Stan Van Gundy Won’t Coach Next Season

May 21, 2013  ·  9:08AM



HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Go ahead and cross Stan Van Gundy off your coaching wish list, NBA general managers and decision-makers.

The former Orlando Magic and Miami Heat coach told Orlando radio station SportsTalk1080 this morning that he will not return to the sideline for the 2013-14 season. His decision quashes the dreams of fan bases from Cleveland to Atlanta and several other outposts where coaching searches are in full swing.

(Listen to the full interview here)

Van Gundy said he has not interviewed with any teams, though he had been contacted by several about their vacancies.

His announcement takes one of the prime coaching candidates off of the market before things get really cranked up during NBA free agency in July.

Category: HT News / Tags: , , , , , , / 2 Comments /

Dwight, D’Antoni And The Lakers’ Big Rift?

May 21, 2013  ·  8:08AM



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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – For months it appeared the Los Angeles Lakers’ free-agent summer plans would hinge on the relationship between two men, Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant.

The Lakers’ two biggest stars had to find common ground if this multi-million dollar experiment is going to bear fruit in the future. They had to be on the same accord going into the summer for Howard to ignore the other options he has as an unrestricted free agent and stick with the Lakers after a tumultuous first season in Hollywood.

Not everyone is convinced that the Howard-Bryant dynamic is the linchpin to the Lakers’ plans, though. Another man, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni, could very well be the central figure on the Lakers’ side. Perhaps it’s his relationship with Howard, and not Bryant, that holds the key to the future between the All-Star big man and the franchise known for Hall of Fame big men.

As folks in Orlando can attest, this could be the start of Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak‘s very own Dwightmare!

While Howard hasn’t so much as spoken a word publicly about his future, there are rumblings in Los Angeles that he plans on entertaining free-agent pitches from the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks, as well as the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers, instead of simply agreeing to the $118 million offer the Lakers have planned for him on July 1 when free agency opens.

Howard’s rationale for listening, however complex, apparently has as much to do with his murky relationship with D’Antoni than any of the other factors, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com:

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, part of the discussion between Howard and Kupchak centered around Howard’s frustration with D’Antoni — particularly how the center felt marginalized as the coach looked to Bryant and Steve Nash for leadership and suggestions and discounted Howard’s voice.

Every player was afforded the opportunity to meet with Kupchak individually after D’Antoni left the room, but few spent as much time as Howard and Kupchak did together. Antawn Jamison also had a separate meeting with Kupchak without D’Antoni present, but that was because of a scheduling conflict.

Kupchak left the meeting with Howard undeterred, telling reporters he was “hopeful” and “optimistic” that Howard would be back with the Lakers next season and beyond, yet there have been several developments in the last couple weeks that could have an effect on Howard’s decision.

D’Antoni chose not to retain assistant coach Chuck Person, a Howard confidant, on his staff for next season. Also, Lakers assistant coach Steve Clifford, who was with Howard in Orlando for five seasons before both of them came to L.A. last year, has become a hot head coaching candidate, interviewing with Milwaukee and receiving interest from Charlotte.

One source described the potential departure of Clifford, coupled with the loss of Person as “removing the buffers,” between Howard and D’Antoni, “which is a bad thing.”

Howard’s relationship with Bryant seemed much healthier at the end of the Lakers’ season than it did at any other time throughout the season. He visited Bryant at the hospital after he’d had Achilles surgery and Bryant spoke glowingly of Howard during his exit interview.

Bryant is going to do his best to mend fences and rebuild bridges this summer for the Lakers in what is truly a colossal summer for the franchise. The NBA’s social media king took to Twitter to spread that message to the masses:

But if there is a rift (spoken or not) between Howard and D’Antoni, even Kobe might have a hard time fixing it. Especially with all of the other options that will be presented to Howard in about six weeks.

The Lakers cannot afford to enter the 2013-14 season with Bryant still on the mend from that Achilles injury and only Nash and Pau Gasol as headliners in a Western Conference that could be as deep as it’s been in years. Having Howard on board would keep the Lakers among the playoff crowd. Without him, there is no telling where the Lakers land.

