Around The NBA

WADE TARGETS PLAYOFFS

Dwayne Wade’s dislocated left shoulder is so fragile there’s a risk of aggravating the injury when he sleeps.  But come April, Wade figures he might be up to the rigors of the NBA playoffs.  The All-Star guard said Monday he has decided to delay surgery and rehabilitate his shoulder with the goal of returning to help the Miami Heat defend their league title.

KINGS’ ARTEST ARRESTED

Sacramento forward Ron Artest was arrested Monday after a woman called 911 from his home saying she had been assaulted.  Sheriff’s deputies responded to Artest’s five-acre estate where they found a woman who had suffered injuries, officials said.  She declined medical attention.

SHAQUILLE O’NEILL

Shaq will be taking a shot at a TV reality show focused on childhood obesity and health.  The ABC summer series will feature the Miami Heat star and his effort to help Florida schoolchildren lose weight.

Lost Melo could be benched

George Karl  might send Carmelo Anthony a seat on the bench if the all-star forward fails to play smart, team basketball according to the Denver Post.

“I think that’s the next move,” Karl said Monday, revealing that Anthony will be removed from games and shown a seat on the bench if the all-star forward fails to play smart, team basketball.

“I’ve told Melo in the last two weeks, ‘I don’t think you’re listening. I don’t think you’re listening as well as you need to listen.’ For me, the next step is to change the democracy back to a dictatorship.”

Somewhere between the infamous punch in New York City and the NBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas, Anthony got lost.

 

Cavaliers Daniel Gibson, Shannon Brown and Dwayne Jones to Visit Big Creek Elementary School

It’s going to be a BIG night at Big Creek Elementary School on March 8th when Cavaliers players Daniel Gibson, Shannon Brown and Dwayne Jones join the students, families and faculty for a special NBA Read-to-Achieve event as part of Family Fun Night at the Scholastic Book Fair.  The players will conduct a Reading Timeout to read “Clifford Goes to Hollywood” with the assembly of close to 2,500!  Seventy-one students will be recognized for outstanding achievement in reading.

Pippen and Phil Together Again?

Lakers coach Phil Jackson says he has talked to 41-year-old Scottie Pippen about making a comeback with the team. “I did get in touch with Scottie, but it was just preliminary talk about how he’s doing, where he’s at and how he feels,” Jackson said.

Jackson said Pippen is interested in coming to Los Angeles. “I would say he kind of talked about the parameters of what he thinks he can do to help.” “We’ll take one step and wait and see what happens with Luke and Lamar’s injuries and then go from there.” Odom and Walton were to see specialists today.

Daniel Gibson Out With Toe Injury

Tom Withers from Slam Sports writes: Cavaliers rookie guard Daniel Gibson will miss at least two weeks with a sprained left big toe, an injury that will reshuffle Cleveland’s lineup again.

Gibson, who has provided the Cavs with a spark since replacing Eric Snow at point guard in the starting lineup, initially injured his toe in a Feb. 14 game against Utah. He aggravated it during a loss in Dallas on Thursday.

“I jammed it on another player’s foot,” Gibson said before the Cavaliers hosted Toronto on Saturday night.

An MRI taken on Friday revealed additional swelling in Gibson’s toe, prompting doctors to advise additional rest for the 21-year-old nicknamed “Boobie.”

“We’re right back to square one with it,” said Gibson, wearing a protective boot on his foot. “They told me to take my time.”

In 16 starts, Gibson, a second-round draft pick, is averaging 5.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists.

Larry Hughes, who missed Cleveland’s game against the Mavericks because of the flu, returned and started for Gibson in the backcourt along with Sasha Pavlovic. Cavs coach Mike Brown said Gibson will be back in the starting lineup once he’s healthy.

With no true point guard in the starting lineup, Hughes and LeBron James will handle the bulk of the ballhandling duties for Cleveland’s first unit.

Shannon Brown Returns To CAVS

After spending one game in which Brown was assigned to Albuquerque and played in their game against Arkansas where He scored 14 points and dished out six assists in 28 minutes, Shannon Brown was recalled by the Cleveland Cavaliers due to the injury to Daniel Gibson’s toe.  Brown had a nice game against the Toronto Raptors playing for over 13 minutes and scoring 14 points.