Month: May 2008

Will LeBron ever leave Cavs?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Bill Livingston) blogs: James is not going to be leaving for Milwaukee, San Antonio or even Detroit. The challenge will come, I think, from the New York Knicks. Many believe the biggest pitch will be made by the New Jersey Nets when they relocate to Brooklyn, N.Y., in time for James’ free agency year. James is a personal friend with Nets part owner Jay-Z, the rap artist. The Nets also might trade for James’ pal Carmelo Anthony. But offensive mastermind Mike D’Antoni is the Knicks’ new coach. He will put in a fluid system that could let a player like James average almost unheard-of numbers. The Knicks are the big team in the media capital of the country, and they will be clearing salary-cap space for the next two years. The Lakers wooed Shaquille O’Neal away from Orlando by challenging him to match Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s legacy and restore the Lakers’ greatness. Orlando did everything it could to no avail.

Bulls coaching search continues

The Arlington Heights Daily Herald (Mike McGraw) reports: This week figures to be important, with four interviews scheduled. Paxson plans to meet with Utah assistant Tyrone Corbin, former Minnesota coach Dwane Casey, part-time Utah assistant Jeff Hornacek and Sacramento assistant Chuck Person. Paxson also acknowledged that he has spoken to some candidates whose teams still are alive in the playoffs. According to a league source, ex-Bulls coach Phil Jackson worked out a time for Paxson to visit Los Angeles in recent days, where he most likely spoke to Lakers assistants Brian Shaw and Kurt Rambis. Among the teams playing in the conference finals, other candidates for the Bulls’ job include Boston’s Tom Thibodeau, Detroit’s Michael Curry and Terry Porter, along with San Antonio’s Mike Budenholzer.

May 21: Lakers 89, Spurs 85

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored all but two of his 27 points after halftime, including a go-ahead, 10-foot jumper in the lane with 23.9 seconds remaining, and the Lakers rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat the Spurs 89-85 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals… Bryant’s jumper put the Lakers ahead for good after two free throws by Manu Ginobili with 1:22 remaining and a follow shot by Tim Duncan with 41 seconds left tied the game at 85. After Bryant’s game-winner, Ginobili missed a 3-pointer and Sasha Vujacic made two free throws with 7.3 seconds to go, completing the scoring… The Lakers outscored the Spurs 24-13 in the fourth quarter, when San Antonio shot 3-for-21, including 1-for-9 from 3-point range… The Spurs outscored the Lakers 14-2 to start the third quarter for a 65-45 lead, drawing groans from the crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center, where the Lakers haven’t lost since March 28. Suddenly, the Lakers came together, scoring 14 straight points in a span of 3:05 to draw within six. Bryant had seven points and two assists during the run.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Lakers shot 43.2%, the Spurs 40.5%. But the Lakers shot a respectable 4-of-10 three-pointers while the Spurs were just 5-of-20 (Mike Finley went 0-of-5). Free throws were close, but the Lakers were a bit better. Rebounds, assists and turnovers were fairly close.

For the Lakers, Bryant (shot 11-of-21) had 27 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. Pau Gasol (9-of-16) had 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Vladimir Radmanovic (5-of-5) had 10 points and 5 rebounds. Sasha Vujacic on 8 shots had 10 points and 5 rebounds. Lamar Odom (3-of-12) and Derek Fisher (1-of-9) had bad games, though Odom had 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.

For the Spurs, Tim Duncan (12-of-25) had 30 points, 18 rebounds, 2 steals, 4 blocks, but more turnovers than assists. Tony Parker needed 17 shots for his 18 points, 10 rebounds (yup) and 6 assists. Bruce Bowen (5-of-8) scored 12. Manu Ginobili (just 3-of-13) had just 10 points, 4 rebounds and more turnovers than assists. Mike Finley shot 0-of-5 for no points. Ime Udoka had 7 of the Spurs 9 bench points.

Spurs old while Lakers young

The Washington Post (Michael Lee) reports: Derek Fisher is the Lakers’ only regular rotation player older than 30. On the other hand, Parker is the only player who is younger than 30 in the Spurs’ regular rotation. But the 26-year-old Parker doesn’t mind being grouped with the rest of the AARP roster. “With all the years with the [French] national team, you can add me an extra four years,” Parker said with a laugh. Parker and Horry both joked that a postseason reunion with the Lakers will make them feel young again. Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Fisher and Horry have been around for each of the previous five Lakers-Spurs clashes, of which the Lakers won three. Horry switched from the Lakers to the Spurs before the teams last met in the conference semifinals in 2004, a series that the Lakers won after Fisher made an off-balance 17-foot jumper with 0.4 of a second left in the critical Game 5. The Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals that season, losing to the Detroit Pistons.

