Bucks: No timetable for return of OJ Mayo, Jared Dudley

Bucks: No timetable for return of OJ Mayo, Jared Dudley

Here’s the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel blog with a health update on the banged-up Bucks:

Bucks: No timetable for return of OJ Mayo, Jared Dudley

It doesn’t sound like key reserves O.J. Mayo and Jared Dudley will be back soon.

Bucks coach Jason Kidd said at Friday’s shootaround that there is “no timetable” for the return of the two players, both sidelined by injuries. Mayo is out with a right hamstring injury and Dudley has a lower back issue.

Mayo and Dudley accompanied the team on its last road trip but were sent home when the Bucks arrived in New Orleans, in an effort to get better treatment for their injuries.

Mayo played 27 minutes against Utah on Feb. 28 but has played very limited minutes in just two games since then. Dudley has been out the last three games after trying to fight through knee and back ailments.

LeBron misses shootaround due to illness

LeBron misses shootaround due to illness

LeBron James is human, people. Like you, he occasionally doesn’t feel well. And can get ill. These things happen, even to LeBron. Here’s ESPN.com reporting:

LeBron misses shootaround due to illness

LeBron James missed the Cleveland Cavaliers’ shootaround with illness and is questionable for the team’s home game against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.

James, who attended the team’s practice on Thursday, last missed a game on Feb. 27, which also was against the Pacers. He has missed 11 games this season — mostly to rest a sore back and wrist — and the Cavs are just 2-9 in those games.

Kevin Durant removed from basketball activities

Kevin Durant removed from basketball activities

This is bad news. Bad for Kevin Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the NBA in general. We all want Kevin Durant back in action. But his foot isn’t cooperating with us. Here’s the Oklahoman reporting:

Kevin Durant removed from basketball activities

Kevin Durant is being removed from basketball activities and will be out indefinitely, Thunder general manager Sam Presti announced Friday.

Durant has experienced multiple setbacks from an October surgery to repair a fractured bone in his right foot. He was expected to return to the lineup next week.

“He’s not making the progress that we had hoped and anticipated him making,” Presti said. “He still has some soreness in his foot, and the protocol that’s in place calls for him to be able to compete on the floor without that at this stage.”

Durant underwent a second surgery on Feb. 22 to alleviate persistent swelling, which was said to have stemmed from the screw that was initially placed in his foot pressing against another bone in the foot. In the second surgery, the original screw was replaced with a new screw that didn’t have a head that would push against the other bone.

James Harden drops 50-point game on Nuggets

Even the biggest stars of the Houston Rockets’ past couldn’t outshine James Harden on Thursday night.

Harden scored a career-high 50 points with 10 rebounds to lead the Rockets to a 118-108 win over the Denver Nuggets on a night when the team celebrated the 20th anniversary of the franchise’s back-to-back NBA titles in 1994 and 1995.

Harden got a boost by knowing players such as Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler were watching from the front row.

“That’s a special group right there,” Harden said.

— Associated Press

Joakim Noah frustrated by limit on playing time

Joakim Noah frustrated by limit on playing time

Here’s ESPN Chicago reporting on the Bulls, whose health issues this season have been a major problem:

Joakim Noah frustrated by limit on playing time

Joakim Noah remains on a limit of 32 minutes per game, but he hopes that the restriction imposed before the season by the Chicago Bulls’ front office will be lifted before the postseason.

The restriction, which has been in place all season, returned to the forefront after Sunday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder — a game in which Noah barely played down the stretch. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said he “ran out of minutes” for Noah.

“It’s frustrating,” Noah said, his first public comments since before Friday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets. “But I think I’m not the only one who’s frustrated sometimes. I think it’s part of the grind. But I’m just trying to stay focused on what’s important: trying to win basketball games. I’m not trying to get caught up in any noise or anything like that. I don’t want to be a distraction. We’ll figure it out internally and do what’s best for the team.”

