In today’s news, the Charlotte Bobcats head coach will be out of action for tonight’s game allowing Patrick Ewing to step up, LeBron James has back issues, and the Dallas Mavericks will play without their sixth man Vince Carter.
Patrick Ewing makes his head coaching debut
Tonight Patrick Ewing will step in as the interim head coach for the Charlotte Bobcats at home against the New York Knicks. The Bobcats
current head coach Steve Clifford is taking a couple days away from the team after being admitted into the hospital Thursday night. Clifford was suffering from chest pains, and had a surgical procedure to place two stents in his heart. Despite missing tonights game, Clifford is not expected to miss too much time.
It should be noted that Ewing has expressed repeated interest over the past couple of years in becoming a head coach for an NBA franchise. Having served as an assistant head coach in Washington, Houston, and Orlando, the position continues to elude him. Ewing even interviewed for the head coaching position of the Bobcats as recently as last year, though the franchise chose to go in another direction.
LeBron James dealing with back issues
Miami Heat star LeBron James is currently dealing with back issues that may prevent him from playing Saturday night. According to 
ESPN, James participated in the Miami’s practice Friday afternoon. James has said that there is no structural damage to the back, there is still lingering pain. He managed to suit up and play last night in a win against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Despite finishing the game, the reigning MVP did spend time on the bench with a heating pad. The issues haven’t appeared to effect his play this season. Through the first six games played by Miami, James averages 24.3 points, 7.7 assists and 5.5 rebounds in 37.5 minutes. Miami is scheduled to play the Boston Celtics at home tomorrow night.
Vince Carter suspended for throwing elbow
Vince Carter
As mentioned earlier, the Dallas Mavericks swingman Vince Carter will be suspended one game without pay. The suspension comes as a result of Carter throwing an elbow at the head of Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Steven Adams. The incident happened this past Wednesday night when Dallas lost against the Thunder 107-93.
Carter was ejected from that game in the 3rd quarter with a Flagrant Foul 2. Despite missing tonights game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Carter has expressed remorse for the incident. Per The Dallas Morning News, “I just want to apologize to the fans of both sides,” said Carter. “There’s no need for it. They’re trying to clean up the game and make it fun for fans to watch. It was one of those things where I got caught in the moment and reacted to a reaction that was done to you. My intentions have never been that way. It’s just one of those things.”
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