NBA – Page 5 – North Platte Post Archive

TNT’s Sager to Miss NBA Playoffs Due to Leukemia

Posted on April 18, 2014

ATLANTA (AP) — TNT analyst Craig Sager will miss the NBA playoffs as he undergoes treatment for leukemia.

A sideline reporter famous for his brightly colored suits, Sager’s sense of humor was intact in a statement released by Turner Sports on Friday.

Sager describes the postseason as “my favorite time of year – city to city, round by round, 40 games in 40 nights.” He says that “a dramatic turn has matched me with acute myeloid leukemia. From the sidelines to being sidelined, 40 veins and 40 electrolytes.”

Sager jokes about the often-terse in-game interviews with San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich: “Too bad, I had some probing questions for Pop.”

NBA Playoff Schedule

Posted on April 18, 2014

All Times EDT
FIRST ROUND
(x-if necessary)
Saturday, April 19

Brooklyn at Toronto, 12:30 p.m.

Golden State at L.A. Clippers, 3:30 p.m.

Atlanta at Indiana, 7 p.m.

Memphis at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 20

Dallas at San Antonio, 1 p.m.

Charlotte at Miami, 3:30 p.m.

Washington at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Portland at Houston, 9:30 p.m.

Monday, April 21

Memphis at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.

Golden State at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 22

Atlanta at Indiana, 7 p.m.

Brooklyn at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

Washington at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 23

Charlotte at Miami, 7 p.m.

Dallas at San Antonio, 8 p.m.

Portland at Houston, 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 24

Indiana at Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Memphis, 8 p.m.

L.A. Clippers at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, April 25

Toronto at Brooklyn, 7 p.m.

Chicago at Washington, 8 p.m.

Houston at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 26

Indiana at Atlanta, 2 p.m.

San Antonio at Dallas, 4:30 p.m.

Miami at Charlotte, 7 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Memphis, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 27

Chicago at Washington, 1 p.m.

L.A. Clippers at Golden State, 3:30 p.m.

Toronto at Brooklyn, 7 p.m.

Houston at Portland, 9:30 p.m.

Monday, April 28

Miami at Charlotte, 7 p.m.

x-Atlanta at Indiana, 8 p.m.

San Antonio at Dallas, 9:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 29

x-Washington at Chicago, TBD

x-Memphis at Oklahoma City, TBD

x-Golden State at L.A. Clippers, TBD

Wednesday, April 30

x-Charlotte at Miami, TBD

x-Brooklyn at Toronto, TBD

x-Dallas at San Antonio, TBD

x-Portland at Houston, TBD

Thursday, May 1

x-Indiana at Atlanta, TBD

x-Chicago at Washington, TBD

x-Oklahoma City at Memphis, TBD

x-L.A. Clippers at Golden State, TBD

Friday, May 2

x-Miami at Charlotte, TBD

x-Toronto at Brooklyn, TBD

x-San Antonio at Dallas, TBD

x-Houston at Portland, TBD

Saturday, May 3

x-Atlanta at Indiana, TBD

x-Washington at Chicago, TBD

x-Memphis at Oklahoma City, TBD

x-Golden State at L.A. Clippers, TBD

Sunday, May 4

x-Charlotte at Miami, TBD

x-Brooklyn at Toronto, TBD

x-Dallas at San Antonio, TBD

x-Portland at Houston, TBD

NBA Plans Expanded Programs with Military

Posted on April 18, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — Army graduate Mike Krzyzewski will lead a U.S. national team practice at his alma mater, and the U.S. women will train at the Naval Academy as part of an increased partnership among the NBA, USA Basketball and the Department of Defense.

The NBA and its teams will also organize job fairs and other events to support military personnel in their transition back to civilian life.

The plans were announced Friday following the completion of the NBA’s board of governors meeting. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressed owners at the meeting.

The U.S. men will hold an open practice at West Point on Aug. 18. The women will practice at Navy from Sept. 7-10 as both teams prepare to defend their world titles.

