The AP reports: Will Robinson, the first black basketball coach at a Division I school and a Detroit Pistons scout who discovered Joe Dumars and Dennis Rodman, died Monday. He was 96. Robinson died at a Detroit hospital, Pistons spokesman Matt Dobek said. Robinson had been sick for 15 months and in a nursing home for more than a year, Dobek added. Robinson broke a racial barrier in the 1970s when he coached Illinois State. He joined the Pistons as a scout in 1976, and the additions of Dumars and Rodman were keys to Detroit’s 1989 and 1990 NBA championships. Those teams were coached by Chuck Daly, who took the job after Robinson declined former general manager Jack McCloskey’s offer.
Author: Inside Hoops
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Bosh starts playoffs strong but finishes weak
The Globe and Mail (Mike Grange) reports: One game after delivering his best postseason performance, Chris Bosh gave one of his worst. It didn’t matter, the results were the same. The team built around him, the Toronto Raptors, lost last night 102-92 to the Orlando Magic — and they also fell in their best-of-seven first-round NBA playoff series 4-1. It marked the end of a confounding season that started in preseason in Italy with high hopes and ended in Orlando with a heavy dose of NBA reality: The Raptors aren’t good enough. Bosh had a strong series, but a weak finish. His signature moment last night was a fade-away fourth-quarter jumper that he finished on his bum, the ball well short. At the other end it was the Magic’s young franchise player, Dwight Howard, gobbling up rebounds and dunking them home like something out of a Japanese monster movie, Bosh helpless to stop him. Bosh needs help, as this series has proven, more than previously thought. The Raptors’ other pillar — stellar point guard play — appeared shaky, too, as for the fourth time in five games the Magic’s Jameer Nelson was the best quarterback on the floor. His three-pointer with three minutes remaining left the crowd at the Amway Arena roaring and the Raptors down 10, with no sign of a pulse.
Pat Ewing to coach Magic summer squad
The Orlando Sentinel (Brian Schmitz) reports: Magic assistant coach Patrick Ewing has accepted a head coaching job this offseason — coaching the Magic’s summer-league team in July. “You think that’s the only [head-coaching] job I can get?” laughed Ewing, the former New York Knicks star who has not been contacted about the Knicks’ opening. “Actually, I’m looking forward to coaching these guys this summer. It will be a good experience.”
Apr. 28: Lakers 107, Nuggets 101
The AP reports: The Denver Nuggets finally gave the Los Angeles Lakers a good fight. No surrender on this night. No frustration fouls filling up the fourth quarter of another blowout. No matter. The Lakers dispatched the tempestuous Nuggets anyway. Kobe Bryant scored 14 of his 31 points over the final 5 1/2 minutes Monday night, leading the Lakers to a 107-101 victory and a sweep of their first-round series… Pau Gasol led the way early, scoring 18 first-half points, and Bryant took over in the waning minutes, scoring nine straight points in every way—a turnaround jumper, a 3-pointer, a driving layup and a 15-foot floater—to give the Lakers a 97-96 lead… Marcus Camby’s first points since the series shifted to Denver came on a 3-pointer from the left corner with 33 seconds left, cutting the Lakers’ lead to 103-101, but Gasol maneuvered underneath for a dunk, and Bryant added two free throws with 18 seconds left… The Nuggets couldn’t keep Los Angeles out of the lane for easy layups and dunks and they made the silly mistakes that the Lakers avoided, like the missed dunks by Nene and Anthony, who blew an alley-oop rim-rattler that bounced out of bounds at halfcourt in the third quarter.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Lakers shot slightly better than the Nuggets from two-point range, and hit 8-of-22 threes while the Nuggets only made 4-of-21. The Lakers only hit 19-of-30 free throws; the Nuggets 19-of-24. The Nuggets had a slight rebounding edge. Assists were tied. For the Lakers, Bryant (12-of-24, 3-of-8 threes) had 31 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists (6 turnovers), 3 steals and 2 blocks. Gasol (7-of-15) had 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks. Lamar Odom (5-of-11) had 14 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Vladimir Radmanovic took 13 shots for 12 points. For the Nuggets, J.R. Smith (7-of-12, 3-of-7 threes, 9-of-9 free throws) had 26 points, 3 assists and 2 steals off the bench. Allen Iverson took 22 shots for 22 points and little else. Carmelo Anthony (just 8-of-20) had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Marcus Camby only scored 3 but grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked 4 shots. Anthony Carter shot 1-of-6 for 2 points and 6 assists.
