NBA News Blog – Page 1484 – NBA Blog

Spurs assign Malik Hairston to Austin Toros of D-League

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have assigned guard Malik Hairston to the Austin Toros, the NBA Development League team owned and operated by the Spurs.

Hairston has appeared in eight games with San Antonio this season where he averaged 0.8 points in 4.1 minutes.

Last season Hairston split the year between San Antonio and Austin. In 15 games with the Spurs he averaged 3.3 points and 1.9 rebounds. In Austin, he earned All-D-League Honorable Mention after averaging 22.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 30 games.

Hairston was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 48th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and was acquired by San Antonio in exchange for the draft rights to Goran Dragic. He spent the 2008 training camp with San Antonio where he averaged 5.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in six preseason games before being waived on 10/26.

Bucks coach Scott Skiles suspended

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Scott Skiles has been suspended one game without pay for his actions directed at a game official and for not leaving the court in a timely manner following his ejection, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 29.7 seconds remaining in the first period of the Bucks’ 104-102 loss to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at Bradley Center.

Skiles will serve his suspension tonight when the Bucks visit the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Kevin Love cleared to play

The Minnesota Timberwolves are expected to welcome forward/center Kevin Love back tonight as they visit the New Orleans Hornets.

With a 2-16 record, the Wolves are desperate for any help they can get. Love is key and, in the eyes of InsideHoops.com, the second best player on the team, behind Al Jefferson.

Love was hurt in preseason. This will be his first game of the 2009-10 regular season.

The Wolves this season haven’t looked anything remotely close to competitive. They’re scoring 91.6 points per game while giving up 104.4 ppg.

Love brings rebounding as well as scoring. He’ll help make the team look worthy of being in the NBA.

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

Raptors defense is terrible

The 7-13 Toronto Raptors are struggling to play defense in a very big way. Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun reports:

Just how terrible has the defence been? Well, for starters, the club is on pace to be the worst defensive team since 1977-78.

A little-known but telling statistic called defensive rating has been kept since that season. The rating measures how many points-per-100 possessions a team gives up and the lowest in history, shared by three teams, is 114.7.

The Raptors, losers of five in a row and 11 of 15 following Wednesday night’s 146-115 slaughter at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks, have a defensive rating of 118.3.

Granted, the team has brought that mark of shame down from the 120-plus it sat at early last month and it likely will fall further into the simply horrific column, rather than historically horrific, but something fundamentally is wrong with this team.

The Raptors are scoring 105.3 points per game, but giving up 111.0. And opponents are shooting 48.5% against them.

If this keeps up, we could see a roster shakeup in the not-so-distant future.

Matt Harpring out for season

Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that veteran forward Matt Harpring will miss the remainder of the season. As a result of numerous surgeries and considerable residual medical issues, it has been determined that the 11-year NBA veteran is no longer physically able to perform at an NBA level. Harpring has not practiced or played during the current 2009-10 NBA season.

After several months of continued rehab and physical therapy, doctors have informed Harpring that he will not be able to return to action this season. In addition, the doctors have advised that further attempts at continued NBA play would be counterproductive to Harpring’s health, both in the short term and long term.

“Despite the wear and tear of four collegiate seasons, 11 NBA seasons and undergoing numerous surgeries, I remained hopeful that I would be able to rejoin my Jazz teammates on the court this season,” Harpring said. “However, after consultations with the doctors and based on their recommendations, I have reluctantly come to the realization that my body can simply no longer withstand the rigors of NBA games and practices.”

Harpring (6-7, 230, Georgia Tech) has appeared in 665 games (349 starts) over 11 seasons with Orlando, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Utah, owning career averages of 11.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 26.4 minutes per game. His best statistical season came in 2002-03 with the Jazz when he appeared in 78 games (69 starts) and averaged 17.6 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting .511 from the field.

Originally signed by the Jazz as a free agent on August 15, 2002, Harpring has seen action in 474 games (191 starts) over seven seasons with Utah and has averaged 11.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 25.8 minutes per game. Harpring averaged 11.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 63 games (two starts) for the Jazz in 2008-09.

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

Nets drop to 0-18

Playing at home in a mostly empty arena, the New Jersey Nets lost 117-101 to the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night.

The Nets got off to a decent start, matching the Mavs’ 28 points in the first quarter. But Dallas went bonkers in the next 12 minutes, scoring an incredible 49 points to take a 77-50 halftime lead. Both teams scored 28 in the third quarter. And although Dallas was quiet with just 12 fourth quarter points, the Nets never really threatened to make a game of it.

For the game, Dallas shot 58.7% and hit 8-of-18 from three-point range. Dirk Nowitzki finished with 24 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. Erick Dampier shot 7-of-10 for 18 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. Jason Terry scored 18 off the bench. And former Net Jason Kidd destroyed his former team and shot 5-of-6 for 16 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists and 5 steals.

In the loss, Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 24 (but on 21 shots) with 5 turnovers. Devin Harris scored 17 but with more turnovers than assists. Brook Lopez had 16 with just 6 rebounds. Courtney Lee came off the bench to score 13 (but on 14 shots) with 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Reserve Bobby Simmons added 10.

Thankfully, the Nets schedule now gets a bit easier. Friday night they host the inconsistent Charlotte Bobcats, who are mostly winning lately but aren’t a lock to keep playing as well as they recently have. On Sunday, December 6, the Nets cross the Hudson river to face the Knicks in New York. Next, the Nets visit the Bulls in Chicago, then return to New Jersey to battle the Golden State Warriors.

There definitely could be at least one win in near future, especially as Devin Harris continues to regain his health and play more like the super-scorer he was last season.

Raja Bell out at least three months after wrist surgery

Golden State Warriors guard Raja Bell underwent successful surgery today to repair ligament damage in his left wrist, the team announced.

Following the surgery, which was performed by Dr. Paul Perlik at Presbyterian Orthopedic Hospital in Charlotte, NC, Bell will have his wrist immobilized for six (6) weeks, at which point he will begin rehabilitation.

He is expected to be sidelined a minimum of three (3) months.

New York Liberty hire Anne Donovan as head coach

Hall of Famer Anne Donovan has been named head coach of the New York Liberty, it was announced today by team President and General Manager Carol Blazejowski. As per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

“There’s no question that Anne is one of the most respected coaches in our game. Her experience and leadership skills as both a player and a coach will be invaluable as we battle to get the franchise back to its proper place at the top of the WNBA,” said Blazejowski.

After taking over as the Liberty’s interim head coach halfway through the 2009 season, Donovan compiled a 7-10 overall record. A Ridgewood, New Jersey native, she is the fourth head coach of the franchise. She joined New York as an assistant coach on April 28, 2009.

“I am very excited to be returning to the Liberty and look forward to the challenges that lie ahead and have confidence that our team will be back on track next summer,” said Donovan.

Donovan is one of the most accomplished female players and coaches in basketball history. She was a Naismith Award winner and three-time All-American selection as a player at Old Dominion and won gold medals with the 1984 and 1988 U.S. Olympic teams. She served as an assistant coach in the 1998 and 2004 Olympics, helping the U.S. capture gold medals both times. In 2008, Donovan coached the U.S. Women’s National team to gold in the Beijing Olympics. She began her WNBA career with the Indiana Fever as the interim head coach in 2000, followed by head coaching positions with the Charlotte Sting (2001-2002) and the Seattle Storm (2003-2007). In Seattle, she compiled a 93-77 record with four post-season berths, including the 2004 WNBA Championship title. Donovan was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995. She was one of the twenty-six inductees in the inaugural class of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.

Mavericks drop 49 points on Nets in second quarter for 77 first half points

Wednesday night in New Jersey the Nets (0-17) are hosting Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks. For New Jersey this is a must-win game if they want to avoid making some very negative history. With no wins and 17 losses coming into the game, if the Nets fall to 0-18 it will mark the worst start of any team in NBA history.

The Nets hung tough in the first quarter, which ended a tie at 28-28.

But then, all heck broke loose. The Dallas Mavericks went bonkers in the second quarter and outscored the Nets 49 to 22. The halftime score is Mavs 77, Nets 50.

For the game, Dallas is shooting 29-of-36 (80.6%) with 7-of-8 three-pointers and a perfect 12-of-12 free throws. Dirk Nowitzki has 13 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists. Erick Dampier has 12 points. Jason Kidd has 12 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists. Jason Terry is 5-of-5 with 11. Tim Thomas is 4-of-4 with 10.

As a team, the Mavs had 22 first half assists.

For New Jersey, Brook Lopez leads with 12 points. Chris Douglas-Roberts has 10. No Nets player has more than 3 assists or 3 rebounds.

The Nets as a team shot 50% in the first half — a very nice showing. But the Mavs went bonkers and unleashed one of the most unstoppable displays I’ve ever seen.

Jerry Sloan agrees to contract extension

The Utah Jazz announced today the decision by Jerry Sloan to return as head coach for the 2010-11 season, which will mark his 23rd season at the helm of the Jazz.

“We have been fortunate to call Jerry Sloan our head coach for two plus decades,” said Greg Miller, CEO of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies. “He embodies everything our organization stands for which makes him the perfect fit to lead our roster into the future.”

Sloan has been Utah’s head coach since assuming the reigns from former head coach Frank Layden on December 9, 1988. The fourth-winningest coach in NBA history (1,147-758, .602), Sloan is the longest tenured active coach with one team in major professional sports, and is also the longest tenured head coach in NBA history. Last season Sloan became the first NBA head coach to win 1,000 games with one team (1,053-637, .623 with Jazz), and he currently ranks 358 wins ahead of San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich for most wins with one team among active coaches. Sloan was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 11, 2009.

“I am very appreciative of the opportunity the Miller family has given me, and the fact that they have stood behind me for more than 20 years,” said Sloan. “Our team has tremendous potential and I look forward to watching them grow.”

Since Sloan’s hiring there have been a total of 236 coaching changes in the NBA (including interim coaches), with every team in the league aside from Utah making at least two changes. In addition five current NBA teams (Bobcats, Grizzlies, Raptors, Magic, Timberwolves) did not exist when Sloan took the helm in Utah, and two others (Heat, Hornets) were just over a month into their inaugural seasons. Sloan has coached 125 different Jazz players in regular season games during his tenure.

“The entire organization is thrilled that Jerry will continue to lead the Jazz,” said Utah Jazz President Randy Rigby. “He continually produces winning seasons and challenges his players to bring their best to the floor each night.”

Over his first 21 seasons, Sloan has produced two conference championships, seven division titles, 16 consecutive winning seasons, 12 seasons with 50-plus wins and 18 playoff appearances.

“The consistency of the Jazz under Coach Sloan’s direction is unparalleled in the NBA,” said Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor. “We are certainly excited that he will continue to guide the team moving forward.”