Kidd leaves game against Spurs with lower back strain
By Tim Price, for NBA.com
Posted Jan 5 2012 9:27PM
SAN ANTONIO -- Jason Kidd has left the Mavericks' game against the Spurs tonight because of a lower back strain. His return is doubtful according to a Mavericks spokesman.
San Antonio jumped out to a 31-17 lead while Kidd played 11:32 of the first quarter before checking out and heading to the locker room. Kidd had missed both of his shots and turned it over once with three assists.
Magic's Davis takes coach's criticism to heart, will adjustWhen the Orlando Magic traded for Glen "Big Baby" Davis they were looking to not only help out center Dwight Howard but acquire a player from a winning culture in Boston.
Posted Jan 6 2012 6:06AM
So far the Magic have seen only flashes of the role player Davis was with the Celtics. After Orlando's win over Washington on Wednesday night, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy questioned whether the 290-pound forward had "his mind on the right things."
Last season, Davis averaged 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 29.5 minutes. He has slumped to 6.9 points (33 percent shooting), 3.9 rebounds and 22.3 minutes in his first seven games with the Magic since signing a four-year, $26 million deal last month.
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After practice Thursday, Van Gundy said the two spoke some more, and the coach hopes this is the start of Davis turning a corner. The Magic begin a 20-day stretch Friday in which they face six teams that made the playoffs last year.
"What we talked about was just Glen doing the things that have made him a very good and more importantly a winning NBA player," Van Gundy said. "And I think he's sort of been sidetracked into - maybe because he hasn't been shooting the ball well - getting concerned about numbers and things like that.
"That's hard for guys like him in this league because there are other guys who will get great attention because of the numbers they put up. A lot of what Glen does, he can certainly get numbers, but a lot of what he does will never show up on a stat sheet."
Van Gundy was referring to the "dirty work" - taking charges, diving for loose balls, setting screens.
"I think what happens sometimes is here comes a guy to a new team and he wants to make a great impression, wants to make a big splash and so he's trying to do some things to make that impression that are not what he's really all about," he said.
He said Davis has never been a player "searching for his offense" and that has changed in his short time with the Magic. Davis said he's taken Van Gundy's words to heart and understands the coach's concerns.
"I'm basically just getting used to my new surroundings and it takes time," Davis said. "I was with (the Celtics) for four years and won a championship with that team and it's a different culture here. I just have to work the kinks out. I'm just going to keep my composure and do what I need to do and perform the way I know that I can perform. I put a lot of pressure on myself and what you see out there is me wanting to do more. But I can't let it not flow."
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Davis was beaten out for the starting job in preseason by Ryan Anderson, who is averaging 19.7 points and against the Wizards had 23 points and 15 rebounds in a 103-85 victory. Anderson is also the NBA leader in 3-pointers made (25) and attempted (55).
"I'm not a Ryan Anderson and I'm not going to be shooting 3s," Davis said. "I have to get closer and watching film Stan has helped me realize that. You'll see a difference in my 22-foot jump shot turning into my 15-foot jump shot."
Davis acknowledged that seeing Brandon Bass' fast start in Boston hasn't helped his own transition in Orlando. Bass is averaging 14.0 point and 6.6 rebounds in 27.7 minutes.
"Most definitely there's a temptation to want to do well," Davis said. "You see Brandon Bass and you see Ryan Anderson, who is doing great and you want to contribute because you know you can. But sometimes putting pressure on yourself isn't good and you end up doing the opposite. I just have to slow down and let the game come to me and make sure that I play my game how I know how to play it."
Howard, who has played against Davis since they were teens and has lobbied to see the Magic bring him in, said he also has spoken with Davis about doing just that.
"Just keep playing," Howard said. "You're going to have points in the season where you struggle. No matter where that may be - offense, defense or whatever. ... But you can't dwell on it. You just got to keep playing the way you know how to play. I just tell him keep shooting. Do whatever you got to do, but keep doing it."
Davis has had just nine real practices with the Magic. He says the more time he has with the team the more he will fit in.
He also said that facing a post player like Chicago's Carlos Boozer will be an opportunity to show what he can do.
