Category: General NBA insight

Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (left knee contusion) will not travel with the team to Brooklyn today and is listed as Out for tomorrow night’s game in Brooklyn vs. the Nets. He will remain in Cleveland for additional treatment at Cleveland Clinic Courts. His status will be updated as appropriate.

The Portland Trail Blazers today assigned CJ McCollum to the Idaho Stampede, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate.

The assignment is the 65th of the 2013-14 campaign, and McCollum becomes the 33rd NBA player to be assigned to his NBa D-League affiliate this season.

The Atlanta Hawks have assigned guard Jared Cunningham to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry.

Cunningham, who was recalled from Bakersfield on December 29, has averaged 18.1 points, 5.4 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 33.1 minutes in eight games (all starts) in two stints with the Jam this season. In his last two contests with Bakersfield, Cunningham has put up 27.5 points, 9.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in 34.5 minutes (.704 FG%, .700 3FG%, .714 FT%).

He has appeared in three games with the Hawks this year.

The injury hits keep coming for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Lakers guard Jordan Farmar had an ultrasound test and was examined by Dr. Luga Podesta this morning after injuring his left hamstring in last night’s game versus the Milwaukee Bucks. Results show that Farmar has a tear in his left hamstring, which is expected to keep him out a minimum of four weeks.

Although the hamstring tear is in the same leg, this tear is in a different location than the tear that Farmar suffered on December 1, which kept him out three-and-a-half weeks.

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have assigned guard MarShon Brooks to their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws.

Brooks, a 6’5” guard, has appeared in nine games for the Celtics this season posting averages of 3.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 6.8 minutes per game.  Brooks recorded a season-high of eight points twice (December 8 at New York and November 16 at Minnesota) and recorded a season-high five rebounds against Indiana on December 22.

Here’s the Las Vegas Review-Journal reporting on an interesting possibility:

Former UNLV and NBA basketball player Jackie Robinson is proposing a $1.3 billion, privately funded 22,000-seat arena and resort on the Strip. The $1.3 billion includes $690 million for the arena.

Robinson is calling it, for now, the All Net Arena and Resort, because he does not have an official name for the venue. He said he plans to pursue an arena naming rights deal. His company is All Net Arena LLC, he said.

Robinson wants to build between the under-construction SLS Las Vegas hotel-casino and the halted Fontainebleau project. He hopes to break ground in the spring and open the arena in December 2016.

Robinson said he is financing the arena-resort through a $250 million equity raise, federal tax credits, a construction loan and the federal “EB-5 visa” program, which allows foreign investors to get visas if they invest $500,000 in projects. He said he is working with the Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency to recruit foreign investors from India and China.

The Memphis Grizzlies signed guard Seth Curry of the NBA Development League’s Santa Cruz Warriors, the team announced today.

Curry (6-1, 180) comes to Memphis after averaging 21.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.58 steals on .439 shooting in 37.3 minutes in 12 games (11 starts) for Santa Cruz this season.  The 23-year-old ranks 10th in the D-League in scoring and second in assists per game.  He has scored 20-or-more points seven times, including a career-high 36 in his D-League debut on Nov. 22 vs. Austin, and has recorded three double-doubles.

Curry went undrafted in the 2013 NBA Draft following his senior season at Duke University in which he ranked second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring (team-high 17.5 points) and three-point field goal percentage (.438) and garnered First Team All-ACC and Second Team All-America honors.  He averaged 21.0 points in four games during the 2013 NCAA Tournament, including a 29-point performance in a Sweet 16 victory over Michigan State on March 29, 2013.  Curry played the majority of the season with a right lower leg injury, which kept him out of the majority of the Blue Devils’ practices, and had surgery to repair the injury on April 15, 2013.

The Charlotte, N.C. native averaged 13.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 29.1 minutes in 106 games (86 starts) in three seasons at Duke.  He left Duke ranked third on the school’s all-time list in three-point field goal percentage (.420), fifth in free throw percentage (.825) and eighth in three-point field goals made (223).  Curry began his collegiate career at Liberty University, where he was named the 2009 Big South Freshman of the Year after averaging 20.2 points.

