Inside Hoops – Page 762 – NBA Blog

Grizzlies sign Jordan Farmar for rest of season

The Memphis Grizzlies have signed guard Jordan Farmar for the remainder of the 2015-16 season.

Farmar (6-2, 180) has played five games (three starts) for the Grizzlies since signing a 10-day contract on March 21 and has averaged 10.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 25.6 minutes. The 29-year-old has appeared in 495 games (33 starts) across nine NBA seasons and averaged 7.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 19.5 minutes for the Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies.

Originally from Los Angeles, Farmar was selected by the Lakers in the first round (26th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft following a standout collegiate career at UCLA, where he averaged 13.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists in a total of 66 games. As a sophomore, he was named to the All-Pac-10 First Team and guided the Bruins to the NCAA National Championship game.

Rodney Hood got picture and autograph from Kobe Bryant after game

The following, as reported by the Salt Lake Tribune, is a completely understandable move on the part of young Rodney Hood:

Rodney Hood got his shoes signed by Kobe Bryant

Rodney Hood got everything he wanted in the first half of Monday night’s win over the Lakers. He got exactly what he wanted after the game was over, too.

The Utah Jazz sharpshooter, who dropped 30 points on 11-of-13 shooting in a blowout win, made sure to track down his childhood idol, Kobe Bryant, and secure a precious memento after one of Hood’s best games as a pro.

“I wanted a picture with him,” Hood said. “My whole family is Kobe fans, so I wanted them to get a picture. Just wanted to see him. I know (the Jazz’s last meeting with Lakers laters this month in Los Angeles) is going to be hectic; we probably won’t see him after the game or get a chance to speak to him. So I waited. He just congratulated me on a good game. He signed my shoes. It was a great moment for me.”

Nic Batum gets triple-double vs Sixers

The Philadelphia 76ers are technically an NBA team, so no matter what you think of their roster, getting a triple-double against them is still a solid achievement. Here’s the Charlotte Observer reporting:

Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford hasn’t always thought his team scored in the lane enough this season.

Tuesday they sure did, pummeling the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers in the paint for a 100-85 victory at Wells Fargo Center.

This victory get the Hornets ever closer to their third playoff berth since the NBA returned to Charlotte in 2004.

Small forward Nic Batum (19 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists) completed his second triple-double as a Hornet and center Cody Zeller had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nba/charlotte-hornets/article68919517.html#storylink=cpy

Carmelo Anthony speaks about kid running onto court to hug him

Carmelo Anthony gave a perfect response here, but what happened in New Orleans is definitely a security issue that needs to be addressed. Per the New York Daily News:

Carmelo Anthony gives good response to kid running onto court to hug him

A day later, Carmelo Anthony was still grateful for the hug and any concerns of a security breach were alleviated by the trespasser’s age.

“That’s probably a once in a lifetime opportunity for somebody to run up to you and give you a hug,” he said. “Especially if it’s a kid. That’s the way I look at it.”

A boy who looked about 10 years old darted on the court at the Smoothie King Center near the end of the Knicks loss Sunday to the Pelicans, making a bee line for Anthony at the top of the key wheere he gave the All-Star forward a quick hug. The boy then ran off the court and was never approached by security, raising concerns about the staff at the Smoothie King Center.

Seth Curry getting more minutes from Kings

At 29-45, the Sacramento Kings are 7.5 games behind the Houston Rockets, who are currently the 8th seed in the Western conference. Not an awful team, but not great either. And at this point late in the season, Sacramento’s main goal is to make sure their key players are healthy going into the offseason. Here’s the Sacramento Bee with the latest:

It took some time to get to this point, but Seth Curry is playing more minutes than he ever has in his brief NBA career.

After playing in four games in his first two seasons – one game each with the Memphis Grizzlies and Cleveland Cavaliers and two games with the Phoenix Suns – Curry has played in 36 this season with the Kings and started the past three. He scored a career-high 21 points in Monday’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

As the season winds down, one adjustment the Kings have made is starting Curry at shooting guard. He’s averaging 15.7 points on 50 percent shooting in 27.7 minutes per game as a starter. He was averaging 11.1 minutes off the bench.

Unclear if DeMarre Carroll will play again this season

Small forward DeMarre Carroll was supposed to be a big part of the Toronto Raptors this season, but he has played just 22 games, averaging 11.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists on 39% shooting. Developing chemistry on a new team can take time, so those numbers likely would have improved as the season went along. But it isn’t clear if the team will learn more about this until next season. Here’s the Toronto Sun reporting:

The elephant in the room, where the Raptors are concerned, is the status of DeMarre Carroll.

