MIAMI, November 5 (AP) -- Dwyane Wade's surgically repaired knee survived its first real test with no setbacks. During Wade's first full-contact practice this season with the Miami Heat, rookie center Joel Anthony threw his 6-foot-9, 260-pound body toward the 2006 NBA finals MVP as the guard headed toward the basket.
Wade didn't mind whatsoever.
After six months, he was more than anxious to see how he'd handle getting fouled again.
"It finally came," Wade said. "I needed to go get that first hit and I appreciate Joel for that."
The good news for the Heat was that Wade reported no problems related to his left knee or left shoulder — both of which were operated on May 15 — after practice Monday.
The bad news for the franchise is that Wade still doesn't know when he'll be ready to return to the Miami lineup, which could clearly use a boost after an 0-3 start.
"It was just good to be back out there playing, to be back out there practicing," said Wade, the three-time All-Star who averaged a career-high 27.4 points last season. "Every player loves the games and not too many love practice, but today I loved practice — for the first time."
One thing Wade made clear: Miami's slow start isn't a good enough reason for him to rush back into the lineup before he's certain the knee is ready.
When he returns, Wade wants to be back to stay.
"My prognostical prognosis, my assumption, I'll say about three weeks," Heat center Shaquille O'Neal said. "He's still D-Wade. He looks good out there. We're avoiding the very, very rough contact, but he's shooting the ball well and getting guys involved. When he gets out there, it's going to be fun."
Wade dislocated his left shoulder in February and missed most of the final two months of the regular season, plus was hobbled by the condition called "jumper's knee" when he came back for Miami's short stint in the playoffs.
So he had both conditions repaired at the same time in mid-May, being told the rehabilitation process would take about six months — meaning he's actually a bit ahead of schedule.
"It's going to be a day-to-day process, it really is," Wade said. "Hopefully we don't have the Dwyane Wade watch and countdown. I really don't want to do that. I really want to concentrate on the Miami Heat and when I come back, everybody will know it and hopefully I come back ready to help the team get on a good track."
The left shoulder, he said, is tighter than his right one now, so learning to absorb contact is the only real concern there. But the knee is Wade's ticket to explosiveness, which defines his game. And after four days of hard workouts last week, Wade had to take two days off because of soreness there.
That would indicate he's not quite ready yet for the rigors of play.
"He went after it, he took a couple hard hits, he had a good practice," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "He's just going to practice every day and when he feels ready, then that's when he'll be ready. He went hard today. We scrimmaged today. We went halfcourt, we did a lot of different packages and schemes. ... He looked good."
source : NBA.com
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Wade Makes Early Return to Practice
Stoudemire Unsure Of Playing Tuesday
PHOENIX, Nov. 5 (AP) -- Swelling in Amare Stoudemire's right knee could sideline him for the second game in a row when the Phoenix Suns begin a four-game road trip Tuesday night at Charlotte.
"It all depends on how I feel,'' Stoudemire said after the Suns practiced on Monday. "If I feel good tomorrow, then I'll play. If not, then I'll sit it out. There's no pressure being put on me by the staff or the trainers.''
Stoudemire watched film, lifted weights and did some shooting while his teammates practiced. He sat out Phoenix's 103-92 victory over Cleveland on Sunday. The all-star forward had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Oct. 2.
He missed virtually all the 2005-06 season after microfracture surgery on his left knee. The latest surgery was considered minor, and Stoudemire had come back strong before the swelling occurred.
Coach Mike D'Antoni said he was not concerned about any long-term impact.
"Maybe it's just a normal thing, just a little too much activity, maybe,'' D'Antoni said. "Whatever it is, with a couple of days' rest, he'll be fine.''
Stoudemire, the only player to appear in all 82 regular-season Suns games last season, said he is taking a cautious approach.
"It's early, I've got a long career,'' he said. "You can't win a championship in November, but you can lose one, you know what I'm saying? I just want to make sure I take my time and get back right so I'm able to go to war with these guys the next few months.''
source : NBA.com
Terry Carries Mavs Past Previously Unbeaten Rockets
Dallas 107, Houston 98
DALLAS, Nov. 5 (AP) -- After being a starter most of his first eight seasons in the NBA, Jason Terry is coming off the bench this year.
And he's thrilled.