While the situation seems dire to some, Kupchak believes he has a better grip on things than the rest of us think. More from McMenamin:

Kupchak did not seem worried about any potential rift between player and coach.

“I think Dwight likes winning, he likes performing at a high level,” Kupchak said. “I think he’s fine with Mike D’Antoni, but I’m not really concerned if players like a coach, so I don’t ask that question. Our coaches are evaluated by wins and losses.”

Kupchak was further pressed about the possibility of a coaching change being dictated by a player.

“This organization has a precedent with that kind of a situation and I think we learned our lesson,” Kupchak said, referring to when Paul Westhead was fired in the early ’80s and the decision was tied to Magic Johnson‘s wishes. Whether that was the real story or not, both Johnson and the Lakers organization took a hit for how it was perceived.

We’ll know better in six weeks just how big a rift there is, if at all, between Howard and D’Antoni.

In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your latest Dwightmare!


Category: HT News / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , / 13 Comments /

T-Mac Living Dream Beyond First Round

May 20, 2013  ·  7:10PM

SAN ANTONIO – This is the way it was always supposed to be for Tracy McGrady — conference finals, clock running down in the fourth quarter, ball in his hands and the crowd buzzing at the thought of what he might do.

With T-Mac, anything always was possible, and nobody knows that better than the Spurs who were once on the receiving end of 13 points in the final 35 seconds on one mind-boggling night in Houston. Now though, with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili riding out the conclusion of a 20-point Game 1 blowout on the bench, McGrady is far outside the center ring under the big top. He’s more part of the cleanup crew that walks behind the elephants.

“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “It’s great to be part of this terrific organization and guys around here. I’m living the dream right now.”

Which says something about dreams or McGrady or both. For about a decade, T-Mac was a headlining NBA star whose name could be mentioned in the same breath with Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Dirk Nowitzki and the rest — except in the springtime when reputations are forged.

For all of the improbable 3-point shots he made, high-rising slam dunks he threw down, thread-the-needle passes that he delivered right on the money, what McGrady could never do was win a single playoff series.

He had the numbers, but never the pedigree of a winner as he went 0-for-every postseason situation he was ever in, his teams on which he was the leader blowing 3-1 leads in Orlando and Houston and another pair of 2-0 leads with the Rockets. What’s more, every stop along the way in a different NBA jersey always would up with much recrimination, little remorse and the microfracture knee that led to his trade out of Houston signaled the end of his relevance as a star or even starter.

Until he sat on the San Antonio bench, mostly in street clothes for the 4-0 sweep of the Lakers, McGrady was the only scoring champ in NBA history to never make it out of the first round of the playoffs. Now T-Mac is in the conference finals, albeit in a drastically different role — the equivalent of playing for spare change and nostalgia as part of a rock ‘n roll oldies tour.

He has appeared in four games of the playoffs for a total of 17 minutes, shot 0-for-4 and hasn’t scored a point. Yet the fans at the AT&T Center are loudly cheering on that bid for his first bucket as a Spur.

“It’s great; a great feeling to know you have 18,000 people supportive of me and wanting to see me do well,” he said.

“I didn’t notice it the first time I got in, but people were telling me about it — ‘Did you hear the reception you were getting every time you touched the ball?’ — but, no, because I’m so locked in when I got it.

“But I got in [Sunday] and really noticed. It was something special.”

It’s not lost on McGrady that he entered the NBA in the same 1997 Draft with his new teammate, Duncan, though their roles, of course, are now vastly different.

“I came to terms of my situation and I got it,” he said. “It wasn’t in the cards for me to continue the health like Kobe and some of my peers I competed against when I was playing at the highest level. It just wasn’t in the cards for me. I had to go through a lot of stuff to realize the opportunities that I had. Things happen for a reason. The man above takes us through things we sometimes can’t understand but, later on in life, we realize some of the stuff we had to go through.

“This is a promotion for me. For so many years I tried to compete and take a team out of the first round. It just didn’t happen. Then I had to go through some things with my injury that were frustrating but I’m sitting at home – and I live by faith, not by sight – and [coach Gregg Popovich] called me out of the blue and here I am.”

Popovich reached out just before the start of the playoffs, 1 1/2 months after McGrady finished a season with the Qindao Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association, in what could be the latest chapter in Pop’s very own personal outreach program to unfulfilled NBA veterans:

– In 1999, ex-Blazers star Jerome Kersey hooked on with the Spurs and won the only championship of his 17 NBA seasons.

– In 2003, former Hawks All-Star Kevin Willis set down in San Antonio and claimed his only NBA title in 21 seasons.

– In 2005, it was Glenn Robinson, well past his “Big Dog” days as a No. 1 draft choice and superstar in Milwaukee, who came off the bench in the last of his 11 NBA seasons to win it all with the Spurs.

– In 2007, it was ex-Maverick All-Star Michael Finley’s turn as the 16-year pro won the only ring of his career.

It seems each championship season the Spurs have brought an old pro along for the ride. Now it’s McGrady in the ceremonial seat in his 17th season.

“It’s possible,” said T-Mac, “I can be a champion before I leave this game.”

When a guy gets out of the first round, he dreams bigger.

Category: 2013 Conference Finals: Spurs-Grizzlies, 2013 NBA Playoffs, HT News / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , / 47 Comments /

Pacers, Heat Both Learn From ’12 Series

May 20, 2013  ·  7:03PM

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Learn from the past or risk repeating it.

That’s sound advice always — the sort of wisdom that saves people from going on second blind dates and reveals how an NBA playoff contender can fix what ailed it in a previous series.

That’s the hope, anyway, of the Indiana Pacers, facing the Miami Heat in the East bracket for the second time in as many postseasons. They’ve been hard at work since eliminating the Knicks Saturday night, breaking down video and plumbing the results of their loss in six games in the conference semifinals last May.

The teams met three times in the 2012-13 regular season and those games are relevant, too (Indiana won the first two meetings, Miami the last). But the style of playoff ball is different and so is the schedule, facing the same foe over and over. By the end of Miami’s Game 6 victory on May 24, a genuine dislike and legit rivalry had been cemented.

It was the starting point for the three meetings this season, and it will serve as backdrop for the four-to-seven the teams play over the next two weeks.

“It’s going to be a beast,” Miami forward Chris Bosh said the other night.

Here are some takeaways from the 2012 showdown:

* No Bosh: The Heat’s talented, occasionally maligned power forward suffered a strained abdominal muscle in the first half of Game 1 and was done for the series. Miami actually trailed when Bosh exited, then won that game, but it did seem to help a Pacers squad that already was seen as having an advantage up front.

Sure enough, in Games 2 and 3, the Pacers’ two victories, they outrebounded Miami by 26. In the four they lost, they were beaten on the boards by a combined 19. Indiana forward David West didn’t have to contend with Bosh’s extended shooting range, and scored more points and shot more free throws than anyone in the series not named LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. Center Roy Hibbert averaged 12.3 points and 11.5 rebounds, personal playoff bests.

The Heat’s most effective lineup a year ago included Joel Anthony. Now he hardly plays because Chris (Birdman) Andersen gives Miami energy, toughness and solid passing (and OK finishing) skills. And because Bosh is healthy and helping. Bosh is averaging a career playoff low 13.2 ppg, but that means nothing to him within the context of his and his team’s ambitions.

“I’m here to play a specific role and be what this team needs me to be,” Bosh said after the semifinals ouster of Chicago. “I’m not trying to have a big head, get to an ego problem, then think I’m too big for my britches and not want to change my role.”

Just playing, period, is important. He wasn’t too comfortable watching Miami slip behind 2-1 in games and 54-46 halfway through Game 4.

This time will be different, Bosh said. “I was really looking forward to that series and I didn’t get a chance to play. Hopefully this time around I can stay healthy, first of all, and put my imprint on the series like I wanted to last year. That’s why you stay patient and wait. I’ll get my chance, they’ll get their chance and everybody will be happy.”

Well, not everybody.  

Category: 2013 Conference Finals: Pacers-Heat / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , / 44 Comments /

Star Power: Must Have One To Win It All?

