May 2010 – Page 5 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

76ers hire Doug Collins as head coach

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that Doug Collins has been named head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“We are excited to hire a head coach with the level of experience, knowledge and passion for the game that Doug Collins has,” said Stefanski. “He has been around basketball his entire life, has experienced success at every step throughout his career and we are confident in his ability to lead our team.”

“Doug Collins is a terrific motivator, teacher, and manager,” said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. “We believe he is the right coach for the Philadelphia 76ers and the one who will lead us back onto the right track.”

“The past week has provided us with a series of events that we believe will be a turning point for the Philadelphia 76ers,” said Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider. “Doug Collins is a coach that can make an immediate impact. He has all the attributes that we are looking for in a new head coach and we are happy to welcome him back into the Sixers family.”

Since his last coaching stint with the Washington Wizards in 2002-03, the 58-year-old Collins has served as an analyst for the NBA on TNT. In eight seasons of coaching, Collins compiled a regular season record of 332-287 (.536) and reached the playoffs five times, highlighted by a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals with Chicago in 1989.

Following a standout career at Illinois State, Collins was selected by the Sixers with the first overall pick in the 1973 NBA Draft. He spent all eight of his seasons with Philadelphia, averaging 17.9 points, 3.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.25 steals in 415 games played while shooting 50.1% from the floor and 83.3% from the line. For his career, the four-time All-Star had more steals (518) than turnovers (485).

By Collins’ fourth season with the team in 1976-77, Philadelphia advanced to the NBA Finals. During that postseason, Collins averaged 22.4 points per game, second only on the team to Julius Erving’s 27.3 ppg.

After injuries forced him to retire during the 1980-81 season, Collins took an assistant coaching job at The University of Pennsylvania under Bob Weinhauer and followed Weinhauer to Arizona State. Collins’ NBA coaching career began when he was named head coach of the Chicago Bulls on May 23, 1986.

Collins took the Bulls to the playoffs in his first season and guided them to 50 wins in 1987-88, marking the franchise’s first 50-win season since 1973-74. In his third and final season with the Bulls in 1988-89, Chicago advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.

In his first season as head coach of the Pistons in 1995-96, Collins inherited a Detroit team that had won 28 games the previous season and engineered an 18-game improvement along with a playoff appearance. Detroit gave up just 92.9 points per game in 1995-96, nearly 13 points fewer than it allowed the season before Collins arrived.

Detroit won 54 games the following season (1996-97) with Collins at the helm, which is tied for the fifth-highest win total for a single season in franchise history. In the first three and a half seasons following Collins’ departure, the team had a winning percentage of .474.

Collins last coaching stint came with Washington during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons where he was reunited with Michael Jordan, who Collins coached during his time with the Bulls. In 2001-02, Collins once again improved his team’s win total by 18 games from the previous season. The Wizards posted a winning percentage of .451 in two years under Collins after having a winning percentage of .308 the three seasons prior. The season after he left, Washington won just 25 games.

In addition to Jordan, Collins helped with the development of several other future All-Stars who were in the early stages of their careers, including Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Grant Hill, Theo Ratliff and Allan Houston, as well as Lindsey Hunter and Richard Hamilton.

Collins has been just as successful in broadcasting as he was as a player and coach. He is widely regarded as one of the best analysts in basketball, as evidenced by his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Media Wing in September, 2009. Additionally, he has earned four Emmy® Award nominations and two Cable ACE Awards during his time with NBC and TNT.

Collins and his wife, Kathy, have two children. Their son Chris is an associate head coach at Duke University and their daughter Kelly lives in the Philadelphia area.

Earlier this week, the Sixers were awarded the second overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, which will be held on Thursday, June 24 at The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, beginning at 7 p.m.

NBA referee Joe DeRosa suspended

NBA referee Joe DeRosa has been suspended without pay for one game for throwing a ball to a fan at halftime of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 18.

The suspension was announced today by Ron Johnson, NBA Senior Vice President, Referee Operations.

DeRosa will miss the next game he would have been scheduled to work.

