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Nuggets beat Heat 104-93 in NBA Finals Game 1

The Miami Heat set an NBA postseason record for fewest free throw attempts in a game, going to the foul line just twice during a 104-93 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night. Afterward, Heat star Jimmy Butler vowed to attack the basket more heading into Game 2 on Sunday night. He didn’t hesitate when asked why the offense struggled so much to find its rhythm. – ESPN.com

“Probably because we shot a lot of jump shots, myself probably leading that pack, instead of putting pressure on the rim,” Butler said after scoring just 13 points. “Getting lay-ups, getting to the free throw line. When you look at it during the game, they all look like the right shots. “And I’m not saying that we can’t as a team make those, but got to get more layups, got to get more free throws. And whenever you miss and don’t get back, the game gets out of hand kind of quickly. We gave up too many lay-ups, which we also can’t have happen. But that’s it as a whole. We’ve got to attack the rim a lot more, myself included.” – ESPN.com

The Heat fell into an early hole against Nikola Jokic and company in large part because the open looks that Butler and his teammates made a habit of hitting earlier in the postseason just didn’t fall. Heat guard Max Strus went 0-for-10 from the field, becoming the fourth player to shoot that or worse in a Finals game, according to ESPN Stats and Information research. Caleb Martin, who carried the Heat offensively at times in the Eastern Conference finals, went 1-for-7 from the field. – ESPN.com

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro will continue to test his surgically repaired right hand, and a return to the lineup for Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets looms as a possibility, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday. Herro, who had surgery to fix the third and fourth metacarpal on his right hand on April 21, will continue ramping up his workouts and try to get a sense of how the hand responds to contact before making a decision, sources told ESPN. – ESPN.com

New Detroit Pistons head coach will reportedly be Monty Williams

Per the Detroit Free Press:

The Detroit Pistons finally found a suitable candidate for their open head coaching position after over two months of looking.

Monty Williams, a former coach of the Phoenix Suns, is anticipated to agree to a deal with the Pistons worth more than $10 million yearly in the coming days, a league source told the Free Press on Wednesday. Williams, the NBA Coach of the Year in 2022, will receive one of the league’s highest salaries thanks to the incentive-rich contract.

According to ESPN, the contract is for six years and $78.5 million, making him the highest-paid NBA coach ever. According to The Athletic, there are incentives that may push the contract’s value to $100 million as well as team options for a seventh and eighth year.

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Warriors President and GM Bob Myers to step down

Golden State Warriors President of Basketball Operations / General Manager Bob Myers will step down from his role at the conclusion of his contract, he announced today.

Myers, who has served as general manager of the Warriors for the past 11 seasons (seven with the added title of president of basketball operations), assembled a roster that captured four NBA titles (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022) in an eight-year span and made six NBA Finals appearances, including five straight from 2015-2019, along with setting an NBA record with 73 wins during the 2015-16 regular season. Myers earned the NBA Executive of the Year award in both 2014-15 and 2016-17 and is the only executive in Warriors history to earn the award multiple times and one of only five in league history to earn the honor twice in a span of three seasons. Myers’ 11-season tenure as general manager (2012-23) equals the longest stretch by a lead basketball executive in franchise history, matching Eddie Gottlieb (1952-63) and Bob Feerick (1963-74).

Per ESPN.com:

“If the team wins the championship, would you leave? I think, yes,” Myers said. He told Wojnarowski it wasn’t about money, saying he declined ownership offers on a new deal that would’ve paid him in the same range as the league’s top-earning executives. It’s not for a new position waiting for him — he said he will take a moment to sit still before making his next move.

“The bottom line is, this job, the one I’m in … requires complete engagement, a complete effort, a thousand percent, and if you can’t do it, then you shouldn’t do it,” Myers said. “So that’s the answer to the question of why. I can’t do that to our players. I can’t do that to Joe and Peter [Guber]. Really, I can’t do it to myself. And that’s the question I’ve been wrestling with.”

Scott Perry will not return as Knicks GM

Per NY Newsday:

In 2017, Scott Perry was appointed general manager of the Knicks with the responsibility of providing stability to a team that was in disarray. He succeeded in doing that, clearing the air and closing the gap as a new front office grew around him. But Newsday has discovered that Perry is not coming back because his contract is about to expire.

When Perry’s contract expires this summer, it has been confirmed by a source that he will leave. The legacy will be one of stability and success at a company that has not experienced either for 20 years.

In the wake of the Phil Jackson era, Perry teamed up with Steve Mills to provide a seasoned basketball personnel manager. Perry first helped to facilitate Carmelo Anthony’s departure, which put the franchise on a new course. As general manager, he drafted RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson and signed Julius Randle.

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2023-24 Orlando Magic preseason schedule

The Orlando Magic will open the 2023 preseason at New Orleans on Tuesday, October 10.

