Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Kevin Love replaces Yao Ming on 2011 West All-Star team

Kevin Love replaces Yao Ming on 2011 West All-Star team

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love has been named to the 2011 Western Conference All-Star team, the National Basketball Association announced today. Love was named to the team by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace Yao Ming, who was voted as a starter by the fans but is out for the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in his left ankle. The honor is the first of Love’s career and the first for a Timberwolves player since Kevin Garnett during the 2006-07 NBA season. Love is the fifth player in franchise history to be named an All-Star, joining Garnett (10 appearances), Tom Gugliotta (1), Wally Szczerbiak (1) and Sam Cassell (1).

“This is an incredible honor for me and I’m so proud to be able to represent the Timberwolves organization at one of the league’s premier events,” Love said. “I’m thankful to Commissioner Stern for giving me his support, as well as to all the great fans in Minnesota who have been behind me and my teammates all season long.”

This marks the second time in franchise history that the Commissioner has named a Wolves player to the All-Star game as a replacement for an injured player. Kevin Garnett earned an All-Star nod in 1997 as a replacement for the injured Shaquille O’Neal, the first of his NBA-record-tying 14 consecutive selections.

“I’m really happy for Kevin. He worked extremely hard this offseason to elevate his game and learn how to consistently perform at a high level in this league,” Wolves head coach Kurt Rambis said. “This recognition is well-deserved, and exciting news both for Kevin personally and our organization as a whole.”

Love, the league’s leading rebounder at 15.5 boards per game, is on pace to become the first player since Moses Malone in 1982-83 to average 20+ points and 15+ rebounds in a season. He’s also on track to become the first player in NBA history to average 12+ rebounds per game while shooting better than 40% from behind the arc. In addition, Love leads the league in double-doubles (43), and his current streak of 34 straight games with a double-double is the second-longest in the last 25 seasons (Kevin Garnett – 37 straight in 2006; John Stockton – 37 straight in 1989).

On Nov. 12, Love made history when he tallied 31 points and 31 rebounds in a come-from-behind win over New York. Love became one of just 19 players in NBA history with a 30/30 game, and the first to accomplish the feat since Moses Malone in 1982.

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

Daniel Gibson excused to miss Grizzlies game and attend personal matter

Daniel Gibson excused to miss Grizzlies game and attend personal matter

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson has been excused by the team to return to Cleveland from Memphis in order to address a personal matter.

The 8-41 Cavs are in Memphis Friday night to face the Grizzlies, who are 26-24 overall and 15-7 at home this season.

Gibson is his team’s third-leading scorer and averages 13.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.

Nets coach Avery Johnson fined

Nets coach Avery Johnson fined

New Jersey Nets head coach Avery Johnson has been fined $25,000 for improper conduct towards a game official surrounding his ejection, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 7:47 remaining in the third quarter of the Nets’ 106-92 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on February 2.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I think it’s fine for head coaches to occasional get a bit too fired up. Part of the job of a coach is to motivate his players, and in this case the Nets have shown some nice energy over the last couple of weeks. Of course, ideally Johnson’s energy should not be focused at referees (especially in “improper fashion”), but the point is, he’s doing a perfectly decent job lately at keeping his players focused.

Hornets sign Sasha Pavlovic to 10-day contract

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have signed forward Sasha Pavlovic to a 10-day contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In 462 career games (133 starts) over eight NBA seasons, Pavlovic holds career averages of 5.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 16.5 minutes. Pavlovic (6-8, 235) was most recently with the Dallas Mavericks with whom he signed back-to-back 10-day contracts beginning Jan. 10. He appeared in 10 games, marking six starts and scoring 4.1 points per contest.

Pavlovic began his NBA career with the Utah Jazz as the 19th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. Following a solid rookie season in Salt Lake City, Pavlovic was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2004 expansion draft and later traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he played for the next five seasons, including an appearance in the 2007 NBA Finals. Last season, the Bar, Montenegro native played for the Minnesota Timberwolves before becoming a free agent this summer.

The Hornets roster now stands at 15.

LeBron James scores 51 as Heat edge Magic

Just when it seems like we’ve said every positive thing about LeBron James imaginable, he goes and unleashes a game like this:

The AP reports:

LeBron James scores 51 as Heat edge Magic

LeBron James had 51 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, including a 23-point first quarter, to lead Miami to a 104-100 victory over Orlando on Thursday night.

It was a season high for James, whose scoring effort tied for the fifth most points of his career.

The Heat exploited a thin Magic front line that was missing injured starting forward Brandon Bass. They led by as many as 23 points. Dwyane Wade added 15 points and Chris Bosh 13.

