NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
Mavericks guard Delonte West underwent surgery today at Texas Sports Medicine to stabilize the fracture to his right ring finger. He will have a subsequent procedure to remove the stabilizing pins prior to his return to basketball activity. There is no timetable for his return.
West (6-3, 180) has averaged 8.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 22.7 minutes per game in 29 games (20 starts) for Dallas this season.
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Tony Parker is taking a shot at a new venture with the launch of a nightclub called Nueve Lounge. Nueve is Spanish for nine, Parker’s jersey number.
The lounge is currently under construction and set to open March 9. It will occupy the former Chango’s Havana Club near Interstate 10 West and Boerne Stage Road.
The idea of opening a nightclub in San Antonio is something Parker, the all-star point guard for the San Antonio Spurs, had been discussing with his brothers, Pierre and TJ, for some time.
“My brothers were playing basketball in Europe, and they decided to retire in San Antonio. We had been talking about doing something together, and my brothers like the bar scene. We wanted to do a nice lounge with a New York or Las Vegas kind of style, you know, classy.”
— Reported by Valentino Lucio of the San Antonio Express-News Blog
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn confirmed in a triumphant press statement reports that Time Warner Cable and MSG Network had ended their nearly two-month long standoff as political and populist pressure intensified over the past few days thanks in large part to Linsanity.
“I want to thank the MSG-Network and Time Warner Cable for coming to a deal that will put the Knicks and the Rangers back on TV. Now, a million more New Yorkers will be able to go Linsane in the privacy of their own living room. I’m looking forward to watching the return of Carmelo Anthony for the Knicks and Henrik Lundqvist in goal for the Rangers.”
A Time Warner spokesman declined to comment on the reported deal and spokesmen for the MSG Network did not immediately return requests for comment.
— Reported by Nina Mandell of the New York Daily News
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The Phoenix Suns are a shadow of the frenetic scoring machine they were a few years ago. Maybe that makes the season Steve Nash is having all the more impressive.
Not surrounded by an abundance of talent, on a team that stood 12-18 going into Friday night’s game against the Lakers in Los Angeles, Nash leads the league in assists at 10.7 and is the top shooter among guards at 56 percent. That’s third overall among players at any position and would be his career best if it holds up for the season.
On his 38th birthday, Feb. 7, Nash had 18 points and 11 assist, including the game-winning layup with 5 seconds to go in a 107-105 win at Milwaukee. For the eighth time in his 16-year NBA career, he made the All-Star Game roster.
There has been one concession to his age. Coach Alvin Gentry held him out of Tuesday’s loss at Denver so he wouldn’t have to play three consecutive nights. The next night he had 22 points and 16 assists but his team faded down the stretch in a home loss to Atlanta.
“People are saying `Hey, you’re playing great for 38,”’ said Lon Babby, the Suns’ president for basketball operations. “My answer to that is `No, he’s just playing great—period.”
— Reported by Bob Baum of the Associated Press
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It’s a chicken-or-egg question.
Is Paul Millsap struggling because the Jazz are playing poorly as a team, or are the Jazz struggling because Millsap isn’t dominating games the way he did earlier this season?
One thing is clear.
Millsap’s numbers have dipped recently and the Jazz can’t afford that trend to continue — not if they want to remain in the Western Conference playoff race during the final 38 games of the season.
Heading into Friday night’s game against Washington at EnergySolutions Arena, Utah has lost five of its last six.
In those defeats, Millsap averages 10.2 points and nine rebounds.
Not bad.
On the other hand, Millsap made only 18 of his 50 field-goal attempts. He journeyed to the free-throw line seven times in 114 minutes.
— Reported by Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune
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The NBA trade deadline is March 15. Don’t expect a major deal, Timberwolves’ basketball president David Kahn says.
“The likelihood of us doing something dramatic is miniscule,” Kahn said after the Wolves’ victory over Charlotte on Wednesday night at Target Center that moved them to within two games of a playoff spot.
“That doesn’t mean that maybe we do something minor. But the last thing I want to do is send a message to our players that they should be looking over their shoulders right now.”
The Wolves (14-16) are just three victories away from their total of last season. A rumor that has resurfaced is the Lakers trading Pau Gasol to Minnesota. The Pioneer Press reported last month that the Lakers offered Gasol to the Wolves as part of a proposed trade for Kevin Love before Love signed a $62 million contract extension. The Wolves never considered the deal.
— Reported by Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press
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With hopes of getting one last shot in the NBA, former All-Star and league MVP Allen Iverson is contemplating playing minor league basketball, according to a person close to the situation.
Iverson is willing to play in the Caribbean, in South America or even in the D-League if it gives him a chance to return to the NBA, the source said.
“Allen only wants to play if there’s a possibility that it leads to the NBA,” the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “That’s the only way he would go to one of these lower leagues. He wants to get back to the NBA and leave the game on his terms.”
Iverson’s interest in returning comes as he faces some financial trouble. On Monday, a judge in Georgia garnished funds from Iverson’s bank account to repay about $860,000 that he owes a jeweler, according to multiple media reports.
— Reported by Chris Broussard of ESPN the Magazine
The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have signed forward Lance Thomas to a second 10-day contract.
Thomas, a Duke University product, has appeared in seven games for the Hornets this season, averaging 2.0 points and 2.4 rebounds (1.6 offensive) in just under seven minutes per game. Thomas appeared in two regular season games with the Hornets before being released on December 31st, 2011, and in two preseason games with New Orleans (both starts), he averaged 3.5 points and 4.5 rebounds.
The 6’8” forward was originally re-signed by the Hornets to a 10-day contract February 6th from the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League. In 19 games (all starts) for the Toros this season, Thomas averaged 15.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 32.6 minutes of play and was selected to the 2012 NBDL All-Star game. The Scotch Plains, New Jersey native also played for the Toros during the 2010-11 season, averaging 12.6 points and 5.5 rebounds in 46 games (all starts).
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White House spokesman Jay Carney says President Barack Obama is tracking the exploits of Jeremy Lin, the sudden star of the New York Knicks.
The point guard from Harvard has come out of nowhere to lead the team on a winning streak and he’s captured widespread public attention.
Carney says Lin’s game-winning 3-pointer at the end of Tuesday night’s game against Toronto was the subject of conversation with the president aboard Marine One on Wednesday morning.
— Reported by the Associated Press
A source tells KING 5 News a press conference is scheduled at Seattle City Hall Thursday to announce a deal on a new sports arena complex.
Chris Hansen, a former Seattleite, and current San Francisco hedge fund manager who has approached Seattle about his interest, is reportedly in Seattle.
Hansen recently purchased property south of Safeco Field on Occidental Avenue South, south of Massachusetts Street.
Mayor Mike McGinn confirmed last week that negotiations are underway with Hansen to build a new arena in SODO.
— Reported by KING 5 News
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