"It'll be great to see the real me," Davis said. "I know what I have to do and it's just about going out there, taking my time and doing it. It's not that that I'm confused; I'm the kid at the candy store wanting to do more, more, more. I just have to slow down and embrace everything and mentally get right."
Heat's James, Wade not starting against Hawks
Posted Jan 5 2012 8:11PM - Updated Jan 5 2012 9:13PM
ATLANTA (AP) -- Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, each slowed by injuries, were held out of Thursday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks.
Neither player was in uniform on the Miami bench.
Before the game, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Wade, who has a sore left foot, was "a little bit more unlikely" than James to play. Wade missed his second straight game after sitting out Wednesday night's 118-83 win over Indiana. He hurt his foot at Charlotte on Dec. 28.
James turned his left ankle late in the third quarter of Wednesday night's game. He appeared to step on the foot of Indiana's Paul George while attempting a fast-break layup. He still finished with 33 points and 13 assists.
"We're weighing everything: the schedule ahead, rest, how much treatment we can do," Spoelstra said.
"Thankfully, these aren't debilitating injuries."
James Jones, who started in Wade's place against Indiana, and Shane Battier started against the Hawks.
Hawks coach Larry Drew said guard Tracy McGrady's status was uncertain due to a bruised knee.
Kings fire coach Westphal, bring in Smart
Posted Jan 5 2012 2:48PM - Updated Jan 6 2012 1:58AM
SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- If the Sacramento Kings stood any chance at success this season, Paul Westphal had to find a way to control talented but volatile center DeMarcus Cousins.
He couldn't -- and lost his job because of it.
The Kings fired Westphal Thursday after two-plus seasons as coach, cutting ties amid a slow start and an escalating dispute with Cousins that threatened to consume the locker room. Assistant Keith Smart, let go by the Golden State Warriors in April after one season at the helm, signed a deal to become the team's new head coach.
With the Cousins-Westphal spat showing no resolution, Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof finally decided to take action. Instead of trading away a promising young big man, they made Westphal the first firing of the lockout-shortened season.
"We're in a situation here where you can't take a philosophical vacation because things are happening in real time," Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie said. "You start to keep seeing the same things over and over again, you can't sit around and meditate forever about how you're going to approach them or try and change them."
Looking to build momentum for a new arena project, Sacramento stumbled at the start again this year.
A talented and athletic - albeit raw - roster under Westphal was 2-5 and in last place in the Pacific Division before a 103-100 victory over Milwaukee on Thursday night with Smart on the sideline. Westphal finished with a 51-120 record in Sacramento.
The 61-year-old previously coached the Phoenix Suns and Seattle SuperSonics. In a statement released by the team, Westphal thanked the Maloofs, his coaching staff and players for the opportunity.
"While the job is far from finished, I am proud of the strides we were able to make," he said.
In the last week, all of Westphal's efforts in California's capital shattered.
He abruptly released a statement Sunday criticizing Cousins' commitment to the franchise and excused him from the team's game against New Orleans. He also said Cousins asked for a trade, which the center's agent refuted.
Petrie said he knew of Westphal's plans to release the statement but indicated that the Maloofs didn't. Petrie dodged questions about whether he supported Westphal's statement about Cousins, who expressed remorse for Westphal and said he would soon reach out to his former coach.
"It's been an emotional week and a lot of misunderstandings," Cousins said. "But it comes with the territory. Coach Westphal was a great teacher to a lot of us and a good coach. But this was a management decision."
Sacramento drafted Cousins with the fifth overall pick in 2010 after he spent one season at Kentucky. The 21-year-old was averaging 13.7 points and 9.3 rebounds in 26 minutes per game this season.
Cousins' behavior has been well documented going back to high school and his one season at Kentucky, mixing in dramatic and astonishing plays with outbursts against players, coaches, trainers and referees. His conditioning has been questioned and so has his work ethic. However, he showed up for training camp in prime condition and appeared ready for a breakout season.
"Of course people are going to tie (Westphal's firing) to me," Cousins said. "It will just show their ignorance. But like I said, it's not my decision."
