Blake Griffin set to return for Clippers

Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News reporting on the Clippers and power forward Blake Griffin. It’ll definitely be worth keeping track of how Griffin fits back in with the squad as he makes his long-awaited return:

Blake Griffin set to return for Clippers

Blake Griffin will not have played for three months and a week when he takes the floor with his Clippers for a game against the Washington Wizards on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Staples Center.

He had a partially torn left quad tendon. He still does, actually. He had a fractured right hand because he punched team assistant equipment manager Matias Testi on Jan. 23. For that, he served a four-game suspension, and also lost a fifth game’s pay for his punch-related injury.

Griffin, who has apologized for his actions, was asked Saturday what he’s learned about himself through this ordeal.

“Yeah, I learned a lot,” he said before practice. “But those things are for me. You learn a lot about a lot of people and you kind of figure out a lot of things. But those are things, like I said, for me.”

Danilo Gallinari will not return this season

The Denver Nuggets are 32-45 this season and got 19.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game from forward Danilo Gallinari, who will have played 53 games this season. As expected, he isn’t returning from injury until next season. Here’s the Denver Post blog reporting:

Danilo Gallinari will not return this season

Though he continues to make good progress on a badly injured right ankle, Danilo Gallinari said he will not play another game for the Nuggets this season.

“No,” he said after the team’s shootaround on Saturday morning.

So, he’s done?

“Yes,” he said.

He’s recovering from two torn lateral ligaments in the ankle — the anterior talofibular and calcaneofibular — and has a sprained deltoid ligament as well.

NBA notes from around the league, March 31

Warriors forward Draymond Green is on pace to become the first player to average at least 13.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists since Grant Hill in 1996-97.

Warriors guard Stephen Curry needs eight three-pointers to pass Glen Rice (1,559) for 20th place on the NBA’s all-time list.

Heat center Hassan Whiteside has come off the bench in his last 24 games to average 17.2 points, 12.8 rebounds and 3.6 blocks in 29.5 minutes.

Kings rookie center Willie Cauley-Stein recorded the first two 20-point performances of his career in back-to-back games on March 25 and 27.

Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas is averaging 26.2 points in his last 13 games, scoring at least 20 in each contest.

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant tied an NBA record for the most regular-season games played at one venue in the Lakers’ overtime win over the Heat at the Staples Center on Wednesday. Bryant has played 595 games at the Staples Center, matching Hakeem Olajuwon’s mark at The Summit (later known as Compaq Center).

Wizards guard John Wall has 187 assists in March, tying the franchise record (Wall also had 187 in December 2015). It is the highest total in a month for any player this season. You have to go back to March 2012 to find the last time a player accumulated that many assists: Rajon Rondo (219) and Steve Nash (188).

Nuggets guard Will Barton has come off the bench to lead or tie for the team lead in scoring 20 times this season, tops in the NBA. Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson is second on the list with 10 such games.

Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson appeared in his 362nd consecutive game on Tuesday against Houston, surpassing Jim Chones (361) for the longest streak of consecutive games played in Cavaliers history.

The Raptors won their 50th game of the season Wednesday, the first time the franchise has reached that milestone. Every current team has now produced at least one 50-win season.

— NBA News

DeAndre Jordan is above 70% FG this season

DeAndre Jordan is above 70% FG this season

In addition to his rebounding prowess, Clippers center DeAndre Jordan also leads the NBA in field goal percentage (70.2). The 6-11 center, who also led the league in field goal percentage last season (71.0), is seeking to become the first player in NBA history to hit the 70 percent mark twice in a career. Wilt Chamberlain shot an NBA record 72.7 percent in 1972-73. Jordan isn’t the only Clipper scorching the nets. Jamal Crawford leads the league in free throw percentage (91.4), while J.J. Redick is pacing all players in three-point percentage (47.1). No team has ever had all three leaders at the end of a season since the three-point line was introduced for the 1979-80 season.

— NBA News

Detroit Pistons on a hot streak

The Pistons (40-35) have won six of seven games to move into seventh place in the East, a half-game ahead of the Pacers (39-35) and two games in front of the Bulls (37-37). Detroit needs two wins to secure its first winning season since 2007-08. Stan Van Gundy’s crew is seeking its first trip to the playoffs since 2008-09. Andre Drummond, who leads in the NBA in rebounding (14.9 rpg) and double-doubles (62), is on pace to average at least 13.0 rebounds for the third consecutive season. The last player to accomplish this feat was Dwight Howard, who did it in five straight seasons with the Magic (2007-12). The Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan, who ranks second in the NBA in rebounding (13.9 rpg), is also on pace to average at least 13.0 boards for a third straight season.

