Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Lakers sign 20-year TV deal with Time Warner Cable

Lakers sign 20-year TV deal with Time Warner Cable

Time Warner Cable and the Los Angeles Lakers today entered into a 20-year, wide-ranging agreement for rights to distribute all locally available pre-season, regular season, and post-season Lakers games, beginning with the 2012-2013 season.

To showcase the games, Time Warner Cable will launch two regional sports networks in HD, including the nation’s first Spanish-language regional sports network, with new state-of-the-art facilities in Los Angeles, to bring fans the most compelling Lakers content using the latest technology. The networks will be available to all satellite, cable and telco distributors in the Lakers’ territory, which includes all of Southern California, Nevada and Hawaii.

The networks will include a number of elements custom-designed for Lakers fans, including:

– A single destination where Lakers fans can find all locally-televised home and away games and a variety of new and original Lakers’ content featuring behind-the-scenes, personality and classic programming.

* All Lakers games will be produced in high definition, with state-of-the-art technology and high production values in English & Spanish.  The Spanish-language channel is a stand alone RSN with its own dedicated production of game telecasts and other unique content tailored to Spanish speaking  Lakers fans – not a SAP feed.

* All games will feature pre and post-game shows produced separately in both English and Spanish.

* A Lakers news and magazine show throughout the season.

* Joint community relations initiatives.

* New online and on demand multi-platform content featuring the Lakers.

“This long-term agreement represents a huge win for all Lakers fans, providing destination channels, more content and more platforms for the Lakers, one of the premier brands in professional sports today,” said Glenn Britt, Time Warner Cable’s Chairman & CEO. “It allows us to secure great ‘must-have’ content for our customers in an advantageous arrangement that affords us greater control over our own economic destiny for decades to come.  We’ll be able to fully leverage our experience in local and regional programming; we have been at the forefront of the industry with 24-hour regional news and 24-hour regional news in Spanish, and now we’re breaking ground with the nation’s first Spanish-language regional sports network, something that’s tailor made for Southern California.”

“The Buss family is thrilled to join forces with Time Warner Cable in building the TV home for Lakers fans,” said Dr. Jerry Buss, Lakers Owner. “Time Warner Cable has been producing quality sports programming for over a decade and the Lakers have been producing championship seasons for even longer.  I am particularly proud of being part of the first ever Spanish-language RSN in the country.  Together I’m confident we will delight our fans.”

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Kings fine DeMarcus Cousins for altercation with teammate

Kings fine DeMarcus Cousins

The Sacramento Kings today fined rookie forward/center DeMarcus Cousins for his involvement in a post-game incident with Donté Greene following Saturday’s (2/12/11) contest versus the Oklahoma City Thunder. Cousins will rejoin the team and be available for Tuesday’s rematch against the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

“There is no place in the NBA for violence, either on or off the court,” said Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. “Upon investigating the events of Saturday night, we feel it is necessary to impose an appropriate fine related to DeMarcus’ behavior. We will now move forward together. We do not intend to give up on DeMarcus’ talent or potential. We look forward to watching his continued improvement and development, which has been significant since the beginning of the season.”

“I wish to apologize to my teammates, the Kings organization and Kings’ fans for my role in an unfortunate altercation between teammates,” Cousins said. “I accept full responsibility for my actions and know that I must keep raising my standard of professionalism to be my best and a great player in the NBA.”InsideHoops.com editor says: Cousins keeps living up to his pre-draft reputation and making mental/emotional mistakes. Hope it stops sometime.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Wizards win first road game of season

Getting to play the Cavaliers tends to cure whatever ills an NBA team tends to have.

After breaking their 26-game losing streak to beat the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cavs immediately returned to their losing ways and got dropped in dramatic fashion by the Wizards Sunday.

The Wizards were 0-25 on the road coming into this game.

The AP reports:

Wizards win first road game of season

Nick Young scored 31 points, John Wall had 19 points and 14 assists and Washington snapped its 25-game road winless streak with a 115-100 win Sunday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who reverted to their losing ways one game after ending their record skid.

