Mike Budenholzer wins 2014-2015 NBA Coach of Year award

Mike Budenholzer wins 2014-2015 NBA Coach of Year award

Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer, who guided the team to the best regular season in franchise history, is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2014-15 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA announced today.

Budenholzer received 67 first-place votes and 513 total points from a panel of 130 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. The Golden State Warriors’ Steve Kerr, who led the Pacific Division champions to a franchise-record and NBA-high 67 victories in his first season as an NBA coach, finished second with 56 first-place votes and 471 total points. Jason Kidd of the Milwaukee Bucks was third with one first-place vote and 57 total points. Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

Budenholzer led Atlanta to a 60-22 record in his second season, three games better than the previous team high of 57-25 set in 1986-87 and matched in 1993-94. The Hawks earned both the No. 1 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference and a division title (Southeast Division) for the first time since 1993-94 — the last season they had the NBA Coach of the Year (Lenny Wilkens). Atlanta made the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year, the longest active streak in the East.

After posting a 38-44 record last season, Budenholzer oversaw a 22-win improvement rooted in balance on offense and teamwork on defense. According to NBA.com/Stats, Atlanta tied for sixth in the league in offensive rating (points scored per 100 possessions) and ranked seventh in defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions). Six players averaged double figures in scoring, but none eclipsed 17 points per game. The Hawks set a franchise record for three-pointers with 818, ranked second in the NBA in assists (25.7 apg) and finished in the top five in field goal percentage (fourth), three-point field goal percentage (second) and free throw percentage (fifth).

Atlanta opened the season 5-5 before winning 35 of its next 38 games, a stretch that included a franchise-record 19-game winning streak. The 35-3 run also featured a 17-0 January, the best calendar month in NBA history and a perfect run that earned the Hawks’ starting five the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month and Budenholzer his second NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month award of the season. The honors continued when a team-record four Hawks players were selected to the NBA All-Star Game, coached on the East team by Budenholzer.

Lou Williams wins 2014-2015 NBA Sixth Man of Year award

Lou Williams wins 2014-2015 NBA Sixth Man of Year award

Toronto Raptors guard Lou Williams, who averaged a career-high 15.5 points this season and helped Toronto win a franchise-record 49 games, is the winner of the 2014-15 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award as the league’s best player in a reserve role, the NBA announced today. The 6-1 guard becomes the first Raptors player to earn the honor.

Williams, in his 10th NBA season and first with the Raptors, amassed 78 first-place votes and 502 total points from a panel of 130 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics finished second with 324 points (33 first-place votes), and two-time winner Jamal Crawford of the Los Angeles Clippers was third with 131 points (eight first-place votes).

Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote. To be eligible for the award, players had to have come off the bench in more games than they started.

Williams came off the bench in all 80 of his appearances and averaged 25.2 minutes. He led or tied for the team lead in scoring 18 times, second most in the league for a reserve, and the Raptors went 14-4 in those games. The 28-year-old also led the Raptors in free throw percentage (86.1) and made a career-high 152 three-pointers, nearly double his previous high of 88 set with the 76ers in 2010-11. On March 4, Williams set a Toronto record for points in a quarter with 21 in the fourth period against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Fan reaction/discussion: Lou Williams wins 6th man of the year

Damian Lillard struggles in Blazers Game 1 loss

Damian Lillard struggles in Blazers Game 1 loss to Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Portland Trail Blazers 100-86 Sunday to take a 1-0 series lead. Blazers guard Damian Lillard struggled badly, shooting 5-of-21 for 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Here’s the Oregonian reporting:

Damian Lillard was locked in at long last. This was the stingy and smothering laser-like All-Star effort we’d been promised all week by the guard. It was the defensive performance of a lifetime.

Here was Lillard late Sunday night, long after the Blazers Game 1 loss against the Memphis Grizzlies, shutting down the scrutiny, one dress sock at a time. He’d already toweled off like a retiree watching a sunset. Now, the Blazers All-Star guard sat on a folding chair, back to the room, checking text messages.

It was so crowded with media in Lillard’s corner of the locker room that when guard Steve Blake emerged from the showers he had to dispatch a locker room attendant through the mob of cameras to retrieve his clothes. Also, during the Lillard filibuster a reporter from TNT asked Chris Kaman if he wouldn’t mind giving the network a quote, as Lillard was about to bleed their deadline out.

Kaman obliged and left. Blake eventually dressed, conducted an interview and left the room. So did the rest of the Blazers teammates. One by one, from Robin Lopez to Nic Batum to Wesley Matthews and back, the Blazers absorbed the disappointment and disappeared out the locker room doors.

Clippers take Game 1 vs Spurs

Clippers take Game 1 vs Spurs

The Clippers beat the Spurs 107-92 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin did big things for the home squad in the win. Here’s the Orange County Register reporting:

Paul delivered on the all-around excellence fans of his are accustomed to, scoring 32 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists, and Griffin delivered four of the game’s most emphatic points on the way to 26, 12 and 6.

