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Morning Shootaround — April 4

April 4, 2013  ·  7:31AM

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: When a player has 90 points over his last two games, it’s a sure bet his game is the must-watch recap of the morning. That being said, what Carmelo Anthony did against the Hawks last night in Atlanta was a thing of beauty (unless, of course, you’re a Hawks fan). ‘Melo systematically picked apart the Hawks’ defense with some nice passes and since Atlanta opted to not double team one of the NBA’s best scorers (and a man on a hot streak of late), he torched them for 40 points for good measure. The Hang Time Podcast crew gets into a good debate/discussion about what all this regular-season scoring means for a player who has yet to have more than one deep playoff run. It’s a worthy discussion to listen to, but if you don’t have time, just watch the Knicks’ No. 1 option go to work on the Hawks.

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News of the morning

D-Will not planning on more cortisone shots | Clips’ Hill leaning toward retirement? | Different kind of beard pact in Oakland | Garcia feels for Kings fans

Report: Williams plans to forsake more cortisone shots — Deron Williams‘ season can basically be broken into two categories: the pre-platelet-rich plasma injections portion and the post-PRP portion. The former occurred up until mid-February, which is when Williams decided to have the PRP treatment done on his bothersome ankles and since then has looked more and more like the All-Star/superstar guard he has been throughout his career. While there was a notion that Williams would need cortisone shots for his ankles just before the playoffs begin, D-Will is scrapping those plans, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News:

When the playoffs roll around, Deron Williams says he won’t need the high dosage pain killers that helped salvage his season.

The point guard plans to ride this out cortisone-free.

Having braced himself for continued ankle pain and a fourth round of shots just before the playoffs started, Deron Williams told the Daily News on Wednesday that his treatments in February were so successful that injections aren’t necessary prior to the postseason in late April.

It’s a welcome development for Williams, who is aware of the longterm dangers of injecting too much cortisone – a hormone steroid which, used liberally as an anti-inflammatory, can weaken cartilage in the joints, leaving it susceptible to damage or ruptured tendons.

Doctors typically recommend athletes don’t take more than four injections per year, and Williams is happy he doesn’t have to test the limits with a fourth round.

“That’s a good thing,” said Williams, who indicated in February that he “probably” will receive injections before the playoffs.

…

Williams originally injured his left ankle during training camp for the Olympics, just after signing a five-year, $98 million contract with the Nets. At some point he injured his other ankle, and underwent his first round of cortisone shots in October.

By the time he received his third round in February, Williams was hobbling around the court and undergoing his worst season as a professional. His last cortisone shots were preceded by PRP injections to both ankles about a week prior.

Not coincidentally, Williams’ season turned around after the All-Star break. He’s also 20 pounds lighter, quicker, averaging more points, more assists, less turnovers and shooting at a better percentage.

Williams has said his latest cortisone injections were “finally in the right spot.”

Clippers’ Hill might retire after season — When the Suns decided to embark on their (somewhat puzzling) rebuilding plan, it meant bringing back Grant Hill for a sixth season in Phoenix was a long-shot-at-best proposition. Hill didn’t sit on the summer’s free-agent market for long once he and Phoenix couldn’t reach a deal, as he signed a two-year deal with the Clippers and looked like a piece that would bolster an up-and-coming squad. However, a bone bruise on his right knee kept Hill off the court until Jan. 12 and, since finally playing, he’s averaging career lows across the board. With the injury problems in mind and given Hill’s age (40), the former Rookie of the Year winner tells Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic he might hang it up after this season:

Hill expected to return to Phoenix for a sixth Suns season when he stayed in the Valley to train last summer. The Suns made a one-year, minimum-salary offer of $1.35 million and the Clippers came with a two-year, $4 million one while Oklahoma City and Chicago also pursued him.

Hill, 40, joined the Clippers, began the season on the inactive list after suffering a bone bruise to his right knee, the one which underwent two arthroscopies since 2011 in Phoenix, and did not play until Jan. 12. Hill likely will not make it to that second contract year and opt to retire this summer.

“Strong chance,” Hill said. “I’m leaning toward it. I want to get to the end of the year and off-season and think about it but I’m pretty confident that’s where my mind is right now. I’ve enjoyed it.”

Except for a brief 2008 experiment under then-Suns coach Terry Porter, Hill always had started in his career until this season, when he often is not in the 10-man rotation.

