The AP reports: Michael Beasley scored 16 points in his preseason debut, 13 in the third quarter, but Rodney Stuckey scored a game-high 23 for Detroit and the Pistons scored the first six points of overtime on the way to beating the Heat 95-91 in the exhibition opener for both clubs. Jason Maxiell finished with 13 points for Detroit, including the first two baskets of overtime. Richard Hamilton added 12, even though he—like virtually most of the projected regulars for both teams—played sparingly… Mark Blount scored 12 points, while Daequan Cook, David Padgett and Olympic gold medalist Dwyane Wade each added 11 for Miami… The Heat placed Udonis Haslem (foot), Shaun Livingston (knee), Dorell Wright (knee) and James Jones (wrist) on the game’s inactive list. Detroit didn’t have any inactives.
Preseason kicks off tonight
The 2008-09 NBA preseason kicks off tonight, with the Pistons and Heat at 6:30 p.m. ET, thenby the Warriors and Hornets at 7:00 p.m. ET.
In preseason, stars play very few minutes, and the games are often pretty ugly.
The Pistons, according to both local Detroit newspapers, will now start Amir Johnson at power forward. Antonio McDyess will come off the bench. The Heat are worth watching to see how Michael Beasley looks. As for the Warriors, watch CJ Watson, who gets increased minutes with Monta Ellis out.
There are two Monday games as well, with the Hawks and Magic, then the Wolves and Bucks.
Things really kick off on Tuesday, October 7, with five games. There are nine Wednesday matchups.
I write this from Holland, where I’ve spent the last week. In a few days I finally return home to New York City, and a day later InsideHoops.com kicks into overdrive with nonstop season previews and a dozen or so updates per day.
PG Jason Williams brought the fun
The Sacramento Bee (Scott Howard-Cooper) reports on now retired point guard Jason Williams: “He really has a little bit of a unique place in the history of the NBA, I think,” Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie said, “in the sense that his rookie year and into his second year, he kind of came out of nowhere at a time when the league was coming out of the lockout and sort of struggling with its style of play and just trying to regain some of the footing it had lost at that time. And here was this kid that had these incredible dribbling and passing skills and sort of pedal-to-the-metal attitude about the game. He just caught the imagination of the entire country, along with the rest of our team. “It really helped the NBA. It really helped this franchise, along with a lot of other terrific players, too. He became the darling of ESPN highlights just about every night. I’ve told this to other people: There was a time there, probably for about a year or so, other than Michael Jordan, he was the most popular basketball player in America because of this flamboyant style he had.”
Pistons PF starter is Amir Johnson
The Detroit News (Chris McCosky) reports: Calling him a “welcome addition,” coach Michael Curry made official Saturday what he’s long been hinting at — Amir Johnson, as of now, is the Pistons’ starting power forward. “Amir does things without having to have the ball,” Curry said. “He’s able to pick up baskets through his activity, by running the floor and playing off the other four guys. He does all the intangible things, and through that he’s able to create offensive opportunities for himself.” How long Johnson holds onto the spot is completely up to him.
Heat waive Matt Walsh
The Miami HEAT announced today that they have requested waivers on Matt Walsh.
The 6’6”, 205-pound forward, was signed by the HEAT as a free agent on September 26, 2008. Last season, he appeared in 18 games with Ricoh Manresa of the Spanish ACB League and averaged 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.30 steals last season. He then joined TEC Spirou Charleroi of the Belgian League and appeared in 14 games averaging 12.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists.
He previously signed with the HEAT as an undrafted free agent on August 15, 2005, playing in two games totaling three minutes while finishing with two points as he connected on his only field goal attempt before being waived on November 18, 2005.
Heat sign Shaun Livingston and waive Tre Kelley
The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed free agent guard Shaun Livingston and requested waivers on guard Tre Kelley. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Heat have bench-quality point guards, so they’re giving Livingston a shot. Before his injury, it seemed like Shaun would keep developing into a capable starter. He was playing under 30 minutes a game, scoring under 10 points but putting up nice, well-rounded numbers. He wasn’t a sure future star, but the possibility existed. Right now, though, until proven otherwise, Shaun is a bench project as he works his way back. Here’s more on him:
Livingston, a 6’7”, 185-pound guard, appeared in 145 games (60 starts) with the Los Angeles Clippers and averaged 7.4 points, 4.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 0.94 steals in 27.2 minutes while shooting 44.0 percent from the field and 71.0 percent from the foul line. In his last season (2006-07) with the Clippers, he led the team in assists per game (5.1) and set career highs in games started (31), minutes per game (29.9), field goals made (208), field goal attempts (449), field goal percentage (.463), free throws made (82), free throws attempted (116), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.54), rebounds per game (3.4), steals per game (1.09), and blocks per game (0.54).
