NBA News and Notes 12/22
DeMarcus Cousins suspended, again. Clippers are white hot. Knicks front court injury problems. Andrew Bynum can start rehab. Heres NBA News and Notes for December 22nd.
Cousins Suspended Indefinitely
The Sacramento Kings suspended forward/center DeMarcus Cousins indefinitely on Saturday. During Friday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Clippers 12th straight victory, Cousins and coach Keith Smart had an altercation in the locker room during half time. Cousins did not return to the bench in the second half.
The Kings suspended Cousins for “unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team.” The suspension is the third for Cousins this season, the previous two being levied against him by the NBA. After being suspended two games in November for confronting Spurs announcer Sean Elliott in a “hostile manner”, Cousins was banned one game this month for a strike to Dallas guard OJ Mayo’s groin.
This is the second time Cousins has had trouble with a Kings coach. Last season, Cousins was sent home by then coach Paul Westphal for “unwilling/unable to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team.” Westphal was fired just days later, leading some to believe Cousins was the driving force behind his dismissal.
Wallace Out;Stoudemire Still Out
New York Knicks forward Rasheed Wallace has a stress reaction and chronic condition in his left foot. Wallace has missed the Knicks previous four games with what the team sited as a “sore foot.” Wallace has been listed as day-to-day by the Knicks, and will continue to be listed as DTD. Wallace had been serving as the Knicks back up center with Marcus Camby also out with planter fasciitis.
Amar’e Stoudemire, who has been out all season recovering from knee surgery, will accompany the team on their upcoming road trip. Stoudemire has been practicing with the Knicks NBA Developmental League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks this week. Coach Mike Woodson wants Stoudemire to be able to practice with the team for multiple days before returning. With the upcoming road trip, practice time will be limited for the Knicks, knocking Stoudemire’s return date back more.
Clippers Stay Hot
With their 97-85 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night, the Los Angeles Clippers pushed their winning streak to 12, a team record. With the Oklahoma City Thunder’s loss on Thursday night to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Clippers hold the longest active streak in the league. The Clips have won all but three of the games by double digits.
While their competition hasn’t been that high, defeating only four teams with winning records over the span. During the teams 12 game streak, point guard Chris Paul became the third fastest player to ever record 5,000 career assists. Paul has recorded double digit assist games seven times during the streak, while forward Blake Griffin has averaged just under 20 points during the streak. They look to push it to 13 against the Suns on Sunday night.
Bynum Return On The Horizon?
Philadelphia center Andrew Bynum has been cleared to start low-impact exercises by doctors. Bynum has been out all season with a bone bruise in his left knee that the Sixers only expected to keep him out of training camp. After previously hoping Bynum would return to basketball activities in early December, it became clear he would not.
The hits kept coming for Bynum and the Sixers, as he injured his left knee bowling last month. Bynum says his right knee, which was originally holding him out, fells fine. He added he is still feeling some pain in his left knee. Bynum said he was confident he would play this season. He went on to add this, “The bone bruises are healed and the swelling is gone, so those two things are great. We’re just waiting for mechanical issues to be resolved, and that’s going to take anywhere from a month to two. I have no idea, but we’re going to work toward grinding it out so it’s not causing me any problems.”
Bynum was the main piece the Sixers acquired in the four team Dwight Howard block buster of the summer. Philadelphia sent wing man Andre Iguodala to the Nuggets along with rookie Maurice Harkless to the Magic. Philadelphia also received guard Jason Richardson from the Magic.
Written By: Zach Oliver (@ZOliver8812)
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Cousins need a swift kick in the head. The Clippers are very deep this year.
Thanks for the comment Leon. The Clippers are just getting better as the season goes on. They’ve feasted on an easy schedule though. Cousins, yeah Cousins. Maybe a change of scenery will help.