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Atlantic Notes: Woodson, Bynum, Celtics

November 10th, 2012 at 10:42pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Knicks coach Mike Woodson has the team off to its first 4-0 start since the 1993-94 season, but their promising start hasn't been without some sacrifices from the players. J.R. Smith, who originally wanted to be a starter at the beginning of training camp, had to concede to accepting a sixth man role. Kurt Thomas, who started three of the team's pre-season games, recorded his first DNP-CD last night against the Mavericks. Al Iannazonne of Newsday explores how Woodson resiliency has meshed with his players' desire to win and thus given them early success.

Here's the rest of what we're hearing out of the Atlantic Division tonight:

Near the end of this article, Mitch Lawrence of the NY Daily News mentions that the 76ersare becoming a little "panicky" about when Andrew Bynum will finally be able to make his debut for the team.
In a separate article, Lawrence provides an update on the injured Amare Stoudemire, saying that the Knicks forward may not be ready until late December.
Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe examines the struggles of the Celtics when Kevin Garnett is on the bench and the need for other players to shoulder the load.
Kristie Ackert of the NY Daily News writes about Joe Johnson's "inconsistent" transition with the Nets and how he feels that the players still need some time to become acclimated with each other.
Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York describes some key factors behind the Knicks' efficiency, particularly with Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton as their starting back court.
Eric Koreen of the National Post details the ripple effect that Kyle Lowry's ankle injury has had on the Raptors thus far.

Atlantic Notes: Felton, Kidd, Shurna, 76ers, Nets

November 9th, 2012 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams

After losing a pair of games to the Knicks early in the season, the Sixers will continue to square off against Atlantic Division rivals this weekend, playing the Celtics in Boston tonight before heading to Toronto to face the Raptors. As we await those games and others, let's round up a few of the latest items out of the Atlantic, where the Knicks are the league's only remaining undefeated team….

Raymond Felton told WFAN in New York that he was "hurt" when he was initially traded out of New York in the Carmelo Anthony deal, and "felt like a newborn kid again" when he got the chance to rejoin the Knicks. Steven Cuce of Sports Radio Interviews passes along the quotes.
Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News believes it's time for Mark Cuban to get over Jason Kidd's departure from the Mavericks to the Knicks.
John Shurna, who was a Knicks camp invitee last month, is currently weighing his overseas and D-League options, according to Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside.
With his star player out of action and a number of new additions still adjusting to the team's system, head coach Doug Collins is preaching patience when it comes to the Sixers, writes Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Like the 76ers, the Nets are another team caught between offseason hype and their regular-season results so far, says Howard Beck of the New York Times.
Appeaing on WEEI in Boston, Rajon Rondo spoke about a number of topics, including wanting to establish chemistry with new Celtics Jason Terry and Courtney Lee in offseason workouts (link via Sports Radio Interviews).

Atlantic Buzz: Lopez, Camby, Amare, Green

November 8th, 2012 at 9:52pm CST by Alex Lee

No teams in the Atlantic division play on this quiet Thursday night, but the 2-2 76ers will visit the 2-2 Celtics tomorrow night in Boston. If the Knicks are anywhere as good as they've looked through two games, both of these teams will need every win they can get if they want to keep pace. After a grueling seven-game series last spring, Dei Lynam of CSN Philly says that the Sixers are excited to renew the historic rivalry in 2012. Here is what else is going on in the Atlantic:

The Nets' Brook Lopez said he didn't let the possibility of going to Orlando for Dwight Howard distract him in the offseason, tweets Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports. Said Lopez, "It is what it is. I don't pay attention to sports media every day and watch TV and go on ESPN.com or anything like that. If my name was out there, I didn't really know it too much. I obviously knew of the situation. I didn't let it both me that much."
Marcus Camby, one of several veterans additions to the Knicks, will make his season debut on Friday, writes Ian Begley of ESPN New York. Like many of the older Knicks, expect Mike Woodson to monitor Camby's minutes closely.
According to Keith Schlosser of the Knicks Journal, Woodson hinted on a recent radio appearance that once $100MM man Amare Stoudemire is healthy, he will need to be eased back into the Knicks lineup, especially considering the team's early success. Schlosser opines that this could mean coming off the bench while he acclimates to Carmelo Anthony's new role as a post presence.
Doc Rivers wants more out of Jeff Green, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston. Green is a bit more introverted than many of his teammates, but nevertheless Rivers says he needs to be better and the team needs to figure out a way to unlock his abilities.

