If you want to know how much the Utah Jazz miss Derrick Favors, watch Chris Paul’s layup that gave the Clippers the lead for good on Monday night. Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap are good players, but Favors provides athleticism on the defensive end they do not. And that the Jazz miss.
And Utah may be miss that a while longer — he was diagnosed with the foot injury plantar fasciitis, reports the Deseret News. An MRI confirmed what was long suspected. Plantar fasciitis is an irritation of a band of tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot, making it painful to do things like run and jump. Which are things kind of important in basketball.
Favors is averaging 9.3 points and 7.5 assists per game for the Jazz off the bench, doing that in minutes limited because with Jefferson and Millsap the Jazz have a loaded front court.
This may be a mild case, but the problem is plantar fasciitis can linger. And the only real cure is rest. The Jazz need to give him enough time off, not rush him back (or let him rush himself back) and make sure this heals and they are not dealing with it in February.
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Pacers hit with back-to-back technicals. Because Scott Foster, that’s why.
May 24, 2013, 9:45 PM EDT
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There is no way that should have been a technical. It’s the playoffs, we want emotion, we want a little feisty play… and frankly that wasn’t that feisty. There are Tuesday night games in Minnesota in January that were more emotional than that play. But Scott Foster has the fastest trigger in the NBA for…
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Here is our regular look around the NBA — links to stories worth reading and notes to check out (stuff that did not get its own post here at PBT) — done in bullet point form. Because bloggers love bullet points like Jon Stewart loves Fox News gaffes… • Conan O’Brien gives us (fake, obviously)…
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AP
First Jim Boeheim has Carmelo Anthony’s back, now it’s time for another coach to get a former star’s back. Kentucky coach John Calipari was on the Adam “the Bull” & Dustin Fox show on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland, and when asked about Derrick Rose and his injury — and the heat he took in…
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In Hollywood, they call that chewing up the scenery. Memphis guard Tony Allen has been fined $5,000 by the league for his overacting — technically violating the league’s anti-flopping policy — on that play. Make no mistake, Manu Ginobili fouled Allen hard on this crucial late-game play — the Grizzlies were down four with :26…
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Ian Mahinmi’s hard Game 1 foul on LeBron upgraded to a flagrant one (VIDEO)
May 24, 2013, 3:29 PM EDT
Early in the fourth quarter of the Heat’s Game 1 win over the Pacers, Ian Mahinmi grabbed LeBron James by the arm as he went up for the shot, causing James to fall a bit awkwardly as he crashed to the floor. It was ruled as a common foul at the time, but has since…
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Report: Clippers to consider Alvin Gentry for head coaching job
May 24, 2013, 2:42 PM EDT
The Clippers’ head coaching job is undoubtedly the most intriguing out of all of the ones that are currently open for next season. Assuming Chris Paul re-signs with the team in free agency, L.A. will return the core of a team that was talented enough to win 56 regular season games and two in the…
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To answer your first question, that is Todd MacCulloch getting dunked on. He played for the Nets in 2002. That was one of those years when the real NBA finals was the Lakers vs. Kings in the Western Conference Finals — whichever team got through that war was going to steamroll New Jersey. Which is…
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AP
George Hill had a rough Game 1 for the Pacers — 2-of-9 shooting for five points with three turnovers. Plus, he sprained his big toe. I’m serious, he’s getting treatment and everything. The news comes from the twitter account of Mark Montieth of Pacers.com. George Hill has sprained left big toe, from Game 1. Had…
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Andris Biedrins to exercise player option, return to Warriors next season
May 24, 2013, 1:22 PM EDT
When a player averages less than one point and three rebounds per game over the course of a season, while possessing the option to come back for another year with the same team at a salary of $9 million, it doesn’t take a degree in advanced economics to figure out what the chosen course of…
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Quote of the Day: Roy Hibbert happy to put his ‘nuts in line of fire’
May 24, 2013, 1:19 PM EDT
Hibbert on if Battier does it again, "I have no problem putting my nuts in line of fire. …They pay me all this money, I got to be there."— Stefan Bondy (@NYDNInterNets) May 24, 2013 Sometimes, we forget how much playing in the NBA is like any regular job. You show up. You get kneed…
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Reuters
In their Thursday press availabilities, the tones between the Heat and Pacers were different. Indiana may have lost Game 1 but there was an optimistic “we can beat these guys” vibe around the team. Miami may be up 1-0 but there was more of a “that was not us, we can play a lot better”…
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AP
The Raptors’ pursuit of Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri is kicking into high gear. Toronto received permission to speak with Ujiri, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke is aggressively pursuing Ujiri to become the Raptors’ general manager and plans to present an offer that will pay…
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AP
If I’d had a vote, Greivis Vasquez would have gotten mine for Most Improved Player award — the third-year guard averaged 13.9 points and 9 assists per game for the then Hornets (now Pelicans) this past season, playing smart basketball along the way for a team that was grooming Anthony Davis and waiting for Eric…
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Report: Mavericks going to make run at Jarrett Jack, Jerryd Bayless
May 24, 2013, 11:00 AM EDT
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The Mavericks top off-season goal is to try and sign Dwight Howard. Have fun with that, knowing what we do about Howard it should be a quick and decisive process. But they need more than just a big man. It was evident this season the Mavs need better point guard play, and somebody who can…
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Pacers’ Vogel says Heat have more “intelligent” plan vs. Hibbert than Knicks
May 24, 2013, 10:18 AM EDT
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Roy Hibbert made life difficult in the paint for the Knicks in the second round — we’ve all seen Hibbert block Carmelo Anthony’s shot at the rim but that is just the tip of the iceberg. He altered and blocked all kinds of shots inside and owned the paint. The Miami heat scored 60 points…
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It’s a little tough to predict where the Clippers’ coaching search might lead because hiring a coach is a task owner Donald Sterling takes on personally. He has for a long time. He was the guy charmed by Vinny Del Negro and hired him when the basketball operations people wanted to go another direction (and…
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Warriors’ Landry faces tough decision: Should he stay or should he go now?
May 24, 2013, 8:10 AM EDT
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You get this sense with the Warriors — guys like playing there now. You could feel the team chemistry when you watch them play. They liked each other, they were having fun together. And that was fun to watch. Carl Landry wants to stay a part of that. But the NBA is a business. Landry…
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Report: Knicks’ J.R. Smith played end of season with fluid in his knee
May 24, 2013, 7:21 AM EDT
AP
J.R. Smith struggled in the playoffs. Well, he looked great the first couple games but he really struggled after returning from a one-game suspension for an elbow to the head of Boston’s Jason Terry in the first round. Against the Pacers he averaged 14 points a game but on just 29 percent shooting. His play…
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Carlesimo reiterates what we all know: The Nets aren’t winning a title
May 24, 2013, 7:01 AM EDT
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Veteran coach P.J. Carlesimo has landed on his feet. After the Brooklyn Nets let him walk when the season ended he strolled over to ESPN and has landed a job as an analyst (essentially taking the Flip Saunders job). Carlesimo held a conference call on Thursday to talk all things NBA, but much of the…
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PBT Draft preview: Victor Oladipo may be the hottest prospect in the draft
May 23, 2013, 11:33 PM EDT
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For the next few weeks PBT will be profiling likely first-round draft picks in the upcoming NBA Draft. Today we talk about Indiana’s wingman. ESPN’s well connected Chad Ford put it this simply in a chat Wednesday: “Oladipo is the guy that GMs love in this draft.” Victor Oladipo was one of those guys with…