NBA Playoffs Looking More Wide-Open than Expected

Posted on April 18, 2014

MIAMI (AP) — Before the season started, a poll suggested that the Miami Heat were the overwhelming favorite to win the NBA title, collecting a whopping 76 percent of ballots cast.

The voters weren’t some know-nothings, either.

No, this was a polling of NBA general managers.

Things seem quite a bit different now. The Heat don’t seem like locks for a third straight title anymore. San Antonio and Indiana are top seeds. Brooklyn, Chicago, the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City, Golden State, Houston, Portland and the Heat all figure to have a legitimate chance at being the club to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in a couple of months.

Usually, the NBA playoffs aren’t so wide open. Things might change over the next couple of months.

“There are 16 teams that have a chance to win it,” said Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks, whose team is seeded No. 2 in the West. “If you’re in the playoffs, you have a chance. There are some good teams. Any team can beat each other. The West is deep. There are two teams that are really good that didn’t make it and had great years. It’s definitely open. There’s a lot of good basketball teams that are fighting for the championship.”

For as good as San Antonio and Indiana were all year — well, for most of the year in Indiana’s case, before the Pacers faltered down the stretch — it’s never a certainty that the No. 1 seeds reach the NBA Finals. It’s happened that way only 11 times in the last 35 years.

Then again, the last time that there wasn’t either a No. 1 or a No. 2 in the title series was 1978. So while upsets can happen, it’s not all that common to see bracket craziness — akin to a No. 7 and No. 8 seeds Connecticut and Kentucky playing for the NCAA title earlier this month — happening in the same NBA playoff season.

“It is going to be tremendous from a fans’ standpoint, watching,” Golden State coach Mark Jackson said. “It going to be a lot of fun.”

Brooklyn’s Jason Kidd has plenty of postseason experience as a player. He believes the NBA championship is up for grabs, but also probably knows history doesn’t favor his sixth-seeded club.

Since 1979, only five teams seeded No. 4 or lower in their conference have reached the finals. But Kidd sees reason for hope.

“It’s always wide open,” said Kidd, the first-year coach of the Nets — a veteran-laden team put together to win a title this season. “You guys sometimes limit it to just two teams but guys that are playing on a daily basis in the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference feel like they’ve got a chance.”

This year, that doesn’t just seem like coach speak.

Take the East. On paper, the biggest mismatch is No. 1 Indiana against No. 8 Atlanta, especially because the Hawks are the only sub-.500 team in the playoffs. And just a couple weeks ago, the Hawks went to Indianapolis and absolutely embarrassed the Pacers, running out to a 32-point halftime lead in one of the more stunning games of the entire NBA season.

“There’s some good teams out there,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “Every team in the playoffs have given us some problems. We’ve been able to win against them as well. But it’s certainly shaped out to be a good conference.”

No. 5 Washington won the season series over No. 4 Chicago. Out West, the third-seeded Clippers and sixth-seeded Golden State split four meetings. Memphis ousted Oklahoma City a year ago and those clubs meet in the first round. And San Antonio’s quest to avenge last year’s loss in the NBA Finals starts against Dallas — the last team to beat Miami in a seven-game series, winning the title in 2011.

So there are some good stories, and there’s intrigue with every first-round series.

That doesn’t mean everyone in the league thinks it’ll be a year laden with surprises. Philadelphia coach Brett Brown put it simply — to him, the game changes in the playoffs, period.

“The regular season and the playoffs are like two different sports,” Brown said. “If you put me in a bubble and you drag me out in May, I can say this is different than the game I’m seeing in November. It’s just entirely different.”

That’s why Brown, a former Spurs assistant, thinks there’s a very small number of teams capable of winning it all.

“To be the last man standing is so ridiculously hard,” Brown said. “People have no idea what it’s like to play in June.”

NBA to Play Preseason Games in China, Brazil

Posted on April 10, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao will play an NBA game back home in Brazil for the first time when Cleveland takes on the Miami Heat in an exhibition in October.

