Category: General NBA insight

General NBA insight

Will Kevin Knox be a part of Knicks future?

Here’s the New York Post reporting on young Knicks swingman Kevin Knox, who has a lot of work to do to solidify his place in the league:

I’m told one of team president Leon Rose’s biggest regrets from the suspension of the season’s final 16 games because of the coronavirus was not getting a closer look at his enigmatic second-year forward. According to a source, Rose still doesn’t know what to make of Knox and doesn’t know if the 20-year-old is part of their future. That is despite Kentucky coach John Calipari’s warning not to trade Knox (Calipari and Rose are close.)

Right now, most players on the Knicks roster could very well be wearing different uniforms by the time next season rolls around.

Michael Porter Jr. showed nice flashes of talent for Nuggets this season

At 43-22, good for third best in the Western conference, the Denver Nuggets were one of the best teams in the league this season. Here’s the Denver Post on a talented young member of the squad’s supporting cast, Michael Porter Jr:

On Oct. 31 in New Orleans, Porter scored a team-high 15 points in his professional debut, but it came during an embarrassing pummeling to the Pelicans. It was unsettling because his personal triumph came amid a painful loss. To his credit, he struck the right tone.

For the next two months, he was a part of the revolving door at small forward, splitting time with Craig and Hernangomez. None of them found much rhythm, and Porter wasn’t getting the consistent minutes that would allow him to maintain confidence on offense or develop as a defender. Finally, in late December, he had his breakout game (19 points, 8-of-10 shooting) in his first start vs. the Kings. Two games later, at Indiana, he had the highlight of his season.

Porter hung a career-high 25 points against the Pacers and served as the catalyst for a significant road win. The degree of difficulty on some of the shots he hit that night validated some of the rumors that had trickled out of the Nuggets’ practice court.

Porter played sparingly, averaging 7.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game, but he shot well: 49.5% from the field and 42.2% from three-point range. There’s every reason to believe he’ll keep improving.

The NBA season remains on hold due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

No timetable yet for possible NBA season restart

The waiting game continues.

Except, this particular wait isn’t a game. It’s a global pandemic that has put many things on hold, including the NBA season, which has been paused since March 11.

Here’s NBC Sports Washington reporting Friday’s words of league commissioner Adam Silver:

It’s been over a month since the 2019-20 season was suspended following Rudy Gobert’s positive test for COVID-19 and commissioner Adam Silver was unable to give the update hoops fans are looking for Friday.

“As I sit here today, there’s too much unknown to set a timeline and even too much unknown to say, ‘Here are the variables,'” Silver said. “I would just say everything is on the table.”

Silver said on TNT a few weeks ago that the NBA wouldn’t be able to make a decision on the 2019-20 season before at least May 1. So don’t sound the alarms based on Silver’s uncertainty at this juncture.

The 2019-2020 regular season had been scheduled to end this past Wednesday. The playoffs had been scheduled to begin today, on Saturday.

We may see Devin Booker play a bit more PG for Suns

Here’s Arizona Sports reporting on the Suns backcourt, which features Ricky Rubio at point guard and scoring star Devin Booker at shooting guard:

So, on a team where its net rating went from 3.8 when starting point guard Ricky Rubio was on the floor to a team-worst -6.5 when he was off, you’d surely want to fill in some of those spot minutes with Booker in control, especially with the inept backup point guard play, right?

Nope. The Suns’ top lineup in minutes featuring Booker without Rubio, Elie Okobo, Ty Jerome, Tyler Johnson or Jevon Carter played a total of six minutes. (And let the record show they scored 21 points in those six minutes).

There, of course, was a reason for this. Booker got worn down by those minutes with the burden of the entire offense on him, and preserving Booker over a full season was a priority for [head coach Monty] Williams.

But after year one of locking Point Book away in the basement, Williams wants to bring him back upstairs next season.

“Anything I would like to explore would probably be putting Devin at the point guard position a bit more than I did last year,” he said on a conference call Thursday. “I think he’s at a point in his career where he’s making the right plays consistently.”

After a hot start to the season, the Suns were 26-39 when the league was put on hold in mid March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Booker averaged 26.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game, while Rubio put up 13.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 8.9 assists per outing.

Some Miami Heat player notes from the season

Had the global coronavirus pandemic not put a stop to things, today was to be the final day of the 2019-20 NBA regular season.

The Miami Heat were having an excellent season, and while Jimmy Butler is their most well-known player, plenty of other guys share the credit, including do-it-all first-time All-Star forward Bam Adebayo, and talented young guards Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro. Here’s the Miami Herald with some notes:

Adebayo: If this is the end of the regular season, Adebayo will join Oscar Robertson as the only players to average at least 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists before turning 23.

Robinson: No player other than Steph Curry has ever hit as many three-pointers in a season at such a high rate of accuracy. Let that marinate for a minute.

Nunn: With 972 points, Nunn scored more in his first 62 games than any other undrafted player during the common draft era (post-1966) except Connie Hawkins (1,494).

Herro: Among players with at least eight clutch three-pointers this season, only Joe Harris shot better than Herro on threes in clutch time, among all NBA guards this season.

With games on hold, if the regular season was declared over but the playoffs to begin, the Eastern conference No. 4 Heat would be playing the No. 5 Pacers in the first round.

ESPN reportedly asking on-air personalities to take pay cut, for coronavirus pandemic reasons

With pro sports on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, fallback continues, especially in the direction of those whose job is to write or talk about sports. Here’s the New York Post reporting:

ESPN is asking its top 100 on-air personalities to take a 15-percent pay cut for the next three months — Stephen A. Smith, Scott Van Pelt and Dick Vitale are among those who have agreed, The Post has learned.

