NBA News Blog – Page 1138 – NBA Blog

Suns guard Steve Nash playing with bruised rib

Believe it or not, there was a time when this Suns season was starting to go well — in the season opener.

After a sluggish first half against New Orleans, the Suns took command with 18 points in the first six minutes of the second half as Steve Nash made his first four shots.

It also might have been their worst stretch thus far. During that span, Nash fouled Greivis Vasquez on a 3-point play and took a Vasquez shoulder into his ribs as he jumped into Vasquez. Shortly thereafter, Nash grimaced and asked out of the game. A week later, Nash still is not right, and his 7-for-29 shooting since that game reflects the pain he has endured from the bruised rib.

Nash said it improves nightly with medication, but in each game he inevitably takes a blow to the left-rib-cage area and aggravates it. The intercostal muscles in the rib cage allow it to expand and drop during breathing.

“It’s like I’m holding my breath a lot,” Nash said. “I’m tired a lot. I’m bracing. It’s not fun.

“It’s definitely affected my shot and mobility.”

— Reported by Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic

Clippers forward Reggie Evans is ready to play, but will wait

If it were up to Reggie Evans, he would play right now.

But it’s not up to Evans, and he knows he has to listen to the Clippers’ training staff that has told the backup center-power forward that his sprained right foot hasn’t healed enough for him to play.

Evans said he participated in some on-court work with the Clippers at Saturday’s practice and hopes to do more this week.

“If it was up to me, the way my mind is right now, I’d start doing so more stuff right now on the court,” he said. “But I’ve got to listen to [Clippers trainer] Jasen Powell. I can’t overrule him.

“You know me, I’m a competitor. I want to play. So quite naturally my mind is like, ‘Let’s go.’ ”

— Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times

Jonas Jerebko off to strong start for Pistons

After scoring 17 points in the opener at Indiana, Jonas Jerebko had one of the best games of his career Saturday as the Pistons won their first game of the season. He scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds — one shy of his career high — in a 96-88 victory over the Pacers at The Palace.

Jerebko shot 8-for-14 from the field — including 3 of 4 from 3-point range — and scored 16 points in the first half as Detroit built a 52-44 advantage at the intermission.

“Jonas is great,” said coach Lawrence Frank. “One of the things that was a consistent thing was how hard he worked at rehab. He basically lived with Arnie Kander. It speaks volumes about his dedication to come back from an injury like that. Meeting Jonas and seeing how hard he works you can see why.

“When you look at the two preseason games and now we’ve played four regular-season games, each game he gains more confidence and more rhythm and he looks more and more comfortable out there. That’s an encouraging sign.”

— Reported by Brendan Savage of the Flint Journal

Dwyane Wade changing diet, seeing benefits

Wade turns 30 later this month, and in his ninth pro season nutrition is as important to him as any other part of his regimen. That wasn’t always the case: Even when he was on his way to being MVP of the NBA finals in 2006, Wade could get away with eating just about anything he wanted, chicken fingers and cheeseburgers seeming like staples of his diet.

Not anymore. Farewell, sweets. Hello, salads.

And Wade says changing the way he fuels his body has him feeling as healthy as ever.

“The protein, the drinks, the carbohydrates, I know all the things I need,” Wade said. “The biggest thing is that I’ve talked with a nutritionist, who’s working with the team, who understands what we need, how much we practice, what weight I need to be at, what body fat, this, this and this. Put them together, come up with a master plan and I reap the benefits.”

So are the Heat, who are 5-0 for the first time after polishing off the Charlotte Bobcats 129-90 on Sunday night not long after Wade polished off that pasta-and-fruit dinner. Wade came into the season with a body fat of less than 4 percent, but says he has enough strength and bulk to get through the grind of a condensed 66-game regular season, and credits the culinary changes for that belief.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Bulls guard C.J. Watson suffers elbow sprain

Chicago Bulls guard C.J. Watson sprained his left elbow in the fourth quarter of tonight’s game versus the Memphis Grizzlies.

He was evaluated by Bulls head team physician Dr. Brian Cole and Dr. Greg Nicholson of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush.

Watson is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday and his status will be determined once all medical information has been gathered.

Sacramento Kings assign Hassan Whiteside and Tyler Honeycutt to D-League

The Sacramento Kings have assigned center Hassan Whiteside and rookie forward Tyler Honeycutt to the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League, President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie announced today.

Whiteside has not appeared in a game this season. Honeycutt recorded two points (2-2 FT) and one rebound in four minutes off the bench versus New York (12/31). Honeycutt becomes the third Kings player to be assigned to the D-League (Donté Greene in 2008-09, Hassan Whiteside last season).

Whiteside, a 7-0, 235-pound center, appeared in one game last season, playing two minutes against the Timberwolves on October 27, 2010. He was assigned to the Bighorns on November 29, 2010 and was recalled on January 9, 2011. While with the Bighorns, Whiteside averaged 4.4 points (.509 FG%, .412 FT%), 2.7 rebounds, 2.14 blocks, and 10.5 minutes per game in 14 games (started 3). Whiteside was selected by Sacramento as a freshman out of Marshall in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft.

