Five Takeaways from NBA Wednesday: Kobe back, Curry never left

By Dec 3, 2015, 8:00 AM EST
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Full night around the NBA — and some of the league’s biggest names had their biggest nights — but this time of year the schedule fills up, and it can be hard to watch all the games. That’s why we’re here. If you were busy wondering what that Elf on the Shelf has really been up to and weren’t watching, here are five things you should know from the NBA Wednesday night.

1) Kobe Bryant was back. For a night. “I would hope that he has more fun, and appears less frustrated, and also gets more appreciation.” That was what Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak wished for Kobe the night he announced he would retire at the end of the season. He sure looked like he was having fun Wednesday night. This was the kind of vintage, throwback game everyone is hoping to see from him — he was going in isolation, driving into tough shots, then hitting them anyway. Kobe finished with 31 points on 24 shots, he was knocking down some threes, and with the game on the line  he was at his best. He was at the heart of a 108-104 Laker win on the road against the Jekyll and Hyde Wizards (beat the Cavs Tuesday, lose to the Lakers Wednesday).

I don’t know how much we’ll see of this Kobe this season (his shot selection was not good, he was just making them), but it sure was fun for a night.

2) Stephen Curry never left. Curry is just not fair. On the night they honored his father Dell in Charlotte, Stephen Curry went into full video game mode. He put on a show for the fans in his hometown as he led the Warriors to a 116-99 win and a 20-0 record. Not sure how to explain how well he’s playing, so let me just give you some Curry bullet points:

• He had 40 points Wednesday on 14-of-18 shooting, including 8-of-11 from three.
• That was in three quarters, he didn’t set foot on the court in the fourth.
• Curry now has six 40 point games in the first 20 games, last guy to do that was Michael Jordan (according to the Warriors broadcast).
• Curry now has made more than 100 threes in 20 games, the second fastest player ever to 100 threes in a season was Ray Allen in 31 games.
• Curry has 640 points this season on 430 shot attempts.

3) Stan Van Gundy’s search for answers nets Pistons OT win over Suns. As his team fell behind the Suns by 12 with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said he made more in-game adjustments than he ever had.

He switched matchups. He made substitutions. He used a zone.

“What we were searching for, quite honestly, was a defensive scheme that would work with a total lack of effort,” Van Gundy said. “And we couldn’t find it. So, we just went back to our normal stuff, and guys played hard. Look, I don’t want to get going, because we won, and I don’t want this to be a negative thing.”

Reggie Jackson (34 points and 16 assists) led a 15-0 run that put Detroit up, but Phoenix re-took a two-point lead. The Suns intentionally fouled Andre Drummond (22 points and 12 rebounds) with 12 seconds left, and Drummond — a career 39% free-throw shooter — sunk both to force overtime.

Marcus Morris (24 points and 14 rebounds) also made big contributions to the win over his former team. Is this one particularly special for him?

“Of course it is,” Morris said.
—Dan Feldman

4) Chris Paul is out for a couple of games and the Clippers are not the same without him. They rarely get mentioned among the best backcourts in the game, but when Chris Paul and J.J. Redick are on the court together the Clippers score 111.5 points per 100 possessions, and outscore opponents by 10.9 per 100. Replace those two with Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford and it’s not the same. Which is where the Clippers were Wednesday. CP3 is going to miss a couple games due to his “rib muscle” injury (probably and oblique), and Redick rolled his ankle early in the game and left. Without those two the entire Clipper team looked off, and if you do that against the hot Pacers you pay a price. They did. Indy won 103-91 (six straight wins for them)

5) O.J. Mayo cut his hair. For most of the season, Mayo’s hair looked like this.

Now he’s gone traditional — and you can blame his mom.

Hall of Famer, Knicks legend Willis Reed dies at 80

By Mar 21, 2023, 5:08 PM EDT
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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 50th and 75th 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, Gail, 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).

