NBA Rumors and News for November 8, 2013

Friday, November 8

Daily Trivia: Which player led the NBA in field goal percentage last season? Answer below.

Heat’s Mario Chalmers fined $15,000
Posted at 09:45 PM ET
In the third quarter of the Miami Heat’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers Thursday, Blake Griffin was setting a pick for Chris Paul and Mario Chalmers decided to fight through it — with his forearm up, catching Blake Griffin in the neck. Chalmers was fined $15,000 on Friday for the play but will face no other penalties. Kurt Helin of NBC isn’t shocked by the fine, “I don’t think it was malicious, but the league can’t allow that to go unpunished (no, a foul call was not enough).”

LeBron battling back pains
Posted at 11:57 AM ET
LeBron James has been dealing with lower back soreness for a couple of weeks, which explains why the NBA’s four-time MVP has said multiple times in the early going of this season that he’s working his way to 100 percent. He revealed specifics about the issue Thursday night after scoring 18 points to help the Miami Heat top the Los Angeles Clippers, 102-97. “I’ve had a history of it, but I always keep a good eye on it so I should be all right,” James said. “It ain’t a great feeling, I’ll tell you that – especially at nighttime when you’re trying to sleep,” he tells Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. James has worn heat packs to keep his back loose at times through Miami’s first six games, and this is not the first time that he’s dealt with back problems early in a season. “He didn’t look as spry as he normally does [in last night’s game],” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. James is determined to get back to full health. “I’m doing everything I can to get back to my normal self.”