Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Suns release Matt Janning, assign Gani Lawal to D-League

The Phoenix Suns assigned rookie forward Gani Lawal (GONN-ee luh-WALL) to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League and released rookie guard Matt Janning, the team announced today.

The 6-foot-9, 234-pound Lawal was selected by the Suns with the 46th overall pick (second round) of the 2010 NBA Draft and has not seen action in a regular season game for Phoenix.  The Georgia Tech product will join the Energy through Sunday, Dec. 12 (10 games) and make his first appearance on Friday, Nov. 19 against the Dakota Wizards.

Janning, a 6-4, 198-pound standout at Northeastern University, was a member of the Suns’ 2010 entry in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 12.6 points and 5.8 rebounds.  He did not appear in a regular season game for Phoenix.

The Suns (6-4) return to action Wednesday night to take on the Miami Heat (6-4) in Miami at 5 p.m. Phoenix time.  The game will be televised nationally on ESPN and can be seen locally on My45 and heard on Sports 620 KTAR.

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Theo Ratliff out at least 4-6 weeks after knee surgery

Los Angeles Lakers center Theo Ratliff underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to perform a partial meniscectomy on his left knee, it was announced today.

The surgery, which took approximately 30 minutes, was performed by Lakers team orthopaedist Dr. Steve Lombardo of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Group.  Ratliff is expected to be out a minimum of 4-6 weeks.

Ratliff signed with the Lakers as a free agent this past summer on July 22.  In eight games this season, he is averaging 0.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.63 blocks in 8.4 minutes.

One of seven players in NBA history to capture the blocked shots title three or more times, Ratliff ranks 18th in NBA history in career blocked shots (1,968) and owns career averages of 7.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.43 blocks and 25.4 minutes in 808 games.

Devin Harris ejected for foul on Blake Griffin

Colin Stephenson of the Newark Star-Ledger reports:

Devin Harris ejected for hard foul on Blake Griffin

Harris, the Nets’ floor leader and leading scorer, was ejected from the game for a hard foul on the L.A. Clippers’ young star, Blake Griffin with 6:42 remaining in the first half. But even without him, the Nets were still able to get their West Coast trip off to a winning start, as they grabbed an early lead against the Clippers and cruised to a 110-96 victory Monday night in Staples Center…

Harris, one of the Nets’ co-captains along with Lopez, grabbed Griffin, the Clippers’ exciting rookie, from behind on what would have been a breakaway basket and pulled him to the floor. For that, Harris was assessed a flagrant-2 foul, which will bring with it an automatic review by the NBA and could lead to a suspension.

“I was kind of looking up at the ball when I saw I couldn’t get it I tried to make sure he couldn’t get his arms up,” Harris said. “I didn’t think it was that bad when I did it, but once I came in the back and looked at it (on video), it looks pretty bad.”

Tayshaun Prince, coach John Kuester exchange words

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo reports:

Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince accepted blame for a heated exchange with head coach John Kuester during the team’s 101-97 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday night. Prince also didn’t guarantee it would be the last incident between player and coach.

“I hope it doesn’t happen again,” Prince said. “I can’t say it won’t because I’m the type of guy that if I don’t see something right, I got to say something.”

The confrontation started after Prince didn’t fight through a double screen in time to stop Warriors guard Reggie Williams from hitting a 3-pointer that put the Pistons in a 25-point hole with 4:27 left in the second quarter. Kuester called a quick timeout and voiced his displeasure to Prince, who barked back at his coach on the bench. As the argument continued, Kuester motioned for a Pistons security official to remove Prince from the bench. Kuester started to walk toward Prince, but was restrained by assistant coach Darrell Walker.

Mavericks beat previously undefeated Hornets

The AP reports:

Jason Terry scored 26 points, including the go-ahead jumper in the final minute, and the Dallas Mavericks handed the New Orleans Hornets their first loss of the season, 98-95 on Monday night.

New Orleans, which had been off to a franchise-best 8-0 start, got 22 points from Chris Paul, but only two came in the second half.

Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points and 10 rebounds to help the Mavericks stretch their winning streak to four games.

Peja Stojakovic added 17 points and Emeka Okafor pulled down 14 rebounds for New Orleans.

Robin Lopez out several weeks

An MRI performed on Suns center Robin Lopez revealed a moderate sprain of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in his left knee.  Lopez is expected to be out several weeks.  Lopez will travel with the team when it departs on its four-game road trip Tuesday.

Lopez has started all nine games for the Suns in 2010-11, posting averages of 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 17.8 minutes.

Raptors assign Solomon Alabi to D-League

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have assigned rookie centre Solomon Alabi to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League. Alabi will continue to be included on the Raptors’ roster and will be placed on the team’s inactive list.

Alabi, 22, made his Raptors debut Saturday at Miami, going scoreless in eighteen seconds of action. He participated in five preseason contests, totaling 10 points and five rebounds in 24 minutes. He played for the Raptors’ entry in the 2010 Las Vegas Summer League where he averaged 8.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 18 minutes in five games. He shot .565 (13-23) from the field and .938 (15-16) from the foul line.

A native of Nigeria, Alabi, was named All-ACC Defensive Team in his two full seasons at FSU. He started all 67 games, leading the Seminoles to the NCAA Tournament twice and the ACC Tournament Championship Game as a redshirt freshman. He averaged a school record 2.1 blocked shots per game for his career. He also shot .534 per cent from the field in his two-plus seasons with the Seminoles.

The club acquired the draft rights to Alabi from the Dallas Mavericks on June 24. He was the 50th overall selection in the 2010 NBA Draft.

Alabi is the fourth Raptor to be assigned to the D-League. Nathan Jawai was designated on two occasions in the 2008-09 season to the Idaho Stampede. P.J. Tucker was assigned twice to the Colorado 14ers during the 2006-07 season and Pape Sow was assigned to the Arkansas Rimrockers in the 2005-06 campaign.

Erie, which is led by head coach Jay Larranaga, has been appointed as Toronto’s D-League affiliate for the 2010-11 season.

Steve Nash is getting divorced

The AP reports:

Steve Nash has announced that he and wife Alejandra are in the process of a divorce.

The Phoenix Suns’ point guard and two-time NBA most valuable player revealed the situation in a statement Saturday, a day after the birth of the couple’s son, Matteo.

He said in the statement to Life & Style Magazine that he and his wife have lived separately for several months but remain firmly committed to raising their children “in the most positive, nurturing way possible.”

The couple, together for nine years and married since 2005, also has 6-year-old twin daughters, Lola and Bella.

Nazr Mohammed puts up 22/20 in loss

The AP reports:

The Utah Jazz are making a habit of comeback victories.

Deron Williams hit a running hook shot from seven feet out with 0.8 seconds left to cap a fourth-quarter rally and give the Jazz a 96-95 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night.

Williams finished with 17 points and nine assists for Utah, which overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to win its fifth consecutive game and fourth straight on the road.

Al Jefferson had 19 points, Paul Millsap 17, C.J. Miles 14 and Andrei Kirilenko 12 for the Jazz, who also had to overcome double-digit deficits in winning its previous four games.

InsideHoops.com reports:

In the loss, Nazr Mohammed in 36 minutes shot 10-of-16 for 22 points, 20 rebounds, two assists, four blocks and no turnovers. For the season, the 6-10, 250-pound Bobcats center is averaging 8.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 19.2 minutes per game.

Hornets release Joe Alexander

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have released forward Joe Alexander.

Alexander did not appear in a regular season game this season. He averaged 1.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in six preseason games (one start) with the Hornets.

The third-year pro has career averages of 4.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 67 regular season games.

The Hornets roster now stands at 14.