“That knee injury (bone bruise) set me back a bit in terms of staying healthy and getting in the rotation so that hasn’t been good,” Hill said. “But I wouldn’t change it one bit other than to be hurt early in the year. I like the situation. I like my teammates. We’ve had an up-and-down season. We’ve experienced every emotion you can. We’re still battling for that third spot. We haven’t played well of late but we still have a chance to correct it. We have the ability and the talent to beat anybody. I have no regrets. It’s been a great experience.”

Much like with friend Steve Nash’s summer departure from Phoenix to Los Angeles, Hill did not receive the interest he expected or wanted from Phoenix and chose Los Angeles to stay competitive and close to his kids in the Valley. Hill takes trips home on off-days and will return to the Valley when the season is over.

There have long been hopes by many in the Suns organization that Hill would return in a front-office role when he retires.

“I’ve really just focused on enjoying the last year, if this is the last year, and not focusing on the future,” Hill said. “We’ll get to the end and once the end’s over, I’ll start worrying about what I’m going to do from there.”

Warriors make their own beard pact — In case you’ve been living on another planet for a few months, you might have been oblivious to the much-reported fact the Dallas Mavericks started growing beards as a show of unity that they pledged to keep until they reached .500. The Warriors, who are well above .500 and headed for their first playoff berth since 2007, are also growing beards themselves — even if everyone isn’t on board with the plan. Marcus Thompson II of The Oakland Tribune has the details:

The Warriors have made a pact that everyone will grow beards until they clinch a playoff spot. No shaving. No trimming.

“The worse it looks, the better it is for the team,” David Lee said.

From the looks of it, though, Andris Biedrins isn’t on board. He looked cleanly shaven Wednesday. And the patch on rookie Harrison Barnes‘ chin looked well groomed.

Coach Mark Jackson is even in on it. His shadow was turning into some rough real estate at practice, highlighted by some gray strands. But he had his facial mane neatened.

There was talk about extended the beard pact through the playoffs. But Stephen Curry wasn’t a fan of that idea.

“This thing,” he said at Wednesday’s shootaround, scratching his grizzled neck. “I’ve already got lint all in it.”

Garcia has empathy for Kings’ supporters — Rockets swingman Francisco Garcia has played 473 games over eight seasons in the NBA, with 462 of those games played coming as a member of the Sacramento Kings. As a rookie, he was a member of the last Sacramento squad to make the postseason and spent the bulk of his younger years in the NBA in California’s capital city as the Kings trudged through losing season after losing season. He also hasn’t been oblivious to the potential sale of the Kings to a Chris Hansen and a Seattle-based group that wants to buy the team and rebrand them as the Seattle SuperSonics. Yesterday, groups from both Sacramento and Seattle presented their proposed bids to Commissioner David Stern and other league officials and although no decision on the Kings’ future is expected for a while (our own David Aldridge has the full details), Garcia is watching and feels for Kings fans, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle:

He could have anticipated he would return to Sacramento for the first time with another team. He never could have imagined the possibility it could be his last time as well.

“My first years were great,” Garcia said. “There was a sellout every game. There’s not a lot of cities that were like we were when I first got there.”

While Garcia and the Rockets prepared to go against the Kings on Wednesday night, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson was in New York to present the offer of a local group to purchase the Kings from the Maloof family and prevent the sale to a group that would move the team to Seattle.

After spending most of the last two seasons in the heart of the battle, from the near move to Anaheim through the handshake deal to remain in Sacramento and finally the Seattle-Sacramento tug of war to be decided by the Board of Governors meeting April 18 and 19, Garcia can’t begin to handicap how the competition will end.

On Wednesday, the groups vying for the Kings — Steve Ballmer and Chris Hansen are seeking to buy them and move them to Seattle; Ron Burkle, Mark Mastrov and Vivek Ranadive are bidding to buy them and keep them in Sacramento — made the presentation to a Board of Governors sub-committee, which later will make its recommendation.

Garcia could not help but feel empathy for the fans who supported the Kings so faithfully through much of his career.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “One guy is saying this; another guy is saying that. I don’t know. I’d be sad (if the Kings leave Sacramento). It’s such a great city. They’re great fans. They’ve been supporting the team for a long time.

“It’s great. It’s a great city. I have nothing but good things to say about Sacramento. I had a great eight years there.”

