The National Basketball Association announced today that the Jan. 23 game between the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards, which was postponed due to severe weather conditions in the Eastern United States, has been rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. ET at Verizon Center.
Author: Inside Hoops
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Suns sign Orlando Johnson to 10-day contract
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The Phoenix Suns have signed guard Orlando Johnson to a 10-day contract. A two-year NBA veteran, Johnson was named a 2016 NBA D-League All-Star for his play with the Austin Spurs this season.
A 6-5, 220-pound guard, Johnson has previous NBA experience with Indiana in 2012-13, also playing with Indiana as well as Sacramento in 2013-14. Originally selected by the Kings with the 36th overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, he has appeared in 96 total games averaging 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10.5 minutes. The 26-year-old has four career double-digit scoring games, including a career-high 15 points against Atlanta on March 25, 2013, while with the Pacers.
Johnson has averaged 15.2 points while shooting 44.1 percent from the field, 48.6 percent from beyond the arc and 80.6 percent from the free throw line in 28 games with Austin in 2015-16. For his efforts, which include 22 double-digit scoring games and a season-high 29 points at Los Angeles on Jan. 16, Johnson was named a 2016 NBA D-League All-Star on Jan. 29.
Johnson also played with Austin in 2014-15, averaging 17.4 points in 43 games; one of the team’s assistant coaches was current Suns Interim Head Coach Earl Watson.
A native of Monterey, Calif., Johnson played collegiately at UC Santa Barbara where he led the Gauchos to two NCAA tournament appearances.
Johnson will wear number 0. The Suns’ roster now stands at 15.
Jazz sign Erick Green to second 10-day contract
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The Utah Jazz have signed guard Erick Green from the Reno Bighorns to a second 10-day contract. Green signed his first 10-day with the Jazz on Jan. 26 and has appeared in two games, averaging 2.0 points in 3.0 minutes.
Green (6-3, 178, Virginia Tech) appeared in 23 games (22 starts) for the Bighorns this season, averaging 26.7 points on 53.3 percent shooting, 4.4 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 39.0 minutes of action. He scored in double figures in 22 games, including 20-plus points on 19 occasions. He scored 30-or-more points in nine contests and a career-high 40 points in two games. Green was named the NBA D-League Player of the Month for January, and was also selected as an NBA D-League All-Star.
Manu Ginobili out at least one month after surgery
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Manu Ginobili underwent surgery earlier today in San Antonio after suffering a testicular injury in last night’s Spurs-Pelicans game.
Ginobili, who is out indefinitely, will be sidelined for at least one month.
The Spurs are 41-8 this season, second only to the 45-4 Warriors. Ginobili is averaging just 10.0 points in 19.7 minutes per game and has come off the bench for all 43 of the games he’s played.
Hassan Whiteside happy to be back in action
Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on Heat center Hassan Whiteside, whose game was cut short on January 20 and just returned to action last night:
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It wasn’t about working back into a lather, again breaking into a sweat under the brightest lights. Those were the residuals. For Hassan Whiteside, getting back on the court meant the opportunity to again soak up what has transformed his life with the Miami Heat over the past year.
“I really missed playing basketball,” the shot-blocking, dunking-on-people center said after returning from a six-game injury absence in Wednesday night’s victory over the Dallas Mavericks. “A lot of times, you don’t realize how much you miss the game. I know I was just out for like a week and a half, I can’t imagine being out any longer.”
So he worked the coaching staff like he works the paint, essentially posting up coach Erik Spoelstra.
“I was expecting him to play in Charlotte,” Spoelstra said of Friday’s third and final stop of this three-game trip. “That was the plan.
“He really wanted to give it a go right now, so we gave him the green light.”
Tim Hardaway Jr getting more minutes from Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks (29-22) are getting just 4.7 points in 15.4 minutes per game from Tim Hardaway Jr this season. But in recent games he’s gotten 20 or more minutes. Baby steps. Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution reporting:
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Defense got Tim Hardaway Jr. on the floor.
Trust is keeping him there.
The guard had season-highs in six statistics as part of a balanced attack that led to the Hawks lopsided 124-86 win at the 76ers Wednesday night. It was the 16th straight game played for Hardaway after appearing in just four of the Hawks’ first 35 contests.