“They had it going,” Doc Rivers said. “And we noticed it and kind of rode it.”

With the game yet to be decided in the third quarter, Griffin hammered home two separate merciless slam dunks on the head of San Antonio reserve Aron Baynes, sending the Staples Center crowd into a state of euphoria.

And while the defending NBA champions fought back from a 20-point lead to get within single digits in the fourth quarter, Griffin and Paul were there again to answer, leading a 7-0 run that doused any sparks of a comeback.

With four days off since their regular season finale, the Clippers had a trio of practices to go over the Spurs and their multiple offensive sets and defensive schemes.

Austin Rivers gets taste of playoff basketball

Austin Rivers gets taste of playoff basketball

Here’s the OC Register reporting on Clippers reserve guard Austin Rivers:

Austin Rivers gets taste of playoff basketball

Austin Rivers has watched NBA playoff games. He’s attended a few and was in the stands when the Boston Celtics hoisted the NBA championship trophy.

This was, however, the first time Rivers had played in an NBA postseason game. He entered Sunday’s game against San Antonio late in the first quarter and while Rivers saw limited minutes, it still was a first-in-a-lifetime experience for the Clippers coach’s son.

“Obviously, I grew up around it (NBA postseason) with my father, but it’s different when you’re out there,” said Rivers, Doc Rivers’ second son.

“At the same time, whether I was at the game or watching it like any other player, it’s still basketball but the stakes are higher.”

Austin Rivers said he didn’t expect to alter his playing style or experience any nerves, not even playing against the defending champion Spurs. The Clippers reserve guard said before the game that he was going to stick with what has gotten him playing time since being traded from New Orleans.

Nuggets in search of new head coach

Nuggets in search of new head coach

Here’s the Denver Post reporting on the Nuggets, who finished the regular season with a 30-52 record, not even coming close to qualifying for the playoffs in a very difficult Western conference.

The Nuggets are in search of their second coach since 2013. Popular opinion says they’re very worried about the bottom line, that they’ll skimp on the coach’s salary and place most of the monetary resources in player salaries. Yet, those close to the Nuggets say price will not be an issue during their search. And that takes into account the fact that the Nuggets still owe Brian Shaw, who was fired March 3, $2 million.

So if money is no object — or at least not an obstacle — the Nuggets should be in good shape financially in their search for a coach, which, last week, general manager Tim Connelly said had started.

“We don’t want to put any unnecessary internal time frames on it. There’s no deadline. I think the deadline is we want to have a coach as we head into the draft,” Connelly said of the June 25 event. “It’s a pretty pivotal pick for us, and a pretty pivotal moment. Not just with the draft itself and the chance to make trades, and free agency happens soon thereafter. So if we have to wait, we can wait. But we want to make sure that we talk to all of the quality candidates and pick the best guy.”

Derrick Rose, back in the NBA playoffs

Derrick Rose, back in the NBA playoffs

On Saturday, Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose played in his first NBA playoff game in years, stayed healthy, looked pretty good, and enjoyed a win. The former league MVP shot 9-of-16 for 23 points, seven assists and two steals as the Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks 103-91 to take a 1-0 lead in their first round series.

Leading the Bulls was guard Jimmy Butler, who shot 8-of-14 for 25 points and six assists. Forward Pau Gasol shot just 5-of-17 for 10 points, though he did add 13 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Center Joakim Noah had six points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.

In Milwaukee’s loss, Khris Middleton scored 18 points on 17 shot attempts. The Bucks as a team shot just 39.3% for the game.

Brandon Knight undergoes left ankle surgery

Brandon Knight undergoes left ankle surgery

Brandon Knight undergoes left ankle surgery

Phoenix Suns guard Brandon Knight underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle yesterday.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Richard Ferkel in Los Angeles. Knight is expected to make a full recovery.

Knight averaged 17.0 points and career-highs of 5.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals this past season, one of just nine players in the NBA to post at least those amounts in each of those categories. A four-year NBA veteran out of the University of Kentucky, Knight played in 11 games with the Suns this past season after being acquired in a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 19.

2015 NBA draft tiebreakers broken

2015 NBA draft tiebreakers broken

Four ties among teams that finished the 2014-15 NBA regular season with identical records were broken today through random drawings to help determine the order of selection for the 2015 NBA Draft presented by State Farm, which will be held on Thursday, June 25.

The drawings were conducted live on NBA TV earlier today in New York City by Rod Thorn, NBA President, Basketball Operations. The tiebreak process was overseen by Denise Pelli, a representative from the accounting firm of Ernst & Young.

The results of the drawings:

· Indiana (38-44) won a tiebreaker with Utah.
· Dallas (50-32) won a tiebreaker with Chicago.
· Memphis (55-27) won a tiebreaker with San Antonio.
· Houston (56-26) won a tiebreaker with the LA Clippers.