Inside Hoops – Page 682 – NBA Blog

Clippers reportedly plan to give Chris Paul the longest max contract possible

This may be the last, best chance for the cursed L.A. stepchild to bust through the second round and chase the sort of success they’ve never experienced. More than a year ago, Doc Rivers, the team’s coach and team president, told me that teams who fall short over and over grow stale — and that the Clippers were “on the borderline” of needing a shakeup.

Three of their core four players — Paul, Griffin, and Redick — enter free agency this summer, assuming Paul and Griffin exercise early termination options. Paul and Redick are on the wrong side of the aging curve; Jordan and Griffin, bouncy types who rely to varying degrees on their athleticism, aren’t that far behind…

Steve Ballmer, L.A.’s moneybags owner, has already said he’ll pay the cost. Maxing out Griffin is a no-brainer, and the team expects Paul to demand the full five-year max (or whatever the longest possible deal ends up being in the revised collective bargaining agreement) to stick around, per several league sources. That would take him well past age 35. Gulp. Suitors will line up for Redick.

Rivers was right last fall: teams grow stale. People decide to move on. If the ending is unhappy again, I’d bet on at least one big change in Clipperland. For now, the team is trying to enjoy the journey — and the clean locker-room air.

— ESPN.com

Quick Take: Past letdowns need to be left in the past. When you’re as good as the Clippers, you do what you need to do to keep your core together. The current Clippers squad is as good as any we’ve seen in the Chris Paul era. And as CP3 gets older and slows down a bit, he’s exactly the type of point guard who should be able to adapt and get even more crafty.

Sixers coach plans to use Ben Simmons as a point guard

Ben Simmons (fractured foot) is continuing his rehab with the Sixers at their training complex in Camden, New Jersey. The team has implemented a three-part rehab that hones in on health, education and shot improvement.

“He’s doing great,” Brown said. “That thing that we talked about where it’s such a holistic thing — in film sessions with the team, in film sessions with me, on a court with our shooting coach, in a weight room with our strength and conditioning people, in a medical area that is just A-plus at our practice facility with all the physiotherapists, etcetera.”

The Sixers still have not announced a date for his return. When Simmons is cleared, Brown has a vision of how to utilize the 6-foot-10 point-forward.

“My intention is to give him the ball and let him be the point guard,” Brown said. “That’s the plan. That doesn’t just happen. It takes a little bit of time to introduce him.”

— CSN Philly

Quick Take: This will immediately be fun and awesome to watch. Sadly, we may not see Ben Simmons in action for months, and maybe not until next season. We haven’t heard any sort of definitive return date for him.

Kings at Sixers game postponed

The Sixers’ game against the Kings at the Wells Fargo Center has been postponed because of moisture on the court. There was no immediate word on a rescheduled date for the game.

Arena staff members tried using wet mops to fix the issue to no avail.

“The Philadelphia 76ers announced that tonight’s game against the Sacramento Kings has been postponed due to an issue with the surface of the court and with player safety in mind,” the team said in a statement. “Arena officials worked diligently to address the issue, but NBA officials determined that the court was not suitable for play.”

— CSN Philly

Quick Take: The InsideHoops Twitter account decided to get silly as the game started to be in doubt and tweeted “Trust the mopcess.” Unfortunately, the mops were unable to do the job. The best reaction after the non-game was from Sixers center Joel Embiid, who tweeted the following: Well The court was tanking tonight…. #TrustTheProcess

Dion Waiters injured, will be re-evaluated in two weeks

An MRI has revealed that Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters has suffered a Pectineus (upper thigh) tear and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Waiters sat out his first game of the season on Nov. 28 vs. Boston due to the right groin strain.

Waiters has started all 16 games this season in which he has appeared for the HEAT and has averaged 14.2 points, 4.0 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 31.8 minutes while shooting 38.4 percent from the floor, 34.4 percent from three-point range and 65.2 percent from the foul line. The fifth-year guard from Syracuse University currently leads the HEAT in field goals attempted and ranks second in points scored, field goals made, three-point field goals made and attempted, assists, minutes played and starts.

For his career, Waiters has appeared in 305 games (126 starts) and averaged 12.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.01 steals and 28.5 minutes while shooting 41 percent from the field, 33.5 percent from three-point range and 70.4 percent from the foul line. The former fourth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft was named to the 2012-13 NBA All-Rookie First Team and earned NBA Rookie of the Month honors in February of 2013.

Center Marc Gasol now a three-point shooter

There might not be a better example today of the evolution of the NBA big man than Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies, who all of a sudden has become a legitimate three-point shooting threat.

In 569 games spanning eight seasons before this, the 7-foot-1 Gasol had attempted just 66 three-pointers, making just 12 and many of them shots forced to beat the shot clock or the game clock, prayers seldom answered.

Now? Heading into Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre, Gasol is a relative long-distance chucker, shooting 42 per cent from three on already a season-high 60 attempts.

— Toronto Star

Quick Take: If you enjoy seeing centers shoot threes, then also check out Nets games. Brooklyn center Brook Lopez is shooting 5.7 three-pointers per game, hitting 2.1 of them for a very respectable average of 37.6%.

