-Steven Adams’ improved offensive touch leads to breakout preseason, high expectations (from Anthony Slater, newsok.com):
” Steven Adams returned to training camp this year a much improved offensive player. He showed flashes last season, but his production was inconsistent and limited. This season, the difference has been clear.”
– Avery Bradley’s rise began in Maine (from Chris Forsberg, ESPN):
Paul Pierce started laughing the moment Avery Bradley walked into the locker room. The Boston Celtics were in Charlotte in February 2011, and Bradley had just been recalled from the NBA Development League for emergency depth. The rookie’s hair had grown out while on assignment, and Pierce howled at the sight before asking Bradley, “Are there no barbershops in Maine?”
The laughing stopped a couple of days later. Bradley, his confidence rebuilt after a nine-game stint with the team’s minor league affiliate, was having an eyebrow-raising practice. The Celtics were in 5-on-5 half-court drills late in the session when Bradley attacked the basket and threw down a dunk over center Kendrick Perkins.
“I was a completely different person when I came back from Maine,” Bradley said. “I remember I came back, and I hadn’t got a haircut, and they called me a ‘man on a mission.’ That first practice, when I dunked on Perk and Doc ended it, from that day on, I felt like I belonged in this league.”
The 23-year-old Bradley is entering his fifth season with the Celtics. He signed his first big-money extension this past summer, and he’s the second-longest tenured player on the team behind only Rajon Rondo. That assignment to Maine feels like a lifetime ago, as does a short stint playing overseas in Israel soon after while the NBA navigated a lockout. But both trips to the basketball hinterlands were instrumental in shaping Bradley as a person and as a player.”
Read it here: http://espn.go.com/boston/nba/story/_/id/11722656/boston-celtics-guard-avery-bradley-rise-began-d-league-maine-red-claws
– Rajon Rondo feels positive vibe (from Mark Murphy, Boston Herald):
” It’s either help teach the youngsters, or spend his time as a hermit in the trainer’s room waiting for his left hand to heal. That’s simply not in the nature of a player who envisions himself as a coach.
So Rondo, in his physically restricted capacity, takes part in skeleton drills and gets in the ear of rookie Marcus Smart. He discusses schemes with members of the staff.
But for the second straight year, and probably more this time, Rondo likes the message. Stevens’ mantra is positive and detail-heavy, and Rondo considers it infectious.
“He’s very positive — the most positive coach I’ve been around in my career, and it’s hard not to play for a guy like that,” Rondo said this week. “That’s every day — not just in the locker room. He’s that way off the court, with his family. He’s a role model. He has all of the characteristics of a great leader. He’s great at what he does. He’s all about the team.””
Read it here: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/boston_celtics/2014/10/rajon_rondo_feels_positive_vibe
– For Enes Kanter, the time is now (from Tony Jones, Salt Lake Tribune):
” This is shaping up as Kanter’s make-or-break year in Utah and he knows it. It’s his chance to prove to coach Quin Snyder, General Manager Dennis Lindsey and the rest of the Utah Jazz brass that he’s capable of being a key piece of the franchise and a part of the future.
It won’t be easy. Kanter also knows this. He’s the one guy in the starting lineup who has to make a significant skill adjustment to fit into Snyder’s new offense. He’s the one player facing constant pressure for playing time, with the emergence of center Rudy Gobert and the free agent signing of power forward Trevor Booker. He’s the guy who has struggled defensively in past seasons.
Enes Kanter has a lot to prove. And he is embracing it. If he’s to be a cornerstone going forward, the time to show it is now.”
Read it here: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/jazz/58533725-87/kanter-season-enes-forward.html.csp
– Quin Snyder and Utah Jazz players are a good match (from Gordon Monson, sltrib.com):
” The Jazz, to varying levels of success, are attempting to build their new model here, their new way of playing, their new way of thinking. And they’re doing it completely unencumbered by those awful restrictions of the past, namely using veteran players who have no future with the team at the expense of younger players who do.
Quin Snyder is flipping that script.
…(T)he matching of a new coach, Snyder, with a new offensive philosophy that utilizes patterns and spacing and sharing and movement and transition, with a fresh way of approaching both success and shortcomings, with this particular group of players is a positive one.
Let’s say it all plain here: Last season, there was frustration from all the losing, but there was also frustration among some of the key pieces because of the way the Jazz were being asked to play. This season, there may be frustration at losing, but not at the methodology. Implementation and execution may be imperfect, but players are straight-up excited to see where this new approach will take them, or where they can take themselves within this system.”
Read it here: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/jazz/58529824-87/players-snyder-jazz-exum.html.csp
– Bucks’ versatile frontcourt players provide reason for optimism (from Charles F Gardner, jsonline.com):
“A versatile big man group provides some reason for optimism as the Milwaukee Bucks wind down the preseason and begin preparing for the Oct. 29 opener in Charlotte.
Larry Sanders and John Henson can be rim protectors and contribute to the offense. Zaza Pachulia is the team’s most experienced player at age 30 and fits well with coach Jason Kidd’s system relying on big men as playmakers.
Veteran Ersan Ilyasova can challenge defenses as a “stretch 4.”