ICYMI of the night: Trevor Ariza shows the kids at home why the pivot foot is important … and that having a little luck is important, too… :

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What’s Wrong With The Clippers?

April 2, 2013  ·  10:26AM





HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – That rant Vinny Del Negro unleashed on his team after Saturday night’s blowout loss to the Houston Rockets (sans James Harden) was not an elaborate pre-April Fool’s Day ruse. It was real.

“They played harder than we did,” Del Negro said. “We were terrible. Our effort was terrible, our attitude was terrible, our urgency was terrible. Very disappointed. I didn’t see the fight in us tonight, and we need guys to step up.”

“We’re fighting for a spot, and we come out with that second-half — pretty much the whole game — effort. It was poor.” Del Negro said. “I know it’s the fourth game in five nights, but that’s no excuse. We’ve got plenty of depth. No excuses. I don’t believe in that.”

The vitriol … the disappointment … all of it was real.

With seemingly everything to play for — a top-three seed in the Western Conference playoffs, home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, simple professional pride — the Clippers cannot find the energy to finish the season the way they started (with a bang).

The Clippers have fallen off the mark in the second half of the season, squandering a league-best 32-9 start by stumbling their way to a .500 finish (17-17) with seven games remaining in the season. Chris Paul‘s MVP turn during All-Star weekend might very well serve as the lone highlight for the Clippers during the season’s stretch run if they can’t shake out of their funk.

They managed a 7-7 record in March and didn’t exactly get off to a rousing start to this final month of the regular season with Monday night’s home loss to the Indiana Pacers, a game that saw the Clippers trail by as many as 24 points before closing the gap late in a 109-106 loss.

Deciphering exactly what’s wrong with the Clippers from a schematic standpoint is basically a waste of time. They have certain deficiencies that cannot be cured this season unless both Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan magically locate reliable post moves overnight. That’s not meant as a slight to either of the talented young big men, it’s just a fact.

The Clippers are not capable of playing inside-out for long enough stretches to make other high-level teams uncomfortable. Kicking off a crucial, four-game home stand with a deflating loss to the Pacers is no way to inspire confidence. And when Paul, Jamal Crawford and the rest of the Clippers’ perimeter stars are taking turns struggling as well, it confirms all of the fears we’ve been expressing about this team since their second-half struggles began.

This is code red time for the Clippers. They’ve lost four of their last five games and the finger-pointing (direct and otherwise) has already begun. The effort and energy from the players seems to be lacking, suggesting an underlying issue between the players and the coach that is undefeated in terms of the final results (the coach always has to go).

Del Negro has taken a rather aggressive approach, tinkering with his rotations and even benching starters in an effort to jumpstart his team.

“It’s up to them,” Del Negro said of his players to ESPN.com‘s J.A. Adande after the loss to the Pacers. “All I can do is take them in and out of the games.”

For any of this to be said on a team with some of the best locker room leadership in the league (Paul, Caron Butler, Grant Hill and Chauncey Billups) is a bit startling.

Just as startling is Del Negro’s pointed criticism at his biggest stars, particularly his benching of Paul and Griffin recently, moves that are sure to erode the coach-player dynamic on a team that has always had issues in that regard under Del Negro. This madness is going on with a team that needs just one more win to clinch the franchise’s first 50-win season in history.

This puts the entire operation on alert for the postseason. If the Clippers slide in and then slide out just as quickly, then it’s anyone’s guess as to where the Clippers go from there in the offseason.

Start the playoffs on the road and suffer the fate then that you did during your recent tour through the Southwest Division, a 1-3 plank walk, and whatever is wrong with the Clippers will be someone else’s problem.

Del Negro won’t have to worry about it anymore!

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1,000 Reasons For Grant Hill To Smile

January 16, 2013  ·  2:09AM

HOUSTON – One thousand games.

There was a time when it seemed more likely he might undergo 1,000 surgeries.

“I’m still here,” said Grant Hill, his feet soaking in a tub of ice that seemed to be melting from the smile on his face.

The fact that he’s still anywhere near an NBA court, let alone running up and down one, is an act of love and stubbornness.

Players like Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant have been fortunate to be free of major injuries and blew through their first 1,000 games like they were in the EZ-Pass lane on a highway.

For Hill, it’s been the long, bumpy road that could have made him want to pull over and get off so many times.

