Spurs Sign Tony Parker to Multi-year Extension

Spurs fans can breathe a sigh of relief as the big three will be together for another year at minimum. Parker has signed an extension…

Spurs guard Tony Parker has signed a multiyear extension, preserving San Antonio’s Big Three at least through next season.

The Spurs announced the deal with their star point guard on Saturday. Terms were not disclosed.
Parker entered the season in the final year of his contract, and it was uncertain whether the Spurs would make him an offer. The former All-Star had repeatedly said he wanted to stay in San Antonio.

San Antonio’s core of Parker, Duncan and Manu Ginobili is now set through next season, the final year of Duncan’s current contract.

Read more details via AP on NBA.com

Rajon Rondo Sets Career High in Assists with 24

Rajon Rondo is starting this season the way he finished off the last season….hot! He broke out with a huge performance across the board and filled up the box score with 10 points and 10 rebounds with the 24 assists, giving Rondo the tenth triple-double of his career, and a career high in assists. Scott Skiles, who currently owns the record for the most assists ever with 30 dimes back in 1990, must have been sweating out that performance by Rondo. Check out some of the dimes for yourself….

Miami’s Homeless Embrace Unwanted LeBron Cavs Gear

LeBron and the Miami Heat will finally get a taste of some long awaited home cooking as they will play their home opener tonight against in-state instant rival, the Orlando Magic. After playing in hostile Boston Tuesday night during the most watched regular season NBA game in cable history, then heading to Philly for their first win of the season, I’m sure LeHeat is happy to be home. There will no doubt be white and red #6 James Heat jerseys outside American Airlines arena, but some may also see some wine and gold #23 James Cavaliers jerseys as well. Why? Because Cleveland didn’t want them.

Scattered throughout Miami you will find the homeless donning LeBron Clevand Jersey’s. During and immediately after “The Decision” we saw shots of a few people in Cleveland foolishly burning LeBron’s jersey after he told the world he was leaving. Apparently that burning spree continued including a promotional night featuring a “LeBronfire” (I can’t make this stuff up, people).

It went further then that actually. A Cleveland bar offered free beer to those who felt betrayed by LeBron. The trade off was that the bar would shred the newly value-less LeBron jerseys in front  of these people in exchange for booze. “We gave a lot of beer away that day”, said bar owner Sam McNulty after they collected 102 jerseys that day.

 One guy, however, made an initiative to salvage these articles of clothing that was going to waste as a result of the excessive burning. Chris Jungjohann, founder of “Break Up With LeBron” collected more than 400 of these jerseys and other articles of clothing by way of a website and boxes he set up at restaurants. Right, kind of like a Thanksgiving canned-food drive. The thought was that maybe they could be used in Miami by the less fortunate.

At first, these jerseys were not welcomed in the Miami area because “the general consensus was that it was an attempt to mock the homeless population”, said Ron Book, who serves as the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust chairman. I knew LeBron was powerful, but wow. Who would’ve thought that his old jerseys would be viewed as a way to mock homeless people? That conclusion may be a bit over the top.

After Miami turned their backs on Cleveland’s offer to send unwanted LeBron jerseys , Miami New Times, with the help of Cleveland Scene (two print publications), stepped in and offered to distribute the items.

Here is a direct quote from Miami New Timesof what type of LeBron merchandise there was to distribute:

Jungjohann gives us carte blanche to dig through the boxes, and the booty is incredible. There are jerseys of every variety: orange-and-white throwback jerseys, All-Star Game jerseys, and NBA Finals jerseys from 2007, when the Cavs came within four wins of a championship.

There are hundreds of T-shirts. …. There’s a pink jersey with no adornment save LeBron’s head floating phantasmagorically on the front.

One tee is simply a Wet-Seal brand women’s V-neck with a message scrawled creepily in fabric marker: “Why did you leave? Cleveland is your home.”

The most common item, though, is the simple wine-colored T-shirt modeled after LeBron’s jersey. On many of them, the lettering has cracked after repeated washings. These were people’s favorite shirts — the first ones they put on after doing the laundry. The boxes also hold upward of 50 children’s jerseys, each tragically representing another kid doomed to worship Antawn Jamison.