“Shaun Livingston was one of the best young players to come into the draft in a long, long time. We feel very fortunate to be able to sign him and help us rebuild our program,” said HEAT President Pat Riley.
Livingston, the fourth overall selection in the 2004 NBA Draft, was named the Western Conference got milk? Rookie of the Month for April of 2005 after averaging 11.0 points, 7.4 assists, 1.40 steals and 35.9 minutes in 10 games.
Kelley was signed by the HEAT on September 26, 2008 as a free agent.
Nuggets sign Juwan Howard
The Denver Nuggets have signed F Juwan Howard to their training camp roster, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today. Both local newspapers covering the Nuggets have said this will be a nonguaranteed deal.
Howard, a 14-year NBA veteran, played in 50 games for the Dallas Mavericks last season. In 1,001 career regular season games, he has averaged 15.3 ppg and 6.8 rpg and was an All-Star with Washington in 1996.
Howard, 6-9, 250, played in 105 games for the Nuggets from 2002-03, averaging 18.3 ppg and 7.7 rpg. Originally drafted by Washington with the fifth overall pick of the 1995 NBA Draft, he has also played for Orlando and Houston.
The addition of Howard brings Denver’s training camp roster to 19 players.
Mavericks name Paul Westphal VP of basketball operations
The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have named Paul Westphal executive vice president of basketball operations. He will work directly with President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Donnie Nelson and assist in all areas of management as well as scouting.
Westphal, a 12-year NBA veteran, brings 25 years of coaching experience to his new role. Westphal owns a .627 winning percentage as an NBA coach and led the Phoenix Suns to the 1993 NBA Finals. In 1995, he became the second-fastest coach in NBA history to reach 150 wins. The Suns surpassed the 55-win mark in each of his three seasons in Phoenix. Last season, Westphal served as an assistant coach for the Mavericks.
As a player, Westphal was the 10th overall selection by the Boston Celtics in the 1972 NBA Draft. His career included stints in Boston, Phoenix, New York and Seattle. He was a member of the 1974 NBA Champion Boston Celtics and played in the 1976 Finals as a member of the Suns.
“I can’t tell you how excited we are to add Westy to our management team,” Nelson said. “The Mavericks have gained a valuable asset. As a player and coach, Paul has pretty much seen and done it all. He has a wealth of experience and expertise. Now he has the opportunity to apply that knowledge on the management side of the ball and the Mavericks are a much better team for it.”
Jared Jeffries breaks leg
The Bergen Record (Steve Adamek) reports via blog: Jared Jeffries was supposed to have a significant role in Mike D’Antoni’s rotation this season, even playing a little center as the Knicks’ version of Boris Diaw, whom D’Antoni played everywhere in Phoenix. Instead, the player considered a disappointment his first two seasons in New York after Isiah Thomas signed him to a five-year, $30 million mid-level salary cap-exception deal will start his third straight season injured after breaking his leg landing awkwardly late in Thursday’s practice. The team estimates he’ll miss six to eight weeks.
The New York Post (Marc Berman) reports: Jeffries had so impressed the new coaching staff and D’Antoni all but admitted he would be part of their expected nine-man rotation, classifying him as a center. D’Antoni felt he was misused as a small forward. “He’s 6-11, 250 pounds, that spells center to me,” D’Antoni said before the bad news. “He’s big, running the floor, great defensive player. He worked on his shot all summer, came ready to play. The guy does lots of things.”
Brian Cook out of shape
Florida Today (John Denton) reports: Despite losing weight and getting back healthy over the summer, Orlando Magic forward Brian Cook has still managed to work his way into head coach Stan Van Gundy’s doghouse. Three days into training camp and it’s already apparent that Cook’s conditioning isn’t where the Magic would like for it to be. It certainly isn’t a serious situation this early in camp, as Van Gundy pointed out, but it could hurt Cook’s chances of getting significant minutes off the bench as the backup power forward.