NBA News Blog – Page 1083 – NBA Blog

Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas named Rookies of Month for March

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving and the Sacramento Kings’ Isaiah Thomas were today named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in March. The award is the third for Irving this season and the second for Thomas.

Irving led all rookies in scoring (19.9 ppg), assists (6.7 apg), and was second in free throw percentage (.881). He also led all Eastern Conference rookies in fourth-quarter scoring (7.4 ppg). Irving scored 20 or more points in eight games in March, shooting .500 or better six times. He and had a career-high 12 assists to go along with nine points against the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 9, snapping the Thunders 14 game home winning streak.

Thomas led all Western Conference rookies in assists (4.9 apg) and was second in scoring (13.6 ppg). He also led all rookies in fastbreak points (64) in March and was ranked first in free throws made (54), second in assists (89), third in points (245) and steals (24).

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month were Charlotte’s Kemba Walker, Denver’s Kenneth Faried, Detroit’s Brandon Knight, Houston’s Chandler Parsons, New Jersey’s MarShon Brooks and San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard.

Cavs guard Daniel Gibson undergoing surgery on torn tendon today

Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson is scheduled to undergo surgery this afternoon to repair a torn tendon in his left foot and ankle at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute in Van Nuys, California.

The surgery was recommended by Cavaliers Head Team Physician Dr. Richard Parker of the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Sports Health in conjunction with additional examination and consultation with Dr. Richard D. Ferkel of the Southern California Orthopedic Institute. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Ferkel.

Gibson’s status will be updated following a post-operative review. A time table for his return to play will be established at that point.

Derrick Rose injury worse than he thought

Derrick Rose admitted that his groin injury is worse than he originally thought.

Rose sat out the loss Sunday against the Thunder. It was the 10 consecutive game he has missed because of the groin issue and the 20th game he has missed overall.

Rose said there’s no timetable for his return, but he expects to be back before the end of the regular season.

“I really don’t know,” he said when asked how long it would take him to get his game playoff-ready. “If I knew that answer, it would make a lot of things easy. It’s going to take a minute to get my rhythm back. Hopefully, it takes a game. We’ll see.”

Rose has been lifting weights and stretching but said he hasn’t started running yet.

— Reported by Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times

Raptors coach Dwane Casey repulsed by the idea of tanking

[Toronto Raptors coach Dwane] Casey is a competitor first and foremost and even the mention of the term seems make him cringe.

“I despise even talking about it,” Casey said. “It’s against my nature and it’s just against everything I stand for. I understand the fans want that and hear that but my job is to develop this program and you don’t develop a program by tanking games. My job is to develop learning how to win and we have a big enough job doing that.”

At one point Casey started to apologize to the fans for his feelings but quickly took that back.

“No, I don’t apologize, but I know what the fans are saying but it goes against everything I stand for,” Casey said.

— Reported by Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun

Dwight Howard misses Nuggets game with back spasms

The Orlando Magic didn’t have their best player on the floor when they hosted the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night.

Dwight Howard suffered from back spasms, was a late scratch and sat out a regular-season game for only the eighth time in his eight-year pro career.

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy has alleged that Howard was punched in his lower back by Dallas Mavericks center Brendan Haywood during Friday night’s loss to the Mavericks.

Haywood said he did nothing wrong.

“Man, I don’t know what’s wrong with Stan,” Haywood said Sunday, according to ESPNDallas.com. “Stan’s going to say what Stan wants to say. We don’t gotta play them no more. The game’s over with.

“I think Dwight caught me with more shots than I caught him. He’s the most physical player in the league. So it is what it is. Stan made his comment. I haven’t got a call from anybody [in the league office], so I guess nobody’s listening.”

— Reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel

Andrew Bynum suffers left ankle sprain

The Lakers had avoided any substantial injury scares with Andrew Bynum’s fragile lower body in this breakout season for him, but he left late in the first quarter Sunday night with a moderate sprain of his left ankle.

Bynum appeared to turn the ankle when landing on teammate Josh McRoberts’ foot. He limped off the court with 1:49 left in the first quarter with the Lakers ahead by one point and went for X-rays, which showed no fracture. He will be re-evaluated Monday, when the Lakers have the day off before back-to-back games vs. New Jersey on Tuesday and the Clippers on Wednesday.

— Reported by Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register

Terrence Ross declares for 2012 NBA Draft

Guard Terrence Ross has decided to enter his name into the 2012 NBA Draft and will forgo his final two years of eligibility at the University of Washington.

