Philadelphia 76ers center Samuel Dalembert is having a strange season. He’s rebounding well (8.7 rpg) and blocking shots nicely (1.8 bpg) in just 24.7 minutes per game. And shooting nicely at 49.5%.
But he’s scoring just 6.3 points per game, barely dishes any assists, and putting stats aside, he simply hasn’t been too special.
The Philadelphia Inquirer (Kate Fagan) reports:
During Saturday’s loss to New Orleans, Dalembert played only 12 minutes, 47 seconds, and the Sixers were easily outrebounded. Dalembert started the game with the assignment of guarding power forward David West. West scored 14 points in the first quarter, and Dalembert’s minutes were limited for the rest of the game. Was Dalembert frustrated watching his team be outrebounded? “You can see me,” he said. “I’m very frustrated on the bench. . . . It’s very upsetting, but I cannot go out there and sub myself in.”
With Elton Brand out, it’ll be interesting to see if Dalembert gets more consistent minutes sometime later in the season. But time is running out.
The Detroit Pistons announced today that guard Allen Iverson will miss the next two weeks due to a sore back at the request of doctors at Georgetown University. Iverson’s condition was evaluated at Georgetown today and it was recommended that he suspend basketball related activities for two weeks. He will not travel with the team to prevent stress on his back and will be re-evaluated again by the doctors at Georgetown following the conclusion of the two-week period.
The Miami Herald (Michael Wallace) reports: With Allen Iverson’s recent decision to cut his hair and do away with braids after 12 years, Heat forward Udonis Haslem might have taken over as the NBA’s king of cornrows. Haslem has sported the look for the past eight years, which dates even before he entered the league in 2004. ”I might be the last man standing with them,” Haslem said Tuesday before the Heat faced Iverson’s Pistons. “If I ever do cut them, it won’t be during the season. It’ll be in the summer. I’d have to wait to see how my head is shaped. So if it’s messed up, I have all summer to grow it back.”
The Charlotte Observer (Rick Bonnell) reports: A kinder, gentler Larry Brown? Charlotte Bobcats guard Raja Bell sure thinks so. This is Bell’s second stint playing for Brown. Bell started his career with Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers from 2000 through 2002. “More mellow,” Bell said recently. “From the first couple of days (after Bell’s trade from Phoenix to Charlotte), I could see a different guy. When he needs to yell, he will. But in day-to-day demeanor, he’s a different guy.” Bell says Brown is no less an authority figure. But he’s more collaborative, less strident, less prone to overreact and wear out players with constant criticism.