Perkins sitting key to solving Thunder’s Shane Battier problem

By Kurt HelinJun 15, 2012, 4:03 PM EDT

You can’t take away everything.

One man cannot stop LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, you need a team defensive effort, you need bigs rotating into the paint as shot blockers. But that comes with tradeoffs.

Serge Ibaka is one of the game’s best shot blockers and he has hung near the paint to protect the rim when Wade and James drive. It’s what he does. But the tradeoff through two NBA finals games is in doing so he lets Shane Battier roam free out at the arc — the result is two 17-point games and 9-of-13 shooting from three by Battier this series. Battier is a key reason this series is 1-1 heading to Miami.

It’s a problem the Thunder need to deal with.

The temptation is to say Battier will come back to earth (or regress to the mean, you like math terms). He shot 33.9 percent from three this season and 38.2 percent for his career. He can’t keep up this pace, right? Actually, maybe he can. The lucky shots (like that banked three in Game 2) will not fall forever, but mostly he is getting wide open looks with his feet set. Let him do that and Battier is going to hit a high percentage of threes.

What can the Thunder do about it? Sit Kendrick Perkins — 7 of Battier’s 9 threes have come when Kendrick Perkins is on the floor. OKC must go small faster and for longer stretches.

Follow me on this one. Perkins was brought in to Oklahoma City to deal with the likes of Andrew Bynum and Dwight Howard, more traditional centers. Miami doesn’t have anyone like that. Against the Heat, Perkins draws Chris Bosh and that leaves Ibaka — whose strength is as a shot blocker flying in from the weak side — to choose between protecting the rim and hanging out at the arc with Battier.

The result is Ibaka goes for the block, Wade kicks it out, the rotation is almost always slow to non-existent, and Battier gets a good look at a three. And he buries it.

It’s not just me saying this. There is our own Rob Mahoney at the New York Times. Sebastian Pruitti wrote about it at Grantland. And in case you think Perkins is helping out the Thunder offense, that is wrong as well.

Less Perkins, more James Harden. Way less. Like don’t start Perkins. I know Perkins has a time and place, but this finals is not it. The Thunder just also need to be more aware in transition and pick up Battier at the arc because they are again ignoring him to protect the paint and paying the price.

Paul George has to be helped off court after fourth quarter leg injury

By Kurt HelinMar 22, 2023, 2:38 AM EDT

Hopefully this is not serious, not something that changes the playoff picture in the West.

The Clippers’ Paul George went down with 4:38 left in the game Tuesday night after a collision with Lu Dort going for a rebound.

Here’s the play where Paul George suffered what appears to be a leg injury. pic.twitter.com/k0JbXyrXvn

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 22, 2023

George had to be helped back to the locker room and struggled to put any weight on his leg.

PG was helped off the floor after an apparent leg injury 🙏 pic.twitter.com/1KQwlgbteg

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 22, 2023

After the game, Tyronn Lue said George was still being evaluated and had no update on his status. George was seen exiting the arena on the back of a cart with his right leg extended, according to the AP.

🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾PG

— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) March 22, 2023

George had 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists before exiting the game. On the season he is playing at an All-NBA level averaging 23.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists a game, and the Clippers are 6.8 points per 100 possessions better when he is on the court.

The Thunder went on to win 101-100 in a game filled with drama, including a technical foul for Kawhi Leonard, an ejection of Terrence Mann, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 31 points, and Lou Dort locking up Leonard in the final seconds.

Grizzlies Ja Morant: ‘My job now is… to be more responsible’

By Kurt HelinMar 22, 2023, 1:39 AM EDT

While his coach said he anticipates Ja Morant will return to the court Wednesday for the Grizzlies, Morant downplayed expectations and said things are “still in the air.”

Whether the official return is Wednesday or a few days later, Morant is back practicing with teammates and spoke to the media for the first time since his suspension. He once again was apologetic.

“I’m completely sorry for that,” Morant said, via the Associated Press. “So, you know, my job now is, like I said, to be more responsible, more smarter, and don’t cause any of that no more.”

Morant was suspended eight games by the NBA after flashing a gun in a club and broadcasting it on social media, something NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called “irresponsible” and “reckless.” Morant used that time to go into counseling at a facility in Florida but added he “never had an alcohol problem.”.

“I went there to counseling to learn how to manage stress,” Morant said. “Cope with stress in a positive way, instead of ways I’ve tried to deal with it before that caused me to make mistakes.”

