Author: Inside Hoops

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Video: Jabari Parker NBA career begins

The Milwaukee Bucks have a perfectly respectable 4-5 record in the 2014-15 NBA season. Rookie forward Jabari Parker isn’t a star just yet, averaging 10.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game, with 41.8% shooting, but he’s doing better than just about any other rookie so far. Enjoy these video highlights with a look at the his pro career, which began just 2.5 weeks ago.

Dwyane Wade sidelined with hamstring strain

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel with an update on veteran Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade:

Dwyane Wade sidelined with hamstring strain

After pushing through three sets of back-to-back games this season, Dwyane Wade said Friday that it is time to stop pushing and instead take time to deal with a strained left hamstring sustained early in Wednesday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Wade not only decided to skip Friday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena, but indicated he would be careful not to rush back too soon. He missed nine games late last season with a similar strained left hamstring.

“For me, obviously I want to play as many games as possible,” he said Friday. “As I said before, you can’t control certain things. I’ve had worse. I’ll be back out there soon enough. Just when I come back, I want to be able to play the way I was playing the way before, and not hampered like I was the other night.”

Cavaliers assign Alex Kirk to D-League

The Cleveland Cavaliers have assigned center Alex Kirk to the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers exclusively owned and operated NBA Development League team, Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin announced today.

Kirk has appeared in two games for the Cavs this season. He will be available for Saturday’s Charge opening game against the Delaware 87ers at the Canton Memorial Civic Center at 7:00 p.m.

NBA expanding All-Star ballot to include all players

The NBA is expanding the All-Star ballot to include all players, and pushing back the start of voting so fans can better consider their choices.

Voting for the Feb. 15 game in New York will open Dec. 11. It traditionally began this week, when teams aren’t even 10 games into their seasons.

The ballot on NBA.com will for the first time feature every player in the league. It formerly included only 60 players per conference who had been selected by a media panel.

— Associated Press

Quick reaction from InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner: Both of these moves make sense. The league might as well include all players on the ballot. There’s no negative. But having a set number of players on the ballot, as has been the case, always meant that at least a few players who deserved to be listed weren’t included. And pushing back the start date also makes sense. Voting used to begin extremely early in the season. Yes, All-Star balloting will always be a popularity contest. There will always be many fans voting for players they like, instead of going strictly with players who actually deserve the vote. Still, pushing back the start date at least ensures that the world of basketball observers will have a better sense as to who deserves consideration, and it should only make the voting better.

Utah Jazz assign Toure` Murry to D-League

Utah Jazz assign Toure’ Murry to D-League affiliate Idaho Stampede

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 season opener on Friday, Nov. 14 against the Erie BayHawks.

Murry (6-5, 195, Wichita State) played one game for the Erie BayHawks last season while on D-League assignment from the New York Knicks, recording 10 points, four rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes of action. He spent the 2012-13 season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBA D-League, averaging 8.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 46 games (30 starts) en route to the 2013 D-League Championship.

The 6-5 guard signed with Utah as a free agent on Aug. 28. He has not yet appeared in a game this season for the Jazz.

Murry 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 Ian Clark, Rudy Gobert, Jeremy Evans and Steve Novak.

Adam Silver issues statement in response to NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver released the following statement today in response to statements made by NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts to ESPN.com:

“We couldn’t disagree more with these statements. The NBA’s success is based on the collective efforts and investments of all of the team owners, the thousands of employees at our teams and arenas, and our extraordinarily talented players. No single group could accomplish this on its own. Nor is there anything unusual or “un-American” in a unionized industry to have a collective system for paying employees – in fact, that’s the norm.

“The Salary Cap system, which splits revenues between team owners and players and has been agreed upon by the NBA and the Players Association since 1982, has served as a foundation for the growth of the league and has enabled NBA players to become the highest paid professional athletes in the world. We will address all of these topics and others with the Players Association at the appropriate time.”

Wizards now 6-2 after beating Pistons

Wizards now 6-2 after beating Pistons

The Wizards are 6-2 after defeating the Pistons 107-103 on Wednesday night at Verizon Center. Washington is in first place in the Southeast Division and tied with Chicago for the second best record in the Eastern Conference.

John Wall led the charge last night, scoring a team-high 27 points with 11 assists, three steals and one block. He has now tallied five double-doubles in eight games this season. Wall tallied a career-high 29 double-doubles in 2013-14.

Washington scored a season-high 57 points in the first half, including a season-high 33 points in the second quarter. Five Wizards scored in double figures including a season-high 18 points from reserve swingman Rasual Butler. Butler was 7-of-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from behind the arc. Kris Humphries added 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Marcin Gortat notched his third double-double of the season with 14 points and a season-high 13 rebounds, including five offensive rebounds.

J.R. Smith misses at buzzer, Knicks lose 6th straight game

The New York Knicks are adjusting to some offseason roster changes, a new coach, a new system (especially on offense), and then there’s the issue of simply needing better players — something that will be seriously addressed in free agency in the summer of 2015. So, they’re off to a rough start to the 2014-15 season, which began a little over two weeks ago. It’s not a surprise. They’ll probably get better in the coming weeks. As for now, here’s the latest, from New York Newsday:

Carmelo Anthony was on the right wing, asking for the ball with the final seconds winding down. But J.R. Smith didn’t want to force the ball to him and instead hoisted a long three-pointer.

Smith’s shot was long and wide left, hitting the other side of the backboard, and the Knicks’ losing streak continued. It’s up to six after a 97-95 loss to the Magic Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

“I thought this was a game we could have went out there and got, kind of get that monkey off our back,” Anthony said. “So this is a tough one to swallow. We have to bounce back from this.”

Anthony shot 10-for-17 and led the Knicks (2-7) with 27 points after spending nearly 10 minutes on the bench in the second half in foul trouble. But he was on the floor at closing time, which is when he wants the ball and tries to earn his $124-million contract.