Carmelo Anthony has shoulder injury, won’t need surgery
Anthony has a small tear in his labrum but won’t have to have surgery
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Tony Allen Sells Key 4th-Quarter Flagrant with Phantom Head Injury in Game 2
The Memphis Grizzlies have a way of making the NBA hardwood a very uncomfortable place for the opposition.
Late in the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s Game 2, the Grizzlies’ Tony Allen spread those uncomfortable feelings across the basketball world.
With Memphis facing a four-point deficit with less than 30 seconds left in regulation, Zach Randolph corralled a loose ball and found a sprinting Allen racing toward the basket. Allen took two steps toward the basket and soared to the rim, but was pulled to the floor by a trailing Manu Ginobili.
Allen hit the deck and scrambled to the fetal position, violently kicking his legs and holding his head.
Concussion, perhaps? He at least had a splitting headache, no doubt the result of a thunderous impact when his head met the floor.
As the referees gathered for a video review to determine if the foul was flagrant, suddenly, the result of his crash landing became clearer. Allen had braced himself for the landing, taking the brunt of the collision on his forearm then rolling over onto his back.
In other words, there simply was no head-to-hardwood meeting. Just a fine acting performance, and one that gave the Grizzlies new life:
On what planet is that a flagrant foul. And they reviewed it, no less. Poor officiating, brilliant acting by Tony Allen
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) May 22, 2013
Some argued that dramatics aside, the play still warranted the stiff penalty that the Spurs had to endure:
He grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of midair.
— Myles Brown (@mdotbrown) May 22, 2013
Allen “recovered” to convert both of his free throws, and Mike Conley added a game-tying jumper just eight seconds later. Tim Duncan misfired on his potential game-winner in the closing seconds, meaning free basketball inside the AT&T Center.
It certainly bordered on bush league, but still drew the praise of at least one former pro:
What a great play by TonyAllen. Flagrant fouls are so often called based on the reaction of the player who was fouled. He sold that one.
— Steve Kerr (@SteveKerrTNT) May 22, 2013
Of course, the next video review may not be quite so forgiving to Allen. But if the league office sends him an invoice, the All-Defensive first-teamer should have no trouble finding financial help in covering the damage:
Tomorrow the league will fine Tony Allen for flopping…and for Memphis it was worth every penny.
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) May 22, 2013
Now we’re all left to process Allen’s ploy in our own minds, respecting the intention (and certainly the result) if not the method chosen:
I hate what Tony Allen did, but acting like he was killed, earning the flagrant on Manu was game changing and genius…
— Vince Galloway (@Vince_Galloway) May 22, 2013
But that should be a far simpler mental exercise than what the Grizzlies have to perform.
Despite Allen’s thespian gifts and holding San Antonio to just two points over the final eight minutes of regulation, Memphis fell 93-89 in overtime.
The Grizzlies now head home facing a daunting two-game deficit in the Western Conference Finals.
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Thunder season fades fast after Westbrook injury (Yahoo! Sports)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The way Kevin Martin describes it, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost the ”vision” of a potential championship run the morning they learned All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook would be out for the rest of the postseason.
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Nerlens Noel: Knee injury no issue for NBA draft stock
The former Kentucky center says his rehab is ahead of schedule.
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George Hill Injury: Updates on Pacers Guard’s Concussion
The Indiana Pacers can close out their Eastern Conference semifinals series with the New York Knicks with a win in Game 5 Thursday, but they will have to do so without one of their top stars.
According to the Pacers’ official Twitter feed, point guard George Hill will sit out Thursday night’s game at Madison Square Garden with a concussion:
As noted by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, Hill suffered the injury after being hit in the head by Knicks center Tyson Chandler:
While Hill was initially shaken up after the hit, but stayed in the contest and his performance showed no signs of slipping. The Pacers point guard played 37 minutes in the team’s 93-82 victory, scoring a game-high 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting and dishing out four assists.
