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Nowitzki to miss four games to improve conditioning

Posted Jan 21 2012 7:47PM - Updated Jan 21 2012 8:03PM


NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Dirk Nowitzki will sit out for at least the next four games for the Mavericks, starting with Saturday night's contest in New Orleans, so the star forward can get in better game shape while strengthening his sore right knee.

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said before tipoff against the Hornets that Nowitzki needs "an uninterrupted eight days of work to resolve some physical issues and conditioning issues," adding that the decision "covers the knee and it covers conditioning."
Carlisle says Nowitzki would prefer to continue playing but coaches and training staff decided it would be better for the team if he is restricted from game activity for the next week.
"This is not a rest situation. Quite the opposite," Carlisle said. "He'll go through harder workouts this week than he would if we were having practice days and in some cases he'll go multiple times."
Nowitzki has been playing with a protective sleeve on his right knee and at times has complained of stiffness and irritation. His 17.5 points per game this season is a little more than four points below his career average.
He played as recently as Wednesday night's 94-91 victory at Utah, but was held to what is for him a relatively low 12 points to go with five rebounds.
Reserve forward Brian Cardinal expressed confidence in the Mavericks' ability to compensate for Nowitzki's absence.
"The beauty of our team is our depth," Cardinal said. "It's just not one person that's going to have to replace him. We're going to have to collectively."
Cardinal said the compressed game schedule caused by the recent NBA lockout was making it tougher for Nowitzki to work his way back into shape.
"Without having a lot of practice time it's hard. All we do is play games," Cardinal said. "So it's hard to work on your game, work on your craft. This gives him that opportunity and at the same time it gives other people an opportunity (to play), so I think it's a win-win for us."

[OnePiece]

Bulls star Rose again held out with toe injury


Posted Jan 21 2012 7:59PM - Updated Jan 21 2012 8:54PM


CHICAGO (AP) -- It's getting awfully crowded in the Chicago Bulls' training room.

Derrick Rose sat out Saturday night against the Charlotte Bobcats, the fourth straight game the NBA's reigning MVP has missed because of a sprained left big toe.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said Rose "keeps getting better" and the team is "encouraged by that."
Starting center Joakim Noah was a late scratch after rolling his left ankle in a win at Cleveland on Friday. Before the game, Thibodeau said Noah was "fine," but Omer Asik ended up taking his place in the starting lineup.
Also out for Chicago were forward Taj Gibson (left ankle sprain) and guard John Lucas III (left groin strain). Gibson, injured at Cleveland on Friday, was in a walking boot before the game and said he's treating the sprain with ice. Rose, Gibson and Lucas are day-to-day, while Noah's status was unknown.
The Bulls remain cautious with Rose, who is averaging 20.8 points and 8.7 assists this season, though Thibodeau said it ultimately will be the player's decision as to when he can return.
"Only Derrick knows how he feels," Thibodeau said. "When he says he can go, he'll go.

[OnePiece]

Nets F James to have surgery on his right foot

Posted Jan 21 2012 7:58PM


NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey Nets forward Damion James will have surgery on his right foot and there is no timetable for his return.

Nets general manager Billy King said Saturday that the surgery, which will replace a screw in James' fifth metatarsal, would be performed in Indianapolis on Tuesday by Dr. David Porter.
James had a screw inserted in his fifth metatarsal on Dec. 13, 2010. He aggravated the injury in a game earlier this season.
Nets coach Avery Johnson did not know how long James would be sidelined. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in seven games, all starts.

[OnePiece]

Hawks G Hinrich close to returning from surgery

Posted Jan 21 2012 8:05PM - Updated Jan 21 2012 8:51PM


ATLANTA (AP) -- Hawks guard Kirk Hinrich, who has missed the first 17 games of the season while recovering from left shoulder surgery, said Saturday he hopes to play during Atlanta's upcoming five-game trip.

