Well, it was fun while it lasted.
38-year-old **Greg Ostertag** is headed back into retirement after a 10-game stint with the NBA Development League’s Texas Legends. [ESPN.com first reported Ostertag’s decision on Thursday][1]. The big guy cited knee pain as the main reason for ending his comeback attempt. From ESPN.com:
> “(The knees have) been bugging me since I came back (in late December), but I could barely move (after Reno),” Ostertag said. “I felt good there and I played good. I get out there and sometimes I do get loose, but usually the ‘don’ts’ are longer than the ‘dos.’ It sucks, but I knew going into this what could happen.”
And later:
>”I hope people understand that this was not a publicity stunt. I genuinely wanted to play basketball. The first couple weeks, I thought I was playing decent, but I just wasn’t in shape. I was starting to get in shape — as far as conditioning I felt as good as I’ve felt (Wednesday night against Tulsa) — but I just can’t move the way I need to. These guys are young and fast. Some of them were just getting out of diapers when I came into the league.”
[Ostertag averaged 4.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and .5 blocks in 13.3 minutes a game with the Legends][2].
R.I.P., Greg Ostertag’s professional basketball career. You’ve gone to a better place — specifically, YouTube.
In memoriam:
(If you’d rather have your highlights set to hypnotic music, [the Internet’s got you covered][3])
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Friday recap
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– **Markieff Morris** (Phoenix Suns) started his second consecutive game (sans flu this time) on Friday as the Suns took on the Boston Celtics. Markieff went scoreless, missing all three of his shots, but the Suns won, 79-71. He added four rebounds (all in the first quarter), an assist and a block in 20 minutes. Markieff also [turned the ball over four times][4] and sat out the fourth quarter ([full stats here][5]).
Before the game, [the Arizona Republic’s Paul Coro asked Markieff about the match-up with childhood idol and Celtics star Kevin Garnett][6]:
> “It’s a great feeling just to be playing against him and definitely an honor,” Morris said. “I heard he tries to bully guys so I’ve just got to hold my ground.”
– **Paul Pierce** (Boston Celtics) played 38 minutes but scored only 12 points on 5 of 14 shooting as the Celtics lost 79-71 to the Phoenix Suns. Boston was without star point guard Rajon Rondo, and it was the sixth loss in seven games for the Celtics. Pierce added six assists, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks ([full stats here][7]). He did not hit a three-pointer for the second straight game after having at least one in his first nine games.
– **Drew Gooden** (Milwaukee Bucks) put up a double-double on Friday night despite playing just 21 minutes in a 100-86 win over the New York Knicks. Gooden scored 10 points to go with 11 rebounds while playing power forward and center as the first reserve off the bench ([full stats here][8]).
– **Brandon Rush** (Golden State Warriors) faced off against his former team, the Indiana Pacers, on Friday night (more on that later in the blog). Rush was perfect from the field, hitting both three-point attempts, and he finished with six points, six rebounds (a season-high), an assist and a block in 20 minutes ([full stats here][9]). The Pacers edged out the Warriors in a back-and-forth game with 25 lead changes, winning 94-91.
– **Josh Selby** (Memphis Grizzlies) played 10 minutes as the Grizz’s backup point guard on Friday against the Detroit Pistons. Memphis won, 98-81. Selby scored two points, snagged two steals and passed out three assists to two turnovers ([full stats here][10]).
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Thursday note
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– **Mario Chalmers** (Miami Heat) scored 10 points (including two threes) with 6 assists and just one turnover on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers. Miami won, 98-87. Chalmers played 32 minutes and also had a steal ([full stats here][11]).
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‘Hawks overseas
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– **Keith Langford** (Israeli Premier League – Maccabi Electra) put on a solid performance in his team’s first Euroleague Top 16 tournament game on Thursday. Langford had 12 points, five rebounds, seven assists and just one turnover in 35 minutes as his team won, 84-76 ([full stats here][12]).
Video from Thursday’s game (Langford highlight at :46)
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Other notes
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– After Friday’s Boston Celtics game (the sixth loss in seven games), reporters asked **Paul Pierce** if he had given any thought to rumors that he (or his big-name teammates) might be traded this season as part of a rebuilding strategy. [Pierce gave an unsurprising answer][13]:
>”I don’t really read the papers, I don’t really monitor everything that’s been said. I’m just more concerned about this group, what goes on in this locker room and with my teammates.”
