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Atlantic Notes: Payton, Celtics, Barrett, Rivers

May 23rd, 2021 at 7:31pm CST by JD Shaw

The Knicks still have some doubters to prove wrong in the playoffs this year, according to guard Elfrid Payton, as relayed by Alex Kennedy of BasketballNews.com. Payton, who started 63 games for New York this season, averaged 10.1 points, 3.2 assists and 23.6 minutes per contest. This will be his first playoff stint.

“I think we match up well against them,” Payton said of the team’s first-round opponents, the Hawks. “They have a lot of weapons over there, a lot of guys who can shoot the three; John Collins is playing well, (Clint) Capela is a force inside and they’ve got a good bench with Lou Will and (Danilo) Gallinari.

“I think we’re just a little bit deeper and a little bit more physical, and that’s going to make it tough for them. As far as the preparation, it’s been crazy. It’s my first playoffs, so… It’s kinda what I expected, but having so much time off, we were able to really dive into a lot of film and a lot of their tendencies.”

Here are some other notes from the Atlantic Division tonight:

The Celtics are increasing their crowd capacity for Game 3 against the Nets on Friday, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Boston will be at “near full” capacity for Game 4, which is set to commence next Sunday.
Knicks guard RJ Barrett revealed an interesting game plan for guarding Hawks star Trae Young, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News details. Barrett believes his team is better off forcing Young to score instead of making plays for his teammates (he averaged 25.3 points and 9.4 assists per game this season).
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers has turned his star-studded team into winners, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Rivers holds several years of coaching experience and memorably guided the Celtics to a championship in 2008. He was also named the NBA’s Coach of the Year with Orlando in 2000.

Monty Williams Wins Coaches Association Award

May 18th, 2021 at 11:45am CST by Luke Adams

Suns head coach Monty Williams has won the 2020/21 Michael H. Goldberg award, as voted on by the National Basketball Coaches Association, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

This award, introduced in 2017 and named after longtime NBCA executive director Michael H. Goldberg, is voted on by the NBA’s 30 head coaches, none of whom can vote for himself. However, it isn’t the NBA’s official Coach of the Year award, which is voted on by media members and is represented by the Red Auerbach Trophy. The winner of that award will be announced later in the year.

Williams earned the Coaches Association’s award after leading the Suns to a 51-21 record, good for second in the NBA. The club had the league’s sixth-ranked defense and seventh-ranked offense, Wojnarowski notes.

The Suns, who were 19-63 in 2018/19, became just the fifth team in NBA history to improve by at least 15 games in back-to-back seasons, per Woj. Williams accomplished that feat in his first two years in Phoenix despite dealing with pandemic-shortened seasons, making the feat even more impressive.

According to Wojnarowski, Scott Brooks (Wizards), Michael Malone (Nuggets), Nate McMillan (Hawks), Doc Rivers (Sixers), Quin Snyder (Jazz), and Tom Thibodeau (Knicks) were among the other coaches who received votes.

The previous winners of this award are as follows:

2020: Mike Budenholzer and Billy Donovan
2019: Mike Budenholzer
2018: Dwane Casey
2017: Mike D’Antoni and Erik Spoelstra

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Poirier, Rozier, Trent

April 4th, 2021 at 9:11am CST by Arthur Hill

Sixers center Joel Embiid feared his season was over when he injured his knee last month, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Embiid landed awkwardly after a dunk and his knee bent backward, causing a hyperextension that forced him to miss 10 games.

“When I got hurt and laying on the floor in Washington, I honestly thought I was done,” he said. “I thought my season was done. You know, the pain, you know how bad it was hurting, I just knew that it was something worse than we saw. (Afterward) I was just crying and asking myself, ‘Why me? Why does it always happen to me?’ When everything seems to be going well for my team and myself, something always has to happen.”