Timberwolves sign Sean Kilpatrick to 10-day contract

Timberwolves sign guard Sean Kilpatrick to 10-day contract

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed guard Sean Kilpatrick to a 10-day contract. The Timberwolves were granted an NBA hardship exception for a 16th roster spot due to having four players out due to injury.

Kilpatrick, 25, has averaged 13.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 42 games this season with Delaware and Santa Cruz of the NBADL. Kilpatrick, 6-4, went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft after a four-year career at the University of Cincinnati. Kilpatrick finished his career with averages of 15.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 140 contests, earning Second-Team All-America honors his senior season. Kilpatrick was signed by the Golden State Warriors on October 20, 2014 and waived on October 24, 2014 after playing with the Philadelphia 76ers on their 2014 NBA Summer League team.

Marcin Gortat fined by NBA for flopping

Marcin Gortat fined by NBA for flopping

Marcin Gortat fined by NBA for flopping

Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat has been fined $5,000 by the NBA for violating the league’s anti-flopping rules for the second time this season.

The incident occurred with 4:31 remaining in the fourth quarter of Washington’s 88-84 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, March 18, at EnergySolutions Arena.

To view the play, click on this link.

Knicks team physician Dr. Lisa Callahan named 2014 Physician of the Year

Knicks team physician Dr. Lisa Callahan named 2014 Physician of the Year

New York Knicks Team Physician Dr. Lisa Callahan has been named the 2014 Physician of the Year, as voted by members of the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association (NBATA).

The NBATA Physician of the Year Award is an annual honor recognizing an NBA team physician for exceptional service to their respective team, NBA, and NBATA.

“Dr. Callahan has always provided guidance and had an extraordinary rapport with the members of the NBATA,” said Gregg Farnam, NBATA Chairman and Athletic Trainer of the Minnesota Timberwolves. “When our team’s players are in need of medical attention, she has always gone above and beyond what she needs to do to care for them. There is a comfort level in knowing that she is willing and able to assist at anytime.”

Dr. Callahan is currently in her 11th season overseeing the medical staffs of both the Knicks and the WNBA’s Liberty, and in the summer of 2014, was promoted to chief medical officer and senior vice president of player care for MSG Sports, adding the NHL’s New York Rangers, the NBA D-League’s Westchester Knicks and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. She was elected secretary/treasurer of the NBA Team Physicians Society in 2013 and is the team physician for the 2014-16 USA Basketball Men’s National Team.

She is the co-founder and medical director of the Women’s Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, rated the Northeast’s top orthopedic facility for the last 24 consecutive years (and best in the nation for five straight years) by U.S. News and World Report, and in addition, she is the founding director of the Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship Program at HSS.

The award will be presented to Dr. Callahan pregame tonight at center court of Madison Square Garden by Farnam and Knicks Head Athletic Trainer Roger Hinds.

Knicks sign Ricky Ledo to 10-day contract

Knicks sign Ricky Ledo to 10-day contract

Knicks sign Ricky Ledo to 10-day contract

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has signed guard Ricky Ledo of the NBA Development League’s Texas Legends to a 10-day contract, marking the 50th overall NBA Development League “Call-Up” this season.

Ledo, 6-7, 195-pounds, averaged 15.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists over 32.8 minutes in 26 games (23 starts) for Texas this season. Over the past two seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, he recorded 20 total points over 44 minutes in 16 games. He was originally selected by Milwaukee in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2013 NBA Draft, following his freshman year at Providence College.

Thabo Sefolosha should return soon for Hawks

Thabo Sefolosha should return soon for Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are 53-14 through Tuesday’s games, enjoying an incredible season, and should get deeper any game now. Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution reporting:

Thabo Sefolosha should return soon for Hawks

Thabo Sefolosha competed in three-on-three work following Hawks shootaround Wednesday, a sign the guard/forward is close to a return from a calf injury.

Sefolosha has missed the past 20 games due to a Grade 3 strain of his right calf suffered against the Trail Blazers on Jan. 30. The original diagnosis called for Sefolosha to miss 6 to 8 weeks.

Last week Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said Sefolosha is “making the progress that we expect.”