NBA Teams – Page 2421 – NBA Blog

Bucks part ways with GM Larry Harris

The Milwaukee Bucks have advised General Manager Larry Harris that he will not be offered a new contract. The team accommodated Harris’ recent request for an early decision on his status. Harris’ contract expires June 30, 2008. By mutual agreement, he is being relieved of his responsibilities so that he can pursue other opportunities.

“Larry Harris has served the Milwaukee Bucks since 1990 with complete dedication and loyalty,” Bucks President Senator Herb Kohl said. “The commitment and effort he provided the organization has resulted in many good outcomes. I believe at this time it is in the best interest of the Bucks to proceed in another direction. Larry’s professional approach has been valued and appreciated by our organization and we wish him the best in future endeavors.”

So now that the Rockets lost

Now that the mighty Celtics put a defensive lockdown on the Rockets, ending Houston’s winning streak, it’ll be fun seeing how Houston does from this point on.

Maybe now the Rockets suddenly become mortal and just another good West squad. Or what if they fall off hard like the Trail Blazers did.

No matter what, give credit to the whole roster, including Rafer Alston who seriously balled up some terrific games. And salute coach Rick Adelman, whose effect took a while to kick in.

Stat-focused notes after Celtics end Rockets win streak

Final Score: Boston 94, Houston 74

POST-GAME NOTES

Team Leaders:
Houston
Points: Luis Scola-15
Rebounds: Luis Scola-8
Assists: Tracy McGrady-8

Boston
Points: Kevin Garnett-22
Rebounds: Kevin Garnett-11
Assists: Paul Pierce-5

Today’s attendance of 18,525 is Houston’s 23rd sellout at Toyota Center this season and marks the largest crowd in team history, surpassing the audience of 18,409 set last game vs. the L.A. Lakers (3/16/08). Houston’s top-five attendance totals at Toyota Center: 18,525 today, 18,409 vs. the L.A. Lakers (3/16/08), 18,402 vs. Cleveland (2/7/08), 18,392 vs. the L.A. Lakers (12/12/06) and 18,375 vs. Phoenix (4/16/07).

The Rockets have now sold out all of their last eight home games, which matches Houston’s longest single-season sellout streak at Toyota Center (eight games from 2/27/05-4/3/05).

The second longest winning streak in NBA history comes to a close at 22 games with a 94-74 loss to the Celtics, which also draws to a close a 15-game home winning streak for the Rockets. It was Houston’s first defeat since a 97-89 setback vs. Utah (1/27/08).

The Rockets scored a season-low 74 points in suffering their largest margin of defeat this season (-20, 74-94). Houston’s 72 points last season vs. Boston (2/26/07) were actually the fewest in the all-time series against the Celtics. The Rockets also registered their fewest points in a second half this season with 34 tonight, edging out a 35-point second half at Toronto (12/9/07).

Houston lost the battle of the boards by a double-digit margin (-10, 35-45) tonight. The Raptors (-13, 35-48 on 12/9/07 at Toronto) and Warriors (-13, 34-47 on 12/31/07 vs. Golden State) are the only other two opponents to have outrebounded Houston by a double-figure total this season.

The Celtics outscored the Rockets 32-16 in the third quarter, setting Houston’s opponent high for third-quarter points this season. The previous high was 31 done twice before (last: 3/2/08 vs. Denver). Houston has now scored a combined 28 third-quarter points over the last two games, including 12 points on 4-for-23 (.174) from the floor in the third quarter vs. the L.A. Lakers (3/16/08).

Rafer Alston finished with 12 points, including a pair of makes from beyond the arc. He now has at least one 3-point field goal made in each of the last 20 games.

Mike Harris came off the bench to notch 12 points (6-10 FG), matching his career-high 12 points (5-8 FG) vs. Charlotte (3/14/08).

Kevin Garnett (22), Leon Powe (21) and Paul Pierce (20) all reached the 20-point mark in tonight’s game. It was the first time this season for a Houston opponent to have three players each score 20 or more points in a game.

Dirk tells InsideHoops Kobe is MVP

I recently met with current league MVP Dirk Nowitzki and got his MVP opinion:

InsideHoops.com: Other than yourself and any of your teammates, who are the official Dirk Nowitzki candidates for the league MVP?

Dirk Nowitzki: That’s tough. LeBron certainly has a case in the East. On the Celtics, KG has had a great year. And in the West, to me it’s been Kobe, the way he’s been scoring, really setting the tone every night for his team, and to me he’s the best player in the league anyway, scoring-wise and all-around player. I’d probably give it to Kobe. Those three definitely deserve it.

The item is here.

– Jeff

Gilbert Arenas speaks on his status

Gilbert Arenas on his knee: “Everything is healing. They want me to wrap (my knee) up and go full speed. I’m going to test it out tonight on the practice court. I’m going to give it a real hard workout and see how it feels in the morning.”

Arenas on his first game back: “They say that when I do go back, it will just be an assist-game for me. They don’t want me to go in there jumping or being acrobatic.”

Arenas on what he expects from himself upon his return: “They told me that this year I won’t be me. Don’t go back and try to be me. I have to come back as an assist man. I have to try to stay out of going to the hole, and I have to be careful.”

