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Dakari Johnson named D-League Player of Month

Oklahoma City Blue center Dakari Johnson today was named the NBA Development League Player of the Month for games played in November. The honor, the first of the 2016-17 season, is also the first of Johnson’s NBA D-League career.

Johnson (7-0, Kentucky) led Oklahoma City to a 6-3 record behind averages of 19.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.1 blocked shots (tied for fourth in the NBA D-League). He scored at least 20 points in six games and tallied four point-rebound double-doubles.

On Nov. 26, he recorded 20 points (on 7-for-11 shooting from the field) to go with six rebounds and a career-high five blocks in a 107-104 victory over the Canton Charge. Johnson closed the month by scoring a career-high 28 points, grabbing a season-high-tying 11 rebounds and handing out a season-high five assists in a 117-108 loss to the Los Angeles D-Fenders on Nov. 29.

Other players who received consideration for the monthly award were Austin’s Patricio Garino, Fort Wayne’s Julyan Stone, Grand Rapids’ Ray McCallum and Kevin Murphy, Los Angeles’ Justin Harper, Maine’s Jalen Jones, Westchester’s Chasson Randle and Windy City’s Spencer Dinwiddie.

Steve Gansey named D-League Coach of Month

The Fort Wayne Mad Ants’ Steve Gansey today was named the NBA Development League Coach of the Month for games played in November.

Gansey led Fort Wayne to a 6-0 record in November, the NBA D-League’s only undefeated team for the month. The Mad Ants ranked third in the league in scoring (117.7 ppg) and second in assists (24.5 apg). Gansey oversaw standout performances by Julyan Stone, who led the NBA D-League with 11.2 assists, and Travis Leslie, who paced the team with 19.3 points. On Nov. 27, Fort Wayne erased a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit in a 95-94 victory over the Iowa Energy – the only game in November that the Mad Ants did not score at least 120 points.

Gansey is in his second season as Fort Wayne head coach after posting a 20-30 record last season. He began his coaching career as a Mad Ants assistant from 2009-14, including a stint as interim head coach in the 2011-12 season. Gansey served as the associate head coach for the Canton Charge during the 2014-15 season before returning to Fort Wayne, the NBA D-League affiliate of the Indiana Pacers.

Other coaches who received consideration for the monthly award were Los Angeles’ Coby Karl, Northern Arizona’s Tyrone Ellis, Texas’ Bob Mackinnon and Westchester’s Mike Miller.

Andre Drummond fined for elbowing Roy Hibbert

Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond has been fined $15,000 for striking Charlotte Hornets center Roy Hibbert in the back of the head with an elbow, it was announced yesterday by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Drummond was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected, occurred with 4:09 remaining in the second quarter of the Pistons’ 112-89 win over the Hornets on Nov. 29 at Spectrum Center.

To view the incident, click on this link.

Tyronn Lue and Steve Kerr named NBA Coaches of Month

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Tyronn Lue and the Golden State Warriors’ Steve Kerr today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in October and November.

Lue guided the reigning NBA champion Cavaliers to an Eastern Conference-best 13-3 record during October and November, matching the best 16-game start in franchise history. Cleveland, which began the season with six straight victories, ranked second in the NBA in scoring (111.3 points per game), three-point field goal percentage (39.0) and three-pointers made (13.8 per game). The Cavaliers sank a team-record 21 three-pointers in a 137-125 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 23.

Kerr led the Warriors to an NBA-best 16-2 record in October and November, including 12 victories in a row entering December. Golden State paced the NBA in scoring (117.6 ppg), assists (31.1 apg), field goal percentage (50.2) and blocked shots (6.6 bpg). The Warriors notched at least 30 assists in 10 consecutive games, the longest streak in franchise history, and they registered a team-record 47 assists in a 149-106 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 23.

Other nominees for the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month were Charlotte’s Steve Clifford, Chicago’s Fred Hoiberg, Houston’s Mike D’Antoni, the LA Clippers’ Doc Rivers, the Lakers’ Luke Walton, Memphis’ David Fizdale, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich and Toronto’s Dwane Casey.

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.