Ray Allen

Odds & Ends: Crawford, Warriors, Seattle, Bulls

The Lakers made history on this day 11 years ago when they beat the Sixers 108-96 to claim the NBA championship with the highest playoff winning percentage of all time at 93.8%, according to Hoopedia. Led by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles went 15-1 in the playoffs by sweeping the Trail Blazers, Kings and Spurs before losing just once to Philadelphia. Let's take a look around the league to catch up on the latest news and stories making headlines…

Read more

Odds & Ends: Shaw, Bower, Claver

A handful of tonight's coaching search updates came in the form of tweets. TNT's David Aldridge reported that Brian Shaw had an interview in Charlotte today, but was not offered the job. Yahoo's Marc Spears also confirmed that no offer was made, adding that Portland and Orlando are still on Shaw's radar. Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated, who broke the news about Sloan's withdrawal from Charlotte's head coaching race, thinks the Trail Blazers have a better chance of landing Shaw than the Magic do. 

We've got more on Orlando's GM search and highlights from HoopsWorld chats with Mark Nugent and Tommy Beer…

Read more

Odds & Ends: Barkley, Wade, Allen, Pietrus, Shaw

Danny Ferry is considered the frontrunner to eventually replace Rod Thorn in the 76ers' front office, but he's not the only one interested in the position. According to 94WIP's Anthony Gargano (link via CBS Philly), Charles Barkley has interest in becoming the next Sixers GM. Like last month's story that briefly linked Shaquille O'Neal to the Magic's GM opening, I don't expect this one to have legs, but the fact that Barkley expressed interest in a front office job is worth tucking away, at the very least.

Here are a few more Wednesday afternoon odds and ends….

Earlier updates:

Read more

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, KG, Allen, Fisher, Knicks

We already rounded up a number of updates on the 76ers this morning, as the team begins to search for a replacement for Rod Thorn and weighs how to handle its free agents. Now, let's catch up on a few of their Atlantic Division rivals, with updates on the Raptors' draft workouts, a Celtic undergoing surgery, and a potential free agent target for the Knicks….

Read more

Celtics Rumors: Bass, Garnett, Allen, Pietrus

While a weekend report suggested that Brandon Bass was likely to exercise his player option, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com says that's not necessarily the case. Multiple sources told Blakely that Bass is a good bet to opt out of his contract, though the forward would like to remain in Boston. Presumably, Bass' top choice would be to renegotiate a multiyear deal with the Celtics.

Here are a few more Monday morning updates on the C's from Blakely and a handful of other Boston scribes….

Read more

Celtics Notes: Ray Allen, Big 3’s Future, Roster

Saturday night in Miami may have marked the end of an era as the Celtics' season came to a close after the Heat took Game 7 to advance to the NBA Finals. While Rajon Rondo and the youth of Avery Bradley and Greg Stiemsma give the Celtics building blocks heading forward, the team must decide how to address Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen's status as they become free agents this summer. Let's check in on the latest news and headlines out of Boston as we anxiously await the fate of the Big 3…

Read more

Odds & Ends: Lottery, Raptors, Lin, Heat

Tomorrow night's draft lottery will have huge implications for the Warriors and Jazz, writes the Deseret News' Jody Genessy. Here are a few more items from around the NBA:

Odds & Ends: Bird, Dwight, Kerr, Shaw

Tonight's matchup features a Celtics team with an experienced and playoff-tested core against a mostly young 76ers team looking further build a foundation of playoff success. This also may be the final page of a great chapter in Celtics history if Boston loses tonight, as the futures of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen will be question marks this upcoming offseason. With less an hour away from tip-off in the third Game Seven of this year's playoffs, here's what we've heard from around the league:
  • According to a series of tweets by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis star, Pacers owner Herb Simon hopes that Larry Bird will continue to work with the franchise in some capacity if Bird decides to step down as president, and that no meeting has been arranged between the two yet.
  • Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel believes that Dwight Howard must align himself with a winning team in order to repair his tarnished image and should therefore expand his list of preferred trade destinations. Also, Schmitz briefly discusses the idea of Steve Kerr and Brian Shaw joining the Magic as GM and head coach respectively. When recently asked about the GM vacancy, Kerr asserted that he is currently happy with his job as a TNT analyst, although the Magic are expected to still make inquiries. Shaw would accept the head coaching opportunity in a heartbeat, according to Schmitz.     
  • Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld presents a list of this year's top-shooting free agents. Ray Allen, Jason Terry, Steve Novak, and Randy Foye were listed as some of the top unrestricted free agents who displayed solid three-point shooting percentages along with a high volume of attempts this year. 
  • Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press writes that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is confident in the team's chances to make the playoffs next season. Taylor also said that the team is "going to try" the free agent market. 

