Inside Hoops – Page 679 – NBA Blog

Luke Walton reflects on Craig Sager

Whenever Luke Walton turned on a nationally televised NBA game, the Lakers coach did not just tune in to watch a star player or scout an opponent. Walton also wanted to see sideline reporter Craig Sager.

“Part of the fun and entertainment of what we do is seeing Craig in his crazy suits. He was phenomenal at his job,” Walton said. “He brought something every night he was on TV.”

So it was no surprise when the Lakers and the NBA community were in mourning Thursday over the passing of Sager, 65, who had spent the past two years fighting cancer. All NBA teams will observe a moment of silence in Sager’s memory, including when the Lakers (10-18) play the Philadelphia 76ers (6-19) on Friday at Wells Fargo Center.

“I can’t imagine how hard that has got to be, to put on that face and come and do the job that you love knowing that you’re not at your best,” Walton said. “You’re still out there fighting that fight and not letting it beat you. He’s not just staying home all day. He’s out there still living his life as long as he can. It’s incredible. He’s a strong, strong man.”

— OC Register

Jeremy Lin returns to action for Nets

On Monday in Houston, Jeremy Lin and his balky left hamstring returned to the court for the first time since Nov. 2.

Considering Lin had five weeks of rust on his game and just a single practice under his belt, the Nets’ point guard was solid.

And that’s because he wasn’t trying to be spectacular.

“After five weeks off, I was really thrilled,’’ said coach Kenny Atkinson, who should see an even better Lin Wednesday against the Lakers. “You expect a guy to be a little rusty, but I didn’t see that at all. He had great energy, played with great poise and I was just happy that he didn’t try to do too much.

— NY Post

Quick Take: Lin is the most fun player on the Nets to watch, in my humble opinion. Even when what he tries doesn’t quite work out, him being on the court raises the team’s entertainment factor noticeably. Glad he’s back.

Dallas Mavericks health update

Both J.J. Barea and Dirk Nowitzki could ramp up their physical activity this week, although both remain out indefinitely, coach Rick Carlisle said Monday morning.

Owner Mark Cuban hinted last week that Nowitzki, out for virtually the last month with a sore right Achilles, could begin practicing at some point this week. Carlisle said that’s possible, but indicated that it’s not a definite.

“He took a few days of doing very little in terms of on-court activity to let the Achilles heal up and feel better,” Carlisle said. “And he’s ramping up his activity at the beginning of the week. We certainly hope he can get back into practice. But I don’t know of any definites. There’s nothing imminent. There’s no stopwatch ticking.”

— Dallas Morning News

Quick Take: The Mavs are 5-18, which is the worst record in the Western conference, and close to the Sixers for worst in the league. Their defense has been bad, and their offense has been worse. Eventually getting Dirk Nowitzki and Jose Juan Barea back should obviously help, but to what extent is hard to predict. No matter what, it looks like a serious uphill battle for the Mavs this season.

Derrick Favors likely back soon for Utah Jazz

Derrick Favors should return soon for Utah Jazz

Derrick Favors won’t know until Wednesday if he’s going to play against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Vivint Smart Home Arena.

But at least the signs are positive for the Utah Jazz starting power forward.

Favors practiced on Monday morning, doing almost everything, according to coach Quin Snyder. He was made available to the media, which doesn’t happen unless it looks as if he’s going to play. He will practice on Tuesday and go through Wednesday morning’s shootaround.

So even if he doesn’t make it back into the lineup by Wednesday night, Favors’ rehabilitation from a bone contusion is trending upward.

— Salt Lake Tribune

Quick Take: The Jazz are 15-10 this season, which is the 7th best record in the Western conference, and half a game behind the 6-seed Thunder. They’ve played well despite multiple injuries to several of their most important players. Definitely keep a closer watch on the Jazz once Favors is back.

Grizzlies and Rockets hot NBA teams lately

Memphis (17-8) and Houston (17-7) begin the week as the NBA’s hottest teams. Both own six-game winning streaks.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies have taken over the league lead in defensive rating. Their stinginess was on display in Saturday’s 110-89 victory over Golden State – a rare lopsided win for the Grizzlies, who have thrived in close games. New coach David Fizdale’s team is 12-0 this season in games with a three-point margin in the final minute of regulation or overtime.

Marc Gasol has been fantastic (25.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 5.3 apg during the winning streak) and Zach Randolph is flourishing in his new role as sixth man, helping Memphis overcome the absences of Mike Conley and Chandler Parsons.

The Grizzlies are also benefiting from the play of several NBA Development League alums such as current starters JaMychal Green and Andrew Harrison as well as reserves Troy Daniels (16.5 ppg in December) and Jarell Martin.

Memphis’ next two games are against the defending champion Cavaliers – at Cleveland on Tuesday and home on Wednesday.

Houston Rockets

The Rockets also count a victory over the league-leading Warriors as part of their six-game winning streak. Also like Memphis, Houston has adjusted quickly to a new coach.

Mike D’Antoni’s Rockets rank second in the NBA in points per game behind James Harden, who leads the league in assists and is tied for fourth in scoring. With Harden orchestrating a spread attack, Houston paces the league in three-pointers made and has hit at least 10 threes in an NBA-record 23 straight games. Four Houston players are among the NBA’s top 12 in threes made: Eric Gordon, Harden, Trevor Ariza and Ryan Anderson.

