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Morning Shootaround — Feb. 6

February 6, 2013  ·  7:55AM

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: Lost in the day-after hubbub of both Kobe Bryant‘s monster game in Brooklyn and the Rockets’ barrage of 3-pointers against the Warriors is a true gem of a game: last night’s Bucks-Nuggets game in Denver.  Lots to enjoy in this one (except if you’re a Bucks fan — those last three turnovers down the stretch … yeesh). There was a Samuel Dalembert sighting as he went off for a career-best 35 points. There were the Bucks building a 15-point halftime lead. And there was a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Nuggets to get the win, with the sealing play coming off a wild, over-the-shoulder and-one shot by Danilo Gallinari that you must see.

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News of the morning

Gasol worried about injury | Howard not going anywhere | K.G. not worried about trades | Grizz hitting the skids | George petitions for West | Foye sees future in SLC

Gasol ‘worried’ about injury — Late in the fourth quarter in Brooklyn on Tuesday, Lakers big man Pau Gasol was having a decent night. He had 15 points on 6-for-16 shooting and two blocked shots. But everything changed with 4:21 to go in the game as Gasol went up to contest a shot by Nets center Brook Lopez and came down awkwardly. Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register and Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com detail what’s next for L.A.’s big man, who is more than a little concerned about things:

From Kevin Ding:

The sore plantar fascia Pau Gasol has been managing since Christmas worsened lately but then actually improved the past two days.

Then he said he tweaked it early in the game Tuesday, and it got worse and worse as the game went on, which he said limited his ability to finish moves or shots as he kept coming up short on plays. Then came the big blow.

When Gasol tried to summon shot-blocking vertical as Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez drove the lane with 4:21 to play, Gasol felt “a pop” in his right foot.

“Just as I took off,” Gasol said, “I felt a pop on the bottom of my foot, on the fascia, and I couldn’t get up. … I’m worried about it.”

Gasol said he’s “uncertain” now and trying to draw any conclusions before his MRI today in Boston. He said “this is something different” than the plantar fasciitis he has been navigating.

From Dave McMenamin:

Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol left Tuesday’s win over the Brooklyn Nets after straining the plantar fascia in his right foot late in the fourth quarter.

Gasol, who left Barclays Center on crutches, admitted he is “worried” about the injury. The four-time All-Star is scheduled to undergo an MRI on the foot Wednesday after the Lakers travel to Boston.

“I tweaked my fascia in the first half, so I was dealing with quite a bit of soreness in the second half,” said Gasol, who left the game with 3:50 remaining. “So I couldn’t do certain things.

“I was dealing with it, but that play when I tried to jump off of it and try go block the shot (by Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez), just as I took off, I felt a pop in the bottom of my foot on my fascia and I couldn’t get up. I’m worried about it.”

Last week, Gasol said he was playing through a pain level of eight out of 10 in his right foot.

“I’ve been dealing with it for a couple months now,” Gasol said. “But I never felt anything like I did tonight. Right now it’s a certain level of strain. We just don’t know how bad it is.”

Gasol initially tried to play through the injury. But after one trip up and down the floor, he asked coach Mike D’Antoni for a sub and went to the locker room with Lakers trainer Gary Vitti.

…

Gasol was unsure how long he could be sidelined if the injury turns out to be too severe to play through.

“I’ve had some injuries before,” he said. “They’re never pleasant, they’re never fun. But right now, I’m a little bit uncertain how long this thing is going to take.”

Gasol finished with 15 points, four rebounds and two blocks in the Lakers’ 92-83 win.

“I’m very, very concerned about it,” Kobe Bryant said. “Obviously, we don’t know the extent or the severity of the injury yet. But I’m very, very concerned to say the least.”

Gasol has missed 13 games this season due to tendinitis in both knees and a concussion.

“I’ve been playing with the fasciitis, which is painful and uncomfortable and limiting; this is something different,” Gasol said. “We’ll find out (Wednesday). Right now it’s really sore, but hopefully it will get better. … With the MRI, I’ll know exactly what I have and what’s next.”