Morant said that his treatment is an “ongoing process,” adding that he was getting off social media and letting his actions speak for him.

Morant and his associates had incidents before that caught the attention of people around the league — including a run-in with Indiana Pacers security — however, this incident in a Colorado club was the first one that hit him in the wallet. The suspension cost him $668,659 in game pay, plus one of his major sponsors — Powerade — pulled an ad campaign featuring him that would have run heavily during March Madness.

The biggest hit is Morant possibly missing out on an All-NBA guard spot. Morant could make $39 million more over the five-year extension that kicks in next season if he makes one of the three All-NBA teams. However, the guard spot is especially crowded with deserving players this season and this incident and the missed games do not help his cause.

Hart will be free agent this summer seeking new contract, ‘would love for it to be New York’

By Kurt HelinMar 21, 2023, 6:36 PM EDT

Josh Hart‘s play since coming to the Knicks has made him a lot of money.

Already a darling of many front offices, Hart has been a seamless fit in New York, averaging 11.1 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Tom Thibodeau, playing quality defense, and being the kind of plug-and-play wing every team can use. He’s quickly become a fan favorite in New York, but the Knicks will have to pay up to keep him. Hart has a player option for $12.9 million next season that he is widely expected to decline — there’s a lot more money and years available to him on the open market.

Hart told Marc Spears of ESPN’s Andscape he wants to find a home, and he hopes that it is in New York.

“I want bigger things for my wife and myself,” Hart said. “Just find a home somewhere where we are valued and really like living there. And I think that can be New York. I would love for it to be New York and hopefully the organization feels the same way. Coming up, this contract is hopefully my biggest one, one where I’m making sure my family’s fully taken care of. So, I’ve also got to take that into account, too.”

That is the polite way of saying, “I like it here but you’re not getting a discount.”

While Hart will have made a tidy $33 million in his career when this season ends, his next four-year contract will be worth more than double that amount — this is the deal that sets up generational wealth for Hart’s family. This is a business and he has to make the decision best for him, as much as he may love the Knicks.

Expect the Knicks to pay up, especially as long as Thibodeau is around. This is a deal that should come together.

But first, Hart and the Knicks are headed to the playoffs, and Madison Square Garden will be rocking. It’s going to be the kind of experience that makes a guy want to stay with a team.

Hall of Famer, Knicks legend Willis Reed dies at 80

By Kurt HelinMar 21, 2023, 5:08 PM EDT

Willis Reed, the legendary Knicks’ center whose dramatic entrance onto the Madison Square Garden floor minutes before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals sparked the team to its first title, has died at the age of 80.

The National Basketball Retired Players Association announced Reed’s passing. While no cause of death was announced, it was known Reed had been in poor health for some time.

“Willis Reed was the ultimate team player and consummate leader,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “My earliest and fondest memories of NBA basketball are of watching Willis, who embodied the winning spirit that defined the New York Knicks’ championship teams in the early 1970s. He played the game with remarkable passion and determination, and his inspiring comeback in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals remains one of the most iconic moments in all of sports.

“As a league MVP, two-time NBA Finals MVP and member of the NBA’s 50^th and 75^th Anniversary Teams, Willis was a decorated player who took great pride in his consistency. Following his playing career, Willis mentored the next generation as a coach, team executive and proud HBCU alumnus. We send our deepest condolences to Willis’ wife, Gale, his family, and many friends and fans.”

Reed had an amazing career — highlighted by the two NBA titles and two NBA Finals MVP awards, plus being a seven-time All-Star — but he is best remembered for a legendary 1969-70 season. That year he became the first player to sweep the regular season, All-Star Game and NBA Finals MVP awards.

However, it was him walking out on the court for Game 7 of the Finals in 1970 — after he suffered a thigh injury in Game 5 and had to miss Game 6 of the series, and the Knicks had no answer for the Lakers’ Wilt Chamberlain without him — that became the moment of legend. Reed scored four early points that game, and while he was limited the rest of the way he sparked the team to its first title (Walt Frazier’s 36 points and 19 assists had something to do with the win, too).

Our Captain. pic.twitter.com/2Bg1ro4y37

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 21, 2023

Reed was born in 1942 in Hico, Louisiana, and stayed in the state through college, leading Grambling State to the 1961 NAIA title. Considered an undersized center at 6’9 “, teams quickly learned he played much bigger than that as he went on to win the 1965 Rookie of the Year award.

Reed averaged 18.7 points and 12.9 rebounds a season over the course of his career, and he had his No.19 retired by the Knicks. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982.

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