Basketball Blog

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have named Tom Thibodeau as an assistant coach.  Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“I’ve admired Tom as a coach for a long time. It’s good to have him on my side.” said Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers.

Thibodeau, who comes to the team from the Houston Rockets, had helped the Rockets rank among the top five in the NBA in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense in each of the past four campaigns.

In his now 17 NBA seasons, Thibodeau has helped his team finish in the NBA’s Top 10 in team defense 14 times. He has also coached in 87 NBA playoff games in his career, including New York’s appearance in the 1999 NBA Finals.

Prior to joining the Rockets, Thibodeau spent the previous seven years as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks. During his tenure with the Knicks, New York set a then-NBA record by holding 33 consecutive opponents under 100 points in the 2000-01 season. Thibodeau and the Knicks coaching staff also helped Jeff Van Gundy coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars in the 2000 NBA All-Star Game.

Thibodeau entered the NBA in 1989 as an assistant coach with the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves under the late Bill Musselman. After two seasons with the Timberwolves, he joined the Seattle SuperSonics in 1991 as an advance scout. The following year, Thibodeau moved to San Antonio, where he worked with Jerry Tarkanian and John Lucas as a Spurs assistant coach for two seasons. He left San Antonio to become an assistant coach under Lucas with the Philadelphia 76ers. Thibodeau’s stay in Philadelphia lasted two seasons, at which point, he joined the Knicks. With the Knicks, Thibodeau worked with Van Gundy for five years and Don Chaney for two seasons.

Thibodeau’s coaching career began in 1981 as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Salem State College. After three years as an assistant, he became head coach in 1984. The following season, Thibodeau became an assistant coach at Harvard. He coached at Harvard for four years before leaving for the NBA.

LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) tallied 16 of his game-high 26 points in the second quarter to help the USA Men’s Senior National Team (7-0/6-0) blow open a 10-point first quarter lead and run away with a 118-79 victory over Uruguay (2-4) in the FIBA Americas Championship 2007 Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. The win marked the 33rd consecutive win for the Americans in Olympic qualifying games.

The USA is set to conclude second-round action at 9:00 p.m. (PDT) on Thursday against also undefeated Argentina (6-0) in a battle that will determine the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds into Saturday’s semifinals.

Following the conclusion of the second round, the USA will advance to the all-important semifinals. The winners of the two semifinal games on Saturday will earn the Americas zone qualifying berths to the 2008 Olympic Games. While the USA’s specific opponent in the semifinals will remain unknown until the outcome is known from Thursday’s final second round games, the winner of the USA – Argentina game will claim the No. 1 seed, and the loser earns the

No. 2 seed. From there things get cloudy, but both Brazil and Canada have their fate in their own hands. If both claim wins Thursday, Brazil plays Uruguay and Canada meets Puerto Rico, then Brazil would claim the No. 3 seed and Canada the No. 4 seed.

“The main thing is to keep getting to know each other,” said USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski. “Although we were together last year, we didn’t have Jason or Kobe and Chauncey and Deron Williams, these guys really like, even more than like, they really respect one another and respect each other’s games. With LeBron, he doesn’t have to score a point. He’s not even looking for points. He’ll take what’s there. His voice out on the court is the most important thing, his leadership and his enthusiasm. LeBron’s enthusiasm for this team and for the game has really elevated our team.”

Uruguay, helped by 10 points from Atlanta Hawks forward Esteban Batista, kept the game close during the first quarter and even held a 14-12 lead with 4:52 to play in the first period.

But the advantage would not last. With 4:40 on the clock, Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) dished to James who connected on a 3-pointer that launched the U.S. on a 19-7 scoring run to finish off the opening quarter and propel the Americans to a 31-21 lead after the first period.

James went on to score 16 more points in the second quarter and Bryant added eight to help the red, white and blue carry its momentum all the way through to the halftime buzzer when Amaré Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns) drained a

3-pointer just as the horn sounded to up the U.S. lead to 66-38 at halftime.

