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Rick Carlisle discusses how hard it is to repeat as NBA champs

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said that a litany of things could go wrong that can prevent a team from repeating. That list includes injuries, trades, players becoming selfish and management not willing to sign critical free agents.

“It’s just that when you’re the defending champs people are gunning for you,” Carlisle said. “And then you have to fight the letdown of being the champions.

“It’s a lot of the human nature stuff that are inherent in sports, but that’s what makes the world go round.”

In addition to missing out on a successful repeat as a coach with the Mavs, Carlisle also missed a chance with the Boston Celtics. In 1986 Carlisle was with the Celtics when they beat the Rockets in six games to win the championship, but then lost in the ’87 Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.

Kevin Love piling up historic NBA numbers

Kevin Love is playing like an upper-level NBA All-Star this season. A player worthy of league MVP consideration. It’s great to watch. Here’s the St. Paul Pioneer Press on some numbers:

After breaking his hand twice and missing 64 games last season, Kevin Love has come back with a vengeance.

The Timberwolves power forward registered six assists, eight rebounds and 33 points to pace a 124-95 pasting of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night and became the first player in NBA history with 240 points, 125 rebounds and 45 assists over his team’s first nine games.

Love’s play has elicited comparisons to that of Moses Malone and a few other former stars.

“To be honest, I try not to pay attention to all that,” Love said after practice Thursday. “It’s definitely flattering to hear those names — guys I grew up either watching or studying tape of, or just trying to emulate in my back yard. But more than anything, I’m just excited about winning.”

Jared Sullinger playing well in limited minutes for Celtics

The Boston Celtics are off to a 4-5 start, which is better than what most expected of the rebuilding squad. Here’s ESPN Boston on a Celtic that’s playing well so far this season.

Hey, Jared, how’s your back?

“I thought people forgot about my surgery; hardly anybody ever talks about it anymore,” replied Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger, who underwent season-ending lumbar disk surgery back in February and worked hard to get back on the court for the start of his sophomore campaign.

The reason his surgery has become a mere footnote is because Sullinger is playing so effectively. The 6-foot-9 forward is averaging 11.3 points and 5.1 rebounds over 19.7 minutes per game in seven appearances.

Even as he works to ramp up his conditioning after a surgery that left him inactive for much of the summer, Sullinger has surprised even himself with how well he’s started the year…

According to Synergy Sports data, Sullinger leads the team in post-up chances and production. Over 26 plays in post-up situations, he has averaged 1.077 points per play (that ranks him in the 83rd percentile among all league players). For comparison’s sake, Brandon Bass has 24 post-up plays (second highest on the team), but that’s in nearly twice as many minutes of playing time as Sullinger (Bass is averaging 1 point per play, ranking in the 78th percentile).

Sullinger is trying to give the Celtics a little bit of everything. He has extended his range beyond the 3-point arc with a green light from Stevens to fire away. He’s only 2-for-10 thus far from downtown, having air-balled a shot or two, but he won’t shy away from an open look. His total rebound percentage (15) is below last season’s mark (17.5) but that should rise with more minutes and better conditioning.

NBA fines Matt Barnes $25,000

Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes, a talented, competitive, good player who generally makes his team better, continues to have a bit of a problem controlling his temper.

Barnes has been fined $25,000 for failing to leave the court in a timely manner upon his ejection and using inappropriate language on his Twitter account during the game following his ejection, in violation of NBA rules, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.

The ejection occurred with 6.2 seconds remaining in the second quarter of the Clippers’ 111-103 victory over the Thunder on Wednesday, Nov. 13, at Staples Center.

Lakers assign Ryan Kelly and Elias Harris to D-League

The Los Angeles Lakers have assigned Ryan Kelly and Elias Harris to the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate.

The assignments are the ninth and tenth of the 2013-14 NBA D-League campaign and are the first for both Kelly and Harris, who become the sixth and seventh NBA players to be assigned to their NBA D-League affiliate this season.

Magic fine Glen Davis for incident in motel

The Orlando Magic have fined forward Glen Davis an undisclosed amount following his actions on Saturday, Nov. 9, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.

“We will not tolerate or condone this type of behavior,” said Hennigan. “As we have stated repeatedly, when a player puts on an Orlando Magic uniform, he is representing something much greater than himself. We expect our players to uphold a certain standard of conduct and character at all times.”

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the team fined Davis “for his role in an incident early Saturday morning at a downtown Orlando motel lobby in which he threw a keyboard belonging to the motel against a wall.”

