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DeMar DeRozan and Gordon Hayward named NBA Players of Week

The Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan and the Utah Jazz’s Gordon Hayward today were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Jan. 9 through Sunday, Jan. 15.

DeRozan led the Raptors to a 3-0 week, averaging 30.7 points (second in the East) on 51.5 percent shooting to go with 7.3 rebounds. The 27-year-old guard opened the week by posting season highs of 41 points and 13 rebounds in a 114-106 win over the Boston Celtics on Jan. 10. The performance marked the two-time All-Star’s third 40-point game of the season. He closed the week by tallying 23 points, five rebounds and five assists in 28 minutes in a 116-101 win over the New York Knicks on Jan. 15.

Hayward averaged 23.7 points on 73.5 percent shooting (fourth in the West) and added 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists as the Jazz won all three of its games. The 26-year-old forward shot 10-for-12 from the field on his way to 28 points in a 100-92 win over the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 10. Hayward tied a season high with four three-pointers against the Cavaliers and shot 60.0 percent (9-for-15) from behind the arc for the week.

Other nominees for the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Boston’s Isaiah Thomas, the LA Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul, Miami’s Hassan Whiteside, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Toronto’s Jonas Valanciunas.

Johnny O’Bryant named D-League Player of Week

Forward/center Johnny O’Bryant III of the Northern Arizona Suns today was named NBA Development League Performer of the Week for games played Monday, Jan. 9 through Sunday, Jan. 15.

O’Bryant (6-9, 257, LSU) averaged 24.0 points and 17.0 rebounds (second in the NBA D-League) for the week as the Phoenix Suns’ NBA D-League affiliate went 2-0. He opened the week with 22 points, 17 rebounds and three steals in a 94-88 victory over the Oklahoma City Blue on Jan. 10. In his next game, O’Bryant made a season-high four three-pointers on his way to 26 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and handed out three assists in a 121-90 win against the Grand Rapids Drive on Jan. 14.

For the season, the 23-year-old O’Bryant is averaging 17.5 points and 8.8 rebounds in 22 games. O’Bryant, the 36th overall pick in NBA Draft 2014 presented by State Farm, played a total of 100 games with the Milwaukee Bucks over the previous two seasons.

Other players considered for the NBA Development League Performer of the Week were Canton’s Eric Moreland, Fort Wayne’s Alex Poythress, Los Angeles’ Vander Blue, Rio Grande Valley’s Darius Morris, Santa Cruz’s Phil Pressey, Texas’ Pierre Jackson and Windy City’s Alfonzo McKinnie.

Jahlil Okafor, professional scorer

One of the best things that could happen to the Sixers, aside from having all of their young talent healthy at the same time, would be for Jahlil Okafor to rise up and reach his potential. It’s been a down year for Okafor, but he definitely stepped up Saturday. Here’s CSN Philly reporting:

Jahlil Okafor’s string of four straight DNPs came to an end Saturday. He quickly made up for lost time at the basket.

Okafor scored a game-high 26 points (10 for 16 from the field, 6 for 11 from the line) with nine rebounds and a block in 36 minutes in the Sixers’ 109-93 loss to the Wizards…

Okafor got off to a hot start, scoring nine points in six first quarter minutes. He dropped another seven in the second. Okafor had a quiet third with four points — the Sixers only scored 15 in the quarter. He played the entire fourth quarter and added another six points.

“Jahlil Okafor is a professional scorer,” Brett Brown said. “For him to just jump into an NBA game and be given 35 minutes, him being very, very good fitness-wise, and for him to score like he scored at 21 years old, that’s Jahlil Okafor. That’s what he does.”

Josh Richardson not returning yet for Heat

It does not appear that Josh Richardson will be returning anytime soon.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra today acknowledged it “would be safe” to say Richardson is week-to-week instead of day-to-day. Miami’s second year guard has missed the last three games after an X-ray and MRI revealed he had a sprained left foot.

“It is still only a sprain, he is getting better but he still is in a boot,” Spoelstra said following the Heat practice today.

Miami (11-30) starts a four-game home stand Tuesday against the Rockets.

