SB Nation Arizona: All Posts by Scott Coleman

Eric O'Flaherty Has Torn UCL; Braves Bullpen Suddenly In Shambles

2013-05-18T22:22:48Z

Just when the Braves' injury situation seemingly couldn't get any worse, the club announced Eric O'Flaherty has a tear in his UCL.

O'Flaherty has been placed on the 15-day disabled list, although Frank Wren said Saturday afternoon that a quick recovery is not expected. He will meet Dr. James Andrews this week, and it seems highly likely that reconstructive surgery will be needed. If that's the case, EOF would be out for the remainder of the year.

The news of O'Flaherty being lost for the season comes days after Jonny Venters was lost for the season with his second Tommy John Surgery in five years. Jordan Walden, who has dealt with injuries throughout his career, was also placed on the 15-day DL with right shoulder inflammation.

Cristhian Martinez has been out for more than a month with a right shoulder strain and is reportedly not close to returning. Recently acquired reliever Luis Ayala remains in the Minor Leagues as he adjusts to pitching on medication for an anxiety disorder.

To replace O'Flaherty, Atlanta called up Gwinnett closer Cory Rasmus. He posted great numbers in AAA, although he's unproven at the big league level. With so many relievers out, look for Cory Gearrin and Luis Avilan to handle most of the late-inning duties along with the suddenly-hittable Craig Kimbrel.

Wren also said on Saturday that the club would look outside the organization to help restock the bullpen. Make of that what you will.

Justin Upton's Grand Slam Was Magical (VIDEO)

2013-05-18T18:27:33Z

Broadcasting has always been at the forefront of baseball. Here are three different calls of Justin Upton's grand slam last night, including Jim Powell with yet another terrific call on the Braves Radio Network and a pretty hilarious call from the Dodgers analyst. Also, be sure to check out Carl Crawford's reaction in left field.

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ESPN estimated the ball carried 461 feet into the Atlanta night. After not hitting a homer in two weeks, it seems J-Up has rediscovered his power stroke as teams continue to pitch around him. That's bad news for everyone else. Now let's just hope the rain stays away tonight.

The Braves are ready to make their move

2013-05-17T16:38:43Z

The past month has been pretty tough on the Braves.

Fortunately, brighter days are ahead. Much, much brighter.

As we noted a few weeks back, Major League Baseball dealt the Braves a shit hand to begin the season. Only 14 of their first 40 games came at Turner Field, including eight of their last 34. The team has already had two road trips of 10+ days.

By win-loss percentage, the Braves have played the ninth-toughest schedule in baseball thus far. No team from the NL East is in the top-15.

Yet, somehow, Atlanta still features a 22-18 record, which is good for a half-game lead over the Nationals.

Jason Heyward has been out for nearly a month. He comes back Friday. When he's playing, Atlanta is 13-5. They went 9-13 when he was on the disabled list.

Brian McCann is healthy and absolutely pounded the ball his first week back. B.J. Upton will hopefully break out of his funk sooner rather than later. Brandon Beachy will be ready to go within a month's time. If the club needs to make a trade, they have about $8 million saved from the offseason to spend.

The combined record of the Braves' next 10 opponents is 182-207. That bodes really well for a team that's finally getting healthy. And it could mean that the team is about to go on another tear, putting distance between themselves and the rest of the lackluster division.

NBA Draft 2013: Shabazz Muhammad could be in danger of dropping from lottery

2013-05-17T14:40:30Z

This time one year ago, many experts felt Shabazz Muhammad could be the No. 1 overall pick at the 2013 NBA Draft. With the draft now a little more than a month away, there is talk that he could fall out of the lottery.

As Muhammad and the rest of the 2013 Draft hopefuls began interviews, workouts and scrimmages at the combine on Thursday, questions were raised about UCLA's freshman forward. There's no denying he can score the basketball, although he did not do much else during his time in Westwood.

