The AP reports: With Gilbert Arenas back on the floor, the Washington Wizards fell apart in too many ways to count in the fourth quarter. Forget all his dramatics: Agent Zero had the show stolen by a rookie making his first NBA game-winner. Ramon Sessions hit a 19-foot jumper at the buzzer Wednesday night to give the Milwaukee Bucks a 110-109 victory over the Wizards, who left the game with severely bruised egos and new injuries to Antawn Jamison and DeShawn Stevenson… Charlie Villanueva had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Bucks, whose celebration took some of the sting from the news that they were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs by Atlanta’s win over Toronto… Butler and Jamison scored 18 points apiece for the Wizards, who missed a chance to clinch their fourth consecutive playoff berth.
Month: April 2008
Apr. 2: Celtics 92, Pacers 77
The AP reports: The Boston Celtics reached two milestones—matching the NBA record for best single-season turnaround and winning 60 games for the first time in 22 years… The Celtics also added a dominant player in the offseason, Kevin Garnett, who had 20 points and 12 rebounds Wednesday… The Pacers were led by Danny Granger with 14 points, and Mike Dunleavy and Jermaine O’Neal with 12 each. O’Neal came off the bench for the second game since missing 33 straight with a bone bruise on his left knee. Ray Allen had 15 points and Leon Powe had 14 with nine rebounds for the Celtics… Troy Murphy had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana.
Apr. 2: Hawks 127, Raptors 120
The AP reports: Mike Bibby hit a tying 3-pointer in regulation, Smith made two in overtime, and the Hawks beat the Toronto Raptors 127-120 on Wednesday night for their fifth straight victory… Chris Bosh had 24 points for Toronto, and T.J. Ford finished with 23 points and 13 assists. Rasho Nesterovic scored 21 points and reserve guard Jose Calderon handed out 10 assists for the Raptors. Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 28 points. Bibby had 26 and Josh Smith finished with 24. Bibby and Johnson combined for 23 assists. Al Horford pulled down 11 rebounds.
Apr. 2: Cavs 118, Bobcats 114
The AP reports: Entering the night, LeBron James had been disqualified twice in 417 games in his five-year career. But after scoring 29 points, James was called for his sixth foul when he reached in on Charlotte’s Jason Richardson at the top of his drive to the basket with Cleveland leading 104-101 with 3:56 left… Devin Brown finished with 20 points, Anderson Varejao made eight of nine shots and added 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland… Jason Richardson had 31 points, Emeka Okafor matched a season high with 25 and Gerald Wallace scored 21 for the Bobcats, who lost their second straight game amid questions of coach Sam Vincent’s future.
Remove Isiah this summer
Now that the Knicks have named Donnie Walsh president of basketball operations, after the season the team needs to relieve Isiah Thomas of his head coaching responsibility. Clean house. Separate the old from the new.
Ironically, here’s a fun idea that won’t happen: Bring Larry Brown in to coach the team. But not the current team. Bring him in after a bunch of key guys have been traded — assuming deals get made, that is. Anyway, it’s safe to say Brown will never be involved with the Knicks again unless the team has new owners someday, and that doesn’t appear likely anytime soon.
I like the idea of bringing Mark Jackson in as a member of the coaching staff, but he should get assistant coaching experience before being given a head coaching job.
Whatever happens, Isiah just has to go. There was no evidence of a good coaching job done this season. None. The team barely seemed to run any plays, and what few players looked decent last season all seemed to regress. I say scrap the entire coaching staff and bring in an entirely new crew.
How about an experienced, veteran head coach, experienced assistants, and then Patrick Ewing and Mark Jackson rounding out the staff?
Read the InsideHoops NBA Rumors page daily (as you should be doing already), and keep your eye on our site’s front page, for ideas about possible next coaches and much more.
Walsh needs to rebuild Knicks from scratch
Donnie Walsh is a good hire to control the Knicks. But the big question is if he’ll be allowed to truly rebuild the team from scratch, or if he’s going to continue the Isiah Thomas (and Scott Layden) tradition of just building upon something that doesn’t work.
