Shaq and Barkley discuss the NBA East

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting the opinions of a couple leading TNT NBA analysts:

TNT’s always-entertaining NBA studio team held their always-entertaining pre-All-Star conference call Thursday. It included disagreement between Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal regarding the Heat’s playoff prospects.

“Indiana is the best team in the NBA,” Barkley said. “If they can get a healthy and have a motivated Andrew Bynum, they are going to be very difficult to beat. The wear and tear is starting to take a toll on the Miami Heat and Dwyane [Wade] and LeBron [James]. But it’s still going to be tough to beat LeBron four times in a week.”

O’Neal agreed on that last point.

“Miami has more experience and nobody has beaten them [in the Eastern Conference],” he said. “Indiana has a better record, but just because you have homecourt advantage doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to win. I would lean towards a healthy, more experienced Miami Heat.”

Omer Asik goes through practice, says he will play soon

Good from the Houston Chronicle today on the Rockets. They don’t necessarily need Omer Asik, who was on the trading block, but no matter what, he’s certainly more valuable healthy than hurt:

omer asik

Rockets center Omer Asik, who has missed the majority of the season with thigh and knee injuries, went through Thursday’s practice and said he is feeling much better.

In response to how his knee was feeling, Asik said, “It’s close to 100 percent. I can’t say 100 percent, but it’s much better. Hopefully I will get a little bit more practice then get back on the court.”

Neither coach Kevin McHale or Asik gave an exact date for return, but McHale said it would be “sooner than later.”

Michael Carter-Williams to star in basketball documentary

Any time a new basketball movie or documentary comes out that might be worth watching, I consider it good news. And this qualifies. Here’s the Philadelphia Daily News reporting:

Before he was the front-runner for Rookie of the Year, Michael Carter-Williams struggled through Summer League with the Sixers.

Now, thanks to a CBS documentary entitled Summer Dreams, we will have an opportunity to follow Carter-Williams’ journey first-hand.

CBS plans to air Summer Dreams, a two-hour long documentary about NBA rookies and fringe free agents competing for spots in Summer League, on March 15, just in time for March Madness.

“With unprecedented access, we’ll witness hopes dashed and dreams coming true right in front of our eyes,” executive producer Mike Tollin said in a statement about the film.

In addition to Carter-Williams the program features three other rookie prospects – Shane Larkin (of the Dallas Mavericks), Romero Osby, and Dwayne Davis, as well as NBA referee hopeful Lauren Holtkamp and D-League coach Joel Abelson.

Cavaliers reportedly fire their GM

Here’s a report from Yahoo Sports on the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are saying goodbye to their general manager:

Hours after a humiliating loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has fired general manager Chris Grant, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Gilbert had grown increasingly frustrated with the losing and dysfunction within the Cavaliers and the loss to the Lakers – who finished the game with four eligible players – was the breaking point.

Cleveland is 16-33 and losers of six straight games. They’re 5.5 games out of the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Gilbert had delivered a mandate of making the playoffs for the Cavaliers this season.

Tracy McGrady, baseball player

Here’s the Washington Post blog reporting on Tracy McGrady, who has retired from the NBA and now reportedly focused on playing baseball:

Tracy McGrady

Tracy McGrady is serious about this baseball thing — so serious about pitching that he’s enlisted assistance from Roger Clemens.

McGrady, a seven-time NBA all-star who played mostly for the Houston Rockets, is working out with the Sugar Land Skeeters, the team with which Clemens made his brief comeback in the summer of 2012. Like Michael Jordan when he took a hiatus from the Chicago Bulls to try his hand at baseball, McGrady spoke in terms of a “dream.”

“Just having a tryout for a minor league team is more fulfilling than anything I can imagine as far as baseball,” McGrady told ESPN.com Tuesday. “I’m just going to train as hard as I can and pursue my dream. Where this takes me, I don’t know. I’m doing this for the love of the game. I’ve made money. The Atlantic League doesn’t have salaries like the major leagues. So this is a kid who’s trying to fulfill his dream. This isn’t a gimmick. I’ve played baseball. I know the game of baseball. And I’m going after what I’ve always wanted to do.”

Suns re-assign Archie Goodwin to D-League

The Phoenix Suns have assigned guard Archie Goodwin to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, the club announced today.

Goodwin (6-5, 198), a 19-year-old rookie from Kentucky, has appeared in 37 games with the Suns this season, holding averages of 3.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 10.5 minutes.

This is Goodwin’s second assignment to the Jam this season as he was previously assigned on Jan. 23 and recalled on Jan. 26. In two games with Bakersfield, he has averaged 29.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 44.0 minutes.

Sixers turnover problems continue

Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting on one problem in particular that the 15-34 Sixers are facing:

The Sixers have a bad habit of giving the ball to their opponents. Their average of 17.2 turnovers per game is the highest in the NBA. The Sixers tied a season worst with 26 on Monday night.

Rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams had six turnovers. His last one, with 5.8 seconds left and the Sixers trailing by four, crushed any chance of a comeback. Nets guard Shaun Livingston stole the ball, was fouled, and made a pair of foul shots to make it a six-point game.

“You know it continues to haunt us,” [coach Brett] Brown said. “We have to get more responsible with the ball. I have to do a better job.”

Sixers assign Arnett Moultrie, Lorenzo Brown to D-League

The Philadelphia 76ers today announced that they have assigned forward Arnett Moultrie to the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League.  Moultrie will receive additional on-court time at game speed with the Sevens as a step in his return to the Sixers.

The Sixers also announced they have assigned guard Lorenzo Brown to the Sevens.

For Brown, it marks his sixth assignment to the Sevens this season.  He has appeared in 11 D-League games, averaging 19 points, seven assists and five rebounds.  Brown has also played in 19 games for the Sixers this season.

Pelicans sign Luke Babbitt

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has signed forward Luke Babbitt.

Babbit, who was originally drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round (16th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft and traded to the Portland Trail Blazers on draft day, joins the Pelicans after playing part of the 2013-14 season for Nizhny Novgorod (Russia).

Babbit appeared in 18 games for Novgorod and averaged 13.3 points and 3.7 rebounds.

Entering his fourth NBA season, Babbitt has appeared in 126 games for Portland and holds career averages of 3.8 points and 2.1 rebounds.

Babbitt will wear No. 8 and will be available for tomorrow night’s contest against Atlanta.

The Pelicans roster now stands at 15.

Judge in Kings arena lawsuit disqualifies himself

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on the latest fun in Sacramento’s quest for a new arena:

The lawsuit over Sacramento’s downtown arena subsidy took an early, bizarre twist today when the presiding judge disqualified himself because he had signed a petition supporting the subsidy ballot initiative.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny disqualified himself without comment at a preliminary hearing. City Attorney James Sanchez told The Bee that the judge had signed one of the petitions demanding a public vote on the subsidy issue.

The case was reassigned to Judge Timothy Frawley, and a hearing was set to begin later this morning.

One of the main issues the judge is being asked to address is whether the political action committee tied to the Kings and Mayor Kevin Johnson can intervene in the lawsuit

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