Month: October 2015

Stanley Johnson does not look like a rookie, says coach

Stanley Johnson does not look like a rookie, says coach

There’s been a lot of buzz on Detroit Pistons rookie Stanley Johnson. He’s got our attention. Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy is singing early praises about him as well. Here’s the Detroit Free Press reporting:

Stanley Johnson does not look like a rookie, says coach

“He looks like he’s been out here before,” coach Stan Van Gundy said Wednesday after the first practice of Day 2. “He doesn’t look like a lost rookie at all. He looks like he knows what he’s doing, and he’s ready to play.”

Van Gundy was asked to expound on his comments after Tuesday’s first practice, when he called Johnson “one of the better players” during light scrimmaging.

“He’s physically strong enough obviously to play, which helps him be able to play right away,” Van Gundy said. “He is a smart guy, and he’s also got a great mental toughness. Not a lot of stuff fazes him.”

Van Gundy also elaborated on areas where Johnson has excelled.

“He did a real good job, as he did today, taking the ball to the basket,” Van Gundy said. “I thought he did a real good job of that, getting up and down the floor. Competes hard physically. Still got to do a better job on the defensive end.”

Melo, Fisher discuss expectations for Knicks

Expectations for the Knicks are… improving.

The New York Knicks should certainly be better this season than last. That’s our bold statement for today. Anyway, here’s the New York Post reporting:

Though he said Monday he held “no expectations at this time’’ for the 2015-16 Knicks, Carmelo Anthony amended the remark two days later, saying the title still is “our big-picture goal.’’ Maybe he’s seen something at West Point.

And Derek Fisher said just because they are the no-name Knicks other than Anthony, it doesn’t mean they are “rebuilding’’ and still expect to win. Fisher said he likes the notion the Knicks are filled with names not befitting the grand marquee.

“Based on the fact we don’t have a certain caliber of player on our roster other than Carmelo, people assume we’re rebuilding,’’ Fisher said after Wednesday’s second day of practices. “Was Atlanta rebuilding last year when they didn’t have quote-unquote [name] player on their roster. We think our group, as we figure it out, will be more competitive than people think. But rebuilding doesn’t mean we’re not trying to win right now.’’

It should be noted Atlanta placed four guys on the All-Star team last February — Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver.

Joakim Noah looks forward to being healthy alongside Pau Gasol

Joakim Noah is really good when healthy, in case you forgot

Here’s CSN Chicago reporting on a Bulls frontcourt that, with health, has potential to be a lot better than it’s been:

joakim noah

When the Bulls made their expected coaching change, one of the on-court changes many expected was to break up the tandem of Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol in the frontcourt.

In fact, when Fred Hoiberg had his availability on Media Day, the new Bulls coach anticipated it would be among the first three questions. The notion stemmed around Noah limping around last season and to a lesser extent, Gasol advancing in age. With Gasol being an All-Star player, the speculation was growing louder that Noah should come off the bench to balance out the floor.

But Noah feels Hoiberg should hold off on making a decision based off the tape from last year. The film doesn’t lie that the duo looked uneven last season, despite the gaudy record posted by the starting five for the few games they played together (16-5).

“I think we should give it an honest evaluation while I’m healthy,” Noah said. “Last year, I wasn’t healthy. Let’s see how it goes and then coaches can make a decision from there.”

Nuggets add Mike Miller

Nuggets add Mike Miller

Along with the signing of 15-year NBA veteran Mike Miller, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced the Denver Nuggets official 2015-16 training camp roster today.

With the addition of Miller and signings of Matt Janning, Oleksiy Pecherov and Devin Sweetney, the Nuggets roster stands at 19 players.

The Nuggets are currently holding training camp at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs before heading to Los Angeles to face the Clippers in their first preseason game on Friday, October 2nd.