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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Reported optimism Towns, Edwards to return to Timberwolves Wednesday

By Mar 21, 2023, 1:42 PM EDT
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The Timberwolves could finally get their roster whole this week — just in time for a final postseason push — with the return of both Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards.

That could happen as soon as Wednesday, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Facing the Hawks and their bottom-10 defense could be a soft landing spot to bring Towns and Edwards back.

Towns suffered a strained calf in November that was expected to keep him out for 4-6 weeks. However, he had a setback in January, reports Jon Krawczynski at The Athletic, and it has taken until now to get back. Towns averaged 21.4 points and 8.5 rebounds a game this season before the injury, but his efficiency was down (32.8% from 3), and his fit with Rudy Gobert and Edwards was clunky. The trio needed more time to sort everything out, but the injury robbed them of that.

Edwards rolled his ankle last week and it looked much more severe at the time, but he was listed as day-to-day and has bounced back quickly. Edwards is a player who prides himself on playing nightly and pushing through nagging injuries.

https://twitter.com/WolvesRadio/status/1637205927299526656

The return has come at a critical time for the Timberwolves, who sit as the No.8 seed as of this writing (tied for 8-10, officially) in a West where 1.5 games separate the No. 7 and 12 seeds. The Timberwolves need wins and getting their two best offensive players back should be a boost.

However, the fit of this Timberwolves roster — radically overhauled last offseason — was rough in the season’s opening month before Towns was injured. Now the players are being thrown back together for the first time since then. Having a real floor general and pass-first point guard in Mike Conley now should smooth the transition, but the Timberwolves don’t have a lot of season left to work out the kinks, and they need wins now to ensure they make the postseason (ideally as a No.7-8 seed to have an easier path out of the play-in).

Check out more on the Timberwolves

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Watch Dillon Brooks pick up 18th technical, will get suspended another game

By Mar 21, 2023, 10:55 AM EDT
Dallas Mavericks v Memphis Grizzlies
Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images
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Dillon Brooks sat out the Grizzlies’ March 5 loss to the Clippers after reaching 16 technical fouls this season — hit that number and the league gives a player an automatic one-game suspension. After that, with every two more technicals a player earns another suspension.

Brooks had gotten another and was up to 17 heading into a critical game Monday night against Dallas, when he did this:

Brooks will likely be suspended by the league Wednesday against Houston, the game where it appears Ja Morant will return to the court. Don’t look for the Grizzlies to appeal and try to get this technical rescinded, as coach Taylor Jenkins said, via Joe Varden of The Athletic.

“At this point, I don’t think we even try anymore,” Brooks said.

What was Brooks doing? Telling Theo Pinson he was a cheerleader.

Brooks’ rough night included him trying to do a jersey swap with Kyrie Irving after the game, but Irving not accepting Brook’s jersey (Brooks stepped on Irving’s foot during the game, aggravating an injury and had Irving leaving the building in a walking boot). After the game, Brooks admitted he needs to rein things in a little.

“I’ve got to tone it down and get back to my mindfulness practice and find ways to channel it better,” Brooks said.

Brooks needs to do this for the sake of his pocketbook — this is two game checks lost to suspension, and that doesn’t even include the $35,000 fine for shoving a cameraman.

Brooks plays with an edge, it’s part of what makes him effective — he’s the guy that gets under the other team’s skin. However, it’s one thing to walk the line and another to step over it constantly. Brooks needs to do better at knowing where that line is.

The good news for the Grizzlies and Brooks is the technical count gets wiped out for the playoffs and starts over (with suspensions starting at seven).

Here is more on the Grizzlies

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Three things to Know: Breaking down East playoff race

By Mar 21, 2023, 9:56 AM EDT
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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) Breaking down East playoff race

Unlike the wide-open West, the Eastern Conference has settled into pretty clear tiers in the playoff race. Still, there are some races to follow with just three weeks until the play-in tournament starts. Let’s break it down, and start by looking at the standings.

