Inside Hoops – Page 568 – NBA Blog

Enes Kanter out with back spasms

Enes Kanter has done major work as a new member of the Knicks this season. Now his back needs a bit of a break. Here’s the New York Daily News reporting:

The Knicks were forced to shuffle their lineup and rotation Friday night because Enes Kanter woke up with back spasms.

The starting center – who often doubles as the team’s emotional leader – was replaced in the lineup by Kyle O’Quinn, but, more interestingly, the injury cleared the way for meaningful minutes from Willy Hernangomez.

It was the first time all season that Hernangomez was the first backup following his demotion to out of the rotation.

“I’ve been working hard every day, I’ve been doing what they told me to do. So now I have this big chance for me,” Hernangomez said before tipoff against the Hawks.

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Ben Simmons will miss game vs Magic

Star Sixers rookie Ben Simmons has a hurt elbow. Sounds minor. Hopefully, that’s the case. More will be known soon, but as for today and tomorrow here’s CSN Philly reporting:

The Sixers aren’t the same team without Ben Simmons, and on Saturday, they’ll see exactly what type of team they are this season without their 6-foot-10 point guard.

Simmons will miss Saturday night’s game against Orlando because of left elbow soreness. Simmons, the early Rookie of the Year favorite, is averaging 18.5 points, 7.7 assists and 9.1 rebounds.

The Sixers said, after reviewing footage from Wednesday night’s 101-81 win over Portland, Simmons appears to have suffered the injury at the 6:22 mark of the fourth quarter. He was in treatment during practice Friday and will be reevaluated Sunday.

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Joel Embiid says fun while visiting LA helped his game

Sixers center Joel Embiid continues to provide fun to the basketball world, with excellent play on the court and fun quotes off of it. Here’s NBC Sports Philly reporting:

Joel Embiid sometimes looks like he’s having a party on the basketball court. It’s no surprise, then, he credits some actual partying with turning around his season.

Yes, that’s right. After Sixers practice Friday afternoon, Embiid said hitting the town in Los Angeles on the team’s recent road trip helped him out of a funk.

“All my close friends live in L.A., so before that, I wasn’t really doing anything, I was frustrated because I wasn’t in basketball shape and I wasn’t having fun on the court,” Embiid said. “So I won’t lie, I decided to go out, have fun a little bit. And that just kind of gave me the energy back, and the next game against the Clippers, I had more than 30 points [32], and then the following game I had more than 40 [46], so I think it’s just about having fun and making sure I can control what I can.”

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Jazz correct pronunciation of Ekpe Udoh

The Jazz have announced that the accurate pronunciation of Jazz forward/center Ekpe Udoh’s last name is “OO-Doe.” Many listings had the pronunciation as “YOU-Doe.”

Here are other pronunciation guides for other Jazz players:

Danté Exum (DAHN-tay x-umm)
Rudy Gobert (go-BARE)
Joe Ingles (ING-uhls)
Raul Neto (Hah-OOL Nett-oh)
Thabo Sefolosha (TAH-bo sef-a-LOW-sha)
Ekpe Udoh (EPP-ay OO-Doe)

Willie Cauley-Stein scores 26 points vs Lakers

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on the Kings, who on national TV Wednesday beat the Lakers:

The much-hyped duel between rookie point guards did not serve as the main attraction.

Willie Cauley-Stein scored a season-high 26 points as the Kings ended a two-game skid with a 113-102 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center.

Zach Randolph had a season-high 22 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists for the Kings (5-13), who shot a season-high 55.3 percent.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Lakers (8-11) with 20 points. Kyle Kuzma scored 17 points.

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Delon Wright out with shoulder injury

Toronto Raptors guard Delon Wright visited specialist Dr. Riley Williams at the Hospital for Special Surgery on Wednesday in New York. After consultation with Williams, it was decided no surgery is required at this time, the team announced.

Wright will continue his rehabilitation with team medical officials. There is no timetable for Wright’s return, but updates will be provided when appropriate.

Wright’s right shoulder was dislocated in the second quarter of a game at New Orleans on Nov. 15th. He had surgery on the same shoulder in August, 2016 after sustaining an injury during an NBA Summer League game in Las Vegas.

The 25-year-old guard has averaged 7.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 20.9 minutes this season for the Toronto Raptors.

Patrick Beverley undergoes season-ending surgery

The L.A. Clippers today announced that guard Patrick Beverley underwent an arthroscopic lateral meniscus repair, and a microfracture procedure, on his right knee. The surgery was performed by Dr. Walt Lowe at the Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, in Houston.

Beverley is expected to miss the remainder of the 2017-18 NBA season.

Beverley, 29, has appeared in 11 games for the Clippers this season, averaging 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.73 steals in 30.3 minutes per game.

“The hits just keep rolling,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “That’s a tough one because you could see him trying to get back. He plays the one game and then his knee was really bothering him. We sent him back to have a look at it and he ended up having surgery, where we thought it would just be the meniscus. It turned out to be a lot more. So he’s out for the season. We just want him to get healthy.”

Knicks hire Dan Sabreen as VP of public relations

The New York Knicks have hired Dan Sabreen as vice president of public relations, effective November 27. Mr. Sabreen joins the Knicks after spending more than a decade at CBS Sports, where he most recently served as VP of communications.

As vice president, Mr. Sabreen will serve as the Knicks chief communications strategist with oversight of all public relations activities for the team. He will be responsible for developing and executing communications plans for all announcements; working closely with the team’s management, coaching staff and players on media appearances; driving proactive publicity efforts focused on non-traditional media outlets and collaborating with marketing on the creation of compelling content for social media.

Mr. Sabreen will also manage the execution of game-night operations for media, as well as alumni relations. He will oversee a seasoned public relations staff.

“We are thrilled to have someone of Dan’s caliber joining our communications team,” said Steve Mills, president of the New York Knickerbockers. “Dan brings 15 years of experience in guiding and promoting some of sports’ most well-known properties. His relationships, along with his keen understanding of media will be a valuable addition as we continue to seek opportunities to build on the New York Knicks’ legendary brand.”

Mr. Sabreen joins the Knicks after 12 years at CBS Sports. Most recently, as vice president of communications, he was responsible for helping to oversee publicity efforts for all CBS Sports properties, including broadcast, cable and social media.

Before joining CBS Sports Network (then CSTV) in 2005, Mr. Sabreen oversaw public relations for Sports America, Inc., where he led media relations strategy for the company and its various events and properties, including the McDonald’s All-American Games, Jordan Brand Classic and Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic.

He started his career in 2002 as an account executive at the public relations agency, Goodman Media International, Inc.

Mr. Sabreen graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication.

John Henson undergoes eye procedure

Milwaukee Bucks center John Henson will miss tomorrow’s game at Phoenix following a successful eye procedure this morning in Chicago by Dr. Parag Majmudar. Henson is scheduled to join the team later this week in preparation for Saturday’s game in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz.

In 16 games (9 starts) this season, Henson is averaging 6.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 blocked shots in 22.5 minutes per game.

Mirza Teletovic out after knee surgery

Milwaukee Bucks forward Mirza Teletovic underwent successful arthroscopic surgery today to repair cartilage in his left knee. The surgery was performed by Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York under the supervision of Bucks team physician Dr. William Raasch.

Teletovic is expected to be sidelined for four weeks.

In 10 games this season, Teletovic is averaging 7.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 15.9 minutes per game while shooting 46.7 percent from 3-point range.

The Bucks are 8-8 this season: 5-4 at home and 3-4 on the road. They’d being led in scoring by Giannis Antetokounmpo (29.7 ppg), Khris Middleton (18.7 ppg), Malcolm Brogdon (13.1 ppg) and recent backcourt addition Eric Bledsoe (12.2 ppg in six games as a Buck).