Inside Hoops – Page 754 – NBA Blog

Dirk Nowitzki 2016 Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game

Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporting on Dirk Nowitzki’s celebrity baseball game, which donates proceeds to charity:

The Dallas Mavericks superstar will host his Dirk Nowitzki’s 2016 Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game on Friday, June 10, at 7 p.m. at the Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco…

Among the celebrities scheduled for the game are Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley and defensive back Byron Jones; Mavericks players Deron Williams**, Chandler Parsons, J.J. Barea, David Lee, Devin Harris**, Wesley Matthews, JaVale McGee, Salah Mejri, Justin Anderson, Jeremy Evans, Dwight Powell and coach Rick Carlisle**; Plano-raised actor Chace Crawford (TV series Gossip Girl and Blood and Oil) and actor Geoff Stults (TV series The Odd Couple and upcoming movies Hey Brother and The Kicker); and former Texas Rangers players David Murphy and Michael Young.

Chris Bosh will not make return during 2016 NBA playoffs

Chris Bosh played 44 games for the Heat in the 2014-15 season, and 53 games this season. Major health concerns with the reason for the missed games. And those concerns mean he will not resume playing for the Heat during the 2016 NBA playoffs. Here’s a team statement:

The Miami HEAT and Chris Bosh announce that Chris will not be playing in the remainder of the 2016 NBA Playoffs. The HEAT, Chris, the doctors and medical team have been working together throughout this process and will continue to do so to return Chris to playing basketball as soon as possible.

And here is ESPN.com reporting:

Chris Bosh will not make return during 2016 NBA playoffs

The announcement eases a degree of tension that was building between Bosh and the team over his status. Bosh and the Heat avoided acrimony, and he remained active with the team and traveled to road games on owner Micky Arison’s plane, but he appeared to be pushing for a resolution in recent days.

Last week Bosh and his wife, Adrienne, used social media to generate attention to his desire to return to the floor this season. On Tuesday, at Bosh’s request, the National Basketball Players Association asked for a meeting with the Heat to address the issue.

It is relevant that Bosh and the Heat released the statement together. Bosh released his own statement in March announcing that he did not have deep vein thrombosis, another name for blood clots in the leg, and said he was positive he would return this season. The Heat had not made a statement on Bosh since February, when an undisclosed medical condition forced Bosh to be ruled out indefinitely.

It is also relevant that the statement indicated the intention for Bosh to return to the playing floor eventually.

Blazers vs Warriors game 2 recap

Still playing without Stephen Curry, the Warriors exploded in the 4th quarter and shut the Blazers down for a comeback win, giving them a 2-0 lead in their first round playoff series. Here’s the Columbian Blog with some insight:

For three quarters, it looked like the Portland Trail Blazers would add “beating the 73-9 Warriors at home in the playoffs,” to their list of accomplishments everybody else thought was impossible. But some villains are to vile to stop. Some mountains, too tough to climb. Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and the Warriors proved to be that mountain again for the Blazers, leading the Warriors to a 110-99 win behind a monster 4th quarter where they outscored Portland 34-12. The Warriors lead the best-of-seven series 2-0. Game 3 is 5:30 Saturday at the Moda Center.

Damian Lillard loves playing at home and looked better in Game 2, scoring 25 points through three quarters. And he of course wanted to erase a rough Game 1 where he scored 30 but was just 8-of-26 from the field. He was quiet early but exploded for 17 points in the third quarter, helping Portland hold an 8-point lead after three quarters. But Lillard didn’t score in the fourth and nobody on the Blazers could help their cause late as they saw what was likely their best opportunity for a road win in the series slip away.

With a quick turnaround, the Blazers looked overmatched in Game 1. Truth be told, they are overmatched. But they don’t fold and their start to Game 2 was exactly what should have been expected. The Blazers learn and they found ways to attack the Warriors with success. They preyed on Andrew Bogut’s slow feet and it helped create holes in the defense. Those holes weren’t there when Steve Kerr dusted off Festus Ezeli down the stretch, which coincided with Portland suddenly being unable to score. Ezeli suffered an injury and was inexplicably buried on the bench behind Anderson Varejao and Mareese Speights until the 2nd half of Game 2. He made a major contribution and helped turn the game around with his defense as well as improved play from Green and Thompson.

Some key Hornets will be free agents

This summer will be huge for the entire league due to the rising salary cap, but it’ll be specially crucial for the Hornets, who need to make big offer decisions to a number of their most essential players not named Kemba Walker. Here’s the Charlotte Observer reporting:

Small forward Nic Batum, the Charlotte Hornets’ most attractive free-agent-to-be, said Monday he has “unfinished business” in the Queen City.

Translation: He’s predisposed to re-signing with the Hornets if the salary numbers are competitive…

Batum had a career year with the Hornets after the trade that acquired him from the Portland Trail Blazers in June. Coach Steve Clifford said Monday there’s no question Batum is the top priority among five unrestricted free agents who were in the Hornets rotation this season.

The other four are Al Jefferson, Jeremy Lin (assuming he exercises his opt-out), Marvin Williams and Courtney Lee.

Space Jam 2 movie is coming

It took a while, but Space Jam 2 is reportedly finally on its way. Here’s the Hollywood Reporter with details:

Justin Lin, Andrew Dodge and Alfredo Botello are ready to shoot some intergalactic hoops with LeBron James.

The Fast & Furious 6 and Star Trek Beyond helmer is co-writing, with Dodge and Botello, Warner Bros.’ Space Jam 2. Lin is also looking to direct and produce via his Perfect Storm Entertainment, and sources say he will be thoroughly involved in the creative development of the project.

The WME-repped Cleveland Cavaliers forward, who recently appeared in Amy Schumer comedy Trainwreck, will star in the sequel. Rumors of a follow-up to the live action/animated 1996 hit have been circulating for years but picked up steam in July when James and his company SpringHill Entertainment signed a deal with Warner Bros.

Kris Humphries will likely have role in Hawks-Cavs series

Kris Humphries will likely play a role in the Atlanta Hawks’ Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to ATL coach Mike Budenholzer.

The late-season acquisition appeared in just one of the Hawks’ six playoff games against the Celtics in the first round. The center played 8:48 in a Game 5 blowout win, entering in the fourth quarter with the Hawks leading by 29 points. Budenholzer chose to use a combination of Mike Muscala and Mike Scott to combat the smaller and quicker lineup the Celtics used in the series. Humphries had five DNP-CDs.

— Atlanta Journal Constitution

Purple Shirt Guy a spectacle at Heat-Hornets game in Charlotte

By InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner

(Note: I am typing this entire blog entry on my cellphone while in a cab around 11:15pm Friday night and not editing this, so I insist that you forgive and ignore any typos)

Friday night in Charlotte the Miami Heat beat the Hornets 97-90 to tie their first round NBA playoff series at three games apiece.

A minor side story was “Purple Shirt Guy” — an unnamed fan (if he’s famous, we didn’t recognize him) with a great courtside seat, quickly nicknamed Purple Shirt Guy because, why not.

He was standing up and loudly taunting veteran Heat star Dwyane Wade, who responded with some huge clutch baskets.

My opinion is that while fans close to the court have a right to stand up and be enthusiastic, I’m not sure that SUSTAINED yelling by a fan as he is out of his seat at a player should be allowed, especially if the fan is courtside and therefore very close to the players.

I’m not sure exactly where the league should draw the line. Naturally they should err in favor of passionate fans. But in this sort of situation in the future, perhaps a security guard needs to encourage him/her to get back into their seat and stay there.

Tough call. But Purple Shirt Guy in Charlotte did, in my opinion, cross the line slightly. Players have to feel comfortable and protected.

The good news is, D-Wade sure appeared to feel fine as he suddenly drained key three-pointers and rose up like the star he’s been for many years.

The guy in the purple shirt kept telling Wade he should retire. Sit down Purple Shirt guy. #FatherPrime #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/6FirPd5xXw

— Whiteside Alerts (@WhitesideAlerts) April 30, 2016

Spencer Hawes knee injury: MCL sprain

The Charlotte Hornets announced today that center Spencer Hawes underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which revealed a sprain of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee. Hawes is listed as out for Game 6 tomorrow night in Charlotte and will be re-evaluated in a week. He suffered the injury during the Hornets win in Game 5 last night in Miami. Hawes has appeared in five playoff games for Charlotte with averages of 3.6 points (.462 FG%) and 3.2 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per game.

The Hornets currently lead the Heat 3-2 in their first round NBA playoff series.

Kings hire Ken Catanella as assistant GM

The Sacramento Kings today hired Ken Catanella as Assistant General Manager.

Catanella has more than ten years of experience in player negotiation, contracts, statistical scouting systems and a comprehensive understanding of the salary cap. He joins the Kings front office after serving the Detroit Pistons for nearly five years as Director of Basketball Operations and Assistant General Manager. Prior to the Pistons, Catanella worked for the NBA and the New Jersey Nets.

“We are focused on building a winning team and part of that process is ensuring we have a sound front office structure,” said Divac. “We are thrilled that Ken Catanella is joining the Kings to help us build on our progress and drive success on the court. Ken’s unique statistical and player expertise will provide a significant boost to our basketball operations team.”

In his role with the Kings, Catanella will function as the organization’s salary cap specialist, support Divac with personnel decisions and day-to-day management of the basketball operations department and assist with the team’s statistical and analytical systems.

A graduate of Amherst College where he played and coached, Catanella’s professional experience includes a stint on Wall Street where he provided analytics to sports franchises examining arena financing. While earning his MBA at Duke University, he served as a graduate assistant to the Blue Devils Men’s Basketball team from 2004-06. Catanella also played professional basketball for the Bundesliga’s Cologne 99ers of the German League and later served as the assistant general manager for the 99ers.

Phil Jackson has not consulted with Melo on Knicks coaching search

The New York Knicks are currently built around forwards Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. Those are the key players right now. But while Porzingis just finished a very solid rookie season, Melo is the star. And if there’s one guy that Knicks boss Phil Jackson would consult with about a decision that greatly affects the entire team, it’s Melo. Here’s the New York Post reporting:

Carmelo Anthony’s input hasn’t been needed, or asked for, yet.

The Knicks star forward has yet to speak to Knicks president Phil Jackson about the ongoing coaching search, but plans to be involved at some point, after raising concerns late in another dreary season about the direction of the franchise and wanting to be involved in the decision-making process.

“I hope so,” he said on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Thursday when asked if he would have a role in who the next coach is.

One thing Anthony feels certain of is that Tom Thibodeau would have accepted the Knicks job had it been offered.