PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will have surgery on his right knee on Friday and will miss the playoffs, the team announced.
Roy, who averaged 21.5 points, needs the surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.
The three-time All-Star was injured in Portland’s 91-88 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers last Sunday. He missed Portland’s final two regular season games.
Roy originally said that he would try to play on the knee for the playoffs. Sixth-seeded Portland plays the third-seeded Suns in the first round starting on Sunday in Phoenix
“This was not an easy decision to make,” Roy said in a statement. “But, if I’m going to be out there, I want to be contributing. If we’re fortunate enough to advance in the playoffs, having the surgery now gives me the best opportunity to help our team.”
Recovery for such a procedure is typically four to six weeks.
76ers fire coach
PHILADELPHIA — Eddie Jordan and his Princeton offense were a flop in Philadelphia.
Team president and general manager Ed Stefanski fired Jordan on Thursday after one season as coach, saying the Sixers took an “unacceptable” step backward after two straight seasons in the playoffs.
“What I thought would happen, did not occur,” Stefanski said. “The decision was not the right one.”
The Sixers finished 27-55 and missed the playoffs for the first time in three years.
Clippers fire interim head coach
LOS ANGELES — The Clippers wasted no time making their first offseason change, firing interim head coach Kim Hughes in the team’s third major shake-up in 2½ months. The team said on its Web site that Hughes had been dismissed and the search for a new coach was already under way, although there were no leading candidates. Hughes took over as interim coach for Mike Dunleavy on Feb. 4 after seven seasons as an assistant and went 8-25 the rest of the way. The Clippers finished with a 29-53 record, missing the playoffs for the 15th time in 17 years. They were 8-33 on the road, their worst mark away from home since 1999-2000, when they went 5-36.
Pistons keep coach
DETROIT — The president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons says John Kuester will be back to coach the team next season. Detroit won its final game of the season Wednesday to finish with a 27-55 record in Kuester’s first year as an NBA coach. The Pistons missed the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Joe Dumars, the club’s head of basketball operations, fired Michael Curry last year after only one season, which ended with a first-round loss to Cleveland.
Grizzlies give coach 3-year deal
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins has agreed to a new 3-year contract with the team. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Hollins made the announcement Thursday as the team met with reporters to wrap up the season. He took over in January 2009 after Marc Iavaroni was fired and led the Grizzlies to a 40-42 record this season, 16 more wins than last year. The formerly woeful Grizzlies were part of the playoff picture before folding down the stretch, falling just short of their first .500 season in several years.
TNT draws good ratings
NEW YORK — TNT’s coverage of the NBA attracted the league’s largest regular-season audience on cable in 14 years. The network announced Thursday that its average of 1.7 million viewers for its 53 games was cable’s best for pro basketball since 1995-96, Michael Jordan’s first full season after ending his retirement.
Lakers’ Jackson fined
NEW YORK — Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson has been fined $35,000 by the NBA for criticizing officials earlier this week. The fine announced Thursday was for comments Jackson made after the Lakers’ win against Sacramento on Tuesday night. It marked the second time this month Jackson was fined for criticizing game officials. He was was previously penalized the same amount for comments after a loss to San Antonio on April 4.
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