Jayson Tatum discusses his shot heading into NBA Finals Game 2

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum did lots of great things in Finals Game 1 – when he wasn’t shooting. Here’s Boston.com on it:

Celtics star Jayson Tatum didn’t shoot well in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. He made just 3-of-17 shots from the field and was 1-of-5 from 3-point range, giving him 12 points on the evening.

Despite that, not only did the Celtics beat the Warriors in Game 1, but they also scored an astonishing 120 points against the league’s second-best defense. A big reason for that was Tatum’s playmaking. He finished with a career-high 13 assists on Thursday, which were also the most ever by a player in their first NBA Finals game.

While Tatum’s certainly expecting to shoot better in Sunday’s Game 2, he said he isn’t going to go out of his way to try and score.

“I don’t think [I’ll try to force shots],” Tatum told reporters at Saturday’s practice. “I had more assists than points last game. So I feel like I made the right play more often than not. You know, it’s not much to overthink. I feel like it’s a lot of shots, the open shots that I miss more often than not that I make.

“So it’s not something that I’m losing sleep over. You know, we won. That was most important, right? It’s the Finals. That’s all that matters. Obviously, I know I’ve got to play better. I can’t shoot like that every game and hopefully we win. I expect to play better shooting-wise, but just impacting the game in different ways to do my part, and let’s get a win. I will continue to do that. Just read the game, read each play. That’s how I kind of approach next game.”

Finals Game 2 is Sunday night at Golden State.

Timberwolves reportedly adding Matt Lloyd to front office

Via the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Tim Connelly has his first major hire since taking over the Timberwolves’ basketball operations department in place.

Minnesota is set to hire Matt Lloyd as senior vice president of basketball operations, a move first reported by ESPN.

Lloyd has worked for the Orlando Magic since 2012.

Prior to last season, Lloyd was promoted to vice president of basketball operations in Orlando.

The Timberwolves finished last season with a 46-36 record, good for 7th best in the Western conference. They qualified for the playoffs via the league’s play-in tournament, and fell in six games to the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.

Now official: Lakers hire Darvin Ham as new head coach

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed Darvin Ham to a multi-year contract as head coach, it was announced today by Vice President, Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka.

“When someone begins his NBA coaching career at the G League level and goes all the way through playing an integral role on the front bench of an NBA Championship team, it really speaks to a certain strength of character. Our players and fans will immediately identify with Darvin’s no-nonsense and hard-working approach, which we feel will bring toughness and a competitive edge to all we do,” said Pelinka. “When you add that to Darvin’s sophisticated grasp of in-game strategy and deep knowledge of the game of basketball, we have the ideal coach for this next chapter in Lakers history. We could not be more honored and proud to name Darvin Ham as our new head coach.”

Ham, 48, will be the 28th head coach in franchise history and the 24th of the Los Angeles era.

Ham enjoyed an eight-year NBA playing career (1996-98, 1999-2005), suiting up with Detroit, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Washington, Indiana and Denver. He was a member of the 2004 championship team with the Pistons.

Per the Orange County Register, “by now the broad strokes of Ham’s career are familiar to most Lakers fans: Ham was a journeyman player who won a championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004, followed by a long tenure as an assistant with the Lakers, Atlanta and Milwaukee. He’s coming from the Bucks, with whom he won a championship in 2021 under Mike Budenholzer. Ham’s previous experience with the Lakers – a two-year stint under Mike Brown – mattered in the hiring process. On Friday morning as they officially acknowledged the hire, the Lakers re-shared a 10-year-old Twitter post of Ham working out with Kobe Bryant.”

Per ESPN.com, “Ham will be tasked with turning around a Lakers team that went 33-49 this season and missed the playoffs, leading to Frank Vogel’s firing… The Lakers also interviewed Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, Bucks assistant Charles Lee, Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, former Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts and former Warriors coach and current ESPN broadcaster Mark Jackson, sources told ESPN.”

After his successful playing career, Ham began coaching in 2008 as an assistant coach with the New Mexico Thunderbirds of the NBA Developmental League before taking over as general manager and head coach of the team in 2010. In 2011, Ham joined the Lakers as an assistant coach, spending two seasons with Los Angeles. He would then spend five seasons as an assistant with the Atlanta Hawks (2013-18) and joined the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant coach in 2018, helping the Bucks to the 2021 NBA Championship.

A native of Saginaw, Michigan, Ham graduated from Texas Tech and played internationally in Spain, the Philippines and Puerto Rico.

Jaylen Brown reportedly signing with Kanye West’s Donda Sports

Some sports marketing news, via ESPN.com:

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown said he believes joining up with Kayne West’s marketing firm is the start of a “beautiful collaboration.”

It became public this week that the Celtics forward was the first NBA player to sign with Donda Sports, a fledgling marketing company that is part of West’s larger clothing line. Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald recently said he’d joined the firm.

With the NBA Finals set to begin, Donda Sports would be smart to issue a press release on this, sooner rather than later.

Los Angeles Lakers 2022-23 preseason game schedule

The Los Angeles Lakers 2022-23 preseason schedule was announced today.

The Lakers will open preseason on Monday, October 3 in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena versus the Sacramento Kings. Los Angeles will then head to Las Vegas for back-to-back games against the Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers will play their final three preseason games on a California swing against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center, at home versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, and on the road at Golden 1 Center versus the Sacramento Kings.

2022-23 LAKERS PRESEASON SCHEDULE
All Times Local

October 3: vs. Sacramento, in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena, 7:30 p.m.

October 5: vs. Phoenix, in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena, 7:00 p.m.

October 6: vs. Minnesota, in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena, 7:00 p.m.

