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Jeff Foster to have season-ending back surgery

The Indiana Pacers announced Monday that veteran forward/center Jeff Foster will undergo surgery after the All-Star break for continued lower back pain. He is expected to miss the remainder of the season, but is also expected to make a full recovery and be ready for training camp this fall.

The 6-11 Foster has played in 16 games this season, starting three, and averaged 5.1 rebounds and 3.1 points per game. The 10-year veteran is fourth in Pacers’ history in games-played for the franchise with 697.

Chris Kaman replaces injured Brandon Roy in All-Star game

Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman has been named by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace injured West All-Star guard Brandon Roy (right hamstring strain) of the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas. Kaman will be making his first All-Star appearance.

The NBA All-Star Game will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages worldwide at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 14.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas loves his orthotics

Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who has become a bit of a foot expert because of the troubles he had earlier in his career, practically could be a spokesman for orthotics. Most of the Cavs’ big men use them, including Shaquille O’Neal and Anderson Varejao, because their feet take extra abuse.

Ilgauskas swears by his orthotics, and he wears them in all of his shoes, even when he’s not playing. He has encouraged teammates over the years to use them.

“Forget athletes, I think everyone should have them just to walk around,” Ilgauskas said. “All your problems start with your feet. The first ones I had years ago were hard plastic and not very good, but they’ve evolved and become better. Now without my orthotics, I couldn’t play.”

Warriors have no chemistry

Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group reports:

The Warriors have used 27 starting lineups in 49 games. They’ve lost 280 games due to injury. They have five players currently on the roster who didn’t take part in the team’s training camp.

So when forward Corey Maggette says the team has “no chemistry whatsoever,” it’s easy to understand why the Warriors are in such a predicament though the season is more than half done.

“It’s pretty hard when you don’t have a consistent group that’s playing together,” Warriors coach Don Nelson said. “Chemistry is just a good balance of players who play off of each other well. That’s what we’re talking about.”

As tonight’s opponent — the Dallas Mavericks — can attest, Golden State once had a special chemistry on the court and off. It helped the Warriors upset the Mavericks in the 2007 playoffs.

Bucks competing for playoff spot

Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports:

The Bucks (23-26) have used their recent surge to put some pressure on the teams above them in the playoff chase. On Saturday they climbed into a virtual tie with eighth-place Miami (24-27), which lost in Chicago to suffer its fifth straight defeat.

And Milwaukee also stayed within one game of sixth-place Chicago (24-25) and gained ground on seventh-place Charlotte (24-25) in the conference standings.

The team’s only losses during this stretch were a five-point decision at Toronto, a one-pointer at Dallas and a 17-point defeat at Orlando.

The Bucks have benefited from solid play by center Andrew Bogut and point guard Brandon Jennings.

And the entire starting five has clicked since Carlos Delfino moved in at small forward, with Luc Richard Mbah a Moute switching to the power spot and Charlie Bell taking the shooting guard role vacated by the injured Michael Redd.

Milwaukee’s bench also has contributed, bolstered by the play of Ersan Ilyasova and the mid-January signing of free agent Jerry Stackhouse, who had not been in the league this season.

Dallas Mavericks struggling

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports:

The Mavericks have lost four of their last five games. They’re in desperate need of a wake-up call and can’t afford to limp into the All-Star break on a 1-6 free fall.

“Right now, I don’t want to jump the gun,” Mavericks forward Shawn Marion said, “but we have to get this one.”

Dallas’ low point of the season came Friday in a head-scratching 117-108 home loss to the woeful Timberwolves. Afterward, coach Rick Carlisle questioned his team’s effort.

“We’re not going to be good until we play hard,” Carlisle said.

The Mavericks climbed near the top of the Western Conference early in the season because of great defense. But that’s a distant memory. Their last six opponents have shot at least 49 percent from the field.

Caron Butler is popular

Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports (via blog):

Caron Butler’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors for almost a year, and the talk has only intensified with the Feb. 18 trade deadline less than two weeks away. He’s been rumored to be headed to Dallas, to Houston, to the Los Angeles Clippers, to New Jersey, to Portland, to Phoenix.

“I’m popular,” Butler said with a smile after scoring a season-high 31 points, including the game-winning jumper with 0.5 seconds remaining, against the Orlando Magic on Friday. “I’ve always been a popular kid, since middle school, I’ve been bigger than everybody. I’m very popular right now.”