The Lakers could be without both of their star big men Thursday against the Boston Celtics, as Dwight Howard has missed the past three games with a sore right shoulder.

When asked after Tuesday’s game whether he would play against the Celtics, Howard said: “I’m not talking about that right now.”

Dwight gets more reassurances– A day after telling ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith that he didn’t want this season to become a ‘circus’ of trade rumors, the Lakers seem to be getting the word out that Dwight Howard definitely isn’t going anywhere by the trade deadline. ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard reports that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has reassured Howard multiple times that the Lakers won’t be shipping out the superstar big man anytime soon:

Kupchak recently told Newsday the same thing, saying: “We will not trade Dwight Howard.” Sources say Kupchak has told Howard several times that he has no intention of trading him.

There have been rumblings for the past month that the Lakers are considering moving Howard out of fear that he might leave as a free agent after the season. Despite their concerns, the Lakers have not directly asked Howard whether he plans to stay or go in free agency, according to sources.

Sources have told ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Ramona Shelburne that the Lakers are “very confident” Howard will remain with the team this summer.

Howard has steadfastly refused to reveal his plans for this summer, and sources say he truly does not know what he will do. The sources add that he definitely will not ask to be traded.

Howard becomes a free agent July 1 but wants to live in the present, sticking to his goal of winning the first championship of his nine-year career this season, no matter how unlikely it might seem with the Los Angeles Lakers getting off to a 23-26 start more than three months into the season.

“Right now, my only focus is to get us into the playoffs and win the championship,” Howard said in an interview Monday with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. “Nothing else matters at this point.”

Atlanta, Dallas and Houston will be Howard’s chief suitors when he enters free agency July 1. But the Lakers can offer Howard a five-year contract worth roughly $118 million while every other team in the league can offer him only about $88 million over four years. The extra $30 million means a lot to Howard, sources said, and is definitely a major advantage for the Lakers. With the injuries he’s recently suffered to his back and shoulder, Howard might be less inclined to give up the extra year of security.

“I understand, you know, what the Lakers want,” Howard told Smith on Monday of his contract status. “And I also understand that right now, there’s no need for all the circus and all the stuff that happened last year [with Orlando] to start back up. I don’t want it, my team doesn’t need it, I don’t need it, and frankly, our fans don’t need it neither.”

Of the Lakers’ three free-agent competitors, Houston appears to be the most favorable for Howard. Dallas is aging, and Howard is not keen on playing in his hometown of Atlanta. Houston, on the other hand, has star guard James Harden and is only a frontcourt star away from becoming a legitimate factor in the Western Conference.

While Howard had no interest in going to Houston last season, sources say he is aware the Rockets have become a more attractive destination since acquiring Harden.

K.G. downplays trade talks — As the Feb. 21 trade deadline creeps ever closer, the topic of who might be headed where bubbles up more and more each day. Celtics star Kevin Garnett has seen his name tossed about in the trade rumor mill, specifically in some kind of deal that would put him on the Clippers. The key thing to remember is that Garnett has a no-trade clause in his contract, so even if Celtics boss Danny Ainge cooks up something to send K.G. elsewhere, Garnett has to buy into it, too. All that said, Garnett doesn’t seem to be worrying about the prospect of having to pack his bags for a new city in a few weeks, writes Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe:

Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, has been involved in those rumors, specifically with The Sporting News reporting that, according to sources, the Clippers are interested in Garnett in a deal that could include Caron Butler and Eric Bledsoe.

On Tuesday, Garnett addressed those rumors — and he started out by indicating that under Danny Ainge, the Celtics president of basketball operations, any change would not be surprising.

“Danny made it very, very obvious, since day one when he brought Ray (Allen) and myself here to align with Paul (Pierce), that he’s going to do whatever’s best for the organization,” Garnett said. “He’s always made that apparent, so I’ve always understood that.

