The
calendar closes-out the month of August, bringing us one step closer to the
start of another NBA season. The following is a brief look at some of the more
relevant news and notes for this week in the NBA that could end-up having an
impact on next season’s title race.
Clipper star on the road to recovery
The Los
Angeles Clippers odds to win next season’s world title according to Bovada are
22/1, but their chances may have just gotten a bit better with word that Blake
Griffin is well on his way to making a full recovery from recent knee surgery.
Griffin
underwent surgery on his left knee to repair a slight tear and is already
declaring himself 100 percent based on his current mobility. He returned to
doing drills and running this past week and suffered no lingering effects from
the procedure. The injury to the knee occurred during practice in preparation
for the Summer Olympics, causing Griffin to miss out at a chance to win a gold
medal with the US National Team. The All-Star forward has now rededicated his
efforts at winning an NBA Championship instead. He now has to hope that
teammate Chris Paul makes an equally speedy recovery from recent surgery to
repair a torn ligament in his right thumb.
Green ready for another go round with
the Celtics
When the
Boston Celtics acquired Jeff Green from Oklahoma City as part of a multi-player
trade that sent Kendrick Perkins to the Thunder in 2011, they envisioned the
6-foot-9 forward playing a vital role with the team as a key contributor off
the bench. Unfortunately, a routine physical revealed that Green had an aortic
aneurysm that required surgery. He underwent the procedure and came into this
offseason as a free agent after missing all of last year.
This past
Wednesday, the Celtics decided to put this plan into place one more time by
re-signing Green to this year’s squad. In his last full-time action in the NBA
in the 2010/2011 season, he averaged 13.3 points and 4.8 rebounds while playing
over 32 minutes a game. Over the course of his four-year college career at
Georgetown, Green averaged 13.9 points and 5.5 rebounds a game. Boston
continues to try and build a team that can contend with the favored Miami Heat
in the East. They are currently the third-favorites to win the conference
behind Chicago.
Lopez looks to jump-start his career
in the Big Easy
At seven
feet tall, you would have to think that center Robin Lopez would be a force in
this league, but that has not been the case for the former 2008 first-round
draft pick (15th pick overall) of the Phoenix Suns. Since that
point, he has struggled to live up to expectations as well as being hampered
with a number of nagging injuries that have limited his playing time over the
past four seasons.
Lopez will get a chance to make a fresh start in
New Orleans after Phoenix decided to trade him to the Hornets late last month.
This could end up being a perfect match given that by his own admission, Lopez
sees himself as a defensive minded player who likes to grind it out underneath
the boards. He will now be paired with Monty Williams, who just so happens to
be a defensive-minded coach. The 24-year old is currently recovering from
surgery to repair a slight tear in his left knee, but expects to be ready to go
for the start of the regular season.