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Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press reports:
Villanueva suffered a broken nose with 9:30 left when he was fouled by the Hawks’ Zaza Pachulia on a drive to the basket. As he was falling his face appeared to hit near the hip of teammate Ben Wallace.
His nose started bleeding profusely and a time-out was taken. Pistons personnel was able to slow the bleeding just enough so Villanueva could make the two free throws. He then went to the locker room and never returned.
The AP reports:
When Joe Johnson is scoring and Josh Smith is doing a little bit of everything, the Atlanta Hawks are awfully hard to beat.
The Miami Heat got a sampling of that 1-2 punch Wednesday night.
Johnson made it two consecutive 30-point games, Smith dominated during a decisive first-half run and the Hawks won their sixth in the row, beating Miami 105-90 to reclaim a share of the NBA’s best record with Phoenix.
“It’s just beautiful basketball right now,” Smith said.
Johnson scored 30 points on the heels of a 35-point effort against Portland on Monday. Smith was all over the stat sheet: 16 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and two steals.
It’s still early in the season but Atlanta clearly has to be happy about the way they’re playing.
A big help has been the addition of Jamal Crawford, who is coming off the bench to contribute 16.1 points and 2.8 assists in 29 minutes per game.
The Cavaliers, Magic and Celtics are still considered the best in the East, but the Hawks seem closer to the big three than previously thought.
For now, at least, Hawks basketball is definitely of national interest.
Have Hawks opinions? Share them on the InsideHoops Atlanta Hawks forum.
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The AFP reports: Greek basketball club Olympiakos announced on Tuesday that their former NBA star Josh Childress has come down with the H1N1 flu and will be out of action for more than a week. “Our player Josh Childress has been diagnosed with the H1N1 flu. He is currently being treated and doctors are completely satisfied with his condition,” an announcement by Olympiakos said.
According to Euroleague.net, “Olympiacos announced Wednesday that star forward Josh Childress would miss Thursday’s game against Efes Pilsen after being diagnosed with the H1NI virus. He is the third player on the Reds to come down with the virus. Both Sofoklis Schortsanitis and Kostas Papanikolaou missed the team’s Euroleague season opener with H1NI.”
InsideHoops.com adds: The NBA recently had its first (publically confirmed) player with swine flu, guard/forward Chris Douglas-Roberts of the New Jersey Nets.
Kathy Betty, a prominent Atlanta businesswoman and sports advocate, will become the new managing partner of the Atlanta Dream pending WNBA Board of Governors approval, league President Donna Orender announced today. The team will be owned by Dream Too, LLC, an investment group led by Betty.
“I am confident Kathy’s passion for the game and the Atlanta community, as well as her vision for the Dream, will ensure that the team continues to build on its strong start,” said Orender. “Atlanta has been a great market, and Lisa Borders has been a constant ambassador. We look forward to building upon the success the team enjoyed both on and off the court this past season. At the same time, on behalf of the league, I want to extend our thanks to Ron Terwilliger for helping bring the WNBA to Atlanta in 2007.”
In addition to serving as the CEO of the Garry Betty Foundation, established by her late husband Garry Betty, former Earthlink CEO, to fund cancer research, Betty is a former partner with Ernst & Young and previously served as the Executive Vice President of Scott Madden, Inc., an Atlanta-based management consulting firm. Betty has compiled a lengthy track record of business success and community involvement. She also is a major contributor to Georgia Tech’s men’s and women’s basketball programs.
“The opportunity to own the Dream, which is all about providing accessible and affordable world-class entertainment for the families of Atlanta, is what excites me,” said Betty. “In addition, the fact that these women serve as role models for youth, and especially young girls, is something I feel strongly about.
“I want to personally thank Lisa Borders for her diligent work in saving the Dream. The Dream belongs in Atlanta. Lisa understands that and so do I. In the midst of a tough political campaign, she carved out time to bring sponsorships to the table and find investors who will make the Dream a continued reality for the staff, players and, of course, our fans.”