The Kings had high hopes for a major turnaround this year.
Teamed with 2009-10 rookie of the year Tyreke Evans, Cousins was expected to anchor the front line for a young and emerging roster in the deep Western Conference. Sacramento finished 24-58 last season and missed the playoffs for the fifth straight year, although a late-season surge behind a healthy Evans provided hope that maybe the Kings weren't that far off from making the postseason again.
Turns out, the Maloofs couldn't wait any longer.
"We have a lot of respect for Paul and he's a classy individual. But it's time for a change," Gavin Maloof said at halftime of the Kings-Bucks game. "We just got to put everything behind us, all of the negatives and try and push forward and think positive."
The NBA and the Maloofs have given Sacramento a March 1 deadline to approve a plan to help finance a new arena, or the franchise could again explore relocation. The Kings nearly moved south to Anaheim, Calif., in April before the league's Board of Governors decided to give Sacramento another chance.
Now the Cousins conflict is Smart's responsibility to fix.
Smart, the former Indiana guard best known for hitting "The Shot" against Syracuse that won the Hoosiers the 1987 NCAA title, spent seven years as an assistant with Golden State before he replaced the ousted Don Nelson just before training camp last year. The Warriors went 36-46 under Smart, a 10-game improvement from the previous season but not enough to appease new owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber.
Smart said he never imagined his next chance coming so soon. While taking over for a fired coach is not the type of opportunity he envisioned, he feels comfortable with the decision after Westphal passed along his blessings.
"He said, `Don't do anything stupid and reject this. I want you to coach this team,"' Smart said of Westphal. "He felt it, and I felt that he meant it from the bottom of his heart."
Asked how he would approach Cousins differently after watching Westphal's relationship with the center go sour, Smart smiled and said, "Probably have a good relationship with him."
His job may depend on it.
Kings' Chuck Hayes dislocates left shoulder vs. BucksPosted Jan 6 2012 12:15AMSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Sacramento Kings big man Chuck Hayes has dislocated his left shoulder and will be out indefinitely.
Hayes extended his left arm and fouled Milwaukee center Drew Gooden in the second quarter Thursday night. His arm seemed to get tangled with Gooden and his shoulder popped out.
Hayes lay on the floor writhing in pain for a few minutes, the arena falling so silent that his screams could be heard from the sideline. He walked off under his own power holding his arm.
A Kings spokesman confirmed Hayes dislocated his left shoulder.
The team previously said a heart exam on Hayes showed an abnormality that would require further testing and voided the contract he signed in December. A few days later, the forward-center agreed to a new deal with Sacramento.
Bucks' Bogut out second straight game for personal reasons
Posted Jan 5 2012 10:40PM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Andrew Bogut is out for the Milwaukee Bucks against the Sacramento Kings, missing his second straight game because of undisclosed personal reasons.
The team confirmed before Thursday night's game at Sacramento that Bogut is still dealing with a personal matter. It's unclear when he'll return. The 7-foot Australian center was again replaced in the starting lineup by Drew Gooden.
Bogut is averaging 14.3 points and 10 rebounds after elbow surgery late last season. He was a surprise scratch moments before Milwaukee's 85-73 loss at Utah on Tuesday night.
Mike Dunleavy Jr. is recovering from a groin injury and not with the team, and forward Luc Mbah a Moute is out indefinitely with right knee tendonitis.
A needed scorer last year, Michael Beasley (right, with Kevin Love) is trying to fit in with the new Wolves.
David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images
New Timberwolves looking for more than same old Beasley
Posted Jan 6 2012 11:51AM
As the Minnesota Timberwolves' hopes and prayers of the recent past give way to expectations and real, concrete plans, it will be telling to see how Michael Beasley fits into it all.
Among the range of possibilities, "not at all" remains very much in play.
Beasley, young as he is (he turns 23 Monday), already seems like a relic of a Timberwolves age gone by. He is a holdover from and, after just 18 months and 79 games with Minnesota heading into its clash with Cleveland on Friday, a remnant of sillier, more scattered time.
