NBA Teams – Page 749 – NBA Blog

Devin Booker replaces Nerlens Noel in 2016 Rising Stars Challenge game

Phoenix Suns rookie Devin Booker will replace injured U.S. Team selection Nerlens Noel of the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2016 BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 12 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge at NBA All-Star features first- and second-year NBA players from the United States against first- and second-year NBA players from around the world. TNT will televise the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge in the U.S. at 9 p.m. ET, and Sportsnet ONE and TSN will simulcast the game in Canada. ESPN Radio also will provide coverage.

Booker, the 13th pick of NBA Draft 2015 presented by State Farm, is averaging 10.6 points and shooting 40.3 percent from three-point range in 48 games. The 19-year-old guard is averaging 15.2 points in his 23 starts, including a career-high 32-point performance against the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 19. Booker will also compete in the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest on Saturday, Feb. 13 at Air Canada Centre as part of State Farm® All-Star Saturday Night.

Noel, a second-year forward-center, will not play due to tendinitis in his right knee. He is averaging 10.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.6 blocks in 46 games.

Emmanuel Mudiay replaces injured Patrick Beverley in 2016 Skills Challenge

Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay will replace injured defending champion Patrick Beverley of the Houston Rockets in the 2016 Skills Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 13 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The Skills Challenge is part of All-Star Saturday Night and this year includes some big-men. In the past, the event was entirely guards.

Mudiay, the seventh pick of NBA Draft 2015, ranks first among rookies in assists (5.9 apg), second in minutes (30.2 mpg) and fifth in scoring (11.4 ppg). A native of what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mudiay will also compete for the World Team in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 12 at Air Canada Centre.

Beverley, who won the 2015 Skills Challenge in his event debut, will miss this year’s competition due to an ankle injury.

Latest Michael Kidd-Gilchrist injury: torn labrum in right shoulder

Charlotte Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has suffered another major injury.

The team announced today that Kidd-Gilchrist underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which revealed a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He sustained the injury with 8:39 remaining in the third quarter of Charlotte’s 117-95 win against the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 10. Kidd-Gilchrist will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break and further updates on his status will be provided when available.

Kidd-Gilchrist is averaging 12.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 29.3 minutes per game in seven contests (all starts) for the Hornets this season. The fourth-year forward from Kentucky has averaged 9.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game in 202 games (198 starts) with Charlotte.

These days, his talent as an excellent defensive player is being overshadowed by his injury woes.

Hassan Whiteside suspended for elbowing Boban Marjanovic

Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside has been suspended one game without pay for throwing an elbow and making contact with the head of San Antonio Spurs center Boban Marjanovic, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Whiteside was assessed a Flagrant 2 and ejected, occurred with 9:35 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Spurs’ 119-101 win over the Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena on Feb. 9.

Whiteside will serve his suspension when Miami plays the Atlanta Hawks on Feb. 19 at Philips Arena.

To view the play, click on this link.

Danny Ainge comments on Celtics, Al Horford rumor

Here’s MassLive reporting Danny Ainge’s comments from the 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich program in response to a rumor involving the Celtics and Hawks center Al Horford:

The Celtics have been rumored as a possible destination for Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford, but Ainge threw a bit of cold water on that idea. Despite a batch of recent reports saying the Hawks could consider drastic changes, Ainge said he believes they will keep their core intact.

“I will just remind you that ‘according to reports’ is the key phrase there,” he said. “There’s a lot of motivations that teams have. Sometimes it’s just to see what the value of their players are, and by leaking things like that you can find maybe what people are willing to offer. Typically when you do that and you leak out that you’re willing to move your team or break up your team and start over, you don’t really get — people are looking for bargains. They’re not going to give you the best deal. So my feeling is Atlanta will stay intact. They may make a trade or two but I don’t think they’re going to lose their key guys.”

Rockets are struggling this season

The Houston Rockets are just 27-28 this season and don’t look anything like a serious contender. There is reason for alarm. Here’s the Houston Chronicle reporting:

The Rockets could no longer deny the reality. They had lost interest in the season-long exercise of fooling themselves.

The Rockets took another bad loss into the break. They were smacked around by the Trail Blazers with all the familiar shortcomings through their stunning fall this season glaringly evident on the way to a 116-103 loss that did not seem nearly that close.

