– After gold-medal summer, Cousins is key to Kings’ improvement (from Ailene Voisin, Sacramento Bee):
Read it here: http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/article3380038.html
– Omer Asik — defense, toughness and unselfishness — is who the Pelicans were looking for at center (from Scott Kushner, theadvocate.com):
“He knows who he is,” said Rockets coach Kevin McHale, who coached Asik for two seasons before Houston traded him to New Orleans for a protected first-round draft pick as part of a three-team deal in June. “I think in our league, finding out who you are and accepting who you are is important.
“Believe me, Omer is not out there trying to make 3s. He knows who he is and what he does. I think that’s always the biggest thing with young guys is they try to do everything. He knows exactly what he can do, and he does it very well. He is one of the top centers in the league because of it.”
Asik, 28, has spent his entire basketball career, across two continents, trying to become the best player in the world between the low blocks. He doesn’t express much interest in the rest of the court.
“I play defense, and I rebound,” he said. “It’s what I’ve always done.””
Read it here: http://theadvocate.com/sports/pelicans/10596308-148/omer-asik-defense-toughness
– Brad Stevens’ aim: Cure Celtics shooting pains (from Mark Murphy, Boston Herald):
“I don’t think you can be overhauled as a shooter and go through that mental drain of thinking, ‘Did I catch it exactly right? Were my feet exactly right?’ ” he said. “You have to have confidence that you’ve put in the reps to make the shot. The right reps take care of it.”
We asked Stevens for his view of five Celtics in the process of changing their shooting habits. Here is Stevens’ breakdown:”
Read it here: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/boston_celtics/2014/10/brad_stevens_aim_cure_celtics_shooting_pains
– In Year 2 of rebuilding plan, Danny Ainge likes where Celtics headed (from Gary Washburn, Boston Globe):
” This Celtics era has no catchy name. Twenty-five win teams don’t carry swagger. The Celtics spent each day trying to figure out how to get better, how to compete and thrive again, how to emerge from being the fourth priority in this sports-crazed city and how to acquire the star talent required to return to prominence.
“We don’t really look at it as rebuilding or changing direction, we’re trying to build a championship,” said Ainge matter-of-factly. “We have some really nice players and I know Brad is really understanding the NBA game and all the things that come from making the transition to coaching in college. I couldn’t be happier with Brad and his staff. I think he’s done a great job of communicating to all the players.”
– It’s a Trap (from ZacharyBD, canishoopus):
” This is the zone-trap scheme Flip Saunders elected to deploy during the first quarter of Friday’s preseason game against the Chicago Bulls. It wasn’t very effective. Here’s why.”
Read and view it here: http://www.canishoopus.com/2014/10/25/7070845/knee-jerk-notes-its-a-trap
– Lionel Hollins Q & A (from Steve Serby, NYPost.com):
Read it here: http://nypost.com/2014/10/26/serbys-sunday-qa-with-lionel-hollins/
– Return of Arron Afflalo brings a changing of the guard rotation (from Christopher Dempsey, Denver Post):
” Gone are Andre Miller, who left the team last January, and Aaron Brooks, who was a free agent. In is Arron Afflalo, who pushes Randy Foye back to a reserve role. Last year’s top reserves were Miller, Brooks, Nate Robinson and Evan Fournier. It’s now Foye and Robinson to whom coach Brian Shaw will turn to off the bench.
The guard quartet is as diverse as the Nuggets hope it is effective, the four bringing a specific set of skills Connelly believes mixes well, making it one of the easiest parts of the team’s puzzle that Shaw had to assemble. Now comes the more difficult part, with the season starting Wednesday. Coaxing big-time performances out of them all season long in order to stay competitive in a Western Conference loaded with top-flight backcourts.”
Read it here: http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_26800074/return-arron-affalo-brings-changing-guard-rotation
-Phoenix Suns coach Jeff Hornacek’s goal: sustain success (from Paul Coro, azcentral.com):
” While the Suns were winning over their fans again last season, the coaching staff was winning over the Suns.
Jeff Hornacek, a rookie head coach, and his staff struck the ideal balance between communication and accountability to gain the respect and effort of a young team. It worked for a 23-win improvement during a season that was a constant learning process for a new staff.
Ideally, that base has made it easier to make the next steps for the staff. They can throw new wrinkles into the system. They no longer have to spend time finding out where players like the ball and who plays and defends well together, other than newcomers.
“We didn’t really know what we were going to get last year and the way they would play together,” Hornacek said. “We’re getting a better feeling as time goes on.””
Read it here: http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2014/10/24/phoenix-suns-coach-jeff-hornaceks-goal-sustain-success/17879611/
– 2014-15 Phoenix Suns a chemistry project in progress (from Paul Coro, azcentral.com):
” (Isaiah)Thomas has a good feel for the Suns’ chemistry, having come from a Kings team without the same selfless elements.
“Compared to what I’ve been through, it’s 100 percent different,” Thomas said. “We still have to work through some things to get used to playing with each other. But every game since we’ve started feels like a regular-season moment because everybody’s happy for each other. Everybody is trying to see each other succeed. It’s definitely different. Guys are playing for each other, to make the next guy better.”
“Chemistry is the point of our team that we had last year,” (Eric) Bledsoe said. “Everybody wants to win. Everybody wants to share the ball. Nobody’s selfish. No one man is above the team. That’s what is so special about the team.”
Read it here: http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2014/10/24/phoenix-suns-chemistry-project-progress/17883693/
– Phoenix Suns’ backcourt game remains on point (from Paul Coro, azcentral.com):
” Phoenix has become the point guard capital of the world with a triple-threat backcourt made up of three of the NBA’s best, uniform Nos. 1, 2 and 3: Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas.”
