Charlotte Hornets Blog – Page 65 – NBA Blog

Alexis Ajinca to have right thumb surgery

Charlotte Bobcats center Alexis Ajinca will have surgery on Friday, February 5, to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Paul Perlik at Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital in Charlotte.

Ajinca, who is currently on assignment with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA D-League, injured the thumb during the team’s game against the Idaho Stampede on January 27. An MRI was performed by the Red Claws medical staff late last week, and Ajinca returned to Charlotte on Monday to see Dr. Perlik.

Following the surgery, Ajinca will be in a cast for six weeks before beginning rehab.

Ajinca was announced earlier today as a member of the Eastern Conference team for the NBA D-League All-Star Game. In 22 games with the Red Claws, Ajinca is averaging 14.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocked shots in 26.0 minutes played, while shooting .546 from the field (113-207) and .748 from the free-throw line (95-127).

The Charlotte Bobcats, who became the NBA’s 30th franchise when they joined the league in 2004-05, return to action tomorrow when they visit the Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30pm ET at Staples Center. The game can be seen on SportSouth and heard on WFNZ 610 AM.

Bobcats win in Phoenix for the first time

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports:

The defense came back and so, too, did the Charlotte Bobcats.

After watching three quarters of the Phoenix Suns dropping 3s from everywhere, they tightened up in the fourth quarter – way up. They held the Suns to 29 percent shooting in the final quarter, pushed this game into overtime, and held on 114-109.

This broke a three-game losing streak and lifted the Bobcats to 22-22. The Bobcats swept the Suns, winning in Phoenix for the first time in six tries.

The did all that on Stephen Jackson’s 30 points (including the 3-pointer that forced overtime) and some remarkable poise and defense from ex-Sun Boris Diaw. He had a key block of Steve Nash’s jump shot on a late defensive switch and held Suns star Amare Stoudemire to 12 points and five rebounds.

Diaw (24 points and 11 rebounds) can be too nonchalant for his own good, but that seems to change whenever he faces former teams. He used to wipe up on the Atlanta Hawks as a Sun and now he’s 3-0 as a Bobcat playing the Suns.

Tyson Chandler out at least one week

The Charlotte Bobcats announced today that center Tyson Chandler will miss a minimum of one week due to a stress reaction in the fourth metatarsal of his left foot. Chandler suffered the injury, which was initially diagnosed as a left forefoot sprain, in the third quarter of Tuesday’s 88-76 win over Detroit. X-rays taken at the arena came back negative, but Chandler underwent a precautionary MRI on Wednesday morning performed by team physician Dr. Glenn Perry, who concluded that Chandler had a stress reaction.

The Charlotte Bobcats, who became the NBA’s 30th franchise when they joined the league in 2004-05, return to action Saturday when they travel to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder at 8:00pm ET. The game can be seen on SportSouth and heard on WFNZ 610 AM.

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Is Gerald Wallace an All-Star?

Charlotte Bobcats small forward Gerald Wallace is averaging 16.1 points, a league-leading 12.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.65 steals per game. He’s not shooting especially well (42.9% and just 29.4% three-pointers) but is still having a terrific season.

Is he worthy of making the East All-Star team?

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports (via blog):

I figure there are three forwards — Cleveland’s LeBron James, Boston’s Kevin Garnett and Toronto’s Bosh — who are locks to be chosen. As I said above, Bosh could potentially count as the backup center (behind Orlando’s Dwight Howard) since he’s certainly the next-best big man. And Bosh is so good Toronto’s record won’t kill his candidacy.

That would leave Wallace in a mix with the following: Boston’s Paul Pierce, Atlanta’s Josh Smith, Indiana’s Danny Granger and Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala.

I’m thinking Wallace won’t make it. But that he’s even potentially in the discussion is a nice positive for the Bobcats.

Julius Hodge stomps on rival court logo in Australia

The National Basketball League (NBL) will not be proceeding with charges against Melbourne Tigers’ import Julius Hodge for his post-game actions following his team’s match against the Adelaide 36ers on Saturday night.

