NBA Teams – Page 2087 – NBA Blog

Kings let Kenny Natt and entire coaching staff go

Sacramento Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie announced today that the team has decided not to pick up the option on Kenny Natt’s contract for next season, thus relieving him of his coaching duties. In a related move, assistant coaches Rex Kalamian, Jason Hamm, Randy Brown and Bubba Burrage were also relieved of their existing coaching responsibilities.

There are rumors that Sacramento may have interest in former Washington Wizards coach Eddie Jordan.

The Kings are in rebuilding mode. They have a big-time scorer (Kevin Martin), a few decent young big-men (Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson) and a well-paid point guard who underperformed this season (Beno Udrih), and not a lot else.

Live hawk got loose in Hawks arena during game

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Sekou Smith) reports: Spirit the Hawk, a bird from Zoo Atlanta, ignored his usual pre-game flight path in favor of a leisurely stroll around the arena that included stops in the stands, a trip to the top of the Jumbotron high over the center of court and finally a perch atop the camera on the shot clock above the basket in front of the Hawks’ bench. Spirit made a couple of trips back and forth to that final perch before the game officials stopped play with 8:48 to play in the first quarter to allow its handler, John Elmore, to retrieve the bird.

Playoffs: Jazz and Hornets in trouble

Detroit, New Orleans and Utah are in the unenviable position of trailing their best-of-seven series 2-0.

Not including this postseason, there have been 217 best-of-seven series in which a team has gone up 2-0. Only 14 times has the team trailing 2-0 came back to win the series. The last time this occurred was last year in the Western Conference semifinals when the San Antonio Spurs dropped the first two games against the New Orleans Hornets but recovered to win the series in seven games.

The Jazz’s attempt at joining that select comeback club begins tonight in Los Angeles (10:30 p.m. ET, TNT). Making the Jazz’s task that much more difficult is its opponent, the Lakers. When winning the first two games of a best-of-seven series, the Lakers are 37-1 all time; in franchise history, they are 56-37 in Game 3 of a best-of-seven series. And since moving to STAPLES Center in 1999, the Lakers have won 83 percent of their postseason games at home (55-11).

– NBA News

Game 3 is often must-win

Memo to San Antonio and Dallas, Portland and Houston, Boston and Chicago, Orlando and Philadelphia, and Atlanta and Miami: If you plan on advancing to the semifinals, winning Game 3 of your tied series is No. 1 on your to-do list.

All time in NBA postseason play, a best-of-seven series has been tied after the first two games 161 times. The winner of Game 3 has gone on to win the series 76 percent of the time (122-39). The home team’s record in Game 3 with series tied 1-1 is 89-72 (.553).

There are two Game 3s tonight that fall into this category. The Bulls host the Celtics (8 p.m. ET, TNT) and the Spurs visit the Mavericks (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT). At home, the Bulls hold an all-time postseason record of 105-34 (.755) – first among existing NBA franchises. Dallas is 41-26 (.612) at home in the playoffs. San Antonio (59-81, .421) and Boston (100-144, .410) have the second and third, respectively, best road winning percentages in the playoffs.

– NBA News

Jason Terry to win Sixth Man of Year

The Dallas Morning News (Eddie Sefko) reports: Jason Terry, who accepted a strange new role this season, will be rewarded Friday when he receives the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year honor, several sources said Wednesday. The Mavericks have scheduled a news conference for Friday and Terry’s award will be commemorated Saturday before Game 4. The 6-2 Terry, 31, averaged 19.6 points and came off of the bench in 63 of 74 games that he played, missing eight with a broken bone in his left hand.

Billups leads Nuggets to 2-0 lead over Hornets

The AP reports: Chauncey Billups led the Nuggets to another blowout of the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night, scoring 31 points in Denver’s 108-93 win. The best-of-seven series shifts to New Orleans for Game 3 on Saturday night with the Nuggets holding just the third 2-0 edge in their 33-year NBA history… Carmelo Anthony, quiet in Game 1 with just 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting, scored 22 points and dished out nine assists. J.R. Smith added 15 points. David West scored 21 points to lead the Hornets, but he needed 20 shots to do it. Peja Stojakovic added 17 points and Chris Paul had 14 points and 13 assists. Once again, the Hornets were hounded relentlessly by Denver’s defense, finding few answers to Kenyon Martin, Chris Andersen, Nene and Dahntay Jones.

Wade scores 33, Heat beat Hawks 108-93, tie series

The AP reports: With 13 straight points to close the first half and an unlikely 3-pointer off the backboard in the waning minutes, Dwyane Wade showed it’s hard to keep him down two games in a row. He scored 33 points in all, leading the Miami Heat to a 108-93 victory over the Atlanta Hawks that evened their playoff series at one game apiece Wednesday night… This was vintage D-Wade—6-of-10 from 3-point range, 11-of-20 overall, five rebounds, seven assists, two blocked shots and a steal… Unlike the loss in Game 1, when only one other Miami player scored in double figures, Wade had plenty of help this time. Daequan Cook scored 20 points, going 6-of-9 from 3-point range to make up for an 0-for-5 showing beyond the arc on Sunday night. Jermaine O’Neal scored 19 points, giving the Heat a presence on the inside. Michael Beasley added 12 and Udonis Haslem 10… Mike Bibby led the Hawks with 18 points, but the home team shot only 44 percent from the field and struggled at the foul line, making 19-of-30.

