Team USA ready to begin track meet to London against Dominican Republic

By Kurt HelinJul 12, 2012, 12:36 PM EDT

LAS VEGAS — Any good coach plays to the strengths of the guys on his roster. And Mike Krzyzewski is a very good coach.

He looks at a roster of elite players entering their peak, a roster deep with great athletes no other team in the world could match. He and assistant coach Mike D’Antoni know what they want with this roster:

They want a track meet.

“The one thing we do have right now, we have a lot of speed,” LeBron James said Wednesday. “Coach K., Coach (Mike) D’Antoni, they put in some (offensive) sets, but ultimately they want us to defend, rebound and run. Because we have the ability to do that. It’s kind of similar to what I do in Miami. Coach (Erik Spoelstra) always says let’s defend, and if we can get a rebound let’s get up the floor fast and not face a (set) defense.

“In international ball we know we’re going to face a lot of zone. They’re going to dare us to shoot jumpers and we’re going to face all these zones, but a zone can’t be set up if we get stops.”

Starting tonight at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas against the Dominican Republic, Team USA is going to use pressure defense to create turnovers and missed shots, then convert those into fast breaks. They have big rebounders — Kevin Love, Tyson Chandler — who are great outlet passers, they have unstoppable forces in the open court like Lebron, and this team is loaded with guys who can finish at the rim.

We’re going to see some massive Blake Griffin dunks.

But Krzyzewski knows he has that. Right now he’s got the USA Select Team out there running zone against the Olympians, trying to grind the game down. Dealing with zone in the half court has been one of the focuses of practices.

“We figure that we’re really going to see that, teams are really going to pack the paint against us, so we have to be able to shoot it and knock down shots,” Kevin Love said.

For Krzyzewski, it’s about the team really coming together as a unit, that’s what this team is going to need against Spain or when challenged.

“We have 12 really good guys that over the next couple weeks we have to develop into a team,” Krzyzewski said, adding that it was a process.

The key part of that process is to have them be individuals within the system.

“All these guys want to fit in, they have great attitudes, but as their fitting in we want them to be the players they were with the roles they had with their parent team…” Coach K said. “I’ll give you an example. In ’08 (Beijing Olympics) Wade came off the bench, but when he came off the bench he didn’t come off the bench like an off the bench player, he came off the bench as Dwyane Wade.”

Tonight against a decent Dominican team — they have Al Horford and Francisco Garcia, and the team finished fourth at the recent Olympic Qualifying Tournament (the top three teams got invites to the games) — we’ll get a first look at how the process is going.

Kevin Durant: ‘I don’t care about legacy… I used to… Nowadays, I truly, truly don’t care’

By Kurt HelinMar 30, 2023, 1:35 PM EDT

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

In the neverending debate around sports, we become obsessed with a player’s legacy. What is LeBron James‘ legacy and does he need another ring in his GOAT battle with Michael Jordan? What will Damian Lillard‘s legacy be if he chooses to spend his entire career in Portland and doesn’t jump teams to chase a ring? What will Kevin Durant‘s legacy be with him getting ripped by some fans for going to Golden State and joining forces with Stephen Curry in the first place, then other fans ripping him for leaving that situation?

Durant doesn’t care.

That’s what he told Shams Charania of The Athletic.

“I don’t care about legacy,” Durant told The Athletic. “I used to. I used to want to carve out a lane or space in this game for myself that people can remember, but it’s become too much of a thing now. It just becomes too much of a focus on other people. What’s he done, what’s he done? Comparisons. Before, when we wasn’t doing all this debating, I cared about it … I’m about to be in the same breath as these top guys. It was big.

“Nowadays, I truly, truly don’t care. I truly just want to go out there and produce, be the best that I could be, go home, hang with my family, that’s it.”

Durant’s legacy as one of the great pure scorers the game has ever seen is unquestioned. If he walks away from the game right now, he goes down as likely a top 15 player of all-time (that may be low) and a lock first-ballot Hall of Famer. His ability to create a shot for himself, or just hit a jumper over his defender even if there isn’t a good look, may be unparalleled in league history.

