Ty Lawson may not get to full strength from his injury for a couple of weeks, according to George Karl. Aaron J. Lopez of NBA.com has more: “After a well-deserved weekend off, the Nuggets returned to practice Monday with a renewed sense of optimism about starting point guard Ty Lawson. While Lawson’s return from a plantar fascia tear in his right heel remains unknown, Denver coach George Karl said he is encouraged about his recovery. “I have a feeling that he had somewhat of a (partial) tear in his plantar fasciitis and that’s untreatable,” Karl said. “But popping it creates a situation where now once the soreness goes away, he probably should be able to be pain-free. It could come in a couple weeks. “His job and our job is to figure out how to get him feeling 100 percent and having some confidence playing the game of basketball. I think it’s a situation where it’s going to work out. I’m optimistic about how it’s going to work out.”
- Lawson’s current status didn’t stop him from evaluating how the Nuggets could beat the Heat in the Finals, should both teams make it that far. More from Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida: “Lawson vows the Nuggets (50-24) “can get to the NBA Finals” and win. Never mind if their Finals foe could be the mighty Heat. “I think so,’’ Lawson said when asked if the Nuggets could beat the Heat for the title. “They beat us twice early in the year when we weren’t really in sync. We were still trying to find ourselves. So I feel like if we play them now it would be a better game and we could actually beat them.’’… “Teamwork, and we could throw a lot of people at LeBron (James) and (Dwyane Wade), and not just one person,’’ Lawson said. “We can throw (Andre) Iguodala and (Danilo Gallinari) and Corey Brewer and Wilson (Chandler). You can throw so many people at (them). And then we have so many weapons.’’
Gregg Popovich admits the Manu Ginobili loss is huge at this point, from Mike Monroe of San Antonio Express-News: “It’s more than days,” Popovich said. “It’s more like weeks, unfortunately. It’s a huge blow for us because he’s the guy that allows our second team to do what they’ve been doing all year long. It’s a huge loss for that group, and in game situations, it’s a tough one because he’s one of two guys, he and Tony (Parker), are the creators who make things happen for everybody else on the court. “It’s an unfortunate loss at this point of the season.” Popovich said Ginobili’s response to treatment will determine whether he will be ready to play by the time the playoffs begin. The regular season concludes April 17, with the first playoff games scheduled for April 20. “It could (stretch into the playoffs),” Popovich said. “We don’t know how his leg is going to react. We’re doing everything we can.”
Vinny Del Negro ripped his team after suffering an embarrassing loss to the Houston Rockets, from Dan Woike of The OC Register: “They played harder than we did,” Del Negro said. “We were terrible. Our effort was terrible. Our attitude was terrible. Our urgency was terrible. I’m very disappointed. I didn’t see the fight in us tonight. We need guys to step up. “We were soft. We were sloppy. Our urgency was poor. Our defense was poor. Our transition defense was poor. Our post defense was poor. Our pick-and-roll defense was poor. I could go on and on.”… “There’s nothing we can’t do out there, but the lack of toughness, concentration, determination and spirit was very disappointing tonight,” Del Negro said.”
Del Negro and Blake Griffin gave their respective opinions about the rate of technical fouls in which the team has picked up, from Woike: “He (Griffin) didn’t seem too concerned with the role the technical fouls played in the game. “Is that why we lost?” Griffin asked. “I don’t think it’s why we lost. They hit two free throws so that’s two points.” Del Negro said the Clippers’ problems with technicals are baffling. “Terrible, terrible,” he said of the technical fouls. “We talked about how much that hurts the team. We don’t have any leeway with the referees as it is, and to do that makes no sense.”We’ve been talking about it all year, but unless guys change and have a different mindset … when that happens, it’s a selfish act. It hurts the team. It doesn’t make any sense.” Griffin said the lack of calls, though, has made it hard for him to keep his cool. The Rockets were called for eight fewer fouls and shot 13 more free throws. “I think after awhile when things are pretty obvious, it’s hard to let things go,” he said. “It’s tough not to show frustration when you’re in the flow of the game and your competitive juices are flowing. It’s tough to smile and walk away sometimes.”
Justin Holiday has been picked up by the 76ers, according to Kurt Helin of Probasketballtalk: “Would you want your brother on your team? Sure, so long as he doesn’t tell mom everything going on during road trips. Just the PG version. Sixers All-Star Jrue Holiday is going to get his brother on the team — the Sixers have signed Justin Holiday for the rest of this season. Justin, like his brother, played his college ball in the Pac-12 — he had four seasons at Washington but went undrafted. This season the 6’6” swingman has averaged 17 points and 5.2 rebounds a game for the Idaho Stampede. Obviously, don’t expect Justin to get a lot of court time, but he is getting a shot and that is key. To make way for another Holiday, the Sixers cut loose Jeremy Pargo.”
