Inside Hoops – Page 817 – NBA Blog

No turnovers for Pistons point guards vs Timberwolves

Here’s Michigan Live reporting on the Detroit Pistons point guards, who did something impressive yesterday against the Minnesota Timberwolves:

It wasn’t really perfect. There just weren’t any imperfections in the category reserved for imperfections.

Reggie Jackson played 28 minutes and Spencer Dinwiddie 20 minutes for the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. The two point guards combined for 24 points and seven assists.

And they did not commit a turnover, which was central to the Pistons’ 96-86 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

It was the first turnover-free game by Pistons point guards this season.

Bulls unable to stop Warriors winning streak

The Golden State Warriors are 14-0 and chasing history, and didn’t let the Chicago Bulls get in their way. Here’s the Bulls.com blog:

There is a method to that madness that has become Jimmy Butler’s life, the multiple workouts per day, starting basically every morning at 5 and pounding away.

“I want to give us the best chance of winning,” Butler was saying in Oakland late Friday night. “That’s why I train as many times as I train per day, as early as I wake up; to make my body tired and still be able to perform at the highest level.”

Butler did all he could with a decimated backcourt with Derrick Rose out with a sprained ankle and Aaron Brooks with a hamstring strain. Butler in a game high 39 minutes outscored Stephen Curry with 28 points. His nine rebounds matched the Golden State Warriors’ leader. His seven assists were a game high for both teams. But in the end, even with the Bulls trailing 94-91 with under two minutes left after Butler made the Bulls last field goal, it wasn’t enough to subdue the league’s best team as the Warriors finally put the Bulls in their rear view mirror and pulled away to a 106-94 victory.

“First of all, I thought we really competed,” said Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg. “We battled, battled them the whole game. They made a couple of big plays down the stretch. We couldn’t get it back on the other end. But if we battle like that we’re going to win a lot of basketball games this year. We wanted to hold them to 10 threes or under. We did it. (Harrison) Barnes (with 20 points) hitting the two big ones there at the end (turning a four-point Warriors lead with 1:15 left into doubles figures in seconds). We took care of the ball. We didn’t give them a lot of run outs off of turnovers and that was a big goal of ours as well. We didn’t attack well enough down the stretch. But again, you play with that kind of effort we’re going to be fine.”

And here’s CSN Chicago with more on last night’s game:

Through 42 minutes it was hard to tell which was the better team, at least until Golden State’s deadly lineup finished the night by not allowing the Bulls to get anything going offensively in the last half of the fourth.

But the Warriors’ offensive rebounding was an Achilles’ heel, giving up 15 as Draymond Green came up with more than his share of loose balls, producing an effect that went beyond his nine-point, nine-rebound night.

“Yeah, loose balls,” Hoiberg said. “Draymond Green, he’s a horse in there. He does a great job watching his body, getting in there for extra ones. Those loose balls, you’ve got to find a way to come up with those.”

Jonas Valanciunas injured in Raptors win

Here’s the Toronto Star reporting good news but also bad news on the 8-6 Raptors, who center Jonas Valanciunas is averaging 12.7 ppg and 9.3 rpg in 27.3 minutes per game this season:

Big win. Big loss.

Unleashing a barrage of three-point shots against a woefully inept opponent, the Raptors snapped a three-game losing streak with a 102-91 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night but the victory came at a substantial cost.

Jonas Valanciunas could be lost for a substantial stretch after suffering a broken finger on his left hand when he was fouled by Kobe Bryant driving to the basket in the final minute of the second quarter.

The team said he suffered a fractured finger on his left, non-shooting hand and that he will have further testing before any timeline for rehabilitation or a return is offered.

Hawks face Cavs on Saturday

Two of the best teams in the Eastern conference face off on Saturday. Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution reporting:

The Cavaliers (9-3) lead the Eastern Conference, with the Hawks (9-5) in third place early in the new season. The Cavaliers are not going anywhere, it would appear. LeBron James carried them last season, and he could very well do it again.

The Hawks will face the Cavaliers without one, and possibly two, starters. Small forward Kent Bazemore (right ankle sprain) has been ruled out. Point guard Jeff Teague (left ankle sprain) is questionable.

The Cavaliers are injured themselves. Point guard Kyrie Irving (fractured left kneecap), guard Iman Shumpert (injured forearm), center Timofey Mozgov (right shoulder sprain) and guard Mo Williams (right lower leg soreness) all will not play. With Mozgov out, Tristan Thompson may start at center. He gave the Hawks fits in the postseason.

“Taking care of the defensive boards is something that is going to be important,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said.