The prized free agent signing, who is also the team’s highest-paid player, appeared close to a return a few weeks ago when he was driving to the hoop against assistant coaches and launching three-pointers. The next step was clearance for contact. But then all went dark. Carroll’s been in Atlanta tending to some personal matters (he is due back this week), the team has kept tight-lipped, but every indication from talking to various people is there has been some sort of set-back and his return this season is very much in doubt. Quietly, the team has taken the belief that he will need more time, and only a deep playoff run would let him return this season.

One thing that appears to be clear is that the plantar fasciitis Carroll had earlier this year made him compensate a bit and that led to the knee trouble that required surgery.

Pelicans announce injuries to Ryan Anderson, Norris Cole, Alonzo Gee, Jrue Holiday

The New Orleans Pelicans are racking up injuries this season, not wins.

The team announced today medical updates for forward Ryan Anderson, guard Norris Cole, forward Alonzo Gee and guard Jrue Holiday.

Anderson (6-10, 240) has been diagnosed with a sports hernia. He will seek a second opinion from a specialist in Philadelphia later this week. Additional details will be announced appropriately following further evaluation. Anderson has appeared in 66 games (seven starts), holding averages of 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per contest.

Cole (6-2, 175) is experiencing lower back discomfort and is listed as day-to-day. The Cleveland State product has appeared in 45 games (23 starts), averaging 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

Gee (6-6, 225) suffered a complete rupture of the right proximal rectus femoris and will miss the remainder of the 2015-16 season. The injury occurred during the second quarter of last night’s game against the New York Knicks. Gee holds season averages of 4.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists in 0.9 steals in 73 contests (38 starts).

Holiday (6-4, 205) has been diagnosed with a right inferior orbital wall fracture. He will miss the remainder of the 2015-16 season. The injury occurred with 56.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of last night’s game against the New York Knicks. The UCLA product has appeared in 65 games (23 starts) while averaging 16.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.4 steals.

Giannis Antetokounmpo may play point guard next season for Bucks

Kidd says Giannis will run point next season for Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd dropped a bombshell after practice on Tuesday.

Kidd said Giannis Antetokounmpo will be the team’s starting point guard at the beginning of next season.

The 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo has made the transition from small forward to point guard and recorded four triple-doubles since the change was made in early February.

“We’re going to go forward with him (Antetokounmpo) handling the ball,” Kidd said. “You can call him point guard, point forward, point center, however you want to look at it.”

— Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Hassan Whiteside big for Heat off bench

The Miami Heat are 43-30 this season, which is the fourth best record in the Eastern conference, slightly ahead of the Boston Celtics. And the story of their season since the NBA All-Star break has been the fantastic play of center Hassan Whiteside. Here’s ESPN.com’s blog with more:

Hassan Whiteside doing big things for Heat off bench

Whiteside’s defense remained the focal point around the team, even on a night when he finished with just one block and struggled at times in his matchup with Nets center Brook Lopez, who countered with a team-high 26 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field but also had four turnovers. But it was Whiteside’s impact on the other side of the ball that more strongly resonated for the Heat (43-30), who have scored at least 100 points in 13 of their past 14 games and are 14-6 since the All-Star break.

A major component of Miami’s recent success has been Whiteside’s spike in production, which culminated Monday with the athletic 7-footer connecting on all seven of his shots from the field and scoring 15 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter. Most of Whiteside’s baskets came on lob dunks, of which he has totaled 10 in the past two games.

In his 18 games since the All-Star break, Whiteside is averaging 18 points, 13.7 rebounds and 3.4 blocks while shooting 60.5 percent from the field in 30.6 minutes — all off the bench. He started 40 games before he suffered a left hip injury in a Jan. 20 loss in Washington, but has since settled in as a reserve, although Whiteside often plays twice as many minutes as current starting center Amar’e Stoudemire.

LeBron James, Klay Thompson named NBA Players of Week

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, March 21 through Sunday, March 27.

James helped the Cavaliers to a 3-1 week with averages of 29.0 points (first in the Eastern Conference), 8.8 assists (second in the conference) and 8.5 rebounds. James bookended the week with triple-doubles in wins over the Denver Nuggets on March 21 and New York Knicks on March 26. In all four of Cleveland’s games, James scored 25-plus points, grabbed five or more rebounds and handed out five or more assists. James’ Cavaliers sit atop the Eastern Conference with a 52-21 record.

Thompson led the Warriors to a 4-0 week behind an NBA-best 32.3 points. He shot 62.2 percent (28-of-45) from distance and made at least five three-pointers in each of Golden State’s four games. Thompson closed the week with back-to-back 40-point games in wins over the Dallas Mavericks on March 25 and Philadelphia 76ers on March 27. Thompson’s Warriors own the league’s best record at 66-7.

Other nominees for the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Paul Millsap, Boston’s Isaiah Thomas, Charlotte’s Nicolas Batum, Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki, Detroit’s Andre Drummond, Indiana’s Ian Mahinmi, the Los Angeles Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan, Miami’s Hassan Whiteside, New York’s Carmelo Anthony, and Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.