In addition, the emerging Clint Capela is excelling in the paint and Houston has clicked since the return of Patrick Beverley, who has been a part of 11 wins and just two losses.

— VIA NBA News

Lakers on six game losing streak

If only the Lakers could address their issues as soon as Nick Young shook his rust off.

For the first time in nearly two weeks, the Lakers fielded their starting backcourt that played a large part in their offense quickly becoming one of the NBA’s most prolific. But the Lakers showed in their 118-112 loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday at Staples Center that it will take more than D’Angelo Russell building his rhythm again to stop the team’s six-game losing streak.

Russell admittedly “felt out of rhythm” as he had three points on 1-of-8 shooting and four turnovers with a minute restriction (18) that included sitting out in the fourth quarter. Russell could shake off that rust when the Lakers (10-16) play against the Sacramento Kings (8-15) on Monday at Golden 1 Center to open a seven-game trip. Young might build off of his 15-point effort on 6-of-11 shooting despite not even completing any games of 3-on-3 in Saturday’s practice.

But the Lakers (10-16) will also have to fix a poor defense that Lakers forward Julius Randle called “embarrassing” for understandable reasons.

— Orange County Register

Quick Take: Despite the recent losing streak, the Lakers are in 9th place in the West, which isn’t that bad considering how young the Laker squad is and the injuries they’ve dealt with so far this season. Above them in the West standings in 8th place are the Trail Blazers. The biggest Laker problem this season has been their awful defense, so pay extra attention to the squad on that side of the floor.

Kristaps Porzingis puts up big game vs Lakers

Phil Jackson greatest move as Knicks president was on full and incredible display at the Staples Center, flaunted in front of the team that passed him up in the draft less than two years ago.

Kristaps Porzingis finished with a game-high 26 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks, terminating his shooting slump emphatically in New York’s 118-112 victory Sunday over L.A.

The 21-year-old Latvian came into the game shooting just 30 percent over his previous five while dealing with a minor knee issue. Then he helped pummel the Lakers for the streaking Knicks’ fourth straight road win.

“I’ve been confident the whole time. Maybe it was just more getting shots in rhythm, good shots, and not being too anxious. Sometimes I try to force things a little too much and (Sunday) I wanted to slow down a little bit and take good shots. Good decisions” Porzingis said. “And it came to me, I really didn’t have to force things.”

— NY Daily News

Quick Take: Porzingis is 7-foot-3, can run the fast break, and hit three-pointers. He’s got as much potential as any young player in the league. There is no reason to expect consistent play from him just yet, but it’s going to be very cool watching him continue to develop. And as he gets better, the Knicks will presumably go to him in more consistent fashion. And then the real fun begins.

Celtics not beating good teams yet this season

The Celtics have become a stay-in-your-own-yard team. They have been beating up on the sub-.500 opponents, but another painful late-game fade has left them just 2-6 against those from the NBA’s higher rent district.

And it’s clear after last night’s 99-96 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder — coming, as it did, on the heels of Friday’s fold against Toronto — just how badly the C’s would like to break the chain and run with the bigger dogs.

“Words can’t even explain it at this point,” said Marcus Smart, whose rushed 3-pointer to tie at the buzzer caught only iron. “We’ve been in too many situations like this, and it’s got to stop. We played good for three quarters, first half, and then a goose egg in the fourth and we let teams come back and take over the game on us.”

The Celts squandered a 14-point lead against the Raptors and dispensed with a 13-point advantage against the Thunder. Another potential big win dissolved in 1-for-8 shooting down the stretch, as the Thunder won the last minute-plus, 7-2.

— Boston Herald

Quick Take: Despite their unimpressive start, the Celtics have the 6th best record in the East, but are just one game behind the Hornets, who are the East 3-seed right now. So, a quick leap in the standings is a very realistic goal.

Heat have faced lots of injuries and a tough schedule

Not only does the Miami Heat lead the league in games missed because of injury (77), but the team has also faced the third-toughest schedule in the league thus far.

Saturday night, the Heat wrapped up a three-week stretch of playing 10 of 13 on the road with a heartbreaking loss to Dwyane Wade and the Bulls in frigid Chicago.

So, it’s no wonder why Goran Dragic and his teammates are looking forward to what’s around the corner.

The Heat (7-17) open a six-game home stand Monday against the Washington Wizards (9-13) , one of four opponents on tap over the next 10 days which have a .500 record or worse.

— Miami Herald

Quick Take: The Heat have the third worst record in the Eastern conference through yesterday’s games. Their offense has been a struggle. Their defense has been average.

Pelicans sign Reggie Williams

The New Orleans Pelicans signed guard/forward Reggie Williams today.

Williams, 6-6, 210, most recently played for the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA Development League. In 11 games this season for the Blue, Williams has averaged 17.1 points, shooting .459 from the field, including .419 from three-point range, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 33.3 minutes per contest. His signing marks the sixth GATORADE Call-Up of the season from the D-League, and the second by the Pelicans.

Undrafted in 2008 out of Virginia Military Institute where he was a two-time NCAA Division I scoring leader (2007, 2008), Williams has appeared in 200 career regular season games with Golden State, Charlotte, Oklahoma City and San Antonio, holding averages of 7.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 18.3 minutes per game.

Williams will wear #5 for the Pelicans and be available for their game Saturday night in Los Angeles against the Clippers. New Orleans’ roster currently stands at 15.