Author: Inside Hoops

InsideHoops.com has been a world leader in NBA basketball coverage for over 20 years. Read our blog, but also be sure to read our main website on www.insidehoops.com

Charlotte Hornets to honor Paul Silas with a commemorative patch

The Charlotte Hornets announced today the team’s plans to honor the legacy of former head coach Paul Silas, who passed away during the weekend.

Prior to Wednesday’s game vs. Detroit, the Hornets will hold a moment of silence and show a video tribute in recognition of Silas.

Starting with tomorrow’s game and throughout the remainder of the 2022-23 NBA season, the Hornets coaching staff will have a commemorative “Silas” patch on the left sleeve of the pullovers they wear on the bench. The commemorative black patch is in the shape of the traditional Hornets cell pattern with the pattern’s outline and the “Silas” wordmark in teal.

ABOUT PAUL SILAS

Paul Silas spent eight seasons with the Charlotte Hornets across two different stints with the franchise. During his first tenure, in which he spent two-and-a-half seasons as an assistant coach before becoming interim head coach to conclude the 1998-99 season, he posted a record of 161-120 (.573). In each of his three full seasons, the Hornets won at least 44 games and made the playoffs, advancing to the second round in both 2000-01 and 2001-02. He returned to Charlotte to once again become interim head coach during the 2010-11 season and remained the team’s head coach in 2011-12.

Silas ranks third in franchise history in games coached (401), games won (193) and winning percentage (.481), and is the all-time leader in each of the three categories for playoff games with an overall record of 11-12 (.478) in 23 games total. He is the only head coach in franchise history to lead the team to three playoff appearances and two Eastern Conference Semifinals appearances. The team’s three straight playoff berths from 1999-2000 through 2001-02 is the only time in franchise history that the Hornets have gone to the playoffs in three straight seasons.

Following four years at Creighton in which he became one of only five players in NCAA history to average more than 20 points and 20 rebounds in his college career, Silas played 16 seasons in the NBA, where he was a three-time NBA Champion (1973-74 Celtics, 1975-76 Celtics and 1978-79 SuperSonics) and a two-time NBA All-Star (1971-72 and 1974-75). He retired after the 1979-80 season and immediately became head coach of the San Diego Clippers, spending three seasons in the role. In 12 seasons overall as an NBA head coach, Silas had a career record of 387-488 (.442).

Spurs sign Stanley Johnson

The San Antonio Spurs have signed forward Stanley Johnson.

Johnson becomes the 11th G League to NBA “Call-Up” so far in the 2022-23 season.

Johnson, 6-6/240, has currently been playing with the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the NBA G League, appearing in three games. Originally drafted by Detroit with the eighth overall selection in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft, the former Arizona Wildcat has spent seven seasons in the NBA playing for the Pistons, Raptors, Lakers and Pelicans. In 419 career games, he’s averaged 6.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 20.1 minutes.

John will wear #34 for the Silver and Black.

The Spurs roster now stands at 17 players.

Warriors just 2-11 on road so far this NBA season

Via the San Jose Mercury News:

The Warriors have looked like champions on their home court this season, where they’ve been nearly unbeatable, posting a 12-2 record.

But it’s been a totally different story outside the Bay.

Golden State hasn’t been able to sustain that success on the road, falling to a head-scratching 2-11 hole in the first two months.

That leaves the Warriors at 14-13 overall, a record that isn’t entirely reflective of their play. They’ve had several games stolen or given away late. That includes their most recent road debacle in Utah, which featured a pair of mental lapses in the game’s final 13 seconds that allowed the Jazz to squeak away with a wild win.

The Warriors entered Monday in eighth place in the Western Conference standings, sitting 3 1/2 games out of first place. They’re set to embark on a six-game road trip that’ll span five cities in nine days.

FULL ARTICLE

A glance at Grizzlies bench performance

Via the Memphis Commercial Appeal:

Jaren Jackson Jr.’s eight blocks may have deflected your attention away from what else was happening while the Memphis Grizzlies blew out the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night.

Tyus Jones had 22 points and 11 assists in three quarters while dropping off a nifty bounce pass into the hands of Xavier Tillman Sr. John Konchar threw a no-look transition pass to Dillon Brooks that would have been impressive even by Ja Morant’s standards. Kennedy Chandler got the entire Grizzlies bench on its feet when he threw down a dunk near the end of the first quarter, and Santi Aldama just quietly poured in 16 points.

A lot of talk has been about how the starting lineup will look when healthy, but what about the bench? Several expected key contributors had big games on Monday night, and that’s almost as encouraging as the wait to see the full starting five.

“We’re deep,” Tillman said. “It’s a real 15 deep. Nobody’s role is too extreme to where we need them to do more than they’re capable of.” …

Memphis has the 25th bench net rating in the NBA. The unit has been outscored by 249 points through 17 games. The Grizzlies had the sixth best bench net rating last season

FULL ARTICLE

Miami Heat off to a modest start this season

The Miami Heat are just 13-15 so far this season. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel on the team’s modest start:

The expectations have been muted.

Depth that had been considered a Miami Heat strength entering the season largely has proven to be something considerably less.

Part of it has been injuries. Part of it has been the shift of 2021-22 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro into the starting lineup, with energetic former reserve Caleb Martin now also a starter.

So these days, even the small steps are celebrated, such as Monday night’s 87-82 victory over the Indiana Pacers, when the Heat’s three-man bench of Max Strus, Dewayne Dedmon and Victor Oladipo combined for 20 points.

While hardly overwhelming, it was a step forward, considering it provided the Heat with nearly a quarter of the team’s scoring and that the trio outscored Indiana’s bench.

FULL ARTICLE

Sixers center Joel Embiid is doing it his own way in a monster of a season

Via the Philly Voice:

If Joel Embiid has a defining trait, there’s a case to be made it is defiance. In a league filled with stars who threw themselves into basketball and basketball only for most of their lives, it is a former soccer and volleyball player often shining brightest. Instead of giving canned answers and following the path of many of the league’s best, he says what he thinks, whether the results are funny, enraging, or misinterpreted by people who don’t have the time to listen to a full quote.

And then there’s his game, never quite what a lot of people want from him. He is a big man in a league tilting more toward little men, a jump shooter for a fanbase that has so often demanded more paint touches. And in a 53-point classic against Charlotte, he did what few big men are able to do, which is to say, absolutely everything.

“He literally scored in every way you can possibly score a basketball tonight,” Doc Rivers said on Sunday. “Even the last play was a slot drive, and we do that drill every day but we do it for the guards. I don’t think we’ve ever done it for bigs. Maybe we need to add that now because that was terrific.”

FULL ARTICLE

Larry Nance Jr. playing well as reserve for Pelicans

Via the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

The Pelicans are in first place in the Western Conference. They have ripped off seven straight wins without an injured Brandon Ingram, a winning streak they can attribute to [Zion] Williamson playing like a superstar and their depth, of which Nance is a major part of.

[Larry Nance Jr.] has been one of the NBA’s most valuable reserves this season. He is averaging 9.5 points on 66.4% shooting, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1 steal and 0.9 blocks in 23 minutes. The Pelicans are blasting opponents with him on the floor, outscoring other teams by 11.6 points per 100 possessions.

Pelicans coach Willie Green has chose to use Nance primarily at center. He has spent 90% of his minutes at that position, according to Cleaning the Glass. The Pelicans can switch every ball screen when he’s at center in what they call their “red” defense.

FULL ARTICLE

Encouraging results for Warriors from G League game

Via the San Jose Mercury News:

A trio of young Warriors players led the Santa Cruz Warriors to a 122-111 win over the Oklahoma City Blue Sunday afternoon at Kaiser Permanente Arena.

James Wiseman tallied 24 points and 16 rebounds on assignment from the NBA’s Warriors, while Ryan Rollins led Santa Cruz with 26 points, adding nine rebounds and seven assists. First-round pick Patrick Baldwin added 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting (6-of-9 from 3).

All five Santa Cruz starters scored in double digits as Lester Quinones, Wiseman’s college teammate at Memphis, added 20 points and Jerome Robinson scored 16.

FULL ARTICLE