NBA News Blog – Page 1418 – NBA Blog

Celtics beat Magic 92-88 in East Conf Finals Game 1

The AP reports:

The Orlando Magic finally met their match in the playoffs.

Celtics beat Magic 92-88 in East Conf Finals Game 1

Ray Allen scored 25 points, Paul Pierce had 22 and the Boston Celtics used smothering defense to beat the Magic 92-88 on Sunday in the Eastern Conference finals opener.

Rasheed Wallace added 13 points as the Celtics built a 20-point lead, then held on late to snap Orlando’s 14-game winning streak.

Vince Carter had 23 points and Jameer Nelson finished with 20 for Orlando, which cut the lead to two in the final seconds but simply ran out of time, looking rusty after a six-day layoff. Dwight Howard was limited to 13 points and 12 rebounds, nowhere near the dominant force the Magic need to win a title…

Nelson had two quick 3-pointers and another jumper to start the third, moving the Magic within three points. Then it all unraveled.

The Celtics went on a 22-5 run later in the quarter to go ahead 65-45, and a crowd littered with blue and white T-shirts—deafening at times with noise clickers and claps—was silenced. But the Magic rallied late to cut the lead to three with 26 seconds remaining in the fourth on a dunk by Howard…

InsideHoops.com notes:

The Celtics defense was the star today. Orlando shot 41.6% and only hit 5-of-22 from three-point range. Boston only hit 44.6% of their shots, but they were stronger from outside with 6-of-14 threes.

In addition to his 22 points, Pierce had nine rebounds, five assists (but five turnovers) and two steals.

Orlando hit the offensive boards hard, grabbing 15 to Boston’s seven.

The entire Magic team had just 10 assists.

Dwight Howard shot just 3-of-10, had five blocks, but seven turnovers with two assists. He struggled.

Rasheed Wallace shot just 3-of-9 off Boston’s bench.

Kendrick Perkins only had four points and two rebounds, plus an awful five turnovers, but also delivered three steals and two blocks.

Marcin Gortat and J.J. Redick provided nice sparks for the Magic off the bench.

Read fan discussion and share your own opinion in this forum topic.

Cavs-Celtics Game 6 had huge TV rating

The AP reports:

The Boston Celtics’ series-clinching victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals is the second-most watched basketball game ever aired on ESPN.

The broadcast Thursday night drew a 6.6 rating on the cable network and averaged 6,552,000 households and 8,983,000 viewers. Only Game 4 of last year’s Western Conference finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets did better on ESPN, earning a 6.9 rating.

InsideHoops.com Says: It was the biggest game of the entire year, in both the regular season and playoffs.

Roddy Beaubois to play for French national team

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports:

Roddy Beaubois’ education will move into the accelerated program this summer when he will play for the French national team in the FIBA world championships.

With the blessing of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and president Donnie Nelson – and with countryman Tony Parker withdrawing from the team – Beaubois has been offered a spot on the national team and has accepted, Nelson confirmed Friday.

The 6-1 guard is coming off a promising rookie season and figures prominently into the Mavericks’ future.

InsideHoops.com Says: This dude looks legit. I think he has a bright future in the NBA. His role, whether on the Mavs or elsewhere, will keep increasing.

Cavaliers GM says LeBron elbow needed rest

The AP reports:

Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry says the elbow injury that bothered LeBron James during the NBA playoffs was bad enough that the team would have rested him during the regular season.

Ferry revealed for the first time that the league’s MVP complained about his elbow before an April 8 game in Chicago. He was a late scratch from the starting lineup that night and sat out Cleveland’s final four regular-season games.

InsideHoops.com Says: It was obvious that LeBron’s right elbow was bothering him more than he let on in the second round series vs the Boston Celtics. He used his left hand way more than it made sense to. He was barely even dribbling with his right for huge stretches. It was strange that even after the series was over, he still seemed very reluctant to admit the extent of his injury.

Shaq will consider joining Nets

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:

Cavaliers free agent center Shaquille O’Neal, a Newark native, told The Post he would consider the Nets as a destination this summer — intrigued because they now reside in his hometown.

O’Neal, the Cavs “other” free agent, praised the new Prudential Center as being an NBA hotspot and said he would rather them not move to Brooklyn in 2013.