The Wizards opened a 25-point lead in the third quarter, survived a Cleveland comeback and got their first road win since April 9 at Boston.

Antawn Jamison scored 21 and J.J. Hickson added 16 and 13 rebounds for the Cavs, who stopped their losing streak at 26 on Friday night against the Los Angeles Clippers but failed to post back-to-back wins for the second time this season.

Washington finished four losses shy of matching the league’s longest losing streak to start a season, 29 in a row by the 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks.

Blown out and embarrassed in a 118-94 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, the Wizards came out focused on getting a win outside D.C.’s city limits. They started 9 of 11 from the field and opened a 17-point lead in the first quarter on Young’s second straight three-point play.

The Cavs were down 68-46 at the half, showed some life in the third quarter but never seriously threatened the Wizards.

Point guard Mo Williams, who recently returned for Cleveland, struggled tonight, but should be worth watching over the next few games as he regains form.

Celtics F Paul Pierce will undergo MRI Monday

Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce struggled badly in a Sunday loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and didn’t look like himself. Now we may know why. Chris Forsberg of ESPN reports:

Celtics F Paul Pierce will undergo MRI Monday

After being held without a field goal over nearly 40 minutes in Sunday’s win over the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics captain Paul Pierce revealed that he is battling pain in his right hand and left ankle, the latter of which will require an MRI on Monday.

“I sprained my hand in practice [Saturday] and I hit it today,” said Pierce. “I just got to get my foot checked out [Monday], I’m going to get an MRI on it and go from there.”

Pierce missed all 10 shots he attempted Sunday, only the fourth time in his career he’s been held without a bucket and the first time since Dec. 13, 2000, when he went 0-for-7 with nine points over 31 minutes during a visit from Chicago. The only comparable shooting night of his career came on March 2, 1999, when Pierce was 0-for-11 with two points over 25 minutes in Cleveland.

Pierce definitely needs some rest, regardless of what the MRI reveals.

Kings center DeMarcus Cousins will miss Sunday game vs Suns

Sacramento Kings rookie forward/center DeMarcus Cousins will not play in tonight’s game at Phoenix while the organization reviews the situation that occurred in the locker room following last night’s game versus Oklahoma City.

According to multiple reports, Cousins got into a heated exchange with teammate Donte Green and had to be restrained.

Pacers now 7-1 under coach Frank Vogel

The Indiana Pacers are BALLIN now!

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports:

The message was written at the top of the dry erase board in the locker room, above the offensive and defensive schemes the Indiana Pacers needed to execute to get the victory. One phrase said it all.

“(Six) straight ends tonight. Our time is now.”

Message received.

The Pacers used a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter to end their losing streak to the Milwaukee Bucks, winning 103-97 at the Bradley Center on Saturday night.

“That was the only thing that was written on our board,” Pacers forward Danny Granger said. “They had beaten us six times in a row. It was good to get the win out here. We hadn’t won here in a long time.”

The victory kept the Pacers, who hadn’t beaten the Bucks since April 2009, two games up on Charlotte for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a game behind Philadelphia for seventh.

The Pacers are 7-1 under coach Frank Vogel and have scored at least 100 points in each game.

“It feels good,” center Roy Hibbert said. “It’s a team effort. What I like about this team is if we’re down, if we’re up, we stick together and find out a way to win.”

I’m convinced. The next Pacers game has been added to my DVR list.

Peja Stojakovic hits four threes, scores 22 as Mavs beat Rockets

By Jeff Lenchiner

Peja Stojakovic hits four threes, scores 22 as Mavs beat Rockets

Back 800 years ago, a guy by the name of Peja Stojakovic was a flame-thrower for the Sacramento Kings, ripping the net every night and showing perfect form with one of the league’s best-looking outside shots. Never a great all-around player, Stojakovic was a scorer, and he did it well.

Mostly forgotten about in the past few years, Stojakvoic recently became a member of the Dallas Mavericks, where at least a partial revival was expected. The team has a pretty stacked roster, and all Peja is expected to do is stand outside and hit open shots. Which he was quite good at on Saturday.The AP reports:

Peja Stojakovic is settling in with his new team, adding a valuable dimension to the Dallas Mavericks’ offense.