They fell to 27-28 and to ninth in the Western Conference, closer to the bottom four teams than the top four that they had once assumed would include them. Save a few misleading stretches on Wednesday, they had spent the night bouncing from disinterested to disillusioned, playing like strangers or worse.

When they were through, the Rockets could no longer cling to the memory of what they once were or expected to be. They faced what they had become with center Dwight Howard and guard James Harden meeting with Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff and general manager Daryl Morey long into the night.

Kevin Love shoulder injury seems very minor

Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love’s latest shoulder injury appears to be very minor, fortunately. Here’s ESPN.com reporting:

Cavaliers forward Kevin Love exited Cleveland’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers late in the first half on Wednesday with a left shoulder contusion and did not return.

It is the same shoulder Love dislocated in the first round of the playoffs against the Boston Celtics, causing him to miss the remainder of Cleveland’s postseason run to the Finals.

“At the time I didn’t know really what it was,” Love said after the Cavs’ 120-111 win over the Lakers. “Just like when you get hit in the funny bone, the elbow has shooting pain. It felt like fire was running down my arm. Just a stinger, and doctors decided we’ll be cautious and use the break for it to feel better, but it actually feels OK right now.”

Cavs general manager David Griffin told ESPN’s Lisa Salters that Love is not expected to miss much time. Griffin said the injury looked a lot worse than it is. Love told reporters he did not expect to miss any games.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist suffers dislocated shoulder

Here’s the Charlotte Observer reporting on the latest injury to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist:

Charlotte Hornets small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist suffered a dislocated right shoulder during the second half of Wednesday’s 117-95 road victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Kidd-Gilchrist was taken to an Indianapolis hospital where doctors would pop the shoulder back into the joint. This is the same shoulder that Kidd-Gilchrist injured in the preseason, requiring surgery to repair a torn labrum.

The Hornets said postgame that Kidd-Gilchrist will have an MRI in Charlotte Thursday to determine the seriousness of this injury.

Kidd-Gilchrist had an excellent recovery from that previous shoulder injury, returning to the active roster about two months earlier than originally projected.

Damian Lillard added as Team USA finalist

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard has been added to the roster of finalists for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team, USA Basketball announced today. The addition was approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors. The official 12-member 2016 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team roster will be announced later this year.

Named to the 2014-16 USA Basketball Men’s National Team in January 2014, the 6-foot-3 guard was a finalist for the 2014 USA World Cup Team, and played in two exhibition games during the 2014 USA National Team Tour, recording seven points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal in 24 minutes of action in the USA’s 105-62 win against Dominican Republic on Aug. 20, 2014.

Currently in his fourth NBA season, Lillard in 2015-16 is averaging career-highs of 24.2 points (6th in the NBA) and 7.3 assists per game (7th in the NBA), while adding 4.4 rebounds per game, and shooting 41.8 percent from the field, 36.2 percent from 3-point and 86.5 percent from the foul line.

“I recently received a call from Damian, and during our conversation he expressed his desire to be considered for the U.S. Olympic Team and to remain involved with the USA National Team in the future as well,” said Jerry Colangelo, who has served as the managing director of the USA Men’s National Team since 2005. “Both Mike (Krzyzewski) and I feel like Damian is playing at a very high level and that he should be added to our list of Olympic finalists. Damian has been a member of the USA National Team since 2014, and he participated in National Team training camps in 2013 and 2014, so he does have equity in USA Basketball, which is always important to me.”

For now, Kings keeping coach George Karl

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on the 21-31 Kings, who are on a four-game losing streak:

In what might be the most instinctive and impressive move of his short reign as the Kings’ general manager, Vlade Divac hit the brakes and prevented his franchise from spinning out of control. To the surprise of many, he spoke with his coach in Philadelphia, discussed the issues about defense, energy and erratic performances, and reacted with an abundance of common sense.

He didn’t fire George Karl.

He fixated on personnel flaws.

He took the car keys from DeMarcus Cousins.

That latter topic of discussion? That was huge. The 6-foot-11 Cousins, who devours Kings coaches for breakfast, lunch and dinner, isn’t bigger than the building and certainly not bigger than the team. Yet for the first time in a very long time, the Kings’ ownership/front office demonstrated a modicum of maturity, an approach that is thoughtful and measured, not the familiar knee-jerk reaction.