Inside Hoops – Page 2550 – NBA Blog

Paul Millsap to have thumb surgery

Utah Jazz forward Paul Millsap will undergo surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb this Thursday, Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today.

Millsap injured the thumb in the Game Six loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on May 16. Following x-rays, Jazz physician Dr. Lyle Mason preliminarily diagnosed the thumb injury as a torn ulnar ligament.

A second opinion by Dr. Steven Huish today confirmed that Millsap suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, and Dr. Huish will perform surgery to repair the ligament on Thursday in Salt Lake City.

A report on the surgery and an estimated timeline for Millsap’s recovery will be provided on Friday.

Originally selected by the Jazz in the second round (47th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft, Millsap has appeared in all 164 regular season games and all 29 playoff games in his first two seasons. He averaged 8.1 points and 5.6 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game this season.

Jay-Z to rep Nets at draft lottery Tuesday

Nets investor and music executive Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter will represent the Nets at the NBA Draft Lottery tomorrow, Tuesday, May 20, at the studios of NBA Entertainment in Secaucus, NJ. The Draft Lottery will be televised live on ESPN from 8 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons.

No word on if Tupac will represent any Cali teams.

I think it’s cool that Jay-Z will rep the Nets. I support anything that adds interest to an already-important event that will help determine the future of a few squads.

May 18: Celtics 97, Cavs 92

The AP reports: Paul Pierce hit a shot. Then LeBron James answered. Pierce hit another and so did James. It was like that all game long, two of the NBA’s best trying to carry their teams to the next round. Pierce and the Boston Celtics succeeded, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 97-92 on Sunday… Pierce scored 41 points, James had 45 and Boston remained unbeaten in the playoffs at home, where the first two games against the Pistons will be played Tuesday and Thursday night… Pierce hit 13 of 23 shots and James went 14-for-29… The Celtics never trailed Sunday but they never were safe until the final seconds. Pierce hit two free throws with 7.9 seconds left for the final points, then James missed a 3-pointer on the last shot of the game with 4.4 seconds to go… Sasha Pavlovic’s 3-pointer made it 95-92 with 8.6 seconds left and the Cavaliers immediately fouled Pierce. His first shot hit the rim, hung in the air, then fell through as the crowd roared. Pierce said team patriarch Red Auerbach, who died in October 2006 at age 89, had something to do with that.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Celtics shot 47.8%, the Cavaliers 44.8%. The Celtics took just 12 three-pointers but made 5 (Pierce hit 4), while the Cavs launched 22 threes but hit just 7. Free throws were almost even, though the Celtics hit a few more. Boston won rebounds 39-29 and won assists 39-29.

For the Celtics, Paul Pierce (13-of-23, 4-of-6 threes, 11-of-12 free throws) had 41 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists (but 4 turnovers). Kevin Garnett (just 5-of-13) had 13 points and 13 rebounds. PJ Brown played 20 bench minutes and shot 4-of-4 for 10 points and 6 rebounds. Rajon Rondo was just 4-of-11 for 8 points but was terrific with 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Ray Allen continues to stink, shooting 1-of-6 for 4 points and almost nothing else.

For the Cavs, LeBron James (14-of-29, 3-of-11 threes, 14-of-19 free throws) had 45 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Delonte West (4-of-8) had 15 points and 5 assists, but 6 turnovers. Wally Szczerbiak was junk, shooting 0-of-3 in 15 minutes. Ben Wallace was fairly useless with 3 points, 4 rebounds and a block in almost 30 minutes. Zydrunas Ilgauskas was worn out, shooting 2-of-8 for 8 points, 5 rebounds and little else. Joe Smith was good off the bench with 6 points and 6 rebounds. Anderson Varejao played just 11 minutes and had 5 points and just 2 rebounds. And Sasha Pavlovic in over 35 minutes did little more than take 8 shots to score 7 points with 5 fouls.

Mutombo wants to play next season

The Houston Chronicle (Jonathan Feigen) reports: Dikembe Mutombo said Thursday he would instruct agent David Falk to negotiate with the Rockets on a contract for another year. Having Mutombo back for an 18th NBA season would not seem to be progress on change. It would be. Mutombo, at this stage of his career, is insurance. His return would allow the Rockets to spend their summer allowance on the perimeter, rather than on a Mutombo successor. Big men are expensive. The Rockets did not want to empty the mid-level bank account on a guy that – again, assuming the Yao-McGrady foundation to be sound – would only play 12 to 14 minutes a game at most behind Yao.

May 16: Lakers 108, Jazz 105

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored 34 points, 12 in the fourth quarter, and Los Angeles held off a furious rally by the Utah Jazz for a 108-105 victory Friday night in Game 6, putting the Lakers in the Western Conference finals for the first time in four years. It was the only win by the visiting team in the series and kept the Lakers from having to host a Game 7 on Monday… Utah trailed by 19 points at halftime and 16 after three quarters, but got within two in the final minute… Utah was 5-for-8 on 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and had a chance to tie it just before the buzzer, but Mehmet Okur and Deron Williams both missed from beyond the arc in the final seconds and Utah’s season was over… Reserve Paul Millsap added 15 points for Utah and led the Jazz on a 14-5 run early in the fourth quarter that set up the thrilling finish.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Lakers shot 50.0%, the Jazz just 38.1%. But the Jazz took 97 shots, the Lakers just 70. The Jazz hit a respectable 9-of-24 three-pointers, the Lakers a terrific 7-of-11. As usual the Lakers took way more free throws, going 31-of-38, the Jazz 22-of-25. The Jazz owned the boards, and dished a few more assists.