“I discussed the pros and the cons with my family and I just think this is a great step for me and it’s time for me to take my game to the next level,” Ross said about his decision.

“Being at Washington and playing for Coach (Lorenzo) Romar has been a blessing,” Ross continued. “On the court, off the court, with school and in life…it’s just been a real blessing to consider myself a Husky and get to where I am right now.”

Ross (Portland, Ore./Jefferson HS) helped the Huskies to a 24-11 record, NIT semifinal appearance and Pac-12 regular season championship in 2012. As a freshman in 2011, he was part of a Husky team that went 24-11, won the Pac-10 Tournament championship and advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament.

In 2012, Ross established himself as not only one of the Pac-12’s most complete players, but one of the nation’s top athletes. He ranked among conference leaders in eight categories: points (16.4, 4th), rebounds (6.4, 6th), offensive rebounds (5.1, 3rd), free throw percentage (.766, 11th), steals (1.3, 12th), 3-PT FG makes (2.1, 8th), 3-PT% (.371, 14th) and blocks (0.9, 13th).

He earned first team All-Pac-12 honors in 2012 and led Washington in scoring, tallying 574 total points – tied for 9th most in UW single-season history.

He also was second on the team in minutes, rebounds, steals, 3-point makes, 3-point field goal percentage and blocks.

Ross was the only Husky to reach 30 points this season, doing so twice. He was second with 9 games of 20-plus points.

Ross flourished in Washington’s run to the NIT semifinals in New York. He averaged 25.0 points in four games. He was a perfect 15-of-15 from the free throw line and led UW shooters from three point range, making 15-of-37 attempts (.405).

“We wish Terrence the best,” Husky Coach Lorenzo Romar said from New Orleans, where he is taking part in Final Four festivities. “He was refreshing to coach because of his humility and team-first attitude. We wish him well and anticipate that he will have an excellent NBA career.”

Warriors sign center Mickell Gladness for rest of season

The Golden State Warriors have signed center Mickell Gladness for the remainder of the season, the team announced today.

Gladness, 25, has appeared in six games with Golden State since signing a 10-day contract on March 22, averaging 2.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.0 block in 7.3 minutes per contest. He has scored a career-high six points on two occasions during his six games with the Warriors, including Saturday night vs. New Jersey when he finished with six points and three rebounds in a career-high 12 minutes. He has also blocked a career-high two shots on three different occasions while with Golden State.

The 6’11” center made his NBA debut earlier this season as a member of the Miami Heat, appearing in eight games over two different stints with the club. Prior to joining the Heat for their 2011-12 training camp, Gladness appeared in four games for the Dakota Wizards, the Warriors’ NBA Development League team, averaging 7.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.75 blocks in 20.8 minutes per contest. Overall, he has appeared in 81 D-League games over three seasons, averaging 4.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.41 blocks combined with Dakota and Rio Grande Valley. A product of Alabama A&M, Gladness went undrafted in the 2008 NBA Draft and played one season professionally overseas before joining the D-League for the 2009-10 campaign.

Michael Jordan says he has no plans to sell the Charlotte Bobcats

Bobcats Sports & Entertainment Chairman Michael Jordan today released the following statement:

“I was disturbed to hear the false report that I intend to sell my majority interest in the Charlotte Bobcats. I am 100% committed to building the Bobcats into a contender and have no plans to sell the team.”

Bobcats Sports & Entertainment owns the Charlotte Bobcats and operates Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena.

105-year-old fan Allene Wynn meets Lakers

I don’t know about you people, but when I turn 105 years old I’m probably going to start slowing down a bit, and might consider taking it easy. Sure, I’ll still be doing backflips, going hiking, playing basketball and doing other stuff like that, but will I also have time to keep attending NBA games? I sure hope so. Anyway, check out this story:

Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles reports:

The Los Angeles Lakers might have parted ways with their oldest player when they traded Derek Fisher, but they still have the support of one of their oldest fans.

Allene Wynn of Pacoima, Calif., turned 105 years old this week and celebrated her birthday at the Lakers game against the New Orleans Hornets as a guest of the team.

Wynn was visited by several members of the team outside the locker room before the Lakers’ 88-85 win, including Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

“It just made me feel good all over to meet him in person. I’ve been wanting to meet him for years,” Wynn told ESPNLosAngeles.com about her interaction with Bryant. “I got to touch him. I shook hands with him and hugged him. I said, ‘Wait, let me hug you, baby.'”

Bryant seemed mutually appreciative of meeting Wynn.

“That’s unbelievable, 105 years old,” Bryant said with a smile. “I don’t think this game did anything to relax her.”