The NBA announced five international preseason games Thursday. The Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings will meet twice in China — Oct. 12 in Shanghai and Oct. 15 in Beijing.

The Spurs will also play two Euroleague Basketball teams. San Antonio faces eight-time German champion Alba Berlin in Berlin on Oct. 8 and five-time Turkish champ Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul in Istanbul on Oct. 11.

The Cavs-Heat matchup is also Oct. 11 in Rio de Janeiro.

The NBA will later announce regular-season international games for 2014-15 as part of its efforts to promote the league around the world.

Silver: 2 Years of College Best for NBA Players

Posted on March 24, 2014

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Adam Silver says he’s heard the “Bill Gates theory” numerous times from critics over the last month: You shouldn’t be required to attend college to become a millionaire.

But the new NBA commissioner steadfastly believes that basketball players should spend at least two years in college before being allowed to enter the draft — instead of the required one.

Fair or not, he says it’s simply best for the league.

Speaking before Monday’s Rockets-Bobcats game in Charlotte, Silver says “I think two years is the right balance.”

That means if Silver had his way Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins would be staying in school another year. But there’s little he can do about that.

An agreement between the league and players association is not imminent.

Silver: I Don’t See Tanking to Improve Draft Spot

Posted on March 12, 2014

BOSTON (AP) — NBA commissioner Adam Silver says he doesn’t see tanking going on in the league.

Silver said at a Boston College event on Wednesday that he thinks of tanking as players and coaches trying to lose on purpose. But he believes players and coaches are trying to win. Instead, teams are trying to rebuild through the draft, and that’s OK.

Silver was the guest of the Chief Executives’ Club of Boston.

This year’s college draft class is expected to be one of the best in memory. That has encouraged teams to trade away talent to improve their draft position. But that’s different from tanking.

Silver said teams are responding to the incentives set up by the league. If the incentives are wrong, that’s something the NBA needs to change, he said.

NBA: No Serious Discussions About 4-point Line

Posted on February 26, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — NBA players won’t be pulling up for a 4-point shot anytime soon.

The league denied Tuesday that any serious discussions had been held about that or expanding the court.

ESPN.com reported that president of operations Rod Thorn and vice president Kiki Vandeweghe, during an interview at All-Star weekend, said the league had discussed both possibilities.

In a statement posted on Twitter, league spokesman Tim Frank says “No one at the NBA, nor the competition committee, has had any serious conversations about increasing the size of the floor or adding a 4-point line.” Frank adds “Rod Thorn and Kiki Vandeweghe were entertaining a line of questioning about out of the box ideas and ESPN.com chose to make a story that doesn’t exist.”

AP Source: Nuggets Trade Miller, Hamilton

Posted on February 20, 2014

DENVER (AP) — A person with knowledge of the details says the Denver Nuggets have traded Andre Miller and Jordan Hamilton in separate deals.

The person, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the moves had not been announced, said Miller was traded to Washington on Thursday in a three-team deal. Denver gets forward Jan Vesely and Philadelphia acquired Eric Maynor and draft picks.

Also, the Nuggets traded Hamilton to Houston for Aaron Brooks, filling Denver’s dire need for a point guard.

Ty Lawson (ribs) has been out and Miller had not played for Denver since yelling at coach Brian Shaw during a Jan. 1 game.

The Nuggets got future flexibility in the deals, first reported by the Denver Post, because Vesely and Brooks have expiring contracts.

NBA D-League to Call Technical Fouls for Flops

Posted on February 19, 2014February 19, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA Development League will begin assessing technical fouls for flops, a new rule that goes further than the NBA one by punishing the act during a game.

The NBA began to issue punishments last season for flopping, the art of exaggerating contact to deceive referees into calling a foul, but only retroactively. If a player is determined to have flopped after a postgame review, he is given a warning for the first offense and a $5,000 fine for the second.

Under the NBA D-League system that begins Thursday and runs through the end of the season, referees will note when they believe a flop occurred, then confirm it via instant replay at the next timeout or quarter break. If confirmed, the free throw will be shot at that time.