Nene absolutely awful in key final minute
Nene was absolutely awful in the final minute for the Nuggets in Game 4 against the Lakers. After a wide open Marcus Camby shot and made an unexpected three-pointer from the left corner, Nene was guarding Pau Gasol, and as Gasol was near the basket Nene, for no reason at all, started running away from him, leaving Gasol open to catch a pass and throw in an open dunk. A play later, Nene had the ball, up in three-point range, tried to hand the ball to J.R. Smith, but instead had it stolen right out of his hands by Kobe Bryant. During the turnover, Nene fouled Bryant, who made both free throws, putting the Lakers up 107-101 with 18 seconds left, essentially guaranteeing a Nuggets loss.
The final score was 107-101, and the Lakers win the first round series 4 games to 0.
First round playoff notes
April 28 notes on the 2008 NBA Playoffs:
– No team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 series deficit to win a playoff series.
– Eight teams have come back to win a series after falling behind 3-1. The most recent such comeback occurred in the 2006 postseason when the Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.
– Nineteen teams have recovered from 2-0 deficits to win a best-of-seven series, including two last postseason. The Utah Jazz defeated the Houston Rockets 4-3 in their first round series after dropping the first two games, and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals after falling behind 2-0.
– The Lakers, who can sweep the Denver Nuggets tonight in Game 4 (10:30 p.m. ET, TNT), have forced Carmelo Anthony to shoot .353 (24-of-68) from the field during the first three games. Anthony shot .492 from the field during the regular season … Kobe Bryant became the first Nuggets opponent to score at least 30 points in consecutive playoff games since Utah’s Karl Malone did so during the Western Conference Semifinals in 1994. Allen Iverson became the first Nuggets player to score 30 or more points in consecutive playoff games since Alex English did so against Dallas in the Western Conference Semifinals in 1988.
– The Orlando Magic, which owns a 3-1 series lead against the Toronto Raptors, can close out its first series win since the 1996 Eastern Conference Semifinals tonight at home in Game 5 (7:30 pm. ET, NBA TV) … The Magic’s Dwight Howard has been a force on both ends of the court this series, averaging 23.0 points, 17.5 rebounds and four blocks. The last player to average at least 23 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks in a best-of-seven series was San Antonio’s Tim Duncan (24.2 ppg, 17.0 rpg, and 5.3 bpg) in the 2003 Finals.
– Atlanta Hawk rookie Al Horford, whose team is trailing the Boston Celtics 2-1 in their first-round series, is averaging 15.3 points, 11 rebounds and 3.7 assists through the first three games. The last rookie to average a double-double in a best-of-seven series was Memphis’ Drew Gooden (14.0 ppg, 12.7 rpg) in the first round of the 2003 playoffs. Game 4 is tonight in Atlanta (8 p.m. ET, TNT).
– The New Orleans Hornets defeated the Dallas Mavericks 97-84 yesterday to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. It marked the first time since January 1998, when they played in Charlotte, that the Hornets defeated the Mavericks on the road to snap a 14-game skid in Dallas. Game 5 is tomorrow in New Orleans (7 p.m. ET, TNT).
– The Detroit Pistons knotted their first-round series at 2-2 by defeating the Sixers in Philadelphia yesterday 93-84. Game 5 is tomorrow in Detroit (7 p.m. ET, NBA TV). All time in best-of-seven series that are tied 2-2, the home team is 103-36 in Game 5. The team that wins Game 5 has gone on to win 116 of 139 series (.835).