“I bleed green, I’ll die green,” Garnett continued. “That’s what it is. But it is a business. When it crosses that path, I’ll deal with it. Trades are apart of this league. Every year you’re going to hear things. If I were y’all (the media), I wouldn’t read too much into it.”

Celtics coach Doc Rivers made it a point to note how many trade rumors that make the rounds in said current media landscape aren’t based on any shred of truth. Rivers pointed out that any trade rumors were coming from the media, not from the Celtics organization.

“Sometimes some of the stuff that happens is just silly,” Rivers said. “It really is. When I wake up in the morning and I hear a trade rumor that I haven’t heard in my office, that’s silly. And that’s what happens.”

Rivers added that trade rumors aren’t new; they’re just often coming from people who, as he said, “sit behind a computer.”

“The problem is now that you guys have to actually report it, which you shouldn’t do, but you do and it becomes an issue,” Rivers said.

Grizzlies keep on stumbling — There’s no denying that Memphis coach Lionel Hollins hasn’t been the biggest fan of the direction the roster is heading. Trading away reserves Mo Speights, Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby and starter Rudy Gay in separate deals over the course of nine days didn’t sit well with him. Even before that trade, Hollins had taken to the Memphis airwaves to bemoan advanced statistics and, after Gay was dealt, famously quipped that “When you have champagne taste, you can’t be on a beer budget,” in regards to the Gay trade. All that to say the Grizzlies have been sliding of late and last night’s loss to Phoenix seemed to bring a lot of issues to the forefront, writes Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal:

Tight game, inside a minute left, Tayshaun Prince inbounds the ball to Jerryd Bayless. Or, tries to, anyway. Bayless thinks Prince is going to inbound the ball to Zach Randolph, so he isn’t looking. Prince fires the ball past Bayless and out of bounds.

You want your Grizzlies in a nutshell?

That is your Grizzlies in a nutshell.

…

The Grizzlies lost to the Phoenix Suns at FedExForum Tuesday, 96-90. And the score wasn’t even the ugly part.

…

Uglier: Explaining the loss, Hollins twice pointed out that when Gasol got in foul trouble, he couldn’t put in another big to match up with Luis Scola and Marcin Gortat.

“One of the issues that I have is that neither Darrell or Ed (Davis) are fives. We don’t have another big guy. We weren’t able to play big and have two bigger people across the board because we don’t have a bigger guy to put in the game.”

In other words, Hollins no longer had Mo Speights or Hamed Haddadi because they were traded away. Did Hollins mean it as a shot?

It almost doesn’t matter, honestly. When the head coach spends part of his press conference lamenting what he no longer has on his roster, that’s not a good sign.

But that’s where the Grizzlies are right now. Everyone in the locker room seems confused. Tony Wroten has gone from not playing to playing to not playing. Bayless has gone from backup point guard to backup shooting guard to backup point. Hollins is trying to figure out if and where Austin Daye and Davis fit in the lineup. Same with Chris Johnson, back for a second 10-day stint.

Oh, and all that pales next to the larger issues of establishing – or re-establishing – the identity of the team. Once Rudy Gay was traded, the idea was that the team would go back to playing through its big men, Randolph and Gasol. And yet, in the two games since the trade, the Grizzlies have been outscored in the paint by Washington and Phoenix.

…

So that is the state of the Grizzlies as they get ready for critical games against Atlanta (tonight) and Golden State (Friday). It’s an odd position for a team that recently considered itself elite. This is exactly what the new management risked when it decided not to wait until the end of the season to remake the roster. The skeptics will be out in force today.

In the end, the Grizzlies will have to do what they have always done under Hollins. Put aside the excuses and focus on the task at hand. This is a team that survived the loss of Gay and Randolph in successive seasons, after all. Will it let itself be done in by a pair of trades?

“We have to get back to work, ” said Allen. “If we do that, we’ll be OK.”

