April 2017 – Page 5 – NBA Blog

Season over for Sixers guard Sergio Rodriguez

The NBA regular season ends Wednesday, and the Sixers will wrap things up with yet another player unable to be on the floor. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting:

76ers reserve point guard Sergio Rodriguez will miss the remaining three games of the season with a left hamstring strain.

Rodriguez has already missed six games with the injury. The Sixers’ remaining games are against the Milwaukee Bucks (Saturday) and Indiana Pacers (Monday) at Wells Fargo Center before facing the New York Knicks (Wednesday) at Madison Square Garden.

Pelicans sign Quinn Cook for rest of season

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed guard Quinn Cook for the remainder of the 2016-17 season, which ends this coming Wednesday.

Cook, 6-2, 179, who was originally signed by New Orleans on March 19, has appeared in six games with the Pelicans, averaging 2.7 points and 1.0 assists in 6.0 minutes per contest. Cook has played in a total of 11 NBA games this season (five with Dallas), posting averages of 3.9 points and 1.6 assists in 10.3 minutes per contest.

Rockets begin resting up for playoffs

Here’s the Houston Chronicle reporting on the Rockets, who have begun a resting pattern as they prepare for the upcoming playoffs, which begin a week from tomorrow.

The Rockets on Friday began mixing in rest days for some of their regulars, giving starting center Clint Capela the night off and making plans to have sixth man Eric Gordon sit out either Sunday in Sacramento or Monday in Los Angeles against the Clippers.

James Harden, Pat Beverley and Trevor Ariza are expected to play through the remaining games, though likely with reduced playing time.

“We want to have some dress rehearsals, we want to keep our rotation similar, but possibly less minutes,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said.

Bucks need to play loose

Here’s the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel with an update on the Bucks, who probably should have clinched a playoff spot by now yet, through Thursday’s games, still haven’t done so:

It’s tightening up time for the Milwaukee Bucks.

That may be part of the problem in the team’s current three-game slide.

The Bucks are so close to their goal of reaching the playoffs that they aren’t playing as freely as they did while winning 14 of 17 games and vaulting into the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference race.

Now they have slipped to sixth and the danger is they could slide out of the playoffs if they can’t cure what has been ailing them in the last week.

Blake Griffin putting up monster games lately

The Clippers are hot lately, winning eight of their last ten games. And power forward Blake Griffin has put up some monster games this past week. Here’s the OC Register reporting:

Before DeAndre Jordan disappeared into the night Wednesday following another Clippers victory, he passed Blake Griffin in the hall to the team’s postgame interview room.

“Yo, Beast!” Jordan exclaimed.

“That’s what we call him,” Chris Paul had said moments earlier.

It’s a moniker Griffin has lived up to over his past three games, averaging 33 points on 73 percent shooting while scoring more than 30 points in three consecutive appearances for the first time since February of 2014.

“He’s just been crazy aggressive,” Paul said. “Crazy efficient. … So we are going to keep feeding him.”

Sergio Rodriguez hopes to return to Sixers

Is there a place for a veteran guard like Sergio Rodriguez on the young Sixers next season? Too soon to tell. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting:

Rodriguez will become a free agent on July 1. He wants to return to the Sixers. He is averaging 7.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 22.3 minutes this season. He was playing his best basketball before he got hurt.

Rodriguez had 12 points and seven assists against the Chicago Bulls on March 24. Two days later, he finished with 16 points while making 4 of 7 three-pointers against the Indiana Pacers.

“Let’s see how it goes,” he said of his future. “It’s going to take a long time, because [free agency] is in July. You are not going to know anything. I don’t want to rush myself.”

Seth Curry return date uncertain

As the season winds down, it would be nice for the Mavs to get one more dose of action from guard Seth Curry. But his return date isn’t known yet. Here’s the Dallas Morning News with the latest:

Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said he doesn’t expect guard Seth Curry to miss all of the remaining four games, but he was unsure when he might return.

Curry sat out the last three games and the hope is that another day of rest Thursday will allow him to play Friday against the Spurs.

“I don’t have a medical degree,” Carlisle said. “But it’s a bruise. The thing keeps getting hit. We want to get him some more games with all the progress he’s made this year. We want him and all our players to finish strong.”

Kevin Durant likely to return Saturday

Following multiple workout sessions in recent days – including 2-on-2, 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 scrimmages – forward Kevin Durant has been cleared by the team’s medical and athletic training staffs to return to full-team practices.

If he does not suffer any setbacks following tomorrow’s practice, it is anticipated that Durant will play in Saturday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Oracle Arena.

Durant has missed the last 19 games after suffering a Grade 2 left MCL sprain and tibial bone bruise against the Washington Wizards on February 28.

Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala to sit out Wednesday

As the NBA regular season winds down, teams with championship hopes have their eye on postseason health. Here’s the Bay Area News Group with the latest on the Warriors:

The Warriors will complete their final back-to-back of the season (playoffs included) on Wednesday night in Phoenix, taking an overnight flight there after their Tuesday night home game against the Timberwolves.

Steve Kerr is taking that opportunity to rest two of his main guys. Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala will both sit out the road game against the Suns.

“The training staff told me Draymond could really use the night off. The numbers show it. I talked to Draymond. He admits it, too. So it’ll be good.”

Brandon Ingram and Ivica Zubac will play in 2017 Summer League

Here’s the OC Register reporting on some key young Lakers,who will likely participate in 2017 Summer League action:

As the Lakers’ two youngest players sat next to each other at their respective lockers before a recent game, Brandon Ingram and Ivica Zubac fully realized the mistake of putting too much stock in how they perform in Las Vegas this summer.

They will play on the Lakers’ Summer League team in July for the second consecutive year, but both stressed their growth hinges more on their offseason training regimen than cashing out big in Sin City.

The Lakers (22-55) enter Wednesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs (59-17) at AT&T Center with Zubac nursing a season-ending right ankle injury and Ingram on a minutes restriction because of tendinitis in his right knee. But after showing enough growth in their rookie seasons to have the Lakers optimistic about their long-term trajectory, Ingram and Zubac offered a sneak preview that could Lakers fans believing they hit the jackpot.

Ingram boastfully predicted he will average 40 points in summer league while Zubac will average 30.

“He’ll take a couple of threes, a couple of hook shots and call it a day,” Ingram said of Zubac.