Stern: Minimum of one regular-season game in London by 2012

LONDON -- NBA commissioner David Stern said Sunday the league likely would play regular-season games in London before the British capital hosts the 2012 Olympics.

Stern, however, also said the possibility of taking meaningful games to Europe was nowhere near a done deal.

"Although we have no plans on the drawing board, it has been suggested to us that we should schedule in the next three years or so some regular-season games here -- more than just one -- on some regular basis," Stern said before the New Jersey Nets-Miami Heat preseason game at the O2 Arena. "It's fair to say that we'll see a minimum of one and possibly more regular-season games by 2012."

Stern sees the Olympics as a springboard to increasing the NBA's marketability in Britain, which is one of the richest countries in the world.

The NBA has a history of playing outside North America, including a regular-season game in Tokyo in 1991. But Stern has been hesitant to commit to anything specific in regards to Europe, while at the same time announcing a joint venture with Anschutz Entertainment Group on Sunday to build about a dozen or so NBA-style arenas in major Chinese cities.

China is one of the NBA's biggest overseas markets, and Beijing hosted the 2008 Olympics.

The NHL opened its season in London last year, and then did so again this season with games in Prague, Czech Republic, and Stockholm, Sweden. The NFL also played a regular-season game in London last year, and the New Orleans Saints are scheduled to face the San Diego Chargers on Oct. 26 at Wembley Stadium.

Stern said he was aware of the success the other leagues were having.

"We pretty much keep our own counsel with respect to our agenda, although we always watch what everyone does and if we see a good idea we unabashedly copy it," he said.

But despite sounding positive about playing regular-season games in London, Stern downplayed the chances of having an NBA All-Star game at the O2 Arena, which is hosting one of the four preseason games around Europe this year.

"It would take too many air buses and Boeing 747s to transport our 6,000 guests," Stern said. "We're in the basketball business, not the travel business."

NBA and AEG team up to build arenas in China

LONDON (AP) -- The NBA has formed a joint venture with Anschutz Entertainment Group to design and develop about 12 multipurpose arenas in major Chinese cities.

The project was announced Sunday at the O2 Arena in London, where the New Jersey Nets and Miami Heat played a preseason game. AEG runs the O2, and the venture will be equally owned by the two parties.

NBA commissioner David Stern did not say when the plan would be starting, or where the buildings would be located.

"We weren't going to start construction in the next couple of weeks," Stern said at a joint news conference with AEG president and CEO Timothy J. Leiweke. "We anticipate that in a relatively short order we will have laid out a road map of a dozen buildings or so throughout China."

Leiweke said it could take decades to complete the project.

"We think of this over the next 20 years, not the next year or two," he said, adding some would be new arenas and others would be created by renovating existing facilities.

"You're going to see a combination," Leiweke said. "Most of them will be built and designed from the ground up."

Stern said he hoped the venture would not be affected by the global financial meltdown.

"In terms of finances, we will be making investment decisions on a building-by-building basis," the commissioner said, adding they did have some ideas about where to start building.

"We hope there's going to be a rapid determination made over a period of months which cities are the right ones for this venture," Stern said.

Stern has been looking to increase the league's marketability overseas for several years, and teams are touring Europe for the third straight preseason.

On Friday, Stern said the NBA was "an arena closer" to European expansion because of the O2 World in Berlin, which will host a preseason game between the New Orleans Hornets and the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.

The development of the same type of arenas in China is an indication Stern wants to see more NBA teams playing outside the United States and Canada.

Besides acting as a sports venue, the new facilities will offer other amenities.

"Where feasible, the arenas will be developed in conjunction with surrounding cultural and entertainment districts potentially comprised of restaurants, retail outlets, cinemas, hotels, residential areas, sports training facilities and smaller live entertainment venues," the NBA said in a statement.

Besides numerous restaurants and a movie theater, David Beckham's football academy is near the O2 Arena in London.

In China, the NBA has a huge fan base, and Houston Rockets center Yao Ming was one of the biggest stars of this year's Beijing Olympics.

"The NBA currently has relationships with 51 Chinese telecasters, including a partnership of more than 20 years with national broadcaster CCTV," the NBA says.

Outdoor game sees shooting, temperature drop

Indian Wells, Calif. -- It always seemed somewhat contradictory to me that the hallowed Boston Garden, nestled in the inclement weather of the Northeast, was known for being so hot during the Celtics' games of yesteryear that the two teams might as well have been playing in a sauna.

That said, it was equally strange to me on Saturday night that Indian Wells Garden, located just outside of Palm Springs in sunny California, was downright chilly as the Nuggets downed the Suns 77-72 in the AutoTrader.com Open, the first NBA game played outdoors in the modern era.

"I'm not going to spend too much time looking at the film tonight," Suns head coach Terry Porter said after facetiously rubbing his hands together to warm them up. "We didn't think the wind was going to blow like it did."

To be fair, there weren't hurricane-force blusters on Saturday, but you best believe that these weren't the type of gusts that make the practice of hurling a ball from 20 feet away into a hoop suspended 10 feet in the air too inviting.

"It was hard," added Steve Nash, who scored a game-high 16 points, but struggled from the field, going 5-for-12. "You shoot the ball and then it starts slicing right."

There was a mixed bag of answers when players and coaches were asked if they would like to play another game outdoors. Most of the participants thought it was a good experience because the fans clearly enjoyed the night, but that didn't mean that they did not see ways it could have been improved.

"We need to get those benches heated like they have in football where you have hot seats," Porter said with a laugh.

When the Big Aristotle was asked if he'd like to play under the Big Dipper again, Shaquille O'Neal replied, "Yeah ... [as long as it's] in June."

Carmelo Anthony, who sat out the game with a contusion on his left hand, was dressed in a sports jacket and jeans on the sideline and while his ensemble might have provided more body coverage than his teammates' outfits of shorts and jerseys, next time he plans to wear a "damn hoody."

Seeing the Nuggets' Renaldo Balkman wear an armsleeve and the Suns' Alando Tucker wear knee-high socks made you wonder if there only motivation to wear the accessories was for warmth.

All jokes aside, the most constructive suggestion offered by several players was to move the tip-off up a couple of hours to the afternoon because the temperature dropped dramatically as the night grew later.

The players weren't the only ones to feel the cold. There were plenty of fans wearing sweatshirts or jackets in the stands to stay warm. Debi Sagum of La Quinta, Calif. took it a step further by wrapping herself in a blanket she retrieved from the trunk of her car.

"This was the coldest day in months," Sagum said.