Jeremy Lin says return to MSG is no big deal

NBA players tend to say that returning as a visitor to play in an arena that used to be their home is no big deal. And while sometimes that may be true, but in general I always assume they’d love to step up and drop an especially big game on their former fans. Here’s New York Newsday:

It’s been nearly two years since Jeremy Lin reached uncharted territory and his popularity took off internationally with the Knicks.

Now, in his second season with the Rockets, Lin makes another return to Madison Square Garden Thursday night to play the Knicks. Lin still gets excited about playing in New York, but the 25-year-old puts the situation in perspective.

“For me it’s just another game. It’s two years removed so I’m just going to play basketball and not going to worry too much about Madison Square Garden,” Lin said. “Obviously I have so many great memories there and will cherish it forever, but it’s just basketball.

“A lot of the attention will be on James [Harden] and Dwight [Howard], them coming to the Garden.”

As good as they are playing, Pacers can still use Danny Granger

The Indiana Pacers are off to a fantastic start, and have a solid bench this season, but there’s always room for Danny Granger’s services once he’s healthy. Here’s the Indianapolis Star:

Granger was supposed to battle with Lance Stephenson — who had a breakout campaign while Granger was absent for most last season — for the fifth and final starting spot before the calf injury. But Stephenson is off to a strong start and his leaving the starting lineup appears less and less likely. The Pacers also appear to have plenty of depth.

But Vogel said he won’t have any problem finding playing time for Granger when he returns.

“He’s going to be another perimeter threat for us,” Vogel said. “We need his veteran’s savvy, we need his big-play ability. He’s a winning player.”

Granger, who has played his entire eight-plus year NBA career with the Pacers, is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after this season.

Utah Jazz sign guard Diante Garrett

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has signed guard Diante Garrett of the NBA Development League’s Iowa Energy, marking the NBA’s first D-League Call-Up of the 2013-14 season. Per team policy, financial terms were not released. Following the move, the Jazz roster now stands at 15 players.

The 23-year-old Garrett (6-4, 190, Iowa State) was participating in training camp with the Energy after spending the 2013 NBA training camp and preseason with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he averaged 3.2 points and 1.5 assists in 10.2 minutes in six preseason games before being waived on October 25. Garrett spent the 2012-13 season with the Phoenix Suns, appearing in 19 games (all as a reserve), averaging 2.1 points and 1.6 assists in 7.8 minutes of action. Garrett also saw action last season with the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League while on assignment from the Suns, playing in eight regular season games (six starts) and averaging 17.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.63 steals while shooting .491 (54-110) from the floor and .619 (13-21) from three-point range, in 32.6 minutes per contest. In addition, Garrett started two games in the 2013 D-League Playoffs for the Jam, producing 21.0 points on .500 (17-34) shooting, while contributing 6.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.0 steal in 34.5 minutes per game. He also played for KK Zagreb in Croatia and JSF Nanterre in France during the 2011-12 season.

The Milwaukee native played four collegiate seasons at Iowa State University (2007-11), and finished his career as the Cyclones’ all-time leader in games played (128), ranking second in career assists (611), ninth in steals (153), 13th in three-pointers (98) and 16th in scoring (1,364). His 611 assists also rank fifth in Big 12 Conference history and he is one of only three players in Big 12 history to amass at least 1,300 points and 600 assists (Kirk Hinrich, Kansas; John Roberson, Texas Tech).

As a senior (2010-11), Garrett earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors after averaging 17.3 points, 6.1 assists and 1.7 steals and was one of only two players in the nation (Nate Wolters, South Dakota St.) to average at least 17.0 points and 6.0 assists. He is also one of only nine players in Big 12 history to rank in the top five in the conference in both assists (first) and scoring (fifth).

The son of former NBA player Dick Garrett (1969-74), Garrett’s first name is pronounced “Dee-ahn-tay,” and he will wear uniform #8 for the Jazz.

Pau Gasol has been playing with strained foot

The Los Angeles Lakers face a difficult season, and Pau Gasol not being fully healthy makes it even more of a challenge. Here’s ESPN Los Angeles:

Pau Gasol underwent an MRI last week that showed a muscle strain in his left foot, the Los Angeles Lakers forward revealed to reporters after his team’s 116-95 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday.

“I had a strained muscle there,” Gasol said. “It’s feeling better now. It’s feeling a little better.”

Gasol missed 20 games last season after suffering a plantar fascia tear in his right foot, and he said the two injuries could be linked.

“Now it’s the left foot, maybe compensating,” Gasol said. “Things like that happen. … Hopefully we can keep it under control.”

Said Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni before the game Tuesday: “He’s a big guy that takes a pounding, but he knows how to deal with it.”