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Brooklyn Nets forward Paul Pierce has been fined $15,000 for making excessive and unnecessary contact with George Hill of the Indiana Pacers, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.
The incident, which was called a Flagrant Foul 2, occurred with 4:22 remaining in the third quarter of the Nets’ 103-86 loss the Pacers on Monday Dec. 23, at Barclays Center.
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Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes has been fined $25,000 for failing to leave the court in a timely manner upon his ejection, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.
The incident, which was called a Flagrant Foul 2 on the floor and downgraded to a Flagrant Foul 1 upon league office review, occurred with 56.8 remaining in the third quarter of the Clippers’ 120-116 OT victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday Dec. 22, at Staples Center.
Barnes has gained a reputation as an intense player who also sometimes loses his cool, resulting in hard fouls, techs and ejections. His ultra-competitiveness generally helps his team, except when it results in the opposing squad getting to shoot some extra free throws.
Charlotte Bobcats forward Jeff Taylor underwent successful surgery today to repair the rupture in his right Achilles tendon that he suffered in Friday’s game at Detroit. The surgery was performed by foot specialist Dr. Bob Anderson.
Following four weeks of non-weight bearing, Taylor will begin the rehabilitation process. The standard timeline for recovery is 6-9 months.
Here’s the New York Post with additional insight on the injury to Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez:
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When Alan Anderson woke up Saturday morning, he got a text message from a friend saying Brook Lopez was “out” and didn’t know what to think.
“I thought they meant outside, like out somewhere,” Anderson said after Sunday’s practice, shaking his head. “Then I saw it on the screen and called the trainers and said, ‘This can’t be right.’ But they said it’s right.”
The news Lopez was lost for the season after suffering a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot during Friday night’s loss in Philadelphia caught everyone by surprise. The center played the final 10 minutes of regulation and overtime after initially getting hurt when he got tangled up with Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young midway through the fourth quarter.
“No one knew,” Nets coach Jason Kidd said. “That just shows how tough Brook is.”
Here’s ESPN Chicago pondering a very important question for the Chicago Bulls:
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It’s the question that Bulls fans continue to wonder about as another lost campaign rolls along. The question for the organization remains the same as it was the instant Derrick Rose went down Nov. 22 with a torn meniscus. How much is Deng, who will become a free agent at the end of this season, worth on the trade market — and the open market?
Let’s tackle the trade-market aspect of this first. I might be in a minority, but I’m still convinced that if the Bulls get the right package in return for Deng, they will deal him before the Feb. 20 trade deadline. The problem for them is that no team appears to be willing to give up a future first-round pick plus the expiring contracts it would take to get it done. The biggest hurdle for the Bulls in any potential Deng trade, aside from his impending free agency, is that he is making more than $14 million this season. That will take a lot of excess money to get something accomplished in order to make the numbers work. The Bulls love Deng, but they have a pretty clear indication that there is a wide gap between how they value him and how Deng and his agents value him in the future.
Here’s the New York Post on the latest Knicks struggles:
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The coach admitted his team’s rebounding was embarrassing, and the star player acknowledged the home struggles have gotten into their heads. There was no denying either after the Knicks’ 95-87 defeat to Memphis Saturday, when they got humiliated on the boards and matched their home loss total for all of last season.
Mike Woodson tried to counter their matinee woes with a 10 p.m. curfew Friday night, and tried to match up against Memphis with a big lineup of Carmelo Anthony, Andrea Bargnani and Tyson Chandler. Neither worked, as they were badly out-rebounded and booed by the Garden crowd yet again. After going 31-10 at home last season, they fell to 4-10 at the Garden this season.
“You look at the rebounding, it was 55-29. That’s embarrassing, especially when you start a big lineup,’’ said Woodson, whose Knicks are 0-3 in noon starts. “Tyson, Bargnani, Melo, they’ve got to rebound the ball better. We’ve got to do it as a unit as well. That was the difference, then the fact that we gave so much up at the rim. … We couldn’t keep them out of the paint. That was the problem.’’
Here’s the Indianapolis Star reporting on the Pacers getting even stronger:
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Danny Granger’s absence for most of the past 18 months caused some angst among Indiana Pacers fans. They wondered how the team’s top player for so many years would fit in with a group that was doing quite nicely without him.
But no matter the misgivings, they showered him with love when he played for the first time this season during a 114-81 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Granger, who missed the first 25 games because of a calf strain, went to the scorer’s table along with Luis Scola to check in with about 4½ minutes left in the first quarter. The sellout crowd of 18,165 started cheering loudly and Area 55 — the fan section sponsored by teammate Roy Hibbert — started a “Danny, Danny” chant that quickly spread.
He got a standing ovation when he officially checked in with 4:05 remaining. He made his presence felt on the defensive end, coming from the weak side to block a shot by Houston’s Dwight Howard.
Here’s ESPN New York reporting on Metta World Peace trying to find peace with his knees:
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Metta World Peace sat out of Saturday’s game against Memphis with a left knee issue that may keep him out for an extended period.
The veteran forward said before Saturday’s game he’s unsure if he can play Monday against Orlando.
“I just have to take some time. We’ll see how long,” he said.
Any issue surrounding World Peace’s left knee is a bit of a concern for the Knicks.
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The Brooklyn Nets have assigned forward Tornike Shengelia and guard Tyshawn Taylor to the Springfield Armor of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by General Manager Billy King.
In 11 games this season, Shengelia is averaging 1.9 points and 1.2 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game. In 17 games (three starts) this season, Taylor is averaging 4.9 points and 2.1 assists in 14.6 minutes per game.
In 10 games (all starts) with the Armor during the 2012-13 D-League season, Shengelia averaged 24.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 36.6 minutes per game. In eight games (all starts) with the Armor last season, Taylor averaged 24.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists in 37.5 minutes per game.
Both players were previously assigned to Springfield during the Armor’s training camp and will join the team in advance of their game on Saturday at 7:00 pm against the Sioux Falls Skyforce at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.
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The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has recalled guard Ian Clark and center Rudy Gobert from its NBA Development League (D-League) affiliate, the Bakersfield Jam. Both are expected to be available for the Jazz’s game Saturday at Charlotte Bobcats (5 p.m. MT, TV: ROOT Sports, Radio: 1280/97.5 The Zone).
In three games (all starts) with the Jam, Clark averaged 12.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 35.1 minutes. Gobert also appeared in three games (all starts) and averaged 14.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 4.3 blocks while shooting .750 (15-20) from the field in 30.8 minutes. They both began their assignment with the Jam on December 14.
A 6-3, 173-pound guard out of Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., Clark was named 2013 NBA Summer League Championship Game Most Valuable Player and was signed by the Jazz as an undrafted rookie free agent on July 29. The 22-year-old has appeared in eight games as a reserve for the Jazz, averaging 2.8 points in 8.8 minutes.
Gobert, a 7-1, 245-pound center, was a 2013 first-round draft pick (27th overall) whose rights the Jazz acquired in a draft-night trade with Denver that sent the Nuggets the rights to the 46th overall pick and cash considerations. The 21-year-old native of Saint Quentin, France, has made 17 appearances for the Jazz in a reserve role, averaging 2.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.82 blocks in 10.7 minutes.
Clark and Gobert became the seventh and eighth different players in Jazz history to be assigned to the D-League. Other players on the current Jazz roster with D-League experience include Jeremy Evans, Diante Garrett, Mike Harris and John Lucas III.