NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog
NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
NBA news blog
|
Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner underwent successful surgery Monday afternoon to repair a chip fracture in his left thumb, sustained during the first half of last Wednesday night’s game at Boston.
The surgery was performed at OrthoIndy Hospital by hand surgeon Dr. Tim Dicke. Turner is expected to miss six weeks.
The Trail Blazers on Sunday took a loss at the hands of the Charlotte Hornets. Nicolas Batum unleashed a huge performance in the win. The Hornets are now 5-5, the Blazers 4-7. Here’s the Columbian blog reporting:
 |
The Portland Trail Blazers lost their fifth straight game, extending their season-long losing streak, Sunday afternoon in Charlotte against the Hornets 106-94. Former Blazer Nicolas Batum led the Hornets with 33 points, six assists and five rebounds. Damian Lillard had 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the loss. Hornets shot just under 50 percent and had 29 assists as a team.
Terry Stotts changed up his starting line-up on Sunday against the Hornets. Against the prodding, more bruising Memphis Grizzlies, Stotts went with veteran big man Chris Kaman who to that point in the season had barely seen the floor. He played well, but against the small-ball styled Hornets, he went with second-year man Noah Vonleh at power forward.
The Blazers went to Vonleh on their first possession, where he airballed a shot off a post-up. The Blazers went to him again on the left block, this time it ended with a sweeping hook. We’ve not seen Vonleh get this much meaningful playing time or use so many possessions. He was called for a cheap foul on a lay-up and fumbled a few passes, but overall continued to stoke curiosity about what is there.
|
Forward Hedo Turkoglu, who played 15 seasons in the NBA and eight with the Orlando Magic, has announced his retirement yesterday. Turkoglu will be honored and recognized by the Magic during a special ceremony on Friday, December 18, when Orlando hosts Portland at Amway Center (7 p.m. start).
“I am very thankful and grateful for the opportunity to live out my dream and play in the NBA,” said Turkoglu. “I will always remember my teammates, coaches, staff members and all of the fans who made my career so wonderful for myself and my family.”
Turkoglu played in 497 regular season games (412 starts) with Orlando from 2004-09 and 2010-13, averaging 14.5 ppg., 4.5 rpg. and 3.9 apg. in 32.7 minpg., while shooting .379 (794-2,005) from three-point range and .805 (1,402-1,741) from the free throw line. He also appeared and started in 49 playoff games with the Magic, averaging 14.4 ppg., 4.5 rpg. and 4.5 apg. in 38.0 minpg.
Turkoglu earned the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award in 2007-08 and helped Orlando reach the 2009 NBA Finals. He ranks on the Magic’s all-time list in nearly every statistical category, including minutes played (fourth, 16,233), three-point field goals made (fourth, 794), points scored (sixth, 7,216), games played (sixth, 497), free throws made (sixth, 1,402), rebounds (2,221) and assists (sixth, 1,927).
Originally selected by Sacramento in the first round (16th overall) of the 2000 NBA Draft, Turkoglu appeared in 997 regular season games (571 starts) during his 15-year NBA career with Sacramento, San Antonio, Orlando, Toronto, Phoenix and the L.A. Clippers, averaging 11.1 ppg., 4.0 rpg. and 2.8 apg. in 26.8 minpg., while shooting .384 (1,246-3,246) from three-point range. He has also appeared in 109 career playoff outings (72 starts), averaging 9.7 ppg., 3.8 rpg. and 2.6 apg. in 27.4 minpg.
From President of Basketball Operations/Head Coach Mike Budenholzer:
|
“On Friday morning, I returned to Atlanta from Boston to be with my family due to an emergency medical situation involving my wife. We are encouraged by her progress to this point and remain cautiously optimistic.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the doctors and support staff at Emory for the outstanding care they have provided my wife. I would also like to thank my coaching staff, our players and the entire Hawks organization for their support and encouragement during this time. We are humbled by the outpouring of support from so many friends and members of the NBA family. It is greatly appreciated.
