Inside Hoops – Page 2579 – NBA Blog

Apr. 10: Lakers 106, Clippers 78

The AP reports: Luke Walton scored 13 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the short-handed Clippers 106-78 Thursday night for their fifth win in six games… Kobe Bryant scored 16 points, Lamar Odom had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Pau Gasol added 13 points for the Lakers, who blew the game open by outscoring the Clippers 32-11 to finish the third quarter and start the fourth for a 94-67 lead with 6 1/2 minutes left… Elton Brand, playing his fifth game after missing the season’s first 74 while recovering from surgery on his torn left Achilles’ tendon, led the Clippers (23-56) with 23 points and seven rebounds. Rookie Al Thornton added 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Apr. 10: Mavs 97, Jazz 94

The AP reports: Dirk Nowitzki scored 32 points and Jason Terry had 21, all coming in the second half. The duo scored 25 of Dallas’ 30 points in the fourth quarter. They had to step up because Josh Howard left in the third with a bruised right knee… Mehmet Okur had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Utah, while Deron Williams had 18 points and 12 assists. He was 7-of-16 after going 6-of-24 in his previous two games. Andrei Kirilenko had 15 points and Carlos Boozer only 10 points and five rebounds.

Apr. 10: Nuggets 114, Warriors 105

The AP reports: Allen Iverson squared up, hit a 3-pointer and raised his arms to the air, having thwarted Golden State’s final charge. There was no downplaying the importance of this win that put the Denver Nuggets in control of the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Iverson scored 33 points, J.R. Smith added 24 off the bench and the Nuggets overcame a 16-point deficit in the first quarter to win their playoff showdown with the Warriors 114-105 Thursday night… Golden State committed an uncharacteristically high 18 turnovers, missed nine of 24 free throws and got poor shooting nights from Stephen Jackson and Baron Davis. Davis had a triple-double with 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, but shot only 9-for-25. Jackson had 18 points on 5-for-17 shooting. Monta Ellis led the way with 29 points and Al Harrington added 20.

Andrew Bynum not returning yet

Lakers center Andrew Bynum was examined yesterday in New York by knee specialist Dr. David Altchek and has not been cleared to progress to full practices or contact drills, it was announced today.

“This should not be seen as a setback in any way,” said Altchek. “Andrew will continue with his therapy program and workouts with the Lakers’ training staff and will continue to be monitored until he can return to playing status.”

There is no target date for Bynum’s return.

Impressive Magic improvement from last season

The Orlando Sentinel (Brian Schmitz) reports: The Magic will win 50 games this season, plus a few more, and they should get it Friday night against the woeful Minnesota Timberwolves at home. Reaching 50 would mean the Magic have made at least a 10-game improvement since last season’s 40-42 record — a significant bump by league standards. It represents a 14-game bump from the back-to-back 36-46 seasons the previous two years. They can become just the fourth Magic team to win 50, and the first since the exalted 1995-96 team of Shaq and Penny. Coach Stan Van Gundy said 50 wins separates a team from mediocrity, providing instant respect. Sort of like breaking 90 on the golf course. It took the Magic a long time to put this thing back together — and they tried — after Shaquille O’Neal’s departure in 1996 started a rapid decline.

Bosh wants louder support from home fans

The Toronto Sun (Mike Ganter) reports: At one point midway through the second quarter after the Raptors had taken the lead and the Bucks took a timeout, Chris Bosh angrily gestured at the fans to get off their hands and show a little support. “I was just saying it was quiet,” Bosh said. “I’m just saying: ‘I’m excited’. I don’t know if anyone else is excited but I’m excited. I’m not waiting for next week. I’m trying to do it right now and that’s the mentality we have to take as an organization.” And as for the fans. “If the crowd just reacts, it’s a tough place to play,” Bosh said. “We go to places like Dallas and Utah, Cleveland and Detroit and it’s loud. It really makes a difference and really gives them an advantage.”

Nets need a true No. 1 option

The Bergen Record (Al Iannazzone) writes the following on his blog: The Nets will never admit this, but this is my feeling, you’re not going to win when Richard Jefferson is your No. 1 option. He’s not even one of the top five small forwards in the East. I rank in no order Paul Pierce, Andre Iguodala, LeBron James, Hedo Turkoglu and Caron Butler ahead of Jefferson, and I may be missing someone. Carter’s contract and his ability to carry a team make him valuable to the Nets, so I expect him back. They’re not going to trade Harris, the point guard they acquired for Jason Kidd, unless somehow the Nets wind up in the top three in the draft and have the opportunity to take a Derrick Rose. What they probably will do, however, is look to move backup Marcus Williams, instead.