Curry is the younger brother of Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who set the NBA single-season record for three point field goals made (272) last season.  Seth joined Stephen in Golden State after signing as a free agent on Aug. 23, 2013 but was waived on Oct. 25, 2013 following the preseason.  The duo is the highest-scoring brother tandem in NCAA history, finishing their collegiate careers with a combined 4,736 points (Stephen – 2,635 points at Davidson; Seth – 2,101 points at Duke and Liberty).

He also is the son of prolific NBA three-point shooter Dell Curry, who shot at least 40 percent from three-point range in nine of his 16 NBA seasons and recorded a career three-point percentage of .402 in 1,083 games.

Curry will wear uniform no. 1.

THUNDER ROLLS: That Kevin Durant is leading the NBA in scoring (28.1 ppg) isn’t exactly front-page news. Having captured three scoring titles in four seasons, and well on his way to a fourth in five, Durant has cemented his place as one of the elite scorers in the history of the NBA. Like many greats that came before, Durant has continued to expand his game, averaging career highs in rebounds (8.1 rpg), assists (4.7 apg) and steals (1.6 spg) this season, as the Thunder – which had a nine-game winning streak snapped last night against Toronto — has raced out to a 22-5 start. Hardly a one-man show, Oklahoma City is getting its usual gaudy production from Russell Westbrook – 23.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists over his last five games – and steady bench production from super sixth man Reggie Jackson, who’s averaging 12.3 points in a breakout third NBA season. OKC visits the New York Knicks on Christmas Day on ABC (2:30 p.m.).

CURRYING FAVOR: The Warriors have come back to earth a bit after a brisk 7-2 start, thanks in large part to the absence of do-it-all forward Andre Iguodala. That hasn’t stopped Stephen Curry from fashioning one of the best individual starts to a season in recent memory, averaging 24.3 points, 9.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds, while shooting 46 percent from the field, 42 percent from distance and 89 percent from the free throw line. Curry, the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer and second-best assist man, is on pace to become the first player to average at least 24 points and nine assists since Michael Adams during the 1990-91 season. It would be a major surprise if Curry didn’t play in his first All-Star Game this February. Curry and the Warriors host the L.A. Clippers on Christmas Night (10:30 p.m.) on ESPN.

CLIPPERS STARTING TO CLICK: Since Doc Rivers inserted super-sub Jamal Crawford into the starting lineup, the Clippers have won five straight – including a 115-92 dismantling of the Spurs on Dec. 16 — with Crawford averaging 20.0 points and 3.2 assists. Los Angeles has also welcomed back Matt Barnes, who’s been out with an eye injury since Nov. 18. The usual suspects continue to do their thing. Blake Griffin is one of only three players (Kevin Love, DeMarcus Cousins) in the NBA averaging at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Chris Paul leads the NBA in assists (11.2 apg), while averaging 19.2 points, up from 16.9 in 2012-13. DeAndre Jordan is third in the NBA in rebounding (13.1 rpg) and fourth in blocks (2.17 bpg). Enjoy the Clip-Show on Christmas Night against Golden State on ESPN.

— NBA Broadcasters Bulletin

Charlotte Bobcats forward Jeffery Taylor is expected to miss the remainder of the season after an MRI this morning revealed a rupture in his right Achilles tendon.  Taylor suffered the injury in the first minute of last night’s game at Detroit.

Taylor is expected to meet with foot specialist Dr. Bob Anderson in the coming days to determine the next steps.

Taylor saw action in 26 games for the Bobcats this season, starting eight.  He averaged 8.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 24.2 minutes

The Brooklyn Nets season, already a huge disappointment considering off-season expectations inflated by a revamped roster, just suffered a serious blow.

Nets center Brook Lopez has been diagnosed with a fractured fifth metatarsal of the right foot, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today. The injury occurred during last night’s game against Philadelphia. The Nets will issue a further update next week after consultation with their team physicians.

Lopez previously fractured the same bone during the 2011-12 season and underwent surgery following the 2012-13 season to replace a bent screw in the foot.

It’s quite possible this means Lopez will miss the remainder of the season. That’s just speculation, though. InsideHoops.com will post an official update on how long Lopez will be out when it exists.

Lopez has played in 17 games this season, averaging a team-high 20.7 points along with 6.0 rebounds and 1.76 blocks per game.