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Tyronn Lue and Steve Kerr named NBA Coaches of Month

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Tyronn Lue and the Golden State Warriors’ Steve Kerr today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in October and November.

Lue guided the reigning NBA champion Cavaliers to an Eastern Conference-best 13-3 record during October and November, matching the best 16-game start in franchise history. Cleveland, which began the season with six straight victories, ranked second in the NBA in scoring (111.3 points per game), three-point field goal percentage (39.0) and three-pointers made (13.8 per game). The Cavaliers sank a team-record 21 three-pointers in a 137-125 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 23.

Kerr led the Warriors to an NBA-best 16-2 record in October and November, including 12 victories in a row entering December. Golden State paced the NBA in scoring (117.6 ppg), assists (31.1 apg), field goal percentage (50.2) and blocked shots (6.6 bpg). The Warriors notched at least 30 assists in 10 consecutive games, the longest streak in franchise history, and they registered a team-record 47 assists in a 149-106 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 23.

Other nominees for the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month were Charlotte’s Steve Clifford, Chicago’s Fred Hoiberg, Houston’s Mike D’Antoni, the LA Clippers’ Doc Rivers, the Lakers’ Luke Walton, Memphis’ David Fizdale, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich and Toronto’s Dwane Casey.

Clippers reportedly plan to give Chris Paul the longest max contract possible

This may be the last, best chance for the cursed L.A. stepchild to bust through the second round and chase the sort of success they’ve never experienced. More than a year ago, Doc Rivers, the team’s coach and team president, told me that teams who fall short over and over grow stale — and that the Clippers were “on the borderline” of needing a shakeup.

Three of their core four players — Paul, Griffin, and Redick — enter free agency this summer, assuming Paul and Griffin exercise early termination options. Paul and Redick are on the wrong side of the aging curve; Jordan and Griffin, bouncy types who rely to varying degrees on their athleticism, aren’t that far behind…

Steve Ballmer, L.A.’s moneybags owner, has already said he’ll pay the cost. Maxing out Griffin is a no-brainer, and the team expects Paul to demand the full five-year max (or whatever the longest possible deal ends up being in the revised collective bargaining agreement) to stick around, per several league sources. That would take him well past age 35. Gulp. Suitors will line up for Redick.

Rivers was right last fall: teams grow stale. People decide to move on. If the ending is unhappy again, I’d bet on at least one big change in Clipperland. For now, the team is trying to enjoy the journey — and the clean locker-room air.

— ESPN.com

Quick Take: Past letdowns need to be left in the past. When you’re as good as the Clippers, you do what you need to do to keep your core together. The current Clippers squad is as good as any we’ve seen in the Chris Paul era. And as CP3 gets older and slows down a bit, he’s exactly the type of point guard who should be able to adapt and get even more crafty.

Kings at Sixers game postponed

The Sixers’ game against the Kings at the Wells Fargo Center has been postponed because of moisture on the court. There was no immediate word on a rescheduled date for the game.

Arena staff members tried using wet mops to fix the issue to no avail.

“The Philadelphia 76ers announced that tonight’s game against the Sacramento Kings has been postponed due to an issue with the surface of the court and with player safety in mind,” the team said in a statement. “Arena officials worked diligently to address the issue, but NBA officials determined that the court was not suitable for play.”

— CSN Philly

Quick Take: The InsideHoops Twitter account decided to get silly as the game started to be in doubt and tweeted “Trust the mopcess.” Unfortunately, the mops were unable to do the job. The best reaction after the non-game was from Sixers center Joel Embiid, who tweeted the following: Well The court was tanking tonight…. #TrustTheProcess

Center Marc Gasol now a three-point shooter

There might not be a better example today of the evolution of the NBA big man than Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies, who all of a sudden has become a legitimate three-point shooting threat.

In 569 games spanning eight seasons before this, the 7-foot-1 Gasol had attempted just 66 three-pointers, making just 12 and many of them shots forced to beat the shot clock or the game clock, prayers seldom answered.

Now? Heading into Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre, Gasol is a relative long-distance chucker, shooting 42 per cent from three on already a season-high 60 attempts.

— Toronto Star

Quick Take: If you enjoy seeing centers shoot threes, then also check out Nets games. Brooklyn center Brook Lopez is shooting 5.7 three-pointers per game, hitting 2.1 of them for a very respectable average of 37.6%.

Sixers assign Nerlens Noel to D-League

The Philadelphia 76ers assigned Nerlens Noel to the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League today.

