Inside Hoops – Page 1657 – NBA Blog

Thousands rally to support new arena in Seattle

Chris Hansen walked on stage and was greeted with the kind of reception normally reserved for the musicians and athletes who were waiting backstage.

Hedge-fund managers don’t normally get rock star ovations.

“I was about to tear up actually. It was inspiring,” Hansen said.

While former SuperSonics stars Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp got the loudest ovations, it was Hansen left accepting the most praise at a rally in downtown Seattle on Thursday afternoon to support the push for a new arena that could eventually bring back the NBA.

The late-day rally crammed green and gold clad fans into Occidental Park just a few blocks north of Seattle’s stadium district where CenturyLink and Safeco fields currently sit. Hansen’s proposal before the King County and Seattle city councils calls for a $490 million facility just south of the Mariners’ Safeco Field with nearly $300 million in private investment.

Hansen said he was overwhelmed by the turnout, with estimates of about 4,000 in attendance at the peak of the event. The rally ended with chants of “Thank you Chris!” and included appearances by Payton, Kemp and fellow former Sonics player Detlef Schrempf.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Shane Battier continues 3-pointer party in Game 2

Shane Battier has done most of the damage for the Heat from three-point range this series; the 33-year old forward out of Duke has gone 9 of 12 from downtown in the first two games of the series.

During the regular season, Miami finished ninth in three-point field-goal percentage at 35 percent, but that number dropped a bit to 33 percent in the playoffs. But in Miami’s playoff wins this season, its has averaged 41 percent from three-point range compared to just 24 percent in its losses.

Battier, who was a acquired in free agency last summer after playing the last season for the Memphis Grizzlies, struggled from long range during the regular season, hitting his second worst percentage of his career at .339 percent.

But the veteran has turned it on in the playoffs; hitting 50 percent combined against the Celtics and the Thunder.

— Reported by Adam Kemp, special to the Miami Herald

Chris Bosh starts and delivers double-double in Finals Game 2

Chris Bosh hadn’t started a game since May 13 and hadn’t recorded a double-double since April 16. By the end of the first half on Thursday night, those uncharacteristically long streaks had ended.

Heat coach Erik Spoelsta, stubbornly keeping his lineup secret pregame, finally pulled the expected trigger, inserting the seven-time All-Star into the starting lineup.

Bosh rewarded that trust, grabbing 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half, en route to a 16-point, 15-rebound effort.

“I kind of put it in my mind that I knew that I had to really give the effort that I had been giving before, whether I was ready or not,” Bosh said. “Fortunately things went well for us, it went well for me individually.”

— Reported by Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman

Heat survive Thunder rally for 100-96 win, tie NBA Finals 1-1

LeBron James needed some help, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh provided it.

The Miami Heat finally rediscovered the formula to winning in the NBA Finals – barely.

James had another finals career high with scored 32 points, Wade rebounded from a poor opener to add 24 and the Heat built a huge early lead before holding off a furious fourth-quarter rally behind their three All-Stars to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-96 on Thursday night, tying the series at one game apiece.

Bosh had 16 points and 15 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup for the Heat, who snapped a four-game finals losing streak with their first victory since Game 3 against Dallas last year…

Kevin Durant scored 32 points for the Thunder, but missed a shot after appearing to be bumped with James that would have tied a game the Thunder trailed the entire way. Russell Westbrook finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, but shot 10 of 25 from the field.

James Harden tried to keep the Thunder in it early and finished with 21 points, but this time the Thunder couldn’t come back from a double-digit deficit after spotting Miami a 17-point advantage during their worst first half of the season…

Durant nailed a 3-pointer and drove into the lane to throw down a dunk over Battier that cut it to 82-74 with 8:22 remaining. His 3-pointer from the wing trimmed it to 90-86, and the Thunder got it all the way to 94-91 when Westbrook dunked Durant’s miss with 1:48 to go.

