Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Clippers and coach Doc Rivers part ways

The Clippers and Doc Rivers have reached what the team describes as a mutual decision for Rivers to step down as the team’s head coach.

“Doc has been a terrific coach for the Clippers, an incredible ambassador, and a pillar of strength during tumultuous times,” Chairman Steve Ballmer said. “He won a heck of a lot of games and laid a foundation for this franchise.”

Rivers, 58, was the most successful head coach in Clippers history, compiling a record of 356-208 over seven seasons. Under his direction, the Clippers made the playoffs six times and reached the Western Conference semifinals in 2020, 2015, and 2014. Before arriving in Los Angeles in 2013, Rivers spent nine seasons with the Boston Celtics, winning a championship in 2008.

Per the Los Angeles Times:

According to people familiar with the Clippers’ situation, names that will come up to replace Rivers include Clippers assistant coach Ty Lue, who is reportedly set to interview for the Philadelphia 76ers job this week, and former NBA coach and ESPN/ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy.

Rivers joined the Clippers before the 2013-14 season and in his seven seasons helped build the team into a championship contender, finishing with a record of 356-208. He was the fifth-longest-tenured coach upon his departure, behind San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, Dallas’ Rick Carlisle and Portland’s Terry Stotts.

Rivers owned the second-highest winning percentage among all active coaches, trailing Popovich. In August, Rivers passed Red Auerbach for 11th on the all-time coaching victories list. Rivers owns a .506 postseason winning percentage.

Rivers was hired for his championship coaching experience but during his tenure became as much of a spokesman for the franchise. After former owner Donald Sterling was banned for life by the NBA after allegedly making racist comments that surfaced in 2014, Rivers became the franchise’s voice and helped guide players and the team through uncertain times.

After Ballmer bought the Clippers in 2014, Rivers was given responsibility over all player personnel decisions. Three years later, Ballmer shook up the organization’s structure by limiting Rivers to coaching duties and installing a new front office led by Lawrence Frank, a former assistant coach under Rivers.

“I am immeasurably grateful to Doc for his commitment and contributions to the Clippers and the city of Los Angeles,” Ballmer added. “I am also extremely confident in our front office and our players. We will find the right coach to lead us forward and help us reach our ultimate goals. We will begin the search and interview process immediately.”

LaMelo Ball plans to stick with his current shooting form

LaMelo Ball is expected to be one of the top picks in the 2020 NBA draft. Here’s the Charlotte Observer with an update:

In a 24-minute media session Monday, Ball said …

He doesn’t need to fix his shooting form, which was widely criticized from his play last season in Australia.

He is a fit for any NBA team — from the title contender Golden State Warriors to a starless one (such as the Hornets).

He “doesn’t really care” about numerous perceptions of him and his family, which once was the subject of a reality show.

As far as his bombastic father, LaVar, he said this in regard to dad calling the Warriors, with the second pick, a bad fit:

“I’m my own man. He’s his own man. He has his opinions. I have mine,” Ball said. “I feel like I can play on any team, and do good anywhere I go.”

All eyes will be on Ball throughout the entire process. He’s one of the league’s most fascinating prospects in years.

Bam Adebayo has stepped up big for Miami Heat in 2020 NBA playoffs

The Heat have reached the NBA Finals. A huge reason why has been the play of Bam Adebayo. Here’s the Miami Herald on his play and more:

The fifth-seeded Heat has posted a 12-3 record in the playoffs to exceed all outside expectations and earn a spot in the NBA Finals for the sixth time in franchise history and the first time since 2014. Game 1 of the Finals series between Miami and the Los Angeles Lakers is Wednesday at 9 p.m. on ABC.

At 23 years old in his first postseason as a starting big man, Adebayo has been one of the catalysts behind the Heat’s improbable run. It marks the first time a team seeded fifth or lower has made it to the NBA Finals since 1999, when the eighth-seeded New York Knicks represented the East in the championship series during a lockout-shortened season…

Adebayo set a career-high with 32 points, to go with 14 rebounds and five assists in Sunday’s Game 6 East-clinching win over the Boston Celtics. He became the fourth different player in Heat history to record at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a playoff game, joining a list that also includes LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade.

Adebayo averaged 21.8 points on 60.8 percent shooting, 11 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.7 steals and one block in the East finals. He led the Heat in points, rebounds, assists and steals in the series.

Leading scorers for the Heat in these playoffs have been Goran Dragic at 20.9 points per game, Jimmy Butler at 20.7 PPG, Adebayo at 18.5 PPG, Tyler Herro at 16.5 PPG off the bench, and Jae Crowder at 12.3 PPG.