Sixers assign Nerlens Noel to D-League

The Philadelphia 76ers assigned Nerlens Noel to the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League today.

The move is for health reasons. The assignment is part of Noel’s ongoing rehabilitation program for his left knee.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “the move is similar to what Jerryd Bayless did on Nov. 14 to get in some practice time. The Sixers will host the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center. As a result, there won’t be a practice opportunity for Noel. He will practice down there on Wednesday.”

In a related move, the team has recalled Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot from the Sevens.

Nets bring Olympic legend Michael Johnson in to talk to team

In training camp, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson had basketball Hall of Famer Chris Mullin swing by to talk to his team. On Monday, it was track Hall of Famer Michael Johnson dropping pearls of wisdom. Now Atkinson can only hope his Nets pick them up, mired in an NBA-worst seven-game losing skid.

“Just to listen to him, talking about his process and how he was just so dedicated and focused,’’ Rondae Hollis-Jefferson said. “It definitely gives you that sense of I’m going on the right track, but there’s also more things to it than just coming in here every day. Your personal life versus the athlete’s life. We’re athletes 24/7; our image is being watched, so the things that we do when we’re home count to when we come here. Just thinking about that and setting goals for yourself is a big thing.

“In the offseason, this is what I’m training for. … What do I have to do to get there? If you’re thinking about that every day, it’s going to motivate you. You’re going to wake up, get in that car, take that ride and you’re going to be thinking about that: How do I get myself to where I want to be for my goal for this year? That’s something big that he touched on that stuck with me and will stick with me.”

— NY Post

Quick Take: A team can only play as well as their roster allows.

Ian Mahinmi returns for Wizards, then gets hurt

Just one game after making his regular season debut, Ian Mahinmi is back on the Wizards’ injury list.

On Monday, Mahinmi, 30, missed Washington’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings. According to Coach Scott Brooks, Mahinmi, who appeared for 14 minutes Saturday night, is experiencing soreness in his right, non-surgical knee. Mahinmi missed the past six weeks after the repair of a partially torn medial mensicus in his left knee. Mahinmi did not participate in the team’s Monday morning shoot-around.

“Just going to be cautious,” Brooks said. “He’s done a great job of putting himself in a position to come back from surgery and he’s just been sore the last couple of days. It’s day to day. We’ll see how feels tomorrow.”

— Washington Post

Quick Take: The Wizards are 5-10 through Sunday’s games. Their scoring leaders this season are John Wall (23.5 ppg), Bradley Beal (20.1 ppg), Otto Porter Jr (14.7 ppg), Markieff Morris (12.8 ppg) and Marcin Gortat (11.3 ppg). Their offense has been average this season but defensively they need improvement.

Dwyane Wade dislikes the NBA Last Two Minute reports

In case Dwyane Wade wasn’t clear about how he felt about the NBA releasing the Last Two Minute Reports the day after close games, the Bulls’ guard was definitive in his disdain for the revisionist thinking that can only frustrate a team.

“I hate them. I hate the two-minute reports. I’ll go on record saying it again,” Wade said following practice Monday at the Advocate Center. “It’s bad for our game to come back with those two-minute reports.” …

Count Wade among those who don’t take much solace in the NBA’s attempt at transparency, considering it doesn’t change the outcome of anything. Plays can’t be turned back and re-started, so it appears more frustrating than gratifying.

“They come back and show the imperfectness of our game in two minutes,” Wade said. “But it’s imperfect the whole game. Let’s not break down the last two minutes, as players get called out and fined for saying stuff to the refs but the NBA is calling our refs out for making the wrong play or right play. Let’s just leave it alone.”

— CSN Chicago

Quick Take: A lot of people have mixed feelings about the Two Minute Reports. Pretty much for exactly what D-Wade said. They provide additional info about what should have been, but since it’s after the fact, it’s unclear what is to be gained from announcing the observations. On the other hand, those of us who follow the league closely appreciate all the additional info we can get. In general, the more info the better. So, if the league is going to provide these reports, we’ll happily keep up with them.

Damian Lillard says Blazers need to get mean

Three of the last four Player of the Week winners in the NBA have used the Portland Trail Blazers’ porous defense as a springboard to earn the weekly honors.

The huge nights from Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis and Kevin Love left Damian Lillard pondering the missing element behind Portland’s inability to slow down opponents this season. His solution is straightforward: The Blazers need a mean streak.

“That might be the change that needs to be made … is us just not being the nice team (where) everybody likes each other,” Lillard said following Blazers practice on Monday. “That’s a great story, but maybe we’ve got to play a much more mean game.”

From the outside, it seems like teams don’t feel much resistance going against the Blazers’ defense. Portland struggles guarding pick and rolls and locating opposing players in transition.

— Oregonian

Quick Take: The Blazers are 9-10 this season. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are having excellent seasons. But the Blazers’ main story this season has been their defense. It’s been miserable. The squad has a league-worst defensive efficiency, through yesterday’s games.