Jameer Nelson led Orlando with 22 points. Dwight Howard had 17 points and 16 rebounds, but only one point after halftime and was just 3 for 13 at the free throw line. Jason Richardson chipped in 16…

James started his scoring spree in the opening 12 minutes, going right at Turkoglu and later Earl Clark when he came in off the bench.

He had 23 points the period, hitting all nine of his field goal attempts and going 5 for 6 at the free throw line, as the Heat took a 30-26 lead into the second quarter.

The 23 points by James broke Alonzo Mourning’s first-quarter Heat scoring record of 21 points, which he set in 1996.

The only concern here is how much LeBron did and how little everyone else did, but let’s not think about that right now.

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

Tyson Chandler feels he is best center in West

Tyson Chandler feels he is best center in West

By Jeff Lenchiner

After the Dallas Mavericks whopped the Knicks 113-97 in New York last night (despite the score, it was actually a thrilling game that featured several promising Knicks runs), I caught up with Mavs center Tyson Chandler, who said the following to me and a few other reporters:

Chandler: “When you look at it as a center standpoint, I feel like I’m the best center in the West.”

To which I followed up and, knowing full well that Chandler could handle this sort of question, jokingly asked: “How do you feel your season compares to Yao Ming’s season?”

Chandler: (Laughs) “I love Yao, and he’s injured so I hate to go there. But I feel like the centers that are playing in the West, I’ve had the best year. And I’ve had the most impact.”

In 45 games this season, Chandler is averaging 10.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per outing, shooting a terrific 66.2 percent from the field. He’s been a defensive anchor for the 33-15 Mavs, who boast the sixth best winning percentage in the league and are currently on a six-game winning streak.

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

Real Housewives of Miami will include wife of Scottie Pippen

There seem to be about a million “Real Housewives of…” shows on Bravo, so naturally the people need more. And they will get it, now down in Miami, Florida.

Ann Oldenburg of USA Today reports:

Bravo is gearing up for a new city, new cast and new drama with the newest player in its Real Housewives franchise: sizzling Miami. The Real Housewives of Miami follows six of the “most connected and influential women of Miami as they live their lives to the fullest in this sunny city where the party never stops,” according to a release from the network.

The cast includes Larsa Pippen, wife of NBA superstar Scottie Pippen, whom Bravo describes as a “snarky Lebanese beauty” who “shares the unofficial title of Hottest NBA Wife” with her friend and fellow cast member Cristy Rice. The series will make its debut at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Feb. 22, bumping Season 4 of The Real Housewives of New York to later this spring. So yes, you’ll have to wait until then to catch up with the Countess.

And, E! reports:

Larsa, described as a “snarky Lebanese beauty,” has four young kids with the Chicago Bulls superstar. Her recently divorced pal Cristy is a Miami native with three kids who runs her own clothing store.

The basketball fan crowd and Real Housewives fan crowd isn’t necessarily the same core audience, but I’m sure some of you out there will tune in.

Larsa Pippen (below):

Christy Rice (below)

NBA fines Knicks $200,000 and scout Rodney Heard $20,000 for prohibited workouts

The NBA announced today that New York Knicks scout Rodney Heard has been fined $20,000 for violating league rules restricting contact between NBA teams and players eligible for the NBA Draft. The Knicks’ organization has also been also fined $200,000 for Heard’s actions.

Heard violated NBA rules on two occasions, once in May 2007 and again in May 2010.

Jonathan Abrams of the New York Times reports:

The punishments stem from workouts conducted by Heard in Atlanta in May 2007 and May 2010.Heard, who has been with the club since 2006, is the Knicks’ East Coast scouting director. The punishment is generally in line with previous cases that involved violations of draft workout rules, although some team executives had expected the Knicks to be forced to forfeit future draft picks as part of any punishment.

The Knicks were perhaps lucky to only get fined and not suffer any additional penalties.

Linas Kleiza out 9-12 months after knee surgery

Linas Kleiza out 9-12 months after knee surgery

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday forward Linas Kleiza (LYNN-as CLAY-za) underwent arthroscopic surgery yesterday to address both a meniscal tear and chondral defect of his right knee. The surgery was performed by Dr. J. Richard Steadman in Vail, Colorado.

Due to the nature of the microfracture procedure performed, the recovery time is expected to be nine to 12 months.

Kleiza appeared in 39 games with 23 starts, averaging 11.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 26.5 minutes. He had six games of 20 or more points, including a season-best 26 December 10 versus Denver and December 19 versus the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Raptors play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Air Canada Centre on Friday at 7 p.m. (TSN/Sportsnet Radio The FAN 590).