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Lakers forward Antawn Jamison, who was injured during the second half of last night’s game against the Washington Wizards, was examined by hand specialist Dr. Steven Shin of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic and underwent an MRI test today on his injured right wrist.
Results of the MRI confirmed a sprained wrist. Jamison’s status will be day-to-day and he will be reevaluated at the conclusion of the season.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson says his city has reached a preliminary agreement for a new downtown arena with an investment group that hopes to keep the Kings from moving to Seattle.
Johnson announced the agreement Saturday on his Twitter account. He said the group includes Silicon Valley software tycoon Vivek Ranadive, 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov and billionaire Ron Burkle.
The City Council is planning to vote on the non-binding term sheet Tuesday.
— Reported by the Associated Press
The Memphis Grizzlies today announced that center Marc Gasol re-aggravated an abdominal tear on March 22 at New Orleans and will be out indefinitely.
Gasol (7-1, 265) originally sustained the injury on March 6 vs. Portland.
The 28-year-old leads Memphis in blocks (1.71) and free throw percentage (career-high .855) while ranking second in scoring (14.3 points), rebounding (7.8) and assists (career-high 3.9). The five-year veteran had been the only member of the Grizzlies to play in and start every game this season.
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The Miami Heat have won 25 straight games, turned what was a super-close Eastern Conference race into a runaway and seem to be finding different ways to prevail on a nightly basis.
And no, they are not particularly thrilled with themselves right now.
From the Heat perspective, it’s almost like they are simultaneously slumping and streaking after facing double-digit deficits in three consecutive games, yet finding ways to win them all, much like each of the 22 games that preceded this week.
”I’m taking the world view, that we have room to improve,” forward Shane Battier said. ”By no stretch of the imagination are we playing our best basketball right now. We’re winning ball games, but we have a lot of room for improvement. We have not started well the last couple games and our defensive focus has not been there. It’s been there in the second half and when we need it, but we need to do it more consistently.”
Even as they move closer to the NBA-record winning streak of 33 straight established by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971-72, the bigger concern in the Heat locker room is that they are nowhere near a playoff gear with just 14 games remaining before the postseason arrives. They’ve trailed after five of their past six opening quarters, been losing at halftime in three straight outings and have been outshot in three of their last six contests.
— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press
Ray Williams, a former Knicks captain who 30 years ago teamed with Michael Ray Richardson to form one of the NBA’s most flamboyant backcourts, died today at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Williams, 58, had been suffering from colon cancer.
A guard with a chiseled physique, Williams was drafted 10th overall by the Knicks in 1977. He came to New York during the bridge years, after the glory championship days of Willis Reed and Bill Bradley, and before Patrick Ewing arrived to lift the franchise.
In the meantime, Williams and Richardson brought sizzle to Madison Garden. Richardson was the taller, wiry slashing player. Williams was built more like a fullback, with well-defined thighs and arms. He entered the league not long before Magic Johnson, and he was of that mold, blurring the lines between positions. He was 6-foot-3 and moved smoothly between the responsibilities of point guard, scoring guard and small even small forward.
— Reported by Craig Wolff of the Newark Star-Ledger
If a magic number indicates the combination of game results a team needs to qualify for the postseason, is the same number for playoff contention elimination an “unmagic number?”
If it is, that number for the Phoenix Suns is one. A Suns loss or one more win by the Los Angeles Lakers would eliminate Phoenix from postseason contention for the third straight season. It’ll be the team’s first three-year postseason absence since the span from 1986 to 1988.
The Suns host the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday at US Airways Center, and they’ll be short-handed when they do. Center Jermaine O’Neal will miss the contest with a left calf strain and an illness and according to interim head coach Lindsey Hunter, swingman Jared Dudley will probably miss the game as well.
“I’m thinking both guys have the stomach flu or something,” he said.
— Reported by Vince Marotta of Arizona Sports
Comcast SportsNet Chicago Friday has suspended Chicago Bulls analyst Kendall Gill for the remainder of the season.
“We have made a decision to not have Kendall Gill appear on our air for the remainder of the Bulls season,” the station said. “We will re-evaluate our current position on this matter during the off-season.”
Gill was removed from on-air duties after being involved in a physical altercation with Big Ten Network analyst Tim Doyle on Tuesday night. The incident occurred after a taping of “Sports Talk Live” in the Comcast SportsNet studio newsroom.
— Reported by Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune
Juwan Howard doesn’t play much, but his presence on the Miami Heat is obviously appreciated.
The Heat announced today that they have signed Howard for the remainder of the season.
Howard was previously signed by the HEAT to a 10-day contract on March 2 and then re-signed to a second 10-day contract on March 12. He has not appeared in a game for Miami this season, but has appeared in 85 games with the HEAT over the last two seasons averaging 2.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 9.2 minutes while shooting 40 percent from the field. Additionally, he appeared in 11 postseason games during Miami’s 2012 NBA Championship run, totaling 17 points, 10 rebounds and an assist in 60 minutes of action while shooting 4-of-9 from the field.
The former NBA All-Star was originally signed by the HEAT as a free agent on July 20, 2010 and then re-signed on December 9, 2011.
The effort to keep the Sacramento Kings from moving to Seattle got a boost from a Silicon Valley software tycoon who stepped forward as lead investor.
The Sacramento Bee reports that Vivek Ranadive will lead Sacramento’s bid to keep the team, joining health-club financier Mark Mastrov and billionaire Ron Burkle.
Ranadive’s involvement comes after NBA Commissioner David Stern said earlier this month that the Sacramento group’s offer needed to be increased before league owners would consider it.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed forward Shavlik Randolph to a multi-year contract.
According to WEEI, “As they did with Chinese Basketball Association imports Terrence Williams and D.J. White before him, the Celtics signed Shavlik Randolph for the remainder of the season. The deal includes an option for next season.”
Randolph, a 6’10” forward, has appeared in three games for the Celtics this season averaging 3.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per game. He posted highs of six points, eight rebounds and two steals against Charlotte on March 16.