While the temperature in the arena dipped into 60s in the fourth quarter, the shooting percentages for both teams didn't top 40. Denver finished the game 29-for-80 from the field (.362) and 1-for-11 from three while Phoenix bottomed out at 25-for-79 (.316) and 2-for-16 from deep.

"The wind just made you really unsure about your shot," Phoenix guard Raja Bell said. "It plays on your mind when you're shooting from deep that there is a wind out there. But what can you do? You just shoot it."

There was an actual basketball game played, but without Anthony, Allen Iverson or Amare Stoudemire suiting up, coupled with the conditions, the action was decidedly more "pre" than "season."

J.R. Smith scored 10 of his 12 points after halftime and the Nuggets held the Suns to just 31 points in the second period to come away with the victory.

Phoenix and Denver combined for 32 turnovers between them as players complained that the ball was slippery.

Despite the weather and the sloppy play however, it wasn't all bad.

Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin praised the "ambiance" and his coach, George Karl, said that he thought it was "pretty cool" to look up at the moon in between calling plays and managing the rotation.

"This wasn't about being accurate or being pretty, it was just an opportunity to see how it is," Nash said. "It was still enjoyable."

The public address announcer in the arena repeatedly referred to the night as "historic" and as a "special event," and for what it's worth, it was.

When the game started with the first tip-off of an NBA game outdoors since 1972, a good portion of the sellout crowd of 16,236 whipped out their cameras and made flashbulbs pop around the arena like collars at a preppy high school.

It would be surprising if it takes three and a half decades for the NBA plays its next game outdoors, especially if Charles Barkley has anything to say about it. The TNT analyst spoke to reporters before the game and proposed that a good way to "spice up" the All-Star game would be to erase the roof and have it outdoors.

Barkley wants to see the February classic played at Chase Field, the retractable-roofed home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. One advantage Barkley cited of having the game at Chase was that the ballpark seats close to 50,000 people, so the league could accommodate all of the tickets that are allotted for corporate partners and still give "real fans" a chance to go to the game.

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Heat's Magloire out at least 6 weeks with hand injury

MIAMI -- Heat center Jamaal Magloire will miss at least six weeks with a broken left hand, and could be sidelined even longer if surgery is required to repair the fracture.

Magloire was injured in Miami's preseason overtime loss against New Jersey in Paris on Thursday. He returned to South Florida after the game, while the Heat remained behind for a rematch with the Nets on Sunday in London.

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Celtics legend Cousy fired by Comcast SportsNet as analyst

Comcast SportsNet has fired former Celtic great Bob Cousy from his job as a courtside reporter, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported.

Cousy, 80, started his work as an analyst for Boston Celtics' games in 1974. He had been working 10 games in each of the past nine years as part of his consultant contract with the team.

Cousy had planned to return this season, but he was not retained. Steve Reagan, CSN vice president of programming and operations, told Cousy on Sept. 18 that network was moving on with out him.

"Some low-level executive called me and basically said that they decided to do two-man booths and they no longer needed my services," Cousy told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. "I said thank you very much, have a good year and I hung up on him."

Celtics president Rich Gothman had called Cousy earlier in the day to tell him he'd have a position with the Celtics for life.

"The Celtics, in my judgment, said and did all the right things," Cousy told the Telegram & Gazette. "Comcast can hire or fire anyone they want. But after 34 years, I thought I needed a little more handling."

Cousy is not upset with the decision.

"You get to be 80, your priorities change," Cousy told the Telegram & Gazette. "I enjoy keeping my hand in in a minimal way. But obviously this is a very exciting time to depart after 22 years of mediocrity. All of a sudden, it's fun again for all of us. If I had my druthers, I would have preferred there not be a change, but is it a high priority item? I doubt it."

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Injuries mount for Wizards; Jamison on mend

WASHINGTON -- In recent seasons, the Washington Wizards could be described as injury plagued. Those woes have continued this preseason.

Not only is star guard Gilbert Arenas not available for at least the first month of the season due to surgery on his left knee, but starting center Brendan Haywood is scheduled for surgery to repair torn ligaments in his injured right wrist next week.

The Wizards got a little good news before Friday night's game with Detroit when Antawn Jamison, who bruised his right knee in Monday's game in Dallas, said his injury is not quite as bad as originally thought.

"I just got through seeing the doc, and he said everything looks pretty good," Jamison said. "It looks like one of those day-to-day things."

When Jamison, who averaged 21.4 points and a career-high 10.2 rebounds last season. was injured, he said he thought he would be ready for the season opener against New Jersey on Oct. 29.

"I definitely should be ready," Jamison said. "I am aiming to play the last two preseason games."

Haywood injured his wrist during training camp, and it's estimated he will miss 4-to-6 months. Neither he nor Arenas will accompany the team on the trip to Berlin and Barcelona that begins Saturday.

"I've never been through this before," Haywood said. "When I'm healthy, I'll be back out there. Hopefully, it will be sooner than later."

Haywood, a center whose 10.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last season were career highs, will be replaced by Etan Thomas, who sat out last season after heart surgery, fourth-year player Andray Blatche and first-round draft choice JaVale McGee.

Coach Eddie Jordan said he tries not to fixate on the spate of injuries.

When asked about it when Haywood and Jamison were hurt, he said he still didn't.

"I don't want to say that," he said. "It's who's next?"

Guard Juan Dixon (sore right calf) and Nick Young (sore left knee) didn't dress for Friday's game.

Jordan thinks Washington has enough left on the roster to make sure they will be competitive without Arenas and Haywood.

"Hopefully, we can hold the fort till they come back," he said.

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Mavericks Acquire Forward Shawne Williams

DALLAS- The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they acquired forward Shawne Williams from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for guard Eddie Jones and two future second-round draft picks.

Williams (6-9, 225) was selected by Indiana with the 17th overall pick in the 2006 draft. The third-year forward averaged 6.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 65 games (3 starts) last season with the Pacers improving on his rookie numbers of 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in 2006-07.

A native of Memphis, Tenn., Williams played one year of college basketball at the University of Memphis before declaring himself eligible for the 2006 NBA Draft. As a Tiger, Williams helped lead Memphis to a 33-4 record while averaging 13.2 points and 6.2 rebounds and being named Conference USA Freshman of the Year. In his lone collegiate postseason, Williams was named Most Valuable Player of the Conference USA Tournament after averaging 18.0 points and 6.7 rebounds.

"On behalf of the Mavericks organization, we would like to thank Eddie Jones for the valuable contributions he has brought to our team," President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Donnie Nelson said. "We appreciated his professionalism both on and off the court as a Maverick. Shawne Williams is an exciting young prospect with a bright future. We look forward to developing him into the player he aspires to be."