Odds & Ends: Nets, Knicks, Grizzlies, Waiters

November 7th, 2012 at 11:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

Earlier we passed along Nets GM Billy King's admission that he made roster moves this summer with the idea of taking down the Heat, which surely makes the team's 30-point loss in Miami tonight that much tougher to take. Nets coach Avery Johnson downplayed the idea that his squad is on the Heat's level, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News observes (Sulia link). Bondy juxtaposes Johnson's comments by noting that shooting guard Joe Johnson said earlier that he thinks the Nets can dethrone the champs this season. While Brooklyn's team sorts out its troubles, it's a more upbeat story on the other side of the East River, as we detail among other news on a 13-game night around the Association.

The moves Knicks GM Glen Grunwald and company made this summer are paying early dividends, even in spite — or perhaps because — of the absence of Amare Stoudemire, as the USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt examines.
The Grizzlies new ownership group borrowed $125MM from the NBA and another $50MM from a bank to close their deal to buy the team, but that's nothing out of the ordinary, a league executive tells Kyle Veazey of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Cavs coach Byron Scott encouraged the organization to use the fourth pick this June on Syracuse sixth man Dion Waiters, who's paying early dividends, at least offensively, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News and Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal write.
Waiters was the choice over Harrison Barnes, who went to the Warriors at No. 7 and hasn't performed as well so far, as Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer chronicles.
The Lakers are off to a 1-4 start, but Jordan Hill has been a bright spot, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Yesterday, Vince Carter said he wouldn't mind a return to the Raptors someday, but Doug Smith of the Toronto Star doesn't see that happening anytime soon, arguing that Carter's current skill-set isn't a match for the team's needs.
The Celtics have hired former player Keyon Dooling as a player development coordinator, reports Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). The 32-year-old guard abruptly retired in September.

Eastern Notes: Jennings, Fesenko, Allen, Celtics

November 5th, 2012 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

When we asked you earlier this afternoon which rookie scale contract extension will work out best for the team locking up its player, one fourth-year guard was notably absent from the list: Brandon Jennings. Shaun Powell of Sports on Earth calls the young Buck the most talented player from the 2009 draft class not to receive an extension from his club, and examines the outlook for the 23-year-old, who admits he's "kind of auditioning for other teams." If that's the case, his audition is off to a good start — Jennings was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week by the league this afternoon (Twitter link).

Here are a few more updates from around the Eastern Conference:

Kyrylo Fesenko had a strong workout for the Hawks, but the team has yet to indicate whether it will sign him, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com. The big man also isn't ruling out a return to the Bulls, the team that waived him in October, tweets Charnia. Chicago isn't eligible to sign a veteran to a minimum-salary deal for another two weeks.
Marquis Daniels tells Charania that he feels like stories and rumors of the alleged feud between Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen have been blown out of proportion. Daniels, Rondo, and Allen all played in the Celtics' backcourt from 2009 to 2012.
In order to get Allen the minutes he was promised when he signed with Miami as a free agent, the Heat may have to play him at the point from time to time, says Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Appearing on WEEI's Big Show in Boston, Celtics president Danny Ainge spoke about the team's offseason, and about the Allen controversy. Chris Fedor of Sports Radio Interviews has the quotes.
In a piece for the News-Herald, Bob Finnan express some concerns about the Cavaliers' bench.

Atlantic Notes: Defense, Melo, Smith, Garnett

November 4th, 2012 at 7:45pm CST by Alex Lee

Through two games, it sure looks like multitude of veteran additions that the Knicks made this offseason have made them a more complete team. In the Atlantic division's only contest today, the Knicks stayed unbeaten in impressive fashion with a 100-84 win over the rival 76ers. They are now 2-0 for the first time since 1999.

Let's round up some other Sunday night links from around the Atlantic divsion here:

ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg breaks down first round pick Jared Sullinger's night on Saturday, a game in which he was thrust into the Celtics starting lineup in his third game as a pro. Sullinger responded admirably, grabbing 7 boards in more than 30 minutes of action.
76ers head coach Doug Collins is still hopeful that he can help "unlock" third-year swing man Evan Turner, and thinks it could be just one breakout game away, writes John Finger of CSN Philly. Turner, the second pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, has showed stellar rebounding skills but the rest of his game has yet to develop as planned.
Brook Lopez spent much of the offseason in the weight room in an effort to improve his rebounding abilities, writes Roderick Boone of Newsday, but the Nets big man has yet to see the results of his hard work translate on the court.

Earlier updates:

The Knicks have held their first two opponents to 84 points or less for the first time in 60 years, writes Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York. Carmelo Anthony seems to be buying into Mike Woodson's defensive philosophy, and his teammates have noticed and followed suit.
One of those teammates is Knicks guard J.R. Smith, who was told to shoot on Sunday by Woodson and responded with 20 points off the bench, writes Ian Begley of ESPN New York. Smith, who is normally prone to jacking up too many bad shots, joined the Knicks last season after returning from China and reupped with the team on a two-year deal in July.
The rebuilt Celtics may take longer to mesh than originally expected, opines Sherrod Blakely. Blakely says that Kevin Garnett's defensive abilities make him uniquely critical as all the new pieces try to find their place on the team.

