Forward Jon Leuer has played in just eight games for the Pistons (22-21) this season. And that’ll be it for him in 2017-18. Here’s the Detroit News reporting:
After suffering a sprained left ankle on Oct. 31, the condition worsened, as a later exam revealed bone fragments and other issues. Leuer has missed the last 35 games and has decided to have season-ending ankle surgery, he told The Detroit News on Friday.
Leuer, 28, has scheduled the procedure for next Friday and will have a four-month rehabilitation process.
“It’s extremely frustrating. Disappointing, anger, all those emotions … we were trying to do whatever we could to avoid this,” Leuer told The News. “I knew even a month and a half ago when I saw the specialist that he kind of suggested (surgery) right away, but we wanted to see if we could try to manage the pain and hopefully get through the season.
“As I tried to progress, time and time again, I never even got really close to being able to practice or do full basketball activities.”
The Raptors are 30-13 this season. A very impressive team that is doing it on both ends of the floor. They’re better than they were in the past. Will DeMar DeRozan be their only All-Star? Not if Raptors head coach Dwane Casey has anything to say about it. Kyle Lowry isn’t shooting as well or scoring as much this season, but he’s still one of the main reasons why Toronto is close to the top of league standings. Here’s the Toronto Star reporting:
Lowry finished eighth among Eastern Conference guards in voting for starters done by fans, the media and players and the only way he’ll get to the Feb. 18 game in Los Angeles is to be chosen by coaches as a reserve.
That’s where Casey comes in.
“I’ve been texting coaches and going to be in tough with a lot of coaches to get him in,” the Raptors bench boss said Friday morning. “He should be in on his own merits, I shouldn’t have to do that because he is an all-star.
“If you find five other better guards, point guards in our conference than Kyle then I want to see them. I think the basketball gods will do the right thing and get him in.”
Eastern Conference coaches have to name two guards, two forwards and a centre along with two “wild cards” for voting that will be announced Tuesday night.
The Warriors are an NBA-best 32-9, and outscoring opponents by an NBA-best 9.1 points per game. While the team’s success does revolve around their multiple big-name stars, talented rookie big-man Jordan Bell has contributed very solid play in 14.4 minutes per games. But they’ll be without his services for a while. Here’s the San Jose Mercury News reporting:
The Warriors ruled out rookie forward Jordan Bell for at least two weeks, after an MRI taken on Thursday confirmed he had inflammation in his sprained left ankle.
According to that timetable, Bell will miss at least the next five games beginning when the Warriors (37-9) play the Houston Rockets (31-12) on Saturday. Bell will also sit out for the Warriors’ three-game homestand against New York (Jan. 23), Minnesota (Jan. 25) and Boston (Jan. 27) followed by a game in Utah (Jan. 30). Bell could return as early as Feb. 2 in Sacramento, though the Warriors will not have clarity on Bell’s progress until then. Though the Warriors’ medical staff plans to further analyze Bell’s MRI, they had enough information to offer the initial timetable.
The Rockets have their superstar back. James Harden returned to action Thursday in a 116-98 home win against the Timberwolves. Of course, the team also has another superstar in Chris Paul, and a scoring star in Eric Gordon. But the 31-12 squad’s success revolves primarily around the bearded one. Here’s the Houston Chronicle reporting on his return:
James Harden shot badly, but moved well. He played just 26 minutes, and was not happy to be limited to 10 fewer than he averages, but he played with energy. He was active and effective, getting his shot and shots for others easily, but also getting his hands on the ball on the other end. The Rockets would have no complaints with that. They assume Harden will be able to score. He would figure to be able to work the rust off his shot if his body and the rest of his game were up to it. The test was in how well he moved and how long he could play hard after missing more than two weeks and seven games with a strained hamstring. Harden likely returned more quickly that the Rockets’ expected when he was first diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. He began that period unable to walk. He spent most of it unable to do anything related to playing basketball. If not for the current technology that allows a medical staff to measure a player’s fitness to return from an injury precisely without checking a calendar, the Rockets likely would have held Harden out for longer. With Harden ramping up workouts on the road trip, they knew he was physically ready to play. But nothing fully simulates a game. Harden made just 3 of 15 shots, but he had seven assists, two steals, two rebounds and no setbacks. The Rockets were happy with that.
Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on Heat center Hassan Whiteside, who enjoyed an honor that probably feels truly wonderful to experience:
Hassan Whiteside was the guest of honor, but the Miami Heat center said it was the unexpected guests who made the retirement of his high-school jersey so special.
Whiteside’s No. 32 was retired Thursday at East Side High School in Newark, N.J., with teammates Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo, James Johnson and coach Erik Spoelstra among those on hand.
“His face when he saw Coach Spo was ecstatic,” Johnson said.
The ceremony came on an off day for the team before Friday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center, the third stop on this five-game trip.
