Denver Nuggets Blog – Page 68 – NBA Blog

Allen Iverson out two more weeks with sore back

The Detroit Pistons announced today that guard Allen Iverson will miss the next two weeks due to a sore back at the request of doctors at Georgetown University. Iverson’s condition was evaluated at Georgetown today and it was recommended that he suspend basketball related activities for two weeks. He will not travel with the team to prevent stress on his back and will be re-evaluated again by the doctors at Georgetown following the conclusion of the two-week period.

The doctors at Georgetown University have been in contact with the Pistons’ medical staff and Iverson will begin treatment for his sore back upon his return to Detroit on Thursday.

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Pistons surge past Billups & Anthony-less Nuggets

The AP reports: It was a win-win night at the Palace. Chauncey Billups got the warm welcome he deserved and the Detroit Pistons won a game they needed. Billups scored a season-high 34 points in his return to suburban Detroit, but the Pistons came away with the 100-95 victory Tuesday night against the Carmelo Anthony-less Denver Nuggets… Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points for the Pistons and four of his teammates scored at least 16, attacking with a balanced offense perhaps not coincidentally because Iverson missed his third straight game with a back injury… Nene scored 20 and J.R. Smith had 16 points for the Nuggets.

Nuggets sign Jason Hart

The Denver Nuggets have signed G Jason Hart for the remainder of the season, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.

Hart, 6-3, 180, averaged 2.3 ppg and 1.5 apg in 28 games with the Los Angeles Clippers this season before being waived on Feb. 27.

In eight NBA seasons, Hart has compiled career averages of 4.9 ppg and 2.3 apg in 16.1 mpg in 325 games with Milwaukee, San Antonio, Charlotte, Sacramento, L.A. Clippers (two stints) and Utah.

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Nuggets suspend Carmelo Anthony

The Denver Nuggets have suspended F Carmelo Anthony for one game following an in-game transgression Sunday against Indiana.

“There is a code of conduct that we take very seriously, especially from a leader and co-captain,” said Nuggets Vice President of Player Personnel Rex Chapman. “Carmelo knows this and regrets what happened. He is a very competitive person and made a poor decision in the heat of the moment. We look forward to having him back on Thursday and will have no further comment at this time.”

Anthony will not play Tuesday night, when the Nuggets visit the Detroit Pistons. He will return to the lineup for Thursday’s game vs. Portland.

The Denver Post reports: Multiple sources said coach George Karl tried to take Anthony out of the game in the third quarter, but Anthony refused to come out, disrespecting the coach.

Knicks sign Cheikh Samb to 10-day contract

The New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that free agent center Cheikh Samb has been signed to a 10-day contract.

Samb, 7-1, 245-pounds was selected in the second round (51st overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, before being traded to the Detroit Pistons on draft night. A native of Senegal, Samb has career averages of 1.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 5.4 minutes in 20 career games over two seasons with Detroit, Denver and the Los Angeles Clippers. On Nov. 3, he was traded from Detroit to Denver, and on Jan. 5 from Denver to the L.A. Clippers. In 16 games this season with the Nuggets and Clippers, Samb averaged 0.9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.63 blocks over 4.7 minutes. He was waived by the Clippers on Feb. 16.

The Knicks roster now stands at 13 players.

InsideHoops.com editor says: He’s probably in for those 10 days and then out again.

Jack, Murphy shine, Pacers beat Nuggets 100-94

The AP reports: The Indiana Pacers again have proven they can beat any team in the league on their home court. Jarrett Jack had 28 points and eight assists, Troy Murphy had 22 points and 18 rebounds and the Pacers beat the Denver Nuggets 100-94 on Sunday night… Chauncey Billups led the Nuggets with 27 points and seven assists. Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points, but was 8-for-24 from the field, and Nene added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Nuggets end skid against Lakers with 90-79 win

The AP reports: J.R. Smith scored 22 points and hounded Kobe Bryant all night and the Nuggets beat cold-shooting Los Angeles 90-79 to end to end a nine-game losing streak against the Lakers. The Nuggets got solid performances from reserves Smith and Chris Andersen, who tied a career high with seven blocks, pulled down 12 rebounds and chipped in 11 points, and their defense was, to a man, absolutely outstanding… Kobe Bryant scored 29 points but he needed 31 shots to do it, sinking 10 of them, and he was hounded by Smith in the fourth quarter when the Nuggets held the Lakers to 16 points and Bryant went 2-for-9… Lamar Odom was 5-for-17 and the bench was a combined 3-for-19.

Nuggets notes

The Good: The Nuggets win vs. Atlanta on 2/25 snapped a three-game losing streak, which had matched their longest losing streak of the season (also dropped three-straight from 12/16-12/20). Additionally, the Nuggets once again avoided losing consecutive home games with their win on 2/25. They have not lost consecutive games at the Pepsi Center since the 2006-07 season (2/5 and 2/7/07).

The Bad: The Nuggets allowed 120 points at Milwaukee on 2/22, tying a Nuggets opponent season-high for total points. With the loss, Denver is now 5-6 so far this season when giving up 110 or more points.

And the Ugly: The 114-76 loss for Denver vs. Boston on 2/23 tied the second-worst home loss in Nuggets NBA history, while it tied the third worst home loss in Nuggets franchise history as well. With the 38-point loss on 2/23, this is now the first time since 1997-98 that the Nuggets have suffered two losses of 38+ points during the same season (also lost by 44 at New Jersey earlier this year on 2/7).

Clippers waive Jason Hart

The Los Angeles Clippers today waived guard Jason Hart.

In 28 games played this season, Hart averaged 2.3 points, 1.5 assists and 11.1 minutes per contest. Over his eight-year NBA career, Hart has recorded averages of 4.9 points, 2.3 assists and 16.1 minutes per game.

The Clippers acquired Hart from the Utah Jazz on July 23, 2008 in exchange for guard Brevin Knight.

Rocky Mountain News to close

The Denver Nuggets are covered by two main newspapers, the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News. The latter, which features fantastic writer Chris Tomasson, is closing in a mere 24 hours. This news obviously stretches way beyond basketball, but in terms of Nuggets coverage this is awful. The Rocky Mountain News reports the following, on themselves:

The Rocky Mountain News publishes its last paper tomorrow. Rich Boehne, chief executive officer of Scripps, broke the news to the Rocky staff at noon today, ending nearly three months of speculation over the paper’s future. He called the paper a victim of a terrible economy and an upheaval in the newspaper industry. “Denver can’t support two newspapers any longer,” Boehne told staffers, some of whom cried at the news. “It’s certainly not good news for you, and it’s certainly not good news for Denver.” On Dec. 4, Boehne announced that Scripps was looking for a buyer for the Rocky and its 50 percent interest in the Denver Newspaper Agency, the company that handles business matters for the papers, because of financial losses in Denver. Scripps said the Rocky lost $16 million in 2008.

Print media continues to lose readers and business to the internet (where you can also find the print product available free of charge). The current very bad economy is affecting businesses around the country and world. These factors and more spell gloomy days for the newspaper business for months and possibly years to come.

–Jeff