December 3, 2012 Dwight Howard Cleared To Play Will Suit Up For Game Vs. Portland
LOS ANGELES -- Laker fans rejoice, the day is finally here: Dwight Howard will suit up for the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time ever on Tuesday night when the Lakers face the Trail Blazers at the STAPLES Center. Free SUPERMAN HAS RISEN T Shirts will be given to the first 5,000 fans in attendance to commemorate the monumental occasion of yet another All Star Center coming to Los Angeles. LA fans might be getting a sneak peak at what they're future holds, and they hope it holds a bright light comparable to the sun.
December 3, 2012 Klay Thompson Close To 100%, Doctors Say Could Play As Soon As Next Week!
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Warriors starting guard Klay Thompson suffered a severe ankle sprain a few weeks ago and when it initially occurred, it looked as though Klay would have to miss more than a month of playing time. Since then, physicians and trainers have been working with Klay on the ankle and Thompson has stated "there is absolutely no soreness in my ankle as of now. That doesn't mean I can jump right back into action right now, but thats a good sign for a speedy recovery. I can see me playing in a full-on GAME game next week."
Jackson said he'll take no chances on Klay's injury, but once he is cleared by the medical staff to play, he will take no time inserting him back into the starting lineup, in who's 3 point percentage has suffered since his injury.
December 3, 2012 Derrick Rose WILL Be Back Before February Bulls Guard Promises Late December Return!
CHICAGO -- The Bulls medical team has stated numerous times that they do not want to take a risk on a Derrick Rose RE-injury, Rose himself has stated that once he is healed, he is heading back onto the court. "I don't see why I can't play the second I'm cleared. As soon as they say I'm a go, I'm a go. I'm gonna get back on the floor and show the league how much better this has made me."
Rose seems eager to get back on the floor, and when asked about his February expectation, he scoffed "February? That's what I'm hearing. That's what they tell people to be safe, but I promise you this. You will see me on the floor before February, I'm aiming before January even. The last week of December, that's the plan right now."
Derrick Rose has not seen a lick of NBA action since the playoffs last season, but in the last month has been steadily practicing with his team during work outs and scrimmages. Local media tells us that Rose has been 'fully participating in practices' and looks 'more ready for NBA action than ever'
However, we've heard this story before. Let's just see if Rose's, along with the media's, words can hold water.
The Chicago Bulls are 5-10 on the season, without Rose, so I'm sure that their record has a lot to do with Rose's undying will to get back on the court, but by the way his team is playing, even a superstar with his talent might not be able to swing their season around.
December 3, 2012 Warriors Defeat Timberwolves Behind Big 3's Double-Doubles Curry, Lee and Bogut All Accumulated Double-Doubles
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Minnesota was a mess the last time they faced Golden State this season, and started off tonight's game similar. Only hitting 5-17 on field goals, the Timerwolves stayed in the quarter with their foul shooting, outscoring Golden State by 8 points in that aspect. The Big 3 of Golden State: Stephen Curry, David Lee and Andrew Bogut dominated their respective aspects of the game. Curry controlled the dimes and scoring load, while Lee and Bogut pounded in the paint and scrapped for boards. Lee and Bogut ended up with a total of 10 points a piece and a combined 27 rebounds [14 for Bogut, 13 for Lee] The front court combination of Lee/Bogut has proved to be one of the more effective pairs in the league, maybe behind only Gasol/Howard. The two [Lee/Bogut] combine for an average of 23.6 rebounds per game, which is the highest combined total of any two starting power forward and center in the league. The guard play of Golden State was not to go unnoticed though, as Stephen Curry poured in 16 points and dished out 10 assists during the course of the game. Harrison Barnes had another solid performance, leading Golden State in scoring with 18. Noteable performances on the Timberwolves side of the ball were Ricky Rubio, who tallied up 18 points , on only 6-17 shooting, to go along with 5 assists, and a double-double from star Kevin Love (17 points, 11 rebounds)
The Warriors move to 12-6 on the season, their best start in 15 seasons and look to continue their winning ways against the Kings (6-12) at ARCO Arena on Wednesday night.
