Charlotte’s Al Jefferson has become frustrated by his ongoing ankle injury: ““I think it would be unlikely he plays, but then hopefully he practices Thursday and plays Friday,” coach Steve Clifford said after practice. “He conditioned today but wasn’t able to do practice.” Jefferson has missed the past three games – a victory at Cleveland, then losses to the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls – after feeling sudden pain in his right ankle after a flight from Boston to Cleveland last Thursday. Jefferson said the pain relates to arthritis he has had in that ankle since he was 6. He got an anti-inflammatory injection Sunday then was held out of physical activity the next two days. He did not accompany the Bobcats to Chicago for the Bulls game.
“I feel a lot better than before I got the shot,” Jefferson said Tuesday. “It’s a bone bruise. I’ve had arthritis in this ankle since I was 6. When I got off the plane in Cleveland, that was what I was dealing with.”
“Small change” won’t bait Rajon Rondo from the Boston Celtics says Danny Ainge: “As of yesterday, Danny Ainge had still not taken leave of his senses — which is another way of saying he’s not considering dealing a great player for a selection of nice ones. In fact, as of that conversation, the subject hadn’t even reached his desk in anything other than media wrapping. “No,” said Ainge when asked if anyone was trying to do such a deal. “I haven’t talked to any teams about Rajon Rondo.” On the off chance he was playing semantic games — “Words with Non-Friends,” if you will — we asked if any other clubs had made an overture that was cut off before he could talk to any team about Rajon Rondo. Again, Ainge replied with a flat, “No.” But, yes, he does expect this whole dance to get even stranger before the NBA trade deadline in February. But it probably shouldn’t.”
Stephen Curry will miss Wednesday’s game due to a mild concussion: “Stephen Curry suffered a “mild” concussion Monday night against the Utah Jazz and will sit out Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies, the team announced Tuesday. The Golden State Warriors went on to say on their Twitter account that the star point guard is listed as “day-to-day,” and that the only symptom he is suffering at this time is a headache. The Warriors have burst out of the NBA’s proverbial starting gate, winning eight of their first 11 games and posting a top 10 offense and a top 5 defense, via Basketball-Reference.”
Dwyane Wade has sold a sitcom to FOX based on his life: “The show is described as Wade and “his entourage of eccentric friends, find themselves parenting by committee, when he gets full custody of his two young sons. It’s a recipe made for disaster, but no matter how misinformed, misguided, or unfit Team Wade may be, they have a trump card that can’t lose. It’s called love.” The plot closely follows Wade’s life and is based on the book he released last year called “A Father First.” Wade has had sole custody of his two sons, Zaire and Zion, since 2010. “Who’s going to play me? I haven’t figured that out yet, but I’m sure it’s going to be somebody handsome,” Wade said. “I just want somebody who’s good. …
“I will be involved, very involved … to the point where it has enough of what I would like to see from my story. Obviously it’s a comedy, but there will be some things you want to let loose.”
Steve Nash may be considering retirement: “Nash, a two-time MVP with the Phoenix Suns, has struggled with chronic back issues and is averaging only 6.7 points and 4.8 assists through six games this season, a steep drop-off from his career highs of 18.8 points (2005-2006) and 11.6 assists per game (2006-2007). The 39-year-old, who is the oldest player in the league, missed 32 of the Lakers’ 82 games last season, and was plagued with various ailments, including a broken left leg and injuries to his back, hip and hamstrings. If he is forced to retired due to medical reasons, Nash will receive the balance of his $9.3 million annual salary this season and the $9.7 million that would be owed to Nash next season would not count against the Lakers’ cap, according to Sports Illustrated.”
Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
There would be no commentary on JKidd if Nets were healthy, but now he IS playing a more active role cheering on the bench. The critics should be complaining about the Nets front office for not pushing to give Lawrence Frank more of a voice. I was expecting to see more Frank during the first couple of months. He’s supposed to be JKidd’s head assistant and Mentor. There shouldn’t be any feeling of embarrassment to let Frank shine. Frank is an excellent coach and perfectly complements Jason Kidd’s ability to motivate and teach. Noone should be expecting Kidd to be calling plays. He’s already responsible for Nets obtaining Livingston, Alan Anderson and convincing Kirilenko to come to Brooklyn. He’s given Mason Plumlee a chance to play, that no other coach would. He’s now given Tyshawn Taylor a chance to play too and he’s looking valuable.
He’s also given Mirza Teletovic a fair chance, and Mirza has failed and isn’t playing now. The so called “scout” who watched several games isn’t aware of these other considerations.
The Nets problem has been health, in particular Andrei Kirilenko, who has only played about 53 minutes over 4 of the Nets 10 games. If he could just play 25 mpg, I would predict he’d be the most important player on the Nets. I rate him above Lopez and DWill, because if Brook is out, Blatche’s game will elevate. When DWill is out, Shaun Livingston can step up and play 35 good minutes.
Sure Kobe can play, but if he wants to be around for a few years, its awful risky to have a competitive Bryant he can’t do everything he wants, physically. That is why I don’t expect him back before January, although he will continue to “tease” the media by saying how he could still play. If Kobe returned and re-injured as a result of trying to play at 100%+ like he did at the end of last season (he overruled the coach and front office about playing too many minutes), we would never hear the last of “I told you so”.
Deron Williams hasn’t had any elevation (because of ankles) all season. I wish he had received PRP treatment, while he’s been injured, but apparently that isn’t the case. It was his left ankle that he injured in the Olympics, and was contemplating surgery because of Bone Spurs and chronic inflammation. It was his right ankle that he injured at beginning of September. This time its his left ankle.