Anthony Sits Out Nuggets’ Preseason Opener

DENVER(AP) Carmelo Anthony sat out the Denver Nuggets' preseason opener against Minnesota on Friday night because of a bruised left ring finger.

Anthony was injured when he had the ball slapped out of his hand during practice Thursday. X-rays were negative. He attended Friday's shootaround with his hand wrapped, but did not participate.

The 24-year-old averaged 25.7 points and a career-high 7.4 rebounds last season. He was a key member of the U.S. team that won the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

Chucky Atkins (knee) and Sonny Weems (groin injury) of the Nuggets also missed the game.

Magloire Injures Left Hand in Heat Loss

MIAMI, Oct. 9 -- Miami Heat center Jamaal Magloire suffered a fracture of the third metacarpal in his left hand during the third quarter of play in today’s preseason contest against the New Jersey Nets in Paris, France. Magloire was taken to a local Paris hospital for x-rays which confirmed the fracture.

Magloire will not accompany the team to London, England for their second of two preseason games against New Jersey in Europe and will be reevaluated upon his return to Miami.

Magloire was signed by Miami as a free agent on September 2, 2008.

Trail Blazers’ Fernandez and Przybilla Sidelined

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 9 (AP) -- Guard Rudy Fernandez and center Joel Przybilla will not travel with the Portland Trail Blazers for their game in Kansas City against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

Fernandez sprained his left ankle in the Blazers' 110-95 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night. Przybilla has bronchitis.

The team also said that small forward Martell Webster had surgery Thursday to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. He will likely miss eight to 10 weeks.

Webster was injured in the exhibition opener, a 110-81 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Warriors Waive Dion Dowell And Justin Williams

The Golden State Warriors have waived guard/forward Dion Dowell and center Justin Williams, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin announced today.

Dowell, who was originally signed as a free agent training camp invitee on September 9, appeared in one of Golden State’s first two preseason games, registering one rebound, one assist and three blocks in 11 minutes last night at Portland.

Williams, who signed as a free agent training camp invitee on September 27, also appeared in one of Golden State’s first two preseason games, logging one point, one rebound and two blocks in five minutes at New Orleans on October 5.

The Warriors roster now stands at 17 players.

Anxious Darius Miles ahead

AMHERST - This isn’t Darius Miles’ first rodeo.

His first NBA preseason game was eight years ago, and since then he’s been employed by three other organizations. He turns 27 today, so he’s no kid.

But as Miles tied his sneakers before the Celtics exhibition opener against the Philadelphia 76ers at UMass last night, he was a kid again in many ways. Having missed the last two seasons because of a right knee microfracture, this was some unfamiliar turf.

The work the forward has been doing paid dividends in the Celts’ 98-92 loss. Miles had six points, hitting all three of his shots in 16 minutes. A few seconds after entering the game late in the first quarter, he sagged over and tied up the Sixers’ Louis Williams for a jump ball, which Miles won.

“It was fun,” Miles said. “I had butterflies all the way up until I went in. I felt good. I wasn’t getting beat off the dribble; I got back on defense. Running, jumping, everything felt good. . . . I enjoyed myself every minute I was out there.”

The word from acting coach Tom Thibodeau was positive, too.

“I thought Darius was solid,” Thibodeau said. “He had some good sequences defensively. I thought he moved well. His cuts to the basket (and) cuts along the baseline were very good. I think for a player who’s been off as long as he’s been off, he did a very good job for his first game back. His conditioning still has to improve, but overall I thought he was very good.”

Miles cruised into the practice facility in Waltham at 8 a.m., a full two hours before the Celtics’ scheduled shootaround.

“I was the first person at the gym this morning,” he said.

The Celtics are carrying 16 players and have just 15 spots available. And he’s the only one without a guaranteed contract. For a former No. 3 overall NBA draft pick, the feeling has to be odd. It’s been a while since he actually had to try out for a basketball team.

“Probably sixth grade or maybe fifth,” Miles said after pondering the question for a moment. “Ever since then, the coaches always knew I was coming. They were waiting for me. They wanted me.”

It’s not that the Celtics don’t want Miles, but the burden of proof is clearly on him to show he belongs. That’s why last night was such an important step.

“I don’t have a job yet,” he said. “I’m just trying to do whatever they tell me. Anything they want is what I’ll do. I’ll run through a wall if they want me to.”

Miles was running, too, in his rookie season with the Los Angeles Clippers back in 2000-01.

“I was more anxious that time,” he said. “I was trying to prove to everybody that I belonged. I was trying to show that I made the right decision coming right out of high school to the NBA. But I had a contract and I had a job. This is all different from that. But this is great. This is where I really want to stay. Every other year I’ve played, I was the guy who was going to get the ball. I was the guy my team was counting on to put up numbers.

“Here I’m just a role player and I love that. I love that there’s no pressure on me to do too much. It’s great when you have the kind of stars we do. All the attention’s on them. All I have to do is fill in the gaps and take advantage of all the attention that gets put on them. This is great.”

Despite his contract status, Miles is hardly seen by the rest of the Celtics as a hanger-on.

“The guys have treated me really well, especially Ticket (Kevin Garnett), Ray (Allen) and Paul (Pierce),” he said. “Those guys know me from before. I’ve had some wars with those guys, so they know what I can do. That makes me feel more comfortable.”

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Brand hoping to rekindle Sixers-Celtics rivalry

AMHERST, Mass. -- He was so young the last time these teams hated each other, all Elton Brand knew was that his loyalties in the Boston-Philadelphia rivalry were with the 76ers because the blanket on his boyhood bed carried the likeness of Dr. J -- Julius Erving.

So many Eastern Conference rivalries have come and gone in the intervening 25 or so years, but the bitter feelings have lingered in the hearts and minds of Philly fans.

Brand knows this because he has already run into a bunch of them in his brief time with Philly -- an era that got off to a positive start Wednesday night on the campus of UMass as Philadelphia rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Boston 98-92.

Each of those fans had the same type of issue: lingering animosity, Brand said.

"Absolutely, absolutely. And not just basketball, but baseball, football. And we haven't won one in 25 years, while Boston got them in football, baseball, basketball. So our fans, they're starving for it. And a legit [Celtics-76ers rivalry] would be great for the league, kind of like Lakers-Boston, but it's the East Coast fighting again, because there's still a lot of carryover among the fans. I see fans now, OK, it's 20 years ago, but they're still coming out to the games, talking about how they remember Mo, and Dr. J, and this guy. But we've got to step it up. They're already the champions, and we've got to step it up and get to that elite level, and that would make it legit."

