NBA News Blog – Page 1433 – NBA Blog

April NBA players of month are Rose, Durant

The Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month presented by Kia Motors, respectively, for games played during April.

Rose was second in the Eastern Conference in scoring (25.4 ppg) and added 7.0 assists and 4.1 rebounds, leading the Bulls to a 6-2 record. On April 13, Rose recorded career highs in points (39) and blocks (three), to go along with seven assists and five rebounds, in a 101-93 win over Boston. Rose led the Bulls in scoring six times, including seven games of 20 or more, and averaged 30.6 points in Chicago’s final three games, all must wins for a playoff berth. On April 8, Rose tallied 24 points and 10 assists in Chicago’s 109-108 win over Cleveland.

Durant led the league in scoring (34.6 ppg) and added 7.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists 2.0 steals and 1.6 blocks. On April 3, Durant recorded 23 points, five assists, five rebounds and five steals, leading Oklahoma City to a win at Dallas and the team’s first playoff berth since 2005. Durant followed up that performance with 40 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal in a win over Minnesota the following night. Durant, who became the youngest player ever to lead the NBA in scoring (30.1 ppg), had a streak of seven consecutive 30-point games to end the season.

Other nominees for Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month presented by Kia Motors were Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki, Indiana’s Danny Granger and Orlando’s Dwight Howard.

Brandon Roy to have right knee surgery Friday

Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will undergo surgery on Friday to repair a partial meniscus tear in right knee, it was announced today by Trail Blazers General Manager Kevin Pritchard.

“This was not an easy decision to make,” said Roy. “But, if I’m going to be out there, I want to be contributing. If we’re fortunate enough to advance in the playoffs, having the surgery now gives me the best opportunity to help our team.”

Dr. Don Roberts will perform the knee arthroscopy on Friday morning at Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver, WA. A timetable for Roy’s return will be set following surgery, but he’ll be sidelined for at least the first round series vs. the Phoenix Suns.

“This is a setback, but we’ve been overcoming injuries all season long,” said Pritchard. “This is about looking long-term and doing what’s best for Brandon.”

Roy left at the 5:45 mark of the second quarter of Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Lakers after experiencing pain in his right knee.

The best-of-seven first-round series with the Suns tips off Sunday in Phoenix at 7:30 PM.

NBA fines Phil Jackson yet again

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson has been fined $35,000 for publicly criticizing game officials, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

Jackson was fined for comments made to the media on April 13.

We’ll add more detail over the next hour. We are guessing this is in regard to Jackson saying that Kevin Durant gets lots of calls in his favor. This page will be updated shortly.

Clippers relieve Kim Hughes of interim head coach duties

The Los Angeles Clippers today relieved Kim Hughes of his duties as interim head coach. The remaining members of the team’s coaching staff will remain in their current roles at this time.

“We appreciate Kim’s contributions during his time here especially over the last two and a half months,” stated Clippers’ President Andy Roeser. “But we also know that our responsibility is to do what is in the organization’s immediate best interests for its ability to move forward. This season was an overall disappointment and certainly fell short of both our expectations and what should rightly have been anticipated by our fans. We will move deliberately and productively to regain the successful competitive position we had all hoped for when this past season began.”

“We think our situation is extremely attractive, both from the standpoint of the talented and popular core of players who are already under contract, as well as the salary cap flexibility we have created for this summer,” Roeser continued. “Los Angeles is a great city, we have total support from our ownership, our facilities are state of the art and we are blessed with a tremendous fan base.”

A search for a new coach has already begun. There are no leading candidates. In order to maintain the ability to take advantage of the widest sample of available and quality coaches, there will be no stated completion timetable.

Bulls clinch 8th playoff spot in East

The AP reports:

The Chicago Bulls clinched the NBA’s last unclaimed playoff spot on Wednesday night, as Derrick Rose scored 27 points and Joakim Noah added 21 points and 13 rebounds in a 98-89 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

Overcoming numerous injuries, internal strife, key trades and a horrible stretch early in the season, the Bulls closed the regular season with a three-game winning streak to beat out Toronto for the right to face Eastern Conference top seed Cleveland.

Needing a win or a Raptors loss to New York to get in, the Bulls quickly took it to the Bobcats, never trailing and leading by as many as 18 points.

Tyrus Thomas had 16 points and nine rebounds against his former team, while Gerald Wallace scored 15 points and Stephen Jackson 14 for the Bobcats, who had already locked up the seventh seed in the East and a first-round matchup with Orlando.

George Hill steps on cameraman, tweaks ankle

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-news reports (via blog):

George Hill tweaks ankle after stepping on cameraman

Spurs guard George Hill tweaked his previously injured right ankle stepping on a camera man in the first quarter of tonight’s game at Dallas and will not return.

Hill, who missed four games this month with a strained ankle tendon, landed on the cameraman on the baseline after completing a layup with 7:14 to play in the quarter.

InsideHoops.com Says:

I’m actually surprised this doesn’t happen more often. Some of the camera and photographer areas near the basket are extremely crowded. There’s very little room for NBA players around the baseline near the basket support. Which is strange, because players are a tad more important than the guys who record or take photos of them.

CC Sabathia chimes in on LeBron staying or going

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:

CC Sabathia told WFAN there’s a likelier chance of his friend LeBron James leaving for New York if Cleveland wins the NBA title.

Asked about James’ thought process, Sabathia told hosts Evan Roberts and Joe Benigno, “I think it depends on what happens this year in the playoffs and how they play, to see how close they get and if they win, how that weighs in his decision.

“I know he wants to go where he can win. I know he likes the idea of New York.”

Sabathia added, “I think if he won (a title), it would be easier for him to leave.”

Duncan, Ginobili sit out finale

The AP reports:

The San Antonio Spurs turned in a starting lineup for the season finale that included Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. Then coach Gregg Popovich changed his mind.

Duncan and Ginobili didn’t even suit up for a game against the Dallas Mavericks that had direct playoff implications — a Dallas win would give the Mavs the No. 2 seed and the Spurs the No. 7 seed, meaning they would meet in the first round of the playoffs.

Doc Rivers downplays possibility of leaving Celtics after season

Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe reports:

Celtics coach Doc Rivers downplayed the report that he was considering leaving the team at season’s end. He said he evaluates his future with the team each summer, taking into consideration his family more than anything else. He acknowledged, however, that this year has been a difficult one, challenging him to find ways to motivate a team plagued by injuries and inconsistency.

“I would say what I’ve said for the last three years,” Rivers said. “This is old news. I don’t think about it to be honest.”

Bulls issue statement on Del Negro, Paxson incident

STATEMENT FROM GAR FORMAN

The Chicago Bulls are focusing all of our energies into the remainder of this season and, as such, were disappointed at the recent stories that may have distracted from that. Reports of a recent internal disagreement between a Bulls executive and the Bulls head coach were the result of each expressing their passion about the health and well being of their players and the desire to win basketball games.

The event occurred in Coach Del Negro’s office, not in the locker room and not in front of the players, as some wrongly have reported. This disagreement, while not communicated well by either party in the heat of the moment and in the immediate aftermath of a tough loss, was a result of conflicting views, but all based on the fine balance required to ensure both the immediate and long-term success of the team and the health of its players. The fans well know that the Bulls are dedicated to the team’s day-to-day success, but first and foremost want to protect the health and well being of its players.

The Bulls have a full and complete understanding of what took place, but, as requested by all parties, will address the attendant issues with the participants after the season is over. At this point, everyone intends to keep focused on the remaining games.