“Not when you can do this,” Hill said on Monday night after a 117-109 win over the Rockets gave his Clippers their 30th win of the season and kept them just behind the Thunder for the best record in the league.

This was just one layup early in the second quarter. This was just 16 minutes off the bench. This was just his third game of the season after a bruised bone in his right knee forced him out for the first three months of the schedule.

But this was also chasing that passion that’s driven Hill for as long as he can remember.

Fact is, he probably wouldn’t still have been sitting there in the visitors’ locker room inside the Toyota Center three months past his 40th birthday if everything had gone according to plan as the Duke All-American, the 1995 co-Rookie of the Year, the seven-time NBA All-Star.

Here he is trying to work himself back into game shape for an 18th season because he had so many of them (in what should have been the prime of his career) taken away by ankle and knee surgeries, by a staph infection that could have taken away his life.

“At a time like this, on a night like this, I think about the relationships, the lessons learned,” Hill said. “All the little things become more significant and those are the things I take away.”

The surgeons who kept repairing his body and the trainers and the therapists and the ballboys who did all of the things that let him continue to get back out onto the court time after time. All of the coaches, who gave him space and all of the players who gave him their embrace.

From 2000 through 2006, Hill missed 356 of a possible 492 games. That’s what makes nights like this one still special.

“It goes by so fast,” said veteran teammate Lamar Odom. “One minute you’re coming into the league as a kid ready to take on the world. Then look over there at (Grant) and you can see what it feels like to have this life slipping through your hands. You don’t ever want to let it go. It’s special.”

How fitting then that this might be a very special Clippers team, the kind that could take Hill to the one place he’s never been in the NBA from Detroit to Orlando to Phoenix — reaching out for a real shot at a championship.

“When we lost to the Lakers in the conference finals (2010) and Amar’e (Stoudemire) left, I kinda went, ‘Well, maybe it wasn’t in the cards,’ ” he said. “But Phoenix trying to rebuild might have been the best thing for me personally. I got a chance to come here.

“A lot goes into the winning. There are variables. You need the organization to assemble the talent. You need the coaching. You need the talent to recognize the opportunity that’s there and to give up a little bit of themselves as individuals, and you need lots of things to go right. You’ve got to stay healthy, you know.”

Who knows that better than Hill? He looks at the empty locker stalls a few feet away where 36-year-old Chauncey Billups is still recovering from Achilles’ tendon surgery and tendinitis in his foot, where All-Star and MVP candidate Chris Paul sat out his second straight game with a sore right knee. Hill is the second-oldest player in the league and hasn’t forgotten a year or a month or a day that it took to get here.

“I feel like after all the things that I’ve been through, it’s a reward to be on this team,” he said. “So I’ve been champing at the bit the last three months to get back out there. I’m excited, but also mad at myself for not being where I want to be. I think this team has a chance to be special.”

Grant Hill wiggles his toes in the ice.

One thousand games never felt so good.

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Real Clippers Starting To Take Shape

January 13, 2013  ·  3:45PM

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Grant Hill finally made his Clippers debut Saturday, entering, strangely, at the start of the fourth quarter of a close game and playing six minutes. That was the encouraging news from the otherwise disappointing development of the 104-101 loss to the Magic in Los Angeles.

Now the Clippers wait on the return of Chauncey Billups. That will potentially be the big news.

Hill is an important boost for the defense, with the ability to guard multiple positions once he builds to full speed after being sidelined since exhibition play by a bruised right knee. He won’t be a huge difference maker by the numbers because the Clips are tracking to a top-five finish in opponent shooting, but the versatility is invaluable and gives a deep team more lineup options.

There is no timetable for Billups rejoining the lineup after battling tendinitis in the left foot. There is, however, Chris Paul in anticipation.

As much as Paul was excited about finally getting small forward Hill in uniform, he is especially anxious for the chance to play alongside Billups in the backcourt again and the accompanying opportunity to play off the ball more. CP3, a threat with the shot as well as the pass, has been imagining the possibilities for weeks.

Bad news for the rest of the league, in other words. Paul is already playing at an MVP level and still sees the chance for a bigger impact than he made the first 37 games.

“It gets the ball out of my hands,” Paul said recently. “Willie (Green, the current starter) is unbelievable, but Willie’s a shooting guard…. When we get out there and it’s me and Chauncey, he can bring the ball up the court. Now I’m on the wing and everybody’s not just looking at me.”