For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant (9-of-19) had 34 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists (but 5 turnovers). Pau Gasol on an inefficient 17 shots had 17 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. Derek Fisher on an amazing 5 shots managed 16 points and 3 steals. Lamar Odom (4-of-8) had 13 points and 9 rebounds. Vladimir Radmanovic (5-of-7) had 12. Sasha Vujacic (5-of-7) also had 12.

For the Jazz, Deron Williams on an inefficient 21 shots had 21 points and 14 assists. Mehmet Okur (just 6-of-18) had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Ronnie Brewer scored 13. Carlos Boozer (awful 5-of-16) had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and fouled out. Andrei Kirlenko also scored 12, with 3 steals.

May 16: Cavs 74, Celtics 69

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 32 points—19 in the second half—and the Cavaliers forced a decisive and fitting finale to this home-sweet-home playoff series with a 74-69 victory Friday night over the Celtics, who have gone from regular-season road kings to postseason road kill… James, whose jump shot has mysteriously been missing in this series, made two key baskets midway through the fourth quarter to slow a Boston comeback, Wally Szczerbiak hit a 3-pointer with 2:10 remaining and Joe Smith dropped two free throws with 14 seconds left as the Cavs moved the series back to the East Coast… Leading by nine at halftime, the Cavs quickly extended the lead to 51-36. But just when it appeared the Celtics were in major trouble, they responded behind Garnett, who scored eight points in a 13-0 spurt that pulled Boston within three. James finally ended Cleveland’s offensive lapse with a layup and the Cavs got a tip-in and fling-in from Anderson Varejao for a 59-50 lead entering the fourth. Garnett’s jumper pulled the Celtics within 65-60 before James scored on a drive, and the All-Star hit an off-balance 17-foot jumper to make it 69-60. Eddie House made a 3-pointer for Boston, but Szczerbiak, who missed his first five 3-pointers, finally got one to go down, giving Cleveland a 72-63 lead.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Celtics shot 39.7%, the Cavs just 32.9%. Both teams missed threes. The Cavs had 21-of-25 free throws, the Celtics just 11-of-13. The Cavs controlled the boards but only had 10 team assists.

For the Cavs, LeBron James (9-of-23) had 32 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists (but 8 turnovers) and 2 steals. Delonte West (4-of-7) had 10 points, no assists and 4 turnovers. Wally Szczerbiak (absurd 2-of-11) had 9, Zydrunas Ilgauskas (awful 3-of-11) had 7 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Joe Smith had 9 points and 5 rebounds off the bench.

For the Celtics, Kevin Garnett (11-of-21) had 25 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. Paul Pierce (lousy 5-of-15) had 16 points and 6 turnovers. Ray Allen (3-of-8) had 9 points and 6 rebounds. Eddie House (3-of-5) came off the bench for rare minutes to score 8.

Rasho Nesterovic exercises player option

The Toronto Raptors announced Friday that centre Rasho Nesterovic has exercised the player option on his contract for the 2008-09 season. Per team policy, financial terms were not disclosed.

Nesterovic, 7-foot, 270 pounds, concluded his second season with the Raptors and his 10th in the NBA. He appeared in 71 games (with 39 starts) last season, averaging 7.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 20.9 minutes. He led the team in field goal percentage (more than 200 attempts) at .550 (257-467). He scored in double figures in 17 of the final 18 regular season games, averaging 15.4 points and 6.7 rebounds.

Nesterovic has averaged 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in 699 career games with Minnesota, San Antonio and Toronto. He was a member of San Antonio’s 2005 NBA Championship team.

Spurs open flophouse in Game 6 win

The San Antonio Spurs have opened a flophouse, and the special invited guests are David West and Chris Paul.

In game 6, with the Spurs needing a win to stay alive and force a series-deciding game 7, early in the third quarter, Tim Duncan did his best Manu Ginobili impersonation and, upon feeling contact from West, who had the basketball and was looking to score, flopped backwards and fell down. It should have been a no-call, but the refs fell for it. It’s partially West’s fault for extending his arm, but still, the ref should have let it go.

West also got robbed when he and Ginobili got tied up, and the ref decided it was West’s fault. I’m not sure but I thought Ginobili was the one holding him.

And, West got called for a reach-in on Duncan that I’m not sure was a foul.

Those three fouls occurred right near each other when the game was still close. Overall there were about five fouls on CP3 and West in the span of under two minutes, changing the game.

The Spurs then proceeded to pull away.

May 15: Spurs 99, Hornets 80

The AP reports: The defending champions beat the New Orleans Hornets, 99-80 in Game 6, staying alive and forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 on Monday in New Orleans… Manu Ginobili scored 25 points, Tim Duncan had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 15 points to tie the Western Conference semifinals… Chris Paul led the Hornets with 21 points and eight assists, and Tyson Chandler scored 14 points. David West had 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter after aggravating a back injury… Despite the closeness of the series, Game 6, like the five before it, was won by double digits. It was also won, like those before it, in the third quarter, when the Spurs outscored the Hornets 20-12… The Spurs shot 49 percent from the field (38-of-77) to the Hornets’ 41 percent (33-of-80) and outrebounded them 45-40. The Spurs had 28 assists and the Hornets had 13… With 10:11 left in the game, West left the court after aggravating a back injury.

OJ Mayo calls accusations a publicity stunt

The Los Angeles Times (Ben Bolch) reports: Calling the accusations against him “a publicity stunt,” O.J. Mayo on Wednesday emphatically denied allegations that he accepted cash and gifts in violation of NCAA rules and said his accuser might be striking back after he severed ties between them. Mayo said he would cooperate with investigations by the NCAA and Pacific 10 Conference after a report he accepted tens of thousands of dollars in prohibited extra benefits before and during the one season he played basketball for USC. “My family hasn’t accepted anything, so I’m just waiting for the NCAA to do what they have to do to prove that I haven’t done anything wrong,” Mayo said.