October 9: at Golden State, in San Francisco at Chase Center, TBA

October 12: vs. Minnesota, in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena, 7:00 p.m.

October 14: at Sacramento, Sacramento at Golden 1 Center, 7:00 p.m.

On the Trail Blazers and the 2022 NBA Draft

With the 2022 NBA draft mere weeks away, here’s NBA.com/blazers with some workout info:

Pre-draft workouts in Portland are back.

After not hosting draft-eligible players at the own practice facility over the last two years due to both the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of picks, the Portland Trail Blazers welcomed Julian Champagnie of St. John’s, Dyson Daniels of the G-League Ignite). Darius Days of LSU, Mouhamed Gueye of Washington State, Fatts Russell of Maryland and Dallas Walton of Wake Forest in their first pre-draft workout of 2022 Tuesday morning in Tualatin.

In front of a collection of front office staff, coaches and players — including General Manager Joe Cronin, Vice Chair Bert Kolde, Head Coach Chauncey Billups and Damian Lillard — the six players went through a series of tests, drills and light scrimmages in an effort to prove they should be selected with one of Portland’s three picks at the 2022 NBA Draft. The Trail Blazers currently own the seventh, 36th and 57th picks.

Gary Payton II wins 2021-22 NBA season Bob Lanier Community Assist Award

The NBA today announced it will rename the Season-long NBA Cares Community Assist Award in honor of late Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and NBA Global Ambassador, Bob Lanier, for his dedication to teaching NBA values and making a positive impact on communities across the globe.

And the first winner of the new Bob Lanier Community Assist Award for the 2021-22 season is Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II.

Payton was selected by fans during a 12-day public voting period and by an NBA executive panel for his sustained community outreach in support of youth in the Bay Area over the course of the season.

PER THE NBA:

Payton II has prioritized engaging with and giving back to his community, particularly through initiatives related to youth with learning disabilities and those dealing with hardship. This season, he founded the GPII Foundation, a nonprofit that acts as a conduit for Dyslexia-awareness, an educational disability he has dealt with throughout his life. The foundation provides funding for educators to become certified in early intervention services and support for students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, including early screening, detection and certified assessment for youth and young adults.

Payton’s own personal struggle with dyslexia, and his passion and efforts to uplift young people impacted, led to the Warriors expanding their Read to Achieve program to specifically include students with learning disabilities. He also led attended a rally at San Francisco City Hall in support of universal screening for risk of dyslexia via Senate Bill 237 and hosted his first-ever Reading Rally with Decoding Dyslexia for students affected by learning disabilities. Additionally, Payton participated in the Warriors’ Black History Month celebrations and 75th Anniversary Live, Learn or Play Center dedication, among other events. He was awarded the January monthly NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente.

Lanier, a League Office executive and NBA Global Ambassador for more than 30 years, had an enormous influence on the NBA family and young people globally, traveling the world to teach the values of the game and making a positive impact through his kindness and generosity. An author and humanitarian, Lanier was the recipient of many distinguished awards throughout his lifetime, including the National Civil Rights Museum Sports Legacy Award for his significant contributions to civil and human rights and the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award as a player. The legacy he built will continue to live on through the seasonlong Community Assist Award recognition, which honors the next generation of players’ commitment to positively impacting their community throughout the NBA season.

Finally, Al Horford reaches the NBA Finals

The Celtics’ big Game 7 win over the Heat was of course huge for everyone on Boston’s squad, but for Al Horford it was a big different. Via Boston.com:

Al Horford has experienced just about everything in his 15-year NBA career, one in which he long ago earned the reputation as Mr. Reliability, a poised and almost regal presence who could be leaned on to do the right thing under any circumstance.

But in the most satisfying moment of his career, Horford was temporarily stumped.

As he secured the rebound of the final missed shot of the Miami Heat’s season in the Celtics’ 100-96 victory in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday night, he wasn’t quite what to do next.

For understandable reasons, too. After playing 950 regular-season games and another 141 in the playoffs, Horford was heading to the NBA Finals for the first time. No player in NBA history has played more playoff games before reaching the Finals.

2022 NBA Finals game schedule

Game 1: Thursday, June 2: Boston vs. Golden State, 9 ET, ABC

Game 2: Sunday, June 5: Boston vs. Golden State, 8 ET, ABC

Game 3: Wednesday, June 8: Golden State vs. Boston, 9 ET, ABC

Game 4: Friday, June 10: Golden State vs. Boston, 9 ET, ABC

Game 5: Monday, June 13: Boston vs. Golden State, 9 ET, ABC (If necessary)

Game 6: Thursday, June 16: Golden State vs. Boston, 9 ET, ABC (If necessary)

Game 7: Sunday, June 19: Boston vs. Golden State, 8 ET, ABC (If necessary)

On the Grizzlies and the 2022 NBA Draft

Here’s the Memphis Commercial Appeal on the Grizzlies heading into the 2022 NBA Draft, which is now less than one month away:

The Memphis Grizzlies are loaded with one of the best young rosters in the NBA, and they have the potential to add more in the 2022 NBA Draft.

The Grizzlies have three picks, including the 22nd and 29th overall selections in the first round. Picks at the back end of the first round are less likely to be home runs, but the Grizzlies have recently struck gold. They selected Desmond Bane with the 30th overall pick in 2020 and Brandon Clarke 21st in 2019.

Tyus Jones and Kyle Anderson are headed for free agency. If they’re not in the franchise’s future plans, Memphis could draft their replacements or it can bolster depth at other spots.

Either way, the 2022 NBA Draft on June 23 figures to be one in which the Grizzlies can maneuver around the board, be creative or stay put and strengthen the young core.