February 2013 – Page 34 – NBA Blog

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle criticizes officiating

After declining to comment following the NBA office’s admission that referees blew a critical call against the Mavericks earlier this week, owner Mark Cuban fired a quick jab at officiating Thursday night, and coach Rick Carlisle added his own criticism of late-game officiating in the league.

“Cant wait to see what the NBA says about this no call with 2 secs left. #2gamseinarow,” Cuban tweeted with seconds remaining in the Mavs’ 100-97 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Cuban, who tweeted before Vince Carter’s desperate 3-point attempt fell short at the buzzer, was referring to Warriors center Andrew Bogut’s block of Brandan Wright’s potential go-ahead shot with six seconds remaining. Replays showed that Bogut went straight up with his arm and got all ball, although Wright flailed his arms.

However, Carlisle shared Cuban’s opinion on the no-call, also criticizing the officiating.

“Look, the game came down to the call that wasn’t made,” Carlisle said. “Brandan Wright got hit in the arm and it’s obvious. It’s two (games) in a row.”

— Reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas

Reggie Evans says he was not trying to insult the Heat

In a radio interview yesterday, Reggie Evans claimed his message for LeBron James and the Heat was lost in translation.

The Nets power forward, appearing on SiriusXM’s “Off The Dribble,” said he didn’t knock the fact the Heat claimed last season’s title at the end of a lockout shortened season before Wednesday’s blowout loss to the Heat.

“I didn’t say it didn’t prove anything,” Evans said. “Those were not my exact words. I said they won a championship in a lockout season. That’s what I said. That was really about it.

“I never said they did not prove anything. I just said they won a championship in a lockout season. That was it. I guess people just took it out of proportion, that’s all.”

— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

New Piston Jose Calderon helps create cap space

The financial ramifications of the deal for the Pistons are obvious — Calderon’s $10.5 million comes off the books after this season.

If they do nothing else through the Feb. 21 trade deadline, Charlie Villanueva picks up his $8.5-million option for next season, and they decide to keep Rodney Stuckey for the full $8.5 million for next season, the Pistons will be roughly $20 million-$23 million under the cap. If they decide to invoke the amnesty clause on Villanueva during a weeklong window in July and cut Stuckey (they would owe him $4 million) before the June 30 deadline, the total could move to roughly $30 million-$35 million.

The cap space means the Pistons could be players in free agency next summer. A more likely outcome is the Pistons being in position to facilitate a trade with a team looking to dump a good player for financial reasons.

But don’t discount the Pistons trying to keep Calderon — at a reasonable price.

— Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press

Brandon Roy struggling in his recovery

For a brief moment, former Portland Trail Blazers star Brandon Roy nearly called it a career after suffering yet another setback in his rehabilitation from knee surgery last Saturday in an individual workout.

The plan for the Minnesota Timberwolves guard was to make his return to action Feb. 1 against the Los Angles Lakers at Target Center, after having two successful workout days. After that, he would join the team for practices leading up to the game.

Friday’s session went as planned. Saturday’s didn’t.

While performing a move in the first 20 minutes of the workout, he felt something in his right knee that he has felt far too often. He tweaked it, eliminating any possibility of him returning to action before the All-Star break.

“As soon as it happened, in my head, I said ‘I quit. I just quit,” an emotional Roy told CSNNW.com. “That was my first thought, that I couldn’t do this anymore.

“I’m at a crossroad in my career.”

— Reported by Chris Haynes of CSNNW

David Lee, Klay Thompson lead Warriors over Mavericks

Although Klay Thompson won’t admit it, without Stephen Curry on the court, Golden State depends on him even more for offensive production. He turned in another big night.

David Lee finished an assist short of a triple-double, Thompson scored 27 points and the Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 100-97 Thursday night.

”I have the same mindset going in. I try to score, be a play maker and play some defense,” Thompson said. ”I’m going to take those shots any way.”

Thompson connected on 11 of his first 14 shots two days after scoring a career-high 32 points in the Warriors’ 108-95 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

”He’s a knockdown shooter, as good as it gets, and he defends his tail off,” Warriors’ coach Mark Jackson said. ”He knows without Curry on the floor we need him to score more.”

Lee had 15 points, a season-high 20 rebounds and nine assists, and Jarrett Jack scored 13 points, including two free throws with 2 seconds left to help the Warriors win their third straight. Harrison Barnes had 12 points.

Andrew Bogut, in his second game since returning from injury, was also a big factor for the Warriors. In limited playing time, he had three blocked shots, including one when the Mavericks had a chance to win the game in the final seconds.

— Reported by Rick Eymer of the Associated Press