LOS ANGELES — After sitting out with a shoulder injury since Feb. 2, Jameer Nelson started the second quarter for Orlando on Thursday, battling through pain to have a pretty nice night.
In the Magic loss, the all-star played 23 minutes, scoring six points with four assists and only one turnover, though shooting 3-for-9 from the field.
“I felt good. My rhythm was a little off, but it was good to be back out there,” Nelson said. “There’s always room for improvement, and the next two days individually — and as a team — we need to improve on some things.”
Nelson said he doesn’t plan to start during the series, instead subbing in for starter Rafer Alston, who had six points and one assist. The Magic had only 10 assists.
Bad LeBron.
After rethinking the situation, NBA commissioner David Stern decided to fine LeBron James $25,000 for skipping out on the media after the Cavaliers lost the Eastern Conference finals to Orlando.
Stern spoke to the media before Game 1 of the Magic-Lakers series, saying he has spoken to James and “he expressed to me that when he left the building and did not meet with the media or did not congratulate the Magic, he was wrong. He asked that I express that to the media, the Magic and the fans, particularly the young fans, because he knows he has a responsibility to all our fans, and that sportsmanship is appropriate whether you win or whether you lose.”
No on uniform advertising.
The WNBA decided to allow its teams to have advertisements on uniforms, and though Stern said he was “delighted” for that league, he added, “I don’t think we’re going to see that anytime soon” in the NBA.
Age flap.
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., has written letters to Stern and the NBA Players Association asking for a repeal of the NBA’s minimum-age rule of 19.
In regards to the possibility of changing the minimum age to 20 — or having the age limit taken away altogether — during the upcoming collective bargaining, Stern said it was possible “only to the extent that everything is always on the table, but it’s not a deal-breaker for us. We’re very happy. . . .. This is not an enforcement of some social program. This is a business decision by the NBA.”
Cohen also said the rule was akin to slavery. Stern countered: “As to slavery, that would be like you saying that the talented people of the NBA, college graduates and talented graduates of many universities are not eligible to be congressmen because they have the age limitation of 25. So I don’t know what he’s talking about.”
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
