Late item from Kendall Marshall as he prepares for the NBA Draft at the IMG Academies. Marshall revealed that not only did he break his wrist against Creighton but apparently he also fractured his elbow.
My wrist is almost 100 percent. What people didn’t know is that I also fractured my elbow. That’s been the toughest thing for me to deal with, still not being able to go full contact. Hopefully, I’ll be ready to go by the Combine.
If you recall Marshall did have an ice pack on his elbow after the Creighton game. The assumption was he simply banged or bruise it at some point. Obviously it was never enough of a concern since it was never talked about as factor in the decision on whether Marshall would try to play with the broken wrist.
-For those already in the NBA, Danny Green continues to make all sorts of noise. Through the first eight playoff games in which the San Antonio Spurs swept Utah and Los Angeles, Green, who starts for the Spurs was shooting 45% from three and doing a lot of little things like play stellar defense on the Clippers’ Chris Paul.
Early last season, Danny Green spent 10 days with the Spurs in a short two-game call-up from the D-League before he was sent back.
His pro basketball career was at a crossroads. It might have appeared that his dreams of playing in the NBA were being derailed by fate.
Fast forward 18 months and Green’s career has drastically changed. His strong effort Sunday night in the Spurs’ series-clinching sweep of the Los Angeles Clippers was indicative of the vast improvement since early last year.
It also might be indicative of why he might be in line for a windfall later this summer.
Green’s contract is coming up just as he’s emerged as a starter for the highest remaining seed in the NBA playoffs. His 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and strong defensive play down the stretch will likely be attractive to somebody in the league.
When the Spurs needed some defensive stops on Chris Paul to close out the victory, it was Green who was there. Green provided much of the defense against the Clippers All-Star point guard throughout the game and especially down the stretch of their 102-99 victory.
Even as Paul appeared more spry than any point of the series as he recovered from a groin injury, Green stuck with him.
“He’s lanky and just has a little more length,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Chris is obviously a tough cover and we just wanted to have that on him. Danny has pretty good hands and makes pretty good reads for a young guy.”
In the first two games of the Western Conference Finals, Green’s shot has cooled off a bit with an 0-6 outing in Game 1. Last night in the Spurs 120-111 win over Oklahoma City, Green had 10 points on 4-10 shooting with five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in 27 minutes. Green’s play will likely earn him a bigger paycheck in his next contract but also illustrates how finding the right fit can do wonders for a player’s career.
-Tyler Zeller worked out for Portland on Monday. Oregon Live has an interview with him.
-From the football side/bizarro world, former UNC WR Dwight Jones who went undrafted in April before signing as a free agent with the Houston Texans has now said he is done with football. The Texans have not confirmed Jones’ status with head coach Greg Kubiak indicating Jones has missed practices and is “struggling a bit.” Whatever the case, Jones star had been on a rapid descent since a flyer for a New Year’s Eve party which bore his likeness appeared just before UNC’s no good, terrible trip to the Independence Bowl.