Impetuous, undisciplined and still so raw in talent and potential at a sleek 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds, Beasley can be entertaining on court. But that might not be enough anymore now that Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams are the core of something truly and, for all the right reasons, exciting.
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Beasley was OK a year ago for the Wolves of Jonny Flynn, Sebastian Telfair, Kosta Koufos and coach Kurt Rambis. But that might not be good enough for the group assembled and legitimately coached by Rick Adelman.
"With a guy like Rubio or even Kevin Love at times, the good outweighs the bad," one Wolves insider said this week. "With Beasley, the bad outweighs the good."
Hard as it might be to imagine, after four years of post-Kevin Garnett flailing-about, Minnesota is hot. Beasley, however, is not. Oh, he still fascinates with his skills and what-might-be upside. His history and his free-spirit personality qualify him as one of the reasons the Wolves are a must-see on NBA League Pass these days.
But the way he plays, the way Beasley approaches his craft and his teammates, soon could disqualify him. Again.
It happened in July 2010, when the Miami Heat aimed higher, way higher, than Beasley ever could take them. The Heat brought together its Big Three -- LeBron James and Chris Bosh jumping aboard Dwyane Wade's team -- and sacrificed Beasley to the cause, gifting him to Minnesota for a couple of second-round Draft picks so they could use his salary space on shooter Mike Miller.
Beasley, already a disappointment in south Florida as the No. 2 pick in the 2008 Draft, thrived in the Wolves' land of green lights and zero expectations. Under Rambis, Beasley did his thing offensively and, as usual, did little at all defensively. He averaged a career-best 19.2 points to rank 20th in the NBA, hit 45 percent as an unleashed volume shooter and led the team 28 times in scoring.
In a six-game stretch in November, Beasley averaged 31.3 points and scored at least 25 each night against the Kings, Knicks, Hawks, Bobcats, Clippers and, yes, even the Lakers. And the Wolves won half of them. He topped 30 points eight times and his team, on its way to a 17-65 season, went 4-4 in those games.
Rambis tolerated Beasley's inattention to defense and most other details, and indulged him as his end-of-game option, because he needed him. But the losses mounted and it didn't last. From Jan. 1 to the bitter end, Beasley averaged 17.0 points on 42.8 percent shooting and just 5.2 rebounds.
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Then, over the summer, Beasley got noticed for even worse reasons: In late June, he was stopped in suburban Minnetonka for speeding and cited for possession of marijuana, only his latest brush with that drug. In early August, at a summer league game at New York's Dyckman Park, Beasley "mushed" a heckling fan, a moment of dumb caught on cellphone video that night.
Enter Norm Nixon. The former Lakers guard was enticed to counsel Beasley by Wolves basketball president David Kahn, who had seen Nixon's influence as an agent on Jalen Rose back when Rose and Kahn both worked for the Indiana Pacers.
"Michael is like my son now, like one of my kids," Nixon told the St. Paul Pioneer Press last month on a visit to the Twin Cities during the Wolves' quickie training camp. "We have that kind of a relationship. If things happen, he lets me know."
The off-court stuff seems good for now. Beasley spent extra time in the gym, even returning to the practice facility at night with Nixon in tow.
On the court, a post-lockout, scrunched-together season might seem perfect for a player whose game seems to suffer from a basketball ADHD. The more games (and fewer free nights), the better, right?
Except that Beasley has been awful.
He scored 24 points on opening night against Oklahoma City but needed 27 shots to get them. He dallied away most of three quarters, in foul trouble and seemingly distracted, before locking in late for some helpful buckets. In the Wolves' first real glimmer of excitement, the near-upset of Miami on Dec. 30, Beasley was on the bench for the entire fourth quarter. He split open the index finger on his shooting hand (five stitches) in the team's victory over Dallas on Sunday, scored 19 in 43 minutes as the Wolves beat San Antonio a day later ... and then shot 5-of-16 with five turnovers in their flat performance against Memphis on Friday.
Beasley's PER rating, a mediocre 15.5 in 2010-11, is down to 7.8. Rubio, Williams, Anthony Tolliver, Wayne Ellington, Anthony Randolph and J.J. Barea all have better plus/minus numbers through six games.
