NBA Teams – Page 1306 – NBA Blog

Steve Nash mostly a shooting guard for Lakers

Steve Nash went to get the ball because, well, Nash has always had the ball in his hands.

Midway through the first quarter Friday night, as Earl Clark picked up the ball to inbound it, Nash held up his hands as Clark looked at him and Kobe Bryant, who was holding up his hands as well. Clark ended up passing it to Nash, who immediately gave the ball to Bryant and ran down the court toward the right arc.

This is Nash’s new role with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is no longer one of the league’s best point guards, but rather its newest shooting guard.

Sure there are still moments when Nash will bring up the ball depending on defensive adjustments by the opposition, but more often than not, Nash is patrolling the perimeter and waiting for Bryant to get him the ball.

“It’s a big adjustment for me and I am trying to embrace it,” Nash said. “I’m trying to do what I can to help the team. It’s not something I’m accustomed. It’s been a difficult transition in some ways, but at the same time I love being here and I really want to help the team the best I can.”

— Reported by Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles

Brandan Wright hopes to remain with Mavericks

Because Dallas is the place where his career took off, center Brandan Wright would like to re-sign with the Mavericks when he becomes a free agent this summer.

Originally signed as a free agent by the Mavs on Dec. 9, 2011, Wright is appreciative that owner Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson, the team’s president of basketball operations, gave him a chance to find his game.

Wright played with the Golden State Warriors from 2007 until he played 16 games for the New Jersey Nets in the latter half of the 2010-’11 campaign.

Wright then hooked up with the Mavs, where he has been mostly healthy following an injury-proned start to his career.

— Reported by Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Greg Oden is interested in signing with Cavs

Oden attended the Cavs’ game Friday as a guest of Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley Jr., his best friend since childhood – yet wound up in Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s baseline seats adjacent the Cavs’ bench.

Gilbert wasn’t in attendance Friday, so arena personnel invited Oden to move down from his original seats five rows behind the Cavs’ bench. It was a fascinating scene, given the negotiations between the Cavs and Oden’s agent – who also happens to be Conley’s father.

Oden was showed on the video board twice during the game as fans cheered and said he is still interested in playing for the Cavs despite not signing a contract yet.

“I live in Ohio. It’s home now,” Oden said. “They have a great organization and I really do think they’re up and coming.”

— Reported by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal

Brandon Jennings would be fine with facing Heat in first round of playoffs

Bucks guard Brandon Jennings made a rather startling observation after practice Friday.

While he wants the Bucks to move up in the playoff seedings if possible, he said it’s OK with him to face the top-seeded Miami Heat in the first round. That’s the Heat, as in the streaking team that has won 16 straight games entering a home game against Philadelphia on Friday.

“The two games that we played Miami so far, we matched up well against them,” Jennings said. “If you ask me, that’s who I would want to play first round, Miami.

“Just the fact over the years, a lot of the games have gone down to the wire with us and Miami. Right now we haven’t really played well against the Knicks. I just feel better if we play Miami first round, just the fact we have good games against them.

“I don’t know if it’s because they’re the champs or what, but we always play harder against Miami.”

— Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

David Stern thinks Seattle offer for Kings is better than new Sacramento offer

Last week, a triumphant Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson announced a potential Kings purchase group had submitted a fair and competitive offer to keep the team in town. Friday night, NBA Commissioner David Stern said no, not quite.

Speaking to the news media before a Golden State Warriors game in Oakland, the commissioner delivered a bombshell, saying a Sacramento group’s counteroffer to buy the team does not measure up in dollars to a tentative deal the Kings recently signed with a group that hopes to move the team to Seattle.

“The counter bid has got very strong financial people behind it, but it is not quite there in comparison to the Seattle bid,” Stern said. “There is a substantial variance.”

The commissioner declined to say how far short the Sacramento bid fell of the reported $341 million Seattle offer for a 65 percent share of the team.

— Reported by Tony Bizjak, Dale Kasler and Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee

Bulls GM denies that there is a rift between team and Derrick Rose

Bulls GM denies rift between team and Derrick Rose

Chicago Bulls general manager Gar Forman denied Saturday that there is any kind of communications rift between Derrick Rose’s camp and the organization regarding the return date for the all-star guard from his knee injury.

“We talk all the time. We have been in communication throughout the whole process. High-level communication,” Forman told the Tribune before scouting the DePaul-Pittsburgh game at Allstate Arena.

