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Cavaliers guard Anthony Parker experienced a bruised sternum during the Cavaliers game in Milwaukee Wednesday night against the Bucks. An examination yesterday at the Cleveland Clinic Canada in Toronto confirmed the injury.
Parker is listed as Out for the Cavaliers games against the Raptors tonight and in New Jersey against the Nets on Sunday. His status will be updated early next week prior to the Cavaliers home game on Tuesday against the Charlotte Bobcats.
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The Derrick Rose injury watch is nearing its conclusion.
Barring an unexpected setback, Rose said he will return Sunday against the Knicks from the groin injury that sidelined him for the 12th straight time Thursday night.
“I’m dying to play, but we’re being smart,” Rose said. “I guess a couple of more days rest will be good for me.”
Rose again participated fully in Thursday’s morning shootaround and worked out before Thursday’s game. He admitted to still feeling a little discomfort, saying he’s “not able to run at full speed.” When he does return, that will change.
“I’m not going to hold back at all,” Rose said. “My game is to be aggressive and try to get people going.”
— Reported by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune
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Jazz CEO Greg Miller and Hall of Fame power forward Karl Malone are back on good terms, after all. They both attended Wednesday’s Jazz-Suns game and shared a moment of laughter together in the arena prior to tipoff.
“Yeah, Karl and I, we got it worked out,” Miller told the Associated Press. “Everything’s good.”
Malone, who had many run-ins with the late Larry H. Miller, railed on Jazz management on a local sports radio show co-hosted by Deseret News columnist Brad Rock. Malone was upset about how he deemed Jerry Sloan was treated and claimed he was forced to buy his own tickets to attend the first game after Sloan’s resignation in 2011.
— Reported by Jody Genessy of the Deseret News
The Toronto Raptors announced Friday they have signed guard Justin Dentmon to a 10-day contract. He is the 49th “Call-Up” of the 2011-12 NBA D-League season.
Dentmon has averaged 22.8 points, 5.5 assists and 37.2 minutes in 40 games, all starts, with the NBA D-League’s Austin (Texas) Toros. He ranks fourth in the league in scoring, seventh in assists and fourth in minutes. He is shooting .429 from three-point range (5th in NBADL) and .870 from the charity stripe (11th).
In two NBA D-League campaigns, Dentmon has appeared in 90 games, with 75 starts, averaging 20.7 points, 4.7 assists and 36.0 minutes. He spent the 2010-11 season with the Texas Legends, where he contributed 19.1 points and 4.0 assists in 50 outings. In two playoff contests with the Legends, he averaged 10.0 points and 4.0 assists.
A D-League All-Star, Dentmon has scored in double figures in 39 of 40 games, including 30 games with 20 or more and six games with 30 or more points.
Dentmon signed a 10-day contract with San Antonio on March 24. He appeared in two games with the Spurs, totaling four points, one assist and one steal in 19 minutes.
The 6-foot, 185 pounder was undrafted in 2009 out of the University of Washington, where he was a first-team All-Pac-10 performer as a senior. He spent the 2009-10 season playing in Israel, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
The roster stands at 15 players heading into tonight’s game vs. Cleveland (TSN / Sportsnet 590 The FAN).
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Luol Deng scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half and Joakim Noah added 17 points and nine rebounds to rally the Chicago Bulls to a 93-86 win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
The Bulls again played without Derrick Rose, out due to a strained groin for the 12th consecutive game. Chicago, which has been without Rose for 22 games this season, improved to 15-7 in his absence—including 8-4 during the latest stretch.
The Bulls rallied from 13 points down in the first half and pulled away in the fourth quarter to end its first two-game losing streak of the season. Trailing by 11 at halftime, Chicago outscored Boston 55-37 after the break…
Paul Pierce scored 22 points for Boston, who has lost two in a row after a winning a season-high five straight. Pierce had only one point in the fourth quarter…
C.J. Watson finished with 15 points and Boozer had 12 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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The Memphis Grizzlies assigned rookie guard Josh Selby to the Reno Bighorns, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today. It marks Selby’s third D-League assignment of the season.