Beasley remains the Wolves' only threat to create his own shot. He can collapse defenses when he ventures into the lane. But he too often launches from deep-two territory and mostly passes when he's ready to give up the ball, rather than when a teammate is in position to receive it. He's averaging a career-worst 2.8 turnovers, along with 13.5 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 40.2 percent.
This is a pivotal season for him. His peers from the 2008 Draft -- Derrick Rose, Love, Russell Westbrook -- are being fitted for or already have received lucrative contract extensions. Beasley (like No. 3 pick O.J. Mayo) looks headed toward restricted free agency and, from there, even more uncertainty.
Beasley's ability to help a team with a real, earnest agenda remains in doubt. Adelman and Kahn provided a lesson for him by inviting to camp 35-year-old Bonzi Wells, another talented guy whose own knucklehead ways sent him to China, Puerto Rico and out of basketball completely in the years since 2008.
Wells, who bounced through five franchises in 10 NBA seasons, said during his brief trial in Minnesota: "I mean, everybody makes mistakes when you're young."
Beasley is still young. Yet the question lingers: As the Timberwolves move up, can Beasley keep up?
Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980.
Rockets' Lowry charged with battery in Vegas
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Houston Rockets guard Kyle Lowry is facing a misdemeanor battery charge amid accusations that he threw a basketball at a referee and threatened her during a game at a Las Vegas training gym.
The criminal complaint says the 25-year-old Lowry was taunting 30-year-old Infini Robinson while she was officiating a game between NBA players Sept. 22.
Police say that when the game ended, he threw a ball at her torso and cursed at her for calls he didn't agree with.
Robinson later was hit in the shoulder by another basketball in an area designated for officials. She said the ball hit her with such force that it pushed her body back in the chair where she was sitting, and said it likely would have broken her nose had she not been bent over changing her shoe.
The report says Corey Maggette of the Charlotte Bobcats approached her afterward and apologized on behalf of Lowry. She told police Lowry also approached her, saying "I truly apologize for what I did. I let my emotions get the best of me."
Lowry could not be reached by phone Friday. He was in the training room prior to the Rockets' game Friday night at Oklahoma City and was replaced in the starting lineup by Goran Dragic because of a right foot injury.
Lowry had started Houston's first six games and is averaging 15.3 points and 10 assists, the third-best total in the league.
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey says he is aware of the complaint but is not commenting on the legal matter.
Lowry has been summoned to appear in a Las Vegas court Feb. 2.
Smart gets another shot, this time as Kings coach
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Keith Smart spent much of his time during the lockout this summer scribbling notes at home, everything from designing plays to deciding what he'd do differently if he ever got another chance to be an NBA head coach.
He never figured that time would come so soon.
More than eight months after the Golden State Warriors let his one-and-done contract expire, Smart, the former Indiana guard best known for hitting "The Shot" against Syracuse to win the 1987 NCAA title, is getting another shot -- as the Sacramento Kings coach -- and looking to move past his swift Bay Area exit.
"When it happened the way it happened, you say, `I hope I get another opportunity,"' Smart said. "You hope you get another opportunity and it's not, `Let's coach for this year and do all we can and stop developing.' Well, I can coach now and develop a team."
The Kings fired Paul Westphal seven games into the lockout-shortened season Thursday, marking the third time Smart has ascended from assistant to the top spot -- never seeing a second season each time previously, never really even having a chance to earn that time in either case. While nothing is promised again, Smart is confident he finally has strong support to be the lasting replacement.
The 47-year-old isn't one to sulk about whether he got a "fair shake" with the Warriors, who ousted the NBA's career wins leader, Don Nelson, before training camp last year and hastily appointed Smart. Golden State finished with a 36-46 record, a 10-game improvement under Smart from the previous season.
He never stood a chance.
New Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber wanted to make their own hire, if nothing else just for the sake of change, cutting ties with Smart and signing the more flamboyant Mark Jackson -- the former Knicks and Pacers point guard and ABC/ESPN broadcaster who had never coached at any level. Smart also had a stint as the Cleveland Cavaliers' interim head coach for the final 40 games in 2003 after taking over for John Lucas.
