General NBA insight – Page 38 – NBA Blog

Dion Waiters injured, will be re-evaluated in two weeks

An MRI has revealed that Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters has suffered a Pectineus (upper thigh) tear and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Waiters sat out his first game of the season on Nov. 28 vs. Boston due to the right groin strain.

Waiters has started all 16 games this season in which he has appeared for the HEAT and has averaged 14.2 points, 4.0 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 31.8 minutes while shooting 38.4 percent from the floor, 34.4 percent from three-point range and 65.2 percent from the foul line. The fifth-year guard from Syracuse University currently leads the HEAT in field goals attempted and ranks second in points scored, field goals made, three-point field goals made and attempted, assists, minutes played and starts.

For his career, Waiters has appeared in 305 games (126 starts) and averaged 12.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.01 steals and 28.5 minutes while shooting 41 percent from the field, 33.5 percent from three-point range and 70.4 percent from the foul line. The former fourth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft was named to the 2012-13 NBA All-Rookie First Team and earned NBA Rookie of the Month honors in February of 2013.

Dwyane Wade dislikes the NBA Last Two Minute reports

In case Dwyane Wade wasn’t clear about how he felt about the NBA releasing the Last Two Minute Reports the day after close games, the Bulls’ guard was definitive in his disdain for the revisionist thinking that can only frustrate a team.

“I hate them. I hate the two-minute reports. I’ll go on record saying it again,” Wade said following practice Monday at the Advocate Center. “It’s bad for our game to come back with those two-minute reports.” …

Count Wade among those who don’t take much solace in the NBA’s attempt at transparency, considering it doesn’t change the outcome of anything. Plays can’t be turned back and re-started, so it appears more frustrating than gratifying.

“They come back and show the imperfectness of our game in two minutes,” Wade said. “But it’s imperfect the whole game. Let’s not break down the last two minutes, as players get called out and fined for saying stuff to the refs but the NBA is calling our refs out for making the wrong play or right play. Let’s just leave it alone.”

— CSN Chicago

Quick Take: A lot of people have mixed feelings about the Two Minute Reports. Pretty much for exactly what D-Wade said. They provide additional info about what should have been, but since it’s after the fact, it’s unclear what is to be gained from announcing the observations. On the other hand, those of us who follow the league closely appreciate all the additional info we can get. In general, the more info the better. So, if the league is going to provide these reports, we’ll happily keep up with them.

Kevin Love and Kevin Durant named NBA Players of Week

Cavaliers forward Kevin Love and Warriors forward Kevin Durant today were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 21 through Sunday, Nov. 27.

Love led the Cavaliers to a 3-0 week behind an East-leading 30.7 points to go with 9.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals. He connected on 19-of-29 three-point attempts (65.5 percent) and made all 21 of his free-throw attempts. On Nov. 23, he scored a season-high 40 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out three assists in a 137-125 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Love set an NBA record with 34 first-quarter points, the second-highest total in any quarter in league history.

Durant helped the Warriors to a 4-0 week behind averages of 24.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.75 blocked shots (tied for second in the West). He connected on 9-of-18 attempts (50.0 percent) from three-point range. On Nov. 23, he scored 28 points (on 11-for-15 shooting from the field) and added six rebounds and five assists in a 149-106 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He closed the week with 28 points, 10 rebounds, a career-high six blocks and five assists as Golden State extended its winning streak to 11 games with a 115-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 26.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Houston’s James Harden, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, New York’s Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Phoenix’s Eric Bledsoe, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins and Toronto’s Kyle Lowry.

Notes from around the NBA

– Chicago Bulls: Coach Fred Hoiberg’s team has won five of its last six games, including a 3-1 start to its six-game road trip. Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 40 points in Sunday’s victory over the Lakers, his eighth consecutive game with at least 20 points.

– Jrue Holiday, Pelicans: New Orleans is 2-0 since his return as Holiday finished with 21 points and seven assists in a win over Portland and 22 points and nine assists in an overtime victory against Charlotte.

