the second-most votes in response to the question, “Which active player will make the best head coach someday?”
The Denver Nuggets have signed forward Johnny O’Bryant to a second 10-day contract, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.
O’Bryant, 6-9, 257, has appeared in two games with the Nuggets averaging 3.5 ppg and 1.5 rpg in 8.1 mpg since signing a 10-day contract on January 26.
The Golden State Warriors have signed guard Brianté Weber to a 10-day contract, the team announced today.
Weber, 24, has appeared in 31 games (all starts) with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League this season, averaging 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists (fourth in the D-League) and 3.26 steals (first) in 36.8 minutes. The Virginia Commonwealth University product was recently named the NBA D-League Player of the Month for games played in January, averaging 21.5 points and 8.3 assists in 11 games last month and finishing one steal shy of tallying the first quadruple-double in D-League history with 18 points, a career-high-tying 12 assists, 11 rebounds and an NBA D-League season-high nine steals on Jan. 31 vs. Oklahoma City.
The 6’2”, 165-pound guard, who was not selected in the 2015 NBA Draft, has appeared in seven career NBA games (four starts), averaging 4.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.29 steals in 24.1 minutes over six games with the Grizzlies and one game with the Heat last season. Weber also appeared in two postseason games with the Heat, logging six minutes of action during Miami’s First Round matchup with Charlotte in the 2016 NBA Playoffs.
Weber will wear #2. The Warriors roster now stands at 15 players.