Stojakovic scored 22 points and broke a tie with Dale Ellis for fourth place in career 3-pointers as the Mavericks beat the Houston Rockets 106-102 on Saturday night.

Dallas acquired Stojakovic on Jan. 24, and the 3-time All-Star wasn’t in playing shape because he’d been sitting out since November. He went 1-for-11 from long range in his first three games before rediscovering his touch on Saturday night and going 4 for 6.

“I was getting good looks in the last couple of games, too, it was just that the shots wouldn’t go,” Stojakovic said. “It’s easy to play with the guys. I get so many good looks because they draw so much attention. Tonight (Saturday), I was able make them.”

Stojakovic now has 1,723 career 3s and trails only teammate Jason Kidd (1,756), Reggie Miller (2,560) and Ray Allen (2,562) in NBA history. Allen passed Miller for the lead Thursday, and Kidd wouldn’t mind at all if Stojakovic eventually leapfrogs him.

The Mavs are without Caron Butler, normally a starter. It’ll be interesting to see how effective Stojakovic remains over the course of the season, both before and after Butler’s eventual return.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Joakim Noah will return soon for Bulls

By Jeff Lenchiner

The Chicago Bulls, boasting a 35-16 record, are having a pretty great seeason considering they’ve only enjoyed the services of starting center Joakim Noah for 24 games.

Noah isn’t ready to ball just yet but may be back in action right after NBA All-Star weekend.

According to John Jackson of the Chicago Sun-Times reports (via blog):

Joakim Noah will return soon for Bulls

Joakim Noah cleared another hurdle in his recovery from surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. The 6-11 center has begun participating in half-court contact drills during practice and remains on schedule to return to the active roster immediately following the All-Star break.

“He hasn’t been cleared yet to do the (full-court) scrimmaging part, which will be the next step for him,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “What (trainer) Fred (Tedeschi) has laid out is a plan for progression. (Noah) is cleared for contact and the next phase will be total contact.”

That final phase could come as early as Monday when the Bulls return to the Berto Center for their first practice following the nearly two-week road trip that wraps up tonight against the New Orleans Hornets.

In the games he did play earlier in the season, Noah averaged 14.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.6 blocks per outing.

Cavs win! 26-game Cavaliers losing streak ends

By Jeff Lenchiner

Cleveland Cavaliers Forward Antawn Jamison (4) scores during 1st half action against The Miami Heat at the American Airlines Arena, in Miami Florida, December 15, 2010. UPI/Susan Knowles... Photo via Newscom

The Cleveland Cavaliers 26-game losing streak ended Friday night at home with a 126-119 overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Cavs forward Antawn Jamison led with 11-of-20 shooting for 35 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Center J.J. Hickson shot 12-of-19 for 27 points and 14 rebounds, though he had one assist with seven turnovers. And today’s game marked the return of usual starting point guard Mo Williams, who came off the bench and took 18 shots for 17 points and 14 assists with just two turnovers.

In the loss for the Clippers, Blake Griffin had 32 points and 13 rebounds, Baron Davis had 26 points and seven assists, and Randy Foye scored 23.

According to the Associated Press, “Antawn Jamison scored 35 points and made the game’s biggest basket, a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left in OT for the Cavs. Daniel Gibson scored 10 in overtime and J.J. Hickson, playing like a man possessed all night in a matchup with Blake Griffin, added 27 points and 14 rebounds. The Clippers quickly cut a six-point deficit to 120-119 on Randy Foye’s 3 with 44 seconds to go. But Jamison responded by popping outside and draining his 3 from the left wing to revive the hopes of Cleveland fans, whose emotions went up and down all night.”

Prior to tonight’s victory, the Cavs had not won since beating the New York Knicks 109-102 in Cleveland on December 18. And before that, they hadn’t won since November 27 when, playing at home, they beat the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Cavaliers host the Washington Wizards Sunday and the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday as they try to build upon tonight’s short burst of much-needed success.