Game 1 of the NBA Finals is Wednesday night, televised on ABC.

Pistons basketball operations staff hirings

The Detroit Pistons announced today the completion of their basketball operations staff with the additions of Britta Brown, Tony Leotti, Michael Lindo and Ryan West, as well as the return of former staffers Harold Ellis and Rod Williams.

Britta Brown joins the club as Senior Director of Basketball Administration. Brown will oversee team operations, logistics and assist in day-to-day management of the department. Most recently, Brown was an Assistant Athletic Director at Eastern Michigan University, responsible for athletic and alumni events, overall development and daily department management. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2008 where she was also a member of the women’s lacrosse team.

Tony Leotti joins the Pistons as Senior Director of Strategy and Systems. Leotti will assist with salary cap oversight and overall strategy. Leotti joins Detroit after four seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers where served as the club’s Director of Basketball Administration & Team Counsel and was a part of the 2016 NBA Champions front office. Prior to joining the Cavs, he served as the Associate Vice President & Senior Associate Counsel for the NBA where he advised team and league personnel with transactions and interpretations of the collective bargaining agreement. Leotti earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Economics from Georgetown in 2004 while also competing as a lightweight rower. He later received a Juris Doctor law degree and a Master of Business Administration degree from New York University in 2010.

Harold Ellis and Ryan West both join the basketball front office as pro personnel evaluators. Ellis rejoins the Pistons following a stint as a Pistons assistant coach during the 2008-09 season and as a scout for the team from 2009-12. Since those appointments, he held a Director of Pro Scouting position with the Orlando Magic from 2012-17 and a Director of Player Personnel role with the New York Knicks from 2017-20. West comes to Detroit after spending more than a decade in scouting capacities with the Los Angeles Lakers, holding the Director of Player Personnel title from 2015-19. He was also a scout for the Memphis Grizzlies from 2002-09.

Michael Lindo has been hired as Director of Player and Family Engagement and will be responsible for assisting Pistons players and their families off the court. Prior to coming to Detroit, Lindo worked at Under Armour for six years as the Sports Marketing Consultant – Director of Under Armour Association. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Sports Management from Howard University in 2013 and his Master of Professional Studies in Sports Industry Management from Georgetown in 2016.

Along with the announced new hires, the club also announced five promotions within the department. Gregg Polinsky has been elevated to Senior Director of Player Personnel, Bernard Condevaux to Senior Director of Medical and Performance, Dan Rosenbaum to Senior Director of Analytics, Eric Tellem to Director of Pro Scouting and Jhonika Hawkins to Director of Executive Operations. The club also welcomes back Rod Williams as Director of Team Security. He rejoins the Pistons after serving in security positions with the club from 2012-14 and 2017-18.

Heat eliminate Celtics in Eastern Conference Finals, advance to NBA Finals

Sunday night at the Disney NBA bubble in Florida, the Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics 125-113, winning the Eastern Conference Finals in six games. The Heat advance to the NBA Finals, where they’ll face the Los Angeles Lakers. Game 1 of the Finals is Wednesday night on ABC TV.

Boston.com: The Celtics had a six-point lead in the fourth quarter, but Miami didn’t flinch. The Heat went on a 19-6 run to take a seven-point lead with just over four minutes remaining. They moved the ball with confidence and went back to their zone to reinvigorate themselves on the defensive end. Bam Adebayo led the way for Miami’s offense as it extended its lead to 12-points with three minutes left.

Boston.com:The Heat continued to ride that momentum, while Boston struggled to handle its opponent’s relentless energy. This series really came down to crunch-time execution, and that was the case again Sunday night. The Heat outscored the Celtics 35-17 over the final nine minutes of Game 6, leaving their final mark on the Eastern Conference Finals with authority.

Boston.com:The Celtics played great defense early in the fourth quarter, effectively slowing down the Heat, but their inability to close out games reared its head late. Miami exerted its dominance down the stretch as it did in all four of its Eastern Conference Finals wins, a fitting way to seal the deal in Game 6.

Boston Herald: “Though four Celtics scored at least 20 points, led by Jaylen Brown’s 26, they were unable to get the requisite stops. That especially was true where Adebayo and his rolls to the rim were concerned. The Celtics also missed a plethora of open shots down the stretch, with players like Gordon Hayward (5-for-12) and Kemba Walker (5-for-15) missing open layups. With the Celtics caught between his interior attack and the omnipresent threat of Miami’s shooters, the Heat put this one away with a 26-6 run in the fourth quarter that effectively squelched the Celtics’ season.

