May 2010 – Page 7 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Shaq will consider joining Nets

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:

Cavaliers free agent center Shaquille O’Neal, a Newark native, told The Post he would consider the Nets as a destination this summer — intrigued because they now reside in his hometown.

O’Neal, the Cavs “other” free agent, praised the new Prudential Center as being an NBA hotspot and said he would rather them not move to Brooklyn in 2013.

“I think it’s better than most arenas, I think it’s one of the best arenas in the country,” O’Neal told The Post following the Cavaliers’ stunning second-round elimination against Boston on Thursday night. “Hopefully they can stay there forever. I don’t know what’s going on with the Brooklyn situation, but it says a lot for the city of Newark.”

InsideHoops.com Says: Shaq has limited impact at this point in his basketball career, and the Nets have Brook Lopez at center already. So while it’s fun to think about O’Neal heading over to Newark, in reality he’ll probably wind up continuing to play elsewhere, for contenders who need him a bit more.

Kobe says little about early LeBron elimination

The AP reports:

If Kobe Bryant was even slightly disappointed to learn that LeBron James won’t be showing up for a possible career-defining showdown, the Los Angeles Lakers star isn’t letting on.

Bryant had almost nothing to say Friday about the Cleveland Cavaliers’ playoff elimination, which ruined the best chance yet for a finals meeting with James.

“I don’t know,” Bryant said when asked what he thought of Boston’s Game 6 victory, before an awkward silence with the phalanx of television cameras and digital recorders pointed at him in a back corner of the Lakers’ training complex.

Surely Bryant realizes the anticipation was extra-high this spring, after the superstars’ teams finished atop their respective conferences with two of the NBA’s top three records. Nike certainly spent many months hoping for the showcase of two top clients, building that unusual advertising campaign around their puppet replicas.

But while James begins his offseason, Bryant is still standing — albeit on a gimpy ankle — after persevering through an injury-riddled year. The veteran star won’t slow down for the Western Conference finals just because King James isn’t waiting on the other side.

InsideHoops.com Says: I hope reporters ask Bryant about this until he gives a real response. I assume he’ll eventually say that he thought the Cavs would go further, but the Celtics are a very good team. That’s the boring, politically correct response, at least. But hopefully he gives something more interesting than that.

Robin Lopez expected to play Monday

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports:

Robin Lopez has two milestones coming in his expected return to the starting lineup Monday.

He will play a game for the first time since March 26 and will be making his career playoff debut.

“I don’t think it’s hit me yet,” Lopez said. “I think it’ll hit me on the floor. I feel like I’ve been out there with the guys when I’ve been watching them the previous series.”

Lopez said his conditioning and right-leg strength, an issue because of his bulging disk pinching a nerve, have improved and he feels his instincts returning. The 7-footer is a welcome addition against the Lakers’ frontline size.

“I’m going to have to crash the boards and deter easy layups,” Lopez said.

76ers interview Elston Turner

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski met with Houston Rockets Assistant Coach Elston Turner in Philadelphia, PA today regarding the Sixers vacant head coaching position.

Joining Stefanski at the meeting with Turner was Sixers Sr. Vice President and Assistant General Manager Tony DiLeo and Sixers consultant Gene Shue.

“Elston has almost 15 years of experience as a assistant coach – most of which came under Rick Adelman, who trusted him with major responsibilities on both ends of the court, with a focus on defense – and he has experienced success at every stop during his NBA career,” Stefanski said. “I want to thank Elston for taking the time to speak with us today.”

“We will continue to evaluate the candidates and proceed with our due diligence in order to make an informed and objective decision regarding our next head coach.”

Uncertainty for LeBron begins

William C. Rhoden of the New York Times writes:

What distinguishes this loss from the others is that LeBron James lost more than a series: his crown lost some of its luster. A pair of uninspired performances at home against Boston left a bitter taste in the mouths of many loyal Cleveland fans. Was it his injured elbow, or did James simply lose interest? His performance in Game 5 was so detached and uninspired that there was speculation that he wanted to purposely anger Cavaliers fans to make his departure easier. Fans booed after his 15-point performance. On Friday Celtics fans improvised a derisive, “New York Knicks, New York Knicks “ chant when James went to the free throw line.

The crucial question for James right now is not where but why.

Why have things come to this?

“The only thing I can think about right now is the season being over,” James said. “You have expectations going into the postseason and you never can predict the future, but at the same time, you hope for things much brighter than what is going on right now.”

Chicago Bulls pre-draft workouts

In preparation for NBA Draft 2010, the Chicago Bulls will host a pre-draft prospect workout on Sunday, May 16, at the Berto Center in Deerfield.

NBA Draft 2010 will take place on Thursday, June 24. Chicago currently owns one pick in this year’s draft (No. 17).

Participating in Sunday’s workout are the following players:

James Anderson (Guard, 6-6 / 210, Junior, Oklahoma State)

Paul George (Guard/Forward, 6-8 / 210, Sophomore / Fresno State)

Xavier Henry (Guard, 6-6 / 220, Freshman / Kansas)

Dominique Jones (Guard, 6-4 / 215, Junior / South Florida)

Gani Lawal (Forward, 6-9 / 234, Junior / Georgia Tech)

Samardo Samuels (Forward, 6-9 / 260, Sophomore / Louisville)

Hawks part ways with Mike Woodson

Executive VP/General Manager Rick Sund met with Coach Mike Woodson this morning and informed him that he will not be offered a new contract.

