Inside Hoops – Page 786 – NBA Blog

Al Horford replaces Chris Bosh on 2016 NBA All-Star team

Atlanta Hawks forward/center Al Horford has been named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, and will join teammate Paul Millsap in competing in the 2016 All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 14 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Horford will replace Miami’s Chris Bosh, who is unable to play due to injury.

Horford, making his second consecutive appearance and fourth overall in the midseason classic, is averaging 15.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.5 blocks and 0.8 steals in 31.6 minutes (.507 FG%, .340 3FG%, .778 FT%) while starting all 55 games. He ranks 17th in the NBA in blocks per game and 20th in FG%.

Horford has scored in double-figures 49 times, including nine 20-point contests (two 30-point nights), and owns 11 double-digit rebound games. He also has 10 double-doubles, including four 20-point/10-rebound outings.

The nine-year veteran has hit 55 3FGs this season after making 21 triples in his previous eight years combined. He knocked down a career-best five 3FGs at Houston (12/29) and has made two-or-more three’s in a game 13 times.

CJ McCollum replaces Chris Bosh in 2016 NBA Three-point Competition

Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum has been added to the 2016 Three-Point Competition, the NBA announced today.

McCollum, 24, is already competing in the Skills Challenge, and will replace Miami’s Chris Bosh in the Three-Point Competition. Both events are part of All-Star Saturday Night at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

In 52 games played this season, McCollum ranks second on the team in both scoring (20.7 ppg) and assists (4.2 apg). He is shooting a team-high 39.2% from beyond the three-point line, and ranks ninth in the NBA with 125 three-point field goals.

McCollum recorded 35 points (14-28 FG), 11 rebounds, nine assists and four steals against Sacramento on Dec. 27, making him the first NBA player to log at least 35 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and four steals in a game since Kevin Garnett on Dec. 10, 2004.

He becomes the eighth Trail Blazer in franchise history to compete in the Three-Point Contest, joining Kiki Vandeweghe (1987), Danny Ainge (1991), Clyde Drexler (1991), Terry Porter (1991, 1993), Cliff Robinson (1996), Damian Lillard (2014) and Wesley Matthews (2015). No Portland player has ever won the event.

McCollum will compete against Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Houston’s James Harden, Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton, Toronto’s Kyle Lowry, the L.A. Clippers’ JJ Redick and Phoenix’s Devin Booker.

Chris Bosh will miss 2016 NBA All-Star events

The Miami HEAT announced today that Chris Bosh has sustained a strained right calf and will not participate in Saturday’s Three-Point Shootout competition or play in Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game.

“I am honored to be selected to participate in the All-Star Weekend festivities, and will still be here to support my fellow East All-Stars,” said Bosh. “But I will also use this weekend to try to heal and focus on the second half of the HEAT season.”

Heat need better three-point shooting

Here’s the Miami Herald with insight on a Heat limitation that makes it harder for the team to be all they can be:

Because opponents don’t fear several of the Heat’s perimeter shooters, Chris Bosh said Heat players are being left unguarded on the perimeter far more than ever before in his 5 1/2 years here. He said trying “to get in that upper part of the East, it’s tough to do that without shooting.”

Though he says “I’m always a believer in making due with what you have, we could always use another shooter. Everybody could. It’s a perceived weakness we have and it’s something we have to get over.”

The Heat, scanning the trade market for a three-point shooter, is making 32.3 percent of its threes, 28th in the league and among the lowest in team history. Miami’s 15-win teams in its first season (1988-89) and in 2007-08 both shot threes better than this one.

Byron Scott impressed by Julius Randle lately

The Lakers (11-44) are getting 11.1 points and a very impressive 10.0 rebounds in 27.3 minutes per game from forward Julius Randle this season. Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News with good news from the head coach’s perspective:

The pouting Julius Randle showed as he went to bench left Lakers coach Byron Scott questioning the 21-year-old’s maturity.

Randle’s inconsistency with his jump shot prompted Scott to express skepticism whether he could fix it before this summer. An injury to Larry Nance Jr. still left Scott in doubt as to whether Randle could reclaim his starting spot.

But lately, Randle has given Scott a different impression.

“He’s been fantastic,” Scott said of Randle. “He’s not going overboard as far as trying to go too fast. He’s picking his moments and he’s rebounded the hell out of the ball.”

Tyreke Evans undergoes season-ending knee surgery

New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans underwent surgery today on his right knee. As a result of the procedure, Evans will miss the remainder of the 2015-16 season.

Evans, 6-6, 220, had appeared in 25 games this season for New Orleans (all starts), averaging 15.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.3 steals.

Originally drafted fourth overall by Sacramento out of the University of Memphis in 2009, Evans has appeared in 433 career regular season games with the Kings and Pelicans, holding career averages of 16.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals.

Devin Booker replaces Nerlens Noel in 2016 Rising Stars Challenge game

Phoenix Suns rookie Devin Booker will replace injured U.S. Team selection Nerlens Noel of the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2016 BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 12 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge at NBA All-Star features first- and second-year NBA players from the United States against first- and second-year NBA players from around the world. TNT will televise the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge in the U.S. at 9 p.m. ET, and Sportsnet ONE and TSN will simulcast the game in Canada. ESPN Radio also will provide coverage.

Booker, the 13th pick of NBA Draft 2015 presented by State Farm, is averaging 10.6 points and shooting 40.3 percent from three-point range in 48 games. The 19-year-old guard is averaging 15.2 points in his 23 starts, including a career-high 32-point performance against the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 19. Booker will also compete in the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest on Saturday, Feb. 13 at Air Canada Centre as part of State Farm® All-Star Saturday Night.

Noel, a second-year forward-center, will not play due to tendinitis in his right knee. He is averaging 10.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.6 blocks in 46 games.

Emmanuel Mudiay replaces injured Patrick Beverley in 2016 Skills Challenge

Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay will replace injured defending champion Patrick Beverley of the Houston Rockets in the 2016 Skills Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 13 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The Skills Challenge is part of All-Star Saturday Night and this year includes some big-men. In the past, the event was entirely guards.

Mudiay, the seventh pick of NBA Draft 2015, ranks first among rookies in assists (5.9 apg), second in minutes (30.2 mpg) and fifth in scoring (11.4 ppg). A native of what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mudiay will also compete for the World Team in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 12 at Air Canada Centre.

Beverley, who won the 2015 Skills Challenge in his event debut, will miss this year’s competition due to an ankle injury.

Latest Michael Kidd-Gilchrist injury: torn labrum in right shoulder

Charlotte Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has suffered another major injury.

The team announced today that Kidd-Gilchrist underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which revealed a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He sustained the injury with 8:39 remaining in the third quarter of Charlotte’s 117-95 win against the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 10. Kidd-Gilchrist will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break and further updates on his status will be provided when available.

Kidd-Gilchrist is averaging 12.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 29.3 minutes per game in seven contests (all starts) for the Hornets this season. The fourth-year forward from Kentucky has averaged 9.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game in 202 games (198 starts) with Charlotte.

These days, his talent as an excellent defensive player is being overshadowed by his injury woes.

Hassan Whiteside suspended for elbowing Boban Marjanovic

Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside has been suspended one game without pay for throwing an elbow and making contact with the head of San Antonio Spurs center Boban Marjanovic, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Whiteside was assessed a Flagrant 2 and ejected, occurred with 9:35 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Spurs’ 119-101 win over the Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena on Feb. 9.

Whiteside will serve his suspension when Miami plays the Atlanta Hawks on Feb. 19 at Philips Arena.

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