James answered by banking in a jumper for his first basket of the final period, as the Big Three combined for all but one of Miami’s seven field goals in the fourth quarter.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

The Heat outscored the Thunder 48-32 in the paint and seemingly executed every adjustment it wanted to make after its collapse in Game 1 but still, somehow, Miami watched it nearly all unravel in the final seconds. The Heat led 98-91 with less than 50 seconds to play when Russell Westbrook cut it to a two-possession game with a driving layup. The Heat then fumbled away the ball bringing it up the court, and Kevin Durant scooped it up for an easy three-pointer with 37.5 seconds. It cut the Heat’s lead to 98-96.

Suddenly, after so much had gone right for the Heat, it was dangerously close to going down 2-0 in the series. Durant, who finished with 32 points, had the ball in his hands with less than 10 seconds to play but missed a seven-foot bank shot. James desperately grabbed the defensive rebound and was fouled immediately by Westbrook. James made his final free throws of the night to seal the victory.

“Well, that’s competition, and that’s what it’s about,” Spoelstra said.

Dwyane Wade, critiqued for looking a little past his prime in Game 1, responded with 24 points, including 13 in the first half. Wade was 10 of 20 from the field and 4 of 6 from the free-throw line.

Starting his first game since the Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Chris Bosh had 16 points and 15 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. He breathed life into the Heat’s half-court offense from the beginning of the game and settled the defense on the other end.

— Reported by Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald

The Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t just get out to a slow start in Game 2. They got punched in the mouth. Then when they didn’t punch back right away, they got punched again.

Ironically it wasn’t until Kevin Durant, the Thunder’s go-to scorer and Russell Westbrook, their other go-to scorer had to sit down with two early fouls each that the Thunder started to cut into the deficit.

Not so ironically, it was the same duo that would bring the Thunder back getting them all the way back to within two, but that was as close as they would get as Miami held on for a 100-96 win and a split of the series.

The Heat, desperate as they might be, are still a team capable of having their way with anyone and even after the Thunder seemed to be on the way to righting the ship, Miami found the strength to hold them off.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra set the desperate tone for the night when he put Chris Bosh back in the starting lineup alongside Shane Battier in the frontcourt.

— Reported by Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun

Heat contained James Harden in Finals Game 1

The Heat’s defense is hounding Harden. Miami is making things tough by blowing up ball screens and aggressively attacking Harden in the pick-and-roll, preventing him from either turning the corner or resorting to his preferred method of splitting the screen and driving into the paint. The Heat’s aggression has taken Harden completely out of the offense.

“The three times we’ve played them, they’ve done a good job with James; of really attacking his dribble and trapping his pick-and-rolls,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks following his team’s shootaround Thursday morning. “But he has to figure that out by moving it quickly and attacking the outside foot of the bigs. I expect him to do that much better tonight.”

Miami’s small lineup is causing Harden most of his problems. With LeBron James, Shane Battier and Udonis Haslem serving as the Heat’s “bigs,” Harden is being met by athletic wings in James and Battier, and an agile power forward in Haslem, after using the screen. They’re effectively cutting off his space and forcing Harden to give up the ball.

“That’s the Heat’s DNA, they always do a great job on pick-and-roll situations,” said Kevin Durant.

— Reported by Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman (Blog)

Nene provided big boost for Wizards

The 6′-11″ center showed why he got a huge contract from Denver prior to last season, scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in his debut as the Wizards beat New Jersey in mid-March.

After missing 10 games in early April, Nene returned from injury to help the Wizards go on that six-game winning streak to close out the season.

Nene and Wizards’ point guard John Wall had some solid moments executing the two-man game, including a brilliant pick-and-roll that resulted in Nene getting a great pass from Wall for the game-winning layup at the buzzer over Miami late in the season.

Wall credited the team’s late success to the arrival of Nene. Wall pointed to Nene’s locker room presence and leadership as a key factor for the team playing inspired basketball the final month of the season when the Wizards reeled off a season high 6-straight wins to close out the season.

