Inside Hoops – Page 1345 – NBA Blog

Updated 2013 NBA Power Rankings

The updated 2013 NBA power rankings are for entertainment purposes only, folks.

1) Miami Heat (66-16) – Best team in regular season, with league’s best player, looking like the best in the NBA playoffs so far.

2) San Antonio Spurs (58-24) – Experienced Spurs still relying on Parker, Duncan, Ginobili and smart play.

3) Oklahoma City Thunder (60-22) – Injury to Russell Westbrook doomed OKC in playoffs. Kevin Durant continues to be all-world.

4) Memphis Grizzlies (56-26) – Low-scoring, grit-and-grind Grizzlies do it with defense. Smart, tough team.

5) Denver Nuggets (57-25) – Balanced, talented, versatile, super-scoring team was hurt by injury to Danilo Gallinari.

6) LA Clippers (56-26) – Terrific regular season but first-round loss to tough Grizzlies resulted in team saying goodbye to head coach Del Negro

7) Indiana Pacers (49-32) – Rugged, defensive-minded Pacers have serious competitive fire. Physical team with big frontcourt.

8) New York Knicks (54-28) – Live by the jumper, die by the jumper. And in the playoffs, JR Smith and friends missed a lot. Low-assist squad.

9) Golden State Warriors (47-35) – Super-shooting backcourt and some frontcourt talent with size is a good foundation

10) Chicago Bulls (45-37) – Heart and hustle allowed Bulls to keep fighting in playoffs despite constant injuries

11) Brooklyn Nets (49-33) – Slow team whose limited athletic ability prevented these guys from turning it up in playoffs

12) LA Lakers (45-37) – Lakers were doomed in playoffs anyway, but season-ending injury to Kobe Bryant helped ensure it

13) Houston Rockets (45-37) – Great at scoring, but just as great at… not defending. Interesting young combo of players.

14) Atlanta Hawks (44-38) – Good passing and running, but team lacks identity beyond that. Josh Smith enters free agency.

15) Utah Jazz (43-39) – Big summer of free agency, especially in the Jazz frontcourt with Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap.

16) Boston Celtics (41-40) – Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are aging, but injuries to Rajon Rondo and others limited them further.

17) Dallas Mavericks (41-41) – A full rebuild is needed in this old folks home. Aging Dirk Nowitzki needs new guys around him.

18) Milwaukee Bucks (38-44) – A nice surprise was the emerging play of young Larry Sanders.

19) Philadelphia 76ers (34-48) – Andrew Bynum didn’t play. Jrue Holiday has some game. Rebuilding project.

20) Toronto Raptors (34-48) – Rudy Gay brings scoring, but team is still limited in overall talent.

21) Portland Trail Blazers (33-49) – Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge have nice game, but team was a disappointment

22) Minnesota Timberwolves (31-51) – Ricky Rubio shot bricks, and Kevin Love was injured. Team is building for the future.

23) Detroit Pistons (29-53) – Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe are a solid, young, big frontcourt combo.

24) Washington Wizards (29-53) – John Wall looked like a seriously dangerous talent once he got going.

25) Sacramento Kings (28-54) – Sacramento got to keep their NBA team. That’s the one big win here. Good scoring, bad defense.

26) New Orleans Pelicans (27-55) – Hornets are now the Pelicans. Not many positives this season.

27) Phoenix Suns (25-57) – Played decent team basketball, but simply not talented enough to compete. Good season from Goran Dragic.

28) Cleveland Cavaliers (24-58) – Kyrie Irving is great (when healthy), but with Anderson Varejao injured there was very little help here.

29) Charlotte Bobcats (21-61) – Bobcats backcourt was OK. Rest of team was invisible. As a whole, team was awful at everything.

30) Orlando Magic (20-62) – Nikola Vucevic was decent. This was a D-League level team.

2013 NBA Draft: Trey Burke to work out for Orlando Magic

For Trey Burke, the wait is officially on.

The NBA draft combine has ended, the lottery ping pong balls have been sorted and there’s more than a month between today and the 2013 draft (June 27).

And now, he’ll wait to see where the next chapter of his life will begin.

The former Michigan point guard has yet to formally work out for any NBA teams yet, and as of now, he says he’s only got one formal individual session scheduled — with the Orlando Magic, who hold the No. 2 pick in the draft.

Asked if he’ll go through any type of workout in front of the Detroit Pistons — who hold the No. 8 pick — Burke said he’s not sure.

Reported by Nick Baumgardner of Michigan Live

Mayors from San Antonio, Memphis bet BBQ on hoops

The mayor of San Antonio says everyone knows the best barbecue and basketball comes from Texas. The mayor of Memphis notes barbecue is prized in his city, where restaurant smoke stacks rise like steeples.

So the mayors have bet barbecue on the NBA Western Conference final.

Mayor Julian Castro will pay up with barbecue from The Granary ‘Cue & Brew if the Spurs lose, while Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. will put up the Rendezvous if the Grizzlies lose.

Reported by the Associated Press

Future looks bright for Suns guard Goran Dragic

In a Suns season that went very much wrong, Goran Dragic did a lot right.