Beyond that, it’s the eye of the beholder. Durant is back on the court in Phoenix trying to extend that legacy, however people choose to define it.

What you say about Durant’s years in Golden State — with a couple of rings and a couple of Finals MVPs — says more about what you want and expect from a superstar than it does Durant. He told Charania he saw no logic in what people said about him as he left Golden State, so he stopped worrying about it. He went to Brooklyn, which went worse than just about everyone expected, so he moved on and said he is ignoring the critics again. (Except the occasional foray into Twitter may suggest he cares more than he lets on.)

Durant has cast himself as a guy who just wants to hoop because, at his core, that’s who he is. This is a guy who loves the grind, the competition, he’s an ultimate process-over-results guy. He’s embraced that about himself, he sees that as his legacy even if others will pile more on top of it.

Durant can’t end the legacy debate around him. But he doesn’t have to care about it, either.

Rudy Gobert latest to rip referees, claims conspiracy against Wolves ‘It’s just so obvious’

By Kurt HelinMar 30, 2023, 12:55 PM EDT

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Devin Booker‘s 15 free throw attempts in the Suns’ win Wednesday was more than the 12 the entire Timberwolves team took.

That set Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert off on a tinfoil hat conspiracy theory that the referees wanted to help the Suns win. Or the Kings the game before that. Or the Warriors the game before that. Here’s the full quote (via Chris Hine) that will earn Gobert a healthy fine from the league:

“It’s bulls***. Bulls***. It’s really not fair. Every night. I’ve been in this league for 10 years and I try to always give the benefit of the doubt, but it’s hard for me to think [the referees] are not trying to help [Phoenix] win tonight. It’s hard for me to think they didn’t try to help the Warriors win the other night, or the Sacramento Kings the other night.

“It’s just so obvious. As a basketball player that’s been in this league for so long, it’s disrespectful, and it sucks, to be honest. We work so hard to be in a position to compete with the best, and we just get manipulated into those situations where it just impacts the game for the other team too much. They know how to do it. They do it a lot of different ways. Tonight was another way of doing it.

“But it’s all good. We understand that it’s also a business. Unfortunately. It’s sad, but it’s good also. It’s really good. But it’s true. We understand that we’re not the biggest of the markets, and we’re a team that … I think you want to see [Kevin Durant] in the playoffs, Steph [Curry] in the playoffs, you want to see LeBron [James] in the playoffs. The Timberwolves are not there yet. We got to keep putting our head down, keep playing through that, and it’s frustrating for sure, especially for me.”

For the record, the Timberwolves and Kings were very close in free throws attempted — 34 to 32 — in that Minnesota win. The Timberwolves had 25 free throws to the Warriors’ 17 in that Golden State win. Also, Sacramento fans will have a good laugh at the idea that they are lumped in with the big market, star-driven franchises that allegedly get all the breaks from the league.

It’s also amusing that Gobert is complaining about all the calls the Suns got when Phoenix coach Monty Williams was fined $20,000 after going off last week on how the referees are conspiring against the Suns. Maybe this is just Gobert taking a page out of Williams’ book?

Two other quick thoughts. Suggesting that the number of free throws teams take in a game should be roughly even is flawed logic — aggressive teams attacking the rim get the calls. That is not always going to get even. Giannis Antetokounmpo gets calls because he is relentless in driving the lane, and nobody has another answer to stop him, and that is true of Joel Embiid, Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the other guys who get to the line a lot.

Is the NBA a star-driven league? Duh. It has been since David Stern started selling Magic vs. Bird instead of the Lakers vs. Celtics. Do the game’s biggest stars get special treatment from the referees? It does feel like it, but those are also the players with the ball in their hands the most, attacking and creating shots for themselves and others, so they were naturally going to draw more fouls anyway.

Gobert is frustrated and I get that. But the Timberwolves have been one of the best teams in the NBA over the few weeks, and that driving their chance to make the top six and avoid the play-in should be the focus. This Minnesota team is finding its stride, and the referees will not take that away. Unless the Wolves let them.