May 20, 2013  ·  6:44PM

HANG TIME SOUTHWEST – Can a team built around an All-Star, maybe two, but lacking a legit superstar — i.e. the Indiana Pacers and Memphis Grizzlies — really win it all?

Memphis general manger Chris Wallace certainly wasn’t trying to suggest that it’s impossible, but the other day as he was ticking off the names of superstar players that have led just nine franchises to championships over the last 33 seasons — since 1980 when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird entered the equation — it became obvious how long the odds are. Teams with a superstar — and more than one all the better — have dominated the league.

“If you look at the NBA, winning championships is more predicated on franchises being able to acquire players that are the greatest that have ever played,” Wallace said. “Go back to when Bird and Magic entered the league. You had the Sixers with Dr. J, Julius Erving, the Pistons with Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars. Then you had Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe [Bryant] and [Shaquille O'Neal] and the Spurs with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The Heat had Dwyane Wade and Shaq, and now Wade and [LeBron James].

“The only team that didn’t really have a superstar was the Pistons.”

The 2004 Pistons beat an unraveling Lakers squad, the last that paired Bryant with O’Neal. Detroit had Tayshaun Prince, who Memphis acquired in late January when it traded highly paid forward and leading scorer Rudy Gay. The former Grizzly was moved in a books-balancing deal that moved Memphis well under the luxury tax this season and better positioned it to stay there next season and beyond, especially critical for small-market franchises unwilling, or unable, to incur the stiffer luxury tax of the new collective bargaining agreement. Gay is due $37.2 million over the next two seasons.

Three of the final four teams playing in the conference finals have payrolls below the $70.3 million luxury tax line and, in fact, are out of the top 11 of league payrolls. That should excite organizations and their fans. Smart drafting, player development and shrewd free-agent signings can lead to sustainable success, and perhaps even the emergence of a homegrown superstar (Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Indiana’s Paul George and Golden State’s Stephen Curry are three on that track).

Obviously, Miami has the highest payroll of the four teams still playing. At No. 4 in the league with a payroll of $83.4 million (before luxury tax penalties) with James, Wade and Chris Bosh earning a combined $52.3 million this season. Miami’s pre-tax payroll is between roughly $14 million and $20 million more than San Antonio ($69.6 million), Indiana ($66.8 million) and Memphis ($63.2 million).

The question under the new CBA — with incrementally increasing tax penalties kicking in next season and the severe repeater tax looming — is if big-market owners (such as in Los Angeles and Miami) are willing to shell out tens of millions of dollars in additional luxury tax to support superstar-laden rosters season after season? Or, will well-balanced rosters spread through the league as a more prudent way to build a contender and stay out of the luxury tax?

A contender, maybe. But a champion? That’s to be seen. For now, superstar power remains the most sought-after currency.

The Clippers traded for Chris Paul. The Lakers traded for Dwight Howard. The Houston Rockets benefited once Oklahoma City reached its financial threshold with James Harden. Rockets GM Daryl Morey, maneuvering to acquire superstar power for a couple years, would love to follow up the trade for Harden by signing Howard to a max deal. Dallas hopes to nab Howard or Paul on max deals to pair with Dirk Nowitzki, whose 2011 Mavs became the ninth title team in the last three-plus decades.

And, of course, had Derrick Rose played this season, the Bulls might be playing Miami right now. And the superstar-lacking Grizzlies might be fishing had Westbrook still been riding shotgun alongside Kevin Durant.

Category: 2013 Conference Finals: Pacers-Heat, 2013 NBA Playoffs / Tags: / 11 Comments /

Kobe On Retirement Rumors … Not Yet!

May 20, 2013  ·  10:30AM



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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Kobe Bryant‘s embrace of social media this year was one of the most interesting developments of the season. From the Facebook rant he posted after tearing his Achilles to his live-Tweeting extravaganza during the Los Angeles Lakers’ short-lived playoff run, Kobe has made his presence felt in the social media realm.

He’s been about good about setting the record straight on certain things as well. And this morning’s Twitter response to weekend rumors that a retirement announcement was imminent on Facebook should calm Kobe’s legion of fans:

Thanks for clearing that up Kobe!

Category: HT News / Tags: , , , , , / 131 Comments /

Best of Shaqtin’ A Fool

May 20, 2013  ·  9:46AM


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Shaq takes a stroll through a season’s worth of ridiculousness this Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on NBA TV. Here’s a sneak peak:

#shaqtin

Category: Shaqtin A Fool / Tags: / No Comments /

Verbal Shots Fired In Heat-Pacers Series

May 20, 2013  ·  6:37AM



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  • Eastern Conference finals — Pacers vs. Heat: Series Hub

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – You have to give Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel credit. He’s never changed his style. He’s confident, fearless in what he’s willing to say publicly and has the utmost confidence that his team will back him up in any fight he picks.

So when he makes what seems like a harmless statement:

“It’s exciting, but this is not about getting back at Miami. If you’re in the final four you’re competing for a championship. And they’re just the next team that’s in our way. That’s how we’re approaching it.”

… as he did late Saturday night after the Pacers clinched their date in the Eastern Conference finals against the defending champions, he knew his words would catch the attention of the Heat, and LeBron James in particular.

Verbal shots have been fired in this series and they don’t tip-off for Game 1 until Wednesday night in Miami (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT). The response was swift. James took the bait, arguing that:

“We’re not just another team. I don’t understand what he’s saying. But we’re not just another team. That’s not true. He said we’re just another team in their way. We’re a great team. If we’re just another team, you really don’t prepare for just another team. You have to prepare for us.”

The buzz over the words these men spoke reached a fever pitch Sunday and Vogel took to Pacers.com on Monday morning to issue a statement that somewhat recants his position, saying the following:

“Sorry sports world, the words ‘just another team’ never came out of my mouth,” he said. “Great respect for LBJ and the champs. Looking forward to [a] great series.”

But as we all know, the words are already out there.

Vogel’s mission for Game 1 is complete. This is the same tactic he used before the Heat and Pacers squared off in the conference semifinals last season, earning himself a $15,000 fine for calling the Heat the “biggest flopping team in the NBA.”

Using a trick utilized by some of the coaching greats of the past, Vogel has effectively drawn the Heat’s ire before any elbows are exchanged, before any hard fouls are delivered. That bodes well for us, the folks who get to watch these two teams battle for the right to represent the East in The Finals.

It should be noted, however, that in each of the last two times when the Pacers picked this fight, the Heat humbled them. They were up 2-1 in the conference semifinals last year and the Heat stormed back to win three straight games and eliminate the Pacers. And earlier this season, after the Pacers had already claimed two victories over the Heat, they faced off in what was supposed to be a showdown game March 10 in Miami between the top two teams in the East, and the Heat stroked the Pacers 105-91 behind 26 points from Mario Chalmers.

The anticipation is building for Game 1 and a series that promises to give us more than just words.

Vogel seems ready for the test.

LeBron and the Heat, too.

“We’re ready for whatever,” James told reporters Sunday. “I believe it’s going to be like last series. They’re going to try to put me on the floor, maybe. Be physical with me, maybe. I don’t know. Every team kind of does the same thing. They kind of read what everyone else talks about [and say], ‘You have to beat up the Heat to beat them.’ We’ll see what happens.”

Time to get it on!

Category: 2013 Conference Finals: Pacers-Heat, HT News / Tags: , , , , , , , / 328 Comments /

Z-Bo’s Play Leaves Grizzlies Feeling Empty

May 19, 2013  ·  9:16PM

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SAN ANTONIO — It was early in the third quarter when Zach Randolph simply did the kind of thing that he does.

Mike Conley had driven into the teeth of the Spurs defense and had his layup attempt pop out. So there was Randolph, all 260 pounds and city-block wide of him of him, rising up out of the crowd in the paint to tap the ball back into the basket. It was notable only because Randolph had taken seven previous shots and not made a single one.

Z-Bo had been Z-B000000.

When itwas  finally over, Randolph had just those two points to his name, which meant that he was outscored by all but two players on the Spurs’ 12-man active roster  — and that’s using the term quite loosely, since Tracy McGrady hasn’t truly been relevant in half a decade. It took Aussie Patty Mills, cuddly as a koala, just 66 seconds off the bench to pop in a 3-pointer and move ahead of Randolph on the day’s scoring list.

All of which goes a long way toward explaining the ugly 105-83 thumping the Grizzlies took from the Spurs and why Randolph chose to enter the post-game locker room and express regrets to his teammates.

“He tried to apologize first off, and we wouldn’t accept that,” said the point guard Conley. “We said, it’s not you, it’s all of us.”

There were so many things wrong with how the Grizzlies came out and played the opener of the first Western Conference finals game in franchise history that Z-Bo might as well have been holding a bucket to catch the water when the dam broke.

Tony Parker merely took the ball almost from the opening tip and drove it anyplace he wanted toward the Memphis basket, finishing at the rim and stabbing in mid-range jumpers. The Spurs’ wing men set up residence in either corner and all they had to do was wait for the ball to find them for open shots. The Spurs finished the day making 14 of their 29 attempts from deep, setting a franchise playoff record for 3-pointers. It was hardly the kind of performance you might have expected from the No. 1-rated defense in the NBA during regular season and more like playing a game of keep-away with a class of kindergartners.

“We didn’t play well,” said Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins. “I mean, it’s not anything specific.”

However, it can specifically be said that Grizzlies will be done if Randolph doesn’t even bother to show up. Z-Bo and his partner Marc Gasol punished the Spurs with their inside game two years ago when the Grizzlies became just the second No. 8 seed in history to knock off a No. 1 seed.

But that was a different Spurs team, one that was not as healthy, not nearly as deep and not as remotely capable of coming at Randolph with the overwhelming force of a tsunami.

“They were disrupting my rhythm,” Randolph said. “It was just one of those nights. I played like I did against the Clippers in L.A.”  

Category: 2013 Conference Finals: Spurs-Grizzlies, 2013 NBA Playoffs, HT News / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , / 67 Comments /

Flattened Last Year, Stephenson Is Flattener Vs. Knicks

May 19, 2013  ·  2:02AM


INDIANAPOLIS – A year ago, Lance Stephenson was comic relief and the Indiana Pacers’ resident knucklehead. Twelve months later, he is as serious as a flagrant foul and the single biggest reason the Pacers eliminated the New York Knicks in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Saturday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Last May, Stephenson was the Indiana deep reserve, all raw talent and immaturity, who got caught by the cameras making a choke sign when LeBron James missed free throws in Game 3 of the teams’ playoff series. James ignored him, in the moment and when asked about him later. But a couple of his Miami teammates weren’t so detached; Juwan Howard got into a verbal confrontation with Stephenson before Game 4 and backup big Dexter Pittman seemed to be on the floor late in Game 5 for the express purpose of flattening him (Pittman winked to the Heat bench after the hit across the young Pacers guard’s throat).

Now, it’s Stephenson doing the flattening. Not quite all growed up but making a mad dash in that direction, the 6-foot-5 kid from Brooklyn – from the same Lincoln High that produced the likes of Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair – did New York’s NBA team wrong. He grabbed the game at both ends – grabbed it by the throat, one might say – and scored nine points in the first quarter to ignite Indiana in a game it couldn’t squander, then nine more (in not quite seven minutes) in the fourth when it mattered most.

His 25 were a career playoff high but then, just about everything Stephenson does this postseason is a career high, given how unused he was previously. Twice in the first half, Stephenson snagged rebounds and raced downcourt, going end to end through New York’s defense for buckets.

In the fourth, he picked off a pass by Carmelo Anthony and finished with a three-point play that broke a 92-92 tie. Next time down, he drew Tyson Chandler‘s sixth personal foul and hit two free throws. After an Anthony jumper made it 99-94, Stephenson backed his way first through J.R. Smith, then through Anthony for another layup. It wasn’t over, except that it was.

“Unbelievable,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “He’s got no playoff experience whatsoever, but he’s got some of the best basketball instincts I’ve ever been around. There’s an old phrase – he’s a gamer.

“He’s not always going to look good. He’s not always going to be in the right spots defensively. … But you put him in a situation like this – Game 6, closeout game – the kid’s got a lot of guts and great basketball instincts.”  

Category: 2013 Conference Semis: Knicks-Pacers / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , / 55 Comments /

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