– Memphis Grizzlies: Winners of four consecutive games, the Grizzlies held Dallas to 64 points and Minnesota to 71 points in their two most recent victories.

– Jonathan Gibson, Mavericks: The 29-year-old rookie guard scored 26 points against Orlando on Saturday in his second career game, becoming the first undrafted player in 24 years to score that many points in one of his first two games. Gibson, who was signed on Nov. 17, spent last season in China and led Dallas in scoring at Samsung NBA Summer League 2016 in Las Vegas.

– Alan Williams, Suns: The Phoenix native has recorded point-rebound double-doubles in each of his last two games. Like Gibson, the 23-year-old Williams is an undrafted player who starred in China and thrived at Samsung NBA Summer League (where he was the top rebounder in each of the last two years). Williams’ mom, Jeri, was recently sworn in as the first female chief of the Phoenix Police Department.

– Jamal Murray, Nuggets: The rookie guard scored 16 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter in Sunday’s win over the Jazz – which followed a recent 19-point performance against the Trail Blazers.

– Cody Zeller, Hornets: The fourth-year center leads the NBA in field goal percentage at 62.3, up from a career-high 52.9 last season.

— Per NBA News

Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid off to great starts this season

Minnesota’s Andrew Wiggins, Milwaukee’s Jabari Parker and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid will forever be linked as the top three picks of the 2014 NBA Draft. What binds them today has been their strong play to start the season, the first in which all three are playing in the NBA at the same time. Here is a closer look at each player’s early-season performance:

Andrew Wiggins, Timberwolves (No. 1 pick): The 21-year-old swingman has continued to add to his offensive game in his third season. Wiggins ranks 10th in the NBA in scoring (25.7 ppg), highlighted by a career-high 47-point effort against the Lakers on Nov. 13. The five-point increase from last season features impressive progress as a perimeter shooter, with Wiggins hitting an NBA-high 48.9 percent of his three-pointers. The outside touch has complemented his slashing ability, which has him among the top 10 in free-throw attempts for the second season in a row.

Jabari Parker, Bucks (No. 2 pick): After missing 57 games in his rookie season, Parker rebounded to average 14.1 points in 76 games last season. The 21-year-old forward has built on that performance this season, ranking second on the team in scoring (19.5 ppg) and minutes (32.8 mpg) and third in rebounding (6.4 ppg). He already has five 20-point games this season after needing 35 games to post his first 20-point effort in 2015-16. Parker has made 10 three-pointers in 2016-17, three fewer than he sank in his first two seasons combined.

Joel Embiid, 76ers (No. 3 pick): Embiid has wasted little time showing what he can do when healthy, making the most of his 22.0 minutes per game. The 22-year-old center from Cameroon leads all rookies in scoring (18.0 ppg), rebounding (7.6 rpg) and blocked shots (2.2 bpg), the first rookie with those numbers through nine games since Shaquille O’Neal in 1992-93. Embiid, a 7-footer, has also hit half of his 20 three-point attempts, including three made triples in a career-high 26-point outing against the Suns on Saturday.

— Via NBA News

Donald Sterling and NBA settle legal dispute

Donald Sterling and the NBA are no longer entangled in any form other than in history books.

The former owner of the Clippers and the NBA have settled all remaining legal disputes, according to Sterling’s attorney, Bobby Samini.

By settling, any funds that were held in escrow from the sale, indemnifying the NBA from legal action taken by Sterling, can be released.

— OC Register

2017 D-League Showcase event info

Raptors 905, the NBA Development League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors, will host the 2017 NBA D-League Showcase in Mississauga, Ontario, it was announced today. The 22-game, five-day event will run Jan. 18-22, 2017, and feature the league’s 22 teams playing two regular-season games each at Hershey Centre.

