Inside Hoops – Page 1204 – NBA Blog

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:

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.

Nets recall Tornike Shengelia from D-League

The Brooklyn Nets have recalled forward Tornike Shengelia from the Springfield Armor of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by General Manager Billy King.

Shengelia, who was assigned to the Armor on November 7, will rejoin the Nets in advance of tonight’s game against the Indiana Pacers.

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.

Phoenix Suns pulling off early-season wins

Here’s Arizona Sports on the Suns pulling off some early-season wins, but while still looking for consistency:

The Phoenix Suns continued to defy expectations by grabbing their fourth win Friday in their first six games of the season, but there was a moment of panic during the team’s 114-103 win over the Denver Nuggets at US Airways Center.

The Suns went into halftime with a comfortable 64-47 lead, but the team’s starters soon saw that lead evaporate to a feisty Nuggets squad. With 4:30 left in the period, Denver took the lead at 74-72 with point guard Ty Lawson’s three-point play. Denver built an 84-74 lead just over two minutes later, having outscored the Suns 37-10 at that point in the quarter.

After a timeout, the Suns’ bench got the team back in the game. Ish Smith and Marcus and Markieff Morris helped Phoenix close out the quarter on a 10-3 run, putting the team in position to eventually win the contest.

Even though Phoenix won by double digits, head coach Jeff Hornacek was concerned after the game about his squad’s third-quarter meltdown.

“We turned it on again (after Denver re-gained the lead), but it’s almost a dangerous thing to think that you can just turn it on at any time. Sometimes you can; sometimes you can’t,” the coach said.

Miami Heat analysis: Dwyane Wade fine playing a supporting role

Aging NBA veteran Dwyane Wade is still a terrific basketball player, but for the most part the Miami Heat are LeBron James’ team to lead. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

Wade scored a season-high 29 points in Thursday’s victory against the Los Angeles Clippers, but knows moments as such are a rarity because of the Heat’s offensive game plan. The system is set up for LeBron James to shoulder to scoring load while receiving contributions from Wade, center Chris Bosh and the rest of the supporting cast.

“You’ve got to keep other guys happy,” Wade said. “Years ago, if I had it going, I would have tried to keep it going. Just understanding on this team, there’s so many other guys who are capable and you’ve got to keep your teammates happy. A night like [Thursday] night, you feel like when things are going in, this is a 40-point night. But on this team, it’s not about that.”

Wade no longer makes a fuss when critics say he is on the downside of his career. Instead, he focuses on his previous resume while still proving he is still one of the top players in the league.

LeBron James to play through back issues

I know many of you don’t believe it, but LeBron James is human. He is. He has to eat and sleep like everybody else. And even LeBron can suffer some health issues once in a while. Here’s ESPN Miami reporting:

LeBron James has been dealing with back spasms since midway through the Miami Heat’s training camp.

So what took him so long to divulge his discomfort?

“It just never came up,” James said of his back after Friday’s practice. “If it doesn’t come up, I don’t talk about it. For me, I don’t really talk about injuries much, and I’ve had my fair share. That’s just the way it is. If I’m OK to play and I’m out on the court, then I don’t have an excuse.”

James said he plans to continue playing through the back soreness, and expects to be in the lineup for Saturday’s game against the Boston Celtics. But if the pain gets much worse, he’ll reluctantly consider sitting out to rest.

Mario Chalmers fined $15,000 for hitting Blake Griffin

Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers has been fined $15,000 for hitting Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin in the throat with a forearm, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.

The foul on Chalmers, which was called a common foul on the floor, has been upgraded by the league office to a Flagrant Foul 2. The incident occurred with 8:05 remaining in the third quarter of the Heat’s 102-97 win over the Clippers on Thursday, Nov. 7, at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Pistons coach wants Greg Monroe to improve his midrange jumper

The Detroit Pistons are lucky to have a talent like Greg Monroe. He’s good. But can be better. Here’s the Detroit Free Press reporting:

Add Detroit Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks to the chorus.

For power forward Greg Monroe to take the next step in his development, he must become proficient at knocking down midrange jumpers.

That has been known for some time, but Cheeks said he mentioned it again to Monroe during Wednesday’s practice.

“I just told him today that if I was him, I’d practice that jump shot right at that left and right elbow,” Cheeks said.

Carmelo Anthony calls players-only Knicks meeting

The New York Knicks aren’t off to a good start. They’ve been without the services of J.R. Smith, but still, the team hasn’t played as competitively as hoped. Here’s the New York Post on the situation:

After Tyson Chandler went down and the Knicks were beaten by the Bobcats on Tuesday night, Carmelo Anthony initiated a players-only team meeting in the locker room.

Anthony said he and others spoke and one of his messages was the Knicks must “want it more’’ and stop playing as if they don’t believe in themselves. The reeling Knicks are off to a 1-3 start, and suffered a devastating loss when Chandler was sidelined for 4-6 weeks with a broken leg. Their mental state seems very fragile, too.

“We shut the door after the game, talked it out a little bit,’’ a downbeat Anthony said Friday at the morning shootaround at Time Warner Cable Arena ahead of a road rematch with the Bobcats. “Try to figure out what was happening and going on. We just weren’t competing the way we know how to compete. We weren’t playing the way we know how to play. Hopefully the conversation we had after the game made everyone else realize, though it is early, there are things we need to fix and fix now.’’

Kris Humphries playing time under watch in Boston

Should the Boston Celtics give minutes to Kris Humphries, or instead focus in developing some of their younger talent? Here’s WEEI reporting:

The Kris Humphries Minutes Watch is one of the more interesting subplots of this Celtics season.

By sticking him on the end of the bench early this season, the C’s benefit twofold, accelerating the development of rookies Kelly Olynyk and Vitor Faverani while improving the team’s lottery chances.

On the flip side, the Celtics might also benefit from increasing Humphries’ playing time. He’s a 10-year NBA veteran who’s averaged a double-double per 36 minutes over his career, so there’s little doubt he gives Brad Stevens a better chance to stay afloat until Rajon Rondo returns than Faverani. Meanwhile, showcasing him might actually increase his expiring contract’s trade value in the coming months.