NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
The Charlotte Bobcats today requested waivers on forward Justin Williams. The Bobcats roster now stands at 15 players.
Williams appeared in three preseason games with averages of 0.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.7 blocked shots in 4.0 minutes.
The Charlotte Bobcats play their final preseason game tonight against the L.A. Lakers in Anaheim, California. Tipoff is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET and can be seen nationally on TNT.
The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have waived guard/forward Devin Green, guard Salim Stoudamire and center Darryl Watkins.
Green appeared in four games during the preseason, averaging 7.0 points, 2.8 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 1.25 steals in 21.8 minutes per game.
Stoudamire played in two preseason games, averaging 5.5 points, 2.5 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 19.0 minutes of action. Green saw action in five preseason games, averaging 3.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 15.0 minutes of action. The Spurs roster now stands at 16.
The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has waived forward Roger Powell and forward/center Michael Ruffin.
Powell (6-6, 225) appeared in four preseason games with the Bulls and averaged 2.8 ppg and 0.8 rpg in 4.5 mpg. Ruffin (6-8, 248) missed seven preseason games due to a left ankle sprain. Chicago’s preseason roster now stands at 13.
The Sacramento Bee (Scott Howard-Cooper) reports: Shaquille O’Neal and Grant Hill want to buy the Orlando Magic. Not right now. Shaq has two seasons on his deal, won’t walk away from $20 million per, may play beyond that contrary to previous reports that 2009-10 is definitely his last, and Hill is in a contract year and interested in returning. He may not be done for a while either. But the Suns teammates are serious about this. At some point, probably soon after they retire, O’Neal and Hill, former Magic players who still make their permanent homes in a mega-money Orlando enclave, will talk with executives to see if the team is available. How serious? They have already talked about it together, a lot. They have already made their feelings known to CEO and president Bob Vander Weide, the son-in-law of owner Rich DeVos. They have, both report independently, already lined up additional investors.
The AP reports: Brandon Roy scored 17 points, rookie Greg Oden had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 87-75 on Wednesday night… Al Thornton had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Clippers. Steve Novak scored nine points, going 3-for-4 from 3-point range. All 29 of his field goal attempts during the preseason have been from behind the arc, and he has made 14 of them… Travis Outlaw and Jerryd Bayless led the way in the fourth. Outlaw scored all of his nine points in the final 9:13 after missing his first six shots, and Bayless contributed eight of his 12 points down the stretch. Los Angeles got no closer than 12 in the final quarter after Rudy Fernandez hit a 3-pointer to give Portland its biggest lead, 77-60, with 7:58 to play.
The AP reports: Nick Young scored 15 points in his preseason debut to help the Washington Wizards beat the San Antonio Spurs 100-95 on Wednesday night… Washington also got 15 points in 23 minutes from Caron Butler, who has scored in double figures the past two games. The Spurs were led by Tim Duncan’s 20 points in 22 minutes. Duncan, who made 8-of-9 free throws, also grabbed eight rebounds… JaVale McGee, a 7-foot rookie out of Nevada taken with the 18th pick, finished 4-for-6 and hit his three free-throw tries to finish with 11 points.
The AP reports: Larry Hughes dislocated his right shoulder in the third quarter of the Bulls’ 85-75 preseason victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. He joins Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas and Michael Ruffin on the sidelines… Derrick Rose started with Hughes in the backcourt against the Timberwolves and finished with 17 points, six assists and five rebounds… Al Jefferson and Rashad McCants both scored 19 points, with McCants tallying 11 straight in the third quarter to help the Timberwolves claw within four after trailing by double digits most of the game.
The AP reports: Tayshaun Prince’s post-Olympic slump might finally be over. Prince, averaging just seven points on 31 percent shooting, scored 17 points in 29 minutes Wednesday night, and the Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 97-79. The Cavaliers were playing without LeBron James, who was in uniform but took a planned night off… The Pistons were led in scoring by Rodney Stuckey’s 20, but the defense-oriented Curry wasn’t completely happy with his second-year guard’s performance… Daniel Gibson led the James-less Cavs with 16 points and Mo Williams scored 14 in the first half. Cleveland finishes its preseason schedule Friday against Washington.
The AP reports: Lou Williams scored 18 points and hit five of the 76ers’ 14 3-pointers in a 118-100 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night… The Nets were no match for the 76ers, who also got 18 points from rookie Marreese Speights and 16 from Thaddeus Young… Yi Jianlian and rookie Brook Lopez had 16 points apiece for the Nets, who lost their fourth straight after opening the exhibition season with two wins over Miami in Europe… Devin Harris had 13 points and Vince Carter and Maurice Ager added 12 apiece for New Jersey, which trailed by double digits almost the entire second half. Bobby Simmons and rookie Ryan Anderson had 11 points apiece.
The AP reports: Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu each scored 22 points to lead the Orlando Magic to a 101-90 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday night in the final preseason game for both teams. J.J. Redick, competing for time at shooting guard, added 15 as the Magic cruised to their sixth straight preseason win. Reserve Darrell Arthur led Memphis with 18 points. Mike Conley added 13. Magic star Dwight Howard, who played sparingly in the second half, had 11 points and eight rebounds as Orlando showed signs of being ready to improve on its 52-win, Eastern Conference semifinal performance last season.