• No.1 seed: The Milwaukee Bucks have this as long as they don’t trip on the way to the finish line. The Bucks have a 2.5-game lead (three in the loss column) over Boston with 11 games to play, and the Bucks don’t have a particularly difficult schedule. The road to the Finals will go through Milwaukee this season, and maybe more importantly, getting the top seed keeps the Celtics and 76ers on the other side of the bracket.

• No.2-3 seeds: Boston and Philadelphia are in a race for the two-seed and home court in the second round (although the two seed could have the more dangerous first-round matchup if Miami is seventh, more on that later). The 76ers have the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA, another advantage for the Celtics in holding on to the No.2 seed and being home in the second round.

The 76ers slipped to third after their double overtime loss to the Bulls on Monday where the teams combined to shoot 25% from 3. It was not James Harden‘s night (2-of-14 shooting, but with 12 dimes) and when Joel Embiid fouled out in the second overtime the game was all but over.

• No.4-5 seeds: This appears locked in — we are going to have New York vs. Cleveland in the first round. The Cavaliers have the No.4 seed by three games and the easiest schedule in the NBA the rest of the way, they’d completely have to fall apart for the Knicks to get home court in the first round. The gritty Knicks, with Jalen Brunson back in the rotation, have a two-game cushion to hold on to the No.5 seeds, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. Tom Thibodeau deserves credit for getting as much out of this roster as possible — and the Knicks will be a tough first-round out.

• No.6-7 seeds: Brooklyn is clinging to the final playoff spot, but the Heat are just one game back (two in the loss column). There are games one watches the Heat and thinks, “this team is catching the Nets,” like the recent win over Memphis. Then they go out and look flat against the Bulls and it’s hard to picture this team avoiding the play-in. The Nets after the trade deadline are a .500 team, but can the Heat play up to their potential and pass them? Or will Miami keep shooting itself in the foot?

• No. 8-10 seeds: The Hawks, Raptors and Bulls are all within a game of each other and it’s going to be a race to see who gets the eighth seed and has to only win one game to get out of the play-in and into the playoffs. Atlanta has the easiest schedule of the three, but the Bulls have been the hottest team with wins over the Heat and 76ers recently. All three are destined for the play-in unless one collapses, but getting the eighth seed matters.

• No.11-12 seeds: The Wizards and Pacers will need some help — and to help themselves — to get into the play-in. Making up a couple of games with 11 to play is a big ask and it means getting on a run and winning games, and Indiana has the second toughest remaining schedule in the East. fivethirtyeight.com gives the Wizards a 5% chance of making the playoffs, so it’s not impossible, but they need Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis to carry them to a lot of wins the rest of the way, then get a little help from a team above them.

2) Julius Randle puts on a show with 57, it’s not enough against hot-shooting Wolves

This game was a shooting clinic.

The night’s high scorer was the Knicks’ Julius Randle, who finished the game with 57 points, while hitting 8-of-14 from 3, knocking down shots that should have come with extra points for the degree of difficulty. He was impressive.

Then there was the Timberwolves, who were more balanced but equally hot, shooting better than 70% as a team in the first half. They also had Taurean Prince — getting the minutes of the injured Anthony Edwards — who was 8-of-8 on 3-pointers and finished with 35 points.

It was close and dramatic late, but the Timberwolves held on for a 140-134 win. This is a quality win for a Timberwolves team fighting to hand on to a top-eight seed in the West (and an easier path out of the play-in).

3) Warriors win on the road! (It still counts if its Houston)

The Warriors needed a road win, they got a road win. Who cares if it came against the team with the worst record in the West, it counts just the same. Stephen Curry was doing Stephen Curry things on his way to 30 points and the Warriors got the 121-108 win in Houston.

Klay Thompson added 29 for Golden State, which slid above Dallas (losers in Memphis) and into the No.5 seed in the West with the victory. Big showdown is coming Wednesday when the Warriors head to Dallas and face those Mavericks (Luka Dončić could be back for that game).

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