Another loss puts Lakers in deep hole to even make playoffs

By Kurt HelinJan 9, 2013, 12:15 AM EST

For the past five years, it has taken at least 45 wins to make the playoffs in the Western Conference (technically Utah had 36 wins last season because of the lockout, but that was a 45-win pace). Coming into Tuesday night, Denver was the eight seed in the West and they are on pace for 46 wins.

For the Lakers to get to 45 wins this season they will need to go 30-18 the rest of the way. That stretch includes the Lakers annual “Grammy” trip when Taylor Swift and fun. kick the Lakers out of Staples for a seven-game road trip.

The Lakers need to start winning games now to even make the playoffs.

They didn’t do that Tuesday night. Playing without Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill — all three bigs out with injuries — the Lakers went small and tried to run with the Houston Rockets. The team that plays at the fastest pace in the league.

The result was predictable with the Lakers poor transition defense — a 125-112 Rockets win. That is the fourth straight loss for the Lakers, who have the second night of a back-to-back in San Antonio on Wednesday then host the Thunder on Friday, both games likely without their bigs.

The losing streak could reach six, and the Lakers would need to go 30-16 just to get to 45 wins. Which may not be enough to make the playoffs.

Tuesday night the Lakers looked plucky to start the game as Steve Nash was picking apart the Rockets (especially when they sideline trapped him), and starting center Robert Sacre looked pretty good and had a dunk. The Lakers early lead stretched out to 18-4 as Metta World Peace and Darius Morris hit threes.

But at the end of the day the Lakers were going to need to have good transition defense to win this game and they haven’t shown that consistently all season.

By late in the second quarter the game was close again as Carlos Delfino seemed to always be wide open. The Rockets went on an 18-2 third quarter run and the Lakers tried but could never close the gap after that.

James Harden attacked and tore up the Lakers defense to the tune of 31 points and 9 assists. Sacre tried but the Lakers missed an inside presence to turn away Rockets penetration in the half court.

Kobe was off, scoring 20 but needing 22 shots to do it (but adding 7 assists). World Peace led the Lakers with 24.

It’s a loss the Lakers can have plenty of excuses for, but the time for excuses is past. If they don’t start winning soon Jim Buss can ask Donald Sterling for tips on how to throw a good lottery party.

Milwaukee Bucks reportedly to hire Adrian Griffin as head coach

By Kurt HelinMay 27, 2023, 2:43 PM EDT

Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty Images

Buzz had been growing for a week that Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin was the favorite Bucks coaching candidate of Giannis Antetokounmpo. Nick Nurse had his backers in the organization, but in a superstar-driven league, the wishes of players like the Greek Freak hold a lot of sway (especially with him up for a new contract in a couple of years).

The Milwaukee Bucks are reportedly hiring Griffin as their next head coach, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

ESPN Sources: The Milwaukee Bucks are planning to hire Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin as the franchise’s next head coach. Sides are progressing on terms of an agreement. pic.twitter.com/Kz1iydRKsF

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 27, 2023

This reaction from Fred VanVleet should tell you all you need to know about how the Raptors players felt about Griffin.

Well deserved 🔥🔥🔥 @NBACoachGriffin yeah griff!!!!! https://t.co/neijpk0ma6

— Fred VanVleet (@FredVanVleet) May 27, 2023

This hire is a gamble by the Bucks, turning the keys of a contender over to a rookie coach, but Griffin is more than deserving of a shot. Griffin spent eight years as a role player in the NBA — after going undrafted out of Seton Hall hand having to play in the Philipines — and then got into coaching, starting as an assistant in Milwaukee from 2008-2010. Griffin is seen as a defensive-first coach with a strong player development background (he worked with Jimmy Butler in Chicago). He’s been at or near the top of the “guys who deserve a shot” list for years and was in consideration for the open Raptors job in Toronto.

Instead, he now takes over a contender, although with a roster that is getting older and more expensive fast (free agent center Brook Lopez turns 35 this year, Khris Middleton is 31 and has a $40.4 million player option, Jrue Holiday is 31 and extension eligible come the fall).

Griffin will replace Mike Budenholzer, who was let go despite winning a championship with this team in 2021. Budenholzer is a process guy and was considered too rigid and slow to make adjustments in the playoffs, and this year’s first-round elimination by the No. 8 seed Miami Heat was seen as the culmination of that (even though Antetokounmpo missed two games due to a back injury). Griffin will bring a different voice and some new looks to a Bucks team still in its championship window.

Don’t be surprised if the Bucks hire a former NBA head coach to be Griffin’s lead assistant, to give him a veteran voice as a sounding board.

Nurse had been considered one of the frontrunners for this job, but now looks like someone destined to land in Philadelphia or Phoenix.

Heat guard Gabe Vincent reportedly to play in Game 6

By Kurt HelinMay 27, 2023, 2:07 PM EDT

Officially, Heat guard Gabe Vincent is listed as questionable for a critical Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday night. He missed Game 5 due to a sprained ankle suffered late in Game 4 but was a partial participant in Saturday’s shootaround, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.

However, a report from Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports points to what everyone expects: Vincent will play in Game 6.

Gabe Vincent is expected to play for the Miami Heat in Game 6 after sitting the Game 5 loss with an ankle injury, league sources tell @YahooSports. He was listed as questionable on yesterday’s injury report.

— Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) May 27, 2023

Miami needs him back if they are going to win Game 6 at home and end this series (the Heat lead the series 3-2).

