Inside Hoops – Page 974 – NBA Blog

David Lee remains a reserve for Warriors

Here’s CSN Bay Area reporting on the Golden State Warriors, who are having a fantastic season, and seem to be sticking with David Lee as a reserve, not a starter:

Coach Steve Kerr on Tuesday made official what had been presumed for weeks. Draymond Green, who assumed the role when Lee strained his left hamstring in the Oct. 24 preseason finale, is the starting power forward until further notice.

“With David, I wasn’t planning on bringing him off the bench,” Kerr said. “But he got hurt. He had a great preseason. He was going to be the starting (power forward). He got hurt. I put Draymond out there. Draymond took the job.”

Lee missed the first three regular-season games, returned for the fourth and was re-injured after seven minutes. He missed the next 21 games, a period during which the Warriors put together the best start in franchise history (22-3) and reeled off a franchise-record 16-game win streak before Lee returned Dec. 22.

“At that stage,” Kerr said, “you’re going to stick with what got you to 22-3.”

Difficult times for Miami Heat lately

Here’s the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reporting on the Miami Heat, who are certainly a different team now that LeBron James is gone:

At 14-19, the Heat still hold the eighth-seed in the Eastern Conference race for the postseason. The question is for how long. Things don’t get any easier in the upcoming weeks. Five of the next six games are against teams in playoff contention, including four on the road versus Western Conference powers.

It’s not exactly the ideal schedule for a team still trying to figure out what has gone wrong of late. The Heat have dropped seven of 10, with some of the losses coming against bottom-feeding teams.

“If I had that answer, then we wouldn’t be in this situation,” guard Dwyane Wade said. “Bad stretch.”

For the first time, the Heat are pointing fingers at every aspect of the game. In the past, it was either offensive spacing or defensive issues. Now, it’s both simultaneously.

Hard work from Dewayne Dedmon paying off

Here’s the Orlando Sentinel reporting on some Magic-related hard work:

Dewayne Dedmon has plenty to be thankful for when he looks over the last year.

On Jan. 1, 2014, he was a member of the NBA Development League’s Santa Cruz Warriors, hoping an NBA team would just give him a chance.

On Thursday, exactly one year later, Dedmon spent New Year’s Day in a far different situation: as a member of the Orlando Magic. Not only is he on an NBA roster, but lately he’s carved out consistent minutes in the Magic’s playing rotation.

“It’s definitely gratifying,” Dedmon said. “It definitely shows that in 2014 I really put in a lot of work and hard work does actually pay off. It means a lot. If you look back at what 2014 had in store for me and to be where I am right now, it’s definitely gratifying.”

Celtics rookie James Young making progress

Here’s ESPN Boston reporting on a young Celtic:

Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens continues to suggest that rookie James Young has made the sort of progress that could help him fight his way into the team’s already overcrowded rotation sooner than later.

Young was back with the team Thursday after scoring 25 points during his latest one-game stint with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League. The No. 17 pick in June’s draft has been slowed at times this season by injuries — whether it was the pre-draft car accident that kept him out of summer league, a hamstring injury that kept him out of most of the preseason, or a shoulder injury that recently shelved him for two weeks. But Stevens said Young is making progress behind the scenes and positioning himself for potential playing time. Now he just needs an opportunity.

“I think that he’s really getting better,” said Stevens.

LeBron James injured, out two weeks

LeBron James injured, out two weeks

LeBron James was evaluated yesterday at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health by Richard D. Parker, MD, Cavaliers Head Team Physician. Tests included physical exam, radiographs and a MRI, the results of which
revealed left knee and low back strains. These conditions will be treated via a multimodal approach consisting of anti-inflammatories, rehabilitation, training room treatments, and rest.

LeBron is currently projected to be Out for the next 2 weeks.

Nets assign Markel Brown and Cory Jefferson to D-League

The Brooklyn Nets have assigned Markel Brown and Cory Jefferson to the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League, pursuant to the flexible assignment rule, General Manager Billy King announced today. The flexible assignment rule was used because the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Nets’ D-League affiliate, had four players on assignment at the time the Nets initiated Brown and Jefferson’s assignments to the D-League.

Brown, a 6’3” rookie guard, has appeared in seven games with the Nets this season, averaging 1.9 points in 5.4 minutes per game. He was selected with the 44th pick of this year’s NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves and traded to the Nets in exchange for cash considerations.

Jefferson, a 6’9” rookie forward, has appeared in 15 games (one start) with the Nets this season, averaging 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game. He was selected with the 60th pick of this year’s NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and traded to the Nets in exchange for cash considerations.

These will be the first D-League assignments of Brown and Jefferson’s careers and the first D-League assignments the Nets have made this season.

Pistons assign Spencer Dinwiddie to D-League

The Detroit Pistons announced today that the team has assigned guard Spencer Dinwiddie to the team’s NBA Development League (D-League) affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive.

Dinwiddie, drafted 38th overall in the 2014 NBA Draft, has appeared in eight games for the Pistons this season averaging 3.0 points and 12.4 minutes per game.

Warriors destroy Sixers by 40 points

Here’s CSN Bay Area reporting on the Warriors, who have the best winning percentage in the NBA and yesterday had the pleasure of facing the 76ers:

This one was, for the Warriors, a case of a game playing out on the court as it does on paper. It was, to be kind, the result of a grotesquely unfair matchup.

Their 126-86 pulverizing of the profoundly awful 76ers Tuesday night was a matter of simple superiority at work. What was particularly noteworthy, though, was the way the Warriors finished the game.

They punctuated it with an authoritative performance by a bench squad that typically has given back much of the lead the starters have built.

“I was really pleased with the ball movement,” coach Steve Kerr said. “What made me most happy was the way our reserves closed the game. We’ve had some blowout wins where we didn’t close it right and got lethargic. Our guys really played through the final 12 minutes.”

Jazz assign Toure` Murry to D-League

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has assigned guard Toure’ Murry to the NBA Development League’s Idaho Stampede, the Jazz’s exclusive D-League affiliate. Murry is expected to be in uniform for the Stampede’s game Friday, Jan. 2 against the Bakersfield Jam.

This will be the second assignment this season for Murry, who was previously assigned to Idaho from Nov. 13-Dec. 2. In six games (five starts) for the Stampede, Murry averaged 14.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.3 steals in 31.5 minutes of play. Murry recorded two double-doubles, scoring in double figures in five of his six games and reached 20-plus points once. He has not yet appeared in a game this season for the Jazz.

Murry (6-5, 195, Wichita State) is the ninth different player in Jazz history to be assigned to the D-League, and the first under the new Jazz-Stampede single affiliation. Other players on the current Jazz roster with D-League experience include Patrick Christopher, Ian Clark, Rudy Gobert, Jeremy Evans and Steve Novak.

Al Jefferson injured, out at least four weeks

Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson has been diagnosed with a strain of an adductor muscle in his left groin. Jefferson, who underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) earlier today, is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks.

In 32 games this season, Jefferson leads the team in scoring and rebounding with averages of 18.0 points (25th in the NBA) and 8.2 rebounds (T-17th in the NBA) in 32.2 minutes per game. The 6-10 center has scored in double figures in 28 of 32 games this season and has a team-leading 10 double-doubles along with a team-best 14 games of 20-plus points scored. He scored a season-high 34 points on Nov. 7 in the Hornets win vs. Atlanta.