The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Brian Windhorst) reports: Cavaliers forward Ben Wallace is being listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game in Toronto after suffering lacerations to his right forearm that required 14 stitches. Wallace was injured while playing catch with a football in Richmond, Va. and received stitches there. He returned to Cleveland on Monday and was treated this morning at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health for removal of additional glass pieces from his arm.
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NBA to borrow $175 million
The Sports Business Journal (Daniel Kaplan and John Lombardo) reports: The NBA is set to borrow $175 million Feb. 26, marking one of the first league financings since the implosion of the credit markets last fall. The money, which will be available to 15 teams, supplements an existing $1.7 billion leaguewide credit facility that uses the NBA’s media contracts as collateral to secure loans for the clubs. The NBA surveyed its teams, and 15 responded they would like to tap into the new borrowing. While the league said it is pleased to borrow in an extremely illiquid credit market, the deal came at a cost, with interest rates up to 8.27 percent, hammering home the notion that the era of cheap money in sports is over. The 15 teams can use the money for any purpose, but covering operating losses may be high on the list.
InsideHoops.com editor says: Loan me three fiddy. I want some ribs.
Wade wants to rock MSG like Kobe and LeBron
The New York Daily News (Frank Isola) reports: Over a spectacular 48-hour period two weeks ago, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James had the basketball world buzzing and their peers thinking: If they can do that in New York, why can’t I? “I wish I could have caught (the Knicks) right after that,” Dwayne Wade said. “I wish I could have been the third guy to go up in there because they were giving up so many points at that time. Maybe I could have snuck in and gotten 48, 49 or 50. I don’t know. You always want to play well at the Garden. I wish I had one more game there.” … “It was crazy,” he said. “As a fan of the game, once you saw Kobe score 61 points and you look and see that LeBron is coming to town it’s like, ‘Oh wow, I’ve got to be in front of the TV to watch that.’ To see him to come out and get, before they took the rebound away, a triple-double performance with the 52 points, that was some of the best basketball we’ve seen.”
LeBron James gifts his All-Star teammates
The Salt Lake Tribune (Steve Luhm) reports: LeBron James showed up at Friday’s All-Star media availability session with a Steuben Glass crystal for each of his Eastern Conference teammates. I went on the company website and, by comparing what I saw at the media availability to some of the items for sale on-line, I’m guessing LeBron spent at least $10,000 for the gifts. Boston’s Paul Pierce seemed genuinely pleased about getting a present from the best player on the team that has the best chance of derailing the Celtics’ bid for a second straight title. “That’s what the All-Star break is all about,” Pierce said. “We’re all friends here. Then, we we break, we’re enemies again.”
Top stars not entering dunk contest
The New Orleans Times-Picayune (John Reid) reports (via blog): As impressive as the dunk contest was in New Orleans, the league’s biggest stars continue to not participate. For the sixth consecutive year, Cleveland’s LeBron James will be a spectator instead of a participant. James said he has no interest in competing, which is the same response other stars such as Miami’s Dwyane Wade and Boston’s Kevin Garnett have given. Lakers star Kobe Bryant has not entered since winning in 1997. “It would take more hops,” said Wade, when asked Friday what it would take for him to enter. “That has to be first, along with more creativity. I can’t jump as high as those guys to do what they do. I’m a game dunker.” Hornets point guard Chris Paul said he would enter but only under one condition. “If they lowered the goal to about 8 feet,” Paul said.
NBA fines Cavaliers coach Mike Brown
The AP reports: Cavaliers coach Mike Brown has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for criticizing officials following Cleveland’s last-second loss at Indiana on Tuesday night. Brown, who will coach the Eastern Conference team at this weekend’s All-Star game, went into a tirade about a call by referee Joey Crawford that awarded the Pacers two free throws and gave them a 96-95 win. Crawford called a foul on LeBron James, who was trying to stop an alley-oop pass to Indiana’s Danny Granger. Brown felt Crawford made a predetermined call against James, who had been involved in a similar call moments earlier with Granger.
Mo Williams 44 points, Cavs beat Suns 109-92
The AP reports: Before packing for Phoenix, Mo Williams padded his All-Star stats. Playing in his first home game since finally being made an All-Star after being skipped over twice, Williams scored a career-high 44 points and LeBron James added 26 as the Cleveland Cavaliers reached the break by winning their 40th game, 109-92 over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night… The Cavaliers easily outran the speedy Suns, who were without starting point guard Steve Nash. He didn’t dress to get extra rest for numerous sore spots. Amare Stoudemire scored 27 and Grant Hill 14 for Phoenix (28-23), which will host this weekend’s All-Star activities and could undergo a makeover before the Feb. 21 trading deadline.
Mo Williams replaces Jameer Nelson in Skills Challenge
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Mo Williams has been selected to replace injured Orlando Magic guard Jameer Nelson (torn right labrum ) in the 2009 Playstation® Skills Challenge to be held on Saturday, Feb. 14 at US Airways Center in Phoenix.
The PlayStation® Skills Challenge will be televised live nationally as part of the NBA All-Star Saturday Night, which will also feature the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout, Sprite Slam Dunk and Haier Shooting Stars. TNT and ESPN Radio’s national coverage will begin at 8 p.m. EST from US Airways Center. The NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 15, will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in more than 215 countries and territories in 44 languages.
Shaq says Kobe is better than LeBron
The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Jodie Valade) reports: If Sunday’s Cavaliers-Lakers game wasn’t enough evidence, take Shaquille O’Neal’s word for it. Kobe Bryant is better. LeBron James? He’s pretty good, too. But Kobe is the best the Big Diesel has ever played with. “Kobe’s probably a 10,” O’Neal said Tuesday night. “LeBron’s a 9.7, 9.8. He’s a fabulous player who does it the right way and gets everybody involved. Those guys [Cavaliers] are playing at a very, very high level right now because of him.”
LeBron scores 47 but Pacers beat Cavs 96-95
The AP reports: LeBron James scored 47 points, had seven rebounds, four assists and had the Pacers crowd oohing and aahing all night. So, of course, he also made the decisive play — for the wrong team. James was called for a foul with 0.2 seconds left on Danny Granger, who hit a free throw to give Indiana a 96-95 victory over the Cavaliers. James started walking toward the locker room before the final buzzer sounded… Troy Murphy led the short-handed and nicked-up Pacers with 18 points. Granger, playing with a sore knee, finished with 16. Indiana also was without three key players—Jeff Foster, Mike Dunleavy and Marquis Daniels.