Twenty-two of the USA’s 35 points in the second quarter were scored by either Bryant or James during a five minute spree that James launched with a dunk at 6:25 and Bryant capped with a fancy up-and-under finish at 1:30.

“Today was great,” James said. “I think we want to continue to improve. We don’t want to take a step backwards. We want to continue to get better as a team, offensively and defensively. We did that today, it was another great showing by us today.”

In just 14 minutes, all of which were collected in the first half, James was a perfect 11-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-4 from deep. He set a U.S. Olympic qualifying record for single-game field goal percentage, while equaling the existing marks for field goals made and 3-point percentage.

“He’s on fire,” Bryant said. “LeBron is one of those players, man, when’s he’s hot, he gets to be on fire. Going to the basket, getting a lot of transition buckets.”

With Jason Kidd (New Jersey Nets), James, Bryant and Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) resting the entire second half, and the USA’s leading scorer Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) not playing at all due to a bruised right heel, the remaining U.S. squad outscored Uruguay 29-26 in the third period, and the scoreboard read 95-64 headed into the final stanza.

The USA held Uruguay to 6-of-21 shooting (26.8 percent) in the fourth period while outscoring the opponent

23-15 to reach the final tally of 118-79.

“Just so you know with Carmelo, he will be ready to play tomorrow, he had a little bit of tenderness in his heel and the back of his leg, and after playing night after night, it was precautionary,” Krzyzewski said. “At halftime we decided to give a couple of guys who had been playing dominate minutes and dominate roles an opportunity to get ready for tomorrow. Overall I was pleased, and we should be at full health tomorrow. The next four days, we have to come together. We’re very excited to play.”

James added four assists and two steals to his 26 points; Stoudemire scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds and three steals; Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) contributed 14 points and six assists; Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons) added 13 points, six rebounds and four assists; and Bryant tallied 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. Also contributing to the U.S. effort were Mike Miller (Memphis Grizzlies) with eight points and three assists; Tyson Chandler (New Orleans Hornets) with seven points and six boards; and Chauncey Billups (Detroit Pistons) and Kidd with four assists apiece.

Statistically, the USA was strong as well, shooting 64.0 percent (46-72 FGs) from the field, including 13-of-26 from 3-point, dishing a total of 31 assists and racing to 37 fast break points.

In today’s other action, Canada (3-3) handled Mexico (1-5) 97-80, Puerto Rico (2-4) downed Venezuela (1-5) 92-63 and Argentina (6-0) needed overtime to beat Brazil (3-3) 86-79.

The Los Angeles Clippers today signed free agent forward Ruben Patterson. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.

A nine-year NBA veteran, Patterson is coming off a successful 2006-07 season in Milwaukee, where he established new career-highs by averaging 14.7 points, 2.9 assists and 31.4 minutes per game. Patterson appeared in 81 games for the Bucks, equaling a career-high while also tying his career-high with 5.4 rebounds per game. Patterson shot 55 percent from the field last season, his highest field goal percentage as a pro.

“We are thrilled to add Ruben to our team,” Clippers Vice President of Basketball Operations Elgin Baylor said. “Ruben plays hard every single night. He is an aggressive defensive player and has a real enthusiasm for the game. He gives 100 percent every game.”

The Clippers will be Patterson’s fifth NBA team, as he spent the 2006-07 season with the Bucks after appearing in 70 games and splitting time with the Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets in 2005-06. Patterson faced the Clippers in the 2006 NBA Playoffs, appearing in four games and starting one as the Clippers defeated the Nuggets.

“I am really excited by our signing of Ruben Patterson,” Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy said. “He is a great competitor. I have always admired the intensity he brings from game to game. His versatility will help improve our team.”

In his career, which has also seen stops with the Seattle Supersonics and Los Angeles Lakers, Patterson has averaged 10.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Originally drafted by the Lakers with the 31st overall selection in the 1998 NBA Draft out of Cincinnati, Patterson played in 10 games for AEK Athens in Greece during the 1998-99 season as well. The Ohio native signed with Seattle before the 1999-2000 season and then moved to Portland prior to the 2001-02 season.

Patterson was a star at the University of Cincinnati, averaging 16.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game during his senior year and earning Second Team All-Conference USA honors. Patterson played his first two years of collegiate basketball at Independence Community College in Kansas before transferring to Cincinnati for the 1996-97 season.

The Denver Nuggets have waived G Anthony Carter, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today.

Carter, 6-2, 195, averaged 3.0 ppg, 5.5 apg and 1.5 rpg in two games for the Nuggets last season. He appeared in on playoff game, scoring eight points and handing out two assists in 14 minutes.

During his eight year career, he has averaged 4.7 ppg, 3.7 apg and 2.0 rpg in 364 games for Miami, San Antonio, Minnesota and Denver.

Denver’s roster currently stands at 12 players.

Seattle SuperSonics General Manager Sam Presti today announced additions to the Sonics Basketball front office staff as Bill Branch, Gerald Madkins and Frank Ross will all begin their Sonics duties immediately in preparation for the 2007-08 season.

“I am excited to welcome Bill, Gerald and Frank to the Sonics organization, and I look forward to their contributions as we move forward.” Presti said. “They each bring unique experiences and perspectives to our scouting and personnel systems.”

Branch, who enters his 21st year in the NBA, was named the Sonics’ Director of Pro Player Personnel. For the past five seasons, Branch served as an assistant coach/director of scouting for the Denver Nuggets. He joined the Nuggets in 1997 as a scout and was later named director of scouting before his promotion to assistant coach. He began his NBA career with the expansion Charlotte Hornets in 1987 where he spent 10 seasons.

Madkins joins the Sonics as the Director of West Coast Scouting. Before joining the Sonics, Madkins was a scout with the New York Knicks for the past four seasons and served as an assistant coach with UCLA and Cal State Stanislaus. Madkins was named the Continental Basketball Association’s Rookie of the Year in 1993, and played three years in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. He also played professionally overseas in Spain and France.

Ross joins the Sonics as the Director of East Coast Scouting. For the past four seasons, Ross has been a scout with the Charlotte Bobcats after two seasons as the lead assistant coach with the University of Albany (NY). A fifth-round draft choice by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1987 NBA Draft, Ross played professionally in the Continental Basketball Association with the Sioux Falls Skyforce and in Germany with TTL Bamberg. Before joining the coaching ranks, Ross was a five-year veteran of the Arlington County Police Department in northern Virginia.

Charlotte Bobcats Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Bernie Bickerstaff and General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has re-signed guard Jeff McInnis, who became an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Bobcats acquired the 6-4, 190-pound Charlotte native in a January 3, 2007 trade with the New Jersey Nets.  McInnis appeared in 38 games for the Bobcats last season, averaging 4.3 points, 3.3 assists and 1.6 rebounds.  In three starts, he averaged 10.3 points, 5.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds, including a season-high 17 points on January 20 against Atlanta.

McInnis, who left the University of North Carolina after his junior season, was selected by Denver in the second round (37th overall pick) of the 1996 NBA Draft.  He has played in 522 career games for seven different teams over his 10 NBA seasons with career averages of 9.9 points, 4.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds split between Denver, Washington, L.A. Clippers, Portland, Cleveland, New Jersey and Charlotte.

On April 14, the Bobcats posted the all-time best expansion team record in recent NBA expansion history after posting their 33rd win of the season against Milwaukee. The Orlando Magic posted a 31-51 record during their second season (1990-91), and no expansion team won more than 26 games in their third season until the Bobcats surpassed that mark on March 28 against Atlanta for their 27th win.

Bobcats Sports & Entertainment owns and operates the Charlotte Bobcats (NBA) and operates the widely-acclaimed Charlotte Bobcats Arena, which opened in the fall of 2005.

The Knicks currently hold the rights to 17 players for the upcoming 2007-08 season with 16 of them possessing fully guaranteed contracts. The League only allows a maximum of 15 players on the roster. The big question that remains for Isiah Thomas and the Knicks: which two guys won’t make the opening night roster?