George wants West to join him in Houston – Pacers All-Star Paul George is doing everything he can to try and get David West to join him at the All-Star Game in Houston on Feb. 17. Although it would require an injury to a current All-Star for West to make the team, George isn’t holding back any praise for Indiana’s big man, writes Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star:

It doesn’t take an NBA All-Star to recognize one, but Paul George believes there’s one dressing two lockers over at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

David West has been one of the league’s best players all season, but the Indiana Pacers’ power forward has elevated his play since the All-Star reserves were named Jan. 24.

Since then, only three Eastern Conference players have averaged more points: LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Carmelo Anthony.

Heavy company, to be sure. All three are All-Stars.

“David had big games even before All-Star selection; he’s really carried us in so many games,” George said before Tuesday’s game with Atlanta. “He’s been our most consistent (player).”

West is averaging 22.8 points in the five games since not being named to the All-Star team. He scored 30 and 29 points, respectively, in key wins over Miami and Chicago in recent days.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him play as well as he’s playing right now,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “He’s just carrying us, (and) not just on offense. On offense it’s obvious what his efficiencies (are) — field goal percentage, shot making, all those things — but he’s really leading us on the defensive end and from a determination standpoint, too.

“He’s got such tremendous will to win these games. A lot of times it just comes down to that, and that’s contagious.”

George is the Pacers’ only All-Star this season. He said he would have given West, a two-time selection while in New Orleans, the position if it were up to him.

George and West have nearly identical season statistics. That’s why both should have made it, point guard George Hill said.

“We’re atop our division and only got one player in (the game),” he said. “That’s kind of a slap in our face. It tells you what (others) really think of us.”

Foye sees future in SLC — One of the big problems for the Jazz the last few seasons has been a lack of 3-point shooting. They addressed that in the offseason with trades for Mo Williams and Marvin Williams as well as signing ex-Clippers guard Randy Foye. While Mo Williams has been out the last few weeks with a thumb injury and Marvin Williams has struggled with his shot, Foye has become a valuable signing for Utah. He ranks seventh in the league in 3-point shooting (43.3 percent) and has made 114 3s, fifth-best in the NBA. He’s inching closer to Mehmet Okur‘s single-season team mark for 3s (129) and says he can see a long-term future with Utah, writes Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune:

The issue may be taken out of his hands, but Jazz shooting guard Randy Foye said Tuesday he hopes to have a future with the Jazz beyond this season. He has emerged as a viable option at shooting guard, although the Jazz seem to have plenty of long-term options at the position with Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks. However, it could be tough to turn away a player who will likely not only break the franchise’s single season record for 3-pointers, but could do it before the All-Star break.

As I wrote for Wednesday’s Tribune, Foye needs just 15 more 3s to tie Mehmet Okur’s record 129 3-pointers. In a Tuesday morning one-on-one, Foye discussed his hot shooting, but also his adjustment to Utah, and said some revealing things about his future.

Here’s his quote in full:

“To tell you the truth I do see myself long-term here. Because everything from an organization, to the values they have here is me. And in the beginning I probably never would have thought it was Utah, probably thought I was a big-city guy. But this is me. I got my family here, my family really likes it here, even when my friends come out they really like it. We’re from the East Coast, and all you see is life moving so fast. Everything here is kind of slow and it’s just laid back and I see myself here. I love the guys here. I know the guys, we get along really well. I just picture myself being here for a while. I don’t really want to talk about contract things, but I just picture I would want to be here for a long time.”

ICYMI of the night: As the Rockets showed the Warriors last night, sometimes you’re simply hot from 3-point range and there’s nothing that can be done to stop it …:

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Mo Heating Up From 3-Point Range

December 13, 2012  ·  3:08PM

 

HANGTIME SOUTHWEST – Mo Williams needed that one.

Acquired by the Utah Jazz to bury 3-pointers, Williams hasn’t been doing it with any regularity. In fact, Wednesday night against the West-leading San Antonio Spurs, Williams had missed all three of his attempts, including one with 9.9 seconds left, only to be saved by a Paul Millsap rebound.

Timeout. Williams now had only had 6.7 seconds of regulation left to redeem himself.

Did he ever.

