Ankle sprain sidelines Monta Ellis for three months

Golden State guard Monta Ellis will be sidelined for at least three months after severely spraining his ankle during an offseason workout, forcing the Warriors to start the season without the player expected to lead their restructured roster this fall.

Ellis, who got a six-year contract extension worth $66 million on July 24, sprained his ankle and tore a deltoid ligament while working out in his hometown of Jackson, Miss., last Thursday, said Chris Mullin, the Warriors' top basketball executive.

Ellis underwent surgery Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala., to repair the ligament, and returned to the Bay Area later in the day. Ellis' ankle will be immobilized for six weeks, followed by at least six weeks of off-court rehabilitation before the guard can return to basketball workouts.

2008 Olympics: Team USA wins gold!

They have done it!

The United States won the gold medal in Olympic men's basketball Sunday with a 118-107 victory over Spain.

Culminating a three-year mission to end years of embarrassment, the U.S. Olympic team survived a huge challenge from Spain, winning 118-107 Sunday in the gold-medal game.

After overwhelming everyone for seven games, the Americans led by only four points with under 2 1/2 minutes to play, then proved they could handle the close game that seemed would never come in Beijing.
Their prize: the first U.S. gold medal since the 2000 Olympics.

Nobody else had been close to the Americans in Beijing. This team's only Olympic competition had been history, in a Dream matchup with guys named Jordan, Magic, Bird and the rest of the U.S. team that dominated the Barcelona Games in 1992.

The Americans had won their first seven games by 30.3 points, including a 119-82 rout of Spain. But they never had control of this game, giving up open looks from the perimeter and plenty of points in the paint. But Bryant, who waited so long to finally wear the red, white and blue, hit two 3-pointers in a big fourth quarter to add the gold medal to the only piece of hoops hardware he didn't already own. The NBA MVP pounded his hands toward the floor in celebration at the end.

Dwyane Wade scored 27 points for the Americans, who found a much gamer Spanish team than the one they humiliated by 37 points earlier in the tournament. Kobe Bryant added 20. LeBron James scored 14 points, while Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul had 13 apiece for the Americans, who had won bronze medals in their last two international events, the 2004 Olympics and '06 world championships.

The U.S. started planning for this game after that first event, the low point in its hoops history, following a sixth-place flop two years earlier in the world championships. Jerry Colangelo was given control of USA Basketball and constructed a national team program in 2006, requiring those who wanted to play to commit to three years.

On the other hand, Argentina won the bronze with an 87-75 victory over Lithuania.


Credits to FOX Sports.

2008 Olympics: USA beats Australia (116-85)

The US Basketball Team is near in getting those gold medals; they are up to it! As the US expected, with the gold medal getting closer, the games are getting tougher.

The 2008 U.S. Men's Olympic Team (6-0) demolished Australia (3-3) in the second and third quarters on its way to a 116-85 win and a 2008 Olympic semifinal berth Wednesday night at Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China. The victory improved the USA record to 6-0 and advanced the squad into the semifinals. The United States will play defending champion Argentina on Friday night for a spot in Sunday's gold medal game. The Argentines beat Greece 80-78 in a quarterfinal victory watched from behind the baseline by Bryant and members of the U.S. coaching staff.

Kobe Bryant turned in a 25-point performance as all 12 U.S. players scored in the contest, including five in double figures. LeBron James added 16 points for the Americans, who are guaranteed a chance to play for a medal. They need two more wins for their first gold medal in a major international competition since the 2000 Sydney Games. Anthony had 15 points for the Americans, who blew by the 103 points they averaged in group play and shot 57 percent.

Former NBA star Kemp agrees to play basketball in Italy

If more current players flee the NBA for Europe, they will see a familiar face.

The Italian team Premiata Montegranaro announced on Sunday that 38-year-old Shawn Kemp has agreed to play for the team starting in November.

"I am happy that a player that has made basketball history would come to Montegranaro," coach Alessandro Finelli said.

Finelli believed that the six-time NBA All-Star, who last played in the NBA in 2002-03, could still contribute.

"He is very motivated," Finelli said. "And he has been staying in shape to show up at our camp in good shape."

Kemp averaged 14.6 points and 8.4 rebounds over 14 NBA seasons. He played eight years with Seattle, three with Cleveland, two with Portland and finished with one season in Orlando.

Finelli did not know, however, if Kemp would be the key to the season for the Premiata, which plays in the top division of Italian basketball.

