Doc Rivers not a fan of fine from NBA against Spurs

“I don’t like it, I just don’t like it,” Rivers said before Boston’s game Friday night against the Portland Trail Blazers. “I do get the other side of it, but it’s a tough one. You have to coach your team to win in the long haul, and you have to do whatever you need to do. If that’s sitting players, then you sit players. It’s a tough one.”

Would Rivers shy away from resting his veterans in a similar situation?

“Listen, we’ll do it when we want to do it. And we should be able to do it,” said Rivers. “It can be early in the season, end of the season. Now if we give a guy [a day] off because he has a family thing — it’s just so many things here. Hopefully we all figure it out.

“Whatever is going to help your team win, a coach is going to do. If you don’t, and it hurts your team, then you’re the one that won’t be around. You have to do whatever’s best for your team.”

— Reported by Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston

San Antonio Spurs fined $250,000 for sending players hope prior to game

The NBA announced today that the San Antonio Spurs organization has been fined $250,000 for its decision to send four players home prior to the Spurs’ Nov. 29 game in Miami. The Spurs’ actions were in violation of a league policy, reviewed with the NBA Board of Governors in April 2010, against resting players in a manner contrary to the best interests of the NBA.

NBA Commissioner David Stern stated: “The result here is dictated by the totality of the facts in this case. The Spurs decided to make four of their top players unavailable for an early-season game that was the team’s only regular-season visit to Miami. The team also did this without informing the Heat, the media, or the league office in a timely way. Under these circumstances, I have concluded that the Spurs did a disservice to the league and our fans.”

Warriors assign Kent Bazemore to D-League

The Golden State Warriors have assigned guard/forward Kent Bazemore to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League, the team announced today.  He is slated to join Golden State’s D-League affiliate in time for the team’s regular-season opener tomorrow night at Reno (Friday, November 30).

Bazemore, 23, has seen limited action in six games with Golden State this season, recording a total of 10 minutes played.  He was originally signed by the Warriors as a free agent on July 26, 2012, following a successful stint on the team’s Summer League squad in which he averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.50 steals and 1.75 blocks.

Amare Stoudemire may return around Christmas-time for Knicks

amare stoudemire

Amar’e Stoudemire’s goal is to return around Christmas, with mid-December no longer a legitimate possibility, according to person familiar with the Knicks power forward’s thinking. The person said Stoudemire hasn’t begun running on the court following his surgery on Nov. 1.

The Knicks’ timetable of six-to-eight weeks from the left-knee-debridement surgery hasn’t changed. Under that time frame, the earliest he could be back is mid-December. The Knicks play the Lakers on Christmas Day.

Stoudemire played just one preseason game — in Montreal Oct. 19 — and his litany of knee-related mishaps since training camp began calls into question whether he will ever be able to make it back onto the court without reinjuring himself.

Stoudemire has had surgeries on both knees, and has a bulging disk in his back that forced him to miss 15 games down the stretch last season.’

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Houston Rockets assign Terrence Jones and Scott Machado to D-League

The Houston Rockets today assigned rookies Terrence Jones and Scott Machado to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ NBA Development League affiliate.  The assignment is the first for Jones and the second for Machado, and the 25th and 26th of the 2012-13 NBA and NBA D-League seasons.

Jones (6-9, 252, Kentucky) has appeared in seven games for the Rockets this season, averaging 3.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 10.4 minutes.  Selected in the first round (18th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Rockets, Jones averaged 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 76 career games for the Wildcats.  A member of the 2012 NCAA Championship team, Jones earned Second-Team All-SEC honors last season and was selected the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2010-11.

Machado (6-1, 205, Iona) returns to the Vipers having been assigned from Nov. 14-26, when he appeared in two games and averaged 16.0 points, 8.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds.  In one game for the Rockets this season, Machado scored two points in three minutes.  A four-year contributor at Iona, Machado was named MAAC Player of the Year in 2012 and finished with a Gaels’ record 880 career assists.

Jones and Machado are expected to join the Vipers today and be available tonight when the team visits the Tulsa 66ers.

Toronto Raptors sign Mickael Pietrus, waive Dominic McGuire

Mickael Pietrus

The Toronto Raptors announced Friday they have signed free-agent guard-forward Mickael Pietrus (MY-kel PEE-trus).

Pietrus, 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, has shot .357 per cent (659-1846) from three-point range in his NBA career. He has connected at better than .350 per cent from beyond the arc in five of his past six seasons.

A veteran of nine NBA campaigns, Pietrus has averaged 8.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 21.5 minutes in 538 career games. He has appeared in 69 postseason outings, averaging 7.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 21.8 minutes. His best statistical season came in 2006-07 when he averaged 11.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 72 games with Golden State.

Pietrus was selected 11th overall by Golden State in the 2003 NBA Draft. He spent five seasons with the Warriors before splitting his last four years between Orlando, Phoenix and Boston.

Pietrus began his professional career in his native France with Pau Orthez. He played four seasons with the club, averaging 9.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 94 games.

To make room on the roster, the Raptors waived forward Dominic McGuire. McGuire appeared in 15 games and averaged 2.1 points and 3.4 rebounds.

Celtics recall Kris Joseph from D-League

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have recalled forward Kris Joseph from their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws.

Joseph, a 6’7 forward, averaged 25.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 block in two games while on assignment. He made his NBA debut against the Milwaukee Bucks and recorded one rebound and one assist in three minutes of action on November 2.

Andrew Bynum in lawsuits with neighbors

andrew bynum

NBA superstar Andrew Bynum is suing his next door neighbors, claiming they’re violent, racist hooligans — but the neighbors have fired back … claiming Bynum is the REAL a-hole.

Bynum — a former member of the L.A. Lakers — claims that ever since he moved into his fancy home in Westchester, CA more than 7 years ago, he’s been constantly harassed by his neighbors, Ramond and Cindy Beckett.

According to his lawsuit, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Bynum says … the Becketts have objected to his “profession, his race, his friends, his cars and his taste in music.” …

In their legal docs, the Becketts UNLOAD on the NBA star — claiming he’s guilty of the following misdeeds:

— brandishing FIREARMS in an attempt to intimidate the Becketts
— “apparently” using drugs and allowing weed smoke to drift next door
— blasting loud, profane rap music (including the song “Currency” by Trina)
— blasting his video games at “window-shaking volumes”
— letting his dogs run loose through the neighborhood
— constantly racing his luxury cars at dangerous speeds

— Reported by TMZ.com

Warriors hold off Nuggets 106-105 in wild finish

David Lee

If there were ever a time to praise the benefits of replay, Warriors coach Mark Jackson found it.

Andre Iguodala’s 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded was waived off, and Golden State held on for a wild 106-105 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night after four replay reviews over the final 3.4 seconds.

Iguodala received a cross-court inbounds pass and connected from the left wing with a hand in his face, and Denver players celebrated by running off the court toward their locker room. But the Warriors stayed put and waited on yet another review by officials at the scorer’s table – then began their own cheers at raucous Oracle Arena when officials ruled the shot came just an instant after time expired…

David Lee hit a layup with 2:12 left on the way to a season-high 31 points on 13-of-15 shooting for the Warriors, who earned a hard-fought first win of the season against the Nuggets in the third meeting between the teams in a 20-day span.

Klay Thompson scored 21 points and Stephen Curry had 20 points and a season-best 10 assists as Golden State (9-6) won for the fourth time in five games and moved three games above .500 for the first time since it was 7-4 early in the 2010-11 season. The Warriors also have nine wins in their first 16 games for the first time since 2006-07.

Iguodala finished with 22 points, Danilo Gallinari added 20 points and nine rebounds and Ty Lawson 17 points and nine assists for the Nuggets, who escaped with a double-overtime victory here Nov. 10 before beating Golden State at home last Friday.

— Reported by Janie McCauley of the Associated Press