NBA News Blog – Page 1034 – NBA Blog

Heat contained James Harden in Finals Game 1

The Heat’s defense is hounding Harden. Miami is making things tough by blowing up ball screens and aggressively attacking Harden in the pick-and-roll, preventing him from either turning the corner or resorting to his preferred method of splitting the screen and driving into the paint. The Heat’s aggression has taken Harden completely out of the offense.

“The three times we’ve played them, they’ve done a good job with James; of really attacking his dribble and trapping his pick-and-rolls,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks following his team’s shootaround Thursday morning. “But he has to figure that out by moving it quickly and attacking the outside foot of the bigs. I expect him to do that much better tonight.”

Miami’s small lineup is causing Harden most of his problems. With LeBron James, Shane Battier and Udonis Haslem serving as the Heat’s “bigs,” Harden is being met by athletic wings in James and Battier, and an agile power forward in Haslem, after using the screen. They’re effectively cutting off his space and forcing Harden to give up the ball.

“That’s the Heat’s DNA, they always do a great job on pick-and-roll situations,” said Kevin Durant.

— Reported by Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman (Blog)

Nene provided big boost for Wizards

The 6′-11″ center showed why he got a huge contract from Denver prior to last season, scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in his debut as the Wizards beat New Jersey in mid-March.

After missing 10 games in early April, Nene returned from injury to help the Wizards go on that six-game winning streak to close out the season.

Nene and Wizards’ point guard John Wall had some solid moments executing the two-man game, including a brilliant pick-and-roll that resulted in Nene getting a great pass from Wall for the game-winning layup at the buzzer over Miami late in the season.

Wall credited the team’s late success to the arrival of Nene. Wall pointed to Nene’s locker room presence and leadership as a key factor for the team playing inspired basketball the final month of the season when the Wizards reeled off a season high 6-straight wins to close out the season.

— Reported by Frank Hanrahan of CSN Washington

Jay-Z will open 40/40 club in Brooklyn Nets Barclays center

Jay-Z and his 40/40 club are taking full advantage of the Nets move to Brooklyn, and doing it in style.

The 40/40 Club will open its new location at the Barclays Center, the new sports and entertainment venue and home to the Brooklyn Nets. The $1 billion arena will house the 9,000 square-foot restaurant slated to debut on the arena’s opening night when Jay-Z performs in concert on September 28, 2012.

“There is no better home for another 40/40 Club location than the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn,” stated Jay-Z. “The 40/40 Club has revolutionized restaurants in a way I anticipate Barclays Center to transform the arena watching experience.”

Located on the Barclays Brownstone Suite Level, The 40/40 Club will feature key materials and design concepts from its newly renovated New York City flagship location, including the custom illuminated amber resin bar top. The design for the space is by SHoP Architects with consultation from designer Jeffrey Beers to ensure a consistent look and feel with the flagship venue. The new location in Barclays Center will feature 36 TVs, including eight 80’’ TVs on the outside of the bar soffit, and will also offer great views of the basketball court.

“The 40/40 Club at Barclays Center will provide a dynamic environment to complement the experience of attending Brooklyn Nets games and other select events,” said Barclays Center and Brooklyn Nets CEO Brett Yormark. “The 40/40 Club will deliver the best in service and cuisine, while creating a vibe fitting for such a spectacularly designed venue.”

Sounds like the Nets will keep the party going both before and after games.

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Dwyane Wade plans on being more aggressive against Thunder

Wade has already passed the symbolic baton of team leader and go-to scorer to James. In the East finals, simply getting out of the way and allowing James to dominate was enough. But the Thunder is a far a more superior offensive team than the Celtics. For all the talk of defensive adjustments, figuring out the Thunder might boil down to one simple truth: Wade needs to score more points. He will get his chance Thursday in Game 2 at Oklahoma City.

“I mean, I want to score more points,” Wade said. “I don’t deal with the pressure of that. That’s when you start thinking too much, too many questions start coming up in your mind, you start overanalyzing things.

“I want to score more points, I want to get my team more to give us an opportunity to win the series.”

So, what’s the plan?

“I’ll be more aggressive,” Wade said.

The Thunder’s young duo of Durant and Westbrook outscored the Heat’s entire team 41-40 in the second half. Want to talk about aggression? Oklahoma City had 24 points in transition. The Heat had four. Oklahoma City had 56 points in the paint. The Heat had 40.

— Reported by Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald

David Stern asks Jim Rome an angry question

David Stern took The Jim Rome Show down an uncomfortable road today when the NBA commissioner fired a particularly personal shot at the host.

Rome asked if the NBA draft lottery was fixed, to which Stern replied, “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?”

The few minutes after the remark were spent debating the legitimacy of Rome’s question and the interview ended with Stern saying “I have to go call someone important now. Stephen A. Smith is up next.”

— Reported by Mike Foss of USA Today

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Ray Allen, Mickael Pietrus had surgery today

The Boston Celtics announced today that guard Ray Allen and guard/forward Mickael Pietrus both underwent successful surgery at New England Baptist Hospital this morning. Both surgeries were completed by Celtics Team Physician, Dr. Brian McKeon and were assisted by Dr. Mark Slovenkai.