InsideHoops.com notes: The Hawks had nice offensive balance here, but needed better defense. They allowed the Heat to shoot 55.6% from the field. And Miami nailed 15-of-26 from three-point range. The Hawks shot 44.2% but just 6-of-20 three-points… Atlanta got to the free throw line more than Miami, but shot badly from there… All five Hawks starters scored double-digits, plus Filp Murray (just 4-of-15) had 15 off the bench… Al Horford and Josh Smith had double-digit boards for Atlanta… Both Dwyane Wade and Miami point guard Mario Chalmers dished seven assists. Wade did have five turnovers, though, but the ball is in his hands a lot, to say the least.

Magic hold off Sixers in Game 2 to even series

The AP reports: Rookie Courtney Lee had a career-high 24 points, Hedo Turkoglu added 16 and the Magic nearly blew another 18-point lead before beating Philadelphia 96-87 on Wednesday night to even the series at a game apiece. Dwight Howard had 11 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out, and Rashard Lewis made a pair of big jumpers in the final minutes to help Orlando get its fourth win in five chances against Philadelphia this season… Andre Miller had 30 points, and Andre Iguodala scored 20 of his 21 points in the second half for the Sixers, who closed the gap to five points and almost erased the same deficit they faced in the series opener. Game 3 is Friday in Philadelphia.

InsideHoops.com notes: Both teams shot OK from the field, but fairly badly from three-point range… Orlando got 30 free throws, hitting 22, while the Sixers were 12-of-18… The Magic controlled the boards, but dished just 14 assists in the game… The Magic blocked 7 shots (Dwight Howard 4), the Sixers only two… All five Magic starters scored in double-figures, plus Anthony Johnson had 11 off the bench… The Sixers got 30 points from Andre Miller, 21 from Andre Iguodala and 20 from Thaddeus Young, but the next highest scorer was Marreese Speights with five.

Lakers 2009-10 preseason schedule

The Los Angeles Lakers have announced the preseason schedule for the 2009-10 season along with ticket purchase information. The preseason line-up includes games against the Denver Nuggets, the Golden State Warriors, the Sacramento Kings and the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Lakers will kick off the 2009 preseason on October 7 when they take on the Warriors at the Honda Center in Anaheim. The Pacific Division opponents will face each other again on October 20 at the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario. Los Angeles will travel to Las Vegas on October 15 where they will play the Sacramento Kings at the Thomas and Mack Center.

The Lakers will host their annual shoot-out at STAPLES Center on October 17 and 18. In addition to Los Angeles, teams scheduled to participate in the shoot-out are the Charlotte Bobcats, the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Lakers will wrap up their preseason when they face the Northwest Division champion Denver Nuggets in back-to-back games on October 22 at the Honda Center in Anaheim and October 23 at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego.

Below is the complete 2009 Los Angeles Lakers preseason schedule:

DATE OPPONENT   LOCATION    TIME
Oct. 7 Golden State Warriors Anaheim, CA (Honda Center) 7:00 pm
Oct. 15 Sacramento Kings Las Vegas, NV (Thomas and Mack) 7:00 pm
Oct. 17 Charlotte Bobcats   Los Angeles, CA (STAPLES Center) 7:30pm
Oct. 18 LAC or Utah   Los Angeles, CA (STAPLES Center) 7:30pm
Oct. 20 Golden State Warriors Ontario, CA (Citizens Bank Arena) 7:00 pm
Oct. 22 Denver Nuggets Anaheim, CA (Honda Center) 7:00 pm
Oct. 23 Denver Nuggets San Diego, CA (Sports Arena) 7:00 pm

Washington Wizards hire Flip Saunders as new head coach

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has named Flip Saunders as head coach. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

The Associated Press reports that the deal was for four years and $18 million.

“We’re very proud to bring a proven winner like Flip Saunders on board as our head coach,” said Wizards Chairman Abe Pollin. “After going through what was a very difficult season, I know our fans share in my anticipation of what we can accomplish with new leadership, a healthy roster and a renewed commitment to excellence.”

Saunders, who becomes the 22nd head coach in franchise history, owns a 587-396 (.597) record over 12-and-a-half seasons with Minnesota and Detroit.

“We clearly identified Flip as the top candidate for the job and were happy to find that our situation proved to be a good fit for him as well,” said Grunfeld. “We were able to move quickly as a result and we’re confident that this is a major step towards putting this team back among the Eastern Conference contenders.”

Saunders achieved seven 50-win seasons, led his teams to the playoffs 11 times and reached the Conference Finals on four occasions during his tenures with the Timberwolves and Pistons. He is one of only six coaches to be named head coach of the All-Star team in both the Eastern and Western Conferences and currently ranks seventh among active coaches in winning percentage (12th all-time) and eighth among active coaches in total wins (21st all-time).

“There were many factors that led to this being the right situation for me, but the most intriguing was the commitment of Mr. Pollin and Ernie to win a championship,” said Saunders. “I look forward to enjoying the great support and homecourt advantage from Wizards fans that I’ve always seen from the opposing sidelines and to making each game at Verizon Center an exciting event.”

Saunders comes to the Wizards after leading the Pistons to three straight 50-win seasons, three straight division titles and three straight appearances in the Conference Finals from 2005-06 to 2007-08. He finished with an overall record of 176-70 (.715), the highest winning percentage for any coach in franchise history. Saunders began his NBA coaching career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he compiled a 411-326 (.558) record from 1995-2005 and became the winningest coach in franchise history. He guided the Timberwolves to eight consecutive playoff appearances from 1997-2004, culminating in a trip to the 2004 Western Conference Finals.

Saunders began his professional coaching career in the Continental Basketball Association, where he won two CBA championships (1990 & 1992) and was twice named CBA Coach of the Year (1990 & 1992). He ranks third all-time in the CBA with 253 career victories (253-137, .649) during stops with the Rapid City Thrillers (1988-89), La Crosse Catbirds (1989-94) and Sioux Falls Skyforce (1994-95).