"This opportunity is not how a coach likes to come into it," said Smart, who spoke with Westphal before signing his contract. "He said, `Don't do anything stupid and reject this. I want you to coach this team.' He felt it, and I felt that he meant it from the bottom of his heart."
Smart's style should mimic the run-and-fun ways Nelson made famous -- only with a bigger backcourt.
When players entered the Kings locker room Thursday, Smart followed a precedent he set from his Warriors days: He walked around to each player and asked for a handshake, signaling a pact that they would allow Smart to coach them and be involved in their lives.
Then he wrote on the white board: "Play Hard," the one request Smart makes before every game without debate.
"What I took from it was everybody was going to be held accountable the same way," said Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, whose escalating feud with Westphal played a major role in the coach's departure. "No matter if you're the star player to the rookie to a role player that doesn't play at all, we all will be held accountable, and that's the way it needs to be."
Smart inherits a roster with perhaps more talent than the one he had at Golden State -- albeit even rawer, more unproven and with more difficult personalities to manage.
A young and emerging team in the deep Western Conference, Sacramento finished 24-58 last season and missed the playoffs for the fifth straight year, although a late-season surge behind a healthy Tyreke Evans -- the 2009-10 NBA Rookie of the Year - provided hope that maybe the Kings weren't that far off from making the postseason again.
Instead, Sacramento stumbled at the start.
The Cousins-Westphal spat dragged on, the guard trio of Evans, Marcus Thornton and Jimmer Fredette has struggled to find a rhythm amid a constantly rotating roster and new additions John Salmons and Chuck Hayes are still searching for their place.
"Right now, the team is dealing with an identity crisis," Smart said. "Each guy is trying to push forth his identity. And so when you have that, they're not playing like they don't want to win, but each guy is trying to do the things to win.
"And that's called an issue."
Sacramento (3-5) was far from playing its best ball when Smart started.
But the team's potential was evident in Smart's debut Thursday night, when the Kings overcame a 21-point halftime deficit for a thrilling 103-100 victory over Milwaukee. Cousins gleefully bear-hugged Smart, players high-fived along the bench and smiles filled the arena for the first time since the season-opening victory over the Lakers on Dec. 26.
"The guys are going to respect him because he is going to be straight up," said Bucks swingman Stephen Jackson, who played under Smart during his seven seasons as a Warriors assistant. "He's not going to sugarcoat anything."
Smart is the second exiled Warriors coach to go straight to the Kings job, following in the footsteps of Eric Musselman (2006-2007). Because he was already on the staff, Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie called Smart "the best man for the job" and decided not to prolong a search for an outside hire.
Ownership agreed.
"We think he can do the job here," Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof said of Smart. "We just got to put everything behind us, all of the negatives and try to push forward and think positive."
Smart's stature as a former player will only go so far in the Kings locker room.
Cousins, for instance, wasn't born until three years after Smart knocked down the baseline jump shot that lifted the Hoosiers over Syracuse for the national title. Smart fizzled out in the NBA after the Warriors drafted him, spending most of his short-lived career overseas and in the CBA.
After serving as a career assistant for more than a decade, Smart has lived in relatively anonymity since. He couldn't care less if he gets any notoriety.
Just so long as he gets a chance.
"I've had my moment to be famous with a championship shot in '87. It's all about them now," Smart said. "I don't need the credit, it's for them. I want them to be good. I want them to have success. And when they have success, everyone around us has success."
Strained hamstring to sideline Bobcats' Maggette 2-4 weeks
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Bobcats coach Paul Silas says forward Corey Maggette will miss 2-4 weeks with a strained left hamstring.
Silas says Derrick Brown will start Friday night against the Hawks, and Tyrus Thomas also will play. Thomas has not played this season because of a sprained ankle.
Silas says Maggette's loss hurts because "he's one of the key factors of our team."
Maggette, who was injured in Wednesday's night's victory against the Knicks, is averaging 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Brown is averaging 4.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.
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