Hooped Up

Word that Wilson Chandler could miss the rest of the season is hardly reason to panic for Knicks fans or Mike D’Antoni who is kinda — meh about the prospects of Chandler being shut down for what’s left of the ‘09-10 season.

“If it’s the rest of the year, it’s the rest of the year,” D’Antoni said, “It’s kind of tough sometimes because a lot of people don’t know,” Chandler said of playing through his injury, which he said he first suffered two months ago.

“For the most part, I’m just going to do whatever I can do to help the team win.”

Chandler has been one of the few bright spots in the Knicks terrible season and figures to be apart of the grand Knicks plan for the ‘10-11 season.

H/N Greenwich Time

The Bulls are currently without the services of Loul Deng, Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah leading Chicago to an eight-game losing streak got more bad news as Deng expected back Saturday, suffered a setback to keep him out even longer.

Luol Deng experienced more soreness in his strained right calf Wednesday after running both Tuesday and pregame Wednesday. Deng, who will miss his fourth straight game Wednesday, was noticeably limping in the Bulls’ locker room.

“I’m still having trouble pushing off on it,” Deng said.

Of course, this is wonderful news for the Toronto Raptors who decided to try winning for a change last nigh, to stay ahead of the wounded Bulls. The race to lose to Cleveland in the first round is gonna be close.

H/N Chicago Tribune

Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger has been released from a hospital after a CT scan on his head and neck found no problems.

Granger took an inadvertent elbow to his upper right cheek in the final minute of Tuesday’s game against Charlotte. The team says Granger was checked out at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and would miss Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Pacers said team doctors will continue to evaluate Granger, a 2009 NBA All-Star.

Granger is the top scorer for the Pacers, averaging 23.1 points a game.

Press Release

Washington Wizards forward Josh Howard could miss the start of next season after having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee.

Howard’s operation was Tuesday in New York, and the Wizards said he is expected to make a full recovery in six to eight months.

Howard was injured in a game against the Chicago Bulls on Feb. 22, when he collided with an opponent. That was only his fourth game with Washington after coming over in a seven-player trade with the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 13.

He had operations on his left ankle and left wrist last off-season. Howard was an all-star in 2007, when he averaged 18.9 points in 70 games. He had his best season a year later, when he averaged 19.9 points.

Press Release

Oklahoma City Thunder rookie James Harden will be sidelined for up to four weeks, due to a strained hamstring.

“It’s one of those things where I could take this time to rest and just get back and healthy and as soon as I get back just come with that energy,” Harden said.

The injury occurred when Harden landed awkwardly after a drive to the basket against New Orleans on his right leg. Kyle Weaver from the Tulsa 66ers was called up to fill the roster spot on Friday. Harden should return for the final week of the regular season and be healthy for the playoffs.

H/N The Oklahoman

Chicago point guard Derrick Rose has been ruled out of the Bulls’ game Friday night against the Miami Heat with a sprained left wrist.

Rose was injured Thursday in the Bulls’ loss at Orlando, after colliding with Magic centre Dwight Howard.

The Bulls say tests performed Friday confirmed the sprain, but showed no breaks or ligament damage.

He is listed as day-to-day, meaning he could play Tuesday when Chicago visits Memphis.

Rose leads the Bulls with averages of 20.4 points and 5.7 assists this season.

Press Release

Rodney Stuckey was at Pistons practice Tuesday, looking and feeling healthy, but did not participate.

Stuckey collapsed Friday in the third quarter of their game at Cleveland said numerous tests have been done on his heart, his blood, and everything has come back negative.

“I’m good, everything is good,” said Stuckey, who is questionable for Wednesday’s game against Utah. “They ran a lot of tests on me and everything came back good. I’m just taking it day by day.”

Stuckey doesn’t know when he’ll return to action as he awaits team doctors to make that decision.

H/N Detroit News

The Golden State Warriors say center Andris Biedrins will need to undergo surgery to repair a small tear of an abdominal muscle.

Biedrins was examined Monday by a specialist in Philadelphia who confirmed that he had a sports hernia and the muscle tear. Biedrins will undergo surgery Tuesday. The prognosis for his recovery will be determined after the operation.

Biedrins is averaging 5.0 points and 7.8 rebounds in 33 games this season. If he does not return this season, his 16 percent free throw shooting (4-for-25) would be the worst in NBA history for a player with at least 20 attempts. Read More »

Tony Parker left Saturday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies with a broken bone in his right hand and could miss six weeks.

Parker broke the fourth metacarpal — the bone between the bottom knuckle and the wrist — near the end of the first half and did not return to the game. The injury apparently occurred during a scramble for the ball.

Tony Parker has returned to San Antonio. He will see team doctors, including a hand specialist, on Monday, March 8. A timeline for his return for his return will be determined later in the week.

Press Release

Pistons Rodney Stuckey collapsed during a time-out at 2:30 of the third quarter of the Pistons’ 99-92 loss to the Cavaliers, after complaining of dizziness.

After coming to the bench with Jonas Jerebko, Stuckey appeared fine after sitting, but then he summoned strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander before he slumped into Kander’s arms and appeared to be having a seizure.

Medical personnel attended to Stuckey before he was wheeled off on a stretcher wearing an oxygen mask.

“Our thoughts were with him,” said Jerebko. “It’s never fun when a teammate goes down like that. I’ve never seen it before.”My mind came out of the game, of course. I don’t know if it changed the outcome but, of course, my thoughts were with him.”

Pistons officials now say Stuckey is conscious and is in stable condition at the Cleveland Clinic, where he was taken to immediately from Quicken Loans Arena and remained overnight for observation.

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