– **Brandon Rush** (Golden State Warriors) took time before Friday’s game with the Indiana Pacers to talk to his former teammates. Rush, who was traded from the Pacers to the Warriors in mid-December, is on good terms with everyone in the organization, but he told the Indianapolis Star that he is “happy where I’m at now.” [Read on for more (including Warriors coach Mark Jackson gushing about Rush)][14].
– The Golden State Warriors are considering offering **Brandon Rush** a contract extension, [according to the San Francisco Chronicle][15]. Technical mumbo-jumbo ahead: Rush, who was drafted in 2008 by the Indiana Pacers, is in the final stage of his rookie contract. That contract was originally for two years but included options for two additional years. The Pacers picked up those options in 2009 and 2010, so now the Warriors can either let Rush’s contract run out (making him a restricted free agent at the end of this season) or offer him a one- or two-year extension. If the Warriors don’t offer an extension by Wednesday, Rush can sign offers from other teams this summer, but the Warriors will have the option to match.
– The New Orleans Hornets expect to have **Xavier Henry** back soon. [Coach Monty Williams told Hornets.com’s Jim Eichenhofer][16]:
>”There’s a great chance we’ll see him next week. He continues to progress. We don’t want to just put him on the floor just to get a look at him; we think he can help us.”
– **Marcus Morris** (Houston Rockets) [tweeted Saturday morning][17] that he hopes to make a quick return from an ankle injury that he suffered while playing for the D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers earlier this month.
– **Mario Chalmers** (Miami Heat) just found out that he has a daughter named “Queen Elizabeth,” [according to the Miami New Times][18]. There’s really not much more to say.
– **Nick Collison** (Oklahoma City Thunder) [wrote his second post as a guest blogger on GQ.com][19]. In the post, Collison offers a look at day-to-day life in the NBA, including some great anecdotes comparing his experiences to those of Thunder assistant Mo Cheeks:
>There was no strength and conditioning program, no chef cooking breakfast before practice and lunch afterward like we have now. Nutrition, proper sleep and conditioning are all things that are stressed in today’s NBA to help players perform at the highest possible level. Coach Cheeks said they never talked about any of that. He remembers eating chocolate chip cookies and drinking a Coke on the way to games. In the locker room after games, we are given recovery shakes. After their games, they split a case of Budweiser.
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Jayhawks in upcoming NBA games
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**[Saturday, Jan. 21][20]**
– 6:30 p.m., **Mario Chalmers** and the Miami Heat vs. the Philadelphia 76ers
– 7 p.m., **Nick Collison**, **Cole Aldrich** and the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. the New Jersey Nets
– 7 p.m., **Josh Selby** and the Memphis Grizzlies vs. the Sacramento Kings
[1]: http://espn.go.com/dallas/nba/story/_/id/7480054/former-utah-jazz-big-man-greg-ostertag-abandons-comeback
[2]: http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/greg_ostertag/
[3]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9ajk9JnJtg
[4]: http://twitter.com/#!/paulcoro/status/160533182335299584
[5]: http://www.nba.com/games/20120120/PHXBOS/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0021100219#nbaGIboxscore
[6]: http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/153344
[7]: http://www.nba.com/games/20120120/PHXBOS/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0021100219#nbaGIboxscore
[8]: http://www.nba.com/games/20120120/MILNYK/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0021100220#nbaGIboxscore
[9]: http://www.nba.com/games/20120120/INDGSW/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0021100226#nbaGIboxscore
[10]: http://www.nba.com/games/20120120/MEMDET/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0021100221#nbaGIboxscore
[11]: http://www.nba.com/games/20120119/LALMIA/gameinfo.html
[12]: http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/Euroleague/2012/0119_183_159.asp
[13]: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1397588&srvc=sports&position=recent
[14]: http://www.indystar.com/article/20120121/SPORTS04/201210332/Rush-happy-change-scenery?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports
[15]: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/20/SP041MSC81.DTL
[16]: http://neworleanshornetsblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/shootaround-jan-21-vs-mavericks.html
[17]: http://twitter.com/#!/MookMorris2/statuses/160772872363712512
[18]: http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2012/01/mario_chalmers_has_a_daughter.php
[19]: http://www.gq.com/blogs/the-q/2012/01/the-nick-collison-guest-blog-vol-2-daily-life-in-the-nba-then-and-now.html
[20]: http://www.nba.com/gameline/20120121/
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