Let’s first cancel out the obvious. The starting lineup will consist of Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Quentin Richardson, Zach Randolph, and Eddy Curry. The first five guys off the bench will be David Lee, Renaldo Balkman, Nate Robinson, Jared Jeffries, and Mardy Collins. That leaves newcoming expiring contracts Fred Jones and Dan Dickau, veterans Malik Rose and Jerome James, and potential NBDL fixtures Wilson Chandler, Randolph Morris, and Demetris Nichols. Of course, Zeke would prefer to execute a three-for-one trade; that way, he wouldn’t have to squander two of his assets with buyouts in order to trim his roster to fit under the personnel maximum.

But who would they want to trade? And for whom?

The first name that comes to mind is Ron Artest. However, it is widely believed that the Kings refuse to deal with New York unless they include Lee or Balkman. It seems as if Geoff Petrie is overplaying his hand by expecting to get rising stars in exchange for the much maligned socialite with a pension for making the his organization look foolish – not to mention, Artest is already suspended for the first 7 games, which is nearly ten percent of the entire season. So why not trade the troubled Artest along with the remaining three years on Kenny Thomas’ exorbitant deal in exchange for the $6M in expiring contracts (Jones and Dickau), career starter Jared Jeffries, emerging playmaker Nate Robinson, and a 1st round pick?

That deal would rid the Kings of their primary cause for migrane headaches while immediately freeing up cap space, adding two young players and a potential lottery selection should New York fail to reach the postseason in the more competitve East. It would also bolster the New York starting five and give the fans a hometown hero known for his nasty defense – something the Downy-soft Knicks are currently lacking. This would also trim the Knick roster to a tidy 15 players, which is exactly Zeke’s final offseason mission.

Since it is unlikely the stubborn Petrie will find a deal he likes this summer, that leaves Isiah with the same problem: which two guys to dump? Nichols is still unsigned but is too talented to give up on. Jones and Dickau’s contracts could eventually be the key to a deadline deal that could propel New York into the postseason. Rose is the one guy in the locker room who brings heart and veteran leadership and winning experience. Chandler is Isiah’s latest claim to bolster his already gleaming draft resume. Morris is a youthful and talented big man who could become a very valuable trade chip. And finally, Jerome James – well, we’re not so sure Isiah is ready to admit defeat with the popular big fella.

If it were up to me, I’d shoot for a three-for-one or four-for-two trade. But given the unlikelyhood of Petrie realizing that the market value for his lunatic superstar is nowhere near the heights that he is telling himself, I’d be parting ways with Jerome James and Dan Dickau via buyout.

NBA ratings have been on a steady downturn. Not coincidentally, the first significant drop in finals ratings happened when ABC took over from NBC. Just to illustrate, in the 12 years that NBC had the NBA Finals, the ratings for the Finals were in double figures EVERY YEAR. Cannot give all the credit to MJ, the six years he did not appear in the finals, they stayed in the double figures. In the four years that the Finals have been on ABC, the Finals ratings have broken double-figures once – LA v. Detroit got an 11.5 (comparable to the San Antonio/NY series ratings).

So – why?

My theory is that viewers don’t care about the teams in the playoffs/finals. This is not the teams fault – its ABC’s fault. See, the Spurs/Cavs are no more boring than Houston/Orlando was when they got an 13 rating in the Finals. Game 1 of that series was more exciting, but it was still a sweep and an anti-climactic series between two medium sized market teams. The difference is that in the 90’s the fans cared.

In order to get fans to care, ABC has to use the nationally broadcast games as ads to market the playoffs and the finals. If these games were viewed in that manner – as an ad, a means to an end – and not as another Sunday afternoon program, then ABC could use the entire NBA season, like a regular television season, that builds and builds into a climactic season finale.

How do we do this?

