Oct

31

Pistons, Maxiell Agree On Extension

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One of the core players for the Detroit Pistons will be there for some time as according to Chris McCosky of the Detroit News, forward Jason Maxiell is expected to on Friday sign a four-year, $20 million contract extension; the 4th year, while an option year, is fully guaranteed.  Initially, negotiations between Maxiell’s agent, Richard Katz, had broken off about a week ago giving it the appearance of Maxiell playing out this season and becoming a restricted free agent in July 2009; however, Maxiell stepped in and asked Katz to meet with Pistons management again.

Katz met with the Pistons’ suits at the team’s home opener and worked out the parameters of the deal, hence the likely signing of the extension on Friday (today).  Maxiell, who was taken with the 26th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, played in all 82 games last season, averaging 7.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 1.15 BPG; he filled in for Antonio McDyess during the playoffs, starting 6 playoff games.

Oct

31

Former Warriors Coach Seeking Back Pay

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The first shot has been fired by a former coach for the Golden State Warriors as according to Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, Mike Montgomery has filed an arbitration claim against the team in the hopes of recovering more than $1 million in unpaid salary owed to him; NBA sources have confirmed that Montgomery is going after money that wasn’t paid to him last season - which was the last year of a four-year, $10 million contract.

Montgomery’s contract included a “mitigating” clause that would reduce the Warriors’ payment to Montgomery should he be fired and then took a job within the NBA or NCAA during the duration of the deal; Warriors management contends that Montgomery could have taken a college job last spring or summer, which they believed triggered the clause and eliminated their financial commitment to him.

Oct

31

Nuggets News And Notes

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Lots of info and tidbits of interest involving the Denver Nuggets, courtesy of Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post, so let’s jump in feet-first:

Maybe because he has some actual skills at the small forward position, probably because starting forward Carmelo Anthony is serving a two-game suspension and his backups aren’t doing much as of late, but most definitely by default, it appears that Linas Kleiza will again get the nod at SF as the Nuggets play in Los Angeles against the Clippers on Friday.  Kleiza’s competition for the starting job, Dahntay Jones, made just one basket in Denver’s opening-night loss to the Utah Jazz while Kleiza made just 1 FG himself.  Yet Nuggets coach George Karl is leaning towards Kleiza for another start.  But the start will probably be short-lived as Anthony will rejoin the team when the Nuggets have their home opener Saturday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Nene, despite spraining the pinkie finger on his shooting (right) hand, is more than likely to start against the Clippers Friday (today); Nene scored 11 points with 4 rebounds against Utah.  Meanwhile, guard Chucky Atkins is doing some limited shooting and movement on his right knee, which had surgery on September 24.

Oct

31

Bynum, Lakers Agree On Contract Extension

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The chances of Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer have been eliminated as the Associated Press reports that the team on Thursday has signed Bynum to a contract extension, of which the terms of the deal were not available as of this writing.  Bynum, the 10th overall pick by the Lakers in the 2005 draft, will make $2.8 million this season; had an agreement not been reached by Friday (today), the team couldn’t have negotiated with him until seasons end, making him asn unrestricted free agent.

Bynum, before undergoing season-ending knee surgery, was establishing himself as one of the up-and-coming frontcourtplayers in the NBA as he was averaging 13.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG and 2.06 BPG in 35 games before getting injured.  With Bynum being healthy, the Lakers have re-established themselves as major players - maybe the prohibitive favorites - in the Western Conference, giving the New Orleans Hornets some competition.

Oct

31

Paul Nearly Records Triple-Double, Hornets Sting Suns 108-95

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The home opener for the Phoenix Suns and coach Terry Porter did not go exactly according to plan Thursday night; The New Orleans Hornets dominated from the opening tip in annihilating the Suns 108-95 at US Airways Center.  And New Orleans managed to do this without Tyson Chandler who is out with a sprained ankle.

The Hornets made their first six shots in building a 14-2 lead as they went into the second frame with a 30-23 lead; meanwhile, the Suns went 1-of-7 and committed 7 turnovers in what can be described as an ugly 7 minutes of the second quarter.  New Orleans went on to build a 49-33 lead when Suns center Shaquille O’Neal was called for goaltending with 3 minutes to go in the half on a Chris Paul shot.  But the Suns would go on a 11-2 run which would reduce the Hornets’ lead to 51-44 with 41.1 seconds remaining in the half, but Paul sank a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left, giving New Orleans a 56-44 lead at halftime.

