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 class with his new teammate Duncan and 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, Jerome Kersey hooked on with the Spurs and won the only championship of his 17 NBA seasons.

– In 2003, 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, who came off the bench in the last of his 11 NBA seasons to win it all with the Spurs.

– In 2007, it was 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , / No Comments /

Pacers, Heat Both Learn From ’12 Series

May 20, 2013  ·  7:03PM

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, pitting the Heat’s and the Pacers’ current versions against each other (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 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 out of necessity. Now he hardly plays because Chris (Birdman) Anderson gives Miami energy, toughness and solid passing (and OK finishing) skills. And because Bosh is healthy and helping. Oh, he’s averaging a career playoff low 13.2 ppg, but that means nothing to him within the context of his and his team’s greater ambition.

“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, sidelined with an injury no one could see, 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.

–Road woes: The Pacers had battled Chicago before losing in the first round in 2011, then they thumped Orlando to earn the series with Miami last spring. But they hardly were a crew of crusty playoff veterans and it showed in some of their numbers.

Indiana shot 37.1 percent in the series’ three road games compared to 44.4 percent at home. The Pacers went 24.5 percent from 3-point range vs. 39.6 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The pattern held at the foul line as well: 71.8 percent away, 83.1 at home. The Pacers shot more free throws in the road games (26.0 to 23.7) but apparently were bothered by the thundersticks and jeering.

Their stats in those categories this season didn’t show nearly the same spread, but Indiana still is a better team at home (30-11 and 6-0 in the playoffs) than away (19-21 and 2-4). The Pacers won Game 2 last year by limiting the Heat to 1-for-16 from the arc and holding anyone besides James and Wade to a max of five points.

Miami, as you might expect of a battle-tested team heading to its second straight Finals a year ago, was more consistent across the board. The Heat shot 46.2/30.8/74.2 on the road to 45.0/26.3/71.9 at home.

–Lance Stephenson vs. Danny Granger: Actually, to gauge Stephenson’s growing impact, one has to look at Stephenson plus Paul George‘s development and compare it to George last year with Granger available. Last spring, Granger and George felt the wrath of Miami’s defense and averaged a combined 23.3 points, a drop of 7.4 ppg from their regular season work. Granger was gimpy and shot 37.6 percent while George looked overwhelmed and was at 36.5.

Through two rounds this spring, George – the NBA’s Most Improved Player – and Stephenson have boosted their combined output to 28.9 ppg, up from 26.2 in the regular season. Of course, Atlanta and New York, Indiana’s two opponents so far, aren’t Miami, defensively.

–Third quarters matter: In its two victories last time, Indiana outscored Miami in the third quarters, 54-26. In Game 4, they were up 61-51 early in the third until the Heat snatched the quarter, the game and the series away. The Pacers got outscored 30-16, shot 6-for-18 and had no answers for James and Wade, who romped to 14 points each in the period.

So, for nearly 72 hours from the end of Game 3 to the middle of Game 4, the series looked to be Indiana’s to win. The Pacers had outscored the Heat to that point 312-291 overall. The rest of the way? Over the final 120 minutes, Miami outscored Indiana 275-215.

–Watch Wade: Wade is the ailing Miami star of the moment, the pain and limitations of his right knee coming and going as if on a whim. His miserable Game 2 last spring – 2-for-13 shooting, just five points, five turnovers and one assist – was due in part to troubles with his other knee. But he also sought out guidance from Indiana coach Tom Crean, who had coached him at Marquette. He came alive in the middle of Game 4, combining with James for 38 consecutive Miami points and straightening out a 1-for-8 start by going 12-for-15 the rest of the way. He scored 28 points in Game 5 and was the best player on the floor in the finale with 41 points and 10 rebounds.

Wade has adapted to his various ailments, including his balky knee this season. He had a consultation with Crean again in the Chicago round. Now he is more apt to seize a game in spurts as he is to control it tip to horn. Some of that went on last spring: Wade averaged 15.0 points while shooting 53.1 percent in the second halves of the six games, compared to 11.2 ppg on 40.7 percent shooting in first halves.

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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 Grizzlie 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.

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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!

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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: , , , , , , , / 230 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , / 60 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , / 47 Comments /

Grizzlies GM Envisioned A Future With Marc Gasol As A League Laughed

May 18, 2013  ·  8:54PM

HANG TIME SOUTHWEST – The Memphis Grizzlies’ six-year rise from bottom-of-the-barrel in the West to playing for the conference crown is a story of intuition, perseverance, patience and, some might rightfully say, vindication for general manager Chris Wallace.

“I never looked for vindication. That’s not something that motivates me,” Wallace said. “Winning takes care of all issues in this league. We felt we had to take chances.”

Hired by former Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley to remake a 22-win team that was of no competition, popularity-wise, for John Calipari‘s Memphis Tigers, Wallace put his vision in motion. When the team takes the court Sunday afternoon to begin the Western  Conference finals against the old standby San Antonio Spurs, the Memphis roster will include not one player from the day Wallace took control.

Rudy Gay, the last survivor, was dealt to Toronto in late January.

The first move for Wallace back in 2007 was drafting Mike Conley, now considered one of the most underrated point guards in the league. Conley was the No. 4 overall draft pick after Portland selected Greg Oden and Kevin Durant fell into Seattle’s lap and Atlanta tapped Al Horford.

The next move came on Feb. 1, 2008 and will go down as the franchise’s moment of truth. At that moment, however, it was perceived more like the moment of ultimate doom.

Wallace agreed to a trade that unleashed shockwaves of ridicule from, yes, the media, but also shockingly from within the league. The backlash, Wallace said, was so fierce that it damaged the team’s ability to conduct business in its own city as it set out to sell critical sponsorships and arena suites for the following season.

“People [potential clients] would list off all the big-name people [in the NBA] that had ridiculed us,” Wallace said. “It was like running the 100-meter dash with a 20-pound leg weight.”

Everyone knows the deal: Pau Gasol to the Lakers for his chubby, unheralded younger brother Marc Gasol, bust Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and a couple first-round draft picks. Stunning criticism crushed Wallace for getting fleeced while being backhandedly credited for handing the post-Shaquille O’Neal Lakers the keys to certain championships.

“I expect the media to shoot from the hip and not study the deal. That’s to be expected,” Wallace said. “I just shook my head. I had never seen that kind of response from inside the league. I don’t deny that was the assist for two Lakers championships, but we had to shake things up. We had never won a playoff game. We had been in the 20s [wins] and there was complete apathy in our market. Calipari and the Tigers were roaring at the time.

“When we went around the league, we weren’t going to get a tit-for-tat deal. We wanted to bring our salary structure down, get assets and draft picks. And no one else had a Marc Gasol.”

Marc Gasol attended high school in Memphis as Pau was becoming the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. At 18, he returned to Spain to begin his professional career in the Spanish ACB league, largely considered the world’s second-most competitive league. In 2007-08 he was tearing it up.

“He was trending up so much at the time. He was on pace to be the ACB MVP,” Wallace said. “I said it at the time, I felt like the little boy crying wolf. There was no question Pau was going to flourish next to Kobe and could win several titles, but this deal couldn’t be judged for several years.”

Wallace said what puzzled him most about the barrage of criticism was the lack of knowledge among media and league insiders regarding the 7-foot-1 Marc Gasol, who went on to become the MVP.

“It’s not like he was playing in Mongolia,” Wallace said. “He was playing in the ACB.”

Gasol, about 20 pounds lighter these days at 260, blossomed into a 2012 All-Star and is the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year. He’s become an offensive force, honing a dangerous post game with an old-school mid-range set shot. He’s averaging 18.3 ppg and 7.9 rpg while averaging 40.3 mpg during the franchise’s most successful postseason run.

Gasol’s low-post partner Zach Randolph came next in a deal in 2009. Wallace was in the right place at the right time, nabbing Randolph for Quentin Richardson. Randolph, who had had his issues at previous stops,had become expendable after just 39 games with the Clippers because L.A. was set to draft Blake Griffin with the No. 1 pick and wanted to clear out the power forward position.

Tony Allen was picked up in the summer of 2010. Darrell Arthur has been a constant presence off the bench since being acquired on draft day in 2008. Greivous Vasquez, the 28th pick in 2010, was flipped for key reserve Quincy Pondexter. Sixth man Jerryd Bayless was signed as a free agent last summer.

“We were winning 20 games a year just four or five seasons ago,” Conley said. “Management did a great job getting guys in, guys that care. We’ve worked every day, kind of fell down the radar and now we’re here.”

So much has gone right leading to this historic moment for the Grizzlies franchise that it would seem clear-cut that Wallace has a long-term home with Memphis. But with new ownership having taken over at the start of the season, both Wallace and coach Lionel Hollins – a raging success story in his own right as he’s developed an initially young group of players into a hard-working defensive juggernaut emblematic of the city itself — are uncertain of their futures.

Hollins has coached all season on the final year of his deal. Wallace said he has years left, but has no guarantees.

“I hope to be able to stay here,” Wallace said.

Category: 2013 Conference Finals: Spurs-Grizzlies, 2013 NBA Playoffs / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , / 43 Comments /

Phil Jackson: MJ Over Kobe!

May 18, 2013  ·  8:20PM


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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Kobe Bryant will never escape Michael Jordan‘s shadow, not as long as basketball fans from different eras continue to measure one superstar’s greatness against another’s.

The argument gets some unique spice this time around, though, from none other than Hall of fame coach Phil Jackson.

Jackson’s new book, “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success,” addresses the MJ-Kobe topic head on. The book is set to be released Tuesday but The Los Angeles Times received an advanced copy and highlights the Kobe-Phil-MJ dynamic in detail. Phil sides with Jordan in basically every instance, which kicked off a Twitter back and forth between Kobe and Phil that is sure to gain more steam when the hoops loving public gets their hands on the book, and throughout Phil’s book tour.