Well, take for example “LOST”. There are main characters in LOST. Why are these the main characters? A bunch of people were on the plane. They all have back-stories and lives. They all get into a variety of adventures and misadventures on the island. We only see about seven of them on a weekly basis. It is no coincidence that those same seven people are also the key players in the events that unfold in the “dramatic” season finale. The writers really work backwards. They know how they want the season to end. Since they want the audience to care, they tell us as much about the characters involved in the ending during the season, so we will care about them in the finale. The Aussie Girl with the baby had major screen time in season one, because the season ended with her baby’s kidnapping. She had far less screen-time in subsequent seasons because she had nothing to do in the finale. Is the plot-line of raising a newborn on a island interesting material for a series? You bet. But, since fans didn’t have to care about her for the fans to be into the latter season finales, the writers ignored her.

The same principle applies when programming the Sunday games. The ABC people MUST program around the teams that will likely be in the “season finale”. Impossible to predict? Sure…but we all sorta know that SA will play in some big games, Phx will be in some big games, Dall will be there, Det will be there, Chi will be there, Miami and Cle will be there.

If ABC wants us to care when the playoffs come around, they have to show us these teams. Let us watch them on Sundays. If the games are good, we will be impressed and we will tune in to watch them again. Halftime pieces on their players – like the LOST back-stories – will also aid in getting us to care about the teams. Vest an interest.

Flexibility in schedule would be nice as well. If Duncan goes down, no one wants to see a 20 win SA team.

Makes sense so far, right? Isn’t ABC already doing this? In short — no.

As a first matter, aside from the Christmas game, NBA games do not air on ABC until January 25th. That is well more than half-way through the season. This would be fine if starting January 25th they really packed it in. Triple-headers, every Sunday, through May, topped off with the playoffs. But they do not. In fact, of the 11 days that ABC actually airs Sunday games, 5 days only have 1 game on the ABC schedule. If ABC wants us to care enough to watch the Finals – its gotta show us the product.

As a second matter, ABC is not showing us teams likely to be there in the “big games”. Look at the schedule:

Tuesday, Dec. 25
Miami at Cleveland, 2:30 p.m. (ABC)
Phoenix at L.A. Lakers, 5 p.m. (ABC)
Sunday, Jan. 27
Phoenix at Chicago, 1 p.m. (ABC)
Cleveland at L.A. Lakers, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)

Sunday, Feb. 3
Dallas at Detroit, 2:30 p.m. (ABC)
Sunday, Feb. 10
Denver at Cleveland, 1 p.m. (ABC)
L.A. Lakers at Miami, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)

Sunday, Feb. 24
Detroit at Phoenix, 2:30 p.m. (ABC)

Sunday, March 2
Chicago at Cleveland, 1 p.m. (ABC)
Dallas at L.A. Lakers, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
Sunday, March 9
San Antonio at Phoenix, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
Sunday, March 16
Dallas at Miami, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
L.A. Lakers at Houston, 7 p.m. (NBATV)

Sunday, March 23
San Antonio at Dallas, 1 p.m. (ABC)
Sunday, March 30
Houston at San Antonio, 1 p.m. (ABC)

Sunday, April 6
Detroit at Miami, 1 p.m. (ABC)
Dallas at Phoenix, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)

Sunday, April 13
Miami at Cleveland, 1 p.m. (ABC)
San Antonio at L.A. Lakers, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)

We have six Laker games on the schedule. The team hasn’t been out of the first round in three years. Why? For the slight bump Kobe will give ABC on that Sunday. It doesn’t add to the build for the Finals. I like five Phoenix games, but only four San Antonio games. Denver and Houston – when have either of these teams been out of the first round? – combine for three games, but WC Finalist Utah gets none. We don’t get a Golden State v. Dallas re-match? No Celtics games?

As a result, when the Finals are Dallas v. Chicago, and no one watches, its not because Dallas/Chicago is boring – they aren’t – its because they were not on television. Bill Walton never extolled their virtues for the fans to hear on national television.

It’d be like if in the movie Major League, Tomlinson hit the big home run to win the game rather than the Tom Berenger bunt. Since the writers knew that Berenger was going to get the winning RBI, we were told his story. We had to be told Berenger’s story because we had to care about him to enjoy the finale. Tomlinson was always going to miss that that homer by a few inches – so working backwards, we could ignore him through the movie. No reason to tell us his story, though I am sure it was compelling. (think about the perfect structure of Major League, we ONLY follow the stories of the starting pitcher, winning pitcher, and the players responsible for every run and every RBI in the big game).

