David Stern addressed and defended his decision to fine the Spurs, from John Reid of The Times Picayune (H/T ProBasketballTalk): “The organization agreed they would take away four players, including a 26-year-old and a 30-year-old – their four best players,’’ said Stern, who will be attending Wednesday night’s game between the Hornets-Lakers at the New Orleans Arena. “And they did it without notifying the league or the media the way they’re supposed to for injury and illness. That, and the totality of all the circumstances, if this wasn’t the appropriate time for exercising the discretion then there would never be an appropriate time. This is not about the coach, I’m fine with Pop.’’ Stern pointed out that it was early in the season and the Spurs’ only visit to Miami to play the Heat for the regular season. “This is not about a coaching decision,” Stern said. “This is more about the relationship among our 30 teams and 30 owners.”
Mario Chalmers could miss some games after injuring his finger, according to Shandel Richardson of Sun Sentinel: “Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers could miss up to five games after injuring his left ring finger in Tuesday’s loss to the Washington Wizards. Chalmers tore a tendon and will be out at least seven to 10 days, according to a source. The injury occurred in the first half of the Heat’s 105-101 loss. Chalmers was taken to the locker room, returning for the second half with his finger in a splint. “I caught a pass,” Chalmers said after the game. “Somehow my finger got caught in the ball.” The Heat did not practice Wednesday, but Chalmers said he would be further evaluated by team doctors. Chalmers was held scoreless and had four assists in 10 minutes.”
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports hilariously reported that the Hornets planned to change their name to the Pelicans on Tuesday, but the name change has not been confirmed, according to Reid: “New Orleans Hornets spokesman Greg Bensel denied a Yahoo! Sports report that owner Tom Benson plans to change the nickname of his NBA franchise from the Hornets to Pelicans. “We’re not confirming that is the name,’’ Bensel said. “This is a process that’s ongoing and still in discussions. And it will be eventually decided by the NBA.’’vBenson, though, is actively pushing for a name change and he has owned the rights to the Pelican nickname for years. In an interview on Fox Sports Television, Gayle Benson, Tom’s wife, said she wants to change the team’s colors to navy blue, red and gold.”
Apparently, Thunder players often call Kendrick Perkins for guidance, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports: “I get phone calls at all hours of the night from different teammates,” Perkins told Yahoo! Sports. “And I’ve got to tell them: OK, you didn’t get yours tonight but… “So OK, take Serge [Ibaka]. I’ll tell him, “OK man, you got seven points tonight, then you need to go get eight blocks. Some nights it’s not going to be your night, where you can touch the ball. It’s like that on this team, especially when you’ve got scorers like Russ, K.D. and Kevin Martin leading the league in scoring.” Twenty-four hours before Perkins made an immense block on the Brooklyn Nets’ Deron Williams in the final minute of the Thunder’s 117-111 victory at Barclays Center, Perkins gave a knowing nod and shrugged. “The game ends, you go home, take an hour break and then I know it’s mentoring time. “Guys are gonna call.”
- Gerald Wallace has been fined $5,000 by the league for flopping for the second time this season.
Mike D’Antoni fired back at fans that think Dwight Howard should be benched late in games, from Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles: “”They haven’t a clue what they’re talking about,” D’Antoni said after the Lakers lost 107-105 to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday with Dwight Howard going 8-for-16 from the foul line (including 5-of-10 in the fourth quarter). “Pretty simple. You don’t do that to a guy and he made his foul shots. He’s not the reason that our defense was suspect. He’s not the reason that stuff happens. He’s got to work through this. “You take him out now and then what are you going to do? Just take him out all the time? You got a player who is going to be your franchise player. You don’t do that. You don’t do that to him and it’s not him that’s causing the problem. It’s not a good thing. It’s a knee-jerk kind of reaction.”
Mike Brown, meanwhile, is having a great time away from the Lakers and isn’t paying too much attention to the team. Mike Bresnahan of Los Angeles Times has the story: “”I still have a fondness for all the guys on the team. I really enjoyed working with all of them,” Brown said. “The coaching staff was unbelievable, in my opinion. I hope they win. “In terms of watching them, it does not intrigue me enough to watch them. I guess I just don’t feel like I have a need to do it. But I hope they do well because these are people I work with and care about. I learned so much from working with Kobe [Bryant] and I hope he learned something working with me.”… “I think I will eventually coach again, but I don’t know when. I don’t know if it will be next year, the following year,” he said. “The reality is I have this year plus two more on my contract, so I don’t necessarily need to be in a rush. I’m just going to keep enjoying the family and life and figure out what’s the next step in this whole thing as time goes on. Right now there has not been any thought to me coaching at all.”
- Charles Barkley felt the power of Manny Pacquiao during his training session:
Kobe Bryant reaches 30,000 points