The Suns would score the first 7 points of the fourth period to reduce the Hornets’ advantage to 81-76 on a 9-footer by rookie Goran Dragic - his first NBA score; Grant Hill’s basket would further cut into New Orleans’ lead 83-80 with 7:08 remaining in the game.  But James Posey would sink a trey, followed by a 3-pointer by Rasual Butler, then another 3-pointer by Posey to increase the Hornets’ lead to 92-83 with 4:46 left to go.  Butler’s second 3-pointer of the quarter made it 97-87 with 3:08 left in the game, sealing the deal for New Orleans.

Three Hornets scored 20 or more points, led by Morris Peterson with 21 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals while Peja Stojakovic and Paul both scored 20 apiece - with Stojakovic adding three treys, 6 rebounds and an assist while Paul contributed 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals but 5 turnovers.  Phoenix was led by Steve Nash with 24 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists but 7 turnovers while Amare Stoudemire added 21 with 12 rebounds and 2 assists.  New Orleans (2-0) plays again on Saturday when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers while Phoenix (1-1) hosts the Portland Trail Blazers - also on Saturday night.

Oct

31

Gibson Pushes Wine And Gold Past Brown; Cavs Tame Bobcats 96-79

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The Cleveland Cavaliers spoiled the return of Larry Brown to the NBA coaching wars, as they defeated the Charlotte Bobcats at the “Q” in Cleveland 96-79 Thursday night. Cavaliers sixth man Daniel Gibson came off the pine to lead the team with 25 points in the home opener for Cleveland.  The Cavaliers dominated the first half and survived a surge by the Bobcats in the third for the lopsided win.

Cleveland looked strong in the opening 12 minutes, while Charlotte looked rather lost. This combination led to the Cavaliers ending the first quarter on top 25-16. Second verse same as the first as the Cavaliers walked into the locker room at the half leading 50-33.

In the two contests that Cleveland has played thus far in the young NBA campaign, they seem to have gone back to coming out flat in the third quarter. It cost them the win in the season opener against Boston. Thursday night they had a large enough lead that they were ahead at the end of the third quarter 68-59. Cleveland scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, putting the lead back into double digits at 70-59. The Bobcats never got back to within striking distance the rest of the night.

Gibson showed why the Cavaliers gave him the long term contract extension during the off-season with his performance. Gibson is the perfect player to be Cleveland’s sixth man, because as with Manu Ginobili in San Antonio he is clearly better than the other team’s bench players. Gibson shot 10-14 from the floor including 4-6 from outside the arc, as he had a game high 25 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists.

Not too many nights that LeBron James is an after thought in a Cleveland game, but he was in this one. LBJ was actually on the bench when the Cavaliers took over the contest. However he just missed a triple-double, as he scored 22 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 block.  It was another strong night for Mo Williams as he scored 17 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal. Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, Ben Wallace scored only 2 points, but did grab 10 boards, 5 blocks, 1 steal. The Cavaliers will take that kind of night from the veteran any time they can get it. Rookie J.J. Hickson made his NBA debut, and scored just 4 points, but 2 were on a vicious slam over Charlotte’s Emeka Okafor.

Charlotte’s one-two punch played up to the standards they had established last season. Jason Richardson scored a team high 24 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block. Gerald Wallace scored 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1 block. D.J. Augustin came off the bench for the Bobcats and scored 12 points, 2 assists. Cleveland with the win is now 1-1, while Charlotte starts the season at 0-1.

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Oct

31

Yao, Artest Combine For 59; Rockets Lasso Mavericks 112-102

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Any other season, the Houston Rockets‘ main tag team would be Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady; this season may be a bit different with the team’s acquisition of forward Ron Artest.  Ming and Artest made quite the duo Thursday night as the Dallas Mavericks hosted the Rockets; both combined for 59 points, including a 16-2 run late in the fourth quarter, leading Houston past Dallas 112-102.

Things didn’t exactly go well for the Mavericks as they had three turnovers and 3 fouls in the game’s first 2 minutes; despite that hiccup, they shot relatively well as they stayed close with only a 3-point deficit going into halftime 62-59.  Dallas managed to get to within 8 in the final minutes of the game, then Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki blocked a layup by the Rockets’ Aaron Brooks; however, Nowitzki missed a 12-footer which sealed the win for the Rockets.

High scorer for the Rockets was Ming with 30 points, along with 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots while Artest added 29 (including 3 treys) with 7 rebounds and a steal; McGrady contributed 16 with 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals.  Dallas’ leading scorer was Nowitzki with 36 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks while Josh Howard added 28 with 11 rebounds, 4 assists and a blocked shot; Jason Terry came off the bench to score 15 with 4 assists and a blocked shot.  Houston (2-0) looks to extend their winning streak to 3 as they play again on Saturday when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder while Dallas (0-1) flies to Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves - also on Saturday night.

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