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Six Sensible Picks For Coaching Success

May 13, 2013  ·  10:42AM



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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Raise your hand, you twisted souls, if you’re ready for another episode of the Dwight Howard-Stan Van Gundy show.

Even Hawks fans, a group starved for both star power on the roster and stability with the coaching staff, are wary of the potential pairing of these former Orlando Magic stalwarts in the ATL. Their deteriorating relationship marred their final season together in a situation that was anything but magic in Orlando.

But when the coaching carousel kicks up this time of year, and a half-dozen or so different teams are picking over the same small pool of elite coaching candidates, all things are possible.

Van Gundy, and his brother, Jeff Van Gundy, are going to be on short lists everywhere, along with Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan, Larry Brown and whoever the assistant coach(es) du jour might be.

What looks good on paper and sounds sweet in theory, however, doesn’t always hold up in reality. Multiple reports of Stan Van Gundy being pursued by the Hawks, who have announced that they will explore all options in determining who replaces Larry Drew (if they replace him), make perfect sense. Hawks GM Danny Ferry is in the process of rebuilding his roster and needs a coach on board before the Draft.

“I have great appreciation and respect for Larry and how he led our team this season,” Ferry told Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday. “At the same time, it is my responsibility and in the best interests of the Hawks organization to consider all of our options, and talk with other potential head coaches before making a decision about who will lead our basketball team. Larry and I have had open communication about this approach. If Larry and I continue to work together, we ultimately will be a stronger organization because of our discussions and this thorough process.”

That’s an eloquent way of stating the obvious: that the Hawks plan on moving on from the past nine years (Drew was an assistant under current Knicks Mike Woodson during his six seasons with Atlanta before Drew spent the last three season its coach). And it’s understandable. No one will blame Ferry for making a clean break from the Hawks’ recent past, provided he upgrades the coaching situation and the roster with all of that $33 million in cap space and the four Draft picks the Hawks will be armed with this summer.

The burning question remains, then, is Stan Van a legitimate upgrade?

He did take the Magic to The Finals in 2009, the Miami Heat to the Eastern Conference finals (2005) and did the same with Orlando (2010). But he was shown the door in both places after his star players grew tired of his grinding ways. Weighing the pros and cons of Stan Van being the face and voice of your franchise heading into a huge free-agent summer is a risky proposition for the Hawks, one that Ferry is surely aware of as he continues to sort through the process of finding the right coach.

There are five other current openings around the league, with another one (Los Angeles Clippers … ?) still looming. With a bevy of candidates, we take a look at who fits best where and why …

Atlanta Hawks: Mike Malone, assistant coach Golden State Warriors

In a realm where it’s often who you know as well as what you know, Malone can check those boxes with the Hawks. He’s done stellar work with the Warriors, helping guide them into a prime time position this postseason under Mark Jackson. He also worked under Mike Brown in Cleveland when Ferry ran that franchise. Malone is a nuts-and-bolts coach who won’t come with the baggage of some of the more recognizable candidates for the job. He’s universally respected and will likely be on the interview list for every opening out there.

Brooklyn Nets: Jeff Van Gundy, ABC/ESPN analyst

No available coach has a better handle on the rigors of guiding a team in the New York area. Van Gundy’s Knicks history, along with his work on ABC and ESPN broadcasts, has kept him in the forefront of a lot of people’s minds. He’s got the coaching chops required to manage a complex and talented roster that clearly needs a guiding force to reach its potential. His former partner in the booth, Mark Jackson, has done wonders in his first coaching stint in Golden State. Van Gundy could work similar magic with a Nets team that underachieved this season.

Charlotte Bobcats: Larry Drew, coach Atlanta Hawks

Drew worked alongside Bobcats owner Michael Jordan when they were both in Washington, so there is plenty of familiarity there. He also impressed many around the league with the work he did in an impossible situation in Atlanta the past three seasons. Even with constant changes on the roster and in the front office, Drew coached the Hawks to three straight playoff appearances. He would walk into a situation in Charlotte that looks a lot like the one he walked into with the Hawks nine years ago. That blueprint for thriving in the face of adversity could come in handy for the Bobcats.