Philadelphia's signing of Brand over the summer was the big move the Sixers felt they needed to make to get to the elite level, giving them the low-post scoring threat they lacked -- and which, along with abysmal 3-point shooting -- proved to be their demise after they took a 2-1 lead on the Detroit Pistons in the playoffs last season before dropping the final three games.

The Sixers have their eye on becoming an inside-out team with its offense focused around Brand -- although their debut appearance with him anchoring the frontcourt left plenty to be desired.

Brand finished 2-for-6 from the field for 11 points and four rebounds, but he turned the ball over four times and was locked down by Kevin Garnett, who brought a taste of midseason defensive intensity to this matchup of two teams playing their first exhibition games of the fall.

Credit for the victory belonged to Louis Williams, who scored 27 points in just under 27 minutes -- dominating his matchup with Eddie House in the decisive fourth quarter -- and Thaddeus Young, who added 21 points and five steals.

Low-post scoring wasn't the only bugaboo for the Sixers last season, and they addressed their other primary weakness -- outside shooting -- by signing Donyell Marshall and Kareem Rush while also sending Williams to Mark Price's shooting camp in Atlanta, where he estimated he knocked down 500 3-pointers a day during the four days a week when he was conducting workouts, learning to keep his shoulder square and his arm extended after releasing the ball.

The Sixers locked Williams up with a five-year $25 million contract that could end up being much more cost effective than the five-year, $84 million deal Brand inked to leave the Los Angeles Clippers and resettle in Philly -- especially if Williams continues to outshine the big man in the same manner he did Wednesday night.

But Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks was in no mood to pick apart Brand's somewhat shaky performance -- he had two of his first four shots blocked and missed his one and only open look -- when he was matched head-up against Garnett.

"C'mon, this is his first game actually playing after being someplace else for a long time, it's going to be a little different, it's going to take him a minute," Cheeks said. "In the first half I thought he still did well, the second half he got a little better, and I would expect each game he's going to get a little bit better. He's going to score and he's going to rebound the ball no matter what, and he's going to get more comfortable the more games he plays."

Heading into the season, a strong argument can be made that the Celtics will run away from the rest of the East, and the second-tier teams will spend their 82 games trying to see which of them -- Detroit, Cleveland, Orlando, Toronto and Philadelphia would seem to be the five favorites -- can be the runner-up. Four of those teams will be working in key new pieces -- Mo Williams with the Cavs, Mickael Pietrus with the Magic, Jermaine O'Neal with the Raptors and Brand with the Sixers -- while the Celtics have merely fine-tuned a lineup that didn't have all that many holes to begin with.

Cheeks would love to see the rivalry renewed, too, since he was one of the guys along with Bobby Jones, Andrew Toney, Moses Malone and a young Charles Barkley, who were banging and testing each other back in the day when the Boston-Philadelphia rivalry had a 20-plus year history and was the strongest in the league -- not just the East.

"It was as good as it got in terms of rivalries, and I think rivalries were good for the NBA -- we had a healthy rivalry, and neither of us wanted to lose. When you were playing the Celtics, you were playing," Cheeks said. "We'd like to renew it, but they won the NBA title last year, and we're just trying to put ourselves in the position to get to where they are.

"So if there is a rivalry, that'll be good -- because that means we're contending with a team that won the NBA championship."

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Webster out at least eight weeks with foot injury

The euphoric aftermath of the Trail Blazers' electric start to the exhibition season was dealt a somber dose of news Wednesday when Martell Webster, the front-runner to start at small forward, was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left foot.

Webster, who unbeknown to the Blazers had been experiencing discomfort throughout training camp, finally told the team Tuesday night after playing a painful 26 minutes against the Sacramento Kings. The 6-foot-7 sharpshooter had X-Rays taken Tuesday night and underwent magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography testing on Wednesday, which revealed the injury to his fifth metatarsal.

Webster is expected to miss at least eight weeks -- and potentially as many as 20 or 25 games -- but an official timetable for his return will be determined Thursday after he undergoes further examination. The team has not yet determined if Webster will undergo surgery or simply rehabilitate his left foot.

"We lost a piece of this team and I think an important piece," coach Nate McMillan said. "He was one of the guys this year who could help us spread the floor and take some of that pressure off the low-post game and (we were) hoping he would have a big year. We'll have to make adjustments."

Webster did not appear injured against the Kings as he had multiple highlight-reel dunks, including an alley-oop from Rudy Fernandez late in the fourth quarter, and finished with a team-high 15 points and six rebounds while playing more than any of his teammates.

He entered training camp in exquisite shape after working throughout the offseason and had talked about putting together a consistent season for the first time in his four-year career. Now an extended rehab looms -- surgery or not.

"He's disappointed because he worked hard this summer," McMillan said. "You don't want to start the season off with an injury because a lot of times when ... you try to rehab an injury during the season, you normally will be rehabbing all season long. So it was disappointing for him. But as I tell him, it's not a season-ending injury. Best thing is to listen to the doctors, find the best way to take care of this problem and get back as soon as possible."

Though Webster was the front-runner, he and Travis Outlaw had been competing for the starting small forward spot. In Webster's absence, Outlaw, one of the NBA's best sixth men last season, will assume the position. Besides Webster, perhaps the only other option for McMillan is to slide All-Star Brandon Roy to small forward and insert one of two rookies, Fernandez or Jerryd Bayless, at shooting guard.

Roy played some small forward last season and again in Tuesday night's exhibition opener and said earlier in training camp he had no problem playing the position.

"There's not a lot of combinations you can go with (at small forward)," McMillan said. "And that's something we'll decide once we get closer to opening night. You never know what's going to happen."

Webster, who was not at the Rose Garden for Wednesday night's game, has to be thinking the same thing. After starting 70 games in 2007-08, his season came to an abrupt end when he experienced an irregular heartbeat in early April and was shut down for the final seven games of the season.

In an interview last week, Webster said the frightening injury made him appreciate his time in NBA that much more.

"That was a very serious time," Webster said, referring to April and his heart scare. "I used that to help me realize that you can't take this game for granted. In two seconds from now, something can happen and basketball can be taken away and that's how I'm treating it. That was an eye-opener for me, knowing that this isn't going to last forever and any type of condition or disease can come in at any time and that's it."

Oden Makes Strong Preseason Debut for Blazers

Portland 110, Sacramento 81

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 7 (AP) -- Greg Oden announced his delayed arrival to the NBA with a dunk two minutes into the preseason.

Oden debuted to a standing ovation, as did the rest of the young Portland Trail Blazers, in a 110-81 exhibition victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night. Oden finished with 13 points in just under 20 minutes.

