- Howard will soon have his troublesome shoulder checked to see if it needs surgery, from Mark Medina of Daily News: “Dwight Howard has plenty on his mind beyond his pending free agency. He also plans to see a doctor today to check up on the torn labrum in his right shoulder. “Hopefully I don’t have to have surgery,” Howard said. “But whatever the case may be, I’m going to do whatever I can to get myself right this offseason.” Howard didn’t have such a luxury last year. He remained sidelined last summer after having back surgery in April. Howard eventually returned in mid-October. But he looked visibly limited this season. Howard averaged 17.1 points and 12.4 rebounds per game, his lowest marks since the 2006-07 season.”
Bryant also believes he will be ready in time for next season’s opener, and made it clear that he dictated how many minutes he played in the regular season: “Bryant sustained a torn Achilles’ tendon April 12 and was confident he would be ready for the Lakers’ season opener near Halloween. “But we’ll see,” he said. The timetable for his return was six to nine months. Bryant used a knee scooter as he entered the media room for his interview at the Lakers’ training facility. “It’s a sneaky injury in the sense that I don’t feel any pain. None,” Bryant said. “There’s no pain there, there’s no stiffness or anything like that. Sometimes I forget I’m injured and I stand up and I go to put weight on it and I catch myself. It’s one of those injuries where you just have to keep it in the front of your mind at all times and be patient.” Bryant said he wasn’t sure if his extensive minutes caused the injury, but said “those were choices that we have to make. It was unfortunate we had to make that push to get into the playoffs, but we did and it happened.” It was his choice to average 45.6 minutes over his last seven games, he said, smiling. “Of course it was. Mike [D’Antoni] is really going to tell me when to go in and out of the game?”
- The bottom line for Kobe is that he believes in the core the Lakers have right now, from Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles: “It’s a tough call to make. But then again, it is one more year. One more year. That’s how I look at it. One more year of this thing. “Our contracts are ending. … Pau [Gasol] is up after next year. Hopefully, we get Dwight [Howard] locked up so he’s here for a while and the future is kind of set already. So let’s take a crack at this thing.” But Bryant said he believes the team “finally figured it out” when it finished the season on a 28-12 run, and that if the core of himself, Gasol, Howard and Steve Nash returns, “We can win a championship, no doubt about it.” “We know what we need to do,” Bryant said. “We know what that rhythm feels like. To break that apart and now have to start fresh wouldn’t make sense. “There’s no more confusion about how I should play with Dwight or how Dwight should play with Pau. So to allow that to dissipate and have to do that again with another group, it’s a headache.”
CBS Chicago is giving you a chance to vent out your frustrations about Derrick Rose’s lack of availability this season: “It’s been over one year since Derrick Rose’s ACL tear and over two months since doctors cleared him to play. Still, the former MVP of the league refuses to leave his post on the Bulls bench. Meanwhile, the hobbled Bulls continue to fight on against the Nets in Round 1 of the NBA playoffs. Frustrated? Here’s your chance to express your feelings to Rose. In the space below, write an open letter to the face of the Bulls franchise. Yell at him, plead with him, convince him – this is your chance to say whatever it is you want to say to Derrick Rose. 670 The Score wants to hear from you. Please keep your submission under 50 words. We’ll select and publish our favorites.”
Pau Gasol has received no straight answers from Mitch Kupchak about his future with the team, from Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles: “Could Gasol and the rest of the Lakers’ major pieces all be back next season? Kupchak said that possibility is “in play.” “We haven’t ruled anything out as of now,” he said. Yet Kupchak used similar language to admit that the opposite is also a possibility: “When you lose, everybody is in play … whether it’s Pau or anybody else, we’ll look for ways to improve the team.” Gasol’s contract has one year remaining at $19.3 million. From a financial perspective, the assumption was that the Lakers would try to trade his expiring deal or opt to use their one-time amnesty provision on the 12-year veteran. “(Kupchak) couldn’t really tell me, ‘Hey, thanks for everything you’ve done, it’s more likely you’re going to be gone,’ or no, ‘Don’t worry about it, you’re going to stay here. We’re going to make it happen,’” Gasol said. “Which is to be expected. I appreciate Mitch’s honesty and everything that he’s done and the franchise has done for the last two years to keep me here and have me on the team.”
- Jim Boylan will be replaced as the coach of the Bucks, according to Charles F. Gardner of Journal Sentinel:
Jim Boylan is out as Bucks coach, source indicates. He went 22-28 at end of season after replacing Scott Skiles.
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Blake Griffin’s ankle injury from practice is the worst one he’s ever had, from Melissa Rohlin of Los Angeles Times: “Blake Griffin has a sprain of his right ankle and is listed as day-to-day for Friday’s Game 6 in theClippers’ playoff series against Memphis. Griffin, who sustained the injury during Monday’s practice after landing on Lamar Odom’s foot while attempting a pass, said it’s the worst sprain he’s ever suffered. “I’ve never had one this bad before,” he said. Griffin had four points and five rebounds in Tuesday’s 103-93 Game 5 loss to the Grizzlies at Staples Center. He played only 19 minutes and 34 seconds and sat out the entire fourth quarter. Griffin said he entered Tuesday’s game unsure about whether he could play. “I came to the arena and I’ve literally been getting treatment for the last 24 hours,” he said. “… I couldn’t really feel much being on painkillers and all that, and I guess it just kind of wore off.” When asked in what ways his injury limited him on the court, Griffin said, “Pick one.”