Detroit Pistons: Jerry Sloan, former coach Utah Jazz

The Pistons have a roster filled with talented young players in need of guidance and direction. That’s the idea fit for a disciplinarian like Sloan, who could work wonders with bigs Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond in particular. Sloan’s Jazz teams were known for being the model of consistency. He won with superstar talent (Karl Malone and John Stockton) and kept on winning after they retired. The Pistons have had their greatest success in recent years under another veteran coach, Larry Brown, and could return to relevance under Sloan.

Milwaukee Bucks: David Fizdale, assistant coach Miami Heat

With the Big 3 in Miami, most of the attention has been strictly on the players. But Erik Spoelstra‘s key hire since taking over as coach in Miami was luring Fizdale away from the Hawks. He’s considered one of the brightest up-and-coming coaching candidates in the league and has done fantastic work with the continued development of both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. Luring him away from a championship situation in Miami won’t be easy for the Bucks or anyone else. But Fizdale has designs on running his own team and working with Bucks GM John Hammond would be a good place to get that first shot.

Philadelphia 76ers: Stan Van Gundy, former coach Orlando Magic

After the emotional roller coaster that was the Doug Collins experience, Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner, Thaddeus Young, Spencer Hawes and the rest of the Sixers’ young core need a savvy veteran to deal with, not a first-time coach who would have to transition to a new gig in a city known for chewing up the strongest of personalities.  Stan Van gives the Sixers a bold personality to lead the way and an absolute technician of the game to help push the right buttons for a team that needs the sort of stewardship he tried to provide in Orlando.

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Pop The Rock Rolls Up On Win No. 900

March 22, 2013  ·  11:35AM

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HANG TIME, Texas – It’s no wonder most NBA coaches are constantly moving on the sidelines. Theirs is a peripatetic lifestyle, usually with one hand gripping a suitcase and one foot out the door.

Among many other things about his worldly background and his puckish personality, it is his stability that makes Gregg Popovich unique.

With a win tonight at home against the Jazz (8:30 ET, League Pass), Popovich will become the 12th coach in NBA history to win 900 career games, but will be the first to claim each and every victory with a single team.

Over the past 17 seasons, the Spurs have been Pop as much as much as they have been David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and the other 130 players who have worn the silver and black uniform.

In a league that is teeming with exceptional coaches — Denver’s George Karl, Boston’s Doc Rivers, Minnesota’s Rick Adelman, Memphis’ Lionel Hollins, Dallas’ Rick Carlisle, Chicago’s Tom Thibodeau, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra – Popovich stands a step apart and above.

He is always the first and usually the last to tell you that it’s all about the players, but to a man, they will tell you he is the one whom they are all about in the way the prepare, work and attack every game and play.

When he sat at a makeshift table for a news conference last spring when he was named Coach of the Year for the second time in his career, Popovich’s face turned different shades of red. But it wasn’t for the usual reasons of screaming at a referee or boiling at another question from a reporter. He was, in short, embarrassed with the attention.

Pop’s Way. That’s what they call it around the executive offices and on the practice floor and in the locker room.

“It’s about us, not me,” he said, sheepish from the attention.

But year after year, season after season, it has been about him getting the most out of his team by being willing to change the pace of play — from slogging, powerful inside ball to Duncan to a microwave fastbreak that is sparked by Parker — but never his principles or his own personal style.

He just wears suits, doesn’t model them.

“They’re not Italian,” he told an inquiring mind years ago.

He doesn’t do TV commercials or endorsements.

“I refuse,” he said another time. “I’d rather spend time in other ways.”

Pat Riley, the Hall of Fame coach and stylist, once said the Spurs are “the most emotionally stable team in the league.”

That’s because it is a team in Popovich’s image. He picks the players, he builds the team, he molds them and has constructed a franchise that has always eschewed endearing to be enduring. It’s all added up to the best record in the Western Conference again, an NBA record 14 consecutive 50-win seasons, 16th straight trips to the playoffs and puts him on the doorstep of history, all in one place.

After 900 wins, Pop won’t be going anywhere but straight ahead. (more…)

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Jordan At 50: Could He Just Do It?

February 9, 2013  ·  1:32PM

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HANG TIME, Texas – It starts out like the beginning of an old joke.

You know, somebody says that as great as Bill Russell was in winning 11 championships with the Celtics, he’d have difficulty winning even one against today’s class of NBA athletes.