Returning to a role he excelled at in college, Terry showed how much of a spark he can provide with his performance Monday night, scoring 31 points and guiding the Dallas Mavericks on a late 14-4 run that carried them past the Houston Rockets 107-98.
"He just had that look in his eye and his shot really looked good,'' coach Avery Johnson said. "We are very surprised when he misses; we're kind of spoiled these days.''
A starter for Dallas in the finals two years ago and on the club that won 67 games last season, Terry showed his leadership late in the third quarter, scoring seven straight points with Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard on the bench in foul trouble. Then he opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, a personal 10-0 run that took the Mavericks from down by five to leading by five.
"Not that I can flip a switch, but without those guys out there, I've got to look for my shot,'' Terry said.
Dallas was up only 91-90 when Terry started the winning burst with two free throws. He also fed Nowitzki on two baskets and hit two more free throws to cap the spurt with the Mavericks in control 105-94.
Nowitzki had 19 points on 7-of-20 shooting, including a 3-pointer that bounced in off the front rim for a big emotional boost during the gamebreaking run. He also had nine rebounds. Howard had 21 points and DeSagana Diop added 10 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Jerry Stackhouse scored 16 points on his 33rd birthday, including five in the final rally.
The Rockets came in riding a 3-0 start and a nice roll by Tracy McGrady, who earlier Monday was named the Western Conference's first player of the week for this season. While he had 35 points and eight assists, and Yao Ming had 21 points and 11 rebounds, it wasn't enough to prevent Houston from its first loss under new coach Rick Adelman.
"We've got to be smart,'' McGrady said. "They did some different things and we weren't able to adjust. ... It's a learning process. We've only been together for about a month.''
Adelman hopes to put the lessons learned to good use right away. The Spurs play in Houston on Tuesday night.
"It's tough but that's our challenge,'' he said. "We have to learn how to beat a good team and get more people involved.''
The Rockets shot 42 percent, and that was boosted by hitting 50 percent in the opening quarter. They also were hurt by nobody other than McGrady and Yao cracking double digits.
McGrady, who came in as the league's leading scorer, was 12-of-31. He had 28 points through three quarters, but managed only seven more with the game to be won.
The Mavericks are 3-1, which is notable only because they were 0-4 at this point last season, with a 41-point loss to Houston mixed in. Dallas went on to match the fifth-most wins in league history before getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs.
Johnson has tweaked things this year, making Devin Harris his starting point guard and Terry his first sub. Johnson has shown his commitment to the plan by keeping Terry as his top reserve even though Harris has missed the last two games with a bruised left thigh. J.J. Barea started both games; after a terrific performance last time, he struggled this time, with Terry starting the second half.
Terry started 558 of the first 654 games of his career, including 80 each of the last two seasons, but he embraced Johnson's plan, reminding everyone he won a national championship as a sub at Arizona. He's also set a goal of winning the Sixth Man award. He's off to a good start, having averaged 20 points over the games before this one.
"I'm very comfortable in this role,'' Terry said. "I'm going to go out there and give us what we need, a good punch off the bench every night.''
Notes: Dallas C Erick Dampier is expected to take part in his first full practice Tuesday since offseason shoulder surgery. When will he make his season debut? "His body will tell us,'' Johnson said. "The main thing is, I don't want to rush him.'' ... Dallas G Devean George (stress reaction in foot) is farther from returning, prompting Johnson to say, "Our inactive list is pretty deep right now.'' ... Adelman on McGrady being player of the week: "He's definitely deserving. We're 3-0 and he's one of the main reasons.'' ... Barea came in as the league's top 3-point shooter: 4-for-4. He also was No. 2 in field goal percentage. "That'd be nice at the end of the year,'' he said.
source : NBA.com
And he's thrilled.
Returning to a role he excelled at in college, Terry showed how much of a spark he can provide with his performance Monday night, scoring 31 points and guiding the Dallas Mavericks on a late 14-4 run that carried them past the Houston Rockets 107-98.
"He just had that look in his eye and his shot really looked good,'' coach Avery Johnson said. "We are very surprised when he misses; we're kind of spoiled these days.''
A starter for Dallas in the finals two years ago and on the club that won 67 games last season, Terry showed his leadership late in the third quarter, scoring seven straight points with Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard on the bench in foul trouble. Then he opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, a personal 10-0 run that took the Mavericks from down by five to leading by five.