— Reported by Frank Hanrahan of CSN Washington

Dwyane Wade enjoyed the Dream Team NBA TV special

Wade, who was part of the 2008 “Redeem Team” and is a possible — though not certain — participant in the 2012 Games in London, was just 10 at the time. As a viewer, he was most amused by John Stockton getting off the bus and shooting video of fans who didn’t recognize the 6-foot-1, average-looking Jazz point guard.

He was most intrigued by the interactions.

“I didn’t know the relationships that them guys had or didn’t have,” Wade said. “I think the biggest thing that surprised me was probably Michael Jordan and (late Detroit and U.S. coach) Chuck Daly. I know the rivalry between Chicago and Detroit, and for those guys to go out and golf and have the relationship they had, I found that very shocking…. But you understand it, especially playing on the Olympic game, with all these great players and different personalities, and knowing how our team came together.”

— Reported by Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post (Blog)

Kevin Durant discusses an annoying Shane Battier defensive habit

Shane Battier began the practice of sticking his hand in an opposing shooter’s face midway through his career and, by now, is known for it around the league. Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant said he “hates” it, the first time Battier says any player has acknowledged it.

“Kobe would never say that,” Battier said. “He’d swear up and down on all his championship trophies it doesn’t bother him. He wouldn’t give you anything.”

Battier said he respects Durant as much as anyone in the game for how he carries himself and plays the game. The public talk of Battier’s defense surprised the Heat player, though.

Asked if anyone else in the league face–guards opponents like he does, Battier said: “A couple of guys do it to me just to piss me off. But their technique needs work. It wasn’t effective.”

— Reported by Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Jay-Z will open 40/40 club in Brooklyn Nets Barclays center

Jay-Z and his 40/40 club are taking full advantage of the Nets move to Brooklyn, and doing it in style.

The 40/40 Club will open its new location at the Barclays Center, the new sports and entertainment venue and home to the Brooklyn Nets. The $1 billion arena will house the 9,000 square-foot restaurant slated to debut on the arena’s opening night when Jay-Z performs in concert on September 28, 2012.

“There is no better home for another 40/40 Club location than the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn,” stated Jay-Z. “The 40/40 Club has revolutionized restaurants in a way I anticipate Barclays Center to transform the arena watching experience.”

Located on the Barclays Brownstone Suite Level, The 40/40 Club will feature key materials and design concepts from its newly renovated New York City flagship location, including the custom illuminated amber resin bar top. The design for the space is by SHoP Architects with consultation from designer Jeffrey Beers to ensure a consistent look and feel with the flagship venue. The new location in Barclays Center will feature 36 TVs, including eight 80’’ TVs on the outside of the bar soffit, and will also offer great views of the basketball court.

“The 40/40 Club at Barclays Center will provide a dynamic environment to complement the experience of attending Brooklyn Nets games and other select events,” said Barclays Center and Brooklyn Nets CEO Brett Yormark. “The 40/40 Club will deliver the best in service and cuisine, while creating a vibe fitting for such a spectacularly designed venue.”

Sounds like the Nets will keep the party going both before and after games.

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Dwyane Wade plans on being more aggressive against Thunder

Wade has already passed the symbolic baton of team leader and go-to scorer to James. In the East finals, simply getting out of the way and allowing James to dominate was enough. But the Thunder is a far a more superior offensive team than the Celtics. For all the talk of defensive adjustments, figuring out the Thunder might boil down to one simple truth: Wade needs to score more points. He will get his chance Thursday in Game 2 at Oklahoma City.

“I mean, I want to score more points,” Wade said. “I don’t deal with the pressure of that. That’s when you start thinking too much, too many questions start coming up in your mind, you start overanalyzing things.

“I want to score more points, I want to get my team more to give us an opportunity to win the series.”

So, what’s the plan?

“I’ll be more aggressive,” Wade said.

The Thunder’s young duo of Durant and Westbrook outscored the Heat’s entire team 41-40 in the second half. Want to talk about aggression? Oklahoma City had 24 points in transition. The Heat had four. Oklahoma City had 56 points in the paint. The Heat had 40.

— Reported by Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald