Bosh, 7 first-timers headed to All-Star game
Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh reacts after a basket against the Miami Heat during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Toronto January 27, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]
Local products Chris Bosh of Toronto and Deron Williams of Utah are headed back to Dallas for next month’s NBA All-Star game, which will include seven first-time selections.
The Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks each had two players picked as reserves on Thursday for the February 14 game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo were chosen from the Celtics, while the Hawks are sending Joe Johnson and Al Horford.
Rondo and Horford will both make their first All-Star appearances, as will Oklahoma City swingman Kevin Durant, Charlotte’s Gerald Wallace, Memphis forward Zach Randolph, Chicago’s Derrick Rose and Williams.
Among those missing out were New York’s David Lee and Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman.
Bosh, from Dallas, is an All-Star for the fifth straight season.
“Just to be able to be an All-Star year in and year out, that’s a special feeling, but the fact that it’s in Dallas is kind of a bittersweet thing,” Bosh said. “Sweet because I get to play in front of my home crowd and it’s bitter because everybody wants tickets.”
Bosh, Pierce and Johnson are the only reserves on the Eastern Conference roster with All-Star game experience.
“There’s going to come a day that they don’t pick me,” Pierce said. “So every time I get a chance to make it, it’s definitely an honor.”
The remainder of the Western Conference reserves were guards Chris Paul of New Orleans and Brandon Roy of Portland, forward Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers and forward Dirk Nowitzki, who was picked for the ninth time and will represent the home Dallas Mavericks.
“It is an honor to represent the Mavericks in my new hometown of Dallas,” Nowitzki said. “I am always thankful for the opportunity to play in the All-Star game. We hope to put on a good show for our fans.”
LeBron credited with McDonald’s sponsors
LeBron James won a multi-year sponsorship from McDonald, the global fast-food giant, but the financial terms were not immediately available on the deal.
James will support several McDonald’s programs and promotions as well as Ronald McDonald House Charities, which provides housing to the families of seriously ill children.
He has already filmed his first commercial with McDonald’s. It will debut during the Super Bowl on Feb. 7.
James, a six-time All-Star with the Cleveland Cavaliers, has other partnerships with Nike, State Farm and Coca-Cola.
Jazz sign rookie guard Gaines for the season
The Utah Jazz has signed rookie guard Sundiata Gaines for the remainder of the season, Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced on Monday.
Gaines was originally signed to a 10-day contract by the Jazz on Jan. 5 before being re-signed to a second 10-day contract on Jan. 15. Gaines has appeared in seven games for the Jazz, averaging 2.9 points and 1.1 assists in 7.1 minutes per game.
The Jazz is 6-2 since signing Gaines, who hit a game-winning three-pointer as time expired to beat Cleveland, 97-96, on Jan. 14. The former University of Georgia Bulldog also recorded a career- high nine points versus the Cavaliers.
Gaines reached career highs in minutes of 21 and assists of five in his NBA debut versus Memphis on Jan. 6.
Gaines became the fourth NBA Development League (D-League) Call- Up to the NBA this season, as well as the fourth D-League Call-Up in Jazz history, joining Rusty LaRue (2000-01), Mikki Moore (2003- 04) and Louis Amundson (2006-07).
The Jamaica native had averages of 23.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 14 games with the D-League’s Idaho Stampede prior to being signed by the Jazz. Selected by the Stampede in the first round (15th overall pick) of the 2009 NBA D-League Draft, Gaines was named the D-League’s Co-Performer of the Week for games played during the first 10 days of this season after averaging a league-leading 27.0 points while shooting 60.3 percentage from the field and handing out 8.3 assists.
The former Southeastern Conference (SEC) Tournament MVP was not selected in the 2008 NBA Draft and spent the 2008-09 campaign in Italy with NGC Cantu.
Lakers win after White House visit
Kobe Bryant (R) of the Los Angeles Lakers tries to get a shot off as Brendan Haywood of the Washington Wizards defends on the play during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Washington January 26, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]
There’s nothing like a trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave to lift the spirits during the dog days of an NBA season.
That’s a privilege given only to the reigning champions and the Los Angeles Lakers had their moment with President Barack Obama on Monday. It was a good substitute for a ho-hum January practice, and they promptly lifted their road doldrums on Tuesday night with a 115-103 win over the Washington Wizards.
“Our overall energy was a lot better,” said Lamar Odom, who scored 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting. “The trip to the White House gave us a little energy. We want to go back.”
Odom said before the game the champs had become “a little too overconfident”, but it didn’t show as he and his teammates chased down loose balls and kept their hands all over the passing lanes. The Lakers showed the troubled Wizards what hustling, focused, never-let-up basketball is all about, shooting 59 percent and forcing six turnovers during a crucial second-quarter run.
“Offensive rebounds, getting loose balls, turning teams over,” Kobe Bryant said. “Especially when you play on the road, that’s some of things you need to have happen.”
Bryant and Pau Gasol scored 26 points apiece for the Lakers, who had lost six of their previous eight road games and pulled to a 2-2 record midway through their current eight-game swing.
Antawn Jamison, playing on a sprained right foot, scored 27 points to lead the Wizards, who lost the last four games of a six-game homestand. The game came one day after guard Javaris Crittenton received probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge, the latest fallout from last month’s lockerroom confrontation between Crittenton and Gilbert Arenas.
“I think we’re all pretty much numb to the whole thing right now,” coach Flip Saunders said.
The Lakers took over a tight game with a 20-7 half-ending run that included Wizards turnovers of every kind. Shannon Brown stole the ball from DeShawn Stevenson, Andray Blatche traveled, Mike Miller and Mike James threw bad passes, the shot clock expired and Brendan Haywood committed an offensive foul with 2.5 seconds left in the half.
Brown, meanwhile, used the quarter to tune up for the slam dunk contest at next month’s All-Star weekend. He put home an alley-oop, threw down a flying monster to end a fast break and stunned the Wizards by dunking a missed free throw by teammate Andrew Bynum. Derek Fisher’s wide-open 3-pointer gave the Lakers a 60-44 lead at the break.
“Against a team like that, that’s all is takes is a quick three, four, five minutes where you’re not playing your best,” Haywood said. “They take advantage of that and they basically cruise all game off that little 15-point cushion.”
The Wizards stayed within shouting distance in the second half, mostly keeping the deficit between 10 and 15 points. Jamison cut it to nine, 91-82, by making a free throw with 8:58 left in the game but the Lakers responded with a 12-2 run that included four points from Gasol, a 3-pointer from Brown and a 3-pointer and another jumper from Jordan Farmar.
Washington shot 51 percent and outrebounded Los Angeles 41-32.
“If we had played as hard in the past few of our games as we did tonight, we would have had a good homestand,” Saunders said.
NBA star Stephon Marbury to join Chinese club
A two-time NBA All-star guard Stephon Marbury arrived Tuesday night in Taiyuan, capital city of north China’s Shanxi Province, to join the Chinese Basketball Association club Shanxi Zhongyu.
Two-time NBA All-star guard Stephon Marbury (second right) is welcome by fans and correspondents on Tuesday night in Taiyuan, capital city of north China’s Shanxi Province. [Photo/Xinhua]
Large crowds of fans, correspondents and club officials waiting in the airport hailed his name, as Marbury arrived.
Shanxi Zhongyu squad, finishing tenth in China CBA league with 15 wins and 10 losses on home court at present, is exasperate to strengthen its power.
It will officially sign with Marbury on Wednesday, but when will he put on his maiden show depends on his health condition.
The team said Marbury will be the highest-rated United States player to take part in the CBA.