"Not that I can flip a switch, but without those guys out there, I've got to look for my shot,'' Terry said.
Dallas was up only 91-90 when Terry started the winning burst with two free throws. He also fed Nowitzki on two baskets and hit two more free throws to cap the spurt with the Mavericks in control 105-94.
Nowitzki had 19 points on 7-of-20 shooting, including a 3-pointer that bounced in off the front rim for a big emotional boost during the gamebreaking run. He also had nine rebounds. Howard had 21 points and DeSagana Diop added 10 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Jerry Stackhouse scored 16 points on his 33rd birthday, including five in the final rally.
The Rockets came in riding a 3-0 start and a nice roll by Tracy McGrady, who earlier Monday was named the Western Conference's first player of the week for this season. While he had 35 points and eight assists, and Yao Ming had 21 points and 11 rebounds, it wasn't enough to prevent Houston from its first loss under new coach Rick Adelman.
"We've got to be smart,'' McGrady said. "They did some different things and we weren't able to adjust. ... It's a learning process. We've only been together for about a month.''
Adelman hopes to put the lessons learned to good use right away. The Spurs play in Houston on Tuesday night.
"It's tough but that's our challenge,'' he said. "We have to learn how to beat a good team and get more people involved.''
The Rockets shot 42 percent, and that was boosted by hitting 50 percent in the opening quarter. They also were hurt by nobody other than McGrady and Yao cracking double digits.
McGrady, who came in as the league's leading scorer, was 12-of-31. He had 28 points through three quarters, but managed only seven more with the game to be won.
The Mavericks are 3-1, which is notable only because they were 0-4 at this point last season, with a 41-point loss to Houston mixed in. Dallas went on to match the fifth-most wins in league history before getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs.
Johnson has tweaked things this year, making Devin Harris his starting point guard and Terry his first sub. Johnson has shown his commitment to the plan by keeping Terry as his top reserve even though Harris has missed the last two games with a bruised left thigh. J.J. Barea started both games; after a terrific performance last time, he struggled this time, with Terry starting the second half.
Terry started 558 of the first 654 games of his career, including 80 each of the last two seasons, but he embraced Johnson's plan, reminding everyone he won a national championship as a sub at Arizona. He's also set a goal of winning the Sixth Man award. He's off to a good start, having averaged 20 points over the games before this one.
"I'm very comfortable in this role,'' Terry said. "I'm going to go out there and give us what we need, a good punch off the bench every night.''
Notes: Dallas C Erick Dampier is expected to take part in his first full practice Tuesday since offseason shoulder surgery. When will he make his season debut? "His body will tell us,'' Johnson said. "The main thing is, I don't want to rush him.'' ... Dallas G Devean George (stress reaction in foot) is farther from returning, prompting Johnson to say, "Our inactive list is pretty deep right now.'' ... Adelman on McGrady being player of the week: "He's definitely deserving. We're 3-0 and he's one of the main reasons.'' ... Barea came in as the league's top 3-point shooter: 4-for-4. He also was No. 2 in field goal percentage. "That'd be nice at the end of the year,'' he said.
source : NBA.com
Summary Of 4th November 2007
Summary of 4th November 2007 Sunday (04-11-2007)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Full Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timberwolves | 28 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 93 | ||||
| Knicks | 21 | 33 | 21 | 22 | 97 |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Full Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supersonics | 21 | 31 | 24 | 25 | 101 | ||||
| Clippers | 25 | 27 | 26 | 37 | 115 |
source : NBA.com
Summary of Saturday 3rd November 2007
Summary of Saturday 3rd November 2007 (03-11-2007)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Full Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trail Blazers | 12 | 19 | 15 | 34 | 80 | ||||
| Rockets | 25 | 21 | 16 | 27 | 89 |
source : NBA.com
Summary Of 2nd November 2007
Summary of Friday 2nd November 2007 (02-11-2007)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Full Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nuggets | 21 | 28 | 25 | 25 | 99 | ||||
| Timberwolves | 27 | 25 | 25 | 14 | 91 |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Full Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trail Blazers | 21 | 28 | 15 | 29 | 93 | ||||
| Hornets | 31 | 26 | 30 | 26 | 113 |
source : NBA.com
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