A while back, there was a bit of a verbal skirmish between the Wizards’ and Cavaliers’ backcourts over who was the best in the NBA. For my money, neither is as good as the Warriors’ duo, but that’s beside the point.
The point, of course, is that the first Cavs-Wizards game is Nov. 21, and it looks like one of the key players won’t be involved.
Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post:
Washington Wizards starting shooting guard Bradley Beal could miss 6-8 weeks after breaking his left wrist in Friday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. An MRI exam Saturday revealed the fracture.The Wizards announced the injury — a non-displaced fracture in the scaphoid bone — in a news release Saturday evening. In the release, the team stated a timeline for his recovery would be announced after he undergoes the procedure.
Beal suffered the injury when Hornets forward P.J. Hairston fouled him with 2 minutes 22 seconds remaining in the first quarter of Charlotte’s 99-86 victory in Greenville, S.C. Beal stayed in the game to make his two free throws, but was taken out 24 seconds later and did not return. The Wizards officially labeled the injury a sprain and Beal departed Bons Secours Wellness Arena with the wrist in a brace.
This isn’t the sort of thing the Wizards can afford. They’ve got one of the East’s best starting fives, but their depth is a little suspect. Without Beal, they’ll be relying on Glen Rice Jr. and others to fill in, and they’ll be hoping that someone can step up as a floor-spacer.
And as fans, we’ll have to wait a little longer for Irving/Waiters vs. Wall/Beal.
Here’s some more of the latest news from around the NBA:
CARLISLE: PARSONS NEEDS TO SLIM DOWN
This isn’t the sort of start you want to get off to with a team that just gave you a massive contract. Parsons doesn’t seem like the type to put about it, though.
Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com:
For the second time since the Mavs reported to camp, Carlisle made a point to note that Parsons needs to shed weight. The 6-foot-9 Parsons, who was listed at 215 pounds during his three-year tenure with the Houston Rockets, reported to training camp at approximately 235 pounds.
Carlisle believes the increased weight has created conditioning issues for Parsons, who had nine points on 4-of-12 shooting, six rebounds and six assists in 20 minutes during Friday night’s preseason loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“He looked tired out there tonight to me, and his shot is short,” Carlisle said. “He’s working on losing some weight. He’s a little bit heavier than he’s been. He’s up over 230, and we want to see him get down to at least 225. That’s a work in progress, and tonight’s one of those nights where I think the extra weight was a hindrance.”
Parsons particularly focused on lifting weights during the free-agency process, when he didn’t play basketball to protect himself from injury. Primarily a small forward, Parsons felt he needed to add strength to play significant minutes at power forward, a role he could fill for the Mavs when Dirk Nowitzki rests during the season.
Carlisle has made his opinion clear to Parsons, who doesn’t necessarily agree with his coach on the matter but is willing to shed some weight.
DERRICK ROSE HAS ‘VERY HIGH’ CONFIDENCE IN HIS BODY
Rose had an uneven summer for Team USA, but seemed to be playing better towards the end of the tournament. And best of all, his knees didn’t fall apart.
But how well the 2008-09 NBA rookie of the year, 2010-11 league MVP and three-time All-Star might hold up through an 82-game regular season is to be determined. Rose and the Bulls open the regular season Oct. 29 with a showcase game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
“My confidence in my body is very high,” Rose says. “I know all of the work that I put in (through) the offseason getting back into the shape I’m in right now. So I’m not worried about that.”
Still, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau will take Rose day-to-day through training camp and preseason games and perhaps even in the early stages of the regular season.
“That’s the only way he’s going to get back to being who he is,” Thibodeau says. “He’s got to play, he’s got to practice, he’s got to work, and I think good things will come from that. But he’s got to keep doing what he’s doing, put the work in and be patient and find the rhythm of the game.”
Thibodeau was an assistant to Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski and got a close-up look at Rose in the FIBA tourney.
“It was a challenge, which we anticipated,” Thibodeau says. “He hasn’t played for a long time, (and) basically when you’re off for 21/2 years there’s going to be some rust. The good thing is that he got through the practices and handled the physical part well.
“USA was a little different for him. It was basically five minutes on, five minutes off. That will change, and I think he’ll be better when he plays a normal minute rotation when he can get into a rhythm.”
NBA LOOKING TO EXPAND INTO INDIA?
This is a stellar piece from Stuart Leavenworth for the Sacramento Bee that mostly deals with China, and it’s 100% worth your time for that alone, but this little nugget caught my eye:
Like other NBA owners, Ranadive wants to develop a Chinese-language app for China to broaden his team’s fan base. Ranadive is a leading proponent of what he calls “NBA 3.0,” using technology to network fans and the team. His perfect app, he says would let fans see instant replays, crowd-source suggestions for the team and even deliver food and beverages to ticket holders at the press of a button.
Ranadive, who made part of his fortune from TIBCO Software, a company he started in 1997, says that India holds unlimited potential. He and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver are leading a league mission there next month. Ranadive said he recently met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in advance of the mission.
Asked whether India is ready for basketball, with its cramped cities, grinding poverty and near-devotion to cricket, Ranadive noted that India is rising faster than many realize. Makeshift courts are popping up across the country.
“Basketball is a game that can be played anywhere, by anyone — rich, poor, boys and girls,” he said. “You don’t need a lot of space to play basketball, as you do with cricket. So I really think basketball is poised to take off.”
LEBRON FORGETS WHAT TEAM HE’S ON
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