As if John Calipari needed any more
recruiting ammunition after back-to-back Final Four appearances and a national
title this spring, the Kentucky coach got some Thursday night.
The Wildcats became the first program
ever to produce the first two picks in an NBA draft when the New Orleans Hornets
selected Anthony Davis at No. 1 and the Charlotte Bobcats nabbed Michael
Kidd-Gilchrist at No. 2.
The closest another program has come to
pulling off that feat is UCLA's 1969 national title team, which produced the No.
1 and No. 3 picks in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lucius Allen. Only 11 other teams
have even had two top-five picks in the same draft including Calipari's 2010
Kentucky team that had John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins go at No. 1 and No.
5.
New Orleans' selection of Davis was about
as surprising as a star quarterback being named his high school's prom king. The
6-foot-10 All-American will immediately provide shot blocking and rebounding for
the Hornets and should develop into an offensive threat too as he becomes more
comfortable in the NBA.
As the Houston Rockets prepare for a run
at Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, they've secured another top 20 pick in
the NBA draft. The Rockets traded forward Chase Budinger to the Minnesota
Timberwolves for the 18th overall pick in the draft, giving Houston the 14th,
16th and 18th picks in Thursday's draft. The Rockets included the rights to
Israeli Lior Eliyahu in the deal with Minnesota.
Budinger, a second-round pick in 2009,
developed into a solid performer at small forward for the Rockets. At 6-foot-7,
he averaged 9.6 points and 3.7 rebounds for Houston last season. He'll have a
chance to play significant minutes for the Timberwolves.
Houston has been undaunted by Howard's
private insistence that he wants a trade to only the Brooklyn Nets or Dallas
Mavericks, sources said. Houston is willing to make a deal for Howard, believing
it can convince him to re-sign before he becomes a free agent in the summer of
2013. Rockets GM Daryl Morey has been determined to use the assets on his roster
to secure a high-level league star.
Houston will work to flip those three
picks (14, 16 and 18) into higher picks that could be used for an impact player
out of Thursday's draft, or to further sweeten a deal for Howard or another
league star, sources said.
Howard had back surgery in May and will
be sidelined throughout the summer. He bypassed a chance to become a free agent
this summer but has shown the Magic no indication he wants to re-sign with them
long-term after another falling out with the organization near season's
end.
Kobe Bryant is locked in for two more
seasons and would be nearly impossible to trade because of his salary, and his
skills are clearly in decline, so expecting him to be the team's catalyst is
wishful thinking.
Kobe Bryant is not going anywhere, and he
is not about to become a role-playing Tim Duncan or a pass-first LeBron
James.
James finished with 26 points, 13 assists
and 11 rebounds in Game 5 of the title series Thursday night, leading the Miami
Heat to a 121-106 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.Miami won the second
title in franchise history, and James won for the first time in three finals
appearances.
James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were
swept by the San Antonio Spurs in 2007, then he and the Heat fell in six games
to the Dallas Mavericks last season.Asked Thursday what the title meant, James
said, ''It means everything.''
These used to be the moments that
suffocated LeBron James. End of a game, the world watching, everyone expecting
greatness. A TV camera would catch James sitting on the bench, gnawing on his
fingernails during a timeout. He'd take the court, and the ball – and the game –
would find their way into his large hands. Too often, he'd give them both to a
teammate. The pressure, the responsibility to live up to his enormous talent,
was too much for him to shoulder.
No longer is James haunted by his demons.
He embraces these moments now, and as the final seconds ticked off the clock
late Thursday, James was finally free of the burden he had carried for so long.
Finally, the world could call him a champion.
James had walked off the court a few
minutes earlier, the Miami Heat's 121-106 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder
long since secure. He dominated these NBA Finals, and he saved his best for last
with a 26-point, 13-assist, 11-rebound triple-double performance. James hugged
his teammates and coaches, screamed and waved his arms. No more doubts. He owned
his elusive title.
"It's about damn time," James said after
accepting the Finals MVP trophy from Bill Russell. "It's about damn
time."
He had come into this with people
questioning whether Kevin Durant had surpassed him as the game's greatest
player, with the Heat cast in the unfamiliar role of underdogs. Oklahoma City's
victory in Game 1 fanned those sentiments. It turned out to be the only jolt the
Heat needed.
James took hold of this series in Game 2
and he never let go. He was the league's best player this season, and he was the
greatest player on the floor in these Finals. The Thunder never had an answer
for him. Not Durant, not anyone. From the moment James threw down a thunderous
dunk to open Thursday night, the message was clear:
No more waiting. This night, this season,
belonged to him.
"My dream has become a reality now,"
James said, "and it's the best feeling I ever had."
Phil Jackson didn't directly compare Kobe Bryant, unfavorably, to LeBron James. In an interview with HBO's "Real Sports,"
Phil Jackson even compared Kobe to Michael Jordan, in a way. A good way. This is
so confusing — does Phil hate Kobe or love LeBron or hate Michael or love Kobe?
This is the Internet, doesn't he know he's only supposed to discuss basketball
in black and white terms?
Jackson's instincts are not incorrect,
and they're in line with what a whole lot of us have been begging Kobe to do for
years. On a team with a few great scorers and a whole crew of guys that struggle
to find their own shot, perhaps it was best for Bryant to use his formidable
passing and dishing skills in a way that made the Lakers a more dangerous team
overall, rather than a top-heavy squad with Bryant leading the way in shots and
points per game.
Of course, our criticism of LeBron
extends in the other direction. He's taken over the 2012 Finals because of an
increased attention paid to putting the ball in the hole, being less of a Pippen
and more of a Jordan (or, as we duck lightning bolts, "a Kobe"). Because, on a
team with two other scoring superstars that are fighting to score efficiently as
they work through injuries (Chris Bosh is shooting 40 percent from the floor
since returning to action following a debilitating abdominal injury), James is
being counted on more than ever to play less as an all-around demon, and more as
a pointed scorer.
That's never been an issue for Kobe, and
while he remains a fabulous player, his gunner-happy ways have had a part in
ensuring that his Laker teams have gone out in the second round in consecutive
seasons. Sure, the Lakers are a top-heavy team featuring three superstars and a
cast of struggling role players; but so is the team that is currently up 2-1 in
the Finals right now.
Sports admirers authority able opinions
about which pro basketball players deserve their massive salaries, and which
ones don't. One fan, however, has gone added than the boilerplate barstool
analyst –- Southern Utah University economics assistant David Berri.
Berri is co-author of the 2006 book "The
Wages of Wins," which determines which players are overpaid with a statistical
adjustment alleged "Wins Produced" that he and his co-authors
developed.
According to Berri, NBA players are paid
for top scoring, so the added credibility an amateur racks up, the added money
he earns. Berri believes that this overlooks added factors that accord to a
victory, such as shots taken, turnovers, rebounds and fouls.
These and added elements are included in
the "Wins Produced" algorithm.
"Wins in basketball are primarily about a
team's adeptness to get and accumulate control of the brawl and again axis those
backing into points," Berri told CNBC.com in an e-mail. "In 2011-12, NBA teams
paid $1.9 billion for 990 approved division wins. This agency that the amount
per win was $1.946 million. Given the amount of anniversary win and alive both
how abounding victories anniversary amateur produced and his bacon allows us to
see which players were overpaid."
All bacon advice was provided by Berri,
who acclimated abstracts from the NBA abstract bump website DraftExpress.com and
from basketball analyst Patricia Bender. All abstracts was aggregate by Berri's
aide Arturo Galletti.
After Game 1 of the NBA Finals ended on a
triumphant note for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Russell Westbrook was back at it
on the fashion scene. He confidently put on red glassless eyeglasses. He sported
a busy white Prada shirt that featured people dancing and playing musical
instruments, and random cars. He completed the look with a pair of Khaki pants,
and red and yellow Balenciaga high top sneakers that sell for about
$600.
"You can't get it too many places," a
proud Westbrook said about his clothes. "I can't tell you the places where I get
my stuff. I shop at a lot of places. I shop all the time."
"Russ" has become one of the NBA's most
fun-loving personalities thanks to his ensembles during these playoffs. But an
angry Westbrook played an important role in helping lift the initially listless
Thunder to a 105-94 victory on Tuesday night over the Miami Heat. Westbrook
scored 18 of his 27 points in the second half and nearly had a triple-double
with 11 assists and eight rebounds.And all this came after Heat forward Shane
Battier got Westbrook mad.
