Month: November 2009

Nets fire Lawrence Frank

New Jersey Nets fire coach Lawrence Frank

The New Jersey Nets have relieved Head Coach Lawrence Frank of his coaching duties effective immediately, Nets President Rod Thorn announced today.  Nets assistant coach Tom Barrise will assume the head coaching responsibilities for tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers.  A permanent replacement for Coach Frank has not been determined.

“I want to thank Lawrence for his more than a decade of service to the Nets, first as an assistant coach and then as the head coach for the past six and a half seasons. Lawrence always approached every day with a passion for his craft that was infectious, and his dedication to the game as well as his work ethic are to be both admired and appreciated.  I wish he and his family only the best of good fortune in the future.”

Since being named head coach of the Nets on January 26, 2004, Frank compiled a career coaching record of 225-241, and led the team to the postseason in four consecutive years (2004-2007) with a playoff record of 18-20.  Frank leaves the Nets as the franchise’s all-time NBA leader in coaching victories with 225.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Carmelo Anthony scores 50

Friday night in Denver the Nuggets edged the New York Knicks 128-125 in a wild shootout that featured one member of the losing squad, Al Harrington, come off the bench to shoot 14-of-24 with four three pointers and 9-of-13 free throws for 41 points and 10 rebounds.

While Harrington’s individual scoring output would normally be the best in the league on any given NBA basketball night, it was second best in this game as Nuggets small forward Carmelo Anthony erupted for 50.

Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post reports:

carmelo anthony

As if turkey wasn’t enough, [Carmelo] Anthony gorged himself on a diet of open shots provided by New York. And he made them count. The Nuggets forward knocked down 17-of-28 shots to finish with a career-high 50 points.

“It feels good,” said Anthony, whose previous career high was 49 at Washington in 2008. “I have not been (to 50 points) a lot of times, and never got over that hump (in the NBA).”

Anthony had 10 in the first quarter, 14 in the second, 15 in the third and 11 in the fourth.

And a shot chart full of filled-in circles.

Anthony, so far, is having the best season of his career. MVP chants are becoming common in the Pepsi Center, and they revved up again in the fourth quarter when Anthony stepped to the free-throw line.

The AP reports:

With the game in the balance, the crowd chanting “MVP! MVP!” and Anthony’s sights set on an offensive milestone, the Nuggets forward sank a pair of free throws with 16 seconds remaining to finish off a career-high, 50-point performance and help Denver beat the New York Knicks 128-125 Friday night.

“They might have been the two toughest free throws I’ve shot in a while,” Anthony said. “We’ve got the game on the line, 50, you’re right there and you want to get it. If I didn’t say I wanted to get it, I’d be lying to you. I’m right there. But most importantly they were two big free throws.”

Matt Gagne of the New York Daily News reports:

“He’s got the total package right now,” Al Harrington said after the Knicks finished 0-3 on their West Coast swing and dropped to 3-13. “He’s hitting threes, he’s got a mid-range jumper, he can get to the free throw line whenever he wants to. Whenever you’re playing a guy like that, there’s nothing you can do. “I think our guys did a pretty good job, because if we didn’t, he would’ve had 70.”

Including Friday’s games, Melo leads the entire NBA in scoring with 30.9 points per game. Kevin Martin (Sacramento Kings), who is injured and has played in just five games this season, is at 30.6 ppg. Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) is at 30.1 ppg, followed by LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) with 29.4 ppg and Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder) with 27.5 ppg.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

George Karl doubts Knicks plan

Denver Nuggets coach George Karl is often quite outspoken about his opinions and it’s always worth listening to what he has to say. In this case, Karl casts doubt on what the New York Knicks are trying to do.

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:

Nuggets coach George Karl said the Knicks master plan of tanking two seasons to get to the 2010 free agency usually does not work and believes it’s been grossly unfair to coach Mike D’Antoni.

Last week, Karl recommended to D’Antoni that signing Allen Iverson would be a boost, but added a caveat. Karl, who coached Iverson in Denver for nearly two seasons, told D’Antoni to sign Iverson only if he plans to start him exclusively.

With the current roster, Karl said he thinks D’Antoni has no shot of having success and believes Knicks team president Donnie Walsh should make him a front-office executive who runs practices, but has an interim coach to absorb the losses on the resume. Karl thinks a coach in D’Antoni’s situation is being “thrown to the wolves.”

It’s definitely unfair to blame Mike D’Antoni if a rebuilding team that is trying to start from scratch loses, but as long as the owner and upper management understands that is the situation, I think D’Antoni is safe. But a problem could result if the team doesn’t at least play hard and look properly coached.

Rasheed Wallace mad at Hedo Turkoglu flopping

Friday night the Boston Celtics handled the Toronto Raptors, winning 116-103. And according to Rasheed Wallace, one Raptor provided some not-so-welcome acting during the matchup.

Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe reports:

Rasheed Wallace was issued a technical foul 1:35 into the second quarter last night, but the Celtics big man believes the technical should have been called on Toronto’s Hedo Turkoglu  – for flopping.

Wallace was whistled for a foul after clashing with Turkoglu, then referee Ed Malloy called the technical.

“I didn’t use no profanity, I just said, ‘He’s a flopper,’ ’’ Wallace said after Boston’s 116-113 victory at TD Garden. “And [Malloy] gave me a tech for that. The league should make that a rule – flopping.

