Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Atlanta Hawks mini-bubble begins

While most of the league was included in the NBA restart at Disney in Florida, eight teams that had no shot at the playoffs were not. Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution with an update on some Hawks team activity:

The Hawks will stay in a hotel for these next two weeks and go back and forth from their practice facility. For the next two days, players (who can opt out, if they so choose, since participation is voluntary) and staff will be quarantining in their hotel rooms and receiving coronavirus testing, and after two negative tests, can participate in group workouts (which includes one hour of 5-on-5 per day) as of Wednesday. When inside, players and staff must wear masks when not actively eating/drinking or engaging in physical activity, and there will be daily coronavirus testing and strict hygiene guidelines.

As one of eight teams excluded from the Orlando restart, the Hawks were hoping much more team activity would be allowed, but no such luck. Because their time together as a team is so limited, focusing too heavily on X’s and O’s would be fruitless, especially considering players have to ease into more strenuous scrimmaging to avoid injury.

So the Hawks will use this time to incorporate a healthy Clint Capela into the mix, enjoy some team-bonding and socializing and just simply get up and down the court together as a team for the first time since March (the NBA season originally halted March 11 due to the coronavirus).

Getting Gordon Hayward back big for Celtics in playoffs

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on the Celtics, who got Gordon Hayward back in action Saturday in winning Game 3. The Heat still lead the series 2-1, with Game 4 to be played on Wednesday:

With Gordon Hayward back in the mix, the Celtics are making no pretense about anything other than getting their top five players on the court as much as possible the balance of these Eastern Conference finals as often as feasible.

“Well, the hard part about that is we never had all five or very rarely had all five available during the regular season before the hiatus,” Stevens said of the quintet of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart and Hayward. “It was only like 12 or 13 games. And then when we got here, Kemba wasn’t practicing for the first few weeks, so we never really got into that stuff much.”

Then came Hayward’s return in Saturday’s Game 3 from a month off due to a severely sprained ankle, with the goal now to tie the series in Wednesday’s 8:30 p.m. Game 5 in the best-of-seven series at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex.

“The idea was that we have to get those guys on the court as much as possible,” Stevens said of Game 3.

Some Lakers takeaways from Game 2 win vs Nuggets

Yesterday’s Game 2 in the Western Conference Fnals between the Lakers and Nuggets was a thrill-ride. Here’s the LA Times with some takeaways:

The Lakers made the Nuggets pay for their early sloppiness, which helped them cover some of their own mistakes. Both teams committed 14 first-half turnovers. Despite this parity on turnovers, the Lakers had a 10-point lead going into halftime and led by 16 in the first half, perhaps driving home the idea that to beat the Lakers requires mistake-free basketball.

Lakers coach Frank Vogel didn’t feel quite so comfortable for much of the game. “Leads mean nothing against this team,” Vogel said.

Vogel said he would consider starting Dwight Howard in Game 2 but stayed with JaVale McGee at center.

The Nuggets asked a lot of guard Jamal Murray, who played 44 minutes on Sunday night. Murray scored 25 points and had a game-high plus/minus rating of 16.

The Lakers like to play at a fast pace, and the Nuggets made an effort to disrupt that on Sunday. They had some success at times, and it’s something the Lakers want to keep an eye on.

Leading scorers for both teams so far in the 2020 NBA playoffs:

LAKERS:
Anthony Davis 28.7 PPG
LeBron James 25.6
Kyle Kuzma 10.8
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 10.1
Rajon Rondo 9.0

NUGGETS:
Jamal Murray 26.6 PPG
Nikola Jokic 25.4
Michael Porter Jr. 11.5
Jerami Grant 9.9
Monte Morris 8.5

Nuggets must find way to win Game 3 vs Lakers

The Nuggets came within one Anthony Davis jumpshot at the buzzer of tying their Western Conference Finals playoff series with the Lakers 1-1-. But Davis’ shot went in, so the Lakers are up 2-0. Here’s the Denver Post on the Nuggets’ situation:

Down 2-0, the Nuggets are in must-win territory. Despite their previous escapes, a loss in Tuesday’s Game 3 will all but start their chartered flight home.

Once the pain subsides and sober heads prevail, the Nuggets will take a fresh look at what happened. They’ll see 19 turnovers, including many that were unforced. They’ll see breakdowns on the defensive glass, which can’t happen against a team of the Lakers’ caliber. They’ll notice hesitation on the offensive end, a non-starter when the team’s best player is also the most unselfish.