Allen, who had successful arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle, averaged 14.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.07 steals in 34.0 minutes per game for the Celtics during the regular season. He also shot 45.3 percent from three-point range which ranked fourth in all of the NBA this past season and was a career-high, besting his previous career-high that was set during the 2010-11 season (44.4 percent).

Pietrus, who had successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, averaged 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game for the Celtics during the regular season. He also finished third on the team in three-point field goals with 61 behind Allen (106) and Paul Pierce (100). Pietrus scored a season-high 16 points against Oklahoma City on February 22.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer part of investor group for proposed Seattle arena

The push to build a new arena in Seattle with the hopes of seeing the NBA return now has another name to go along with that of hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Ballmer will be part of the investment group for both the arena and the acquisition of an NBA franchise, according to a letter sent Wednesday by Hansen to King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. A copy of the letter was obtained by The Associated Press.

That Ballmer is part of the investment group is not a surprise. Ballmer is a longtime basketball fan who regularly sat courtside at SuperSonics games before their departure to Oklahoma City in 2008 and was part of a group that made a last-ditch effort to try to keep the team in Seattle.

At that time, Ballmer teamed with a handful of other Seattle businessmen to offer a renovation of KeyArena. Now Ballmer is throwing his support, and dollars, behind Hansen’s proposal for a $490 million arena that would house an NBA franchise and possibly bring the NHL to Seattle.

— Reported by Tim Booth of the Associated Press

Bulls moving practice facility to downtown Chicago

The Chicago Bulls today announced that the team has committed to move its practice facility to downtown Chicago from its current location in Deerfield, Ill. The team has practiced at the Sheri L. Berto Center since 1992.

During recent conversations, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel pitched Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf on the idea to relocate the team’s practice facility to a downtown Chicago location.

“Mayor Emanuel has done a tremendous job promoting investment in the City of Chicago,” said Reinsdorf. “The Mayor stressed that the Bulls brand is important to the city, nationally and internationally, and that the Bulls represent the spirit and competitive grit of Chicago. He thought centralizing our team assets inside the city limits would be a show of our ongoing commitment to Chicago. We have been contemplating how to address the growth limitations of our practice facility for awhile, so the Mayor’s timing and ours seems to make sense.”

The team is in the process of exploring a variety of site locations throughout the city. A specific timetable has not yet been established for the project, which will be privately funded.

“We have been happy at the Berto for many years,” said Bulls President and COO Michael Reinsdorf. “However, for us, the time is right for a move from both a basketball and a business standpoint. Our basketball operations group has been incredibly resourceful, but there is no longer space available to grow where we are now. And, strategically, we are taking a more integrated approach to our business, and decreasing the physical distance between our two main facilities will naturally create more opportunities for collaboration among all departments.”

The team’s current facility, the Berto Center, has hosted the majority of team practices, gameday shootarounds and summer workouts for the last 20 years. The building is also the home of the Bulls’ coaching and basketball operations staff offices.

A new facility could include additional features that would allow the team to expand its use of the building, particularly during non-practice times. Some ideas under consideration include event and educational space, and greater digital and video production capabilities.

Another potential benefit of a practice facility located downtown would be reduced commute time for the players on game days. The Berto Center is located approximately 25 miles north of the United Center, and currently on game days the players have to commute from the Berto to the United Center following mandatory shootarounds.

The team intends to sell its current practice facility.

Sixers might use amnesty provision on Elton Brand

Sixers president and general manager Rod Thorn acknowledged Tuesday that the team has begun a search for his replacement – Danny Ferry has already interviewed for the job, according to a league source – but he added that he expected to be very much involved with, if not in control of, the June 28 draft.

“Oh, yeah,” Thorn said when reached via phone Tuesday afternoon. “We will do it the same way we did last year. I’m busy with that now, and it will be exactly the same way.”

The Sixers, who will bring in more potential draft picks for workouts Thursday and Friday, face crucial decisions. They have to decide whether they will use the amnesty provision on Elton Brand, which could allow them to gain more than $18 million in cap space and be active in free agency. Teams can begin talking with free agents July 1 and can begin signing them July 11.

Thorn, who has been in the league as a player or manager since he was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets in 1963, said that when former team owner Ed Snider hired him the understanding was that Thorn, 71, would assume a consultant’s role at the end of his contract, which expires in one year.

— Reported by John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Kevin Garnett future with Celtics uncertain

From the Celtics’ end of the spectrum, they are bent on keeping their flexibility as they move through what is, to some extent, a transition period. That means the C’s would be overjoyed to get Garnett to stay on a one-year deal, though there is at least some reason to believe they would discuss an option for 2013-14, knowing KG’s pride wouldn’t allow him to stay if he wasn’t a factor.

Financially, the Celtics don’t want to go overboard, but considering it’s unlikely they will be able to find a worthy recipient for what could be significant salary cap space, they could afford a decent number for Garnett to keep said space warm. But it won’t be in the same area code as the $21 million he pulled down this season.

The bottom line for the Celts is that they could greatly benefit from the presence of a veteran who takes practice so seriously (and it is presumed the club actually will have a few practices when the schedule returns to normal next season) and has a strong effect on younger players. It’s also important that the guy can still, you know, play the game.

Garnett was a revelation in the latter portion of the season, which is a fairly bold concept for someone in his 17th year. The way he took to the center position and showed a far greater willingness to play inside on offense answered some long-held prayers by the staff.

— Reported by Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald