August 2017 – Page 5 – NBA Blog

Celtics face Cavs on NBA opening night

A Christmas Day home game, an international affair against a division rival and a slate of early season matchups against Eastern Conference competitors highlight the Boston Celtics 2017-18 regular season schedule, as announced today by the NBA.

The Celtics – whose 53-29 record topped the Eastern Conference a year ago – will make 25 total National Television appearances between ABC, ESPN and TNT. The first of those scheduled broadcasts coincides with the NBA’s Opening Night on Oct. 17, when Boston matches up against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals. Celtics forward and 2017 NBA All-Star Gordon Hayward will make his highly anticipated TD Garden debut alongside fellow All-Star teammates Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford the very next night on Oct. 18, when the Celtics host the Milwaukee Bucks to tip off their 41-game regular season home schedule.

The Celtics’ home schedule expects to be highly competitive over the first month of the regular season, as Boston plays host to four different 2016-17 playoff teams in the first 31 calendar days of the NBA season. Among those four contests looms Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and the defending NBA-Champion Golden State Warriors, who make their lone regular season appearance at TD Garden on Thursday, Nov. 16. The Celtics will host the Los Angeles Lakers the week prior on Wednesday, Nov. 8, giving Lakers guard Lonzo Ball and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum – the No. 2 and No. 3 selections in this year’s NBA Draft – a chance to experience the historic rivalry for the first time.

Highlighted by the franchise’s first home game on Christmas Day, the Celtics will have a recurring presence at TD Garden throughout the holiday season. Boston welcomes the Orlando Magic on Friday, November 24, the day after Thanksgiving, before stepping into the NBA spotlight on Christmas Day for a playoff rematch against the Washington Wizards. The Celtics will also host James Harden, newly acquired All-Star Chris Paul and the Houston Rockets on Thursday, Dec. 28, before challenging the Brooklyn Nets in a New Year’s Eve showdown on Sunday, Dec. 31.

Fans will have the opportunity to watch two showcases between the Celtics and Cavaliers at TD Garden this season. LeBron James and the reigning Eastern Conference champions represent Boston’s first opponent of the new year on Wednesday, Jan. 3, and will return the week before the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 11. There will also be ample occasions early in the season to witness Celtics basketball on their home court, as Boston will play a combined 18 home games in the months of November (8) and December (10). The Celtics’ longest homestand of the season is a five-game stretch against Detroit, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Milwaukee and Dallas from Nov. 27 to Dec. 6. Russell Westbrook – the NBA’s 2016-17 Most Valuable Player – and his new All-Star counterpart Paul George will guide the Oklahoma City Thunder to Boston on Tuesday, March 20 for their only regular season appearance at TD Garden.

The Celtics’ schedule also features an opportunity to play in front of their global fan base. The NBA announced on Aug. 10 that Boston would compete against the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA London Game 2018 at The O2 on Thursday, Jan. 11, marking the Celtics’ first regular season game in London.

Mavs ready to begin 38th season

The Dallas Mavericks have announced their 2017-18 schedule, which will tip-off at American Airlines Center vs. Atlanta on Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. CT.

The 2017-18 campaign will mark the Mavericks’ 38th season and their 17th playing at American Airlines Center. Dallas will play its first two games of the season at home before traveling to division-rival Houston on Oct. 21 for its first road test.

The Mavericks’ national TV schedule includes five games on ESPN, one on TNT and five on NBA TV.

All five of the Mavericks’ ESPN games will come against Western Conference opponents, with three of those coming on the road. The Mavericks’ first ESPN telecast will come at the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 1. The remaining four ESPN games are: vs. San Antonio (Dec. 12), vs. Houston (Jan. 24), at Phoenix (Jan. 31) and at the Los Angeles Lakers (Feb. 23).

TNT’s lone Dallas game comes when the Mavericks visit the Golden State Warriors for the first time on Dec. 14.

Dallas will also have five games televised on NBA TV, all coming on the road.

Hawks home opener is October 27

The National Basketball Association has released the 2017-18 regular season schedule, and the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club will begin the season at Dallas on Wednesday, Oct. 18. After visiting Charlotte (Oct. 20), Brooklyn (Oct. 22), Miami (Oct. 23) and Chicago (Oct. 26), the Hawks return to Philips Arena to host the Denver Nuggets in the home opener on Friday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m.

All games will air on the Hawks’ flagship radio station, CBS RADIO’S SportsRadio 92-9 The Game, as well as partner stations on the Hawks Radio Network, with “Voice of the Hawks” Steve Holman on the call. The complete local television schedule on FOX Sports Southeast will be released at a later date.

All of Atlanta’s Monday-through-Saturday home games will feature 7:30 p.m. tip times, with the exception of Monday, Jan. 15 vs. San Antonio (tipping at 3:00 p.m.) and Saturday, Jan. 20 vs. Chicago (5:00 p.m.). Sunday game times will vary.

The aforementioned Jan. 15 matchup marks the return of the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday game to Philips Arena.

Atlanta faces each Eastern Conference team four times, except for Philadelphia and Chicago (two home/one road), as well as New York and Milwaukee (one home/two road), and every Western Conference opponent twice. The Hawks play 19-of-41 home games on weekends (seven Friday, seven Saturday, five Sunday).

Trail Blazers begin season with three-game road trip

The Portland Trail Blazers will tip-off their 48th NBA season at the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, Oct. 18, it was announced today by the NBA.

Portland will open the 2017-18 campaign with a three-game road trip, followed by a four-game homestand that begins with the home opener vs. New Orleans at the Moda Center on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

All 82 Trail Blazers games will be televised by national carriers or CSN, and aired on the Trail Blazers Radio Network.

Among the highlights at the Moda Center in 2017-18: the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors make the trip up on Feb. 14 and March 9; the Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Portland on March 15; the L.A. Lakers make their lone appearance in the Rose City on Nov. 2; and the Boston Celtics come to town on March 23.

The Trail Blazers will play 10 of their first 14 games at the Moda Center to begin the season, and seven of their final 10 on the road.

Portland will take on 10 of 14 Western Conference opponents twice at home and twice on the road, while playing Golden State, San Antonio, Dallas and the L.A. Lakers only three times apiece. Of those matchups, the Trail Blazers host Golden State and San Antonio twice, and the L.A. Lakers and Dallas once. The team will face each Eastern Conference team twice.

The Trail Blazers will close out the regular season on Wednesday, April 11 vs. Utah.

Cavs have 39 national TV broadcasts

The Cleveland Cavaliers will open the 2017-18 campaign on Tuesday, October 17 at Quicken Loans Arena against the Boston Celtics in a nationally televised game between last year’s Eastern Conference Finals opponents at 8:00 p.m. ET on TNT. This will mark the eighth time in nine years the Cavs will tip off the season at The Q, where they will play 17 weekend home dates comprised of five Friday games, seven Saturday games and five Sunday games. The Cavaliers are slated to appear on at least 39 national television broadcasts, 20 of which will originate from downtown Cleveland at The Q.

Suns hire Jeff Fish as director of performance and head strength and conditioning coach

The Phoenix Suns have named Jeff Fish as director of performance and head strength and conditioning coach. Fish brings to the Suns’ athletic training staff over 25 years of experience as a performance director and strength and conditioning coach in professional and collegiate sports.

In his role, he will be responsible for strength and conditioning, player performance, nutrition and applied sports science, and will work closely with Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Aaron Nelson and his staff on injury prevention, rehabilitation and rest/recovery.

Fish joins the Suns after most recently operating his own Atlanta-based performance training company, Jeff Fish Performance, and has also served as a performance consultant with the Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders. Prior to that, Fish spent five years (2008-13) as director of athletic performance with the Atlanta Falcons, the first person to hold that title for any NFL team, as the Falcons had the winningest five-season stretch in franchise history, winning two NFC South division titles and making four playoff appearances. During his time with the Falcons, Fish began the implementation of movement efficiency assessments at the NFL Combine.