Embiid returned to the court Saturday night, playing 29 minutes and posting 24 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in a win over the Timberwolves. With 23 games remaining, Embiid can still be a strong MVP contender if he avoids any more injuries.

“(Friday) was really the first time I went full court since I got hurt,” he said. “So it’s going to take a while to get back to myself. But my body feels great, obviously game shape is different than how your body feels. But the main thing is my body feels great. I’ve just got to keep putting up these games and these practices and I will be back to where I was before I got hurt.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Sixers coach Doc Rivers refused to respond to comments from Vincent Poirier, who told a French newspaper that Rivers didn’t reach out to him after a trade last week, Pompey adds in a separate story. Poirier was sent to the Knicks, who waived him three days later. “I wish someone had told me, ‘We were wrong. You can’t play with us,’” Poirier said. “I like it when things are straight. The coach didn’t even send a message although I know he sent (one to) others. I’m not asking him to give me compliments, but just a message to wish me good luck.”
Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports questions whether the Celtics should have invested in Terry Rozier two years ago instead of signing Kemba Walker. Although Walker got off to a strong start in Boston, he has been slowed by knee issues this season and is still owed $73.6MM over the next two years. Rozier is having a career-best season with the Hornets, averaging 20.3 points per game.
Gary Trent Jr. looks like a perfect fit with the Raptors, writes Scott Rafferty of NBA Canada. In five games since being acquired from the Trail Blazers, Trent is scoring 16.8 PPG and shooting 43.2% from three-point range.

Sixers Notes: Hill, Rivers, Embiid, Reed

March 28th, 2021 at 8:58am CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers weren’t able to land Kyle Lowry at the trade deadline, but they upgraded their backcourt with the deal that brought George Hill from the Thunder, write Rich Hofmann and Derek Bodner of The Athletic. Philadelphia continued to pursue Lowry even after the Hill trade was complete, according to the authors, but the Raptors weren’t willing to lower their asking price before the deadline arrived.

Hill brings plenty of playoff experience, Hofmann and Bodner point out, and he gives the Sixers another ballhandler and shooter off the bench as well as a capable perimeter defender. He also provides a lot more salary flexibility than Lowry, who will be in line for a sizable contract in free agency. Hill is set to make $10.47MM next season, but only $1.275MM of that is guaranteed. He hasn’t played since having surgery on his right thumb in late January, but president of basketball operations Daryl Morey expects him to be ready soon.

“What I’m trying to do is maximize our chance of winning the title over that (three-to-five year) window, with more weight for this year. So if there’s a move that ups our odds a little bit more this year, but really hurts our odds in the future, then that doesn’t make sense,” Morey said in explaining why he passed on Lowry. “If it’s a move that ups our odds a decent amount, but doesn’t affect our future odds, then that’s a move that looks pretty interesting. And so, I think this move very materially increased our championship odds, and also kept our ones in the future preserved at a very high level. ”

There’s more this morning from Philadelphia:

Saturday marked coach Doc Rivers‘ first trip back to Staples Center to face the Clippers, notes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Rivers spent seven years with the franchise and helped guide it through the Donald Sterling controversy in 2014. “I think the franchise was on the brink, if you know what I’m saying,” Rivers said, “not only how we dealt with it. But more that we responded by playing well enough to win a (playoff) series that I thought for the franchise was a must-win series because of what we were going through.”
Joel Embiid is making progress in recovering from the bone bruise on his left knee, Bodner tweets. Embiid, who hasn’t played since March 12, has resumed on-court basketball activities and is working on his conditioning.
Bodner also offers details (via Twitter) on Paul Reed‘s contract, which was converted to a standard deal this week. The G League Most Valuable Player signed a three-year agreement, but only the rest of this season is guaranteed. Philadelphia used a portion of its mid-level exception to add a third year to the minimum-salary deal.

Atlantic Notes: Nurse, Griffin, Durant, Rivers

March 10th, 2021 at 8:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

After being sidelined for nearly two weeks due to health and safety protocols, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was cleared to return today and guided the team through practice, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. Nurse expects to be back on the sidelines Thursday as Toronto starts the second half of the season against the Hawks. “I feel really rested, rejuvenated and ready to go,” he said (Twitter link).

Nurse doesn’t expect any of his assistant coaches who were also in the protocols to return tomorrow, although he says a couple of them are close. The team probably won’t have a full staff available until sometime next week. Nurse declined to speculate on when the five Raptors players who are in the protocols will be cleared to return (Twitter link).

He also took issue with rumors that the outbreak was caused by improper mask use among the coaching staff, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. “I don’t think anybody would have any idea what they’re talking about,” Nurse said. “… That is a really unfair, very speculative thing to say.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Blake Griffin has joined the Nets, but he won’t make his season debut Thursday night. He is listed as out due to left knee injury management, tweets Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. Griffin practiced with the team today and said his knee feels fine. However, he hasn’t played in nearly a month, so Brooklyn is trying to work him back into game condition (Twitter link). Coach Steve Nash sees Griffin as a “small-ball five” who can hit open three-pointers and help with playmaking (Twitter link).
Kevin Durant will also sit out Thursday, marking the 10th straight game he’ll miss since straining his left hamstring last month, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Nash said Durant will have another scan on the hamstring next week (Twitter link). There was bleeding in the last scan, and the team realized that he might miss a month or more (Twitter link). Nash added that the Nets‘ medical staff doesn’t believe the current injury is related to the ruptured Achilles that Durant suffered in 2019 (Twitter link). “He hasn’t played in a month,” Nash said. “So no matter what the scan says, there will still be an appropriate ramp-up time to make sure we put him in a position to finish the season strong.”
Sixers coach Doc Rivers missed today’s practice because of illness and it’s uncertain if he’ll be able to coach tomorrow, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Rivers’ condition isn’t related to COVID-19.

Atlantic Notes: Rivers, Ntilikina, Langford, Nets Big Three

February 11th, 2021 at 8:24pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

New Sixers head coach Doc Rivers deserves a lot of credit for the 18-7 Philadelphia’s current perch as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference standings, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Rivers commands respect in the Sixers locker room due to his championship pedigree and prior success across head coaching stops in Orlando, Boston, and most recently Los Angeles. Sixers center Joel Embiid is enjoying his best season as a pro thus far, averaging career-bests in scoring (29.1 PPG), steals (1.4 SPG), and shooting (.547/.377.855).

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Knicks reserve guard Frank Ntilikina is not traveling with New York for the team’s game against the Wizards tomorrow despite continuing to test negative for the novel coronavirus, according to Ian Begley of SNY. Ntilikina has been held out of team activities since Tuesday after contact tracing determined he had been close to someone who later recorded a positive test for COVID-19.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens indicated in comments today that reserve guard Romeo Langford will not be back with the club until after the NBA All-Star break in March, per Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). Langford had a right wrist surgery to address torn ligaments in his shooting wrist in September.
The Nets still hope to improve the on-court dynamic between their new Big Three of All-Stars Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden now that everybody is healthy, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “It’s funny,” head coach Steve Nash noted. “[It’s been] four weeks already, Kevin and [Irving] and James have played 5 ½ games, if you include the Raptors game, together.”

Atlantic Notes: Robinson, Rivers, Siakam, Barrett

January 3rd, 2021 at 8:16pm CST by JD Shaw

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau praised Mitchell Robinson and his confidence, expressing optimism that a rise will come for the 22-year-old center, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes.

Robinson, who was drafted by the Knicks No. 36 overall in 2018, has started in all six of the team’s contests this season. Thibodeau was hesitant to name Robinson as a starter prior to the season, jumpstarting a competition between him and Nerlens Noel.

