Inside Hoops – Page 750 – NBA Blog

Draymond Green shines, Warriors win NBA Finals Game 2

Here’s CSN Bay Area reporting on Sunday’s Finals Game 2, which thanks to Draymond Green and friends resulted in a blowout Warriors victory for a 2-0 Golden State championship series lead:

The Cleveland Cavaliers came into the NBA Finals with a clear defensive game plan that essentially insults Warriors forward Draymond Green.

The strategy: Lay off him and spend your defensive energy on his teammates, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in particular.

This did not go well for the Cavs in Game 1 and was downright disastrous in Game 2 Sunday night.

Given plenty of room to shoot or pass, Green as a frequent ball-handler did plenty of both and was largely responsible for a 110-77 demolition of the Eastern Conference champions before an ecstatic sellout crowd (19,596) at Oracle Arena…

Green poured in a game-high 28 points, draining 5-of-8 from 3-point distance, adding seven rebounds and a team-high-trying five assists. He committed one turnover, posting a plus-20 in 34 minutes of playing time.

Isaiah Thomas recruiting Kevin Durant

The Celtics finished the regular season with a very impressive 48-34 record. They have excellent coaching, and players who compliment each others’ skills nicely. But that was probably their ceiling, as the current roster goes. The team is armed with a ton of draft picks, but most rookies have limited impact. Now, as for free agency, and really fun ideas and big goals, here’s the Boston Globe reporting:

Isaiah Thomas wants Kevin Durant on the Celtics

As Isaiah Thomas sat on his porch at home in Tacoma, Wash., last Monday after watching the Thunder lose Game 7 of the Western Conference finals to the Warriors, he had an idea.

The Celtics point guard knows, like everyone else, that Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant will become a free agent this summer. He also knows, like everyone else, that adding Durant to a roster would have a seismic impact.

And in that moment on that porch, be thought it might be a good time to spice up the Durant-to-Boston narrative, no matter how unlikely a prospect it might be. So he grabbed his iPhone, opened Twitter, and posted Durant’s No. 35 next to a green shamrock. It was simple, but not especially subtle.

“I just wanted the world to know, that’s who I’m trying to get,” Thomas said.

On Kevin Durant free agency

Will Kevin Durant stick with the OKC Thunder? If we had to guess, yes, he probably will. The team was just one win away, in an insanely competitive Western conference, from reaching the 2016 NBA Finals. How many better situations for Durant are there in the league? Very few. And on this topic, here’s the Oklahoman reporting:

As Nick Collison said in his exit interview, there’s no selling Kevin Durant on the Thunder. No recruiting pitch needed. He knows everything about the city, the organization, the team’s infrastructure and the young roster.

Perhaps he’ll take visits elsewhere, allowing him to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of staying or going. But Presti’s case has already been laid. All he needs to do is hand Durant a blank piece of paper and tell him to write his contract.

There are no assurances Durant will stay. His decision is monumental for this organization, carrying extreme ripple affects in the immediate and long term. But at this point, OKC’s front office can only sit back and wait.

Hawks promote Jeff Peterson to assistant general manager

The Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club on Thursday promoted Jeff Peterson to assistant general manager, according to General Manager Wes Wilcox. In this role, Peterson will be involved in all areas of day-to-day team management, while continuing to oversee the Hawks scouting process.

“Jeff has been an integral part of our front office over the past few seasons. In that time, he has demonstrated the ability to identify players who fit our culture and system; build meaningful relationship across the world of basketball; while continuing to learn the complexities of team-building in the NBA,” Wilcox said. “Jeff has a bright future in the NBA and we would like to congratulate Jeff on this opportunity.”

Peterson was promoted by the Hawks Director of Scouting before the start of the 2015-16 season. Prior to that, he served as a Scout and Coordinator of Basketball Operations for the team.

Peterson, who joined the Hawks as a seasonal assistant in 2012, finished his collegiate playing career at Florida State.

Sixers looking to trade a big for a guard

The Sixers have a bunch of young big men on their roster that may be part of their future, but almost nothing in the backcourt. Everyone assumed that at some point the team would look to trade at least one of their frontcourt guys. We would think it would make the most sense to wait until Joel Embiid proves himself, but the team can’t wait around forever for that to happen. Here’s CSN Philly with the latest:

It’s no surprise the Sixers are looking to trade a big man for backcourt help.

League sources told CSNPhilly.com’s John Gonzalez on Friday the Sixers are shopping Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor and looking for backcourt help in return.

As reported Thursday, the Sixers have had talks with the Atlanta Hawks about a package deal involving Noel and point guard Jeff Teague.

However, no deal has been offered and no deal is imminent, according to league sources.

Knicks sticking with triangle-like offense

Does the triangle offense work for a team that doesn’t have Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant, etc? Perhaps not, but maybe there are elements of it that can be applied elsewhere. Maybe. Here’s the New York Post with an update on the Knicks and new head coach Jeff Hornacek, who was formally introduced at a press conference today:

The triangle isn’t folding, it’s just slightly changing shape.

That was the vibe from Jeff Hornacek’s formal introduction Friday as the new coach of the Knicks. He strongly suggested he will maintain principles of Phil Jackson’s beloved triangle offense, while blending in the more spread, “up-and-down” style he favored during his previous stint in Phoenix.