Cuban would like age minimum to be 22

Mark Cuban, on BlogMaverick, writes: “If it were up to me, I would raise the age limit to 22 or when your class graduates from college. Why ? It’s not because there are not 18 or 19 year olds who can’t play in the NBA. There always have been, and there always will be. Doing what is right for the NBA is about far more than basketball talent. My logic is simple. If a kid is NBA ready to play at 18 or 19, he will be NBA ready at 22. They don’t forget how to play basketball and they don’t get worse. What does change considerably between the ages of 18 and 22 is the maturity level of the kids. Ask any 22 year old in college if they are more “worldly” and better prepared to deal with life post college than they were when they were 18 or 19.”

Cuban continues: “From the perspective of an NBA owner, maturity is far harder to qualify than talent. Can he manage the personal side of his life ?When friends, relatives and hangers on are coming out of the woodwork asking for something. I know that when I first started making great money, it was difficult for me, in my late 20s to deal with who to say no to. How is a 19 year old going to say no to people who he has grown up around and are still his close friends ? How is he going to deal with the gold diggers ? A 1 or 2 week “Scared Straight” class by the NBA isn’t going to do the job.”

Heat sign Lasme for rest of season

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed forward Stephane Lasme for the remainder of the season. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Lasme, a 6’8”, 215-pound forward, has appeared in 11 games for the HEAT averaging 4.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.55 blocks and 1.00 steals in 19.7 minutes of action. He scored a career-high eight points at Detroit on Mar. 27, grabbed a career-high seven rebounds at Indiana on Mar. 31 and blocked a career-high three shots on two occasions, first at Charlotte on Mar. 22 and then in his next game vs. Milwaukee on Mar. 24.

Lasme, the 2007-08 NBA Development League Co-Defensive Player of the Year, was originally signed to a 10-day contract with the HEAT on Mar. 21 and was then re-signed to a second 10-day contract on Mar. 31.

Rumors Commentary: Not shocking that Sonics owners planned to move all along

It’s not shocking at all to learn that the new Sonics owners seemingly planned all along to move the team to their base, Oklahoma City. From an owner perspective, it makes sense to keep the team in Seattle if things are going well financially. But if the ability to make money using the current arena is going to be a permanent problem, it makes sense to move the squad, especially to where the new owners have lots of business connections and can easily land good sponsorships… I hadn’t paid attention to this but some Sonics fans emailed InsideHoops saying that when the Hornets were playing in OKC, a lot of the ticket prices were at a very reduced price, so the high attendance there isn’t a lock to be repeated when prices go back to normal when the Sonics get there. I haven’t looked into that myself, though… A lot of John Calipari’s college success is based on recruiting, not coaching. Now, I’m not saying he’s a bad coach. But there’s no guarantee his coaching will translate to the NBA a second time around… Just as I was typing this, Bruce Bowen showed up out of nowhere and elbowed me in the back while falling down. I think it was just an accident, though I’m not sure how he got in without me hearing him… The Knicks need to smile to Isiah Thomas this summer, thank him very kindly for his efforts, and completely part ways… The NBA MVP is going to be Kobe or CP3, I say (and lots of others are saying this as well, of course)… I was excited to share that the Knicks are giving free food and beverages to fans for the last home game, and that’s still cool, but now it’s reported the Cavs are going to give $1 million in prizes away. I wonder what the prizes are, and what percentage of the fans will win something… Just as I was typing something else, Bruce Bowen somehow got in here again and for some weird reason stuck his foot under mine. I better be careful when I stand up, or I might twist an ankle… The thing about the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament is, virtually no first round picks are playing there, and only a handful of second rounders, and you learn more about these players over the full NCAA season than you do seeing them play three or four games with teammates they aren’t familar with… Go Inside Hoops every day… More NBA rumors stories during the day as they develop… Talk to you tomorrow.

This is from the InsideHoops NBA Rumors page, the web’s single most must-read daily roundup of hot stories. Hit the page.