March 2013 – Page 28 – NBA Blog

Clippers need to solidify their rotations

We’re in March and there are still moments when the Clippers will run out a lineup we haven’t seen before. It’s usually a mishmash lineup that will include Chauncey Billups and/or Grant Hill, who has missed most of the season with injuries, or Ryan Hollins, who was the odd man out earlier in the season but now is seeing more time.

The Clippers know Paul, Billups, Caron Butler, Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are their starters. They know Jamal Crawford is their sixth man. They know Odom is the first big off the bench, and Matt Barnes and Eric Bledsoe are in that top nine as well.

The question now becomes: How much do you play Bledsoe and Crawford in relation to Billups, who is at the end of his career and coming off a major injury? How much do you play Barnes in relation to Butler when Barnes on some nights is more effective on both ends of the floor? And where do Hill, Ronny Turiaf, Hollins and Willie Green fit in?

— Reported by Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles

Extra rest may help Kevin Garnett

In years past, when Kevin Garnett was given a day off like he was on Feb. 22 against the Suns in Phoenix, he might have hit the roof with Doc Rivers.

Not this year.

The Celtics head coach said Monday he is giving more and more time off to Garnett and he believes it’s paying dividends. Indeed, Rivers may have given the 36-year-old Garnett just one game off but he’s giving the big man much more time off from practice, like this weekend when he told Garnett and Paul Pierce to stay away from the gym on Sunday, when the team had a skeleton practice.

“We’ve given him more time off this year than we ever have for him,” Rivers said. “In the past, we couldn’t even broach that subject with him. This year, he wants the days off. So, I think he’s gotten smarter in that regard and that to me is why he’s been able to play in more games.”

— Reported by Mike Petraglia of WEEI

Will Flip Saunders be next Timberwolves GM?

There are several indications pointing to the likelihood of former Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders replacing David Kahn as president of basketball operations for the team before the 2013-14 season.

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor wasn’t available for comment on the subject Saturday, but he hasn’t kept it a secret that Saunders has served as a consultant for him on the basketball team during this season.

It was interesting to see Taylor’s quote in Thursday’s Star Tribune about his contact with Saunders. Taylor said: “He’s pretty well aware of what is happening with the Timberwolves.”

And then some time ago Taylor talked about how he was in contact with Saunders for information on how to handle the many injuries the Wolves have suffered this season.

— Reported by Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Longshore union to appeal Seattle arena lawsuit

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union says it intends to appeal a judge’s ruling that threw out their lawsuit aimed at undoing a deal to build a new professional basketball and hockey arena in Seattle – a key part of plans to bring the NBA back to town.

The ILWU says it will announce appeal plans during a news conference on Tuesday. The ILWU Local 19, representing workers at the Port of Seattle, says they believe the court failed to acknowledge that the memorandum of understanding between investor Chris Hansen, the city of Seattle and King County is in violation of the state environmental protection act.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Nuggets may chase Kyle Korver this summer

Korver, an unrestricted free agent in his 10th year in the NBA, is expected to be one of the Nuggets top targets in the offseason as the team actively courts players who can fill that shooting void. Denver won’t be the only team looking to gain his services, but if the money is right (Korver makes $5 million this season) the situation might be hard for the sharpshooter, who grew up in Pella, Iowa, to turn down.

Shots figure to be much easier to come by in a system where guard Ty Lawson’s driving is so respected that he sucks defenders into the lane, and other players capable of hitting from long range – Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Corey Brewer – make it so that he would be difficult to devote additional resources to slowing just Korver down in the manner that the Nuggets are expected to try tonight.

— Reported by Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post (Blog)

Michael Jordan says he is NOT the father

Michael Jordan doesn’t need Maury Povich to tell him he’s not the daddy, he says he knows it already … and filed documents today requesting the paternity case filed against him be dismissed.

As TMZ first reported, Pamela Smith filed docs in Fulton County, GA in an attempt to establish the NBA legend as father of her son, Grant Pierce Jay Jordan Reynolds, aka Taj.

Jordan’s lawyer filed to have the case dismissed today, saying paternity of the teen had already been established … and #23 was not the father.

— Reported by TMZ

Monta Ellis, Ty Lawson named NBA Players of Week through March 3, 2013

Milwaukee Bucks guard Monta Ellis and Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Feb. 25 through Sunday, March 3.

Ellis led the Bucks to a 3-0 week with averages of 24.0 points (sixth in the conference), 9.0 assists (fourth in the conference) and a league-leading 5.0 steals. Ellis collected back-to-back six-steal games in road victories over the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 26, and the Houston Rockets on Feb. 27. In the win over the Rockets, Ellis, who led all scorers with 27 points, hit an off-balance three-pointer just before the final buzzer to secure the win.

Lawson led the Nuggets to a 3-0 week behind averages of 21.0 points, 7.0 assists and 1.7 steals. Lawson hit a game winner of his own on March 1 with 0.2 seconds remaining to give the Nuggets a 105-103 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. He also tallied a 30-point effort on Feb. 27, during a win against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Al Horford, Chicago’s Joakim Noah, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Houston’s Chandler Parsons, Indiana’s David West, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, Memphis’ Marc Gasol, Miami’s LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, New York’s Carmelo Anthony, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and Portland’s Damian Lillard.

Chicago Bulls charter plane had engine trouble on Saturday

The Bulls’ charter plane experienced engine trouble roughly 20 minutes after takeoff and returned to Chicago late Saturday. Passengers heard a loud sound emanating from an engine, though most downplayed danger.

The Bulls’ traveling party went home late Saturday, borrowed the Blackhawks’ charter plane early Sunday and arrived in Indianapolis shortly before a lunch meeting and film session at the team hotel.

— Reported by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune

Jeremy Evans makes most of rare playing time

When the Utah Jazz finally get healthy, coach Tyrone Corbin might have another player to consider for his big-man rotation.

Jeremy Evans has been the odd man out this season, playing behind Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter.

With Jefferson and Millsap injured, however, Evans played the best game of his three-year career Saturday night against Charlotte. He scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 26 minutes during the Jazz’s lopsided 98-68 victory.

For perspective, consider Evans played only eight minutes during 12 games in February. He had 10 field goals in the Jazz’s first 58 games, but went 6-for-8 from the field against the Bobcats.

“I thought Jeremy played well,” Corbin said. “The growth he has shown — not being hesitant after not playing in a lot of games — has been tremendous.”

— Reported by Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune

Joakim Noah would appreciate some rest

Joakim Noah has a chair in front of his locker at the United Center. But after most games, he could use a recliner or a couch or even a bed. He’s wiped out.

”I’m tired,” Noah said after scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, with five assists and four blocked shots in the Bulls’ 96-85 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night. ”Pretty tired.”

After back-to-back stellar games against the 76ers on Thursday and the Nets on Saturday, Noah’s fatigue — and the wear and tear on his right foot still being treated for plantar fasciitis — bears watching heading into Sunday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The issue of Noah’s playing time cropped up again after he played 41 minutes in a game the Bulls led by 14 points or more throughout the second half. Even Noah seemed to be wondering why he played the final 6:25 of the fourth quarter when the Bulls were leading by 19 points.

— Reported by Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times (Blog)