Inside Hoops – Page 1991 – NBA Blog

Awful Clippers now 1-12

Wednesday in Indianapolis the Pacers, despite missing a few key players, beat the Los Angeles Clippers 107-80.

The Clippers have now lost eight straight games and have one win, 12 losses. They’re a mess.

Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times reports:

The Clippers’ rookies, as well as Craig Smith and Eric Gordon — another Indiana homecoming ruined — had the glazed look of survivors who had stumbled away from a car crash, wondering where to go next.”

Something has got to change,” said Blake Griffin, who had 12 points and eight rebounds. “After a while, you can’t just say — we do have to keep working — but you can’t just keep working and keep losing. It comes down to who wants it more, a little bit of heart. We just need to find that.”

He wants to be an agent of change. The most obvious form of assistance, of course, would be getting center Chris Kaman back in the lineup. Griffin can do many things, but he’s not a medical miracle worker.

Any other suggestions?

“We’ll work on it tomorrow,” Griffin said. “I’ve got some ideas.”

The problem here is, I’m not sure what there is to change. Aside from Griffin, Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman, there’s simply not a lot of talent on the roster. Rookie guard Eric Bledsoe has looked good, stepping up while Baron Davis sits around being old and washed up, but that’s about it. The struggles may continue.

But, on the bright side, there’s individual players worth keeping an eye on here. Griffin, Gordon and Bledsoe should only keep improving and are worth attention.

Danilo Gallinari declares himself a non-superstar

New York Knicks forward Danilo Gallinaro last season, and for bits of this short season, has shown off incredible outside shooting ability. The rest of his game is still in development, however.

Still, when hot, he can toss in 25 pretty easily if in rhythm and fed the ball while in proper outside position.

But he seems to want to make sure everyone knows that he’s not someone who is going to take over the league anytime soon.

Howard Beck of the New York Times reports:

After six breakthrough quarters, in which he looked very much like a potential star, the 22-year-old Gallinari swiftly punctured the notion of his stardom.

“I know you expect a lot from me, and people expect a lot from me,” Gallinari said late Wednesday night, “but I’m not a superstar, I’m not an All-Star, I’m not LeBron, I’m not those great players. I’m an important player of the Knicks. And that’s what I’m trying to do, to help the team every time. Sometimes, can be these type of games, sometimes not. But as long as we win, it’s all good.”

It was a surprising response, and entirely unsolicited. Gallinari had just posted consecutive 20-point games for the first time this season — 21 in Denver and a season-high 27 in Sacramento — and was simply asked if he needed a performance like this for his confidence.

He could have nodded and offered perfunctory agreement. Instead, he took the question as an opportunity to push back against the outsize expectations that have been thrust upon him since June 2008. Coach Mike D’Antoni once called Gallinari the best shooter he had ever seen. Amar’e Stoudemire has compared Gallinari to Dirk Nowitzki, a perennial All-Star. Nowitzki himself made the comparison last spring, and said that Gallinari was better than he was at the same age.

Remember, English is not Gallinari’s first language. He’s good at it, but still, best not to take things too literally. He’s basically just saying what people know, that he isn’t the next LeBron or Kobe. But hopefully it’s OK for Knick fans to still hope that over the next year or two he emerges into an occasional Dirk Nowitzki.

Jerry Sloan to miss next two Jazz games

The Utah Jazz announced today that head coach Jerry Sloan will miss the team’s next two games in order to attend funeral services for a family member.

Jazz assistant coach Phil Johnson will assume head coaching duties in Friday night’s game vs. San Antonio and Saturday’s game at Portland. Sloan is expected to rejoin the team prior to the Jazz’s game vs. Sacramento on November 22.

Cavaliers assign Christian Eyenga to D-League

The Cleveland Cavaliers have assigned guard/forward Christian Eyenga to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today.

Eyenga has yet to make an appearance with the Cavaliers during the regular season. He played in six games during the preseason, averaging 4.3 points on .625 shooting and 0.8 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game.

The 6-foot-5 rookie from Congo will be available to play for the BayHawks in their season-opening game versus the Springfield Armor tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Tullio Arena in Erie. The BayHawks are the D-League affiliate of the Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors.

Joey Graham can fly planes

Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal reports:

Joey Graham ignored his father’s advice and flew a date to the restaurant while a student at Oklahoma State. There wasn’t a second date.