“I think it’s better than most arenas, I think it’s one of the best arenas in the country,” O’Neal told The Post following the Cavaliers’ stunning second-round elimination against Boston on Thursday night. “Hopefully they can stay there forever. I don’t know what’s going on with the Brooklyn situation, but it says a lot for the city of Newark.”

InsideHoops.com Says: Shaq has limited impact at this point in his basketball career, and the Nets have Brook Lopez at center already. So while it’s fun to think about O’Neal heading over to Newark, in reality he’ll probably wind up continuing to play elsewhere, for contenders who need him a bit more.

Robin Lopez expected to play Monday

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports:

Robin Lopez has two milestones coming in his expected return to the starting lineup Monday.

He will play a game for the first time since March 26 and will be making his career playoff debut.

“I don’t think it’s hit me yet,” Lopez said. “I think it’ll hit me on the floor. I feel like I’ve been out there with the guys when I’ve been watching them the previous series.”

Lopez said his conditioning and right-leg strength, an issue because of his bulging disk pinching a nerve, have improved and he feels his instincts returning. The 7-footer is a welcome addition against the Lakers’ frontline size.

“I’m going to have to crash the boards and deter easy layups,” Lopez said.

76ers interview Elston Turner

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski met with Houston Rockets Assistant Coach Elston Turner in Philadelphia, PA today regarding the Sixers vacant head coaching position.

Joining Stefanski at the meeting with Turner was Sixers Sr. Vice President and Assistant General Manager Tony DiLeo and Sixers consultant Gene Shue.

“Elston has almost 15 years of experience as a assistant coach – most of which came under Rick Adelman, who trusted him with major responsibilities on both ends of the court, with a focus on defense – and he has experienced success at every stop during his NBA career,” Stefanski said. “I want to thank Elston for taking the time to speak with us today.”

“We will continue to evaluate the candidates and proceed with our due diligence in order to make an informed and objective decision regarding our next head coach.”

Uncertainty for LeBron begins

William C. Rhoden of the New York Times writes:

What distinguishes this loss from the others is that LeBron James lost more than a series: his crown lost some of its luster. A pair of uninspired performances at home against Boston left a bitter taste in the mouths of many loyal Cleveland fans. Was it his injured elbow, or did James simply lose interest? His performance in Game 5 was so detached and uninspired that there was speculation that he wanted to purposely anger Cavaliers fans to make his departure easier. Fans booed after his 15-point performance. On Friday Celtics fans improvised a derisive, “New York Knicks, New York Knicks “ chant when James went to the free throw line.

The crucial question for James right now is not where but why.

Why have things come to this?

“The only thing I can think about right now is the season being over,” James said. “You have expectations going into the postseason and you never can predict the future, but at the same time, you hope for things much brighter than what is going on right now.”

Chicago Bulls pre-draft workouts

In preparation for NBA Draft 2010, the Chicago Bulls will host a pre-draft prospect workout on Sunday, May 16, at the Berto Center in Deerfield.

NBA Draft 2010 will take place on Thursday, June 24. Chicago currently owns one pick in this year’s draft (No. 17).

Participating in Sunday’s workout are the following players:

James Anderson (Guard, 6-6 / 210, Junior, Oklahoma State)

Paul George (Guard/Forward, 6-8 / 210, Sophomore / Fresno State)

Xavier Henry (Guard, 6-6 / 220, Freshman / Kansas)

Dominique Jones (Guard, 6-4 / 215, Junior / South Florida)

Gani Lawal (Forward, 6-9 / 234, Junior / Georgia Tech)

Samardo Samuels (Forward, 6-9 / 260, Sophomore / Louisville)

Hawks part ways with Mike Woodson

Executive VP/General Manager Rick Sund met with Coach Mike Woodson this morning and informed him that he will not be offered a new contract.

“After careful consideration, we have made a difficult decision regarding Coach Woodson’s contractual status,” said Sund. “We’re grateful for Mike’s contributions over the last six years and we want to wish him the very best.”

Named the 10th head coach in Atlanta Hawks’ history on July 8, 2004, Woodson produced a 206-286 (.419) record in six seasons at the helm of the Hawks, and a 53-29 (.646) mark this past season. He coached Atlanta to three straight postseason appearances, finishing with an 11-18 (.379) record.