NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog
NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
Klay Thompson suffers concussion, exact return date unknown
 |
Following extensive examinations over the last two days – including neurological tests earlier this morning – Warriors’ guard Klay Thompson has been diagnosed with a concussion. He will not return to the court until he is symptom-free and cleared under the NBA’s concussion protocol guidelines. He will be evaluated daily and there is no timetable for his return.
With the NBA Draft around one month away, teams are conducting pre-draft workouts as they evaluate who to select. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer blog reporting:
Former Delaware State post player Kendall Gray and former Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell are working out for the 76ers on Friday.
Gray and Alan Williams of UC Santa Barbara were the NCAA Division I rebounding co-leaders (11.8 per game) in the NCAA Division I. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Gray also averaged 11.7 points, 2.8 blocks and 1 assist en route to being named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference player of the year.
Chicago Bulls fire successful coach Tom Thibodeau
 |
Chicago Bulls General Manager Gar Forman announced today that Tom Thibodeau will not be retained as the team’s head coach.
Chicago Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said, “The Chicago Bulls have a history of achieving great success on and off the court. These accomplishments have been possible because of an organizational culture where input from all parts of the organization has been welcomed and valued, there has been a willingness to participate in a free flow of information, and there have been clear and consistent goals. While the head of each department of the organization must be free to make final decisions regarding his department, there must be free and open interdepartmental discussion and consideration of everyone’s ideas and opinions. These internal discussions must not be considered an invasion of turf, and must remain private. Teams that consistently perform at the highest levels are able to come together and be unified across the organization-staff, players, coaches, management and ownership. When everyone is on the same page, trust develops and teams can grow and succeed together. Unfortunately, there has been a departure from this culture. To ensure that the Chicago Bulls can continue to grow and succeed, we have decided that a change in the head coaching position is required. Days like today are difficult, but necessary for us to achieve our goals and fulfill our commitments to our fans. I appreciate the contributions that Tom Thibodeau made to the Bulls organization. I have always respected his love of the game and wish him well in the future.”
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, “Tom Thibodeau is a great coach. He is a better coach than John Paxson is a vice president of basketball operations and Gar Forman is a general manager. That’s not taking anything away from the two front-office people. It’s a recognition that the Bulls are letting go of one of the best pure basketball minds in the NBA. The shame of Thursday’s firing is that it didn’t have to happen, not if clear-thinking, adult-acting adults had been involved. But a clash of personalities and visions made what happened inevitable. Thibodeau does not play well with others. He knows what he knows, and he’ll go to his grave defending it. And what he knows is hard work, followed up by more hard work, followed by an aperitif of hard work. So when Paxson and Forman told him again and again to take his foot off the gas pedal with the players by cutting down on minutes and thus on wear and tear, it was like talking to basketball stanchion.”
Following 21 years in the NBA as an assistant coach (he was an advance scout in 1991-92), Chicago named Thibodeau the team’s head coach on June 23, 2010. During his five seasons at the helm of the Bulls, Thibodeau’s teams compiled an overall record of 255-139 (.647). The Bulls advanced to the playoffs five times during Thibodeau’s tenure, where he posted a postseason record of 23-28 (.451).
“When Tom was hired in 2010, he was right for our team and system at that time, and over the last five years we have had some success with Tom as our head coach,” said Chicago Bulls General Manager Gar Forman. “But as we looked ahead and evaluated how we as a team and an organization could continue to grow and improve, we believed a change in approach was needed.”
Wednesday night in Oakland, the Golden State Warriors beat the Houston Rockets, clinching the series in five games. The Warriors will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2015 NBA Finals. Enjoy these video highlights from the Warriors’ win:
The AP reports: After a generation of wishing and waiting, the Golden State Warriors have finally arrived on basketball’s biggest stage again. Stephen Curry had 26 points and eight rebounds, Harrison Barnes added 24 points and the Warriors advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in 40 years with a 104-90 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night… The Warriors shook off a slow start and sweated out a shaky finish in Game 5 to close out the Rockets and set up a matchup with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers beginning June 4… Dwight Howard led Houston with 18 points and 16 rebounds. But MVP runner-up James Harden had a forgettable finale, with a playoff-record 13 turnovers and 14 points on 2-of-11 shooting.
The AP reports: Things got tougher on Curry and the Warriors when backcourt mate Klay Thompson faked a shot that drew Trevor Ariza in the air early in the fourth quarter. Thompson absorbed Ariza’s knee to the side of his head, sending him to the floor. Thompson, who finished with 20 points, lay on the ground for a minute before walking to the locker room. He came back to the bench after receiving stitches on his right ear.
AFP reports: Forward Harrison Barnes played a key role, helping Golden State break open a close contest with four straight baskets to cap an 11-2 scoring run that turned a six-point lead into an 87-72 Warriors advantage with 7:07 left to play. Barnes scored nine straight points on a jump shot, a three-pointer, a running basket and a dunk.
AFP reports: The Warriors defense harried Rockets star guard James Harden into a dismal two-for-11 shooting performance. He missed all three of his three-point attempts and finished with an NBA playoff record 13 turnovers.
