General NBA insight – Page 119 – NBA Blog

DeAndre Liggins being mentored by Tony Allen

Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel (blog) reports:

Kentucky coach John Calipari once called DeAndre Liggins a Tony Allen clone.

While Liggins tries to blossom into a player of Tony Allen’s caliber, he has a pretty good teacher: Tony Allen.

Liggins, the No. 56 overall draft pick for the Orlando Magic, considers Allen a mentor. They met in Chicago – the city where they both grew up – after Liggins freshman year at Kentucky while hanging out in some of the same basketball circles.

These days they exchange text messages often, and they hung out earlier this week in Chicago before Liggins flew to Orlando to meet with his new team.

“He tells me the NBA is not easy,” Liggins said of Allen. “Defending the best player every night is not easy, especially in the NBA. You just have to continue to be tough.”

Josh Harrellson hopes to be terrific garbageman for Knicks

Lenn Robbins of the New York Post reports:

Josh Harrellson, the No. 45 overall pick whom the Knicks acquired from the Hornets in a draft-night deal for about $750,000, said he thinks he can have a long NBA career as — his words — a garbage man.

It’s a role he said he always felt comfortable with but certainly perfected at Kentucky, where he had one of the most volatile careers in Wildcats history.

Harrellson was recruited by Billy Gillispie, who quickly found the perfect scapegoat in the 6-foot-10, 270-pound center. Gillispie once locked Harrellson in a bathroom during halftime of a game and made him take the equipment truck home from a road game.

Harrellson was hoping for a second life at Kentucky when Gillispie was fired and replaced by John Calipari. But after grabbing 26 boards in the Blue-White game, he drew Calipari’s ire by tweeting that he got no love from his coach. Calipari then banned players from using Twitter.

Donnie Walsh says Iman Shumpert can shoot

Chris Sheridan of ESPN New York reports:

The book on Iman Shumpert was that he couldn’t shoot. But when the New York Knicks saw him knocking down shot after shot when they worked him out, they determined the book was outdated.

Outgoing Knicks president Donnie Walsh raved about Shumpert’s shooting ability, his defensive abilities and his 40-inch vertical leap Thursday night after the Knicks took the Georgia Tech combo guard with the 17th pick in the draft, passing over Marshon Brooks of Providence, Chris Singleton of Florida State and Kenneth Faried of Morehead State.

“He shot the ball extremely well. His shot’s not broke. Some guys you see, and you can tell right away they can’t shoot and they’re going to have to learn form. He has good form, he was hitting shots, he can defend very well. Very well. And he’s got tremendously long arms, so I really liked him a lot,” Walsh said.

Walsh said the Knicks had one trade in the works that would have allowed them to move up, but the team they were talking to ended up having the opportunity to draft the player they wanted.

Otis Smith wants Gilbert Arenas to stay off the basketball court

Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel (blog) reports:

Gilbert Arenas needs to take some time away from basketball this summer. That’s what Orlando Magic GM Otis Smith says.

Smith, in an interview with Brian Fritz and Dante Marchitelli on the Open Mike radio show, said it’s important for Arenas to stop playing basketball and focus on improving his body.

Smith wants Arenas, who weighs about 225 pounds, to lose 10 to 15 pounds this summer. And he wants Arenas to continue strengthening his injured knee. Smith called both of those goals a “non-issue” and something he has no worries about.

What Smith does worry about, however, is Arenas playing basketball too much.

Ricky Rubio gives Wolves a dash of pizazz

Ricky Rubio has finally arrived in North America.

To play basketball! As opposed to, say, taking a vacation.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are excited. As well they should be, because even if Rubio is still merely just a kid, he’s got flash and adds some excitement to a team that’s done plenty of losing lately.

Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports:

The Savior arrived at Target Center on Tuesday, and that can mean only one thing. Well, other than the fact that I must have slept through that whole Rapture thing. Yes, Ricky Rubio finally has made it to Minnesota.

He was charming, humble, determined and clearly delighted to be here. Rubio even joked about already having bought a heavy jacket in anticipation of his first Minnesota winter. Of course, the first time he walks out of the arena after a game and his face falls off, he’ll realize that he needs more than a heavy jacket. But we’ll deal with that when the time comes. For now, things couldn’t be better.

“Of course, I’m going to have pressure,” Rubio said with an innocent smile. “But I’ve been playing professionally since I am 14 years old.”

David Kahn and the Timberwolves might have hit the jackpot. And Rubio doesn’t even have to become a superstar, although that would be lovely. I can’t recall running across a 20-year-old with such charisma. This kid has enough pizazz to reinvigorate the franchise. He is exactly what the Wolves need. He might even become the most popular athlete in any sport in the Twin Cities.

Kahn, who takes a lot of heat for a lot of things, deserves credit for getting him signed under less-than-ideal circumstances. The team has struggled for the past two years while Rubio has played in Barcelona. People were justifiably impatient and maybe even a bit panicked, considering all the rumors flying around. But Kahn maintained a calm public demeanor while working behind the scenes to develop ties with Rubio and his family.

I look forward to seeing the kid play next season. I don’t expect much in the way of points, though. But if nothing else, Rubio should help provide a pulse.

Will Heat totally rebuild supporting cast?

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports:

The Heat’s voids extend beyond mere positional designations.

There is a need for a perimeter defender off the bench, someone who can take care of the heavy lifting on that end of the court so James and Wade don’t have to wear themselves down with such efforts, efforts that may have contributed to what appeared to be season-ending fatigue.

And there is a need for a speed guard, someone who can match what J.J. Barea, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo and Jrue Holiday threw at the Heat through the four rounds of this season’s playoffs. For all that Chalmers can be, fleet of foot is not one of them.

