Tag Archives: nba
Reuters
Ty Lawson is at the heart of the Denver Nuggets’ future. That much was clear as the Nuggets played gutty, fun basketball and pushed the Lakers to seven games — Lawson averaged 19 points a game on 51.4 percent shooting and added 7 assists per game as the point guard.
After his fourth year in the NBA Lawson is now up for a contract extension and both sides want to work one out that keeps Lawson playing in the mile high city, reports the Denver Post.
Asked about possibly getting a contract extension from the Nuggets this summer, Lawson told The Denver Post: “It’s definitely a goal. I want to be here long term. I’m pretty sure my agent and Masai (Ujiri, the Nuggets’ executive vice president of basketball operations) will talk this summer.”
Asked Sunday about Lawson, Ujiri said: “He’s going to be a big part of the Denver Nuggets. We’re excited. Ty is going to grow even more. He made a little jump, and he’ll continue to make jumps as he gets older.”
Lawson will be back with the Nuggets either way, he either works out an extension or comes back for a fifth season then will try out the market as a restricted free agent next summer.
But if you’re committed to a guy and want to make him happy, you do the extension (they can talk about it after July 1). Denver has already done that with Danilo Gallinari (four-years, $42 million). I expect we’ll see the same here.
Lawson is not a max deal guy but he can get some long-term security and Denver can lock down Lawson for five years at what might be below market rate in a couple years (if Lawson keeps taking steps forward). While the numbers will be different, think of what Danny Ainge did in Boston locking down Rajon Rondo at a price he could no longer get.
Some work needs to be done to fill out the rest of the Nuggets roster if they are going to take the next steps forward, but Lawson will be part of that future.
JaVale McGee, on the other hand, is a restricted free agent this summer and it will be interesting to see what the market will bear for him.
AP
Two years ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder faced the Los Angeles Lakers in the first-round of the 2010 NBA Playoffs. It was supposed to be a nice learning experience for a team on the rise, a quick lesson from the reigning champs as to how the playoffs work. Instead, the world was introduced to the intensity of the Oklahoma City crowd, and the Lakers generally looked inept in their efforts to dominate the less experienced team. The Lakers went on to win the title, because that’s kind of their thing. Struggle when they don’t have to actually try, then kill everything in front of them once they get going. The league took notice, though, and it was the big step forward for the Thunder into the spotlight.
My, how things have changed.
Now the Thunder enter Monday night as the prohibitive favorite, having handled the Lakers in all but their last meeting, an overtime home win for the Lakers that featured Metta World Peace taking out the Thunder’s third best player. The student has become the master, so to speak. But can they win out over the more experienced team, with Kobe Bryant and a huge size advantage?
Five things to note as the series kick off.
1. If You Want Blood, You Got It: This thing is no longer a friendly little-brother thing. It’s a full-blown rivalry. The Thunder have taken it to the Lakers, and James Harden was actually talking trash to Kobe Bryant in a Thunder win earlier this season. You know, the one before Metta World Peace “accidentally” elbowed him in the side of the head giving him a concussion. Kendrick Perkins has had an issue with Andrew Bynum for years dating back to his Boston days. Serge Ibaka goes at Pau Gasol, and Kevin Durant hates being guarded by MWP. The Lakers will always think they rule the roost and the Thunder just knocked off the Mavericks who tossed them last year. They have something to prove. This is going to be a rough series with emotions running high in the madhouse that is Chesapeake Energy Arena
2. On Guard: Anyone else notice that Ty Lawson destroyed the Lakers? Because Ty Lawson destroyed the Lakers. The Lakers have lacked a good perimeter defender for point guards for years. Ramon Sessions has not helped the situation. Russell Westbrook is the same model as Lawson, fast and explosive, only maybe faster, definitely more explosive, and a better overall scorer. In the 2010 series, Kobe Bryant switched onto Westbrook and did the lion’s share on him. The problem with that is that James Harden has stepped up and become the playmaker that OKC needs as a third option. If Bryant handles Westbrook, they’re just letting Harden loose. Switch MWP onto Harden to defend him without elbowing him, and there’s that problem of Kevin Durant. Someone’s going to get loose for OKC. It’s just a matter of the Lakers picking their poison.
