NBA News Blog – Page 1504 – NBA Blog

Allen Iverson out 3 weeks with hamstring injury

Memphis Grizzlies guard Allen Iverson will miss approximately three weeks after an MRI today revealed a partial tear in his left hamstring, the team announced today.

Iverson suffered the injury during the Grizzlies’ training camp, held in Birmingham, Ala. last week. The 6-0, 165-pound guard did not play in the team’s preseason opener on Oct. 6 against the Washington Wizards.

A four-time NBA scoring champion and a 10-time NBA All-Star (2000-09), Iverson signed with the Grizzlies as a free agent on Sept. 10, 2009. The 2000-01 NBA Most Valuable Player ranks second among active players in career scoring behind the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Shaquille O’Neal and 16th in NBA history with 23,983 career points in his 13 NBA seasons.

The Grizzlies host the Oklahoma City Thunder at 7 p.m. tonight in the team’s home preseason opener at FedExForum.

Bobcats exercise option on D.J. Augustin

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has exercised its option on D.J. Augustin for the 2010-11 season.

The ninth overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, Augustin appeared in 72 games (12 starts) as a rookie last season with averages of 11.8 points, 3.5 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 26.5 minutes. He was named to the T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie Second Team after leading all NBA rookies in free-throw percentage (.890) and ranking second in three-point percentage (.439), fourth in assists, eighth in scoring and ninth in minutes played.

The Charlotte Bobcats, who became the NBA’s 30th franchise when they joined the league in 2004-05, begin preseason play tonight at 7:00pm when they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bobcats open the 2009-10 regular season on Oct. 28 at the Boston Celtics.

NBA tells bench players stay seated so fans can see

Good NBA seats are expensive. Fans shelling out big money to sit near the court should expect a good view of the action.

But what about when players get off the bench and remain standing for a while? On the one hand, it’s nice to see guys cheer their teammates. On the other, these giants prevent fans from seeing what they paid to see.

The Cavs are one team with players who remained standing a lot, and now the league office has reportedly taken action.

Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

The NBA has issued a memo to its teams directing players on the bench to remain seated during games. Game officials will be keeping a closer eye and will issue faster warnings and possible technical fouls if not followed. Players are permitted to cheer, but standing during regular-game action and blocking the fans’ views apparently isn’t going to be allowed.

That goes for Tuesday night’s first preseason game at The Q, where the Cavs will host the Charlotte Bobcats in the first of eight practice games before the season opener.

The Cavs weren’t exactly thrilled that their custom has been legislated.

“It is hard to take that out of the game,” LeBron James said. “Part of the game is emotions, your teammates are all you have. That was part of the reason we played great basketball, because we cheered each other.”

I support the league protecting the paying fan’s view.

Dwight Howard playfully mocks Vince Carter

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports (via blog): Magic center Dwight Howard has coined a new nickname for Vince Carter, who was called “Half-Man, Half-Amazing” in his high-flying, younger years. Laughed Howard, “He’s now ‘Half-Man, Half-Retired.’ “He’s not the Toronto Raptors Vince Carter who was dunking on seven-footers, but he’s still one of the league’s best players.” Carter, the eight-time all-star acquired in a trade this summer, showed flashes in his Magic debut Monday night as Orlando opened their preseason with a 110-105 victory against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Arena.

InsideHoops.com editor says: If a young Vince Carter and the current Dwight Howard both jumped as high as they could in the same direction, just as the wind gusted along with them, perhaps a typhoon would be created, sweeping the Magic arena away, delaying the NBA season. That would be pretty awful. Fortunately Carter is older now so as realistic as the scenario I just described may be, chances are it won’t happen.

Robin Lopez out 6-8 weeks

Phoenix Suns center Robin Lopez will undergo surgery to repair a broken fifth metatarsal in his left foot, the club announced today. Lopez suffered the injury in the second half of the team’s intrasquad scrimmage Saturday in San Diego.

The procedure to insert a screw will be performed tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 6, by Dr. Gus Armendariz at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix. Lopez is expected to miss between six and eight weeks.

As a rookie in 2008-09, the Stanford product averaged 3.2 points and 2.0 rebounds while appearing in 60 games.

The Suns open exhibition play tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 6, hosting Euroleague club Partizan Belgrade at US Airways Center at 7 p.m.

