October 2017 – Page 4 – NBA Blog

Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala fined by NBA

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry has been fined $50,000 for throwing his mouthpiece in the direction of a game official, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Curry was ejected, occurred with 43.6 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter of the Warriors’ 111-101 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, Oct. 21 at FedEx Forum.

As part of the same incident, Warriors forward Andre Iguodala has been fined $15,000 for verbally abusing a game official.

Nets assign Isaiah Whitehead to G League

Brooklyn Nets guard Isaiah Whitehead has been assigned to the Long Island Nets, the NBA G League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets.

The assignment marks Whitehead’s first career stint with the LI Nets and also marks Long Island’s first assignment of the 2017-18 season. In 73 games (26 starts) with Brooklyn last season, Whitehead recorded averages of 7.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 22.5 minutes per contest.

Celtics hope to utilize Marcus Morris soon

The Celtics came into the season optimistic about their new stars. Then, right away, Gordon Hayward was lost, and Boston’s hopes were put into a tailspin. But at least some partial relief should soon be on the way. Here’s the Boston Herald reporting:

The Celtics are not going to find one player to replace Gordon Hayward, but they are a little closer to adding a big forward who can score.

Marcus Morris is hoping to get into the rotation this week after arriving late to training camp because of his legal matter in Arizona and then dealing with left knee soreness that cost him the club’s first three games. Brad Stevens said Morris will be reevaluated this week, but if he can participate in today’s practice, there is at least a chance that Morris could see time against the Knicks here tomorrow night.

As one would expect, the Celts are being cautious.

Full article

Heat: A.J. Hammons, Derrick Walton Jr to G League

The Miami Heat have assigned center A.J. Hammons to their NBA G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Derrick Walton Jr. will also join the Skyforce as part of his two-way contract.

Hammons, who was selected in the second round (46th overall) by Dallas in the 2016 NBA Draft, appeared in 22 games with the Mavericks last season and averaged 2.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.4 minutes of action while shooting 40.5 percent from the field. Additionally, he was named the 2016 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-Big Ten First Team during his senior season at Purdue.

Hassan Whiteside dealing with knee bruise

Here’s the Palm Beach Post reporting on a very key member of the Heat:

Center Hassan Whiteside will miss his second game because of bruised left knee when the Heat host the Atlanta Hawks tonight and coach Erik Spoelstra will go with the same starting five from Miami’s home-opening win against Indiana.

Whiteside sat out the 112-108 victory Saturday after bumping knees with Magic center Nikola Vucevic three nights earlier. The Heat are giving no timetable for his return, only saying he is day-to-day.

“He’s feeling better, he’s doing more but he won’t play tonight,” Spoelstra said today after the team’s shootaround. “Stay with the routine and he’s doing a great job at that.”

Full article

Julyan Stone injured, out 4-6 weeks

Charlotte Hornets guard Julyan Stone has suffered a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring. The injury occurred in practice on Sunday, Oct. 22 and he did not travel with the team to Milwaukee.

Stone is listed as out for tonight’s game against the Bucks and his expected recovery time is estimated at four to six weeks. Further updates on his status will be provided when available.

Stone, a 6-6 guard and fourth-year player out of Texas-El Paso, appeared in the Hornets first two games and averaged 3.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 9.0 minutes per game. For his career, he has averaged 1.4 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 49 games with the Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors and Hornets. Stone signed with Charlotte as a free agent on Aug. 23, 2017 after playing with Reyer Venezia Mestre of the Lega Basket Serie A in Italy.

Milos Teodosic out with plantar fascia injury

Milos Teodosic out with a plantar fascia injury

Clippers guard Milos Teodosic suffered a plantar fascia injury in his left foot during the second quarter of the Clippers’ game against Phoenix on October 21. Teodosic will be out indefinitely.

Teodosic, 30, has started in two games this season, and has averaged 5.5 points and 4.0 assists in 16.0 minutes. He appeared in four games for the Clippers in the preseason (three starts), and averaged 6.8 points, 5.5 assists and 1.00 steals in 24.9 minutes.

Jonas Valanciunas out with ankle sprain

Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas is out with a sprained left ankle.

Valanciunas travelled with the team on its six-game road trip, which begins Monday against San Antonio.
The injury occurred after Valanciunas landed on the foot of the Philadelphia 76ers’ Dario Saric in the second quarter of Saturday night’s game. He did not return.

His condition will be evaluated on a regular basis.

Kyrie Irving fined by NBA

Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving has been fined $25,000 for using inappropriate language when responding to a fan, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred at halftime of the Celtics’ 102-92 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, Oct. 20 at Wells Fargo Center.

Suns fire Earl Watson, name Jay Triano interim head coach

The Phoenix Suns have relieved Earl Watson of his duties as head coach. Suns associate head coach Jay Triano will take over as interim head coach.

Watson was originally named interim head coach on February 1, 2016, and then was retained as the 17th head coach in franchise history on April 19, 2016. In parts of three seasons as head coach, Watson’s teams compiled a 33-85 (.280) record.

Triano joined the Suns’ staff as associate head coach in the summer of 2016. Triano had previously served as head coach of the Toronto Raptors from 2008-2011, compiling an 87-142 (.380) record as he was the first Canadian-born head coach in NBA history. In addition to his NBA coaching experience that includes six seasons as an assistant coach with the Raptors and four seasons as an assistant with the Portland Trail Blazers, Triano is head coach of the men’s national team for Canada Basketball.