NBA News Blog – Page 1059 – NBA Blog

Mike Woodson says Carmelo Anthony must shape up next season

Mike Woodson’s message to Carmelo Anthony this offseason will have a familiar ring to it: Improve your fitness.

Despite being one of the NBA’s elite scorers, Anthony has seen his weight and conditioning get criticized in the past, and Woodson wants his best player to address those issues this summer.

“I’ve got to push him to be in better shape when you start the season,” Woodson said Friday. “Everybody’s got to be in better shape. There’s a lot of things that’s got to be changed, not a lot of things, but there’s got to be some changes for this team to really get to the next level.”

The Knicks trail the Miami Heat 3-0 in their first-round playoff series and have lost an NBA-record 13 straight postseason games. Woodson is not a lock to return as coach, although his 18-6 record to close out the regular season makes him the odds-on favorite to retain the job.

— Reported by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News

Josh Smith sidelined for Game 3 against Celtics

Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith will not play in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics because of a sprained left knee.

Smith was hurt in Atlanta’s 87-80 loss in Game 2 on Tuesday night and tried to work out before Friday night’s game, but decided he was unable to play.

Hawks coach Larry Drew said Marvin Williams would start in place of Smith, who averaged 19 points and 15 rebounds in the first two games of the series.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Ryan Anderson wins 2011-12 NBA Most Improved Player award

Ryan Anderson of the Orlando Magic is the winner of the 2011-12 NBA Most Improved Player Award, the NBA announced today. The annual award is presented to a player who has made a significant improvement from the previous season.

Anderson received 260 of a possible 605 points, including 33 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Ersan Ilyasova of the Milwaukee Bucks (159 points, 21 first-place votes) and Nikola Pekovic of the Minnesota Timberwolves (104 points, 10 first-place votes) finished second and third, respectively. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third place vote received.

Anderson established career highs in scoring (16.1 ppg), rebounds (7.7 rpg), field goal percentage (.439) and free throw percentage. He also paced the league and established personal bests in three-pointers made (166) and attempted (422). He increased his scoring from the previous season by 5.5 ppg and his rebounds by 2.2 rpg. Orlando averaged 107.5 points per 100 possessions with Anderson on the court, compared to 94.1 points with the 6-10 forward on the bench.

As part of its support of the Most Improved Player Award, Kia Motors America will donate a new Kia Sorento CUV on behalf of Anderson to the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida. Kia Motors will present a brand new Sorento to the charity of choice of each of five 2011-12 year-end award winners as part of the “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” Following this season, Kia Motors will have donated a total of 21 new vehicles to charitable organizations since its support of the NBA’s prestigious year-end honors began with the 2007-2008 season.

The 2011-12 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award is part of a series of on-court performance awards called “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” The series, currently in its fifth season, is a significant part of the multiyear marketing partnership between Kia Motors America and the NBA, and also includes the Defensive Player, Sixth Man, Most Valuable Player of the Year Awards, and this year for the first time, Rookie of the Year. It also includes the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month which are awarded during the regular season.

No Jeremy Lin for Knicks in Game 4

Linsanity may not be seen again until next season unless the Knicks can extend the series.

Jeremy Lin all but ruled out making his return Sunday in Game 4 against the Heat, feeling he is still too sore and not in good enough condition.

Lin went through his first contact scrimmage Wednesday and didn’t come out of it that smoothly. Lin said next Wednesday’s Game 5 — if necessary — still is a possibility, but he will have to show marked progress, he said.

Lin, who underwent knee surgery 4 ½ weeks ago, didn’t take the court during Thursday morning’s shootaround because he was too sore. He huddled with coach Mike Woodson afterward to discuss his playing future.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Thunder beat Mavs to take 3-0 lead

Dirk Nowitzki leaned back in the chair at the podium, trying to explain what went wrong for the Dallas Mavericks once they got home for the playoffs.

There was really only one way to put it after they trailed throughout in a 95-79 loss Thursday night that gave the Oklahoma City Thunder a commanding 3-0 series lead.

”We picked a bad time to put a stinker out there,” Nowitzki said.

After losing the first two games on the road by a combined four points, the defending NBA champions were Thunderstruck by Kevin Durant and young Oklahoma City.

Durant finally found his postseason shooting touch, scoring 15 of his 31 points in the first quarter.

After shooting a combined 15 for 44 in the first two games, though he did have the game-winning jumper with 1.5 seconds left in the series opener, the three-time NBA scoring champ made 11 of 15 shots in Game 3. Even when he missed the game’s first shot, Serge Ibaka converted a putback to put Oklahoma City ahead to stay…

Nowitzki had 17 points and Jason Kidd 12 for Dallas, which shot only 34 percent (26 of 76).

Russell Westbrook added 20 points for Oklahoma City while Ibaka had 10 points and 11 rebounds. James Harden and Derek Fisher both had 10 points.

Oklahoma City led 16-7 less than 5 minutes into Game 3 after Durant’s alley-oop pass to Ibaka for a layup. The Thunder pushed further ahead with 16-5 runs in both the second and third quarters, the later spurt clinching the game.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Heat beat Knicks to take 3-0 lead

LeBron James scored 32 points, including eight straight to start the fourth quarter and break open the game, and the Heat took a 3-0 series lead, sending the New York Knicks to an NBA postseason-record 13th straight loss, 87-70 on Thursday night.

