Month: December 2017
Hornets begin stretch of home games
The Hornets are just 8-13 so far this season, which is the 12th best record in the Eastern conference. The upcoming week will provide an interesting variety tests at home which may help determine which direction they’re headed. Here’s the Charlotte Observer reporting the latest:
This is a big week for the Hornets, with four consecutive home games (Magic, Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers) over six days. The Hornets have been terrible on the road this season (1-10), but are 7-3 at Spectrum Center.
Ten of the Hornets’ next 13 games are in Charlotte. What has to change to get this team right?
“We’ve got to change our approach. We have to have carryover from (what’s instructed in) shootarounds to the games,” Walker said. “Coach (Steve Clifford) and the staff give us a great game plan each and every night to execute, and we haven’t been doing that.
Cavs and Derrick Rose discuss future
It remains unclear if Derrick Rose will return to the Cavs. A guess is, he probably will. But nobody can make an educated guess on this. Only Rose knows if he wants to continue playing pro basketball, and also earning massive sneaker contract money in the process. Here’s ESPN.com reporting the latest:
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Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue on Saturday said there has been positive dialogue between Derrick Rose and the organization, as Rose continues to ponder his future in the NBA.
Speaking before Cleveland’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Lue did not want to delve into further details about the recent communication between parties, directing media members to speak with Cavs general manager Koby Altman.
When asked about Lue’s comments, Altman, who was attending Saturday’s game, affirmed that the dialogue with Rose and his representatives has been positive, acknowledging there would likely be another update regarding his status in the near future.
Kevin Love deserves major credit for Cavs success
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The Cavs started slowly this season, figured out how to play together despite a bunch of injuries, and now look about as good as could be expected considering they are still without new point guard Isaiah Thomas. Everyone knows LeBron James is still himself, and therefore awesome, but Kevin Love is the very next name that needs to be mentioned. Here’s the News Herald reporting:
Kevin Love should feel like the guy who is often nominated for Best Supporting Actor but never wins the Oscar.
Love has played almost as big a part in the Cavaliers’ 10-game winning streak as LeBron James, but outside the Cavs’ organization, he rarely gets the credit he deserves for the contributions he makes. That goes back to 2016 when the Cavs won their only NBA championship.
When the Cavaliers lost to Golden State in the 2017 Finals, the rumor mill quickly started churning out the notion of trading Love to the New York Knicks for Carmelo Anthony. He was also linked to a trade to the Indiana Pacers for Paul George.
Austin Rivers fined by NBA
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Los Angeles Clippers guard Austin Rivers has been fined $25,000 for directing inappropriate comments toward a fan, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
The incident occurred with 3:14 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Clippers’ 126-107 loss to the Utah Jazz on Thursday, Nov. 30 at Staples Center.
Iman Shumpert undergoes knee surgery
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Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee this morning at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health. The surgery was performed by team physicians Dr. Richard Parker and Dr. James Rosneck. Shumpert will now undergo a period of recovery and rehabilitation and his return to play timeline is currently projected at 6-8 weeks. His status will be updated as appropriate.
NBA notes from around the league
Houston guard James Harden has scored at least 20 points in each of his 21 games this season, the NBA’s longest season-opening streak since LeBron James’ 33-game run in 2012-13.
Utah has outscored opponents by an average of 22.8 points during its current four-game winning streak.
Orlando forward Aaron Gordon has become the first Magic player with multiple 40-point games in a season since Dwight Howard in 2010-11.
Minnesota guard Tyus Jones is averaging 11.3 points, 6.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 steals in his last four games, a stretch that includes three starts in place of the injured Jeff Teague.
Portland ranks second in the NBA in defensive rating, allowing 99.5 points per 100 possessions. Last season, the Trail Blazers ranked 21st and allowed 107.8 points per 100 possessions.
On Thursday, when Cleveland defeated Atlanta to extend its winning streak to 10 games, Cavaliers forward LeBron James passed Alex English (10,659) for 10th place on the NBA’s all-time list for field goals made.
In his last two games, Chicago guard Kris Dunn has totaled 43 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds and shot 70.4 percent from the field (19-of-27).
Denver swingman Will Barton scored a career-high 37 points in Thursday’s victory over Chicago, the highest-scoring game by a Nuggets reserve since J.R. Smith’s 41-point performance against Atlanta on Dec. 23, 2009.
The Nuggets will retire Fat Lever’s No. 12 jersey on Saturday, when they play host to the Los Angeles Lakers. The two-time All-Star recorded 43 triple-doubles, the eighth-highest total in NBA history.
— NBA Newsletter
Notes on Detroit Pistons success this season
Detroit (14-6) is off to its best 20-game start since the 2007-08 season. Here are some notes about the current No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference entering Friday’s game against Washington:
The Pistons rank seventh in the NBA in offensive rating after finishing 25th last season.
Leading scorer Tobias Harris (19.1 ppg) is averaging 2.9 three-pointers per game – more than double his career high – and shooting 46.7 percent from beyond the arc, also well above his career high. He was a career 33.2 percent three-point shooter when the season began.
Behind Harris and guards Avery Bradley, Langston Galloway and Reggie Jackson, the Pistons are third in the NBA in three-point field goal accuracy at 39.1 percent. Last season, they ranked 28th at 33.0 percent.
Detroit is also making nearly four more three-pointers per game than last season, improving to ninth (11.4) from 27th (7.7) in that category.
NBA rebounding leader Andre Drummond (14.3 ppg, 15.2 rpg) is shooting 63.0 percent from the free throw line. He entered the season with a career mark of 38.1 percent.
Stan Van Gundy needs two wins to become the sixth active head coach with 500 career victories.
— NBA Newsletter