And then, buried near the bottom of one box, there’s “LeAfghan”: a trippy wool blanket stitched with the portrait of LeBron standing next to another LeBron. With a nippy winter on its way to Miami’s streets, this is the crown jewel of the collection.

So don’t be surprised if you see a strong Cleveland-LeBron presence in Miami. But time heals all, so hopefully in a few years LeBron still won’t have this much indirect power.

If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook

Delonte West Gets in Locker Room Fist Fight with Von Wafer

A couple weeks ago Delonte West got in a verbal/physical confrontation with teammate Von Wafer in a two on two game in Boston Celtics practice. Well I guess he had more trouble ‘letting it go’ than anyone thought, as he instigated and basically attacked Von Wafer again yesterday in Celtics practice. Alex Kennedy from Hoops World had this on the situation:

During a three-on-three game with Avery Bradley, Luke Harangody, Semih Erden and assistant coach Tyronn Lue, West began fouling Wafer each time the reserve guard touched the ball. West was increasingly physical to the point that Wafer exited to the locker room midway through the game. As he walked away, West barked obscenities and taunted Wafer.

After Wafer had showered and sat down at his locker, West approached from behind and threw a punch. Wafer didn’t see the punch coming but quickly got off of the ground and connected on two punches of his own. He then wrestled West to the ground before being separated by the team’s veterans.

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were very unhappy with the incident, especially since it occurred just hours before a game. Doc Rivers met with the players and tried smooth things over shortly after.

West has had a history of mental health issues and depression, and you hate to see him throw what is left of his career away. But his actions are wearing thin with Celtics coaches, teammates, and executives and given he’s on a non-guaranteed contract, don’t be surprised if they let him go before his current suspension for weapons charges is even done being served.

Suns Hakim Warrick Posterizes Two Jazz Players [Video]

If you thought the pick and roll would be dead in Phoenix after Amare Stoudemire left for New York, you are sadly mistaken my friend. As long as the crafty Steve Nash is paired with a high flying act it will be very much alive. Enter Hakim Warrick as your high flying act. Enter a couple of Utah Jazz players who really believe for a moment they can close out on the slashing Warrick.

What do you end up with? Possibly the dunk of the 2010-11 season after only the third night of action during premiere week. Think Warrick is happy to be playing with Steve Nash? Re-live the dunk that will get everyone’s adrenaline pumping:

Magic Rout Wizards; Look Forward to Miami Next

Magic are coming out strong again this season, Miami better not take too long to figure this ‘Big Three’ thing out or they may find themselves in a deep hole behind the Magic and Celtics in the East….

Dwight Howard had 23 points and 10 rebounds to lift the Magic to an easy 112-83 victory over the Washington Wizards in the debut of No. 1 pick John Wall on Thursday night, giving the NBA’s newest arena a grand opening and setting the stage for a sizzling Sunshine State series showdown.

After months of talk, Superman and all his sidekicks finally have a chance to make a real statement.

Some couldn’t even wait another night.

“Honestly, I’m sick of listening every hour about Miami—Miami that, how great they are, how big they are, what kind of record they gonna have,” said backup center Marcin Gortat(notes), who had eight points and seven rebounds. “I get every day interviews back in Poland, people calling me about Miami, Miami, what you think about Miami? What you think about Big Three? I’m going to say the same thing: they are a great team, they have three superstars, they got a couple good role players on the team.

“They looking good on the paper, but they got to start winning.”

One thing is for sure: Orlando has looked real good.

Vince Carter had 18 points and Jameer Nelson scored 16 to help the Magic cruise to another blowout victory after a perfect preseason. And it didn’t seem to matter what the league’s most-anticipated rookie did.

Wall had 14 points and nine assists—much of it in cleanup duty—on 6 for 19 shooting in his first meaningful professional game. He showed flashes of stardom but became just another spectator on an emotional night in Orlando.

“It was tough,” Wall said. “It’s really telling me what I need to work on, but I already know. But as a team aspect, we have a lot we need to work on.”

Orlando’s opening night couldn’t have gone smoother.

A standing-room only crowd of 18,918 even brought out Tiger Woods from his Orlando-area home—once a regular at Magic games—for the first time since his sex scandal last year. Magic All-Star center Dwight Howard took the microphone to thank fans before the game, and NBA Commissioner David Stern endured a long shower of boos before he proclaimed that there’s no arena “better than this facility in the world.”

Magic owner Rich DeVos then walked to center court, a cane in his right hand and a team official balancing him on the left, and gave a teary-eyed speech seeing the Amway Center finally realized.

“This is a Magic building. But it’s your community center. It’s your place for many adventures to take place,” said DeVos, 84, his voice quivering. “So we know that this place will be a place of comfort and joy, and that everybody who comes here will be honored and loved and cherished.”

The Magic didn’t exactly give the same comfort to the visitors.

Read more details via AP on Yahoo.com

Top 10 NBA Players Under Age 23 (Part 1)

The NBA is becoming a young man’s game. Even though the NBA changed the age eligibility rules a few years back, many of the game’s best players are coming to the professional ranks after only a year or two of NCAA or European experience. Last year I compiled my first annual list of the 10 Best NBA Players in the Association Under Age 23(2009), which was filled with names like Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, and Rajon Rondo. Many of those players continue to build on there resume as they now creep into their mid 20′s, meaning a number of new players have cracked this year’s list.

Why twenty three? Most of the NBA’s current crop of superstars like Lebron, Kobe, and D. Wade are in the late 20’s to early 30’s. We all remember back in the late 80’s when Magic and Bird passed the torch on to Michael Jordan.  This is the list of players that our current stars will, or already have started to pass that torch onto, within the next 5 years. Players who haven’t yet played an NBA game(like this years draft class) were not included. If you think that I missed someone or have an opinion, please leave a comment.

#10 – Stephen Curry(Age 22)

Golden State Warriors

‘09-’10 Stats: 17.5 ppg, 5.9 ast, 4.5 rebs, 1.9 stl, .437 3 PT%, .885 FT%

As arguably one of the most celebrated mid-major collegiate players ever, Curry shined in his first season as an NBA player. Despite not getting major minutes at the beginning of the season, Curry came on strong to finish 2nd in last year’s NBA Rookie of the Year voting behind a stellar 2nd half of the season which featured a number of individual, team, and league-wide accolades. He set a career high in scoring with a 42 point regular season finale, broke the NBA record for most 3 point shots made by a rookie(166), and led all rookies with 5 30 point-10 assist games, finishing 3rd in the league behind Lebron James and Dwyane Wade. He also notched his first ever triple-double with 36 pts, 13 ast, and 10 rebounds in February and nearly finished with a quadruple-double with 27 pts, 14 ast, 8 rebs, and 7stls in coach Don Nelson’s record setting 1,333 win as a head coach. He was a unanimous selection to the 2010 NBA All Rookie 1st team and was a key contributor off the bench for the Gold Medal winning USA Basketball squad this Summer at FIBA World Championships in Turkey. As a 22 year old experienced rookie, Stephen hit the ground running in his rookie season and is poised to make a big jump on the list come next season.

Check out Stephen Curry’s Rookie Highlights:

9 – OJ Mayo (Age 22)

Memphis Grizzlies

‘09-’10 Stats: 17.5 ppg, 3.8 rebs, 3 ast, 1.2 stl, .383 3 PT%

Despite what many deem as a disappointing or just mediocre 2nd season in the Association, OJ remains as one of the future stars on the horizon. After finishing 2nd to Derrick Rose in the ‘09 NBA Rookie of the Year voting and scoring 30 points on 7 occasions in his rookie campaign, Mayo set new career highs in FG%(.458) and steals(1.2), while notching a new personal career high in scoring with a 40 point effort against the Nuggets last November. In January of this year, his former collegiate team, the USC Trojans, were forced to vacate all 21 of their wins in his lone season on campus after it was revealed that he was deemed ineligible over his receiving improper benefits as a HS recruit. With all of that behind him, Mayo now looks to challenge for a Western Conference All Star nod in ‘2011 as one of the few select players endorsed by the Jordan Brand.

