Atlantic Notes: Early, Rondo, Embiid, Scola

The Knicks activated small forward Cleanthony Early today for the first time since he was shot in the right knee during a December 30th robbery, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Early told police he was robbed and shot when four to six men stopped a taxi he was riding in. The Knicks assigned Early to the D-League two weeks ago to help him prepare for his NBA return.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Kings point guard and impending free agent Rajon Rondo said former Knicks coach Derek Fisher “might have blacked out a couple of times” when he questioned Rondo’s ability to run the triangle offense, Begley relays. Rondo made some comments questioning the triangle earlier this season, and many interpreted them as a sign that he wouldn’t consider New York in free agency. But Rondo sounded different before Sacramento’s game tonight at Madison Square Garden. “I’m not saying I couldn’t master [the triangle]. I think I can put my mind to it, break down a lot of film if that was the case to be,” Rondo said. “I don’t play in the triangle. I can only speak on what I do know and that’s under George Karl’s system. We’re pretty good offensively. We don’t want to talk about the defense.”
  • The Sixers sent Joel Embiid back to the Aspetar medical facility in Qatar because they were happy with the results of his first visit, according to Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly. Coach Brett Brown said the first trip to Aspetar provided positive results for Embiid in the areas of body weight, sleep, body mass assessment and healing. “Maybe more important than anything, Joel bought in, in a large way, and the results were starting to show,” Brown said. “We test drove it, we liked what we saw a lot, led by a group of us that assessed it and Joel’s reaction to it.”
  • Veteran power forward Luis Scola, who signed with the Raptors in free agency over the offseason, has become a valuable contributor in Toronto, writes Holly MacKenzie of NBA.com. Scola raised some eyebrows around the league with a 17-point first quarter against the Celtics this week. “This is a team that we have a bunch of pieces and they all have their role,” Scola said.
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