South Florida Sun Sentinel: “Sunday’s victory was powered by 32 points and 14 rebounds from Adebayo, as well as 22 points from Butler, 19 from Tyler Herro, 15 from Iguodala, 15 from Duncan Robinson and 13 from Goran Dragic. For the Celtics, there were 26 points from Jaylen Brown, 24 from Jayson Tatum, 20 from Marcus Smart and 20 from Kemba Walker.”

South Florida Sun Sentinel: “After going down six earlier in the fourth quarter, the Heat got a three-point play from Adebayo with 6:16 to play to go up 101-100. The counterpunching continued from there, with Celtics center Daniel Theis fouling out with 5:30 to play and the Heat then calling time out while up 104-102. A minute later, a Duncan Robinson 3-pointer put the Heat up 107-102. The Heat eventually made it a 26-6 run, for a 14-point lead. At one point, the Celtics went 3 1/2 minutes without a point. By then, it was time for the white flag from the Celtics.”

Lakers eliminate Nuggets in five games, advance to 2020 NBA Finals

OC Register: “After a jaunt through NBA history, the Denver Nuggets met the one thing they could not overcome: The 35-year-old James in a closeout opportunity, smelling a path to his ninth Finals in 10 years. The star of his era rose to the moment of a Game , nailing four straight shot in the final four minutes to seal in an unforgettable cap to a masterful Game 5 victory, 117-107, that saw him score 38 points, grab 16 rebounds and dish out 10 assists. LeBron James is going to the Finals, and the Lakers are going with him. He choked out the last fight from Denver, which had won six straight elimination games headed into Saturday night. And even as he sat on the court in a near-empty AdventHealth Arena, he started looking ahead. There’s four more wins left to a championship, and if James’ will in a closeout game was any indication, he’s impatient to finish the whole thing.”

OC Register: “The clinching nine-point run was the stuff legendary runs are made of: James hit a stepback, a turnaround fadeaway, a pullup and a 3-pointer in one two-minute sequence to put the Nuggets to bed as the Lakers won the Western Conference Finals, 4-1. It’s the first time the Lakers have been to the Finals in 10 years, the longest drought in franchise history.”

LA Times: ““This is what I came here for,” James said. “I heard all the conversations and everything that was said about why did I decide to come to L.A — the reason I came to L.A., it was not about basketball. All those conversations, just naysayers and things of that nature. I understood that, with the season I had last year and my injury, it just gave them more sticks and more wood to throw in the fire to continue to say the things that they would say about me. “But it never stopped my journey and never stopped my mindset and never stopped my goal.” With a 117-107 win in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday night, the Lakers eliminated the Nuggets to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in 10 years after six consecutive years of not even making the playoffs.”

LA Times: “[Anthony] Davis scored 27 points including a pair of three-pointers, a block and two steals, earning his first NBA Finals appearance. Heading into the game, the Lakers were 26-1 when they had a double-digit lead at halftime, with their only loss coming to the Clippers. They held a 61-51 lead at the break and increased the margin to 16, but Nuggets forward Jerami Grant scored 14 points in the third quarter, picking up for foul-plagued Nikola Jokic, and Denver tied it at 84.”

Denver Post: “But their storied ride came to an end Saturday night, when the Lakers ousted the Nuggets, 117-107, in Game 5, concluding Denver’s magical run. For weeks, the Nuggets were the talk of the bubble. Their resiliency and toughness, at times, left their coach searching for words. “What more could you ask from a group?” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “What more commitment, sacrifice, just everything in the last 82 days that our team has gone through. The history that we’ve made. The adversity that we faced and never ran from, embraced it. … From a pride perspective, couldn’t be more proud.” What happened in Orlando won’t soon be forgotten. The six wins in elimination games. Jamal Murray’s scoring spree against Utah, followed by his emotional tribute to Breonna Taylor. Nikola Jokic’s sustained excellence in the face of those elimination games. When the Nuggets land in Denver on Sunday, they’ll still have heavy hearts over a series they felt was closer than the final result.”

Denver Post: “Once again, fouls were a thing in Game 5, with Jokic logging his third with 9:32 left in the second quarter and Gary Harris his third midway through the same period. One of Jokic’s was most certainly questionable — the offensive foul Alex Caruso sold with Oscar-worthy gusto in the paint. But his first was simply a bad decision — intentionally stopping a 3-on-1 L.A. fast break by grabbing a Lakers ballhandler just two minutes into the game. The way the Lakers have targeted Jokic for contact throughout the series, he should’ve just surrendered the fastbreak layup so early in the game rather than pick up a cheap foul. It was a decision that ultimately cost him.”