Williams indeed buried his fourth attempt from a few feet behind the arc and with Danny Green‘s hand in his face. The buzzer sounded, the crowd went berserk and Williams was mobbed by his teammates. The Jazz had shot down the Spurs 99-96 for a fourth consecutive win to get to 13-10 and 9-1 at home.

Of course, it was the Spurs who swept the 3-point-deficient Jazz in the first round last season under a barrage of 3-pointers and then swept Williams’ Clippers in the second round.

“It’s big,” Williams said after the game. “I’ve got a lot of respect for their organization. They’ve been [winning] for a long time, an organization you try to model yourself after, but at the same time you don’t want to be the step brother forever.”

It’s bigger on a personal level for Williams, who has begun to lift his sagging 3-point percentage over the last six games, going 10-for-21 (47.6 percent). Before that it took him 10 games to make 10 3-pointers, a span in which he went 10-for-36 (27.7 percent).

For much of the season, he’s been stuck around 32 percent from the arc, well below Williams’ 38.6 career percentage. His recent run has boosted him to 36.6 percent.

Jazz coach Ty Corbin could have called on Randy Foye to take the final shot. Foye, after all, leads the team from behind the arc at 43.7 percent.

Instead the call went to Williams, and Wednesday’s game-winner was no gimme. Williams handled the ball on the right wing, a few feet behind the arc with Green, who has long arms and at 6-foot-6 is five inches taller than Williams, in good defensive position.

Still, Williams stepped up and rose over Green with about 1.8 seconds to go. The ball splashed through the net as the buzzer went off.

Remember, Williams agreed during the summer to allow the Clippers to trade him to Utah, the team that drafted him in the second round in 2003. The Clips wanted to open space to deal for Lamar Odom from the fed-up Dallas Mavericks. The Jazz wanted Williams over Devin Harris, a mediocre perimeter shooter.

Williams, part of a backcourt logjam in L.A., came to Utah to run the point and bang 3-pointers. He’s been warming up from out there, and although he was just 1-for-4 against the Spurs, he hit the big one, the one he really needed.

“It showed how much my teammates believe in me, showed how much the coaches believe in me,” Williams said. “It was a tough night shooting for me, missed a couple shots down the stretch that I felt good about. They came back to me and it shows how much confidence they have in me.”

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Mo Williams And Co. Bring Much-Needed 3-Point Shooting To Jazz

November 1, 2012  ·  1:49AM





HANG TIME SOUTHWEST – It took nearly 32 minutes for Mo Williams to splash his first triple Wednesday night in his return to the team that drafted him nine years ago.

It came from straightaway, and 23 seconds later he buried a second 3-pointer from the left wing. His night back where it all began would end with only those two treys going down on a rather tame, for Williams, four attempts from downtown Salt Lake.

Yet his rapid-fire 3s in the third quarter counted as the two biggest buckets in the Jazz’s runaway season-opening victory over the Dallas Mavericks. A 74-74 tie suddenly became an 80-74 Utah lead and then Williams’ third consecutive bucket for eight straight points ultimately led to an 18-2 burst to close the third quarter leading 92-76.

That two long balls ignited the decisive run in the Jazz’s 113-94 victory is drenched with significance. (more…)

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Report: Kidd Spurns Mavs For Knicks

July 5, 2012  ·  5:31PM




On Wednesday night, most everyone believed that Mavericks free agent Jason Kidd would be coming back to Dallas next season for what league sources believed would be a three-year, $9.5 million deal. But on Thursday, according to a source, Kidd changed his mind and accepted a similar deal to play with the Knicks next season, leaving Dallas in the lurch for a starting point guard for next season.

Kidd, second on the NBA’s all-time list in assists and steals, will bring veteran poise and leadership to the Knicks next season, whether he is starting or coming off the bench. New York struggled to find consistent, quality point guard play for most of the season, other than when Jeremy Lin captivated the nation in February with a sterling stretch of play. The Knicks are likely to match any offer for Lin, a restricted free agent who met with the Rockets Wednesday, and who Knicks coach Mike Woodson called his unequivocal starter for next season.