AFP reports: Dwight Howard led Houston with 18 points and 16 rebounds, but the Rockets shot just 35.1 percent from the field.
Reuters reports: The Rockets had won Game Four of the series on Monday to avoid being swept, but were outscored 35-24 in the second quarter on Wednesday and played catch up the rest of the way.
Magic may hire Scott Skiles as coach
Here’s the Orlando Sentinel reporting on the Magic, who are in need of a new head coach:
|
If Skiles has maintained that kind of magnetic pull with longtime fans, well, great. Mostly, they should just hope his legendary toughness, intensity and basketball I.Q. as a gritty, sawed-off point guard can be passed down to his next-generation players.
Skiles isn’t big on reliving the old days, anyway. He and the Magic realize this mission is about the present, not the past, on both their parts.
The Magic’s front office believes it has enough talent now to close in on a playoff berth — even if a 25-57 record last season offered little proof — and it expects Skiles to get them there, ASAP.
But eventually he can only take them as far as the personnel allows, meaning GM Rob Hennigan must find Skiles a star or two through trades and/or free agency.
In Year 4 of the Dwight Howard rebuild, the Magic are looking for their coach to make a difference. They’ll replace test pilots Jacque Vaughn and James Borrego with an entirely different bench boss: a no-nonsense, no-excuse veteran who has the license to demand more from players.
Will Jeff Van Gundy return to coaching?
For now, there’s no reason to actually expect a Jeff Van Gundy NBA coaching return. But it seems like a possibility. Here’s the New Orleans Times-Picayune reporting:
 |
Jeff Van Gundy declined to acknowledge on the “Dan Patrick Show” on Wednesday if he has been contacted by the New Orleans Pelicans for their vacant head-coaching job.
But Van Gundy didn’t make a point to publicly deny his interest in replacing Monty Williams and coaching superstar forward Anthony Davis.
When asked on the show if he would like to coach Davis, Van Gundy said: ”There is no one who ever coached that wouldn’t want to coach a great player with great character. And so I’ve been able to do that in my life. I’ve already coached a player with a great character and you know how important that is if you want to win big in a situation. I had Patrick Ewing, Yao Ming and (Tracy) McGrady in Houston, (Charles) Oakley and all these guys.
”Anybody who that says, nah … I wouldn’t want to coach (Davis) who is a top-five player and a great person, I wouldn’t believe that if someone said that.”
Message from Atlanta Hawks to their fans
Here’s what the Atlanta Hawks have to say about their own season and playoff run, which ended last night in a 4-0 sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals:
We had the largest increase in attendance in the NBA and sold out Philips Arena 32 of the last 35 games.
We won a franchise-best 60 games, captured the Division Championship for the first time in 21 years and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in Atlanta history.
We had four players named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team – the most ever in club history.
We witnessed Mike Budenholzer named NBA Coach of the Year in just his second season at the helm.
We finished the month of January with a perfect 17-0 record, the most wins in an undefeated month in NBA history, earning our entire starting five the Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors.
We achieved record broadcast ratings on both television and radio, including the top 5 most-watched Hawks basketball games in club history.
We created an awe-inspiring and imposing home court environment, with an Eastern Conference-best 35-6 record at home.
We honored our greatest legacy, Dominique Wilkins, and erected a permanent statue to greet fans and players each time they enter the arena to celebrate his many accomplishments and contributions to our franchise.
And now, free agency for Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap
Power forward Paul Millsap was a huge part of the Atlanta Hawks’ success this season. Will he and the club part ways? Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution reporting:
The next stop for Paul Millsap is free agency.
The two-time All-Star, both in his seasons the Hawks, is an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Hawks would like to re-sign the power forward – along with several other teams.
The sting of a four-game sweep in the Eastern Conference finals was still fresh minutes after the Hawks 118-88 Game 4 loss to the Cavaliers Tuesday night when Millsap was asked about his future.
“I think looking at different options, looking at this team, looking at what we’ve built thus far, in weight my options I can’t make a decision right now,” Millsap said.
Miami Heat lineup analysis
The Miami Heat, who played roughly half the season without star Chris Bosh, finished with a 37-45 record, failing to qualify for the NBA playoffs. Here’s the Palm Beach Post with a look at some of their lineups:
The lineup everyone wanted to see heading into last season (Norris Cole, Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng, Josh McRoberts and Chris Bosh) was on the court a total of 34 minutes over four games. That group had a plus-26.1 efficiency rating (points scored per 100 possessions minus points allowed per 100 possessions).
The lineup everyone wanted to see in February and going into next season (Goran Dragic, Wade, Deng, Bosh and Hassan Whiteside) played zero minutes together. Bosh exited due to blood clots in his lungs just as Dragic arrived in the trade.
The most prevalent lineup was Dragic, Wade, Deng, Udonis Haslem and Whiteside. That group worked together for 179 minutes. For context, Golden State’s primary unit logged 813 minutes, and the Warriors had two other groups play at least 180 minutes.