Of course, goes the punchline, Russell will turn 79 on Tuesday.

But Antawn Jamison wasn’t kidding when he told Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com that Michael Jordan could still play effectively in the league right now.

Jordan turns 50 on Feb. 17, coincidentally the day of the NBA All-Star Game.

“I wouldn’t doubt that in the right situation with a LeBron (James) on his team or with a Kobe (Bryant) on this team, he could get you about 10 or 11 points, come in and play 15-20 minutes,” said Antawn Jamison before the Lakers played the Bobcats on Friday. “I wouldn’t doubt that at all, especially if he was in shape and injuries were prevented and things of that nature.”

That’s saying a lot, considering Jamison has Bryant on his team, and only averages 8.1 points per game in 20.5 minutes per game and he’s “only” 36 years old.

Jordan averaged 20 points in 37 minutes per game in his 15th and final season in the league before retiring for good at age 40.

Would it ever happen? Could it ever happen? Other than Larry Bird actually sprouting real wings, is there anything you might imagine that is more preposterous?

Remember, it was Jordan himself who raised the possibility near the end of his challenging, often vitriolic speech at the 2009 Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

“One day you might look up and see me playing the game at 50,” Jordan said. “Oh, don’t laugh. Never say never. Because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.”

We know that on the court there were never any limits or fears to Jordan, only challenges — some real, some imagined — that he used to constantly lift himself to a higher plane.

That is precisely the reason I have a standing bet with my good friend Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that was made when Jordan hung up his Wizards jersey. I said then I didn’t believe His Airness was finished and one day we’d see him back on the court in an NBA game. At the start of each new season, Jonathan tries to get me to surrender. Then along comes word that the owner of the Bobcats showed up at practice one day in December to show them how it’s done. Or maybe just to feed his ego.

But after taking on some of his kids — Gerald Henderson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bismack Biyombo — in a little one-on-one, it’s always clear that the competitive spark is just below the surface and the skills are still there.

“He’s still got it. He can still shoot,” Henderson said. “I don’t know about his defense, but he can still score.”

Biyombo: “He’s pretty good.”

So we mark down Biyombo for understatement of the year, consider the opinion of Jamison and ponder the possibilities.

I once asked Hakeem Olajuwon, who just turned 50, if he thought he could still play in the league.

“Not full-time. But for a few minutes, yes,” he insisted. “ I’m in shape.”

When a 50-year-old Clyde Drexler was asked the same question, he nodded his head. “Absolutely. I could go out there and run up and down the floor with those guys one night,” he said laughing. “Then the next day I’d be in traction.”

So what do we do with the Jordan question? Could he? Would he? Should he, as the old Nike slogan said, just do it?

I’ll tell you one thing I’m not doing: Paying off Jonathan. Yet.

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There’s No Reason To Overlook Parker

January 30, 2013  ·  2:48PM

 

HANG TIME, Texas – It’s easy to get overlooked when you’re in San Antonio.

First of all, because coach Gregg Popovich doesn’t care about getting noticed and does everything but throw a wet blanket over his team and the entire Alamo. The only thing that matters is winning.

Second, well, there is no second.

So it is that Tony Parker can once more be incrementally taking his already lofty game up to higher level and somehow people complain that he didn’t merit inclusion on the Western Conference All-Star team.

Did those critics stop watching after the first two weeks of the season when Parker was struggling to find the range on his shot? Have they not been able to appreciate that while the Spurs have again risen steadily and relentlessly to the point where they have the best record in the NBA (36-11) going into tonight’s game against the Bobcats it’s been Parker with his hand on the tiller?

As noted by the wide-awake Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News:

Parker has been nothing short of spectacular since then, averaging 21.2 points on 54.2-percent shooting in over the past 39 games. He has scored in double-figures in every one of those outings, the longest streak of his career.

Reset the cutoff to his breakout game at Boston on Nov. 21 (26 points, 12-for-17 shooting), and Parker is shooting 55.7 percent over the past 35 outings.

