NBA News for November 2: Dwight and CP3 planned to team up, D-Wade thought Heat-Knicks should have been canceled

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy battering the Northeast, hitting New York the hardest and postponing the season opener between the Nets and Knicks, Dwyane Wade said Friday night’s Heat-Knicks game should have been cancelled as well. Sean Deveney of the Sporting News has an excellent roundup of the situation: ‘Heat star Dwyane Wade took to Twitter to comment that, “3 hour traffic just to get into the NY city.. C’monMan…’ Then, not wanting to sound as though he was just complaining about traffic, Wade took down that tweet and said, ‘2 be clear “Traffic tweet was meant 2 say”… We shouldn’t B hre 2 play a basketball game when theirs so many families obviously still R affected by #Sandy.’ Wade further tweeted, ‘I luv playing in the garden but cnt do nothing but think abt all the families that dont have power,food,water etc..ths is a tragic hit 4 ths gr8 city,’ Wade wrote. Wade later said he would donate his salary for tonight’s game, about $210,000 before taxes, to help relief efforts. ‘I just felt there were bigger things to be concerned about than us being here to play a basketball game,’ Wade said. ‘Obviously, sports is things that takes people’s minds away from things, but, you know, I think there’s bigger things that need to be done here in the city.’ “

Reports on Eric Gordon’s knee are in, and while the prognosis isn’t great (four to six weeks out while he rehabs), it certainly

could have been much worse. Here’s what ESPN.com wrote about the situation: “Injured New Orleans Hornets guard Eric Gordon told Yahoo! Sports on Friday that a Chicago knee specialist believes he can return to the team in four to six weeks without further surgery. Gordon, according to the report, plans to rely on rehab and strengthening work to get back on the floor after being listed by the team earlier this week as out indefinitely. ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard and Marc Stein reported earlier Friday that — while no firm decisions had been made about how to treat Gordon’s troublesome right knee — microfracture surgery had been presented as one of a number of potential remedies, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.”

Sam Amick of USA Today (congrats to Gannett on a great hire) talked to some of the Clippers’ top players ahead of last night’s inter-LA matchup: “They are less worried about being the most talked about team than they are about being the best. ‘We want to be thought of as a good basketball team, and I think we are,’ Griffin told USA TODAY Sports. ‘Like I’ve said over and over, we’re not concerned about the Lakers and what they’re doing. We’re concerned about ourselves and making sure that we’re presenting ourselves the right way and putting our best effort on the court.’ How good could the Clippers be? Griffin scored 11 points and Paul 12 against the Grizzlies, but it was reserve guard Jamal Crawford who led the team with 29 points in 30 minutes. ‘It’s fun to be a part of this, to have guys come off the bench like Jamal and score effortlessly,’ Paul said. ‘I want to play every second of the game, but it’s fun to be on the bench and cheer guys on, because the way they’re playing is exciting.’ “

D.J. Augustin returned to Charlotte after signing with the Pacers this offseason, and missed the final shot of the game as Charlotte’s 23-game losing streak ended. Recently, he said he “never knew where (he) stood” with the franchise. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer talked to Bobcats management for a response: “Those comments came as a surprise and a disappointment to Rod Higgins, who heads the Bobcats’ basketball operations. The Bobcats offered Augustin a lucrative contract extension last season that he turned down. When the Bobcats came to terms with Ramon Sessions, the team rescinded a qualifying offer for more money than the one-year, $3.5 million contract Augustin signed with Indiana. ‘I’m not going to go into specifics, but we offered him more than he signed for in Indiana,’ Higgins told the Observer at Friday shootaround. ‘I don’t think it would be appropriate to comment further than that.’ ”