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The HEAT announced today that guard Tyler Johnson will undergo rotator cuff surgery in his left shoulder. The procedure will take place this Wednesday, February 3 at Doctors Hospital in Miami and be performed by HEAT team physician Dr. Harlan Selesnick.
Johnson has appeared in 36 games (five starts) with the HEAT this season averaging 8.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 24.0 minutes while shooting 48.8 percent from the field.
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The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has signed guard Bryce Dejean-Jones to a second 10-day contract.
Dejean-Jones, 6-6, 203, has appeared in five games (two starts) for the Pelicans, averaging 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game.
Prior to joining New Orleans, Dejean-Jones played for the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League, appearing in nine games (seven starts), averaging 19.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals in 31.1 minutes per game.
Undrafted out of Iowa State, Dejean Jones was a member of the Pelicans’ 2015 Las Vegas Summer League team and training camp roster. In six summer league contests, Dejean-Jones averaged 12.8 points on .619 shooting from the field, including .500 from three point range, to go along with 1.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.2 assists in 21.7 minutes per game. Appearing in all seven preseason contests for New Orleans, Dejean-Jones averaged 8.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists.
Here’s the Bergen Record reporting on the Golden State Warriors, who won the 2015 NBA championship and are the favorites to win it again this season:
The stands at Madison Square Garden were crowded two hours before the game began. Kids in Golden State Warriors jerseys and their families waited for a glimpse of the greatest show on hardwood.
And the show arrived. Stephen Curry came out for his pregame ritual of machine-gun-speed dribbling and shots from all over the court — all the way to half-court. When the game began it continued, a stream of beautifully orchestrated passes leading to quick-trigger three-point field goals. Curry was contained for the most part, but the Warriors come in waves. On this night it was Klay Thompson (34 points, 14-of-18 shooting) and Draymond Green (20 points, 9-of-9 shooting, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) who carried them to an easy 116-95 win over the Knicks.
The allure of the Warriors isn’t just the magical display of finesse. To have gotten where they are now, the real magic has been in the hearts and minds of the players, an underappreciated toughness up and down the roster. When they were listless in the first quarter Sunday, coach Steve Kerr huddled up the team, smashed the clipboard, and threw it at the bench.
“Coach Kerr got on us pretty good,” Thompson said. “He had a terrible clipboard throw, but other than that, he was very animated on the sideline. We responded well to it. He told us we were playing very embarrassing and to pick it up.”
Here’s ESPN.com reporting on Rockets center Dwight Howard, who is averaging a modest 14.4 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game this season for the 25-25 squad.
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The Houston Rockets have petitioned the NBA to rescind the four technical fouls administered to center Dwight Howard in the past two games, according to a source.
Howard was ejected for picking up two technical fouls in each of the past two games. He leads the NBA with 12 technicals this season and is tied with the Clippers’ Blake Griffin with two ejections.
Howard was ejected from Saturday’s loss to the Washington Wizards for pushing Nene Hilario in the fourth quarter after they were tangled with each other. It was Howard’s second technical of the game. He picked up the first technical with 6 minutes,16 seconds to play in the opening quarter after getting fouled by Jared Dudley, who grabbed Howard in the upper body. Howard was trying to show the referees what Dudley was doing to him by putting his hands behind Dudley’s neck when he was given the technical.
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The 14-35 Phoenix Suns weren’t expected to come anywhere close to competing for an NBA championship this season, or even be one of the league’s better teams, but they certainly seemed capable of being respectable. But through Sunday’s games they are tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 4th worst record in the league. And this morning, they took action.
The Suns announced today that they have relieved Jeff Hornacek of his duties as head coach following his two-plus seasons in the position. The Suns plan to have an interim head coach in place by Tuesday.
Hornacek was named the 16th head coach in franchise history on May 28, 2013, returning to the team with whom he spent his first six professional seasons as a player. In two-plus seasons as head coach of the Suns, Hornacek’s teams compiled a 101-112 (.474) record, including a 14-35 (.286) mark this season. In Hornacek’s inaugural season of 2013-14 the Suns went 48-34 followed by a 39-43 record last season.
The Washington Wizards announced today that Head Coach Randy Wittman will miss the team’s next two games (Feb. 1 at Oklahoma City and Feb. 3 vs. Golden State) due to the passing of his brother.
Assistant Coach Don Newman will assume head coaching duties for the next two games. Wittman is expected to return to the sidelines for the team’s game on Feb. 5 vs. Philadelphia.
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Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins suffered a sprained left ankle late in the fourth quarter of tonight’s game at Memphis.
X-rays taken after the contest were negative and Cousins will be listed as day to day moving forward.
The Kings are 20-27 this season. Cousins is averaging 27.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game and was recently selected as a reserve for the 2016 Western conference NBA All-Star team.
The second-leading scorer on the Portland Trail Blazers (22-26) this season is shooting guard C.J. McCollum, who is averaging 20.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. Here’s the Oregonian with more on his game:
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As NBA teams across the league look to maximize shot attempts at the rim and beyond the three-point line, Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum is capitalizing on a market inefficiency. He’s become a master of the mid-range and developed into one of the league’s most lethal scorers in the often forgotten area between the lane and three-point line.
“It’s been a part of my game for life. It’s tougher to finish in the lane so you’ve got to find different areas to score efficiently and the mid-range contested shot is a shot a lot of teams will live with,” McCollum says. “And it’s a shot I’m willing to live with as well just because I’ve gotten so many shots at it and I’m comfortable with it.”
McCollum is shooting 46.6 percent on mid-range shots season, according to NBA.com. He’s attempted the 12th most mid-range shots in the league and has the highest field goal percentage of anyone in the NBA who has taken at least 250 such shots. He’s shooting better than noted mid-range gunners Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki and, yes, even LaMarcus Aldridge.
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In Thursday’s game at Indiana, Paul Millsap suffered a left ankle sprain with 2:50 remaining in the second quarter. He left the contest and did not return. X-rays were negative. He is listed as probable for tomorrow’s game at Miami.
While on D-League assignment with the Austin Spurs, Walter “Edy” Tavares suffered a right hip bruise in the second quarter of last night’s game against Idaho. He didn’t return to the contest, and is listed as probable for Austin’s game tonight vs. Idaho.
The New York Knicks today signed forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo – from the Westchester Knicks – to a 10-day contract. His signing marks the 15th NBA D-League call-up of the season.
Antetokounmpo, 6-7, 205-pounds, is averaging 10.3 points, on 50.2-percent shooting, 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.26 blocks over 27.7 minutes in 27 games (25 starts) for the D-League’s Eastern Conference-leading Westchester Knicks (16-11) this season.
The Athens, Greece-native was originally selected by New York in the second round (51st overall) of the 2014 NBA Draft, attending training camp in 2015 before being waived on Oct. 23, 2015, returning to Westchester for the second straight season. He is the older brother of Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis.