Hornets hurt Rockets’ playoff hopes, 105-99 in OT (Yahoo! Sports)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) Eric Gordon would like to see New Orleans rewarded with some good karma in the NBA’s draft lottery.
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Suns edge Clippers to bolster payoff hopes
The Suns cooled off the red-hot Clippers with an intense 93-90 win, and Phoenix kept pace with Utah for the West’s final playoff spot.
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Blow dealt to Suns’ playoff hopes in loss
PHOENIX — It had been established that the Phoenix Suns’ hopeful skip toward a playoff seed included a season-closing schedule with more potential danger than Dorothy’s commute back to Kansas.
Thunder and Clippers and Nuggets and Jazz and Spurs … oh, my!
Without a good witch riding shotgun during this perilous journey, Wednesday’s encounter with Oklahoma City pushed the Suns a bit off the road. The seemingly-requisite bricks were supplied by a Phoenix offense that managed to shoot a measly 41 percent from the field in this 109-97 loss to the mighty Thunder.
Still scuffling with four other teams looking for a way into the postseason, the Suns now check in as the Western Conference’s ninth seed. The Utah Jazz ripped the reeling Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday to move past Phoenix and into eighth. The Denver Nuggets fell to the L.A. Clippers and now sit in seventh. The Dallas Mavericks knocked off the Houston Rockets to claim sixth, with the losers dropping to a tie-breaker-invoked 10th.
The path certainly would seem a lot more hospitable had the Suns been able to take down OKC.
But honestly, a good witch probably lacked sufficient mojo to make things even a little tricky for Thunder guard James Harden, who put a career-high 40 points on Phoenix.
“That’s the difference in the game,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said of Harden’s effort before pointing out a couple of additional difference-making issues we’ll get to in a moment. “You gotta give him credit … he played a great game.”
And with Grant Hill and his knee watching this one from the bench, Gentry didn’t have a stopper to move over from guarding Kevin Durant to take a shot at Harden. All Harden accomplished was that eye-popping 40 on 17 shots from the field (he made 12) and 11 of 11 from the free-throw line. His line included a 5-of-8 performance from behind the arc, 7 rebounds and 4 steals.
“It was good when you get on a roll like that,” Harden, a former Sun Devil who majored in understatement at Arizona State, said. “My teammates played really well. We bounced back from a bad loss and a bad second half to get a win.”
Harden was referring to Monday’s beat down, administered by the Clipper in Los Angeles. The Clippers are next up for the Suns, of course, and — by the way — Harden’s teammates weren’t all that stellar on Wednesday. But with James back in his adopted town, it didn’t matter.
“It’s always good,” he said in reference to playing in close proximity to ASU. “It was special … family, coaches, friends … it was fun.”
There’s no place like the place that was home for a couple of years. But fun? Scoring 40 seems like a blast.
OK, so Harden was more like a high-noon gunslinger than any OZ-related character. Unfortunately, most of what doomed the Suns on this evening was self-inflicted.
“The most disturbing thing is we never came up with any of the loose balls,” Gentry said. “They seemed to come up with all of ‘em.”
Right, that’s not exactly the type of grit-questioning indictment you’d expect to see attached to a team fighting to make the playoffs. That goes double for a Suns team that required a serious uprising to get this close.
Another disturbance was provided by a lack of productivity by the Suns’ post players. Gentry didn’t offer any names, but the overwhelming favorite as disappointment of the night was center Marcin Gortat.
“I just didn’t think we had a presence offensively or defensively with our bigs,” Gentry said. “We have got to have more of a presence from our bigs. That’s finishing at the basket, rebounding the basketball, defending our goal and being a basket protector. We just didn’t get very much out of that tonight.”
Although Gortat did collect a game-high 12 rebounds, his inability to finish plays inside — he was 2 of 13 from the floor, 2 of 8 in the opening period — stalled an offense that had started quite well. Riding a trio of 3-point makes in the opening quarter, the Suns were up 19-6 at the 6:20 mark.
Phoenix was still up 25-13 when Harden’s 10 points escorted a 16-0 Thunder lead they put them in front, 29-25, going into the second quarter.
Harden was just getting warmed up, leaving the Suns to chill for a few hours until the Clippers roll in to the U.S. Airways Center.
“We’ve got to just go for broke right now,” Suns spokes-guard Steve Nash said. “We’ve got nothing to lose. I mean, we put ourselves in a position to get in the playoffs, and we have to go out there and enjoy it, attack, and if the shots don’t fall, it’s one thing, but we’ve got to go for it … we’ve got to go for broke and have fun with it and embrace this opportunity.”
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Magloire still a fan, hopes Heat win it all
MIAMI The Big Cat will turn into a big Heat fan once the playoffs start.
Toronto center Jamaal Magloire, who played for Miami the three previous seasons, hopes and expects the Heat to win the NBA championship. Magloire, who still has a home in South Florida, anticipates attending some playoff games.
First, the hope part. Magloire admits it would bittersweet if the Heat win the title in his first season gone. But that won’t change his allegiance.
“My hope is that they do win it,” Magloire said before Toronto’s 96-72 loss Wednesday to the Heat to AmericanAirlines Arena. “I love (Miami president Pat) Riley for the opportunity he gave me and I’ll never forget him for what he’s done.”
Now, for the expecting part. The Big Cat believes the Heat will win it all in June.
“I do think they have what it takes to win it,” he said. “They have great players. Of course, the big three (of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh), (Udonis) Haslem’s a soldier. (Joel) Anthony is continuing to improve every year and they have key (reserves) in (Shane) Battier, (James) Jones and (Mike) Miller.”
Magloire, who turns 34 next month, might be watching from the stands during the playoffs but he doesn’t expect to be doing that next season. Even though he’s played sparingly this season, he said he’s not thinking at all about retiring.
“There’s no chance of that,” said Magloire, a free agent this summer after this season becoming the first native of Canada to play for the 17-year-old Raptors. “As long as they’ll have me, (Magloire still wants to pay). I have fun playing basketball. I enjoy the camaraderie. I enjoy the competition. I have a lot of gas left in the tank.”
Toronto coach Dwane Casey doesn’t disagree. He wants Magloire back with the Raptors next season.
“That’s our plan,” Casey said. “We haven’t really sat down and talked about it. We haven’t made an offer to him. But that’s my hope and my plan.”
Casey said the final decision will be up to the organization as a whole. But he will push for Magloire to return because of his value to the team even when not playing.
“He’s helped me tremendously,” said Casey, who hopes Magloire next season can be a valuable mentor when center Jonas Valanciunas joins the Raptors after being taken No. 5 in last year’s draft and spending this season in his native Lithuania. “He’s set the tone in the locker room. He’s helped me deal with players. He’s set the tone defensively for us.
“He’s invaluable to me as coach, and not only that, as a friend. When things get rough, he’s always there, he’s always positive And I want him as part of our foundation (for the future).”
In 33 games, Magloire has averaged just 1.2 points and 3.3 rebounds over 11.2 minutes and is shooting a that’s-not-a-misprint 7-of-27 (25.9 percent) from the foul line. He hasn’t played in Toronto’s past five games, including Wednesday’s, but that’s because Casey said he wants to look at younger players down the stretch with his team out of the playoff race.
Magloire said it remains be seen where he might play next season. As for who he’ll be cheering for in the playoffs, there’s no mystery there. And Magloire, who was very popular in the Miami locker room, shouldn’t have any problem getting Heat tickets.
“If he wants them, every guy in here will accommodate him,” said Miami guard James Jones, a teammate during all three of Magloire’s seasons with the team. “Whatever he needs, he’s got it.”
Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter @christomasson
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Celtics vs. Knicks: How Statement Win By Boston Would Legitimize Title Hopes
Remember when the Boston Celtics were too old to contend for a title? Remember how fans of the team had been advocating for Danny Ainge to “blow it up” prior to the trade deadline?
It’s funny how fast the narrative has changed around this Celtics team. Now, with a win against a surging New York Knicks team, Boston can legitimize its title hopes in what is likely the final season of the “Big Three” era.
Rajon Rondo and his insane streak of 22 straight games with double-digit assists has been incredible to watch, and he’s garnered a lot of attention as a result, but is he the sole reason for Boston’s turnaround?
Rondo has certainly turned an impressive April with averages of 11.4 points and 14.2 assists per game, but he wouldn’t be racking up all of those helpers if his teammates weren’t making shots.
There’s more to it than Rondo.
Kevin Garnett has been monstrous. The gritty veteran has turned the clock back and really brought the heat for Boston at the right time. He enters a crucial matchup against the Knicks with April averages of 17.0 points and 9.4 rebounds.
However, it’s more than Garnett, too.
We all need to be talking more about the heart and soul of this Celtics team—captain Paul Pierce.
“The Truth” had struggled previously this season, but he’s come on at the right time for his club. After an impressive March where he averaged more than 22 points per game, Pierce is continuing his scoring assault in April.
Along with his 19.7 points, Pierce enters a marquee matchup in New York with a 38.3 percent conversion rate from behind the three-point line in April, his highest clip since January.
And that’s where we really get into how the Celtics have had success of late.
Rondo’s ability to penetrate through the lane and create opportunities for teammates has allowed Boston to really effectively space the floor. With shooters like Pierce, Garnett and even Brandon Bass, who are all capable of hitting shots from 16-23 feet out, the Celtics keep opposing defenses on edge with a keen ability to consistently hit open jumpers.
That is going to be something the team needs to bring once again against the Knicks on Tuesday.
New York has improved its defensive attack tremendously under Mike Woodson and with the addition of Tyson Chandler inside, but the Celtics make a living from jumpers on the perimeter and that could really neutralize the impact Chandler has on this game.
Furthermore, the Knicks are going to face a challenge in attempting to slow down Rondo, who appears to be getting whatever he wants on the floor right now regardless of who is lined up against him.
This is the fourth game of the season where these two teams have gone against each other. The Celtics have won two out of three games to date, but all three games have been decided by four points or fewer.
Is it going to be a dog fight? You bet.
Neither of these teams are the same as previously. The last time Boston and New York went up against one another, Jeremy Lin was still healthy and Ray Allen was still in the starting lineup.
Neither of those things are the same this time around.
While the Knicks have made a living on the defensive end this season (fourth in defensive efficiency), Boston is now the top team in defensive efficiency and is not primed to lose that seeding anytime soon.
The Celtics’ real X-factor? Avery Bradley.
ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz brilliantly discussed the impact the Texas product on Boston’s defense since he moved to a starting role.
Bradley’s prowess as an on-ball defender also allows Rondo to play off the ball, where he can use his long branches to play passing lanes and do a little gambling. Those arms also make Rondo a stellar choice to be one of the two back-size zone defenders in Boston’s overloaded defense.
Bradley was thought to be raw offensively, and that’s a major reason why he didn’t play earlier this season. How has that changed?
From Arnovitz:
What about Bradley? How is he getting his buckets? Not as a first option, as Allen frequently is, but by being crafty and finding space. Bradley made a pretty baseline cut from the left corner in the opening minutes of the second half against Miami recently, meeting Rondo at the hoop for the dish. Two minutes later? Same thing.
As good as Pierce, Garnett and Rondo have been, this is a Celtics team that has found its groove as a cohesive unit rather than a group of individuals playing together.
Call it “ubuntu,” “I am a Celtic,” or any other catchphrase that might seem fit, but the Celtics have again emerged as a title contender, and a win against the Knicks inside Madison Square Garden would strengthen that argument dramatically.
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College Basketball: NAU Hopes for Program-Defining Hire in Jack Murphy
Northern Arizona University does not exactly have a nationally—or even regionally—renowned basketball program.
Sure, the Lumberjacks have six Big Sky Conference regular-season titles to their credit, but they have managed to make the NCAA tournament only twice.
The last time NAU was at the Big Dance was 2000. Just like in its one prior tournament appearance in 1998, it got bounced in the first round.
A school that has only ever been to the NCAA tournament twice and has never made it past the first round isn’t exactly enjoying lots of prestige, name recognition or respect.
Lisa Campos, NAU’s vice president for Intercollegiate Athletics, is aiming to change all that with her hire of Jack Murphy as the Lumberjacks’ new head basketball coach.
Murphy has a pretty good basketball background. He spent the past three seasons as an assistant at national power Memphis. Before that, he fulfilled a variety of roles on the staff at the University of Arizona, starting when he was a college student there. In between, Murphy was a scout for the Denver Nuggets for three years.
Despite the fact that he is only 32 years old, Murphy has a good deal of high-end experience. Some people live, breathe and sleep basketball. Jack Murphy is one of those people.
One of Murphy’s strength is the fact that he is a renowned recruiter. He convinced many a highly-rated prospect to attend Memphis during his three years there. His time as an NBA scout also gives him a pretty good eye for talent.
NAU has a lot of potential as a program. It is one of only three public universities in the state of Arizona and has over 23,000 students.
At approximately 7,000 feet above sea level, it also has a terrific home-court advantage. Its arena, the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome, is a beautiful wooden dome that can seat over 16,000.
The Lumberjacks are also in prime recruiting territory. They are less than a 10-hour drive away from the recruiting hotbeds of both Los Angeles and Las Vegas. They are also only a few hours away from the gigantic Phoenix metropolitan area, where there are plenty of talented recruits to be found.
Jack Murphy should be able to drastically improve NAU’s recruiting. He is from Las Vegas and knows Arizona recruiting well from his time at University of Arizona on the staff of Hall of Famer Lute Olson.
Murphy should be able to help the Lumberjacks snag more talented recruits than they have in the past.
Up until now, they haven’t been able to take advantage of their location or great home-court advantage. In 2011, they averaged only 747 fans per home game, despite the fact that the student body is 23,000 strong and the Skydome can seat over 16,000.
NAU basketball has not lived up to its potential to be a great program, and doesn’t have a lot of fan support. Jack Murphy is the type of young, ambitious, recruiting-savvy coach that very well may be able to forever rewrite the program’s history and turn it into a respected and feared program.
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NBA Playoffs 2012: Why Steve Nash’s Hip Injury Will Doom Suns’ Postseason Hopes
Steve Nash‘s return to the lineup Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers is obviously good news for a Phoenix Suns team vying for a tightly-contested playoff spot.
That news might not be good enough, though.
No one has given any indication that Nash will be playing at 100 percent. Of course, if there’s any player with the court IQ to overcome decreased mobility, that player is Steve Nash. Still, anything short of Nash playing playoff-type basketball won’t be enough for the Suns.
Nash in his prime might not haven been, either.
The Suns’s remaining schedule is about as difficult as it gets. After Monday’s game against Portland—a virtual must-win—things will get really interesting.
Phoenix goes on to play a back-to-back at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers. Good luck with that.
Two of their three remaining games come against the Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs. The Denver game will matter for both clubs, thanks to the Nuggets’ interest in improved seeding. The Spurs game may be a different story entirely.
If San Antonio is content to sacrifice seeding for rest, the Suns could have a shot at the Spurs’ bench unit—not that beating that bench is the easiest of tasks.
A schedule like that could be trouble for any team.
It could be even worse for Phoenix if Nash slows down or returns to the sideline. Most teams depend heavily on their starting point guards, but few do so more than the Suns. Nash is the fulcrum of an offense with weapons more adept at catching and shooting than creating their own offense.
If the Suns have any hope of sneaking back into the postseason, Nash will have to go above and beyond the call of duty—no matter how his hip is feeling.
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Rushing Derrick Rose Back to Action Would Ruin Chicago Bulls’ Title Hopes
There is no reason to rush Derrick Rose back from his groin injury. The Chicago Bulls have absolutely nothing to gain from Rose coming back earlier than he should.
Despite the manufactured, crooked conception that the team might actually be better without Rose in the lineup, there is just no way Chicago is an improved club without the reigning MVP on the floor.
Rose has been out since March 14 with the injury, and it was a lot more serious than he or the team had initially been letting on at the onset of his diagnosis. About a week and a half ago, ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell got some gruesome details on exactly what Rose was dealing with when he injured his groin.
“(I’m feeling) way better,” Rose said before sitting out Saturday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors. “(When the injury occurred) I was actually bleeding, my groin was bleeding, but now it’s healed. It’s just scar tissue and it’s pretty hard trying to get that to move around, it’s going to take little time.”
Rose’s groin ailment was so bad he was actually bleeding. This was no ordinary groin strain or anything close to it—this was a major injury.
After sitting out just six games over his first three years in the league, Rose has now missed a whopping 21 games during the 2011-12 season.
And it’s OK that he has.
The Bulls currently boast the best record in the entire league at 42-13. With a postseason spot all but sewn up atop the Eastern Conference, Chicago would be foolish to risk Rose aggravating his injury by returning to the hardwood earlier than he should.
Now in the final leg of the regular season, Rose is nearing a return to action, according to beat writer K.C. Johnson.
If Rose returns against the Knicks on Sunday, he would miss just one more game (Thursday versus Celtics).
Having a healthy Rose for the final three weeks of the regular season and the playoffs is far more important than rushing him back before he’s at 100 percent health. If Rose returned before he was ready and wound up having to hit the sidelines again, the title hopes in Chicago would come crashing down to the floor.
This is a motivated group that is looking to prove it’s capable of winning it all, but that’s only going to happen with a healthy Derrick Rose manning the point guard position.
C.J. Watson and John Lucas III have done an admirable job of stepping up since Rose has been out, but neither player can wear Rose’s shoes. It’s not just about what Rose does on the floor from a statistical standpoint, it’s about his leadership, dedication to perfection and the impact he has on his teammates when they see him in the starting five.
The ultimate goal of a team with this much talent should be winning a championship every season, and there is no reason for the Bulls to jeopardize it with Rose returning too early.
Without Rose, there is just no way the Bulls have enough firepower in the tank to take home the title.
There is just no incentive for Rose to hurry back from his injury during this whirlwind season.
He’s got his eyes on the prize, and the team is right to keep him out so there is no jeopardizing the opportunity to bring the Larry O’Brien Trophy back to Chicago.
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Stern still hopes for change to draft age rule (Yahoo! Sports)
David Stern would love a system in which Anthony Davis and the rest of Kentucky’s freshmen stars were required to try to repeat. Instead, the NBA commissioner could end up calling Davis’ name in June as the first pick in the draft. The league wasn’t able to change its draft eligibility rules during collective bargaining last year.
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Kentucky’s NCAA Title Hopes Get Historical Boost as Only No. 1 in Final Four
Not that this Kentucky team needs it, but it also has history on its side heading into the Final Four.
In case Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and the most dynamic starting five in the nation are not enough, this year’s Final Four field bodes very well for Kentucky’s chances to win it all.
The advantage—from a historical and arguably a competitive standpoint—lies in the seeds of each team.
Louisville—UK’s opponent on Saturday—is a No. 4 seed. Ohio State and Kansas are each a No. 2 seed. That means Kentucky—the top overall seed heading into the NCAA tournament—is the only No. 1 seed in this Final Four.
Recent history shows that when a team is the only No. 1 seed in the Final Four, its chances of taking home the title are pretty good.
Just two years ago, Duke was one such team. The Blue Devils went to Indianapolis as the only No. 1 seed (West Virginia was a No. 2; Butler and Michigan State each a No. 5).
Duke survived the furious late rally by hometown-favorite Butler to win the championship. As well as who they had to play to win it all, not having to face another No. 1 seed certainly helped the Blue Devils’ chances.
Just like 2010, this year’s Final Four is hardly an uncommon occurrence.
Since 1990, there have now been 10 Final Fours (including the current one) with only one No. 1 seed. It is the most common configuration of teams—in terms of seeds—during that time. Of the previous nine instances this has occurred, the lone No. 1 seed has gone on to win it all six times.
Prior to Duke in 2010, the others to win the title were Michigan State (2000), UCLA (1995), Arkansas (1994), Duke (1992) and UNLV (1990).
Three teams—Duke (2004), Texas (2003) and North Carolina (1998)—lost when they were the only No. 1 seeds in the Final Four.
Obviously, historical trends do not guarantee Kentucky anything. The ’98 UNC team went into the tournament ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. That team lost, however, to Utah in the national semifinal.
Look at the two sets of teams though, and see which one Kentucky fits best.
Among the first set, the ’92 Duke, ’94 Arkansas and ’95 UCLA teams lost a total of eight games combined. Those teams were among the most dominant of any during the past 20 years. Kentucky is currently 36-2.
Within the second set, ’03 Texas and ’04 Duke each lost seven and six games respectively. While each had an excellent season, neither team was an overwhelming title contender—somewhat like Michigan State was going into the tourney this year.
Which group does this year’s Kentucky team fit better into? Certainly it is the first group.
Of course, Kentucky will need to take care of business in New Orleans, starting with Louisville on Saturday.
Only once has a No. 4 seed advanced to the title game in the past 30 years: Arizona in 1997. That team beat three No. 1 seeds to win it all.
Kentucky has incredible talent, defense and history on its side. But until next week we won’t know which group this team will ultimately fall into.
Will it be with the ones that took full advantage of a favorable Final Four? Or with the few that couldn’t finish things off after an outstanding season?
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