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The AP reports: Ron Artest will play in Game 4 of Houston’s Western Conference semifinal against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. The NBA ruled Saturday that Artest’s hard foul on Pau Gasol(notes) late in the Lakers’ 108-94 win on Friday did not merit a one-game suspension… League spokesman Tim Frank said Saturday the foul was downgraded to a flagrant one.
InsideHoops.com expected this would happen.
Fan discussion of the news is in this forum topic.
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The Detroit Pistons and Palace Sports and Entertainment mourn the passing of Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Daly. The 78-year-old, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February, passed away this morning in Jupiter, Florida on May 9 with his family by his side. Funeral arrangements are pending, but services will take place next week in Jupiter/Tequesta, Florida.
“The Daly family and the entire Detroit Pistons and Palace Sports and Entertainment family is mourning the loss of Chuck Daly,” family spokesman and Pistons Vice President of Public Relations Matt Dobek said. “Chuck left a lasting impression with everyone he met both personally and professionally and his spirit will live with all of us forever.”
Daly, who coached the Detroit Pistons to NBA Championships in 1989 and 1990, was dubbed by his Pistons’ players as “Daddy Rich,” for his dapper wardrobe. Daly also served as head coach of the Dream Team, the 1992 Gold-Medal winning USA Basketball Olympic Team, which has been acknowledged by many as the greatest basketball team ever assembled. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994 and the number 2 (for those 2 NBA Championships) was retired in his honor by the Detroit Pistons in 1997.
The Kane, Pennsylvania native coached the Pistons for nine seasons and is the winningest coach in franchise history with a record of 467-271 (.633). He also coached Detroit to a franchise record 71 playoff wins during his tenure (71-42, .628). Named head coach on May 17, 1983, Daly finished his first year with a 49-33 mark and a postseason appearance. The Pistons reached the NBA Playoffs in each of his nine seasons, advancing to the Conference Finals five times with two Eastern Conference Championships (1989, 1990).
In 1990, the Pistons set the top two winning streaks in franchise history. During the months of January, February and March, the club won 13 games and then 12 in a row with only one loss in between. The 25-1 streak was the third-best streak in the history of the NBA during that time.
In addition to his Pistons coaching career, Daly also made NBA head coaching stops with the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Jersey Nets and Orlando Magic.
His 30-plus years of coaching success at all levels carried over into his Pistons position. Prior to joining Detroit, Daly spent four-plus seasons as an assistant to Billy Cunningham and the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers went 236-104 in the regular-season during those four-plus years, winning two division titles and finishing second twice.
In his six seasons (1971-77) as the head coach of the University of Pennsylvania, he compiled a 125-38 (.744) record and won four Ivy League titles. Daly led Penn to more NCAA berths and Big Five titles than any previous head coach in school history. He was the head coach at Boston College for two seasons (1969-71) and served as an assistant coach at Duke University for seven years (1963-69).
A graduate of Bloomsburg University, after starting his collegiate career at St. Bonaventure, Daly earned a Master’s Degree at Penn State and began his coaching career at Punxsutawney High School.
Daly is survived by his wife, Terry, his daughter, Cydney, and grandchildren Sebrina and Connor.
The Cleveland Cavaliers lead the Atlanta Hawks two games to zero in their second round NBA playoffs series.
Game 3 is Saturday in Atlanta.
Unfortunately for the Hawks, injuries are striking at a very bad time.
The latest info, direct from the team, as of early Friday afternoon, is that both forward/center Al Horford (right ankle sprain) and forward Marvin Williams (right wrist sprain) practiced today and will be game-time decisions for Saturday.
Star shooting guard Joe Johnson, who suffered a right ankle sprain during Game 2 in Cleveland, will also be a game-time decision for Saturday.
The New York Post (Marc Berman) reports: Imagine how the course of Knicks’ history could have changed if Garden president Steve Mills and Magic Johnson had hooked up sooner — like in December 2003. Six years later, Mills is leaving the Garden to work with Johnson on various business ventures, MSG announced yesterday. A source said Mills will work on helping Johnson add boxing to his portfolio. Mills also will teach a course at his alma mater, Princeton, “Dilemmas in Athletics.” He found plenty of those in his nearly 10 years as a Garden executive — best known for hiring Isiah Thomas.