The fan was not ejected from the arena as was reported previously.

Magic not in panic mode, yet

Tania Ganguli of the Orlando Sentinel reports (via blog):

Stan Van Gundy said he didn’t implement any drastic changes to the game plan today. He does not plan to change his starters, either.

“We are not in panic mode,” Van Gundy said.

But they did insert a few new plays to help Rashard Lewis’s offensive game, and worked on improving ball movement, shot selection and offensive and defensive transition games.

During today’s practice, the team was intensely focused, having moved past the disappointment of Tuesday’s loss and looked forward to Saturday’s Game 3 in Boston.

Ben Wallace unsure of future

Terry Foster of the Detroit News reports:

Ben Wallace admitted Wednesday he’s unsure if he’ll retire, or if he does return to the NBA, stay with the Pistons.

“Everybody has supported me, and for the rest of my life I am going to be remembered for what I did here,” he said. “I feel a part of the community of Detroit. This is always going to have a special place in my heart.”

The factor in his decision: his 35-year-old body. Wallace, who is working out almost daily at home in Virginia, said he must listen to his body.

“When I am healthy, I can play this game at a high level night in and night out,” he said. “But sometimes, those knick-knack injuries take so much out of you mentally. Physically, I can handle anything but mentally when you have those injuries, it takes away from your game.”

Game 2: Gasol scores 29, Lakers beat Suns

The AP reports:

Pau Gasol scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant had 21 points and 13 assists, and the Lakers roared away in the final minutes for a 124-112 victory Wednesday night to claim a series lead that seems much more daunting than 2-0…

Bryant’s streak of six straight 30-point games ended, yet he capped his night as a creator by setting up Gasol for two tough baskets in the final minutes, with Gasol scoring with a flourish and drawing a foul each time…

Ron Artest scored 18 points for the Lakers, who won their eighth straight playoff game and moved within striking distance of a tantalizing NBA finals showdown with the Boston Celtics, who lead Orlando 2-0 in the East…

“It’s really tough because we have so many guys on this team that can hurt you offensively,” said Lamar Odom, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds…

“We still scored enough points tonight, but when they can score 120-something, that’s asking the offense to score too much,” said Phoenix’s Steve Nash, who had 11 points and 15 assists…

Grant Hill scored 14 of his 23 points in the third quarter while Phoenix erased a 14-point deficit, playing with more efficiency and aggression than in Game 1.

Jason Richardson scored 27 points for Phoenix, and Jared Dudley hit five 3-pointers.

Dwane Casey in demand

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports:

Assistant coach Dwane Casey is with the Mavericks’ management crew in Chicago and will meet with Atlanta Hawks officials about their coaching vacancy.

Casey is on the list of virtually every team looking for a coach, but several of those teams don’t seem to be in a hurry to make a hire.

New Orleans has interviewed Casey and Philadelphia, also with an opening, interviewed Casey last year. The Clippers have not yet asked for permission to interview Casey, but the Mavericks have been told there is interest.

Nelson said the Mavericks are bracing for the possibility Casey could be moving.

“We love Dwane and we’d hate to lose him,” Nelson said. “But he’s popular for a reason right now.”

Wilson Chandler charged with drug possession

Karen Zraick of the New York Times reports:

Wilson Chandler of the Knicks was charged with criminal possession of marijuana during a traffic stop in Queens on Tuesday night, according to law enforcement officials.

Chandler, 23, a guard and forward, was behind the wheel of a white 2010 Mercedes-Benz when the police, on routine patrol, pulled him over for driving without his headlights on at the corner of 213th Street and 94th Avenue at 11:17 p.m.

During the stop, police officers from the 105th Precinct detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, according to Paul J. Browne, the police department’s chief spokesman.

Prokhorov Says GM Vandeweghe will not return to Nets

The AP reports:

New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov says general manager Kiki Vandeweghe will be let go when his contract expires this summer.

”I wish him well,” says Prokhorov.

NBA owners approved the sale of the Nets to the Russian billionaire last week.

