Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Perkins Believes Garnett Will Return


Oklahoma City center Kendrick Perkins said he has talked with former Celtics teammate Kevin Garnett and believes the 17-year veteran wants to return to the NBA next season.
Garnett did not speak with the media after the Celtics’ Game 7 loss to the Heat June 9 and has given no hint of his plans next season. He hugged Doc Rivers after exiting Game 7 and gave the coach a pat on the head, moving Rivers nearly to tears.
Garnett is an unrestricted free agent and could re-sign with the Celtics or test the market and be courted by teams for the first time in his career. Garnett has never been an unrestricted free agent.
“I feel like if he does return to basketball, I think that that would be the team,’’ Perkins said of the Celtics. “I heard Kevin say a few times that he wouldn’t want to play for anybody but Doc, so it will be interesting to see. I still think he got a lot more years in him. He got a lot of love for the game and it would be hard to see Kevin walk away from the game right now.’’

Monday, June 18, 2012

Phoenix Suns Looking for Talent at #13


The Suns might need the franchise’s next point guard soon. They also are putting a priority on finding a wing scorer who can create his own shot.
Those are needs, but the Suns’ most glaring need after missing consecutive postseasons for the first time in 24 years is talent. Saturday’s draft workout at US Airways Center made it clear that a talent influx also could come in the form of another big man, despite drafting power forward Markieff Morris last year, returning Channing Frye and Marcin Gortat and planning to retain restricted free agent Robin Lopez.
The Suns close workouts and do not announce or comment on visiting prospects, but league sources revealed that on Saturday they hosted an impressive group of big men who are all first-round candidates. The workout featured North Carolina’s John Henson and Tyler Zeller, Illinois’ Meyers Leonard, Baylor’s Perry Jones and Mississippi State’s Arnett Moultrie, as well as Vanderbilt small forward Jeffery Taylor.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Bucks, Jennings Yet to Discuss Extension?


The Bucks have yet to have any in-depth discussions with Bill Duffy about extending Brandon Jennings’ contract. Duffy represents the Bucks’ starting point guard.

Sund Likely to Remain with Hawks


Hawks general manager Rick Sund is likely to remain with the franchise after his contract expires at the end of this month but his future role in the front office still isn’t clear.
Sund said he’s still in discussions with Hawks co-owners Bruce Levenson and Michael Gearon Jr. about continuing to work for the Hawks in some capacity beyond the draft.
“All I’m going to say is Bruce and I are kicking around a few ideas and when something gets totally resolved we will let you know,” Sund said today after the team worked out draft prospects.

Will Free Agency Help the Bobcats?


The Charlotte Bobcats have gone through a lot of pain the past two seasons to have salary-cap flexibility. They could be as much as $21 million under the cap this summer.
The chance to spend that money to sign impact free agents could be slim.
Of the dozen top-100 players becoming unrestricted free agents this summer, eight are so deep into their careers (at least 11 seasons) that it makes little sense to sign one for a rebuilding project.
That can’t be good news as the Bobcats set out to fix a roster that went 7-59 last season. In addition to the No. 2 draft pick, the Bobcats’ greatest tool is their cap flexibility.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

MAGIC are you retarded?



This article below is ridiculous and hard to read. First off Magic. What are you talking about. You lost all credibility as a commentator for that stupid comment in my book. That was retarded. Are you retarded? Worst PG performance ever in the Finals? He almost had a triple double. Some players just catch the media buzz and can't get away from it. Like Lebron and Tebow. Some players always get the blame and it does not make sense. Russell Westbrook is awsome. I would rather have Westbrook than Durant personally. If you take Russell Westbrook off OKC team. Would anybody consider them more athletic and having more  speed than their opponents. I think not.  He is a athletic beast and he is money from anywhere within 20ft and he can get it off whenever. Jeff Gundy summed up what I think was OKC's problem in the telecast for game 2. He said it is just human nature. You won game one so the other team is gona come back with more urgency get the win. He said they need to stop listening to their friends and family telling them how great they were in game 1. And champions would not make that mistake. So I do not really know who will win series. And yeah Westbrook could have played better and could do some things differently. But to get comments from Magic and Stephen A Smith criticizing him like that is blasphemy. Magic, Bird was way better than you anyway. You annoyed me with your stupid no look passes when you did not need to not look. I did seem to enjoy you though as a commentator. I have always like what you say until now. And Stephen A Smith does not have a original thought is his whole body. He just goes with whats trending. Just think how good Westbrook would be if Durant wasn't on the team. I think he is very unselfish.  I think he needs to be more selfish. It is just he is a point gaurd so the rest of the team needs him to distribute. Which he does. Don't get me wrong though they would not be as good without Durant. Durant is a freakin stud and should be their number one option. But man do I love watchin Russell Westbrook play. He can get by anybody and he has such a quick jumper.

MIAMI -- Russell Westbrook has been the NBA Finals' most polarizing figure so far, and he has no intention of changing that, or his game.
Westbrook has drawn criticism for his decision-making and shot selection that has contributed to the Oklahoma City Thunder falling behind the Miami Heat in the first halves of Games 1 and 2.
ABC analyst Magic Johnson said Westbrook had one of the worst performances for a point guard in the Finals that he'd seen, after the Heat built a 17-point lead in the first half of Game 2 en route to a 100-96 win, evening the series at 1-1.
"I'm not making no adjustments, regardless of what anybody says," Westbrook said Saturday before the Thunder's practice. "I'm going to play my game regardless of what happens."
Westbrook is averaging what would seem like an impressive 27 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in the Finals, but it's his 40 percent shooting on a team-high 50 shots in the first two games that's garnered more ire. Kevin Durant, who is shooting a remarkable 57 percent in the Finals, has taken eight fewer shots.
Teammates and coach Scott Brooks, however, have been staunch in defending Westbrook's play.
"We need Russell to score. I know some (people) don't like that," Brooks said. "He got off to a bad start but he came back. Him and Kevin are both terrific players, they both have to score points for us to be successful. I don't look at who gets more, who doesn't get more. I look at the quality of the shots. Could Russell have taken two or three better shots? Absolutely. Going into (Game 3), hopefully that's the case."
Said Durant: "Everyone thinks he should be a traditional point guard like a (John) Stockton. There's a lot of people that cannot be like Russ either. Of course he's going to make mistakes."
This is the continuation of an issue that has been a common talking point since the playoffs last year. The shot comparison between Durant and Westbrook is closely watched by critics. Westbrook's attitude on the matter has remained mostly constant.
"It's just something that comes along with the territory," Westbrook said. "We're in the NBA Finals now and the more negative you hear, the better you're doing. That's how I look at it."




Friday, June 15, 2012

Gilbert Arenas / Ray Allen - Art of shooting




Great video. Two of the best shooters in the game. Especially Ray Allen. Arguably the the best shooter ever. Great advice at 4:38. When he says the ball should feel like it is going right through you. From your toes to your release. So true. The trick is getting to that point when you are jumping your highest. Of course you can do that when you are not jumping but to get that feeling when you are going game speed and jumping hard is the key. Fluidity.