In 2009, the Dream recorded the second-largest one-year turnaround in WNBA history, finishing with an 18-16 record after going 4-30 in its inaugural campaign in 2008 to earn the second seed in the Eastern Conference and their first-ever WNBA Playoff berth. Forward Angel McCoughtry, the top pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft quickly emerged as a star and earned adidas Rookie of the Year honors, while Marynell Meadors was named WNBA Coach of the Year this past season.
Have WNBA opinions? Discuss them on the InsideHoops.com WNBA forum.
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The Atlanta Hawks have exercised the contract option for the 2010-11 season on center Al Horford, it was announced today by Executive Vice President/General Manager Rick Sund.
Horford has averaged nearly a double-double as he enters his third pro season, racking up 10.8 points and 9.5 rebounds, while connecting on 51 percent of his field goal attempts. A unanimous pick for the NBA All-Rookie first team in 2007-08, he also finished second in balloting for league Rookie of the Year honors.
He paced the Hawks in FG shooting last year (53%) in addition to delivering 11.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists. In the exhibition opener Wednesday against New Orleans, Horford had 11 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes.
Good NBA seats are expensive. Fans shelling out big money to sit near the court should expect a good view of the action.
But what about when players get off the bench and remain standing for a while? On the one hand, it’s nice to see guys cheer their teammates. On the other, these giants prevent fans from seeing what they paid to see.
The Cavs are one team with players who remained standing a lot, and now the league office has reportedly taken action.
Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:
The NBA has issued a memo to its teams directing players on the bench to remain seated during games. Game officials will be keeping a closer eye and will issue faster warnings and possible technical fouls if not followed. Players are permitted to cheer, but standing during regular-game action and blocking the fans’ views apparently isn’t going to be allowed.
That goes for Tuesday night’s first preseason game at The Q, where the Cavs will host the Charlotte Bobcats in the first of eight practice games before the season opener.
The Cavs weren’t exactly thrilled that their custom has been legislated.
“It is hard to take that out of the game,” LeBron James said. “Part of the game is emotions, your teammates are all you have. That was part of the reason we played great basketball, because we cheered each other.”
I support the league protecting the paying fan’s view.
Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed free agent combo guard Ronald “Flip” Murray. The seven-year NBA veteran averaged 12.2 points in 24.7 minutes last season for Atlanta. Per team policy, terms of the deal will not be released.
“This signing adds depth, experience and athleticism to our backcourt and increases the number of players on our roster who can compete at multiple positions,” Higgins said. “Flip has a proven track record in this league as a guy who can score and distribute the basketball and we are extremely excited about what he brings to this team.”
The 6-3 Murray was originally selected by Milwaukee with the 42nd overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft. He holds career averages of 9.9 points, 2.3 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 412 games with Seattle, Cleveland, Detroit, Indiana, Atlanta and the Bucks. In addition to his scoring, he averaged 2.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 80 games (two starts) for the Hawks last season. During Atlanta’s 2009 NBA Playoffs run, he averaged 11.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 11 games.
No stranger to the Carolinas, Murray starred collegiately at Shaw University in Raleigh, where he was named NCAA Division II National Player of the Year, First Team All-America and CIAA Player of the Year after leading the Bears to 28-5 overall record and Division II Final Four appearance as a senior.
The Bobcats also added guard Antonio Anderson, who went undrafted in the 2009 NBA Draft. The 6-6 University of Memphis standout averaged 10.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.4 steals in 34.3 minutes last season.
Share your Bobcats opinions in the InsideHoops Charlotte Bobcats forum.
Atlanta Hawks rookie Jeff Teague is considered a scoring guard in a point guard’s body.
Memphis Grizzlies rookie Hasheem Thabeet is a giant defensive presence still developing the rest of his game.
InsideHoops.com had two very short “mini-interviews” with them. Hit our front page and you’ll see the links.