Nicknamed “Starbury”, the 33-year-old New York-born point guard averaged 18.3 points and 7.6 assists a game in 11 seasons of his 13-year NBA career.
Arenas, Crittenton suspended for rest of season
Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, currently serving an indefinite suspension from the NBA, keeps his head down as he arrives to face felony gun charges at the District of Columbia Superior Courthouse in Washington January 15, 2010. Arenas is expected to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors on charges that he displayed handguns at the Wizards practice facility during a gambling debt dispute with a team-mate. [Photo/Agencies]
Gilbert Arenas and Washington Wizards team mate Javaris Crittenton were suspended without pay for the rest of the NBA season on Wednesday for bringing guns into the team’s locker room.
NBA commissioner David Stern, who met with both players this week to discuss last month’s incident, said there was no justification for their actions and that guns in the workplace would not be tolerated by the league.
“We mean what we say when we say that guns are prohibited from being in our buildings and in team business,” Stern said on a conference call.
“And if you violate that prohibition … you will be dealt with harshly because it’s very potentially dangerous to our players and to anyone else who might be involved.”
Following a dispute during a flight home from a game in December, the two players later brought weapons into the locker room at the team’s arena. NBA rules prohibit players from bringing firearms to league and team facilities.
Stern said both Arenas and Crittenton expressed remorse for their actions and an understanding of the seriousness of their transgressions during face-to-face meetings with both players that lasted about an hour each.
Arenas, 28, had already been suspended indefinitely by the NBA pending an investigation and the Wizards have since removed all likenesses of him from their arena.
Crittenton, 22, pleaded guilty on Monday to misdemeanor gun possession charges and was sentenced to a year of unsupervised probation and required to perform community service.
SERIOUS ISSUE
Arenas still faces a tentative sentencing date of March 26 after pleading guilty on January 15 to felony weapons possession for bringing four guns to the locker room. He could get up to six months in prison under his plea deal.
The Wizards, who have a 14-30 record with 38 games left in the season, said they fully supported the NBA’s decision.
“We hope that this negative situation can produce something positive by serving as a reminder that gun violence is a serious issue,” the Wizards said in a statement. “We look forward to putting this unfortunate incident behind us.”
When asked how he felt upon first hearing of the news of the locker room incident in Washington, Stern said he just felt the need to do something to protect the game and its players.
“I’ve spent a career on the one hand having to dispense punishment because that comes with the job, but on the other hand trying to protect a group of players for whom I have a very high regard,” said Stern.
“And we also to protect them from doing things that are foolish and damaging to themselves particularly but also to the league and I felt that Gilbert was in the process of that and it was incumbent upon me to stop it.”
Obama meets with NBA champion Lakers
US President Barack Obama shares a laugh with Kobe Bryant (L) during a ceremony honoring the 2009 NBA basketball champions Los Angeles Lakers in the East Room at the White House in Washington, January 25, 2010. [Agencies]
Wang Zhizhi leads in CBA All-Star votings
Bayi Fubang’s center Wang Zhizhi led in the All-Star line-up votings of the Chinese Basketball Association league (CBA) after the first week of the ballot, the official website announced on Tuesday.
Wang received 14,149 votes to top the South Team and the overall standings as the cbachina.com and cbachina163.com collected tickets from 49,342 voters.
Guard Zhang Qingpeng of Liaoning Panpan was the most voted in the North Team by 13,331, ahead of Xinjiang Guanghui’s center Menk Bateer, last-season’s MVP in the regular season, who collected 10.694.
The ballot started on January 18 and will be ended on March 1.
The All-Star weekend will be held on February 20-21 at the Wukesong Arena in Beijing.
Arenas’ teammate pleads guilty in gun case
Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, currently serving an indefinite suspension from the NBA, keeps his head down as he arrives to face felony gun charges at the District of Columbia Superior Courthouse in Washington January 15, 2010. Arenas is expected to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors on charges that he displayed handguns at the Wizards practice facility during a gambling debt dispute with a team-mate. [Photo/Agencies]
Javaris Crittenton of the Washington Wizards pleaded guilty on Monday to a misdemeanor gun possession charge for last month’s incident when he argued with teammate Gilbert Arenas and brought an unloaded handgun to the basketball team’s locker room.
