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Danny Granger should be back at practice soon for Pacers

The 8-0 Indiana Pacers are off to a great start, and their depth should only increase soon. Here’s the Indianapolis Star:

Danny Granger

After Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger shot down reports about a setback with his surgically repaired left knee, coach Frank Vogel repeated Monday that the veteran will return to the practice court this week.

“I still think it’s going to be a new beginning of a process to get his game legs back under him and his game timing,” Vogel said before the Pacers hosted the Memphis Grizzlies at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. “So I’m not sure when his return date will be, but he’ll start practicing.”

The Pacers will not have a full practice today, so Granger, who is entering the final week of what was expected to be approximately a three-week absence with a calf strain, will participate in individual work and possibly 2-on-2 or 3-on-3 games. By Wednesday, Granger and the Pacers should be back to full practicing.

Timberwolves lose close game to Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers are considered one of the best teams in the Western conference, and the Minnesota Timberwolves probably deserve to be in that conversation as well. So this was an early-season matchup worth watching. Here’s how it went down, as per the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Kevin Love

In January 2012, the Timberwolves danced off the Staples Center floor while star Kevin Love raised his arms out in defiance after his long three-point shot beat the Los Angeles Clippers at the final buzzer before a national ESPN audience.

On Monday, he held his head with both hands in anguish after his tying putback layup at the rim came up short and bounced back to him to end a 109-107 loss to the Clippers at another final buzzer.

The night before inside the very same arena, the Wolves celebrated a rout of the once-mighty Lakers that ended a six-year, 22-game losing streak to the 16-time NBA champions.

This time, the Wolves rallied twice in the final five minutes against the new glamour NBA team in town only to watch their chance to force overtime disappear not once, but twice in the final two seconds when putback attempts by both Love and Nikola Pekovic wouldn’t go.

Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders out 6 weeks after thumb surgery

Larry Sanders

Already facing a challenging season, the road to success in 2013-14 just got even tougher for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Bucks center Larry Sanders underwent successful surgery on Monday to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb, General Manager John Hammond announced.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Curt Crimmins, a hand specialist, at the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin. Sanders will be sidelined for approximately six weeks and updates will be provided when available.

Sanders injured his thumb on Nov. 3 while involved in an off-court incident.

Al Jefferson finally set to play for Bobcats

Good news for the Charlotte Bobcats, as reported by the Charlotte Observer:

Al Jefferson finally set to play for Bobcats

After missing the past five regular-season games – and the better part of a month — with various right-ankle injuries, Charlotte Bobcats center Al Jefferson will start tonight against the Atlanta Hawks at Time Warner Cable Arena.

“Al is going to start tonight. I don’t know how many minutes he’ll play, but he feels good,” Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said at morning shootaround. “He didn’t have any soreness from practice yesterday, and he feels good. We’ll start him and integrate him into our play as best we can.”

Jefferson originally hurt his ankle in the second preseason exhibition against the Miami Heat. He sat out the rest of the preseason, coming back for the regular-season opener in Houston. He came up sore after that game, this time with a bone bruise, which shelved him for another five games.

Bucks may lose Carlos Delfino for season

The Milwaukee Bucks are rebuilding and need all the help they can get from the talent on their roster. But an injury may remove a key player from the rotation. Here’s the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

carlos delfino

Bucks forward Carlos Delfino posted on his personal website Sunday that his foot injury will require additional surgery and it is likely he will miss the entire 2013-’14 season.

Delfino injured his right foot in the playoffs last season when he was with the Houston Rockets and he underwent surgery in May. He was in a walking boot when the Bucks opened training camp and said he had suffered a setback in his recovery.

Delfino and Bucks team physician Michael Gordon traveled to North Carolina last week to consult with specialists about the injury. And it was determined Delfino will need another surgery to repair a fracture in his right foot, with recovery time estimated at four to six months.

Brett Brown coaching against his former team

Just as it’s always big when a player goes against his former team, the same goes for coaches. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Brett Brown spent the last 11 seasons as a San Antonio Spurs assistant before taking the 76ers head coaching job in August.

“That’s my benchmark,” Brown said of the Spurs. “That’s my background.”

The rookie head coach’s past and present will meet at 7 Monday night when his Sixers (4-3) host the Spurs (6-1) at the Wells Fargo Center.

One can only imagine what the pregame conversation between Brown and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will be like. Popovich has to be proud of his former assistant and close friend’s accomplishment.

Steve Nash frustrated by persistent injuries

Point guard Steve Nash has had an amazing NBA career. But he’s now consistently hurting, and a shade of his former self. Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News blog:

steve nash

The stoic demeanor masked Steve Nash’s frustration. His graceful movement walking down a Staples Center hallway also camouflaged his pain.

But as he’s realized through a full offseason, a complete training camp and only two weeks into the regular season, no amount of work Nash has done thus far can cover up the persisting injuries that’s emerged all over his 39-year-old body.

He sat out the entire second half of the Lakers’ 113-80 loss Sunday to the Minnesota Timberwolve because of persisting back issues. Nash will then see back specialist Dr. Robert Watkins on Monday before deciding what to do next.

As he stood in a Staples Center hallway shortly after the Lakers’ loss, however, the early returns don’t sound pretty.

“You can call it the back. You can call it the nerves,” Nash said, referring to the feeling he still has in his surgically repaired left leg. “The pain in the hamstring. They’re all the same things. It gets a lot of convoluted. It’s basically the same thing.”

Phoenix Suns continue their fine start

The NBA season isn’t two weeks old yet, but so far the Phoenix Suns have been fun and successful. Here’s Arizona Sports:

suns

Apparently, someone forgot to tell the Suns they aren’t supposed to be any good this season.

They win their second straight and at 5-2 are three games over .500 for the first time since April 19, 2012 (33-30) after beating the New Orleans Pelicans by a final of 101-94 in front of 13,154 at US Airways Center.

Eric Bledsoe scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. Markieff Morris added 23 to record his third straight game of 20 or more points. He’s shooting 78.9 percent (30-of-38) during this stretch.

Playing for the first time in a week and coming off the bench, Goran Dragic finished with 12 points. He had missed the past three games due to a sprained left ankle. The Suns have won five straight home games dating to last season.

NBA sends anti-bullying memo to all 30 teams

Bullying isn’t cool at any level, including the world of pro sports. Here’s an ESPN.com report on the NBA reminding all teams to be sure to prevent any such behavior:

The memo, sources said, references the Miami Dolphins’ ongoing bullying scandal and urges NBA players to report anything if they feel the need while also spelling out specific violations of the league’s policies.

Sources said the memo reiterated a number of prohibited behaviors that would violate league policy.

The lengthy list of violations, sources said, includes: any physical abuse or threats of violence; verbal abuse focused on an individual’s race, nationality, color, gender, age, religion, sexuality, etc.; destruction, defacement or theft of a fellow player’s personal property; engaging in any activity that intimidates or threatens fellow players with ostracism or inflicts extreme mental stress, embarrassment, humiliation or shame; and forcing an individual to engage in any activity or perform any task that violates federal, state or local law or NBA rules and regulations.