Read it here: http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2014/10/24/phoenix-suns-backcourt-game-remains-point/17882877/
-Series of circumstances led cerebral coach David Blatt to the Cavaliers (from Jason Lloyd, Akron Beacon-Journal):
Read it here: http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/series-of-circumstances-led-cerebral-coach-david-blatt-to-the-cavaliers-1.534865
– How Phil Jackson, Derek Fisher and Carmelo Anthony form ultimate triangle (from Frank Isola, NYDailyNews.com):
” Carmelo Anthony was driving through Beverly Hills in early July, still five days away from formally announcing the biggest decision of his professional life, when the Knicks’ best player had an epiphany.
“I believe in Phil,” Anthony told the Daily News that day. “I want to make this work in New York. That’s where I want to be. I want to win in New York.”
Winning in New York, as any long-suffering Knicks fan can attest, has been close to impossible since the franchise’s last championship team in 1973, which featured a gangly power forward whose parents, Assemblies of God preachers, would not have approved of his recreational drug use. That was a long time ago. How long? Just 15 months after Phil Jackson helped the Knicks win a second title in five seasons, Derek Fisher was born in Little Rock, Ark.”
– In high-scoring, fast-paced, less-physical NBA, thin is in (from Stefan Bondy, NYDailynews.com):
Read it here:http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/zone-high-scoring-fast-paced-less-physical-nba-thin-article-1.1987046
– How I Spent My Summer Vacation (from Kevin Love, theplayerstribune.com):
Read it here: http://www.theplayerstribune.com/kevin-love-how-i-spent-my-summer-vacation/
– In Search of the Elusive Makeup Call (from Zach Lowe, Grantland.com):
” The makeup call is an infuriating piece of NBA folklore. We assume it exists, rolling our eyes as officials compensate for one mistake by piling on another. But it takes work to prove something is real, and the NBA will fight like hell against any suggestion that its officials operate with something below pristine integrity. One referee sued a courtside reporter who claimed to overhear the promise of a makeup call.
The fight will take a new turn in the coming weeks, when the journal Economic Inquiry publishes what is among the first peer-reviewed study claiming to present strong evidence of possible makeup calls. Paul Gift, the author of the study and an economics professor at Pepperdine University, scoured five years of play-by-play data to see if particular calls against one team triggered a pattern of calls against the other.”
Read it here: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/makeup-call-nba-referees-paul-gift/
– Pistons need Jennings to live up to his potential (from Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press):
“I think the main thing with him is he’s played with good energy and he’s done that consistently throughout,” Van Gundy said last week. “He’s also looked to make plays for his teammates, which has been a criticism of him, but it certainly can’t be through this camp. He’s really looked to make plays to his teammates.
“When he’s attacking, playing with energy and getting into the paint, creating for other people, then we’re pretty good.”
But that is the rub.
There are nights when Jennings looks like one of the most talented point guards in the league (he had a 55-point night with the Bucks in 2009 in just the seventh game of his career).
Then there are nights when he shows why he has shot more than 40% for a season only one time in his career. On those nights when he is taking contested, bad shots, fans are thinking options B, C or D are better alternatives.
So of all the keys to the season — which begins Wednesday at Denver — the growth of Jennings could be the most important.”
Read it here: http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2014/10/25/detroit-pistons-brandon-jennings/17905211/
– Butler, Singler, Martin give Pistons a little bit of everything at small forward (from Keith Langlois, nba.com/pistons):
Read it here: http://www.nba.com/pistons/features/butler-singler-martin-give-pistons-little-bit-everything-small-forward
– 5 reasons Wizards chose Rasual Butler (from J Michael, csnwashington.com):
” Rasual Butler, a 35-year-old and unlikely 15th man for the Wizards, beat out the younger Xavier Silas, John Lucas and Damion James for the spot Saturday and for good reasons”
Read it here: http://www.csnwashington.com/basketball-washington-wizards/talk/morning-tip-5-reasons-wizards-chose-rasual-butler
Pelicans Preseason Statistical Wrapup (from David Fisher, thebirdwrites.com):
Read it here: http://www.thebirdwrites.com/2014/10/26/7062077/preseason-statistical-wrap-up
More Player Updates:
– Jarrett Jack: http://web.yesnetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20141025&content_id=99460714&oid=36318
– James Young: http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4715288/james-young-set-to-grow-in-the-nba
– Amar’e Stoudemire: http://nypost.com/2014/10/25/knicks-have-changed-since-amare-came-so-has-the-perception-of-him/
– Lance Thomas: http://www.nba.com/thunder/trainingcamp_141025
– Draymond Green: http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/25/67riefns-warriors-starters-with-draymond-green/
– Isaiah Canaan: http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2014/10/canaan-puts-in-work-reaps-playing-time-with-rockets/#27356101=0
– Elfrid Payton: http://www.thetowntalk.com/story/sports/nba/2014/10/25/paytons-dream-fulfilled-new-orleans/17938655/
– Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: http://www.journalnow.com/sports/pro_sports/basketball/hornets-kidd-gilchrist-maturing-into-leader/article_351452ea-86a3-55b5-ae1e-7b6364fbe368.html
– Anthony Bennett: http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/280434192.html
– Marquis Teague: http://www.csnphilly.com/basketball-philadelphia-76ers/marquis-teague-sixers-tempo-fits-me-perfect
QOTD: Kings Coach Mike Malone on DeMarcus Cousins’ turnovers:
Basketball Intelligence 