Inside Hoops – Page 685 – NBA Blog

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.

Xavier Munford named D-League Performer of Week

Xavier Munford of the Greensboro Swarm today was named NBA Development League Performer of the Week for games played Monday, Nov. 21, through Sunday, Nov. 27.

Munford (6-3, 180, Rhode Island) helped Greensboro to a 2-1 week behind averages of 27.7 points (fourth in the league), 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals. On Nov. 21, he scored a season-high 34 points on 13-of-26 shooting to go with three rebounds and three assists in a 116-111 loss to the Delaware 87ers. On Nov. 25, he recorded 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals in a 109-88 victory over the Erie BayHawks.

Munford is in his third NBA D-League season and first with Greensboro. He is averaging 22.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals. Last season, Munford was selected to play in the NBA D-League All-Star Game as a member of the Bakersfield Jam before signing with the Memphis Grizzlies on March 16. He appeared in 14 games with the Grizzlies, averaging 5.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

Other top performers considered included Canton’s Chris Evans, Iowa’s Wayne Selden Jr., Los Angeles’ Josh Magette, Texas’ Manny Harris and Windy City’s J.J. Avila.

Kevin Love and Kevin Durant named NBA Players of Week

Cavaliers forward Kevin Love and Warriors forward Kevin Durant today were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 21 through Sunday, Nov. 27.

Love led the Cavaliers to a 3-0 week behind an East-leading 30.7 points to go with 9.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals. He connected on 19-of-29 three-point attempts (65.5 percent) and made all 21 of his free-throw attempts. On Nov. 23, he scored a season-high 40 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out three assists in a 137-125 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Love set an NBA record with 34 first-quarter points, the second-highest total in any quarter in league history.

Durant helped the Warriors to a 4-0 week behind averages of 24.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.75 blocked shots (tied for second in the West). He connected on 9-of-18 attempts (50.0 percent) from three-point range. On Nov. 23, he scored 28 points (on 11-for-15 shooting from the field) and added six rebounds and five assists in a 149-106 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He closed the week with 28 points, 10 rebounds, a career-high six blocks and five assists as Golden State extended its winning streak to 11 games with a 115-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 26.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Houston’s James Harden, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, New York’s Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Phoenix’s Eric Bledsoe, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins and Toronto’s Kyle Lowry.

Bill Foran named Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year

The National Strength and Conditioning Association announced that Miami HEAT Assistant Coach/Strength & Conditioning Coach Bill Foran has been named the Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year. Foran, who becomes the fourth recipient of the award, will receive the honor at the NSCA’s Coaches Conference which is held in Nashville, TN from January 4 through January 6. Past winners of the award include Ashley Jones of the Edinburgh Rugby team in Scotland, Casey Bond of the Colorado Avalanche and Joe Kenn of the Carolina Panthers.

Foran, who has been the HEAT’s strength and conditioning coach since its inception and is currently in his 29th season with the organization, supervises a combination of strength training, plyometrics, conditioning, stretching and nutrition to ensure Miami’s players’ produce maximum results on the court. In addition to this honor, Foran was inducted into the USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame in 2014 and was named as the 2009 Co-NBA Strength Coach of the Year.

Bradley Beal fined for grabbing at throat of Evan Fournier

Wizards guard Bradley Beal has been fined $15,000 for grabbing at the throat of Orlando Magic guard/forward Evan Fournier, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Beal was assessed a technical foul, occurred with 7:40 remaining to play in the fourth quarter of the Wizards’ 94-91 win over the Magic on Nov. 25 at Amway Center.

To view the incident, click on this link.

Orlando Magic change starting lineup

Frank Vogel made wholesale changes to the Orlando Magic’s starting lineup before the team’s game Sunday night against the Milwaukee Bucks.

First, the team put Jeff Green on the inactive list because of a sore lower back.

Vogel then decided to start D.J. Augustin at point guard, Evan Fournier at shooting guard, Aaron Gordon at small forward, Serge Ibaka at power forward and Bismack Biyombo at center.

Augustin and Biyombo had not started a game this season. Gordon had started Orlando’s first eight games before Vogel moved him to the bench and replaced him with Green.

— Orlando Sentinel

Quick Take: The Magic this season have been led in scoring by Evan Fournier (17.0 ppg, though just 42% FG), Serge Ibaka (14.1 ppg), Nikola Vucevic (11.8 ppg) and Elfrid Payton (10.7 ppg). As a team the Magic are shooting just 40.9% FG. They have the least effective offense in the NBA through Saturday’s games, but a very effective defense so far this season.

Dirk Nowitzki still recovering from injury

Dirk Nowitzki’s recovery from right Achilles soreness will not be an overnight process, coach Rick Carlisle said, as news broke that Nowitzki will miss Sunday’s game against New Orleans.

“This is part of the recovery,” Carlisle said. “Getting him better, we’re going to have to take it incrementally. There’s not like there was any big setback. It’s just not the right thing to play him tonight.”

Carlisle said the process is going to go into December and sitting out occasional games is just part of the necessary strategy to get Nowitzki fully healed from the strained right Achilles he’s been fighting since the season began.

— Dallas Morning News

Quick Reaction: The Mavs have the worst record in the NBA through Saturday’s games. There’s no reason for Dirk Nowitzki to rush back at this point. He should take his time and make sure he’s fully healthy before returning.