One executive said, on the matter of Muhammad dropping in the draft, "I'm not saying it happens. But I wouldn't be surprised."

Another front office member said it was possible he fell out of the lottery.

In addition to having a reputation of being a chucker with the ball in his hands, there are other reasons to be concerned about Muhammad. For one, he's not a very good teammate. Or at least there's video evidence to suggest he isn't. Every player in the league wants to shoot the ball; if Muhammad is unwilling to distribute the ball on the offensive end, he isn't going to see much time in the floor.

There is also the issue of him lying about his age. While he led most to believe he was 19 years old, it was discovered he's actually 20. This may not seem like a huge deal, but considering he was more physically mature than most of the players he dominated in high school, questions about his true ability against equal competition have to be raised.

Muhammad still has more than a month to get his stock trending in the right direction, but as of now it seems the nation's former top high school recruit could be in for a long draft night.

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NBA Draft 2013: Questions abound after combine measurements

2013-05-17T13:06:10Z

Thursday marked the beginning of the 2013 NBA Draft Combine, and with every participant being weighed, measured and interviewed, it made for a very busy day in Chicago. Here's a look at how some of the future draftees checked in, courtesy of Chad Ford on Twitter.

Nerlens Noel, who many project as the No. 1 overall pick despite tearing his ACL just three months ago, checked in at 6'10 in socks and 6'11.5 in shoes. Compared to last year's top pick, Anthony Davis, Noel stands about an inch taller. Noel's wingspan was recorded at 7' 3.75" .

Visit our 2013 NBA Draft section for more coverage

While his length measurements were impressive, one potential red flag was raised: his weight. Noel weighed in at just 206 pounds, which is astonishingly low compared to other NBA centers. Davis was recorded at 222 pounds last summer and bulked up before the regular season began. Dwight Howard is listed at 265 pounds. Tyson Chandler plays at 240 pounds, while Joakim Noah weighs in the neighborhood of 230 pounds.

Noel is still only 19 years old and will continue to add weight as he develops physically, but he'll play at least his first professional season much lighter than other post players in the league. That could be an issue moving forward.

Kansas' Ben McLemore was measured at 6'3.5 in socks and 6'4.75 in shoes with a 6'7.75 wingspan. Victor Oladipo of Indiana was measured at 6'3.25 without shoes and 6'4.25 with shoes. He has even longer arms than McLemore, spanning 6'9.25. Oladipo is a freak athlete and can really defend, which has led many to believe he will be a top-five pick this summer.

Otto Porter's stock seems to be on the rise and an impressive physical showing on Thursday may help him even more. He checked in at 6'8.5 with shoes on, and his wingspan was recorded at 7'1.5. Porter fits the mold of a prototypical wing and is expected to be a top-three pick depending on how the lottery shakes out.

Shabazz Muhammad was recorded at 6'4.75 in socks and 6'6.25 in shoes. His wingspan is 6'11. There is no denying Muhammad has talent, although he will need to prove to NBA folks that he's more than just a shooter on the floor.

Some analysts once felt Cody Zeller could be a top-five pick. His game was exposed a bit this past season, often disappearing for stretches when Indiana needed him most. Zeller was an impressive 7'0.25 in shoes on Thursday, although his wingspan was just 6'10.75 and his standing reach was 8'10. It's still likely he ends up being a lottery pick, but there's no guarantee of a top-10 selection anymore.

Trey Burke, the National Player of the Year, helped his stock a bit after checking in at 6'1.25 in shoes with a 6'5.5 wingspan. The main knock on Burke is that he struggled with bigger defenders and/or zone defenses this past season, and his bigger-than-expected measurements should help improve his chances of being a top-five pick.

CJ McCollum is arguably the best shooter available in this year's class and some mock drafts have him going as high as No. 4 overall. McCollum broke his foot during the season and was out for the better part of three months, although he's reportedly back to 100 percent. He checked in at 6'2.25 in socks, 6'3.25 in shoes and has a 6'6.25 wingspan.

Rudy Gobert is one of the big wild cards in this year's draft. The Frenchman checked in at an astounding 7'2 in shoes with a 7'8.5 wingspan and 9'7 standing reach. That basically means he can dunk without jumping. Gobert is going to take time to develop, but he could become a force around the rim with his size and length.

Maryland big man Alex Len measured at 6'10.75 in socks, 7'0 in shoes and had a 9'1.5 standing reach.

The 2013 NBA Draft is scheduled for Thursday, June 27.

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Jerry Sloan rebuffs Bucks coaching job

2013-05-17T12:33:37Z

As the Milwaukee Bucks continue the search for their next head coach, they can rule one Hall of Famer out. According to a report from David Aldridge of NBA.com, Jerry Sloan has decided he is not interested in coaching the Bucks next season.

"Jerry probably is a lot like Scott, in that the working conditions and where the team is (contender-wise) are important," agent (Keith) Glass said. "For Jerry to go to a place that's going to take years to build — and I'm not talking about Milwaukee, I'm talking about anywhere — that's just not right for him. They have to be able to compete. Jerry is a competitor, and he wants to compete and teach."

The decision to turn down the Bucks job is not a real surprise. As Glass mentioned, Sloan is likely looking to only take a win-now job, which is not the case with Milwaukee. Sloan turned 71 in March.

Sloan, who was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2009, abruptly resigned as Utah's head coach in February 2011 after coaching the team since 1988. He has not coached since, although he was considered to be a serious candidate for the vacancy in Milwaukee by management until Thursday evening.

Over the course of his career, Sloan posted an impressive record of 1221-803 with the Bulls and Jazz, reaching the playoffs in all but four seasons. He has never won an NBA championship, although he did appear in back-to-back Finals in 1997 and 1998.

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Harrison Barnes injury: Warriors rookie leaves after scary fall

2013-05-17T03:52:00Z

Update: Barnes started the second half and played the entire third quarter for Golden State before exiting the game indefinitely at the third quarter due to headaches.

Golden State Warriors rookie forward Harrison Barnes was injured during Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals, landing on his hip while attempting to block Boris Diaw's shot attempt late in the second quarter.

Barnes remained down on the floor in serious pain before being helped off by the training staff and teammates. He immediately headed back to the locker room with a limp and a bandage near his head. As seen in the GIF below, Barnes hit the floor hard, sending Oracle Arena into silence.

Barnes has been a revelation for Golden State throughout the series, averaging 19 points and eight rebounds a game. At the half, Barnes had eight points for the Warriors. If he's unable to play in the second half, Stephen Curry and the rest of his teammates will really have to pick up the slack as they aim to stave off elimination and force Game 7.

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Nerlens Noel targeting Christmas return from ACL injury

2013-05-17T00:54:08Z

Nerlens Noel, the projected top pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, will not be ready for opening night of his rookie season. Instead, he is aiming for a return around Christmas.

Noel tore his ACL back in February during a standout season with the Kentucky Wildcats. He underwent surgery and has spent the past few weeks rehabbing. He has yet to suffer any kind of setback in his recovery.

Some wondered if Noel would return to Kentucky after having his freshman campaign cut short, but after evaluating his draft stock, he determined he would continue his career in the NBA next season. Here is what he told Jason Lloyd of Ohio.com at the NBA Draft Combine on Thursday.

"Ever since the surgery, everything is going great," Noel said. "I'm 100 percent confident, not just getting back to what I was, but stronger. Going through this time not playing basketball, I'll just be working on things I need to polish. It will improve me in the long run."

Even with Noel not expecting to play the first two months of the regular season, it still seems likely whichever team lands the No. 1 pick this summer will take the lanky big man. This year's class lacks star power, according to most draft experts, but Noel's upside could make him a defensive stalwart in the league for many years to come.

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• Flannery: The Pacers are happening