"That's all I need every once in a while.
I don't know what he was thinking," Westbrook said. "He was trying to punk
me."
A frustrated Westbrook had nine points on
3-of-10 shooting from the field and missed both 3-point attempts while dishing
six assists in the first half. Perhaps he spent precious energy in a dance
routine, moving furiously during the pregame introductions. The Thunder followed
Westbrook's lackluster lead despite Kevin Durant's solid start (13 first-half
points). Miami was certainly in control as it owned a lead as large as 13 points
before walking into the locker room at halftime up 54-47.
"I needed something. We needed
something," Westbrook said.
Westbrook finally got that something when
he drove hard for a shifty lay-in with 31.4 seconds left before the half.
Westbrook and Battier then got testy after getting tangled. Westbrook swung his
arm in retaliation and received a technical and personal foul; Battier was also
given a technical.
Suddenly, the nice guy was gone in an
Incredible Hulk second as he walked toward the crowd and screamed with a wild
look in his eye. Westbrook also fired up the Thunder faithful, who roared back
in appreciation.
"Just frustrated in myself," Westbrook
said. "I know I could have played harder. And our coaching staff and other guys
on the team just emphasized once I started playing harder everybody else would
follow. And that's my job."
Neither was playing at the level they are
now when James invited Durant to work out with him during the NBA lockout in his
hometown of Akron, Ohio. Now as James tries to win his first ring, fittingly,
it's Durant in his way.
''It's only right. It's only right,''
James said. ''We look forward to the challenge. It's going to be a big test for
us.''
James played at a rarely seen level in
the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. According to STATS
LLC, James became the first player since Shaquille O'Neal in the 2000 finals to
have six 30-point games in a playoff series. In the one contest where James
didn't score 30, he finished with 29 in Game 4, fouling out in
overtime.
His series averages against the Celtics:
33.6 points and 11 rebounds per game on 53 percent shooting. He had five games
with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in the entire regular season - then did
it five times in the series against Boston alone.
''He was absolutely brilliant this
series, and we all know it,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ''He's playing at
an historic level during the playoffs, driving us with his will. We do not take
his talent or his will or his competitiveness for granted. And we need every
single bit of it. He is pushing himself beyond his limits, and he's pushing the
rest of the team as well.''
Said Heat guard Dwyane Wade: ''He's
amazing.''
There were many moments for the Heat to
celebrate on Saturday night, when they punched their ticket back to the NBA
finals by ousting Boston 101-88 in Game 7.
Heat owner Micky Arison couldn't have
gotten his hands off the East trophy fast enough, since that isn't the one he
wants anyway. James felt the same way. The Heat star left the floor in a cap and
T-shirt, one arm raised in joy.
Everybody wanted a picture with the NBA's
greatest young star. Friends, family members, the NBA's omnipresent and
eternally leather-clad fan, Jimmy Goldstein – even Kevin Durant's own mother.
Thursday morning was closing hard on Wednesday night, and Durant had wandered
onto the court to find his mom for one more kiss. As they hugged, the arena's
overhead video scoreboard, lowered for some maintenance work, continued to flash
the Oklahoma City Thunder's newest title: Western Conference
champions.
The parade of well-wishers met Durant the
moment he emerged from the arena's tunnel and stepped onto the floor. For nearly
20 minutes, Durant obliged them all, taking pictures, signing autographs, no one
wanting the night to end. Neatly dressed in sea-foam slacks, plaid belt and blue
sportsjacket with a flower on the lapel, Durant looked like he was headed to the
prom instead of the NBA Finals. Finally, he pulled his mother close one last
time and asked:
"Y'all ready?"
Yes, they're ready. Every last one of
them. These young Thunder. The proud city they've carried on this magical ride.
Durant's led them all. From the rubble of a 23-win season, from a 2-0 hole
against the San Antonio Spurs in the West finals, from an 18-point deficit on
Wednesday night, he's lifted them on his slender shoulders.
The West now runs by Durant's clock. He's
just 23, and, still, he was tired of waiting. From the Thunder's ferocious point
guard, Russell Westbrook, to their cool-headed and crafty reserve, James Harden,
they all believed the same: They didn't need to respect their elders anymore;
they needed to beat them. No longer is age an excuse for the Thunder. It's an
asset.
