Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Miami Heat off to a modest start this season

The Miami Heat are just 13-15 so far this season. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel on the team’s modest start:

The expectations have been muted.

Depth that had been considered a Miami Heat strength entering the season largely has proven to be something considerably less.

Part of it has been injuries. Part of it has been the shift of 2021-22 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro into the starting lineup, with energetic former reserve Caleb Martin now also a starter.

So these days, even the small steps are celebrated, such as Monday night’s 87-82 victory over the Indiana Pacers, when the Heat’s three-man bench of Max Strus, Dewayne Dedmon and Victor Oladipo combined for 20 points.

While hardly overwhelming, it was a step forward, considering it provided the Heat with nearly a quarter of the team’s scoring and that the trio outscored Indiana’s bench.

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Sixers center Joel Embiid is doing it his own way in a monster of a season

Via the Philly Voice:

If Joel Embiid has a defining trait, there’s a case to be made it is defiance. In a league filled with stars who threw themselves into basketball and basketball only for most of their lives, it is a former soccer and volleyball player often shining brightest. Instead of giving canned answers and following the path of many of the league’s best, he says what he thinks, whether the results are funny, enraging, or misinterpreted by people who don’t have the time to listen to a full quote.

And then there’s his game, never quite what a lot of people want from him. He is a big man in a league tilting more toward little men, a jump shooter for a fanbase that has so often demanded more paint touches. And in a 53-point classic against Charlotte, he did what few big men are able to do, which is to say, absolutely everything.

“He literally scored in every way you can possibly score a basketball tonight,” Doc Rivers said on Sunday. “Even the last play was a slot drive, and we do that drill every day but we do it for the guards. I don’t think we’ve ever done it for bigs. Maybe we need to add that now because that was terrific.”

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Larry Nance Jr. playing well as reserve for Pelicans

Via the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

The Pelicans are in first place in the Western Conference. They have ripped off seven straight wins without an injured Brandon Ingram, a winning streak they can attribute to [Zion] Williamson playing like a superstar and their depth, of which Nance is a major part of.

[Larry Nance Jr.] has been one of the NBA’s most valuable reserves this season. He is averaging 9.5 points on 66.4% shooting, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1 steal and 0.9 blocks in 23 minutes. The Pelicans are blasting opponents with him on the floor, outscoring other teams by 11.6 points per 100 possessions.

Pelicans coach Willie Green has chose to use Nance primarily at center. He has spent 90% of his minutes at that position, according to Cleaning the Glass. The Pelicans can switch every ball screen when he’s at center in what they call their “red” defense.

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Encouraging results for Warriors from G League game

Via the San Jose Mercury News:

A trio of young Warriors players led the Santa Cruz Warriors to a 122-111 win over the Oklahoma City Blue Sunday afternoon at Kaiser Permanente Arena.

James Wiseman tallied 24 points and 16 rebounds on assignment from the NBA’s Warriors, while Ryan Rollins led Santa Cruz with 26 points, adding nine rebounds and seven assists. First-round pick Patrick Baldwin added 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting (6-of-9 from 3).

All five Santa Cruz starters scored in double digits as Lester Quinones, Wiseman’s college teammate at Memphis, added 20 points and Jerome Robinson scored 16.

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Former NBA star player and coach Paul Silas has passed away

STATEMENT FROM CHARLOTTE HORNETS CHAIRMAN MICHAEL JORDAN

Charlotte Hornets Chairman Michael Jordan released the following statement today regarding the passing of former Head Coach Paul Silas:

“Our Hornets family mourns the passing of Paul Silas. Paul was an incredible leader and motivator who served as our head coach on two occasions. He combined the knowledge developed over nearly 40 years as an NBA player and coach with an innate understanding of how to mix discipline with his never-ending positivity. On or off the court, Paul’s enthusiastic and engaging personality was accompanied by an anecdote for every occasion. He was one of the all-time great people in our game, and he will be missed. My thoughts, and the thoughts of our entire organization, are with his wife, Carolyn; his children, Paula and Stephen; and the entire Silas family.”

