Sacramento Kings’ swingman Francisco Garcia underwent successful surgery this morning at the UC Davis Medical Center to repair a broken right radius in his forearm and ligament damage to his wrist. Dr. Mark Lee performed the three-hour procedure. Garcia will spend eight weeks immobilized in a cast. He is expected to miss a minimum of four months of action.
Category: NBA News Blog
NBA news blog
Austin Daye, Carlos Delfino suspended for fighting
Detroit Pistons forward Austin Daye and Milwaukee Bucks guard Carlos Delfino have each been suspended one game without pay for their roles in an altercation that took place during Wednesday night’s preseason game, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
Daye has been suspended for striking Delfino in the face, and Delfino has been suspended for retaliating by swinging at Daye. The incident occurred with 34.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Detroit’s 113-104 win over Milwaukee at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Daye and Delfino will serve their suspensions commencing with the first game of the 2009-10 NBA regular season in which they eligible and physically able to play.
Brandan Wright has left shoulder surgery
 |
Golden State Warriors forward Brandan Wright underwent successful surgery today to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, the team announced. Following the surgery, which was performed by Dr. James Andrews at the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, Florida, Wright’s shoulder will be immobilized for up to six (6) weeks, at which point he will be re-evaluated prior to the next phase of rehabilitation.
Wright, 22, 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.
Hawks exercise option on Al Horford
 |
The Atlanta Hawks have exercised the contract option for the 2010-11 season on center Al Horford, it was announced today by Executive Vice President/General Manager Rick Sund.
Horford has averaged nearly a double-double as he enters his third pro season, racking up 10.8 points and 9.5 rebounds, while connecting on 51 percent of his field goal attempts. A unanimous pick for the NBA All-Rookie first team in 2007-08, he also finished second in balloting for league Rookie of the Year honors.
He paced the Hawks in FG shooting last year (53%) in addition to delivering 11.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists. In the exhibition opener Wednesday against New Orleans, Horford had 11 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes.
Francisco Garcia breaks right arm
 |
Sacramento Kings swingman Francisco Garcia today fractured his right forearm during a weight lifting session before practice. He will undergo surgery tomorrow morning. Garcia is currently in his fifth NBA season (all with the Kings).
With a career average of 9.1 points and 3.0 rebounds, Garcia has shown a nice ability to score, but he’s still best used as bench depth.
Jamaal Magloire, Jonas Jerebko suspsended for fight
Detroit Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko and Miami Heat center Jamaal Magloire have been suspended without pay for their roles in an altercation that took place during Monday night’s preseason game, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
Magloire has been suspended two games for instigating the altercation and striking Jerebko in the face, and Jerebko has been suspended one game for retaliating and striking Magloire in the face. The incident occurred with 5:04 remaining in the fourth quarter of Detroit’s 87-83 win over Miami at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Jerebko and Magloire will serve their suspensions commencing with the first game of the 2009-10 NBA regular season in which they are eligible and physically able to play.
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.