Detroit Pistons holding minicamp

A number of teams that weren’t involved with the league restart at the Disney NBA bubble are currently holding minicamps of their own, each in their own individual location. Here’s the Detroit News on it:

By every stretch of Dwane Casey’s imagination, his team’s workouts during phase 2 of in-market minicamp, has been a rousing success.

But the biggest positive for the Detroit Pistons head coach has been what he’s getting out of 24-year-old shooting guard Luke Kennard, who’s taking part in his first basketball activities since Dec. 21, when the former first-round pick was sidelined with bilateral knee tendonitis.

“He’s healthy, he’s playing well, his body looks good, and that’s been another bright spot,” Casey told reporters on Saturday. “I really like what I see out of Luke.” …

The Pistons have not been together for organized scrimmages and full practices since their season ended on March 11.

The biggest areas of focus for the Pistons this offseason will of course be the draft and free agency, but also the health of Blake Griffin, who is coming off of a season-ending knee injury and reportedly not participating in the minicamp. Word is that Griffin is now healthy. For the Pistons, that could mean trying to trade the 31-year-old power forward, who is signed for several more seasons to a team that is clearly rebuilding and not about to be competitive anytime soon.

Celtics played harder than Heat in Game 5, says Jimmy Butler

The Heat are in good shape, up 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals vs. the Celtics, but issues do exist for Miami that need to be addressed in their quest to end this thing tomorrow. Here’s the Miami Herald:

Defense was certainly an issue for the Heat in Game 5, as the Celtics scored a series-high 121 points on 45.2 percent shooting and committed only 11 turnovers. Boston also outrebounded Miami 50-38 and scored 15 second-chance points on 13 offensive rebounds.

“They were playing harder than we were,” Jimmy Butler said following the Heat’s Game 5 loss. “We’ve just got to correct that. That’s where it starts for us. Any time anybody is playing harder than we are, we are not playing our best basketball. I think a lot of it for us comes from how hard we play, how together we play, and we’ve got to get back to doing that.”

But the Heat’s defense, which was a strength in the first two rounds of the playoffs, has struggled for most of the series.

The Heat, using a mix of its zone and man-to-man schemes against the Celtics, has allowed 114.5 points per 100 possessions in the East finals. For context, only two NBA teams finished the regular season with a worse defensive rating.

Game 5 was fascinating in that the Celtics started slow and looked ready to pack it up and go home, then steadily improved as the game progressed, and have every reason to walk into Game 6 with increased confidence. Boston has momentum. Time for Miami to show what they’re truly made of.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has stepped up big in Disney NBA bubble

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has definitely raised his stock at the Disney NBA bubble. Here’s the Denver Post on it:

Murray’s meteoric rise has been the story of the Nuggets’ bubble stay. Whatever inconsistency plagued him during last year’s playoff debut has been ironed out. Through 18 games, Murray’s averaged almost 27 points on over 50% shooting from the field, including over 46% from 3-point range. Murray has been electric, with his playmaking and his passion elevating the Nuggets to only their fourth conference finals in franchise history.

This regular season, Murray averaged 18.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. In the playoffs, he’s putting up 26.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.

Celtics doing good job defending Heat three-pointers

The Heat remain in good shape in the Eastern Conference Finals, but upon seeing their 3-1 series lead on the Celtics become a 3-2 lead, it’s still a series. And one thing keeping the Celtics competitive has been their perimeter defense, especially in the last few games. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel on it:

After going the entire season and two-plus rounds of the playoffs without shooting below 30 percent on 3-pointers in consecutive games, the Heat now have done so in the past three against the Boston Celtics, going 1-2 in that span.

“They’re very good at defending the 3-point line,” Spoelstra said. “They’ve taken us off of some of our normal rhythm threes. We’ve also missed some open ones. We just need to work more persistently to get the type of shots we want, in our wheelhouse, which we’re very capable of, even against a very good defense like Boston.”

The downturn started at .273 (12 of 44) in the 117-106 loss that drew Boston within 2-1 in this best-of-seven series. It continued at .270 (10 of 37) in the 112-109 victory that pushed the Heat to a 3-1 series lead. Then, Friday night, it went off the rails, at .194 (7 of 36) in the 121-108 loss that cut the advantage down to 3-2 going into Sunday’s 7:30 p.m. Game 6 at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex.

“Our guys are extremely ignitable. It can happen just like that,” Spoelstra said, snapping his fingers. “But we have to do a lot more things defensively, where we’re not just hoping that we make a bunch of threes and a bunch of shots.”

As it is, the past two games mark just the second time this season the Heat have gone consecutive games without converting more than 10 3-pointers.

Game 6 is Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.