SH Blog: Kobe sprains ankle; Delonte West joins the D-League; Boeheim would take Porter #1

• John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer has an interesting piece on Thaddeus Young, who he compares to Josh Smith: “Young is one of the hardest-working players in the league, and he’s one of the guys in the league that every coach knows plays hard every single game. In the last five games, not long after coming back from a hamstring injury, Young has averaged 20.6 points on 69.4 percent shooting (50 of 72).  In the last three games Young has pulled down 12, 10 and 15 rebounds per game. So get a good look at him now. The Sixers don’t want to trade him, but no one is going to be calling them this summer and not bring up his name.”

• Here’s Marc Berman of the New York Post on a potential move the Knicks could make: “The Knicks aren’t that desperate yet, but will be one of the teams monitoring the progress of mercurial point guard Delonte West, expected to make his D-League debut tonight when the Texas Legends host the Santa Cruz Warriors. West is a super talent and super headache, but, at 29, a relative pup by Knicks standards. He hasn’t played all season but was effective last year with Dallas. The Knicks haven’t been thrilled with their point-guard play since Christmas, with Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd falling back to Earth, Iman Shumpert not being a reliable scorer and playmaking rookie Pablo Prigioni not enough of an offensive threat. The Knicks don’t have a roster spot and rehabbing Rasheed Wallace is on the West Coast trip for “moral support,’’ coach Mike Woodson said. Woodson acknowledged he will sit down with general manager Glen Grunwald after the trip to explore options. Wallace would have to be cut to open a roster spot.”

• Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News talked to Greg Monroe about the struggles of playing on a rebuilding team, and it included this one interesting bit: “If nothing else, players know players. Being around each other every day for nearly eight months, they know the difference between someone having a bad night and someone who’s not engaged, which is why he felt the need to speak up after Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Clippers. [Monroe] doesn’t get involved in personnel matters but, unsolicited, he went to the front office during the college basketball season and asked the Pistons to take a long hard look at Andre Drummond. “I mean, there’s always somebody every year who can help your team,” Monroe said. “I’m not sure of everyone who’s a (free agent) but there’s someone who can help us.” Of course, players feel they’re always one player away, but it’s hard for most to see that on the outside looking in.”

• The Bucks couldn’t end the Heat’s winning streak Friday night, and in the process, Larry Sanders was ejected. Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel got these comments on Sanders’ ejection: “Sanders was ejected for the second straight game when he picked up two technical fouls with 2:44 remaining, after he was called for fouling James on a drive. Boylan said there would be a serious discussion with Sanders about his on-court behavior. “You’re a professional athlete, and you have to behave like a professional,” Boylan said. “The referees don’t come in here with an agenda, for the most part. They come in here and ref the game. I know all those guys. It doesn’t mean you can’t have an argument or a disagreement with one of them. That happens in the heat of the game. We’ll talk with Larry. Like I’ve said to Larry before, I don’t mind him playing with emotion as long as it doesn’t hurt the team. Getting ejected from two games in a row, it’s not good for our team and it’s not good for Larry.” Sanders was ejected late in the loss in Washington on Wednesday night. “I can imagine it’s hard for a referee to ref a Miami Heat game,” Sanders said. “It’s hard for me to take that sometimes. I feel like things are kind of swayed. Maybe (I should) care a little less.” “

• Broderick Turner of the L.A. Times says Caron Butler could be back in action soon: “The strained left elbow that sidelined Caron Butler the last two games has improved, and the Clippers small forward said there is “definitely a strong possibility” that he will play Sunday when the Clippers face the New York Knicks at Staples Center. “I feel like it’s getting better every day, every treatment session. I’ve been coming in at night and getting shots up, getting the motion to stretch back. So I feel really good,” Butler said Friday. Butler was injured during Sunday’s game against Detroit. The Clippers will practice again Saturday and then see how Butler feels.”

• The Warriors are in trouble after their hot start. Sam Amick of USA Today talked to Stephen Curry (who agrees with us and thinks the sleeved jerseys are “ugly,” for the record) about their upcoming game with the Rockets, who are also battling for a playoff spot in the West: “Is Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry concerned after his Cinderella team continued to flirt with pumpkin status on Friday night in what has become a tightly-contested Western Conference playoff race? “That’s probably a better question to ask me after Sunday because it’s a big game for us,” Curry, whose Warriors (37-30) trailed by as many as 36 points in a 113-95 loss to the Chicago Bulls at Oracle Arena, told USA TODAY Sports regarding Golden State’s upcoming game at the seventh-place Houston Rockets (36-30). “If we don’t come to play, don’t show up that game, it’s going to be a different feeling because that’s how real that chase becomes at that point. It’s a big game for us.” “

• Mike Tokito of The Oregonian has the scoop on Damian Lillard, who, since becoming the presumptive Rookie of the Year sometime around December, has not slacked off one bit, but in fact has improved significantly: “For March, Lillard’s assist-to-turnover ratio is 4.46, a very good number that would rank No. 2 in the league if it were for the full season. A big factor in Lillard’s drop in turnovers has been the Blazers’ trade-deadline acquisition of Eric Maynor, who has become Lillard’s primary backup and has also frequently played alongside him. “It helps a lot,” Lillard said recently. “I’m not exerting as much energy offensively or defensively, because he’s taking that pressure off of me. … The defense can’t just set up and get ready for me because I don’t have the ball all the time coming up the court.” Maynor says when he and Lillard play together, they don’t predetermine who handles the ball, but he also understands that part of his job is keep teams from doubling Lillard. “I try to get him off the ball as much as possible because he’s always on the ball getting trapped and stuff,” Maynor said. “It’s good to free him up.” “

• With just a handful of conference tournament games and then the big postseason tournaments to go in the college season, it’s time to get serious about the draft. Adam Zagoria got an interesting take from Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim regarding which player Boeheim would pick with the #1 selection in the NBA draft: “Jim Boeheim isn’t an NBA GM, but if he was he knows who he would pick in the upcoming draft: Georgetown’s Otto Porter Jr. “If I’m picking, I pick him first in the draft,” Boeheim told a small group of reporters in the hallway at Madison Square Garden “I don’t even look at anybody else. I pick him first in the draft. I think he’s the best. I think he’ll be a great pro.” Boeheim made the comments after the Syracuse defense held Porter Jr., the Big East Player of the Year, to 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting as the No. 5 Orange upset No. 1 Georgetown, 58-55 in OT, in the Big East Tournament semifinals. Porter entered averaging 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists, but did not have a big game in the last meeting between the teams in the Big East.”

FOR PREVIOUS BLOGS, CLICK HERE

Dan Malone is a third-year journalism student at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He blogs, edits and learns things on the fly for Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on Twitter.