3. Big And Bad And Lazy All Over: Kendrick Perkins does really well against huge athletic centers. But Andrew Bynum’s size is still going to win out most times… if he exerts himself. Bynum could have ended the Nuggets series in five games had he tried. He chose not to, and the series went to seven. How much effort will he give in this series? Likewise, Serge Ibaka is going to have a hard time with Pau Gasol who can shoot over him from mid-range which is where Ibaka struggles. If Gasol is engaged, which again, flip a coin, the Lakers have so much length they can punish the Thunder inside. If not, the game becomes about transition and perimeter and that’s where the Thunder live.
4. Unlikely Heroes: The playoffs have been rife with unlikely heroes. Among these was Steve Blake, hitting five threes in Game 7 vs. Denver. Can the Lakers get great shooting from Blake and MWP over the course of a series despite all evidence to the contrary outside of Game 7? Can Daequan Cook or Thabo Sefolosha makes plays? What about Jordan Hill? No, seriously, what about Jordan Hill? This series is likely to be close and whoever gets a step up from the unlikely guys may come out on top.
5. The Finest Hour: Kobe Bryant was magnificent in Game 6 in a lost cause. In Game 7, he played in the flow of the offense and encouraged his teammates to do their job. Kevin Durant struggled early on vs. the Mavericks before breaking loose. This series is about two evenly matched teams with history and talented rosters. But it’s about Kobe vs. Durant. The Thunder don’t have a defender like MWP to stick on Bryant, but Durant is the best scorer in the series. Either Bryant is going to add to his already insane legend, or Durant’s going to make the biggest statement of his.
In Game 1, everything went wrong for the Lakers, everything went right for the Thunder. Thunder won. In Game 2, for 46 minutes, at least some things went right for the Lakers, everything went wrong for the Thunder. The pace was slow. The defense was incredible for the Lakers. The Thunder weren’t hitting jumpers. A seven-point lead with two minutes. Hold onto the ball, hold onto the lead, gain control of the series, go back to L.A. having rattled the kids in blue.
And then.
Disaster.
77-75 OKC over L.A.
As the Thunder closed on a 9-0 run, you couldn’t help but think of how often the Lakers had done this exact thing to so many teams. They were the ones who made the key steals late. They were the ones who waited for the opponent to crack. They were the ones who made clutch plays. But now? Now it’s OKC. They won when they played flawless, they won when they played terribly. And now it’s 2-0 OKC.
For Oklahoma City, there are reasons to be concerned but a ton of reasons for confidence. When the shots didn’t fall, they won. They had just a 92 offensive efficiency Wednesday night, and yet got the win. They had an off night offensively for the second-best scoring machine in the league, and they walk away with a 2-0 lead. Defensively, they stepped up to the challenge. Had they bent more inside, the game could have broken open. Had Thabo Sefolosha not done such a marvelous job on Kobe Bryant, helping him to a 9-25 night, they may not have sustained. The Thunder defense kept them in it, the Thunder’s athletes took the momentum, the Lakers’ ineptitude opened the door, and Kevin Durant slammed it shut.
And for a fun twist on a narrative, instead of LeBron James failing in the clutch, it was Kobe Bryant with this line: 0-2, zero points, 1 turnover, one bad pass knocked out off of him, one bad miss, one airball, no final shot, and a whole lot of frustration. Bryant was clearly livid both after Kevin Durant’s game winner and upon turning around to see Steve Blake taking a three-pointer for the win instead of, you know, him.
It’s not wise to get riled up about Blake, however. This is a shooter who hit five threes against the Denver Nuggets in Game 7. He was wide open. I mean, wide open. The pass had to be made, the shot had to be taken. It just didn’t fall. This is life in the NBA, the reality of clutch vs. the myth. Bryant, though, certainly struggled and his play down the stretch may have thrown a little dirt on the Lakers.
But this series is far from over. The Lakers proved Wednesday that they can throw some kinks in the chain of OKC’s mighty system, and headed back to L.A. they have to be hopeful a few more things will go their way. The question is whether they can force OKC into the same halfcourt troubles it had Wednesday night, or if they get busted open by the same team that torched them in Game 1.
The Lakers can get right back into this thing with a win on Friday. But it’s a back to back set against a younger, fresher, hungrier team that seems to have all the answers, that can cross the finish line even when they stumble. The Lakers? They’re just trying to get the dust out of their mouth.
The Lakers had answers for the Thunder until the end. Then the ghosts that the Lakers usually wreak on their opponents grabbed hold of L.A.. By the throat.
Closing note: Andrew Bynum laughed as he left the floor.
Getty Images
More and more research is showing, if you want to build a sustainable winner in the NBA you need to do it on draft day.
Look at the teams still playing. Miami had to draft Dwyane Wade, which made it possible to bring in Shaq to get them one title (and LeBron James doesn’t come there without Wade). The Thunder are an obvious and easy example with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden all drafted by the franchise. The Spurs not only drafted Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, they found Manu Ginobili late in the second round and have rebuilt their roster with youth through the draft. The Lakers drafted Andrew Bynum and made a draft-day trade to get Kobe Bryant. Boston drafted Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo.
Orlando drafted Dwight Howard in 2004 and that set the tone for the past seven years, including one trip to the finals. But what they have done since then to build a team through free agency and not the draft has left them in a bind this summer, scrambling to find a trading partner to get a big piece to go next to Howard (good luck with that) or maybe having to move Howard.
Why don’t they have the pieces. Look at their draft since 2004: First rounders are Fran Vazquez (11 overall), J.J. Redick (11), Courtney Lee (22) and Daniel Orton (29). That’s just four first round picks in seven years and only one who panned out for them (Redick, although Lee had moments). The second rounders are all misses. By the way, who was drafted after Orton in 2010? Landry Fields, Devin Ebanks, Jerome Jordan, Luke Harangody and Jeremy Evans (not rock stars, but guys who might contribute).
Why the problem? Alex Kennedy has details at Hoopsworld that should make the stomachs of Magic fans turn (read the whole post about what the Magic need to do next).
The main reason that Orlando hasn’t been able to draft contributors is because they don’t put much time or effort into the pre-draft process.
When Orlando drafted Orton, they hadn’t seen him work out in person. Nearly every other team in the league had witnessed Orton struggle in workouts and knew of his knee issues. The Magic selected him sight unseen, and Orton isn’t the exception. Justin Harper had never met or interviewed with Orlando before they traded for his draft rights last year.
Rival executives openly joke about the Magic’s approach to the pre-draft process. Most teams interview and work out everyone on their draft board. Some teams will even bring in a player multiple times to make sure they have a good read on his personality and game. The Magic’s lack of preparation has hurt them and a new regime must have a better approach to the draft.
You can expect the Magic to deny the report in 5…4…3…
Whatever happens with Howard, Jameer Nelson and the rest of the circus this year, the change in the approach by the new regime is key. (We say that like it’s going to happen because we don’t imagine both coach Stan Van Gundy and GM Otis Smith lasting much longer.) If you are going to win and stay on top, you do it through the draft. It is how good teams stay on top.
AP
For the first couple of games, Boston looked old and injured, with Philly’s aggressive defense forcing improvisation and a lot of missed shots.
In Game 3, Boston got their groove back. From 2008.
Boston attacked the paint early with post ups, Kevin Garnett could not miss a turnaround jumper on his way to 27 points (on just 17 shots) and Boston blew the game open in the second and third quarters in its way to an easy 107-91 win. Boston now leads the series 2-1.
Boston came out with a new aggressiveness and level of energy at both ends for this game. As veteran teams can do. Philly, a young team learning to play at this level, seemed taken aback by the new level of intensity. That is their task if they want to keep pushing Boston — the Sixers have to match that level, and they have to play better on the defensive end again. Boston shot 51.9 percent on the night and 45.5 percent from three and they will win every time if that happens.
This game was different from the opening tip, with both teams flowing better on offense. But after a couple games where Boston spent more time in the Rajon Rondo-led improvisational Celtics offense that Doc Rivers calls “random,” Boston got into their sets and into the paint early and often in Game 3.
“We (established ourselves in the post) the right way, I thought we did it through execution,” Rivers said after the game on an interview broadcast on NBA TV. “We did it through space. I thought in the first two games we tried to do it, but we did it out of random, and our spacing was poor. (Tonight) we also did it through posting the ball early, we posted Paul (Pierce 24 points on 17 shots) up early and we posted Kevin up early. And that’s the right way to play. That’s who we are. Now the shots have to go in, that makes you better. But at least the shots were the shots we wanted rather than the ones, because our offense was so poor, that we had to take. I thought that was the big difference.”
Pierce really set the tone at the end of the first quarter when the guy dragging around a leg with a sprained knee for a couple games drove and threw down two dunks, one over Thaddeus Young.