“We’re thrilled to bring the NBA D-League’s tentpole event to Mississauga and the Hershey Centre,” said NBA D-League President Malcolm Turner. “It’s always inspiring to watch our players put their skills on display in front of scouts from all 30 NBA teams and I’m looking forward to being part of the action as the basketball community’s focus shifts to Canada in January.”

“We are honored and excited to be the host team for the 2017 D-League Showcase,” said Raptors President Masai Ujiri. “Following last year’s successful NBA All-Star Weekend in Toronto, we are eager to assist the League with the premier event for the D-League, its teams and players.”

A record 14 games from the 2017 NBA D-League Showcase will be nationally televised live on ESPNU and NBA TV. For the first time, every NBA D-League team will play at least one live nationally televised game at the Showcase, a platform for players and coaches to be scouted by representatives from all 30 NBA teams.

The 2017 NBA D-League Showcase tips off at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 18 when the Windy City Bulls play their first-ever Showcase game, taking on the Delaware 87ers. Action continues at 12:30 p.m. ET when the Grand Rapids Drive faces the 905 on NBA TV. The Greensboro Swarm makes its Showcase debut against the Erie BayHawks at 3 p.m. ET on NBA TV, while the Northern Arizona Suns take to the Showcase court for the first time against the Oklahoma City Blue at 6 p.m. ET. The first day of action concludes with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers meeting the Austin Spurs at 8:30 p.m. ET.

ESPNU begins its Showcase coverage on Thursday, Jan. 19 with Windy City facing the Fort Wayne Mad Ants at 12:30 p.m. ET and the reigning NBA D-League Champion Sioux Falls Skyforce playing the Reno Bighorns at 3 p.m. ET. The Long Island Nets and Salt Lake City Stars play their first-ever Showcase games on Friday, Jan. 20 against the Austin Spurs and Raptors 905, respectively. Both games will be broadcast on ESPNU.

The league’s premier in-season scouting event, the Showcase has seen more than 50 NBA D-Leaguers earn GATORADE Call-Ups to the NBA during or in the days immediately following the last 12 events.
As part of this year’s Showcase, a series of youth-focused programming will be planned throughout the week. The afternoon games will feature youth from local schools as part of the NBA D-League’s School Day initiative. In addition, two Jr. NBA Clinics presented by Shock Doctor, the Official Mouthguard of the NBA D-League, will take place on Thursday and Saturday. More than 100 children from the Ontario community will be taught the fundamentals of the game by current NBA D-League players and provided tickets to that evening’s game.

Tickets to the 2017 NBA D-League Showcase will be sold individually, for groups and in packages for fans to take in all of the action. Information on Showcase tickets is available by e-mail at tickets@raptors905.com. Log on to www.raptors905.com/showcase for seating maps and a breakdown of ticket tiers and packages.

2017 D-League Showcase Game Schedule (All Times ET)

Wednesday, Jan. 18
10:00 a.m. Windy City Bulls at Delaware 87ers
12:30 p.m. Grand Rapids Drive at Raptors 905 (NBA TV)
3:00 p.m. Greensboro Swarm at Erie BayHawks (NBA TV)
6:00 p.m. Northern Arizona Suns at Oklahoma City Blue
8:30 p.m. Rio Grande Valley Vipers at Austin Spurs

Thursday, Jan. 19
12:30 p.m. Fort Wayne Mad Ants at Windy City Bulls (ESPNU)
3:00 p.m. Sioux Falls Skyforce at Reno Bighorns (ESPNU)
6:00 p.m. Canton Charge at Maine Red Claws
8:30 p.m. Oklahoma City Blue at Santa Cruz Warriors (NBA TV)

Friday, Jan. 20
10:00 a.m. Erie BayHawks at Westchester Knicks
12:30 p.m. Salt Lake City Stars at Iowa Energy (ESPNU)
3:00 p.m. Delaware 87ers at Greensboro Swarm (ESPNU)
6:00 p.m. Austin Spurs at Northern Arizona Suns (ESPNU)
8:30 p.m. Raptors 905 at Long Island Nets (ESPNU)