No home wins for Timberwolves yet

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting on the Timberwolves, who haven’t won a home game yet and host the Detroit Pistons tonight:

One thing becomes clear after talking with a few Timberwolves players after today’s morning shootaround:

This team wants very much to end this zero-for-home thing. The Wolves enter tonight’s game with Detroit at Target Center at 5-7 overall, with all five victories coming on the road. At home the team is 0-5 at home. And while both emotions and injuries might have played into that, it has gotten old quickly.

“I hope tonight is the night,” Andrew Wiggins said.

The Pistons come into the game with an impressive victory over Cleveland Tuesday, a victory that ended a four-game losing streak. That came after Detroit started the season 5-1.

Timofey Mozgov, Mo Williams out with injuries

Center Timofey Mozgov experienced a strained right deltoid during the second quarter of last night’s game against Milwaukee at The Q. Additional examination and MRI today at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health confirmed the strain. Mozgov will be OUT approximately 10 days to two weeks.

Guard Mo Williams missed last night’s game vs the Bucks and received additional examination and MRI today at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health, which showed posterior right ankle inflammation, along with continued soreness. He is listed as OUT for tomorrow’s game at The Q against Atlanta and doubtful for Monday’s contest vs. Orlando, also at The Q.

Warriors enjoy wild comeback win against Clippers

The 13-0 Golden State Warriors are the talk of basketball. Last night, they looked to be on their way towards their first loss of the regular season. But since they’re the Warriors, and Stephen Curry is on their team, they kept winning. Here’s the San Jose Mercury News reporting:

The Warriors’ season-opening winning streak will not die.

Not after the defending champions trailed by 23 points to the rival Los Angeles Clippers.

Not with Stephen Curry and the Warriors willing their way to a comeback.

The Warriors claimed a 124-117 win Thursday night that did more than improve their record to 13-0, two short of matching the best start in NBA history.

The Warriors’ comeback came against their bitter rivals at Staples Center and provided yet another chapter to remember as they became one of only five NBA teams to ever start 13-0.

Curry poured in 40 points to lead the charge and hit six 3-pointers. He got the best of Chris Paul, who scored 35 points but had to suffer the indignity of seeing the Warriors claim the largest comeback win in the league this season.

No LeBron, Blatt drama this season

Here’s Cleveland.com reporting on the Cavaliers, who at 9-3 are already a success this season and have the services of Kyrie Irving to eventually look forward to once he heals and is ready to play:

Want to set off some Cavs fans?

Tell them about LeBron James and David Blatt.

The distrust. The undermining and second guessing. The disconnect.

It’s a sore subject for Cavs faithful. Either James shouldn’t treat his coach that way, or Blatt wasn’t right for the job, or the media shouldn’t bring it up.

This season, though, there hasn’t been any James-Blatt drama to discuss.

Hours before Cleveland beat the Milwaukee Bucks 115-100, turning in a solid-but-not-perfect performance after days of being ripped in public and private by James and Blatt, the Cavs superstar dropped a different kind of bomb.

“He does his job as great as any coach can do in this league,” James said of Blatt, following the team’s shootaround in the morning.

Pelicans waive Jimmer Fredette

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has waived guard Jimmer Fredette.

Fredette, 6-2, 195, who was re-signed by New Orleans on November 10 after the team received a hardship exception from the NBA, appeared in 13 minutes over four games. Originally signed by New Orleans on July 24, 2014, the BYU product appeared in 50 games for the Pelicans in the 2014-15 season, averaging 3.6 points and 1.2 assists in 10.2 minutes per game.

New Orleans’ roster now stands at 15.

D-Wade struggling after fast start to season

Through Tuesday’s games, the Miami Heat are 6-4. A perfectly respectable record at this early point in the season. But veteran shooting guard Dwyane Wade, after an excellent start to the season, has cooled off in a big way. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting:

The first five game were a statement, an I’m-back statement, with Dwyane Wade scoring at least 20 points in each outing. Since then, though, the Miami Heat shooting guard has not scored more than 12, shooting 18 of 55 over his four subsequent appearances.

Tuesday’s 103-91 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves included another uneven performance, this time 5 of 13 from the field for 10 points, with six assists and five turnovers.

“My opportunities are different,” Wade said, as the Heat turned their attention to Thursday’s fifth game on this season-longest seven-game homestand, against the Sacramento Kings at AmericanAirlines Arena. “The first five games were a little different. I’m not really worried about scoring. I’m just trying to be aggressive, sometimes to make plays, sometimes to score.”

Wade has not attempted more than four free throws in any of his past four appearances, including none Tuesday night. Some of that is opposing teams daring him to take his jumper; some of it is the Heat this season playing both Hassan Whiteside and Chris Bosh in the post.