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NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
On the front page of InsideHoops.com, if you scroll down, you’ll see a poll I posted late Monday night, asking for the top three most deserving MVP candidates.
The players I chose to include are: Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Chris Paul, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, and Manu Ginobili. And for good measure I added ‘other’ in case any of you feel there’s a better candidate out there that is worthy of being in the top three.
Now, go vote in the poll.
The Austin Toros announced today that they traded forward Justin Reed to the Bakersfield Jam for guard Andre Barrett.
Reed, a 6-8 forward out of Mississippi averaged 14.5 points and six rebounds in 15 games with the Toros this season.
Barrett, a 5-10 guard from Seton Hall averages 19 points, three rebounds, and eight assists per game. Barrett will wear jersey #4 and is expected to play Friday when the Toros take on Fort Wayne at the Austin Convention Center.
Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy did not accompany the team to Los Angeles, and will sit out Tuesday’s game at the L.A. Lakers and Wednesday’s game at the L.A. Clippers with a right ankle sprain.
The injury, which originally occurred Feb. 13 at Dallas, was aggravated during Sunday’s game vs. Boston. Roy left the Celtics game in the third quarter and did not return.
He is listed as day-to-day for Friday’s home game vs. the Lakers.
5th Anniversary
02/28/03: The New York Knicks retire Patrick Ewing’s No. 33.
03/05/03: Kobe Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to score 10,000 points.
10th Anniversary
02/25/98: Bill Fitch passed Red Auerbach (938) to become at the time the second-winningest coach in NBA history with a 117-108 win over Philadelphia.
02/27/98: The Indiana Pacers defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 124-59. The 65-point margin of victory is the second-largest in NBA history, outpaced only by the 68-point margin when Cleveland defeated Miami 148-80 on December 17, 1991.
03/01/98: Miami head coach Pat Riley became the fifth coach to record 900 career wins with a 85-84 win over New Jersey.
03/04/98: Arbitrator John Feerick upheld the NBA’s suspension of Latrell Sprewell for the 1997-98 season, resulting in a monetary penalty of $6.4 million, finding that the NBA’s investigation was “done in good faith and was fair and adequate.” Feerick also found “that the NBA complied with the standards of industrial due process.” He reduced the NBA’s suspension to the extent it had included approximately one month of the 1998-99 season. However, the arbitrator reinstated Sprewell’s contract with Golden State for the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons, finding that the combination of a one-season suspension and a contract termination would not be appropriate under all of the circumstances.
15th Anniversary
03/02/93: Denver retired the #7 jersey of long-time Nugget Alex English, who spent 10 1/2 of his 15 years in the NBA in the Mile High City, scoring a career total of 25,613 points.
20th Anniversary
03/02/88: The flaming basketball is adopted as Miami’s official logo from over 1,000 entries. Mark Henderson submitted the winning entry.
25th Anniversary
03/05/83: Golden State’s Joe Barry Carroll scored 52 points in a 127-121 Warriors victory over the Utah Jazz.
Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace developed post-concussion symptoms over the weekend that included headaches, drowsiness and soreness of the neck and jaw, according to Bobcats team physicians Dr. Glenn Perry and Dr. Joe Garcia.
Wallace is scheduled to see Charlotte-based neurologist Dr. Jerry Petty later this week, where he will go through a series of neural tests. Following the evaluation and based off the recommendation by Dr. Petty and team doctors, a timetable will be determined for his return. At this point, no timetable has been set.
Wallace suffered a Grade 3 concussion on Feb. 22 against the Sacramento Kings. Further tests at Presbyterian Hospital later that night revealed no fractures and no bleeding. The injury occurred with 9:54 left in the third quarter after an inadvertent elbow by Kings forward Mikki Moore. Wallace was immediately taken to the hospital for evaluation where he received a CAT-Scan and other on-site tests. He was later released and returned home.
Euroleague.net reports: Tau Ceramica shooting guard Igor Rakocevic will be sidelined for 3 weeks due to a calf injury. Rakocevic got injured midway through a Spanish League game against MMT Estudiantes last week and is set to miss several Top 16 games, even when he could return before the end of this phase.
The Washington Wizards will visit the New Orleans Hornets tomorrow night (Monday, February 25th) in Louisiana on Comcast SportsNet and WTEM 980 at 8:00 pm.
This game marks the first of two meetings between Washington and New Orleans this season. The Wizards and Hornets will conclude their season-series on March 2 in Washington.
Last season vs. New Orleans…The Wizards and Hornets split a pair of meetings, with each team winning at home…The Wizards’ loss in Oklahoma City on January 12, 2007 marked Washington’s tenth consecutive road defeat to the Hornets franchise; including games played in Charlotte, New Orleans and Oklahoma City…The Wizards’ 125-103 win at Verizon Center on March 17, 2007 was their third straight home win vs. New Orleans.
Washington last defeated the Hornets on the road on November 1, 2000 in Charlotte when the franchise was still the Charlotte Hornets. That win came in the Wizards’ opening game of the 2000-01 NBA season. None of the current Wizards played for Washington at that time.