“To me, it’s just a way to space the floor. There’s something about the triangle. Maybe we’ll call it the circle offense,” Hornacek said. “You can run any play you want out of the triangle. It’s going to be a part of our offense. It’s something that’s worked, won championships.

“We’re going to run the triangle, but I wouldn’t call it the triangle. There’s a lot of aspects of the triangle,” Hornacek added in his non-televised interview. “We can space it out farther and run some things I did in Phoenix. So there will be aspects of the triangle. It’s basic reads. You can call it triangle or call it what Golden State runs. There’s the idea we can blend it somehow.’’

Dellavedova ineffective in Finals Game 1

The Warriors beat the Cavaliers 104-89 Thursday in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Cavs guard Matthew Dellavedova is just a backup and does not have a big role on the team, but in a game where the Warriors bench was a huge part of the outcome, somebody on Cleveland’s bench needed to step up. But nobody, including Delly, came through. Here’s the San Francisco Chronicle reporting:

Save for what appeared to be an inadvertent chop to the lower region of the Warriors’ Andre Iguodala, St. Mary’s alum Matthew Dellavedova had a particularly quiet — and ineffective — Game 1 on Thursday night.

Dellavedova took only three shots, made one and had nearly as many fouls (one) as points (two).

That foul, which caught Iguodala in the groin, had last year’s Finals MVP glaring at Dellavedova as teammates from both sides moved in to keep the two apart.

Dellavedova played 11 minutes and was a minus-19 while on the court.

Knicks hire Jeff Horancek as head coach

It’s been out for a while now that Jeff Hornacek was to become the new head coach of the New York Knicks, but the news became official yesterday. Hornacek becomes the 28th head coach in the franchise’s 70-year history in the National Basketball Association.

“Jeff has a tremendous basketball acumen and possesses strong leadership skills,” said team President Phil Jackson. “During his career as both a player and coach, he has demonstrated the ability to elevate the game.”

“I am extremely excited and honored to be the next coach of such an historic franchise,” Hornacek said. “I look forward to working with Phil – a coach and teacher of the game I have admired for many years – and collaborating with him and our staff to take this team to the level that Knicks fans expect.”

Hornacek, 53, most recently led the Phoenix Suns as its head coach over parts of three seasons from 2013 through 2016, while engineering a 23-win improvement and a 48-34 record in his first year leading the organization, becoming the runner-up in the 2014 NBA Coach of the Year voting. He became just the third person in NBA history to be named both Player and Coach of the Month over the course of their career (December 1991, December 2013). He concluded his Phoenix coaching career with a 101-112 (.474) overall record.

The Elmhurst, Ill-native, began his coaching career as an assistant coach for the Utah Jazz under head coaches Jerry Sloan and Tyrone Corbin from 2010-11 through 2012-13 following an illustrious 14-year playing career.

Warriors win NBA Finals Game 1

The Warriors on Thursday took a 1-0 NBA Finals lead against the Cavaliers. Game 2 is Sunday in Oakland. Here’s the San Francisco Chronicle reporting:

This time, they brought Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love at full strength. They hounded Stephen Curry into a miserably quiet night and rendered Klay Thompson a virtual non-factor.

And, still, the Cleveland Cavaliers came up empty in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The Warriors unleashed the full strength of their numbers Thursday night at Oracle Arena. Shaun Livingston scored 20 points to lead seven players in double figures – Curry was the seventh to get there and Thompson never did – as Golden State pulled away in the second half for a 104-89 victory.

This was the sixth consecutive time the Warriors conquered the Cavs, including the last three games of the 2015 Finals and two regular-season contests. The Warriors also have reeled off four consecutive victories in this postseason, since they fell behind 3-1 to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals.

InsideHoops.com NBA Finals Game 1 stats roundup:

Warriors 49% FG, 9/27 threes, 9/10 FT
Cavaliers 38% FG, 7/21 threes, 18/20 FT

Warriors 29 assists, 9 turnovers
Cavaliers 17 assists, 15 turnovers

Kyrie 26 pts on 22 shots
LeBron 23 pts on 21 shots, 12 rebs, 9 asts
S. Livingston 20 pts, 8 of 10
K. Love 17 pts on 17 shots, 13 rebs
Draymond 16 pts, 11 rebs, 7 asts, 4 stls
H. Barnes 13 pts
Iguodala 12 pts, 7 rebs, 6 asts
Steph just 11 pts on 15 shots, 5 rebs, 6 asts
Barbosa 11 pts, 5 of 5

On the future of Dirk Nowitzki

It’s safe to say that Dirk Nowitzki’s entire NBA playing career will be with the Dallas Mavericks. The only question now is how many more years Dirk will play and what his contract will look like. Here’s the Dallas Morning News with the latest:

Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki has previously said that he is going to opt out of the final season of his three-year contract. He also has reiterated what he’s said all along — that he’s only doing so to help get the wheels in motion for putting together next season’s roster.

Nowitzki planned on re-signing with the Mavericks after July 1, probably for two seasons, he said on KTCK-AM 1310 The Ticket early May.

Wednesday, Nowitzki joined the “Ben & Skin” show on KRLD-FM 105.3 The Fan and said he hasn’t completely made up his mind on opting out of his deal with Dallas. Nowitzki, who already has met with general manager Donnie Nelson and says he’ll meet with owner Mark Cuban soon, has until the final week of June to accept or decline his player option.