Category: NBA (Page 346 of 595)

      Beasley and Chalmers fined repeatedly throughout season

      May 6, 2009 /

      Rookies Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers were fined before the season by the NBA and during the season by the Heat for breaking team rules.

      The number of fines not only caught the attention of Heat President Pat Riley, but had team staffers addressing the rookies during the season about the penalties that were subtracted from their paychecks.

      Spoelstra said none of the fines was for missing practice or showing up late for such sessions, declining to go into detail about the volume or specifics.

      “In terms of your actual practice time, [Beasley] wouldn’t miss practice, he was never late for practice, he wouldn’t miss a turn in practice,” the first-year coach said. “And once you get out there and get him on the practice floor, he’ll work for you, he’ll drill for you, he’s coachable.

      “It’s all the other things behind the scenes. That’s part of maturing.”

      Beasley acknowledged work remains.

      “When it comes to playing and it comes to game time and doing my job, I’m always on time, I’m professional,” he said. “There’s some stuff I’ve still got to work on.”

      I don’t know whether or not it is deserved, but Beasley already has a little bit of a bad rep when it comes to his attitude. Bill Simmons had some harsh words for Beasley, though I doubt he attended any Heat practices or has ever met the rookie.

      [Discussing Jason Thompson] You know, if Michael Beasley wasn’t such a colossal disappointment and semi-fraud, the 2008 draft could have ranked among the best ever.

      [Discussing Jeff Green] Great teammate, tough as nails, gives a crap, does whatever you need. He’s the anti-Beasley.

      These words prompted me to ask, “What kind of rookie season is Michael Beasley having?” back in February. Statistically, his rookie season was pretty solid, so whatever reputation he’s building has to do with the qualitative aspects of the game. It’s going to be interesting to see how he progresses in his second season.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Bynum: “I’m probably 85-90 percent.”

      May 6, 2009 /

      Lakers center Andrew Bynum hasn’t played very well since returning from his knee injury and admitted yesterday that he’s not 100%.

      “It’s just not ready,” he said. “I’m probably about 85-90 percent.”

      Bynum said his knee doesn’t hurt or swell up, but he doesn’t feel the same explosion and strength as he did before the injury.

      And the way to address that?

      “I just think it’s a timing thing; I just need more time to get it stronger,” he said.

      Which is a bit problematic, since the Lakers are in a dogfight with the Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals and don’t have all that much room to let Bynum work his way back into things.

      I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say that the Rockets have a good chance to upset the Lakers if Bynum isn’t 100%. They need his size and energy to combat Yao Ming, who is just too big for Pau Gasol to handle on the block.

      NBA, NBA Finals, News

      Cavs, Nuggets cruise

      May 6, 2009 /

      The one-two punch of LeBron James and Mo Williams provided 55 of Cleveland’s 99 points as the Cavs routed the Hawks, 99-72. LeBron had an MVP-like performance with 34 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and four steals. The Hawks have the talent to compete in this series, but they didn’t play very well against the Heat in the first round and that trend continued in the second half, where they were outscored 50-28. The Cavs’ defense forced 17 turnovers and held Atlanta to under 44% shooting.

      In the late game, the Nuggets continued their march to the conference finals with a 117-105 win over the Mavs. Denver led by three heading into the fourth quarter, but a 9-0 run (including seven points from Carmelo Anthony) put Dallas in a bad spot. The Nuggets were up 19 with 2:50 to play, so the game wasn’t quite as close as the final score would indicate. Dirk Nowitzki did everything he could — 34 points, nine boards, four assists — but the Mavs were without Josh Howard (ankle) and were simply overmatched. The Nuggets had a balanced attack of Anthony (25 points), Nene (25), J.R. Smith (21), Chauncey Billups (18) and Kenyon Martin (12).

      Smith in particular is an interesting player. He has a ton of scoring ability, but every so often he makes a bonehead play. I didn’t watch much of this game, but in the 10 minutes or so I did watch, Smith came over to help on Nowitzki at the top of the key and then suddenly left him — Dirk had the ball, mind you — to go cover J.J. Barea (or was it Antoine Wright?). Regardless, you don’t leave one of the league’s best scorers alone at the top of the key with the ball. Then, on the final play of the second quarter, he dribbled the ball around trying to wind the clock down, but then launched a 30-footer with five or six seconds to play. The long rebound bounced out to Jason Kidd, who had enough time to dribble to the other end of the court and get a good look at a three, which he made, cutting the Nuggets’ halftime lead to three.