Crittenton was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation and required to perform community service through the NBA’S Haiti project and through a children’s organization in Washington, D.C., the U.S. attorney’s office said.
“The charges filed today against Javaris Crittenton and his subsequent plea represent another disappointing development in what has already been a long and frustrating process for the team, the NBA and, most importantly, our fans,” the Wizards said in a statement.
“Javaris clearly used very bad judgment in this situation and will now face the consequences of his actions.”
Arenas, 28, who has been suspended from the team, faces a tentative sentencing date of March 26 after pleading guilty on January 15 to felony weapons possession for bringing four guns to the locker room. He faces up to six months in prison under his plea deal.
In late December, Crittenton and Arenas became involved in a heated argument after a card game. Arenas said he was too old to fistfight and threatened to shoot Crittenton in the face, according to court documents.
Crittenton, 22, responded that he would shoot Arenas, a three-time All-Star guard, in his surgically-repaired knee.
On December 21, Crittenton arrived at the Verizon Center, where the team plays in downtown Washington, to receive medical treatment and to attend practice.
CONCERNED ABOUT THREAT
According to Crittenton, before he left his home in Virginia, he placed a lawfully owned, unloaded handgun into his backpack because he believed that Arenas would carry out his threat to shoot him that day.
Once Crittenton entered the locker room, he put his backpack in his locker and went to another room to see team trainers.
When Crittenton returned to the locker room, he saw Arenas walking away from the area in front of Crittenton’s locker. On a chair in front of Crittenton’s locker, Arenas had placed several handguns and a piece of paper with the message “PICK 1.”
According to Crittenton, he believed that Arenas intended Crittenton to select a firearm that Arenas would carry out his threat to shoot Crittenton. Arenas has said he put the guns on the chair as part of a practical joke.
Crittenton then told Arenas he had his own gun, he took his handgun out of his backpack and he showed it to Arenas.
Crittenton has voluntarily surrendered the handgun to law enforcement authorities. Crittenton has no criminal record, has never been arrested and has cooperated with authorities, prosecutors said.
Mavericks rout Knicks in record 50 points
NBA Mavericks rolled to the most lopsided victory in their 30-year franchise history by thrashing New York Knicks 128-78 on Sunday.
Shawn Marion (L) of Dallas Mavericks goes up for a shot during the NBA basketball game against New York Knicks in New York, the United States, on Jan. 24, 2009. Dallas Mavericks won 128-78. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)
Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry each scored 20 points as Mavericks, who notched their eighth victory in a row over the Knicks in the past four years, were playing without Jason Kidd due to a family matter and Erick Dampier because of a left knee injury.
Drew Gooden, filling in for Dampier, scored 15 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for Dallas, which broke the team record for win margin set in a 149-104 romp over Golden State in 1985.
It was the Knicks’ worst home loss and the second-largest loss in New York’s 64-year history, after a 162-100 loss at Syracuse on December 25, 1960.
Wilson Chandler (C) of New York Knicks goes up for a shot during the NBA basketball game against Dallas Mavericks in New York, the United States, on Jan. 24, 2009. New York Knicks lost the match 78-128. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)
The Mavericks shot 58 percent from the field, including 12-of- 22 from 3-point range, and made 16 of 17 free throws.
Dallas led by as much as 53 in the blowout, the largest lead any team has enjoyed over another in the NBA this season, an honor previously held by the Knicks earlier this month when they led Indiana by 48 points.
The Mavericks went 15-for-19 in the third quarter, including 5- of-6 shooting by German star Nowitzki, who scored 13 points in the quarter after just seven in the first half.