Parker’s 2012-13 stats, with his career-highs in parenthesis:

–20.1 points per game, second (22.0, 2008-09).
–7.5 assists per game, second (7.7, 2011-12).
–52.7 field goal percentage, second (54.8, 2005-06).
–58.6 true shooting percentage, first.
–23.3 Player Efficiency Rating, second (23.4, 2008-09).
–116 offensive rating, first.
–.215 win shares per 48 minutes, first.

“He is unbelievable,” teammate Manu Ginobili told reporters in San Antonio after Parker scored 31 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter to beat the Suns. “He is in that point of his career where he is so confident. He is doing so good that he can relax a little bit in the first half then when we need him, he starts making those jumpers and takes over.”

The trouble is that Parker can’t seem to outrun the enduring image of the impetuous 19 year old who entered the league full of questions about his toughness even though he is now an impervious 30.

Through all the years and all the big games and all the playoff series, Parker fell into and accepted the role as Pop’s public whipping boy and perhaps that image has stuck to the bottom of his sneakers like a wad of discarded gum.

Maybe that is why when the MVP talk turns away from LeBron James or Kevin Durant and in the direction of a point guard this season, it is Chris Paul who gets mentioned instead of Parker.

Through three different championship runs, Tim Duncan has been rightly portrayed as the tentpole in the middle of the lineup that holds up the Spurs franchise. In so many late-games situations, when the crowds are roaring and the air is sucked out of the building, it has been Ginobili who played the role of bull-in-china-shop with whatever-it-takes style.

For more than nearly a decade, Parker took the reins of the offense and took the flak for whatever went wrong. He would take the verbal blasting from Pop in timeouts and then trot right back out of the huddle with the same bemused smile on his face.

Even when Parker finally stepped into the spotlight with a performance that got him named MVP of the 2007 NBA Finals — the only time in four championships the honor did not go to Duncan — the significance was diminished in some eyes because a young LeBron’s Cleveland team was simply no challenge in a 4-0 sweep.

But all of that has changed in recent seasons as Duncan (36) and Ginobili (35) have edged closer to the end of their careers and required more monitoring and a lessening of their minutes.

Popovich shifted more of the focus and the burden of the Spurs offense onto Parker, because he knew his point guard was capable of doing more. When Parker responded with the all-around best season of his career a year ago, Popovich said the team would expect more this time around and Parker never blinked.

“Over the last few years it is becoming my team and coach Pop is always challenging me to become the franchise player who closes games and makes good decisions with the ball offensively for myself and my teammates,” Parker said. “I always take to heart Pop’s challenges.”

The challenge rose just a bit more when an illness forced Popovich to miss the Spurs’ last three games and Duncan also sat out with a sore knee. In their absence, Parker had games of 24 points-13 assists, 23-10, 31-7 and shot 32 of 51 (.627) from the field.

It’s easy to get overlooked in San Antonio when you’re Tony Parker. But it shouldn’t be.

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Wade Penalty About More Than One Game

December 28, 2012  ·  12:17AM


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The NBA kicked Dwyane Wade where it hurts, too, suspending the Heat guard for one game for “flailing his leg and making contact with the groin” of Ramon Sessions of the Bobcats on Wednesday in Charlotte.

The one game? Eh. Wade must sit out when Miami (20-6) plays Friday at Detroit (9-22). At 34, 38 and 37 minutes the last three games, the latter two in a back-to-back, the point can be made that the rest will do him good.

Except that this has become about more than the one game. Wade “getting his Rockettes on” against Sessions was so over the line and has become part of such a growing list of regrettable moments that his reputation is suffering.

Whether Wade is wounded by comments along the lines of Boston’s Rajon Rondo calling him out for “dirty plays” is not known. But Wade should care. A suspension for appearing to purposely kick an opponent in the groin for no reason other than Sessions taking a foul opens the kind of file with the NBA no one should want.

The second-best player on a team with aspirations for a title repeat will be judged from now on through a different, harsher prism. There is a precedent. Wade, for all the good he has done in a career that will lead to the Hall of Fame, also has a history that will work against him if future incidents come up.

As Brian Windhorst chronicled on ESPN.com before the suspension had been announced:

  • During a game in Boston in the 2011 regular season, Wade was hit with a flagrant foul for shoving Kevin Garnett after Garnett had leveled Mike Miller with a screen.
  • In the 2011 playoffs, Wade got wrapped up with Rondo while going for a loose ball. After Rondo elbowed Wade, he appeared to stick his leg out and sweep Rondo to the court. It resulted in Rondo dislocating his elbow. At the time, Wade said it was inadvertent.
  • Wade broke Kobe Bryant’s nose, raking him from behind during an unusual physical play during the 2012 All-Star Game. Bryant had fouled Wade twice previously in the game.
  • During a regular-season game last April in Miami, Wade threw a forearm at Chicago Bulls guard Rip Hamilton after Hamilton bumped him trying to create space on the perimeter. Wade was called for a flagrant foul.
  • During the first round of the playoffs last season, Wade threw the shoe of New York Knicks guard Mike Bibby off the court after Bibby lost it getting a rebound.
  • During the second round of the playoffs, Wade blindsided Indiana Pacers guard Darren Collison on a fast break. Wade, who seemed to be reacting to not getting a shooting foul moments earlier, was assessed a flagrant foul.

Many could fade into the background if they were single happenings. Some, like shoving Garnett in defense of a teammate or tossing Bibby’s shoe in a strange attempt to gain a competitive advantage, can even be seen as exactly the chippy attitude a team should want from a star. In totality, though, that is a very long list.

Commissioner David Stern has made it clear that past incidents matter when the time comes to decide on disciplines, and Wade has several. Whether or not Wade cares about his image around the league, it is why he should absolutely be concerned with the reputation in the biggest offices at NBA HQ.

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Who’s Sitting On A Hot Seat Now?

December 27, 2012  ·  6:11PM


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HANG TIME, Texas — Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.

In the NBA that familiar line from the holiday classic “It’s A Wonderful Life” has a different twist.

Every time the bell rings a head coach gets his walking papers and a handful of others start looking over their shoulders.

It’s a tenuous life.

Of course, this season has already been quite unusual with Mike Brown fired by the Lakers after just five games. But now that the schedule has reached the one-third mark and claimed Avery Johnson, it’s time to look at some others down around the bottom of the standings.

Randy Wittman, Wizards (3-23) – No, he hasn’t had John Wall all season. Yes, he’s had to play at times without Nene and Trevor Ariza and Bradley Beal. But the Wizards are the only group in Washington that makes Congress look competent by comparison. After a recent 100-68 thumping by the almost-as-hapless Pistons, even Wittman seemed to have enough. “That was an embarrassment, and I apologize to our ownership and to our fans,” he said. “I especially apologize to anyone who watched that entire game. I would have turned it off after the first five minutes.” It would seem to be a matter of when, not if.

Monty Williams, Hornets (6-22) – It’s hard to see the Hornets turning right around and cutting Williams loose just months after giving him a four-year contract extension. There has been the matter of Eric Gordon’s injury and the fact that No. 1 draft pick Anthony Davis was on the shelf for 13 games. But there are rumblings in New Orleans about his constantly changing rotations and collapse of his defense, which ranks 29th.

Byron Scott, Cavaliers (7-23) — The Cavs are likely headed to their third straight trip to the lottery under Scott, but that doesn’t mean that he’s headed to the exit. The key to his previous success at New Jersey and New Orleans was having a top-notch point guard and Scott has an excellent relationship with maybe the next great thing in Kyrie Irving. This was always a long, heavy lift from the moment LeBron James bolted and that has not changed.

Mike Dunlap, Bobcats (7-21) – What a difference a month makes. After beating the Wizards on Nov. 24, the Bobcats were 7-5, had matched their win total from last season and their rookie coach was getting praised. Now 16 straight losses later, Dunlap is preaching patience with his young core of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kemba Walker, Byron Mullens and Jeffery Taylor. He has earned that. A dozen of Charlotte’s 21 losses have come by 10 points or less, a dramatic change from the historically horrible last season when the Bobcats were rolled in one-third of their games by 20 points or more.

Lawrence Frank, Pistons (9-22) — Frank insists that his Pistons are a better team than they were a year ago. The record — identical then and now — does not back that up. He says that his club now is more competitive, but just doesn’t know how to finish games. Some of the players have grumbled that there is also a failure of coach to make the right calls and adjustments when games get late. When push comes to shove, it’s the coach that gets nudged out the door.