Three things to Know: ‘Light the Beam’ — Kings secure first playoff berth since 2006

By Kurt HelinMar 30, 2023, 9:54 AM EDT

Three Things To Know is NBC’s five-days-a-week wrap-up of the night before in the NBA. Check out NBCSports.com every weekday morning to catch up on what you missed the night before plus the rumors, drama, and dunks that make the NBA must-watch.

1) Light the Beam: Kings secure first playoff berth since 2006

“Light the beam! Light the beam!”

The chant was ringing across the beam-less Moda Center in Portland Wednesday night from a healthy-sized group of Kings fans who drove (or flew) up from Sacramento to watch the Kings secure their first playoff berth since 2006. They got their wish, watching a 120-80 thrashing of the Blazers — and they made themselves heard.

LIGHT THE BEAM CHANTS AS THE CLINCH NEARS 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/0gZAy7HTWQ

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) March 30, 2023

Back in Sacramento, the fans gravitated to the Golden 1 Center downtown to see the beam get lit, chanting and waving flags the whole way.

Kings fans flocked to G1C to see the beam 🟣🔦 pic.twitter.com/MKtiaoTNt1

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) March 30, 2023

The Kings have been the best story in the NBA this season, and the most entertaining team to watch with an up-tempo, high-efficiency offense (and a defense that had them winning fun-to-watch shootouts). They took a risk trading away a fan favorite in Tyrese Haliburton (who has lived up to the hype with an All-NBA-level season in Indiana), but that got them Domantas Sabonis, who became a lynchpin at the center (and very possibly an All-NBA player himself this season). Moving Haliburton also unleashed De'Aaron Fox at the point, he has been brilliant and is the frontrunner to win the NBA’s first Clutch Player of the Year award.

Then there’s Keegan Murray, who stood out at Summer League as the most NBA-ready player in this class, and he has responded by making more 3-pointers than any other rookie in NBA history.

Keegan Murray has the most threes EVER by a rookie (188)

Here are some of his best 👀 pic.twitter.com/msH9TY6sJ4

— NBA (@NBA) March 30, 2023

Veteran coach Mike Brown brought it all together — a defense-first coach overseeing one of the best offenses the game has ever seen — and he likely will be rewarded with the Coach of the Year award.

This is why sport. A fan base that has suffered through an ownership group that tried to sell the team and move them out of town, that has suffered through losing season after losing season, fans that have not bought tickets to a playoff game since there was a Bush in the White House have been rewarded. The Kings are in — and not just squeaking into the postseason, they are the Pacific Division champions and the No.3 seed in the West.

This is something a story and a franchise worth celebrating. Savor this moment Kings fans, you deserve it.

2) Jalen Williams tip-in helps Thunder stay in the postseason at bottom of West

A lot of action impacting the crowded bottom of the West playoff chase. Here’s a quick breakdown.

• Jalen Williams’ putback game-winner saved the Thunder on a night they almost dropped one to the Pistons.

JDUB ON THE PUTBACK 😱

THUNDER WIN pic.twitter.com/agGRseNlsl

— NBA (@NBA) March 30, 2023

• The Thunder’s win combined with the Mavericks’ loss to the 76ers has Oklahoma City a full game up on Dallas for the final play-in spot, but that is really two games because OKC also owns the tiebreaker. (Dallas is also two games back in the loss column from No. 9 seed New Orleans.) Nothing is set, but the Thunder control their own destiny in making the postseason, and Luka Dončić and the Mavericks could be on the outside looking in.

• Anthony Davis went off for the Lakers and they beat the Bulls in Chicago.

A dominant performance by AD 😤

38 points
10 rebounds
65% FG

Lakers got the W in Chicago pic.twitter.com/4GF6yTbUti

— NBA (@NBA) March 30, 2023

• The Lakers were helped out Wednesday by the return of Kevin Durant to the Suns, who helped them beat the Timberwolves 107-100. The Lakers are the No.8 seed in the West, tied with the Pelicans for No.9 but also just half a game back of the Timberwolves at No.7 (the Lakers. Timberwolves and Pelicans are all tied in the loss column at 38).