”My father told me not to take dates because of what it could do,” Graham said. ”The sun was setting, it was a romantic little thing. What can you say? She was hooked. . . . I couldn’t do it anymore. I saw what that one did and I couldn’t have that on my hands.”

Graham is not the typical NBA player. He graduated from Oklahoma State with a degree in aviation management. He is a licensed pilot and a trained chef, he can play the saxophone, drums and piano and he even sings a little.

”There’s not too many things I can’t do,” Graham said. ”I was blessed with a great father and great mother. My father tried to make us as versatile and well-rounded as possible.”

Greg Oden out for season, will have microfracture surgery

Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden will undergo microfracture surgery on his left knee Friday and will miss the remainder of the 2010-11 season, the Trail Blazers announced this evening.

Dr. Richard Steadman will perform the surgery with assistance from Trail Blazers orthopedic surgeon Dr. Don Roberts at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colo.

Oden, 22, has been sidelined since fracturing his left patella in a Dec. 5, 2009, game vs. Houston. A recent MRI showed damaged cartilage to the surface of his femur, and his current injury is unrelated to the fractured left patella.

Oden previously underwent microfracture surgery on his right knee Sept. 13, 2007.

He holds career NBA averages of 9.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.43 blocked shots in 82 games over parts of two seasons from 2008-09.

Spurs sign Danny Green

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed guard/forward Danny Green. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Green (#4, 6’6”, 210, 6/22/87) appeared in 20 regular season games last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging 2.0 points in 5.8 minutes per game. During the 2010 preseason, he averaged 3.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in four games with the Cavs before being waived on October 19, 2010.

Originally selected by Cleveland with the 46th pick in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft out of North Carolina, Green played in more games (145) and achieved more wins (123) than any Tar Heel player before him. He is the only player in ACC history with at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists, 150 three-pointers, 150 blocks and 150 steals. He had career averages of 9.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and a .455 shooting percentage from the field.

CHAPEL HILL, NC - FEBRUARY 07: Danny Green #14 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after hitting a three-point basket against the Virginia Cavaliers during the game on February 7, 2009 at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Eva Longoria, Tony Parker divorce

Ken Lee of People Magazine reports:

Three years after a storybook wedding in a European castle, Eva Longoria filed for divorce Wednesday from basketball star Tony Parker, a source tells PEOPLE.

The Desperate Housewives star’s documents were filed in Los Angeles Superior Court just one day after her rep denied that Parker had done the same in a Texas court.

Longoria, 35, and Parker, 27, were engaged in November 2006, then wed – as fireworks lit up the sky – on July 7, 2007, at Chateau of Vaux le Vicomte, a 17th Century castle on the outskirts of Paris one day after a small civil service. The double wedding celebrating came after a week of partying in Saint-Tropez, France.

TMZ reports:

“Extra” host Mario Lopez claims Eva has confirmed to him that she found hundreds of text messages from another woman on Parker’s phone.

Lopez says Eva also confirmed that the mystery woman is MARRIED to one of Parker’s teammates.

InsideHoops.com adds:

Another TMZ report says that Parker was talking a lot, especially via text message, with former teammate Brent Barry’s wife, Erin Barry. No reports suggest that Parker and Erin were actually sleeping together.

I have no comment. I’m not touching this stuff. But we’ll keep quoting what big entertainment outlets report.

Knicks president Donnie Walsh has hip surgery

Howard Beck of the New York Times reports:

Donnie Walsh, the Knicks’ team president, had surgery to repair his right hip Tuesday morning and is expected to spend a few days in the hospital before starting a rehabilitation program at home.

The Knicks did not provide a timetable for Walsh’s return, but he said last week that he planned to work from his Manhattan apartment during his recovery, which he figured would last about two weeks.

Glen Grunwald, the Knicks’ senior vice president for basketball operations, is with the team this week for its four-game trip through the Western Conference.

Allen Iverson scores 15 points in Turkey debut

The AP reports:

Former NBA All-Star Allen Iverson has scored 15 points in his debut for Besiktas Cola Turka but failed to carry his team to victory against Hemofarm Stada.

Hemofarm Stada defeated Besiktas 94-91 in a European Cup game on Tuesday in Istanbul. Turkish fans shouted “Allen Iverson, the son of Besiktas Cola Turka” during the match.