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NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
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The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have waived guard D.J. Augustin. Augustin was signed by the club as a free agent July 22.
Augustin appeared in 10 games, averaging 2.1 points, 1.0 assists and 8.2 minutes.
The roster now stands at 14.
The Raptors play host to the defending Western Conference Champion San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday at Air Canada Centre at 7 p.m.
The Oklahoma City Thunder has recalled forward Andre Roberson from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.
In three games (all starts) with the 66ers, Roberson averaged 17.3 points while shooting .561 percent from the field, 11.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 3.3 steals and 1.0 block in 35.0 minutes per game.
The Boston Celtics’ Jordan Crawford and the Portland Trail Blazers’ LaMarcus Aldridge today were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Dec. 2, through Sunday, Dec. 8.
Crawford led the Celtics to the East’s lone perfect mark on the week at 3-0, behind averages of 23.3 points (fourth in the conference) on .610 shooting from the field (sixth in the conference), 6.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds. Crawford connected on 12-of-23 three-point field goals on the week, including a career-high six makes from distance on Dec. 8, during a 114-73 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Aldridge led the Trail Blazers to a 3-1 week, including wins over the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder. He posted a point-rebound double-double in each of Portland’s four games, and averaged 26.3 points (third in the conference), 12.8 rebounds (fifth in the conference), 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals. On Dec. 4, Aldridge collected 38 points, 13 rebounds and five assists during a 111-104 win over the Thunder.
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki, Detroit’s Andre Drummond and Brandon Jennings, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Indiana’s Paul George and Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant.
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Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond announced today that Zaza Pachulia (6-11, 240) suffered a right foot fracture on Dec. 4 vs. Detroit. Pachulia’s foot will be immobilized in a walking boot and re-examined in four weeks.
Pachulia, 29, had an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) exam on Dec. 5 and was examined by team orthopaedic physician Dr. Michael Gordon, who diagnosed the injury. Pachulia has not played in the last two games.
In 17 games this season (11 starts), Pachulia has averaged 6.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 25.2 minutes per game. Pachulia ranks fourth in the NBA in free throw percentage (.933), connecting on 42-of-45 attempts from the charity stripe.
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The Memphis Grizzlies announced today that guard/forward Quincy Pondexter underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) this morning and has been diagnosed with a tarsal navicular stress fracture in his right foot. He will be out indefinitely.
Pondexter (6-6, 225), who sustained the injury in the first half of the December 7 game against Golden State, was evaluated at the Campbell Clinic by team physician Dr. Fred Azar.
The 25-year-old has averaged 6.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 18.0 minutes in 15 games (two starts) this season, his fourth in the NBA. He scored a career-high 22 points on Nov. 30 vs. Brooklyn.
Drafted by Oklahoma City in the first round (26th overall) in the 2010 NBA Draft, Pondexter holds career averages of 4.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 15.9 minutes in 204 games (17 starts) with Memphis and New Orleans.
Memphis signed the University of Washington product to a multi-year contract extension on Oct. 31.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have recalled guard/forward Carrick Felix and center Henry Sims from the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers exclusively owned and operated NBA Development League team, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.
Felix appeared in two games for the Charge this past weekend, averaging 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game. Sims also appeared in two Canton games over the weekend with averages of 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in 21.5 minutes.
The Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings have agreed to a trade. Here’s the Sacramento Bee with the details:
Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro said he owed it to Kings fans to be aggressive after years of suffering through relocation discussions and cost-cutting moves.
The Kings took a bold step away from the frugal ways of the last ownership group by agreeing to acquire forward Rudy Gay as part of a seven-player trade Sunday.
Gay, 27, comes from Toronto with a $17.9 million salary this season and a player option for $19.3 million next season.
The Kings will send Chuck Hayes, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Greivis Vasquez to Toronto as part of the deal. Sacramento also gets forward Quincy Acy and center Aaron Gray.
The NBA must approve the trade today to make the deal official. All players also have to pass physicals.
Kobe Bryant is back in action for the Los Angeles Lakers. And even if he isn’t quite himself yet, the basketball world (well, most of it) is happy to see him back on the court. Here’s ESPN Los Angeles on Kobe’s return:
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Kobe Bryant said he was “pleased” with the way his body responded Sunday, playing in his first NBA game in nearly eight months since tearing the Achilles tendon in his left leg, but the warm and fuzzy feelings ended there.
Bryant was his biggest critic after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 106-94 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
“I’m just insanely critical,” Bryant said after finishing with nine points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and eight turnovers in 28 minutes. “There was a bunch of things that I completely messed up on.”
When asked to grade his performance, Bryant gave himself an “F.” And when asked whether he had been “reborn in a new form,” he quipped, “Right now my form is a horse’s a– form.” Bryant was particularly down on himself for being responsible for a hefty portion of the Lakers’ 19 turnovers, which led to 22 points for Toronto.
“I failed miserably at that,” Bryant said after revealing that his personal expectation for his debut was to avoid turnovers. “That was really the biggest thing for me, just trying to take care of the basketball, because I know I’m going to be in charge of making some decisions out there. … Basketballwise, I’m not happy.”
Here’s the Washington Post Blog with an update on Washington Wizards rookie Otto Porter Jr:
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Otto Porter Jr. has joined the Wizards at a time when they have been hit with another wave of injuries, but Coach Randy Wittman has no intention of placing a heavy load upon a rookie who is still getting acclimated to the NBA after missing nearly three months with a strained right hip flexor.
“I can’t get the cart ahead of the horse here,” Wittman said. “I’ve got to make sure he gets comfortable, his conditioning. He said his legs felt like Jell-O out there a little bit, the first time he was out there. Keep monitoring that.”
Wittman inserted Porter at the start of the second quarter of the Wizards’ 109-105 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, right after Martell Webster ended the first period by missing a desperation three-pointer and spraining his left ankle.
Porter admitted that he was overwhelmed by emotion in his NBA debut.
Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer with a health report on Sixers rookie Michael Carter-Williams:
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The 76ers are saying that Michael Carter-Williams is fine.
It turns out, however, that his right-knee problems are being caused by an infection. The rookie point guard spent Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital because of soreness and a skin infection on the front of the knee.
The 6-foot-6, 185-pounder is being treated by infectious-disease specialist Neil Fishman and the team physician, Brian Sennett. He is listed as day-to-day after missing his second consecutive game, Saturday night against the Denver Nuggets at the Wells Fargo Center.
“More precautionary stuff with our team doctor,” coach Brett Brown said of Carter-Williams’ hospital stay. “It’s a right-knee infection that really is being monitored closely, but nothing to get too overly concerned with.”