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Nuggets G JR Smith suffered a sprained right knee at the end of tonight’s game against the Lakers. His status for Thursday’s game will be updated tomorrow.
Renaldo Balkman suffered a sprained right ankle in pregame workouts. He is questionable for Thursday’s game.
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Utah Jazz guard/forward Kyle Korver underwent successful minor surgery Monday to remove scar tissue from his right wrist, Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today. The procedure was performed by Dr. Andrew Weiland in New York City.
Korver’s wrist will be re-examined by Weiland in two weeks at which point a timeframe for his recovery will be provided.
Originally acquired by the Jazz from Philadelphia on December 29, 2007, the six-year NBA veteran appeared in 128 regular season games with the Jazz over the past two seasons, averaging 9.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 23.0 minutes per game. Korver averaged 9.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 78 games during the 2008-09 season.
Tom Penn, the Trail Blazers assistant general manager for the past two seasons, has been promoted to Vice President of Basketball Operations, General Manager Kevin Pritchard announced today.
Penn joined the Trail Blazers in 2007 after a seven-year stint with the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies, where he served as assistant general manager/legal counsel.
“I am absolutely thrilled and grateful to have the opportunity to continue to work with Mr. Allen, Kevin Pritchard, Larry Miller and the entire Trail Blazers organization,” Penn said. “We are blessed with a dynamic, talented team, terrific basketball and coaching staffs and a first-class organization. We will do all that we can to improve our team and build toward our ultimate goal of an NBA championship.”
Penn, tapped by the Trail Blazers for his extensive knowledge of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and salary cap, will continue to work with Pritchard on managing day-to-day aspects of the team’s basketball operations, including contract negotiations, talent evaluation, personnel acquisition and player/agent relations.
“When we talk about team chemistry, it extends to our staff and the role everyone plays in creating a winning culture here,” Pritchard said. “Tom has had a huge hand in our success, and I’m pleased that he will remain and continue to help us build this franchise.”
Penn, 41, worked as a criminal defense attorney after completing studies at the University of Notre Dame and University of Illinois law school. He later worked as a player agent, gathering his first NBA experience as a member of the acquisition team during Michael Heisley’s pursuit of the Vancouver Grizzlies.
The AP reports: Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu helped dethrone the defending champion Boston Celtics on Sunday night and gave Orlando a chance to bring a crown to the Magic Kingdom. Howard had 12 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots, and Turkoglu had 25 points with 12 assists in Game 7 on Sunday night, leading Orlando into the Eastern Conference finals, 101-82. Orlando trailed for just 36 seconds and built a lead it couldn’t squander to earn the right to play LeBron James and the Cavaliers for a spot in the NBA finals. Game 1 is Wednesday in Cleveland; Orlando won the season series 2-1… Ray Allen scored 23 points for Boston, and Paul Pierce had 16 before they were taken out of the game for a courtesy cheer with 2:30 left and the Magic up 99-78. The other member of the new Big Three, Kevin Garnett, awaited them on the bench, where he watched the whole series in street clothes with a right knee strain.
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and the Los Angeles Lakers emphatically silenced the doubters and the Houston Rockets, winning Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals 89-70 on Sunday. With Gasol scoring 21 points and grabbing 18 rebounds, the Lakers looked like the conference’s top-seeded team, not the maddeningly inconsistent one that was pushed to the decisive final game by the undermanned Rockets. The Lakers dominated the paint on both ends, forcing the Rockets into turnovers and bad shots, and owning the backboards. They had an 8-0 lead a few minutes in and widened it to 25 points on Gasol’s jump hook shortly before halftime… Trevor Ariza scored 15 points while Bryant and Andrew Bynum 14 apiece. Bryant added five assists and seven rebounds. Aaron Brooks scored 13 and Luis Scola 11 for Houston. Ron Artest (seven points) and Shane Battier (three) were non-factors.
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Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond released today the following statement on the injury (incomplete stress fracture – lower back) to center Andrew Bogut (7-0, 260).
“Earlier this week, Andrew underwent further testing on his back in Australia. We’re extremely happy to report that the results of the scan showed Andrew’s injury to be healed and his doctors have cleared him to begin his off-season workouts.”