“Let’s talk about Mitch,” Thibodeau said. “He’s just, every day he’s growing and growing and growing. The way he’s working, studying, preparing for the games. you could see his confidence grow. He’s making multiple effort plays. He’s a hard guy to score over. And he’s really the anchor of the defense back there. And offensively there’s a lot of room for him to grow. He’s putting a lot of time in.”

As for when Robinson could take the next step in his improvement, the veteran coach gave a blunt response: “You guys haven’t seen it yet, but it’s coming.” Robinson has averaged 8.7 points and 7.8 rebounds in 27.8 minutes per game to start the season.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division tonight:

Sixers coach Doc Rivers has inspired others while reaching a new milestone in his career, Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel writes. Rivers, a former head coach with Orlando, is now 10th on the all-time coaching regular-season wins list, though he remains focused on his current team and not on any career achievements. “I don’t look at what I’m doing, honestly. I’d love to say — I know it means something and I know it means a lot to people, but I just I don’t know,” Rivers said. “I’ve never been able to put myself in that place where I’m thinking about what I’m doing. I think I have fooled myself that I’m really young and I have a whole career to go, and maybe that’s why I don’t, but I do feel like I’ve got a lot to do and so I don’t think about it that often.”
Raptors star Pascal Siakam continued his struggles in the team’s 120-116 loss to New Orleans on Saturday, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star writes. Siakam finished with just 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting, fouling out in less than 25 minutes. “He struggled, no doubt about it,” coach Nick Nurse said. “I thought he had a few decent plays and a few good drives in there, but he obviously struggled. Half-count off rhythm there at both ends a little bit, which is getting him in foul trouble and not letting him be able to finish some plays at the offensive end as well.”
Knicks guard RJ Barrett vowed to continue shooting despite being in a slump last week, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. Barrett turned his play around on Saturday, giving New York a 25-point performance on 8-of-15 shooting. He also finished with four threes, five rebounds and three assists in 42 minutes.

Atlantic Notes: Rivers, Green, Grousbeck, Powell

December 10th, 2020 at 9:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

New Knicks point guard Austin Rivers was held out of practice on Wednesday with a groin injury, according to Steve Popper of Newsday.

“I think it puts you behind, but you also want to be smart about it,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said about his approach with the injury going forward.

Marc Berman of the New York Post tweets that, given the way Thibodeau has discussed the injury, Rivers’s preseason availability could be up in the air. The Knicks’ new guard has not taken any contact in practices to this point.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

New Sixers swingman Danny Green will be bringing a championship pedigree and veteran leadership to his new club, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer details. Green has started for three title teams, including the two most recent champions. New Sixers head coach Doc Rivers applauded Green’s “unbelievable” shooting during his first practice for Philadelphia.
In a conversation with Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe, Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck discussed the departure of forward Gordon Hayward, the knee troubles of starting point guard Kemba Walker, and his excitement about Boston rookies Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard. “[Team president] Danny (Ainge’s) excitement about Aaron Nesmith is about the shooting and skill and size on both sides of the ball,” Grousbeck said. “I’m not saying Payton Pritchard is (Rajon) Rondo, but Danny had that level of excitement about seeing this kid on the team.”
Raptors reserve guard Norman Powell will lead a new-look bench unit for Toronto, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. “This year the team looks a little different,” Powell said. “I think that’s the biggest challenge for me this year, is how do I get the new guys coming in to have that [same] chemistry [we had last season] so we can make an impact and sustain that high level of play and competitiveness, and keep playing Raptors basketball.” Second unit mainstays Serge Ibaka and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson both departed in free agency,

L.A. Notes: Lakers, Cook, Davis, George, Clippers

December 7th, 2020 at 11:02am CST by Luke Adams

According to a report from Ben Stinar of Forbes (Twitter link), the Lakers have sent home their players who don’t have guaranteed contracts as a coronavirus precaution in order to limit the number of people on the court during training camp.