But Philly still had the lead 33-28 after one quarter as they matched Boston shot for shot. In the second the Celtics got back to playing their kind of defense — the Sixers had just 16 points in the second quarter. Boston had 32. It was an 11 point lead for Boston at the half (KG and Pierce each had 17 points already) and Philly scored just 17 in the third quarter as the game became a laugher.
This game was the best energy and aggressiveness Boston had played with this series. Philly, a young team learning to play at this level, seemed taken aback by the new level of intensity.
Rondo was impressive all night and had 23 points and 13 assists. Mikhail Pietrus knocked down some threes and had 13 off the bench. Philly’s stars struggled with Andre Iguodala taking just six shots while the previously hot Evan Turner was 1-10. The bright spot was Young coming off the bench for 22.
The two questions for Game 4 is can Boston keep this up — the energy level yes but the shooting likely cools off some — and can the Sixers raise their game to match? Game 4 is not likely to be a blowout like this gain, but it’s not going to return all the way to grind-it-out Game 2 either. The Sixers are going to have to adapt
Reuters
Ty Lawson is at the heart of the Denver Nuggets’ future. That much was clear as the Nuggets played gutty, fun basketball and pushed the Lakers to seven games — Lawson averaged 19 points a game on 51.4 percent shooting and added 7 assists per game as the point guard.
After his fourth year in the NBA Lawson is now up for a contract extension and both sides want to work one out that keeps Lawson playing in the mile high city, reports the Denver Post.
Asked about possibly getting a contract extension from the Nuggets this summer, Lawson told The Denver Post: “It’s definitely a goal. I want to be here long term. I’m pretty sure my agent and Masai (Ujiri, the Nuggets’ executive vice president of basketball operations) will talk this summer.”
Asked Sunday about Lawson, Ujiri said: “He’s going to be a big part of the Denver Nuggets. We’re excited. Ty is going to grow even more. He made a little jump, and he’ll continue to make jumps as he gets older.”
Lawson will be back with the Nuggets either way, he either works out an extension or comes back for a fifth season then will try out the market as a restricted free agent next summer.
But if you’re committed to a guy and want to make him happy, you do the extension (they can talk about it after July 1). Denver has already done that with Danilo Gallinari (four-years, $42 million). I expect we’ll see the same here.
Lawson is not a max deal guy but he can get some long-term security and Denver can lock down Lawson for five years at what might be below market rate in a couple years (if Lawson keeps taking steps forward). While the numbers will be different, think of what Danny Ainge did in Boston locking down Rajon Rondo at a price he could no longer get.
Some work needs to be done to fill out the rest of the Nuggets roster if they are going to take the next steps forward, but Lawson will be part of that future.
JaVale McGee, on the other hand, is a restricted free agent this summer and it will be interesting to see what the market will bear for him.
Getty Images
Bulls fans have turned Carlos Boozer into their whipping boy — all problems seem to be his fault, from issues like consistent post scoring to NATO summit protestors. To me, Boozer has seemed like what he always has been and Bulls fans sound like Jazz fans three years ago.
But sorry Bulls fans, Boozer is coming back.
While there have been calls from fans to use the amnesty clause on him, GM Gar Forman told The Mully and Hanley Show on 670 The Score, as transcribed by CBS Chicago.
“I think Carlos had a very productive year,” Forman said. “You look back, he’s the only guy on our team that played every game and practiced every day on a team that won more games than anybody in the NBA. He was our second leading scorer and our second leading rebounder. We’re looking forward to Carlos continuing to make progress. I know the last game clouds it a little bit, but he was very productive in the games before that. Even in that last game, in 27 minutes, he had 13 boards. I anticipate Carlos being with us and having another productive year next season.
“We’re happy Carlos Boozer is here and we like the core of the team that we have under contract.”
The problem with using the amnesty clause on Boozer is that you can’t just swap out his salary. Next Year Derrick Rose will start the first year of his five-year, $95 million deal, which means even if you amnesty Boozer the Bulls will be over the salary cap and only able to use things like the mid-level exception to bring in players. You can’t just bring in another $15 million a year free agent, that’s not how it works.
It might not be shocking to see the Bulls amnesty Boozer in a year or two to make sure they get under the luxury tax threshold. But to do now wouldn’t work because you can’t replace him and, despite what some Bulls fans think, they are not better off without him. That’s an efficient 15 and 9 a game you have to replace.
Getty Images
More and more research is showing, if you want to build a sustainable winner in the NBA you need to do it on draft day.
