SI.com’s Ian Thompson reports: Beno Udrih (Sacramento Kings) has gone from a 5.2-point scorer over three in-and-out years with San Antonio to a 14.3-point starter in his brief time with the Kings. The 25-year-old point guard has added 4.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals in his 35.2 minutes as the Kings have gone 6-5 since his Nov. 10 debut (though the return of Ron Artest from a season-opening suspension of seven games has a lot to do with it, too). While sidelined with a broken finger in the preseason, Udrih was traded by San Antonio and waived by Minnesota before arriving in Sacramento for the minimum $826,046 as a replacement for Mike Bibby, who underwent preseason thumb surgery. The 6-3 Udrih showed he had recovered from the loss of Gregg Popovich’s confidence in him by haunting San Antonio with a career-high 27 points in a 112-99 Kings’ win last week. If Udrih keeps this up, he’ll make it easier for the Kings to eventually trade Bibby and further hasten their rebuilding.
Category: General NBA insight
General NBA insight
Rudy Gay stepping up
SI.com’s Ian Thompson reports: Rudy Gay, Memphis Grizzlies — He ranks second among NBA sophomores in scoring with 18.1 points, a mark that leads the Grizzlies and represents a big hike over the 10.8 points he averaged as a rookie. Memphis has amped up the tempo to 103.8 points (sixth highest in the league) and the 6-9 Gay is their arrowhead, a versatile athlete who is improving his decision-making with the ball. “He’s picking up the whole idea of seeing what are they giving me,” coach Marc Iavaroni said. “If the defense says you should be going to the basket, then you should be going to the basket. If they give you a shot, then it’s your duty to take that shot.”
Devean George happy to finally play
MavsCourtsideView reports: Devean George felt good about his first appearance of the season Thursday night. The veteran swingman returned to the lineup against Denver and played in short spurts totaling seven minutes. “I was trying to be active, but at the same time knowing my timing was off and not really trying to do too much,” he said today. “Not try to force the issue and slowly get my way back in.”
Jarrett Jack feels left out
Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan and guard Jarrett Jack recently had a discussion, as reported by the Oregonian:
The gist of the conversation was Jack’s involvement in the team’s offense lately. While the second unit has flourished recently behind the dynamic play of Travis Outlaw (18.4 points, 7.2 rebounds the past five games), the hot shooting of James Jones (11-of-14 over the past two games) and effective play from Sergio Rodriguez (18 assists, five turnovers the past six games), Jack has drifted into anonymity.
Jack said he feels his best attribute is driving to the basket, but he has had fewer and fewer opportunities to take advantage that strength as the ball has increasingly been put in either Brandon Roy or Sergio’s hands. In the past seven games, Jack is 17-for-47 (36.2 percent) from the field, during which his scoring average has gone from a season-high 12.2 points a game to 10.5.
This season through 19 games, Jack is playing 26.2 minutes per game, down from 33.6 last season. He’s averaging 10.5 points and 3.3 assists per game, down from last season’s 12.0 points and 5.3 assists. However, his rebounding, field goal and three-point field goal pecentages are virtually identical.
Jamison speaks about the Suns
Here’s Washington Wizards forward Antawn Jamison:
Antawn Jamison on the challenge Phoenix presents: “You know what they do offensively. This is a team that has led the league in scoring for the last couple of years, has had the MVP (Steve Nash) for the last two out of three years, and has a great supporting cast. You can’t afford to take a night off when you’re playing this team. This team really plays great basketball at home, and they also try and have one of the best road records in the league as well.”
Antawn Jamison on the Phoenix Suns style of play: “They really like to set the tone from start to finish, so we can’t afford to have the start that we had last year. I think it really all boils down to trying to contain and maintain the pick-and-roll. You’re not going to be able to stop it for 48 minutes at all – you just have to do a good job as far as containing it.”
Antawn Jamison on their awareness in terms of field goal percentage: “With Gilbert (Arenas) gone, offensively you have to take quality shots and better shots – no first side shots, no quick shots – and defensively, you really have to key in. We can’t afford to neglect on the defensive end because we’re missing so much offensively with Gil gone. We need for (Antonio Daniels) to continue to stay in front of his man and help us out in that way. We need guys like Brendan (Haywood) to continue to control the paint, block and alter shots. If we continue to do those things and improve on both ends of the floor, especially defensively, it would really put us in a great situation to really be able to win a lot of games and get some distance from the other teams who are around us.”
Celtics, Magic, Spurs and Suns in rare air
NBA News – Boston (15-2), Orlando (16-4), San Antonio (16-3) and Phoenix (15-4) each have a chance of winning at least 20 of their first 25 games. The last time four teams started the season with at least 20 wins in their first 25 games was 1996: Chicago (22-3), Houston (21-4), Detroit (20-5) and Utah (20-5). The last time three teams established the feat was 2004: San Antonio (20-5), Phoenix (22-3) and Seattle (20-5).
Camby has six 20+ rebound games
NBA News – Denver’s Marcus Camby leads the NBA with six 20-plus rebounding performances this season. His six have already surpassed the amount posted by last season’s league leader, New Orleans’ Tyson Chandler, who paced the NBA with five 20-board outings in 73 games. Camby has already bested his personal best for a single season (five in 56 appearances during 2005-06). He has 26 games of 20-plus boards in 616 career games during his first 11 seasons in the NBA, 21 coming with the Nuggets.
Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams get heated in practice
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports: The Hawks were in feisty mode Wednesday, a heated practice session that came to a head during a half-court drill in which Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams got tangled up and went nose-to-nose briefly, before they slapped hands and moved on. It was an energy boost that Williams relished, though he would turn his ankle later and sit out the rest of the session. He even applauded Johnson’s fire, telling him repeatedly that he loved seeing Johnson’s competitiveness boil over. “If everybody brings that passion to the game, we’ll be fine,” Josh Smith said. “We can’t just go hard like this in practice and not in games.”
InsideHoops.com: Sounds like good, competitive spirit. Hawks fans should be happy to hear the team has some intense practices.
Knicks may soon use Jerome James
The New York Post reports: With Eddy Curry turning into a November disappointment on both ends of the court, Knicks coach Isiah Thomas is – believe it or not – eyeing center Jerome James’ return with anticipation. Though James is at least one month away from returning, The Post has learned he had a heart-to-heart talk with Thomas after James’ foot surgery to remove a cyst-like growth. Thomas told James he is still in Thomas’ plans, and that the coach hopes to go get James into the rotation.
Bobcats benching Brezec, starting Dudley
The Charlotte Observer reports: Primoz Brezec is out and rookie Jared Dudley is in. Charlotte Bobcats coach Sam Vincent is making that shift in the starting lineup against the Toronto Raptors tonight. It’s a move that makes the Bobcats smaller, but likely better defensively. Vincent confirmed the change at shootaround Monday, saying “when you lose five games, you look at something different.” Brezec, a 7-foot-1 Slovenian and an original Bobcat, has struggled throughout this season.