NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog
NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have waived guard Blake Ahearn.
The 6-2, 190-pound Ahearn was originally signed by San Antonio on 11/16. He appeared in three games for the Silver and Black where he averaged 2.7 points in 6.3 minutes. Ahearn was assigned to the Austin Toros on 11/30. In six games with the Toros, he averaged 18.8 points, 6.2 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 34.3 minutes.
The Spurs roster stands at 14.
The amount of head coaches being fired in the NBA this season is ridiculous. The Wizards fired Eddie Jordan, the 76ers fired Mo Cheeks, the Raptors fired Sam Mitchell, and now the Sacramento Kings have fired coach Reggie Theus.
Although the Kings are lousy this season, I don’t see how they were supposed to accomplish much with their current roster. Really, it comes down to Kings management simply not feeling that Theus is good or experienced enough to help the team grow any more than they have already.
The best player on the team is shooting guard Kevin Martin, but injuries have limited him to just nine games this season. He’s a scorer, and on 42.6% shooting is averaging 20.8 points per game, but just 2.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and a decent 1.22 steals.
John Salmons has been second on the team in scoring with 19.4 ppg on impressive 49.1% shooting. He also contributes 3.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.22 steals per game.
Point guard Beno Udrih is shooting an excellent 48.0% for 12.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.29 steals.
Rookie big-man Spencer Hawes, center Brad Miller, guard Francisco Garcia and rookie forward Jason Thompson are also all having decent seasons.
The Kings as a team? Not so great, but that was expected given the limited roster.
They’re average at scoring, but awful at defense, giving up 106.08 points per game, third most (worst) in the league. Their opponents are also nailing a very high 47.9% of their shots, also third worst in the league.
The Kings are the league’s worst three-point shooting team, connecting on just 29.3% of their attempts. And they’re the league’s worst team at defending three-pointers; opponents are nailing 43.1% of their threes when facing Sacramento.
The team also needs to rebound better.
But the firing of Theus isn’t about exact statistics, it’s about development, making the young players better and giving them big minutes, and getting along with upper management, and team brass no longer thinks the future is bright with Theus guiding the way.
Check the InsideHoops.com NBA rumors page for more stories on this.
Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this message board thread.
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant had 26 points and five assists, Pau Gasol added 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots, and the Lakers pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the struggling Minnesota Timberwolves 98-86 on Sunday night. Andrew Bynum added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Trevor Ariza scored 14 points for the Lakers, who have played seven of their last eight games against teams with losing records and lost to two of them—Indiana and Sacramento. And they haven’t been all that impressive in several recent victories… Al Jefferson had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead Minnesota, but he shot 8-of-24, missing 15 of his last 19 shots. Craig Smith added 18 points and eight rebounds, and Ryan Gomes scored 13 for the Timberwolves (4-19), who lost their ninth straight game and fourth in a row since Kevin McHale took over as coach last Monday.
The AP reports: Tony Parker knows a 26-point first-half lead is no sure thing — even against the team with the worst record in the NBA. Parker scored 22 points, and Tim Duncan had 20 points and 12 rebounds to help San Antonio win its sixth straight game, 109-104 over Oklahoma City on Sunday night. The Spurs led by 26 points in the first half before the Thunder cut it to two points in the final minute… Matt Bonner added 17 points, and Roger Mason had 14 for the Spurs. They combined to make five 3-pointers in the first quarter when the Spurs took a 21-point lead that they pushed to 26 in the second quarter. Jeff Green led the Thunder, 2-23 after their seventh straight loss, with 33 points, and Kevin Durant had 28. The pair of second-year players combined to go 26-of-47 from the floor and scored 61 of the Thunder starters’ 70 points… Ginobili had 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting and added six assists.
The AP reports: The Grizzlies’ youth movement is starting to show results. Memphis won its fourth straight game Sunday, beating the Miami Heat 102-86. Rookie O.J. Mayo had 28 points, and Rudy Gay added 18… Memphis’ winning streak is its longest since the five games of the 2005-06 season. Darko Milicic matched his season high with 13 points, and reserve Mike Conley had 12 for the Grizzlies, who at times have started three rookies—Mayo, Marc Gasol and Darrell Arthur. Eight of Memphis’ 14 players are 23 or younger… Memphis has scored at least 100 points in all four wins during the run and has turned up the defensive pressure. On Sunday, the Miami star Dwyane Wade was 5-of-16 from the field and the Heat shot 36 percent… Michael Beasley led Miami with 20 points, and Joel Anthony had 12 points and 13 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
The AP reports: The Toronto Raptors were determined to keep Chris Paul out of the paint. They limited Paul’s penetration, but couldn’t stop the New Orleans Hornets point guard from finding open shooters on the perimeter. David West scored 29 points, James Posey added a season-high 20 points, including six 3-pointers, and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who beat the Raptors 99-91 Sunday for their eighth win in 10 games. Rasual Butler scored 16 points and Paul added 12 points and 12 assists for the Hornets… Chris Bosh had 25 points, and Jose Calderon scored 22 for Toronto on 8-for-8 shooting. Calderon also made his only free throw and has hit 59 straight dating to last season… Jermaine O’Neal added 19 points for the Raptors, who were shooting for their first three-game winning streak since a 3-0 start. Toronto is 5-6 at home.