NBA Teams – Page 926 – NBA Blog

Rondo, Mavs continue to adjust

Here’s the Dallas Morning News blog reporting on the Mavs:

With every passing game, things get a little more normal for Rondo and his new teammates. He’s now had four games with the Mavericks and the Mavericks haven’t exactly set the world on fire – beating a Lakers’ team without Kobe Bryant and a San Antonio team without all five starters. But progress is measured in small increments and Rondo actually looked comfortable against the Lakers. Not just because he had a season-high 21 points, but he picked his spots correctly, hit 10-of-17 shots and also had seven assists to go with eight rebounds.

“He’s starting to run a great show,” said Dirk Nowitzki. “He’s starting to understand when he needs to be aggressive, when to shoot when they go under (the screens) and he’s obviously got the great passing gene that you need as a great point guard. So I think he looks pretty sharp and we got to get used to each other even more as the competition gets stiffer.”

Victor Oladipo ditches protective mask

Here’s the Orlando Sentinel reporting some happy news for Magic guard Victor Oladipo:

The best Christmas present Victor Oladipo received this year came from a doctor.

A physician gave the Orlando Magic guard permission to jettison the clear, protective mask that he had been wearing to protect the surgically repaired bones on the right side of his face.

Oladipo played without the mask during the Magic’s 98-89 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

“I don’t have to wear it anymore,” Oladipo said. “That was my Christmas gift. So Merry Christmas.”

John Henson back in action for Bucks

Here’s the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporting multiple good Bucks news — backup forward John Henson is back, and the team enjoyed a win Friday against a very hot Atlanta Hawks squad:

John Henson missed being on the floor.

It’s evident the Milwaukee Bucks also missed the length, rebounds and shot-blocking skills of the 6-foot-11 Henson.

The third-year pro returned to the court Friday night after being sidelined 14 games with a sprained left foot, and he played a major role in the Bucks’ 107-77 drubbing of the Atlanta Hawks.

Henson contributed five points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 18 minutes. He helped shore up a depleted Bucks front line that was missing Larry Sanders (illness) and Ersan Ilyasova (concussion).

“It felt good to get out there,” Henson said. “I’ve never been injured for as long a time and it kind of made me say, ‘I can’t take this for granted.’ “

Ricky Rubio health update

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting on injured Wolves guard Ricky Rubio:

Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio ran with his teammates Friday morning for the first time, another signpost on his road to return since he severely sprained his left ankle on Nov. 7 in Orlando.

Wolves coach Flip Saunders noticed a little hitch remaining in Rubio’s giddyap when he ran during full-court, 5-on-0 offensive work at the team’s morning shoot-around before Friday’s game at Denver.

Saunders hopes Rubio runs without a hitch or limp so he can begin contact work in another week with the New Year’s arrival and then play limited minutes in a game seven to 10 days after that.

Kenneth Faried grabs 25 rebounds vs. Wolves

Here’s the Denver Post reporting on an amazing game power forward Kenneth Faried put up in Saturday’s Nuggets win over the Minnesota Timberwolves:

It’s the little things Brian Shaw hates. The times when his players don’t box out. The times when the ball bounces in front of them and they still don’t go for the ball. The (many) missed free throws. The shoddy defense.

He must have had a hard time sitting through Friday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Pepsi Center.

Coming off a blowout loss at Charlotte and a sloppy defeat at Brooklyn, the Nuggets returned home to host the Timberwolves, the worst team in the West, in a game that, on paper, should have been Denver’s for the taking.

And until the fourth quarter, Kenneth Faried appeared to be the only Nuggets player who wanted it.

Faried, who turned in one of his finest showings of the season against Brooklyn three nights earlier, came back with an even better one Friday with 26 points and a career-high 25 rebounds while leading the Nuggets to a 106-102 victory over the Timberwolves.

Magic assign Devyn Marble to D-League

Orlando Magic guard Devyn Marble has been assigned to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.

