Inside Hoops – Page 569 – NBA Blog

Cavs beat Pistons for 5th straight win

The Cavs got off to a rocky start this season. Not a big surprise, with new point guard Isaiah Thomas out, lots of new players, and many lineup changes. But lately they’re winning and looking proper and Monday won their 5th game in a row. Here’s Michigan Live reporting:

The hot-shooting Cavs basically ran the Pistons out of their own building in the first half Monday, racing out to a 27-point lead, and kept pouring it on the second half, on the way to a 116-88 victory at Little Caesars Arena.

The Pistons (11-6) had their six-game home winning streak snapped.

Cleveland didn’t even need a prolific output from LeBron James. He did his damage early and finished with 18 points and nine assists in 27 minutes. Kevin Love collected 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jae Crowder scored 18 points.

The Cavaliers shot 52.5 percent from the floor (42-of-50), including 48.5 percent from 3-point range (16-of-33).

These aren’t your early-season Cavaliers, that started 5-7.

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Tim Hardaway Jr dealing with foot issue

Injuries are the worst. The NBA is at its best when everybody is healthy. But real life happens. Tim Hardaway Jr is active tonight as the Knicks host the Clippers but he’s playing through a foot issue, and it’s not yet clear how he’ll be affected in the coming days or weeks. Here’s the New York Daily News reporting:

It sounds like Tim Hardaway Jr. is suffering from plantar fasciitis in his left foot – an ailment that has derailed entire seasons in the NBA — but he opted Monday to play through the pain.

Cautioning that he wasn’t a doctor, coach Jeff Hornacek said Hardaway’s injury “is probably similar” to plantar fasciitis given its symptoms. He also understands that the pain could get worse for New York’s $71 million investment.

“We’ll have to see. I’ll see how he responds after playing (Monday), after having a couple days off,” Hornacek said. “Hopefully he gets through the game and comes in tomorrow and says, ‘Oh yeah, okay, it didn’t get worse. It might be getting a little better.’ We just have to play that by ear.”

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Nuggets coach Michael Malone suspended

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone has been suspended one game without pay for entering the court, halting play and making contact with a game official, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 6:20 remaining in the second quarter of Denver’s 127-109 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 19 at Staples Center.

Malone will serve his suspension tonight when the Nuggets face the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Arena.

The NBA also rescinded the ejection fine given to Nuggets’ center Nikola Jokic, who properly received a technical foul for his actions but should not have been ejected from the game.

J.J. Barea receives October NBA Cares Community Assist Award

Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea has received the October NBA Cares Community Assist Award in recognition of his continuous relief efforts in Puerto Rico following devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, the NBA announced today.

The award recognizes an NBA player each month who best reflects the passion that the league and its players share for giving back to their communities.

Kaiser Permanente and the NBA are honoring Barea for his work to immediately initiate aid for Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. Coordinating five trips to the territory where he was born and raised, Barea used the Mavericks’ team plane, with help from owner Mark Cuban, to personally deliver much-needed supplies in the days after the hurricane. Working with partners in North Texas, Barea has provided more than 100,000 pounds of supplies to the island, including 32 generators, 14,000 pounds of water, 10,000 pounds of food and 3,000 pounds of medical supplies, diapers, clothing, cleaning products and toiletries on the first trip alone.

Barea also launched a fundraiser on YouCaring.com for families affected by the hurricane that has raised more than $250,000, and personally raised nearly $500,000. Additionally, he worked with the Mavericks to donate 100 percent of all single-game ticket sales from their Oct. 25 game against the Memphis Grizzlies to Puerto Rico, generating an additional $114,000 for the island’s recovery.

“Puerto Rico is such a small island and I think help is going to be needed there for at least the next year, maybe longer,” said Barea. “This effort is something I will carry with me forever, and anything I can do to help people put things back in order is a must for me.”

Before the Mavericks’ home game against the Boston Celtics tonight, NBA Cares Ambassador Bob Lanier will present the award to Barea during an oncourt ceremony. In addition, Kaiser Permanente and the NBA will donate $10,000 to the J.J. Barea Foundation.

