NBA News Blog – Page 670 – NBA Blog

Iman Shumpert day-to-day with groin strain

Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert experienced a right groin strain during the Cavaliers game Tuesday night in Boston. He is Out for tonight’s game in Cleveland vs. Oklahoma City and will continue to receive treatment. His status will be Questionable thereafter pending further evaluations.

Shumpert recently returned to action from injury and has played in just two games so far this season, coming off the bench both times. It’s likely that he may eventually return to the starting lineup. But for now, J.R. Smith has played 19 games and started all 19 of those outings at the shooting guard spot.

The Cavs are an Eastern conference-best 16-7 so far this season, and still waiting the return of point guard Kyrie Irving.

Brandon Jennings may use D-League for physical rehab purposes

Here’s the Detroit Free Press reporting on Pistons guard Brandon Jennings, who is still in recovery from injury but expects to return soon:

Detroit Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings told reporters he is planning a rehabilitation stint with NBA Development League affiliate Grand Rapids.

And as he nears a return to the NBA from the ruptured left Achilles that ended his 2014-15 season, Jennings is set on playing Saturday, when Grand Rapids hosts the Iowa Energy.

“There’s about an 80% chance I will be playing in the D-League on Saturday,” he said at the Pistons practice facility after team preparations for tonight’s game against the Boston Celtics (7:30 p.m., FSD). “I don’t care. I just want to play, man. I just want to get out there and hoop and see where it’s at.”

Greg Monroe hopes to return soon from knee injury

Here’s the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel with good news on the Bucks, whose center Greg Monroe doesn’t expect to miss much time:

Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe said he was confident his knee injury would not keep him out too long, even before he underwent a magnetic resonance imaging exam Wednesday.

The exam revealed a left knee medial collateral ligament sprain, similar to an injury that sidelined him for 11 games last season when he was with the Detroit Pistons.

“I know how it felt last season and this is not nearly as much,” Monroe said in the Bucks locker room before they met the Los Angeles Clippers.

Monroe missed his second game on the road trip after injuring his knee during a drill at the Bucks’ shootaround Tuesday at Beverly Hills High School. The Bucks lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, 113-95, on Tuesday night after Monroe warmed up but could not go because of the injury.

Eric Moreland needs surgery on broken foot

X-rays performed this afternoon at Kaiser Permanente in Sacramento revealed that Kings forward Eric Moreland will require surgery after sustaining a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot during practice today. He is out of action indefinitely.

A timetable for his procedure and recovery will be provided as updates become available.

Brandan Wright will have knee surgery

Memphis Grizzlies forward/center Brandan Wright will undergo a surgical procedure on his right knee, the team announced today. The surgery will be performed by team physician Dr. Fred Azar and Dr. Barry Phillips tomorrow at the Campbell Clinic. There currently is no timetable for his return.

Wright (6-10, 210) has averaged 6.6 points on 60.0 percent shooting, 3.4 rebounds and 1.43 blocks in 17.1 minutes in seven games with the Grizzlies this season.

The eighth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft from the University of North Carolina, the 28-year-old owns NBA career averages of 7.1 points on 60.6 percent shooting, 3.7 rebounds and 1.02 blocks in 16.4 minutes in 367 games (54 starts) over eight seasons for Golden State, New Jersey, Dallas, Boston, Phoenix and Memphis.

Greivis Vasquez undergoes ankle surgery

Milwaukee Bucks guard Greivis Vasquez underwent successful surgery Tuesday to remove a bone spur and loose bodies from his right ankle, General Manager John Hammond announced today. The surgery was performed by Dr. Martin O’Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. An update on Vasquez’s recovery period will be provided after post-surgical consultation with Dr. O’Malley.

In 16 games this season, Vasquez averaged 7.1 points, 4.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per contest.

Rajon Rondo issues statement

Statement from Sacramento Kings guard Rajon Rondo:

“Yesterday, I said that my words toward Bill Kennedy were unacceptable and did not reflect my feelings toward the LGBT community. Some have interpreted my comments as a non-apology. I want to be clear, from the bottom of my heart that I am truly sorry for what I said to Bill. There is no place on or off the court for language that disrespects anyone’s sexual orientation. That is not who I am or what I believe and I will strive every day to be a better person.”

DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant named NBA Players of Week through Dec. 13

Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant were today named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Dec. 7 through Sunday, Dec. 13.

DeRozan led the Raptors to a 4-0 week, averaging 24.0 points (third in the conference), 5.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.0 steals while shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 91.9 percent from the free throw line. DeRozan matched his career record, scoring 25-or-more points in three consecutive games, and led Toronto with a game-high 28 points against San Antonio on Dec. 9.

Durant led Oklahoma City to a 4-0 record behind averages of 27.3 points (third in the league), 8.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists (ninth in conference), and 1.8 steals. He shot 59.7 percent from the floor (fourth in the conference) while scoring 30 or more points in two games and was 26-of-27 (96.3 percent) from the foul line. Durant recorded his first triple-double of the season when he scored 25 points to go with 12 rebounds and 10 assists against Atlanta on Dec. 10. The next night, he scored 21 points, including the Thunder’s final 11, in a 94-90 road win over Utah.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Boston’s Isaiah Thomas, Chicago’s Pau Gasol, Cleveland’s LeBron James, L.A. Clippers’ Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Philadelphia’s Jahlil Okafor and Phoenix’s Eric Bledsoe.

Basketball Hall of Fame set to reduce eligibility wait time

Here’s NBA.com reporting some Hall of Fame news, for those of you who maintain a scoreboard at home as to when your favorite players might be added to the Hall’s list of greats:

The Hall of Fame is making major changes to the election process, including reducing the wait for eligibility by one year in a move that could suddenly produce an unexpected mega-class of Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson and Yao Ming in 2016, NBA.com has learned.

An official announcement is expected this week. But people with knowledge of the plans said the Hall has finalized the adjustment to shorten the wait time from five seasons in retirement to four before a player can be nominated, wanting to avoid what becomes a sixth year by the time voting is complete near the end of the NBA regular season. Under the new plan, voting and potential enshrinement would come after five calendar years, rather than five NBA seasons.

Tyler Johnson needs off-season surgery

The Miami Heat are 13-9 this season and getting 9.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per game from backup guard Tyler Johnson. Here’s the Palm Beach Post blog reporting an injury update:

The good news for Tyler Johnson in the short term is that he expects to be back any day from his shoulder issue. The downside, though, is that he eventually needs surgery to repair it.

Johnson has an impingement in his left shoulder (his shooting shoulder) and has missed the last two games. The Heat are uncertain whether they will have him tonight at Atlanta.

“It just got a little bit irritated, so we’re trying to calm it down,” he said Sunday. “I’ll be a game-time decision (Monday), but no later than Wednesday. I’ll for sure play on Wednesday (at Brooklyn).”