Minnesota Timberwolves (8-8) at Golden State Warriors (12-6)
December 5, 2012 Warriors Suffer Heartbreak, Lose To Kings, 98-95 Sophomore Jimmer Fredette Hits 3 To Win Game For Sacramento
OAKLAND, Calif. -- 5.6 seconds left in the game. Sacramento has the ball. Forward Jason Thompson inbounds the rock to Tyreke Evans who isolates Brandon Rush on the wing. A quick double crossover move and Evans has a clear shot to the basket, Andrew Bogut steps in and contests Evans' shot. Tyreke passes out of the shot and finds red-hot Jimmer Freddette in the corner. Fredette fires the 3, IT FALLS. ARCO Arena explodes with cheers from the native-Sactown fans. Sacramento takes a 3 point lead with 0.6 remaining, no timeouts left for Golden State. Stephen Curry fires up a full court 3 point heave which misses terribly and the Kings race off the court in victory.
"Jimmer had it going in the 4th tonight. These are the kind of performances that we expected from him when he was drafted. Let it be known, in a game like this, during the kind of season we've been having, Jimmer will be given some more minutes to hopefullt bring our team around." said Kings coach Keith Smart about his sophomore's play on Wednesday night. "The whole team brought it when it counted. That is the key, playing good basketball WHEN IT COUNTS. Tonight we showed we can close out victories against more than formatable opponents."
The Warriors locker room was quiet one. Golden State suffered their second last second loss in 3 games. The game before this, occuring on virtually the exact same play, only subtract Evans and Fredette and add Westbrook and Durant. "We had plenty of oppurunities to make it a two, three possession game, but we just couldn't capitalize. Key guys needed to step up when needed, and they called in sick." coach Jackson said about his team's play. David Lee had another masterful performance as he lead Golden State in both scoring and rebounding, as he has for most of the season thus far.
"Individual numbers mean squat if he can't win. If I go out there and score 30 points, grab 20 boards, block 5 shots, its not gonna matter if an L appears in that Win Loss column. We need to get better at perfoming at our highest level, in times like this." Lee said. The Warriors were met with chants of "OVERRATED" during the closing minutes of the game where Sacramento was firing on all cylanders and cut the Golden State lead to only 5.
Golden State appeared to be in coast-mode the last few minutes of the game, virtually accepting victory before it had been granted to them. This was the downfall of the Warriors as the Kings took full advantage and broke out their secret weapon, Jimmer Fredette. Fredette hit to timely 3 pointers during the 4th quarter, one to WIN the game for Sacramento. Fredette was quotes as saying "This is what you practice so hard for every day. Every night you go out there, play a few minutes and keep yourself fresh, so when times like this come, and you're called upon, you're good to go. I feel like I just won our team the championship, but I know we have a LONG way to go before even thinking in that regard."
Golden State falls to 12-7 on the season while Sacramento improves to 7-12. Golden State heads to Phoenix on Friday to face the Suns (9-8) at US Airways Arena for an NBATV Showcase. The Kings next battle will be when they head over to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves (9-8) both games tip off at 5:00 PM PST.
December 7, 2012 Stephen Curry Signs 3-Year Extension With Golden State Despite Injury Issues, Warriors Sign Curry To $30M Deal
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Sources report that shortly after Golden State's loss to Sacramento, they reached out to Stephen Curry to be the point guard of their future, at least for the next three seasons. On Thursday night, Curry made the deal official, signing a 3-year, $30M backloaded extension with the Warriors. The deal is apparently worth $9M the next two seasons, and $12M the final year. This ties Curry in to the Warriors current five-year plan of success before their eventual relocation to San Francisco. "I'm excited to be given this oppurtunity. Given all my injury woes over my first few seasons, I'm glad this organization has showed faith in my abilities to not only stay healthy, but to contribute for this team long term. I'm gonna do my best to not let management down, or these great Bay Area fans down. I love you guys."
Curry has averaged 17.0 points, 7.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game on .400% shooting from 3PT range. It is no secret that Stephen's play has had a major contribution to the Warrior's success thus far this season, but continued improvement will be needed. Right now, Curry's points per game, and 3PT% have dropped from the seasons past, but despite that, he is still putting up great numbers. Analysts claim that the 'dip' is in direct correlation with the talent he is surrounded by this season, either way, Curry is still putting up good numbers, good enough to get him a nice contract with a growing, successful team.
08-23-2012, 07:45 PM