This game marks the beginning of Washington’s 15th back-to-back set this season. The Wizards are 6-8 to date in the first game when playing on consecutive nights. Washington will conclude the back-to-back on Tuesday night in Houston. The Wizards are also 6-8 in the second game of a back-to-back set.
Washington’s starting line-up of Antonio Daniels, DeShawn Stevenson, Antawn Jamison, Andray Blatche and Brendan Haywood started their ninth game together as a unit in Washington’s last game, becoming Washington’s second-most frequently used starting line-up this season. The Wizards’ most popular starting unit — Daniels, Stevenson, Caron Butler, Jamison, Haywood — has started 27 games as a unit, and holds a 16-11 record in those games. In all, Washington has used eight different starting line-ups this season, as the opening night line-up that featured Gilbert Arenas, Stevenson, Butler, Jamison and Haywood started just eight games together. Antawn Jamison and DeShawn Stevenson are the only two Wizards to have started every game this season.
Despite Washington’s sub-.500 record this season (26-29, .473), the Wizards have outscored the opposition by three points this season, 5,421 – 5,418. The Wizards are the only sub-.500 team in the NBA that has outscored their opponent this season. Two teams with a +.500 record this season — Cleveland and Portland — have been cumulatively outscored by their opponents in 2007-08.
In Washington’s last game…The Wizards defeated the Charlotte Bobcats, 110-95, at Verizon Center on Saturday, Feb. 23…Antawn Jamison led five Wizards in double figures in scoring with 22 points…The Wizards improved to 7-2 this season when all five starters score at least 10 points…DeShawn Stevenson’s 20-point game marked his fourth game this season with 20+ points…Brendan Haywood finished with 15 points (6-12 FG, 3-3 FT), seven rebounds, a career-high five assists, and three blocked shots…Andray Blatche started his 12th game of the season, and finished with 13 points and eight rebounds…Antonio Daniels tallied 10 points, and improved to 20-17 as a starter this season…Oleksiy Pecherov finished one point shy of being the sixth Wizard in double figures in scoring, but finished with a career-high tying nine points and a career-high six rebounds…Rookie guard Nick Young grabbed a career-high five rebounds…Washington committed a team season-low seven turnovers…Caron Butler missed his eighth straight game with a left hip flexor strain.
Washington-New Orleans connections…Wizards forward Antawn Jamison was born in Shreveport, LA…Washington’s Antonio Daniels and New Orleans’ Bonzi Wells were teammates in Portland in 2002-03…Washington’s Caron Butler and New Orleans’ Rasual Butler were teammates in Miami from 2002-04…Washington’s Darius Songaila and New Orleans’ Peja Stojakovic and Bobby Jackson were teammates in Sacramento from 2003-05…Wizards Head Coach Eddie Jordan and Hornets Head Coach Byron Scott coached together on the New Jersey Nets teams that went to back-to-back NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003…Hornets Assistant Coach Darrell Walker played for Washington from 1987-1991; was Washington’s Head Coach for a 38-game stint in 1999-00; and served in the team’s scouting department from 2000-04.
The Toronto Sun (Steve Buffery) reports: Jose Calderon has been saying it for months, and now T.J. Ford has emphatically jumped on the bandwagon. The two point guards want to stay together for as long as possible — even though they would have a lot more to gain from a personal standpoint if they split up. “Do I think it can continue to work? Yes I do,” said Ford this week, when asked about sharing duties with Calderon. “I think we both continue to make each other better. We set high expectations for one another (and) I think we do a good job supporting one another and I think our relationship is great.” Calderon is a restricted free agent at season’s end and GM Bryan Colangelo has made it known he will match all offers. But the question remains: Will Calderon be content to come off the bench once Ford is healthy? Or, for that matter, will Ford be happy coming off the bench?
The Memphis Grizzlies waived forward Marcus Vinicius (Va-NEE-Shus), club General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.
The 6-8, 225-pound forward was acquired in a three-team trade on February 21. Memphis received Vinicius from the New Orleans Hornets along with the draft rights to Malick Badiane (Muh-LEEK Bah-Dee-En) and cash considerations from the Houston Rockets. In return, the Grizzlies sent the draft rights to Sergei Lishouk (Sir-GAY Leesh-CHUK) to the Rockets.
The 43rd overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft averaged 2.2 points in 5.3 minutes in 13 games for New Orleans this season. Vinicius owns career averages of 1.9 points in 6.6 minutes in 26 games over two seasons with the Hornets.
Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace suffered a Grade 3 concussion tonight versus the Sacramento Kings and is experiencing a slight case of amnesia. Further tests at Presbyterian Hospital revealed no fractures and no bleeding.
The injury occurred with 9:54 left in the third quarter after an inadvertent elbow by Kings forward Mikki Moore. Wallace was immediately taken to the hospital for evaluation where he received a CAT-Scan and other test. He has been released and is now home resting. He will not accompany the team at Washington tomorrow. No timetable has been set for his return.
Bobcats Sports & Entertainment owns and operates the Charlotte Bobcats (NBA) and operates the widely-acclaimed Charlotte Bobcats Arena, which opened in the fall of 2005.