NEW YORK — Just when the New York Knicks looked whole, they will not be for at least another month. The team announced Sunday that forward Bill Walker will miss 4-6 weeks after he undergoes a surgical procedure known as “debridement” on his left elbow on Monday. Debridement is a term used to describe the removal of lacerated, devitalized, or contaminated tissue. Walker has started eight games for the Knicks, scoring a season-high 21 points when he knocked down seven 3-pointers in a loss
When Josh Smith is in the right frame of mind, meaning attack the basket and not settling for perimeter shots, the Atlanta Hawks are a difficult team to beat. In fact, when Smith scores at least 20 points, the team is undefeated. They improved to 11-0 in such situations as Smith scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder — the team with the NBA’s best record coming into the game — 97-90 Saturday night. It was an
Do the Oklahoma City Thunder have a toughness complex? One of the reasons the Thunder have the NBA’s second-best record is because they have three young, explosive players – Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden – who simply cannot be contained off the dribble. When defensive schemes cannot prevent a player from getting to the basket, teams usually resort to rough stuff as discouragement. Michael Jordan went through it. So did Allen Iverson. Tony Parker still gets thrown to the floor
Insiders say that David Stern is planning to tell NBA owners at their April Board of Governors meeting that he’s good for two more seasons, and that he’ll step down as commissioner then. “At one point, he had talked about doing it for one more season, but it looks now like two more,” said a league source. New York Daily News Josh Robbins: Dwight Howard did acknowledge his whole situation has worn on him. Tough to block it out even during games, he said. Twitter But
The Oklahoma City Thunder head to Atlanta on Saturday to play their one game against Hawks this season and may be without All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook. Westbrook rolled his ankle with 5:46 remaining against the Orlando Magic on Thursday, but didn’t leave until 20 seconds remained to ensure Thunder’s 105-102 win. “Russell has a heart of a lion. That’s the bottom line.” said coach Scott Brooks. Westbrook was a little more candid. “I don’t know. I was just playing, man, trying to find
While the swirl around Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo has calmed down to something less than a tornado, it is picking up elsewhere, specifically around the Portland Trail Blazers. After a quick start that saw the Blazers win at Oklahoma City and briefly hold the best record in the Western Conference, Portland has fallen to 18-18 and is on the outside looking in at the playoff picture. The Blazers have movable parts – the expiring contracts of Raymond Felton ($7.5 million) and Marcus Camby
As much as I enjoy fantasy hoops, the real games are way more interesting. The Heat had won nine in a row by 10 points or more, but lost to the fired-up Jazz. With Chris Bosh away for a funeral, Shane Battier was an effective fill-in starter, notching 18 points on 6-7 shooting, with four blocked shots. Paul Millsap was back for Utah, Al Jefferson was stellar and the bench was very helpful: another good game from C.J. Miles, with
