San Antonio Spurs guard T.J. Ford, who had an injury scare last week, is leaving basketball and may not return. The Spurs announced Monday that Ford, one of their backup point guards, is taking an indefinite leave of absence from basketball activities this season. He suffered a stinger in Wednesday’s home win over New York, when he was hit in the back by Knicks guard Baron Davis and accidentally kicked in the head by teammate Tiago Splitter. Ford remained on the floor
Wednesday’s column mentioned a handful of players who need to be traded by the March 15 deadline. Apparently, NBA GMs are feeling the same way. No less than three players mentioned – Michael Beasley, Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson – saw their names dotting the interwebs as Wednesday became Thursday and February became March. There is some significance to that calendar observation. March 1 is the first day players signed to free agent contracts in the abbreviated offseason can be traded. So that
There’s still more than two weeks until the March 15 trading deadline, but the rumor mill already is churning. Most of the buzz is around Dwight Howard, whom the Orlando Magic don’t have to trade. Really. However, there are a handful of players who have to be traded for the greater good of their teams. Whether it be removing a problem, creating financial flexibility or moving someone one year early rather than one year late, some big names will be changing teams
Let’s check in on last year’s Finals participants, shall we? There was quite a game in Dallas, where the Mavericks were trying to extend their winning streak and the Clippers were trying to complete a spiffy 5-1 road trip. The night began and ended with Caron Butler. Butler spent last season with the Mavericks. He began as their starting small forward and helped Dallas to a 24-8 start before suffering a torn patellar tendon that cost him the rest of the season.
LeBron James tied a career-high Monday by shooting 76.2 percent (16-21 FG) , matching a similar shooting performance he had against the Hawks last season (16-21 FG, 3/18/11). Even Though James picked on almost everyone defending him, he did the bulk of his work against Carlos Delfino, scoring 15 of his game-high 35 points against him. Caron Butler, in his return to Dallas, scored a season-high 23 points, and just missed hitting the go ahead three with less than 5 seconds
Steve Nash, at 38, is about to play in his seventh career All-Star Game. 2012’s oldest NBA All-Star — he joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Karl Malone as the only All-Stars 38 years or older — is leading the league in assists (10.3 apg) and is third overall in field goal percentage (.563). Nash is on pace to lead the league in assists for the sixth time. Only Hall of Famer John Stockton has accomplished that feat, having led the NBA in that category nine times.
NBA Photos; Retouch by @stevesolis