Look at the teams still playing. Miami had to draft Dwyane Wade, which made it possible to bring in Shaq to get them one title (and LeBron James doesn’t come there without Wade). The Thunder are an obvious and easy example with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden all drafted by the franchise. The Spurs not only drafted Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, they found Manu Ginobili late in the second round and have rebuilt their roster with youth through the draft. The Lakers drafted Andrew Bynum and made a draft-day trade to get Kobe Bryant. Boston drafted Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo.
Orlando drafted Dwight Howard in 2004 and that set the tone for the past seven years, including one trip to the finals. But what they have done since then to build a team through free agency and not the draft has left them in a bind this summer, scrambling to find a trading partner to get a big piece to go next to Howard (good luck with that) or maybe having to move Howard.
Why don’t they have the pieces. Look at their draft since 2004: First rounders are Fran Vazquez (11 overall), J.J. Redick (11), Courtney Lee (22) and Daniel Orton (29). That’s just four first round picks in seven years and only one who panned out for them (Redick, although Lee had moments). The second rounders are all misses. By the way, who was drafted after Orton in 2010? Landry Fields, Devin Ebanks, Jerome Jordan, Luke Harangody and Jeremy Evans (not rock stars, but guys who might contribute).
Why the problem? Alex Kennedy has details at Hoopsworld that should make the stomachs of Magic fans turn (read the whole post about what the Magic need to do next).
The main reason that Orlando hasn’t been able to draft contributors is because they don’t put much time or effort into the pre-draft process.
When Orlando drafted Orton, they hadn’t seen him work out in person. Nearly every other team in the league had witnessed Orton struggle in workouts and knew of his knee issues. The Magic selected him sight unseen, and Orton isn’t the exception. Justin Harper had never met or interviewed with Orlando before they traded for his draft rights last year.
Rival executives openly joke about the Magic’s approach to the pre-draft process. Most teams interview and work out everyone on their draft board. Some teams will even bring in a player multiple times to make sure they have a good read on his personality and game. The Magic’s lack of preparation has hurt them and a new regime must have a better approach to the draft.
You can expect the Magic to deny the report in 5…4…3…
Whatever happens with Howard, Jameer Nelson and the rest of the circus this year, the change in the approach by the new regime is key. (We say that like it’s going to happen because we don’t imagine both coach Stan Van Gundy and GM Otis Smith lasting much longer.) If you are going to win and stay on top, you do it through the draft. It is how good teams stay on top.
Reuters
He’s an NBA MVP. He’s an NBA champion. He’s an NBA Coach of the Year.
And now he’s an NBA Executive of the Year. Not a bad resume.
Larry Bird was voted the honor by his peers, the league announced. Bird is the first person ever to be an MVP, COY and now Executive of the Year. There’s a whole bunch of other accolades we could put on his historic and unique career in basketball as well.
You have to wonder if this was not kind of a lifetime achievement/going away present for Bird, who most expect to leave the Pacers after this season.
Not that he didn’t deserve it, Bird has made a numbers of smart moves that have brought the Pacers to a 42-24 record and the third seed in the East, a team that has advanced to the second round of the playoffs and is giving the Heat all they can handle.
He drafted Roy Hibbert and Paul George in recent years to put around Danny Granger. This summer he signed David West then later traded for Leandro Barbosa. He also found and hired coach Frank Vogel.
Second place in the voting went to Spurs GM R.C. Buford, who has remade the Spurs roster around the big three and turned them into an offensive force and contender.
Third was the Clippers Neil Olshey, who has turned around the Clipper franchise and was able to swing the blockbuster trade for Chris Paul. Olshey was my choice, not simply for the Paul trade but more for being at the heart of changing the culture around at what had been the worst franchise in the Association.
Chicago’s Gar Forman was fourth, Utah’s Kevin O’Conner fifth.
Reuters
Here’s another NBA postseason award we all knew was coming it was just a matter of when….
Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving will be named the NBA Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, something first reported by Marc Stein at ESPN and confirmed by the Associated Press among others.
The voting should be almost a unanimous coronation for the former Duke player. He averaged 18.5 points and 5.5 assists a game, shot 39.9 percent from three, became a dangerous late game threat, and restored some hope to a Cleveland franchise that has been lacking it.
As the season wore on he pulled away from the competition for this award, although Ricky Rubio and Kenneth Faried will get some votes. This was one of the easiest choices on the ballot (and he would have gotten my vote as well)