Arenas on the timetable for his return: “I’m hoping to play this season. I want to play. It’s hard when you have done something your whole life and then it gets taken away from you. Hopefully I can get back out there.”

More on his injury: “They haven’t actually cleared me to play. I’m just going to practice hard today and tomorrow and the next day, and then see how it feels. If it feels the same as it does now than I might just play, because that means it’s not getting any worse. My main concern is not getting hurt again.”

Trail Blazers assign Josh McRoberts to D-League

The Portland Trail Blazers assigned rookie forward Josh McRoberts to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League, it was announced Monday by Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard.

“Sending Josh back to Idaho will give him the best chance to develop as the season winds down,” said Pritchard. “Getting the opportunity to play extended minutes is an important step in his rookie season, and we saw good results from his last trip there.”

The D-League assignment marks the second of the season for McRoberts, who posted averages of 7.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 26.5 minutes in eight games with the Stampede from Jan. 9-Feb. 3.

McRoberts, 21, is averaging 2.0 points, 0.8 rebounds and 4.4 minutes in five games with the Trail Blazers this season after being selected by Portland with the 37th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

This is the first season the Trail Blazers are affiliated with the Boise-based Stampede.

Dwight Howard in rare territory

Orlando’s Dwight Howard is averaging 21.6 points, 14.4 rebounds and is shooting .603 from the field. Only four players have finished a season averaging at least 20.0 ppg., 10.0 rpg., while shooting .600 from the field: Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia, 1966-67; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, L.A. Lakers, 1979-80; Charles Barkley, Philadelphia, 1989-90; and Shaquille O’Neal, Miami, 2004-05.

Rockets 22 straight wins, take lead in West

NBA News: With their 104-92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, the Houston Rockets (46-20) extended their franchise-record winning streak to 22 games and took over sole possession of first place in the Western Conference. On Jan. 28, the day before the streak started, the Rockets were 24-20, in 10th place in the West and eight games out of first. Houston passed the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks on Friday for the second longest stretch in NBA history. The record of 33 straight victories was achieved by the Lakers in the 1971-72 season. The Rockets have won 26 of their last 27 games and 31 of their last 34. They’ve won 15 straight at the Toyota Center; 12 straight on the road; 10 straight since All-Star Yao Ming suffered a season-ending broken foot; and 11 of their last 13 games by double digits. The Rockets host the Boston Celtics tomorrow (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT).

The Celtics pace the league with a 52-13 mark and are an NBA-best 23-8 on the road. For the Celtics, however, tomorrow’s game in Houston is the start of a hyper-difficult Texas Triangle trip in which they will also play the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs. The three Texas teams are a combined 80-18 (.816) at home this season, and are riding a 26 game winning streak. The last team to sweep the Texas Triangle trip was the 2001-02 Sacramento Kings (Nov. 27-30, 2001).

Players of week are Stoudemire, Jamison

The Washington Wizards’ Antawn Jamison and the Phoenix Suns’ Amaré Stoudemire today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, March 10, through Sunday, March 16.

Jamison led the Wizards to a 3-0 week, with wins over the Clippers, Cavaliers and Bucks. After collecting two double-doubles on the week, Jamison’s 37 double-doubles stand as the second highest total in the Eastern Conference (Dwight Howard, 59). Jamison averaged 25.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals during the undefeated week, helping Washington move above the .500 mark for the first time since Feb. 5.

Stoudemire led the Suns to a 3-0 week, with all three victories coming against Western Conference opponents. Stoudemire averaged 32.0 points on .660 shooting from the field, 11.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 blocks. The back-to-back 30-point, 10-rebound efforts on March 13 and March 15 marked the third time this year that Stoudemire recorded consecutive 30-point, 10-rebound games.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala, Cleveland’s LeBron James, Atlanta’s Joe Johnson, New Orleans’ Chris Paul, Orlando’s Rashard Lewis, Houston’s Tracy McGrady and Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki.

Bulls send several players to and from D-League

The Chicago Bulls announced Saturday that the team has recalled rookie forward Demetris Nichols from the Iowa Energy of the D-League. The Bulls also announced they have placed Shannon Brown and Cedric Simmons on assignment with the Energy.

Nichols (6-8, 216) has appeared in four games with the Bulls since the team claimed him on waivers on Dec. 7, 2007. He has also spent time this season in New York and Cleveland, having appeared in three games with the Cavaliers before his stint with Chicago. In 14 games with the Energy this season, Nichols has posted averages of 19.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.14 spg and 1.00 bpg in 37.6 mpg.

Brown (6-4, 211) has appeared in four games since the Bulls acquired him via trade with Cleveland on Feb. 21, and holds averages of 6.0 ppg and 1.0 rpg in 12.3 mpg in 19 appearances this season with Cleveland and Chicago.

Simmons (6-9, 235), also acquired by the Bulls in the Feb. 21 trade, has seen action in four games in Chicago. On the season, he has played in 11 games and averaged 0.5 ppg and 1.5 rpg in 7.1 mpg.