Kidd only averaged 6.2 points and 5.5 assists for Dallas last season, the lowest averages of his career in those stats, and he is not the defensive force he was when he starred with the New Jersey Nets. But he’s still an outstanding passer, a much improved perimeter shooter compared to earlier in his career and a proven leader.

A full season of a Lin-Kidd tandem at the point, along with a return to health of guard Iman Shumpert–who tore knee ligaments during the Knicks’ first-round loss to Miami–could make New York a formidable challenger in the east next season.

The 39-year-old Kidd may have been influenced by Dallas’ inability to secure the services of free agents despite clearing significant cap room last season by not bringing back key components of the team that won the NBA title in 2011. The Mavericks let starting center Tyson Chandler go to New York, and didn’t make substantial offers for guard J.J. Barea, who signed with Minnesota. Instead, the Mavericks hoped they’d be able to convince free agent Deron Williams to come.

(more…)

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Spurs: CP3, Shooters Give Clips A Shot

May 14, 2012  ·  12:58PM





SAN ANTONIO – So they meet again. A week after wrapping up their own spot in the conference semifinals, the Spurs finally know who their opponent will be.

Oh yes, they’re quite familiar with Chris Paul in the playoffs.

“He’s a future Hall of Famer,” said San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich.

“He’s one of those guys, you know he’s not going to give up,” said Manu Ginobili.

Back in 2008, Paul was a singular force who virtually willed the Hornets to extend a conference semifinal series against the Spurs to seven games. Now he has lit a fire under the traditionally-moribund Clippers, lifting them to only their second playoff series win since moving to the West Coast more than three decades ago. Paul led the way with 19 points and nine rebounds in the decisive Game 7 win over Memphis that sends L.A. immediately into the next round against the No. 1 seeded team in the West that is on a 14-game winning streak.

(more…)

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Grizzlies Big Men Ground And Pound Their Way To Game 6 … And Game 7?

May 10, 2012  ·  10:33AM





HANG TIME PLAYOFF HEADQUARTERS – We won’t bother asking what took the Hang Time Grizzlies so long to figure this out. All that matters now is that we’ve all see it in action and have seen the results.

When the Grizzlies ground and pound, playing through All-Star big men Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, they look like a completely different team against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Sure, they still have to deal with a Game 6 in Los Angeles and that pesky win-or-go-home scenario all teams face when they trail 3-2 in a best-of-7 series. But they reached Game 6 by leaning on Gasol and Randolph, listening to the children (or at least Randolph’s daughter) to stave off elimination in Game 5 last night.

If they want to see a Game 7 back on their home floor, they must continue to do more of the same. Because as good as Rudy Gay, Mike Conley and the rest of the Grizzlies’ perimeter operators have been all season, you win games in the paint in the playoffs. Trying to beat the Clippers that way is what led to the 3-1 deficit — well, that and Chris Paul and Blake Griffin outplaying them during critical stretches in the first four games.

But with injury concerns for the Clippers’ two best players, Paul has a hip flexor and Griffin a knee strain, the Grizzlies have a chance to refocus their attention inside and attack where the Clippers are most vulnerable. (Paul has already said he’ll be ready to go for Friday night, while Griffin’s status will be determined after he is examined again today.) The Clippers’ big men (Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Kenyon Martin and Reggie Evans) cannot match the Grizzlies’ bigs if that’s where the battle line for Game 6 is drawn.

(more…)

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Rick’s Tips: Waiver Watching

April 9, 2012  ·  5:17PM



If you’ve made it this far, then you’re still alive for a fantasy championship. I’m back with waiver wire advice at the toughest position to fill in fantasy hoops: shooting guard.