C.J. Miles ruptures left thumb ligament

Utah Jazz guard/forward C.J. Miles suffered a ruptured left thumb ligament during practice today at London’s O2 Arena and will require surgery to repair the ligament, Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today. Miles was examined by team orthopedist Dr. Lyle Mason and is expected to return to Salt Lake City to have the procedure performed.

A report on the surgery and an estimated timeline for recovery will be provided following the procedure.

Selected by the Jazz in the second round (34th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft, Miles (6-6, 220, Skyline H.S.) has appeared in 192 games (98 starts) with Utah, owning career averages of 5.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 15.0 minutes per game. Starting in all 72 games played last season, the Dallas native enjoyed a career year in 2008-09, averaging 9.1 points, 1.5 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game.

Tracy McGrady returns to practice

You remember Tracy McGrady, right? He was pretty awesome for quite a while, but has recently been written off as an afterthought.

T-Mac faces a long road back, and it’s not likely he’ll ever be as good as he once was, but the first step in recovering is actually being out on the court. So, yeah. He’s out there. Playing basketball and stuff.

Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports:

The court was dropped down in the middle of the McAllen Convention Center, a make-shift training camp venue far removed in so many ways from the arenas and tests of the NBA to come. It was, however, a start.

Perhaps the setting was fitting, a reminder of how far Tracy McGrady still must go. But for the first time since microfracture surgery last spring, McGrady practiced with the Rockets on Sunday. He went through a few stints of the scrimmage, moving well and without pain in a small, but significant step in his comeback bid.

His first participation in training camp did not alter his schedule. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said it was “part of the process.” The Rockets still expect McGrady to be out at least until an MRI scheduled for Nov. 23. Still, he played and all reports were that he played well.

Without Yao Ming this season, Houston isn’t expected to accomplish much. And it’s not realistic to expect T-Mac to be a one-man wrecking crew. But under coach Rick Adelman the Rockets play great total team basketball, so always expect them to do a bit better than predicted.

Brandan Wright to have left shoulder surgery

Golden State Warriors forward Brandan Wright underwent an MRI today, which did confirm damage to the capsule of his left shoulder, the team announced. Surgery is required, but no timetable has been set. A timetable for his rehabilitation and recovery will be established following the surgery.

Wright, who turns 22-years-old tomorrow (October 5), suffered the injury during practice on the evening of Friday, October 2. A 6-9 forward, Wright appeared in 39 games last season, averaging 8.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per contest. He missed 41 games due to injury or illness in 2008-09, including 37 games due to injury or pain in his left shoulder. Overall in two NBA seasons, the University of North Carolina product has appeared in 77 games, averaging 6.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 13.8 minutes per contest.

Javaris Crittenton out 2+ weeks

Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports: Javaris Crittenton didn’t know what to expect when he had an MRI on Friday, but he knew that the pain in his left foot had become so unbearable that he couldn’t push through any longer. After arguably his best practice this week, Crittenton was shut down for the final minutes of practice. And, after the MRI revealed what he already knew — that he had a double bone bruise and a strained tendon — Crittenton had to accept that he would be out of action for at least two weeks.

The Post continues: “It’s frustrating,” said Crittenton, who originally hurt himself playing in the Atlanta Pro Am league in late July. “I wanted to come out because it’s training camp and we got a lot of guards. We got to compete. But it’s one of those injuries, you’ve got to give it time and let it heal, because if you keep playing on it, it could be a potential surgery or it keeps nagging you throughout the season, then I can’t play. I decided to sit it out and let it heal.”

Michael Redd returns to the hardwood

Remember Milwaukee Bucks shooting guard Michael Redd? He’s fallen off the map recently but looks to remind everyone that he still exists.

The team has not accomplished much recently and in 2009-10 could take another step backward — unless Redd is his old shooting star self again.

Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports:

Michael Redd stepped back on the Bradley Center floor Saturday for the first time since Jan. 24, when he crumpled to the court after tearing ligaments in his left knee.

The occasion was only an intrasquad scrimmage for the Milwaukee Bucks, not a real game.

But it still was a huge step for Redd, who scored 18 points while showing little rust as the Bucks players performed for an enthusiastic crowd of 5,864.

“I was a little nervous, to be honest with you,” Redd said. “I felt comfortable and just played. I’m a little sore right now, which is natural, but I felt good playing again.”

Aside from watching rookie point guard Brandon Jennings, it’s worth keeping an eye on Redd to see if he looks up to carrying a team.