Inside Hoops – Page 976 – NBA Blog

Hornets assign Noah Vonleh to D-League

Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has assigned forward Noah Vonleh to its NBA D-League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

“We believe Noah would benefit greatly from additional game experience,” Cho said. “He will be able to get that playing time through this D-League assignment.”

Vonleh was selected by the Hornets with the ninth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. The 6-10 rookie has appeared in four games this season, with averages of 2.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 8.0 minutes.

Miami Heat get cap exception for Josh McRoberts injury

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on the Heat:

Heat granted cap exception for Josh McRoberts injury

For the first time since July, the Miami Heat have more than pocket change to spend on personnel.

The NBA has granted the Heat a $2.65 million disabled-player salary-cap exception in the wake of forward Josh McRoberts undergoing knee surgery earlier in the week. The exception is worth half of McRoberts’ 2014-15 salary.

The move means an independent NBA physician has agreed with the Heat’s stance that McRoberts likely will be out for the balance of the season.

Should McRoberts, who has vowed to make the effort, return before the end of the season, the cap exception issued would not be impacted.

The exception must be utilized by March 10.

Kevin Durant health update

Here’s the Oklahoman reporting on Thunder forward Kevin Durant, who is still recovering from injury:

On the night it occurred, Kevin Durant’s right ankle sprain was listed as ‘mild’ by the team. After the game in Oakland, he said he pushed to play the second half against the Warriors and hoped to play the next night against the Lakers.

But more than a week later, Durant still hasn’t returned to action. And the Thunder has made sure to let people know it is no longer listing it as a ‘mild’ sprain. It ended up being more significant than originally expected.

But that said, Durant does seem to be nearing a return, maybe as early as Sunday in Dallas.

Rondo, Mavs continue to adjust

Here’s the Dallas Morning News blog reporting on the Mavs:

With every passing game, things get a little more normal for Rondo and his new teammates. He’s now had four games with the Mavericks and the Mavericks haven’t exactly set the world on fire – beating a Lakers’ team without Kobe Bryant and a San Antonio team without all five starters. But progress is measured in small increments and Rondo actually looked comfortable against the Lakers. Not just because he had a season-high 21 points, but he picked his spots correctly, hit 10-of-17 shots and also had seven assists to go with eight rebounds.

“He’s starting to run a great show,” said Dirk Nowitzki. “He’s starting to understand when he needs to be aggressive, when to shoot when they go under (the screens) and he’s obviously got the great passing gene that you need as a great point guard. So I think he looks pretty sharp and we got to get used to each other even more as the competition gets stiffer.”

Victor Oladipo ditches protective mask

Here’s the Orlando Sentinel reporting some happy news for Magic guard Victor Oladipo:

The best Christmas present Victor Oladipo received this year came from a doctor.

A physician gave the Orlando Magic guard permission to jettison the clear, protective mask that he had been wearing to protect the surgically repaired bones on the right side of his face.

Oladipo played without the mask during the Magic’s 98-89 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

“I don’t have to wear it anymore,” Oladipo said. “That was my Christmas gift. So Merry Christmas.”

John Henson back in action for Bucks

Here’s the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporting multiple good Bucks news — backup forward John Henson is back, and the team enjoyed a win Friday against a very hot Atlanta Hawks squad:

John Henson missed being on the floor.

It’s evident the Milwaukee Bucks also missed the length, rebounds and shot-blocking skills of the 6-foot-11 Henson.

The third-year pro returned to the court Friday night after being sidelined 14 games with a sprained left foot, and he played a major role in the Bucks’ 107-77 drubbing of the Atlanta Hawks.

Henson contributed five points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 18 minutes. He helped shore up a depleted Bucks front line that was missing Larry Sanders (illness) and Ersan Ilyasova (concussion).

“It felt good to get out there,” Henson said. “I’ve never been injured for as long a time and it kind of made me say, ‘I can’t take this for granted.’ “

Ricky Rubio health update

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting on injured Wolves guard Ricky Rubio:

Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio ran with his teammates Friday morning for the first time, another signpost on his road to return since he severely sprained his left ankle on Nov. 7 in Orlando.

Wolves coach Flip Saunders noticed a little hitch remaining in Rubio’s giddyap when he ran during full-court, 5-on-0 offensive work at the team’s morning shoot-around before Friday’s game at Denver.

Saunders hopes Rubio runs without a hitch or limp so he can begin contact work in another week with the New Year’s arrival and then play limited minutes in a game seven to 10 days after that.

Kenneth Faried grabs 25 rebounds vs. Wolves

Here’s the Denver Post reporting on an amazing game power forward Kenneth Faried put up in Saturday’s Nuggets win over the Minnesota Timberwolves:

It’s the little things Brian Shaw hates. The times when his players don’t box out. The times when the ball bounces in front of them and they still don’t go for the ball. The (many) missed free throws. The shoddy defense.

He must have had a hard time sitting through Friday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Pepsi Center.

Coming off a blowout loss at Charlotte and a sloppy defeat at Brooklyn, the Nuggets returned home to host the Timberwolves, the worst team in the West, in a game that, on paper, should have been Denver’s for the taking.

And until the fourth quarter, Kenneth Faried appeared to be the only Nuggets player who wanted it.

Faried, who turned in one of his finest showings of the season against Brooklyn three nights earlier, came back with an even better one Friday with 26 points and a career-high 25 rebounds while leading the Nuggets to a 106-102 victory over the Timberwolves.

Magic assign Devyn Marble to D-League

Orlando Magic guard Devyn Marble has been assigned to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.

Marble (6’6”, 200, 9/21/92) has appeared in five games during his rookie season with Orlando, averaging 0.8 ppg. in 1.0 minpg. Originally selected in the second round (56th overall) by Denver, his draft rights, along with Evan Fournier, were acquired by Orlando in exchange for Arron Afflalo on June 26.

Marble played in 136 career games during four years at the University of Iowa, averaging 12.5 ppg., 3.4 rpg., 2.9 apg. and 1.29 stlpg. in 27.6 minpg. He ranks second on the school’s all-time games played list with 136. Marble also ranks in Hawkeyes’ history in scoring (fifth, 1,694 points), assists (sixth, 397) and steals (seventh, 176).

Rockets sign Josh Smith, waive Tarik Black

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed unrestricted free agent Josh Smith. The versatile big man was the youngest player in NBA to record 500 career blocks, was twice named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week (12/9/07 and 12/10/12) and was named to the 2010 All-NBA Defensive Second Team.

Smith (6-9, 225, Oak Hill Academy) owns career averages of 15.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.0 blocks in 781 games (758 starts) with the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons. The versatile big man averaged career highs of 18.8 points, 9.6 rebounds per game while starting all 66 games of the 2011-12 season. Smith has averaged double-digit scoring in every season since his rookie year in 2004-05. He has also started 52 career postseason contests, averaging 15.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, as well as winning Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Series in 2009, 2010 and 2011

Selected by the Atlanta Hawks 17th overall in the 2004 NBA Draft, Smith rank’s highly among many of Atlanta’s all-time franchise leaders. He ranks ninth in games played (676), seventh in total rebounds (5407), ninth in free throws made (2044), fifth in steals (857) and second in blocks (1440).

The 11th year forward was waived by the Detroit Pistons on December 22, 2014 and was signed as a free agent by the Rockets after clearing waivers on December 24, 2014.

In order to maintain a roster of 15 players, the team has requested waivers on Tarik Black.

Black (6-8, 253, Kansas), has appeared in 25 contests with the Rockets this season (including 12 starts) averaging 4.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game. Undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft, Tarik Black was originally signed by the Houston Rockets on August 27, 2014.