Published comments from Rose’s older brother Reggie were critical of the Bulls organization for not adding more pieces before the trade deadline. But Forman insists the two camps remain in contact.

“From Day One, the communication has been consistent and it has been very encouraging. There have been no setbacks and (Rose) continues to make progress,” he said.

Forman said he would not comment on an ESPNChicago.com report that attributed a source as saying Rose has medical clearance to resume playing after suffering a torn ACL 10 months ago.

“I don’t comment on what a source says,” Forman replied.

— Reported by Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune

Miami Heat clinch playoff berth with 17th straight victory

With 22 games remaining in the regular season, the NBA’s defending champion Miami Heat became the first team to clinch a postseason berth.

Miami also extended its winning streak to 17 games with a 102-93 victory over Philadelphia Friday night in front of 20,029 at AmericanAirlines Arena.

The victory tied the Clippers’ 17-game win streak from Nov. 28-Dec. 30, 2012, as the longest such stretch in the league this season.

Down by one point with 11:45 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Heat scored 10 straight points to take control. Seven different Heat players scored in the final 12 minutes.

Opponents have now recorded 100 points or more in the past three games against the Sixers after accomplishing the feat only twice in 14 games prior. As a team, Miami outscored Philadelphia 60-38 in the paint as well as 55-42 in the second half.

— Reported by the Sports Xchange

Jeremy Lin getting few fourth-quarter minutes lately for Rockets

After spending another fourth quarter on the bench, Rockets guard Jeremy Lin said he understood Rockets coach Kevin McHale sticking with Patrick Beverley at point guard, even if watching in close games is still not easy.

“Every player understands it’s just a matter of riding the hot hand,” Lin said. “For me, or any athlete it’s just a matter of not getting too high or too low. I feel like in the time I’m out there, I’m playing my brand of basketball. I’m happy about that. Whatever time I get, I have to keep playing the way I play. At this point, we’re making this playoff push. We’re really trying to get these wins.

“It’s hard for any athlete to sit there when it matters. It’s not about individual egos right now. Obviously, everyone wants to be out there. One through 15 everybody wants to be out there, but that’s just not the way it works sometimes. It’s just buying into the team. We really are a team, we enjoy being around each other. That makes it easy to sacrifice for each other.”

Lin has not played in the fourth quarter of the Rockets’ past three games, sitting out late in close games against the Magic and Mavericks and in the home rout against the Mavericks. Rockets center Omer Asik also sat out the fourth quarter against the Mavericks, but also said he was unconcerned with his own playing time.

— Reported by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle

Chauncey Billups and Denver still share love

He’s forever Denver’s.

“At guard, from Park Hill Colorado, No. 1, Chauncey Billups!”

And as in the glory days of 2009, the Pepsi Center crowd cheered with pride.

Chauncey was back home Thursday night, and PA announcer Kyle Speller gave the Clippers guard a special shout-out during pregame introductions.

Billups plays for Los Angeles, but he’s always this town’s guy, a former George Washington High School standout who starred at Colorado and had two stints with the Nuggets, the second featuring a trip to the 2009 conference finals.

“I just think Chauncey’s a winner — he’s a class human being, he cares about the game, he cares about the city of Denver,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “He’s just one of those guys, whenever he retires, I’m sure the Nuggets will figure out how he can be part of the Nuggets organization if he wants to be part of the Nuggets.”

— Reported by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post

Nuggets love fast-break basketball

The Nuggets, led by the super speedy Ty Lawson, are really fast. Denver entered Thursday’s home game against the Clippers as the No. 1 team in the NBA with 19.7 fast-break points, 57.7 points in the paint and ranked second to the Clippers with 19.5 points off turnovers.

Asked about defending this type of offensive onslaught, Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said, “You have to load up, and when our guys shoot 3s, we have to start getting back, especially if you are in the corner you have to start sprinting back and loading up and finding a man. It doesn’t particularly have to be your man, but you have to stop the ball and find where the threats are. It can’t be a once in a while thing; it has to be every time.”

I asked George if there’s a certain way to coach hustle, notably with his big men. Here’s how he put it:

“The best way to coach it is, they get rewarded if they stay on the court if they run and they don’t stay on the court if they don’t,” Karl said. “That’s the simple philosophy. Big guys have to run and rebound, and if they don’t, we play small.”

— Reported by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post