“After careful consideration, we have made a difficult decision regarding Coach Woodson’s contractual status,” said Sund. “We’re grateful for Mike’s contributions over the last six years and we want to wish him the very best.”

Named the 10th head coach in Atlanta Hawks’ history on July 8, 2004, Woodson produced a 206-286 (.419) record in six seasons at the helm of the Hawks, and a 53-29 (.646) mark this past season. He coached Atlanta to three straight postseason appearances, finishing with an 11-18 (.379) record.

Game 6: Celtics eliminate LeBron, Cavs

The AP reports:

Kevin Garnett scored 22 points and added 12 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo had 21 points and 12 assists to beat Cleveland 94-85 in Game 6 on Thursday night and advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Boston will play the Orlando Magic, who are undefeated in the playoffs…

Despite his sixth career playoff triple-double, James is headed for another early offseason after winning a second MVP award and leading the Cavs to an NBA-best 61 wins and a home-court advantage they never got to use…

James scored 27 points with 10 assists, and his 19 rebounds matched a career-high and were the most he’s ever had in a playoff game. But he also had nine turnovers, and he may have been hobbled by an elbow injury that limited him to dunks and short jumpers, going 8 for 21 from the floor overall…

Mo Williams scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half for the Cavaliers.

Boston’s Paul Pierce scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half after playing just nine minutes—and shooting 1-for-5—in the first with foul trouble…

Antawn Jamison, acquired at the trade deadline from Washington, had just five points…

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

The Cavs go into an off-season full of fear and loathing. At the final buzzer, James’ three-year, $42 million contract officially ended.

Attempting to shake off a wave of national criticism about his spiritless play two nights before, James ran a backdoor cut and threw down a two-handed dunk on the Cavs’ first offensive possession to attempt to set a tone. He played with that sort of vigor for the rest of the game, legs pumping, eyes darting and a desire for the ball…

When it wasn’t Garnett in the half court, it was guard Rajon Rondo in the open court. The Cavs tried half a dozen defenders on him, including James, in the series, too. None of them really worked.

It got to the point where the crowd at TD Garden would rise to its feet whenever Rondo got the ball on a fast break, just knowing he was going to do something special. He got plenty of chances in Game 6 — the Cavs turned the ball over a miserable 24 times, costing them 27 points.

The Celtics had 19 fast-break points and Rondo was in charge of them all, scoring 21 points with 12 assists to finish as the best player in the series.

To add insult to the situation, the Celtics’ bench dominated the Cavs’ bench as Tony Allen and Rasheed Wallace combined for 23 points.

The Boston Herald reports:

The Celtics’ physical approach continued to work. The Cavs, stripped of their flow, shot 38.4 percent overall from the field, 29.4 percent from 3-point range and just 70.6 percent from the line.

The Celtics were even worse from the stripe (63.6 percent), but their best work came at the other end.

“We just never got into a rhythm against this team, and they had something to do with it,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. “We were trying to get on the floor for loose balls and rebounds, but we just never had a rhythm for the game.

“We made runs, and we even took the lead a couple of times. But it was hard to find the rhythm. They’ve always been a great defensive team. The regular season is a lot different from the postseason. We knew they would be a different team.”

Jack Ramsey tosses doubt at Mike Brown

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports (via the Post blog):

Jack Ramsey, former legendary coach and ESPN Radio’s color man for this second-round series, blames coach Mike Brown for the Cavaliers’ dire predicament, not LeBron James.

Ramsey believes Brown hasn’t made any strategic adjustments to get James better looks against the Celtics’ swarming help defense, feels the coach should push the pace and get Antawn Jamison more involved.

Speaking at the morning shootaround, Ramsey told The Post, “I think the pieces are there. But you got to use the pieces you have. Coaches have to make adjustments to what the other team is doing and find ways to beat that.”

Brown said this morning he planned to give Boston “a different look” and there’s rumors he’s considering playing James at point guard tonight.

Boston man who threatens Juwan Howard locked up

The Boston Herald reports:

A “psychotic” Boston man is accused of threatening to kill NBA star Juwan Howard and his family as well as attempting to extort $1 million from the Portland Trail Blazers forward, prosecutors and police said.

“He has been doing this for years, and he’s never actually spoken to my husband, he’s never even met him, but he’s obsessed with him,” said Jenine Howard in a phone interview after the arrest of Rahmal W. Stinson, 30, of Dorchester. “He’s showed up at games, and mailed gifts and leaves obscene messages. We’ve gotten additional security and we feel pretty safe. But he makes me nervous.”

Stinson, who was arrested Tuesday, was determined to be psychotic and is locked up in Bridgewater State Hospital, where he is undergoing a 20-day evaluation, according to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley’s office.

Stinson’s 12-year-old child is the daughter of Jenine Howard’s sister and occasionally stays at the Howards’ Houston home, according to the family. Stinson frequently calls the home, and on March 20 allegedly threatened to kill the entire household, police said.