Hinrich started in 22 of his 24 games with Atlanta last season after he was traded to the Hawks from Washington. He averaged 10.2 points and 4.0 assists overall.
Hinrich had surgery in November and he is trying to beat his projected recovery time of three to four months. He said before Saturday night's game against Cleveland he will be with the Hawks on their road trip which begins Monday at Milwaukee.
"I hope I'll be playing sometime on this trip," he said.
Jeff Teague has taken over as Atlanta's starting point guard.
Meanwhile, Dr. Xavier Duralde, who performed the surgery this week to repair center Al Horford's torn left pectoral muscle, said Saturday the All-Star is progressing well in his recovery.
Horford was injured going for a rebound in a Jan. 11 game at Indiana. He is expected to be out three to four months and could miss the remainder of the regular season.
Duralde checked Horford on Saturday and said the center can begin strengthening work in six weeks.
Duralde said the incision is in Horford's left arm pit.

[OnePiece]

Hawes out for Sixers; Wade out again for Heat


Posted Jan 21 2012 6:50PM


MIAMI (AP) -- Heat guard Dwyane Wade missed his third straight game Saturday night with a sprained ankle, while Philadelphia center Spencer Hawes sat out his third straight contest because of a left Achilles' strain.
Wade remains listed as day-to-day and Saturday's game against the 76ers was the sixth he's missed this season. He sat out three others earlier with left foot soreness. Miami hosts Milwaukee on Sunday.

Wade is averaging 19.6 points for Miami this season. He's also been bothered by a calf strain, though the ankle is Miami's primary concern.
Hawes is averaging 10.4 points for the 76ers, who are 10-2 with him in the lineup. Philadelphia opens a seven-game homestand on Monday against Washington, and Sixers coach Doug Collins says Hawes will be evaluated again then.

[OnePiece]

Favors fined $25K for tossing ball into crowd

Posted Jan 21 2012 9:02PM


SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors has been fined $25,000 for throwing a ball into the stands during the third quarter of a 94-91 loss Thursday night against Dallas.

The league announced the fine Saturday.
The incident occurred with 24.8 seconds remaining in the third in a physical game that saw four technicals called.
Favors, a second-year pro, acknowledged he lost his cool after getting called for another offensive foul.
Jazz point guard Earl Watson received a technical shortly before Favors' ejection. Watson was standing up for a teammate when Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki smacked the basketball out of Favors' hands.
Nowitzki wasn't penalized for his actions, though he did receive a technical at the end of the first half for spiking the ball hard onto the court.

[OnePiece]

Report: Bryant's wife to keep three mansions

Posted Jan 21 2012 3:02AM


SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- Records show the wife of Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant will keep their three California homes as part of the couple's divorce plans.

Orange County property records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times show that the three mansions in Newport Coast, valued at $18.8 million total, were transferred into Vanessa Bryant's name since their divorce proceedings began in December.

Vanessa Bryant filed a divorce petition in Orange County Superior Court in December, citing "irreconcilable differences." The couple released a joint statement then saying that they had "resolved all issues incident to their divorce privately."
The Times says neither of the attorneys representing the couple was available for comment.

[OnePiece]

Depleted Pistons sign Walker Russell Jr. from D-League

Posted Jan 20 2012 7:50PM


AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- The short-handed Detroit Pistons have reached into the NBA's D-League to fill their depleted backcourt.
The Pistons signed guard Walker Russell Jr. from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Detroit coach Lawrence Frank said Russell should see minutes Friday night against Memphis.
Guards Rodney Stuckey (groin) and Will Bynum (foot) were not available, leaving the Pistons with just three healthy backcourt players.
Ben Gordon and rookie Brandon Knight were expected to start for Detroit, which also was missing forward Charlie Villanueva because of an ankle injury.
Russell is the son of former Pistons player Walker D. Russell. The younger Russell was waived by Detroit before the start of the season. He led the D-League with 9.9 assists and averaged 16.6 points in 16 games this season in Fort Wayne.

