Inside Hoops – Page 815 – NBA Blog

Jonas Valanciunas injured in Raptors win

Here’s the Toronto Star reporting good news but also bad news on the 8-6 Raptors, who center Jonas Valanciunas is averaging 12.7 ppg and 9.3 rpg in 27.3 minutes per game this season:

Big win. Big loss.

Unleashing a barrage of three-point shots against a woefully inept opponent, the Raptors snapped a three-game losing streak with a 102-91 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night but the victory came at a substantial cost.

Jonas Valanciunas could be lost for a substantial stretch after suffering a broken finger on his left hand when he was fouled by Kobe Bryant driving to the basket in the final minute of the second quarter.

The team said he suffered a fractured finger on his left, non-shooting hand and that he will have further testing before any timeline for rehabilitation or a return is offered.

Hawks face Cavs on Saturday

Two of the best teams in the Eastern conference face off on Saturday. Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution reporting:

The Cavaliers (9-3) lead the Eastern Conference, with the Hawks (9-5) in third place early in the new season. The Cavaliers are not going anywhere, it would appear. LeBron James carried them last season, and he could very well do it again.

The Hawks will face the Cavaliers without one, and possibly two, starters. Small forward Kent Bazemore (right ankle sprain) has been ruled out. Point guard Jeff Teague (left ankle sprain) is questionable.

The Cavaliers are injured themselves. Point guard Kyrie Irving (fractured left kneecap), guard Iman Shumpert (injured forearm), center Timofey Mozgov (right shoulder sprain) and guard Mo Williams (right lower leg soreness) all will not play. With Mozgov out, Tristan Thompson may start at center. He gave the Hawks fits in the postseason.

“Taking care of the defensive boards is something that is going to be important,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said.

No home wins for Timberwolves yet

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting on the Timberwolves, who haven’t won a home game yet and host the Detroit Pistons tonight:

One thing becomes clear after talking with a few Timberwolves players after today’s morning shootaround:

This team wants very much to end this zero-for-home thing. The Wolves enter tonight’s game with Detroit at Target Center at 5-7 overall, with all five victories coming on the road. At home the team is 0-5 at home. And while both emotions and injuries might have played into that, it has gotten old quickly.

“I hope tonight is the night,” Andrew Wiggins said.

The Pistons come into the game with an impressive victory over Cleveland Tuesday, a victory that ended a four-game losing streak. That came after Detroit started the season 5-1.

Timofey Mozgov, Mo Williams out with injuries

Center Timofey Mozgov experienced a strained right deltoid during the second quarter of last night’s game against Milwaukee at The Q. Additional examination and MRI today at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health confirmed the strain. Mozgov will be OUT approximately 10 days to two weeks.

Guard Mo Williams missed last night’s game vs the Bucks and received additional examination and MRI today at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health, which showed posterior right ankle inflammation, along with continued soreness. He is listed as OUT for tomorrow’s game at The Q against Atlanta and doubtful for Monday’s contest vs. Orlando, also at The Q.

Warriors enjoy wild comeback win against Clippers

The 13-0 Golden State Warriors are the talk of basketball. Last night, they looked to be on their way towards their first loss of the regular season. But since they’re the Warriors, and Stephen Curry is on their team, they kept winning. Here’s the San Jose Mercury News reporting:

The Warriors’ season-opening winning streak will not die.

Not after the defending champions trailed by 23 points to the rival Los Angeles Clippers.

Not with Stephen Curry and the Warriors willing their way to a comeback.

The Warriors claimed a 124-117 win Thursday night that did more than improve their record to 13-0, two short of matching the best start in NBA history.

The Warriors’ comeback came against their bitter rivals at Staples Center and provided yet another chapter to remember as they became one of only five NBA teams to ever start 13-0.

Curry poured in 40 points to lead the charge and hit six 3-pointers. He got the best of Chris Paul, who scored 35 points but had to suffer the indignity of seeing the Warriors claim the largest comeback win in the league this season.

