Jan. 9--PHILADELPHIA Looks like the Charlotte Bobcats have their starting shooting guard back, and just in time for Raja Bell to face his old team.
Bell went through his first full practice since suffering a groin strain against the New Jersey Nets Dec.27. Bell missed five straight games, but said he felt no discomfort in a Thursday practice on St. Joseph's campus. So he plans to play tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers, the team with which he started his NBA career, playing for Bobcats coach Larry Brown.
"I felt really good today. Just a matter now of getting the rhythm back," Bell said. "I'll play normally; I've never been one to play at a percentage" because of an injury.
Overreaction?
It took 15 seasons for forward Juwan Howard to be tossed from an NBA game for arguing a call, and he's amazed Wednesday was the first.
Referee Michael Smith charged Howard with back-to-back technical fouls 16 seconds before halftime in Cleveland. Howard, his teammates and coaches were all shocked because Howard was never abusive in his language.
From the bench, Howard said he was telling the refs he thought LeBron James was getting away with traveling. That's a common complaint these days, with James saying a pet move to the basket is a legal jump step, and others disagreeing.
"I said, 'What the hell was that?" Howard recalled of what got him the first "T."
"Then I said, 'You embarrassed you didn't make a call?'" drawing the second technical and an automatic ejection.
Teammate Adam Morrison, who was near Howard during the technicals, confirmed that's all Howard said.
Howard said he'll look into appealing those technicals. Each one costs him a $1,000 fine.
He said the only previous time he was ejected from an NBA game was for committing a flagrant foul in a playoff game.
Philly fans
As the Carolina Panthers saw a few years ago in the NFC Championship Game, Philadelphia breeds a uniquely demanding sports fan.
"When it's good, it's great," Bell recalled from his two seasons as a 76er, "but when it's bad, it can get really ugly.
"It's a tough city because they expect you to play at a certain level, and when you don't, they remind you how you're not doing it."
Bobcats guard Matt Carroll grew up in and around Philadelphia.
"People don't forget here" when you miss a big shot, Carroll said. "But it's still like everywhere else, in that winning cures everything."
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