[OnePiece]

With new deal, Westbrook content with OKC

Posted Jan 22 2012 6:50PM - Updated Jan 22 2012 9:15PM


OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Russell Westbrook hopes his decision to make a long-term commitment to stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder will do away with the rumors of a rift between him and fellow All-Star Kevin Durant.
"I wish it would have never started," Westbrook said Sunday at a news conference to formally announce his five-year, $80 million contract extension.
"Me and Kevin get along great on and off the floor, and now we're going to be together for at least five more years. Hopefully we can stay together."
Suggestions that Westbrook and Durant weren't the best of friends surfaced during the playoffs last season, when he ended up with more shots than the two-time NBA scoring champion in several games. Now, every disagreement that occurs in the public eye gets magnified.
With the end of his rookie contract approaching at the conclusion of the season, he said he saw no reason to look anywhere but Oklahoma City -- and certainly not because of Durant.
"Why wouldn't you want to play with the best scorer who might be the best player in the league on your team?" Westbrook said.
Westbrook, a budding star in his own right, helped the Thunder reach the Western Conference finals last season while being chosen to the All-Star team for the first time.
He could have waited until his current deal expired and then tested the free-agent market, forcing Oklahoma City to match any offer from another team.
He'll already be handsomely paid but he could have stood to make even more, particularly if he made the all-NBA first team this year after being a second-team selection last season.
"That wasn't my objective," Westbrook said. "My objective was to find a spot where I'm happy and where I have opportunities to win championships."
Westbrook said he has felt appreciated by the franchise since general manager Sam Presti, acting on advice from assistant GM Troy Weaver, made him a surprising No. 4 pick in the 2008 draft.
He had a rocky start plagued by turnovers, but has since developed into one of the league's most dynamic point guards while making his team a title contender.
Westbrook ranked among the top 15 in the NBA in points, assists and steals last season and he's ninth in the league this season with 20.6 points per game.
"How can you not love this guy? The guy plays with so much passion, he plays with toughness, he plays for the team and he's improved every month since we've had him," coach Scott Brooks said.
The first part of Westbrook's career was marked by the team's relocation from Seattle, between draft day and the start of the regular season, and then the firing of P.J. Carlesimo early in his rookie year.
Soon after, he was thrust into the starting lineup and has stayed there ever since.
"The guy is so resilient. It's really kind of hard to keep him down, and he just continues to come back and work," Presti said. "It's incredibly impressive to me."
Westbrook said it wasn't a tough decision for him to stay in the only place he's called home in the NBA and there's "nowhere else" he'd want to play.
"For every player in the league, you want to be somewhere where you're wanted. I wanted to be somewhere where I had great support," Westbrook said. "This is the spot for me."
"Why would you want to look around when you've got all this support and everybody is behind you and supporting you from day one," Westbrook added. "I took that into deep consideration, and that wasn't a hard answer to give myself."
Westbrook said he didn't take into consideration how his signing would impact whether Oklahoma City will be able to afford to keep starting power forward Serge Ibaka and top reserve James Harden, who both will be in his position a year from now as potential restricted free agents.
"I'm not sure how that's going to work, but I know that now we have a great team and hopefully we can keep everybody together," Westbrook said.
The bills could pile up quickly for the Thunder, who already are paying Durant a maximum contract for the next four seasons. So far, they've been willing to shell out the money necessary to keep the team's core members for the next few years.
"Keeping Russell as a part of our organization moving forward does a lot of things for us," Presti said. "It allows him to continue his development with the organization with which he started. It also gives us continue stability. And nothing really changes in terms of what our vision is for the organization: This is just another step in that direction."

[OnePiece]

Allen exits Celtics game against Wizards with ankle injury

Posted Jan 22 2012 3:30PM


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen left Sunday's game against the Washington Wizards because of a jammed left ankle and will not return.
Allen was fouled by Jan Vesely with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter. Allen was slow to get up off the floor after the foul and limped to the bench. Allen had seven points on 3-for-5 shooting against the Wizards. He is averaging 15.5 points this season.
The Celtics were already without starting point guard Rajon Rondo, who missed his second game with a sprained right wrist.