Not just because Vincent has averaged 17.5 points per game this series, but because of his ball handling and shot creation. In the second half of Game 4 and through Game 5, the Celtics changed their defensive game plan, becoming aggressive at jumping passing lanes, bringing doubles on drivers, and trying to force turnovers. During the regular season the Celtics were a bottom-five team in forcing turnovers by design — they bet that their impressive one-on-one defenders could make shots difficult and so off-ball defenders largely stayed home on guys off the ball and didn’t take risks. That changed and Miami struggled to adjust in Game 5, with Kyle Lowry — starting in place of Vincent — having three costly early turnovers.

Vincent back in the lineup could help counter the Celtics’ defense. Miami also needs great games from Jimmy Butler (who looked tired in Game 5) and Bam Adebayo, who also had an off game in Boston.

The Heat want no part of a Game 7, they need to close this series out Saturday night. They need Vincent to do that.

Coaching carousel update: Nick Nurse has strong, not universal, support in Milwaukee

By Kurt HelinMay 27, 2023, 11:13 AM EDT

Five open coaching jobs remain around the NBA: Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons.

Here is the latest on the searches to fill those openings.

• Nick Nurse may be the first domino to fall with him having drawn interest from the Suns, Bucks and 76ers. Nurse has strong support in Milwaukee, but it’s not universal, reports Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

So it’s worth noting that, as of earlier this week, Nick Nurse’s candidacy had strong support within the organization. Though not all key stakeholders in Milwaukee were aligned on Nurse, per SNY sources.

• Nurse has interviewed in Phoenix as well. Their top target was current Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, according to multiple reports, but Begley reinforces what has been reported here at NBC Sports and other places: The Clippers are not expected to part ways with Lue. Even if they do, the Clippers will not let their coach walk to a division rival in Phoenix.

• Momentum appears to be building behind Suns’ assistant coach Kevin Young getting a promotion in Phoenix, with Marc Stein reporting he got a key endorsement.

Word is Young, who has also interviewed for the head coaching vacancies in Milwaukee and Toronto, has received a strong endorsement from Suns star Devin Booker.

• It would be risky to put a first-time head coach in charge of a contender in Phoenix. If new owner Mat Ishbia goes that route, look for the Suns to get a former NBA head coach to be his assistant (don’t be surprised to see that in Boston next season as well, where Joe Mazzulla is expected to remain as coach).

• Nurse, former Nets’ head coach and current Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, and Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin remain the finalists for the Bucks head coaching job. Stein reports Giannis Antetokounmpo is “intrigued” by Griffin.

• Toronto’s coaching search could be influenced by which direction team president Masai Ujiri decides to take the roster, something else up in the air. From ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on the Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip Real GM).

“In talking to folks that have been in touch with the Raptors recently, the Raptors don’t seem to know which direction they’re going to take. Whether or not they are going to focus on re-signing Fred VanVleet, extending Pascal Siakam, potentially making other roster upgrades. Or whether or not they’re going to send Fred VanVleet in a sign-and-trade, maybe investigate moving other players be it OG Anunoby or Pascal Siakam.”

• Multiple reports have Bucks’ assistant Charles Lee and former UConn coach Kevin Ollie as the frontrunners to be the next head coach in Detroit. Pistons’ ownership reportedly backed the Brinks truck up to Monty Williams’ house but he was not interested, Stein reported. The buzz has been that GM Troy Weaver is backing Ollie.

• The only coaching vacancy filled so far this offseason is Ime Udoka taking the job as the Rockets’ head coach.

Karl Malone pulls in $5 million with auction of 1992 Dream Team memorabilia

By Kurt HelinMay 27, 2023, 10:24 AM EDT

Richard Mackson /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

At one of Karl Malone’s car dealerships in Utah, the Hall of Famer used to display some of his memorabilia from the 1992 Dream Team — game-worn jerseys from Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, among other items.

Wednesday night, Malone auctioned off 24 pieces of that memorabilia, netting him a cool $5 million, something reported by Darren Rovell at the Action Network.

The biggest seller was a game-worn Michael Jordan jersey from the USA’s 127-76 thrashing of Lithuania in the medal round, it went for more than $3 million.

BREAKING: the Michael Jordan 1992 Olympic "Dream Team" Game-Used, Photo-Matched, Signed, Inscribed Jersey has sold in our Dream Team Auction.

Final sale price: $3,030,000 🏀🐐 pic.twitter.com/dZY9U2gZDB

— Goldin (@GoldinCo) May 25, 2023

Other items sold include $360,000 for a Larry Bird game-worn jersey and $230,400 for a Charles Barkley uniform.

Final Sale Price for this Larry Bird Jersey: $360,000 💸

Final Sale Price for these Larry Bird Sneakers: $91,200 💸

All-time records for any Larry Bird Game-Used Jersey & Sneakers 🤯 pic.twitter.com/UyBsZ4pROZ

— Goldin (@GoldinCo) May 25, 2023

Final Sale Price for this Charles Barkley Jersey: $230,400 💸

Final Sale Price for these Charles Barkley Sneakers: $79,200 💸

All-time records for any Charles Barkley Game-Used Jersey & Sneakers 🤯 pic.twitter.com/mC1Ds8Yc0T

— Goldin (@GoldinCo) May 25, 2023

Final Sale Price for this David Robinson Jersey: $116,400 💸

Final Sale Price for these David Robinson Sneakers: $16,800 💸

All-time records for any David Robinson Game-Used Jersey & Sneakers 🤯 pic.twitter.com/wSeXoifTFp

— Goldin (@GoldinCo) May 25, 2023

Check out more on the Bucks

Here is more on the Heat

Check out the latest on the Bucks

Check out the latest on the Lakers