ESPN executives are selling the idea to its highest paid employees, like Smith, Van Pelt and Mike Greenberg, that taking the temporary pay cut will help others keep their paychecks during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are asking about 100 of our commentators to join with our executives and take a temporary salary reduction,” ESPN said in a statement. “These are challenging times, and we are all in this together.”

And here’s Deadline.com reporting:

Pay cuts and furloughs have been moving across Disney divisions. On March 30, Disney told its staff that executive chairman Bob Iger will forgo his entire salary, that new CEO Bob Chapek will take a 50% pay cut, and that other executives would see reductions on a sliding scale as of April 5. VPs, SVPs, and EVPs and above were in for cuts of, respectively, 20%, 25% and 30%.

Then on April 2 the giant conglom announced it would furlough all employees whose jobs “weren’t immediately necessary” as of April 19, although it would continue to provide health benefits and pay premiums.

This isn’t surprising at all. Many companies are being forced to take similar actions, or to cut some jobs altogether.

Jayson Tatum says Stephon Curry is a top 20 NBA player of all time

Ranking the best NBA players on just about any best-of list is always a fun but tough challenge. And it’s especially hard choosing where to place players whose careers are still ongoing on an all-time list. Here’s young Celtics star Jayson Tatum talking about Stephen Curry’s place in NBA history, as reported by NBC Sports Bay Area:

One of Curry’s peers, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, believes Curry is the best point guard in the NBA right now.

Then Tatum backed that up with some high praise for the only unanimous league MVP.

“Steph’s a top 20 player of all time, bro,” Tatum said this week during an Instagram Live interview with Pep Stanciel, a basketball skills coach and consultant.

“Steph changed the game bro,” Tatum said. “They don’t want you to shoot mid-range no more.”

It’s definitely debatable why mid-range shots have declined. And crediting any single player for it would be a real stretch. But Steph is definitely a legendary, all-time NBA talent.

No flight back to France for Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina

Here’s the New York Post reporting on a Knicks guard who might like to return home to France during the coronavirus pandeic but can’t do that right now:

The coronavirus pandemic shutdown hasn’t stopped Knicks point guard Frank Ntilikina from attempting to stay in shape, but it required some purchases.

Ntilikina, unable to fly back to his home country of France under the NBA’s guidelines banning international travel, said some players have done group workouts via video apps. That is catching on around the NBA as gyms are shuttered and players are having difficulty getting up shots.

“It was tough the first days so I decided to get some weights,’’ Ntilikina said as he took fan questions on the Knicks website Tuesday night. “Get bands, get a bench, jump rope. All the tools you can really have and help you inside the house to stay in shape. We have a program with our teammates. We stay connected. We’re all trying to stay ready.’’

Ntilikina flew back to Dallas, where his new agent Bouna Ndiaye stays. He spent a lot of last summer in Dallas.

Ntilikina started 26 of the 56 games played in 2019-20, averaging 6.3 points and 3.0 assists per game. His shooting remains an issue: 39.3% FG and 32.1% from three-point range.

The NBA season is currently on hold due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

The latest on the Pelicans

Here’s the New Orleans Times-Picayune with some words on the Pelicans:

With the NBA at a standstill and no end in sight, David Griffin, the Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations, tuned in to watch football Monday night.

ESPN was re-airing the Saints’ 23-3 win over the Falcons from 2006, which was New Orleans’ first game at the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina. To Griffin, the game was a reminder of how important sports can be during difficult moments.

“We do have a role in spiritual rebirth here,” Griffin said Tuesday in an interview on NBA TV. “Ironically, we’re talking the day after ESPN re-aired the 2006 Falcons at Saints game that reopened the Dome. I think from that standpoint, it very much was a rebirth for this city. Football brought something this city desperately needed. It was something of a return to normalcy.”

When the NBA returns, Griffin said he is hopeful the Pelicans can do something similar. The league has been shut down since March 12 because of the coronavirus. There is still no timetable for a return.

The Pelicans were a modest 28-36 when NBA play was put on hold in mid March, but there’s every reason for the team to be optimistic about the future of their core of exciting young talent.

ESPN Michael Jordan documentary ‘The Last Dance’ TV schedule, dates and times

ESPN Michael Jordan documentary TV schedule, dates and times, in April and May, 2020:

IN THE U.S.

Sunday, April 19, ESPN

9 p.m. ET – Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 1

10 p.m. ET – Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 2

Sunday, April 26, ESPN

7 p.m. ET – Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 1

8 p.m. ET – Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 2

9 p.m. ET – Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 3

10 p.m. ET – Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 4

Sunday, May 3, ESPN

7 p.m. ET – Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 3

8 p.m. ET – Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 4

9 p.m. ET – Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 5

10 p.m. ET – Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 6

Sunday, May 10, ESPN

7 p.m. ET – Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 5

8 p.m. ET – Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 6

9 p.m. ET – Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 7

10 p.m. ET – Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 8

Sunday, May 17, ESPN

7 p.m. ET – Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 7

8 p.m. ET – Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 8

9 p.m. ET – Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 9

10 p.m. ET – Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 10

ESPN’S JORDAN DOC ON NETFLIX (outside of the U.S.)

Monday, April 20 – 12:01 a.m. PT – “The Last Dance” Episodes 1 and 2

Monday, April 27 – 12:01 a.m. PT – “The Last Dance” Episodes 3 and 4

Monday, May 4 – 12:01 a.m. PT – “The Last Dance” Episodes 5 and 6

Monday, May 11 – 12:01 a.m. PT – “The Last Dance” Episodes 7 and 8

Monday, May 18 – 12:01 a.m. PT – “The Last Dance” Episodes 9 and 10