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Here’s the Detroit Free Press reporting on the Pistons, who may need some help grabbing the basketball after it flies off the rim:
Rebounding is a major concern with the Detroit Pistons.
Namely, who is going to help Andre Drummond corral missed shots?
Ersan Ilyasova showed Thursday night he might answer the call.
He was one of the few Pistons to play well in a 93-83 exhibition loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
He scored 15 points and did his part on the glass with seven rebounds — four on offense.
When a player is on fire like Rudy Gay is lately, there’s reason for optimism, even if it is just the warm-up period that is NBA preseason. Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting:
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Rudy Gay looks comfortable in George Karl’s system.
For the second consecutive preseason game, Gay shot 10 of 13, this time tallying 26 points as the Kings defeated the San Antonio Spurs 95-92 Thursday night at Sleep Train Arena.
Gay has hit 8 of 10 three-point attempts in the past two games. He made 2 of 3 beyond the arc on Thursday.
“He wasn’t shooting the ball very well for most of training camp,” said Karl, the Kings’ coach. “He didn’t play very well in Portland (on Monday). I think it was just pride that he said he wanted to come out and start playing better.”
Here’s the Oregonian reporting on Damian Lillard, the heart and sole of the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard has managed to play all 82 games in each of his three regular seasons, and to keep things that way may want to cut down on his preseason minutes:
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It was the one sight no Trail Blazers fan wanted to see Thursday: Damian Lillard limping off the court.
But there was the Blazers’ star at the end of the third quarter, hobbling off the court with a wince because of a re-aggravated left ankle sprain.
Although Lillard called the injury “minor” it was enough of a scare to cause him to reverse his thinking about his play moving forward this preseason.
“I need to stay off the floor,” Lillard conceded after Thursday’s 118-101 exhibition victory over Golden State.
The Trail Blazers beat the Warriors 118-101 yesterday. It’s just preseason, but for a rebuilding squad like Portland any sign of positivity is welcome. Here’s the Oregonian reporting:
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Allen Crabbe played his best game with the Blazers, Damian Lillard powered through a tough shooting night and the Blazers saw a wide range of contributions from virtually everyone who played. Eleven players scored and nine recorded an assist as the Blazers leaned on their entire roster.
But none was better than Crabbe, who finished with 25 points and four assists on 9-for-12 shooting, including 5-of-6 from three-point range. He swished threes, buried pull-up jumpers in transition and nailed midrange shots from all over the court. Crabbe was such a factor, he recorded a ridiculous plus-minus of plus-42. It was the first time he’s scored 20 or more points in any pre-or-regular season game with the Blazers.
As he scored from everywhere, his teammates followed suit. Lillard recorded 22 points, six rebounds and three assists, shaking off a 3-for-18 shooting night by making 15 free throws. CJ McCollum had 19 points and five assists, Al-Farouq Aminu had 11 points and eight rebounds and Pat Connaughton added 10 points. Every Blazer played less than 29 minutes as Stotts opted to limited minutes.
Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on a key young Knick who will hopefully emerge as a serious building block for the future:
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The Knicks other rookie acquitted himself well in his first preseason action Wednesday, but a much bigger test awaits Jerian Grant Friday night in Washington.
Grant, the 19th overall pick out of Notre Dame, was a composed floor general during his 28 minutes in Wednesday’s victory over the Brazilian team Bauru at the Garden, collecting four assists and eight points while facilitating the game-breaking runs next to Langston Galloway. (There was a very impressive behind-the-back-dribble-to-an-assist play from Grant late in the first quarter).
Coach Derek Fisher was certainly pleased.
“Jerian has a good feel for the game,” the coach said.
Here’s CSN Philly reporting on a fun preseason game result for the 76ers:
Scottie Wilbekin only stepped on the court for the final two minutes and he only took one shot, but it was a pretty big one.
The rookie point guard, in a battle to make the Sixers’ roster, hit the game-winning three-pointer with 1.3 seconds left to beat the barebones Cleveland Cavaliers, 115-114, on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Playing the two-minute warrior while Isaiah Canaan and T.J. McConnell handled the majority of the point guard duty, Wilbekin’s big shot came a game removed from notching a minus-30 in 24 minutes of a 34-point loss in Washington…
Of course it helps when the Cavaliers didn’t have LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith or Iman Shumpert in the second game of a back-to-back, but that’s a different story.
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The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that center Omer Asik is expected to miss the next three weeks with a right calf strain. The injury occurred during yesterday’s practice.
Asik, 7-0, 255, appeared in 76 games for the Pelicans in 2014-15, averaging 7.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Drafted 36th overall by Portland in the 2008 NBA Draft, Asik has appeared in 354 career regular season games with Chicago, Houston and New Orleans, holding averages of 5.9 points and 7.7 rebounds. A native of Bursa, Turkey, Asik was originally acquired by New Orleans in a trade with the Houston Rockets on July 24, 2014. Asik re-signed to a multi-year contract with the Pelicans on July 9, 2015.
The Toronto Raptors will continue their preseason preparations with an open practice on Wednesday, October 21 at Hershey Centre in Mississauga. At this free event, Raptors fans will have an opportunity to preview the team during an intra-squad game, win one of many exciting giveaways and interact with Raptors alumni.
The open practice will also include team introductions plus performances by the Raptors Dance Pak and the Raptors mascot. Every fan in attendance will receive a free Raptors t-shirt. Doors open at 5 p.m. with the event starting at 6 p.m.
Hershey Centre will be home to Raptors 905, the NBA Development League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors, for the team’s inaugural season. The club will play 22 regular season games in Mississauga with the home opener set for Thursday, November 19 versus the Maine Red Claws.
For more information about open practice tickets please visit raptors.com/openpractice.
Here’s the Dallas Morning News reporting on super-athletic forward Jeremy Evans, who so far in his NBA career is known for great dunking but not on the national radar as a complete basketball player just yet:
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Through two exhibitions in which the coaching staff was focused on evaluation of role players and those hoping to make the final roster, Evans was a standout.
He was an under-the-radar signee in free agency this summer. The Mavericks love the idea of him being able to play either forward position and also help out at center in certain small-ball lineups against opposing athletic centers.
“He’s a hard worker and all that, but he has the skill set, the athletic ability, he’s shooting the ball now to 3-point range and I’m confident he can guard all those positions,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s a guy we’re going to need to play multiple spots. We want activity, rebounding, shot-blocking, open shot-making and as you can see, you can throw the ball up and he’ll go get it and dunk it.”
That much was obvious on the rim-shaking dunks in the back-to-back exhibitions.
Here’s the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporting on the Bucks, whose head coach Jason Kidd had a legend from another sport come in and talk to his squad:
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Kidd brought in former San Francisco 49ers defensive back Ronnie Lott to talk to the team Wednesday.
Lott was one of the most feared tacklers in NFL history and famously had his broken pinkie amputated in 1986 to avoid a long recovery process that would have been required with reconstructive surgery.
“He talked about it,” Kidd said. “He’s very modest in saying it’s not that big of a story.
“He didn’t wear shoulder pads in public, but you saw him do his job on the field. Watching him as a kid — he played for the 49ers and (Los Angeles) Raiders — and no matter what team he was on he was always known as a hitter and a champion.”
Kidd said Lott talked to the Bucks players about working as teammates and the privilege of being pro athletes.
Lott won four Super Bowl titles in 10 years with the 49ers and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
Lott also is a friend of one of the Bucks’ primary owners, Wes Edens.