“It’s not like I threw my shoulder into him, or it was a hard push, or real hard contact. Come on, now. Showing on a pick, I’m already there, he touches me – ‘Ohh,’ he acts like I shot him or something. ‘Ohh.’ That’s not basketball, man, that’s not defense, that’s garbage, that’s what it is.’’

Rasheed’s shot has been off (37.7% shooting, 29.0% three-pointers, 9.2 points per game) since joining the Celtics, but he was on target vs the Raptors and hit 6-of-11 for 15 points.

Euroleague Week 5 MVPs: Aleks Maric, Keith Langford

Euroleague.net reports:

Week 5 was so exciting that it generated two MVPs, both of them newcomers to the Euroleague this season.

Aleks Maric of Partizan Belgrade and Keith Langford of Khimki Moscow Region posted performance index ratings of 38 each to share the Week 5 MVP honor while leading their teams to very big victories.

Before a sold-out crowd in Belgrade that hailed him as a new star, Maric used a monster double-double of 23 points and 15 rebounds to propel Partizan to an 86-80 comeback upset over Olympiacos in Group B. Maric added 5 steals, an assist, a block and 8 fouls drawn to amass his 38 index rating.

Not to be outdone, Langford overcame a quiet start to lead Khimki to an 89-67 home win against Asseco Prokom Gdynia and keep pace with two other Group D leaders. Langford finished with 20 points on 11-for-12 free-throw shooting while also collecting 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, a steal and 9 fouls drawn.

Derrick Rose returning to form

Dirk Facer, for the Chicago Sun-Times, reports:

derrick rose

Derrick Rose is getting better. The injured right ankle that has slowed him since the preseason is on the mend.

Monday in Portland, Rose opened the second half by elevating over Greg Oden for his first dunk of the season.

”I really couldn’t believe it when I was up in the air,” said Rose, who said it felt great. ”It’s getting there. I’m getting a little bit explosive, so you’ll probably see more dunks in some other games.” …

In a loss to the Nuggets on Saturday, he scored a season-high 28 points. Over the last three games — all on the road — he’s averaging 20.7 points, 4.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field (27-for-54).

We’re just starting to see the real D-Rose now. His early season games were more about returning from injury than shining like the young star that he is.

Lou Williams out 8 weeks

Lou Williams out 8 weeks

Philadelphia 76ers guard Lou Williams was examined this morning by team physician Dr. Jack McPhilemy of Main Line Health and oral surgeon Alfred Wolanin. Williams underwent surgery this morning, during which time he had his upper and lower jaws wired together. Williams will meet with a nutritionist in the coming days to review a liquid diet designed to assist him in maintaining his weight.

Williams will be out for eight weeks.

Further updates on Williams’ status will be provided as they become available.

This thought is in jest, but, I hear Allen Iverson is in need of a job.

Read fan reaction and share your own opinion in this forum topic.

Thunder sign Mike Wilks

Thunder to sign Mike Wilks

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has signed veteran guard Mike Wilks.

Wilks, a six-year NBA veteran, holds career averages of 2.5 points, 1.2 assists, 1.0 rebound in 229 career NBA contests. The Rice University product, who has played for eight different NBA teams, appeared in three preseason games with the Atlanta Hawks earlier this year.

EARLIER

The Oklahoma City Thunder will sign free agent guard Mike Wilks, InsideHoops.com has learned.

Wilks’ agent Bill Neff confirmed to InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner that the team will soon add the 30-year-old veteran, who has career averages of 2.5 points and 1.2 assists per game.

A 5-10, 180-pound point guard, Wilks played for three different teams in the 2007-08 season and was not in the NBA in 2008-09.

Wilks provides backup depth and can contribute behind starter Russell Westbrook, who plays 34.1 minutes per game.

Share your team opinions on the InsideHoops OKC Thunder forum.

Allen Iverson retiring

The AP reports:

Allen Iverson retiring

With no apparent interest from NBA teams, Allen Iverson is set to retire, according to an online report.

Commentator Stephen A. Smith published a statement on his Web site Wednesday attributed to Iverson. It said Iverson plans to retire but also that “I feel strongly that I can still compete at the highest level.”

The statement also said Iverson has tremendous love for the game and the desire to play, adding there is “a whole lot left in my tank.”

“His legacy would be huge,” Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star LeBron James said. “He’s one of the best when you talk about guys 6-foot and under in the game of basketball. He played injured and he played hard every single night. I don’t think it should end this way, but if it does, he’s left a lot of great things behind.”

The 10-time All-Star played three games this season with Memphis before taking a leave of absence to attend to personal matters. He was waived after the two sides agreed to part ways.

Iverson is a free agent and therefore can say he’s retiring, but there is nothing to stop him from changing his mind and remaining available, should a job offer come his way.

It would be a real shame if Iverson’s career went out on such a sour note, though considering it’s mainly his own doing, perhaps it’s fitting.

Iverson has made it clear that he only wants to join a team that will make him their star. He should instead focus on how to help a team win, hoping that the two goals are one and the same. But he’s always been primarily a scorer and one who doesn’t necessarily make teammates better.

Taking his advanced age and very specific skill set into consideration, he’s better suited as scoring punch, not a team’s primary star.

But apparently it’s all or nothing in Iverson’s eyes, and for now, he’ll stick with nothing and focus on enjoying life off the court.

However, don’t be shocked if he does wind up latching on with a team sometime in the coming weeks or months. This thing may not be over.

If this is the last we’ve seen of Iverson, he’ll be missed. He was a joy to watch.