George Karl doubts Knicks plan

Denver Nuggets coach George Karl is often quite outspoken about his opinions and it’s always worth listening to what he has to say. In this case, Karl casts doubt on what the New York Knicks are trying to do.

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:

Nuggets coach George Karl said the Knicks master plan of tanking two seasons to get to the 2010 free agency usually does not work and believes it’s been grossly unfair to coach Mike D’Antoni.

Last week, Karl recommended to D’Antoni that signing Allen Iverson would be a boost, but added a caveat. Karl, who coached Iverson in Denver for nearly two seasons, told D’Antoni to sign Iverson only if he plans to start him exclusively.

With the current roster, Karl said he thinks D’Antoni has no shot of having success and believes Knicks team president Donnie Walsh should make him a front-office executive who runs practices, but has an interim coach to absorb the losses on the resume. Karl thinks a coach in D’Antoni’s situation is being “thrown to the wolves.”

It’s definitely unfair to blame Mike D’Antoni if a rebuilding team that is trying to start from scratch loses, but as long as the owner and upper management understands that is the situation, I think D’Antoni is safe. But a problem could result if the team doesn’t at least play hard and look properly coached.

Rasheed Wallace mad at Hedo Turkoglu flopping

Friday night the Boston Celtics handled the Toronto Raptors, winning 116-103. And according to Rasheed Wallace, one Raptor provided some not-so-welcome acting during the matchup.

Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe reports:

Rasheed Wallace was issued a technical foul 1:35 into the second quarter last night, but the Celtics big man believes the technical should have been called on Toronto’s Hedo Turkoglu  – for flopping.

Wallace was whistled for a foul after clashing with Turkoglu, then referee Ed Malloy called the technical.

“I didn’t use no profanity, I just said, ‘He’s a flopper,’ ’’ Wallace said after Boston’s 116-113 victory at TD Garden. “And [Malloy] gave me a tech for that. The league should make that a rule – flopping.

“It’s not like I threw my shoulder into him, or it was a hard push, or real hard contact. Come on, now. Showing on a pick, I’m already there, he touches me – ‘Ohh,’ he acts like I shot him or something. ‘Ohh.’ That’s not basketball, man, that’s not defense, that’s garbage, that’s what it is.’’

Rasheed’s shot has been off (37.7% shooting, 29.0% three-pointers, 9.2 points per game) since joining the Celtics, but he was on target vs the Raptors and hit 6-of-11 for 15 points.

Euroleague Week 5 MVPs: Aleks Maric, Keith Langford

Euroleague.net reports:

Week 5 was so exciting that it generated two MVPs, both of them newcomers to the Euroleague this season.

Aleks Maric of Partizan Belgrade and Keith Langford of Khimki Moscow Region posted performance index ratings of 38 each to share the Week 5 MVP honor while leading their teams to very big victories.

Before a sold-out crowd in Belgrade that hailed him as a new star, Maric used a monster double-double of 23 points and 15 rebounds to propel Partizan to an 86-80 comeback upset over Olympiacos in Group B. Maric added 5 steals, an assist, a block and 8 fouls drawn to amass his 38 index rating.

Not to be outdone, Langford overcame a quiet start to lead Khimki to an 89-67 home win against Asseco Prokom Gdynia and keep pace with two other Group D leaders. Langford finished with 20 points on 11-for-12 free-throw shooting while also collecting 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, a steal and 9 fouls drawn.

Derrick Rose returning to form

Dirk Facer, for the Chicago Sun-Times, reports:

derrick rose

Derrick Rose is getting better. The injured right ankle that has slowed him since the preseason is on the mend.

Monday in Portland, Rose opened the second half by elevating over Greg Oden for his first dunk of the season.

”I really couldn’t believe it when I was up in the air,” said Rose, who said it felt great. ”It’s getting there. I’m getting a little bit explosive, so you’ll probably see more dunks in some other games.” …

In a loss to the Nuggets on Saturday, he scored a season-high 28 points. Over the last three games — all on the road — he’s averaging 20.7 points, 4.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field (27-for-54).

We’re just starting to see the real D-Rose now. His early season games were more about returning from injury than shining like the young star that he is.

Lou Williams out 8 weeks

Lou Williams out 8 weeks

Philadelphia 76ers guard Lou Williams was examined this morning by team physician Dr. Jack McPhilemy of Main Line Health and oral surgeon Alfred Wolanin. Williams underwent surgery this morning, during which time he had his upper and lower jaws wired together. Williams will meet with a nutritionist in the coming days to review a liquid diet designed to assist him in maintaining his weight.

Williams will be out for eight weeks.

Further updates on Williams’ status will be provided as they become available.

This thought is in jest, but, I hear Allen Iverson is in need of a job.