Hill’s first non-exhibition action since April 24 with the Suns resulted in a standing ovation from the Staples Center crowd when he checked in, followed by two points (two free throws, three missed field goals) and two rebounds while playing with a cap on minutes. But the 40-year-old who rebuffed several others offers to join the Clippers as a free agent in the summer reported no pain around the right knee.

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Nash Set To Reach 10,000-Assist Mark

January 8, 2013  ·  12:16PM

 

HANG TIME NEW JERSEY – Steve Nash is just five assists from being the fifth player in NBA history to reach the 10,000-assist mark. He’ll likely reach the milestone when his Lakers visit the Houston Rockets on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET, NBA TV).

Most assists, NBA history

Player GP AST AST/G
John Stockton 1,504 15,806 10.5
Jason Kidd 1,345 11,969 8.9
Mark Jackson 1,296 10,334 8.0
Magic Johnson 906 10,141 11.2
Steve Nash 1,161 9,995 8.6
Oscar Robertson 1,040 9,887 9.5
Isiah Thomas 979 9,061 9.3
Gary Payton 1,335 8,966 6.7
Rod Strickland 1,094 7,987 7.3
Andre Miller 1,080 7,683 7.1

In his 17-year career, Nash has assisted 123 different teammates, none more than Amar’e Stoudemire. And most of those assists to Stoudemire were on buckets in the paint. Most of his 797 assists to Dirk Nowitzki, however, were on buckets from outside the paint.

Most assists from Steve Nash, with shot location

Player AST Paint Mid-range 3PT
Amar’e Stoudemire 1,155 80% 19% 0%
Shawn Marion 823 69% 12% 18%
Dirk Nowitzki 797 30% 42% 28%
Michael Finley 626 37% 31% 33%
Grant Hill 593 56% 34% 10%

There are nine different players who have received exactly one assist from Nash. Among them: Avery Johnson, Sam Cassell and Dennis Rodman.

The two most efficient shots are shots from the restricted area (1.18 points per shot over the course of Nash’s career) and corner 3-pointers (1.15 points per shot). And over his career, 51 percent of Nash’s assists have come from those two areas. That’s a higher percentage than most other All-Star point guards…

Percentage of career assists to high-efficiency areas

Player Restricted Corner 3 Total
Andre Miller 49% 5% 54%
LeBron James 39% 14% 53%
Steve Nash 44% 8% 51%
Rajon Rondo 39% 9% 48%
Deron Williams 43% 5% 48%
Tony Parker 32% 16% 48%
Chris Paul 38% 9% 47%
Jason Kidd* 42% 5% 47%

* Does not include first two seasons of Kidd’s career

Having spent his entire career in the Western Conference, Nash has racked up at least 500 assists against four different teams in the West.

Steve Nash – Most assists by opponent

Opponent GP AST AST/G
Sacramento 57 541 9.5
Golden State 59 528 8.9
L.A. Clippers 60 522 8.7
Minnesota 53 500 9.4
Vancouver/Memphis 55 494 9.0

Nash tends to be more of a distributor early in the game. His highest assist ratio (percentage of his possessions in which he records an assist) is highest in the first quarter and lowest in the fourth.

Steve Nash – Assists by quarter

Period MIN AST ASTRatio
1st quarter 10,284 3,208 40.2
2nd quarter 7,914 2,171 36.9
3rd quarter 10,167 2,753 37.2
4th quarter 7,760 1,798 31.9
Overtime 340 65 25.0

Nash has recorded his most assists on Wednesdays, but tends to be more giving on Sundays…

Steve Nash – Assists by day of the week

Day GP AST ASTRatio AST/G
Monday 124 1,094 37.7 8.8
Tuesday 196 1,643 35.9 8.4
Wednesday 203 1,842 38.0 9.1
Thursday 137 1,140 36.4 8.3
Friday 190 1,592 36.8 8.4
Saturday 168 1,266 33.2 7.5
Sunday 143 1,418 39.8 9.9

 

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Clippers Make An Early Stand

November 20, 2012  ·  1:47PM

 

The original plan was to wait for the Clippers to end this challenging stretch of the schedule and take stock of whatever remained of their spirits before declaring redemption. But then came Monday night in San Antonio, after several other nights in other places, and the original plan went out the window.