Butler has had a disappointing season, with him struggling to develop chemistry with Gilbert Arenas, looking uncomfortable in Flip Saunders’s offense and upset over his role within it. Throw in Arenas’s season-ending suspension and his continued troubles to adjust and it was easy to see that he was unhappy and this season couldn’t end soon enough for him. He never complained publicly, but the worn expression on his face said it all.

Brandon Roy to miss 2010 All-Star game

Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will miss Portland’s next three games and the NBA All-Star Game with a right hamstring strain, it was announced today by General Manager Kevin Pritchard.

“Unfortunately, I’m not where I was hoping I would be physically at this point,” said Roy. “It’s a setback and I’m obviously disappointed, but my entire focus is getting back on the court, contributing and helping our team down the stretch.”

Roy initially injured his hamstring January 13 vs. Milwaukee and re-aggravated it January 20 at Philadelphia. He has missed 11 of Portland’s last 12 games heading into tonight’s game with the L.A. Lakers.

“This was not a decision that any of us wanted to make, but in the end we had to do what was best for Brandon,” said Pritchard. “We’re hopeful that this extended rest will put Brandon in the best possible position to return to the line-up shortly after the All-Star break.”

Roy will undergo Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy with Dr. Neal ElAttrache at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles on Monday.

Roy leads the team in scoring (23.1), free throws made (213) and minutes (38.3), and ranks second on the squad in assists (5.0) and steals (1.03). In just 40 games this season, he has led the team in scoring 25 times and assists on 15 occasions (including ties).

Bulls suspend Tyrus Thomas

Chicago Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas has been suspended for one game by the team for conduct detrimental to the team. Thomas will serve his one-game suspension this evening, when the Bulls host the Miami Heat.

On the year, the fourth-year forward has appeared in 25 games (three starts) and averaged 8.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.68 bpg, 1.28 spg and 1.0 apg in 22.5 mpg. He has shot .457 from the floor and .642 from the stripe.

On February 8, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reported:

“You don’t lose your starting job to injury” is one of the older clichés in sports, which, sadly, “a Tyrus Thomas team-imposed suspension” is becoming too.

Following Thomas’ verbal tirade at coach Vinny Del Negro on Friday in Atlanta, that’s three disciplinary actions taken by management in four seasons for Thomas, the soon-to-be former Bull.

Whether the Bulls find a taker for the forward by the Feb. 18 trade deadline or simply renounce his rights this summer, Thomas either will or won’t reach his tantalizing potential elsewhere.

The Bulls will say the steady play of rookie Taj Gibson is why Thomas is no longer the starting power forward after missing seven weeks with a fractured radius in his left forearm.

It’s been a rocky road for the Bulls and Thomas. Maybe things will smooth out.

February 6 Hawks at Wizards game postponed

The National Basketball Association game scheduled for this evening between the Atlanta Hawks and the Washington Wizards at Verizon Center has been postponed due to severe weather conditions in the Washington, D.C. area.

As a result of those conditions, neither the Hawks nor Wizards were able to fly to Washington after their respective games last night. The date for the rescheduled game will be announced at a later time.

FEB. 8 UPDATE: THE GAME IS RESCHEDULED FOR MARCH 11

The National Basketball Association announced today the rescheduling of the Atlanta Hawks at Washington Wizards game that was postponed on Saturday, Feb. 6. The Hawks and Wizards will make up that game on Thursday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m. ET at Verizon Center in Washington D.C.

WIZARDS TICKET EXCHANGE PROCEDURE:

Patrons holding tickets for tonight’s postponed game vs. the Hawks can hold onto those tickets and use them for the rescheduled game, which has yet to be scheduled by the NBA. Details of that game will be announced at a later date.

Patrons can also take their tickets for the Wizards vs. Atlanta game (2/6/10) to the Verizon Center Box Office and redeem their ticket for a ticket to the Wizards vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game on Wednesday, February 17th at 7:00 pm. There will be no service charges added.

Wizards planholders can also exchange their tickets at the Verizon Center Box Office for the Minnesota game on February 17th, or redeem their tickets for one of the pre-selected planholder exchange games listed in their planholder on-line guide. No service charges will be added.

Patrons still holding unused tickets for the game vs. the New York Knicks that was played on January 30th, who were unable to attend that game due to the inclement weather, can also turn in their unused tickets for the game vs. Minnesota on February 17th. No service charges will be added.