      But I guess when a guy is capable of scoring 21 points on just 10 shots in 25 minutes, you live with the occasional bonehead play.

      NBA

      NBA Free Agency Rumors: Wade, ‘Sheed, Boozer and more

      May 5, 2009 /

      – SLAM says that Rasheed Wallace will retire if he doesn’t get at least $8 million to play next season. By my count, there are seven teams — Memphis, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Toronto, Portland and Minnesota — other than the Pistons that could give him that kind of money. Who would be interested in ‘Sheed? I’m guessing only teams that are on the verge of competing for a title and have a need for a big man with championship experience. The only “contenders” on that list are Atlanta and Portland, and neither seems to be a good fit. Portland already has a slender sharp-shooting big man in LaMarcus Aldridge, and the Hawks will likely spend their cap space on re-signing Mike Bibby (though that isn’t necessarily the right thing to do). So if Portland and Atlanta pass on Wallace, someone will offer him a mid-level deal (~$5.8 M) and he’ll have to decide if it’s worth it. Any team in the league can sign him for that, so if he lowers his price, demand will rise.

      – Dwyane Wade reiterated that he will consider signing an extension once he’s eligible to on July 1st, but that he hasn’t given the idea much thought. The Heat would have a ton of cap space this summer had they held onto Shawn Marion and his expiring contract, but they instead traded for Jermaine O’Neal whom they thought would help their chances in the playoffs over the next two seasons. In the end, I doubt D-Wade will leave Miami. He’s a star there, the weather is great, and with Michael Beasley and a yet to be named big man (Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire) to be signed in the summer of 2010, the Heat have a good foundation for success. To me, the big question is whether or not Beasley can play small forward. If so, then the team should try to put together a starting lineup of Mario Chalmers, Wade, Beasley, Udonis Haslem and either Bosh or Amare.

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      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Magic, Rockets steal Game 1’s on the road

      May 5, 2009 /

      By now you know that the Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets each managed to win Game 1 on the road, but what you may not know is how exactly they managed to pull those wins out.

      Orlando rode a 30-17 second quarter to an 18-point lead at halftime, and led by as many as 28 (65-27) with nine minutes to play in the third quarter before the Celtics finally showed up to play. Boston whittled the lead down to four with two minutes to play, but a timely drive by Rafer Alston and four straight free throws by J.J. Redick helped the Magic hold on for the win.

      Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo each went 2 of 12 from the field, so most of the Celtics’ scoring was left to Paul Pierce who finished with 23 points on 7 of 18 shooting. Boston simply wasn’t sharp; it might have been fatigue or maybe it was just one of those nights. Dwight Howard finished with 16 points, 22 rebounds and three blocks, and the C’s simply didn’t have an answer for him inside. Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Rafer Alston combined to shoot 17 of 45 (38%) from the field, so it’s not like Orlando was running on all cylinders, either.

      Meanwhile, in L.A., the Rockets capitalized on the Lakers’ flat play. Yao Ming posted 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Ron Artest chipped in with 21 points and seven assists. But the key was the play of point guard Aaron Brooks, who outscored Derek Fisher (19 to eight) and came up with a pair of timely buckets in the fourth quarter. Along with Kyle Lowry, the Rockets have quickness in the backcourt that the Lakers can’t match unless they elect to play Shannon Brown and/or Jordan Farmar.

      Shane Battier did a nice job defensively on Kobe Bryant, who scored 32 points but didn’t really get going until the Lakers were in scramble mode late in the game. He had seven points in the last 1:32, so without those makes, he was 12 of 29 (41%) for 25 points. Pau Gasol (14 points), Lamar Odom (9 points) and Andrew Bynum (10 points) all had relatively quiet games, which allowed the Rockets to spring the upset. In Artest, Carl Landry, Chuck Hayes and Yao Ming, the Rockets have one of the best defensive front lines in the league, so they have the personnel to slow down the Laker big men.

      Watch Battier’s hands when he defends Kobe’s jumper. He essentially sticks his hand right in Kobe’s face, almost as if he’s about to poke Kobe in the eye. This can be distracting to a shooter, though I’m sure Bryant has seen it time and time again. Battier has the quickness and strength to keep Bryant out of the lane (most of the time, anyway) and the Rockets know they have a chance against the Lakers if they can turn Kobe into more of a shooter and less of a scorer.

      NBA, NBA Finals

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