– Trail Blazers get defensive during training camp (from Aaron Fentress, csnnw.com):
” Prior to the start of training camp, Portland point guard Damian Lillard spent time in the video room with coaches studying film from last season with an emphasis on his defense, or lack there of.
What he noticed was a player who struggled in pick-and-role situations. He repeatedly allowed too much distance between himself and the man he was guarding. When the pick came, Lillard said he often had trouble getting over the pick to find his man. Video revealed that he needed to work on becoming more physical and taking better angles.
Defense one of the few glaring holes in the third-year All-Star’s game. He is a budding elite scorer. A sublime playmaker. A cool, calm leader. His maturity is off the charts.
But his defense…
“It’s more of me putting myself in position to do a good job with that,” Lillard said.
It’s something the whole team is working on. ”
Read it here: http://www.csnnw.com/blazers/trail-blazers-get-defensive-during-training-camp
– Trail Blazers center Chris Kaman says his ego is gone, giving hope his stop in Portland will work (from Jason Quick, oregonian.com):
Read it here: http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2014/10/quick_trail_blazers_center_chris_kaman_says_his_eg.html
– With Kevin Love’s passes, the Cleveland Cavaliers will have the NBA’s best deep-ball game (from Chris Haynes, cleveland.com):
” LeBron James has a new quarterback to throw him the deep ball.
Kevin Love showed off his two-handed outlet passes in the Cavaliers’ Wine and Gold scrimmage Wednesday night and the message was loud and clear: take off and he’ll find you.
“There’s no one in the league that does that like him. No one,” James said after the game. “He has the ability to get a rebound and look up the court with his outlet passes. The two-hand chest pass from 94 feet, there’s no one like him.”
Read it here: http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2014/10/with_kevin_loves_passes_the_cl.html
– Blatt takes needed, and successful, first steps with LeBron, Cavaliers (from Ken berger, CBS Sports):
” The early interactions between head coach and star player are always important. A relationship is established, marching orders are barked, boundaries are drawn and a foundation is built.
There cannot be cracks in that foundation.
When the star player is the biggest global icon in the sport and the head coach is among the world’s most decorated leaders of huddles in what has become an increasingly international game, these first days of training camp take on added significance and intrigue.
One such moment occurred Monday night at the Cavaliers‘ practice facility in the Cleveland suburbs, a moment that revealed some of the eerie similarities between the brilliant basketball minds of LeBron James and his new boss, David Blatt.”
Read it here: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/writer/ken-berger/24732773/blatt-takes-needed-and-successful-first-steps-with-lebron-cavaliers
– Hornets center Al Jefferson: I’m ‘sick’ of being defensive liability (from Rick Bonnell, Charlotte Observer):
” Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson feels a bit insulted this preseason, and coach Steve Clifford is good with that.
Jefferson and Clifford talked before the start of training camp about Jefferson’s goals. Jefferson said he’s sick of opposing teams targeting his pick-and-roll defense, and he has to do something about that.
“I refuse to continue getting picked on at the end of games. It’s not fun,” Jefferson said following morning practice Wednesday at UNC Asheville. “Last year at the end of games teams always put me in high pick-and-rolls. I got sick of them thinking that was to their advantage, and it was to their advantage.”
“I look for Chris Copeland to get a lot more minutes at the wing spot,” Vogel said earlier thisweek, a pronouncement that would have brought applause had fans heard it.”
Read it here: http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/copeland-hopes-transition-brings-stability
– Can the Pacers lean on David West for more offense? (from Tyler Bischoff, indycornrows.com):
” With 35.5 points per game gone, the Indiana offense is going to need baskets from somebody. Can the returning leader scorer, David West, become a focal point in the offense?”
Read and view it here: http://www.indycornrows.com/2014/10/1/6882889/can-the-indiana-pacers-lean-on-david-west-for-more-offense
– Jose Calderon: Steady Point for Knicks After a Restless Summer (from Scott Cacciola, NYTimes):
“You’re not going to see too many dribbles,” Calderon said this week at the start of training camp.
As the Knicks undergo an overhaul this preseason, Coach Derek Fisher is expected to lean on Calderon, 33, as a steadying influence at point guard. He is neither flashy nor outspoken. He protects the basketball and shoots well from the 3-point line. He is not exactly a defensive wizard, but he creates for teammates.
“I try to make everybody feel comfortable out there,” said Calderon, whose contract will pay him $22 million through the 2016-17 season. “I don’t care about my shots or my points or my assists. It’s about playing the right way, trying to get everybody involved. And that’s what I’ve been doing for 10 years now.”
– Suns coach Jeff Hornacek is tougher than he looks (from Dan Bickley, azcentral.com):
” Now, Hornacek faces his toughest conundrum. He must cultivate great camaraderie while finding enough minutes to satisfy three ambitious, excellent point guards: Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and newcomer Isaiah Thomas.
Not going to be easy.
“We are very deep,” Hornacek said. “And sometimes that’s a problem because everybody wants to play.””
Cousins happy with new Kings PGs, Phoenix Suns happy with Isaiah Thomas (from Dave King, brightsideofthesun.com):
” Thomas signed with the Suns with full knowledge that they wanted to keep both Dragic and Bledsoe long term, and that he was not promised a starting spot. He knew all this. But with all the obstacles Thomas has faced in the NBA, you can’t blame him for being a bit apprehensive about how it will work as training camp begins.
“You can be worried,” he said at Media Day. “Just because you never know what’s going to happen. You never see three talented guards like us on the same team. But you know that’s the coach’s problem. He has to play us. I am excited. I love competition. That’s what it’s all about – making us better and getting to the playoffs.”