James had 17 points in the final period for the Heat, who held the short-handed Knicks to eight field goals in the second half and will go for the sweep Sunday at Madison Square Garden…

Wade added 20 points for the Heat and Mario Chalmers had 19, hitting consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter when the Heat finally brought some beauty to what had been an ugly game.

Wade was forced to go the whole third quarter while James was limited to just 4 1/2 minutes by fouls. Wade had 12 points in the period, knowing the two-time MVP would be coming back with fresh legs…

Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points but shot 7 of 23 for the Knicks, who are playing without Amare Stoudemire, Jeremy Lin and Iman Shumpert and needed a super effort from Anthony that he didn’t come close to providing.

”When you can’t score the basketball, that makes the game extremely hard, no matter how much defense we go down there and play,” Anthony said.

The Knicks broke the record set by Memphis from 2004-06. They haven’t won a playoff game since April 29, 2001, Game 3 of a best-of-five series against Toronto…

Chris Bosh had nine points and 10 rebounds hours after the birth of the couple’s first child. He flew to New York with the Heat on Wednesday, then quickly hopped on a flight back to Miami after learning his wife was in labor. He returned Thursday afternoon following the birth of his son, arriving at the arena about 30 minutes before the game.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Jeremy Lin health update: Still out healing

Jeremy Lin has all but ruled himself out of Game 4 of the Heat-Knicks series.

Earlier this week, Lin had held out hope of returning in time for Game 4, scheduled for Sunday afternoon. But Lin’s surgically repaired left knee likely hasn’t healed quickly enough for him to return to the court in four days.

“I haven’t been able to load it or jump or explode or drive by somebody the way i want to, so it’s going to be longer than that,” the second-year guard said.

Lin experienced soreness in his left knee on Thursday, a day after scrimmaging for the first time since his April 2 surgery to repair a small meniscus tear in his knee.

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Bucks guard Carlos Delfino undergoes surgery

Milwaukee Bucks guard Carlos Delfino (6-6, 230) underwent successful surgery this morning to repair a sports hernia related to his right groin injury, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

The procedure was performed by Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia. Delfino is expected to return to on-court basketball activities in 6-to-8 weeks.

Delfino, 29, missed 10 games this season with a right groin injury, including the last four of the regular season. In 54 games (53 starts) this season, the seven-year NBA veteran averaged 9.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Amare Stoudemire explains the fire extinguisher hand injury incident

“Fans actually think I had a closed fist and punched through a glass door,’’ Stoudemire said. “They have wrong perception of what actually happened. I walked by and swung my arm backwards. It hit the fire extinguisher door and I slashed my hand a little bit by accident. I understand their frustrations right now. I’m frustrated with myself as well.’’

Asked what triggered the incident, Stoudemire said, “We’re down 0-2 and I knew how important it was to get a win in Miami. We played somewhat well enough to win Game 2. I was more frustrated we were down 0-2. It wasn’t as if I was trying to take out the fire extinguisher door. I wanted to make noise and let out some frustration.’’

Stoudemire said many players let out their frustrations in similar ways. “It happens all the time,’’ Stoudemire said. “Some players kick over ice coolers. Some players tip over a table. Some players even hit a chair. My thing was to hit a wall and I sliced my hand.’’ …

“I just walked by the door and it’s made of 85 percent metal and two percent glass, a strip of glass,’’ Stoudemire said. “I didn’t try to hit the glass at all. I just walked by and I didn’t see the strip of glass.’’

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Jason Kidd wins 2011-12 NBA Sportsmanship Award

Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks is the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy presented to the 2011-12 NBA Sportsmanship Award winner, the NBA announced today.

Kidd (Southwest) was one of six divisional winners, which included Cleveland’s Antawn Jamison (Central), the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul (Pacific), Miami’s Shane Battier (Southeast), Minnesota’s Luke Ridnour (Northwest), and New York’s Jeremy Lin (Atlantic).

Kidd received 93 first-place votes (2,501 total points) of a possible 334. The NBA will make a $10,000 donation on behalf of Kidd to The Jason Kidd Foundation, which is dedicated to improving education among the youth, by ensuring that kids of all ages have the tools needed through mentoring, tutoring and technology programs to succeed in life.

For the eighth consecutive year, NBA players voted on this award, with eleven points given for each first-place vote, nine points for each second-place vote, seven points for third, five points for fourth, three points for fifth and one point for each sixth-place vote received. Each team nominated one of its players for the award. Former NBA players Greg Anthony, John Crotty, Antonio Davis, Eddie Johnson and Kenny Smith selected the six divisional winners from a pool of 30 team nominees.

The NBA will make a $5,000 donation to each of the divisional winner’s charities of choice: the Battier Take Charge Foundation on behalf of Battier; KaBOOM! on behalf of Jamison; the Jeremy Lin Foundation on behalf of Lin; the CP3 Foundation on behalf of Paul; and the Blaine (Wash.) Boys and Girls Club on behalf of Ridnour.

The annual award reflects the ideals of sportsmanship — ethical behavior, fair play and integrity — in amateur and professional basketball, a key focus of the league’s NBA Cares program efforts. The trophy is named for former Detroit Pistons guard and Hall of Famer Joe Dumars, the award’s first recipient.