September 2011 – Page 10 – NBA Blog

Evan Turner wants a better jumpshot

Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

One thing is clear: Evan Turner would like the basketball.

The 76ers sophomore guard has spent this summer splitting time among three places, but has also spent a good deal of his summer working with Hall of Famer and Philadelphia University coach Herb Magee, who has been tweaking Turner’s shot.

“I knew I had a hitch in my shot,” said Turner, who was in Chicago. “I just wanted to get it together. I didn’t want to shoot any balls short. I wanted to understand the basic principle of jump-shooting, all of that, what to look for. Coach Magee has been helping me out a lot.”

During his rookie season, Turner averaged 7.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in 23.0 minutes a game, disappointing numbers for the No. 2 overall selection in the 2010 NBA draft. Crucial in his offseason development was improvement on the perimeter, where he only occasionally looked comfortable.

“I’ve been working on my game a lot, playing a lot of basketball,” Turner said. “I’m pretty happy with the results I’ve been getting, I feel like I’m back to my old self. I feel like my new shot is smoother. I have a lot of confidence in it. It’s going well.”

Team Philly vs Team Melo game set for Philadelphia Sept. 25

Ryan Feldman of CSN Philly reports:

There may or may not be an NBA season this year, but that won’t stop the NBA from coming to Philadelphia.

Team Philly, a team made up of basketball stars from the Philly area, will take on Team Melo, a team led by Carmelo Anthony, on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. at The Palestra.

Team Philly will include Hakim Warrick (Phoenix Suns), Markieff Morris (Phoenix Suns), Marcus Morris (Houston Rockets), Lou Williams (Sixers), Kyle Lowry (Houston Rockets), John Salmons (Sacramento Kings), Wayne Ellington (Minnesota Timberwolves), Jason Thompson (Sacramento Kings), former NBA player Flip Murray and Philly street ball legend Aaron “AO” Owens.

Team Melo, comprised of players from the Baltimore area, will include Anthony, Josh Selby (Memphis Grizzlies), Donte Greene (Sacramento Kings), Gary Neal (San Antonio Spurs), Eric Bledsoe (Los Angeles Clippers) and “more suprise (sp.) guests,” according to Rahim Thompson’s Twitter account @RTChosenleague.

Thompson, the commissioner of a basketball league in Philly called The Chosen League, organized the game and announced the details via Twitter.

Celtics to land huge 20-year TV deal

The Los Angeles Lakers have a $900 gazillion trillion billion (give or take) television deal, and their historic competitors, the Boston Celtics, will eventually announce a deal of their own.

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reports:

The Celtics are waiting for the lockout to end before they announce a lucrative 20-year deal with Comcast, and the deal may have softened ownership’s stern stance on the labor situation. With the Comcast deal, the Celtics should remain financially healthy for the near future.

The Celtics and Lakers have two of the most loyal fan-bases in the league. And they’re almost always good teams. So it’s fitting that they have landed big TV deals.

Kemba Walker insists he is a point guard

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reports:

Scouts questioned whether Walker was a pure point guard or just an undersized shooting guard. That is not an issue with him.

“I’m a 1 – there’s no question that I am a point guard,’’ said Walker, who averaged 24.6 points last season, primarily as a shooting guard. “I can just score the basketball, that’s it.

“Why can’t I do both? Why can’t I do everything? Pass, score, rebound. That’s what I have been doing my whole life. I’m an all-around player.’’

The Bobcats are in desperate need of a signature player. They traded Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace last season, leaving the opportunity for Walker and 19-year-old rebounding menace Bismack Biyombo to become cornerstones.

Jason Kidd gets married, hopes for 2-3 more NBA years

The Dallas Morning News reports:

Mavericks guard Jason Kidd married long time girlfriend Porschla Coleman on Saturday night.

Kidd posted pictures of the ceremony on his Twitter account

After 17 seasons in the NBA and three trips to the Finals, Kidd finally added a championship ring to his resume with the Mavericks in July.

The future Hall of Famer turns 39 next March.

After winning the title, Kidd was asked how many years he has left in him.

