Author: Inside Hoops

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Marbury expected (to watch) in MSG tonight

The New York Daily News (Frank Isola) reports: The Knicks will get back to focusing on what really matters to the organization, 100 times more than winning in fact; spinning a story.
Stephon Marbury is expected to be at the Garden tonight for the first time since he had season-ending ankle surgery and after the Daily News reported on Thursday that Isiah Thomas had told Marbury not to attend home games… As for Marbury, he has no interest in being around Thomas or James Dolan and the feeling is mutual. But because the season is already in the toilet and the subject of Marbury’s future and his absence from home games is becoming an issue, the Knicks – who are paying him $180,00 per game – are making Marbury show up for work tonight (now there’s a radical concept) to put an end to the speculation.

Al Horford, Luis Scola win Rookies of Month

The Atlanta Hawks’ Al Horford and the Houston Rockets’ Luis Scola today were named the Eastern and Western Conference T-Mobile Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in February.

Among rookies, Horford is ranked first in rebounds with 10.6 rpg and double-doubles with 16. He set career highs of 20 rebounds on Feb. 6, vs. Lakers, and 20 points on Feb. 29, vs. New York. In addition, Horford recorded seven double-doubles, including three straight to finish the month.  He also became the first Hawk to grab 20 rebounds in a game since Alan Henderson did it on Nov. 26, 2002.

While helping lead his team to a 13-0 record for the month, Scola led all rookies in field goal percentage with .629 percent. He is ranked 15th overall in the NBA this season in field goal percentage with .530.  In addition, Scola was ranked third among West rookies in scoring with 11.7 ppg and recorded a career-high five steals vs. Memphis on Fe. 29, 2008, setting the most by a Rockets player in a game this season.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month were the Los Angeles Clipper’s Al Thornton, Philadelphia’s Thaddeus Young, Seattle’s Kevin Durant and Toronto’s Jamario Moon.

Flip Saunders, Rick Adelman win Coaches of Month

The Detroit Pistons’ Flip Saunders and the Houston Rockets’ Rick Adelman today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in February.

Saunders guided the Pistons to a 9-3 (.750) month, which included wins over a trio of top Western Conference teams – Dallas, Phoenix and Denver. The Pistons recorded a 3.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio for the month, dishing out 20-plus assists in nine of 12 games and committing less than 15 turnovers in all 12 contests. The Pistons outscored their February opponents by 9.5 ppg. In a 90-67 win over Dallas on Feb.3, the Pistons held the Mavericks to 23 field goals. In a 116-86 win at Phoenix on Feb. 24, the Pistons recorded 26 assists on a season-high-tying 46 field goals.

Adelman led the Rockets to a perfect 13-0 record in February, marking the second time in team history that Houston recorded an undefeated month (14-0 in Nov. 1993). The Rockets are currently riding an NBA season long 15-game winning streak. The streak, which began on Jan. 29, ties the Rockets’ franchise record which occurred twice before (1992-93 and 1993-94). Houston outscored its February opponents by 12.6 ppg, while limiting them to a .414 field goal percentage.
                                                          Other nominees for the Coach of the Month were Boston’s Doc Rivers, Cleveland’s Mike Brown, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Phil Jackson, Philadelphia’s Maurice Cheeks, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich and Utah’s Jerry Sloan.

LeBron, Kobe win Players of Month

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the Los Angeles  Lakers’  Kobe  Bryant  today  were  named  the Eastern and Western Conference  Players  of the Month for games played in February.

James,  who wins the award for the second consecutive month, led the league in  scoring  in February, averaging 30.2 points and adding 8.9 rebounds and an  Eastern  Conference-best  8.5  assists. Cleveland was   8-6 mark on the month  as  James became the first player since Magic Johnson (1988) to post triple-doubles on consecutive days twice in the same season (Feb. 19-20 and Nov.  24-25).  James became the youngest player to reach 10,000 points with his 19th point at Boston on Feb. 27

Bryant  led the Lakers to a 13-2 mark, averaging team highs in points (27.2 ppg),  assists  (5.9 apg) and steals (2.07 spg). Bryant, who shot .507 from the  field,  scored  at  least 30 points on eight occasions and netted more than 40 points twice.