ABOUT PAUL SILAS

Paul Silas spent eight seasons with the Charlotte Hornets across two different stints with the franchise. During his first tenure, in which he spent two-and-a-half seasons as an assistant coach before becoming interim head coach to conclude the 1998-99 season, he posted a record of 161-120 (.573). In each of his three full seasons, the Hornets won at least 44 games and made the playoffs, advancing to the second round in both 2000-01 and 2001-02. He returned to Charlotte to once again become interim head coach during the 2010-11 season and remained the team’s head coach in 2011-12.

Silas ranks third in franchise history in games coached (401), games won (193) and winning percentage (.481), and is the all-time leader in each of the three categories for playoff games with an overall record of 11-12 (.478) in 23 games total. He is the only head coach in franchise history to lead the team to three playoff appearances and two Eastern Conference Semifinals appearances. The team’s three straight playoff berths from 1999-2000 through 2001-02 is the only time in franchise history that the Hornets have gone to the playoffs in three straight seasons.

Following four years at Creighton in which he became one of only five players in NCAA history to average more than 20 points and 20 rebounds in his college career, Silas played 16 seasons in the NBA, where he was a three-time NBA Champion (1973-74 Celtics, 1975-76 Celtics and 1978-79 SuperSonics) and a two-time NBA All-Star (1971-72 and 1974-75). He retired after the 1979-80 season and immediately became head coach of the San Diego Clippers, spending three seasons in the role. In 12 seasons overall as an NBA head coach, Silas had a career record of 387-488 (.442).

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS STATEMENT ON PAUL SILAS

Paul Silas served as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2003-05. His engaging presence and huge personality inspired legions of NBA players and coaches. We send our deepest condolences to the Silas family and everyone that loved him. Rest in power Coach!

Hawks guard Dejounte Murray injury update: ankle sprain

Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray, who suffered a left ankle injury during the first quarter of last night’s game at New York, underwent an MRI earlier today in New York. The MRI confirmed a left ankle sprain with associated swelling.

Murray will be out approximately two weeks and his return to play will be updated as appropriate.

Jazz guard Collin Sexton injury update: mild hamstring strain

The following is a medical update on Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton:

Sexton was examined Thursday by the Utah Jazz medical staff and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) testing. The MRI revealed a mild hamstring strain in his right leg. He will be reevaluated in one week.

Sexton (6-1, 192, Alabama) is in his fifth NBA season and first with Utah, where he’s averaging 14.3 points on 49.3 percent from the field, 3.0 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per contest during the 2022-23 season.

Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert set for return to Utah

Tomorrow, Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert will face his former team, the Jazz, as a visitor in Utah for the first time. Via the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Gobert said he has never been in the visitor’s locker room of the arena, and Friday is going to feel at least a little “weird.” The Wolves already faced the Jazz in Minnesota, and that was different for Gobert, but Friday he’ll a crowd that used to cheer him on for nearly a decade.

“I just want to enjoy the moment,” Gobert said. “There’s a lot of people that I have a lot of love for over there. There’s a lot of great memories. … I just want to enjoy the moment and, of course, get a win.”

Gobert helped the Wolves do that Wednesday against Indiana when he hit the go-ahead free throws and came up with a game-saving block on Buddy Hield to seal the win. Those plays were a part of Gobert’s 16-point, 21-rebound night.

It was one of Gobert’s best games in Minnesota, a game in which he might have been able to win over some of his teammates’ trust. Also on his side were the fans, who serenaded him with chants of “Rudy, Rudy,” in the final moments.

The Jazz are 15-12 this season, while the Timberwolves are 12-12.

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The latest on the Raptors

Via the Toronto Star:

One of the consistently overrated things that can happen in the course of an up-and-down NBA season is the impact that “players-only meetings” have on a team.

In the wake of a gathering of Raptors last week after an ugly loss in Brooklyn, a little group chat took place.

It wasn’t huge nor was it particularly contentious and even though they’ve played better since that night, putting too much stock in the meeting is wrong.

“Just talking things out,” one player said this week.

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