Check out OJ Mayo’s ‘09-’10 Highlight Mix:

8 – Russell Westbrook (Age 21)

OKC Thunder

‘09-’10 Stats: 16.1 ppg, 8 ast, 4.9 rebs, 1.3 stl

Despite not getting much national attention as a HS senior, Westbrook made the most of his two seasons at UCLA, averaging 12.7 ppg and 4.3 assists as a sophomore. He was selected as the #4 pick by the then Seattle Supersonics in the ‘08 NBA Draft. Westbrook quickly developed into the point guard that teammate Kevin Durant needed by earning a spot on the ‘09 NBA All Rookie Team and finished 4th in the ROY voting by averaging and impressive 15.3 ppg, 5.3 ast, and 1.3 stls. In February and March of his rookie season, he set career highs in scoring with 34 points vs the Kings and notched his first ever triple-double with 17 pts, 10 rebs, and 10 ast, making him the first rookie to do so since Chris Paul in ‘05-’06. Always known as an elite level defensive player, Russell worked hard on his ball-handling skills and shooting to establish career highs in assists(8.0) and FG%(.418) last year, in addition to upping his scoring average to 16.1 ppg. USA Basketball took notice, as he made one of the final roster spots on the team that competed at FIBA Worlds, even playing a vital role in helping USA win the gold medal.

Check out Russell Westbrook’s Career Mix:

7 – Eric Gordon (Age 21)

LA Clippers

‘09-’10 Stats: 16.9 ppg, 3 ast, 1.1 stl, .371% 3 PT

After ranking as the #2 player in the ‘07 HS Class, Gordon instantly became a Big Ten villain as a freshman after de-committing late from Illinois and instead deciding to play for Kelvin Sampson at Indiana. As expected, he was outstanding in his lone season with the Hoosiers, leading the conference in scoring, earning a 1st team All Big 10 nod, as well as being named a 3rd Team All American. He was chosen as the #7 pick in the ’08 NBA Draft by the Clippers and although Eric scored at a rate of more than 16 ppg as a rookie, he earned a 2nd Team All Rookie selection. He projects as an elite level scorer and 3 point shooter since in January of ’09, he set an LA Clippers rookie record by scoring a career high of 41 points. Last season he also set career highs in scoring, assists, and steals as he finished 2nd on the Clips in scoring behind only Chris Kaman, and helped earn a gold medal at FIBA Worlds as a member of USA Basketball. Eric remains one of the league’s brightest young talents and should be a Western All Star candidate as soon as next season.

Check out Eric Gordon’s ‘09-’10 Season Mix:

6 – Brook Lopez ( Age 22)

NJ Nets

‘09-’10 Stats: 16.9 ppg, 3 ast, 2.6 rebs, 1 stl, .371 3 PT%

Brook finished up a stellar HS career in Fresno, California ranked as a Top 10 player in the ‘06 Class along with Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, and Thaddeus Young. After earning ‘06 McDonalds All American honors, Brook starred alongside his brother Robin at Stanford as one of the best big men in the country, garnering a 3rd Team NCAA All American Selection. The NJ Nets made him the #10 overall pick in the ‘08 NBA Draft and took over the starting center position after an injury sustained to incumbent starter Josh Boone. Brook took full advantage by averaging 13 ppg, 8 rebs, and 1.9 blks in his rookie campaign, even finishing 4th in the entire league in blocks(154). In his 2nd full season, Brook proved that he is well on his way to becoming a dominant big man, establishing career highs in scoring(18.8), rebounds(8.6), assists(2.3), and FT%(.817) and was a near miss as an Eastern Conference All Star. Only an injury during the selection process kept Lopez off of the USA squad competing in Turkey, but better things are on the horizon. He should be a lock for 20 pts-10 reb- 2 blk on any given night, and should be the 2nd center selected to represent the East behind Dwight Howard in this year’s All Star Game.