“With this group, hopefully another two or three,” Kidd said. “I feel great, and being around younger guys and working on my game, and them believing in me, helped me compete every day.”

Luis Scola named MVP of 2011 FIBA Americas tournament

Argentina beat Brazil 80-75 to win the 2011 FIBA Americas championship.

FIBA.com reports:

Luis Scola was FIBA Americas MVP and top scorer.

“I wasn’t expecting this tournament to be that special. But it was so big and so great I can compare it to biggest tournaments like the Olympic Games we won,” said Luis Scola.

The Houston Rockets centre recovered from a knee surgery in April.

“It was incredible because I didn’t know if I could make it to the games due to my injury and I finished as the MVP,” added Scola, who averaged 21,4 points and 6,3 rebounds per game.

Manu Ginóbili became emotional after celebrating, jumping and singing with the crowd for 30 long minutes.

“We had 9,000 desperate people shouting for us and we were there, celebrating after 45 days of tough work,” said Manu.

Mike Krzyzewski enters Duke Hall of Fame

The AP reports:

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is entering yet another hall of fame.

He was being inducted into the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday night along with Bobby Hurley, the point guard of his first two national championship teams with the Blue Devils. Krzyzewski was selected after the school changed its rules to make active personnel eligible for induction.

“When I heard that I was in, I was wondering if (athletic director) Kevin White was trying to get me out of here,” Krzyzewski quipped. “It’s kind of neat to do it while you’re still coaching because you get to bring all the guys in, and it’s a little bit of a renewal or revival.”

Krzyzewski, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, enters his 32nd season at Duke with 900 career wins, two shy of matching Bob Knight for the Division I men’s coaching record.

Argentina beats Brazil in 2011 FIBA Americas championship game

The AP reports:

Argentina defeated Brazil 80-75 on Sunday to win the championship game of the Olympic basketball qualifying tournament for the Americas.

Luis Scola led Argentina with 32 points and Carlos Delfino added 16. Marcus Vinicuis had 17 for Brazil.

The game was mostly for pride since both teams had already won their semifinal matches on Saturday, which gave them two automatic berths in next year’s London Olympics.

The Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico 103-89 in Sunday’s third-place game. The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela—by claiming spots three, four and five in the tournament—earn places in a qualifying tournament just before the games, which will award several more berths for London.

Dirk Nowitzki, Germany bounced from EuroBasket

The AP reports:

After an off night by Dirk Nowitzki, Germany is out of the European Championship. And that means the NBA finals MVP will not be at next year’s Olympics.

Nowitzki’s poor shooting doomed his country to an 84-75 loss against Lithuania on Sunday. Germany missed out on a spot in the quarterfinals of the continental tournament and a chance to qualify for the London Games.

Germany needed to win by 11 points to advance, but never came close. Nowitzki was limited to 16 points on 4-for-17 shooting, and Lithuania made it to the knockout round.

“It’s my fault. I was not in condition to play a good tournament,” said Nowitzki, who led the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA title last season.

Andray Blatche looking to make changes

Michael Lee of the Washington Post blog reports:

After determining that he had yet to truly turn his potential into more than flirtations of production, Blatche has taken some steps toward getting better. He recently hired powerful agent Andy Miller after going without representation for all of what turned out to be a difficult season — even after he had secured a lucrative extension with the Wizards. And he also decided to separate himself from people who weren’t interested in his personal development.

Blatche has been more visible with his community projects this summer. He spent most of his offseason working out in Miami, with the hope that the results will be noticeable in the upcoming season.

“I’m 25 years old,” said Blatche, who celebrated his birthday last month with John Wall, Hamady Ndiaye, Josh Howard and Trevor Booker in South Beach. “I’ve been in the league six years now. I know my goal. I want to be an all-star. And to be an all-star, I have to make changes, and those are the changes that I have to make now.

“I took the time to cut back on some friends and some people, and built myself around better people that know what’s best for me,” he said. “I’m sorry that it took so long for me to realize it, but it’s all about growing and maturing and that’s basically what I’m doing.”