Other  nominees for Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Detroit’s  Chauncey  Billups,  Golden  State’s  Monta  Ellis, Houston Tracy McGrady, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Corey Maggette, Orlando’s Dwight Howard, Philadelphia’s Andre Miller and San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili.

Cavaliers sign Kaniel Dickens, Billy Thomas to second 10-day contracts

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Kaniel Dickens and guard Billy Thomas to their second 10-day contracts, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today. Dickens has played nine minutes in three games. Thomas has appeared in four games with Cleveland and scored all nine of his points against Washington on Feb. 22. Both players signed their first 10-day contracts on Feb. 22.

Warriors re-assign Kosta Perovic to D-League

The Golden State Warriors have re-assigned center Kosta Perović to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin announced today.
 
Perović, 23, was previously assigned to the Jam on November 18 before being recalled on January 6.  During his most recent sojourn with Golden State, Perović saw action in one game on January 19 at Milwaukee.  He finished with four points, four rebounds and a block in seven minutes.
 
During his previous stint in the D-League, Perović appeared in 19 games (nine starts), averaging 8.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.37 blocks in 22.1 minutes per contest.
 
Perović is the second Warriors player to be assigned to the D-League since the current affiliation system began during the 2005-06 season.  Under the system, NBA teams can assign up to two players who are rookies or in their second season to their D-League affiliate. Players can stay with the D-League team for as long as the team wishes, and be recalled back to the NBA at any time. However, a player can only be sent to the D-League a maximum of three times during the season.

Euroleague Week 3 co-MVPs awards go to Dimitris Diamantidis, Terence Morris

Euroleague.net reports: One of the most exciting weeks in Top 16 history came to an end with two players tying for the best individual performance in this round. Dimitris Diamantidis of Panathinaikos and Terence Morris of Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv shared co-MVP honours, each with a 29 index. Diamantidis had 17 points on 2-for-2 two-pointers, 3-for-4 triples and 4-for-4 free throws in his team’s road loss against Montepaschi Siena. He added 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, a block and 4 fouls drawn to amass a 29 index. Morris had 16 points on 5-for-7 two-pointers in Maccabi’s pivotal home win against Real Madrid. He added 15 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks for a 29 index. Marc Jackson of Olympiacos, Willie Solomon of Fenerbahce Ulker and Daniel Santiago of Unicaja also shined with week, each with a 26 index.

Ilgauskas out a week or more

Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas missed the game today (Sunday, March 2) versus the Chicago Bulls with a back strain. He will be listed as Out for one week and will be re-evaluated after that with his status being updated at that point. No timeline has been established for his return to play.

Have not seen Semi-Pro, but I lack optimism

Hi. I’m Jeff. I run InsideHoops.com. Everyone who works in basketball or sports publicity who has heard of the internet knows about this website. We’re one of the world’s leading sports websites. And if we yell about something, word spreads, and directly or indirectly everyone who follows basketball closely quickly hears about it. Either by reading InsideHoops.com, or hearing from a friend who does, or reading a newspaper or another big website who heard about it because we said it, etc. etc. etc.

And now, my point. And yes, there is one, aside from reminding everyone that InsideHoops has a massive and extremely influential readership: No one promoting Semi-Pro got in touch with us to see a media screening of the movie before it came out.

I’ve seen literally every single basketball movie or documentary weeks in advance, for years now. All of them. Except Semi-Pro. Why is this?

Heck, just a few days ago I saw a screening of a basketball film I’m not allowed to even talk about it. Almost no sports media members have seen it yet, other than a select few. It’s terrific and you’ll hear about it in the near future.

Well, I just went to RottenTomatoes, and checked out the Semi-Pro reviews. And they’re awful. That site counted 109 reviews (none of which seem to be from anyone who works in basketball — it’s as if only “regular” movie reviewers got to see the film in advance) and it got a ranking of 25 percent. That’s out of 100. That’s very bad.

So, do PR people know the movie stinks? And therefore did they avoid inviting people like me in advance, because they didn’t want me to tell you it sucked?

And, I went to some basketball magazine websites, and a few of the big TV network-owned sites, and I don’t see any reviews of the movie. Just promotional stuff.

Anyway, I’m not saying a single bad word about the movie. Maybe it’ll be fun. Just saying, if InsideHoops isn’t seeing an advance screening of a basketball movie, then it’s quite likely that either the movie stinks, or the company needs to hire new PR people.