2009 All-Star balloting to begin Tuesday

An All-Star lineup of players will unveil the official 2009 NBA All-Star Ballot on Tuesday, November 11 during a special event in Phoenix, the host city of NBA All-Star 2009.  In the event, multiple well-known NBA players will ceremoniously cast the very first All-Star ballots.

Players who will be there include Shaquille O’Neal, Grant Hill, Raja Bell, former players Detlef Schrempf, Glen Rice, Cedric Ceballos, Dan Majerle, and Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon.

Cool stats worth knowing

Phoenix’s Shaquille O’Neal needs 20 points to tie John Havlicek for 10th on the all-time scoring list (26,395). O’Neal is averaging 14.8 points over six games. He scored a season-high 29 points Saturday at Milwaukee. The Suns host Memphis tonight and Houston Wednesday.

O’Neal’s teammate, Amare Stoudemire, has attempted 15 or more free throws in a franchise-record tying three-straight games (Connie Hawkins: January, 1970; Stoudemire: April, 2004). The last player to attempt 15 or more free throws in three straight games was Dwight Howard in December, 2007.

Toronto’s Chris Bosh is the second player in team history to pass the 7,000-point mark in career scoring. He has 7,011 points, second behind Vince Carter, who scored 9,420 points between 1998-2004.

Miami’s Mario Chalmers — one of only two rookies starting at point guard (Chicago’s Derrick Rose) — leads rookies in assists (5.7 apg) and steals (2.8 spg). Rose is second in assists (5.1 apg) and tied for fourth in steals (1.1 spg).

Milwaukee guard and former NBA Development League player Ramon Sessions is averaging 17.2 points, 6.2 assists and 3.6 rebounds.

Atlanta, which remained undefeated (5-0) with an 89-85 triumph over host Oklahoma City yesterday, is off to its best start since the 1997-98 season 11-0.

–NBA News

Players of Week: LeBron, Amare

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the Phoenix Suns’ Amare Stoudemire today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 3 through Sunday, Nov. 9. James’ league-best 34.5 ppg on the week helped Cleveland to a 4-0 mark. James added 9.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks per contest. Stoudemire led the Suns to a 3-1 week. Stoudemire averaged 28.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks on the week.

Stuckey tested for dizziness

Detroit Pistons’ guard Rodney Stuckey did not travel with the team to Sacramento today. He remained in Detroit for precautionary, follow-up testing after experiencing symptoms of light-headed and dizziness in Sunday night’s game versus Boston. He is listed as day-to-day.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Maybe he got dizzy watching Allen Iverson run in circles.

Nuggets waive Antonio McDyess

The Denver Nuggets have waived F Antonio McDyess, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today.

It was a buyout. McDyess will take less money than he was actually owed, in return for the right to sign elsewhere. Though, if he wants to go back to the Detroit Pistons, he has to wait 30 days.

McDyess was acquired by the Nuggets from Detroit on Nov. 3 along with G Chauncey Billups and C Cheikh Samb in exchange for G Allen Iverson.  McDyess did not appear in any games for Denver.

Chris Wilcox sprains knee

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chris Wilcox suffered a sprained right knee in last night’s game versus the Atlanta Hawks. Wilcox left the game at 1:24 mark of the first quarter and did not return.

He did not travel with the team to Indiana and will be examed by team physicians later this morning. Wilcox is listed as day-to-day.

Nov 9: Lakers 111, Rockets 82

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored 23 points, Pau Gasol added 20 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots, and the Lakers shot 65.8 percent in the second half in a 111-82 victory over the Houston Rockets. Jordan Farmar added 16 points and six assists, and Andrew Bynum had 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for the Lakers (5-0), who trailed by 16 points early in the second quarter… Aaron Brooks, a reserve, paced Houston (4-3) with 20 points and four assists. Yao Ming, Luis Scola and Carl Landry had 12 points apiece for the Rockets, who shot 37.8 percent and were outrebounded 50-36… Houston’s Tracy McGrady, a two-time NBA scoring champion and seven-time All-Star, had his second brutal shooting performance in a row at Staples Center, going 1-of-11 for three points two days after missing all five of his field goal attempts and scoring two points in a 92-83 victory over the Clippers.

Nov 9: Kings 115, Warriors 98

The AP reports: Coming back from a winless trip to start the season, the Kings used Kevin Martin’s 27 points to win their third straight game Sunday night, pulling away in the second half to defeat the struggling Golden State Warriors 115-98… John Salmons added 16 points for Sacramento, which is in a stretch where they play six of seven home games. Spencer Hawes had 14 points and 11 rebounds, while rookie Bobby Brown added a career-high 13… Andris Biedrins had 16 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks for the Warriors, who have dropped two straight and three of four. Stephen Jackson had 15 points and six assists, Kelenna Azubuike had 12, Anthony Randolph scored 11, while both CJ Watson and Brandan Wright added 10.

Nov 9: Nuggets 100, Grizzlies 90

The AP reports: Chauncey Billups is learning on the job. Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets keep winning. Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points, Billups had 16 points and 10 assists and the Nuggets beat the Memphis Grizzlies 100-90 on Sunday night… The Nuggets had 22 turnovers, but they played tough defense in the second half, holding Memphis to 36 points and 28 percent shooting. They shut down rookie guard O.J. Mayo, who scored a season-high 31 but managed only five after halftime… Nene had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Nuggets, who had six players score in double figures.