Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Clippers coach Doc Rivers sends Glen Davis to locker room during game

Here’s ESPN Los Angeles reporting on the Clippers, who on Saturday treated Big Baby Glen Davis like a big baby:

Los Angeles Clippers forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis was sent back to the team’s locker room by coach Doc Rivers with 10:21 left in the second quarter and missed the rest of Saturday night’s game for disciplinary issues.

Davis was visibly upset as he walked toward the team bench after being taken out of the game for Ryan Hollins in the 118-107 win over the Houston Rockets.

Davis exchanged words with Rivers and was told to sit down. Clippers assistant coach Alvin Gentry attempted to talk to Davis, but Rivers apparently had seen and heard enough and told team security to escort Davis back to the locker room.

“Nothing went on with me,” Rivers said after the game. “I thought Baby was just too emotional, and for me, if you’re too emotional I always send you back to the locker room and keep you back there until the next game. I love Baby. I just didn’t think emotionally he was ready to play tonight, so we told him to go to the locker room.”

76ers losing streak ends at 26 losses

Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting on the 76ers, who were on a 26-game losing streak but finally won a game Saturday, beating the Detroit Pistons:

Break up the 76ers.

OK, maybe it’s early for that. But their 26-game, record-tying losing streak came to an end Saturday night. Dominating from start to finish, the Sixers defeated the Detroit Pistons, 123-98, at the Wells Fargo Center.

They improved to 16-57 while winning their first game since besting the Boston Celtics on Jan. 29. It was their first home victory since topping the Charlotte Bobcats on Jan. 15. Since then, they had lost 18 straight at Wells Fargo.

The Sixers downplayed the victory.

“It’s just like another win,” reserve guard Tony Wroten said. “It’s the NBA. You all are talking about the pressure. We weren’t worried about a streak. We were just trying to get better every day.”

Sixers coach Brett Brown said he never mentioned the losing streak to his team.

“I never went into a room and said, ‘We have to get out of the streak,’ ” he said. “We talked about, ‘Let’s bang out great days.’ I’m glad tonight that the win validates that.”

Jermaine O`Neal sticks up for coach Mark Jackson

Here’s the San Jose Mercury News reporting on the Golden State Warriors:

Warriors veteran big man Jermaine O’Neal called any talk of firing coach Mark Jackson “ridiculous” and “unfair” before offering a vote of confidence unique to his own NBA career.

O’Neal is considering retirement, and if the 35-year-old were to decide to play next season, he said it would be because of Jackson and that the team he would choose would be the Warriors.

“It’s a couple reasons why I will come back,” O’Neal said Saturday. “This fan base, this organization is first class, and obviously my teammates are great, as well.

“But the No. 1 reason that I will come back and play another year is because of Coach Jackson. I’m absolutely, 100 percent positive about that. He makes it easy to come in this gym every day, and there’s not a lot of coaches that do that.”

Nikola Pekovic, still hurting, back for Wolves

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting:

Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic had his list of answers mentally prepared when he returned to action and the starting lineup Friday after six games away injured.

“No, no, let me figure,” he told reporters. “Yes, I will play tonight. No, I don’t know if they limit me to minutes or not. Yes, I still feel pain. What else?”

Pekovic played for the first time since March 16 because of a lingering condition that the team once called bursitis and now just lists as “sore.” He scored a game-high 26 points in 21-plus minutes as the Wolves blew out the Los Angeles Lakers 143-107.

When asked why Friday was the proper night for his return, Pekovic replied: “Why not? I still got some pain there, maybe a little less than before so I said I’ll just try to play until the end of the season.”

Knicks get blown out by Suns, 112-88

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on the Knicks, who despite their 30-43 record still have a shot at making the playoffs:

In the immortal words of Phil Jackson, “just awful.”

That phrase, uttered by Jackson following the Knicks’ dreadful performance against the Lakers Tuesday night, applies to just about everything Mike Woodson’s team did on Friday night. From Raymond Felton’s defense to the Knicks’ idea of being in a playoff race, Mike Woodson’s team continues to make a compelling case for why it doesn’t deserve a postseason berth.

“We weren’t ready for them,” Carmelo Anthony said following the Suns’ 112-88 victory. “We weren’t prepared for them and they ran us out of the gym. We didn’t fight. We didn’t have it and they had it in all aspects of the game.”

The Knicks (30-43) have now lost three of their last four and are now two full games behind the Atlanta Hawks with nine games remaining starting with Sunday against Golden State.

“If you ask me, I think we can win all nine games,” said Amar’e Stoudemire, trying to sound optimistic.