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Xavier Munford named D-League Performer of Week

Xavier Munford of the Greensboro Swarm today was named NBA Development League Performer of the Week for games played Monday, Nov. 21, through Sunday, Nov. 27.

Munford (6-3, 180, Rhode Island) helped Greensboro to a 2-1 week behind averages of 27.7 points (fourth in the league), 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals. On Nov. 21, he scored a season-high 34 points on 13-of-26 shooting to go with three rebounds and three assists in a 116-111 loss to the Delaware 87ers. On Nov. 25, he recorded 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals in a 109-88 victory over the Erie BayHawks.

Munford is in his third NBA D-League season and first with Greensboro. He is averaging 22.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals. Last season, Munford was selected to play in the NBA D-League All-Star Game as a member of the Bakersfield Jam before signing with the Memphis Grizzlies on March 16. He appeared in 14 games with the Grizzlies, averaging 5.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

Other top performers considered included Canton’s Chris Evans, Iowa’s Wayne Selden Jr., Los Angeles’ Josh Magette, Texas’ Manny Harris and Windy City’s J.J. Avila.

Kevin Love and Kevin Durant named NBA Players of Week

Cavaliers forward Kevin Love and Warriors forward Kevin Durant today were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 21 through Sunday, Nov. 27.

Love led the Cavaliers to a 3-0 week behind an East-leading 30.7 points to go with 9.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals. He connected on 19-of-29 three-point attempts (65.5 percent) and made all 21 of his free-throw attempts. On Nov. 23, he scored a season-high 40 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out three assists in a 137-125 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Love set an NBA record with 34 first-quarter points, the second-highest total in any quarter in league history.

Durant helped the Warriors to a 4-0 week behind averages of 24.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.75 blocked shots (tied for second in the West). He connected on 9-of-18 attempts (50.0 percent) from three-point range. On Nov. 23, he scored 28 points (on 11-for-15 shooting from the field) and added six rebounds and five assists in a 149-106 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He closed the week with 28 points, 10 rebounds, a career-high six blocks and five assists as Golden State extended its winning streak to 11 games with a 115-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 26.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Houston’s James Harden, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, New York’s Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Phoenix’s Eric Bledsoe, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins and Toronto’s Kyle Lowry.

Bill Foran named Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year

The National Strength and Conditioning Association announced that Miami HEAT Assistant Coach/Strength & Conditioning Coach Bill Foran has been named the Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year. Foran, who becomes the fourth recipient of the award, will receive the honor at the NSCA’s Coaches Conference which is held in Nashville, TN from January 4 through January 6. Past winners of the award include Ashley Jones of the Edinburgh Rugby team in Scotland, Casey Bond of the Colorado Avalanche and Joe Kenn of the Carolina Panthers.

Foran, who has been the HEAT’s strength and conditioning coach since its inception and is currently in his 29th season with the organization, supervises a combination of strength training, plyometrics, conditioning, stretching and nutrition to ensure Miami’s players’ produce maximum results on the court. In addition to this honor, Foran was inducted into the USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame in 2014 and was named as the 2009 Co-NBA Strength Coach of the Year.

Bradley Beal fined for grabbing at throat of Evan Fournier

Wizards guard Bradley Beal has been fined $15,000 for grabbing at the throat of Orlando Magic guard/forward Evan Fournier, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Beal was assessed a technical foul, occurred with 7:40 remaining to play in the fourth quarter of the Wizards’ 94-91 win over the Magic on Nov. 25 at Amway Center.

To view the incident, click on this link.

Orlando Magic change starting lineup

Frank Vogel made wholesale changes to the Orlando Magic’s starting lineup before the team’s game Sunday night against the Milwaukee Bucks.

First, the team put Jeff Green on the inactive list because of a sore lower back.

Vogel then decided to start D.J. Augustin at point guard, Evan Fournier at shooting guard, Aaron Gordon at small forward, Serge Ibaka at power forward and Bismack Biyombo at center.

Augustin and Biyombo had not started a game this season. Gordon had started Orlando’s first eight games before Vogel moved him to the bench and replaced him with Green.

— Orlando Sentinel

Quick Take: The Magic this season have been led in scoring by Evan Fournier (17.0 ppg, though just 42% FG), Serge Ibaka (14.1 ppg), Nikola Vucevic (11.8 ppg) and Elfrid Payton (10.7 ppg). As a team the Magic are shooting just 40.9% FG. They have the least effective offense in the NBA through Saturday’s games, but a very effective defense so far this season.

Dirk Nowitzki still recovering from injury

Dirk Nowitzki’s recovery from right Achilles soreness will not be an overnight process, coach Rick Carlisle said, as news broke that Nowitzki will miss Sunday’s game against New Orleans.

“This is part of the recovery,” Carlisle said. “Getting him better, we’re going to have to take it incrementally. There’s not like there was any big setback. It’s just not the right thing to play him tonight.”

Carlisle said the process is going to go into December and sitting out occasional games is just part of the necessary strategy to get Nowitzki fully healed from the strained right Achilles he’s been fighting since the season began.

— Dallas Morning News

Quick Reaction: The Mavs have the worst record in the NBA through Saturday’s games. There’s no reason for Dirk Nowitzki to rush back at this point. He should take his time and make sure he’s fully healthy before returning.

