Posts Tagged ‘Brandon Rush’

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Injuries Loom As Teams Make Playoff Push

April 2, 2013  ·  11:53AM

HANG TIME SOUTHWEST – Oklahoma City, Memphis and Miami, feel fortunate, very fortunate, and proceed with caution.

As the regular season churns down to a handful of games over these final 16 days, the three teams above are the only ones of the 16 current playoff teams, plus the desperately-trying-to-get-in Los Angeles Lakers, currently unaffected by injury — or injuries.

Playoff seeding, and ultimately playoff series, could tilt on an injury report that seems to grow with each passing game.

The Grizzlies caught a break with the quick return of center Marc Gasol from an abdomen injury. Initially the team listed him as out “indefinitely.” Later, Gasol said he’d be back for the playoffs. Next thing you know he’s back after missing just two games and right back on his game.

The Heat missed Dwyane Wade for a couple games during their win streak and, of course, he, LeBron James and Mario Chalmers came down with those, ahem, previously unreported injuries prior to Sunday’s game at San Antonio. Speaking of the Spurs, Manu Ginobili‘s most recent ill-timed injury (hamstring) has put the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed firmly in play Thursday night when San Antonio visits a Thunder team as healthy as any can be 70-something games in.

Few are so fortunate, and let’s start with the carousel of injuries that have beset the Lakers. Kobe Bryant continues to play through a sprained ankle and whatever else, Dwight Howard still deals with the sporadic shooting pain from the torn labrum in his shoulder and Pau Gasol is finally back. But Metta World Peace (knee) won’t be back and Steve Nash (hip) is “doubtful” for tonight’s big showdown against the never-say-die Dallas Mavericks (10:30 p.m. ET, TNT).

The Lakers won’t receive sympathy cards from Denver, which could be without spark plug point guard Ty Lawson (heel) until the playoffs. As soon as Chauncey Billups (groin) finally returned he was gone again, and couldn’t the sinking Clippers use him right about now?

Houston’s All-Star James Harden can’t seem to shake a sprained right ankle. Jazz reserve big man Enes Kanter (shoulder), whose March was his biggest month of the season, is out indefinitely. Golden State is essentially healthy, having lost Brandon Rush way back in the opening days of the season.

Over in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls shake their heads at any team ruffled by a single injury, or two. The Celtics, having adjusted to life without Rajon Rondo, plus rookie Jared Sullinger are without Kevin Garnett (ankle) and Paul Pierce missed Monday’s loss at Minnesota for “personal reasons,” according to coach Doc Rivers. Meanwhile, Boston is dangerously close to slipping into eighth place and a first-round matchup against the Heat.

In the Big Apple, the injury list goes on and on: Tyson Chandler (neck) remains wait-and-see, Amar’e Stoudemire (knee) and Kurt Thomas (foot), very likely could join Rasheed Wallace (foot) as being shut down for the season. The Knicks, busting through it all with an eight-game win streak, continue to battle for the No. 2 seed with the Indiana Pacers, who have five straight and learned last week that Danny Granger (knee) won’t be making the late-season comeback they had expected just days earlier.

And those scrappy, scrappy Bulls by now must be resigned to a full season without Derrick Rose (knee), and they may have lost Rip Hamilton (back) for the season. They hope to soon get center Joakim Noah (foot) back in uniform, as well as Marco Belinelli (abdomen).

Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets, finally with Deron Williams healthy and playing like an All-Star again, would love to say the same about Joe Johnson (heel).

As the playoffs quickly approach, time is running short for players and teams to get healthy.

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The Hunted: Warriors, Rockets & Jazz

March 7, 2013  ·  9:48AM

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It’s not a question of if we make the playoffs. We will. And when we get there, I have no fear of anyone — Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver…whoever.
– Kobe Bryant

Over his 17 seasons in the NBA, Bryant could always guarantee that he’ll do something absolutely amazing with the basketball just about every time he steps onto the court.

He can shake off an 0-for-10 shooting start to bury a half dozen jumpers and an opponent in a fourth-quarter blink of an eye.

He can duck and whirl through traffic, change hands with the ball and squeeze through a crack in the defense for a clutch how-did-he-do-that bucket.