Marble (6’6”, 200, 9/21/92) has appeared in five games during his rookie season with Orlando, averaging 0.8 ppg. in 1.0 minpg. Originally selected in the second round (56th overall) by Denver, his draft rights, along with Evan Fournier, were acquired by Orlando in exchange for Arron Afflalo on June 26.

Marble played in 136 career games during four years at the University of Iowa, averaging 12.5 ppg., 3.4 rpg., 2.9 apg. and 1.29 stlpg. in 27.6 minpg. He ranks second on the school’s all-time games played list with 136. Marble also ranks in Hawkeyes’ history in scoring (fifth, 1,694 points), assists (sixth, 397) and steals (seventh, 176).

Rockets sign Josh Smith, waive Tarik Black

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed unrestricted free agent Josh Smith. The versatile big man was the youngest player in NBA to record 500 career blocks, was twice named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week (12/9/07 and 12/10/12) and was named to the 2010 All-NBA Defensive Second Team.

Smith (6-9, 225, Oak Hill Academy) owns career averages of 15.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.0 blocks in 781 games (758 starts) with the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons. The versatile big man averaged career highs of 18.8 points, 9.6 rebounds per game while starting all 66 games of the 2011-12 season. Smith has averaged double-digit scoring in every season since his rookie year in 2004-05. He has also started 52 career postseason contests, averaging 15.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, as well as winning Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Series in 2009, 2010 and 2011

Selected by the Atlanta Hawks 17th overall in the 2004 NBA Draft, Smith rank’s highly among many of Atlanta’s all-time franchise leaders. He ranks ninth in games played (676), seventh in total rebounds (5407), ninth in free throws made (2044), fifth in steals (857) and second in blocks (1440).

The 11th year forward was waived by the Detroit Pistons on December 22, 2014 and was signed as a free agent by the Rockets after clearing waivers on December 24, 2014.

In order to maintain a roster of 15 players, the team has requested waivers on Tarik Black.

Black (6-8, 253, Kansas), has appeared in 25 contests with the Rockets this season (including 12 starts) averaging 4.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game. Undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft, Tarik Black was originally signed by the Houston Rockets on August 27, 2014.

Quincy Acy suspended for foul on John Wall

New York Knicks forward Quincy Acy has been suspended one game without pay for committing a Flagrant Foul Two which initiated an altercation with Washington Wizards guard John Wall. Wall has been fined $15,000 for pushing Acy and escalating the incident, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, which resulted in an ejection for Acy, occurred with 5:31 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ 102-91 loss to the Wizards at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, Dec. 25.

Acy will serve his suspension on Saturday, Dec. 27, when the Knicks travel to Sacramento to play the Kings at Sleep Train Arena.

Carmelo Anthony relates to Knicks fans

Here’s ESPN New York reporting on the Knicks, who keep on losing:

Carmelo Anthony relates to frustrated Knicks fans

There’s a New York Knicks fan out there who lives and dies with the team, a fan who’s been doing much more dying than living with this group.

Carmelo Anthony has a message for that fan.

“I feel what the fans are feeling,” Anthony said after the Knicks fell to 5-26 following a Christmas Day loss to the Wizards.

“The fans are dying, we’re dying. We’re out there, we’re not producing. We didn’t expect, I didn’t expect to be sitting at 5-26,” he said. “So as much as I feel for the fans, I feel for us going through it, too. I don’t expect nobody to feel sorry for us, I don’t expect nobody to feel sorry for me.”

Kevin Durant remains out with ankle sprain

Here’s the Oklahoman with the latest on Kevin Durant’s ankle injury:

Kevin Durant missed his fourth straight game Thursday at San Antonio due to a mild ankle sprain he sustained just before halftime at Golden State last week.

Thunder coach Scott Brooks announced before the game that Durant “could not go if he wanted to go.”

Brooks labeled Durant as day-to-day. But the mounting number of missed games due to what the team diagnosed as a mild sprain has now become a mild concern — especially since the injury is to the same foot Durant recently underwent surgery on to repair a fractured bone.