The Warriors are thankful to have plenty of rest ahead of the NBA Finals, Kendra Andrews of ESPN.com writes. By defeating Dallas in five games, the Warriors put themselves at a competitive advantage over the Celtics and Heat — who needed a Game 7 to decide their series on Sunday night.
“We gave our guys two straight days off, which is almost unheard of, in playoffs or even just regular season,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “So it was a great chance to decompress the last couple of days.
“We won’t have a formal practice until tomorrow. It’ll be the first day we’ll build on our opponent. So I’ve said it many times: You go to the Finals, it’s almost a two-month journey filled with stress and fatigue, so if you can build a little break, it’s very meaningful.”
Golden State is dealing with injuries to Gary Payton II, Andre Iguodala and Otto Porter Jr., but Payton and Iguodala will likely return in the Finals and Porter’s injury isn’t considered serious.
On the flip side, Miami is dealing with injuries to Kyle Lowry, Max Strus, Jimmy Butler, P.J. Tucker, Tyler Herro and Gabe Vincent, while a pair of Boston starters – Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III – have missed time in the Finals due to various ailments.
There’s more from the West this evening:
- The Rockets are continuing to receive trade interest for big man Christian Wood, Kelly Iko reports for The Athletic. Wood, 26, complements the Rockets well offensively, but the team may consider moving his contract and focusing on its younger core. He averaged 17.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game this season.
- Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal examines 14 players to watch for the Grizzlies’ three draft picks next month. Memphis owns the 22nd, 29th and 47th selections in the event, which takes place on June 23.
- New Lakers coach Darvin Ham is expected to have control over choosing his coaching staff, Marc Stein confirms in his latest article at Substack. Stein also reports that senior advisor Kurt Rambis will not be a regular presence in coaching meetings as he was under Frank Vogel‘s leadership.
Wood and 17 to Portland for 7 could make sense for both sides.
No I personally think they could make a trade for MPJ, and Christian Wood could start next to Aaron Gordon, And Jokic. MPJ can get a fresh start with H town where he won’t have as high of expectations and can have a longer leash on a much younger developing team
@Shai
I don’t think Houston would want to have that much money tied up into a guy who has huge injury concerns and hasn’t established himself as a true star player either.
If he was healthy. I’d say that could work. Cause Rockets should get Banchero. But yeah it’s a gamble, I wouldn’t take.
If PJ Tucker contributed 5 points, the Heat would be in the Finals. But he contributed a clap back at Draymond and 0 points so, they’re scheduling tee times.
Rumors are that on the top of new Head Coach Devin Ham’s list for Assistant Coach positions are: Arnold Ziffel & Kevin Bacon.
Warriors in 6
Wood is good trade chip for Rockets. I’m all in on Banchero. A can’t miss big time 4. Wood is a player that can help Blazers. If Rockets take back Bledsoe. I think that wood and 17 can work.
Wood, Porter, #17 >>>>> Blazers
Bledsoe, #7 >>>>>>> Rockets
Sounds like a low ball for Rockets. Wood alone is worth the #7 let alone throwing a strong prospect with Porter Jr and #17. As well as having to take on Bledsoe just to get #7. More likely they include Simons for it to match up value wise.
Wood is not worth the 7th. His D is not there. The right team and fit can give you good value back. NBA knows he wants out of Houston and wants to get paid. Bledsoe is an expiring contract. He’s a big asset at TD. Or next yr when his money comes off. Porter is another player who wants to get paid. And has done nothing. Not a fan of both. If you can get more that’s great. I see a win by getting rid of them. 7th pick is a nice player. Murray or Mathurin would be huge upgrades along with Banchero. Both those players will be better than Wood.
I’m with you on the offload aspect, both Wood &Porter aren’t great for a rebuild, both have off court issues and both keep the ball out of Green, Sengun & #4 picks hands and an offload is easily the best option. But not for pennies.
Wood’s a 20-10 attacking big who can be a 3rd or even second on a contender. No argument his D is terrible. But his offence makes up for it with another defensive big(gobert, JJJ scream out). He is worth #7. This draft is top heavy and beyond 5 it’s not the strongest or guaranteed. Last year I’d have agreed, but this year him and #17 is more than worth #7. Murray, mathurin, Griffin or even sharpe could all be better than wood, but they also might not. Drafts are a gamble, there’s a top 5 pick in every draft to prove that. It’s similar to the chatter of him for Wiseman. Wiseman “could” be a lot better if he can stay fit but it’s a risk right now which is why the value differs.
Warriors about to run the Celtics stars into the ground + expose their horrendous secondary unit…strength in numbers 2.0 > 2015
A’sfaninUK, just a drive-by, they’re blowing them away but no firm prediction in games like a sweep or Warriors in 5? You don’t want to be accountable for a real prediction?
I think I’ll go with the safe bet, Warriors in six.
As a Lakers fan and a Kurt Rambis fan, hearing that he sat in during Vogel’s coaches meetings makes me feel even worse for Vogel. Pelinka built a terrible roster and to make matters worse, they totally encroached on Vogel’s position as coach of the team. Glad to hear he won’t be doing that moving forward and I’m hopeful that Ham gets things back on the right track. I’m not going to pretend that we are a major threat in the west but having a healthy season with a better game plan for how to use Westbrook with LeBron and AD should have us sniffing the playoffs again next season. Also, I’m hoping that AD seriously considers switching to high tops and is working tirelessly to fix whatever issues he has going on with his lower body.