NBA News for December 16: Jeremy Lin "doing terrible" heading into Garden return

Here’s Ric Bucher of CSN Bay Area with an interesting note regarding a couple of talented young guards: “Neither Tyreke Evans, nor Brandon Jennings, were given extensions this fall — so which one is more likely to be dealt before the February trade deadline or play somewhere else next season? Put your money on Jennings. Several teams are already quietly assessing him to decide what he should be worth to them and the Bucks are aware of that. The Kings, according to a source, are simply waiting for someone else to set the value of Evans in restricted free agency next summer.”

The Wolves got Ricky Rubio back Saturday night, and he immediately took them to a win over the Mavericks. Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has the story: “Playing in his first basketball game in nine months, Rubio demonstrated no rust or lingering problems with his surgically repaired left knee in sparking the Wolves to a 114-106 overtime victory against the Mavs. Rubio collected eight points, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals in only 18 minutes of action that trumpeted yet another successful return by a Twin Cities athlete post-ACL surgery. Move over, Adrian Peterson. You have company. ‘I love this game, I love playing basketball and I’m never going to forget how to play,’ Rubio said.”

"I’ll be my harshest critic, so I’ll go ahead and say it: I’m doing terrible.” - Jeremy Lin

December 16, 2012 5:46 pm via Echofon ReplyRetweetFavorite

@ekoreen

Eric Koreen

Jeremy Lin returns to Madison Square Garden tomorrow night, and his replacement hopes Lin gets cheered. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes: “Raymond Felton — who was brought in to replace Lin and is one of the driving forces behind the Knicks’ 18-5 start — knows where he stands on the issue. He wants the Garden faithful to cheer Lin. ‘They should. By all means, I hope they do,’ Felton said. ‘They should give him a standing ovation when he comes back here, without a doubt.’ … ‘I think they’re going to give him a heck of an ovation. I’d be shocked if it was anything else,’ added Steve Novak, one of Lin’s closest friends on the Knicks. ‘Unless everybody changed their mind and hates him, he’s one of those guys that people are going to remember for his time here. It wasn’t a very long time, but it was special. He played unbelievably well. I think there will be a movie about it one day.'”

Asked how his bad shoulder was, LeBron quipped, “I’ll be ready Tuesday. I’ll in the lineup on Tuesday.’’ Of course, he’ll be playing.

December 15, 2012 11:22 pm via Sulia ReplyRetweetFavorite

@christomasson

Chris Tomasson

In another piece looking at potential trades, Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears runs down the top NBA trade candidates. It’s a great read, so be sure to click through for the full piece. Here’s what Spears said about Gerald Henderson: “Henderson averaged 15.1 points last season and seemed to be coming into his own. A foot injury early this season, however, forced him to miss 13 games. The Bobcats have since primarily started rookie Jeff Taylor instead and a league source said the team is open to trading Henderson. ‘If they don’t look like they can afford him, they are probably going to move him,’ one NBA GM said. ‘They were playing their best basketball when he was hurt.’ “

Bynum on the Dwight Howard trade: "Personally, I think they traded No. 1 for No. 2."

December 16, 2012 5:23 pm via TweetDeck ReplyRetweetFavorite

@KevinDing

KEVIN DING

It might be little early to be seriously thinking about the draft, but I’m a diehard Maryland Terrapins fan, so here’s what Childs Walker of the Baltimore Sun wrote about the Terps’ 7’1″ sophomore center Alex Len, who is a big part of the team’s return to relevance and a potential lottery pick next summer: ” ‘Len made himself a lot of money,’ ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford said of the Maryland center’s 23-point, 12-rebound effort against Kentucky that also included four blocked shots. ‘Scouts have been watching him ever since his strong performance in the under-18 European Championship in 2010. They’ve wanted to love him as they do most 7-1 big men. His inconsistent freshman season gave them pause, but his dramatic debut, against the NBA length and athleticism that Kentucky has, made a major impact.’ Asked whether he believes Len will be in the mix for the top overall pick come late spring, Ford said, ‘I do. There are problems with every single top prospect this year,” he said. “I think it will come down to who gets the No. 1 pick and what they need. If it’s a team that really needs a true center like Cleveland or Orlando, he’s got a great shot at being the No. 1 pick.’ ”