Joakim Noah returns to action for Knicks

Joakim Noah was back for the Knicks — well, at least for three quarters.

After missing two games with an illness, Noah returned and started at center in the Knicks’ 113-111 overtime victory over the Hornets on Friday night at the Garden.

Noah played 18 minutes, none in the fourth quarter or overtime, and scored six points and grabbed eight rebounds. Coach Jeff Hornacek, who said he was concerned about a guy returning after an illness, praised Noah, saying he did well, but obviously was not 100 percent.

“Felt pretty good. I feel like it’s solid, coming off of being sick like that, just coming out and playing, it felt good,” said Noah who described his illness as being “sick, fever. I had the flu.”

— NY Post

Quick Take: Noah has been playing 23.0 minutes per game for the Knicks this season, averaging 4.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists. If his defense was more effective, his minutes would likely increase.

Pistons will move to downtown Detroit

Pistons owner Tom Gores said Tuesday that the time is right for his NBA team to move out of its suburban home and into the city to share Little Caesars Arena with the Red Wings.

“This is great for the Detroit Pistons. It is the right call. It’s time for us to do it,” Gores said. “It is an incredible arena. Every fan will believe it’s incredible.”

He said the move will greatly benefit the city economically, creating “thousands of jobs” and “hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.”

Ilitch Holdings CEO Christopher Ilitch and Mayor Mike Duggan were alongside Gores for the announcement.

“For the first time in 43 years, all four Detroit sports teams will be playing in the city of Detroit,” Duggan said.

— Michigan Live

InsideHoops.com Quick Take: This should help downtown Detroit a lot. And Detroit needs it. Can’t complain about this move.

Notes from around the NBA

– Chicago Bulls: Coach Fred Hoiberg’s team has won five of its last six games, including a 3-1 start to its six-game road trip. Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 40 points in Sunday’s victory over the Lakers, his eighth consecutive game with at least 20 points.

– Jrue Holiday, Pelicans: New Orleans is 2-0 since his return as Holiday finished with 21 points and seven assists in a win over Portland and 22 points and nine assists in an overtime victory against Charlotte.

– Memphis Grizzlies: Winners of four consecutive games, the Grizzlies held Dallas to 64 points and Minnesota to 71 points in their two most recent victories.

– Jonathan Gibson, Mavericks: The 29-year-old rookie guard scored 26 points against Orlando on Saturday in his second career game, becoming the first undrafted player in 24 years to score that many points in one of his first two games. Gibson, who was signed on Nov. 17, spent last season in China and led Dallas in scoring at Samsung NBA Summer League 2016 in Las Vegas.

– Alan Williams, Suns: The Phoenix native has recorded point-rebound double-doubles in each of his last two games. Like Gibson, the 23-year-old Williams is an undrafted player who starred in China and thrived at Samsung NBA Summer League (where he was the top rebounder in each of the last two years). Williams’ mom, Jeri, was recently sworn in as the first female chief of the Phoenix Police Department.

– Jamal Murray, Nuggets: The rookie guard scored 16 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter in Sunday’s win over the Jazz – which followed a recent 19-point performance against the Trail Blazers.

– Cody Zeller, Hornets: The fourth-year center leads the NBA in field goal percentage at 62.3, up from a career-high 52.9 last season.

— Per NBA News

Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid off to great starts this season

Minnesota’s Andrew Wiggins, Milwaukee’s Jabari Parker and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid will forever be linked as the top three picks of the 2014 NBA Draft. What binds them today has been their strong play to start the season, the first in which all three are playing in the NBA at the same time. Here is a closer look at each player’s early-season performance:

Andrew Wiggins, Timberwolves (No. 1 pick): The 21-year-old swingman has continued to add to his offensive game in his third season. Wiggins ranks 10th in the NBA in scoring (25.7 ppg), highlighted by a career-high 47-point effort against the Lakers on Nov. 13. The five-point increase from last season features impressive progress as a perimeter shooter, with Wiggins hitting an NBA-high 48.9 percent of his three-pointers. The outside touch has complemented his slashing ability, which has him among the top 10 in free-throw attempts for the second season in a row.

Jabari Parker, Bucks (No. 2 pick): After missing 57 games in his rookie season, Parker rebounded to average 14.1 points in 76 games last season. The 21-year-old forward has built on that performance this season, ranking second on the team in scoring (19.5 ppg) and minutes (32.8 mpg) and third in rebounding (6.4 ppg). He already has five 20-point games this season after needing 35 games to post his first 20-point effort in 2015-16. Parker has made 10 three-pointers in 2016-17, three fewer than he sank in his first two seasons combined.

Joel Embiid, 76ers (No. 3 pick): Embiid has wasted little time showing what he can do when healthy, making the most of his 22.0 minutes per game. The 22-year-old center from Cameroon leads all rookies in scoring (18.0 ppg), rebounding (7.6 rpg) and blocked shots (2.2 bpg), the first rookie with those numbers through nine games since Shaquille O’Neal in 1992-93. Embiid, a 7-footer, has also hit half of his 20 three-point attempts, including three made triples in a career-high 26-point outing against the Suns on Saturday.

— Via NBA News