Новости за 08.05.2023

Ryan Blackburn: Michael Malone had some interesting things to say to us today after last night’s game. Among the notable points: everything is on the table for changing up the rotation in Game 5. Malone specifically mentioned Reggie Jackson (extra ball handler) and Peyton Watson (defender).
Source: Twitter @NBABlackburn

James Harden, at the peak of his powers, is still the devastating scorer that claimed MVP honors under Morey’s previous roster tinkering in Houston and the playmaker Philadelphia brass held out to pair with Joel Embiid during all those months of the 2021-22 season in which Ben Simmons lingered on the trade block. It didn’t matter that Sacramento, according to league sources, had put future All-Star Tyrese Haliburton on the proverbial table, nor the conversations with Atlanta that would have shed... Читать дальше...

James Harden’s name and other potential summer targets were often mentioned during Houston’s interview process with head coaching candidates that led to the Rockets landing Ime Udoka, league sources told Yahoo Sports. There are too many NBA figures, from those based in Houston to those who’ve overlapped with Harden throughout his 14-year career, who speak of his possible reunion with the Rockets franchise as a foregone conclusion. And then there are those who think it’s all leverage to hold over the Sixers’ decision-makers. Читать дальше...

NBA Communications: The 2022-23 Kia NBA All-Rookie First Team: Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic; Walker Kessler, Utah Jazz; Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers; Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings; Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
Source: Twitter

Karl-Anthony Towns on Jimmy Butler: We’ve had our differences but we’ve seen each other at All-Star Games and we’ve talked. I asked how his family was and he asked how my family was and I think we’re at a cool spot.
Source: YouTube

FanDuel TV: “The Suns are preparing to be without him for Game 5 as well… I think the window for him to return from that groin strain is Game 6 potentially” @ShamsCharania with the latest on Chris Paul’s groin injury #RallyTheValley | #RunItBack
Source: Twitter

Mat Ishbia: Great win for the Suns last night in an amazing series so far! That should be and is the only story. Suspending or fining anyone over last nights incident would not be right. I have alot of respect for Nikola Jokic and don’t want to see anything like that. Excited for game 5! Go Suns!
Source: Twitter

Having been in this position before, it’s the worst. Your team is about to play its biggest game of the season, and you don’t know if your star will be available. We had this happen to us in Memphis, when Zach Randolph was suspended for Game 7 against Oklahoma City in 2014, and now the Nuggets will face a similar situation ahead of a huge Game 5 on Tuesday. The league will likely take some time to rule on this, but the schedule demands they decide in 48 hours, and realistically quite a bit sooner. Читать дальше...

According to four NBA executives who spoke with HoopsHype, Hart is now projected to be worth $15-18 million annually in free agency this summer. The overwhelming belief is that Hart will decline his $12.96 million player option and re-sign with the Knicks, according to those four executives and many others around the league.
Source: Michael Scotto @ HoopsHype

Several assistant coaching candidates have emerged to potentially fill Snyder’s staff next season, including Bryan Bailey, Alex Jensen, Igor Kokoskov, and Antonio Lang, league sources told HoopsHype.

With the NBA Draft Combine nearing, talk around the league is beginning to pick up surrounding coaching movement and an early eye toward free agency, with some players improving their stock during the bright lights of the playoffs.

Katy Winge: Nikola Jokić postgame: “The fan put their hand on me first. I thought the league is supposed to protect us.” “Whoever he is, he’s a fan, he can’t interfere with the game.” Said “they’re supposed to protect players.”
Source: Twitter @katywinge

Gerald Bourguet: “Mainly just getting my head together, man. Game 3, I didn’t have much mental stamina to where I just wasn’t focused, man. I don’t know.” Deandre Ayton said he didn’t blame Monty Williams for benching him late in Game 3
Source: Twitter @GeraldBourguet

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic was assessed a technical foul late in the second quarter of Game 4 on Sunday night following a bizarre incident courtside that saw the two-time MVP make contact with Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia as he was attempting to grab the basketball to start the next play.
Source: Ohm Youngmisuk @ ESPN

NBA on TNT: “He can have 50 all he wants as long as we get the win.” Devin Booker wasn’t phased by the career night from Nikola Jokić
Source: Twitter

Jeff Zillgitt: Here is the Australia men’s 18-player preliminary FIBA World Cup roster that will be trimmed to 12 for the event. No Ben Simmons.
Source: Twitter @JeffZillgitt

Vinny Benedetto: Final: Suns 129, Nuggets 124. Devin Booker and Kevin Durant score 36 apiece. Landry Shamet comes up clutch with 19 off the bench, outscoring Denver’s reserves on his own. Nikola Jokic’s career-high 53 not enough for the Nuggets.
Source: Twitter @VBenedetto

Law Murray: Nikola Jokic is the first center with 50+ points in a NBA playoff game since Bob McAdoo (50 points) with the Buffalo Braves vs Washington Bullets in 1975.
Source: Twitter @LawMurrayTheNU

Steph couldn’t believe Bron 😅 @Money23Green (via @TheVolumeSports) “Steph said to me, ‘Yo, I’m trying to figure ‘Bron out,’” Green explained. “After not taking a shot through most of the first half, he ended up getting it going with 21, eight and eight. You know it was big, really big. [He] hit some big shots, some time shots. One of the threes he hit on the wing in the first half was a very timely bucket. And, you know, it slowed our run down.”
Source: Twitter

Randle, who missed Game 1 of this second-round series with a re-injured ankle, is shooting 34.6 percent from the floor in seven playoff appearances against the Cavaliers and the Heat, down from 45.9 percent during the regular season. He also endured a rough playoff debut in a five-game loss in the first round in 2021 against the Hawks, finishing that series with a shooting percentage of .298. “Some of the looks are different. Defense is a little bit tighter,” Randle said Sunday on a video press conference call. Читать дальше...

Clutch Points: “I guess I got to demand the ball a little bit more.” Jaylen Brown speaks on only taking three shots in the last 17 minutes of Game 4. pic.twitter.com/rvn7RsRDtQ
Source: Twitter @ClutchPointsApp

Derek Bodner: Doc Rivers said said the non-call on Jayson Tatum’s 3 “was awful.” Rivers went on to complain about touch fouls that Tatum (the drive on Embiid) and Smart received down the stretch, which he contrasted against not calling Tatum’s push off. “That could have decided the game.”
Source: Twitter @DerekBodnerNBA

Keith Pompey: Sixers win 116-115. Harden with 42 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Series tied 2-2 heading in Tuesday’s Game 5.
Source: Twitter @PompeyOnSixers

In the NBA, there is a regular season MVP and a Finals MVP, but no award for the best player of the postseason, which is odd if you think about it. Hell, we even had a bubble MVP that one time.

New York Knicks PR: Immanuel Quickley (sprained left ankle) is doubtful for Game 4 at Miami.
Source: Twitter @NY_KnicksPR