The move is for health reasons. The assignment is part of Noel’s ongoing rehabilitation program for his left knee.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “the move is similar to what Jerryd Bayless did on Nov. 14 to get in some practice time. The Sixers will host the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center. As a result, there won’t be a practice opportunity for Noel. He will practice down there on Wednesday.”

In a related move, the team has recalled Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot from the Sevens.

Nets bring Olympic legend Michael Johnson in to talk to team

In training camp, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson had basketball Hall of Famer Chris Mullin swing by to talk to his team. On Monday, it was track Hall of Famer Michael Johnson dropping pearls of wisdom. Now Atkinson can only hope his Nets pick them up, mired in an NBA-worst seven-game losing skid.

“Just to listen to him, talking about his process and how he was just so dedicated and focused,’’ Rondae Hollis-Jefferson said. “It definitely gives you that sense of I’m going on the right track, but there’s also more things to it than just coming in here every day. Your personal life versus the athlete’s life. We’re athletes 24/7; our image is being watched, so the things that we do when we’re home count to when we come here. Just thinking about that and setting goals for yourself is a big thing.

“In the offseason, this is what I’m training for. … What do I have to do to get there? If you’re thinking about that every day, it’s going to motivate you. You’re going to wake up, get in that car, take that ride and you’re going to be thinking about that: How do I get myself to where I want to be for my goal for this year? That’s something big that he touched on that stuck with me and will stick with me.”

— NY Post

Quick Take: A team can only play as well as their roster allows.

Ian Mahinmi returns for Wizards, then gets hurt

Just one game after making his regular season debut, Ian Mahinmi is back on the Wizards’ injury list.

On Monday, Mahinmi, 30, missed Washington’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings. According to Coach Scott Brooks, Mahinmi, who appeared for 14 minutes Saturday night, is experiencing soreness in his right, non-surgical knee. Mahinmi missed the past six weeks after the repair of a partially torn medial mensicus in his left knee. Mahinmi did not participate in the team’s Monday morning shoot-around.

“Just going to be cautious,” Brooks said. “He’s done a great job of putting himself in a position to come back from surgery and he’s just been sore the last couple of days. It’s day to day. We’ll see how feels tomorrow.”

— Washington Post

Quick Take: The Wizards are 5-10 through Sunday’s games. Their scoring leaders this season are John Wall (23.5 ppg), Bradley Beal (20.1 ppg), Otto Porter Jr (14.7 ppg), Markieff Morris (12.8 ppg) and Marcin Gortat (11.3 ppg). Their offense has been average this season but defensively they need improvement.

Damian Lillard says Blazers need to get mean

Three of the last four Player of the Week winners in the NBA have used the Portland Trail Blazers’ porous defense as a springboard to earn the weekly honors.

The huge nights from Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis and Kevin Love left Damian Lillard pondering the missing element behind Portland’s inability to slow down opponents this season. His solution is straightforward: The Blazers need a mean streak.

“That might be the change that needs to be made … is us just not being the nice team (where) everybody likes each other,” Lillard said following Blazers practice on Monday. “That’s a great story, but maybe we’ve got to play a much more mean game.”

From the outside, it seems like teams don’t feel much resistance going against the Blazers’ defense. Portland struggles guarding pick and rolls and locating opposing players in transition.

— Oregonian

Quick Take: The Blazers are 9-10 this season. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are having excellent seasons. But the Blazers’ main story this season has been their defense. It’s been miserable. The squad has a league-worst defensive efficiency, through yesterday’s games.

Bill Foran named Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year

The National Strength and Conditioning Association announced that Miami HEAT Assistant Coach/Strength & Conditioning Coach Bill Foran has been named the Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year. Foran, who becomes the fourth recipient of the award, will receive the honor at the NSCA’s Coaches Conference which is held in Nashville, TN from January 4 through January 6. Past winners of the award include Ashley Jones of the Edinburgh Rugby team in Scotland, Casey Bond of the Colorado Avalanche and Joe Kenn of the Carolina Panthers.

Foran, who has been the HEAT’s strength and conditioning coach since its inception and is currently in his 29th season with the organization, supervises a combination of strength training, plyometrics, conditioning, stretching and nutrition to ensure Miami’s players’ produce maximum results on the court. In addition to this honor, Foran was inducted into the USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame in 2014 and was named as the 2009 Co-NBA Strength Coach of the Year.

Bradley Beal fined for grabbing at throat of Evan Fournier

Wizards guard Bradley Beal has been fined $15,000 for grabbing at the throat of Orlando Magic guard/forward Evan Fournier, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Beal was assessed a technical foul, occurred with 7:40 remaining to play in the fourth quarter of the Wizards’ 94-91 win over the Magic on Nov. 25 at Amway Center.

To view the incident, click on this link.