My recommendation – the two teams in the prior year’s Finals get at least 4 nationally televised games, including the re-match. Any team in the prior year’s Conference Finals gets at least 3 nationally televised games, including the re-match. Any team in the second round gets at least 2 nationally televised games, including the re-match. Then you can pick some teams that fought out a good first round to televise the re-match. Dall-GS come to mind. I think the #1 pick in the draft should get a national game – maybe when he faces the #2 pick. The reigning MVP gets a nationally televised game…and some schedule flexibility if a team is just hotter than expected and earns some screen-time.

This way we are watching quality team, and reinforcing some of the caring produced by the playoffs in the prior year.

Answerman

InsideHoops.com NewsWire: The USA Men’s Senior National Team (5-0) utilized a 24-4 second quarter run to close the door on Puerto Rico (1-4) and lock up a berth into the FIBA Americas Championship 2007 semifinals with a 117-78 win Tuesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev.

The win, the USA’s 32 consecutive win in Olympic qualifying play dating back to 1992, kept the USA on top of the second round standings with also undefeated Argentina, and more importantly assured the U.S. of a spot in the Sept. 1 semifinals. Winners of the two semifinal contests will earn the ultimate prize, a qualifying berth for the 2008 Olympics.

“We knew that Puerto Rico would be a challenge,” said USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski. “They’ve always played well against the United States, and they have a few NBA players on their team. So, we respected them. They controlled the tempo in the first quarter then our defense kind of blew it apart.”

Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) scored 11 points in the first quarter and Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) added six to help the USA build a modest nine point, 24-15, first quarter lead.

Amaré Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns) capped an alley-oop from Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons) at 9:50 and then connected on his only 3-point attempt of the competition at 9:00 to spark the USA machine into motion early in the second period. The five points from Stoudemire were followed by 19 more from the USA, while Puerto Rico managed just four points from the free-throw line. The 24-4 run was capped by an Anthony 3-pointer at 3:45 to bring the U.S. lead to 48-19.

“Well, that 3-point shot, I practice that shot a lot,” Stoudemire said. “You guys might not get to see it a lot, but it is a shot that I feel comfortable shooting. Dwight Howard and I got a chance to expose the zone by playing behind it, and we got a couple of easy baskets and nice interior passes there. There are also some times where the opposing defender won’t want to step out on the perimeter and so that 3-pointer is going to be open.”

The Americans went on to outscore Puerto Rico 35-12 in the second stanza, including 11 points from LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers), and the scoreboard read 59-27 in the USA’s favor at the midway point.

“We wanted to try to play as aggressive as we can on our defensive end,” James said. “That’s not anything against Puerto Rico, it’s against ourselves. We want to try to better ourselves to play as hard as we can.”

The USA and Puerto Rico traded runs in the third period and James recorded 10 more points to reach his final of 21, but neither team improved it’s position as both scored 29 points to bring the score to 88-56 headed into the fourth period. The USA went on to outscore Puerto Rico 29-22 in the fourth period to reach the game’s final of 117-78.

“Well, for us, the game isn’t over, ever,” said Krzyzewski about his team’s big halftime advantage. “There are habits being formed throughout and with the combinations that we are trying, we are always trying to find something new. We worked on our zone again in the second half today. In the first few minutes of the second quarter, we got Deron Williams to play with Kobe and LeBron and Tyson in there, so, you never know what could happen if a guy gets hurt or whatever (could happen). So, we are just constantly trying to use the second half as a practice because you are playing everyday.”

Anthony finished with 17 points; Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks) scored 15; Bryant contributed 14 points; and Stoudemire totaled 12 points and eight rebounds. In addition, Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) dished seven assists to go with his eight points; James and Jason Kidd (New Jersey Nets) distributed four assists each; Tyson Chandler (New Orleans Hornets) collected eight rebounds and block four shots; and Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) contributed nine points and seven rebounds.