Most impressive is the way rookie Jabari Parker has adjusted to the power forward position in training camp. The 6-foot-8 Parker gives the Bucks a “mobile big” who can blast past bigger defenders, as he did Friday night with a dazzling spin move for a two-handed dunk to put away the Minnesota Timberwolves.
A word of warning, however.
Keeping the group healthy will be a major challenge over an 82-game schedule.”
Read it here: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/bucks/bucks-versatile-frontcourt-players-provide-reason-for-optimism-b99372706z1-279686072.html
-Jrue Holiday making a push to be an effective combo guard (from John Reid, NOLA.com):
” As long as they win, New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday doesn’t mind sharing point guard duties with Tyreke Evans, Austin Rivers, Jimmer Fredette or rookie Russ Smith.
Based on how Coach Monty Williams has used his backcourt rotation in the preseason, Holiday is probably going have to get used to playing off the ball as well as work as the team’s primary ballhandler.”
Read it here: http://www.nola.com/pelicans/index.ssf/2014/10/jrue_holiday_has_no_problem_pl.html
– Q&A with Jose Calderon (from Steve Serby, NYPost.com):
Read the interview here: http://nypost.com/2014/10/18/serbys-sunday-qa-with-jose-calderon/
– Fully Healthy, Wilson Chandler Wants Playoffs & Sixth Man Award (from Jack Winter, dimemag.com):
” Fed up with nagging consequences of hip surgery, Chandler took a new approach to offseason training this summer. He not only worked on strengthening his hip, but also his hamstrings, groin, and glutes. The results have been overwhelming: Chandler says he hasn’t felt so healthy in a long, long time.
The multi-faceted Chandler took time from his busy preseason schedule recently to talk with Dime, and touched on his successful rehab, the differences of playing under George Karl and Brian Shaw, and individual and team aspirations for 2014-2015. Considering his wildly improved health and obvious confidence, let’s just say we wouldn’t be surprised if the 27 year-old Chandler not only helps the Nuggets to the playoffs, but achieves his goal of winning Sixth Man of the Year, too.”
Read the Q & A here: http://dimemag.com/2014/10/dime-qa-fully-healthy-wilson-chandler-wants-playoffs-sixth-man-award/
– James Johnson discovers his role in the NBA (from Gary Washburn, Boston Globe):
” The 16th overall pick in 2009 was looking for work last December before signing a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies and flourishing off the bench. His work earned a two-year deal to return to Toronto, where he said he made mistakes during his first tenure.
Johnson said he expected a large role and responsibility once he was drafted by the Bulls out of Wake Forest. He and Jeff Teague starred in Winston-Salem, N.C., and he expected to team with Derrick Rose to become a Chicago favorite.
The problem was Johnson never had a true position, too bulky to flourish at a small forward and too diminutive to defend power forwards. He possessed delusions of grandeur without having paid his dues.”
– Gordon Brothers (Drew and Aaron) Live Out Long-Time Dream (from John Denton, nba.com/magic):
” Drew, a 24-year-old journeyman hoping to make the Sixers’ roster, and Aaron, a 19-year-old prized rookie for the Magic, were on the same court together at the NBA level on Saturday night in Allentown, Pa. The two were first on the floor together late in the first quarter, but weren’t guarding each other because of their position differences.
Saturday’s game marked a moment that the two highly competitive brothers have dreamed of and discussed since they used to battle in the backyard of their San Jose, Calif., home years ago. Drew got the upper hand on Saturday, scoring 16 points and grabbing six rebounds in Philadelphia’s 95-84 defeat of the Magic. Aaron, who played extended minutes the night before in a defeat of Detroit, played just five minutes on Saturday and did not score.
“I’m really proud of (Drew) because he’s going through a lot of trials in his life and to see him out there with a NBA jersey on, it means a lot to me,’’ Aaron said. “And to be out there, talk a little bit of mess with him, it’s just really cool. I know that a lot of people aren’t able to say that they played in the NBA against their brother and now I’m able to say that.’’”
Read it here: http://www.nba.com/magic/gordon-brothers-live-out-long-time-dream
– Dion Waiters will continue to stay aggressive but not if it’s a detriment to the Cleveland Cavaliers (from Chris Haynes, cleveland.com):
“The three-year NBA guard is the player he is today by always keeping his foot firmly on the gas pedal. He doesn’t know any other way to play. That’s what makes him a special player.
It’s not to say he doesn’t need to tone it down for the betterment of the team. He simply has to pick his spots within the scheme of the offense.
“I got to be aggressive. That’s me. That’s who I am, but I’m not going to do anything to hurt the team,” Waiters said. “If I feel as though I’m shooting too much, I’m going to look for guys. I’m going to try to play the game in different ways. I took the shots that were given to me.”
Read it here: http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2014/10/dion_waiters_will_continue_to.html
– Timberwolves rookie LaVine studying to play both guard positions (from Jerry Zgoda, Startribune.com):
“When Ricky Rubio sat out Friday against Milwaukee to get rested and presumably ready for Sunday’s meeting with Russell Westbrook, Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders placed the ball where he has more often than you’d think during a preseason in which more than half the games remain.
He put it in the hands of rookie Zach LaVine.
It’s a slightly unexpected place, entrusted with a raw 19-year-old who barely played the point-guard position during his one collegiate season at UCLA – and comparatively didn’t play all that much there at all – but now is learning to play both guard positions at the game’s highest level.
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