Category: General NBA insight

The AP reports:

Drew Gooden had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists for his second career triple-double, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-105 on Wednesday night.

Gooden completed the triple-double with a rebound near the end of the third quarter. Gooden also had a triple-double against the Cavaliers last April, marking the last time the Bucks had a player accomplish the feat.

Ersan Ilyasova had 22 points before fouling out for the Bucks, who have won four straight.

Kyrie Irving had 28 points for the Cavaliers, who lost their second in a row.

The AP reports:

Getting guard Monta Ellis from Golden State does mean the Bucks will have a top-10 scorer, a significant addition for a team that already was trying to play a quick transition offense with center Andrew Bogut out injured. Now Bogut is gone for good, sent to the Warriors along with Stephen Jackson .

Said Bucks guard Brandon Jennings , “My first thing I said was, `Well, it looks like we’ll be running a lot more.”

The AP reports:

After a three-year period during which creditors have obtained judgments totaling more than $26 million against Laettner, a business partner and their companies, the former NBA All-Star is trying to rebuild and make a new mark in basketball – as a coach.

In a Tulsa convention center gym where most of the bright-red seats were empty, Laettner got out on the court an hour before a recent game. He set a screen on an imaginary defender to free up a shot during pregame warm-ups, and stuck a hand in the face of a shooter.

Laettner’s job is to develop these young players to the point they’re ready to play in the NBA. If he does well enough, he’ll seek his own call-up to the big leagues.

“These guys are ready to go,” said Laettner, the lone assistant for the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Mad Ants of the NBA Developmental League.

The Chicago Bulls today signed guard Mike James to a 10-day contract. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed. James, (6-2,190), will be in uniform tonight when the Bulls take on the Miami Heat at the United Center at 8:30 p.m. (CT).

James, 36, appeared in seven games with Chicago earlier this year and averaged 6.1 ppg, 3.6 apg and 1.0 rpg in 12.4 mpg. This will mark his third stint with Chicago this season. He originally signed with the Bulls on Jan. 11 (waived Jan. 28) and again on Feb. 14.

Chicago’s roster now stands at 14.

Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News (Blog) reports:

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said he had no lingering effects from a hip flexor injury and expects to be ready to play in tonight’s game against Orlando.

When asked his chances of playing against the Magic, Ginobili was definite that he would like to play.

“I would say 100 percent percent,” Ginobili said. “But if the other guy says 20 … But I’m ready to play.”

Ginobili said his removal from the game was more precaution after two previous injuries this season.

“It’s not that I got hurt,” Ginobili said. “I just got tight.”

The AP reports:

Derrick Rose scored 32 points and the Chicago Bulls beat New York 104-99 on Monday night, handing the Knicks their sixth straight loss.

Rose shot 12 of 29 from the floor and had six rebounds and seven assists as the Bulls got their 10th win in 11 games.

Taj Gibson had 15 points and a team-high 13 boards for Chicago, which outrebounded New ork 56-38. The Bulls entered the game leading the league in rebounding margin.

Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 21 points and Amare Stoudemire added 20, but the two combined for just seven points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls pulled away.

Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:

Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay has a mild concussion and could miss Tuesday’s home game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Team doctors confirmed Gay’s condition today after re-evaluating him. Gay left Sunday’s win at Denver with concussion-like symptoms after he received an inadvertent elbow to the head from Denver center Nene.

Under the terms of the NBA’s new protocol for concussions and other head injuries, Gay will have to satisfy a strict set of criteria before being allowed back on the floor.

The AP reports:

Cavaliers coach Byron Scott says center Anderson Varejao’s broken right wrist will not be re-examined by doctors until next week.

Varejao has been out since Feb. 10, when he broke his wrist during a game against Milwaukee. The Cavs expected Varejao to miss from 4 to 6 weeks and were initially optimistic he would return sooner. One of the NBA’s top rebounders, Varejao continues to wear a wrap on his wrist. He has not yet resumed basketball activities and has been limited to working on his stamina.

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have assigned rookie Cory Joseph to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

Joseph, a 6-3 guard, has seen action in 25 games for the Spurs this season, averaging 1.8 points and 1.2 assists in 8.0 minutes.

Joseph was assigned to the Toros earlier this year from Jan. 4-11 and saw action in four games, averaging 11.3 points, 3.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 31.8 minutes.

The Spurs selected Joseph out of the University of Texas with the 29th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. In his lone season with the Longhorns he was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team and earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.

Joseph will be uniform tonight when the Toros visit the Texas Legends at 7 p.m.

— The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have recalled forward Lamar Odom from the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League.

Odom (6-10, 230) was assigned to the Legends yesterday but did not see any action with the team. He has played in 32 games with the Mavericks and is averaging 7.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 21.4 minutes. He is shooting .357 (89-249 FGs) from the field, .259 (22-85 3FGs) from 3-point range and .577 (45-78 FTs) from the free throw line. The 12-year pro has missed the last four games due to a family matter.

The Mavericks acquired Odom on Dec. 11, 2011 along with a 2012 second round pick and other second round considerations in 2013 from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for a protected first round draft pick.

Odom is scheduled to be in uniform tonight as the Mavericks host the Utah Jazz at the American Airlines Center.