Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Rookies of Month: Durant, Horford

Sonics guard Kevin Durant today was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played from the start of the season (Oct. 30) through November.

Among rookie qualifiers, Durant ranks first in the league in scoring with 20.4 points per game, fifth in rebounding with 4.4, and first in assists with 2.1.  He is also ranked second in the league in free throw percentage with .816 and third in steals. In addition, Durant also posted a pair of career highs in points with 35 and blocks with three on Nov. 30. vs. Indiana.

The Atlanta Hawks’ Al Horford was named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played from the start of the season (Oct. 30) through November.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference T-Mobile Rookies of the Month were Houston’s Luis Scola, Milwaukee’s Yi Jianlian, New Jersey’s Sean Williams, Toronto’s Jamario Moon, and Washington’s Nick Young.

Gabe Pruitt back to D-League

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have assigned rookie guard Gabe Pruitt to their NBA Development League affiliate Utah Flash.  Pruitt is the team’s third assignment to the NBA Development League this season and the second time for Pruitt.

Pruitt was averaging 2.0 points and 1.3 assists in 6.0 minutes per game at the time of the assignment.  The 6’4 guard had appeared in one game since his recall from the Flash on November 26, 2007.  Pruitt played in 13 minutes against the New York Knicks on November 29 scoring two points, grabbing one rebound and recording four assists.

Marbury’s father dies

The Associated Press reports: Stephon Marbury played the second half of New York’s loss to Phoenix on Sunday night unaware his father had been taken to a hospital, where he died before the game ended. Don Marbury was taken from Madison Square Garden to St. Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center during halftime, reportedly because of chest pains, but a family member advised a Knicks official not to inform Stephon Marbury at the time. Stephon Marbury learned of his father’s death from a family friend minutes after the game. “It’s a terrible thing that happened to him and his family last night,” Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said Monday after practice. “For any parent watching their son or daughter perform, and to have something like that happen, anyone who has kids would sympathize with the son and you also sympathize with the family.”

Rob Swift out another month

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports: The Sonics weren’t counting on Robert Swift for big things in the early season, and they found out this week that the fourth-year center likely will miss another month with knee tendinitis and plantar fasciitis. Swift, who will turn 22 on Monday, has played in just five of the Sonics’ 16 games because of soreness in his surgically repaired right knee. Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo said Friday morning that Swift had his knee examined by Lakers team doctor Stephen Lombardo, who performed the anterior cruciate ligament surgery a year ago.

NBA denies Mavs protest

The NBA today denied a game protest filed by the Dallas Mavericks over their 111-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers on November 23.

The Mavericks filed the protest because a basket by Indiana’s Troy Murphy with 9:59 remaining in the second quarter was mistakenly recorded as a 3-point field goal instead of a 2-point field goal (making the score 41-25 in Indiana’s favor), and the Mavericks contended that this extra point had a clear impact on the outcome of the game.

The NBA’s review confirmed that Murphy’s shot was mistakenly recorded; the Official Scorer erroneously believed that one or more referees had given the signal for a 3-point field goal. In fact, no referee made such a signal, nor was any referee aware until after the game that the Official Scorer had awarded 3 points to Indiana as a result of Murphy’s shot.

Although he concluded that an inadvertent error was made by the Official Scorer, NBA Commissioner David Stern determined that it did not have such a clear impact on the outcome of the game that a replay of the contest should be ordered. Murphy’s shot occurred with almost 34 minutes of regulation time remaining in the game, providing Dallas with a substantial opportunity to overcome the 1-point error. Dallas lost the game by four points.

Although NBA rules would have allowed the game officials to correct the scoring error at any time prior to the end of the game, it was not brought to their attention until after the game.

Spurs assign Darius Washington to D-League

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have assigned guard Darius Washington to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League (D-League).

The 6-2, 195-pound Washington has appeared in 15 games for the Spurs, averaging 2.8 points and 1.10 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per contest.  He finished with a season-high 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting vs. Milwaukee on Nov. 11.

The University of Memphis product was signed by San Antonio as a free agent on October 1.

Washington is the second player – Ian Mahinmi was assigned on 11/21 – the Spurs have assigned to the Toros since Spurs Sports & Entertainment purchased the Austin franchise on June 28, 2007.

Pat Riley statement on accusation against Smush Parker

Pat Riley made a statement today on Smush Parker: “We are currently investigating the reported incident. Until we have concluded it, Smush will not be with the team. He has not been suspended and is currently on our inactive list. This is a legal matter and we will have no further comment until the legal process runs its course.”

The statement is in response to the following, as reported by the Miami Herald:

A Miami woman accusing Heat guard Smush Parker of twisting her arm during a dispute over a valet fee is seeking criminal charges against the five-year NBA player. Yomaira McKenzie, 41, said Parker ”lost it” Tuesday morning when he was asked to pay the $12 valet parking charge he allegedly owed at a condo building at 355 Biscayne Blvd. McKenzie is an assistant manager at Standard Valet, which services the building. According to a Miami police incident report, Parker, 26, claimed he had paid the fee in advance a night earlier. He said he did not have any available cash to pay Tuesday. Tension apparently escalated when Parker, denied his keys until he settled the debt, allegedly pushed a valet podium and grabbed McKenzie’s arm in an attempt to get his keys, according to the incident report. Parker was not arrested or charged at the scene Tuesday, which is standard procedure in most simple misdemeanor battery cases that aren’t witnessed by police.

Remember, it’s just an accusation. Parker’s innocent, until proven otherwise.

Nuggets sign Jelani McCoy

The Denver Nuggets have signed F/C Jelani McCoy. He’s 6-10, 245 pounds and comes from the D-League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders team. The Nuggets have injuries up front and needed some extra size. They recently cut Mike Wilks.

McCoy is a pretty good player and I think he belongs in the league, towards the end of a bench, but with a legit deal.

Hit InsideHoops.com for more details about the transactions.