NBA Teams – Page 1149 – NBA Blog

Tim Hardaway Jr enjoys big preseason game

Tim Hardaway Jr. didn’t take long to acclimate to life in the pros.

The rookie scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead basket with 8.2 seconds to play, to lead the New York Knicks to a 103-102 preseason victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.

‘‘It was great, everything you’ve asked for, you’ve dreamed of, and it’s coming to reality,’’ the son of the former NBA guard said following the Knicks’ preseason opener. ‘‘Just got to live in the moment and take advantage of your opportunities.’’

Iman Shumpert scored 18 points, Metta World Peace added 13 and Andrea Bargnani had 12 for the Knicks, who led by as many as 23 points with 8:13 to play in their preseason opener.

Reported by the Associated Press

Warriors waive guard Cameron Jones

The Golden State Warriors have waived guard Cameron Jones, the team announced today.

Jones, 24, has appeared in all three of Golden State’s 2013 preseason games, averaging 2.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in 7.7 minutes per contest.

The Warriors now have 17 players under contract.

Los Angeles Lakers waive Eric Boateng and Dan Gadzuric

The Los Angeles Lakers have waived Eric Boateng and Dan Gadzuric, it was announced today.

Boateng, a free agent center out of Arizona State University, has split time over the last three seasons playing for the Idaho Stampede and the Austin Toros of the NBA’s Development League in addition to playing internationally for the Greek Basket League team Peristeri and the New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig in Germany. The 6-10 center, who played one year (2005-06) at Duke before transferring to Arizona State University (2007-10), finished his collegiate career averaging 4.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in 13.8 minutes over 116 games. Born in London, Boateng is also a member of the Great Britain national basketball team.

A ten-year NBA veteran, Gadzuric spent the 2012-13 season playing with Marinos de Anzoátegui in Venezuela. In 30 games with the team he averaged 10.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 19.4 minutes. Selected in the second round (34th overall) by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2002 NBA Draft, the 6-11 center out of UCLA has played in 527 career NBA games with Milwaukee, Golden State, New Jersey (now Brooklyn), Toronto and New York, averaging 4.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 14.8 minutes.

The Lakers training camp roster now stands at 17 players.

Dwight Howard says Stan Van Gundy helped his decision to sign with Rockets

Former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was one of the key advisors who helped Dwight Howard decide to sign with the Houston Rockets.

That’s what Dwight Howard told reporters in Houston what Stan confirmed to Open Mike.

From Dwight, courtesy of the Houston Chronicle: “I talked to Stan a lot during last season. During the offseason, we talked and he felt like the system that would fit me best and the coaching staff would be Houston. He said he liked (Kevin McHale). He likes (Hakeem Olajuwon). He likes (James Harden) and the fact that this is a young team. It reminds him of the team we had in Orlando so he felt like this would be a good fit for me.”

Howard went on to say that he now has a great relationship with the coach he tried to get fired in Orlando: “One side is business and one side is personal,” he told the Chronicle.

Reported by Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel

Pau Gasol, Chris Kaman showing preseason chemistry

As they moved around the court in what marked their first time playing together in a competitive game, Pau Gasol and Chris Kaman became mirror images of each other.

They both played pick-and-roll. They facilitated up top. They posted down low.

Never did they do this at the same time. Instead, they fulfilled that job description by playing off one another. Add up all the ingredients in the Lakers’ 90-88 preseason victory Monday against the Denver Nuggets at Citizens Business Bank Arena. And it’s clear that both Gasol and Kaman won’t have problems working together.

They combined for 26 points on 11 of 22 shooting and 15 rebounds in nearly 24 minutes of work, leaving the two eager to pepper each other with compliments on why the chemistry instantly clicked.

Gasol praised Kaman’s mid-range jumper and spacing.

Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)

Kobe Bryant health update

The current Lakers roster, minus the services of Kobe Bryant, has little chance of doing anything big this upcoming NBA season.