Lakers and Spurs yet again

The Washington Post (Michael Lee) reports: “It’s getting old,” Tony Parker said about the Spurs facing the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs for the sixth time since 1999. Then Parker paused, cracked a sly grin and said: “Nah, it never gets old. It’s always great to play the Lakers. Kobe [Bryant] is at his best. They have a great team. Back to the rivalry; it’s going to be great.” If anything has gotten old, it’s the Spurs, who have had to hear about their age this season more times than Republican presidential candidate John McCain. “People always talk about us being old,” said Spurs reserve Robert Horry, 37. “They classify you as being old because you don’t dunk anymore or don’t slash as fast as you used to slash, but we’re still going. Our game plan is usually pretty good.”

May 20: Celtics 88, Pistons 79

The AP reports: Not even a week of rest could prepare the Detroit Pistons for the hottest home team in the NBA. Kevin Garnett had 26 points and nine rebounds and Paul Pierce scored 22 points Tuesday night to give Boston an 88-79 victory over the Pistons in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics’ 15th straight home win… Kendrick Perkins had 10 rebounds for Boston and Rajon Rondo scored seven of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, hitting a 3-pointer with 1:47 left in the game after the Pistons cut the deficit to 83-75. Rondo also had seven assists and five steals while outplaying Chauncey Billups, the MVP of the 2004 NBA finals, in his return from a right hamstring injury… The Pistons quickly erased the first-quarter lead, even going ahead 13-12. But they trailed 41-40 at halftime and scored just 17 points in the third quarter, 10 from Richard Hamilton, while the Celtics took a 69-57 lead on Eddie House’s 3-pointer with 2 seconds left.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Celtics shot 52.2%, the Pistons 42.4%. Three-pointers weren’t much of a favor. The Pistons got to the free throw line a bit more, and hit a slightly higher percentage. Rebounding was even. But the Celtics dished 27 assists, the Pistons just 15. Turnovers were close.

For the Celtics, Kevin Garnett (11-of-17) had 26 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Paul Pierce (9-of-18) had 22 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists (but 5 turnovers). Rajon Rondo (5-of-9) had 11 points, 7 assists and 5 steals. Ray Allen (just 3-of-10) keeps struggling and had 9 points, 4 assists and 2 steals. Kendrick Perkins had 10 rebounds.

For the Pistons, Tayshaun Prince (just 7-of-16 with no free throws) had 16 points and 4 rebounds. Richard Hamilton (just 5-of-13) had 15 points and 6 rebounds. Antonio McDyess (5-of-10) was good with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Rasheed Wallace (just 3-of-12) had 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Chauncey Billups (3-of-6), returning from injury, in 31 minutes had 9 points and little else.

Tim Donaghy claims game results were affected

The AP reports: Disgraced basketball referee Tim Donaghy told investigators in the NBA betting probe that relationships among officials, coaches and players “affected the outcome of games,” his attorney said. The league said the charges were unfounded. Donaghy’s attorney made the assertions in a letter filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn on Monday, in which he argued that his client should be sentenced to probation because he fully cooperated with prosecutors and has been undergoing treatment for his gambling addiction. The attorney also suggested that Donaghy told investigators about the gambling activities of other NBA officials and about a referee that passed “confidential” information to an unidentified coach.

No one trying to take Pat Ewing from Magic

The Orlando Sentinel (Brian Schmitz) reports: Unless circumstances change, Magic assistant coach and Howard’s big-man guru Patrick Ewing will return next season. Magic Chief Operating Officer Alex Martins told the Sentinel that no team has asked the club for permission to talk to Ewing, including his former team, the New York Knicks. When Mike D’Antoni took over the Knicks as coach last week, he said he would be interested in handing one of his assistant spots to Ewing, who has another year on his contract with the Magic.

George Karl has left hip replacement surgery

Denver Nuggets Head Coach George Karl underwent successful left hip replacement surgery today.

The surgery, which lasted more than two hours, was performed at Rose Hospital by Dr. Hal Crane of Orthopedic Associates, the team orthopedic group for the Nuggets.

Karl is expected to resume walking without a cane in a week to 10 days.