"I think the youth is kind of something
that wills us," Westbrook said.
The Thunder speak often of their
"family," and it's true. So many of them are so young, they've all grown up
together. All these team-is-one mantras can get a little nauseating to
outsiders, but the Thunder believe them. You won't find Durant alone on
billboards in Oklahoma City. It's all team shots or pictures of the Thunder
flag. The photos lining the walls of the Thunder's arena and practice facility
are the same: players' hands clasped in a huddle; a snapshot of the team's logo
on a player's shorts. No one individual is greater than the whole, conventional
marketing plans be damned.
Manu Ginobili watched his 3-pointer skip
off the back of the rim, and the frustration began to build within him. He'd
carried the San Antonio Spurs through the night, twice raising them from the
dead, and now the game had finally caromed out of his reach.
A timeout followed, and Ginobili walked
over to the scorer's table and slammed his hand hard against the foam padding.
Deep down, he knew what this meant. These opportunities don't come along often,
and now the Spurs are dangerously close to squandering one of their best. Up 2-0
in the Western Conference finals, riding the wave of a 20-game winning streak,
they're now one loss from vacation, the Thunder's thrilling 108-103 victory
pushing the Spurs toward the edge of their season.
The Spurs aren't fighting only the
Thunder in these West finals. They're fighting the clock. Their championship
core doesn't have long together, two seasons at the most. If they go on to lose
this series, they'll look back on Monday and wonder: Will they ever get another
chance like this again? Healthy and whole, two victories from the NBA
Finals?
The Spurs now head to Oklahoma City
needing to make a final stand, needing to beat the Thunder in a building where
the Thunder have yet to lose in these playoffs, with Ginobili, Tim Duncan and
Tony Parker needing to summon their greatness once more. They've put off their
demise through all these battle-torn years, contending season after season. But
if this improbable championship chase is going to continue, they'll need to dig
deeper still.
"I'm not submitting to nothing," Stephen
Jackson said. "We are going to win this game. We have to."
Forever full of defiance, Jackson refuses
to relent. The Spurs will need his cocksure attitude, but one bold proclamation
can't erase the simple truth hanging over them: The Thunder have been the better
team in this series.
Wade scored only 18 points Friday in the
Heat's 101-91 loss in Game 3, snapping his streak of 12 straight 20-point
playoff games against Boston that was the longest since Jerry West had 18 in a
row from 1966-69.
Wade isn't expecting Bosh back from his
lower abdominal strain Sunday in Game 4, so the scheme probably won't change.
But he vows that his performance will.
The only problem, he said, was the two
defenders closing on him whenever he came off a pick or caught the ball anywhere
near the lane. He was also largely contained in Game 2, managing only 15 points
in regulation before scoring eight in overtime to help the Heat pull out a
115-111 victory.
Wade didn't attempt a free throw for the
first time in a playoff game since 2004, when he was a rookie, and managed just
six points on 3-of-9 shooting in the first half. Still, he was far from the only
problem for the Heat.
Garnett scored 24 points, the Celtics
taking advantage of an undersized Heat lineup without Bosh by repeatedly throw
it into their center near the rim. With Rajon Rondo adding 21 points and 10
assists, it's becoming clear they've found two matchups they can
exploit.
''We're still down one game in this
series, so we've only done one thing. We've won one game. We have to come back,
we have to play better. I still think we can play better,'' Celtics coach Doc
Rivers said. ''That's the first thing I told them after the game. I said, 'Great
win, but that's still not our best.' We have to play better and we can play
better.''
So can Wade, though he knows the Celtics
will make it difficult. At some point, Bosh may be back and the Heat will be a
Big Three again. In the meantime, Wade will keep seeing double.
''Like I said, it's no secret, guys,''
Wade told reporters before practice. ''I'm getting doubled at the top of the
key. I'm getting doubled in the paint, so let's not shoot a turnaround jump shot
all the time, which is not a good shot for our team. We're going to have to find
other ways for our team to loosen things up. And eventually, I'm a patient
person, so eventually things will hopefully loosen up and I can get my
opportunities where I can attack and get in a rhythm a little more.''