He can rise up with a hand in his face, almost down his throat, and knock down an impossible 3-pointer with the sheer grace.

He can lead a 20-0 comeback in the final 6 1/2 minutes to pull out a dramatic and critical 108-106 win over the Hornets.

But no matter how many times or how emphatically he says it, what Bryant cannot guarantee is all that can happen with the teams in front of his underachieving Lakers in the Western Conference standings. For even if the Lakers put on a strong finishing kick — say 14-6 or 13-7 — they will still likely need one or more of the Warriors, Rockets and Jazz to tumble.

Can it happen? Sure. Will it happen? Nothing guaranteed. Sometimes it’s not about the hunter, but the prey.

No. 6 — Warriors (35-27)

Back in those long ago days of early February when his team was threatening to compete for the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the playoffs, coach Mark Jackson liked to shake his head and scowl at the doubters who didn’t think his Warriors could run and shoot and play defense all at the same time. Maybe those doubts were just premature. Over the past five weeks, the Golden State defense has fallen off any one of the area’s picturesque bridges and sunk to the bottom of the bay. (more…)

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In Rookie Class, Barnes Stands Tall

February 1, 2013  ·  4:33PM

HANG TIME SOUTHWEST – Only the Portland Trail Blazers’ Rookie of the Year frontrunner Damian Lillard has started as many games in his first season as Golden State Warriors rookie forward Harrison Barnes.

The No. 7 overall pick out of North Carolina has proved invaluable to the Warriors’ surge this season considering they’ve been without injured swingman Brandon Rush and until just a few nights ago, Andrew Bogut.

“Coach has done a great job of setting a standard of what we need to come in and do every single day, playing hard and we have a lot of guys that want to win,” Barnes said last week during a phone interview with NBA.com. “Guys like David Lee, Steph Curry, veteran guys that really want to win and that filters down to everybody else.”

After Barnes put up 12 points, four rebounds and five assists in 39 minutes during Thursday’s 100-97 win over the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State improved to 29-17, just one-half game behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the coveted No. 4 spot in the West standings. Two nights earlier, Barnes threw down a massive, right-hand jam on Raptors center Aaron Gray as part of a 14-point, five-rebound night.

So why does it seem like the 6-foot-8, 210-pound Barnes has been buried under the rookie hype machine during the first half of the season?

“I think I’ve been playing pretty well,” Barnes said. “I’m starting on a team that is fifth in the West, so there’s really no complaints.”

In two weeks, the nation will get a better look at the incredibly athletic, intrinsically low-key Barnes as he’ll participate in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge that kicks off All-Star Weekend in Houston.

The 2012 rookie crop is turning out to be pretty stout. While Lillard, the No. 6 overall pick, is having an absolutely mammoth season as Portland’s starting point guard and is a major reason why the Blazers remain in playoff contention this late into the season, Barnes is showing to have been a deft pick by the Warriors.

Barnes, 20, has provided athleticism and tough, physical play on both ends while instantly being inserted into the starting lineup with Curry, Klay Thompson and Lee. Barnes ranks in the top 10 among the rookie class in most key statistical categories. Against Dallas on Thursday, he posted up O.J. Mayo, spun around him and got to the rim and buried a pretty turnaround jumper over Vince Carter.

(Of course, Carter taught Harrison a rookie lesson at the end of the first half when Carter faked an injury in the corner. Barnes left him alone and Carter broke to the basket wide open and got the pass for a dunk. Lesson learned.)

Barnes is averaging 9.0 ppg (seventh among rookies), 4.3 rpg (eighth) and 25.5 mpg (ninth). His 3-point percentage (35.9) ranks fifth, his overall shooting percentage (43.1) is 11th and he ranks eighth in made free throws (71).

The Warriors look to keep getting better when Phoenix visits Saturday night. Then it’s a tough, four-game road trip through Houston, Oklahoma City, Memphis and Dallas.

“We’re going to continue to stay humble and continue to play with that edge,” Barnes said. “We never want to get complacent, never want to just be happy with where are. We’re going to continue to work every single day continue to get better.”

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Curry’s Play Vindication For Warriors

December 9, 2012  ·  3:52PM




HANG TIME WEST – The latest performance, 22 points Saturday in Washington, was a continuation of Stephen Curry‘s hot streak and could be considered, by comparison, a down game because Curry also had four turnovers against five assists and was two of eight on 3-pointers.

A positive outcome even on a night of grinding gears, all the way to the Golden State victory itself, the 101-97 roll in the mud with the Wizards. This is what vindication looks like.

That four-year, $44-million rookie-deal extension he signed Oct. 31?

Then: Understandable-but-risky move for a player with a history of injury problems.

Now: Wise investment.

Sharp change of thinking, yes, especially with the season merely at the quarter pole, but the Warriors look smart and will still look smart even if Curry cools into an ordinary player. Which is the whole point. Giving Curry a contract extension and beating the Halloween deadline was a pre-emptive strike to head off the offers from other teams in July 2013 as much as it was a vote of confidence for his delicate ankles. Plus, the Warriors now know the price of keeping him would have gone up. Maybe a suitor with the chance to hand Golden State an offer sheet lined by fire, maybe in the updated demands from Curry himself, but the first 20 games is time enough to see that $11 million a season wouldn’t get it done in the summer, health willing.

Curry is averaging 37.3 minutes and has yet to miss a tip. The ankles appear to be in proper working order again. That’s obviously reason for encouragement.

It’s his play, though. Curry shooting 42.9 percent is a developing area of concern that can no longer be discarded as an early-season slump, but that should come around. He didn’t suddenly turn bad after the 47.3 percent of the first three seasons. (And Curry is at a respectable 42.5 behind the arc, so defenses are hardly to the point of backing off on the perimeter.)

Curry is looking more like a point guard, as indicated by the recent string of four games in a row with at least 20 points and 10 assists, putting him alongside Deron Williams and Russell Westbrook as the only players to accomplish that since 2009-10. And as indicated by the Eastern Conference executive who recently told Hang Time CEO Sekou Smith: “This is the player everyone was excited about when he was at Davidson. You knew he had the potential to be a dynamic scorer and a great shooter. The question was always going to be about his ability to adjust to being a full-time point guard and whether that would take away from his scoring ability. When he and Monta [Ellis] were there together and he was always hurt, it didn’t look like he was going to get there. But he’s doing both right now and doing them well.”

Remember, Curry was already held in high regard in many front offices. He was high on the New Orleans wish list for a Chris Paul trade, but the Warriors wouldn’t budge. (Ellis yes, Curry no.) Now, opponents see that the ankle is holding up and that Curry can put up assists even as the leading scorer on a team playing well through the adversity of losing Andrew Bogut and Brandon Rush to injury. Point guard, 24 years old, can score and pass, solid citizen – yeah, the money would have changed by the end of the season.

That holds even if Curry does not maintain this pace because the package of position, skill set and age is now combined with the play, however temporary. This is the trajectory. Only the sight of Curry on the court and clutching an ankle changes that.

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Warriors Take Another Step Toward Respectability

November 20, 2012  ·  1:33AM





DALLAS — Are the Golden State Warriors to be taken seriously as Western Conference playoff contenders?

They say their 105-101 overtime victory against the Dallas Mavericks Monday night, coming one night after losing at Oklahoma City and with several ready-made moments to quit and sleep it off  on the long flight home, is further proof that these Warriors are in the fight for the long haul.

Golden State is now 6-5 on the young season after taking two of three on the road. They are two wins that can be nitpicked because they came against injured opponents: the ravaged Minnesota Timberwolves and the Dirk Nowitzki-less Mavs, a struggling club that’s now 6-6, but one that was 4-1 at home.

“We’re a young basketball team and you realize people [will say] Dirk Nowitzki’s not there, Kevin Love’s not there or Ricky Rubio or (Nikola) Pekovic,” second-year Golden State coach Mark Jackson said. “At the end of the day we don’t have Brandon Rush. At the end of the day we don’t have [Andrew] Bogut. We’re missing two guys that [are] legitimate guys in our lineup. That’s neither here nor there. We’re going to find ways to gut it out and compete. Winning against two teams that’s going to be in the mix in their building says a lot about this basketball team and their mindset.”

It said a lot about point guard Stephen Curry, who yet again tweaked his ankle, landing on a foot after rising to the rim early in the fourth quarter. His response? A total takeover. Twenty of his game-high 31 points came in the final period and overtime.

“I never want to see him roll his ankle like that, but it seemed to make him mad,” said forward David Lee, who dominated inside with 17 points and a game-high 19 rebounds. “He went off after he did that. He made plays not only for himself, but for others; made a couple of great plays on defense, got a rebound at the end. He’s a great player and we’re happy to have him as our point guard.”

The strength of Curry’s fickle ankles could ultimately determine if the Warriors are for real. But, assuming health, Jackson has an intriguing roster that is beginning to resemble the tough, resilient identity he’s preaching. The Warriors crushed Dallas on the boards, 62-43, and 19-7 on the offensive glass, leading to an identical edge in second-chance points.

Pounding the glass was huge considering the Warriors shot just 40.7 percent for the game and coughed up the basketball 21 times. But they also forced 17 turnovers and, for the eighth time in 11 games, held their opponent to below 44 percent shooting.

For much of this one it was difficult to discern good defense from atrocious offense, but the Warriors have a track record now, having entered Monday’s game ranked fifth in the league in field-goal percentage defense at 42.9 percent. That’s right, a Warriors team that’s getting grimy on the defensive end. At the end of regulation and overtime, the Warriors got critical stops that won the game.

“The record shows, the history of this team alone, you’re not going to be successful just relying on the offensive end,” Jackson said. “But if you hang your hat on the defensive end, good things can happen.”

And, so, the Warriors wonder how much better they can be with the 7-foot Bogut manning the middle. But, as Curry noted, in the big man’s absence they are also discovering the character of their roster. On Monday, rookies Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli started and combined for 29 points and 20 rebounds. Rookie reserve Draymond Green added nine points and seven boards. Jackson said he could point out 10 players who aided in what he deemed a “big time, big time win for a young team.”

So are the Warriors for real? Ultimately, the durability of Curry (tested again Monday) and Bogut (once he returns) will decide if Golden State can contend for a playoff spot.

For now, they are certainly making it fun to find out.

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Early Run Of Injuries Taking Its Toll

November 16, 2012  ·  1:42PM


HANG TIME SOUTHWEST – The Dallas Mavericks signed journeyman big man Eddy Curry out of desperation at the center position with Chris Kaman injured. When he returned, Dallas cut Curry and signed out-of-work Troy Murphy because power forward took top billing on the depth chart with Dirk Nowitzki rehabbing from surgery.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, down four starters and six rotation players to injury, signed Josh Howard off the street Thursday. The Toronto Raptors are reportedly looking into unemployed 3-point shooter Mickael Pietrus to plug into their injury-depleted roster.

Entering just the third week of the 2012-13 season, injuries — many to some of the game’s biggest and brightest stars — are the overwhelming story line as overworked team medical staffs are on 24-hour notice.

Both conferences can field a veritable All-Star team, position-by-position, of players that have recently returned from injury, were injured prior to the season or are injured now.

The West: Steve Nash, Ricky Rubio, Eric Gordon, Shawn Marion, Chauncey Billups, Kevin Love, Nowitzki, Andrew Bogut.

The East: Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, John Wall, Kyle Lowry, Dwyane Wade, Danny Granger, Amar’e Stoudemire, Andrew Bynum, Nene.

Yet that’s hardly all of the NBA’s wounded. Here’s more of those who have been, still are or just got injured: Gerald Wallace, Gerald Henderson, Mario Chalmers, Devin Harris, A.J. Price, Nikola Pekovic, Kirk Hinrich, Grant Hill, J.J. Barea, Brandon Roy, Chase Budinger, Anthony Davis, Steve Blake, Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Channing Frye, Landry Fields, Iman Shumpert, Alan Anderson, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Avery Bradley.

When Minnesota came to Dallas earlier this week with five players out (and Pekovic’s sprained ankle in the third quarter would make it six), coach Rick Adelman engaged in something of a “Who’s on First” rapid-fire Q & A with beat writer Jerry Zgoda.