— NBA News

Spurs set an NBA record for home wins

With their win on Wednesday over the Pelicans, the Spurs set the NBA record for most consecutive home victories (38) to open a season. San Antonio also tied the franchise record for wins in a season with 63, set in 2005-06. For Tim Duncan, it was his 998th win as a member of the Spurs dating back to 1997. Duncan is poised to join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,074) and Robert Parish (1,014) as the only players in history with 1,000 victories. Duncan holds the record for most victories with one team, ahead of John Stockton, who won 953 games with the Jazz. The Spurs host the Raptors on Saturday before embarking on a three-game road trip against the Jazz, Warriors and Nuggets.

— NBA News

Grizzlies sign Jordan Farmar for rest of season

jordan farmar

The Memphis Grizzlies have signed guard Jordan Farmar for the remainder of the 2015-16 season.

Farmar (6-2, 180) has played five games (three starts) for the Grizzlies since signing a 10-day contract on March 21 and has averaged 10.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 25.6 minutes. The 29-year-old has appeared in 495 games (33 starts) across nine NBA seasons and averaged 7.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 19.5 minutes for the Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies.

Originally from Los Angeles, Farmar was selected by the Lakers in the first round (26th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft following a standout collegiate career at UCLA, where he averaged 13.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists in a total of 66 games. As a sophomore, he was named to the All-Pac-10 First Team and guided the Bruins to the NCAA National Championship game.

Rodney Hood got picture and autograph from Kobe Bryant after game

The following, as reported by the Salt Lake Tribune, is a completely understandable move on the part of young Rodney Hood:

Rodney Hood got his shoes signed by Kobe Bryant

Rodney Hood got everything he wanted in the first half of Monday night’s win over the Lakers. He got exactly what he wanted after the game was over, too.

The Utah Jazz sharpshooter, who dropped 30 points on 11-of-13 shooting in a blowout win, made sure to track down his childhood idol, Kobe Bryant, and secure a precious memento after one of Hood’s best games as a pro.

“I wanted a picture with him,” Hood said. “My whole family is Kobe fans, so I wanted them to get a picture. Just wanted to see him. I know (the Jazz’s last meeting with Lakers laters this month in Los Angeles) is going to be hectic; we probably won’t see him after the game or get a chance to speak to him. So I waited. He just congratulated me on a good game. He signed my shoes. It was a great moment for me.”

Nic Batum gets triple-double vs Sixers

The Philadelphia 76ers are technically an NBA team, so no matter what you think of their roster, getting a triple-double against them is still a solid achievement. Here’s the Charlotte Observer reporting:

Nic Batum gets triple-double vs Sixers

Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford hasn’t always thought his team scored in the lane enough this season.

Tuesday they sure did, pummeling the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers in the paint for a 100-85 victory at Wells Fargo Center.

This victory get the Hornets ever closer to their third playoff berth since the NBA returned to Charlotte in 2004.

Small forward Nic Batum (19 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists) completed his second triple-double as a Hornet and center Cody Zeller had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nba/charlotte-hornets/article68919517.html#storylink=cpy

Carmelo Anthony speaks about kid running onto court to hug him

Carmelo Anthony gave a perfect response here, but what happened in New Orleans is definitely a security issue that needs to be addressed. Per the New York Daily News:

Carmelo Anthony gives good response to kid running onto court to hug him

A day later, Carmelo Anthony was still grateful for the hug and any concerns of a security breach were alleviated by the trespasser’s age.

“That’s probably a once in a lifetime opportunity for somebody to run up to you and give you a hug,” he said. “Especially if it’s a kid. That’s the way I look at it.”

A boy who looked about 10 years old darted on the court at the Smoothie King Center near the end of the Knicks loss Sunday to the Pelicans, making a bee line for Anthony at the top of the key wheere he gave the All-Star forward a quick hug. The boy then ran off the court and was never approached by security, raising concerns about the staff at the Smoothie King Center.