Hodge drew the ire of the 5,984-strong crowd at the Distinctive Homes Dome in Adelaide after celebrating the Tigers’ 87-84 overtime victory over his former team by twice stamping on the Brett Maher Court logo.

NBL General Manager Chuck Harmison determined that the actions of Hodge, whilst immature, did not constitute a breach of the NBL’s Code of Conduct.

“Whilst it is clear that Julius Hodge’s actions on Saturday night were ill-conceived and juvenile, we do not consider them to be a breach of the NBL’s Code of Conduct,” said Harmison. “With no formal report lodged by either the 36ers or the game officials over the incident, Hodge will therefore face no sanctions from the league.

“It is disappointing that a game which was an absolute thriller, that went to overtime, and which drew the biggest NBL crowd of the season thus far, should be remembered for one player’s distasteful actions rather than the fantastic basketball played. That being said, NBL basketball is always exciting and emotional, and we understand that sometimes our athletes get carried away with their celebrations after a win. Clearly however Hodge went over the top and underestimated the high esteem in which the Adelaide crowd, and indeed the rest of the basketball community, hold Brett Maher.”

Harmison said Hodge’s allegations of racial taunts from the Adelaide crowd would be investigated thoroughly and warned that any fans who were found to have acted inappropriately would face potential bans from future NBL matches.

“Hodge’s allegations of racial taunting following the game are a serious concern and we will work closely with the 36ers and venue security staff to identify any individuals who may have used racial slurs against Hodge,” said Harmison. “There is absolutely no place for that sort of behaviour in the NBL or indeed in our society.”

The NBL will also undertake an overall review of the way the 36ers handled the post-game events on Saturday.

“We will be working closely with the club to undertake a thorough review of Saturday’s game-day operations as well as the actions of both the 36ers staff and venue security personnel on the night to ensure that appropriate procedures were followed,” said Harmison. “Our number one priority must always be the safety of our players, team personnel and fans, so it’s important that the club and the league learn from this incident.”

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Nets get first win of season

Friday night in New Jersey the Nets finally won their first game of the 2009-10 NBA regular season, beating the Charlotte Bobcats 97-91. It was the first game for new Nets interim head coach Kiki Vandeweghe.

The game was fairly close from start to finish, with the Bobcats leading by one point after the first quarter, by four at the half, and by one after three quarters. But the Nets stepped up big in the fourth and now have one win and 18 losses.

Nets center Brook Lopez (12-of-22) scored 31 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Courtney Lee, starting at shooting guard, shot 11-of-16 (3-of-4 three-pointers) for 27 points, four rebounds and three steals. Point guard Devin Harris, still not completely healthy, shot just 2-of-14 but hit 11-of-13 free throws for 16 points and 8 assists.

As a team, New Jersey shot just 39.1%, but they fought hard and had 87 field goal attempts, while the Bobcats only took 73 shots.

Terrence Williams struggled off the New Jersey bench, shooting 2-of-12. But like his teammates, the rookie hustled hard all game.

Charlotte struggled with ball control with 18 turnovers. The Nets had just seven.

For the Bobcats, point guard Raymond Felton shot 11-of-14 (4-of-4 threes) for 28 points, five rebounds and four assists. Shooting guard Stephen Jackson shot 10-of-23 for 28 points. Gerald Wallace had an amazing stat-line: 13 points, 20 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. And starting center Tyson Chandler added 13 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.

But, no one else on the Bobcats did much of anything. Boris Diaw was an awful 1-of-6 with six assists, and the Bobcats bench combined to shoot 2-of-13 for just five points and one assist between three reserves who got minutes.

The next Nets win may come sooner than it took to get their first. Sunday the team will visit New York to face the beatable Knicks. Tuesday, they head to Chicago where they’ll meet the inconsistent Bulls. On Wednesday, the Nets host the Golden State Warriors. And Friday, they head to Indiana to play the Pacers. It wouldn’t surprise InsideHoops.com to see the Nets win at least one of those games.