Dwane Casey, Raptors (9-20)– Another one of those seasons when the Raptors were supposed to turn things around and make a push for the playoffs in the lesser Eastern Conference has gone south. Injuries to Andrea Bargnani, Kyle Lowry and Linas Kleiza. Amir Johnson gets suspended for throwing his mouthguard at a referee. G.M. Bryan Colangelo says the talent is there, but the Raptors lack focus and attention to detail. The Raps’ offense is mediocre (ranked 17th) and their defense just bad (27th). Even in Canada during the winter, that all puts Casey on thin ice.

Keith Smart, Kings (9-19) – Smart got the job to replace Paul Westphal specifically because of what was perceived as an ability to work with the mercurial DeMarcus Cousins. So he turned Cousins loose last season, let him do just about anything he pleased and got enough results to earn a contract extension. Now that Cousins has abused his free-rein relationship with his coach and another season is sinking fast, it would be easy to just blame Smart, which the Kings eventually will do. But this is a bad team with a knucklehead as its centerpiece and ownership that can’t tell you where they’ll be playing in two years.

Alvin Gentry, Suns (11-18) — It was at the end of a seven-game losing streak when Suns owner Robert Sarver told ESPN.com that Gentry’s job was safe. “We’ve got confidence in our coaching staff and we’re not considering making changes,” he said. Of course, that usually means start packing your bags. It was all about starting over in this first season post-Nash in the desert. He’s changed lineups more than his ties and the result is usually the same. Gentry is a good bet to last out the season, but it’s probably going to take a big finishing kick to return next year.

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Nail-Biting Wins Biggest Proof Of Bobcats’ Improvement

November 22, 2012  ·  12:31PM

 

The tangible affirmation in Charlotte could come as soon as this weekend. That’s when the 6-4 Bobcats play the Hawks on Friday and the Wizards on Saturday, giving Charlotte the chance to tie or surpass last season’s win total well before the first full month of this season is even complete.

The best sign of running the learning curve like a straightaway, though, there found in the final minutes. In the Bobcats’ five games decided by four points or less, they sport five wins.

In what should have been the ultimate time of transition – young players, experienced players new to the team, new coach – Charlotte is unfazed in the clutch. That’s the real encouraging note, more than being on the verge of doing in November what took several months a season ago.

“We are young,” coach Mike Dunlap said after the latest example of playing beyond their years, the 98-97 victory over the Raptors on Wednesday. “There’s exuberance and an excitement about the game of basketball. We’re learning as we play each game. The winning is giving us a lot of plusses. A lot of intangibles. We won ugly tonight and it doesn’t really matter. The better part will come, but we’re finding a way.”

On a regular basis is the point.

  • Nov. 2: Bobcats 90, Pacers 89.
  • Nov. 10: Bobcats 101, Mavericks 97.
  • Nov. 14, Bobcats 89, Timberwolves 87.
  • Nov. 19: Bobcats 102, Bucks 98.
  • Nov. 21: Bobcats 98, Raptors 97.

Winning three games in four tries, offset only by a seven-point loss to the scorching Grizzlies, is a very good sign for building confidence in ways beyond the standings. The Bobcats are young, but unfazed. They are finding a way.

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Bobcats and Timberwolves … Rising?

November 20, 2012  ·  10:28AM




HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Don’t rub your eyes. It’s real. As of this morning, the Charlotte Bobcats and Minnesota Timberwolves are both doing the unthinkable for two teams that have served as league-wide punching bags in recent seasons.

All the fun we’ve had at the expense of Bobcats owner Michael Jordan and Timberwolves boss David Kahn has been silenced by the winning ways, so far, of their respective teams. They are both 5-4 and battling their way to respectability while shaking off whatever adversity comes their way.

For all of the early-season shockers around the league, both good and bad, these two winning outfits have to rank at or near the top of the list of biggest surprises.

One of the better games of this young season was the 89-87 thriller they played against each other last week, the one where Kemba Walker‘s buzzer-beater gave the Bobcats their third straight win.

Last night’s comeback win over the Milwaukee Bucks was another quality notch for Bobcats belt this season. They’re digging out of that ugly hole from last season in the only way possible: with their heads down, their defensive style looking legitimate and contributions from up and down the roster.