Prokhorov says Wednesday he does plan to retain team president Rod Thorn.

Celtics beat Magic 95-92 to take 2-0 lead

Jonathan Abrams of the New York Times reports:

Paul Pierce spent a majority of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals scoring or sprawling on the floor.

Whether the fouls he drew were phantom or flagrant, Pierce collected plenty of them, emptying his bag of tricks in Boston’s 95-92 victory Tuesday over the Orlando Magic, staking the Celtics to a 2-0 lead in the series.

Before the game, the Celtics uniformly chanted, “Let’s be greedy,” as they jogged onto the Amway Arena court. They were. The Celtics can claim their 21st conference title and a ticket to the N.B.A. finals by winning the next two games in Boston.

“These games are meaningful and guys are happy that we’re winning, but we know what our ultimate goal is and we don’t want to get complacent,” Pierce said.

Pierce scored 28 points, toying with Vince Carter and J. J. Redick, and made 9 of 11 foul shots, including two with 34.7 seconds left that stretched Boston’s lead to 95-92. Pierce fouled out on the next possession, and Carter, who promised after his trade to Orlando that he would take the clutch shots, missed both free throws.

The Sports Network reports:

Pierce fouled out with 31.9 seconds left and Boston clinging to a 95-92 lead, then watched from the bench as Vince Carter missed two free throws. After a Kevin Garnett miss, the Magic had one last chance, which ended in Jameer Nelson’s off-balance 30-foot heave that drew air just short of the rim.

Rajon Rondo added 25 points with eight assists and five boards while Garnett and Kendrick Perkins donated 10 points apiece for Boston, which gets to rest until Saturday’s Game 3 with a 2-0 series edge.

Dwight Howard, in a far better effort than his 13-point showing on Sunday, scored a game-best 30 points with eight rebounds, while Carter and JJ Redick added 16 points apiece for Orlando.

Gary Dzen of the Boston Globe reports (via blog):

The Celtics led by eight points at the end of the third quarter, and Rasheed Wallace threatened to put the game out of reach when he started the fourth with a three-pointer to put the Celtics up 81-70. But as they had done all game the Magic answered, cutting the lead to 85-83 at the 6:57 mark in the fourth. Vince Carter put them ahead 90-89 with a jumper with 3:36 remaining. A turnaround jumper by Kevin Garnett was the game’s only scoring until Rajon Rondo’s jumper with 1:33 left put the Celtics up 93-90.

The teams traded a Jameer Nelson layup and Pierce free throws and the Celtics clung to a 95-92 lead with 34.7 seconds left. On the next possession, Vince Carter drew the sixth foul on Pierce, but Carter missed both free throws, giving the Celtics the ball back with a three-point lead. Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy elected not to foul, and despite a miss by Garnett, the Magic got the ball back with only 3.5 seconds remaining after J.J. Redick delayed in calling a timeout.

Wizards win first pick in 2010 NBA Draft Lottery

The National Basketball Association announced tonight that the Washington Wizards received the first overall pick in the 2010 Draft during tonight’s Draft Lottery in Secaucus, NJ.

“This is a great night for our franchise and particularly for our fans,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “They have shown great support and passion during what has been a difficult stretch over the last two seasons, but they can celebrate tonight knowing that we’ve taken a big step towards building the team that they deserve.”

The Wizards, who had a 10.3% chance of landing the first pick in tonight’s Draft Lottery, have held the number one overall pick twice before in franchise history. They chose Walt Bellamy number one in 1961 and Kwame Brown with the top pick in 2001.

In addition to the number one pick, the Wizards own Cleveland’s first round selection (30th overall) as a result of a three-team deal on Feb. 17 and hold their own second round pick (35th overall).

Washington is totally rebuilding, and chances are they’ll go make John Wall the first overall selection.

The Philadelphia 76ers are likely to take Evan Turner second, playing him alongside Andre Iguodala.

At third, the Nets will probably go for a power forward. There are several good candidates worthy of going that high up.

Complete 2010 NBA Draft Lottery results are here.