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Bobcats assign Alexis Ajinca to D-League

The Charlotte Bobcats have assigned Alexis Ajinca to their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws. Ajinca is expected to see his first action with the Red Claws on Friday, December 4, when the Red Claws host the Springfield Armor.

The 7-1 Ajinca has seen action in six games for the Bobcats this season, averaging 1.7 points, 0.7 rebounds, 0.2 steals and 0.2 blocks in 5.0 minutes per game.

As a rookie in 2008-09, Ajinca averaged 2.3 points, 1.0 rebound, 0.4 blocks and 0.2 steals in 5.9 minutes per game in 31 games played for the Bobcats. Ajinca was assigned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, then the Bobcats D-League affiliate, from March 9-April 12, 2009, averaging 11.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 0.8 steals and 0.4 assists in 22.7 minutes per game in 11 games played.

The Charlotte Bobcats, who became the NBA’s 30th franchise when they joined the league in 2004-05, return to action Tuesday when they host the Boston Celtics at 7:00pm ET. The game can be seen on SportSouth and heard on WBCN 1660 AM.

NBA fines Amare Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler and Rasheed Wallace

Phoenix Suns forward Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler of the Charlotte Bobcats and Boston’s Rasheed Wallace have been fined, it was announced today by NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations Stu Jackson.

Stoudemire and Chandler were each fined $7,500 for the posting of messages on their Twitter accounts during games, in violation of NBA rules. On Wednesday, November 25, messages were posted on Stoudemire’s Twitter account during the Suns 126-111 victory over Memphis in Phoenix and on Chandler’s account during the Bobcats 116-81 win in Charlotte over the Raptors.

Boston Celtics forward Rasheed Wallace has been fined $30,000 for public criticism of the officials following the Celtics 116-103 win over Toronto on Friday, November 27 in Boston.

Bobcats set personal record in 35-point win over Raptors

The AP reports:

Gerald Wallace broke out of his shooting slump with 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, helping the Charlotte Bobcats to the most lopsided victory in team history, 116-81 over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

Stephen Jackson added 23 points for Charlotte, which held the listless Raptors to 35 percent shooting. The sixth-year Bobcats’ previous biggest win was a 32-point rout of Indiana on Nov. 16, 2005.

While Wallace entered as the NBA’s third-leading rebounder, he was shooting 38 percent from the field and averaging only 13.7 points. But he took advantage of one of the NBA’s worst defenses by beating numerous defenders off the dribble.

The Raptors shot just 34.5 percent from the field in this game and hit just 4 of their 19 three-point attempts.

Toronto point guard Jose Calderon dished 8 assists, but the four other Raptors started combine for just three.

Hedo Turkoglu, the big Raptors off-season addition, brought nothing. In 22 minutes he shot just 2-of-7 for five points, two assists and almost nothing else.

The lone bright spot for Toronto off the bench today was Amir Johnson, who shot 6-of-9.

Raja Bell to have wrist surgery, could miss extended time

Raja Bell is a new member of the Golden State Warriors, acquired in the trade that sent Stephen Jackson to the Charlotte Bobcats.

The rugged, defensive-minded shooting guard has been playing hurt and has decided to take care of his bad wrist.

Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (via blog):

Newly-acquired Raja Bell told The Chronicle on Tuesday that he will have wrist surgery, a decision that adds to the Warriors’ injury woes and could cost the guard the rest of the season.

Bell, who was picked up from Charlotte in the Stephen Jackson trade Monday, will go back east for surgery to repair a partially torn ligament in his left wrist. He’ll miss four or five weeks if the wrist is in decent shape and probably the rest of the season if screws are needed for the repair.

“I’m going into it, assuming it will be a big surgery,” Bell said. “If I wake up and it’s not, it’s icing on the cake. I’m prepared for the worst-case scenario, and I’ll go from there.

He’s probably thinking that it makes no sense to play hurt for a team that is sure to lose and not make the playoffs, and might as well lengthen his career by having the surgery done now.

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