There once was a day when SG was arguably the deepest position in the NBA. Think about the 90s with Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler, Reggie Miller, Joe Dumars, Mitch Richmond, Allan Houston, Steve Smith, Nick Anderson, Jeff Hornacek, John Starks, Hersey Hawkins, Latrell Sprewell, Ron Harper, and the list goes on and on…

Today, you have Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Ray Allen, Joe Johnson, Manu Ginobili, James Harden, Monta Ellis, Eric Gordon and Jason Terry headlining the 2-guard position. However, beyond those big names, it’s a collection of rising players like Paul George, DeMar Derozan, Marcus Thornton and Rodney Stuckey, the injury-prone Kevin Martin, and a plethora of timeshares.

Because filling the 2-guard spot in a position-based league has become so challenging, I will offer up five shooting guards for your perusal. They are listed in order of how much I trust them this week.

Courtney Lee

It doesn’t sound like Kevin Martin will return from his shoulder injury anytime soon, so it appears fantasy owners can safely expect Lee to get full run at the 2 for at least another week. In 15 starts this season, Lee is averaging 14 points, 1.6 threes, and 1.3 steals in 37.3 minutes. He should have no problem meeting or exceeding those digits this week.

(more…)

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Clips’ Win Streak Fueled By Defense

April 3, 2012  ·  10:21AM

HANG TIME NEW JERSEY – The Los Angeles Clippers hadn’t won six straight games since March of 1992. That’s a full 20 years of mostly bad basketball.

Even in the 2005-06 season, when the Clippers went 47-35 and made their only trip to the playoffs in the last 14 seasons, their longest winning streak was five games.

This season’s Clippers won four in a row back in late January, but lost Chauncey Billups for the season a few games later, and went 12-14 in the first 26 games without their veteran leader.

Now, with last night’s easy win over the defending champs, the Clips have won six straight, and are again looking like a team that can win a playoff series or two.

ESPN’s Marc Stein was in Dallas last night…

Credit the Clips, if nothing else, for an admirable response to adversity. With pressure mounting on Del Negro, L.A.’s fourth-quarter failure to overtake the injury-ravaged New Orleans Hornets in Paul’s first-ever game as a visitor to the Crescent City could have easily sent the Clips into a deep, dark spiral. Instead? The first game of a season-defining five straight home dates was the toughest, but they dredged up the requisite spirit and beat Memphis by 16, launching the resurrection.

The next four teams they toppled (Hornets, Suns, Blazers and Jazz) were hardly world-beaters, true, but the Clips were in no state to scoff at any W after the drubbings they absorbed in Indiana and Oklahoma City, followed by the debacle in the shadows of the French Quarter. Clips forward Caron Butler says now that a team meeting after the New Orleans loss is what prevented the dreaded spiral.

“We should not be trying to find our identity at this point in the season,” Butler said. “We should have that already. So we discussed it and we agreed that we’ve got to get everyone involved. Since then this team’s had a totally different disposition. Guys are making the extra pass, we’re sharing that ball and that’s what we’ve got goin’ right now. When we play defense and share the ball, we’re a scary team. With all these weapons, it’s tough to load up on Chris and Blake.”

The Clippers have been up and down all season, mostly because they’ve struggled defensively. Before the streak began, they ranked 23rd in defensive efficiency, allowing 104 points per 100 possessions.

Over the last six games though, the Clippers have allowed just 97 points per 100 possessions. And Friday’s 98-97, slow-paced win over the Blazers was really the only game in the streak that they won by just out-gunning their opponent.

Not that the Clippers have had trouble scoring during the streak. They’ve scored 110 points per 100 possessions over the six games, which is pretty potent. And last night in Dallas, they finally got some offense from the two spot, with Randy Foye draining eight 3-pointers and scoring a season-high 28 points.

But more important was that L.A. held the Mavs to just 33 points in the first half. If the Clippers are going to win in the postseason, they need to be able to have defensive stretches like that.

The biggest statistical key has been an increase in forcing turnovers. L.A. had forced just 15.2 turnovers per 100 possessions through their first 47 games, but have forced 17.7 over the last six, with 10 different guys on the roster picking up at least three steals during the streak. Chris Paul, of course, has led the way with 13 steals. But Eric Bledsoe has six in just 80 minutes during the streak.