He led the team in scoring (14.7), assists (7.4) and steals (1.6), setting career highs in each category. He also averaged a career-high 3.1 rebounds.

“I thought the first half of the season he probably was from about 15-20 in the rankings among point guards. I think he jumped probably close to top 10 in the last 41 games,” interim head coach Lindsey Hunter said following the season. “Hopefully that will catapult him to possibly being an All-Star.”

If Dragic can duplicate his second half numbers (16.1 points, 9.5 assists in 36 minutes per game) into the first half of next season, then yes, an NBA All-Star Game appearance may be in his future.

“Every player has his goals, including me,” said Dragic, who had 15 of his 20 double-digit assist games post All-Star break. “My goal is to someday hopefully play in an All-Star game. That’s my goal, so every season I try to get better and better.

Reported by Craig Grialou of Arizona Sports

Roy Hibbert calls out Shane Battier for cheapshot

Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert is calling out Miami Heat forward Shane Battier for his dirty play.

Hibbert took exception to Battier’s shot to his groin area in the first half of Miami’s Game 1 victory Wednesday night.

“U can knee or kick me every time u drive 2the rim. I’ll be there 2protect the rim. That wasn’t inadvertent. Battier knew what he was doing,” Hibbert wrote on Twitter on this evening.

Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star

Chris Andersen doing a lot to help Miami Heat

The Heat’s record since Anderson came on board is an astounding 48-5. In the playoffs, a span of 10 games in which the Heat have lost just once, Anderson is 29-for-35 (82 percent) from the floor and averaging nearly eight points a game.

His line in Wednesday’s Eastern Conference finals Game 1 victory for the Heat: a perfect 7-for-7 shooting for a season-high 16 points in 18 minutes, along with five rebounds and five blocked shots.

“He’s playing as well as any center in the league,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said.

The performance wasn’t lost on the Miami fans, who’ve quickly developed an affection for the high-impact reserve. He’s become so beloved in just half a season that when he was subbed out in overtime of Game 1 for Shane Battier, boos echoed throughout American Airlines Arena.

Reported by Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star

Nets wanted to interview Doc Rivers

The next coach of the Nets won’t be Doc Rivers.

ESPNBoston.com reported Thursday night that the Nets reached out to Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge about potentially sitting down with Rivers to discuss the team’s head coaching opening, but that Ainge refused to grant them permission.

That Ainge would deny the Nets a chance to sit down with Rivers isn’t at all surprising, given that he still has three years and over $20 million remaining on the extension he signed with Boston back in 2011 – one that made him one of the game’s highest-paid coaches – and is widely to be considered among the league’s best coaches.

Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Blog)

Pacers coach takes shot at Knicks coach

In the wake of Frank Vogel’s decision to bench center Roy Hibbert for the final two defensive possessions of the Heat’s 103-102 win over the Pacers on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Pacers coach directed some criticism toward Knicks coach Mike Woodson following yesterday’s practice.

“They had a more intelligent plan against Roy Hibbert than New York did, and we’ve got to adjust,” Vogel said following his team’s practice in Miami ahead of tonight’s Game 2.

With Hibbert sitting on the bench for the final 2.2 seconds, LeBron James took the inbounds pass and, after Paul George closed out too quickly, blew by him for an uncontested layup at the buzzer to give the Heat a heart-stopping win and leave the Pacers wondering what might have been.

Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Pacers, Heat bring playoffs to life with overtime thriller

The Indiana Pacers fell just short in the Eastern Conference finals opener but their gritty display pumped life into the NBA playoffs and let the defending champion Miami Heat know they have a battle on their hands.

The ease with which the top-seeded Heat have brushed aside opponents during the regular season and playoffs has given an air of inevitability to this year’s postseason, resulting in falling television ratings and plummeting interest.

But those hoping for tighter games with the chance of an upset would have been encouraged by the way the Pacers gave a timely warning to the Heat that they will need to draw on all their talent to reach a third straight final.

“It doesn’t matter if you win by one or if you win by 30 or whatever the case may be. You just want to win. We have to be better Friday if we want to win again,” LeBron James said after powering Miami to a 103-102 overtime victory on Wednesday.

Indiana have struggled on the road this year, losing 21 of 40 games in the regular season, but in a scrappy, foul-ridden game that came alive spectacularly in the closing stages, the Pacers showed their mettle.

Reported by Simon Evans of Reuters

Report: Carmelo Anthony has partially torn labrum in left shoulder, MRI reveals

Carmelo Anthony played 12 playoff games with a partially torn left shoulder, the Daily News has learned.

An MRI of Anthony’s shoulder revealed a partially torn labrum, according to a Knicks source and there is a possibility that Anthony may need surgery. The Knicks are hopeful that the injury will heal on its own and the club has told Anthony to rest for the next three to four weeks at which point he will be re-evaluated.

The Daily News reported on Monday that Anthony was scheduled to have his shoulder examined by team doctors after experiencing chronic pain dating back to April 14th when he originally injured his arm against the Indiana Pacers.

Anthony then re-injured it in Game 5 against the Boston and later reported that he was experiencing the sensation of his arm shoulder popping out of the socket which is common for someone suffering from a torn labrum.

— Reported by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News