Clippers dropped by Nets in Brooklyn

Clippers dropped by Nets in Brooklyn

Do the Los Angeles Clippers play like a championship contender? For stretches, yes. Other times, certainly not. In general, serious title favorites show consistency, and that’s something the Clips have struggled with this season. They dropped a shocker to the Nets in Brooklyn Monday. Here’s ESPN Los Angeles reporting:

When the regular season wraps up, the Los Angeles Clippers can look back at games like Monday’s meltdown in Brooklyn and won’t have to wonder for long why they don’t have home court advantage or can’t advance past the first round.

It may just be one game, but the Clippers’ inability to close out a Nets team that was 17-28 and out the East playoff picture is a larger problem than a one-game aberration. It is the perfect example of the Clippers’ consistent lack of consistency.

This same Clippers team that gets pushed around by the New Orleans Pelicans one night can blowout the Spurs by 20 points in San Antonio the next night. Then for an encore two nights later squander an eight-point lead in the final minute and lose to the Nets.

If it’s hard to figure out what kind of team the Clippers are from one night to the next, you’re not alone. They’re not entirely sure, either.

“I think that’s plagued us the whole season,” Clippers forward Matt Barnes said when asked about the inconsistent play. “I think that’s something we have to continue work on and continue to focus on and execute.”

Warriors sign James Michael McAdoo to second 10-day contract

Warriors sign James Michael McAdoo to second 10-day contract

The Golden State Warriors signed free agent forward James Michael McAdoo to a second 10-day contract as a Call-Up from the Warriors’ NBA Development League affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team announced Monday.

McAdoo, 22, appeared in three games with Golden State during his first 10-day contract from January 19 – January 27, averaging 4.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 6.5 minutes. The 6-9 forward tallied 11 points, five rebounds and one block in 13 minutes in his NBA debut in Golden State’s 122-79 victory over the Denver Nuggets on January 19. The North Carolina product has appeared in 24 games (22 starts) with the Santa Cruz Warriors this season, averaging 19.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.04 steals (tied for sixth-best in the D-League) and 2.38 blocks (sixth-best) in 33.0 minutes while hitting 58.8 percent from the field.

McAdoo, who was not selected in the 2014 NBA Draft, originally signed with the Warriors on September 2, 2014. He appeared in five preseason games before being waived on October 24, 2014.

McAdoo will wear uniform #20.

Grizzlies sign JaMychal Green to 10-day contract

Memphis Grizzlies sign JaMychal Green to 10-day contract

Grizzlies sign JaMychal Green to 10-day contract

The Memphis Grizzlies signed free agent forward JaMychal Green to a 10-day contract as a Call-Up from the NBA Development League’s Austin Spurs, Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace announced today.

Green (6-9, 220) has averaged 23.0 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.55 blocks in 31.8 minutes in 20 games (all starts) with Austin this season, shooting .577 from the field, .364 from three-point range and .843 from the free throw line. The NBA D-League Player of the Month for games in December, Green ranks sixth in the D-League in scoring and rebounding per game among players with at least 10 games played and is tied for seventh in double-doubles (15).

Green owns career D-League averages of 15.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.07 blocks in 26.8 minutes in 60 games (45 starts) in two seasons (2012-13, 2014-15) with Austin, shooting .532 from the field and .812 from the free throw line.

A 24-year-old NBA rookie, Green was signed by the San Antonio Spurs to a 10-day contract as a Call-Up on Jan. 18 and totaled eight points, six rebounds and two blocks in 25 minutes over four appearances for the Spurs, making four of his seven shot attempts.

Undrafted in the 2012 NBA Draft, the Montgomery, Ala. native averaged 13.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.72 blocks in 123 games over four seasons at the University of Alabama. He played 25 games for Chorale Roanne of the LNB Pro A League in France during the 2013-14 season.

Celtics sign Andre Dawkins to second 10-day contract

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed guard Andre Dawkins to a second 10-day contract.

Dawkins, a 6’4” guard was signed to his first 10-day with the Celtics on January 23. He has appeared in four games for the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League since he was signed and has averaged 20.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 39.4 minutes per game while shooting 37.7 percent from three-point territory.

Andre Emmett named D-League Player of Month for January, 2015

Andre Emmett named D-League Player of Month for January, 2015

Fort Wayne Mad Ants forward Andre Emmett was today named NBA Development League Player of the Month for games played in January. The award is the first monthly honor for Emmett, who was named NBA D-League Performer of the Week on Jan. 19.

Emmett (6-5, 224, Texas Tech) led the Mad Ants to a 10-2 month in January, including an eight-game win streak to begin the month. Emmett scored more than 20 points in all 12 games, recording four games with 30-or-more points. He posted a 26-point, 11-rebound double-double in a 114-103 road win over the Delaware 87ers on Jan. 10. In January, Emmett averaged 27.3 points on 52 percent shooting from the floor to go with 6.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

For the season, Emmett is averaging 21.5 points on 52.5 percent shooting from the field to go with 4.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 32.1 minutes.

Other players receiving consideration for the monthly award were Austin’s Bryce Cotton, Bakersfield’s Archie Goodwin, Delaware’s DJ Seeley, Iowa’s Damien Wilkins, Los Angeles’ Vander Blue, Maine’s Tim Frazier, Rio Grande Valley’s Clint Capela, Reno’s Jordan Hamilton, Santa Cruz’s James Michael McAdoo and Sioux Falls’ Shawn Jones.

Pistons sign John Lucas III to 10-day contract

Pistons sign John Lucas III to 10-day contract

With point guard Brandon Jennings out for the season, the Detroit Pistons can use some help in the backcourt. Today, they decided on a player to audition, at least for 10 days, for the role.

Pistons General Manager Jeff Bower announced today that the club has signed guard John Lucas III to a 10-day contract.

The 5’11”, 166-pound guard joins the Pistons after spending the season in China with the Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association where he averaged 26.6 points, 7.1 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 43.5 minutes in 26 games.

The Washington, DC native has spent parts of six seasons in the NBA with the Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors and Utah Jazz. He holds career averages of 4.8 points, 1.4 assists, 1.0 rebounds and 12.2 minutes in 216 games (eight starts) and is a career 34.7-percent shooter from three-point range.

Lucas has also spent time in the NBA’s Developmental League and played internationally in Italy, Spain and China. He played collegiately at Oklahoma State University.

Rajon Rondo suffers injuries to face: orbital fracture and nasal fracture

Rajon Rondo

Dallas Mavericks point guard Rajon Rondo should have gone to Disney World Saturday instead of playing against the Orlando Magic. It would have been a lot more fun.

Rondo suffered an orbital fracture to his left eye as well as a nasal fracture during the game at Orlando on Saturday, January 31. His status will be updated later this week as more information is available.

The Mavs did win their game in Orlando, 108-93. So it wasn’t all bad.

Rondo will not travel with the team this week to Golden State and Sacramento while undergoing additional testing and evaluation.

Nets, Nuggets discuss a Brook Lopez deal

The Brooklyn Nets are 18-28, have won just 2 of their last 10 games, and are on a 4-game losing streak. Center Brook Lopez, playing just 26.9 minutes per game, is averaging 15.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Those stats look good when taking the court time into account. But his actual impact has been limited. And when you factor in Brook’s massive contract, things get bleak. Changes are being discussed. Here’s ESPN.com reporting the latest:

The Brooklyn Nets continue to explore the possibility of trading center Brook Lopez but to date have resisted a serious push from the Denver Nuggets, according to league sources.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Nuggets have offered big men JaVale McGee and J.J. Hickson, as well as one of the two draft picks Denver recently acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers for center Timofey Mozgov, in exchange for the Lopez.

But Brooklyn, sources say, has rebuffed those advances so far.

Adam Silver interested in expanding All-Star team rosters to more than 12 players

Adam Silver interested in expanding All-Star team rosters to more than 12 players

Now this is interesting. NBA team rosters have a minimum of 12 players, maximum of 15. Almost no teams only carry 12 players on their squad. But All-Star team rosters (two of them, one for the East, one for the West) have 12 players each. Why not a few more? I think you can make an argument that things are fine the way they are, especially considering the limited minutes available in the actual All-Star game compared to the amount of talent on each roster. Still fun to consider the possibilities of more All-Stars being named. Here’s ESPN.com reporting:

NBA commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN Radio on Sunday that he favors expanding All-Star rosters from their current limit of 12.

On the first day of his second year in charge of the league, Silver added that “this is going to be the year where we have to make those decisions‎” in reference to proposed tweaks to the league’s current playoff format and draft lottery.

‎In the wake of what he described as “essentially a tie” in trying to choose between Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins and Portland’s Damian Lillard to replace injured Kobe Bryant on the Western Conference squad, Silver told ‎the “NBA Lockdown: Insiders” show Sunday night that he intends to broach the subject in the near future with new Players Association executive director Michele Roberts.

Asked to reflect on what he would remember most about his first year as commissioner, with Sunday marking exactly one since he replaced David Stern, Silver said: “That I had to decide between DeMarcus Cousins and Damian Lillard. I didn’t like having to make that choice. I wish I had another slot for Damian because I think he’s deserving of being an All-Star as well.‎”

Ricky Rubio set to return for Timberwolves

Ricky Rubio set to return for Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves, owner of an NBA-worst 8-39 win-loss record, are set to welcome exciting, flashy point guard Ricky Rubio back into the mix. They won’t suddenly become a winning team — that’s not in the cards this season — but Rubio at the very least makes them a more fun squad. Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting:

Ricky Rubio set to return for Timberwolves

Only four days a Timberwolf, newly signed Lorenzo Brown played all but five seconds during Saturday’s crackling 106-90 loss to Cleveland because the Wolves had not another single healthy point guard available, not even emergency backup Robbie Hummel.

By the time they play at Dallas on Monday, the Wolves could have three, possibly four ready to play at least some minutes at that position.

That includes, of course, Ricky Rubio.

He’s aiming to make his return after missing 42 games and nearly three months because of a severely sprained ankle that damaged muscle and bruised bone.

Wolves coach Flip Saunders said after Saturday’s game he’s hopeful both Rubio and veteran Mo Williams, out the past three games because of a hip he injured in Atlanta more than a week ago, can play some minutes to spell Brown, who has played 95 minutes in three games since the team signed him on Wednesday out of the D League.