“You earn the trust off your teammates; you earn the trust of your coach,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said prior to the victory. “He’s doing all those little things in a way that earns that.”
Hardaway had a team-high 13 points, along with Dennis Schroder, as the Hawks had all 13 players score with eight in double-figures. The point total was a season-high for Hardaway, eclipsing the 10 points he scored at the Heat just three days earlier. He also set season-highs in minutes (25:47), field goals (5), rebounds (7) and assists (4). He tied his season-high in field goal attempts (8).
Kings re-assign Duje Dukan to D-League
The Sacramento Kings have re-assigned rookie forward Duje Dukan to the team’s NBA D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns.
Dukan is averaging 13.4 points (.336 FG%, .727 FT%, .318 3PT%), 4.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 31.0 minutes per game in nine games in which he started for the Bighorns.
Celtics coach Stevens plays it cool with trade rumors
Here’s ESPN Boston reporting on the mindset of Celtics head coach Brad Stevens as trade possibilies are thrown around:
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Former Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers calls it “silly season,” the time of year when trade rumors fly like 3-pointers at a Celtics game. Still two weeks out from this year’s deadline, the “quietly aggressive” Celtics have already found themselves linked to some big names, including Houston center Dwight Howard.
Current Celtics coach Brad Stevens admits that he occasionally checked with the team’s front-office staff to substantiate rumors during his first year on the job. Now a grizzled veteran — he’s an “elderly” 39 when you consider that recent in-season hires Tyronn Lue (38), J.B. Bickerstaff (36), and Earl Watson (36) are all younger — Stevens doesn’t pay much mind to the chatter.
“The guys that have been in the league longer probably feel a lot like I do. It’s like, we’re just all like listening and laughing and trying to figure out what’s real and what’s not, but not putting a lot of a stock into it until somebody knocks on our door,” Stevens said. “And that’s the way I feel about it. I probably followed up on every third rumor my first year. And I don’t think I’ve followed up on one yet. If [Celtics president of basketball operations] Danny [Ainge] wants to talk to me about something, he knows where to find me.”
Suns hire Bob Hill as assistant coach
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The Phoenix Suns have added experienced NBA head coach Bob Hill as an assistant coach, the team announced today.
“Coach Hill is a creative and innovative teacher of basketball,” said Suns Interim Head Coach Earl Watson. “He brings a wealth of knowledge to our program and will be very beneficial to everyone involved in our basketball family.”
Hill compiled a 310-293 (.514) record over parts of nine seasons as an NBA head coach, last leading Seattle in 2005-06 and 2006-07 where he coached Watson. In addition to Seattle, Hill served as head coach for New York (1986-87), Indiana (1990-93) and San Antonio (1994-96), guiding his teams to the playoffs on five occasions. Hill’s best season as a head coach came in 1994-95 when he led the Spurs to a 62-20 record and reached the Western Conference Finals.
Does Kevin Durant have interest in joining Warriors?
The 2015 NBA champion Golden State Warriors are the favorites to win it again in 2016. Logic suggests they will an appealing free agent destination for anybody and everybody this upcoming summer who wants to join up with success. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and friends should remain highly competitive for years. But until there’s reason to believe otherwise, we assume Durant will stick with OKC. Anyway, with that said, here’s the San Francisco Chronicle following up on a Yahoo Sports report:
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Warriors small forward Harrison Barnes says he stopped following scuttlebutt about NBA transactions after his rookie year trade deadline, so he seemed genuinely surprised Tuesday to hear that Kevin Durant might be replacing him.
“Oh man, that’s part of the business,” Barnes said on a phone call before the team’s plane left New York for Washington, D.C. “He’s a great player. If that’s the move they want to make, you know, hopefully, it works out.”
Hours earlier, Yahoo Sports reported that the Warriors are determined to recruit Oklahoma City’s All-Star forward Kevin Durant when he becomes a free agent this summer. That much was a well-known fact, but the report went further.
According to league sources, Yahoo wrote: “The truth is that (the Warriors are) the most intriguing destination to him. If Durant leaves the Thunder, the Warriors are the significant frontrunners to sign him.”