NBA Weekly Notebook: Anthony Davis Fractures Hand; Rookies Make History

Another great week in the NBA has been wrapped up and once again there are many important headlines to cover this week here at Buckets Over Broadway in my NBA Weekly Notebook.

Just when we were beginning to hear talk about this year’s draft class being a complete bust we then have two rookies making history, not only in the same night, but in the same game. We will cover the legendary night from the rookies as well as “impact injuries” of the week as well as team of the week and players of the week. Here are some very important headlines from this past week’s action in the NBA:

Apr 3, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank reacts to a call against his team during the second quarter of an NBA game at TD Garden against the Boston Celtics. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Davis Fractures Hand

According to sources close to the team, Anthony Davis is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks because of his broken left hand. Davis was diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal of his left hand after Sunday night’s victory over the Knicks in New York. The injury occurred during the first quarter in New York, when he hit his hand on the rim while going up for an “alley-oop” . The injury couldn’t come at a worst time for Davis or for the Pelicans since Davis was arguably one of the hottest players in the league and the team is currently ninth in the Western Conference, but look to have a winning record and make the playoffs. Davis started the Pelicans’ first 16 games, averaging 18.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.6 blocks and when he comes back expect him to come back with a bang.

Desperate Nets Re-assign Lawrence Frank as Assistant Coach

The disappointing Brooklyn Nets have finally made an attempt to turn their team around due to their incredibly rough start with a 5-13 record which is the third worst record in the Eastern Conference. According to NBA.com, Coach Jason Kidd said his former assistant Lawrence Frank will not be at practices or games, and that he will be writing daily reports. Kidd made the following statement prior to the Frank reassignment:

"“This is a decision that I had to make, and I made it, and we move on.”"

Although Kidd denies that the hiring doesn’t relate to the defense that has become a liability in Brooklyn, we all know it was exactly for that reason. The Nets are near the bottom of the league in every defensive category, allowing 102.4 points per game which is horrendous with how much talent they have. Hopefully things can work out for the Nets and they can turn this season around.

Rookies Steal The Show?

Michael Carter-Williams and Victor Oladipo gave the NBA a show to watch Tuesday night and not only that wrote their names in the history books. Carter-Williams aka “MCW”, had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for Philadelphia, and Oladipo had 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for Orlando, the first time two rookies had a triple-double in the same game in NBA history.

These two have already emerged as early hand favorites for the Rookie of The Year Award and quite frankly so far you can’t go wrong either way. MCW has been playing sensationally well throughout the entire early part of the season and would most likely get the award if the season ended today, but that is why they play 82 games ladies and gentleman.

Oladipo has started off slowly in Orlando but has come on recently as the player that everyone expected him to be before the season started. A great performance by both rookies and believe me there are many more of these kind of performances for these guys in their futures.

Knicks Locker Room Turmoil

There’s been trouble in the Knicks’ locker room for quite a while, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. What 14th place team could headline the news as much as the Knicks have? They’re on a nine-game losing streak, and they’ve got a pretty big game against Brooklyn coming up. There’s talk of a coaching switch, the players are having disagreements, and Iman Shumpert seems to be on his way out of New York.

Back on Halloween night in Chicago,Shumpert and Tyson Chandler got into a shouting match on the bench because of a defensive breakdown against the Bulls, according to a source. It is issues like this is what holds the Knicks back from success. In order to turn their season around they will have to get rid of the main distractions even if they are top players on the team. They are becoming a team that seems to be fighting each other more than worrying about improving their season and that has to change.