In addition to the Falcons, Fish holds NFL experience of four seasons as head strength and conditioning coach with the Oakland Raiders (2004-07) and three seasons as assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Kansas City Chiefs (1998-2000). Fish has also held positions with Division I collegiate programs, serving as director of strength and conditioning at the University of Missouri (2001-04), head strength and conditioning coach at the University of Tulsa (1995-98) and Kent State University (1993-95), and strength and conditioning assistant at Clemson University (1991-93).

A graduate of Western Carolina University where he was a wide receiver on the football team, Fish also holds a Master’s in Physical Education and Exercise Science from Western Michigan University where he was a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach. The Ithaca, New York native is a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS), certified strength and conditioning coach (SCCC) and licensed massage therapist (LMT).

Lakers sign Briante Weber

The Los Angeles Lakers signed guard Briante Weber today.

Weber (6-2, 165) appeared in 20 games with Golden State and Charlotte in 2016-17, averaging 3.1 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 10.3 minutes per game. In his NBA career, the Virginia Commonwealth University product has played in 27 games (four starts) for the Warriors, Hornets, Memphis Grizzlies and Miami Heat, recording averages of 3.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

Undrafted in 2015, Weber was a three-time Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year at VCU, where he finished his career ranked third in NCAA history for all-time steals.

Nets sign Jacob Wiley to two-way contract

The Brooklyn Nets signed forward Jacob Wiley to a two-way contract today.

Wiley (6’8”, 213) appeared in 34 games for Eastern Washington University last season (2016-17), recording averages of 20.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 34.3 minutes per contest while shooting 64.3 percent (265-of-412) from the field. He was named the Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player and earned first team honors after finishing the season ranked first in the conference in field goal percentage, rebounding and blocked shots per game and sixth in scoring. The Newport, Wash., native was also named an honorable mention All-America selection by the Associated Press while ranking sixth in NCAA Division I basketball in field goal percentage and eighth in blocked shots per game.

Prior to suiting up for Eastern Washington, Wiley played two seasons (2014-16) for Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho and one season (2012-13) for the University of Montana. He most recently was a member of Brooklyn’s 2017 NBA Summer League team in Las Vegas.

Per NBA rules, teams are permitted sign two players to two-way contracts in addition to the 15-man regular season roster. A two-way player for the Nets will provide services primarily to the team’s NBA G League affiliate – the Long Island Nets – but can spend up to 45 days with Brooklyn, not including any time prior to the start of Long Island’s training camp and at the conclusion of their season.

Lakers sign V.J. Beachem

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward V.J. Beachem.

Beachem appeared in 36 games (all starts) for Notre Dame last season, averaging 14.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 34.2 minutes as a senior. Overall, the 6-foot-8 forward notched 9.2 points and 2.7 rebounds through 132 career games with the Fighting Irish.

Beachem most recently competed in four games for the Minnesota Timberwolves at the 2017 Las Vegas NBA Summer League.

Timberwolves sign Marcus Georges-Hunt

The Minnesota Timberwolves today signed guard Marcus Georges-Hunt.

Georges-Hunt, 23, spent most of this past season with the Maine Red Claws in the NBA G League, averaging 15.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 36.4 minutes over 45 games. He shot 46.2 percent from the field, including 39.2 percent from three-point range, and was named to the All-NBA G League Third Team. The 6-6 guard signed a 10-day contract with the Miami Heat on Feb. 8, 2017 but did not appear in a game. Georges-Hunt signed with the Orlando Magic on April 3, 2017 and averaged 2.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.6 minutes over five games.

Georges-Hunt played four seasons at Georgia Tech, averaging 13.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 130 games (129 starts). As a senior in 2015-16, he averaged 16.7 points and 3.3 assists in 36 games and was named All-ACC second team by the ACC coaches.