The roster with Kobe active… well, still not likely to do much and will face a very uphill battle simply qualifying for the playoffs, but they’ll certainly be more competitive and interesting to watch.

Here’s the latest on Kobe’s health:

Bryant, 35, is still recovering from surgery on his ruptured Achilles tendon. There is no firm timetable for his return, but he has been able to do some light jogging and set shooting during the first week of training camp.

“Just keep grinding. Keep working hard and getting better,” Bryant said of his Achilles rehab Tuesday in a courtside interview with Time Warner Cable during the Lakers’ 90-88 preseason win over the Denver Nuggets. “I gotta get in shape, too. I’ve been sitting on my butt now for a while. I gotta get up and get moving.”

He previously said it’s too soon to know whether it will be possible to play by the Lakers’ season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 29 but that he’s trying to get back as soon as possible.

Reported by Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles

The NBA is better with Kobe on the court. Hopefully he’s back in action soon.

Rockets: Marcus Camby struggling with injury

A healthy Marcus Camby would be a terrific limited-minutes backup to new Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard. We repeat: healthy.

Rockets center Marcus Camby, expected to be out another two weeks with a foot injury, could be out much longer if things don’t improve soon. Camby said Wednesday that the therapy he has been trying is to improve his condition enough to avoid surgery that would likely keep him out for as much as two months.

“My plantar fascia is torn,” Camby said. “I’m trying to do whatever I can to avoid surgery. We’re just going to rehab it and see how it goes in the next two weeks and take it from there. We don’t want to rehab it and nurse it and have it still be lingering. That is something I’m going to sit back and figure out and definitely look toward long term, as the season progresses to the second half of the season. I have to be smart about it.”

Reported by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle

As more injuries pile up on Camby’s old shoulders, relying on him becomes less realistic.

Melo wishes good health for Amare

There were probably plenty of reasons why Carmelo Anthony wanted to play for the New York Knicks back in 2011.

Money, marketing, the opportunity to be the face of a franchise in a major city — they all likely played a role.

But so did Amar’e Stoudemire.

Anthony says that the chance to play with Stoudemire was “one of the reasons I wanted to come to New York.”

So it’s difficult for Anthony to watch Stoudemire struggle with another knee injury.

“As a friend, it’s hard for me to sit back and act like it doesn’t bother me because I know how hard of a worker he is [and] I know the time that he puts in the gym to train and rehab,” Anthony said Tuesday. “To see him go forward and then take some steps back every time, it’s just sad.”

Reported by Ian Begley, special to ESPN New York

Rashard Lewis may have bigger role this season for Heat

Take one look at Lewis these days and it’s clear he’s feeling healthier, moving better and playing with more confidence than he has in quite some time. Now the task as the Heat begins the preseason is maintaining his range of motion and, in particular, keeping his knees happy.

After using its amnesty clause on Mike Miller this offseason to shave millions off the team’s books, the Heat is hoping Lewis can step in and contribute minutes when called upon. He’ll be battling with James Jones, Roger Mason Jr. and others for playing time, but that Lewis is even in the fight at this point is a positive sign.

“We’ll see how it plays out, but our guys all understand that at some point they’re all going to get an opportunity,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It has happened consistently over the last three years, and they’re pros enough to understand that there’s a sacrifice involved, but there is opportunity also available right now.”

Reported by Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald

Solomon Hill getting great experience buying lotion for Pacer teammates

First-year Pacers forward Solomon Hill has impressed head coach Frank Vogel as a “proven” player on the court, but to his teammates, he’s still a rookie — which makes Hill an errand boy.

Through the first week of training camp, center Roy Hibbert would often shout “Hey, Rook!” and dutifully, Hill would heed the command to bring the veteran a bottle of water. Even off the court, the rookie duties have continued.

“Hasn’t been anything too serious yet,” Hill said. “It hasn’t been too bad. Nothing too crazy. Get video games.”

“Grab towels for the guys, you know, some guys want certain lotions.”

Reported by Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (Blog)