Oden was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, but his rookie season was postponed when he needed microfracture on his right knee. He was held out all of last season.

One young fan held a sign that read: "Welcome to the show No. 52.''

Except for two summer league games after he was drafted, Oden hasn't played much since he averaged 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds in his lone season at Ohio State. He led the Buckeyes to the national championship game, scoring 25 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the loss to Florida.

Oden won the opening jump over Sacramento's Mikki Moore. His dunk, two minutes into the game, was Portland's first basket.

Oden wowed the near-sellout crowd with another couple of dunks in the second quarter. Fans booed when he was called for a foul.

Both teams gave their reserves plenty of work, as usual in the preseason, but also because of injuries.

The Kings, who traded veteran Ron Artest to Houston in August, were without Kevin Martin, who has tendinitis in his right quadriceps, and Brad Miller, who strained his right quadriceps on Friday.

The Blazers were without point guard Steve Blake, who has a sore left hamstring.

Brandon Roy, who had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in August, played a little more than 23 minutes and had 14 points and seven assists for the Blazers.

Martel Webster led Portland with 15 points.

Donte Greene, acquired from Houston in the Artest deal, had 18 points and Francisco Garcia added 12 for the Kings, who led by as many as 11 points in the first half before the Blazers seized control.

Besides Oden, Blazers fans also got their first look at Spanish guard Rudy Fernandez, who played the past seven seasons for DKV Joventut Badelona of the Spanish ACB League.

Fernandez, who played on the Spanish Olympic team that lost to the United States in the gold medal game in Beijing, was flashy offensively and effective defensively in his first NBA game.

Hornets’ Tyson Chandler Sprains Right Ankle

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 5 (AP) - Hornets center Tyson Chandler sprained his right ankle in the first quarter of New Orleans' preseason opener against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night.

Chandler sat out the rest of the game, but returned to the bench in his warmups to watch the second half and stood without apparent pain to chat with teammates during timeouts.

"I'm fine,'' Chandler, who did not score and had one rebound, said as he left the New Orleans Arena following the Hornets' 106-103 victory. "I just stayed out as a precaution.''

The injury occurred under the Hornets' basket after Chandler stepped into the lane to help defend a drive by C.J. Watson. Chandler appeared to turn his ankle as he landed and immediately dropped to the floor, lying on his back until trainers helped him up and accompanied him to the locker room.

The 7-foot-1 Chandler played a key role in helping the Hornets win a franchise record 56 games and the Southwest Division title last season, averaging 11.8 point and 11.7 rebounds during the regular season.

Stuckey, Pistons Spoil Beasley’s Preseason Opener

Detroit 95, Miami 91 (OT)

MIAMI, Oct. 5 (AP) - Rodney Stuckey scored 23 points, including two jumpers in the final 8.8 seconds of regulation, and the Detroit Pistons scored the first six points of overtime on the way to beating the Miami Heat 95-91 Sunday night in the exhibition opener for both clubs.

Michael Beasley scored 16 points in his preseason debut for Miami, 13 of those coming in the third quarter. The No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft out of Kansas State sat out the final 17 minutes for Miami.

Jason Maxiell finished with 13 points for Detroit, including the first two baskets of overtime. Richard Hamilton added 12, even though he - like virtually most of the projected regulars for both teams - played sparingly.

Mark Blount scored 12 points, while Daequan Cook, David Padgett and Olympic gold medalist Dwyane Wade each added 11 for Miami.

Stuckey connected on a baseline jumper from a tough angle - behind the backboard, the Heat argued - with 8.8 seconds left in regulation to get Detroit within one. And after Cook made a free throw at the other end, Stuckey hit a 15-footer from the left wing to force overtime.

By then, knowing Beasley's night was done, the majority of a sparse crowd had already left.

Beasley, who was perhaps the nation's most dynamic college player in his lone season at Kansas State, entered the game for the first time with 3:11 left in the opening quarter to a loud ovation, even in a sparsely filled arena.

The Heat know he can score. During the preseason, they want to see if Beasley can defend.

"He's a coachable kid and he's been diligent with his work when he's healthy and able to get out there,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But it's going to be a process. It's going to take some time because he doesn't naturally think defense first, and that's pretty normal for a young player, so we'll have to rebuild some habits.''

Those lessons are apparently already being learned. On Beasley's first defensive possession, he stepped in front of a pass near midcourt, drove the other way and drew a foul.

Beasley started the second half, playing alongside Wade, Mario Chalmers, Shawn Marion and Blount. The Wade-Beasley pairing instantly clicked; Wade set Beasley up for baskets on consecutive possessions early in the third quarter, the second of which resulted in a two-handed dunk by the rookie.

The Heat leave Monday for Paris, where they'll open part of the NBA Europe Live tour Thursday against the New Jersey Nets. The teams will also meet in London on Oct. 12.

Notes: Heat point guard Chris Quinn sprained his left ankle in the fourth quarter and is listed as day-to-day. ... Wade, who hadn't played a game in Miami since March, greeted the stat crew with fist bumps before tip-off. "Hey, y'all miss me?'' he asked. ... Actress Gabrielle Union, a fixture at Heat games in recent seasons, sat in the second row opposite the Miami bench. ... Newly retired Jason Williams, who was with the Heat for three seasons, sat behind the Detroit bench. ... The Heat placed Udonis Haslem (foot), Shaun Livingston (knee), Dorell Wright (knee) and James Jones (wrist) on the game's inactive list. Detroit didn't have any inactives.

Celtics Wearing the Banner of Unity

The Boston Celtics opened camp at Salve Regina University last week, a little more than three months after winning the franchise’s first championship in two decades.

The 6-foot-11 Kevin Garnett, one of the greatest all-around players in NBA history, set the tone for the season in brief remarks to the team. He cautioned that this season would be infinitely more challenging than the last one, that every game would be harder, more intense.

Garnett also reminded the team of ubuntu, a South African concept introduced by Coach Doc Rivers last season to underline the importance of selflessness, unity and teamwork: When the team is elevated, the individual is elevated; when the team is diminished, the individual is diminished.

“Kevin said: ‘Hey, you guys. This is a different journey, but ubuntu never leaves the way we play,’ ” Rivers recalled. “I couldn’t have summed that up better.”

Garnett and Ray Allen, perennial All-Stars, joined Paul Pierce on the Celtics last season to form the so-called Big Three. Rivers knew that the only way three superstars could flourish was if they embraced the essence of ubuntu.

“A person is a person through another person,” Rivers said. “I can’t be all I can be unless you are all you can be.”