Celtics Links: Terry, Barbosa, Wilcox

November 3rd, 2012 at 9:01pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The Celtics' win tonight ends a two-game losing skid to start the season. Before the game, Rajon Rondo told reporters that he accepts the responsibility of setting the tone defensively, and with the team allowing 86 points after giving up an average of nearly 110 PPG over their first two games, it was certainly a start in the right direction. We've got more notable links from Boston tonight, courtesy of CSNNE.com:

In this video, Jason Terry talked about his impressions of the Celtics while he was a member of the Mavericks, the role Doc Rivers played in his decision to sign with the team, and gave a scouting report of himself.
Team legend and color analyst Tommy Heinsohn answered a fan's question the team's struggles to start the season and implied that the team needs time to develop chemistry with all the new players they've added over the summer. When asked about Leandro Barbosa, he called the Brazilian guard to a spot-player who can either shoot the team in or out of a game and thus might not be right for a role with big minutes at this point.
Heinsohn agreed with the idea that Chris Wilcox could be a key role player as Kevin Garnett's primary backup because of his defensive awareness, while he believes rookie Jared Sullinger is still too inexperienced to be the better option.
This staff report asks if Sullinger getting the start over Brandon Bass is a good move. Celtics broadcast analyst Donny Marshall doesn't think so, saying that it sends mixed messages to the veteran forward.

Odds & Ends: Murphy, Mavericks, Crawford, Celtics

November 3rd, 2012 at 11:59am CST by Zachary Links

Over the weekend, the Mavericks inked forward Troy Murphy to a one-year deal and waived Eddy Curry in order to create roster space for him. The 6'11" big man could provide the Mavs with some outside shooting off the bench, but he may not be ready to start draining threes right away, tweets Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. "I haven’t practiced or anything. I've been running at the local health club, so I don’t know what that translates to," Murphy said. Here's more from around the Association..

While confessing that he is biased, guard Jamal Crawford said that he believes the Clippers are now the deepest team in the NBA. In addition to Crawford, the Clippers added key veterans such as Grant Hill, Lamar Odom, and Willie Green to the fold this summer.
Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel doesn't see the Celtics holding a fire sale mid-season, even if they falter somewhat. Coach Doc Rivers will likely ration Kevin Garnett's minutes throughout the season in order to preserve him for the playoffs, so their record may not reflect where they are competitively.
Mavericks big man Elton Brand says that he'll miss Curry's sizable presence in the paint, Price writes. At the same time, Brand notes that he is excited about the addition of Murphy and the tenacity that he brings.

Celtics Notes: Ownership, Barbosa

November 2nd, 2012 at 7:46pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes about the Boston Celtics on Friday night:

Via CSNNE.com, Celtics owner Steve Pagliuca reiterated the team's commitment to winning championships despite making some roster changes this summer.
CSNNE also reports that the Celtics are pleased with recent signee Leandro Barbosa.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Rondo, Holiday, Knicks

November 1st, 2012 at 9:39pm CST by Zachary Links

Several of the league's young stars were able to hammer out extensions prior to the Halloween deadline, including James Harden, Taj Gibson, DeMar DeRozan, Stephen Curry, Ty Lawson, and Jrue Holiday. Where does Rajon Rondo's lucrative extension – inked in 2009 – stack up against the recent deals? More on that, plus other news out of the Atlantic…

Rich Levine of CSNNE.com writes that the Celtics now look exceptionally smart for locking down Rondo for $55MM over five years. Curry, Lawson, and Holiday all received hefty four-year deals ($44MM, $48MM, $41MM, respectively) that make Rondo's deal look like a bargain. The one-guard is now entering year three of his five-year pact, a contract that has been key to the C's continued success.
Speaking of Holiday, the Sixers guard was surprised that his agent and the team were able to hammer out an extension seven minutes before the midnight deadline, writes Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com. The deal marked a major milestone for Holiday but also for General Manager Tony DiLeo as he completed his first significant deal in his new position.
The Knicks waived training camp invitees Mychel Thompson, Henry Sims, John Shurna, and Oscar Bellfield, but they'll be able to keep a close eye on three of them in the D-League, writes Keith Schlosser of KnicksJournal. Thompson, Sims, and Bellfield will join the BayHawks affiliate, leaving the sharpshooting Shurna on the outside for the time being. Shurna, who drew attention for having a similar offensive skillset to Steve Novak, will likely be on the Knicks' radar as well.