The Philadelphia Inquirer (Kate Fagan) reports (via blog): During Monday’s practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), injured forward Elton Brand hit the practice floor and participated in contact half-court drills. Brand did not look to be favoring his left arm or shoulder, but he did say afterwards that “It’s not 100 percent, I can feel that, but it’s pretty good.” Brand scrimmaged in a half-court setting, but did not go full court. He said he plans to go full during tomorrow’s practice… “Wednesday might be out, but I’ll be practicing tomorrow,” Brand said. He, and coach Tony DiLeo, said they would consult the medical staff and determine when Brand will be back in the lineup. But it looks to be very soon.
Category: NBA News Blog
NBA news blog
Tracy McGrady out 2 weeks
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that guard Tracy McGrady is expected to miss the next two weeks for physical conditioning.
“Tracy was not able to execute his standard pre-season training regimen due to his offseason procedure. He has been fighting through this in order to help the team get past a difficult early season schedule. Coach Adelman and I felt that it was in his best interest to take these two weeks to get himself physically prepared for the second-half of the season.”
Cavaliers sign Jawad Williams to 10-day contract
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Jawad Williams to a 10-day contract, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.
Williams (6-9, 220 pounds) has played in three games this season with the Cavaliers. In four total minutes, Williams scored two points and recorded one steal. He was waived by the Cavaliers on January 7th.
The Cavaliers roster now stands at 15.
Al Horford bone bruise
Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford will miss this afternoon’s contest against the Philadelphia 76ers with a bone bruise to his right knee. He is out indefinitely and will not travel with the team on their West Coast trip (Phoenix, LA Clippers and Golden State).
Horford this season is averaging 10.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 blocks on 51.7% shooting in 32.9 minutes per game.
Euroleague Week 9 MVP: Immanuel McElroy
Euroleague.net reports: Not only did his outstanding performance allow Alba Berlin to register its first Euroleague road win this season and put one foot in the Top 16, but Immanuel McElroy played well enough in his team’s most pivotal game that he also earned the Week 9 MVP honor with an index rating of 38. Thanks to his near-perfect scoring show, Alba was able to steal a 75-79 road win against DKV Joventut in a Group C showdown for survival on Thursday. McElroy dominated the game and finished with 26 points, missing only one shot all night.
Yi Jianlian out 4-6 weeks
The New York Post (Fred Kerber) reports: The Nets finally saw the Yi Jianlian they wanted, the 7-foot bundle of emerging talent they felt was worth dealing Richard Jefferson to obtain. The past few weeks, Yi was good. The past few games, Yi was very good. But now the development will be shelved for up to six weeks after Yi broke his right pinkie in Friday’s 104-102 defeat at Milwaukee. “Lousy timing,” team president Rod Thorn said. “He’d been playing well the last 2½, 3 weeks. Even in games he didn’t score a lot in, he’s been playing well. So it’s a tough time for him to get hurt.” Yi, who said he heard a “little pop” as he swiped at the ball in the third quarter, had 16 points in 25 minutes against Milwaukee, well on his way to a third straight 20-point game. In his last three games, he shot .538 (21-of-39), averaged 19.3 points – plus 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
Boozer out 4+ weeks
Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer underwent a successful arthroscopic procedure on his left knee performed by Dr. Richard Ferkel in Los Angeles on Friday. All loose pieces of cartilage in the knee area were removed and microfracturing will not be required. Everything else in the knee joint was found to be fine. Boozer will now undergo a four-week rehabilitation program, after which his return to activity will be re-evaluated.
“I had a successful surgery and the loose bodies that were floating around and causing my pain were removed,” said Boozer following the procedure. “My knee is now on its way to recovering and getting completely healthy so that I can return to help my team.”
Grizzlies sign Darius Miles to 10-day contract
The Memphis Grizzlies have re-signed forward Darius Miles to a 10-day contract, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today. Miles, who was waived by the Grizzlies on Jan. 7, cleared waivers and subsequently became an unrestricted free agent.
In two games with Memphis, Miles collected two rebounds and two blocked shots in a total of nine minutes of action. The 6-9, 235-pound forward also served a 10-game league suspension, which concluded following the Jan. 2 game vs. San Antonio.
“Darius did everything asked of him in his initial stint with the Grizzlies and was well received by his teammates,” Wallace said. “In the last Minnesota game (Jan. 6), his length, experience, rebounding, shot blocking and defense on one of the elite post scorers in the league, Al Jefferson, were all impressive. Our young team is short on frontcourt players and can use a veteran with his attributes.”
Miles was signed by the Grizzlies as a free agent on Dec. 13 after missing all of the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons following microfracture surgery on his right knee. The 27-year-old signed a free-agent contract with the Boston Celtics on Aug. 22, 2008 and appeared in six preseason games, averaging 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 10.4 minutes before his release on Oct. 20.
The third overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft became the first player in league history drafted straight out of high school (East St. Louis High School) to earn All-Rookie honors when he posted 9.4 points and 1.54 blocks for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2000-01.
The Bellville, Ill. native holds career averages of 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.15 blocks in 27.6 minutes in 414 career games (190 starts) with Memphis, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Memphis will return to action next to face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. CST at the FedExForum The Grizzlies’ current roster stands at 14 players.
Kings assign Donte Greene to D-League
The Sacramento Kings have assigned Donte Greene to the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League, Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie announced tonight.
Greene, a 6-10, 226-pound forward, who currently is in his rookie season with Sacramento, is averaging 4.5 points (.388 FGs, .316 3FGs, .842 FTs) and 1.8 rebounds per game through 24 contests, of which he has started four.
Drafted by Memphis as an undergraduate out of Syracuse in the first-round (28th overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft, Greene was traded to Houston before being acquired by the Kings via trade along with guard Bobby Jackson, a 2009 first-round draft selection and cash considerations in exchange for forward Ron Artest, rookie guard Sean Singletary and rookie forward Patrick Ewing, Jr.
Latest All-Star votes
The NBA All-Star game voting is ongoing, and today the latest results were revealed.
This is the last update until the voting ends and the final results are released.
Here are the current starters if the voting ended today:
East: D.Wade, A.Iverson, L.James, K.Garnett, D.Howard
West: K.Bryant, T.McGrady, C.Anthony, T.Duncan, Yao Ming
Click the link above to see the exact voting totals and complete info.