It’s more than most of us expected from a team with a new coach (Mike Dunlap), a new star (rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist) and plenty of other new faces added to the mix and continue to defy the odds. Jordan probably didn’t see this coming, not this soon. They didn’t win their fifth game during last year’s lockout-shortened season until March 12, just so we’re clear about how much progress has been made.

The Timberwolves are thriving on the other side of the conference divide without the services of their biggest stars. All-Star power forward Kevin Love (broken hand) and Ricky Rubio (recovering from torn ACL in left knee) have yet to suit up this season. Brandon Roy‘s comeback has been derailed by yet another knee procedure (he’s expected to miss at least a month) and Chase Budinger is out three months after knee surgery).

But Rick Adelman, as he often does, has found a way to cobble together enough healthy bodies to make the Timberwolves a factor every night. Andre Kirilenko‘s return to the NBA has been a huge boost. He leads the team in rebounds (8.3) and blocks (2.2). Fellow Russian Alexey Shved has also made an impression during his first few weeks of NBA action, showing signs that he’ll be a more than competent backup to Rubio, who, according to Jon Krawcynski of the Associated Press, has already started light practice workouts.

“Just having them five-on-(none) gives you a sense that when you get them back we’ll be pretty good,” Adelman said of having both Love and Rubio on the practice court. “We can’t wait for them. We have to go out there and play. But it gives us a sense.”

Love is expected back at the start of December and Rubio potentially a couple of weeks later, which couldn’t come at a better time. After winning five of their first seven games, the Timberwolves have dropped two straight.

Getting by with a shorthanded roster can last for only so long. Nikola Pekovic, not exactly a household name, leads the team in scoring (15.3), with Kirilenko (14.1), Luke Ridnour (11.4), Shved (10.4) and Derrick Williams (10.4) the only other healthy players scoring in that range.

If they can manage for another few weeks or so, at least until the first wave of reinforcements arrive, both the Bobcats and Timberwolves might remain among the teams boasting .500 or better records around Christmas, too.

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Dunlap Standing Up For The Bobcats

July 16, 2012  ·  12:13AM





LAS VEGAS – He is a head coach who stands out here despite being a relative unknown to the public. He is the head coach who stands out for not sitting down.

Mike Dunlap, the surprise choice of the Bobcats when he was hired June 18 without so much as a single report leaking that he had interviewed for the job, is making the rare move of also handling the role in summer league when most every peer in every year sits in the stands and lets the assistants run the bench in games.

Part is the timing of being so new to the organization and wanting the crash course in learning the personnel, and wanting them to learn him. Part is playing catch up, period, with the Bobcats coming off a 7-59 record.

“Rapport with the players, get the system in, and we have so many young guys that there can be no delay,” Dunlap said. “We’ve got to get to it.”

Having the worst record in the league last season – by 13 games – will do that.

“I just think that they can get used to the coaching staff’s style on the bench,” said the former Nuggets assistant who also has extensive experience on college benches, most recently at St. John’s. “Two, there is a system being implemented. And then also, there is interaction. They can talk to me, too, in those huddles. Them communicating with me and saying, ‘Hey, maybe we can try this, coach,’ or whatever, I’m for that.”

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Las Vegas Summer League: Day 1 Recap

July 14, 2012  ·  12:38AM

By Drew Packham, NBA.com



The first day of Summer League action in Las Vegas closed out a marathon day of hoops (Just ask Lang Whitaker, who was a trooper  and blogged the whole thing for NBA.com). We got our first look at several lottery picks, including Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who had 18 points, eight rebounds and four steals to help the Bobcats blow out the Kings 121-87 in the nightcap. Kidd-Gilchrist and Kemba Walker was an animated backcourt for the Bobcats, bringing a lot of energy, laughing and clapping throughout the game. (This is what winning feels like, Kemba.)

Rookie of the day: Donatas Motiejunas, Rockets. The Rockets’ 2011 draft night acquisition scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his first action with the team. Motiejunas was aggressive and showed off his shooting touch, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers.

Non-rookie of the day: Klay Thompson, who came on in the second half of the season, scored 24 points to lead Golden State’s 90-50  dismantling of the Lakers. The second-year guard out of Washington State was 6-for-8 on 3-pointers and showed why the Warriors were willing to deal Monta Ellis to the Bucks last season.

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