Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Mike Krzyzewski will not continue to coach USA Basketball

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will not return to coach USA Basketball after the Blue Devils’ season, he said Tuesday.

Talking in a phone interview with ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike in the Morning”, Krzyzewski said USA Basketball will likely name his successor this summer in preparation for the 2014 world championships in Madrid.

“I’ve loved, loved, loved, and it’s been an honor being with the USA Basketball team,” Krzyzewski said. “And to coach the team and work with [chairman and president Jerry Colangelo] for seven years has been marvelous.

“And we’re in a good spot,” Krzyzewski added. “We need to keep building.”

— Reported by ESPN.com

Beno Udrih is thrilled to be with the Orlando Magic

beno udrih

In Orlando, Udrih already has a comfort level with coach Jacque Vaughn, who was his teammate in 2006-07 with the San Antonio Spurs.

“I’ve been here three days, and I’ve already felt more at home than I did in Milwaukee for a year and a half,” Udrih said Monday.

“It was just a bad situation there. I’m a professional and I’m a man, so I like to be told straight-up what they expect from me. So, in Milwaukee, that never happened. They were saying, ‘Yeah, yeah, we know. We’ve got to play you a little bit more.’ But it never happened. So when I did get into the game I didn’t know what they actually wanted to do, so I was just trying to find it myself, and I never did.”

“I wanted a change. I wanted a new start, so I’m really happy to be here. I know Jacque and J.B. [James Borrego], the assistant coach. It’s just a really exciting moment for me and my wife.”

— Reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel

Sebastian Telfair is content to get out of Phoenix, come to Raptors

sebastian telfair

Dating all the way back to the franchise’s expansion draft, when B.J. Armstrong said he would prefer not to play in Toronto, there has always been a concern with the Raptors that players did not want to play for them.

Well, Sebastian Telfair, acquired before Thursday’s trade deadline, is happy to be a Raptor. He has already seen dysfunction this season.

“This is my ninth year in the league so I definitely don’t want to go through anything like we were going through in Phoenix,” Telfair, who will suit up for his first game as a Raptor on Monday against Washington, said. “You’ve got a goal to win and if you’re not winning you at least want to be out there competing at the highest level. We weren’t doing that over there in Phoenix this year. I’m happy to be a part of a team that got a goal for themselves and night in and night out they’ve got something to achieve.”

Indeed, the Suns are one of the most depressing teams in the league. They are last in the Western Conference, have a roster that is low on talent and have gone through a coaching change.

— Reported by Eric Koreen of the National Post

Amare Stoudemire OK with 30 minutes per game limit

amare stoudemire

With Amar’e Stoudemire continuing to play well since his Jan. 1 return from knee surgery, the question has intensified: Why are his minutes still maxed out at 30?

That was the feeling after Tuesday’s practice as Stoudemire was coming off his best performance of the season — a season-high 22 points on 9-for-10 shooting in the Knicks’ win over the 76ers on Sunday night.

But Mike Woodson remained adamant that 30 is the time limit — a decision he said has been made by the team’s medical staff — and that is fine by Stoudemire.

“I have no problem with that,” the power forward said. “You can be very productive in 30 minutes and so that’s my motto right now — to really come out and be aggressive and efficient in 30 minutes. I think it’s more so just about playing smart basketball offensively.”

Woodson said the playing-time restriction will only benefit Stoudemire down the road.

— Reported by Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York

Pau Gasol no longer using crutches

pau gasol

In a sign that the torn plantar fascia in his right foot has somewhat healed, Lakers forward Pau Gasol revealed in a tweet Tuesday that he’s no longer nursing crutches.

Gasol injured his foot in the Lakers’ win Feb. 8 over the Brooklyn Nets and was declared out for a minimum of six to eight weeks. Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni suggested that it’s possible Gasol won’t return until the Lakers will know their playoff aspirations.

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)

A look at Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe

A look at Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe

He’s always had the athletic gifts, but now he’s started to develop point guard habits, finding open cutters and shooters, connecting with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan for lobs. He looks much more comfortable controlling the offense than ever before.

Bledsoe has been a statistical anomaly so far this season. His per-36 minute stats are in line with his starting numbers, suggesting he could be an All-Star candidate with increased playing time.

He started — and performed well — during Paul’s recent injury stint. He averages 18.5 minutes with Paul having returned to the starting lineup. With more traditional shooting guards on the roster — Jamal Crawford, Willie Green and now a healthy Chauncey Billups — Vinny Del Negro has opted to mainly deploy Bledsoe at point guard, and rarely alongside Paul.

“I just come in and provide that spark that we need to get everybody involved,” Bledsoe said.

“He’s a good defensive player. He likes to play center field and gamble,” Memphis Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins said after a recent loss to the Paul-less Clippers. “He’s got great quickness and great athleticism. … Just that aspect of his game, his athleticism, is what creates problems.”

Though he’s generously listed at 6-foot-1, Bledsoe has a deceptively long 6-foot-7 wingspan and a 40-inch vertical, allowing him to steal passes and block shots most players his size aren’t capable of reaching. “Bledsoe is a very good pressure guy,” Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said earlier this season. “If you turn your back on him and expose the ball at all, they’re going to get it.”

— Reported by Jovan Buha of ESPN Los Angeles

Stoudemire OK with bench role while Knicks win

amare stoudemire

Amar’e Stoudemire has said all the right things about coming off the bench, but that has been easier to do given how much the Knicks were winning. Should the Knicks go cold, however, as they did in the four games prior to Sunday’s win, Stoudemire hinted he might not be so thrilled about it.

“As long as we’re winning. If we keep winning then we’re good,” said Stoudemire, who scored 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting. “When you start losing a little bit then you start thinking about it.”

Kenyon Martin was on the game day roster for the Knicks for the first time Sunday, but Mike Woodson wasn’t prepared to get him some court time just yet.

— Reported by Seth Walder of the New York Daily News

Suns not using Shannon Brown lately

shannon brown

Suns guard Shannon Brown is having his second consecutive career-high scoring season and runs little risk of that changing because he is not playing.

A roster lacking the talent to compete afforded Brown the opportunity to average 11.2 points because of the lack of creative scorers, but it also has sent the Suns staff in search of a new mix without Brown.

Brown did not play in any of last week’s three games and was not in the rotation again Sunday night against San Antonio after playing the first 53 games this season.

“I honestly don’t think what’s going on is supposed to be going on,” Brown said. “I really can’t do much about it but stay in shape and keep my mental (approach) strong and continue to work on my game, and hopefully things will get better for me.”

— Reported by Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic

Lamar Odom continues to struggle on offense

lamar odom

[Clippers forward Lamar] Odom is in shape now after struggling with his conditioning earlier in the season.

He’s rebounding the ball well — Odom is third on the Clippers in rebounds per game (5.8) while playing 20.3 minutes per game.

It’s his lack of offense that has caused so much consternation among his teammates, coaches and Clippers fans.

Odom is averaging a career-low 3.9 points while shooting 39.7% from the field, the second-lowest percentage of his career.

“It takes time and it’s humbling,” Odom said. “All you can do is keep at it.

“I just stayed with it. You don’t have no choice but to get better when you practice every day against Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan and Jamal [Crawford]. Everything that we do is intense. So time will come and hopefully it can stay.”

— Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times