NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog
NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
As always, voting for All-Stars starts way too early in the season. But it’s just as much a popularity contest as it is a measure of who is actually playing like a genuine all-star, so we don’t argue too loudly about it.
Revealed today is the official 2008-09 NBA All-Star ballot.
The Golden State Warriors have hired Larry Harris as an assistant coach, the team announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.
Harris, 45, joins Head Coach Don Nelson’s staff after spending the last 19 seasons in the Milwaukee Bucks organization. After originally joining the Bucks staff as a scout/video coordinator under his father, then-Milwaukee Head Coach Del Harris, in 1990, he also served stints as the team’s director of player personnel, director of scouting, assistant general manager and general manager.
The Deseret News (Tim Buckley) reports: Point guard Deron Williams informed the Jazz this morning that he will try to make his 2008-09 NBA season debut tonight, when Utah visits Philadelphia in its second outing of a five-game road trip. “He told me he’s gonna play,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said after the team’s morning shootaround at Wachovia Center here. “We’ll probably play him sparingly. “You know how he is,” Sloan added. “He might want to get out there five minutes and say he feels great. But we’re gonna try to watch him pretty close.”
InsideHoops.com editor says: Obvious guess is, if D-Will does play he’ll probably play limited minutes. He might as well ease into the season over the next few games. Great that he’s finally back.
The Detroit News (Chris McCosky) reports: As the Pistons try to reinvent themselves with Allen Iverson and without a true point guard, the guy they might turn to for stability, once again, is Tayshaun Prince. Among the modifications coach Michael Curry is making to his offense is using Prince in the role of a point forward, initiating the offense, while Iverson and Richard Hamilton work on the wings. “Tay is going to facilitate some of our offense,” Curry said after the Pistons’ two-hour practice at Arco Arena Monday. “He will get into it with Allen handing it off to Tay. And there are other sets that Tay will start himself.” Curry worries, though, about tampering at all with Prince’s role. He has averaged 23 points the last three games.
The Philadelphia Inquirer (Kate Fagan) reports: The Sixers are going back to basics: working on their spacing around power forward Elton Brand. Yesterday was the last of three days of practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine before tonight’s 7 o’clock game against the Utah Jazz (5-1). The Sixers (2-4) haven’t played since a Thursday night loss at the Orlando Magic. “With Elton, we need to read and react,” coach Maurice Cheeks said. “Certainly, the last few days we’ve been practicing that.” “It’s different playing with a post player who commands attention,” said swingman Andre Iguodala, whose scoring average has dipped to 11.0 points per game, down from last season’s 19.9 average. “It’s everyone who is adjusting, not just me.”
The Boston Herald (Steve Buckley) reports: According to Kendrick Perkins, these confrontations with Jermaine O’Neal are getting serious. “There’s always words exchanged,” he said. “We do have something personal. That’s how we’ve been since we’ve been matching up. But you know, it is what it is.” Don’t worry, though, Perkins and O’Neal won’t be meeting out on Causeway Street to settle whatever differences they may have. “He’s out there competing,” Perkins said. “It’s nothing personal off the court, but it’s personal when we get on the court.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press (Don Seeholzer) reports: As the Wolves’ only rookie, Kevin Love was forced to sing happy birthday to forward Craig Smith in front of the entire team after practice Monday. Let’s just say his voice never will be confused with that of his famous uncle Mike of the Beach Boys. “He has no singing voice, no rhythm at all,” Wittman cracked. “It’s hard to believe that he’s got a relative that seemed to have that.” Love, in his defense, said happy birthday isn’t his song and that he would have nailed the Star-Spangled Banner. Asked if that was his first and last singing gig, he said: “No, I’m going to have to do it again. They’re going to make me dance, too, so I’ve got to figure out what new flavor I’m going to bring next time.”
The Oregonian (Jason Quick) reports: Today, Travis Outlaw feels like he is on top of the world after his 20 points and five rebounds were the catalysts in the Blazers’ first road win of the season — 106-99 over Orlando. What changed? Turns out, a phone conversation with Mom got Outlaw on track. Last Thursday, Outlaw was driving to the Rose Garden for the Blazers’ game against Houston when he remembered that his mother, Markeeta Outlaw, had wanted him to call. Back home in Starkville, Miss., Markeeta hadn’t liked what she had seen from her middle child during the Blazers’ opening stretch of the season. So when Travis called, she told him so. “She said, ‘You don’t seem like yourself out there. You don’t seem like you are having fun,'” Outlaw recalled… “She asked why I wasn’t doing more out there?” Outlaw said. “She told me, ‘Don’t just sit there in the corner — cut to the basket, go get rebounds. You need to have fun.'”
The AP reports: Rookie O.J. Mayo did all he could to rally Memphis in the fourth quarter against the Phoenix Suns. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies had no answer for Leandro Barbosa. Mayo had 19 of his game-high 33 points in the final period, but the victory went to the fifth-year veteran known as the Brazilian Blur and Phoenix as the Suns won 107-102 on Monday night. Barbosa almost went shot-for-shot with the rookie in the fourth, scoring 16 of his team-high 27 points in the period, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 43.8 seconds left… Amare Stoudemire scored 18 points, Boris Diaw added 13 and Nash had 12 points and six assists for the Suns, who have won five of their past six games overall… Rudy Gay scored 20 and Marc Gasol finished with 15 for the Grizzlies, who were 1-3 on their four-game Western road trip.
InsideHoops.com Notes: Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley shot 0-of-6 for no points, 3 steals and almost nothing else in almost 25 minutes. Kyle Lowry struggled off the bench behind Conley, however, shooting 1-of-6 for 2 points.
The AP reports: Paul Pierce walked into the postgame interview room with his right hand wrapped in ice, cooling down after a hot shooting final quarter. “We’re cooling it down,” Kevin Garnett joked after Pierce scored 22 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter to lead Boston’s 94-87 comeback win over the Raptors on Monday night… Pierce made 7-of-9 shots in the final quarter—including a pair of 3s just 40 seconds apart midway into the period—as Boston overcame an eight-point deficit en route to its fifth straight win… Garnett added 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Ray Allen had 19 points for the Celtics (7-1). Boston scored 58 points in the second half after getting just 36 in the opening 24 minutes… Jermaine O’Neal recovered from a rough night in Sunday’s win over Charlotte, leading the Raptors (4-3) with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Anthony Parker scored 15 and Jason Kapono 14 for Toronto.
InsideHoops.com Notes: Chris Bosh shot just 3-of-8 for 9 points and 7 rebounds. Jason Kapono shot 6-of-10 for 14 points. Andrea Bargnani did almost nothing in 11 minutes.