May 2013 – Page 18 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Heat dominate Game 2, beat Bulls 115-78

For the first time in these playoffs, the Miami Heat were facing some real adversity.

They responded with a technical knockout.

After nine technical fouls, two ejections and a whole lot of extracurricular pushing and shoving, the end results were as follows: The biggest postseason win in Heat history, the biggest postseason loss in Chicago Bulls history, and tons of fresh venom pulsing through the veins of this now-tied Eastern Conference semifinal series. Miami won 115-78, a stunning outcome for a game that was basically back-and-forth for much of the first half.

That is, until the Heat started embarrassing the Bulls, and the Bulls started embarrassing themselves for good measure.

”No matter if you win by 20, 30, or one point, it’s a 1-1 series,” Heat star LeBron James said. ”They came in and did their job. They got one on our floor and took home court. So, we’ve got to try to go Chicago and get it back.”

Game 3 is Friday in Chicago, where the Heat will have to win at least one game if they’re going to win the series.

Ray Allen scored 21 points in only 19 minutes, James finished with 19 points and nine assists, and the Heat led by as many as 46 points. Sure, the Heat have lost home-court advantage when they dropped Game 1. But this domination made the reigning NBA champions look like the clear-cut team to beat in this title race once again…

Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson were ejected in the fourth quarter for Chicago, and the league will almost certainly review some of the things said and done in a game that was close for the first 20 minutes. The Bulls were called for six player technicals, the most by any team in a playoff game since Boston had that many against Indiana in 2005.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Mavericks prepare for draft lottery

The Mavericks’ next order of business is to get ready for the draft lottery and president Donnie Nelson, who will represent the team in New York for the lottery along with longtime assistant GM Keith Grant, has a plan for the lottery.

“I’m going to wear the same outfit I wore for Game 6 in Miami,” he said, referring to the night that the Mavericks won the title against the Heat in 2011. “Same boots. Same shirt. Same cologne. Everything.”

— Reported by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News

Pau Gasol will undergo knee procedure

Lakers forward Pau Gasol, who has been suffering from tendonosis in both knees, will undergo a FAST Technique procedure tomorrow. The procedure uses a probe inserted into the knee which directs ultrasonic energy to eliminate scar tissue without damaging healthy tissue. The procedure will be performed by Dr. Steven Yoon of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Group.

A timeline for Gasol’s recovery will be issued at the conclusion of the procedure.

Flip Saunders starts rebuilding Timberwolves scouting staff

Flip Saunders has started the restructuring expected when he took over as Minnesota Timberwolves president last week.

Saunders fired international scouting coordinator Pete Philo, regional scout Curtis Crawford and Will Conroy on Tuesday. The moves were made as Saunders clears room to get a staff together for next month’s draft.

Philo was instrumental in ushering in a new focus on foreign players. He helped land point guard Ricky Rubio, guard Alexey Shved and put the Timberwolves at the forefront of that growing trend.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Luol Deng still out for Bulls, will miss Game 2 vs Heat

Luol Deng is staying in Chicago and not rejoining the Bulls for Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

Deng was recently hospitalized because of illness, needing a spinal tap. He was planning to fly to Miami and at least be with his teammates, but now Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau says Deng’s status for the rest of the series is unknown.

Thibodeau also says guard Kirk Hinrich’s calf injury is improving, though he remains listed as day-to-day.

— Reported by the Associated Press

George Karl wins 2012-13 NBA Coach of Year award

Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2012-13 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA announced today. Under Karl’s stewardship, the Nuggets finished with a league-best 38-3 (.927) mark at home and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs.

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra finished second in the voting, followed by New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson who finished third, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich fourth, and Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel fifth.

In earning his first NBA Coach of the Year, Karl totaled 404 points, including 62 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote. The award was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP.

The Nuggets went 57-25 (.695) – the league’s fourth-best record – despite beginning the season as the league’s third-youngest team with an average age of 24.9 years, and not having a player score more than 16.7 points per game during the regular season. According to NBA.com/Stats, the Nuggets ranked third in assists (24.4 apg), generating an assist on 60.0 percent of their made field goals. Denver ranked fifth in player impact estimate (53.8 percent), offensive rating (107.6) and net rating (+5.6).

The Nuggets’ 38-3 record at Pepsi Center was a franchise-best and tied for the 14th best home record in league annals. Additionally, their .927 winning percentage at home was the highest since 2008-09 when the Cleveland Cavaliers went 39-2 (.951) at Quicken Loans Arena.

In his 25th season as an NBA head coach (ninth with Denver), Karl earned two Western Conference Coach of the Month awards during the 2012-13 campaign. He won for March after leading Denver to a conference-best 13-2 (.867) mark, which included wins in the first 12 games of the month, feeding a 15-game, franchise-tying-best winning streak. He earned his first monthly nod in January after the Nuggets opened the New Year with a 12-3 (.800) record. During January, Karl passed Larry Brown for sixth place on the all-time coaching wins list and notched his 1,100th career win.

The sixth-winningest coach in NBA annals and the active wins leader, Karl has amassed 1,131 career victories in the NBA, including a streak of 21-straight non-losing seasons – tied with Phil Jackson (21, 1989-90-2010-11) for the most in NBA history.

The Coach of the Year Award is named after legendary coach and Hall of Famer Red Auerbach who guided the Celtics to nine NBA Championships. In 1996, Auerbach was honored as one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History as the NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary.

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Phoenix Suns hire Ryan McDonough as general manger

The Phoenix Suns have named Ryan McDonough the team’s general manager, it was announced today. He will be introduced in a press conference on Thursday, May 9, at US Airways Center.

“Ryan distinguished himself among an impressive group of candidates for our GM position,” said Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby. “His natural leadership and communication skills will serve the Suns well. And, his prodigious work ethic and ability to identify talent will enable us to take full advantage of the 10 draft choices, including six in the first round, that we have over the next three years. We welcome his championship pedigree to our organization.”

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Also among the finalists were Bucks assistant general manager Jeff Weltman and San Antonio Spurs assistant general manager Scott Layden. Weltman also was a finalist for the Suns position three years ago when Lance Blanks was hired as general manager.”

The 33-year-old McDonough is considered one of the game’s brightest young minds, who combines a tireless work ethic with an expertise in player evaluation honed over the past 10 years at virtually every level of an NBA franchise’s basketball operations.

McDonough joins the Suns after most recently serving the past three seasons as the assistant general manager of the Boston Celtics, where he assisted Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge on all basketball-related matters, while being principally responsible for the draft evaluation of college and international players. He combines the experience of nearly a decade of in-person scouting of prospects across the globe with an understanding of advanced metrics and statistical analysis. During his tenure with the Celtics, Boston made two appearances in the NBA Finals, and claimed the 2008 title.

McDonough joined the Celtics front office in 2003 as a 23-year-old special assistant to basketball operations, rapidly moving up the team’s ranks with increased responsibility at each stop, always with an emphasis in talent evaluation. He spent four seasons as a special assistant, a role that included a great deal of video scouting work (2003-07), one season as director of amateur scouting (2007-08), one season as director of international scouting (2008-09), and two seasons as director of player personnel (2008-10) before his promotion to assistant general manager in Sept. 2010.

McDonough played a prominent role in the front office of a club that has kept a veteran-led roster in the playoffs the last six consecutive seasons thanks to an infusion of young talent acquired through quality late first-round draft picks and trades. Included in that list are the draft-day acquisition of four-time All-Star Rajon Rondo in 2006, and the 2010 selection of Avery Bradley, who was one of the NBA’s most improved players in 2012-13.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, McDonough grew up in Hingham, Mass., the son of the late renowned Boston Globe columnist Will McDonough, and the brother of ESPN broadcaster Sean and NFL player personnel executive Terry.

Danny Ainge assumes Doc Rivers will remain with Celtics

Ainge seemed a bit surprised yesterday that the Boston future of his coach, who has three years remaining on his contract, is in question.

“From all I know, Doc will be back,” Ainge said.

He added that he’s yet to speak with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett about their plans and desires.

Rivers may have been speaking at a raw time several minutes after the Game 6 elimination to the Knicks, but he invited the questions about next year with his straightforward answer about coming back.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I mean, I don’t know that right now. I can’t make that decision now. I’m under contract, and we’ll see. I mean, honestly, I just can’t even think about that right now, so I don’t know.”

Asked if he would think about it, Rivers replied, “Yeah. I do every year. I do every year. You know, it’s not anything. I’m not leaning that way of not coming back, I can tell you that. But like I just said, I immerse myself and I need to just detox, and we’ll find that out.”

— Reported by Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald

Jason Kidd has not scored in quite a while

In his last 137 minutes played, Jason Kidd hasn’t scored. The last time he found the bottom of the net was in Game 2 against the Celtics, when he hit a 3-pointer late in the first quarter.

In Game 1 against the Pacers, Kidd went scoreless for the fifth straight game. In the past, Kidd’s points would mostly come from 3-pointers, but because the Celtics and now Pacers have used their skilled size to guard Carmelo Anthony more straight-up (less double teams), that’s eliminated some of the Knicks’ downtown looks.

But Mike Woodson isn’t concerned about Kidd’s offense.

“Jason [Kidd] is going to be there when it counts,” he said. “We haven’t played him a lot of big minutes. … We’re trying to mix and match the best we can.”

Kidd said he’s not going to change anything.

“I’m going to play the game the right away,” he said. “If a shot presents itself, I’ll take it, and if it doesn’t, I’m going to try to find one of my teammates a shot.”

— Reported by Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York

Carmelo Anthony vows redemption in Game 2 vs Pacers

Mike Woodson isn’t changing his lineup, Carmelo Anthony will keep shooting and the Knicks say they will start redeeming tonight.

The Knicks face a genuine must-win Game 2 against the Pacers, who took Game 1 of the second-round series, 102-95, Sunday at the Garden. A loss would put them down 0-2 heading to Indiana, where the Pacers beat the Knicks both times in the regular season.

“We don’t want to do that,” Anthony said after yesterday’s practice. “We want to take care of business on our floor. We felt we gave them a game, which we did. We’ll redeem ourselves [tonight].”

History is against the Knicks, who are 0-5 in playoff series in which they drop the first game at home.

“It’s very critical,’’ Woodson said. “We can’t go back to Indiana down 0-2. We got to do everything we can do to win the game.”

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post