Check out a career highlight mix of Brook Lopez:

Check back soon for our #5 through #1 selections. Who you got for your Top 5?

Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.  Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.

Anderson Varejao Misses Cavs Road Trip to Stay with Ailing Father

Our prayers go out to Anderson Varejao and his family today as they help Varejao Sr. through this health issue. As for the Toronto Raptors, their bigs won’t miss the constant pressure and peril of trying to secure those defensive boards…

Cleveland forward Anderson Varejao has been excused from traveling with the Cavaliers to Toronto so he can be with his father during heart surgery.

The Cavaliers say the surgery is Friday and that it’s doubtful Varejao will play in the game against the Raptors later in the day. His game status will be updated in the afternoon.

The Cavs headed to Toronto on Thursday following practice in Cleveland.

Read more details via AP on NBA.com

Homegrown Artists Give Gatorade REPLAY Season 3 a Chicago Feel

Last  month, TheHoopDoctors.com provided you insider access into Season 3 of the Gatorade REPLAY Game. You remember the story, of course. The award winning REPLAY series gives two  teams a chance to relive a game that was decided in a controversial manner.

Ten years ago, two Chicago powerhouse basketball programs, Bloom Township and Brother Rice, had a game come down to the wire. This wasn’t just any game, however. This was a state playoff game that would decide who would advance on to the Elite 8 and who would advance on to their living rooms.

With just seconds left and the game tied at 40 apiece, Bloom’s Joe Chapman’s desperation tip in at the buzzer found its way in the basket, which was counted. That is where the controversy sets in. The buzzer was drowned out by the roar of the crowd so a firing pistol was also used to signal the end of the game. The ball left Chapman’s hand before the firing pistol but after the buzzer. Brother Rice had to live with this controversy for ten years. On September 10 of this year, the two teams had a chance to replay the game that would end in triumph for Brother Rice this time.

The Hoop Doctors were in attendance for the Gatorade REPLAY game and had the chance to chat with honorary Bloom Township head coach Dwyane Wade, honorary Brother Rice head coach Dwight Howard and honorary game commissioner Carlos Boozer.

The Gatorade REPLAY Series is so large that it is actually a documentary and is set to be aired on November 7 on FSN. Also, in honor of the upcoming REPLAY Season 3 documentary, Gatorade has teamed up with homegrown Chicago artists to create a song for the documentary. Common, Jennifer Hudson, Lupe Fiasco and No I.D. have collaborated to create “We Can Do It Now,” an original REPLAY song.

The song is free and available for download at replaytheseries.com, but also check out this behind the scenes look into how it all came about:

If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook

Dwight Howard and Ken Jeong in “Fast Don’t Lie” Tonight

Tonight adidas will premiere the newest commercial from the “Fast Don’t Lie” campaign starring Dwight Howard and Ken Jeong of the “The Hangover” and NBC’s “The Community.” The spot, along with Dwight’s signature shoe is called “The Beast.”

It follows the “Fast Don’t Lie” music video that launched two weeks ago and already has over 1.3 million views on YouTube. The story continues in “Slim Chin’s” mansion as Dwight and Slim show how being fast brings pet cheetahs, Benjamin piles, sky whips – and of course, dominance onthe basketball court.

It premieres tonight and will run in the coming weeks on ESPN, TNT, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and Cartoon Network. We’ve got a sneak peak look for all you Magic fans, or fans of Ken Jeong from ‘The Hangover’.

The adidas Beast is Dwight Howard’s first-ever signature shoe. The Beast includes a mix of textiles and synthetics that help reduce weight and increase stability during cutting movements. The Beast’s tongue also features a unique lacing system that allows you to pop it forward for casual wear or move it back and lace through the loops for a tight fit on the court. Rich stripes, folded edges and a mix of high gloss and matte finishes represent items you would find in Dwight’s closet.

The Beast will launch in a black/black/royal color on November 12 and will roll out in three additional colors through December. It will be exclusively sold at Foot Locker and Eastbay for MSRP $100. Photos of ‘The Beast’ after the jump…

Next Page »