The Bucks announced that center Larry Sanders will be out six weeks after he underwent surgery this afternoon to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. Sanders suffered the injury in an apparent nightclub skirmish. That’s more bad news for a 2-3 Milwaukee team as Ersan Ilyasova is sidelined and Zaza Pachulia still isn’t 100%. One has to imagine that the Bucks will at least explore a deal for some frontcourt help. Here’s a look at the latest out of the Eastern Conference..
- If the Knicks continue to struggle, coach Mike Woodson could be the one to pay for the club falling short of expectations, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
- Meanwhile, Knicks star Carmelo Anthony came to the defense of Woodson in the face of criticism from fans and the media, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com. “It’s New York,” Anthony said. “It happens. Woody’s not out there playing. We’re out there playing. You can’t blame Woody. We’re not, as a team, giving him the effort that he’s looking for and we’ve got to change that.”
- The Hawks announced earlier today that have assigned Jared Cunningham to the D-League’s Bakersfield Jam. While with the Mavericks last season, Cunningham played in 15 D-League games for the Texas Legends, and averaged 15.3 points, 3.0 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 34.5 minutes.
- Kennedy also caught up with Nets rookie Mason Plumlee, who says that he has already learned a great deal from veteran forward Kevin Garnett. Plumlee says that there isn’t much external pressure on him, but he does feel some internal pressure to play well since the expectations are so high in Brooklyn this year.