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Coming off the strength of their first winning season in 10 years, the Atlanta Hawks are thrilled to announce that all 82 regular season games will be televised, with the release this afternoon of the FOX Sports South and SportSouth broadcast schedules. The combined 75 telecasts join the previously announced seven Hawks’ nationally televised games – one on TNT and six on ESPN.
“We are delighted that we are able to provide the entire Hawks regular season schedule to our fans this season,” said Tracy White, Hawks’ Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Combined with the interest shown by the league’s national partners, we know the FOX Sports South and SportSouth games will also feature great and compelling broadcasts over the course of the 2009-10 season.”
FOX Sports South will once again televise 30 games, featuring 11 home and 19 road telecasts, starting with the Friday, October 30th home game against the Washington Wizards (7:30 p.m.). Two nights later, their next broadcast takes place at the Staples Center, as the Hawks play their first road game of the season against the current NBA World Champion Los Angeles Lakers (Sunday, November 1). Among FOX Sports South’s other notable telecasts are road games at Cleveland (December 30) and Orlando (January 9), and the home season finale against Cleveland on Wednesday, April 14th.
SportSouth starts the Hawks broadcast schedule with the season opener, Wednesday, October 28th, at home against Indiana (7 p.m.). The 45-game schedule includes 26 home and 19 road contests. Not only will the network televise the only home game against the Lakers on Wednesday, March 31st, but SportSouth will also carry two of the four matchups against last year’s first round playoff adversary Miami (November 18 at home, January 4 in Miami) and the first of four games against second round opponent Cleveland (December 29).
During the month of March, fans will lock in to SportSouth as 12 of the 15 games televised that month will be shown on the network, while FOX Sports South will be the channel of choice in April, as the network’s final six games of the season will take the Hawks into the postseason.
The combined networks, with play-by-play announcer Bob Rathbun, analyst Dominique Wilkins, and sideline reporter James Verrett calling the action, will provide additional coverage with the return of Hawks LIVE, the expanded post-game highlight show with Jerome Jurenovich and Mike Glenn that gives viewers complete coverage after every televised game, including interviews with players and coaches, game highlights from around the NBA, and a look at the next opponent on the Hawks schedule.
Hawks’ games on FOX Sports South and SportSouth are available in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi (excluding the Biloxi/Gulfport, Memphis and New Orleans DMAs), Tennessee (excluding the Memphis and Jackson DMAs), the Charleston, Augusta and Savannah DMAs of South Carolina, the counties of Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain in the Greenville-Spartanburg DMA of North Carolina, and the counties of Abbeville, Anderson and Oconee in Greenville-Spartanburg DMA.
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The Atlanta Hawks have signed veteran center Jason Collins, according to Executive Vice President/General Manager Rick Sund. Per team policy, terms were not announced.
“Jason provides us with additional size and a good interior defensive presence,” Sund said. “He has extensive experience, having started in two NBA Finals with the Nets, and is another player with strong character and leadership qualities.”
An eight-year veteran, Collins spent last season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he appeared in 31 games (22 starts), and averaged 1.8 ppg and 2.3 rpg.
He spent his first six-and-a-half seasons with the New Jersey Nets, where he appeared in 510 contests (starting 404 of them) before he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies on February 4, 2008 in exchange for Stromile Swift. He then came to the Timberwolves as part of an eight-player deal on June 26, 2008 that also involved Kevin Love and O.J. Mayo.
Collins has played in 572 career regular season games, including 429 starting assignments, averaging 4.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 1.0 apg in 23.4 mpg (.410 FG%, .648 FT%). Collins also has significant postseason experience, playing in 75 playoff games (3.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg), including two trips to the NBA Finals with the Nets in 2002 and 2003.
The native of Southern California played four seasons at Stanford University alongside twin brother Jarron (now of the Utah Jazz). He earned Honorable Mention All-America by the Associated Press and was named to the All Pac-10 First Team in 2001, after putting in 14.5 ppg and 7.8 rpg. Collins attended Harvard-Westlake Prep in North Hollywood, California.
Jason Paul Collins was born December 2, 1978 in Northridge, California. He will wear uniform number 34.