Selby (6-2, 183) has averaged 22.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists on .473 shooting (.471 3FG) in 32.2 minutes in six games (two starts) over two assignments with the Bighorns from Feb. 13-27 and March 26-31.
During his most recent stint in Reno, Selby averaged 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists on .457 shooting in 34.5 minutes in two games. The Baltimore native registered a triple-double on March 30 vs. Idaho, setting D-League career highs in points (32), rebounds (10) and assists (10) on 10-of-17 shooting in 40 minutes.
Selby has seen action in 23 games during his rookie season with the Grizzlies, averaging 2.5 points and 1.2 assists on .377 shooting in 8.8 minutes. The 21-year-old was selected by Memphis in the second round (49th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft after his freshman season at the University of Kansas.
Memphis will look to end Miami’s 17-game home winning streak when the Grizzlies face the Heat at 6:30 p.m. CT tomorrow at the American Airlines Arena, broadcast regionally on SportSouth.
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Knicks coach Mike Woodson continued his spiel that J.R. Smith needs to be more professional “on and off the court,” even taking on the fashion statement the player makes.
Woodson had a long talk with Smith in the wake of Tuesday’s ejection with 10.7 seconds left in Indiana for throwing down Leandro Barbosa.
“I told him I’m going to continue to coach him as long as I’m coaching the team,” Woodson said at the Thursday morning shootaround at Amway Center. “I told him I’m not going to let him off the hook. I want his shorts pulled up. I want him to look presentable. Be a professional. That’s what it’s all about.’’
In following a new fashion trend for youth, Smith likes to wear his pants and shorts around the hips in what has been termed as “sagging,’’ exposing underwear.
— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post (Blog)
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has assigned guard Courtney Fortson to Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley. Fortson, who was signed by the Rockets for the remainder of the season Mar. 27, marks his first official assignment to the D-League. Fortson was originally signed by Houston to a 10-day contract on Mar. 17, which was his second D-League Call-Up of the season. He also played four games with the L.A. Clippers this season.
Fortson (5-11, 185, Arkansas) has averaged 2.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 7.2 minutes per game over five outings since joining the Rockets. He also owns career averages of 14.3 points, 5.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 35 D-League games (15 starts) with the Reno Bighorns (2010-11) and L.A. D-Fenders (2011-12). In 29 games (14 starts) this season with the D-Fenders, Fortson holds averages of 17.0 points, 5.9 assists, 4.3 boards and 2.14 steals. At the time of his Call-Up, Fortson was ranked tied for 14th in the league in scoring, sixth in assists and second in steals.
A Call-Up by the Clippers on Jan. 16, 2012, Fortson scored an NBA career-high 13 points (5-10 FG) at Utah (1/17/12). He was waived by the Clippers on Jan. 27. In addition to the NBA, Fortson played internationally with Romanian First Division team Steaua Turabo. In college, Fortson averaged 17.9 points, 5.7 assists and 5.2 rebounds as a sophomore at Arkansas. He was also named to the All-SEC Freshman Team.
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Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed guard Earl Boykins to a second 10-day contract.
Boykins (5-5, 133, Eastern Michigan), who signed his first 10-day contract on Mar. 26, is averaging 6.4 points and 3.0 assists in five games with Houston.
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The Chicago Bulls today signed guard Mike James for the remainder of the season. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed. James, (6-2, 190), will be in uniform tonight when the Bulls take on the Boston Celtics at the United Center at 8:30 p.m. (CT).
James, 36, appeared in eight games with Chicago earlier this year and averaged 5.4 ppg, 3.1 apg and 1.0 rpg in 11.4 mpg. This will mark his fourth stint with Chicago this season. He originally signed with the Bulls on Jan. 11 (waived Jan. 28), Feb. 14 and again on Mar. 14.
Chicago’s roster now stands at 14.