Honeycutt, a 6-8, 188-pound forward, was selected by the Kings as a sophomore out of UCLA in the second round (35th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft. He averaged 10.3 points (.431 FG%, .359 3pt%, .684 FT%), 6.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.7 blocks, and 31.7 minutes per game in 59 career games for the Bruins.

DeMarcus Cousins demands trade from Kings, says coach

STATEMENT FROM KINGS HEAD COACH PAUL WESTPHAL

“Whenever a new season begins, in any sport, there is great hope that everything will progress in only a steady, upward direction. As we all know, it seldom happens like that in this life!

As coaches, we can only ask that our players do everything they can to improve themselves as individuals and teammates. If they do this with all their hearts, we live with the results.

Everything that happens on a team does not become known to the public. This is how it should be. However, when a player continually, aggressively, lets it be known that he is unwilling/unable to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team, it cannot be ignored indefinitely.

DeMarcus Cousins has demanded to be traded. In the best interest of our team as we go forward, he has been directed by me, with the support of management, to stay home from the New Orleans game tonight.”

Wizards assign Hamady Ndiaye to D-League

The Washington Wizards announced today that they have assigned center Hamady Ndiaye to the Iowa Energy, the team’s affiliate in the NBA Development League.

Ndiaye has not appeared in a game for the Wizards this season. He appeared in 16 games with the team in 2010-11 and spent 11 games with the Dakota Wizards (the team’s NBADL affiliate at the time), averaging 4.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 18.4 minutes per game. The 7-0 native of Senegal was originally selected by Minnesota with the 56th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft before his rights were traded along with the rights to Trevor Booker in exchange for the rights to Lazar Hayward and Nemanja Bjelica on Draft Night 2010. He was re-signed by the Wizards on Dec. 11, 2011.

Early-season Sacramento Kings look disjointed

The Kings, who began the season amid good vibes, an improved roster and reasonable expectations, are immersed in a massive funk. They didn’t need any champagne Saturday night to wake up this morning with a splitting headache. Barring an emotional turnaround before tonight’s 6 p.m. game against New Orleans, the Hornets will catch the Kings still hung over, still searching for answers and still openly questioning the club’s direction.

Respected veteran Chuck Hayes sat with his head in his hands, visibly disturbed by a lack of cohesiveness. DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans, two critical elements of this ongoing rebuilding process, leaned back in their seats, quietly commiserating before sharing their thoughts.

“What offense?” Cousins replied when asked about the Kings’ most obvious weakness. “I really don’t want to say anything.”

He shrugged. He shook his head. He exhaled. He ducked under a towel. His body said plenty.

— By Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee

Time Warner Cable to drop MSG Network (Knicks game channel)

THE FOLLOWING IS FROM MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

Despite MSG Media’s attempts to engage Time Warner Cable in good faith negotiations for nearly two years, no agreement is expected to be reached for Time Warner Cable to continue to carry MSG Network and MSG Plus. Therefore, as of midnight tonight, MSG Network and MSG+ will be dropped from the Time Warner Cable channel lineup, and New York area sports fans will miss exclusive local live coverage of the Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, Devils and Sabres.

“We are disappointed that MSG and MSG Plus will be dropped from Time Warner Cable’s lineup,” said Michael Bair, president, MSG Media. “All we have asked is for Time Warner Cable to value our programming in the same way as other TV providers — nothing more, nothing less. Unfortunately, they rejected every offer we made to them for almost two years. In the end, they were simply not interested in conducting serious negotiations on behalf of their customers and instead spent their time grossly mischaracterizing our positions to the public. We certainly hope Time Warner Cable returns to the negotiating table and reconsiders our good faith proposals. Until that happens, we encourage Time Warner Cable subscribers to switch providers by calling 888-keepmsg (533-7674) or visiting keepmsg.com.”

“Given Time Warner Cable’s reportedly record-setting $5 billion investment in Los Angeles Lakers rights, we expected that they would be eager to continue to deliver top New York sports programming to their customers, who are unfortunately caught in the middle of this dispute,” added Bair. “And they’ve stated publicly that they’re committed to broadening their investment in local sports. Yet they’re about to drop some of New York’s most popular sports programming – what does that say to New York sports fans?”

There is significant enthusiasm around MSG’s teams and programming. Knicks ratings were up more than 100% last season and are already up this year, the Rangers are enjoying double-digit increases over the same period last season, the Sabres are the highest rated American team in the NHL, and there are passionate fan bases for the Islanders and Devils. MSG and MSG Plus telecast nearly 400 live NBA and NHL games a year, and nearly 700 live games a year, including games from the WNBA’s New York Liberty and Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls. MSG Networks also airs WFAN’s popular Boomer and Carton show, hundreds of college basketball and college football games from the nation’s best conferences, as well as award-winning original programming. MSG has won more New York Emmy Awards than any network or station in the area over the past four years, and with MSG Plus has collected 63 in total over that time frame.