Money Time: Upcoming Free Agents In The Playoffs

With another week of the playoffs in the books, let's check again on how soon-to-be free agents are faring in the postseason. You can catch up on the first and second installments by clicking the links. A number of players on expiring contracts are putting up impressive performances in the second round, but with size always a premium in the NBA, let's focus on three big men who are getting it done: 

Winners

Kevin Garnett, Celtics: Garnett turns 36 today, but he's not atop this list because it's his birthday. It's hard to overlook his 3-for-12, nine-point, seven-turnover outing in the Celtics collapse against the Sixers last night, but Garnett's playoff renaissance has been one of the most compelling stories of the past few weeks. His 192 total points in 10 playoff games is more than anyone except Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and teammate Paul Pierce. Garnett's scoring (19.2) and rebounding (11.0) averages are his best in the playoffs since the Celtics' run to the title in 2008. He's protecting the basket, too, averaging 1.8 blocks per game. That's a figure he only exceeded once in the regular season, during his MVP year in 2003/04.

Tim Duncan, Spurs: A few weeks after his 36th birthday, Duncan can't believe how healthy he feels, and that's certainly been reflected  in his play. He's led in his team in scoring with 22.0 PPG in two wins over the Clippers, while also averaging 7.5 rebounds, two steals and a block during the series. His 53% shooting for the postseason as a whole is the third-best percentage he's ever had in the playoffs, and his 25.4 PER is the fifth best of anyone on any playoff team this year. It's hard to imagine him leaving the Spurs, but he's probably earned a few extra dollars and another year or two on his next contract with his throwback performance.

Roy Hibbert, Pacers (restricted): He has exploited the Heat's weakness inside to the tune of 14.7 PPG and 13.3 RPG in three games against Miami, with three blocks a night to boot. He's pulled down 14 offensive rebounds in the series so far, and forced Miami coach Erik Spoelstra to start little-used Dexter Pittman in a vain attempt to match up with Hibbert's 7-foot-2, 278-pound size. For the playoffs as a whole, he's averaging 12.4 PPG and 11.8 RPG, and at age 25, he might be the No. 1 center on the free agent market this summer.

Losers

Ray Allen, Celtics:  His 1-for-7 performance in Boston's closeout victory over the Hawks in the first round has carried over to the series against the Sixers. Allen is averaging only 9.3 points per game against Philadelphia on 29.4% shooting from behind the arc. That's not much of an improvement over his 27.8% three-point accuracy against the Hawks. Odder still is his 60% postseason free-throw shooting. He says his right ankle feels all right, but you have to wonder.

Matt Barnes, Lakers: His appearance on this list has a lot to do with Metta World Peace's return from suspension, but it never helps a free agent's case to become a forgotten man. He's played just 41 minutes so far against the Thunder, taken just seven shots, pulled down four rebounds and has more turnovers (four) than steals (three). The red flags will be flying especially high if he doesn't get much time tonight, with the Lakers playing a rare playoff back-t0-back.

Reggie Evans, Clippers: Evans, too, has seen his minutes cut drastically in the second round, but in his case there's not a clear reason why. Foul trouble might be to blame for his paltry eight minutes in Game 1, but he picked up just one foul as coach Vinny Del Negro went to him for just 11 minutes in Game 2, and his lack of playing time has contributed to an 82-66 advantage for San Antonio on the boards. Evans has seven rebounds in the series so far after bettering that total in six of the seven games against Memphis. 

Celtics Notes: Allen, Rondo, Garnett

With first round playoff action still underway, the Celtics kicked off the second round of the playoffs with a 92-91 victory over the Sixers at home on Saturday. Thanks to 29 points from Kevin Garnett, the Celtics were able to overcome a poor shooting performance from Paul Pierce to secure the win. Let's head up to Boston and catch up on the latest news and happenings at the Garden.

  • Celtics swingman Mickael Pietrus has been dealt a cold hand in recent weeks, but according to CSNNE.com's A. Sherod Blakely, Pietrus isn't the least bit worried about it. 
  • While injuries have impacted the second half of Ray Allen's 16th season in the league, the former UConn star is thankful to still be in the league after so many years, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Allen, 37 later this summer, is one of the few players from the 1996 NBA draft that is still making a contribution to a team. “Sometimes with the other guys, they played two years, they played five years, they played nine years,’’ Allen said. “And they don’t seem like they lasted as long as they should, but some guys get to professional basketball and they just get burned out.
  • Barbara Matson of The Boston Globe says Rajon Rondo didn't know what to expect out of himself after failing to take a nap prior to Saturday's game against the Sixers. The result? The former Kentucky star had the eighth triple-double of his playoff career after getting off to a slow start and not finding his stride until the fourth quarter. 
  • Garnett says he has no life beyond dedicating himself to basketball and it's paying huge dividends for the Celtics, reports ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg“I have no life at this point," said Garnett. "I go home, get treatment, come back in here, study tape, film — no life at all. This is what it is.” With no distractions whatsoever, Garnett has been dominant on the court with 28 points and 14 rebounds in the series-clinching victory over the Hawks and similarly strong numbers Saturday night against the Sixers.