“This day couldn’t come soon enough for me,” said Bogut. “I’m looking forward to a productive summer in the gym and being in top form for training camp and the 2009-2010 season.”
In 36 games this season, Bogut, 24, averaged 11.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 blocked shot in 31.2 minutes per game. At the time of his injury, Bogut was one of 11 players in the league averaging double-figures in both points and rebounds, and one of 13 players in the NBA that was averaging a double-double for the season.
The New York Times (Charles V. Bagli) reports: An hour after learning that a state appeals court had dismissed a major challenge to his long-delayed Atlantic Yards development project, the developer Bruce C. Ratner said he planned to break ground by October on an $800 million basketball arena for the New Jersey Nets in Brooklyn. The 20,000-seat arena is only one piece of a proposed 22-acre development at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues that would include an office tower and more than 6,000 apartments, including as many as 2,250 for low- and middle-income families. Given the anemic economy, the housing and the commercial building may have to wait for some time. But Mr. Ratner said he planned to complete the design for the arena, obtain final government approvals and issue the bonds for the project by fall.
The Orange County Register reports (via blog): Kobe Bryant got a break from the NBA on Friday when league officials rescinded the technical foul he was assessed in the second quarter of Thursday’s loss against the Houston Rockets. The Lakers had petitioned the league, according to Phil Jackson. Rockets guard Ron Artest and Bryant collided near the top of the arc as the Lakers star was attempting to slip by Artest without the ball shortly before halftime. Artest was called for a foul, while Bryant was hit with his fifth technical foul of the playoffs, bringing him to within two of being suspended for one game.
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The AP reports: The Houston Rockets came up with one more stunning victory to set up a final showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers. Aaron Brooks scored 26 points, Luis Scola added 24 points and 12 rebounds, and the scrappy, undermanned Rockets pushed the top-seeded Lakers to the brink in their Western Conference semifinal series with a 95-80 win in Game 6 on Thursday night. Reserve Carl Landry scored 15 as the Rockets built another huge lead in the first half, then fought off a Lakers rally to force Game 7 on Sunday at the Staples Center. Kobe Bryant scored 32 and Pau Gasol added 14 for Los Angeles, which lost for only the third time in the last 18 games when it has a chance to close out a series… The Rockets came out dominant instead of demoralized on Thursday night. They put together a near carbon copy of the first half of Game 4, when they seemed to hit every open shot, smothered the Lakers on defense and built an 18-point halftime lead… The Rockets hit their last eight shots in the third quarter and took a 75-65 lead to the fourth. Landry drove down the lane for a one-handed dunk with 6:56 left to put Houston up 81-71 and Bryant checked in after a long rest. But Bryant missed four of his next six shots and Brooks scored eight points over the next five minutes to secure another surprise over the Western Conference’s top seed.
In the 2009 NBA Playoffs, the Nuggets will play the Lakers in the Western conference finals. And the Cavaliers will play the Magic in the East. Here are the updated schedules:
Nuggets vs Lakers Schedule
Game 1 – Tue May 19 Denver at L.A. Lakers 9:00PM ET ESPN/R
Game 2 – Thu May 21 Denver at L.A. Lakers 9:00PM ET ESPN/R
Game 3 – Sat May 23 L.A. Lakers at Denver 8:30PM ET ABC/R
Game 4 – Mon May 25 L.A. Lakers at Denver 9:00PM ET ESPN/R
Game 5 * Wed May 27 Denver at L.A. Lakers 9:00PM ET ESPN/R
Game 6 * Fri May 29 L.A. Lakers at Denver 9:00PM ET ESPN/R
Game 7 * Sun May 31 Denver at L.A. Lakers 8:30PM ET ABC/R
Cavs vs Magic Schedule
Game 1 – Wed May 20 Orlando at Cleveland 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 2 – Fri May 22 Orlando at Cleveland 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 3 – Sun May 24 Cleveland at Orlando 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 4 – Tue May 26 Cleveland at Orlando 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 5 * Thu May 28 Orlando at Cleveland 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 6 * Sat May 30 Cleveland at Orlando 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 7 * Mon June 1 Orlando at Cleveland 8:30PM ET TNT/R
*The final three games of each series are “if necessary.”