In the book, Jackson finally details what separates Jordan from Bryant, comparing the two superstars with a perspective no one else can match. He won all 11 of his rings (six with Jordan and five with Kobe) coaching one of them. My main man Mike Bresnahan of The Times serves up the good stuff:

“Michael was more charismatic and gregarious than Kobe. He loved hanging out with his teammates and security guards, playing cards, smoking cigars, and joking around,” Jackson said in the book, which was obtained in advance by The Times.

“Kobe is different. He was reserved as a teenager, in part because he was younger than the other players and hadn’t developed strong social skills in college. When Kobe first joined the Lakers, he avoided fraternizing with his teammates. But his inclination to keep to himself shifted as he grew older. Increasingly, Kobe put more energy into getting to know the other players, especially when the team was on the road.”

While Jackson coached, he often jabbed at Bryant’s seemingly annual appearance on the NBA’s All-Defensive team. Now we know why.

“No question, Michael was a tougher, more intimidating defender. He could break through virtually any screen and shut down almost any player with his intense, laser-focused style of defense,” said Jackson, who coached Jordan to six championships and Bryant to five.

“Kobe has learned a lot from studying Michael’s tricks, and we often used him as our secret weapon on defense when we needed to turn the direction of a game. In general, Kobe tends to rely more heavily on his flexibility and craftiness, but he takes a lot of gambles on defense and sometimes pays the price.”

Jackson made many of these same points during a Thursday night appearance on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” He also talked about his near return to the Lakers after Mike Brown was fired, the ill-fit that he believes Mike D’Antonio to be as Lakers coach and his desire to return to the league as a front office executive and not a coach.

But the most interesting topic by far is his perspective on the differences between MJ and Kobe:

“Michael was more likely to break through his attackers with power and strength, while Kobe often tries to finesse his way through mass pileups,” Jackson wrote. “Michael was stronger, with bigger shoulders and a sturdier frame. He also had large hands that allowed him to control the ball better and make subtle fakes.

“Jordan was also more naturally inclined to let the game come to him and not overplay his hand, whereas Kobe tends to force the action, especially when the game isn’t going his way. When his shot is off, Kobe will pound away relentlessly until his luck turns. Michael, on the other hand, would shift his attention to defense or passing or setting screens to help the team win the game.”

Jackson’s most scathing observation of the two men involves the leadership qualities they possessed, and in Kobe’s case did not possess, and what kind of impact that had on their respective teams (and granted, Kobe was a youngster on those Lakers teams with Shaquille O’Neal):

“One of the biggest differences between the two stars from my perspective was Michael’s superior skills as a leader,” Jackson writes. “Though at times he could be hard on his teammates, Michael was masterful at controlling the emotional climate of the team with the power of his presence. Kobe had a long way to go before he could make that claim. He talked a good game, but he’d yet to experience the cold truth of leadership in his bones, as Michael had in his bones.”

You better believe we’re going to quiz Jackson on this topic on the Hang Time Podcast, he is scheduled to drop in for Episode 119 on May 29 with the crew, yours truly along with Lang Whitaker of the All Ball Blog and NBA TV’s Rick Fox.

In the meantime, there should be no shortage of debate fodder for everyone to chew on!

Category: HT News / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , / 401 Comments /

Report: Coach K To Stick With USA Basketball?

May 18, 2013  ·  7:28PM



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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – When the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team finished off the competition at the London Olympics in 2012, head coach Mike Krzyzewski was primed to ride off into the sunset with a sparking 62-1 record, two gold medals in Olympic competition (2008 in Beijing) and one in World Championship competition (2010 Istanbul).

Every indication was that the longtime Duke coach had finished the job USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo needed him to and that his replacement would be sought while Coach K moved on in some capacity to assist Colangelo manage the rebuilt program.

But now comes word, via a report from SI.com‘s Pete Thamel, that Coach K is reconsidering his future with the program and could potentially return as coach of the team for the 2014 World Championship in Madrid and the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.

It’s an abrupt about-face after months and months of speculation about who might replace Krzyzewski on the sideline with the Men’s Senior National Team and also a stern departure from Coach K’s own words, as recently as February on an ESPN Radio program where he suggested that his successor could be named by this summer.

Things changed dramatically today, per that SI.com report:

On Saturday, Krzyzewski said he and USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo have been talking about his return “quite a bit.”

Colangelo said Saturday he and Krzyzewski have been discussing his return “in installments.”

“I think it’s very close to being resolved,” Colangelo said. “That’s all I can say for sure.”

He added: “Give it another week and it should be resolved.”

Nailing down a head coach is the only outstanding business Colangelo has to tend to right now, because the player pool for the national team is as strong now as it’s since he took over in 2005.

Scores of NBA superstars, All-Stars and role players will be eager to be a part of the teams that represent the U.S. in Madrid and Rio De Janeiro. And that list should include four-time MVP LeBron James as well as All-Stars Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and plenty more.

Were Coach K to return to the program, procuring commitments for future competition wouldn’t appear to be much of an issue, given his history with so many of the players that would be in the mix. The continuity alone would ensure that the U.S. program resembles, at least in structure, many of the international programs they’ll compete against in the coming years.

Category: HT News, London 2012, USA Basketball / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , / 10 Comments /

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