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NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
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Lakers guard Nick Young, who injured his right thumb yesterday in practice, underwent an MRI exam today. Results of the MRI showed that Young has a complete tear of the radial collateral ligament.
Dr. Steven Shin of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic will perform surgery on Young’s thumb on Monday, and an estimate for Young’s return will be given at that time.
The Boston Celtics are in a transitional period. They’re rebuilding, and their best player, guard Rajon Rondo, is injured yet again, and may wind up being traded later this season. On the brighter side, they have some nice young talent. And they have Avery Bradley, who is proud to play super-aggressive defense, and aims to be an even better defender this season. Here’s ESPN Boston reporting:
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Coming off the best offensive season of his career, one that helped him secure a lucrative long-term extension, Boston Celtics shooting guard Avery Bradley said his primary goal for the 2014-15 season is reestablishing his reputation as a defense-first player.
“I want to be on the first team all-defense,” Bradley said Thursday when asked about his individual goals for new season. “I made the second team two years ago. That’s my No. 1 goal this year, but obviously I want to improve in every part of my game.”
Bradley averaged a career-best 14.9 points per game last season and shot nearly 40 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. At times, he was maybe Boston’s most aggressive shooter as reflected in a career-high 13.8 shots per game (up four attempts per game from the previous season). Maybe due in part to a new system and a rebuilding team, Bradley’s advanced defensive numbers — among the glitziest in the league two years ago — eroded a bit and he wasn’t the sort of shutdown presence that he’s shown he can be.
Here’s Arizona Sports reporting on the Phoenix Suns offensive plans, which involve running, and more running.
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Push the pace.
It is the one phrase that has been spoken the most thus far here at Phoenix Suns training camp.
“We want to play even faster than we did last year,” forward P.J. Tucker said.
Last year, the Suns ranked eighth in the NBA in pace of play, a statistic used to measure the number of possessions per 48 minutes.
“We want to pick that up. We want to be one, two or three,” head coach Jeff Hornacek said. “Really try to get the ball out of bounds and go with it. Put pressure on the other teams. We have a deep team so we feel we can do that. And that’s us pushing these guys to get in that type of shape you need to be to do that.”
Here’s the Akron Beacon Journal reporting on the Cleveland Cavaliers as they adapt to a new head coach and some very high-profile new players:
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David Blatt spent his first few weeks on the job downplaying his offensive ingenuity and reminding people he likes to coach defense, too. Yet after the first week of practice, it’s clear on which side Blatt has made an impression on this veteran team.
“His offensive stuff is borderline genius,” Mike Miller said this week. “Once we get a hold of it, it’s going to be a big weapon.”
Indeed, Blatt conceded the first handful of practices with the Cavaliers have been an offensive cram session in moving and spacing. Based on Wednesday’s Wine & Gold scrimmage, the Cavs are fast learners.
They moved well, spaced the floor properly and found a surprising rhythm given how little time they’ve spent together. Of course, they were only playing each other. The real tests will come once the exhibition games begin (the opener is Sunday against Blatt’s former team) and then when the regular season commences on Oct. 30.
Here’s the Charlotte Observer reporting on the Hornets. And yeah, that’s “Hornets.” The Bobcats are gone. They are the Hornets now. You knew that already, but preseason is approaching so it’s worth repeating.
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Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford made a bold statement Monday about shooting guard Gary Neal’s value.
“Our offense, once he got here, was totally different,” Clifford said.
Bold but not inaccurate. In the 25 regular-season games that followed Neal being traded to Charlotte, the then-Bobcats averaged 104.3 points per game, compared to 95.3 before his arrival. The Bobcats’ shooting percentage improved from 43.7 percent pre-Neal to 45.3 percent with him.
That’s not to say the offensive improvement was exclusively Neal’s doing. For instance, rookie power forward Cody Zeller shot far better from the field in April than in February.
Here’s the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporting on the Bucks:
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Bucks coach Jason Kidd said to expect multiple lineups during the preseason as he tries to find the right combinations with his young team.
The team completed a morning non-contact practice session on Day 2 under Kidd, with a contact session scheduled later Wednesday. The team will be off on Thursday.
“Don’t judge me on preseason because we’re going to play a lot of different combinations and there will be a lot of people starting and playing the role of coming off the bench,” Kidd said. “We’ll figure it out.”
Kidd said he already has been impressed with the way big men John Henson and Larry Sanders have played together in the opening practices.
Miami Heat big-man Chris Andersen is towards the end of his NBA career, and is attempting to make the necessary adjustments. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting:
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He still plans to play with high energy in his 13th season, but will do it at a smarter pace.