Jerry: Who’s your backup 3 and your backup 2?

Rick: We don’t have a backup 3. I’m going to start Malcolm (Lee) tonight at the 2 and bring Alexey (Shved) off the bench at both spots. And then at the 3, I don’t know, we’re going to slide somebody there.

Jerry: Have to play AK (Andrei Kirilenko) 48 minutes?

Rick: I don’t want to do to that. We don’t need to wear him out, too.

Jerry: Can you get five or six (minutes) out of (assistant coach Terry) Porter?

Rick: I don’t think so.

A year ago, the worry around the league was how an abbreviated training camp following the hasty resolution to the lockout and then a compacted, 66-game schedule would affect player health. With a full, month-long camp this time around and a complete slate of eight preseason games, this spate of injuries is as unexpected as unfortunate.

Entering this weekend’s games, only the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder among the league’s 30 teams boast clean injury reports, and 22 list more than one injured player.

When the Mavericks play the Indiana Pacers tonight, they expect to get Marion back after a five-game absence with a sprained left knee. Nowitzki will remain out as will Indiana’s Granger. For Dallas, it’s been a strange run of not only playing shorthanded, but facing teams with at least one starter sidelined. They played, in order: Toronto (Lowry), New York (Stoudemire), Charlotte (Henderson), Minnesota (Love, Rubio, Roy, Budinger) and Washington (Wall, Nene).

“The league’s not going to stop and wait for you,” Adelman said the other night about his team’s rash of injuries. “A lot teams are having the same issues with major injuries. As a coaching staff you can’t coach the people that aren’t there. You only can coach the people that are there.”

And so it goes in a very strange first month in the NBA.

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Rush’s Injury Sparks Quick Support Across Social Media

November 3, 2012  ·  10:25AM

 

Brandon Rush landed badly. At impact, he was facing to the side, over toward the Golden State Warriors’ bench. His left knee was facing toward the basket.

A bunch of onlookers in Oracle Arena, and viewing from home, turned their heads too.

Gruesome injuries occasionally happen in the NBA. They usually wind up on YouTube for those folks who can stomach witnessing the bad news that comes from the human body meeting forces beyond its capabilities. Think former Clippers guard Shaun Livingston‘s devastating leg injury in 2007 or current Warriors center Andrew Bogut‘s arm-crumping fall from the rim in 2010.

These days, cringing occurs in real time. Social media lit up after Rush, soaring high for a one-handed dunk, got fouled in the air by Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph. Rush grabbed his knee after the awkward landing and clearly was in such pain that he couldn’t stick around to shoot his free throws. (more…)

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Warriors’ Ezeli To See Lots Of Time

October 29, 2012  ·  4:41PM


HANG TIME WEST – Still no word on whether Andrew Bogut will be in the starting lineup opening night, whether he will return to action Wednesday at Phoenix with limited minutes off the bench or whether he will be out entirely as the recovery from a fractured ankle goes much longer than he or the Warriors anticipated. He received a positive update from the doctor and moved into five-on-five work in practice, and that is all that is known.

This is about to become about Festus Ezeli one way or another. If Bogut does start at center, it certainly won’t be with starter’s minutes for a while, and a lesser or non-existent role means leaning on Ezeli more than anyone imagined. The outset of a highly anticipated season, a run of talented centers immediately in front of them, and a rookie who arrived as the last pick of the first round has to be a difference maker.

The chance for Ezeli to make a slow transition into the NBA world disappeared as the timeline on Bogut’s recovery was constantly being pushed back, from expecting to be ready for training camp to planning to play in at least a few exhibition games to the current prognosis that it is very possible he will miss regular-season games. And not just the usual assortment of regular-season games. Before the end of the first full week of games, Golden State will have faced the Suns (Marcin Gortat), Grizzlies (Marc Gasol), Kings (DeMarcus Cousins) and Lakers (Dwight Howard), along with the defensive presence of DeAndre Jordan with the Clippers. Ezeli has to be ready now, whether Bogut is in uniform or not.

(more…)

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(Bogut) Warriors Ready For Next Step?