The exact details here are a little unclear. The Lakers reportedly agreed to Exhibit 10 deals with undrafted rookies Zavier Simpson, Tres Tinkle, and Kevon Harris, but those signings haven’t been announced by the team and haven’t shown up in the league’s public transactions log, so it’s possible they simply won’t be officially finalized.

Meanwhile, Quinn Cook formally re-signed with the Lakers on Friday, and Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter) that Cook received a non-guaranteed training camp contract. However, it doesn’t appear that Stinar’s report would apply to the veteran guard. Head coach Frank Vogel suggested on Sunday that he expects Cook to begin practicing later this week once he clears COVID-19 protocols, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets.

As we await more details on the Lakers’ camp roster, let’s round up a few more notes on the NBA’s two L.A. teams…

After signing a five-year contract with the Lakers, Anthony Davis explained that he felt more comfortable locking in a longer-term deal in part because of his injury history, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “I do have a little history with injuries, and a two-year deal, you kind of bet on yourself. … God forbid, knock on wood, something happens,” Davis said. “… I want to secure the most amount of years possible and be here long-term with this team, so I thought the five-year deal was best for me in my situation.”
After suggesting during an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast that Doc Rivers misused him last season and suggesting the Clippers failed to make adjustments during their second-round loss to Denver, Paul George walked those comments back a little on Friday, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN details. Rivers’ response, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer: “Hey, listen, I enjoyed coaching him. So not a lot to say there. (New Clippers coach) Ty Lue was sitting right next to me. So he better hope it’s not adjustments. It ain’t going to be much different.”
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley said that he and his teammates are entering the season angry and looking to make up for their disappointing playoff showing. “The attitude around here is guys are pissed off,” Beverley said, according to Youngmisuk. “Which is good. We should be pissed off after our exit last year in the playoffs. … It is a little quieter workplace and guys are more locked in, more focused, and that is the way it should be.”

Doc Rivers Urged Austin Not To Sign With Sixers

December 5th, 2020 at 6:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers were interested in signing free agent guard Austin Rivers before his father, new Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers, decided a reunion wouldn’t be in anyone’s best interest, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Rivers coached his son for three and a half years with the Clippers and thought it was best that Austin remain independent.

“He was high on Philly’s list before I took the job,’’ Doc Rivers said. “It was one of the guards they wanted. When I took the job, I said, ‘You don’t want that. You got too many other things we have to deal with.’ For Austin it’s better. He’s his own player. Unfortunately for him, me being the dad, he’s just an easy guy to target. I have felt since the separation, it’s been really good for him.’’

Rivers reached a three-year, $10MM agreement with the Knicks and was acquired from the Rockets in a sign-and-trade deal. That came after he turned down a player option with Houston that would have paid him the veteran’s minimum of $2.4MM.

Doc Rivers, who played for the Knicks in the 1990s, stayed with Austin during free agency and explained the benefits of playing in New York City.

“I kept telling him, ‘New York is a great place,’’’ Doc Rivers said. “I had a great experience there. That’s what I shared with him. It’s a tough city — in a positive way. He said, ‘What do you mean by that?’ I said, ‘It’s similar to Boston and Philly. Their fans are real. They want you to play hard, give you everything you can and play like a team.’ I told him, ‘The Knicks fans are still Red Holzman’s Knicks fans. They remember how that basketball was played. They want team basketball, hard-nosed, tough basketball.’”

Berman notes that the Knicks tried to attract Austin when he was a free agent in 2015, including a dinner with former team president Phil Jackson, but Doc Rivers convinced the Clippers to give him a contract that was a year longer than New York’s offer.

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, who served on Rivers’ coaching staff in Boston, is among the beneficiaries of Austin choosing New York this time. He spoke to Doc Rivers about his son before the deal was reached.

“Tom just likes competitive players — always has,’’ Doc Rivers said. “We’re very similar — give us 12 competitors, we’ll figure it out. Whenever we talked about Austin — and we will a lot less now — Thibs loves competitors.’’