No LeBron, Blatt drama this season

Here’s Cleveland.com reporting on the Cavaliers, who at 9-3 are already a success this season and have the services of Kyrie Irving to eventually look forward to once he heals and is ready to play:

Want to set off some Cavs fans?

Tell them about LeBron James and David Blatt.

The distrust. The undermining and second guessing. The disconnect.

It’s a sore subject for Cavs faithful. Either James shouldn’t treat his coach that way, or Blatt wasn’t right for the job, or the media shouldn’t bring it up.

This season, though, there hasn’t been any James-Blatt drama to discuss.

Hours before Cleveland beat the Milwaukee Bucks 115-100, turning in a solid-but-not-perfect performance after days of being ripped in public and private by James and Blatt, the Cavs superstar dropped a different kind of bomb.

“He does his job as great as any coach can do in this league,” James said of Blatt, following the team’s shootaround in the morning.

Pelicans waive Jimmer Fredette

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has waived guard Jimmer Fredette.

Fredette, 6-2, 195, who was re-signed by New Orleans on November 10 after the team received a hardship exception from the NBA, appeared in 13 minutes over four games. Originally signed by New Orleans on July 24, 2014, the BYU product appeared in 50 games for the Pelicans in the 2014-15 season, averaging 3.6 points and 1.2 assists in 10.2 minutes per game.

New Orleans’ roster now stands at 15.

D-Wade struggling after fast start to season

Through Tuesday’s games, the Miami Heat are 6-4. A perfectly respectable record at this early point in the season. But veteran shooting guard Dwyane Wade, after an excellent start to the season, has cooled off in a big way. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting:

The first five game were a statement, an I’m-back statement, with Dwyane Wade scoring at least 20 points in each outing. Since then, though, the Miami Heat shooting guard has not scored more than 12, shooting 18 of 55 over his four subsequent appearances.

Tuesday’s 103-91 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves included another uneven performance, this time 5 of 13 from the field for 10 points, with six assists and five turnovers.

“My opportunities are different,” Wade said, as the Heat turned their attention to Thursday’s fifth game on this season-longest seven-game homestand, against the Sacramento Kings at AmericanAirlines Arena. “The first five games were a little different. I’m not really worried about scoring. I’m just trying to be aggressive, sometimes to make plays, sometimes to score.”

Wade has not attempted more than four free throws in any of his past four appearances, including none Tuesday night. Some of that is opposing teams daring him to take his jumper; some of it is the Heat this season playing both Hassan Whiteside and Chris Bosh in the post.

Rick Carlisle strongly disagrees with Rockets` firing of Kevin McHale

Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle thinks it’s absurd that the Houston Rockets have fired head coach Kevin McHale. Here’s the Dallas Morning News reporting:

Rick Carlisle, who played with McHale in Boston and has been friends with him ever since, didn’t mince words about the Rockets’ move.

“It’s preposterous,” he said. “It’s beyond belief. I’m really shocked. It’s just hard to believe that something could happen at this stage to a guy who took a team unexpectedly to the conference finals last year. To have this happen after just 11 games is just preposterous. Nobody expects this. It’s very disappointing to hear. But Kevin will be fine. There will be a lot of people wanting to hire him. I can tell you that.”

Cavs struggling from free throw line

The Cleveland Cavaliers are 8-3 this season; a very good start, especially considering the team is without the services of still-healing point guard Kyrie Irving. But things could be even better, as the Akron Beacon Journal reports:

While LeBron James continues to rip his teammates for their lack of effort and David Blatt says they need to get tougher, one of the more perplexing problems facing the Cavaliers in the early season has been free-throw shooting.

The Cavs enter Thursday’s rematch against the Milwaukee Bucks 29th in the league in foul shooting, ahead of only the Detroit Pistons. Poor free-throw shooting was a big reason for their two road losses to the Bucks and Pistons and the Cavs don’t have many explanations for the struggles.

“If I had the sure-fire answer to that I would be a genius,” Blatt said. “I guess I’m not.”

The Cavs are converting less than 69 percent of their free throws, a number that continues to trend in the wrong direction. They shot 58, 63 and 60 percent from the line in their past three games after converting 75 percent at the line last season — 18th in the NBA.