Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

LeBron James pre-game music

Wonder which music LeBron James listens to before games? Here’s ESPN Cleveland reporting:

LeBron James pre-game music

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ pregame locker room is noisier this season than it was last season.

LeBron James has taken to turning on his portable speakers from Beats by Dre, a company he endorses, and playing tunes as he and his teammates stretch out and put on their uniforms.

Only it’s not the music that’s the noisy part. It’s the debates that the music sparks. The ribbing usually centers between two people: James and Jared Cunningham. While James picks the songs, Cunningham picks on the songs…

James’ playlist features artists such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, OutKast, Jadakiss, Lupe Fiasco and sometimes even Cleveland’s own Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Cunningham, meanwhile, prefers performers such as Ty Dolla $ign, Migos, Young Thug and Yo Gotti.

Rajon Rondo suspended one game by NBA

Rajon Rondo suspended one game by NBA

Sacramento Kings guard Rajon Rondo has been suspended one game without pay for directing a derogatory and offensive term towards a game official and not leaving the court in a timely manner upon his ejection, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Rondo was assessed two technical fouls and ejected, occurred with 6:30 remaining in the third quarter of Sacramento’s 114-97 loss to the Boston Celtics on Thursday, Dec. 3 at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City.

Rondo is having a very good season as a new member of the 9-15 Kings. He’s averaging 12.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 11.0 assists per game and providing an entertaining spark to the squad.

John `Hot Rod` Williams dies of cancer

Here’s ESPN.com reporting some very sad news about a well-known, talented former NBA player:

John “Hot Rod” Williams, one of the NBA’s best sixth men in the 1980s and ’90s, has died of cancer at his home near Sorrento, Louisiana. He was 53.

Williams’ agent Mark Bartelstein confirmed his death Friday.

Williams, a 6-11 power forward, played 13 seasons in the NBA but was best known for being a standout with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1986 to 1995. The news stunned former teammates and executives who had been encouraged when Williams came through an earlier cancer diagnosis this year.

“It’s devastating,” said Wayne Embry, the Cavs general manager from 1986-99. “He was a hard worker and a great player but I liked him more as a person than a basketball player.”

Iman Shumpert set to return for Cavs

The Cleveland Cavaliers are 14-7 this season, which through Thursday’s games is the 3rd best record in the league. And they’ve accomplished this without their starting backcourt of Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert. The squad is about to get healthier, as reported by the Akron Beacon Journal:

Iman Shumpert set to return for Cavs

Iman Shumpert will be active tonight and is likely to make his season debut against the Orlando Magic.

Shumpert still needed to go through the morning shootaround and pregame warm-ups, but all parties (speaking before shootaround) sounded optimistic.

“If we go through shootaround and everything is straight,” Shumpert said, “I’m going to try to give it a go.”

Added coach David Blatt: “We’re hopeful he can get out there.”

Andrew Wiggins drawing more defensive attention

Andrew Wiggins is averaging 21.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for the Timberwolves (9-12). Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting that teams have taken notice of Wiggins’ skills and are putting more help defenders around him:

Andrew Wiggins drawing more defensive attention

It happened again to Andrew Wiggins a couple of times Wednesday night.

The Wolves guard got the ball, dribbled into the paint and went to that spin move he has used so effectively this season. But when he turned, there was a wall of Lakers defenders waiting for him.

“I tell our players all the time,” interim coach Sam Mitchell said. “They watch film, too.”

They, in this case, are Wolves opponents. And the film they’ve been watching clearly includes Wiggins, whose game has taken a quantum jump this season.

He has scored in double figures in 18 of his 20 games, scored 20 points or more 11 times, 30 or more three times.

And he is becoming a marked man.

Sixers deny that team is for sale

Here’s CSN Philly with the latest on a report concerning the 76ers owner’s plans:

Sixers deny that team is for sale

A Forbes magazine story claiming that Sixers managing owner Josh Harris was looking to sell the team was rebuked by a team spokesperson on Thursday.

The Forbes story states that Harris and co-owner David Blitzer are “gunning” to own the first NFL team in London and “want to flip the Sixers.”

Prior to the game at the Barclays Center against the Brooklyn Nets, the team statement was delivered by director of public relations, Michael Preston.

Bulls lose third straight game

The Chicago Bulls are 11-8, and half a game above the Orlando Magic for the 8th seed in the Eastern conference. Wednesday night in Boston they lost to the Celtics 105-100; Chicago’s third loss in a row. Here’s the Bulls.com Blog reporting:

Bulls lose third straight game

Instead, it’s almost a collective shrug now as lineup and rotations have changed all season with Taj Gibson Wednesday getting his first start as Nikola Mirotic went to the bench. Hoiberg said he wanted to change up to help Mirotic get more aggressive and provide some second unit perimeter shooting. It did help produce one of the Bulls’ better starts of late, leading 8-2 and 15-7 before first quarter substitutions led to Boston pulling even at 24 after one quarter.

Gibson finished with eight points and seven rebounds, but played just 35 seconds on the fourth quarter. Tony Snell was scoreless again in 22 minutes while Joakim Noah had a tough minus-18 when he was on the floor. Pau Gasol had 16 points and 15 rebounds and Derrick Rose had 12 points and six assists, though at five of 11 shooting Rose still has not had a 50 percent shooting game this season.

“I wish I could (identify the team’s issue), but I really can’t right now,” said Rose. “This is our first time (with this group) ever really going through it. We’ve been together for a long time and we’re just trying to figure things out. I don’t think it has anything to do with fighting the system or anything. I’m gonna try my hardest to push the ball, even on dead balls just to get up quicker so we have a couple of more seconds for our offense. We’re just trying to figure it out, seeing the lineups, seeing who’s out the there at certain times; just trying to figure it all out.”

Raptors step up and beat Spurs

Wednesday night in Toronto the Raptors defended home court and beat the San Antonio Spurs 97-94. It was only the Spurs’ 5th loss of the season. In the win, DeMar DeRozan shot 10-15 for 28 points and six assists, while Kyle Lowry had 19 points and eight assists. Here’s the Toronto Star reporting:

It’s a dangerous game but a fun one, watching a team rise to the level of good opposition and sink to the level of bad.

It can’t be a lot of fun when they lose to supposedly inferior opposition but when it goes the other way, it can be an awfully good for their souls.

The Raptors, who typify that up-and-down existence like few teams in the NBA, did it again Wednesday, upsetting the San Antonio Spurs 97-94 at the Air Canada Centre, battling injuries and foul trouble with a patchwork rotation for a well-deserved wire-to-wire victory.

It was a gut-check win for the Raptors, now 14-9, against the 18-5 Spurs, who had won nine of 10 coming into the game.

It was sealed with fewer than 10 seconds left when DeMar DeRozan, capping perhaps his best game of the season, scooped up an offensive rebound of a Kyle Lowry miss and Toronto ahead by just three.

Gary Harris back soon for Nuggets

Here’s the Denver Post reporting that the Nuggets (8-14) will soon regain the services of guard Gary Harris (9.8 ppg in 26.6 minutes per game this season):

Amid a host of players who did not practice for the Nuggets on Wednesday was the welcome sight of one who did.

Shooting guard Gary Harris.

Harris went through his first full contact practice since suffering a concussion against the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 27. He’s missed every game since then, five in all, and the Nuggets have missed him. He was one of the Nuggets more reliable shooters and is arguably the team’s best defender.

“It was good,” said Harris of the practice. “It was good to finally to get back out there.”