Saturday, Jan. 21
10:00 a.m. Santa Cruz Warriors at Texas Legends
12:30 p.m. Maine Red Claws at Fort Wayne Mad Ants (NBA TV)
3:00 p.m. Iowa Energy at Rio Grande Valley Vipers (NBA TV)
6:00 p.m. Los Angeles D-Fenders at Sioux Falls Skyforce
8:30 p.m. Long Island Nets at Grand Rapids Drive

Sunday, Jan. 22
10:00 a.m. Westchester Knicks at Canton Charge (NBA TV)
12:30 p.m. Reno Bighorns at Salt Lake City Stars (NBA TV)
3:00 p.m. Texas Legends at Los Angeles D-Fenders (NBA TV)

LeBron James, George Hill named Players of Week

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the Utah Jazz’s George Hill today were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Oct. 31 through Sunday, Nov. 6.

James led the unbeaten Cavaliers to a 3-0 week, averaging 24.7 points (fourth in the East), 11.3 assists (first in the East) and 9.3 rebounds. On Nov. 3, he scored a season-high 30 points and added 12 assists and seven rebounds in a 128-122 win over the Boston Celtics. He followed that performance with 25 points, 14 assists, eight rebounds and two steals in a 102-101 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 5. During the game, James passed Hakeem Olajuwon for 10th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

Hill helped the Jazz to a 3-1 week behind averages of 20.8 points, 5.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds. He connected on 31-of-53 (58.5 percent) shots from the field, including 11-of-20 (55.0 percent) from three-point range. On Nov. 2, he scored a season-high 25 points to go with six rebounds and four assists in a 97-81 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Hill capped his week by recording 23 points and a season-high nine assists in a 114-109 win over the New York Knicks on Nov. 6. Utah improved to 4-0 when Hill scores at least 20 points.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Dwight Howard, Charlotte’s Kemba Walker, Houston’s James Harden, the LA Clippers’ Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Orlando’s Evan Fournier, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan.

Michael Carter-Williams out 4-6 weeks with knee and wrist injuries

Bulls guard Michael Carter-Williams underwent an MRI Tuesday morning on his left knee and left wrist. The results of the MRI showed that he sustained a bone bruise with no ligament damage to his knee, as well as a left wrist sprain. His recovery time is estimated to be between four and six weeks.

Carter-Williams suffered the injury in the second quarter of last night’s win at Brooklyn. Acquired in a trade with Milwaukee on Oct. 17, Carter-Williams has appeared in three games with Chicago and averaged 4.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.67 steals in 15.0 minutes.

NBA expanding use of Replay Center

The NBA announced today that it will expand use of the Replay Center beginning with the 2016-17 regular season.

This season, active referees in the NBA Replay Center will be responsible for determining the outcome of all replay situations except for player altercations and flagrant fouls, which will continue to be decided by on-court referees. Examples of replays that will now be determined by the NBA Replay Center are foul calls coinciding with shot-clock violations as well as clear-path and end-of-quarter fouls.

Last season, the second year for the NBA Replay Center in Secaucus, N.J., current referees were added to the Replay Center for all games to make decisions on certain replay situations and facilitate the on-court review of others. The Replay Center ruled on 72 percent of all replays and the average review time for all replays was 31.9 seconds, a reduction of nearly 25 percent from the 2014-15 season (42.0 seconds).

For the 2016-17 season, on-court referees will continue to trigger all replay reviews. Replays determined by referees in the Replay Center will continue to be communicated to an on-court referee for administration of the call. The current standard for overturning a call made on the floor (“clear and convincing evidence”) will remain for all replay reviews.

The expanded use of the NBA Replay Center was unanimously approved by the Board of Governors. Measures to extend both the coaching box and the players’ substitution box were also approved.

In July, the Board of Governors approved rules changes for the 2016-17 season pertaining to deliberate away-from-the-play fouls.