The forced turnovers have produced an increase in transition opportunities, which is where the Clippers are at their best.

Six games is a small sample size, and three of the wins have come against bad offensive teams (Memphis, New Orleans and Dallas). But this is easily the best stretch of defense the Clippers have played all season. And it’s coming at the right time of year.

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Billups Officially Done This Season

February 7, 2012  ·  6:52PM





HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – The Los Angeles Clippers’ worst fears became a reality this evening when it was announced by the team that Chauncey Billups is done for the remainder of this season with a torn left Achilles suffered in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s win over the Orlando Magic.

An MRI on this afternoon in Cleveland, where the Clippers are as they wait for Wednesday night’s game against the Cavaliers, confirmed the severity of the injury.

Billups is set to return to Los Angeles Thursday for examination from the team’s medical staff, though a date for surgery has not yet been determined. A five-time All-Star, the Clippers claimed  Billups off waivers in December after the New York Knicks cut him to make room for the signing of Tyson Chandler.

Billups played a pivotal role for the Clippers this season, starting at shooting guard alongside Chris Paul, and averaging 14.9 points and 4.0 assists in 30.4 minutes per game. It’s a devastating blow for a Clippers team that leaned on Billups as much for his play as it did his leadership and championship experience.

“I feel sick for him,” Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro told ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Ramona Shelburne. “He’s such a pro. After the game last night it was bittersweet. Everyone was just quiet in the locker room, quiet on the plane. People know how much Chauncey means to us — his character, his leadership. Not only his ability to play at a high level, but his character and the intangibles he brings. That’s why we brought him here. I just feel sick for him.”

“It’s a tough one,” Del Negro said. “He was just getting everything figured out. He was playing great. He’d just hit three 3s in a row, then he turns the wrong way running back down the court.

“It’s tough, but we’re going to do whatever we can as a team an organization to move forward.”

if any team has the backcourt depth to weather the loss of a veteran star it’s the Clippers. Paul, Mo Williams, Randy Foye and Eric Bledsoe can all be used interchangeably in the playing rotation.

But losing Billups is about losing more than just minutes and a lethal scorer and efficient game manager. They’re losing one of the league’s most respected players, a guy that led the Detroit Pistons to a Larry O’Brien trophy, collecting The Finals MVP trophy along the way.

It remains to be seen just how they will make up for the loss of all the intangibles Billups brings to the party!

 

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Clippers’ Billups Done For Season?

February 7, 2012  ·  12:23AM





HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – The Los Angeles Clippers got the big road win Monday night in overtime over the Orlando Magic, but might have suffered a far more devastating loss when veteran point guard Chauncey Billups went down in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a torn left Achilles’ tendon.

Billups was in the midst of a wicked stretch, he scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and knocked down three 3-pointers in the fourth when he went down without being touched with 5:48 to play in regulation.

“I’m sick about it, sick for us but mostly for him and how much he means to us,” Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro told reporters after the game. “He was in some pain, and whenever that happens when no one’s around, all the possibilities are out there.”

Billups had to be helped off of the court. He is scheduled to have an MRI when the Clippers make it to Cleveland, where the Clippers will have a day off before facing the Cavaliers Wednesday night.

The Clippers started this season with four point guards on the roster after acquiring Chris Paul in a trade and picking Billups up after he was waived by the Knicks. They joined returnees Mo Williams and Eric Bledsoe. They also have Randy Foye as an option.

Even with quality depth at the position, losing a seasoned leader like Billups is a crushing blow for a Clippers team that has surged to the top rung of the Western Conference standings in the past week. If Billups is indeed lost for the season, as was immediately feared, Del Negro will have to do some shuffling with his rotation. Williams has been playing off the bench this season, and thriving in that role, but could now be forced back into the starting lineup with Paul.

Either way, what could be a season-ending and potentially career-ending injury for Billups, 35, changes things dramatically for the Clippers right now.

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