NBA Teams – Page 1930 – NBA Blog

2009-10 All-Rookie teams

Tyreke Evans of the Sacramento Kings, Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors were unanimous selections to the 2009-10 NBA All-Rookie First Team, the NBA announced today.

Rounding out the NBA All-Rookie First Team are New Orleans’ Darren Collison (46 points) and Chicago’s Taj Gibson (41 points).

The NBA All-Rookie Second Team consists of New Orleans’ Marcus Thornton (31 points), San Antonio’s DeJuan Blair (30 points), Oklahoma City’s James Harden (22 points), Minnesota’s Jonny Flynn (22 points) and Detroit’s Jonas Jerebko (22 points).

More info and complete voting results here.

Rodrigue Beaubois refuses to complain about Game 6

Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News reports:

An off-season of second-guessing coach Rick Carlisle commenced during Game 6’s fourth quarter, as rookie guard Roddy Beaubois’ sat the bench despite playing a huge role in Dallas’ third-quarter comeback against the Spurs.

Rodrigue Beaubois refuses to complain about Game 6

But Beaubois insists he isn’t, and won’t be, among the second-guessers.

“Everybody told me to just try to be ready and when they called my name, I just played my game,” Beaubois said, after scoring 16 points in 20 mostly-electrifying minutes Thursday.

But when he was helping Dirk Nowitzki lead the Mavericks comeback, didn’t part of him think, “See, Coach, this is what I could have been doing all series”?

“You don’t think about it,” he said. “Like I said, it was coach’s decision. I think everybody tried to play very hard and did a good job. It’s OK. But when he called my name I just wanted to push myself and try to win the game. That’s it.”

Game 6: Suns eliminate Blazers, move on to face Spurs

The AP reports:

Jason Richardson wanted to be the wild card in the playoffs for the Phoenix Suns.

So while the Portland Trail Blazers were focused on Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash, Richardson came up big for the third time in the first-round series, scoring 28 points in a 99-90 Game 6 victory Thursday night…

Richardson had 29 points in the Suns’ 119-90 victory in Game 2 before scoring a career playoff-high 42 in a 108-89 win in Game 3…

Martell Webster had 19 points for Portland, which failed to advance out of the first round for the second straight year…

Amar’e Stoudemire finished with 22 points for the Suns, while Nash, who said afterward that he had been battling a hip injury since Game 2, had 10 points.

Brandon Roy had 14 points for the Blazers in his first start of the series.

Game 6: Spurs finish off No. 2 seed Mavs

The AP reports:

Manu Ginobili scored 26 points and San Antonio survived blowing a 22-point lead to finish off the Mavericks 97-87 in Game 6 on Thursday night, getting payback after Dallas eliminated the Spurs a year ago in the opening round.

The seventh-seeded Spurs will play the sixth-seeded Suns in the Western Conference semifinals starting Monday night in Phoenix…

Dirk Nowitzki nearly carried the Mavs to an unbelievable comeback, getting 25 of his 33 points in a remarkable second half. But George Hill, the hero for the Spurs in Game 4, scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to keep the series from going back to Dallas…

Caron Butler scored 25 points and rookie Rodrigue Beaubois had 16. But aside from them and Nowitzki, no other Dallas player scored more than six points…

Plagued by slow starts in this series, Dallas got off to its worst yet when it mattered most. The Mavs trailed 22-8 after the first quarter, hitting just four of their first 18 shots. By halftime it was 47-34, a franchise playoff low for Dallas.

Tyreke Evans wins Rookie of Year

Tyreke Evans of the Sacramento Kings is the recipient of the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the 2009-10 NBA Rookie of the Year, the NBA announced today.

He deserved it. This is an individual award, not a team award. And as an individual, Evans was pretty much the best first-year player in the league. Stephen Curry came on strong as the season progressed, and Brandon Jennings had more team success than either of them, but as an individual, Evans rocked.

Evans received 67 first-place votes (491 points) from a panel of 123 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Golden State’s Stephen Curry finished second with 391 points and Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings finished third with 204 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

More info and full voting results here. And fan discussion is here.

Greg Oden expects to be ready for 2010-11 training camp

Brian T. Smith of the Columbian reports:

Greg Oden expects to be ready for training camp

Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden said Thursday he expects to be ready to participate in the Blazers’ 2010-11 training camp.

Oden, who is recovering from his second major surgery in three years, added that there is no timetable for his return, though.

But the No. 1 overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft said his rehabilitation is on schedule. He suffered a season-ending injury when fractured his left patella Dec. 5 against Houston.

“A good day is when I can walk and not have no swelling,” said Oden, following a morning shootaround at the team’s practice facility. “A bad knee is when I have a little bit of swelling and I ice my knee. I’ve been using my bone stimulator a lot. Just doing little things to help.”

Nene has sprained left knee

Nuggets C Nene has a sprained left knee. An MRI this morning revealed no ligament or meniscus damage.

He will not travel to Utah and is listed as out for tomorrow night’s Game 6. He will subsequently be day-to-day.

This is great news for a Nuggets team that has struggled in their first round NBA playoff series against the Utah Jazz and needs all the help they can get in their frontcourt.

LeBron James elbow update

Cavaliers forward LeBron James underwent further evaluation at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health last evening by Cavaliers Head Team Physician Dr. Richard Parker and Dr. Mark Schickendantz. He was re-examined, with x-rays and MRI reviewed.

LeBron has a strain of his right elbow and a bone bruise of his olecranon. He will undergo daily treatments and revaluation and a repeat MRI will be performed next week.

It is not anticipated that he would miss any playing time. His status will be updated as appropriate.

Deron Williams says he is best NBA point guard

Jody Genessy of the Deseret News reports:

Deron Williams says he is best point guard in NBA

Deron Williams is the best point guard in the NBA.

Says who?

Deron Williams, that’s who.

Not that they’re biased or anything, but you can add Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko to that list.

And ESPN columnist Bill Simmons has finally stepped aboard the D-Will bandwagon, too — a revelation that will come as a huge shock to anybody who knows how big of a Chris Paul fanboy “The Sports Guy” is.

Asked Wednesday about Williams’ point-guard supremacy, Kirilenko didn’t hesitate with a “yes, yes” response. Boozer replied, “Hands down.”

Told about Boozer’s proclamation, the Jazz playmaker didn’t flinch or disagree in the slightest.

“I feel like I’m the best point guard in the league,” Williams said.

Game 5: Melo gets help, Nuggets beat Jazz

The AP reports:

Carmelo Anthony hung out the big “Help Wanted” sign after Denver’s last game and he got plenty of responses.

The Denver Nuggets avoided elimination with a 116-102 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night when Anthony’s supporting cast finally came up big…

Kenyon Martin’s 18 points were the most he’s scored in the playoffs since 2005. Aaron Afflalo was perfect from the floor, and reserve Ty Lawson provided a spark with his speed…

Anthony had 26 points and 11 rebounds, Chauncey Billups had 21 points, and Smith made four big 3-pointers among his 17 points for Denver, which won a game in which it was facing elimination for the first time since Game 6 of the 1994 Western Conference semifinals against Utah…

Carlos Boozer had 25 points and 16 boards for Utah. But backup big man Kyrylo Fesenko, who had played so well in the absence of Andrei Kirilenko (calf) and Mehmet Okur (Achilles’ tendon) for the last three games, all Utah wins, finished with three points and six rebounds Wednesday night.