Ford Has Spinal Surgery

Milwaukee Buck rookie point guard T.J. Ford had surgery Thursday for the bruised spinal cord that sidelined him for the last two months of the season.

Ford should fully recover in time for training camp in October, the Bucks said.

Ford had the surgery in Los Angeles. He did not play after Feb. 24, when he fell on his tailbone during a game against Minnesota.

Ford averaged 7.1 points, 6.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds while sharing point guard duties with Damon Jones.

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Atlanta Hawk Coach Terry Stotts reportedly will be fired by the team’s new ownership.

Stotts, who has had the job for 1 1/2 years, was informed of the decision late Thursday, and the team was set to make an official announcement today, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Since replacing Lon Kruger as coach on Dec. 26, 2002, Stotts was 52-85, including 28-54 last season.

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NBA referees have asked the league for a stand-by official during the last two rounds of the playoffs, giving the three-person officiating teams a backup in case one of them gets hurt.

A referee had to leave a game three times this postseason, leaving the remaining two members of the crew to finish the game.

“Quality officiating can only be ensured if three officials are on the court at all times,” the National Basketball Referees Assn., said in its proposal, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News. “The intensity of the playoffs necessitates that the NBA take all precautionary actions to ensure quality officiating.”

Stu Jackson, the NBA’s senior vice president of basketball operations, said the league would consider the referee union’s proposal, but that a new program “is not imminent.”

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The Detroit Pistons have done the same thing in the opening game of their two playoff series.

Now, they want the similarities to stop.

Detroit routed the New Jersey Nets in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal, and it had a 26-point win in the opening game against Milwaukee.

In Game 2 against the Bucks, Detroit was flat until it rallied from a 15-point deficit before falling short.

Piston Coach Larry Brown does not expect a similar letdown in today’s Game 2 against the Nets in Auburn Hills, Mich.

“The good thing is we did have a lesson in the Milwaukee series,” Brown said. “Everybody was talking about how good we were, and then lo and behold, we had a series and the [home-court advantage] we worked for over the course of the year was taken away in one game.”