Read it here: http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2014/10/2/6888893/cousins-happy-with-new-kings-pgs-phoenix-suns-happy-with-isaiah-thomas
– Kings working on the art of not dribbling (from Jason Jones, Sacramento Bee):
“It wouldn’t be too much hyperbole to say the Kings have been obsessed with dribbling the basketball in recent seasons.
Sometimes it was point guards pounding the rock. Other times it was a big man determined to back his way to the basket no matter how many dribbles it took. Or there would be a player on the wing dribbling looking for a shot before realizing there were only two seconds on the shot clock.
No matter who the offender was, the other four Kings on the floor looked on with disgust until it was their turn to play their version of Kings Keep Away.
Everyone associated with the Kings from ownership on down acknowledges this must stop.”
Read it here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/10/01/6753562/kings-working-on-the-art-of-not.html
– Oklahoma City Thunder: Sacrifice a key component for Thunder (from Darnell Mayberry, newsok.com):
” Sacrificing one’s self for the greater good of the team might be the most critical component to Oklahoma City’s anticipated championship run.”
Read it here: http://newsok.com/article/5347457
– Kelly Olynyk poised for improvement (from Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston):
” Olynyk showed some of his potential with an elevated role in the final games of the season, but his work this summer really has the Celtics encouraged.
“I think our best bet is to make him a big part of what we’re doing,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said of Olynyk. “I think the reason for that is because he’s a skilled, savvy basketball player that can play a number of positions and can stretch the floor for you”
Read it here: http://espn.go.com/boston/nba/story/_/id/11625117/kelly-olynyk-poised-improve-strong-summer
– Previewing the 2014-15 Pistons: Spencer Dinwiddie (from Shinons*, detroitbadboys.com):
” Though Spencer Dinwiddie lasted until well into the second round, the common talking point after the draft was that he would have gone far earlier had he not torn his ACL 17 games into the season, that he was a first-round talent.”
Read it here: http://www.detroitbadboys.com/2014/10/2/6877749/previewing-the-2014-15-pistons-spencer-dinwiddie
– New Piston Jodie Meeks expanded from shooter to scorer (from Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press):
” Jodie Meeks didn’t describe hours of working on his ball-handling.
He didn’t recall doing lay-up drills designed to help players finish through contact.
That isn’t to say he didn’t do that stuff. He has always worked on his game.
But he said Wednesday that opportunity was the main reason he made a move from being known as strictly a jump shooter to a more-rounded player with the Lakers.
“I think just more opportunity,” said Meeks, signed in the off-season by the Pistons. “The first couple of years I was known as a spot-up shooter. … I decided to do what was asked of me. Last year I had more of an opportunity, played more minutes.”
Read it here: http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2014/10/02/detroit-pistons-jodie-meeks/16572531/
– Spencer Hawes is passing aggressive (from Ben Bolch, LATimes0:
” Hawes’ gifts include the ability to space the floor with three-point shooting (career accuracy: 36.1%), score in bunches (he once dropped 30 points on the Lakers) and make the kinds of passes usually associated with players a foot shorter (he’s logged nine assists in a game three times).
“His shooting is great, but his passing is better,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said.”
Read it here: http://www.latimes.com/sports/clippers/la-sp-spencer-hawes-clippers-20141002-story.html
– Patience pays off for Sixers center Henry Sims (from Dei Lynam, csnphilly.com):
” The Sixers‘ starting center on opening night last season was Spencer Hawes, a player who had 268 previous starts when he took the court that night.
This year’s lead center, Henry Sims, will be making just his 26th start when the Sixers open the regular season against the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 29.
Sims and Hawes traded places last February. That move changed the course of Sims’ career.”
Read it here: http://www.csnphilly.com/basketball-philadelphia-76ers/patience-pays-sixers-center-henry-sims
– Mirotic making a name for himself (from Sam Smith, bulls.com)
” Coach Tom Thibodeau: “I thought he had a really good first day (Tuesday). And then after watching the film, it was even better than I thought. He has a great attitude. He’s going to be a good player. He has a lot to learn. Take it day by day, concentrate on improvement. But he has a lot of pride and great work ethic. But any young player that’s what you’re looking for. How much he plays, I don’t know. We’re going to find out some things early. But I like who he is.
“The thing that I really like about his game is he knows when to shoot and he knows when to pass,” Thibodeau added Wednesday after practice. “He doesn’t force things. When he’s open, he shoots. If you’re closing at him hard, he’ll put it down on the floor. If he’s guarded well, he’ll make a play. Usually when a guy plays like that, the team will function well. Knowing your job and doing your job, those things are critical to winning.”
Read it here: http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/mirotic-making-nick-name-himself
– Terrence Ross working hard to improve and become an essential piece for Raptors (from Mike Ganter, Toronto Sun):
” Terrence Ross knows a good thing when he sees it and when it comes to work habits, he hasn’t seen many as good as those that belong to teammate DeMar DeRozan.
So it was only natural that Ross, in looking to take that next step from being an occasionally solid contributor on the Raptors to one that can be counted on consistently, that he would look to DeRozan for some guidance.
“I’m just trying to stay on pace with him, keep up with him,” Ross said”
Read it here: http://www.edmontonsun.com/2014/10/01/terrence-ross-working-hard-to-improve-and-become-an-essential-piece-for-raptors
– Healthy Jenkins looks to regain form (from Chris Vivlamore, ajc.com):
” October couldn’t arrive fast enough for John Jenkins.
Basketball Intelligence 