Finally, I’d like to thank the media and our fans for respecting our family’s continued request for privacy during this period.
I will return to the team as soon as possible and will be happy to answer any basketball-related questions at that time.”
The OKC Thunder are 5-3 this season, but are currently without the services of Kevin Durant, who through eight games is averaging 28.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 3.0 apg. Here’s the Oklahoman reporting the latest:
 |
Thunder coach Billy Donovan said Thursday that Kevin Durant’s injury is “nothing too serious” and that Durant hasn’t been frustrated by his latest injury setback.
On a day when Durant was not made available to the media, Donovan was asked about Durant’s mood since straining his hamstring against the Washington Wizards this week. Durant was third in the league in scoring (28.1 points per game) before the strain, which will keep him sidelined at least 7-10 days.
Coach Lionel Hollins and the Brooklyn Nets have been working hard all season with nothing to show for it.
That work finally paid off Wednesday night with their first win of the season.
Bojan Bogdanovic came off the bench to score a season-high 22 points with nine rebounds and lead the Nets to a 106-98 victory over the Houston Rockets…
Joe Johnson added 16 points and 10 assists for Brooklyn. Brook Lopez had 14 points and 12 rebounds.
— AP
|
Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler will undergo surgery to repair a labral tear in his right hip and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, Nuggets General Manager and Executive Vice President Tim Connelly announced today.
“Since his arrival in Denver in 2011, Wilson has embraced everything that has been asked of him and more,” said Nuggets President and Governor Josh Kroenke. “No one has worked harder, and to see him miss our entire season is devastating as I know how badly he wants to be on the court helping his teammates. Knowing the person behind the player and the character he has displayed during previous periods of adversity, Wilson will embrace this challenge and come back as a healthy and improved player next season. We look forward to assisting him every step of the way in his recovery.”
“While we are extremely disappointed by the news, we are confident that Wilson will be at full strength to start next season. Wilson is one of the league’s elite workers and we are going to be there for him during this entire process,” Connelly stated.
“I’m incredibly disappointed at this point, I put in so much work over the summer to make myself a better player,” said Chandler. “I was really looking forward to this year, being out there battling with my teammates, being a part of the change. I dedicated my whole summer to self-improvement and all I had on my mind this off-season and preseason was ‘this was my year, I was going to help this team win.’ So this is very frustrating and heart-breaking to say the least. I just want to say thank you to the whole organization for supporting me at a time like this.”
Chandler, 28, has spent the last five years as a Denver Nugget, appearing in 212 games (163 starts) and averaging 13.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He has played in 445 total games (343 starts) over eight seasons with Denver and New York, owning career averages of 13.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
Chandler was originally drafted out of DePaul University by New York with the 23rd overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft.
|
|
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) today that confirmed he has a strained left hamstring that he sustained during the second quarter of last night’s 125-101 victory at Washington, the team announced today. Durant will be re-evaluated in 7-10 days at which time a further update will be provided.
This season, Durant is averaging 28.1 points (fourth in NBA), 7.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.25 blocks and 34.7 minutes in eight games (all starts).
This is probably Kobe Bryant’s final season in the NBA, and if so, every chance to see him play is special. But according to the Los Angeles Daily News blog, fans won’t see him in action tonight vs. the Magic:
|
Kobe Bryant will sit out when the Lakers (1-5) play the Orlando Magic (3-5) on Wednesday at Amway Center because of back soreness. This marks the second game in consecutive games the Lakers’ 37-year-old star will miss after reporting his back tightening up.
Bryant said on Tuesday night that he hurt his back during training camp through normal “wear and tear” of a 20-year NBA career. But he reported minimal issues up until Tuesday.
The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have assigned guards Kendall Marshall and Tony Wroten to the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League in order to continue their rehabilitation as part of the team’s return to play protocol.
In a related move, the Sixers have placed Marshall on the inactive list.