“I was told a long time ago, even though I’m called Birdman, you can’t jump forever,” Andersen said Wednesday. “Like [Shaquille O’Neal] says, you have a certain amount of jumps in your career.”
Step one in the transformation process is becoming a well-rounded player, especially on offense. Andersen, 36, explained why he’s been shooting jumpers after practices during training camp, mostly from the elbow and baseline.
Translation: he wants more scoring opportunities with less wear on the body.
“I’ve been blessed to be able to jump at 36 so I want to be able to use that a couple more times but I want to be able to shoot it, too,” Andersen said. “That’ll prolong my career three years, maybe.”
Enjoy these video highlights of rookie Andrew Wiggins from a recent Minnesota Timberwolves late-night public scrimmage:
Jim Morris, president of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, will move into the role of vice chairman and Rick Fuson will succeed Morris as president in addition to continuing his role as chief operating officer, PS&E chairman and CEO Herb Simon announced Tuesday.
Both moves are effective immediately.
“This is not about change but continuity,” Simon said. “Jim Morris will maintain his important leadership role in fostering and sustaining relationships in the community and throughout the state of Indiana. Rick Fuson over many years has shown himself to be a brilliant manager and trusted steward of PS&E and all its assets and will continue to do so.”
Fuson, 61, joined the Pacers’ organization in 1984 as director of special events for Market Square Arena. He oversaw the construction and opening of Bankers Life Fieldhouse in 1999. He was promoted to executive senior vice president of PS&E in 2001 and chief operating officer in 2008. He is responsible for the operation of all aspects of the business and facilities elements of PS&E and Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Morris, 71, a long-time community and civic leader and one of the principle architects of Indianapolis highly acclaimed strategy of using sports to foster economic development, joined PS&E in 2007 as a special consultant to then President/CEO Donnie Walsh. He was named president in 2008.
“I am honored and humbled by this tremendous opportunity,” said Fuson. “We are extremely fortunate to have Jim Morris in the role of vice chairman. He is an exemplary representative of PS&E and a pillar of our community. I am grateful to have worked side by side with Jim, Donnie Walsh, Larry Bird, Kelly Krauskopf and the great people of PS&E for over 30 years and I so look forward to our future. There is no better owner in sports than Herb Simon and his commitment to our franchises and community makes this a great place to work and live.”
“Pacers Sports & Entertainment was strong before I got here and I am proud of every piece of the operation: the ongoing success of the Pacers and the Indiana Fever, the multitude of entertainment events we host, the sales and marketing team, the finance department, our community relations efforts and Bankers Life Fieldhouse itself, which is operated so efficiently and magnificently,” said Morris. “It is an absolute thrill to work for an extraordinary owner in Herb Simon, and with such gifted people as Rick Fuson, Larry Bird and Kelly Krauskopf. PS&E is in terrific hands.”
The Denver Nuggets will open training-camp with 19 players after signing forwards Jerrelle Benimon, Alonzo Gee, Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Marcus Williams, Nuggets General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.
Benimon, 6-8, 245, went undrafted in 2014 out of Towson University where he was named the CAA player of the year in both his junior and senior seasons. The forward averaged 18.7 points while ranking second in the nation in rebounds (11.2 rpg) and third in double-doubles (21) during his final collegiate campaign in 2013-14. Benimon played for the Miami Heat in the Orlando Summer League and for the Nuggets in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 10.7 points, 11.3 rebounds (2nd overall) and 1.7 assists in three games.
Gee, 6-6, 219, has appeared in 277 career NBA games (173 starts), posting averages of 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.00 steals in five seasons with the Cavaliers, Spurs and Wizards. Gee was undrafted in 2009 after playing four years at the University of Alabama. He averaged 15.0 points and 7.2 rebounds and was named Second Team All-SEC as a senior. Gee appeared in 65 games (24 starts) for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2013-14.
Mensah-Bonsu, 6-9, 235, has four years of NBA experience and three seasons of international experience after going undrafted out of George Washington University in the 2006 NBA Draft. He’s appeared in 62 career NBA games for New Orleans, Toronto, Houston, San Antonio and Dallas, averaging 2.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Mensah-Bonsu averaged 8.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in 55 games for Galatasaray of the Turkish League during the 2013-14 season.
Williams, 6-7, 203, was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 33rd overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft after he averaged 16.6 points and 6.7 rebounds as a sophomore at the University of Arizona. The forward has averaged 1.1 points and 3.0 minutes in 13 career NBA games over parts of two seasons with the Spurs and L.A. Clippers. He also appeared in 89 games for the Austin Toros of the NBA D-League from 2007-2010, averaging 21.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists. Williams has spent the last three seasons with the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association.