The St. Paul Pioneer Press (Don Seeholzer) reports: The Timberwolves will make some changes to their starting lineup for tonight’s game at Orlando, inserting Kevin Ollie at point guard, with Randy Foye moving to shooting guard and Mike Miller going to small forward. “I thought Kevin came in and really gave us some good energy,” coach Randy Wittman said, referring to Monday night’s 100-90 loss at Charlotte.
Category: NBA News Blog
NBA news blog
Raptors fire Sam Mitchell
Toronto Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo announced Wednesday that Sam Mitchell has been relieved of his duties as the team’s head coach. Assistant coach Jay Triano will assume the position of interim head coach. The remainder of the coaching staff will continue in the organization.
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“This is a difficult but necessary step the franchise must take,” said Colangelo. “We appreciate all that Sam has done for the organization, applaud him for his successes and wish him nothing but the best with his future in basketball.”
Mitchell was named the sixth head coach in Raptors history June 29, 2004. He posted a 156-189 (.452) record in his four-plus seasons at the helm of the Raptors. He garnered the Red Auerbach Trophy as the NBA Coach of the Year for the 2006-07 season. He also captured The Sporting News 2007 NBA Coach of the Year honours in a vote among his head coaching peers. In January 2007, Mitchell became only the second coach in Raptors history to earn Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honours.
Jay Triano is in his seventh season as a member of the Raptors’ coaching staff. He became the first Canadian born and Canadian trained coach in the NBA when he served as an assistant coach to Lenny Wilkens during the 2002-03 season.
A native of Niagara Falls, Triano was the head coach of the Canadian men’s national team from 1998-2004 posting a 52-42 (.553) record. He led Canada to a semifinal berth in the 2003 FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico and to a 5-2 record, second best to the United States, in the 2000 Olympics. He has also served as an assistant coach of the USAB Select Team (2007 and 2008), the head coach of the NIKE Skills Academy in Vancouver (2006) and Toronto (2007), and for the past six years as a coach at the prestigious EURO CAMP in Treviso, Italy.
Triano served as interim head coach for one game last season when Mitchell was away for a personal family matter. The Raptors defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves, 105-82, on February 10 at Air Canada Centre.
Triano’s first game as interim head coach will be Friday when the Raptors visit the Utah Jazz. Game time is 10:30 ET. The game will be broadcast live TSN and The FAN 590.
Jazz injury update
The Utah Jazz continue to be struck by injury as they host the visiting Miami Heat Wednesday night.
Carlos Boozer (strained left quad tendon) and Andrei Kirilenko (right ankle inflammation) are both out and won’t play this evening.
Matt Harpring and Deron Williams are both game-time decisions.
The Jazz have 12 wins and just 7 losses, good for the 8th best winning percentage in the NBA this season. They’ve done well, considering Williams, their star point guard, is shooting just 41.7% in the 6 games he’s played. He’s been a play-maker as expected when on the court, and that’s more important than missing a few more shots than usual.
Boozer has had a terrific season when out on the court and not on the sideline. He’s shooting 55.9% for 20.5 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
Houston Comets (WNBA) shutting down
The AP reports: The Houston Comets, a franchise that won the first four WNBA championships, is disbanding. The league-owned team will be shut down because new owners couldn’t be found. “You have to build on strength,” WNBA president Donna Orender told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “My outlook is to build on the fact that the league has great momentum and in Houston we didn’t have the enough runway to get a deal done in time for the 2009 season. So right now we have to move on.”
Ticker reports: The league will hold a dispersal draft for the remaining players on the Comets. “December 8 we will have a dispersal draft and the players who are available to be drafted will be drafted in an inverse order of finish by the current WNBA teams”, Orender said. “So the Atlanta team will have the first available player or the player they so chose on December 8.”
The Houston Chronicle reports: The decision to shutter the team came almost four months after the league took it over. The WNBA began running the Comets when owner Hilton Koch had decided to put the team up for sale. In mid-August, Houston Mayor Bill White issued a letter to potential investors, placing the value of the franchise at $10 million and setting a November deadline to find local ownership. Koch bought the team from Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander in October 2006. The team broke away from the Rockets’ organization, established a new front office, saw longtime head coach Van Chancellor resign and moved assistant coach Karleen Thompson into the top job.
