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Reggie Evans not a suit guy

Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star writes:

Reggie Evans, the Raptors’ designated banger, is expected to make his regular season debut on Wednesday, and what kind of shape is he in?

If you’ve watched him in his only regular-season turn as a Raptor – as a sometimes-manic bench presence – it’s been difficult to say. Evans’ courtside wardrobe has mostly consisted of two blazers that run a couple of sizes baggier than Bryan Colangelo’s tailor might advise. They’re Polo brand, one blue, the other beige, both 100 per cent linen. And yes, he has heard the teasing from teammates and Twitterers alike. Linen in winter?

“Hey, I ain’t here to make a fashion statement. Those are my jackets, so I roll with ’em. They save me money. I don’t get fined (for violating the NBA’s jacket-required dress code),” Evans said. “I don’t like suits. … I don’t have one suit, period. I’m not a suit type of guy.”

A well-cut suit, mind you, might have made it a little easier to judge if Evans’s long-time inability to do weight-bearing exercise had a weight-gaining downside. Club employees, though, will happily tell you there are no new wrinkles beneath his baggy wrinkles. Evans was 265 pounds on the day he damaged the ligaments in his left foot in a pre-season game. And when he takes the floor on Wednesday, he’ll be 265 pounds. He’ll have even shaved a few percentage points off his body-fat content.

Sixers go 3-0 against winning teams without Iverson

Tom Moore of The Intelligencer reports:

The 19-31 Sixers have won three in a row – all against teams with a .500 or better record at the time – with Allen Iverson absent and Willie Green starting in his place.

The 6-foot-3 Green and 6-4 rookie Jrue Holiday have given the Sixers better size and matchups in the backcourt than when the 6-1 Lou Williams and 5-11 Iverson started. They’ve also cut down on opponents’ dribble penetration, allowing teammates to stay on their man rather than having to rotate over to help on the ball.

Green has also scored in double figures all three times, averaging 11.3 points on 15-for-25 shooting (60 percent) from the field.

“It’s a comfort area for him,” Jordan said. “It doesn’t bother him to start. He’s aggressive. He’s playing with other front-line guys on our team, so it’s a little easier for him.”

Vince Carter scores 48

The AP reports:

Vince Carter had a season-high 48 points, leading the Orlando Magic back from a 17-point second-half deficit to beat the New Orleans Hornets 123-117 on Monday night.

Carter was 19 for 27 shooting and had 34 points in the second half with some of the most sizzling moves since he joined the Magic, who have won nine of their last 11 games.

Dwight Howard added 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Rashard Lewis finished with 18 points for Orlando…

It was by far Carter’s best performance since he was traded from New Jersey in the offseason, finishing three shy of his career high. The eight-time All-Star expected to be Orlando’s missing piece to a title was back in peak form, and the Magic can only hope he stays there.

Rockets sign Garrett Temple to 10-day contract

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed Rio Grande Valley guard Garrett Temple to a 10-day contract, marking his first-ever Call-Up to the NBA.

“Garrett is a versatile player who can play multiple positions,” said Rockets Vice President of Basketball Operations and Rio Grande Valley General Manager Gersson Rosas. “Garrett spent a lot of time with our coaching staff during the summer as a member of our Summer League entry as well as during training camp. He’s done a great job with the Vipers this season and his familiarity with the system will allow him to step right in and provide added depth at two positions where we are a little thin, due to injury.”

Temple (6-6, 190, LSU) has averaged 14.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 30 games (30 starts) with Rio Grande Valley this season. He was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by Houston on Sept. 22, 2009. Temple averaged 2.5 points and 0.3 assists in four preseason games with the Rockets before being waived on Oct. 21. He also averaged 4.6 points and 0.4 assists in five games with Houston in the 2009 NBA Summer League.

As a collegian, Temple finished his career as the all-time leader in games played (134), starts (131) and minutes played (4,432, 33.1 mpg) at LSU, averaging 6.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists over his four seasons with the Tigers. He also ranked fourth in career assists (482), seventh in steals (191) and fourth in blocks (113) in school annals. Temple was one of just nine players all-time at LSU to play on two Southeastern Conference championship teams.

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.