Inside Hoops – Page 2641 – NBA Blog

Pacers tidbits

Tying his season-high, Jermaine O’Neal blocked six shots at Golden State on Sunday, Jan. 13. That was his 14th straight game with at least two blocked shots and he is now seventh in the NBA with an average of 2.31 blocks per game.

With his two steals at Phoenix on Tuesday, Jan. 9, Jamaal Tinsley became just the sixth player in franchise history with 650 steals in his career. With his three thefts in the next game at Sacramento, he moved ahead of Billy Knight for fifth place on the franchise’s all-time career list.

Against the Warriors, the Pacers had nine steals, their season-high fifth straight game with at least nine thefts. For the season, Indiana is ninth in the league, and fourth in the Eastern Conference, with an average of 7.84 steals per game.

In tying their season-high 14 steals at Sacramento, the Pacers had five players with at least two steals each. That was just the third time this season, and second time in three games, that the Pacers have had more than three players with at least two steals. Indiana had four players with two steals apiece at Utah, Jan. 8.

The Pacers outscored the Warriors, 19-16, at the foul line at Golden State, Jan. 13, ending a streak of 22 straight games in which the Pacers had not outscored its opponent from the free throw line.

The Pacers fielded their eighth different starting lineup of 2007-08, and their 28th since the start of 2006-07, when Kareem Rush was inserted at guard for the game at Sacramento, Jan. 12. In that starting combination Mike Dunleavy moved to forward and Jermaine O’Neal started at center.

The NBA announced on Friday, Jan. 12, that David Harrison of the Indiana Pacers had been suspended without pay for five games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program. Harrison’s suspension began with the game at Sacramento, Jan. 12.

In the fourth and final update before All-Star starters are announced, which was released on Thursday, Jan. 10, Jermaine O’Neal was seventh among Eastern Conference centers with 143,026 votes. Balloting will continue through Jan. 20 and there are several promotions planned for the games at Conseco Fieldhouse between now and then. Among those promotions will be autograph sessions for fans that turn in a required number of completed ballots. The All-Star starters will be announced during an NBA double-header on TNT Thursday, Jan. 24.

Rockets rookie watch

Aaron Brooks, who posted a career-high 22 points (8-10 FG, 4-5 3FG) vs. New York (1/5/08), has all four of his double-figure scoring games over his last 11 outings. Luis Scola has made 50-of-90 (.556) field goals for 115 points (11.5 ppg) over the past 10 contests, including a career-best 22 points at Memphis (12/28/07), 19 points at New York (1/9/08) and equaling his career-high 22 points vs. Minnesota (1/11/08).

Nene has tumor removed. Biopsy tests pending

InsideHoops.com NewsWire — This is official word on Denver Nuggets forward Nenê: He underwent successful surgery to remove a testicular tumor yesterday. Results of a biopsy to determine the presence of cancer are pending.

A right testicular mass was found incidentally and it was managed surgically,” said Dr. Fernando J. Kim, Chief of Urology at Denver Health Medical Center. Nenê is recovering well and in good condition.

“I want to thank my fans, my teammates, the Nuggets organization and everyone that’s been supporting me,” said Nenê. “My victory will represent their victory as well. Thanks for being with me in this moment. I will remember all the appreciation. I thank God that we could detect this at such an early stage.”

Last week, an examination by team physician Dr. Saurabh Mangalik revealed the presence of a tumor. Nenê then consulted with Dr. Kim, a graduate of the University of São Paolo School of Medicine in Nenê’s home country of Brazil, who performed the surgery.

As a cancer survivor and someone who has watched his son go through two cancer-related surgeries, I know firsthand the emotions and fears that you feel when someone says you might have it,” said Nuggets Head Coach George Karl. “Our job now is to support Nenê and be there for him as a family. Basketball is at the bottom of the totem poll at a time like this. We just want him to get healthy.”

On Jan. 11, the Nuggets announced Nenê would take an indefinite leave of absence from the team. There remains no timeline for his return.

Everyone at InsideHoops.com wishes him the best.

Heat deny Zo retirement

SportsTicker reports: Alonzo Mourning’s retirement is off just hours after the Miami Heat center made it official. A spokesman for the Heat said a story erroneously was placed on the team’s web site Monday confirming that Mourning will call it quits. The 37-year-old Mourning, who entered his 15th NBA season saying it would be his last, saw it cut short when he tore the patella tendon and quadriceps tendon in his right knee on December 19.

Andrew Bynum out at least 8 weeks

After MRI tests and an examination by team doctor Steve Lombardo of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Group earlier today, it has been determined that Lakers center Andrew Bynum suffered a subluxation of the patella and a bone bruise of his left knee in last night’s game. Bynum is expected to be out a minimum of eight weeks. Bynum is expected to make a full recovery.

Bynum suffered the injury with 8:52 remaining in the third quarter of last night’s 100-99 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Bynum, in his third year in the NBA, is averaging 13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots per game.

Cavs extend Mike Brown’s contract

The Cleveland Cavaliers today extended Head Coach Mike Brown’s contract. The announcement was made today by Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry. The Associated Press reports that the deal is a two-year contract extension lasting through the 2010-11 season.

Brown is the winningest head coach in Cavaliers history with a .592 winning percentage (119-82). Brown has also won more playoff games (19) than any coach in Cavaliers history. The Cavaliers won their first Eastern Conference Championship last season and became one of only five teams to win at least 50 games in the last two seasons (Dallas, Detroit, Phoenix, and San Antonio).

“Mike Brown brings his high character, work ethic and talent as a coach with him to work every single day. He has been, and will continue to be, important to our continued growth as a basketball team as we work towards a championship,” said Ferry.

Brown became the 17th Cavaliers Head Coach on June 2, 2005 and became the first Cavaliers head coach to win a playoff series in their first season. Brown came to the Cavaliers after serving as the associate head coach of the Indiana Pacers for two seasons and as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs for three seasons, including the Spurs 2003 World Championship season.

Subscribe to the InsideHoops basketball blog RSS feed and get the news first.

Discuss this with other fans on the InsideHoops basketball forum.

Andrew Bynum hurt

Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum hurt his left knee (not his ankle) Sunday night in the third quarter of a game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Bynum had gone up for a rebound, and there was some sort of contact with Lamar Odom. Bynum’s left knee turned in awkward fashion. Teammates had to help him reach the locker room.

It isn’t known how seriously Bynum is hurt. Let’s hope he turns out OK. He’s been a terrific story this season and a key to Lakers success.

11:33 p.m. ET update: Unofficial, unconfirmed word is that an X-ray was negative, meaning there’s no broken bone, but his MRI will be tomorrow. When there’s an official word we’ll update this blog entry.

Post your reaction and discuss this with other fans on the InsideHoops basketball forum.

Antawn Jamison cleaning the glass

With 33 rebounds over Washington’s last two games, Antawn Jamison has boosted his rebounding average to a career-high 10.9 rebounds per game. Also averaging 21.3 points per game, Jamison joins Orlando’s Dwight Howard as the only two players in the Eastern Conference that average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. Additionally, with 23 double-doubles to date this season, Jamison has more double-doubles than any other forward in the Eastern Conference, and ranks 6th overall in the NBA.

Caron Butler rocking the charity stripe

Caron Butler enters play having connected on his last 33 free throw attempts. Butler last missed a free throw on December 28th in New Jersey. In that game, Butler missed his first free throw — a technical — but connected on his final three foul shot attempts in that game. He has since made 30 more consecutive free throws over the last seven games, brining his streak to 33 consecutive free throws made. On the season, Butler is 136-of-152 from the charity stripe; a career-high .895 clip.

Joakim Noah benched by teammates

The AP reports: Chicago Bulls rookie Joakim Noah was benched for Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks — by his teammates. They delivered a unanimous vote after the rookie from Florida was involved in a confrontation with assistant coach Ron Adams in practice before Friday’s game at Philadelphia. Noah was inactive for the Philadelphia game for internal disciplinary reasons, but the players told interim coach Jim Boylan one game was not enough.