Read fan reaction and share your own opinion in this forum topic.

Thunder sign Mike Wilks

Thunder to sign Mike Wilks

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has signed veteran guard Mike Wilks.

Wilks, a six-year NBA veteran, holds career averages of 2.5 points, 1.2 assists, 1.0 rebound in 229 career NBA contests. The Rice University product, who has played for eight different NBA teams, appeared in three preseason games with the Atlanta Hawks earlier this year.

EARLIER

The Oklahoma City Thunder will sign free agent guard Mike Wilks, InsideHoops.com has learned.

Wilks’ agent Bill Neff confirmed to InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner that the team will soon add the 30-year-old veteran, who has career averages of 2.5 points and 1.2 assists per game.

A 5-10, 180-pound point guard, Wilks played for three different teams in the 2007-08 season and was not in the NBA in 2008-09.

Wilks provides backup depth and can contribute behind starter Russell Westbrook, who plays 34.1 minutes per game.

Share your team opinions on the InsideHoops OKC Thunder forum.

Allen Iverson retiring

The AP reports:

Allen Iverson retiring

With no apparent interest from NBA teams, Allen Iverson is set to retire, according to an online report.

Commentator Stephen A. Smith published a statement on his Web site Wednesday attributed to Iverson. It said Iverson plans to retire but also that “I feel strongly that I can still compete at the highest level.”

The statement also said Iverson has tremendous love for the game and the desire to play, adding there is “a whole lot left in my tank.”

“His legacy would be huge,” Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star LeBron James said. “He’s one of the best when you talk about guys 6-foot and under in the game of basketball. He played injured and he played hard every single night. I don’t think it should end this way, but if it does, he’s left a lot of great things behind.”

The 10-time All-Star played three games this season with Memphis before taking a leave of absence to attend to personal matters. He was waived after the two sides agreed to part ways.

Iverson is a free agent and therefore can say he’s retiring, but there is nothing to stop him from changing his mind and remaining available, should a job offer come his way.

It would be a real shame if Iverson’s career went out on such a sour note, though considering it’s mainly his own doing, perhaps it’s fitting.

Iverson has made it clear that he only wants to join a team that will make him their star. He should instead focus on how to help a team win, hoping that the two goals are one and the same. But he’s always been primarily a scorer and one who doesn’t necessarily make teammates better.

Taking his advanced age and very specific skill set into consideration, he’s better suited as scoring punch, not a team’s primary star.

But apparently it’s all or nothing in Iverson’s eyes, and for now, he’ll stick with nothing and focus on enjoying life off the court.

However, don’t be shocked if he does wind up latching on with a team sometime in the coming weeks or months. This thing may not be over.

If this is the last we’ve seen of Iverson, he’ll be missed. He was a joy to watch.

Former Kings employee bet on NBA games

Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports:

A former Kings employee has been barred from working in the NBA after an investigation showed he gambled while employed by the team.

The Kings in January fired Jack Mai, who was in his third season as the team’s assistant director of scouting. His dismissal was not related to gambling.

In a statement released Wednesday, the Kings said they had been informed that Mai participated in “improper wagering activities” while working for the team. The Kings added that they cooperated with the league’s investigation.

The NBA is naturally focused on stamping out any form of gambling/betting that is against their rules after the Tim Donaghy scandal. They should be commended for this, continuing to monitor and look into it, and outing anyone, including this former Kings employee, who did anything wrong.

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Bobcats set personal record in 35-point win over Raptors

The AP reports:

Gerald Wallace broke out of his shooting slump with 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, helping the Charlotte Bobcats to the most lopsided victory in team history, 116-81 over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

Stephen Jackson added 23 points for Charlotte, which held the listless Raptors to 35 percent shooting. The sixth-year Bobcats’ previous biggest win was a 32-point rout of Indiana on Nov. 16, 2005.

While Wallace entered as the NBA’s third-leading rebounder, he was shooting 38 percent from the field and averaging only 13.7 points. But he took advantage of one of the NBA’s worst defenses by beating numerous defenders off the dribble.

The Raptors shot just 34.5 percent from the field in this game and hit just 4 of their 19 three-point attempts.

Toronto point guard Jose Calderon dished 8 assists, but the four other Raptors started combine for just three.

Hedo Turkoglu, the big Raptors off-season addition, brought nothing. In 22 minutes  he shot just 2-of-7 for five points, two assists and almost nothing else.

The lone bright spot for Toronto off the bench today was Amir Johnson, who shot 6-of-9.

Thunder waive Ryan Bowen

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has waived forward Ryan Bowen.

Bowen appeared in one game for the Thunder scoring four points to go along with two rebounds and one steal in eight minutes of action against the Los Angeles Lakers on November 22nd.

The Thunder roster now stands at 14.

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