October 8, 2013 – Page 2 – NBA Blog

Kings starting lineup will change throughout preseason

NBA preseason is a time for experimentation. Like college. Only different.

DeMarcus Cousins starting at center was certain. The other four starters for Monday night’s preseason opener against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena were more of a mystery.

Kings coach Michael Malone started Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Thornton at guard with Jason Thompson and John Salmons at forward.

The only difference from the usual starting lineup in the second half of last season was Thornton in place of former King Tyreke Evans.

Malone reiterated that nothing should be read into Monday’s starting lineup.

“The starting lineup is going to change for all of our seven preseason games,” Malone said.”

Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

Most teams have pretty clear-cut starters at most spots, but not the Kings, so the regular changes throughout preseason aren’t a surprise.

Wolves suffer preseason loss to Russian team

The last thing anybody, particularly Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman, wanted from Monday night’s preseason opener was overtime. So when it came with a 108-106 loss to CSKA Moscow at Target Center, the best Adelman could call it was a “good teaching experience” for his players young and old alike.

From his starters, he wanted better professionalism on a night when his team fell behind by 18 points in the second quarter and led by four points late, long after his first unit went to the bench for the night.

From second-year guard Alexey Shved, he wanted better decision-making than the silly foul he committed with 7.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter that sent CSKA Moscow guard Milos Teodosic to the free-throw line for two shots that forced overtime.

And from forward Derrick Williams, he wants two hands on the ball when the game’s on the line.

Reported by Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Norris Cole focused on season, not trade rumors

Miami Heat guard Norris Cole will leave the speculation to the media.

His only focus is on becoming a better player as he enters his third NBA season. The chatter about him possibly being on the trading block is secondary.

“I can’t control that,” Cole said. “The only thing I can do is control what I can control and that’s to make sure I’m in the best shape, make sure I’m ready to perform and make sure when I get out there I show what I can do. Anything else, I can’t control that, so I don’t worry my mind about that.”

Cole said he heard of the recent Fox Sports report the Heat may have dangled his name in trade offers. He will leave those decisions to management, but he remains comfortable in Miami.

Reported by Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun Sentinel

Pacers forward Luis Scola discusses his love of travel

“I like traveling a lot,” said Scola, who spent much of the summer player for Argentina in Venezuela. “I think it’s fun. You get a chance to see new countries and do what a lot of people pay a lot of money to do and do it for free. We’re actually getting paid for doing this. I think it’s great. It’s one of the best things about basketball. And every time you go to a new place … it’s a fact there is a lot of stuff we didn’t see because we’re flying, we’re playing, we’re practicing, we’re doing media, we’re doing events and a lot of things. There is always a good chance to come back and do all the stuff we couldn’t do because we were playing.

Reported by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Blog)