Derrick Rose feels perfectly healthy these days

Here’s the Chicago Sun-Times on Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose feeling perfectly healthy these days:

derrick rose

The hamstring injury that kept him out of Friday’s game at Toronto seems to be behind him after he helped the Bulls rout Indiana on Saturday with 6-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc.

“He did [everything at the shootaround,’’ coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He feels pretty good.’’

Asked if he’s 100 percent, the Bulls star said, “I think so. I was out there just taking my time [against Indiana on Saturday], and really being patient. It allowed me to play great.’’

LeBron James interested in bringing MLS team to Miami

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting:

lebron james

Miami Heat forward LeBron James caused a stir when he teamed up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh three years ago.

Now, James is contemplating linking up with another superstar from a different sport. On Monday, James confirmed he has interest in teaming up with soccer icon David Beckham in bringing a Major League Soccer team to Miami.

“There’s some interest on both sides,” James said. “David has become a good friend of mine over the last few years. I think it would be great for this city to have a football club for sure. There’s interest on both sides but it’s preliminary talks.”

Warriors center Jermaine O`Neal day-to-day with injuries

Jermainie O'Neal

Golden State Warriors center Jermaine O’Neal has been diagnosed with a bruised right knee and minor right groin strain after undergoing an MRI yesterday (Sunday). He did not travel with the team for tonight’s game in Utah against the Jazz and is listed as day-to-day. His return to action will be based on his progress.

O’Neal left Saturday night’s home game against the Utah Jazz with 11:26 remaining in the fourth quarter after suffering an injury that was preliminarily diagnosed as a sprained right knee and strained right groin.

Knicks assign Chris Smith to D-League

New York Knicks President General Manager Steve Mills announced today that the team has assigned guard Chris Smith to the Erie Bayhawks of the NBA Development League.

Smith, 6-2, 200-pounds, has not appeared on a game since signing as a free agent on Sep. 10, 2013.

It’ll be interesting to see how well Smith plays in the D-League. Many people were surprised that the Knicks gave him a contract, and suspect it was mostly to make his brother J.R. happy — which is a strange reason to sign a player.

Kings struggles have coach seaching for answers

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting:

Less than five minutes into the third quarter, the Kings had tested coach Michael Malone’s patience to the point that he benched most of his starting lineup.

Except for forward Luc Mbah a Moute, the starters were done for the night.

Malone said he wasn’t trying to send a message. He was trying to win a game. But that didn’t happen, with the Kings falling to the Memphis Grizzlies 97-86 today at Sleep Train Arena.

The Kings have lost seven of their last eight games and continue to confound their coach with lackluster effort.

That has left Malone searching nightly for a group that will at least play hard so there’s no guessing whom he might have to turn to for a spark.

Iman Shumpert had a second, unreported knee surgery during summer

The New York Knicks season is off to a rough start. Even taking Tyson Chandler’s injury into consideration, and the assumption that J.R. Smith will play better soon, the team could be in need of a shakeup. One of their prime pieces to trade is young athletic guard Iman Shumpert. Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on some interesting new developments:

rajon rondo

Iman Shumpert had a second left knee operation over the summer, the Daily News has learned and it is unclear if the unreported surgery could impact his trade value with the desperate Knicks trying to package Shumpert in a number of proposed deals including one for Boston’s Rajon Rondo.

According to a source, Shumpert had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee last July that the Knicks never reported. In September, the Daily News reported that Amar’e Stoudemire had knee surgery over the summer which the Knicks also elected not to make public.

Shumpert originally tore the ACL and meniscus in his left knee against the Miami Heat during Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Playoffs. Shumpert didn’t return until Jan. 17, 2013 and has experienced soreness on several occasions, including the Knicks second round playoff series against Indiana. In October, Mike Woodson cryptically said that Shumpert “battled this summer with some of his injuries” and added that Shumpert did experience knee pain but left it at that.

After 9-0 start to season, Indiana Pacers finally lose

They had to lose sometime. After starting the season winning nine games in a row, the Indiana Pacers finally fell. Here’s the Associated Press:

Luol Deng scored 23 points, Derrick Rose added 20 points and the Chicago Bulls knocked off the NBA’s last unbeaten team with a 110-94 win over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.

Taj Gibson had 15 points and eight rebounds for Chicago (5-3), which won its fourth straight game behind 11-of-19 shooting from 3-point range…

Roy Hibbert led Indiana (9-1) with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Paul George, who averaged 24.6 points per game coming in, was held to 12 points.

Dwight Howard speaks on Omer Asik`s frustrations

Omer Asik and the Houston Rockets are in a tough situation. Asik wants a bigger role, but Dwight Howard is the bigger talent. And while the two have spent time playing next to each other, that does not appear to be a long-term solution. Here’s the Houston Chronicle reporting:

omer asik

Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons said they understand Omer Asik’s frustrations with his role with the Rockets this season. Asik has started eight of the 10 games this season. He didn’t play on Thursday in New York amidst reports that he was requesting to be traded.

Howard said that understands that Asik is in a tough situation.

“Totally, I understand where he is coming from – his frustration, sharing the floor,” Howard said. “I understand it’s tough for him. The only thing I can do is be his friend off the floor and help him anyway I can. I understand its a tough situation for him, but we are all family and we have to learn to fight through frustrations.”

Deron Williams sick of being injured

Lots of fans complain when certain NBA players seem to keep getting injured and missing games. And that’s understandable. But what fans should remember is, no player actually wants to be injured. It’s in all likelyhood more frustrating for them than for anyone else. As for Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams, here’s the New York Post:

deron williams

The $100 million point guard sprained his left ankle in the first quarter of Friday night’s 100-98 overtime victory over the Suns, landing on Miles Plumlee’s foot and rolling his ankle. Williams then collapsed to the ground, and lay motionless in pain. He limped to the locker room, ending his night after just five minutes, two points and one assist.

X-rays were negative, according to the Nets.

“It’s frustrating,” Williams said after the game. “That’s the only way to describe it. I’m sick of being injured, sick of being hurt. I just want to be healthy so I can help my team.”

The good news for Williams is he said the sprain is “not even close to as bad” as the injury he sustained in the offseason to his other ankle.

Mike Woodson and Iman Shumpert appear to have some disagreements

Players often have heated disagreements with other players or their coaching staff. It doesn’t necessarily indicate that something bad is up. Sports are competitive, and in the heat of the moment, players/coaches can disagree about certain things, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that something particularly bad is brewing. But when trade rumors are brewing, it does make you wonder what’s up. With that said, here’s the New York Post:

iman shumpert

Coach Mike Woodson and Iman Shumpert barked at each other on the Garden court Thursday during the Knicks 109-106 loss to Houston at the Garden.

After the exchange, Shumpert walked away from the coach with noticeable disgust and sat on the bench. If their suspect relationship is improving, it wasn’t apparent during the back-and-forth.

Shumpert is on the trading block, and Woodson hasn’t exactly eased the combo guard’s nerves — even after their meeting when the Knicks played in Atlanta on Wednesday. The Knicks face the Hawks again on Saturday at the Garden.