Inside Hoops – Page 557 – NBA Blog

Hassan Whiteside enjoys high school jersey retirement

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on Heat center Hassan Whiteside, who enjoyed an honor that probably feels truly wonderful to experience:

Hassan Whiteside was the guest of honor, but the Miami Heat center said it was the unexpected guests who made the retirement of his high-school jersey so special.

Whiteside’s No. 32 was retired Thursday at East Side High School in Newark, N.J., with teammates Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo, James Johnson and coach Erik Spoelstra among those on hand.

“His face when he saw Coach Spo was ecstatic,” Johnson said.

The ceremony came on an off day for the team before Friday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center, the third stop on this five-game trip.

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Pistons to seek disabled-player exception

The Pistons wouldn’t mind some salary-cap relief. Here’s the Detroit News reporting:

They will seek a disabled-player exception for forward Jon Leuer, who has played just nine games this season after suffering an ankle injury on Oct. 31. The DPE is a provision that allows teams to get a break in their salary-cap numbers in the event of a catastrophic injury.

Leuer missed 34 games and was projected to be a major part of the Pistons’ rotation. Since the injury he has been limited to light shooting, but because of complications, he has had fluid injections in the ankle joint and is considering season-ending surgery.

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Kris Dunn injury update

Bulls guard Kris Dunn has had a rough couple of days.

After more evaluation today (Thursday, January 18), the Bulls say that Dunn’s two dislocated front teeth have been stabilized and are now splinted with braces. He was also re-evaluated for concussion symptoms, and the results weren’t good, so he’s been placed in the NBA Concussion Protocol.

Dunn won’t travel with the team to Atlanta. He’ll be back in action when cleared of concussion-related issues.

The Bulls are 17-28 this season. Dunn is tied for 3rd in scoring for the squad this season, averaging 13.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.1 steals in 29.7 minutes per game. Individually, he’s enjoying an excellent season.

Kings news: Harry Giles not playing this season

Sacramento Kings rookie forward Harry Giles won’t participate in an NBA game this season. Therefore, assuming he plays next season, officially he’ll be a rookie in 2018-19.

The team released a statement today that Giles has made major progress in the four months since starting a plan designed to improve physical strength in his knees. The Kings say Giles is currently “entirely healthy,” and that participation in team practices, skill and strength training have not caused any setbacks.

However, the team says that rather than playing this season, Giles he will continue his rehabilitation, and is expected to play in 2018 Summer League.

According to the Sacramento Bee, “Giles tore his left ACL in 2013 and his right one in 2015 while in high school. This month marks two years since Giles’ last surgery, and that’s considered a benchmark to measure the health and strength of the knee.”

With a 13-31 record, the Kings are at the bottom of the league standings. They’re on a six-game losing streak, and there’s no reason to expect their season to turn around. With total focus on the future, it makes sense to not rush an injured rookie into action.

Joel Embiid hopes to begin playing back-to-backs by late January

The Sixers have gotten used to the fact that their star center, Joel Embiid, isn’t being utilized in back-to-back games. It’s a tough thing, for a team to have a great center to count on – but inconsistently. It throws things off. But Embiid, sharing some wishful thinking, hopes that in the fairly near future he’ll be playing every game. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting:

“I just need not to take days off,” Embiid said after Thursday’s shoot-around for that night’s game against Boston Celtics at TD Garden. “It’s not on me. It’s on the medical staff. But hopefully, back-to-backs by the end of this month, I will be allowed to play.”

The Sixers’ only remaining back-to-back situation this month will come Jan. 28 at the Oklahoma City Thunder and Jan. 29 at the Milwaukee Bucks. He has missed at least one game of the five back-to-back situations they’ve already had this season.

In all, Embiid has missed nine games total because of rest, back tightness and knee rehabilitation. The 23-year-old underwent left knee surgery in March. Embiid, who’s still getting in shape, said he was at 81 percent of where he wants to be.

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Thabo Sefolosha undergoes knee surgery

Utah Jazz swingman Thabo Sefolosha (6-7, 220, Switzerland) had surgery on his right knee to repair an avulsion of the medial collateral ligament (MCL). He suffered the injury on January 12 in a game against the Hornets.

In his 12th NBA season, Sefolosha is averaging 8.2 points, his highest scoring average since 2008-09, on 49.2 percent from the field, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 38 games (six starts) for the Jazz on the year.

Sefolosha will continue to rehab in Salt Lake City and will be out indefinitely.

Kawhi Leonard is back on the injured list

Kawhi Leonard returns to the injured list

The Spurs began their season with Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker unavailable due to injuries, and now in mid January the 29-16 squad will be without Leonard.

The team announced today that Leonard will be out for an indefinite period of time, so he may continue recovering from right quadriceps tendinopathy.

“Kawhi has made significant progress and continues to move forward in his rehabilitation,” said Spurs General Manager RC Buford, obviously trying to sound as diplomatic as possible. “This is the best approach for the next steps in his return to play.”

Leonard has managed to play in just nine games this season, but has done big things in very limited playing time, averaging 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in just 23.3 minutes per outing.

Only four Spurs are averaging double-digit scoring this season: LaMarcus Aldridge at 22.4 ppg, Leonard, Rudy Gay at 11.5 ppg, and Pau Gasol at 10.4 ppg.

According to the San Antonio Express News, “the Spurs will also face the Nets tonight without Rudy Gay, who Popovich said is “still a couple weeks” from returning from a bout of right heel bursitis. They also will not have Manu Ginobili, who Popovich expects will miss tonight’s game and Friday’s contest in Toronto with a thigh contusion. Pau Gasol (hand) and Danny Green (groin) are planning to play through their bumps and bruises, Popovich said.”

JJ Redick out with leg injury

A post shared by JJ Redick (@jjredick) on Nov 28, 2017 at 1:48pm PST

The Philadelphia 76ers will be without shooting guard JJ Redick for at least the next 10-14 days.

Mid 4th quarter of yesterday’s game against the Raptors, which the Sixers won 117-111, Redick suffered an injury to his left leg. X-rays after the game were negative. An MRI performed today revealed that Redick has bone edema and a small cortical crack in the fibular head of his left leg.

The team says he will be re-evaluated in approximately 10 days to two weeks.

The Sixers are 20-20 this season, placing them 9th in the Eastern conference, behind the 8th place Detroit Pistons (22-20). For the season, Redick is second on the team in scoring, averaging 17.3 points and 3.3 assists per game, shooting 44.8% from the field and 40.5% from three-point range.

Celtics legend Jo Jo White has died

A post shared by Boston Celtics (@celtics) on Jan 16, 2018 at 5:01pm PST

Statement from the Celtics: “We are terribly saddened by the passing of the great Jo Jo White. He was a champion and a gentleman; supremely talented and brilliant on the court, and endlessly gracious off of it. Jo Jo was a key member of two championship teams, an NBA Finals MVP, a gold medal-winning Olympian, and a Hall of Famer. His contributions to the team’s championship legacy may have only been surpassed by the deep and lasting impact that he had in the community. The thoughts and sympathies of the entire Celtics organization are with the White family.”

The Boston Herald reports: Celtic legend JoJo White has passed away at 71 after his battle with cancer. A 2015 Hall of Fame inductee, White was a seven-time All-Star and MVP of the 1976 NBA Finals. He won two NBA titles with the Celtics. White’s No. 10 is retired by the Celtics at TD Garden. He played 10 seasons in Boston before moving on to Golden State and Kansas City to finish his career.

ESPN.com reports: White underwent life-threatening surgery to remove a brain tumor in 2010. With many vocal supporters, he earned induction into the Hall of Fame after a long wait in 2015 and gave a moving speech as part of the induction week where he reveled in the honor. White was also drafted by the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and MLB’s Cincinnati Reds. He finished his 12-season NBA career playing for Golden State and Kansas City.

Bucks sign Marshall Plumlee to two-way contract

The Milwaukee Bucks last night (Monday) signed center Marshall Plumlee to a Two-Way contract.

Plumlee, 25, played in 27 games (25 starts) this season for the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, the NBA G League affiliate of the Los Angeles Clippers. He averaged 8.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game with Agua Caliente while shooting 58.3 percent from the field.

The 7-0 center went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft out of Duke, but made 21 appearances (one start) for the New York Knicks in 2016-17, averaging 1.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 8.1 minutes per game. Plumlee also played 15 games (all starts) with the Knicks’ G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, last season where he averaged 12.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per contest.

The Bucks roster now stands at 17 players.