The Charlotte Observer (Rick Bonnell) reports: Friday morning I asked Charlotte Bobcats center Emeka Okafor why so many of his shots were blocked last season. The question mystified him. “You think I get my shot blocked a lot?” he replied. Why, yes, I told him, about once a game. Then I passed along a statistic published on espn.com: That 12 percent of Okafor’s shots were rejected last season, the highest such percentage in the NBA. It never occurred to him how susceptible he was to shot blockers, and apparently no one from the previous coaching staff raised the issue with him last season. “It’s a fluke,” Okafor said with a shrug. “That’s all I can say about it.”
Category: NBA Teams
NBA teams blog
Oct 11: Warriors 122, Thunder 102
The AP reports: Marco Belinelli had 22 points and six assists and Al Harrington added 16 points and nine rebounds to help the Golden State Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-102 in exhibition play Saturday night. DeMarcus Nelson, one of a handful of guards the Warriors (2-1) are looking at as a possible replacement for the injured and suspended Monta Ellis, added 18 points, seven assists and four rebounds. He had two thunderous dunks, both in the second half. Kevin Durant had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Thunder (0-3), who shot just 38.6 percent from the floor to remain winless in the preseason. Damien Wilkins added 23 points, and Chris Wilcox had 15 points and eight rebounds.
Oct 11: Nuggets 77, Suns 72
The AP reports: Whether it was the wind, the temperature or just a different environment to play in, the NBA’s first outdoor game in more than three decades was an offensive struggle. The Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns 77-72 on Saturday night in the exhibition game billed as “NBA Outdoors!” at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Both teams struggled from the field and the free-throw line and combined to go 3-of-27 from 3-point range on a night when the temperature dipped into the 60s with some wind hitting the court by the end of the game.
Insidehoops.com Stat Notes: For the Nuggets, JR Smith (just 6-of-16) had 12 points. Mateen Cleaves (4-of-5) scored 11 off the bench. Nene (4-of-10) had 10 points and 7 rebounds. No other Denver players reached double digits. Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson didn’t play. For the Suns, Steve Nash (5-of-12) had 16 points, just 2 assists and 6 turnovers. Raja Bell (3-of-8) scored 9. Robin Lopez (4-of-7) had 8 off the bench. The Nuggets shot just 37.7%, the Suns just 33.3%. The Nuggets hit just 1-of-10 three-pointers, the Suns just 2-of-14. The Nuggets hit just 50% of their free throws, while the Suns connected on 69.2%. Rebounding was close. The two teams combined to dish just 15 total assists.
Oct 11: Pistons 111, Bucks 99
The AP reports: Arron Afflalo scored 28 points and Rodney Stuckey added 15 to help the Detroit Pistons remain perfect in the preseason with a 111-99 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night… Charlie Villanueva led the Bucks (0-4) with 26 points and Michael Redd had 17.
InsideHoops.com editor says: Even though it’s just a preseason game, Afflalo putting up 28 points is a nice sign for Detroit.
Oct 11: Celtics 90, Rockets 89
The AP reports: Gabe Pruitt banked in a 13-foot shot with 6.6 seconds left to give the NBA champion Boston Celtics a 90-89 exhibition victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. Paul Pierce led Boston (2-1) with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Glen Davis had 12 points, Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe added 10 each, and Pruitt had eight. Yao Ming led Houston (2-1) with 16 points, Luis Scola added 14 and Ron Artest had 13.
Grizzlies waive Malick Badiane
The Memphis Grizzlies waived forward/center Malick Badiane (pronounced Muh-LEEK BAHD-ee-EN), Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.
Badiane, who signed on Sept. 30, appeared in one preseason game vs. Washington on Oct. 8, logging one minute.
The current roster stands at 15 players.
The Grizzlies host the Indiana Pacers at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 13 at the FedExForum.
InsideHoops.com editor says: Badiana is from Senegal and played professionally in Germany.
Warriors suspend Monta Ellis 30 games
The Golden State Warriors have suspended guard Monta Ellis for 30 games for violating Paragraph 12 of the Uniform Player Contract, it was announced today by President Robert Rowell. The suspension will take effect immediately and will extend through the team’s December 17th contest against the Indiana Pacers.
“The cooperation that we received from Jeff Fried (Monta’s representative) enabled us to be very diligent in collecting all of the facts surrounding the incident,” Rowell said. “This 30-game suspension is a result of that. From this point forward, it is the complete focus of everyone involved to provide Monta with all the support he needs to have a successful rehabilitation, and to get him back on the court as an integral part of this team.”
The Warriors will host the Oklahoma City Thunder at ORACLE Arena tonight at 7:30 p.m. Robert Rowell will be available to the media at 6:15 p.m. prior to the game in the Interview Room.
SportsTicker reports: The Golden State Warriors suspended guard Monta Ellis for 30 games without pay Saturday for violating terms of his new contract. Ellis, who signed a six-year, $66 million extension this offseason, suffered a torn ligament in his left ankle as a result of a moped accident this past August. The 22-year-old Ellis initially told the Warriors that he had suffered the injury during a pickup basketball game in his hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. But the Warriors ultimately learned that Ellis was injured from the moped, a direct violation of his new contract.
InsideHoops.com editor says: It’s understandable that the Warriors have no interest in paying Monta Ellis to sit out injured while he hurt himself doing something his contract prohibited. They must have decided that he’ll miss at least 30 games, and settled on the 30 number as covering themselves without being excessive. This makes sense.
Oct 10: Kings 94, Thunder 85
The AP reports: Rookie Bobby Brown scored 22 points and the Sacramento Kings beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 94-85 in a preseason game Friday night… Spencer Hawes had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Kings (1-1), while John Salmons had 16 points and Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia both had eight. Shelden Williams added seven points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Green led Oklahoma City, formerly the Seattle SuperSonics, with 19 points, including eight in the fourth quarter when the Thunder pulled within one point. Damien Wilkins had 14 points, Desmond Mason scored 10 and Johan Petro added eight points and 10 rebounds.
Oct 10: Nuggets 118, Wolves 95
The AP reports: The Nuggets dispatched the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-95 on Friday night, as reserve J.R. Smith finished with 21 points and Chris Andersen grabbed 11 boards. Now, they’re off to Indian Wells, Calif., to play the Phoenix Suns on Saturday in the NBA’s first outdoor basketball game in more than 35 years… Al Jefferson grabbed 11 rebounds and scored 10 points for Minnesota (2-1), while Corey Brewer had 13 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter… Rookie Kevin Love turned in a nine-point, 11-rebound game, while reserve Blake Ahearn finished with 17 points and Randy Foye chipped in 16.
Oct 10: Hornets 89, Spurs 84
The AP reports: Reserve Mike James scored 18 points while Tyson Chandler added 14 on 7-of-9 shooting and New Orleans beat the Spurs 89-84 in a preseason game Friday night… The Spurs were led by strong efforts in limited playing time from Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. Playing only the first half, Duncan scored 12 points in 18 minutes and Parker added 10 points in 15 minutes. Combined they were 9-of-16 from the field… Chris Paul had seven assists to go with 4-of-7 shooting and finished with nine points.