— Palm Beach Post

Kyle O’Quinn fined for foul on Anthony Davis

New York Knicks center/forward Kyle O’Quinn has been fined $25,000 for striking and pushing New Orleans Pelicans forward/center Anthony Davis from behind, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which O’Quinn was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected, occurred with 1:16 remaining in the third quarter of the Knicks’ 110-96 loss to the Pelicans on Jan. 9 at Madison Square Garden.

Justin Anderson fined for foul on Kris Dunn

Dallas Mavericks guard/forward Justin Anderson has been fined $25,000 for striking Minnesota Timberwolves guard Kris Dunn in the head, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, which was called a Flagrant Foul 1 on the floor and upgraded to a Flagrant Foul 2 upon league office review, occurred with 10:45 remaining in the second quarter of the Timberwolves’ 101-92 victory over the Mavericks on Jan. 9 at Target Center.

Latest Derrick Rose Knicks news

Is Derrick Rose doing OK? Well, he’s back with the Knicks. So, he’s physically fine. But mentally and emotionally? We’ll see. Here’s the New York Daily News reporting:

Derrick Rose is confident the issue that caused him to abruptly leave the Knicks on Monday has been resolved and that he’s back with the team for the long haul. But the veteran point guard also admitted that if he needed more time away from the Knicks he would not hesitate to ask the team for permission.

“No, not at all,” Rose said early Wednesday. “The relationship I’m building with Phil (Jackson) and Steve (Mills) I wouldn’t mind asking (for time off) if I needed it. But like I said, I feel fine and what happened a couple of days ago is just the past.”

Rose was fined but not suspended for going AWOL on Monday and missing the Knicks loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Rose made the peculiar decision not to notify the team of his intentions to return to his hometown of Chicago Monday afternoon. Also, Rose refused to return repeated phone calls and text messages from team officials from several hours. The Knicks were so concerned about Rose that they sent an employee to his Manhattan apartment.

Hassan Whiteside not closely monitoring All-Star votes

Here’s the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reporting on Heat center Hassan Whiteside and 2017 All-Star voting:

Whiteside isn’t getting his hopes up when it comes to fan voting for the Feb. 19 All-Star Game, even as he puts up All-Star numbers, including his 28 points and 20 rebounds Tuesday against the Warriors.

After ranking ninth among Eastern Conference frontcourt players in last week’s initial release, Whiteside said he won’t be monitoring the weekly returns.

“It’s just a popularity contest at this point,” he said. “Our record was better than the 76ers [at the last balloting release] and Joel Embiid was fourth.”

Whiteside said that the All-Star selections should not turn into a referendum on a team’s place in the standings, with the Heat 11-29 going into Friday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center, which will mark the midpoint of their season.

“I don’t really feel like All-Stars should even be a record thing,” he said. “It’s the individual thing. That’s why they don’t bring the whole team; they bring a player.”

Coming off bench, Rajon Rondo finally plays again for Bulls

Rajon Rondo has spent a number of recent Bulls games sitting and watching Bulls games. It’s good work if you can find it. He finally got minutes off the bench Tuesday night. But in general, here’s CSN Chicago reporting on the situation prior to tonight’s game:

If the Rajon Rondo benching was clear to some, it wasn’t to everybody even as Rondo prepares for a one-game exodus from the pine.

Namely Rondo himself, and one wonders where the saga is headed next as the Bulls near the midseason mark with no resolution to a situation involving their first free-agent signing.

“I don’t know,” said Rondo as the Bulls’ litany of absences have prompted them to turn back to his direction as they’ll play the Wizards Tuesday night at the Verizon Center.

“I know a little bit of what’s going on, but it’s out of my control really, as far as what they have going on. So I’m going to have to play better.”

Sixers sign Chasson Randle to 10-day contract

The Philadelphia 76ers signed guard Chasson Randle to a 10-day contract today.

Randle was most recently with the NBA D-League Westchester Knicks, where he appeared in 19 games and posted averages of 21 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal in 32 minutes per game, while shooting 40% from three-point range.

Prior to joining Westchester, he appeared in 21 games for ČEZ Nymburk of the Czech Republic’s National Basketball League, where he averaged 15 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals per game, while helping the team win the 2015-16 league championship.

Randle played four years at Stanford, posting career averages of 17 points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal in 144 career games (142 starts). He was named to the All-PAC 12 First Team his junior and senior seasons, and capped his collegiate career as Stanford’s all-time leading scorer with 2,375 points.

Randle will wear number 5 for the Sixers.