NBA Roundup: Kevin Love Breaks Hand, No Worries About Nowitski, Clippers defeat Jazz
With preseason games kicking NBA players into shape, they can also bring injuries. On Wednesday, Timberwolves Kevin Love broke his right hand and will be out for 6 to 8 weeks.
Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitski has a sore, swollen knee but his outspoken owner Mark Cuban isn’t too worried about it.
And in Tuesday’s Los Angeles Clippers vs. Utah Jazz game, the Clippers squeezed out a tight 96-94 win.
Timberwolves Kevin Love Breaks Hand
Timberwolves Kevin Love
On Wednesday in a morning workout, Timberwolves All-Star forward Love broke his right shooting hand. He is expected to be out for six to eight weeks.
Last season, Love was the team’s leader with his 26 average points per game and 13.3 rebounds, according to ESPN. In January, he inked a four-year deal valued at $60 million-plus. He was a member of the London U.S. Olympics team that won the gold.
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said of the news, “I think all of our fans anticipated this season with great enthusiasm. We knew we were going to have to wait for Ricky, and now we have two guys to wait for. But again, I’m going to be positive about it and say we’ve got some young guys and let’s see them step up.”
This isn’t good news for the team as Love will join starter Ricky Rubio on the bench. The player is recovering from a torn left knee ACL; he will be out for the regular season’s first six weeks.
On Nov. 2, the team will open its regular season in a home game against the Sacramento Kings.
Love came with high expectations for the season as bettors gave him 5 to 4 odds to be the league’s rebound leader.
No Worries about Nowitski’s Knee Problems
Mavericks Dirk Nowitski
Watching his MVP player nurse a sore, swollen knee, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is not worried about his forward Dirk Nowitski.
He has missed the team’s last three preseason games and there’s no word when he’ll return. Last season, Nowitski had a similar knee problem in January. After a four-game rest, he returned without any additional problems.
Until now.
A worst-case scenario may be surgery for the player–a first–which would keep him on the sidelines for a few weeks.
So why is Cuban not worries? He said on Wednesday, “Because he’s gone through it before. He went through it earlier in his career with his ankle. Now, his knee, we saw it last year, and we dealt with it. We’ll deal with it again this year. That’s why we invested in the best medical and training staff in the league.”
Are Nowitski’s best days behind him? Maybe. The bettors give him 30 to 1 odds to be this year’s MVP.
Clippers (2-2) defeat Jazz (3-2), 96-94
Clippers Blake Griffin
After trailing by 15 points in the first half, the Clippers got it together with a 21-5 surge in the third quarter and defeated the Jazz. Assisting the team in its win was its new guard Jamal Crawford.
He had 18 points for the night with 12 in the fourth quarter. With a minute left, Crawford sunk a three-pointer that put the nail in the coffin for his team’s win.
Clippers center DeAndre Jordan was complimentary of Crawford and said, “We’re lucky to have somebody like Jamal. He’s a great closer. He knows how to play, he’s a veteran and he’s going to help us win a lot of games down the stretch this year. I don’t think anybody can guard him in the open court. He’s a threat, especially coming off screens when he’s handling the ball.”
Forward Blake Griffin had a team-leading 23 points (11 points in the third quarter) with five rebounds. Leading for the Jazz was Enes Kanter with 14 points and nine rebounds.
The Clippers watched former teammate Randy Foye in the opposing team’s jersey. He missed two shots as time ran out.
Will this be the Clippers season to win the NBA Championship? Bettors give them a +2500 to do so.
