Peep Show
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Wednesday, July 23
Updated: July 23
8:56 AM ET
Los Angeles Lakers: Legal experts have commented several times that a trial concerning Kobe Bryant and an alleged 19-year-old victim could come down to his or her testimony. So Mark Hurlbert, the DA in the case, is telling her "friends" to shut up and stop talking to the media. "These kids are not helping," one of the mother's of one of the friends said to the Vail Daily. "It's time for these kids to stop talking, or it's time for their parents to make them stop talking." The story says that some of those friends have been offered as much as $12,500 to give up their versions of the story.
Ming
Houston Rockets: The People's Daily is reporting that Yao Ming suffered an injury to the eyebrow area of his head that required eight stitches. The 7-foot-5 center was training with the Chinese National Team when the injury occurred and is he is expected to miss the next four warm up games against a traveling NBA squad.
Atlanta Hawks: Shareef Abdur-Rahim underwent surgery on his lower back on Tuesday but isn't expected to miss any of the Hawks' training camp. The forward went ahead with the procedure so that the problem wouldn't become chronic. "I took a fall in Orlando [two years ago], and I've been dealing with it since then," he said to Journal Constitution. "I made up my mind that I was going to get my body all the way together this offseason."
Milwaukee Bucks: If Milwaukee fans have their way, Rick Carlisle will be the next coach of the Bucks. The Journal Sentinel is reporting that online polls at both the paper and the franchise show strong support for the former Detroit Pistons coach. Coming in a distant second were Terry Porter followed by Terry Stotts.
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Summer Love
Good news Blazers fans. Zach Randolph and Qyntel Woods are averaging 51.3 ppg for their team through their first three games at the Rocky Mountain *****. Woods had 37 points and 12 rebounds in a game on Saturday and a 27-point, seven-rebound game on Tuesday. With Scottie Pippen ready to retire with the Bulls, he's got a great chance to get more minutes in Portland this season. "Right now, Qyntel is certainly a guy who will get minutes," coach Maurcie Cheeks told the Oregonian. "And as his minutes increase, he will get better. But he has to become consistent." Randolph is also making a case for himself. He scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds on Tuesday. Under certain scenarios Randolph and Rasheed Wallace will play together this season.
Bulls rookie Kirk Hinrich has struggled mightily in his first few games in Utah. Hinrich is averaging 5.5 ppg on 22 percent shooting from the field. However, he's still shown enough flashes to make the team impressed. On Monday Hinrich went 1-for-12 from the field, but the one make was a 3-pointer that gave the Bulls the victory. "I want to help this team get better," Hinrich told the Chicago Tribune. "Right now I'm just trying to get comfortable in the triangle and in this style of play. I expect to contribute and I expect to play well. There are going to be nights when I feel like I can't score, but I can always play a good floor game. That's what I want to bring. This team has people who can score. I want to be a general, as tough as that is as a rookie. That's what a point guard has to be."
Suns rookie Zarko Cabarkapa is averaging 18.3 ppg and 7.8 rpg through his first four games at the Rocky Mountain *****. The Suns have been impressed with Cabarkapa's basketball IQ and his ability to be in the right spot at the right time.
It took him a few games, but 18-year-old Maciej Lampe is starting to look like the star the Knicks thought he was when the drafted him on draft night. Lampe recorded his second straight 17-point game at the Rocky Mountain ***** on Tuesday. The catch is that this time Lampe finally got to the glass, pulling down 11 boards. He was also 3-for-5 from behind the arc. The big question is whether he'll be on the Knicks' roster this season. Lampe's team, Real Madrid, has already replaced him on its roster and according to sources, they've already come down off their $2 million buyout request. If the Knicks can address some of their other needs via trade, they'll be more likely to use their mid-level exception money to help him buyout the rest of his contract.
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By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Wednesday, July 23
Updated: July 23
8:56 AM ET
Los Angeles Lakers: Legal experts have commented several times that a trial concerning Kobe Bryant and an alleged 19-year-old victim could come down to his or her testimony. So Mark Hurlbert, the DA in the case, is telling her "friends" to shut up and stop talking to the media. "These kids are not helping," one of the mother's of one of the friends said to the Vail Daily. "It's time for these kids to stop talking, or it's time for their parents to make them stop talking." The story says that some of those friends have been offered as much as $12,500 to give up their versions of the story.
Ming
Houston Rockets: The People's Daily is reporting that Yao Ming suffered an injury to the eyebrow area of his head that required eight stitches. The 7-foot-5 center was training with the Chinese National Team when the injury occurred and is he is expected to miss the next four warm up games against a traveling NBA squad.
Atlanta Hawks: Shareef Abdur-Rahim underwent surgery on his lower back on Tuesday but isn't expected to miss any of the Hawks' training camp. The forward went ahead with the procedure so that the problem wouldn't become chronic. "I took a fall in Orlando [two years ago], and I've been dealing with it since then," he said to Journal Constitution. "I made up my mind that I was going to get my body all the way together this offseason."
Milwaukee Bucks: If Milwaukee fans have their way, Rick Carlisle will be the next coach of the Bucks. The Journal Sentinel is reporting that online polls at both the paper and the franchise show strong support for the former Detroit Pistons coach. Coming in a distant second were Terry Porter followed by Terry Stotts.
----------------------------------------
Summer Love
Good news Blazers fans. Zach Randolph and Qyntel Woods are averaging 51.3 ppg for their team through their first three games at the Rocky Mountain *****. Woods had 37 points and 12 rebounds in a game on Saturday and a 27-point, seven-rebound game on Tuesday. With Scottie Pippen ready to retire with the Bulls, he's got a great chance to get more minutes in Portland this season. "Right now, Qyntel is certainly a guy who will get minutes," coach Maurcie Cheeks told the Oregonian. "And as his minutes increase, he will get better. But he has to become consistent." Randolph is also making a case for himself. He scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds on Tuesday. Under certain scenarios Randolph and Rasheed Wallace will play together this season.
Bulls rookie Kirk Hinrich has struggled mightily in his first few games in Utah. Hinrich is averaging 5.5 ppg on 22 percent shooting from the field. However, he's still shown enough flashes to make the team impressed. On Monday Hinrich went 1-for-12 from the field, but the one make was a 3-pointer that gave the Bulls the victory. "I want to help this team get better," Hinrich told the Chicago Tribune. "Right now I'm just trying to get comfortable in the triangle and in this style of play. I expect to contribute and I expect to play well. There are going to be nights when I feel like I can't score, but I can always play a good floor game. That's what I want to bring. This team has people who can score. I want to be a general, as tough as that is as a rookie. That's what a point guard has to be."
Suns rookie Zarko Cabarkapa is averaging 18.3 ppg and 7.8 rpg through his first four games at the Rocky Mountain *****. The Suns have been impressed with Cabarkapa's basketball IQ and his ability to be in the right spot at the right time.
It took him a few games, but 18-year-old Maciej Lampe is starting to look like the star the Knicks thought he was when the drafted him on draft night. Lampe recorded his second straight 17-point game at the Rocky Mountain ***** on Tuesday. The catch is that this time Lampe finally got to the glass, pulling down 11 boards. He was also 3-for-5 from behind the arc. The big question is whether he'll be on the Knicks' roster this season. Lampe's team, Real Madrid, has already replaced him on its roster and according to sources, they've already come down off their $2 million buyout request. If the Knicks can address some of their other needs via trade, they'll be more likely to use their mid-level exception money to help him buyout the rest of his contract.
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