Cleveland Cavaliers rookie guard Kyrie Irving, the likely Rookie of the Year, will miss a week to 10 days – and maybe the rest of the season – with an aggravated shoulder injury, the team announced Wednesday. Irving suffered a sprained and bruised shoulder Friday vs. Milwaukee and sat out Saturday’s loss to New York. He returned to action Tuesday vs. San Antonio and had 13 points and five assists but took another shot to the shoulder. On Wednesday, Irving did not travel
Phoenix Suns forward Grant Hill on Wednesday was named one of the recipients of the Hall of Fame’s Human Spirit Award. The award also is known as “The Mannie Jackson” and is named after the former corporate executive and current owner of the Harlem Globetrotters, a member of the Hall of Fame himself. The award was first given in 2007. Hill was honored from the pro game. The winner for the amateur ranks was Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun and the winner for
NEWS Rookie Kyrie Irving will miss 10 more days after aggravating his right shoulder. Kentucky coach John Calipari said Wednesday he isn’t going to coach the New York Knicks or any other NBA franchise for the foreseeable future. “Kentucky is the best job in basketball coaching,” Calipari said. “Why would I leave? We just won the national title. We’re chasing UCLA.” ESPN.com NOTES Portland almost certainly will retain restricted free agent Nicolas Batum, but if not, their cap room would balloon to $25.9 million without his cap
The Boston Celtics’ Paul Pierce and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant have been named the NBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month for games played in March. Pierce led the Celtics to a 12-5 month (second in the Eastern Conference), averaging 22.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists, recording six games of 25 or more points. In a 102-95 win at Charlotte on March 26, Pierce recorded season highs of 36 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Pierce played
I have been an MVP voter for the past six years, and it remains to be seen whether my departure from the mainstream media will impact my chances of casting a vote for the seventh straight season (When I was the NBA writer at the Associated Press for 10 years prior to my six at ESPN, we were not permitted to vote — the same rule writers at the New York Times have to follow). The guy who sends out the
By Andy Roth Following the San Antonio Spurs’ first-round elimination in the playoffs last season, most NBA observers, including myself, thought their days as championship contenders were behind them. But Gregg Popovich’s team is firmly entrenched atop the Southwest Division with a 7 1/2 game lead over the Dallas Mavericks, and their 36-14 record is the fourth-best in the league. San Antonio has accomplished all this despite the fact that former All-Star Manu Ginobili has missed 29 games, and was the team’s leading
The Clippers have long been the laughingstocks of the NBA, save for one season when Sam Cassell was running the show back in 2006 – the last time the team sniffed a winning record in the past 19 years and only the second time they made the playoffs in that stretch. Through its first 42 years as a franchise, the team has yet to even win a division title. The Los Angeles Clippers (32-21) look to finally change these fortunes behind MVP