The Clippers beat the Spurs for the second time in 12 days. And the Heat. And, on the second night of a back-to-back, the Trail Blazers. Plus the Hawks. In the six games since doubts were raised about their focus, they produced six wins.

So, taking stock: The Clippers are more of a legitimate threat in the West than ever because they responded as a title contender should.

Being placed in the top tier of the West as the regular season opened, as the Clippers should have been by all, is one thing. Actually digging deep to earn the status is quite another … and they just broke out the big shovels. That makes this is no ordinary win streak.

They were inconsistent very early in a way that had nothing to do with missing the injured Chauncey Billups or Grant Hill, nothing to do with working in several key newcomers, or nothing to do with the schedule. They’d beat the Grizzlies and beat the Lakers … and then lose to the Warriors and Cavaliers.

The Clippers had a veteran team and the kind of leadership other teams dream of, and yet they couldn’t sustain the energy at the start of the season, when routines were being established. What would that say for their focus in February and March?

Players clearly understood this and answered. Pushing back began with a home win against the Spurs, which would have been response enough — except that the Clippers pushing. After the bookend win Monday night at San Antonio, they had improved to 8-2, not to mention 5-0 against the Heat, Grizzlies, Lakers and Spurs.

These are still treacherous times on the schedule – the Thunder, Nets and Hawks are up next, all on the road (with Atlanta as the second night of a back-to-back). It is also still very early on the calendar. After an undependable first week, the last six games are an important barometer … as long as the Clippers don’t completely go in the tank the next three.

It is particularly early on the calendar in their case, given what so far has been the season-long absence of Billups (torn Achilles’ tendon) and Hill (bruised knee), with no target date for a return. The Clippers’ bench has a clear advantage over most teams, Chris Paul is playing at a high level and Jamal Crawford provides instant offense as sixth man. The defense is going good, too. But there is still no way of knowing how good the Clippers can be, not until they return to full strength.

Their response after that slow start is a good indication, though, of their talent and, more importantly, their mindset.

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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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Blogtable: Are The Clips Contenders?

November 14, 2012  ·  11:18AM




Each week, we’ll ask our stable of scribes to weigh in on the three most important NBA topics of the day — and then give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below.

Blogtable Week 3: The new-look Lakers | Does a coach matter? | Are the Clips legit?

Sekou’s team-crush aside, have you seen anything that convinces you the Clippers are a title threat? If so, what?

Steve Aschburner: Nope, haven’t seen it yet. But then, I haven’t seen much that would convince me of that with most teams yet. Too early. We’ll know more about the Clippers in 10 days, for instance, after their trip to San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Brooklyn and Atlanta. But what has been impressive has been L.A.’s bench, which carried them past the Hawks in the first game the Clippers failed to score 100 points. Jamal Crawford, Eric Bledsoe, Matt Barnes and Rony Turiaf all fit, and if Lamar Odom could approach his form of 2-3 seasons ago, look out. That depth will help the starters over the long haul. And if Grant Hill and Chauncey Billups can return and be effective in shorter minutes, well, then there’ll be some serious convincing going on.

Fran Blinebury: If the Thunder offense continues to look discombobulated, if the Lakers can’t flip the switch with D’Antoni, if one of the aging Spurs suddenly pulls something, why not the Clippers?  Jamal Crawford has juiced the offense, DeAndre Jordan has raised his game and Chris Paul is still Chris Paul.  But I still want more out of Blake Griffin at both ends to be sold.

Jeff Caplan: Yeah, I like this team. I don’t know that Blake Griffin is developing the type of dominant, low-post game so many of us envision, but they are a deep, deep team and will still get veteran leader Chauncey Billups back at some point. Six players are averaging in double figures and they’re shooting nearly 50 percent as a team while holding opponents to 43 percent. I do like the progression of DeAndre Jordan‘s game as well. Jordan and Griffin’s terrible free-throw shooting is scary and I still feel like they swoon in and out of games at times. But, with Chris Paul running the show, lots of young legs and good shooting and the West wide open, this group can contend.

