- Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni will likely stick with smaller lineups and force the Spurs to adjust in the wake of Nene Hilario‘s season-ending injury, Sam Amick of USA Today reports. With Nene suffering a groin tear in Game 4, the Rockets downsized and buried the Spurs with a flurry of 3-pointers. It’s a good bet that forward Ryan Anderson will be replaced in the starting lineup by guard Eric Gordon, a strategy D’Antoni employed in the second half on Sunday.
The Rockets will be without a key rotation player for the rest of the playoffs, as the team announced today in a press release that Nene won’t return this season. The Rockets’ medical staff is currently considering treatment options for the veteran center, who suffered a left adductor tear on Sunday.
[RELATED: Poll: Who will win Spurs/Rockets series?]
Nene’s injury occurred in the first quarter of Houston’s game against the Spurs on Sunday, less than two minutes after he checked into the game. Initially diagnosed as a left groin injury, Nene’s adductor tear won’t just sideline him for the rest of the postseason — it could also affect his contract situation this summer.
Nene had been on a one-year contract with the Rockets worth just under $3MM, putting him in line for unrestricted free agency in July. A healthy and productive season in Houston had set up the 34-year-old for a potential raise this summer, but potential suitors will now have to take a close look at his recovery from this injury before committing to him.
As for the Rockets, with Nene no longer in the mix, they figure to lean more heavily on players like Clint Capela and Ryan Anderson as they attempt to knock off the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals. The series is currently tied at two games apiece.
The Rockets were firing on all cylinders in Sunday night’s win over the Spurs, making 52.6% of their field goal attempts, including 44.2% of their threes, en route to a comfortable 125-104 victory. Their Game 4 win evened up the series at two games apiece, and the two teams will head back to San Antonio for Tuesday’s Game 5.
While the Spurs maintain the home-court advantage, both teams have shown they’re capable of winning a game in their opponent’s arena so far, having split the first two games in San Antonio and the next two in Houston.
Injuries have also played a part in the series so far, but the Spurs managed to pull out a Game 3 victory after receiving word that Tony Parker would be sidelined for the rest of the postseason due to a ruptured left quadriceps tendon. As for the Rockets, their impressive showing on Sunday came – for the most part – without key reserve Nene, who played less than two minutes before leaving with a left groin injury. He’ll undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com details.
The Rockets and Spurs still have their MVP candidates – James Harden and Kawhi Leonard – on the court, and both teams have the firepower necessary to advance to the Western Conference Finals for a probable date with the Warriors. So which team do you think will make it through?
Vote below in our poll and jump into the comments section below to share your thoughts.
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Houston’s Mike D’Antoni and Miami’s Erik Spoelstra have been announced as co-recipients of the NBA Coaches Association’s first Coach of the Year Award, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The award is determined by a vote of NBA coaches and is named for Michael H. Goldberg, the longtime director of the organization.
D’Antoni led the Rockets to a 55-27 record and the third seed in the West in his first year in Houston. He turned James Harden into a point guard and unleashed a powerful offense that set a record for most 3-pointers made in a season.
Spoelstra rallied the Heat after a terrible start and led them to a 41-41 record, just missing a playoff berth on a tie-breaker. He was able to reconfigure the lineup in Miami after the loss of Dwyane Wade to free agency and Chris Bosh to a blood clot condition.
The media’s choice for Coach of the Year will be announced at the NBA’s awards show on June 26th.
- Rockets center Clint Capela is making a strong case for an offseason extension with his playoff performance. Akeem Olajuwon was the last Houston center to put up playoff numbers similar to Capela’s 12 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks in Game 3, notes Brett Zwerneman of The Houston Chronicle. “He’s come from sitting on the end of the bench and playing a little bit of minutes to being a force out there,” said coach Mike D’Antoni. “This guy is going to be really good.”
- In an official press release, the NBA has announced that Rockets center Nene Hilario has been fined $15K for pushing Spurs center Dewayne Dedmon.
Several under-the-radar players who will be free agents this summer are improving their bargaining position with their performance in the playoffs, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. He identifies six players, starting with Golden State big man JaVale McGee, who is averaging 8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks through five games despite playing just 11.8 minutes per night. McGee signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Warriors for the veteran’s minimum and could be in line for a huge pay raise in July. The others that Kennedy singles out are Serge Ibaka of the Raptors, Joe Ingles of the Jazz, Nene of the Rockets, Andre Roberson of the Thunder and Deron Williams of the Cavaliers.
There’s more news from around the basketball world:
- The Texas Legends, the Mavericks‘ affiliate in the D-League, have given coach Bob MacKinnon a two-year extension, tweets D-League Digest. The D-League veteran is in his first season with the Legends.
- Invitations have been issued for the D-League’s Elite Mini Camp, which will be held May 8-9 in Chicago, relays Chris Reichert of FanSided. Many players have used this showcase to earn spots on summer league rosters, with alumni such as Jonathon Simmons, Hollis Thompson and DeAndre Liggins. Among the best-known names at this year’s camp will be Russ Smith, JaKarr Sampson, Ray McCallum and Cliff Alexander.
- Former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett, who played 23 games for the Nets this season, has been replaced on his Fenerbahce team in Turkey, according to Bugra Uzar of Eurohoops. Taking his spot on the roster is Pero Antic, who played for the Hawks from 2013 to 2015. Bennett will remain with the club and is expected to be part of the upcoming EuroLeague Final Four.
- Greg Oden, another former No. 1 pick, is hoping to be part of The Basketball Tournament this summer on ESPN, relays Alysha Tsuji of USA Today. Oden’s team is called Scarlet and Gray and is made up of Ohio State alumni. “We think we’re a team that can win it,” he said. “We look at the talent we’ve had here in the last 10 years or so, and we can match up with anybody. We want the state of Ohio supporting us. We’re called Scarlet and Gray, but this team is a representation of the whole state.”
The Warriors will face the Jazz in the conference’s semifinals, though Golden State was rooting for the Clippers to beat Utah in the previous round, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com writes. Were the Warriors concerned about the opposition’s slow pace, Gordon Hayward‘s perimeter game, or Rudy Gobert‘s defensive presence? None of the above. They were worried about being bored.
“There’s no nightlife in Utah,” Matt Barnes said. “Obviously, as players, you want to be able to have a little bit of a nightlife, but the main focus is winning games. Me personally, I want to get out there because I want to beat the Clippers. That’s my former team, and my kids are out there. But as far as nightlife, there’s no comparison to nightlife in Utah and L.A.”
Barnes added that he’s not sure what he’ll do during his spare time in Utah. “I think there’s an Olive Garden out there and then a Benihana. So you’ll definitely be locked in [on the game] all the way,” He said.
The small forward hasn’t played yet in the postseason because of ankle and foot issues, though it appears he’s getting set to play in Game 1 against Utah, according to Golden State’s Twitter feed. Shaun Livingston, who has a hand injury, is considered questionable for the contest.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Chinanu Onuaku has been suspended two games for pushing an official during a D-League Finals appearance, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Onuaku was not available for the Rockets‘ tilt with the Spurs tonight and he’ll miss Game 2 as well.
- Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News believes the Lakers could be a threat to sign Nerlens Noel. GM Rob Pelinka recently said that the team is looking for a big man who fit’s in today’s NBA.
- The Clippers will face some tough decisions this offseason, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register writes. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and J.J. Redick will all be free agents, though it appears Los Angeles is committed to doing whatever it takes to bring Paul and Griffin back.
- Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic wonders if the Suns can find their point guard of the future in the upcoming draft and he examines some of the top options. Phoenix has a 19.9% at grabbing the No.1 pick and a 55.8% chance of landing in the top-3, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors recently detailed.
James Harden and Trevor Ariza were both heavily involved in recruiting Eric Gordon, as the shooting guard writes for The Players’ Tribune. Both players called Gordon nearly every day leading up to free agency, explaining to him that he was the missing piece while talking about how unstoppable the offense would be and how successful the Rockets could be in the postseason if he decided to come to Houston. Gordon ended up signing a four-year. $53MM deal with the team last summer.
Here’s more from Houston as the team gets ready for its round two matchup with the Spurs:
- Gordon said that neither Harden nor Ariza had mentioned coming off the bench during any of their offseason phones calls, Gordon writes in the same piece. That revelation came 11 games into this season when coach Mike D’Antoni told him that he would come off the bench. “Bam. No leading into the conversation. No softening the blow. Just like that, I’d lost my starting spot,” Gordon writes. The shooting guard has embraced his role off the bench and he’s a top candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year award.
- Zhou Qi, who was the No. 43 overall pick in the 2016 draft, will begin training with the Rockets with the hope of joining the NBA club next season, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays. “We are looking forward to sitting down and talking and seeing what might happen in the future. His dream is to one day play in the NBA. Right now, we are focused on training,” Zhou’s agent said.
- Ryan Anderson, who signed a four-year, $80MM deal with the Rockets last offseason, is excited to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since the 2009/10 season, as Feigen writes in a separate piece. “Series one went by quick. This season went by quick. But it feels like this group has been together a whole lot longer than it had because we enjoy being around each other. It’s been a fun year,” Anderson said.
In an interview with TSN 1050 Toronto, former Raptors forward Luis Scola said that he doesn’t see himself playing another season in the NBA. The 36-year-old didn’t rule it out altogether, however.
Over the course of 10 seasons, the big man established himself as a consistently underrated threat, his best year as a pro being the 2010/11 campaign in which he averaged 18.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for the Rockets.
In 2016/17, Scola played sparingly for the Nets, an anticlimatic cap on an effective, if unspectacular NBA career.
Although he never earned any All-Star appearances, the big man rode a deft shooting stroke to solid career per-36 numbers and even an Olympic gold medal when he teamed with Manu Ginobili to lead Argentina in 2004.
Alas, given the ever changing NBA landscape, especially for relatively slow big men, Scola seems pretty convinced that he won’t be back playing professional basketball stateside.
“I like to play, it’s just that the NBA became too difficult for me,” Scola said, age no doubt also being a factor for the man who didn’t arrive in the NBA until age 27. “The roles that are out there for me just aren’t as appealing, I don’t enjoy them as much.“