It seems like the Knicks, for years now, only cared about trying to make the playoffs, and never even really tried to build a team that had a real shot at winning a championship. That they failed to even be decent is almost another story.
The Knicks need to clear house. In today’s press conference introducing Donnie Walsh as the new Knicks president of basketball operations, it was said the Knicks want to stay competitive but gain salary cap flexibility. That’s the wrong move. Don’t worry about staying competitive right away. (Wait, wasn’t the team trying to be competitive this season?) Clear house. Get almost everyone out. Start from scratch.
The Knicks need to try to do what the Seattle Sonics did. After realizing what they had wasn’t working, the Sonics got rid of everyone, managed to draft Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, won almost no games (yet just a few less than the current Knicks have) and have amazing salary cap flexibility for the future. Of course, while the Sonics may be leaving Seattle, the Knicks are firmly planted in New York City, a town that is a great selling point for superstars looking to rule the world in the future.
Removing Isiah from power is a step in the right direction. But let’s see if Walsh just keeps doing what Isiah was doing or does what he needs to do, begin a true rebuilding process that should see the majority of the team’s current players find a new home in the next season or two.
Larry Bird wishes Walsh good luck in NY
The Knicks today named Donnie Walsh president of basketball operations. Walsh just spent 25 years with the Indiana Pacers. Here’s a statement from Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird:
“The Indiana Pacers offer Donnie Walsh congratulations and wish him good luck in his new position. The Knicks have a good man whose dedication to his job is unmatched. I have learned a great deal from Donnie and he’s not only a role model but a great friend. Given time, there’s no doubt in my mind Donnie will bring success to the Knicks much like he did with the Pacers. On behalf of the entire Pacers organization, we wish him the best of luck.”
Donnie Walsh takes over Knicks
James L. Dolan, chairman of Madison Square Garden and president and chief executive officer of Cablevision Systems Corporation, today announced that Donnie Walsh has been named president, basketball operations of the New York Knickerbockers, in charge of all basketball operations. Both Mr. Walsh and Steve Mills, president and chief operating officer of MSG Sports, will report directly to Mr. Dolan.
Full news announcement is here.
The big question here is if Knicks ownership will really let Walsh truly rebuild the squad from scratch, like they needed to do for years now. What Isiah Thomas kept trying to do is build upon something that wasn’t working, instead of tearing it down from scratch. Walsh needs to ship almost all the current players out as quickly as possible, and that could take quite a while — like, a full season or two, or more. And he needs to finally clear salary cap space and attempt to build a real team with legitimate championship hopes, instead of one that just hopes to reach the playoffs.
Apr. 1: Kings 99, Rockets 98
The AP reports: Ron Artest scored 30 points, Kevin Martin added 27 and the Sacramento Kings dealt a blow to Houston’s chances of winning the Southwest Division with a 99-98 victory over the Rockets on Tuesday night. The Rockets (49-25) fell 2 1/2 games behind New Orleans and San Antonio in the division race with only eight games remaining, hurting their chances of hosting a first-round playoff series. Tracy McGrady scored 32 to lead Houston, but missed a jumper at the buzzer that would have won it. The Rockets have lost five of eight since a franchise-record, 22-game winning streak… Luis Scola finished with 20 points and Rafer Alston had 18 for Houston.
Apr. 1: Nuggets 126, Suns 120
The AP reports: The Denver Nuggets frittered away a big lead over Phoenix for the second time in 24 hours, but unlike their drubbing in the desert, they recovered from their latest meltdown for a crucial 126-120 victory over the Suns at the Pepsi Center on Tuesday night… “I love playing back-to-back games, especially after a loss,” said Allen Iverson, who led Denver with 31 points… Carmelo Anthony grabbed two key rebounds and sank two free throws in the final 27 seconds and finished with 25 points. Kenyon Martin chipped in 18 points and Smith had 17. Leandro Barbosa led the Suns with 27 points but missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it with 15 seconds left… After Nash (17 points and 18 assists) missed a 3-pointer, Shaquille O’Neal got the rebound and drew the foul but missed both free throws.