Scott Howard-Cooper: I have seen Chris Paul early this season, I have seen Jamal Crawford early this season, I have seen someone appearing to be Eric Bledsoe go past in a blur early this season. So, yes, the Clippers have something. But I have not seen Grant Hill or Chauncey Billups, so it’s difficult to say for sure exactly what the Clips have, and the focus has also been inconsistent. It would not be a shock if they win the West, if that answers the question. I just don’t think they are at the very top of the list of contenders. And Sekou does not have a team crush. He has a city crush. He’s got the Los Angeles D-Fenders sweeping through the playoffs if it gets him to L.A. to cover the NBA D-League championship series.

John Schuhmann: They currently rank in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, which is where you need to be if you want to call yourself a contender. Most important is the defensive improvement, which really showed in last Wednesday’s win over the Spurs, just one of their three quality wins so far. But it’s early and we’ll see if they can sustain that over 82 games. The one thing I don’t like about the Clips is the lack of depth on the frontline, especially with how bad Lamar Odom has looked thus far. If they can’t count on him, they really have nothing behind Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

Sekou Smith: The Memphis “Hang Time” Grizzlies are Exhibit A in my “team-crush” case. But the Clippers absolutely have the necessary combination of superstar talent (Chris Paul, Blake Griffin), quality depth (Jamal Crawford, Eric Bledsoe, Matt Barnes, etc.) and seasoned leadership (Chauncey Billups, Caron Butler and Paul) required for inclusion to the championship-caliber conversation. There are only a handful of teams every season that possess those things. The Clippers join the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers as the only teams in the Western Conference in that conversation. The Clippers have also shown in their bouts against the highest quality competition that they are prepared to battle with the best whenever the occasion calls for it, which is always a telling sign, even in the early stages of a season.

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Clippers Need To Find Their Focus

November 6, 2012  ·  3:12PM





The Clippers’ loss to the Cavaliers is not inexcusable, even with the game at Staples Center and young Cleveland playing for the third time in three cities over four nights. That flammable Kyrie Irving-Dion Waiters backcourt is going to turn a lot of opponents into scorched Earth.

The inconsistent early-season energy of the Clippers is inexcusable. A veteran roster, an envious level of leadership with Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups and Grant Hill, several nonstop workers around them and the emotional catapult of imposing their will on the Lakers in the season-opener. Yet here they are, 2-2, with the real schedule challenge ahead.

The Clippers went promising after beating the Grizzlies by nine and the Lakers by 10 to losing to the Warriors by four with Golden State on the second night of a back-to-back. Andrew Bogut was held out to help his recovering ankle, and Stephen Curry missed 10 of 16 shots while totaling more turnovers than assists. That was a giveback. Wasting the chance to respond against the Cavaliers, that was bad.

A superior team locked in, as the Clippers should have been coming off the Warriors defeat, would have stepped on Cleveland. Yet on Monday, the Cavs scored 31 points in the opening quarter, had 84 after three periods and went on to a 108-101 victory. The visitors were not even especially sharp — 43.5-percent shooting and 19 turnovers – and L.A. still couldn’t keep up. (more…)

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Clippers Ready For Lakers, Season

October 24, 2012  ·  1:11PM


HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Los Angeles Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro has a decidedly different approach to preseason basketball than his Los Angeles Lakers’ counterpart.

While Mike Brown isn’t worried about his team’s 0-6 preseason record, Del Negro demands that his crew treat every dress rehearsal like the real thing.

“You get paid to play and you get paid to win, I don’t care if it’s exhibition or not, you have to compete,” Del Negro told reporters after Monday night’s win over the Golden State Warriors. “If you’re not willing to compete and put it out there, you’re not a competitive person and those are not the type of people I want around here. … I understand it’s an exhibition game but when you play your minutes, play the right way so we can get better. If you don’t want to, you can come sit with me.”

Both sides will have main players sitting with the coaches when the Clippers and Lakers square off tonight (10:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV). Lakers star Kobe Bryant is set to rest his sore foot and Del Negro has talked about resting his starters for the preseason version of the Staples Center Classic.

That means tonight’s game could turn into a battle of the benches, and that’s one fight where the deeper Clippers’ appear to have an advantage over their city rivals. A roll call of the Clippers’ reserves — Jamal Crawford, Lamar Odom, Grant Hill, Matt Barnes, Eric Bledsoe, Ronny Turiaf, Willie Green, Ryan Hollins and Chauncey Billups (who will return from a torn Achilles tendon sometime next month or in December) — highlights an explosive supporting cast of talented players all capable of playing multiple positions.

(more…)

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