While the USA struggled from the free throw line 11-of-23 attempts (.480), it outrebounded Puerto Rico 48-37 and committed just four turnovers while blocking nine shots. The USA also proved too powerful for Puerto Rico, scoring 60 of its points from inside the key.

In today’s other action, Venezuela (1-4) topped Uruguay (2-3) 88-79, Brazil beat Mexico 104-90, and with a 85-70 win over Canada tonight, Argentina also clinched a berth into Saturday’s semifinals.

Next up for the USA is Uruguay on Wednesday, Aug. 29 at 8:00 p.m. (PDT), and the USA will conclude second-round play against Argentina Thursday at 9:00 p.m.

“Uruguay is definitely a team we have to be prepared for, especially after coming off a good win over Puerto Rico tonight,” Prince said. “We can’t let up like we did against Mexico after the win over Brazil. Hopefully we get our energy back up tomorrow, stay focused, and get out of the gate early.”

InsideHoops.com NewsWire: The Milwaukee Bucks announced today that 2007 first round draft pick Yi Jianlian (EE jee-AHN-lee-AHN) has signed a multi-year contract. The Bucks 6th overall selection in the 2007 NBA Draft, Yi Jianlian signed his contract in Hong Kong following a negotiating session with Mr. Chen Haitao, owner of the Guangdong Tigers. Bucks owner and team president Senator Herb Kohl, General Manager Larry Harris and Bucks Vice President Ron Walter were able to meet with Mr. Chen, as well as Yi and his family, as part of the process.

Yi Jianlian is expected to join the team for training camp that begins on Monday, October 1 at the Bucks Training Center in St. Francis, WI.

“There has been a genuine excitement throughout our city and state, as well as internationally, following our selection of Yi in the NBA Draft,” said Senator Herb Kohl. “We all anticipate Yi’s arrival and welcome him and his family to Milwaukee. We look forward to a successful relationship for many years to come.”

“We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge and thank Mr. Chen for his assistance and support in the negotiating process,” Kohl added.

“We were thrilled to be able to draft Yi Jianlian in June and are equally excited to sign him to a NBA contract as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks,” said Harris. “We drafted Yi with the expectation that he would be a part of our franchise for a very long time and this is the first step in that process. Yi is a skilled and versatile young man who we have seen play numerous times over the last few years including this summer in the NBA Summer League. Our players and coaches look forward to working with Yi and I know our fans will enjoy watching him compete with the many talented, young players on our roster.”

NBA Commissioner David J. Stern commented, “We are happy that Yi will be playing with the Bucks to further develop his skill and his contribution to both the Chinese National Team and the NBA. This is another great example of cooperation between the CBA and the NBA and I want to congratulate the CBA, Mr. Chen, the Guangdong Tigers and the Milwaukee Bucks.”

A 6-11, 238-lbs. forward, Yi Jianlian has played professionally for the Guangdong Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) since 2002-03, when he was awarded Rookie of the Year honors. He has competed in the last five CBA Finals and won titles in 2004, 2005 and 2006, earning the Finals Most Valuable Player honors in 2006. In 2003-04, he averaged 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds in 28 games, including his first CBA title. The following season in 53 contests, Yi improved his numbers to 16.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots on his way to a second consecutive CBA title. Yi led Guangdong to a third straight CBA title in 2005-06, averaging 20.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 52 games. Last season, Yi posted career-high averages with 24.9 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 30.7 minutes. He led Guangdong to a fifth straight appearance in the CBA Finals, but bowed to Bayi in five games (4-1).

This summer, Yi Jianlian and Team China Basketball played five games in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Yi averaged 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots in 28.0 minutes per game. He tallied a team-high 23 points vs. Memphis, and 20 points, including the game-winner, in Team China Basketball’s win over Cleveland.

Most recently in the Efes Pilsen World Cup in Izmir, Turkey, Yi averaged 23 points and 8 rebounds over three games against Poland (28 points, 10 rebounds), Serbia (17 points, 9 rebounds) and Latvia (24 points, 5 rebounds).

Yi competed for the Chinese National Team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan.