Here’s a look at some of the more important playoff implications in Friday night’s games:
LAKERS (vs. Golden State, 10:30 p.m. ET, League Pass): With the battle for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference down to the final three games, the Lakers (42-37) face a Golden State team that is currently seeded sixth, just a half-game up on the Rockets … A Lakers win and a Jazz loss to the Timberwolves would put L.A. up two games with two to play … Kobe Bryant scored 47 points while playing all 48 minutes in Wednesday night’s 113-106 win in Portland … The Lakers are up 2-1 in the season series.
JAZZ (vs. Minnesota, 9:30 p.m. ET, League Pass): The Jazz (41-38) have lost control of the race with the Lakers for the No. 8 seed and can’t lose focus in the first of consecutive games against the wounded Timberwolves … Utah leads season series 2-0 … Utah needs to win out and hope for an L.A. loss … A short bench missing Enes Kanter, Marvin Williams and Alec Burks was costly in Wednesday night’s loss to OKC … This could be the final home game for Jazz free-agents-to-be Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson.
THUNDER (at Portland, 10 p.m. ET, NBA TV): Thunder (58-21) show no inclination to take their foot off the pedal in the fight for No. 1 seed in the West … Holding tie-breaker over the Spurs, they now control the race … After whipping the Warriors on Thursday night — and getting plenty of rest for the starters — OKC wraps up a back-to-back and closes out road schedule … Thunder are 3-0 against the Blazers this season, who went flat in a loss to the Lakers on Wednesday night … Three-time scoring champ Kevin Durant (28.3 ppg.) says he’s OK giving up title to Carmelo Anthony.
SPURS (vs. Sacramento, 8:30 ET, League Pass): Even if the Spurs (57-21) win out, they need OKC to stumble once to reclaim the top spot in the West … But do they really care? Tony Parker is in a tug o’ war with coachGregg Popovich over whether he’ll play … Parker sat out Wednesday’s loss at Denver with a sore neck and other assorted ailments and Pop says that championship teams must be able to win on the road anyway … Boris Diaw’s back injury puts DeJuan Blair back into the rotation and could slide Kawhi Leonard into minutes at power forward … They lead series with Kings 3-0. (more…)
Missed a game last night? Wondering what the latest news around the NBA is this morning? The Morning Shootaround is here to try to meet those needs and keep you up on what’s happened around the league since the day turned.
The one recap to watch: You knowit was a great night in the NBA when our choices this morning are a triple-double game or a player scoring 47 points in 48 minutes. The triple-double performance? That came courtesy of Denver’s do-it-all star Andre Iguodala, who led the way in the Nuggets’ win over the Spurs. The 47-point effort — with eight rebounds, five assists, four blocks and three steals thrown in for good measure — came from Kobe Bryant in a close win against the Blazers. Which one do we pick? As great as Iguodala’s performance was, we’ve got to give it up for Bryant. It was a classic will-the-Lakers-to-a-win performance from the Black Mamba as he is doing everything he can down the stretch to make sure the Lakers keep hold of that No. 8 seed out West.
Williams impresses in win over Celts — Over the last week or so, we’ve had plenty of posts praising Nets guard Deron Williams for the revival in his game (as well as news that he’s giving up cortisone shots on his ankle). If the Celtics were unaware of just how much better D-Will has been playing, though, they got an education last night. Williams toasted Boston for 29 points and 12 assists and in the process made Boston look silly on several occasions, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post:
Deron Williams looks ready for the playoffs to start.
Williams was spectacular against the Celtics last night, finishing with 29 points and 12 assists as the Nets came away with a 101-93 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 18,624 inside TD Garden.
With the win, the Nets moved closer to wrapping up fourth place in the Eastern Conference and clinching homecourt advantage in the first round. They own a 3 ¹/₂ -game edge over idle Chicago with four games left to play in the regular season.
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Williams even was able to make Avery Bradley, one of the league’s elite on-ball defenders, look silly. Bradley, Boston’s starting point guard, managed to play just 10 minutes after Williams saddled him with four fouls, and none of Bradley’s teammates fared much better.
It’s the kind of virtuoso performance the Nets have come to expect from Williams in recent weeks, as he continued his dramatic resurgence since the All-Star break. Williams came into last night’s game averaging 22.5 points and 7.8 assists a night.
He did a large portion of his damage in the second quarter, when the Nets took control of the game for good after the two teams traded baskets for much of the first quarter.
Williams finished with 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting and four assists in the second quarter alone, including a pair of slick passes to Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson, respectively, for buckets in the final minutes of the half to send the Nets into the locker room with a 53-43 lead, an advantage they basically maintained for the rest of the game.
Davis hurt vs. Kings; Hornets hope for best — Our own Scott Howard-Cooper was on the scene last night in Sacramento for a game between the lottery-bound Hornets and Kings. What should have been a good late-season assessment game for two young clubs took a nasty turn in the fourth quarter when the Hornets’ prized rookie, Anthony Davis, went down with a knee injury. The Hornets were a bit ambiguous in how Davis is doing, but are hoping for the best with his health:
But that gave way to the uncertainty of the centerpiece, Davis, limping out of the locker room and headed for the flight back to New Orleans and a likely MRI exam on his left knee.
The initial diagnosis was a sprain, the result of Sacramento’s Marcus Thornton landing hard on Davis’ knee when Davis was on the court after challenging a Thornton drive under the basket in the fourth quarter of the 121-110 Kings victory. Davis, walking under his own power, left the arena with security and was not talking.
“I think he’s OK,” coach Monty Williams said. “I don’t want to jump the gun. I didn’t see the play yet, but he said Marcus landed on his knee. He said he’s a little sore. I’m just glad it wasn’t a buckle or a ligament or anything like that. We don’t know that for sure. But usually when somebody lands on it, it could be a contusion. It’s probably more scary than anything else. We’ve got to let the doctors check him out and make sure. He’s walking around. He’s got ice on it.”
Williams added that “I’m pretty sure we’ll rush him right over to our people” after the team lands in New Orleans to get an MRI.
Gortat healing up, eying return — It has been more than a month since the Suns have had the services of center Marcin Gortat, who has been out since severely spraining his foot in a game against the Raptors. But the Phoenix big man has been working out hard and has plans to get in at least one more game before the end of the season, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic:
Suns center Marcin Gortat has been all over the place on a possible return but has narrowed down the scenarios to the possibility of a comeback for the Suns home finale against Houston. He is with the team on the road for the first time since suffering a right foot sprain March 6.
“I’ve really been lifting hard,” Gortat said. “I started taking true jump shots. I’m coming back fast. I just need a little more time. I need to get in basketball shape. My jumper is so messed up. I don’t have a feel for the ball much. I’ll be back. I don’t know if it’s this year or next year. I’ll try to go against Houston at home on Monday. I need practice to see how I feel. I’d love to play. But if there is a little thing that doesn’t feel right, I’m not going to play. There’s no reason for me to risk it.”
Gortat acknowledged that he would receive a Nike contract bonus with one more appearance but he said the statistical portions of that bonus are now unattainable. Gortat averaged 11.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 61 games this season.
ICYMI of the night: Chris Anderson, formerly of the Nuggets, has just been getting victimized by his old teammates. The latest to slam on him? None other than Washington’s Nene … :
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – This was finally the night the Hornets would get encouraging news on the injury front, a positive update in the moment and for the future. Eric Gordon was playing both ends of a back-to-back for the first time in almost exactly one year, he was passing the important test with a good showing, and it was about time New Orleans caught a medical break.
Enter Anthony Davis.
Wednesday night at Sleep Train Arena, one of the team’s centerpieces of the future, Gordon, went 34 minutes with a bounce in his second game in as many nights. But that gave way to the uncertainty of the centerpiece, Davis, limping out of the locker room and headed for the flight back to New Orleans and a likely MRI exam on his left knee.
The initial diagnosis was a sprain, the result of Sacramento’s Marcus Thornton landing hard on Davis’ knee when Davis was on the court after challenging a Thornton drive under the basket in the fourth quarter of the 121-110 Kings victory. Davis, walking under his own power, left the arena with security and was not talking.
“I think he’s OK,” coach Monty Williams said. “I don’t want to jump the gun. I didn’t see the play yet, but he said Marcus landed on his knee. He said he’s a little sore. I’m just glad it wasn’t a buckle or a ligament or anything like that. We don’t know that for sure. But usually when somebody lands on it, it could be a contusion. It’s probably more scary than anything else. We’ve got to let the doctors check him out and make sure. He’s walking around. He’s got ice on it.”
Williams added that “I’m pretty sure we’ll rush him right over to our people” after the team lands in New Orleans to get an MRI.
Gordon supplied the encouraging update of the night. Working his way back from the injured right knee that caused him to miss the first 29 games of the season, he went from the 33 minutes Tuesday against the Lakers in Los Angeles to the 34 in Sacramento while contributing 23 points and seven assists, both team highs.
“It felt fine,” Gordon said after playing on consecutive nights for the first time since April 6-7, 2012. “It felt better, overall. It was good to get a back-to-back in before the end of the year, just to see how it works out for me. It worked out pretty well for me.”
Said Williams: “Eric’s fine. This is what we had planned on. We knew we were going to take a hit this season by keeping him out and the minute restriction with the hopes that he’d be a hundred percent this summer. We plan on him having a great year next year because he’ll be healthy.”
The Hornets close the season with home games Friday against the Clippers and Sunday against the Mavericks and then a trip to Dallas for the finale.
The head-to-head fantasy playoffs are here, so we are back with start-or-sit advice on several big names.
Tim Duncan, Spurs: Duncan’s last two games were monstrous, so we know the knee is right. But will Gregg Popovich allow T.D. to play in all 3 games this week? There are no back-to-backs and all three games are against Western playoff hopefuls, so it looks like a DNP-free week. Start him.
Anthony Davis, Hornets: Like Duncan, Davis has 3 games this week, which should be plenty as long as he maintains his March averages of 17-11-2. Start him.
Tyreke Evans, Kings: Evans is healthy, hitting threes, and looking more and more like the stud who averaged 20-5-5 as a rookie. He has 20+ points in three of his last four games, with goodies, so start him.
Kyle Lowry, Raptors: Lowry has been so bad, I wouldn’t even start him in a four-game week. This former-fantasy monster failed to score Sunday against Miami and has 12 points in his last three games. The Raptors play three games this week. Sit him.
Dwight Howard, Lakers: Dwight is playing his best ball of the season, going about 20-15 for the past couple weeks. He’s the only Laker to play in a two-game week. Kobe Bryant is injured and ill, Steve Nash isn’t explosive enough to warrant a 2-game start, and Pau Gasol suffered a setback last week.
Carmelo Anthony, Knicks: When Melo was rollin, my League Freak team was borderline unstoppable. Now, I’m treading water and lucky to be in the postseason. Sadly, he didn’t return Sunday against the Clippers, making it impossible to start him sight-unseen in a playoff scenario–even in a four game week. Sit him.
Jeff Teague, Hawks: Don’t worry about his reserve status, it’s purely temporary. Teague looked like himself in racking up 15 assists on Sunday at Brooklyn. In a four-game week, its a no-brainer to start him.
Missed a game last night? Wondering what the latest news around the NBA is this morning? The Morning Shootaround is here to try to meet those needs and keep you up on what’s happened around the league since the day turned.
The one recap to watch: That much-ballyhooed Pacers-Heat matchup turned out to be quite a dud, but if you’re interested in hearing about it, our man Sekou Smith has perspective on the game from both the Miami camp and the Indiana camp. Since that one was such a letdown, we’re forced to pick another game and the Blazers-Hornets matchup from New Orleans turned out to be a surprisingly well-played one. Rookies Damian Lillard and Anthony Davis put forth solid nights, Wesley Matthews continued to showcase his mostly unnoticed clutch shooting game this season and the even more overlooked Ryan Anderson came through with a clutch bucket of his own. It’ll be a season or two before the Hornets or Blazers will be fighting it out for a spot in the West elite pecking order, but for now, enjoy the solid effort put forth by these young squads.
Howard apologizes for messy Orlando exit — With 18 wins this season, the Magic are not far removed from their 21-61 season of 2003-04, which was their last season of play before Dwight Howard came first aboard. Although Howard provided many great memories in Orlando, his messy departure this summer — preceded by a will-he-stay-or-go act last season in Orlando — left many Magic fans with a sizable disdain for the former three-time Defensive Player of the Year. All that said, Howard isn’t so unaware of his actions that he’s beyond apologizing to the folks in his old town — especially as the Lakers ready to visit the Magic on Tuesday. Sam Amick of USA Today chatted with Howard at his palatial, nine-bedroom, 14-bathroom, 11,000-square foot home in Los Angeles about his ‘Dwightmare’ season in Orlando, his first season with the Lakers, playing with Kobe Bryant and more in a must-read interview:
The famous view on the road to Dwight Howard’s house in Bel Air is nothing short of spectacular, the Hollywood Hills below unfolding into the valley where stars have come and gone.
On a clear day, it has been said of this classic route on Mulholland Drive, you can see all the way to Canoga Park, some 14 miles away. And on this day, Howard — the Los Angeles Lakers center and aspiring actor whose dreams of becoming an icon had so much to do with him coming here — can see all the way to Orlando.
The big man who was so beloved there returns Tuesday for the first time since he was traded seven months ago, this time as the villain. In an exclusive interview with USA TODAY Sports, Howard acknowledged that this script — the one that included twists and turns and battered his once-sparkling image — should have been written differently.
“In Orlando, I handled a lot of stuff the wrong way,” he said, sitting at his kitchen table. “If any of those people in Orlando are upset with how I did it, I apologize for the way I handled it and the way it was handled in the media.
“I really just got caught up in wanting to please everybody else. I really love that city. That was the hardest thing to do was to leave that city because I basically grew up there. That was my whole life. Orlando was it. I did not want to leave all that behind — the city, just everything about it. The fans. But I wanted a change for my life. I just felt like there was something else out there for me.”
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“There are a lot of things about me that have changed,” said Howard, a 27-year-old Atlanta native who was drafted first overall out of high school in 2004. “I’m becoming a better man because of the stuff that has happened to me this last year and a half. Everybody goes through stuff like this. Even though I’m going through it where everybody in the world can see it, I’m happy that it’s happening.
“If it didn’t happen, I’d be stuck in my ways. I would never change, and then it would be a lot worse. For all this stuff to happen, for me to sit back and see and evaluate myself and what I could’ve done better and realize that I needed to make a change, I’m getting better. I’m growing up. I’m maturing.”
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Howard, who had taken the Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009 and the Eastern Conference finals in 2010, said he should have spent more time separating fact from fiction to those who mattered most.
“Whenever something happened, I should’ve let my teammates know. I should’ve said, ‘OK, this is what’s going on. I know what’s being said, but this is how I really feel,’ ” Howard says. “Or, ‘Hey, Coach, this is what’s being said, but this is how I feel,’ instead of just letting everything pile on and me not saying anything.
“I just felt at the time like, ‘I’m not going to say anything. I’m just going to sit back and let it unfold.’ By doing that, everybody was getting mixed signals. They’re hearing this on TV, or I might make a quote about this and they twist it and turn it into something else. Now you’ve got everybody like, ‘What is he doing?’… It was story after story after story start coming out saying it was me saying this and me saying that, and I’m like, ‘I never said none of this stuff.’ I could tell some of that stuff started to bother my teammates, but I didn’t say nothing because I’m like, ‘They know that I’m not saying this.’ And it just kept piling on and piling on.”
Hornets’ Davis spices up ROY race — Since practically the first week of the season, Portland guard Damian Lillard has been the presumptive favorite to win the Kia Rookie of the Year Award, and he’s got the resume to back it up. Lillard has been West’s rookie of the month every month this season, is second on the Blazers in scoring while leading them in assists and has had the poise of a veteran player throughout most of the season. Before the season began, the ROY race was thought to be one between Lillard and No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Hornets, but injuries kept Davis from truly making an impact until the last few months. After last night’s Portland-New Orleans showdown in Louisiana (which the Hornets won), the race might be closer than expected, writes John Reid of NOLA.com:
Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard still appears to be the frontrunner to the win this season’s NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. But New Orleans Hornets rookie Anthony Davis got another opportunity to close the gap in Sunday’s matchup against Lillard and the Trail Blazers.
Coming off a sensational 20-point, 18-rebound performance against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night, Davis put forth another solid effort in the Hornets’ 98-96 victory against the Trail Blazers.
Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season. Lillard, who leads all rookies with a 18.8 scoring average, scored 20 points and had eight assists.
“We’re just getting better as a unit,” Davis said. “We haven’t done a great job of closing out games in the fourth quarter, but we’re doing a better job and we have to continue doing so.”
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On the final play of the game, Davis forced Trail Blazers shooting guard Wesley Matthews to miss a desperation 3-pointer as time expired.Since returning from a sprained left shoulder, Davis had averaged 16.7 points, 13 rebounds in the past three games He grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds and scored 20 points Saturday night against the playoff contending Memphis Grizzlies.
Lillard, the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, is the rookie leader in assists (6.4) and 3-pointers with 134. But he couldn’t lead his team like he did in December, when he made a game-clinching 3-pointer as time expired to lift the Trail Blazers to a 95-94 victory against the Hornets at the Rose Garden.
“Tonight, it was just one of those games where they made some shots,” Lillard said. “They got going on a run. It was kind of a game of runs and we just came up short.”
Griffin awed by Jordan’s jam — The Clippers live up to their “Lob City” nickname just about every night, with Chris Paul-to-Blake Griffin alley-oops serving as the main source of highlights for L.A. But as exciting as Griffin’s jams are, you can’t overlook what DeAndre Jordan can do each night off a lob or a clear lane to the basket. In case anyone forgot, though, Jordan showed his talents off last night with a posterizing, monster flush over the Pistons’Brandon Knight that drew respect from L.A.’s resident dunk expert, writes Dan Woikeof the Orange County Register:
Blake Griffin has Timofey Mozgov, Kendrick Perkins and Pau Gasol. And after Sunday night, DeAndre Jordan has Brandon Knight.
“That was the best dunk of the year,” Griffin said. “It’s the best dunk I’ve seen in person.”
Jordan caught a lob from Chris Paul, cocked back and turned Knight into a trending topic on Twitter with a vicious slam during the Clippers’ 129-97 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday at Staples Center.
“It was a great pass by Chris, and honestly, I didn’t see Brandon until I caught the ball,” Jordan said. “After that, was just, yeah….”
Paul described what followed the dunk as “the aftermath.” The crowd went nuts as the scoreboard replayed the highlight over and over. The bench nearly rushed the floor, and Paul, usually pretty calm, howled as he slapped Jordan on the chest.
“It was pretty impressive,” Paul said. “I usually try not to react after all those different types of dunks, but that one was pretty good.”
Perkins still loves facing Celtics — Hard to believe, but it has been 25 months since the Thunder swung what was a then-surprising deal with the Celtics, picking up defensive big man Kendrick Perkins for Jeff Green. Perkins was at his stopping best on Sunday afternoon against the Celtics (and particularly Kevin Garnett) as OKC picked up a 91-79 victory. But for Perkins, who was a key part of Boston’s 2008 championship team, playing his old team will always get the juices going, writes Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman:
As the Celtics inbounded the ball at midcourt during the first half Sunday, referee Scott Wall had to caution Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett. They were getting a little too physical jostling for position.
Were they being serious? Were these avowed blood brothers getting riled?
“It was serious at the time,” Perk said with a smile. “But there wasn’t nothing behind it all. We damn near could have gave each other a hug.”
No one would have been surprised. But rest assured they were serious. Gran Torino and Garnett are nothing if not serious. And Garnett paid for that seriousness he helped instill in Perkins.
The Thunder beat the Celtics 91-79, and here’s the No. 1 reason. Garnett made just five of 19 shots. That’s Garnett’s most misses in a game since Jan. 16, 2012, when he also went 5-of-19 against Perkins and the Thunder.
No coincidence there.
“Perk took the challenge,” said Kevin Durant. “That’s his mentor, the guy he looked up to, the guy he learned a lot from, and he took the challenge by making him shoot tough shots.”
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Garnett was 3-of-11 with Perkins on the bench, with all three makes at the basket and only two of the misses outside the paint.
Perkins kept Garnett away from the basket. That’s how games are won.
“Perk didn’t do anything new tonight,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “He was typical Perk.”
It’s been 25 months since the Celtics traded Perkins, their 2008 NBA championship center, for Jeff Green. It’s not getting any easier for Perkins and his old team to share the court.
“He’s moved on to his new family here, which is great,” said Celtic star Paul Pierce. “But Perk knows he’ll always be family, he’ll always be remembered, especially by me and the Boston organization.”
Perkins was particularly close to Garnett and point guard Rajon Rondo. Those two and Pierce are the only remaining players from the title team.
“I think it’ll be easier when a lot of the guys that I played with be off the team,” Gran Torino said. “Still pretty hard going against guys I went to war with.
“We had great times over there. Not easy at all, especially going against a coach who pretty much raised me. Who started me who I was as a player. It’s always difficult, but know I’m always trying to get the win.”
ICYMI of the night: Watch this dunk … that’s all we’ve got to say:
HANG TIME NEW JERSEY – For NBA fans like us, there’s nothing better than League Pass. Having the ability to watch every game every night (and then again the next day) is heaven.
Of course, with local broadcasts, you get local broadcasters, which can be good and bad. It can be good, because these guys know their teams better than most national broadcasters. It can be bad, because these guys love their teams more than most national broadcasters. And they’re usually not afraid to show that love.
The national guys aren’t perfect either. And if they’re not careful, they may be featured here, where we highlight the best and worst of NBA broadcasts.
Here are a few moments from the season thus far that made us laugh, made us smarter, or made us shake our heads.
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Denver analyst Scott Hastings really shows his colors here. First, he infers that the official should take a previous J.J. Barea complaint into account when making a call. Then, he disparages Barea’s size. And finally, he infers that the number of fouls that Kenneth Faried had at the time should have affected the call. Oof.
2. Mid-game education
Game: Golden State @ Minnesota, Nov. 16 Broadcast: Minnesota
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One of the biggest problems with some NBA broadcasters is that they’re behind the curve in regard to advanced stats. When a play-by-play guy or analyst references points per game and/or field-goal percentage as a measure of offensive or defensive quality, those of us who know and believe in advanced stats just want to squirm and/or mute your television.
So when one of these guys takes the time to educate their audience about pace and efficiency, it’s worthy of a mention. This clip starts out on the wrong foot with a graphic citing PPG, but Dave Benz and Jim Petersen quickly turn the conversation toward efficiency.
Hopefully, talk of pace and efficiency will be the norm (and not the exception) in the near future.
3. Foul? What foul?
Game: New Orleans @ Portland, Dec. 16 Broadcast: Portland
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There are a lot of times when broadcasters need to hold their tongues until they see a replay before questioning an official’s call. Let’s just say that Mike Barrett and Mike Rice don’t do that very often.
On this play, Barrett (play-by-play) first questions the idea of Nicolas Batum‘s foul being a flagrant. Rice takes over from there, seems to ignore an obvious blow to the face of Anthony Davis, makes a silly remark about the official not wanting him to eat dinner on time, and then takes a grade-school-level shot at Davis’ eyebrow(s). Oh yeah, like Hastings in the clip above, he infers that a previous call should somehow influence this one.
One more thing: Broadcasters should know that referees will err on the side of caution when initially determining whether a foul was a flagrant or a common foul, because one can be reviewed and the other can’t. If the refs initially call a flagrant, they can review the play and change it to a common foul. If they don’t call a flagrant initially, they can’t review it or change it. So if there’s any doubt, the best thing to do is call a flagrant foul and check the replay.
Ian Eagle is a Hang Time favorite, because he’s calls games straight, he’s got a quick wit and he certainly isn’t afraid to laugh at himself. Here, he regrets his premature assessment of Greg Stiemsma‘s perimeter game.
HANG TIME, Texas — The last time James White and Gerald Green were in a slam dunk contest together, they practically blew the roof off with a 2010 Russian Cup performance that’s become a YouTube cult classic.
So perhaps it is fitting that they will be comrades along with Terrence Ross, representing the Eastern Conference in the 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, as State Farm All-Star Saturday Night includes an overall team format for the first time.
White, Green and Ross will square off against the Western Conference threesome of Jeremy Evans, Eric Bledsoe and Kenneth Faried.
Evans, the 6-foot-9 forward from the Jazz, will be looking to defend the individual title that he won a year ago at Orlando.
The Pacers’ 6-foot-8 Green won the event in 2007 at Las Vegas when he leaped over a table to dunk in the final round to beat out Dwight Howard and finished runner-up to Howard in 2008 despite a crowd-pleasing first-round dunk where he blew out the candle on a cupcake that was sitting on the back of the rim.
State Farm All-Star Saturday Night, an all-inclusive skills showcase, will take place on Feb. 16 at the Toyota Center in Houston and will be televised live by TNT at 8 p.m. ET.
Two of the league’s long-range shooters — Stephen Curry of the Warriors and Steve Novak of the Knicks — will lead opposing teams in the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest. Curry’s West teammates will be Ryan Anderson of the Hornets and Matt Bonner of the Spurs. Joining Novak on the East team will be Kyrie Irving of the Cavaliers and Paul George of the Pacers.
It’s worth noting that Novak will be returning to the Toyota Center court where he broke into the NBA with the Rockets in 2006, while the league’s top 3-point percentage shooter — Kyle Korver of the Hawks — will not take part. But Anderson has the most 3-pointers this season.
The Taco Bell Skills Challenge will have Texans Tony Parker of the Spurs and Jeremy Lin of the Rockets joining forces with Trail Blazers rookie Damian Lillard for the West against the Hawks’ Jeff Teague, the Sixers’ Jrue Holiday and the Bucks Brandon Jennings.
The Sears Shooting Stars Competition, which features NBA players, WNBA players and NBA legends, will have James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Tina Thompson, Maya Moore, Robert Horry and Sam Cassell of the West taking on an East team of Brook Lopez, Chris Bosh, Swin Cash, Tamika Catchings, Dominique Wilkins and Muggsy Bogues.
As part of the new format, points earned by each conference throughout the four All-Star Skills Competitions will determine the conference that earns the title of 2013 State Farm All-Star Saturday Night champion. Dwyane Wade of the Heat will serve as the East team captain and the Clippers’ Chris Paul will lead the West.