September 21, 2012  ·  11:22AM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Faith and passion are things Golden State Warriors fans have always possessed in surplus. And they’ll be tested in both categories this season as they hold their collective breath when training camp begins and they finally see exactly what their team will look like in the flesh.

There is so much to like on paper, with offensive firepower in nearly every direction.

Steph Curry is reportedly healthy and healed, ready to get back on the court and resume his rise. Youngsters like Klay Thompson and rookie Harrison Barnes have extremely high ceilings. David Lee and his non-stop motor is always ready to go. And veteran role players like Jarrett Jack, Richard Jefferson, Carl Landry, Andris Biedrins and Brandon Rush will provide the quality depth coach Mark Jackson needs to deliver on the promise for the future the franchise is selling.

That leaves one glaring question mark for the Warriors, one that only Andrew Bogut‘s body can answer.

If he’s ready this season, whenever he returns to action from the ankle injury that has sidelined him for the past eight months, the Warriors could be ready to take the next step. If not, well … Warriors fans know the refrain better than most.

Bogut knows that this is a pivotal year in his career, too. A fresh start after an up and down seven-season stretch in Milwaukee. When healthy, he was among the best big men in the league and a true defensive anchor for a playoff-caliber team. But Bogut has played in all 82 games just once in his career, way back in his rookie season.

The potential for something big, however, remains. And as Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News points out, the Bay Area is hungry for a Warriors star to celebrate. We’re going to find out soon if Bogut is indeed that star:

Q: Do you have a sense about how this team is going to play?

-BOGUT: It’s hard right now. But obviously we’re going to be a scoring team. We have some flat-out scorers on our team–Steph and Klay and Harrison Barnes is a scorer, too. He can be very aggressive. David Lee and myself. The list goes on. Richard Jefferson as well.

I think our focus isn’t going to be offense so much in training camp. That’s what we’re focused on in these drills we’re doing in the preseason, there’s a lot of defensive focus.

That’s been a weakness here not just last season but for a number of years–the defense wasn’t a priority. So we’re trying to change that.

We know you’re not going to win many games and even if you do, you’re not going to win many playoff series scoring 110 points a game. That’s just not going to happen.

The math and the numbers and the stats say if you can grind down teams, keep them under 100, generally you’ve got a good chance to win.

-Q: How much of that is on you?

-BOGUT: A lot of it, yeah. Definitely a lot of it. I can be the vocal point in the paint, can see the whole floor and talk and communicate, block shots, take charges.

But the other thing we struggled with last year, when we did get stops, we didn’t get the rebound. I think we were the second-worst defensive rebounding team in the league. So it doesn’t make sense to work hard, get the stop and then Dwight Howard gets a tip-in. It kind of demoralizes the whole feel.

So that’s on me and David Lee to make sure we get those defensive rebounds.

-Q: You bring up Howard. What’d you think when Dwight and [Steve] Nash end up in LA?

(more…)

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Summer Treats Warriors Nicely

August 2, 2012  ·  4:14PM

HANG TIME WEST – It would have been a big deal no matter what. Many of the Western Conference teams at the bottom of the 2012 postseason pack or those trying to push into the playoffs have improved, and so Golden State had to get better as well just to keep up.

But it’s a bigger deal than just that with the belief, stated just before the draft, that a rookie general manager with zero track record in a front office needed a good first impression. Bob Myers, new as a personnel boss, pretty new in any management role after years as a prominent agent, needed some quick credibility in a market that has grown increasingly, and understandably, frustrated by letdown.

He got it.

The Warriors did well in the draft by adding Harrison Barnes at No. 7 as the possible starting small forward, Festus Ezeli at 30 for a need at backup center, and Draymond Green in the second round for his forward versatility and experience as a four-year player at Michigan State. They needed a backup power forward and signed Carl Landry. They needed a backup point guard and traded for Jarrett Jack. They re-signed Brandon Rush.

It was not the perfect summer – they were aiming for Dion Waiters in the draft, but he went fourth to the Cavaliers, and no addition to significantly help heal the defense. (In-season arrival Andrew Bogut can be considered the new addition in that regard.) But it has been a good one. (more…)

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