David Lee is retiring from NBA

David Lee had an excellent NBA career. A fun player to watch. Athletic. And big for us is, he cut without the ball, like you’re supposed to do in basketball. He could have kept playing, but apparently felt now was a good time in life to call it a career. Here’s the New York Post reporting:

The former two-time All-Star, Knicks first-round pick and Warriors world champion announced his retirement on Sunday with an Instagram post, saying his 12 seasons in the NBA were over.

“An epic night celebrating my retirement with my friends and family!” the 34-year-old wrote with pictures of the display and his group of revelers. “Thank you to my amazing fiancée [Caroline Wozniacki] for planning the surprise!”

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Marcus Smart struggling with shot

The Celtics are on a huge roll lately, winning 15 games in a row. Yet things can get even better. Here’s the Boston Herald reporting on guard Marcus Smart, whose shot has been missing in a big way lately:

The Celtics guard still tends to hit his biggest shots late, like his put-back for a 103-95 lead in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s win in Atlanta, and continues to make game-changing plays that have nothing to do with shooting the ball.

But Smart is admittedly bothered by his recent shooting drought. Including Saturday’s 3-for-8 performance, the Celtics guard has shot 13-for-60 (.216) over his last six games, and 27.3 percent both overall and from 3-point range this season.

“It does affect you, especially if you’ve been working all summer,” said Smart, who spent time working out with Chauncey Billups in Denver this summer. “At the same time, I don’t take as many shots. We got other guys out here, they’re playing very well, so my job is to get them the basketball and do whatever I can, go back down the court and play defense and get involved in the game.”

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Return of Chris Paul changes Rockets rotation

Chris Paul recently returned to action for the Rockets. That’s big news. And it obviously affects the rotation. Here’s the Houston Chronicle reporting:

With the Rockets at full strength for the first time since the season-opener, they began spreading the playing time across the rotation extended by one player with the return of Chris Paul.

Paul on Saturday was still limited to just 24 minutes. Luc Mbah a Moute, in his first game back after sitting out in Phoenix with an illness, played just 21 minutes, including the final minutes after the benches were cleared. But even Saturday, the Rockets got a taste of how things will change.

Only James Harden, who played 36 minutes, logged more than 30 minutes. His time will likely decrease once Paul is up to his usual playing time with Harden returning about two minutes earlier in the second and fourth quarters than he would have had Paul been cleared to play more.

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Markelle Fultz injury update

Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz was examined and evaluated today by Dr. Ben Kibler, Medical Director of the Shoulder Center of Kentucky at the Lexington Clinic, for the soreness and scapular muscle imbalance that he has been experiencing in his right shoulder. The soreness is dissipating and the muscle balance is improving, and Fultz will continue with physiotherapy and begin progressing toward full basketball activities. Fultz will be re-evaluated in approximately two to three weeks. His return to gameplay will be determined by how the shoulder responds to progressive basketball training and practices in the interim.

There will be no 2018 Orlando Summer League

Summer bball action will change a bit in 2018. The Orlando Magic won’t be holding their usual league, which means the already-dominant main NBA-run league in Vegas will presumably become even bigger. Here’s the Orlando Sentinel reporting:

The Orlando Magic will not hold their annual summer league in Orlando next year and will participate instead in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, team officials told the Orlando Sentinel.

The decision is a radical departure for the Magic, who ran and managed their own summer league in Central Florida 14 times since 2002…

Eight teams participated in the Orlando Pro Summer League this year and played five games apiece. In addition to the Magic, the other teams were the Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder.

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Derrick Rose remains out with an ankle injury

Cavaliers guard Derrick Rose remains out with a sprained left ankle. He received additional imaging and evaluation today at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health by Cavaliers team physician Dr. James Rosneck and Dr. Brian Donley.

Due to continued symptoms, the ankle will be immobilized in a boot for the next week and he will also undergo an extended treatment process over the next two to three weeks.

His status will be updated as appropriate