The victory gave Indiana a commanding 3-1 lead over New York, as the series heads back to the Big Apple on Thursday. But Hill’s injury is the type that could change a closely played series like this on a dime.
The 27-year-old guard has been ascendant versus the Knicks, scoring 17.3 points and dishing out 4.5 assists per game over the first four games. He’s an integral part of Indiana’s stalwart defense, which has suffocated Carmelo Anthony and New York’s vaunted offense thus far.
Hill’s impact bears wait in the numbers. According to NBA.com, the Pacers have scored 102 points per 100 possessions when Hill is on the floor versus a paltry 92.7 when he sits. They have also been over 11 points worse defensively with Hill on the bench, per NBA.com, totaling 20-point swing.
Much of that is an extension of Indiana’s dreadful bench play—especially at the point guard spot.
Save for a surprising shooting barrage in Game 1 of this series, Hill’s likely replacement, D.J. Augustin, has struggled mightily this season. He’s shooting just 37.3 percent from the floor this postseason, though he does have two double-digit scoring performances versus New York.
The Pacers are looking to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals to take on the Miami Heat, who defeated the Chicago Bulls in five games.
There is no word on Hill’s status going forward, but if a Game 6 in this series becomes necessary, we may look at the guard’s injury as a turning point.
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NBA Injury Report: Updates on Dwyane Wade’s Knee, Stephen Curry’s Ankle, More
As the second round of the NBA playoffs comes to a close, we have to look back and ask whether injuries decided every series. The Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and especially the Oklahoma City Thunder have to agree. Add Derrick Rose, a healthy Stephen Curry, or Russell Westbrook back into the mix and maybe things are different for the series.
I know I’m biased, but there’s no way that even the strictest “injuries are part of the game” purists can say that this wasn’t the single key factor in the playoffs. While there’s no way to stop the kind of flukish, traumatic injury that took out Westbrook, there are certainly ways to reduce these kinds of injuries in the future.
On the other side of this coin, the maintenance and hard work done by the medical staffs have some of these teams healthy and ready, even after 90+ games. Players like Dwyane Wade aren’t fully healthy, but they are close to full function. Managing injuries, chronic conditions and fatigue levels might be as important as any set play or defensive alignment.
We’ll see if more teams watching the playoffs from home get the lesson. Medical management is a leading indicator of success in most sports. There may even be new ways to find advantages for teams that are looking for that “Moneyball” edge and don’t have their own John Hollinger. For now, let’s take a look around the Association.
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Dwyane Wade will play with knee injury for Miami Heat
The Heat know they don’t have one of their stars at 100% for the Eastern Conference finals.
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Breaking Down How C.J. Leslie’s Hand Injury Impacts 2013 NBA Draft Stock
North Carolina State forward C.J. Leslie is expected to skip the drilling portion of the NBA combine after spraining his hand, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski.
He will participate in the athletic testing and interviews, two stations at the combine that don’t require basketballs.
Wojnarowski reported that two teams drafting in the mid-20s don’t believe Leslie will be there by the time they’re on the clock.
If that is indeed the case, then this hand injury should have absolutely zero impact on his draft stock. Even if Wojnarowski’s sources were just playing the smokescreen game, this minor injury still won’t affect how teams view Leslie as a prospect.
His hand is expected to be fully healed for individual workouts with teams, which are really the only auditions that truly move the needle.
The drilling at the combine, particularly for someone like Leslie, who’s been a prominent figure in college basketball for three years, is fairly insignificant. Scouts have hundreds of hours of game film at their disposal—a couple of dribbling and shooting drills wouldn’t have swayed anyone’s opinion on his NBA outlook.
When teams bring in Leslie for a workout, they’ll customize it to test out specific skills in repetition, as opposed to the combine where the drilling is more general and spaced out.
