Bucks eager to return home to face Pistons
While the Milwaukee Bucks haven’t encountered any success on the road, they’ve been plenty impressive at home.
Looking to stay undefeated at the Bradley Center, Milwaukee tries to add to the Detroit Pistons’ recent woes Thursday night.
The Bucks, who dropped to 0-6 on the road after losing five times on their recently completed trip, bounced back with Tuesday’s 106-103 win over San Antonio. Milwaukee posted its highest-scoring game of the season in improving to 3-0 at home, where it’s averaging 102.0 points on 48.8 percent shooting – significantly higher than its road marks of 88.8 and 40.3.
While returning home surely helped their cause, the Bucks (3-6) also greatly benefited from having former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Bogut back on the court. After missing four games while dealing with personal issues in his native Australia, Bogut posted 14 points and 11 rebounds.
“It’s just as important as having breath. We need the big fella,” said Stephen Jackson, who recorded season highs of 34 points and eight assists. “To have him, to have a post presence … it was definitely special. I can’t say how big it was to have him back.
“We just wanted to get back to winning some games. It felt good to win at home, it was a big game and hopefully it will carry over to the next one.”
Milwaukee has to like its chances of keeping things going against the reeling Pistons (2-8), who have been outscored by an average of 20.0 points during a five-game losing streak. One day after dropping to 0-4 on the road with a 92-68 loss to Chicago, Detroit fell 100-86 at home to Dallas on Tuesday.
“This process (of rebuilding) may be very painful,” coach Lawrence Frank said. “It doesn’t get better just because you want it to get better. I hope we are all frustrated, because when you are, you have two options. The first is to work harder and understand what you want to do. The second choice isn’t an option.
“Everyone wants a baby, but few people want to go through the pregnancy. This is going to be hard.”
The Pistons were without Rodney Stuckey (sore groin) and Charlie Villanueva (sore right ankle) for a fourth consecutive game. Stuckey is averaging 10.8 points, while Villanueva has played just six minutes all season.
Brandon Knight, selected eighth overall in June’s draft, has averaged 13.5 points while starting in place of Stuckey. He has, however, committed 17 turnovers over that stretch – including six of the Pistons’ season high-tying 21 on Tuesday.
“You’ve got to take care of the ball to win games,” forward Jonas Jerebko told Detroit’s official website. ” … We’re trying to keep our heads straight. It’s early in the season. There are a lot of games left and we know how we can play, so we just have to stay positive. We’re going to get some wins. We’ve just got to stay together.”
While not much has gone their way recently, the Pistons have certainly held their own in this series of late. Detroit has won 14 of the last 19 meetings with Milwaukee, including 110-100 in the most recent matchup April 8 thanks in part to a combined 37 points from Stuckey and Villanueva.
The Pistons haven’t lost six in a row since an 11-game slide March 13-April 3, 2010.
View full post on Yardbarker: NBA
Chris Wilcox, Keyon Dooling, Brandon Bass Comprise Trio of New Celtics Eager to Get Going in Boston
The Celtics had media day on Tuesday in Waltham, a day that is old hat for a core of valuable C’s like Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Media day also presented a chance for an introduction for a trio of new Celtics, as Chris Wilcox, Keyon Dooling and Brandon Bass all met with the media to talk about their separate paths to Boston and what they can do to help get back to the promised land. Tuesday also marked Jeff Green’s return to the practice court after sitting out with an undisclosed injury. Green sounds eager…
View full post on Yardbarker: NBA
New Mavs Odom, Carter eager to help defend title
New Dallas Mavericks Lamar Odom and Vince Carter say they are looking forward to helping Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd defend the NBA championship.
Odom has some experience in doing just that, having won the two previous championships with the Lakers.
Carter is an accomplished veteran whose career resume is missing only a title. His hunger could be as much as of a spark as Odom’s know-how.
Coach Rick Carlisle has yet to put the newcomers through a practice, so he said Tuesday it is too soon to talk about the lineup.
But he’s thrilled to have Odom, Carter and more additions on the way – backup point guard Delonte West and swingman Rudy Fernandez, who has cleared up visa problems and is finally headed to Dallas.
View full post on Yardbarker: NBA
Wolves’ Rubio eager to make his NBA debut
MINNEAPOLIS Ricky Rubio has been in town for onlya day, but the Timberwolves’ new point guard was already well acclimated to the Minnesota winter when he arrived at Target Center on Wednesday.
“Yesterday I got here, and it was freezing,” said Rubio, the 21-year-old Spanish phenom who is finally joining the Timberwolves after being drafted No. 5 overall in 2009. “It’s nice to see some snow in the street because I’m from Barcelona and I’ve never seen a lot of snow there. It’s kind of nice at the moment.”
Rubio is one of several new pieces the Timberwolves added in the offseason, along with rookie forward Derrick Williams of Arizona and new head coach Rick Adelman. Though he hasn’t stepped on an NBA court yet, the expectations are already high for the charismatic Rubio, who played with and against other NBA players in Los Angeles during the league’s lockout.
Hespent the most time this offseason trying to fine-tune his jump shot, which has always been perhaps one of the weaker parts of his game.
“I know that I have to improve a lot,” Rubio said of his jump shooting. “I’m doing well on them. I improved a little bit.”
Getting the slick-passing Rubio to Minnesota wasn’t easy for Wolves president of basketball operations David Kahn. After Rubio was selected in the 2009 draft, he opted to play in Spain for two seasons. There were questions whether Minneapolis was a big enough market for an international star such as Rubio, and his game still had to develop before he could make the leap to the NBA.
This offseason, Rubio finally decided to head to the United States and Minnesota to fulfill his dream of playing in the NBA. Then, the league’s lockout hit. During that time, a bit of uncertainty crept into Rubio’s mind as to whether he made the right decision to leave Spain.
“Maybe last week I was a little worried that there wouldn’t be an agreement and they were too far away,” Rubio said Wednesday. “All the time I was thinking about the decision that I made, if it was the right one. When you (make) the decision, you have to think that it’s the best one.”
With the lockout set to officially end soon, and the Wolves opening camp on Friday, Rubio’s decision to leave appears to be the right one.
While in L.A., Rubio worked out and played against several NBA players, including Derek Fisher, Paul Pierce and former Timberwolves star Kevin Garnett. The two talked about what Rubio could expect in Minnesota not so much regarding basketball but about living in the state and the people he will encounter in the Twin Cities.
“He said people over here (are) really nice. You’re going to feel (comfortable),” Rubio said of Garnett’s advice. “The fans are amazing because even in those years that are not great years (for) the Wolves, they’re still coming and they’ll still support you. They love basketball. They love you if you do the right things (and) you work hard. They’re going to give support (to) you.”
Rubio also kept in contact with former Spaniard and current free agent Marc Gasol, a center who has spent his entire three-year career with the Memphis Grizzlies.
“I talked to him and said if he wants to come, I can talk with the coach or with the GM because he’s really, really good. If not the first one, he’s in the top free agents,” Rubio said. “I don’t know if Memphis is going to let him go, but if they do, I dream about him coming here and playing with us.”
Rubio was one of several Timberwolves players working out Wednesday at the team’s practice facility. Joining him were Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, Anthony Tolliver, Darko Millicic, Nikola Pekovic and Wesley Johnson. The rookie point guard arrived after most of the other players’ workouts had begun, but Rubio was greeted by high-fives and handshakes from his new teammates when he did take the court.
It was clear that the veteran Wolves players are looking forward to the youngster running the point this season.
“He’s a pretty electrifying player, definitely a great passer, gets you the ball where it needs to be at the right time,” Tolliver said of Rubio. “I’ve only played with a couple other point guards that are that aware. He’s that type of guy, and I’m pretty excited about it.”
Rubio will be tested early by some of the league’s top point guards. Minnesota opens the 2011-12 season at home against Oklahoma City and guard Russell Westbrook. In three of the Wolves’ next four games, Rubio will face Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings, Dallas’ Jason Kidd andSan Antonio’sTony Parker.
It will be baptism by fire for Rubio in his first week in the league, but he believes he’s ready.
“If you continue seeing all the good teams, it’s going to be tough point guards,” Rubio said. “All the NBA teams have tough, tough point guards who are great. It’s going to be tough, but I’m going to love it.”
View full post on Yardbarker: NBA
Jazz coach Corbin eager to get going (AP)
After being thrown into the fire following Jerry Sloan’s abrupt retirement in February, Utah Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin has had to wait, albeit impatiently, for his first true season as head coach. Now the former journeyman player finds himself in crunch time, with the lockout-shortened NBA season leaving him with precious little time to prepare a young, fairly inexperienced team.
View full post on Yahoo! Sports – NBA News
Pacers eager to deal with Rush’s tweets
The Indiana Pacers can’t yet talk to guard Brandon Rush about insensitive comments that recently were posted on his Twitter account.
During a disagreement, an anti-homosexual slur was posted on Rush’s account, @IamThaKing25. The comment and the rest of the thread have since been removed. Rush’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, said the account was hacked.
Pacers President Larry Bird and General Manager David Morway still aren’t allowed to talk to players because the NBA lockout isn’t officially over.
Bird spoke in general terms about mistakes Thursday.
”I was young once,” he said. ”I did a lot of things I regret. All we can do is inform the guys how we feel about it and be careful out there.”
Bird said it’s a ”different world” now, and that’s why he doesn’t have a Twitter account. Still, he trusts his players.
”We have concerns, but the culture here is a lot different than it’s been in the past,” he said. ”We expect our players to do the right things, and I think they will.”
Morway said Clark Kellogg, the team’s vice president of player relations, helps the players understand what risks are posed by social media missteps.
”The league is reviewing the social media policies all the time,” Morway said. ”Our team’s always looking at that, and Clark (Kellogg) always talks to our players about all of those issues. We hope that they’re going to make good decisions.”
View full post on Yardbarker: NBA
Izzo, Williams eager for Carrier Classic (AP)
The aircraft carrier that buried Osama bin Laden at sea is ready for the first college basketball game to be played on an active flat top. As long as the rain stays away from the Carrier Classic on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson on Friday afternoon, coaches Tom Izzo of Michigan State and Roy Williams of No.
View full post on Yahoo! Sports – NCAA Men’s Hoops News
Pistons’ Villanueva eager to play but fully supports union
Detroit Pistons power forward Charlie Villanueva said the players union will stay united against the owners in the NBA lockout.
View full post on USATODAY.com Nba
A-10 commish eager for Brooklyn tourney (AP)
Rhode Island coach Jim Baron remembers sneaking into college basketball games at Madison Square Garden as a kid growing up in Brooklyn. Baron’s Rams and their Atlantic 10 brethren will now star in what they hope will be the latest installment of big-time hoops in New York City. The conference formally announced Wednesday that its men’s basketball tournament would move to the Barclays…
View full post on Yahoo! Sports – NCAA Men’s Hoops News
Ainge, Rivers eager for end of lockout (AP)
Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers and general manager Danny Ainge have been playing a lot of golf lately. They may have extra time to play more. With the NBA lockout in progress, the scheduled opening of training camp next week remains in jeopardy. Rivers and Ainge fended off questions Monday about the labor problems between the league and its players association.
View full post on Yahoo! Sports – NBA News