Houston Rockets Owner Leslie Alexander issued the following statement today regarding the WNBA’s announcement that the Houston Comets will suspend operations this week. Alexander was the original president and owner of the Comets from the 1997-2006 seasons before selling the team to Houston businessman Hilton Koch on January 31, 2007: “While this is a sad day for me personally, as well as for all who worked so hard to bring women’s basketball to our great city, the Comets were a source of deep pride for all Houstonians. I will never forget our team making history by winning that first WNBA championship—then following it up with three more consecutive titles. The team was a great source of inspiration and had a great impact on thousands of young women everywhere. I will choose to focus on the many great times that we shared, and the incredible players like Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson and Kim Perrot, and of course our Hall of Fame coach Van Chancellor. We had the most loyal and energetic fans in the league, and the team will be missed by all.”
Tracy McGrady likely out week or so
Rockets G Tracy McGrady was evaluated by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, AL this afternoon. Dr. Andrews confirmed the initial medical assessment of Rockets Team Physician Tom Clanton that McGrady is suffering from general soreness in his left knee related to his continuing rehabilitation from off season surgery.
McGrady will continue his current rehab program designed to alleviate the discomfort in his knee. He will likely be out for the next week and will continue to have his playing time restricted upon his return in order to lessen the stress on the injured knee.
Rockets G Brent Barry, who missed the last two games with a calf injury, was seen by Clanton this morning at Memorial Hermann—Texas Medical Center and diagnosed with a small tear in the Plantaris muscle on his right leg. The injury will require him to rest for approximately the next two weeks before resuming his on court practice activities in preparation for a return to game action.
East player of month: LeBron James
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James was named today as the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Month for games played in the month of November.
In 15 games during the month, James averaged 28.6 points on .497 shooting, 7.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. James has now won the award eight times in his career: for the first time this season; two times during 2007-08, once in 2006-07, twice in 2005-06 and twice during the 2004-05 campaign.
During November, James ranked second in the NBA in points per game (28.6) and ranked sixth in assists (6.2) and steals (2.1) among Eastern Conference players. James led his team to a 13-2 record during the month, which tied for the most wins in a month in franchise history and was their best November record ever. James also won Eastern Conference Player of the Week twice during the month (for weeks ending November 9th and 16th).
With his second steal at Dallas on November 3rd, he became the youngest player (23 years, 308 days) and fastest (395 games) to reach the following milestones in five statistical categories: 10,000 points, 2,500 rebounds, 2,500 assists, 700 steals and 300 blocks.
During the month of November, James scored 41 points three times and became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1991 to reach the 40-point mark at least three times in his team’s first eight games of a season. James scored 41 points twice against Chicago (November 5th and November 8th), becoming the first player to have consecutive games with 40 or more points versus Chicago since Rick Barry (1974-9175) and he has now scored 30 or more points against the Bulls in seven straight games. He joins Nate Archibald (9 games from 3/10/72-10/10/73), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (8 games from 2/13/71-2/20/72) and Oscar Robertson (7 games from 12/2/67-11/9/68) as the only players to accomplish that feat. In the Cavs’ next game on Nov. 11th, he scored 41 points versus Milwaukee on 16-24 shooting (.667) and added six assists and three steals. With James’ 13th point in the first quarter at New Jersey on November 18th, he became the youngest player in NBA history (23 years, 324 days) to score 11,000 points, surpassing Kobe Bryant who reached the plateau at 25 years, 99 days.
The New Orleans Hornets’ Chris Paul was named the Western Conference Player of the Month. Other nominees for Eastern Conference Player of the Month were New Jersey’s Devin Harris, Orlando’s Dwight Howard and Toronto’s Chris Bosh.
West player of month: Chris Paul
The NBA announced today that New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul was selected as the Western Conference Player of the Month presented by Kia for games played from the start of the season (Oct. 28) through November. The honor is the third of Paul’s career (December, 2007 and March, 2008). He becomes the first Hornet to win the award three times.
“It is an honor to receive this award, especially with how many great players are in this conference,” said Paul. “I have to give a lot of credit to my coaches and teammates, we are all striving towards one collective goal, a championship.”
Paul averaged 20.3 points, 11.6 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 2.8 steals in guiding the Hornets to a 9-6 mark since the start of the season. Paul’s start included collecting an NBA-leading two triple-doubles and 12 double-doubles. He also scored 20-plus points in 10 of the 15 games and had 10 games of 20-plus points and 10-plus assists. In addition, Paul had a steal in every game during the season to extend his steals streak to 99 straight games, just six short of the NBA record set by Alvin Robertson (Nov. 16, 1985-Dec. 29, 1986).
