We may have seen Dwight Howard in an Orlando Magic uniform for the final time. Howard needs to undergo back surgery for a herniated disk, it was announced early today, and will miss the remainder of the NBA season. “It hurts (emotionally),” Howard told ESPN’s Chris Broussard. “That’s the first thing — it hurts. And then with people saying and thinking I’m quitting on my team. This is a real issue. I tried to play through it and it just made my
Nineteen points, eight rebounds and two blocks. To the casual eye, that reads as a pretty nice box score. But, for Wang Zhelin and Chinese basketball as a whole, it will remain as a historic stat line stuffed with something way more important than just numbers: Potential. By now, word of Wang’s impressive aforementioned performance has gotten around to basketball circles all around the world. In China, he’s getting some love for what is by far the best showing a Chinese player has ever
OK, so maybe there is a sprinter on the Australian track and field team that is faster than Patrick Mills. Maybe. The speedster who spent two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers and the earlier part of this season in China and Australia was signed Tuesday by the San Antonio Spurs, the fourth addition they have made to their roster this month (Boris Diaw, Stephen Jackson, Justin Dentmon). Mills, a 6-0, 185-pound point guard out of St. Mary’s (CA), was drafted by Portland
// Carmelo Anthony will be reunited with Mike D’Antoni in early July when Team USA convenes for training camp in Las Vegas. But how long the two stick together remains to be seen. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported that Anthony’s role in D’Antoni’s departure as head coach of the New York Knicks “did not sit well” with USA Basketball officials, who have always pointed to “sweat equity” as one of the key factors in who will represent the United States on
Boris Diaw is a free man — or at least he will be in two days. Diaw and the Charlotte Bobcats reached agreement Wednesday on a buyout of the remainder of his $9 million contract, and he was expected to be waived later today. It takes 48 hours to clear waivers, meaning Diaw could sign with a playoff contender as soon as Friday. Tony Parker is expected will lobby hard, according to Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News, to add Diaw
Ricky Rubio’s season is over. We won’t see him at the Olympics, either. A source close to Rubio told SheridanHoops.com that tests performed Saturday morning showed a torn anterior cruciate ligament in Rubio’s left knee. He was injured in a collision with Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers late in Friday night’s loss. “There are no other tears,” the source said of Rubio’s knee. Rubio has averaged 10.5 points, 8.2 assists and 2.2 steals for the Timberwolves, the most surprising team in the Western
BARCELONA — Next season, the Euroleague’s Top 16 phase will have two groups of eight instead of four groups of four. Keeping in line with the home-and-home format, that means each team will play 14 games instead of six. Some people are digging the switch. An additional eight games mean more Milos Teodosic sleepy-eyed step backs, a blitzkrieg of bombas from Juan Carlos Navarro and, God willing, more of Petr Samoylenko’s fantastic mullet. Others are less pumped. Having eight more games could
Team USA doesn’t plan on taking the easy path to defending its Olympic gold medal. In advance of the 2012 Olympics in London, the United States has lined up five exhibition games, including showdowns with nemeses Spain and Argentina. The U.S. also will play Brazil, the Dominican Republic and host Britain in the lead-up to the Olympics, USA Basketball announced Friday. “We have again scheduled an extremely challenging lineup of exhibition opponents for our USA Men’s National Team,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo