April 2012 – Page 4 – NBA Blog

Roy Hibbert has chance to shine in playoffs

Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert doesn’t have any excuses.

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, a nemesis of Hibbert and every other center in league, is on the sideline in street clothes for the rest of the season.

It’s Hibbert’s time to star under the bright lights of the playoffs. It’s time for him to show why he was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team this season. It’s time for him to show he deserves a hefty pay raise when he hits the free agent market this summer.

“I have to take things and look at each matchup and make sure I dominate on both ends of the floor,” Hibbert said. “I can’t have any lags in my game and I have to be on top of my game every game.”

Howard, the league’s premier center, is out for the rest of the season after surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back.

That leaves Hibbert as the marquee attraction in the middle. He has had the best season of his four-year career, averaging 12.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks.

— Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star

Spurred by 2011 loss, Heat set for 2nd title shot

Chris Bosh recently peered down the hallway that links the Miami Heat locker room and the team’s home court.

Though nearly a year has passed, he still feels the pain.

It’s what the Heat call ”Championship Alley,” the photo-covered walls paying tribute to the NBA championship run in 2006. For Bosh, it has a totally different meaning. It’s the place where the sting of losing the finals a year ago made him drop to his knees in anguish, a moment captured for the world to see by television cameras he didn’t know were there.

”I want it to be different this time,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. ”I want these guys to feel what they see every day in this arena.”

What they see – hundreds of photos of Miami’s title celebrations – represents what this team is chasing. What the Heat were a year ago, in the first chapter of the ”Big Three” era in Miami, was probably best described as angry and spiteful.

So now, with the start of another playoff run looming, Wade and Bosh say the mental approach is going to be considerably different this time around. The Heat open the postseason at home against the New York Knicks on Saturday afternoon, claiming to be just as driven by a title as they were a year ago, except this time they believe for more of the right reasons.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Raptors pick up option on contract of coach Dwane Casey

The Toronto Raptors announced Friday they have picked up the option on Head Coach Dwane Casey’s contract to extend through the 2013-14 season.

“Dwane did a terrific job this year of adhering to our plan of growth and development for this young team,” said Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo. “We set out to change the culture and improve defensively and he orchestrated both progressions in an impressive fashion.”

Casey finished his first season as Toronto’s head coach. Under Casey, the Raptors made significant gains on the defensive end of the floor. The team ranked in the Top 10 in the NBA in points allowed (9th), opponent field goal percentage (8th) and three-point field goal percentage (5th). The Raptors ranked in the bottom third in the league in all three categories in the 2010-11 season.

Johan Petro scores final New Jersey basket

Johan Petro became part of Nets history Thursday night.

When he hit 20-foot, left-side jumper with 24.9 seconds left on the clock in the Nets’ 98-67 wipeout loss to the Raptors, Petro scored the final basket in the history of the New Jersey Nets. The team is making its long-awaited move to Brooklyn next season.

“Hey, that’s the way to keep my name in some book,” Petro said with a smile.

And he had no idea when he made the shot. Or even afterward.

“I was just trying to hit the shot, I wasn’t thinking about the whole history behind it,” the 7-foot center said. “But thanks to you guys, now I know. Got my name somewhere.”

— Reported by Fred Kerber of the New York Post

Kobe Bryant ends bid for scoring title

Kobe Bryant didn’t play in the Lakers’ regular-season finale Thursday night, a meaningless 113-96 loss to the Sacramento Kings at Power Balance Pavilion. Pau Gasol also didn’t play. Neither did Andrew Bynum.

Metta World Peace wasn’t allowed to play because of a seven-game suspension.

Matt Barnes couldn’t play because of a sprained right ankle.

Bryant needed to score 38 points to win the NBA scoring title, but in the end, he decided it was smarter to rest for the start of the playoffs Sunday than to try to overtake Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City.

“He’s been in this league for a long time and he understands the importance of getting some rest and going into the playoffs the right way,” Lakers coach Mike Brown said of Bryant. “He was the one who said at first he wanted to sit.”

— Reported by Elliot Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News

Charlotte Bobcats played the worst season in NBA history

The Charlotte Bobcats couldn’t even beat a Knicks team resting most of its starters, finishing with the worst winning percentage in NBA history after a 104-84 loss on Thursday night.

J.R. Smith scored 22 points for the Knicks, who pulled away in the second half to clinch the Eastern Conference’s No. 7 seed and a first-round playoff matchup against No. 2 Miami beginning Saturday.

Gerald Henderson had 21 points for the Bobcats, whose 23rd consecutive loss left them with a winning percentage of .106 (7-59) in the lockout-shortened season. The record was set 39 years ago, when the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers finished 9-73 (.110) in a full regular season.

The Knicks held out Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Baron Davis, while Amare Stoudemire had 21 points over two quarters.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Eric Musselman named D-League coach of year

Los Angeles D-Fenders head coach Eric Musselman was today named the winner of the Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year award, as voted by his fellow NBA Development League head coaches.

Musselman helmed a Los Angeles team that recorded an NBA D-League record 38 victories during the 2011-12 regular season en route to a Western Conference Championship and the first overall seed in the 2012 NBA D-League Playoffs presented by BBVA.

Musselman’s D-Fenders are undefeated in postseason play, and have a chance to secure the 2012 NBA D-League Championship over the Austin Toros tonight in the second game of the best-of-three NBA D-League Finals presented by BBVA. Tip-off is set for 10:00 p.m. ET.

During his first year with the team, Musselman oversaw the development of six top NBA D-League prospects who earned a total of eight GATORADE Call-Ups to the NBA this season, including the 2012 NBA D-League All-Star MVP Gerald Green, now of the New Jersey Nets and Houston Rockets guard Courtney Fortson, who both signed contracts for the remainder of the season with their NBA teams.

Musselman’s D-Fenders led the League in rebounding percentage (.572) and held their opponents to a League-low 44 percent from the field, while its 48 percent from the field was good for second best in the League.

“Eric’s deep knowledge of the game and his unparalleled passion have been evident every step of the way for the D-Fenders this season,” said Chris Alpert, Vice President of Basketball Operations and Player Personnel for the NBA D-League. “Not only was Eric able to achieve a level of on-court success our League has never seen before, he was able to do it while developing top NBA D-League prospects into current NBA contributors. I offer my hearty congratulations to him on a season well done.”

The award is named in honor of the late Dennis Johnson, NBA Legend and former Austin Toros head coach who was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in August 2010. In his playing career, Johnson won three NBA titles with the Boston Celtics and Seattle SuperSonics, played in five NBA All-Star games and was named to the All-Defensive First Team six times. He served as interim head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers in 2002, and was in his third season coaching in the NBA D-League when he passed away.

Antawn Jamison probably leaving Cavs this summer

Antawn Jamison likely played his final home game for Cleveland. The 35-year-old will be a free agent this summer and said it’s improbable he’ll sign with the Cavs.

”I definitely have a great feeling this is probably my last home game and tomorrow will be my last game as a Cav,” said Jamison, acquired in a 2010 deadline trade to help the Cavs win a title. ”I wish the rest of these guys great luck. I definitely think this organization is going in the right direction as far as getting some great talent and slowly but surely putting a championship caliber team together.

”With this coaching staff, some good prospects in this draft, Cleveland can get back to what it once used to be.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

J.J. Redick scores 31, Bobcats lose 22nd straight game

J.J. Redick had six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 31 points as the Orlando Magic held off Charlotte 102-95 on Wednesday night, the Bobcats’ 22nd consecutive loss.

Ryan Anderson added 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic, who snapped a three-game losing streak and secured the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference but lost forward Glen Davis to a sprained right ankle. He is the latest injury to strike the Magic’s roster and drain an already shallow pool of Orlando big men following Dwight Howard’s season-ending back surgery.

D.J. Augustin led the Bobcats with 23 points, while Gerald Henderson had 17 and Derrick Brown 16.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Stephen Curry should be ready for Warriors in 3-4 months

Arthroscopic surgery on Stephen Curry’s troublesome right ankle Wednesday ”revealed a stable ankle with no structural damage.” The Warriors said the operation performed by Dr. Richard Ferkel in Southern California ”consisted of cleaning out loose debris and scar tissue” and deemed the operation ”successful.”

Curry is expected to resume basketball activities in three to four months. Golden State hopes its franchise point guard can avoid another more serious surgery for the second straight summer and be ready for fall’s training camp.

”The surgery went about as well as we could have hoped for entering the procedure,” Ferkel said in a statement. ”We were pleased that the surgery was limited to simply a cleaning out procedure and I anticipate that he’ll be ready before for the start of training camp.”

— Reported by the Associated Press