In Wojnarowski’s report, he mentioned that one league personnel director told him that Leslie and Nerlens Noel “rate as the two most explosive athletes in this year’s draft class.” While Anthony Bennett might have something to say about that, it just goes to show how much the NBA values athleticism.
Leslie’s most glaring red flag is his lack of a true position. Though his specific game is built for the power-forward role, he measures in around 6’8”, 200 pounds, and he’s never averaged more than 7.4 rebounds per game.
His size suggests he plays small forward at the next level, however, his skill set does not. Leslie struggles playing on the perimeter, without the ball-handling or outside stroke (only 13 made threes in three years at NC State) that most NBA wings require.
Draft Stock
It’s tough to put a finger on Leslie’s stock at the moment. According to Wojnarowski, some believe he’s a mid-first rounder. Others, myself included, believe he’s more of a second-round pick considering the risk he presents.
I like to compare Leslie to Hakim Warrick, a former college stud with nearly identical physical tools. Unfortunately, those tools never translated for Warrick, who wasn’t strong enough to bang inside and lacked the skill set of a 3.
Warrick did go No. 19 in the 2005 first round. Sometimes, teams will take a chance on athleticism with hopes that the skills develop and follow.
All it takes is for one team to fall in love with Leslie’s athleticism, and a minor hand injury won’t change that.
Personally, I fell off Leslie’s bangwagon after seeing little progression over a three-year span. I’m also worried about him falling into the “tweener” category, stuck between the 3 and 4 positions.
But there’s no doubt he’ll be targeted by some on draft day. The Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards are all teams that lack athleticism up front that might give Leslie a look in the late-first or early-second round.
He averaged 15.1 points, 7.4 rebounds on 51.9 percent shooting and 61.2 percent from the free-throw line as a junior, and should be considered a high-risk, high-reward option on draft day.
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Russell Westbrook on knee injury: ‘I want to compete’
The Oklahoma City Thunder have gone 3-3 without the guard, who had knee surgery.
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Luol Deng Injury Update: How Latest News Impacts Bulls’ Chances vs. Heat
It seems like the Chicago Bulls cannot catch a break. Injuries have been a huge problem all year, and Luol Deng is the latest person suffering.
While the small forward has not been officially ruled out of future games, it seems unlikely that he will suit up anytime soon. According to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, Deng has been “battling an illness and complications from a spinal tap to test for viral meningitis. The test was negative, but Deng has been in and out of the hospital since May 1.”
Of course, that is only the beginning of his problems. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune goes into more details of Deng’s health problems:
Johnson goes into a little too much detail here, as this is where it starts to get a bit too graphic.
While it is nice that he is fighting hard to find his way back to the court, the chances of playing for the remainder of the series against the Miami Heat are not good.
Deng remains with Kirk Hinrich and Derrick Rose among players too injured to play in this entertaining series, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN.
This should dramatically affect the Bulls’ ability to win games, especially against the best team in the NBA. However, the squad continues to fight hard as new players take advantage of their opportunities.
In Game 1, Nate Robinson came through with 27 points, plus Jimmy Butler added 21 points and 14 rebounds while playing all 48 minutes. These contributions, combined with the continuous hustle of Joakim Noah, helped Chicago win 93-86.
Although the team fell apart in Game 2, returning home with the series split puts them in great position to pull off the upset.
Just as importantly, the loss of Deng will not hurt this team too much in the upcoming games. Butler has started in his place at the wing and his defense has been nothing short of amazing. His size and strength make him the best option against LeBron James in this series.
Also, Robinson has increased his scoring from 13.1 points per game in the regular season to 17.4 in the postseason. He has taken over the role as the team’s go-to scorer, and his ability to make clutch shots has helped this club stay alive in the playoffs.
Obviously, Deng is a great player who is coming off one of the best years of his career; however, Chicago has the mental toughness to remain in contention in this brutal series.
If the Bulls can remain strong at home like they have all season, they have what it takes to shock the world and beat the defending champs.
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