We like to write sports articles about teams with less talent defeating the more talented team because of grit and superior teamwork. In an era of ferocious individualism, the Celtics are an example of great individual talent yielding to the team concept.

Before practice on Thursday morning, Rivers asked the rookie Bill Walker to read a passage about unity. The theme was: the strength of a team is its players; the strength of the player is the team.

“You can’t do it by yourself,” Rivers said. “Individuals don’t win, teams win.”

As Rivers spoke about team and unity, I thought about a brief but poignant visit to the Knicks’ camp two days earlier. That trip underlined the necessity of quality leadership and the perils for teams — and franchises — that fail to develop it. The atmosphere at Celtics camp was a sharp departure from the mood in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where the Knicks opened camp at Skidmore College.

While the Celtics’ best player was talking to his teammates about maintaining an “all for one and one for all” mentality, the Knicks’ best player, Stephon Marbury, was embroiled in a controversy that had nothing to do with winning or losing. Would Marbury stay or would he go? Was he the cure or was he the problem?

Contemporary millionaire athletes walk a difficult line between the love of the game and the business of the game. This creates constant tension to avoid the love being used against them and the business making them cynical.

The Celtics have a clear view of a second straight championship because the best player is also one of the team leaders.

I asked Rivers if he saw hope for the Knicks. Ever.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I was a part of it when the Knicks were good. I was there. There was no better feeling as a player than playing in that city when you’re winning. It was a phenomenal feeling, with that whole ‘Go New York, go New York, go.’ The city was going nuts. That will return. I don’t know what day, what year, but it’s going to return.”

Rivers spent two-plus seasons with the Knicks and came close to a championship. He was part of the 1992-93 team that lost to the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals and the 1993-94 team that lost to the Houston Rockets in the N.B.A. finals. He never won a championship in 13 seasons as an N.B.A. player, and began to wonder if he would ever win one as a coach. Rivers remembered being serenaded by chants of “Fire Doc!” two seasons ago — during a loss against the Knicks in Boston.

What made the championship so sweet was the hard road it took to get there. Walking that road required Rivers, Pierce, Garnett and Allen to move out of their comfort zones and accommodate one another.

“There’s an amazing amount of hurt that goes with that,” Rivers said. “The only way you’re going to win is that you’ve got to open yourself up to hurt. You’ve got to open yourself up and go for it. You may have to pass more, you may have to set an extra pick, you may have to dive on the floor for a loose ball.”

The team has no new phrase or slogan this season. The Celtics’ motivation comes from the city itself. The Boston area has become a nominal Titletown. The Red Sox are the defending World Series champions; the Patriots were undefeated before losing to the Giants in the Super Bowl.

Rivers’s team is competing against the N.B.A. and the franchise’s legacy. The Celtics have won 17 championships, including eight straight from 1959 to 1966.

“We’re one of many banners,” Rivers reminded his players.

That theme again: one of many.

Rivers’s concept of ubuntu is a beacon for all players — from Stephon Marbury to Kevin Garnett: putting ego aside, putting team first.

Sounds old-school, but it works.

Heat Waive Matt Walsh

MIAMI, Oct. 4 – The Miami Heat announced Saturday that they have requested waivers on Matt Walsh.

The 6’6”, 205-pound forward, was signed by the Heat as a free agent on September 26, 2008. Last season, he appeared in 18 games with Ricoh Manresa of the Spanish ACB League and averaged 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.30 steals last season. He then joined TEC Spirou Charleroi of the Belgian League and appeared in 14 games averaging 12.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

He previously signed with the Heat as an undrafted free agent on August 15, 2005, playing in two games totaling three minutes while finishing with two points as he connected on his only field goal attempt before being waived on November 18, 2005.

D’Antoni Praises Robinson as Knicks Break Camp

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y., Oct. 4 (AP) -- Even though Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni isn't ready to determine his rotation, he liked what he saw from Nate Robinson during New York's first week of practice.

"I'm really surprised with him and how good he is,'' D'Antoni said of the 5-foot-9 guard after the team broke training camp at Skidmore College on Saturday. "He can play a lot of systems, but I do think that the way we want to play an open court, that will benefit him as much or more than anybody.

"He's just - he is athletic as can be. He's scary athletic, and fast.''

The Knicks spent five days getting used to their new coach's fast-paced system and trained for the first time at the Saratoga Springs college.

"We still got a lot of work to do. We don't have to be ready tomorrow,'' D'Antoni said. "We've got to be ready on Oct. 29.''

That's when New York opens its season at home against the Miami Heat. Their first preseason game is Wednesday at Toronto.

D'Antoni was also impressed by Mardy Collins, another guard.

"I really didn't think of him, because we had so many guys, but he played really well,'' the coach said.

He will determine his core eight or nine players after a few weeks when "everybody will be in shape and we'll be able to assess a little bit better.''

For his part, Robinson liked what he saw from his teammates.

"Guys are closer, playing harder, playing together, learning coach's style of play,'' he said. "Every guy came in ready to play and ready to learn, and I think that goes a long way.''

New York left Saratoga Springs with Jared Jeefries sidelined up to two months with a left leg fracture he injured during practice Thursday. Also, Eddy Curry didn't practice all week because of a bacterial infection that initially landed him in Saratoga Hospital.

"It's always tough when you're missing some of your key guys,'' Quentin Richardson said. "But I think with them missing, it gave other guys a chance to play a little bit more and to practice a little more.''

Jerome James suffered a slight strain in his left quadriceps Saturday, and sat the final 15 minutes of the team's last scrimmage.

"We've got a lot of things to still do, a lot of things to go, and then we'll see on the 29th that I'm sure there will still be a lot of learning to do,'' D'Antoni said. "But the first three or four months it's going to be, we're going to have to grind it out and learn how to play and just make sure we're making progress.

D'Antoni praised the facilities at Skidmore and would welcome a return next year, though no decision has yet been made.

Heat Aim to Build Momentum in Preseason Games

MIAMI, Oct. 4 (AP) -- The notion that preseason games are irrelevant doesn't apply these days with the Miami Heat.

A winless exhibition record in 2007 was the first sign of trouble in what quickly became a miserable season for the Heat, who open this year's preseason slate Sunday at home against the Detroit Pistons.

With a revamped roster and newly installed offensive sets, the Heat may place a bit more emphasis on the games that don't count this year, with hopes of building some momentum to take into the regular season.

"We're basically trying to start a new style, as far as maybe being a little more up and down and the way we want to play pace-wise,'' Heat forward Udonis Haslem said. "So it means a lot, more so to us probably than other teams that have been together and have had the same style of play for the last couple years.''

