NBA All-Star blog – Page 21 – NBA Blog

Dwyane Wade hurt in All-Star Game

Michael Wallace of ESPN reports:

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade injured his right ankle in the third quarter of Sunday’s All-Star Game and did not return.

Wade sustained the injury midway through the quarter when he landed awkwardly on guard Deron Williams’ foot. Wade, a starting guard for the Eastern Conference team, had scored 14 points in the game before he limped off the court after East coach Doc Rivers called a timeout with 5:04 left in the quarter. He also had four rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes of the East’s 148-143 loss to the West.

Paul Pierce is saving money at All-Star game

The AP reports:

Paul Pierce is glad to be back home for the All-Star game, even though the Boston Celtics star is hearing some boos.

“To come back here for a second time and play in an All-Star game really means a lot—just to save money on plane tickets and hotels for my mom and my aunts,” he said, laughing.

Pierce is from nearby Inglewood, where he used to sneak into the Forum growing up to see the Lakers play.

The boos Pierce has heard are reminiscent of Kobe Bryant getting booed when the All-Star game was played in Philadelphia, where he was a high school star.

“When you play for L.A.’s biggest rival, it’s tough getting booed by the fans. But I’m sure if Kobe Bryant was from Boston, he’d get booed, too, if he went back there,” Pierce said.

Talk of All-Star has been Melo, lockout

By Jeff Lenchiner

LOS ANGELES, CA — While the main attractions of 2011 NBA All-Star weekend are the on-court festivities, the off-court topics have been the same here as they have in the prior weeks and months of the regular season.

Everyone wants to know where Carmelo Anthony will go. High-up NBA employees with very legitimate connections are as unsure as fans wandering the streets in search of photos with stars and autographs.

The general consensus remains the same: The Nuggets, rather than losing Anthony like the Cavaliers lost LeBron James and the Raptors lost Chris Bosh, are likely to trade him before the February 24 trade deadline. In order, the Nets and Knicks are the favorites.

And then there’s a dreaded lockout looming which could wipe out some or — gasp — all of the next NBA season. Big meetings are going on this weekend between representatives of the owners and players to try to sort out the mess, but things still sound bleak.

Etan Thomas, who is on the Players Union executive board, told InsideHoops.com Friday that the two sides are “goal-posts apart.” No one else I spoke to had anything more positive to say about it.

That’s during All-Star off-time. The good news is, as players are hitting incredible shots and performing in the actual events, it’s safe to say that no one is thinking about all that other stuff and just focused on having a good time. John Wall dished 22 awesome assists Friday night in the Rookie Challenge, and as fans flew to their feet cheering the great plays, only excitement and appreciation for the spectacle was in mind.

Share your thoughts on the InsideHoops basketball forums.

If Kevin Durant is hosting any All-Star parties, someone forgot to tell Kevin Durant

I am in Los Angeles for 2011 NBA All-Star weekend, which begins Friday and runs through Sunday.

Wednesday night in a hotel near Staples Center I ran into Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant and several of his friends.

Of the bazillion invites I have received to various All-Star festivities, at least two of them mention that Durant will be one of the celebrity hosts.

I told this to Durant, and responded by telling me that he hasn’t agreed to host anything.

Parties can still be great even when the celeb hosts don’t show up, but remember, sometimes the celeb wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place.

–Jeff

D-Rose excited for All-Star

Nick Friedell of ESPN reports:

Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose knows there are pundits out there who still doubt how good his team can be. As an All-Star starter and one of the leading candidates for the NBA MVP award, Rose knows that he will have even higher profile when he walks into the Eastern Conference locker room for the first time during All-Star weekend in Los Angeles.

“Teams know other teams in the league who are good,” Rose said after shootaround before the Bulls play the Spurs on Thursday night. “You know when other teams are ballin’. Like we know the Spurs are a very good team tonight. And you kind of get that respect around the league, even though with some media we’re under the radar as being an OK team even though our record is more than OK. Other players around the league know. That’s the fun thing about it.”

Rose knows that his team has opened up eyes all over the league this year with their play, and he realizes that while the task of climbing to the top of the Eastern Conference is difficult, it’s rewarding to be mentioned alongside the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.

James Harden replaces Tyreke Evans in Rookie Challenge game

Oklahoma City Thunder guard James Harden will replace injured Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans (plantar fasciitis, left foot) on the Sophomore Team in the 2011 NBA Rookie Challenge game, which pits the league’s best rookies against the best second-year players.

The NBA Rookie Challenge game will be televised live nationally on TNT at 9 p.m. ET.

First arrival in L.A. for 2011 All-Star weekend

By Jeff Lenchiner

I arrived Tuesday night in Los Angeles for 2011 NBA All-Star weekend. (Yeah. I’m a bit early. If you experienced New York City’s extra cold winter these last two months, you’d leave early for California, too.)

Nothing crazy here, but I figured I’d capture the first All Star-related store display I saw in the airport. You always remember your first. Here it is:

Also, the outdoor support beams that keep Los Angeles airport (LAX) from falling onto people’s heads have been customized to promote the big weekend. This is from right outside the airport near the baggage claim area:

There’s at least one huge long row of these things. Here’s the other side of that same beam:

Thunder help Durant, Ibaka prepare for All-Star events

John Rohde of The Oklahoman reports:

Thunder players stayed on the court an extra 30 minutes after Wednesday’s practice and set up a trial run for Kevin Durant, who will compete in the 3-point contest during All-Star Weekend.

Durant had 16 points in his first go-round after a slow start. Daequan Cook, the league’s 2009 3-point contest winner, was off the mark and got booed by teammates. All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook, who went 4 for 4 on 3-pointers at Utah last Saturday night, had 23 points before running out of time with two balls still left in the final rack and received a standing ovation. Westbrook is an All-Star reserve and potentially could participate in the Skills Challenge.

Teammates then helped forward Serge Ibaka prepare for the dunk contest, the details of which Thunder players have asked to remain privileged.

“Thunder U is in full force today,” Brooks said, shaking his head as dozen players continued with their post-practice recess.

No HORSE event at 2011 All-Star weekend

By Jeff Lenchiner

There will be no H-O-R-S-E shooting competition at 2011 NBA All-Star weekend.

TNT, who organized the event — an unofficial addition to the weekend’s festivities — confirmed to InsideHoops.com that they are not bringing it back this year.

H-O-R-S-E got it’s All-Star weekend start in 2009. Kevin Durant won it both years it existed. The event will be missed, but only a little. The problem is, if the players aren’t hitting their shots (or they’re never missing) then H-O-R-S-E can drag on, and on, and on. Sort of like Chris Andersen in the slam dunk contest when his throw-downs aren’t being thrown down.

Read fan reaction and share your own opinion in this forum topic.

Video of Justin Bieber playing basketball

Teen pop superstar Justin Bieber is loved worldwide. If you listen to the buzz, he invented water. He made gravity. He’s done other stuff too.

Justin Bieber also loves playing basketball. He’ll be in the NBA Celebrity game at 2011 All-Star weekend.

Here’s a video of him flaunting some skills on the court:

Fan discussion of Justin Bieber playing basketball is in this forum topic.