– Horford leads Hawks’ healing process (from Michael Wallace, ESPN):
” Physically, Horford is continuing to find silver linings with each step. Despite being held out of team contact drills, he is gradually increasing his workload in camp this week at the University of Georgia amid his second recovery from a torn pectoral muscle last year that ended his season after 29 games.
Mentally, the two-time NBA All-Star is trying to remain engaged as a leader in preparation for an expanded role within second-year coach Mike Budenholzer’s system adopted from San Antonio, one that should enhance Horford’s status as one of the league’s most versatile big men.
Spiritually, the eighth-year veteran and longest-tenured Hawk is working to make peace and move beyond a tumultuous offseason marred by separate racially charged comments from team owner Bruce Levenson and general manager Danny Ferry, who remains on administrative leave.”
– Markieff Morris studied Rodman to lift game (from Randy Hill, Fox Sports Arizona)):
“I watched a lot of film of Dennis Rodman and how active he was on the defensive end,” Markieff, the slightly older of the Suns’ Morris twins, said a few hours after he and brother Marcus signed contract four-year extensions. “He was able to be put on any player on the floor. … I want to be like that.”
The Suns probably would settle if Markieff operated a bit messier for opposing post players and showed up on time in rotation/help situations. It certainly doesn’t hurt the Markieff — listed at 6-feet-10 and 245 pounds — understands where upgrades are required. Much of his self-awareness was developed because he didn’t limit his video study to the work of Rodman.
“I spent a lot of time just watching myself from last year,” Morris said, “and learned that I have to keep myself in tune to the game.
Read it here: http://www.foxsports.com/arizona/story/suns-markieff-morris-studies-rodman-to-lift-game-100314
– Wizards’ Glen Rice Jr. hoping to take advantage of opportunity (from Jorge Castillo, Washington Post)
“I got my second chance,” Rice said. “In the beginning, on my first chance, I might not have done the necessary things to make myself successful. You just never want to mess up that second chance. There aren’t too many second chances that you’re going to get.”
– SVG insists Pistons pour same effort into rebounding at both ends ( from Keith Langlois, pistons.com):
” The Pistons were the NBA’s No. 1 offensive rebounding team a season ago. What Stan Van Gundy finds offensive is they somehow were No. 23 in defensive rebounding.
He looks at the size and athleticism of the trio that started up front – Josh Smith, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond – and wonders how that possibly could be.
“It was inexplicable last year to have Josh, Greg and Andre and be 23rd in defensive rebounding percentage,” he said, especially when they emphatically proved they could corral the same missed shots 94 feet away at the other end of the court. “So when you have a chance to score, you’ll go get the ball. That’s a mentality thing. This should be a great defensive rebounding team.”
And he aims for them to be exactly that this season. It requires the focus to block out every time an opponent’s shot goes up and it takes all five players going after the basketball.”
Read it here: http://www.nba.com/pistons/features/svg-insists-pistons-pour-same-effort-rebounding-both-ends
– Two basketball lifers and their friendship: The Hollins and Westphal story (from Tim Bontemps, NYPost):
” To know the relationship between Lionel Hollins and Paul Westphal you have to go back to the late 1970s, when Westphal was an All-Star shooting guard and go-to scoring option for the Suns, and Hollins was the defensive stopper for the Trail Blazers tasked with slowing him”
When Hollins was putting together his coaching staff this summer, he knew he wanted to bring aboard Westphal, with whom he had worked under Cotton Fitzsimmons in Phoenix 25 years earlier, and for whom he worked as an assistant when Westphal was elevated to replace Fitzsimmons a few years later.”
“I wouldn’t have [been an assistant] in any situation,” Westphal said of taking the Nets job. “I wasn’t desperate to go find a situation, but I definitely wouldn’t have said no to Lionel.
Read it here: http://nypost.com/2014/10/04/from-phoenix-in-the-70s-to-brooklyn-now-the-hollins-and-westphal-story/
– Kings hire statistics guru Dean Oliver (from Jason Jones, Sacramento Bee):
” At one time, Dean Oliver wasn’t widely respected in basketball for his analytic and statistical evaluations.
