Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Utah Jazz to announce D-League affiliation with Idaho

Here’s the Deseret News reporting on the Utah Jazz:

General manager Dennis Lindsey and team president Randy Rigby will travel to Boise, Idaho, on Tuesday morning to make what a press release forwarded from the Utah Jazz described as a “major announcement” regarding the future of basketball in Treasure Valley.

In other words, the Jazz and Idaho Stampede are finally going to announce what has previously been reported: They’re joining together in an exclusive one-on-one affiliation.

This will be the third time Utah and Idaho have been partners, although this time the Jazz will be the Stampede’s only NBA affiliate.

Dwyane Wade fined for flopping in NBA Finals Game 2

michael redd

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade has been fined $5,000 by the NBA for violating the league’s anti-flopping rules during Game 2 of the 2014 NBA Finals.

The flop was easily visible even in real time, and became blatantly obvious when shown repeatedly in slow-motion replay.

The incident occurred with 4:09 remaining in the second quarter of Miami’s 98-96 win over the San Antonio Spurs last night at AT&T Center.

To view the play click on this link.

Rick Fox a Knicks coaching candidate?

Here’s New York Newsday reporting on the Knicks search for a new head coach:

Rick Fox a Knicks coaching candidate?

If Derek Fisher turns down Phil Jackson, it’s possible another ex-Laker could be the Knicks’ next coach.

Rick Fox revealed in an interview with NBC Sports Radio that he is a candidate for the Knicks opening.

“I’ve been a candidate for a while and what I’m comfortable communicating is that there’s really nothing for me to do,” Fox said Monday. “Phil has expressed his interest, and the patience for him discovering who is right for that job is left in his court.”

Fox, an analyst on NBA TV and SiriusXM NBA Radio, expressed his desire to coach the Knicks a couple of weeks ago. He won three championships playing for Jackson with the Lakers and knows the ins and outs of the triangle offense.

Spurs say improvement must come from offense

Here’s the Miami Herald reporting on the Spurs vs Heat 2014 NBA Finals, which are currently tied at 1-1.

Spurs say improvement must come from offense

Even after a Game 2 in which LeBron James scored 35 points and the Heat shot 52.9 percent from the field, it was notable that the Spurs pointed to the offensive end as the area of their shortcomings on Sunday.

Guard Danny Green said the Spurs can live with the shots they gave James: “They were contested jumpers. You’re not going to block his jump shot. We didn’t expect him to shoot that well, but he got hot.”

Tim Duncan said he “thought we were pretty decent” defensively.

What wasn’t acceptable, coach Gregg Popovich said, was the lack of ball movement. “The ball stuck,” he said. “We didn’t do it as a group. We tried to do it individually, and we’re not good enough to do that. You move it or you die.”

Heat point guards not doing much in 2014 NBA Finals yet

Here’s the Miami Herald reporting on Heat and Spurs 2014 NBA Finals series:

Heat point guards not doing much in 2014 NBA Finals yet

Nine NBA Finals games between the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat over the last two summers have shown us the stars need assistance to win the series, even if you’ve got the best player on the planet on your side.

The defending champs squeezed by the Spurs in a 98-96 Game 2 win on Sunday night, evening the series and avoiding their first two-game playoff losing streak in more than two years. But they did so without much help from two point guards that have been so valuable in years past.

Mario Chalmers scored five points and Norris Cole didn’t dent the scoreboard, but the team’s starting point guard said it hasn’t yet become a concern.

“Game 1, I was in foul trouble the whole time, but today I got into a little bit of a rhythm,” Chalmers said, dismissing the idea that playing the first two games on the road makes a difference. “But our job is really to contain Tony Parker and hit shots when we get shots.”

Manu Ginobili leads Spurs bench brigade in losing cause

Here’s the Miami Herald reporting on the Heat-Spurs NBA Finals:

Manu Ginobili leads Spurs bench brigade in losing cause

The San Antonio Spurs sported the highest-scoring bench in the NBA during the regular season.

Spurs reserves lived up to that billing Sunday night, but it wasn’t enough to save them as LeBron James and the Heat evened their best-of-7 NBA Finals with a 98-96 victory in Game 2 at AT&T Center.

The Spurs’ bench outscored the Heat’s reserves 37-12. On most nights, that would have been enough to guarantee a victory.

But this wasn’t most nights.

James, bouncing back from his Game 1 disappointment — when he was forced to sit out the final four minutes with leg cramps after an air-conditioning failure — erupted for 35 points and 10 rebounds.

Heat ready to bounce back in Finals Game 2

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on the Heat, who are down 1-0 to the Spurs in the 2014 NBA Finals. Game 2 is Sunday night in San Antonio:

The last time the Miami Heat lost consecutive playoff games, Ray Allen played for the opposition, Chris Bosh played off the bench, and James Jones was the first reserve off that bench.

Since then, since that June 5, 2012 Eastern Conference finals loss to the Boston Celtics, every Heat playoff loss has been followed with a victory. Every one.

While the sting remains from Thursday’s 110-95 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of these best-of-seven NBA Finals, the Heat go into Sunday’s Game 2 at the AT&T Center having followed up each of their last 12 playoff losses with a victory. It is the longest such streak in the NBA since the Chicago Bulls had a similar 12-victory run that ended in 1992.

“I think this team, when we are faced with those situations, being in this so many times before, it brings out the best in us,” center Chris Bosh said before Saturday’s practice at the Spurs’ practice facility. “We’ve been in this position many times before, so we know how to handle it.”

Three times during last year’s Finals against the Spurs the Heat responded from losses with victories in winning their second consecutive championship, including such a response after losing their first road game of that series at the AT&T Center.

Delonte West will reportedly play for 2014 Clippers summer league team

Here’s CSNNW reporting on the Clippers and former NBA guard Delonte West, who apparently wants back into the league:

Delonte West may play for 2014 Clippers summer league team

After two full years out of the league, veteran guard Delonte West is making the bold, necessary pivotal step towards resurrecting his NBA career by electing to participate in the Las Vegas Summer League and reaching an agreement to suit up for the Los Angeles Clippers, league sources informed CSNNW.com.

His unwavering desire to once again play at the highest level is a goal he’s fixated on procuring for next season, one of the sources explained. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity due to an official announcement yet to be made by the team.

Clippers head coach and Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations, Doc Rivers, has always been fond of West as a player and a person dating back to when he coached him as head coach of the Boston Celtics.

Marco Belinelli says Popovich is cooler than Thibodeau

I know you’re all sitting out there thinking about how cool Gregg Popovich and Tom Thibodeau are. It’s a pretty standard topic to sit pondering about. But which of the two is cooler? Here is the Chicago Sun-Times reporting on Spurs guard Marco Belinelli as he discusses Popovich (his current coach) and Bulls coach Thibodeau (his former coach):

Marco Belinelli says Popovich is cooler than Thibodeau

Both are driven, defensive-oriented winners. All that appears to separate the two are Popovich’s four championships, and he’s three games away from a fifth after the Spurs beat the Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.

But Spurs reserve Marco Belinelli, who played under Thibodeau with the Bulls last season, offered up a different perspective. Apparently, their jewelry collection isn’t all that sets them apart.

Popovich might be the more likely of the two to grab a beer and shoot the breeze.

“They are different a little bit,” Belinelli said. “Thibodeau is a great coach, but maybe Pop is more like a cool guy. He wants to speak with you, have a conversation, speak about everything, not just basketball.”

Not that chitchatting with your players leads to victories.

Belinelli found a comfort zone in Popovich’s system and has improved his offensive efficiency from a season ago.