• The Clippers had the most improbable win of the night: No Kawhi Leonard, no Paul George, going up against a Memphis team that had won seven in a row. But the Clippers got a vintage Russell Westbrook performance and that was enough. They continue to sit as the No.5 seed in the West, and they could see Durant and the Suns in what would be a very interesting first-round series.

Russ shows out. Clippers win.

36 PTS (season-high)
4 REB
10 AST
5/5 3PM
72% FG

🔥 pic.twitter.com/6sGgfa9ziV

— NBA (@NBA) March 30, 2023

3) Knicks get win, but lost Julius Randle to sprained ankle

The Knicks picked up a win at home against the Heat, a quality win that has New York even more locked in as the No.5 seed in the East (and may have destined Miami for No.7), but that’s not what anyone is talking about.

Julius Randle sprained his ankle leaping for a rebound and landing on Bam Adebayo‘s foot in the second quarter, and he left the game not to return. As is often the case with ankle sprains, it will be later today — once the swelling has gone down and maybe an MRI is done — that they will have a true picture of the severity and how long Randle could be out.

Randle has not missed a game yet this season, but that will change. Randle is averaging 25.1 points and 10 rebounds a game, playing at an All-NBA level again this season in New York. The Knicks will not be the same team without him.

The Knicks have five games remaining in the season and are almost locked in as the No.5 seed. The season ends April 9 but the Knicks would not start the playoffs (likely in Cleveland) until April 15 or 16. That’s more than two weeks to get Randle right.

Silver hopeful new CBA agreed to by Friday at midnight deadline

By Kurt HelinMar 30, 2023, 8:00 AM EDT

The sides have pushed the deadline back twice, but no more: Friday night at midnight the NBA (on behalf of the owners) and the league’s players’ union will have agreed to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), or either side can opt-out and trigger the first steps toward a summer lockout.

“I certainly can foresee [a CBA] getting done and I hope we do get one done,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday at a press conference following a Board of Governor’s meeting.

However, he added if a new CBA is not in place, the owners planned to opt out of the current one, which would then expire June 30 (and that would become the new, hard deadline to get a new deal in place and avoid a lockout).

NBPA Executive Director Tamika Tremaglio said the players do not plan to opt-out.

“The March 31st deadline is an important benchmark, and we are doing everything in our power to reach an agreement with the league,” Tremaglio said in a statement. “If we don’t have a deal and the league decides to opt-out, it will be disappointing considering all the work both sides have put into the negotiations, and the fair nature of our requests. As far as our fans are concerned, it will be business as usual. Games will continue uninterrupted.”

The sides agreed early not to negotiate through the media, which has kept talk about roadblocks and what is on the table relatively quiet. However, the configuration of the luxury tax (with a focus on limiting higher-spending teams), new veteran contract extension language, a games-played minimum to qualify for the league’s end-of-season awards, and allowing high schoolers to jump straight to the NBA are among the topics known to be up for discussion are on the table. The sides have been in talks for more than a year on a new deal, but it is a complex negotiation as the CBA covers literally every aspect of the NBA’s business.

“Still a lot to go in the next few days,” Silver said. “There’s just something about collective bargaining where deadlines are necessary and seemingly sides tend to hold their best positions until the very end. My sense is this will go down to the very end.”

The last CBA was signed in 2017 and has largely served both sides well as league profits — and with that player salaries — grew. That CBA included the early opt-outs this year and the early deadlines, hoping to avoid a potential work stoppage of any kind. Both sides are hoping to avoid that worst-case scenario.

They have until Friday to meet that first deadline.

Check out more on the Suns

Check out more on the Timberwolves

1) Light the Beam: Kings secure first playoff berth since 2006

2) Jalen Williams tip-in helps Thunder stay in the postseason at bottom of West

3) Knicks get win, but lost Julius Randle to sprained ankle

Check out the latest on the Warriors