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Clippers forward Brice Johnson suffered an acute herniated disc in his lower back in the fourth quarter of the Clippers preseason win over the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 6.
Johnson is out indefinitely and will continue to undergo additional evaluation by the Clippers medical staff.
According to ESPN, “a source told ESPN’s Jeff Goodman that Johnson is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.”
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The Grizzlies have waived guard Tony Wroten.
The 6-foot-6, 205-pound Wroten played in one preseason game with the Grizzlies, and produced two points, one assist and one steal in six minutes on Oct. 6 against the Hawks.
Drafted by Memphis in the first round (25th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft following his freshman season at the University of Washington, the 23-year-old has appeared in 145 regular season games (34 starts) over his four-year NBA career and averaged 11.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 21.2 minutes for the Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers.
The Grizzlies’ roster now stands at 19 players.
The Sixers have a lot of frontcourt talent (even with Ben Simmons injured), but they’re pretty empty in the backcourt. Jerryd Bayless could have a big role on the team this season. But first, his wrist needs to heal. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting:
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It appears that Jerryd Bayless’ left wrist is worse that the 76ers had originally expected.
The point guard had an MRI on Wednesday, and the test results weren’t favorable. The Sixers have been hush on the details, saying that it will make announcement in the near future. Bayless said Thursday night that he wasn’t sure what was wrong.
Dirk Nowitzki and Andrew Bogut are already familiar with each other thanks to their years in the NBA, plus tons of international competition. But it’s always different when a guy becomes your teammate. Then you really get to know what kind of player and guy somebody is. Here’s the Dallas Morning News reporting on the Mavs:
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Andrew Bogut hasn’t played in the preseason yet, although that could change Saturday or certainly in the games next week.
But his impact has been quickly felt by his teammates and coaches, specifically a certain tall German who is No. 6 on the all-time scoring list.
“He wants to share the ball and he’s fun to play with,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “Playing with him the last two weeks, it’s no wonder Steph (Curry) was always open (at Golden State). He (Bogut) is so smart, he just picks the right angles and spots to set great screens. He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever played with.”
The Timberwolves have a young, talented roster that will be worth watching this season. They also have some space at the end of their bench for another player with a guaranteed contract that will keep him on the roster this season. Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting:
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Thibodeau was asked about the final roster spot. The team currently has 14 guaranteed contracts, and that includes Nikola Pekovic, who won’t play this season. That means one more spot will need to be filled. The team currently has Toure’ Murry, Rasual Butler and John Lucas III on non-guaranteed deals vying for that spot. But Thibodeau could also bring someone else in from the outside. “For us, the (preseason) games will be very helpful,” Thibodeau said. “It will reveal the things that we need to do better. It will reveal the things we’re doing well and, also, it will give us a better idea of who may help us the most with practice in the event you have an injury.’’
In other words, it’s likely too early to speculate. A potential injury could mean the need for a shooter, or another big man.
The Bucks have guard Jabari Brown, General Manager John Hammond announced today.
Signed to a contract on Sept. 23, Brown did not play in Milwaukee’s preseason game at Chicago on Oct. 3.
The Bucks roster now stands at 18 players.
As preseason continues, all teams will keep waiving players until they are down to 15 or fewer players.
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The Lakers have announced the hirings of Jennifer Swanson as Head Physical Therapist, Stacey Robinson as Massage Therapist, and Sean Light as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach. The trio will report to Head Athletic Trainer Marco Nuñez, joining Assistant Athletic Trainer Nina Hsieh, Strength and Conditioning Coach Tim DiFrancesco, and Equipment Manager Carlos Maples on the training staff.
The team has also hired Lorena Martin as Director of Sports Performance Analytics and Jae Kim as Basketball Data Analyst, both of whom will report to Director of Basketball Analytics Yuju Lee.
The team also hired Joshua Wright as Assistant to the Head Coach, reporting to Head Coach Luke Walton.
Swanson brings over 12 years of experience working with professional and collegiate athletes from the NFL, NHL, MLS, and MLB, among others, to her position. Most recently, she served as Director of Sports Performance with the Chicago Bulls from 2013-16, integrating the medical, rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, massage therapy, and nutrition programming into customized individual plans to decrease injury risk and maximize on-court performance. She obtained her doctorate in physical therapy from Duke University in 2004 and a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science with a minor in psychology from the University of California, Davis in 2001. In addition, the Gilroy, CA native completed a sports physical therapy residency at the University of Pittsburgh/Center for Rehab Services in 2006, where she also spent one year as a physical therapy intern with the Pittsburgh Steelers. She is a board certified specialist in sports and orthopedics, as well as a certified strength and conditioning specialist.
Martin most recently completed three years of postdoctoral research at the University of California San Diego. Dr. Martin’s credentials include post-doctorates in epidemiology, biostatistics, and GIS spatial analysis, a doctorate in exercise physiology, and both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in psychology. She also spent time as a visiting scientist at the SALK Institute for Biological Studies in the Belmonte Gene Expression Laboratory. In addition, Dr. Martin has taught multiple courses at various universities including the University of Miami, Florida International University, and Northwestern University in the fields of research methods, statistics, sports performance, and data science, which later resulted in her developing a course in sports performance analytics for Northwestern University. Additionally, she published a sole-authored book, Sports Performance Measurement and Analytics, earlier this year based on sports performance research, her experiences as a former professional tennis player, and knowledge from her previous work with professional sports teams in the NBA, NFL, and ATP Tour, as well as within hospital and clinical research settings.