But they’ll also see an unbending will that stormed back from 16 points down in the second half to take the lead late. And they’ll see a second-half defense reminiscent of the one that saved the Nuggets six times so far in elimination games this postseason. Maybe most importantly, and the reason why the Nuggets aren’t buried yet, is the film will show a dogged fight from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, whose 31 points in the second-half bested Davis and LeBron James’ 28.

The Nuggets definitely need more from starters not named Jamal Murray or Nikola Jokic. In the Game 2 loss, shooting guard Gary Harris shot 1 for 6, small forward Jerami Grant did grab three steals but had just seven points and no rebounds, and Paul Millsap did grab eight rebounds but only scored six points.

There are no NBA games tonight. Game 3 of this series is tomorrow, and the Celtics vs. Heat series resumes on Wednesday.

Gordon Hayward upgraded to Questionable for Celtics vs Heat Game 3

Playing in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, the Celtics lost Game 1 in overtime, then were outscored 37-17 in the third quarter of a five-point Game 2 loss.

Boston needs a boost. And according to the league injury report as of Friday afternoon, they may soon have one in the form of Gordon Hayward. The forward, who has been out with a right ankle sprain, has been upgraded to Questionable for Game 3.

Players coming off of injury often play limited minutes, so if Gordon does step onto the court it doesn’t guarantee he’ll be out there for long, nor that he’ll be at his best. But it would certainly be a positive development.

Game 3 is Saturday night. And then the squads have a few days off, with Game 4 not until Wednesday.

Some key Raptors players are free agents this summer, including Fred VanVleet

Raptors guard Fred VanVleet was considered a respectable backup guard last regular season. And then emerged in the playoffs, rose his profile, and never looked back. He’s a very key member of the team, and with the future in mind is even more important considering that fellow starting guard Kyle Lowry, as good as he still plays, will turn 35 years old in March of 2021 and may start to slow down.

But VanVleet is a free agent this offseason. Here’s the Toronto Star examining how the Raps can potentially navigate the situation:

Keeping the 26-year-old guard, an integral part of a championship team and seemingly a foundational piece of the roster right now, has to be job No. 1 for Raptors president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster when it comes to retooling a roster that had a wonderful regular season and then fell in a seven-game, second-round Bubble Series against the Boston Celtics.

No one is running from or hiding the fact that the team will have no centres under contract when the off-season hits, because that is an issue, but the first domino needs to be VanVleet.

It’ll be costly, but it can be done. The Raptors could work some financial magic and pay VanVleet somewhere around $20 million (U.S.) a year — he made about $9.3 million this season — and still retain a maximum salary slot for 2021, when the free-agent market will be rife with high-profile stars.

The Raptors had an excellent shot at the Eastern Conference Finals this season, falling just one win short in the second round against the Celtics.

And they also soon might have a hole at the center spot, with both Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka hitting free agency.

It would be smart to keep Ibaka. But the most important player for the Raps in the group is VanVleet.

Will Coby White emerge as primary point guard for Bulls?

The Bulls have Zach LaVine at shooting guard, ready to produce buckets. Who should the main point guard be alongside him in the starting lineup? Here’s the Chicago Sun-Times on one of the team’s prime candidates:

As of Friday, the Bulls players we’re still working out individually, with the full intrasquad scrimmages coming next week.

The main battle when the ball is rolled out? Heck yeah it’s White vs. Kris Dunn.

White feels he will be the starting point guard for this franchise moving forward, while Dunn – a restricted free agent this offseason – is not only fighting for his old starting job back, but a new contract, whether that comes from the Bulls or elsewhere.

White reminded the media of his versatility to play either guard spot, but make no mistake, he also made it very clear what his goal will be whenever the 2020-21 season is set to tip-off.

“I think moving forward my primary position is point guard but I also can play off the ball because I can score and shoot it so well,’’ White said. “So I think that this past year showcased that I can be a point guard but I can also play off the ball at times when I need to.’’

Last season, White averaged 13.2 points and 2.7 assists in 25.8 minutes per game, shooting 39.4% FG and 35.4% from three-point range, while Dunn averaged 7.3 points and 3.4 assists in 24.9 minutes per game, shooting 44.4% FG and 25.9% from three.

A look at Utah Jazz roster moves in the 2019-20 season

Here’s the Deseret News with a summary of the key Utah Jazz roster moves entering and during this past season:

Entering the 2019-2020 season, one of the narratives surrounding the Utah Jazz was the notion that they would have good depth after signing players such as Jeff Green and Ed Davis in free agency.

That proved to not be the case, as Green and Davis were an utter failure. Additionally, a third offseason signee, Emmanuel Mudiay, had a few good moments but nothing great and returnee Dante Exum was traded at Christmastime after once again not being impactful because of injury.

Before the Exum trade, which brought Jordan Clarkson to Utah from the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Jazz bench was 29th among 30 teams in points per game and routinely gave up leads the starting unit had built. Clarkson proved to be a huge boost, and Utah was 19th in bench scoring after his arrival through the end of the season. Still not wonderful, but a huge improvement.

The good news for the Jazz was that the unit of Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Royce O’Neale, Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gobert was arguably the best 5-man unit in the entire league with a net rating of 13.7 in 570 minutes, and the one replacing Ingles with Mike Conley wasn’t too far behind, with a net rating of 9.7 in 381 minutes.

Conley reportedly has an early termination option for his contract this offseason, but considering his salary next season for the Jazz would be over $34 million, there’s a good chance he’ll elect to stick with the team in 2020-21.

Jordan Clarkson is a free agent this offseason. He definitely helped the Jazz this year, and they’d be smart to try to bring him back — if salary demands match up, of course.

Giannis Antetokounmpo wins 2019-20 NBA MVP award

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been named the 2019-20 NBA Most Valuable Player.

This is the second straight NBA MVP Award for Antetokounmpo, who becomes the 12th player to earn the honor in consecutive seasons.

A native of Greece, Antetokounmpo is the first player from Europe to be selected as the NBA MVP more than once. Antetokounmpo, 25, also joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James as the only players to win multiple NBA MVP awards by the age of 25.

Antetokounmpo was previously named the 2019-20 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He joins Michael Jordan (1987-88) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-94) as the only players to be selected as the NBA Most Valuable Player and the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. (The NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award was first presented in the 1982-83 season.)

Antetokounmpo received 85 of 101 first-place votes and earned 962 total points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters as well as the NBA Most Valuable Player Award fan vote. Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James received the other 16 first-place votes and finished in second place with 753 points. Houston Rockets guard James Harden (367 points) finished in third place, followed by Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić (200 points) in fourth place and LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (168 points) in fifth place.

Players received 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five points for each third-place vote, three points for each fourth-place vote and one point for each fifth-place vote. The voting was conducted based on regular-season games played through March 11. The seeding games, which were played July 30 – Aug. 14 as part of the season restart, did not count toward voting for the NBA MVP Award or the league’s other traditional end-of-season awards.

In games played through March 11, Antetokounmpo averaged 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.04 steals and 1.02 blocks in 30.9 minutes in 57 games. During that time, he ranked third in the NBA in both scoring average and rebounding average. Antetokounmpo also shot 54.7 percent from the field and sank 83 three-pointers, which is 31 more threes than he made in any of his previous six seasons.

Behind Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee posted an NBA-leading 53-12 record in games played through March 11, a mark that included an 18-game winning streak Nov. 10 – Dec. 14. The four-time NBA All-Star selection helped the Bucks excel on both ends of the court as they led the league in net rating (outscoring opponents by 10.7 points per 100 possessions), scoring offense (118.6 ppg) and defensive rating (101.6 points allowed per 100 possessions) in their first 65 games of the season.

Antetokounmpo was honored as the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for October/November, December and January, in addition to being named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week four times. He was also voted as a starter to the NBA All-Star Game for the fourth consecutive season, serving as a team captain for the second year in a row.

Steve Nash discusses new job as Nets head coach

New Nets coach Steve Nash really, really knows how to play basketball. But he’ll be learning coaching on the job. Here’s the New York Daily News:

Not even Steve Nash expects himself to be a tactical expert on the sideline. As the head coaching job has evolved in the NBA over the years — from essentially strict principal to guidance counselor — Nash said he’s focusing on his strengths of relationships and culture, which was why the Nets hired him for a championship run despite zero coaching experience.

“I wasn’t hired to come in and be a tactical wizard,” Nash said in JJ Redick’s “The Old Man and the Three” podcast. “I think they understand that my acumen for the game is strong and I can catch up on any of the tactical aspects. I think they hired me because of my experience, the personality to work with these guys and help them grow and reach their potential and bring it all together. I can’t lose sight of that.

“I can’t come in and start being Mr. X’s and O’s, and lose sight of the fact that of course I want to be strong in all departments, but I have to lead with my understanding of group dynamics, leading, having gone through the experience that these guys have gone through. I’ve been there… I got to lead with why I was brought here and what they saw in me and catch up in other departments.”

After observing Nash both on and off the court for a long time, it seems he definitely has potential to be a natural on the sideline. And he’s joining a talent-filled team that is built around proven stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, up-and-coming star Caris LeVert, and a very capable supporting cast.

It’ll be fun to watch unfold.