After playing at Cleveland on Thursday, October 12, Orlando will host its first preseason game at Amway Center on Tuesday, October 17 vs. New Orleans. Tip-off is 7 p.m.

On Friday, October 20, Orlando will host its preseason finale against Brazilian-team Flamengo. Tip-off is 7 p.m. This will mark Flamengo’s third trip all-time to Amway Center (2014, 2018) and the fourth time that the Magic and Flamengo have faced each other during the preseason. In 2015, Orlando traveled to Brazil as part of NBA Global Games Rio.

Miami Heat reach 2023 NBA Finals

Per the NY Times:

On Monday night at TD Garden, the Eastern Conference championship trophy for the NBA had made its way to the other team’s locker room. The trophy, a sterling silver replica of a basketball, was displayed atop a few packing trunks with metallic trim. The Miami Heat had earned it through a humbling 103-84 victory against the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the conference finals.

Before a late-night flight to Denver, where they will play the Nuggets for the NBA title beginning Thursday, players and staff members stood in front of the trophy while wearing N.B.A. finals hats and T-shirts to commemorate the team’s heroic struggle.

Everyone except the Heat was stunned by their resurgence as the East’s No. 8 seed. Coach Erik Spoelstra stayed with his plan even though the team was struggling throughout the regular season and losing almost as frequently as they were winning. They could get better, according to Spoelstra, if they kept their attention on the tasks at hand. It consisted of getting together after discouraging defeats, watching movies, and working hard in the gym.

“I think probably people can relate to this team,” Spoelstra said. “Professional sports is just kind of a reflection sometimes of life, that things don’t always go your way. The inevitable setbacks happen, and it’s how you deal with that collectively. There’s a lot of different ways that it can go: It can sap your spirit. It can take a team down, for whatever reason.

“With this group, it’s steeled us and made us closer and made us tougher.”

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Celtics eliminated in Game 7 of 2023 NBA Eastern Conference Finals

Per Boston.com:

The Celtics’ season came to an end in the most ideal, microcosmic way possible: they were on the cusp of something extraordinary but were unable to make the decisive step into history.

The Celtics had the appearance of a squad that should have been outstanding but never quite achieved it after their disastrous start. They were surprisingly subpar when playing the Hawks. To defeat the 76ers, they needed seven games. They lost two games at home to a Heat squad that couldn’t match their firepower, as is only natural.

On some level, it’s hard to blame the Celtics for their inability to come back from a 3-0 hole, just as it’s hard to blame them for losing the championship. After all, doing both has historically been challenging. NBA teams have attempted to come back after falling behind 3-0, but none have ever succeeded. Every year, only one squad out of 30 may claim the championship.

However, Monday’s defeat will stay with this team for a very long time, as will the Celtics’ detour from the Finals as a result of it. In recent years, the Celtics have played in a couple of those contests.

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Jayson Tatum plays hurt, struggles in Celtics Game 7 loss to Heat

Per Boston.com:

On Monday night, a rowdy and fervent TD Garden crowd was quickly quieted.

Jayson Tatum, the Celtics’ star player, collapsed to the parquet floor in agony just 34 seconds into a critical Game 7 versus the Heat.

Tatum rose to his feet and rolled his ankle on the landing while attempting to euro-step past Miami point guard Gabe Vincent.

Even though the All-NBA forward continued to play, the damage had already been done.

“I saw the video, I saw it after the game that I came down on my ankle. It’s tough, because it kind of impacted me the rest of the night,” Tatum said following Boston’s season-ending 103-84 loss to the Heat. “It swelled up and it was just frustrating that I was kind of like a shell of myself. It was tough to move. It was just frustrating, especially that [expletive] happened on the first play.”

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Jaylen Brown struggles in Celtics Game 7 loss to Heat

Per Boston.com:

“Just a terrible game when my team needed me most,” Brown said. “JT hurt his ankle first play of the game and you could see it swelling up on him. He couldn’t move out there. It was tough on him. My team turned to me to make plays and I came up short.”

Brown shot 8–23 overall, including 1–9 from three, for the game. Three more turnovers than assists were his. While he was in attack mode, the Celtics’ offense sputtered and was unable to produce enough open shots to catch Miami.

The 84 points Boston scored were its fewest in a postseason game.

“Offensively, it just seemed like we couldn’t hit a shot,” Brown said. “It put more pressure on our defense. We had a bunch of good looks and nothing went in. We all have to sit back and reflect on that.”

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New Sixers head coach will reportedly be Nick Nurse

Via ESPN.com:

According to sources who spoke to ESPN on Monday, the Philadelphia 76ers have hired Nick Nurse as their next coach and have given him the goal of leading the team to its first championship in 40 years.

Throughout Sunday and Monday, the Sixers and Phoenix Suns were negotiating with Nurse and his agent, Andy Miller of Klutch Sports, leaving Nurse to choose between two competitive teams, according to sources.

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