Michael Jordan says he is NOT the father

Michael Jordan doesn’t need Maury Povich to tell him he’s not the daddy, he says he knows it already … and filed documents today requesting the paternity case filed against him be dismissed.

As TMZ first reported, Pamela Smith filed docs in Fulton County, GA in an attempt to establish the NBA legend as father of her son, Grant Pierce Jay Jordan Reynolds, aka Taj.

Jordan’s lawyer filed to have the case dismissed today, saying paternity of the teen had already been established … and #23 was not the father.

— Reported by TMZ

Monta Ellis, Ty Lawson named NBA Players of Week through March 3, 2013

monta ellis

Milwaukee Bucks guard Monta Ellis and Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Feb. 25 through Sunday, March 3.

Ellis led the Bucks to a 3-0 week with averages of 24.0 points (sixth in the conference), 9.0 assists (fourth in the conference) and a league-leading 5.0 steals. Ellis collected back-to-back six-steal games in road victories over the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 26, and the Houston Rockets on Feb. 27. In the win over the Rockets, Ellis, who led all scorers with 27 points, hit an off-balance three-pointer just before the final buzzer to secure the win.

ty lawson

Lawson led the Nuggets to a 3-0 week behind averages of 21.0 points, 7.0 assists and 1.7 steals. Lawson hit a game winner of his own on March 1 with 0.2 seconds remaining to give the Nuggets a 105-103 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. He also tallied a 30-point effort on Feb. 27, during a win against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Al Horford, Chicago’s Joakim Noah, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Houston’s Chandler Parsons, Indiana’s David West, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, Memphis’ Marc Gasol, Miami’s LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, New York’s Carmelo Anthony, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and Portland’s Damian Lillard.

Chicago Bulls charter plane had engine trouble on Saturday

The Bulls’ charter plane experienced engine trouble roughly 20 minutes after takeoff and returned to Chicago late Saturday. Passengers heard a loud sound emanating from an engine, though most downplayed danger.

The Bulls’ traveling party went home late Saturday, borrowed the Blackhawks’ charter plane early Sunday and arrived in Indianapolis shortly before a lunch meeting and film session at the team hotel.

— Reported by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune

Jeremy Evans makes most of rare playing time

Jeremy Evans makes most of rare playing time

When the Utah Jazz finally get healthy, coach Tyrone Corbin might have another player to consider for his big-man rotation.

Jeremy Evans has been the odd man out this season, playing behind Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter.

With Jefferson and Millsap injured, however, Evans played the best game of his three-year career Saturday night against Charlotte. He scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 26 minutes during the Jazz’s lopsided 98-68 victory.

For perspective, consider Evans played only eight minutes during 12 games in February. He had 10 field goals in the Jazz’s first 58 games, but went 6-for-8 from the field against the Bobcats.

“I thought Jeremy played well,” Corbin said. “The growth he has shown — not being hesitant after not playing in a lot of games — has been tremendous.”

— Reported by Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune

Joakim Noah would appreciate some rest

Joakim Noah would appreciate some rest

Joakim Noah has a chair in front of his locker at the United Center. But after most games, he could use a recliner or a couch or even a bed. He’s wiped out.

”I’m tired,” Noah said after scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, with five assists and four blocked shots in the Bulls’ 96-85 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night. ”Pretty tired.”

After back-to-back stellar games against the 76ers on Thursday and the Nets on Saturday, Noah’s fatigue — and the wear and tear on his right foot still being treated for plantar fasciitis — bears watching heading into Sunday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The issue of Noah’s playing time cropped up again after he played 41 minutes in a game the Bulls led by 14 points or more throughout the second half. Even Noah seemed to be wondering why he played the final 6:25 of the fourth quarter when the Bulls were leading by 19 points.

— Reported by Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times (Blog)

Ryan Anderson helps fund an Apple/Android app

ryan anderson

Ryan Anderson, whose New Orleans Hornets will host the Orlando Magic on Monday night, has added a new hobby since he joined his new team.

He’s an app tycoon.

Anderson helped fund an app available on the Apple and Android platforms called “Hide It! Head to Head Hidden Object Game,” which was created and developed by Straton Wilhelm, one of Anderson’s best friends.

The game launched in mid-December.

“I’m just really proud of my buddy, that he really put this thing together,” Anderson said. “This all came from one idea on a piece of paper.”

— Reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel

Dennis Rodman says Kim Jong-un wants Barack Obama to call him

Dennis Rodman, the former NBA star known more for his body piercings and tattoos than international diplomacy skills, said on Sunday he returned from North Korea with a message from its leader Kim Jong-un for President Barack Obama – “call me.”

Rodman appeared on ABC’s “This Week” program a few days after an unlikely meeting with Kim in the North Korea capital Pyongyang, where Rodman was working on a documentary about basketball.

With the international community concerned about North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and continued belligerence, Kim and Rodman attended a game, where they were seen laughing and talking, and had dinner together.

“He wants Obama to do one thing – call him,” Rodman said. “He said, ‘If you can, Dennis – I don’t want (to) do war. I don’t want to do war.’ He said that to me.”

— Reported by Bill Trott Reuters

Austin Rivers still developing his pro-level game

Austin Rivers still developing his pro-level game

Although he was the 10th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft and projections were rampant about emerging quickly as a scorer, New Orleans Hornets rookie guard Austin Rivers has stopped trying to live up to lofty expectations.

Instead of forcing shots as he did during the first two months of the season, Rivers plays more under control, looking more to set up his teammates with passes or attack off the dribble when the lane is clear.

With 22 games left in the regular season, Rivers remains a work in progress. He hasn’t scored more than nine points in 30 of the past 31 games. He ranks 16th among rookies with a 6.1 scoring average. But gone are the dreadful four-of-14 shooting performances like he had against the Oklahoma City Thunder in December.

— Reported by John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune

JR Smith shot selection sometimes a concern

JR Smith shot selection sometimes a concern

Mike Woodson didn’t like a lot of things about the New York Knicks’ 99-93 loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday.

He had a problem with his team’s second-half turnovers, third-quarter intensity and poor execution down the stretch.

But J.R. Smith’s shot selection may have bothered Woodson the most.

Smith essentially shot the Knicks in the foot on Sunday by going just 2-for-11 in the second half. On the afternoon, Smith missed 13 of 18 shots, including 11 of his 14 3-point attempts.

“You can’t take 18 shots and 14 shots are 3s. That’s a bit much,” Woodson said. “He’s got to mix it up.”

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Bradley Beal keeps improving for Wizards

bradley beal

Beal recently surpassed John Wall as the Wizards’ leading scorer at 14.2 points per game and has been on a serious tear in his past eight games.

Over that stretch, Beal has scored at least 20 points five times, is averaging 20.8 points on 49.2 percent shooting from the field and 44.7 percent shooting from long distance. Beal has also recorded two double-doubles and displayed versatility and a solid feel for making timely plays – such as his huge offensive rebound in the closing seconds of a win against Houston. He snared 11 rebounds against the Knicks, at times grabbing them over all-star center Tyson Chandler or Amare Stoudemire.

In the first half against New York, Beal made a hard cut through the lane but stopped under the basket when he noticed that Knicks guard J.R. Smith was trying to beat him to the corner and Wall was about to get trapped by Chandler and Raymond Felton. Wall found him inside for an easy, uncontested dunk.

Beal erupted for 12 points in the third quarter, starting his run when he tracked down a loose ball beyond half court with 10 seconds on the shot clock and never appeared rushed as he split Iman Shumpert and Jason Kidd near the foul line, then completed a nifty lefty layup over Carmelo Anthony.

— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post (Blog)