Robinson comes to the Lakers after working with Joubert Physical Therapy in Beverly Hills for the last 10 years, helping with the athletic rehabilitation of a variety of clients, including professional athletes. Last year, she performed sports massage, tissue work, and stretching on individual New York Yankees players. Her professional sports experience as a massage therapist extends to working with the Dallas Cowboys for three seasons during training camp, and the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League. She holds a business degree with an associate of science minor from Fullerton Junior College while simultaneously attending the Institute of Professional Practical Therapy, where she earned her sports massage therapy certification.
Light joins the team after serving as a strength and conditioning coach for the past four seasons with minor league affiliates in the Arizona Diamondbacks farm system. He assisted at spring training with the parent club each of the last four years, and was previously a strength and conditioning intern with the New York Yankees in 2012. He graduated from Quinnipiac University in 2010, where he played three years of Division I basketball. Light is a registered strength and conditioning coach and massage therapist.
Kim was most recently analytics manager for the University of California, Berkeley men’s basketball team for the 2015-16 season. In his role, he composed regular analytical scouting reports for the coaching staff and assisted in the recruitment process, promoting the Golden Bears program to prospective athletes. Kim received a Bachelor of Science degree from the Haas School of Business while at Cal. A native of South Korea, he studied statistics and worked as a legislative assistant for the National Assembly of South Korea.
Wright holds a degree in kinesiology from Georgetown College, where he was a member of the football team. Last season, the Elizabethtown, KY native volunteered with the Wake Forest men’s basketball program.
Here’s the Charlotte Observer reporting on something cool that guard Ramon Sessions is doing:
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Charlotte Hornets point guard Ramon Sessions is contributing $1 million to his alma mater, Nevada, to build a new basketball practice facility.
The building will be named after Sessions, a Myrtle Beach native in his second stint playing professionally in Charlotte. Other NBA players, including Stephen Curry (Davidson) and Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse), have made similar donations to build practice sites.
“For me, giving back to the University of Nevada means a lot,” Sessions said in a statement released by Nevada. “This was always a second home for me, a place that gave me a chance when a lot of schools didn’t.”
Rockets team pregame notes for preseason game vs Knicks tonight:
· The Rockets and Knicks split the 2015-16 season series but Houston has won 20 of the past 22 meetings.
· New York hasn’t swept a season series vs. Houston since going 2-0 in 2002-03.
· James Harden averaged a series-high 25.0 points against the Knicks last season and had 19 assists with just 5 turnovers in the two games.
· Clint Capela averaged 17.0 points and 12.5 rebounds while shooting 70.0% from the floor vs. New York in 2015-16.
Connections:
· Rockets center Nene and Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony were teammates in Denver for Anthony’s first seven and half NBA seasons.
· Rockets forward Trevor Ariza and Knicks guard Sasha Vujacic were teammates with the L.A. Lakers for part of 2007-08 and won the title the following season in 2008-09.
· Rockets forward Corey Brewer and Knicks center Joakim Noah were teammates at Florida for all three of their collegiate seasons and won the national title in each of their final two seasons.
· Rockets forward Trevor Ariza was the 43rd overall pick by New York in the 2004 NBA Draft and spent his first one and a half seasons with the Knicks, appearing in 116 games with 22 starts.
Injury/Status Report:
· For the Rockets, Patrick Beverley (Left Knee Soreness) is out.
· For the Knicks, Joakim Noah (Sore Left Hamstring) is questionable and Lou Amundson (Sore Lower Back) is out.
Rockets News & Notes:
· The Rockets scored 131 points in their preseason opener against Shanghai on 10/2… Houston’s high in scoring last season was 132 points at the L.A. Clippers on 1/18/16… the Rockets were 23-9 when scoring 110+ points in 2015-16.
· Houston outrebounded Shanghai 52-41 in its preseason opener on 10/2… the Rockets were 26-9 when outrebounding opponents last season, including 10-2 when doing so by double-digits… Houston outrebounded opponents by 2.3 rebounds per game in wins last season (-5.5 rpg in losses).
· James Harden had team-high of 16 points and 10 assists with just one turnover in the preseason opener vs. Shanghai on 10/2… he recorded 23 double-doubles in 2015-16 and had 10+ assists with just one turnover twice.
· Clint Capela started the preseason opener vs. Shanghai on 10/2 and had 10 points with a team-high 11 rebounds… he averaged 8.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in 35 starts last season… Capela scored in double-figures 20 times last season after doing so once as a rookie in 2014-15.
It’s just preseason. The law states that needed to be the first sentence here. Because, it’s true. It’s just preseason, and often in preseason the best players on an NBA team play very limited minutes. It’s just a warmup. But when an NBA team plays an international team, preseason or not, the international team takes it seriously. And then anything can happen. Here’s the Oklahoman reporting:
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Game on the line.
Russell Westbrook on the bench.
It’ll be a regular-season rarity for the Thunder, and should the situation arise in a game that counts, Oklahoma City will hope to handle it better than it did in Monday’s preseason debut.
With Westbrook watching — he played only the first and third quarters — multiple Thunder players tried to fill the go-to role down the stretch of Monday’s 142-137 overtime loss to Real Madrid…
Real Madrid made 20 of 37 3-pointers — many of them clean looks as a result of sloppy defensive rotations — in rallying from 22 points down for an upset win…
Victor Oladipo scored 34 points. Enes Kanter added 29 points and 10 rebounds.