There certainly will be ample roster spots available, with the contracts of Chalmers, Mike Bibby, Erik Dampier, Juwan Howard and Jamaal Magloire expiring on June 30, with option-year decisions in the hands of Eddie House, James Jones and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who appears to be leaning toward retirement.

In fact, the Heat could return as few as seven players from the current roster, when counting James, Wade, Bosh, Anthony, Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem and Jones.

But much like last summer, the Heat will be limited in their options to find upgrades. The Heat did not have a mid-level salary-cap exception last summer because of the utilization of cap space to sign James and Bosh. This summer, that exception, which approaches $6 million, could be eliminated from the new collective-bargaining agreement.

That could leave the Heat limited to a free-agent offer to Chalmers, who assuredly will receive a qualifying offer by June 30, thereby giving the Heat the right to match outside offers, and another round of minimum-scale contract offers.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Steve Kerr says LeBron James is Scottie Pippen, not Michael Jordan

ESPN Chicago reports:

Scottie Pippen had it all wrong when he recently compared LeBron James with Michael Jordan, said one former Chicago Bulls teammate.

“The irony to me is that LeBron is not Michael. LeBron is actually Scottie,” former Bull and current television analyst Steve Kerr said Monday on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000. “He’s so similar to Scottie in that defensively he was just a monster, could guard anybody, really more of a point forward than scoring guard. Scottie always loved to distribute the ball. That’s really where LeBron’s preference is.

“Phil Jackson used to call Scottie a ‘sometimes shooter.’ Sometimes they would go in, sometimes they wouldn’t. That’s how it is with LeBron. He’s a great talent and a great player but you can see his flaws as a basketball player. He doesn’t have an offensive game that he can rely on: no low-post game, no mid-range jump shot so when the game really gets tough he has a hard time finding easy baskets and getting himself going. That’s what Michael did in his sleep so that’s why the comparison is wrong.”

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Dirk Nowitzki says Jason Terry needs to be more clutch in the Finals

The Dallas Mavericks trail the Miami Heat 2-1 in the 2011 NBA Finals. But if Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki had a bit more help, that Finals winning total might be reversed right now.

Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas reports:

Dirk Nowitzki needs scoring help and he knows teammate Jason Terry has yet to deliver in the NBA Finals.

Terry, the Dallas Mavericks’ charismatic sixth man who likes to bust out his arms like airplane wings after he makes 3-pointers and prides himself on cold-blooded shooting in the clutch, has found little breathing room with Miami Heat forward LeBron James shutting him out of the late-game offense.

“They keep sticking him [James] on Jet in the fourth quarters and he’s been doing a good job,” Nowitzki said. “Jet hasn’t really been a crunch-time, clutch player for us the way we need him to.”

Nowitzki scored 34 points in the 88-86 Game 3 loss and he scored the Mavs’ final 12 points of the game. Terry, the team’s second-leading scorer, was 0-of-4 from the floor in the fourth quarter of the disappointing home loss that put the Mavs in a 2-1 hole with Game 4 on Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center.

Terry is a combined 0-of-7 in the fourth quarters of the Mavericks’ two losses in the NBA Finals.

“They know to take me out of the fourth quarter, which they didn’t do in Game 2,” Terry said of the Heat’s choice to turn to James defensively, “then they got a good chance.”

Added Terry: “Let’s see if [James] can defend me like that for seven games.”

Dirk can’t do it alone. No player can. Terry is the team’s second-best scorer behind Nowitzki, and he’s going to have to step up when it matters most if Dallas is going to push forward.

LeBron says winning will take care of his legacy

LeBron James is great at winning regular season NBA games, but he’s still waiting for his first championship. And while the Miami Heat only lead the Dallas Mavericks two games to one in the ongoing NBA Finals, LeBron may not have to wait much longer.

It’s too early to discuss his “legacy” as a player, but when it’s all over, LeBron hopes to be associated with winning. Championships, presumably.

Reuters reports:

LeBron James bristled Monday at the idea his offensive prowess in the NBA Finals has been a disappointment and that his unwillingness to take charge down the stretch could ultimately affect his legacy.

The Miami Heat forward has averaged a modest 20.3 points and has been largely absent on offense in the fourth quarter but his team holds a 2-1 lead over the Dallas Mavericks.

James says all he wants to do is win.

“Anybody that knows me throughout the years, all I care about is the W,” he said. “I’m not just a scoring guy. I’ve got a lot of points in my career.

“I have had some team mates who have given me great confidence and ability to go out there and score a lot of points. But I’ve done other things.

“I don’t have to score points to be effective.”

Reuters continues:

“I just want to win,” he told reporters. “My individual stats will take care of itself. In a series I’ve averaged 38 points a game and we’ve lost in the Eastern Conference Finals against Orlando.

“This is a team game. My resume will speak for itself after I’m done with this game of basketball. What me and my team mates are trying to accomplish now is the only thing I’m worried about.

“When I’m done, I’ll let you guys figure where I should be placed.”

The Heat may be poised to rack up multiple championships over the next few years, so this discussion may change shape pretty soon.

Peja Stojakovic has disappeared in Finals

Calvin Watkins of ESPN reports:

Peja Stojakovic was one of the more dangerous shooters during his prime.

Now 33, he has provided only a few fleeting moments.

In his first NBA Finals, Stojakovic is struggling mightily. A liability on defense, Stojakovic scored his first points of the series Sunday night but isn’t making shots like he used to. He was benched for all but four seconds of the second half in Game 3. He was on the court for the last shot — a miss by Dirk Nowitzki — in the Mavs’ 88-86 loss to the Miami Heat.

Stojakovic finished 1-for-2 from the field with two points in just over six minutes of action.