On Friday, May 8 the Oklahoma City Thunder will conduct pre-draft workouts with the following players hoping to be selected in the 2009 NBA Draft: Jerel McNeal (guard, Marquette), Jack McClinton (guard, Miami), Daniel Hackett (guard, USC), Paul Delaney (guard, UAB), Jermaine Taylor (guard, UCF), Garrett Temple (guard, LSU), Terrell Harris (guard, Oklahoma State), Courtney Fells (guard/forward, NC State), Josh Carter (guard/forward, Texas A&M), Joe Ingles (forward, Melbourne Dragons), Aaron Jackson (guard, Duquesne) and AJ Abrams (guard, Texas).
Rafer Alston of the Orlando Magic and Derek Fisher of the Los Angeles Lakers have each been suspended one game without pay for their roles in separate incidents last night, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations Stu Jackson announced today.
Alston has been suspended for swinging and making contact with the head of Eddie House of the Boston Celtics with 48.6 seconds remaining in the third period of the Magic’s 112-94 loss to the Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals last night at TD Banknorth Garden.
Fisher has been suspended for striking Houston’s Luis Scola with his shoulder and head with 13.2 seconds remaining in the third period of the Lakers’ 111-98 win last night over the visiting Houston Rockets in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals at STAPLES Center. Fisher received a Flagrant Foul Penalty Two and was ejected from the game at the time of the play.
Jackson also announced that the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant has been assessed a Flagrant Foul Penalty One for elbowing Houston’s Ron Artest in the chest area with 6:57 remaining in the fourth period of last night’s game.
Alston will serve his suspension on Friday when the Magic hosts the Celtics at Amway Arena. Fisher also will serve his suspension on Friday when the Lakers visit the Rockets at Toyota Center.
Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in the InsideHoops NBA forum.
The Houston Rockets are visting the Los Angeles Lakers for Game 2 of their second round series. Late in the third quarter, Luis Scola and a few Lakers got into it, and Derek Fisher was ejected after slamming into Scola with 13 seconds left.
In the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant was trying to box Ron Artest out. Artest had his left hand resting on the back of Bryant’s neck, though it didn’t look like anything dirty. As the jostling continued, it was Artest’s upper arm doing it. As Bryant went up for the rebound, Kobe’s right elbow went up into Artest’s neck area. Not sure if it actually hit his neck or not, but it was definitely a high elbow.
A foul was called on Artest, and a furious Ron went right over to jaw in Kobe’s face.
Artest was moved away by referee Joe Crawford, but after a few more seconds of yelling and waving his elbow to show what he was mad about, Artest was ejected.
If any foul should have been called on Artest, it should have been for what I described above. Instead, Bryant elbowed Artest, and that’s when the foul was called on Ron.
As for the ejection, I don’t think Artest needed to be thrown out. A technical foul would have been enough.
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The Houston Rockets are visting the Los Angeles Lakers for Game 2 of their second round series. And things got touchy late in the third quarter, with hostility exchanged between Rockets forward Luis Scola and several Lakers.
With 13.2 seconds left in the third, Derek Fisher set a screen against Scola, but in the process of doing so, slammed into Scola and elbowing him hard.
Referees watched the replay and gave Fisher a flagrant-2 foul, which results in an ejection.
Fisher clearly deserved to be tossed. And don’t be surprised if he’s suspended for Game 3.
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Wednesday night in Boston, the Celtics hosted the Orlando Magic in Game 2 of their second round series.
In one sequence, Celtics guard Eddie House hit a deep jumper from the right corner, and seconds later, Magic point guard Rafer Alston slapped House in the back of the head as Eddie was running back down the floor.
After the game, Alston said that House had utilized an elbow, and that’s what made Alston react the way he did.
I have not seen a clear replay that showed ill-manner use of an elbow, but I will say that Alston should be fined, but probably not suspended.
If it was more of a hard hit with more direct force then I’d say a suspension for one game would be in order. But, it wasn’t.
The AP reports: Basketball legend Dave Bing was elected Tuesday as Detroit’s mayor through the end of the year, sweeping the incumbent from office in the city with myriad problems. “The real work starts now,” Bing said to loud cheers during his victory speech. “What we will bring … is efficiency, transparency, honesty and integrity back to the mayor’s office,” he said. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Bing had 52.3 percent of the vote, or 49,054 votes, to 47.7 percent, or 44,770 votes, for Cockrel. Both are Democrats.