Of the 13 players Miami used in last season's preseason opener, only four are still with the club.

No, this game won't exactly have playoff intensity, and neither team will have any of its best players logging 40 minutes of court time.

There are certain things new coach Erik Spoelstra wants to see as a barometer of what his club has picked up over the first week of training camp, like an understanding of the defensive philosophy and the effectiveness of a quicker-tempo offense.

"It's like that quote from John Wooden, 'Be quick but don't hurry,''' Spoelstra said. "It's kind of how I want our guys to be. I want to take advantage of our athleticism, but I don't want it to be a wild and crazy game. I'll pull the reins on it if it gets too crazy.''

Miami was 0-7 in the exhibition season last year, then went a league-worst 15-67 in the regular season. Eventual NBA champion Boston was 4-3 in exhibition games. Kobe Bryant and the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers went 3-4. Atlanta was six games over .500 in games that didn't count, then eight games under .500 in the ones that did.

But there's something to be said about getting a taste of winning.

"You don't want to get into the habit of losing - or losing by 20 points,'' Heat guard Dwyane Wade said.

The Heat leave for Europe on Monday, for exhibition games in Paris on Thursday and London next weekend against the New Jersey Nets, part of the league's annual initiative of bringing the game to a global audience.

Sunday's game, combined with the practices and games overseas, will surely give Spoelstra a better sense of what his regular-season roster and rotation will look like.

"I think everybody knows that it's not about the 'W,''' Spoelstra said. "But it is about looking good and producing.''

Miami pared its training camp roster to 19 on Saturday morning by releasing forward Matt Walsh, who played in two games for the Heat in the 2005-06 season and spent last year in Spain and Belgium.

Dunleavy and Murphy Out For Pacers

The Indiana Pacers look like they'll be without two expected starters for a while longer.

Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy were not able to practice Friday. Dunleavy is dealing with tendinitis in his right knee, and Murphy has soreness in his Achilles' heel.

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Wizards' Haywood Injures Wrist

The Wizards nearly made it but suffered what the team hopes will be a minor setback when center Brendan Haywood sprained his right wrist during practice Thursday morning.

Haywood, who missed Friday evening's camp-ending intrasquad scrimmage, is expected to be out at least a week, at which point he will be re-evaluated.

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HEAT Sign Shaun Livingston

MIAMI, 10/03 – The Miami HEAT have announced that they have signed free agent guard Shaun Livingston and requested waivers on guard Tre Kelley. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Livingston, a 6’7”, 185-pound guard, appeared in 145 games (60 starts) with the Los Angeles Clippers and averaged 7.4 points, 4.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 0.94 steals in 27.2 minutes while shooting 44.0 percent from the field and 71.0 percent from the foul line. In his last season (2006-07) with the Clippers, he led the team in assists per game (5.1) and set career highs in games started (31), minutes per game (29.9), field goals made (208), field goal attempts (449), field goal percentage (.463), free throws made (82), free throws attempted (116), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.54), rebounds per game (3.4), steals per game (1.09), and blocks per game (0.54).

“Shaun Livingston was one of the best young players to come into the draft in a long, long time. We feel very fortunate to be able to sign him and help us rebuild our program,” said HEAT President Pat Riley.

Livingston, the fourth overall selection in the 2004 NBA Draft, was named the Western Conference got milk? Rookie of the Month for April of 2005 after averaging 11.0 points, 7.4 assists, 1.40 steals and 35.9 minutes in 10 games.

Kelley was signed by the HEAT on September 26, 2008 as a free agent.

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Season Preview: Stefanski Gets His Man

Oct. 3, 2008 -- Ed Stefanski may have pulled off the move of the summer when he signed free agent Elton Brand, giving his Sixers exactly what they needed: a power forward who can rebound and score inside.

Stefanski took over as President and General Manager of the Sixers last December and quickly cleared some cap space by sending Kyle Korver to Utah later that month. That allowed the Sixers to become a major free agent buyer this summer. And with the team coming on strong as the 2007-08 season came to a close, they knew that a big acquisition could take them a long way.

How far? Time will tell. It may depend on Brand's health, of course. After having surgery last August to repair a torn left Achilles tendon, he came back to play the final eight games of the season for the Clippers, but it remains to be seen if the Sixers are getting Brand at his best.

Stefanski spoke with NBA.com a few days before training camp opened.

NBA.com: I assume that you're pretty anxious to get things started this season.
Ed Stefanski: Yeah, we want to see the changes and additions we made and if they work or not.

NBA.com: How closely did you watch the eight games that Elton Brand played at the end of last season for the Clippers?
Stefanski: We watched all eight games. That was definitely a positive factor when he decided he was going to opt out. We had interest.

We were surprised that Elton opted out. We didn't know until July 1st that that was going to happen. We knew he could do that and he was in our plans, but he was more on the back burner, because we didn't think he'd opt out.

But we did watch all eight games, and as I said, that he came back was a positive factor. He did look a little rusty, but he still was a factor in those games.

NBA.com: How much did his Achilles concern you?
Stefanski: You're always concerned. Our doctors looked at the MRI, saw that it had healed properly and that the operation was well done. With anything like this, there's no doubt you take some risk, but it's a risk-reward type of thing.

NBA.com: Assuming that he's healthy and looking at what your team was missing last year, is there a better fit for the Sixers than Brand?
Stefanski: No. We knew going into the offseason, from all of the exit meetings we had with the players, and what the coaches, management and fans felt, that we needed a low-post scorer. But those guys are not very easy to obtain. And we were going to go in various directions not knowing that Elton was going to opt out.

To us, he's the prototype power forward and we took advantage of the opportunity when he opted out.

NBA.com: Looking at your numbers last year, you were a solid rebounding team overall, but that was because you were No. 1 on the offensive boards.
Stefanski: Right, we were a bad defensive rebounding team.

NBA.com: So, obviously, Elton helps you there.
Stefanski: He helps us in so many different facets: rebounding the ball, low-post scoring, obviously. He's an excellent 16- to 17-foot shooter. He gives us so many intangibles off the court, taking a leadership role. He's an extremely hard worker every day in the gym. So, all those things are real positives, because when you look at our roster, we do have some veterans on the team, but we also have some young players. And these young guys are going to have to step up and get better for us to be the team that we want to be.

NBA.com: How do you rate Elton as a defender?
Stefanski: I think he's a fair-to-good defender. I think he'll benefit by having Samuel Dalembert with him. He can block a shot, too. That's another thing that he brings. His defense isn't an issue and like I said, with Sammy behind him, that makes him that much better.

He was very intrigued and interested in playing with Sam.