“Chris is a special player and deserves all the credit and awards coming his way,” said Hornets Head Coach Byron Scott. “He is one of the best players in our league and the leader of our team.”
Paul had 24 points, 15 assists and one steal in a 104-92 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Nov. 1. He collected 30 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds and four steals in a 86-93 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 12. On Nov. 22, he had 29 points, 16 assists, 10 rebounds and three steals to secure his first triple-double of the season in a 109-97 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Paul had his second straight triple-double against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 24, garnering 14 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds in a 99-87 win. He collected 22 points to go along with 10 assists and three steals in a 105-101 win on Thanksgiving night on TNT at Denver.
Paul ranks first in the NBA in assists, steals and triple-doubles, while ranking second in double-doubles and 21st in scoring.
Rookies of Month: Derrick Rose, OJ Mayo
The Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose and the Memphis Grizzlies’ O.J. Mayo today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played from the start of the season (Oct. 28) through November.
Rose is ranked first among all Eastern Conference rookies in scoring average (18.4), assists per game (6.0) and minutes per game (38.0). He has scored in double-figures in all but one game and has led his team in scoring six times and in assists 13 times. He became the first Bulls rookie since Michael Jordan, in 1984-85, to score 10 or more points in the first 10 games of his rookie season. His nine assists in his NBA debut tied for the second-most by a No. 1 pick in his pro debut since the common draft began in 1966.
Mayo leads all rookies in scoring with 21.9 ppg, the highest scoring average for a first-year player since Allen Iverson (23.4 ppg) in 1996-97. He ranks in the Top 10 among rookies in seven major categories, including scoring average, minutes, assists, steals, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage, and is the first rookie to have four 30-plus point games within his first 17 career games since Allen Iverson (five) in 1996-97. In addition, Mayo is on pace to become just the fifth rookie since the 1996-97 season to average over 39.0 minutes, joining LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson and Shane Battier.
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference T-Mobile Rookies of the Month were Charlotte’s D.J. Augustin, Memphis’ Marc Gasol, Miami’s Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers, Milwaukee’s Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, New Jersey’s Brook Lopez, Portland’s Rudy Fernandez, Sacramento’s Jason Thompson and San Antonio’s George Hill.
Players of Week: Devin Harris, Brandon Roy
The New Jersey Nets’ Devin Harris and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Brandon Roy today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 30.
Harris averaged a league-best 30.0 points on .535 shooting and added 6.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds as New Jersey went 3-1 on its West Coast trip. On Nov. 30, Harris led the Nets to their first win at Phoenix since 1993 by scoring a career-high 47 points to go along with eight assists and seven rebounds. In that game, Harris set a franchise record for consecutive free-throws made (17-17). On Nov. 26, the 6-3 guard hit the game-winning shot in overtime as the Nets beat Sacramento 116-114.
Roy led the Trail Blazers to a 4-0 record, averaging 20.0 points, 6.0 assists and 5.3 rebounds. On Nov. 28, Roy recorded his first double-double of the season with 25 points and 10 assists in a 101-86 win over New Orleans. Roy has scored 10 or more points 17 times this season, including 12 games with 20 or more points, and leads the team in scoring (20.9 ppg), assists (5.3 ppg) and minutes (36.3).
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Cleveland’s LeBron James, Dallas’ Jason Terry, Houston’s Yao Ming, Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, New Orleans’ Chris Paul, Orlando’s Dwight Howard and Toronto’s Chris Bosh.
Euroleague November MVP is Sani Becirovic
Euroleague.net reports: A player who has withstood a roller-coaster career by means of his strong character, Sani Becirovic of Lottomatica Roma, has been chosen the MVP for November by Euroleague Basketball. At age 27, Becirovic has already seen the highs and lows of Euroleague competition this decade, scoring more than 20 points per game as a teenager, losing two seasons to a career-threatening injury, and returning to become a continental champ with Panathinaikos in 2007. Having arrived to the Italian capital this season with the role of veteran floor director, Becirovic filled it to perfection in November. Whether going home to Slovenia to face his old club, Union Olimpija, challenging one of the Euroleague’s historically toughest home teams, Tau Ceramica, or squaring off for first place against Fenerbahce, Becirovic was consistently the right man in the right place at the right time for Roma. He finished the month averaging 19 points, 3 rebounds and 4.6 assists in almost 27 minutes per game.