The St. Paul Pioneer Press (Don Seeholzer) reports: Kevin Love’s days of coming off the bench might be nearing an end. The Timberwolves rookie forward played 15 more minutes than starting power forward Ryan Gomes Wednesday night in the Wolves’ 129-125 double-overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Love scored 14 points in 37 minutes. That’s the most extensive playing time yet for Love, who was matched against Spurs star Tim Duncan for much of the night and held his own, blocking three shots and grabbing nine rebounds.
Category: General NBA insight
General NBA insight
Beno Udrih struggling
The Sacramento Bee reports: Beno Udrih continues to struggle, which leads me to relate tidbits from a conversation I had recently wiith an NBA scout. The scout – who shall remain nameless, for obvious reasons – asked if the Kings’ point guard was hurt. He thought something was wrong. My take on Beno is this: he missed most of training camp with a strained hip and is playing his way into shape. He seems a half-step slow. His timing is off. And his confidence appears to be shaken. He had two excellent drives in the second half, though, so maybe that will give him a boost.
Ronnie Brewer emerging
The Salt Lake Tribune (Ross Siler) reports on the Jazz: Ronnie Brewer is seeing the greatest change in his role. After being used almost exclusively as a first- and third-quarter player after Kyle Korver’s arrival last season, Brewer played in all four quarters Wednesday, more than 32 minutes in all. Sloan opted to finish the second quarter with Brewer and Korver in the same lineup along with Brevin Knight, Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur. He played Carlos Boozer for barely three minutes in the quarter, letting Paul Millsap see extended action. For the third consecutive game, Brewer stayed in to start the fourth quarter, this time for 2:25. He was replaced by Korver, but came back with 5:06 after Korver picked up two fouls matched up against Travis Outlaw.
Nets need defense
The young Nets have some growing pains, especially on the defensive side of the floor. The Newark Star-Ledger reports: If you ask Lawrence Frank where his team is going wrong, he’ll pull out a list. The majority of the Nets’ problems pertain to their youth — lacking an understanding of positioning and tendencies, leading to game plan mistakes and bad technique and despair — and he is convinced they’ll solve them in time. But aggressiveness is also an issue. Fact: In their first three games, Nets defenders have drawn a total of five charging fouls, even though they’ve had roughly 40 chances to draw one.
Knicks old news for Larry Brown
Bobcats coach Larry Brown, who coached the Knicks in a mess of a season, moved on long ago from the New York experience. The Associated Press reports: “I just didn’t do what was expected of me, so I move on,” Larry Brown said before the game. “I was the coach here, so I realize what our record was and I can understand what Mr. Dolan was thinking, so you move on. But I don’t get any pleasure in anybody struggling.” … “Whatever happened, happened for a reason,” Brown said. “I don’t think Mr. Dolan didn’t give it a lot of thought and have input from a lot of people, and he decided it was best to move in another direction. He expected a lot from me and I guess I didn’t give him that and so you’ve got to respect that. He moved on, and I moved on.”
Early Warriors struggles
The San Francisco Examiner (Matt Steinmetz) reports: 1) Where are the young ’uns?: Don Nelson talked all summer of using Brandan Wright and Marco Belinelli. He also talked up the talent and skill level of rookie Anthony Randolph. Through four games, Wright has played 24 minutes, Belinelli four minutes and Randolph a minute-and-a-half. That’s not good. 2) Corey Maggette’s start: It hasn’t been a good beginning to his Warriors career. He’s shooting terribly from the field, and his hamstrings are acting up. Certainly, Maggette’s field-goal percentage is going to improve, but he hasn’t proven he can score meaningful points or get to the line and convert in critical situations. 3) Point problem: DeMarcus Nelson is doing everything he can. Watson is giving you exactly what you’d expect he give you. And Marcus Williams has been buried.
Baron Davis Clippers losing early
The Los Angeles Daily News (Ramona Shelburne) reports: New Clipper Baron Davis, disappointed after the team’s season-opening 117-79 loss to the Lakers on Oct. 29, tried to keep things in perspective during postgame interviews. The Clippers, after all, were playing together for basically the first time that night, against one of the best teams in the league. “Did I expect to lose like that? No. Do I expect us to go 0-7? No,” Davis said… “A win would help,” Davis said. “A win would defintely help lift our spirits. We need to figure out what a win feels like as a unit. “We’re a work in progress, so it’s going to take some patience. No one is in panic mode yet.” True, but there is a sense of urgency. Davis himself felt that Monday night against Utah, when he decided to play on his badly bruised hip about five minutes before tipoff.
Stockton and Sloan eligible for Hall
The Salt Lake Tribune (Ross Siler) reports: The next election of concern for the Utah Jazz comes this winter, when the committees which screen nominees for possible induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame go to work. The Jazz could be well-represented when finalists are selected during All-Star Weekend in February and when the Class of 2009 is announced during the Final Four in April. John Stockton – the NBA’s all-time assists and steals leader, who retired in 2003 – is eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time. Jerry Sloan, on the threshold of becoming the first NBA coach to win 1,000 games with the same franchise, is also Hall-of-Fame eligible. The Jazz have submitted the paperwork necessary to start the nomination process for Stockton and Sloan, and they will certainly do the same next year, when Karl Malone becomes eligible for the first time.
Pacers team notes
Danny Granger’s 33 points at Detroit on Wednesday, October 29, were the most by a Pacers’ player in the season’s first game since Jalen Rose hit for 43 points at New Jersey, October 30, 2001.
Since scoring nine points at Detroit in February, Granger has scored in double figures in a career-high 29 straight regular season games.
Boston’s 79 points in the Pacers’ home opener were the fewest ever allowed by Indiana in its NBA home opener.
With its sellout crowd of 18,165 in the home opener vs. Boston, November 1, the Pacers’ matched their total of sellouts in 2007-08.
The win over the Celtics was Indiana’s fifth in a game in which it did not score 100 points since Jim O’Brien became head coach in 2007. In that span, the Pacers are 5-26 when not reaching the century mark.
Marquis Daniels’ team-high 10 rebounds vs. Boston were his most ever in a Pacers’ uniform and tied his overall career-best.
Troy Murphy registered the Pacers’ first double-double of the 2008-09 season with 13 points and a game-high 15 boards at Detroit, October 29. His 14 defensive rebounds in that game matched his most ever with the Pacers.
Murphy had a game-high five assists in the win over Boston and he has led the team in assists 10 times in its last 58 regular season games.
Last season, the Pacers were ninth in the NBA with an average of just over five blocked shots a game (5.02 bpg). Thus far in 2008-09, the Pacers have averaged a league-leading 8.0 bpg.
Roy Hibbert not getting minutes yet
The Indianapolis Star (Mike Wells) reports: Pacers rookie Roy Hibbert is averaging just nine minutes in the first two games, which includes a total of 68 seconds in the second half. O’Brien said it’s not because Hibbert, the No. 17 pick last summer, has done anything wrong. It’s due to the fact that he’d rather go with more experienced players in the second half. “I see a guy growing well,” O’Brien said about Hibbert. “When you’re playing against Detroit and Boston, I’m going to go with veterans down the stretch. “I thought Roy did some good things. He needs to maintain his focus. His work ethic is great and I’m very, very pleased with how he’s developing.”