One of those who took Oliver seriously 10 years ago was Pete D’Alessandro, now the Kings’ general manager.
“I was just trying to get in, and Pete was one of the first people to listen to me,” Oliver said.
This time, Oliver listened to D’Alessandro, who asked him to join the Kings. D’Alessandro introduced Oliver, now recognized as the creator of many of the advanced statistics used by NBA teams, on Friday. Oliver will provide statistical analysis and have a role in personnel decisions.”
” The prime beneficiary from Warriors coach Steve Kerr preaching better ball movement could be Harrison Barnes.
“Those days at least for me, those are going to be put on hold for quite a while,” Barnes said Friday of playing isolation basketball.
Read it here: http://www.contracostatimes.com/warriors/ci_26660588/warriors-notebook-harrison-barnes-should-benefit-from-new
– Varejao goes about business as usual (from Matthew Florjancic, WKYC):
“I’m just going to do what I always did for this team, set screens, roll, get ready to get the ball, be ready to score whenever I get the ball,” Varejao said. “It’s going to be easier to do for everybody. We have some great shooters, and we just have to play off each other.”
Read it here: http://www.wkyc.com/story/sports/nba/cavaliers/2014/10/03/varejao-goes-about-business-as-usual/16680339/
– 76ers trio of lottery picks key to future success (from Associated Press):
– Dwight Howard goes back to his roots with eye on dominating, not just shining (from Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo Sports):
” Looking back, Dwight Howard should’ve resisted the natural inclination to rush himself into that Los Angeles Lakers‘ season. He wanted to be on the floor so badly that opening night, restore his reputation and validate Hollywood’s vision of a Showtime return. Back surgery had come and gone within four months, and there turned out to be a steep price for embracing such a rapid rehabilitation. There were consequences for sacrificing his body, for trying to honor his commitment.
Never did Howard reclaim his agility, explosion and conditioning two years ago, nor did it ever feel fully restored with the Houston Rockets. Howard is an athletic marvel of nature, size and strength and speed that separated him as one of the greatest defensive presences the sport had ever seen out of a center.
Twenty four months later, Howard sits inside a lounge outside the Rockets’ locker room in the Toyota Center, and confirms what everyone else in this training camp tells you: This season, redemption could be his.”
– Defense erases Jeremy Lin & Chandler Parsons? Rockets banking on risky new approach with James Harden (from Moisekebenda Bower, culturemap.com):
” Before he could finish answering a question about his external evaluation of the 2013-14 Houston Rockets, newly-acquired small forward Trevor Ariza allowed a sly smile to slowly spread across his face, a grin that hinted to those within earshot what Ariza would say even before he said it.
At that very moment the unvarnished truth was as obvious as the expression revealed, so there was little reason for Ariza to offer any diplomacy. Last season the Rockets’ offensive brilliance was oftentimes something to behold and admire.
Their defense? That was a different story altogether.
“I thought they were a really good team last year. Could score a lot of points,” said Ariza, recalling his vantage point with the upstart Washington Wizards. “Didn’t really do too much on the defensive end, but again that takes time. Hopefully we can focus on both ends instead of just one.”
– Kevin McHale, entering final year of contract, stays true to himself (from Jonathan Feigen, Houston Chronicle):
” As he began his fourth training camp as Rockets coach, with only coaches and staff remaining from his first, there have been adjustments to the Rockets’ style. He has demanded the more physical style he once played. The Rockets have collected more of the types of players he had wanted all along. There are defensive tweaks. Almost the entire second unit has been rebuilt.
Yet, as he enters the final season of his contract, McHale cites the same values, the same priorities he has been trying to instill since that difficult, rushed first season as Rockets coach. The most tenured players with the Rockets, Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones, said there have been slight changes in schemes, but not in their coach’s style”
– Unselfishness is a huge part of Joakim Noah’s appeal (from Joe Cowley, Chicago Sun-Times):
“For Joakim, he may have to sacrifice some,’’ Thibodeau admitted, when asked about sharing time with Taj Gibson and new addition Pau Gasol. “But that never has been an issue with Joakim. He’s always been a team-first guy. When Omer [Asik] was here, Kurt Thomas, when Jo played, he was great. When he wasn’t playing he was great. I expect the same to hold true.
“There will be times Pau may sit, Taj may sit, Jo may sit. They have to put the team first. When you are in there do everything you can to help the team win. It goes back to the leadership of our main core guys who have been around. They understand winning is the most important thing.’’
– Phil: I won’t infringe on Fisher’s coaching (from Ian Begley, ESPNNewYork):
Read it here: http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/knicks/post/_/id/58861/phil-i-wont-infringe-on-fishers-coaching
– Expect a different Iman Shumpert under Derek Fisher (from Marc Berman, NYPost):
” Nobody is happier to have a coach not named Mike Woodson than Knicks guard Iman Shumpert, who spent last season looking like an angry man with an angry jump shot.
Whether he was angry at former coach Woodson, who rode him hard and criticized him often, wasn’t always clear. Shumpert once said during last season’s misery he was “angry at the world.’’ But he sure isn’t angry at rookie coach Derek Fisher. Shumpert has the utmost respect for Fisher, especially since he buried a 3-pointer in Shumpert’s face last season while playing for the Thunder.”
Read it here: http://nypost.com/2014/10/03/shump-change-thanks-to-fisher-influence/
– Brad Stevens raves about new Boston Celtics assistant Darren Erman (from Jay King, Masslive.com):
” The lone new Boston Celtics assistant coach, Darren Erman, has wasted no time making a positive impression on Brad Stevens.
“He’s really studied the game,” Stevens said Friday night prior to a scrimmage at the TD Garden. “And I think that adds just another good, young ambitious guy that’s really excited to help these guys get better. And he spends a lot of time, as do all of our assistants, with the individuals. That’s as big of a key right now as anything else.”
“Darren’s really a great defensive coach,” Stevens said. “He’s more than that. I think sometimes we pigeon-hole guys because he’s obviously specialized in that. But he is detail-oriented as detail-oriented gets. If your hands aren’t in the right place as you’re guarding in a pick-and-roll, or if your body positioning’s not at the right angle, or you don’t guard the post in the exact right way, he’ll stop it and he’ll correct it.”
Read it here: http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2014/10/brad_stevens_raves_about_new_b.html
– Pistons’ Season might hinge on Brandon Jennings (from Dan Feldman< Detroit Free Press):
” Last season, Jennings quietly developed his passing skills. His 7.6 assists per game and 2.8-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio were career highs.
Jennings’ shot selection — many off-balance long jumpers — did him in offensively, and his defense was putrid. By no means did Jennings have a good year.
But a point guard who can distribute and has raw scoring talent? Well, that’s a place to start.
Jennings must clean up his defense, and hopefully, Van Gundy’s more organized system gets the point guard on the right track. If Drummond continues to develop on that end, his shot blocking could erase some of Jennings’ mistakes, too.
Addressing Jennings’ offense will be more important.”
Read it here: http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2014/10/03/detroit-pistons-brandon-jennings/16636379/
– Raptors’ future includes DeMar DeRozan, but what about Amir Johnson? ( From Eric Koreen, National Post):
Read it here: http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/10/03/toronto-raptors-future-includes-demar-derozan-but-what-about-amir-johnson/
– Lakers’ Steve Nash rejuvenated but realistic at 40 (from Bruce Arthur, thestar.com):
” Nash will turn 41 in February, the oldest man in the NBA, a father of three. For two years his body had been wracked with bolts of nerve pain, half-crippling him; he would do the work, calm the nerve down, but it always awoke again. Nash looked old out there. He knew it, too.
And heading into what may be the final season of a brilliant career, Steve Nash feels good again. He doesn’t know for how long; he knows how quickly it could all vanish again. But it’s not over, not yet.
“I was playing soccer, and I went out there and after a few minutes I said, holy s—,” says Nash, on the phone from Los Angeles. “I’m 100 per cent. Stop, start, change direction, mobility, explosiveness — I could go as hard as I wanted. So the next step was, is this going to sustain itself? Because I was used to the whole ‘hey, something will happen in the next two weeks that will kind of knock you back.’
“And it never really happened. I just kept going all summer. I never really had a setback”
Read it here: http://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/2014/10/03/lakers_steve_nash_rejuvenated_but_realistic_at_40_arthur.html
– Circumstances move Pacers sharpshooter Chris Copeland to small forward (from Scott Agness, vigilantsports.com):
” Circumstances kept him out of the rotation last season, and this year it’s different circumstances that are re-directing him to small forward.
“We were looking at our options,” said Pacers head coach Frank Vogel, “and I’ve always been mindful of trying to get Cope on the floor more and it just made sense that, even though he’s not a natural small forward in my mind, he’s capable if he’s made that way full-time, if he’s made to learn those responsibilities full-time.”
Read it here: http://www.vigilantsports.com/2014/10/02/circumstances-move-pacers-sharpshooter-chris-copeland-to-small-forward/
–Russell Westbrook, Reggie Jackson and the Thunder’s Backcourt (from Ben Dowsett, BBallbreakdown.com):
” When Westbrook was on the court without Jackson last year, Oklahoma City posted a net rating of plus 4.6 (per 100 possessions), according to NBA.com. A respectable number, to be sure, equivalent to just short of Indiana’s 7th ranked figure stretched over the entirety of the season. But when Jackson was inserted alongside Russ, the number skyrocketed to plus 17.82, a total that would have more than doubled San Antonio’s league-best mark over the full year. Come playoff time, Brooks seemingly realized (or was forced to realize) how to better play the hand he was dealt, more than doubling the pairing’s nightly minutes together. The effect was still very noticeable, if not quite as drastic – a 7.8 point increase in net differential compared to 13.2 for the regular season. In both cases, the Thunder with both Westbrook and Jackson were among the league’s elite, while they were simply above average with just Russ.
Some portion of the reasoning behind this requires no special analysis. Minutes with both together typically featured far less of Kendrick Perkins, a notable factor to consider on its own. Further, Jackson is just a better basketball player than Thabo Sefolosha, Derrick Fisher or Jeremy Lamb, the three other guards most commonly sharing the backcourt with Russ. Sefolosha was the most frequent mate, and he was just terrible, posting marked regressions from previous seasons in several vital areas.
But he’s gone to Atlanta now, potentially saving Brooks from himself and opening the door for a Westbrook-Jackson starting unit that demolished opponents together last season.”
Read it here: http://www.bballbreakdown.com/russell-westbrook-reggie-jackson-and-the-thunders-backcourt/2014/10/03/
-Bucks’ Brandon Knight works hard to make a point (from Charles F Gardner, jsonline.com):
” Knight made it clear in his comments on media day and again Wednesday that he considers himself a point guard, not a combo guard.
“It’s my best position,” he said. “Point guards have to be able to beat their guy, get in the paint and make the right decision. I can get in the paint at any time.
“So it was just a matter of me making the right decision, whether it be to score the basketball or get guys involved. I know from playing point and being in the NBA the last couple years, that I’ve improved at the spot. It’s not something you just pick up right away.”
Read it here: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/bucks/bucks-brandon-knight-works-hard-to-make-a-point-b99362626z1-277838881.html
– Josh Howard Attempting NBA Comeback (from Eddie Scarito, hoopsrumors.com):
Read it here: http://www.hoopsrumors.com/2014/10/howard-attempting-comeback.html
– The Story Behind the Wilt Chamberlain Postage Stamp (from Donald Hunt, phillytrib.com)
Read it here: http://www.phillytrib.com/article_b579ac49-6bcb-5faf-8b0a-ef9cf56bfc5b.html
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