– NBA News
Apr. 28: Hawks 97, Celtics 92
The AP reports: Forget about a Boston sweep. The Hawks are headed back to Beantown all tied up with the mighty Celtics. Joe Johnson scored 35 points—20 in the fourth quarter—and Josh Smith added 28 points and seven blocks for Atlanta, which surprised the Celtics again 97-92 on Monday night to even the best-of-seven series at two games apiece… The credit for this Atlanta stunner goes largely to Johnson, who took control in the final quarter. After Smith’s jumper put the Hawks ahead to stay 81-79, Johnson scored nine straight points to keep the Celtics on the ropes… Josh Smith set an Atlanta playoff record with seven blocks, the last of them a key swat on Garnett after he backed down in the lane, looking for the easy shot, with just over 3 minutes left… The Hawks led 51-48 at halftime, only to put themselves in another hole with a dismal third quarter. Standing around on offense and doing little to create shots, Atlanta was 6-of-17 from the field, missed all seven of its 3-point attempts and turned it over seven times, giving Boston plenty of easy baskets.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Hawks shot 47.8%, the Celtics 41.2%, though Boston took 85 shots while Atlanta only took 67. And the Celtics rocked from outside, nailing 12-of-23 three-pointers, while the Hawks were just 4-of-18. But Atlanta hit 29-of-33 free throws, Boston just 10-of-18, and that was the difference. Rebounds were almost even, and the Celtics dished more assists. For the Hawks, Joe Johnson (14-of-24) had 35 points and 6 assists (but 4 turnovers). Josh Smith (8-of-16, 12-of-13 free throws) had 28 points, 6 rebounds and 7 blocks. Mike Bibby (5-of-8) had 18 points and more turnovers than assists. Al Horford shot badly for 4 points but grabbed 13 rebounds. For the Celtics, Ray Allen (8-of-14) had 21 points and 4 assists. Kevin Garnett needed 21 shots for 20 points, 9 rebounds and 6 steals. Paul Pierce (5-of-14) had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Rajon Rondo needed 16 shots for his 14 points and 12 assists.
Apr. 28: Magic 102, Raptors 92
The AP reports: Dwight Howard had 21 points, 21 rebounds and three blocks—his third 20-20 game in the series—and the Magic advanced to second round for the first time in 12 years by beating the Toronto Raptors 102-92 in Game 5 on Monday night… Chris Bosh, who posted career playoff highs of 39 points and 15 rebounds at Toronto on Saturday, had 16 points and nine rebounds Monday. Howard frustrated him down low into 7-of-19 shooting, and Bosh picked up a third-quarter technical foul after the Magic star muscled past him for a layup. T.J. Ford and Carlos Delfino both scored 14 points for the Raptors, while Jason Kapono had 13 and Jose Calderon 12. Delfino added seven rebounds and Ford had five assists… Keyon Dooling’s free throw after the technical on Bosh put the Magic ahead 73-66 with just under a minute left in the third quarter, and Orlando kept that cushion until midway through the fourth. Delfino hit a jumper and Bosh made two free throws in four trips to the line, plus a hook shot over Howard, to draw the Raptors within 84-82.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: Neither team shot particularly well and both teams struggled from three-point range. And both teams shot around 82% from the free throw line, though the Magic got more opportunities. A huge factor was rebounding: Magic 55 boards, Raptors only 37. Assists were almost even. The Magic threw the ball away more than the Raptors. As for individual players, for the Magic: Dwight Howard on just 12 shots had 21 points, 21 rebounds and 3 blocks. Jameer Nelson scored 19. Rashard Lewis had 18 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists. Hedo Turko shot just 4-of-13 but with his 12 points also came 8 rebounds and 9 assists. For the Raptors, Chris Bosh took 19 shots for just 16 points, plus 9 rebounds. Five other Raptors scored between 11 and 14 points.
Bobcats to name Larry Brown coach Tuesday
The Charlotte Bobcats will make a major announcement in a press conference on Tuesday, around 1 p.m. ET. It’ll be to name their new head coach, Larry Brown.
A nomad who bounces around to a different team seemingly every 15 minutes, Brown is a perfect coach to properly mold a team. The issue is if he’ll stick around.
Brown will have to figure out exactly how Raymond Felton should be used, how to properly mix and match Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace, help Emeka Okafor continus his development, and help Adam Morrison make the most of his talent.
It’ll be fun seeing his effect on the squad. Terrific hire by Michael Jordan’s Bobcats.
Wade, Mourning react to Heat coaching change
Miami Heat President and Head Coach Pat Riley has stepped down as Head Coach of the Miami Heat, but will continue to serve as team President. Former Assistant Coach/Director of Scouting Erik Spoelstra has been elevated to head coach. Spoelstra becomes the sixth head coach in franchise history.
Here’s Dwyane Wade reaction to the coaching change: “I am excited about the future of our organization….as head coach – Pat Riley has instilled in me values that enabled me to win a championship in just three seasons. I’ve seen him do the necessary things to make us winners and I believe that with his focus on being president and his commitment to the team – we will once again become a contender…I believe in Coach Spo and have complete confidence that our team will succeed with him at the helm.”
And here’s what Alonzo Mourning said: “A big reason for coming to Miami was to help Coach Riley build a winning team and franchise…we’ve experienced many rough times together on the road to the 2006 championship, and those experiences made the winning that much more gratifying. I admire Coach Riley and his accomplishments and I am also proud of Spo, who will now step into this position to take the organization back to our winning ways.”