"We will discover with work in the gym if he will be a key player for our team," Finelli said. "Now, it's too soon to say that."

Kemp has flirted with attempting a comeback in the NBA many times since his last season in the league, working out for a number of teams but not sticking with any of them.


Credits to ESPN.

2008 Olympics: U.S. Basketball team crushes Germany

They are still unbeaten! They are stoppable! They are going for gold!

The U.S. Basketball team are now 5-0 after beating Dirk Nowitzki and Germany with a crushing score of 106-57. The win had advance Team USA to a quarterfinal matchup against Australia. It's noted that the Aussies had given the Americans the toughest test in China.

Dwight Howard scored 22 points and LeBron James had 18, 16 in the first half, Monday as the United States completed an undefeated march through pool play. Kobe Bryant finished with 13 points as the Americans shot 55 percent from the floor and tossed in 11 more 3-pointers after making 12 in their last game.

The Americans were scoring so easily, they practically got in each other's way. Chris Paul led a 3-on-1 break and threw an alley-oop that could have gone to either James or Dwyane Wade. James jumped higher and got it to lay it in, then stepped outside to hit his second 3 for a 23-5 bulge.

Nowitzki, the Dallas Mavericks All-Star, scored 14 points for Germany (1-4), which completed a disappointing Olympics. The Germans looked like contenders in a 95-66 rout of Angola in their opener, but then dropped four straight.

Kaman, who joined the Germans this summer after getting German citizenship, managed just six points.

2008 Olympics: Team USA is 4-0 after beating Spain

Still unbeaten! Four down, four to go. The U.S. Basketball Olympic team is getting back to the top of the basketball world.

Every U.S. player scored — even Jason Kidd for the first time in Beijing — as the Americans turned the matchup of unbeatens into their easiest victory yet. Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony each finished with 16 points.

The win put the U.S. at 4-0 in pool play and clinched the top seed in Group B. After finishing the round robin phase with a game against Germany on Monday, the Americans face the fourth-place finisher in Group A - likely Australia - on Wednesday. Unleashing a lethal 3-point barrage for the first time in Beijing, the Americans turned the marquee matchup of the preliminary round into another romp, beating Spain 119-82.

With the packed crowd still buzzing from China's thrilling victory against Germany earlier in the night session, the Olympic basketball arena had an energy that had been missing since the Americans' victory against the Chinese on opening night.

James was already walking toward the Spanish team's line of players for the pregame handshakes and exchange of gifts before Spain's national anthem was even finished.

Ben Gordon thinks of playing somewhere else

I knew this will happen for the Chicago Bulls franchise ever since they had opted to pick Derrick Rose for the first overall last NBA draft. I was hoping the club will pick Michael Beasley for they definitely need a big help for their inside plays, offensively and defensively, sinceBen Wallace had already left the team. I was a little bit shocked back then when they chose to have an additional guard since their roster has a lot of backcourt players.

Bulls' superstar Ben Gordon safely claimed that he had played his last game in a Bulls uniform and he is thinking to play elsewhere since Chicago's backcourt is seemingly full, with 2008 NBA Draft number one pick Derrick Rose, Larry Hughes and Kirk Hinrich. Playing in Europe is also a possibility for the guard.

Gordon refused to sign the Bull's one-year qualifying offer of $6.4 million; it's known that he had also turned down a five-year $50 million contract extension last season.

Mo Williams will be helping LeBron James

Now LeBron James will be getting help from somebody!

The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired guard Mo Williams from the Milwaukee Bucks, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today. In exchange, the Cavaliers sent guard Damon Jones to the Milwaukee Bucks and forward/center Joe Smith to Oklahoma City. The additional components of the three-team trade included Milwaukee acquiring guard/forward Adrian Griffin and guard Luke Ridnour from Oklahoma City and Oklahoma City acquiring forward Desmond Mason from Milwaukee.

Williams, 25, averaged 17.2 points in 36.5 minutes per game and posted career highs in assists per game (6.3), field goal percentage (.480), three-point shooting (89-231; .385) and free throw percentage (.856) in 66 games (all starts) during the 2007-08 season. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound guard was one of just six players in the NBA (Baron Davis, LeBron James, Andre Miller, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade) to post averages of at least 17.0 points, 6.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds last season. A five-year veteran, Williams has played in 329 games (226 starts) and has career averages of 12.5 points on .444 shooting, 3.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists.

2008 Olympics: Team USA beats Angola

It was a good game, a very good game! Team Angola played basketball well but it's just not enough to bring down the USA Basketball Team.

LeBron James simply knocked aside overmatched Angola players like a schoolyard bully, going wherever he wanted on the basketball court. Dwyane Wade scored 19 points, James dominated the game with his size and strength on both ends, and the U.S. men's Olympic team wrapped up the easy portion of its schedule with a 97-76 victory Tuesday night.

The United States improved to 4-0 against Angola, starting with the Dream Team's Olympic debut in 1992. That romp is best remembered for Charles Barkley's elbow to an unsuspecting Angolan player in a 116-48 victory.

The U.S. Team will face Greece, the team that stunned them two years ago in the semifinals of the world championship. The Greeks are physical, and they should provide the first test of these games for the United States.

Dwight Howard added 14 points and James finished with 12 for the Americans, who had another rough night from 3-point range but don't appear to be stoppable in the open court. Wade was perfect from the field in Beijing until missing in the third quarter.


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2008 Olympics: Team USA beats China

They have started it and they will dominate all through out. Team U.S.A. (Basketball) is definitely great!

In one heartpounding minute in the first half, LeBron James dunked off a nifty underhanded feed from Dwyane Wade. Then Kobe Bryant flew in and jammed. Then it was Chris Bosh's turn to rattle the rim. As the backboard swayed, some might have recalled the fabled Dream Team. The final score - U.S. 101, China 70 - might also draw comparisons.

This was the biggest basketball game in China's history and perhaps the most-watched basketball game ever - and the U.S. wanted to turn in a performance to match the moment as it took its first step toward Olympic hoops redemption.

The sparkling Wukesong Indoor Stadium began to buzz an hour before tipoff. But it didn't feel like much of a homecourt for the Chinese. Team USA took the floor to a roar that was every bit as loud as the cheer when China came out of the dressing room. Bryant got as much applause as Chinese icon Yao Ming during pregame introductions.

With President Bush and his father watching alongside Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi, this was as much a spectacle as a basketball game. The president visited with the U.S. players in the locker room before the game.

The U.S. had beaten China in each of their first nine meetings by a combined 363 points. In their last meeting, the Americans blasted China 121-90 in the world championships two years ago in Sapporo, Japan, harrying the Chinese into 25 turnovers.

Although the U.S. won this game by 31 points, the Chinese hoped to send a message. They're relative newcomers on the international hoops stage, but they aren't going away.

Yao, who led China with 13 points, seemed to make that point as he came off for the last time with 4:43 to play and China trailing 87-54.

Yao raised his right fist to the crowd, sparking a long, loud ovation.

China had lost. But basketball won.

Credits to FoxSports.

2008 Olympics: Argentina failed to pass Lithuania

The defending Olympic basketball champion Argentina failed to show victory and stumbled to a narrow 79-75 defeat to Lithuania in its opening Group A match on Sunday.

Manu Ginobli's 19 points wasn't enough to carry his country in what is supposed to be sweet first win. The opening loss clearly stung Ginobili. In what had been a tight game, the San Antonio Spurs' shooting guard and his teammates were nearly shut down in the third quarter as Lithuania ran up a 51-45 lead. Ginobli and Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola were restricted to just two points each in the period.

Argentina rallied and, with 2:40 left, Ginobli sunk a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to four points. Quickly regaining possession, Ginobli bounced a 3-pointer off the rim that was buried by Toronto Raptors guard Carlos Delfino to make it a two-point game, and with less than 90 seconds left, his pass connected with Scola inside the paint for the layup to level the score.

But with 2.1 seconds left in regulation, Linas Kleiza nailed a 3-pointer and captain Ramunas Siskauskas drilled a free throw to pull off the four-point win, setting off celebrations among the raucous, flag-waving Lithuanian cheering section in the 18,000-seat Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium.

Kleiza led the scoring with 13 points for Lithuania, which placed fourth at the 2004 Athens Games. Robertas Javtokas, a 2001 second-round draft pick for the Spurs, added 12 points. Delfino scored 13 for Argentina and Scola 10.

Argentina next faces Australia on Tuesday night.



Credits to FoxSports.

The Hawks keeps Josh Smith

Did the Atlanta Hawks waited for an offer from another team just to keep superstar Josh Smith on their roster?

The Hawks had done a very good move in keeping the swingman Smith on their team, however they've just done such action after they have received an offer for Josh from the Memphis Grizzlies. Well, still, it is a good thing for Atlanta to keep the superstar for they need someone who can score and defend.

The Hawks drafted the 6-foot-9, 235-pound Smith out of high school in the first round in 2004. Smith averaged 17.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in helping the Hawks make the playoffs last season.

Boykins signs a $3.5 million with an Italian team

Unrestricted free agent Earl Boykins signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal Tuesday to play with Virtus Bologna of the Italian league, the latest NBA player to sign a deal with an overseas club.

The 32-year-old point guard will be the highest-paid player in Italy for the 2008-09 season. He also will participate in the sponsorship and marketing income of the team. He has been in the NBA for 10 years, and averaged 9.4 points. He played for the Charlotte Bobcats last season and has also played for the New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks.

U.S. Basketball Team, unbeatable!

They are unbeatable!

Five wins with zero defeat, that's the record of the U.S. Olympic basketball team as they've wrapped their exhibition games prior to the Olympic games. However, the last game will be considered the toughest test; though they pulled away to beat Australia 87-76.

Australia had definitely performed very well in keeping the Americans sink those shots. The U.S. team relied on an aggressive defensive effort to overcome a horrendous night from 3-point range and the free throw line, the same areas that proved costly in their semifinal loss to Greece in the world championships two years ago.

Wade scored 22 points and LeBron James had 16 for the Americans, who finished 3-of-18 from behind the arc and 20-of-33 (61 percent) at the foul line.

Bryant scored 13 points and Carmelo Anthony had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the United States, which faces host China on Sunday in its Olympic opener.

Carlos Arroyo signs with an Israeli team

After Josh Childress opted to play for team Olympiakos in Greece, leaving the Atlanta Hawks, for a guaranteed salary of $20 million (after taxes), the latest NBA player to bolt overseas is Orlando Magic's pointguard Carlos Arroyo.

The 29-year-old Arroyo signed a one-year deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv, an Israeli team.

Arroyo has averaged 7 points and 3.3 assists per game during his seven-year career that included previous stops in Toronto, Denver, Utah and Detroit. He averaged 6.9 points and 3.5 assists last season, primarily off the bench.

Nenad Kerstic left the New Jersey Nets and Carlos Delfino and Jorge Garbajosa left the Toronto Raptors to sign with a Russian team.

Kwame Brown signs with the Detroit Pistons

The former No. 1 overall draft pick by the Washington Wizards (2001), free agent center Kwame Brown, was signed by the Detroit Pistons. According to Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars the team is pleased to add Brown to their roster. “Kwame is a player that gives us depth at the center position and we feel that he will have the opportunity to grow within our system.”

The star was acquired by the Grizzlies on February 1 from the Lakers along with Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, the rights to Marc Gasol, two future first round picks and cash considerations in exchange for Pau Gasol and a 2010 second round pick.

Team U.S.A. beats Russia

After beating Lithuania on their third exhibition game with a score of 120-84, the U.S. Basketball team had dominated the court again when they faced team Russia.

NBA's MVP last season, Kobe Bryant, scored 19 points to help the U.S. team beat Russia with 89-68. However, on this game, it was clear that U.S. have had a defensive struggle and it was so far their most competitive tuneup game yet.

Carmelo Anthony posted 17 points and Dwyane Wade had 16 as they continue to play strong. On the other hand, Utah Jazz forward and shot-blocker Andrei Kirilenko scored 18 points and American point guard J.R. Holden added 17 for the European champions.

One more exhibition game to go. The United States will be facing Australia on Tuesday. Will the once called "Dream Team" go for 5-0 or will the Aussies hand them their first defeat?

Team USA had done it again!

They've done it again! And I'm sure they will do the same thing during the Olympic games.The USA BAsketball Team is going for gold and glory!

On the first exhibition game, Team USA played without superstar LeBron James but that didn't affected the team's performance as they slaughtered the team Canada with a score of 120-65. That definitely is something big!

When they played team Turkey last Thursday it was again another victorious performance by the U.S. squad. Led by James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant, they were able to finish the game with 114-82. The crowd went rumbling as they were able to watch how the NBA players play. They are just great.

The Turkey team played better compared to Canada but it is not enough to bring down the once called "Dream Team" of the USA.

We will surely be seeing more of them this coming Olympic games.