In addition, NBA Cares and State Farm will make a joint donation of $500,000 as part of the event, with $350,000 going to the winning conference’s charities and $150,000 to the runner-up conference’s charities. All of the charities will be selected by the conference captains, the NBA, and State Farm.
In drafting players for Team Chuck and Team Shaq in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal went in opposite directions with their top picks. Shaq built his foundation on the high-scoring backcourt of Irving and Lillard, while Barkley went for big men in Anthony Davis and Faried.
Also on TNT tonight — before the big Los Angeles Lakers-Boston Celtics game — Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal will draft the teams for the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, a game between some of the NBA’s best rookies and sophomores that will be held on Friday night of All-Star weekend (Feb. 15 onTNT, at 9 ET).
Each week in the NBA.com blogtable, we ask our stable of scribes to weigh in on the most important NBA topics of the day — and then give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below. In this special edition, we’ve asked our guys to look at the pool of players for the Rising Stars game and give us their top three choices. Here they are:
Steve Aschburner: This is easy. I take Kyrie Irving with my No. 1 pick because he’s the best player on the board. I take Kenneth Faried No. 2 because he has only one gear — he can only play with a high-revving motor, which puts him way ahead of anyone else in an exhibition like this. Plus, I like “sophomores,” who don’t want to lose to the newbies. But that said, I take Damian Lillard with my No. 3 pick because this will be his chance to make a Rookie of the Year statement on a huge stage. Two point guards? Bah! I remember the havoc caused by AllenIverson and StephonMarbury down the stretch in the 2001 All-Star Game.
Anthony Davis, by Noah Graham/NBAE/via Getty
Fran Blinebury: 1.) Kyrie Irving — All-Star games are all about scoring points and nobody here can do that better than Irving, who’s already good enough to also be playing in the main event on Sunday. 2.) Anthony Davis — The No. 1 pick in the Draft has trailed Damian Lillard from opening night in the Rookie of the Year race in an up-and-down season. But he’s got all the tools to the foundation player for the Hornicans/Pelinets and can use this chance to strut his stuff at both ends of the floor. 3.) Chandler Parsons — Never miss an opportunity to suck up to the hometown crowd in an All-Star Game. And he’s the kind of excitable guy who could rise to the occasion.
Jeff Caplan: Kyrie Irving: Look around, the NBA is the League of the Point Guard right now and this kid is phenomenal, already an All-Star in just his second season. I know I’m not alone with this pick (Damian Lillard is a solid choice, but I think a distant second right now) because Irving is so dynamic with the ball and is a scoring machine. Get him some offensive help and his assists will go up. I love that he’s deadly from 3-point range (41.2 percent) and is an excellent free-throw shooter (86.2 percent in first two seasons). Anthony Davis: To go with a top-notch PG, you need a big man that can get the job done on both ends of the floor. As the 6-foot-10, 220-pound Davis matures, he’ll be a double-double machine. He’s shooting 53 percent from the floor, 72 percent from the free-throw line and he’s averaging 1.8 blocks a game, a number that will surely rise as well. It’s been a relatively quiet season for Davis after a ton of hype as the No. 1 pick, but this kid is going to be really good for a really long time. Kawhi Leonard: Now you need a solid wing to go with the point guard and center and I can’t think of a more well-rounded player than Leonard. He plays the game the right way, which is why he’s fit like a glove in San Antonio. He’s going to give you excellent defense on every possession and his offensive game is really nice, too. His numbers (9.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg) would be more impressive on a team that wasn’t loaded with offensive weapons. Still, what’s tremendous about this kid is he can put it on the floor, shoot the mid-range jumper and, hugely important, he he can really pop the 3-pointer — he’s shooting it at a nearly 40 percent clip — while shooting 48.4 percent overall.
Scott Howard-Cooper: 1. Kyrie Irving. Because he’s not just one of the top young players in the league. Irving is on his way to being a star in any age group. 2. Anthony Davis. Interior defense, rebounding, the ability to handle pressure or accept a complementary role, plus an underrated offensive game. 3. Klay Thompson. If I have Irving and Davis, I next want someone who will make defenses pay from the perimeter. I thought hard about going with Bradley Beal off his breakthrough shooting in January, and because I was a Beal guy to begin with, but the injury and Thompson’s longer track record swayed me to Golden State.
John Schuhmann: My first pick is Kyrie Irving and I don’t have to give you a reason. My second pick is Andre Drummond for his size and athleticism. He can finish at the rim offensively, protect it defensively and run the floor with my franchise point guard. And my third pick isKawhi Leonard for both perimeter defense and shooting. I think he’d be the best complement to the other two.
Sekou Smith: Kyrie Irving is an easy No. 1 pick in a game like this, given the nature of the game and the fact that he’s the best player available. But we’re trying to build a team here and that means I need balance, which makes Kenneth Faried my no-brainer choice for pick No. 2. There other guys who are true centers in this game, but none of them operate with a motor that can match what Faried brings to the party. If Kyrie needs someone to run the floor or fill the lane, Faried will be there. Rebounds, defense and pure energy in its rawest form is what you get from “The Manimal.” My third and final pick is Klay Thompson, the best pure shooter in the game. He can just line up and pick his spots and wait for the dish from Kyrie and see if he can’t break the 3-point shooting mark for this game.
The time is now to trade for Hornets’ rookie Anthony Davis, who is averaging only 9.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, and 25.3 minutes in seven games this month.
Has Davis hit the rookie wall?
Davis hasn’t admitted to that cliché and he probably never will, but the stats say otherwise. His points have declined from 15.0 to 14.0 to 9.4 in November, December, and January, respectively. And his blocks have declined from 2.4 to 1.8 to 1.3 in the same months.
Also contributing to Davis’ decline is the return of Eric Gordon, who made his season debut on Dec. 29, perfectly coinciding with Davis’ drop in numbers this January. Gordon, as expected, is taking 15.3 field goal attempts per game, causing Davis’ FGA’s to dip from 11.6 in November and December down to 8.6 in January.
I trust Hornets’ head coach Monty Williams to figure out a way to make it work, such that Gordon gets his, while Davis gets his. Also, I trust in the incredible talents of Davis, who is simply too gifted to average 9 and 6 for the rest of the season.
Davis’ best month was November, when he averaged 15 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks in 28.2 minutes, and he should return to that level once he gets a second wind.
Sunday’s game against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden was a start, as Davis had 13 points and eight rebounds in 33 minutes.
You have to give to get in fantasy hoops, so here are a few big men you might want to dangle as trade bait for Davis: Kevin Garnett (14.8 points, 7.0 rebounds), Marcin Gortat (11.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.9 blocks); Paul Millsap (14.9 points, 7.7 rebounds).
I realize the holidays are over and you’re all shopped out, but you don’t have to leave the house to go fantasy shopping. So what are you waiting for?
Rick Kamla is an anchor on NBA TV. You can follow him on Twitter at @NBATVRick.
HANG TIME SOUTHWEST –Greivis Vasquez deserves a raise — which he’ll get in due time — or the key to the city or, heck, just make him mayor of New Orleans.
The city, and its beleaguered basketball team, couldn’t ask for a better ambassador than the Venezuelan-born point guard who’s leaving his heart and sweat on the floor every night as he emerges as a top talent in the league.
“The biggest thing is I’m getting an opportunity,” said Vasquez, a recent player of the week recipient. “Still, people don’t know about me as much because I’m playing in a small market, which I love. I love this city, I love this team.”
Pretty refreshing stuff from a third-year player just starting to hit his stride for a franchise that’s endured it’s share of hard knocks in recent years — including a hard-luck 7-25 start to this season.
Because the ridiculously youthful Hornets finally got game-changer and now-healthy shooting guard Eric Gordon in the starting lineup Saturday. It allowed coach Monty Williams to make other changes and roll out the starting five he envisioned.
And this is where Vasquez’s ambassadorial value comes shining through. A 6-foot-6, bearded jolt of energy, smiles, enthusiasm and positivity, his team-first attitude is absolutely contagious. It’s critical to the evolution of this franchise, and no more so than as it relates to Gordon, the 6-foot-3 scoring machine deemed the future of the franchise when New Orleans acquired him in the painful CP3 trade 13 months ago.
“I have a good relationship with Eric and I tell you this, we have been talking a lot,” Vasquez said before Saturday’s comeback victory. “Eric is a pro. I feel him as a player too, because his knee was really bothering him. But now he feels like his teammates got his back, we all got his back. We all know he’s going to make us better and we’re going to make him better. And now, we talked [Friday] night, we’re going to make this situation a great situation. We’re going to start winning games.
“For a guy like that to say that to a guy like me, that means a lot. I’m sure he’s saying that on behalf of the whole team because we’re winners, we want to win and we work. And that has been the main thing of our team, we’re going to work regardless. Whether we lose or win tomorrow we are getting better because our vision is in the future.” (more…)
HANG TIME NEW JERSEY – For NBA fans like us, there’s nothing better than League Pass. Having the ability to watch every game every night (and then again the next day) is heaven.