NBA.com: Of course, there are some people who say that he will slow down your running game, which was obviously a key to your late-season success last year.
Stefanski: We'll see what happens, but we're gonna try to balance running with getting into the half-court when we need to.

NBA.com: What or who would be an X-factor for your team this season?
Stefanski: We have some givens. Elton Brand is a high-level player. You know what Sammy gave us in the second half of the season; he was one of the top centers in the league the way he rebounded and blocked shots for us. Andre Miller had a big-time year; he's proven. And Andre Iguodala is only 24, but he's a very good basketball player.

Even though it's early in their careers and maybe not fair to put this on them, it's Louis Williams and Thaddeus Young to me. They're two young kids that have big upside. I'm not saying that they're going to reach that upside this year, but if they grow the way they've been growing, I think they'll make us a better basketball team.

NBA.com: What is that you'd like to see Williams do better?
Stefanski: The one thing that everyone talks about is what position he is, and I can't answer if he's a typical one or a true two. All I know is that he's an excellent basketball player. He just plays and gets things done. What Mo [Cheeks] asked of him last year was to do a better job on the defensive end. I think he has improved and has room to keep improving there. And then, when it's time to get other guys in the game, I think that's a growing experience that he keeps working on, and is getting better and better at it.

NBA.com: How much of an issue is perimeter shooting on this team? Can you stick with this roster and have the shooters that you need?
Stefanski: I guess we were last in three-point shooting last year. I think we'll improve internally with the guys that were here. And then we brought in Kareem Rush, who's a good three-point shooter. And we hope that Donyell Marshall helps us too. They were the pickups from the outside that we expect to help us in that area.

NBA.com: Do you expect Royal Ivey to play?
Stefanski: Yes. Ivey's a good basketball player. He's a tough kid, he defends you, and there's another guy whose shooting has gotten better since he's come into the league. He's not a pure three-point shooter, but his outside shot has improved. I see him coming in and giving us some minutes, because he's a good, hard-nosed defender.

When you play our style, you need pressure on the basketball, so I think Royal Ivey will get a shot.

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Love making good early impression with Wolves

MANKATO, Minn. — Aside from being tall, Kevin Love doesn't necessarily look like a basketball player.

The 6-foot-9 forward has a frame that is a little on the lumpy side. When he gets moving down the court, he doesn't glide so much as he lumbers, elbows out to his sides and head bobbing.

Outward appearances alone, including his skin color, may lump Love in with players like Adam Keefe, Nick Collison or even teammate Mark Madsen. But the Minnesota Timberwolves' rookie is showing early in his first training camp that he could be so much more.

"Kevin's really underrated right now," Wolves guard Rashad McCants said. "I think they think of him as being undersized and one of those white boys that just has to go in there and bang.

"But Kevin has a very good finesse game where he can step out and handle the ball and shoot the 3. I'm very impressed."

Love may have just turned 20 years old, but he has been fighting the stereotype of the big, slow, white guy for his whole basketball career. He averaged 17.5 points and 10.6 rebounds a game in his lone season at UCLA and was acquired by the Wolves in a seven-player, draft-night trade with Memphis that sent USC guard O.J. Mayo to the Grizzlies for Love and Mike Miller.

Local reaction to the trade was resoundingly negative, with Timberwolves fans livid that Kevin McHale would let go of the silky smooth Mayo in the deal. But the Timberwolves see Love as a player more comparable to Wes Unseld - an undersized power forward and one of the best rebounders in league history - than Brian Scalabrine.

"My middle name's Wesley after Wesley Unseld," Love said. "It's just been ingrained in my blood."

Love's father, Stan, played in the NBA for parts of four years in the 1970s after being the No. 9 pick in the 1971 NBA draft.

Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman has already started to see that pedigree, pointing to Kevin Love's basketball instincts that distinguish him from most 20-year-olds.

"What he brings on to the floor, it's hard to teach," Wittman said. "Being at the right spot at the right time, those types of things. He has a knack for those things."

Stan Love didn't just teach his son how to shoot, dribble and rebound. The younger brother of Beach Boys lead singer Mike Love, Stan "did a lot of crazy things in his lifetime," Kevin Love said.

"He was a guy that kind of lived the Beach Boy life with my uncle (Brian Wilson). He took it easy a little bit," Kevin Love said. "He taught me to have work ethic. I've always kind of been a self-starter, but he was always that push in the back for me.

"He just told me to put it all out there on the court. And when you're off the court, be gracious, be a nice person. That's some of the best advice I've ever gotten."

Though he grew up in Portland, Ore., Love's laid-back persona was the perfect fit for California cool UCLA.

After one All-America season in Westwood, Love was picked fifth overall on draft night. But the Grizzlies really coveted Mayo. When they offered up Miller in the deal, and also agreed to take the contracts of Marko Jaric and Antoine Walker off Minnesota's hands, it was "a no brainer," GM Jim Stack said.

Stack compared him to Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford, and Love is already showing his quick feet down low that allow him to get great position for rebounds. He can shoot the ball from the perimeter, get out and run the floor and prides himself on pinpoint outlet passes that start fast breaks.

"The first time I met Kevin, the first thing he said to me is, 'You're going to love playing with me,"' star forward Al Jefferson said.

There are plenty of questions still to be answered. Love acknowledges that he has weaknesses on the defensive end, and how he will jell with Jefferson as part of a smallish frontcourt is still a point of intrigue.

"If there's doubters, I'm going to try my best to prove them wrong," Love said with a shrug. "If there's high expectations, I'm going to try to prove them right and then some. We'll just have to wait and see."

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Knicks’ Jeffries fractures fibula in scrimmage

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP)— New York Knicks forward Jared Jeffries fractured his left fibula at practice Thursday and is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks.

The 6-foot-11 seventh-year pro pulled up in the backcourt during a scrimmage and was immediately waved off the court by coach Mike D’Antoni. Jeffries’ lower leg was wrapped in an ice pack as he sat out the rest of practice until some light shooting at the end.

Jeffries said he jumped and when he landed felt his muscle tighten up, describing it as “more than a cramp.”

Jeffries contributed little during his first two seasons in New York, but was expected to have a larger role under D’Antoni because of his ability to play all three positions in the frontcourt.

Meanwhile, center Eddy Curry didn’t practice again while recovering from a bacterial infection. He hasn’t since the team arrived at camp and D’Antoni didn’t know when he’d be available.

“I think he’s just sick. There’d be no other reason because it’s not like you want to hang out at the hotel all day,” D’Antoni said, adding that it’s unlikely Curry will practice before the team leaves town Saturday.

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