Lakers Notes: Russell, Game 4, Strategy, Injuries
For all the adjustments Lakers coach Darvin Ham has made in the playoffs, he has remained committed to keeping D’Angelo Russell in his starting lineup, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic. Russell has been a starter since he was acquired from the Timberwolves in February, and Ham indicated that he’s likely to remain in that role even though he hasn’t played well in the first three games against Denver.
“Sometimes the greatest adjustment is just to play better,” Ham said at Sunday’s practice. “Play harder. Play better. Sometimes that’s the most key adjustment. It’s funny, (how) it’s almost becoming cliché. (People say), ‘What’s your adjustments, adjustments, adjustments?’ Sometimes you go in there, and you take a long, hard look at the film to clean up what you need to clean up, and you try to do what you’re doing better.”
Russell is averaging 7.0 PPG in the Western Conference Finals while shooting 29.6% from the field and 14.3% from three-point range. The Nuggets are also targeting him on defense to get easy scoring opportunities. While a recent report indicated the Lakers are concerned about the possible long-term effects of taking away Russell’s starting job, Ham said he still believes in his point guard, who was effective in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
“We know he can make those shots,” Ham said. “So the biggest thing is not to get depressed, not to get down, continue to be aggressive, continue to be assertive, and eventually that ball will go in.”
There’s more on the Lakers:
- Facing the nearly impossible task of winning a playoff series after falling behind 3-0, the Lakers have narrowed their focus to just getting a victory Monday night, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Historically, NBA teams with that deficit are 0-149, but Ham doesn’t want his players to believe the situation is hopeless. “We’re alive, man. The series is not over,” he said. “… The only thing we have to do is just focus on one game. We don’t have to be overwhelmed about the outside noise or the overall series. We just have to worry about one game, what’s exactly in front of us.”
- The Lakers may want to use Jarred Vanderbilt or another tall defender to slow down Jamal Murray, who has strung together two 37-point games, suggests Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Zillgitt offers a few other strategy recommendations, including larger roles in the offense for LeBron James and Austin Reaves.
- James (right foot stress injury) and Anthony Davis (right foot soreness) are the only names on the Lakers’ injury report for Game 4 and they’re both listed as probable, Turner tweets.
Heat Notes: Vincent, Robinson, Love, Motivation, Herro
The Heat were ready when the Celtics started throwing double teams at Jimmy Butler on Sunday night, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Although the strategy was effective in slowing down Butler, who was limited to 16 points after coming into the game averaging 31.1 PPG in the playoffs, it created open opportunities for his teammates.
Gabe Vincent scored a career-high 29 points while shooting 11-of-14 from the field and 6-of-9 from three-point range. Duncan Robinson hit 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and contributed 22 points off the bench as Miami connected at 54.3% on three-pointers during the game.
“We’ve been dealing with this for a little bit, not just in the postseason,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of the double teams on Butler. “There were a handful of key games going down the stretch where teams were committed to trying to take the ball out of his hands. So that gave us some things to work on during the regular season.”
There’s more from Miami:
- Kevin Love didn’t return to Sunday’s game after leaving midway through the first quarter with a left ankle injury, Chiang adds. He was back on the bench in uniform and warmed up for the second half, but Spoelstra decided not to risk putting him on the court with a commanding lead. “He says he’s fine,” Spoelstra told reporters after the game. “He was a little bit, like, scared about it. He said he probably could have gone in in the second half, but I just wanted to re-evaluate. We were up 15. I was like, all right, let’s make sure we know what’s going on.”
- The Heat entered the series determined to get revenge on the Celtics for beating them in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Miami is motivated by the memory of its Game 7 loss when Butler’s late three-point attempt bounced off the rim. “I just think that we got the matchup we wanted,” Caleb Martin said. “We got to see the team who took us out last year. … We are playing like we have something to prove.”
- Tyler Herro, who had surgery after breaking two fingers on his shooting hand in Miami’s playoff opener five weeks ago, had his brace removed, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Herro still hasn’t been medically cleared to resume shooting.
Carmelo Anthony Announces Retirement
Carmelo Anthony has retired from the NBA after 19 seasons, making the announcement on Monday in a video (Twitter link).
The 38-year-old forward was a 10-time All-Star and a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. He ranks ninth on the career scoring list with 28,289 points in 1,260 career games with the Nuggets, Knicks, Thunder, Rockets, Trail Blazers and Lakers.
“Now the time has come for me to say goodbye,” Anthony said in the video. “To the court where I made my name, to the game that gave me purpose and pride.”
Anthony remained unsigned this season after averaging 13.3 PPG in 69 games with L.A. in 2021/22. There was a rumor in February that Kevin Durant and Chris Paul might lobby the Suns to add him as a veteran off the bench, but nothing was ever worked out. He also reportedly drew interest from teams in Taiwan last November, but wasn’t willing to play there.
The Hall of Fame will likely be the next stop for Anthony, who was selected with the third pick by Denver in the 2003 draft after winning a national championship in his lone season at Syracuse. He played eight seasons with the Nuggets before moving on to New York, where he captured the league’s scoring title in 2013.
In addition to his NBA accomplishments, Anthony leaves behind a strong legacy in international competition. He appeared in four Olympics, winning three gold medals and a bronze, and represented Team USA in the World Championship and Americas Championship as well.
Anthony will serve as one of three global ambassadors for this year’s FIBA World Cup.
Joe Mazzulla In Jeopardy After Game 3 Loss?
The Celtics‘ embarrassing Game 3 loss to Miami could lead to significant changes this offseason, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Boston entered the conference finals as the odds-on favorite to win the NBA title, but the team didn’t look anything like a champion in Sunday’s 128-102 defeat. The Heat seized control of the game late in the first quarter and led by as many as 33 points before the night was over.
The most obvious questions center on the future of head coach Joe Mazzulla, who has been overmatched by Heat mentor Erik Spoelstra in the series. Windhorst states that Mazzulla seemed well-positioned to return for another season before Game 3, but the Celtics’ lifeless performance makes his job much less safe.
Mazzulla accepted blame for the loss, repeatedly telling reporters, “I just didn’t have them ready to play,” and adding, “I have to get them in a better place ready to play, and that’s on me.”
Windhorst believes Mazzulla went too far in trying to protect his players with his post-game comments, stating that they were so “over-the-top” that they came off as “transparent.”
President of basketball operations Brad Stevens remains a strong supporter of Mazzulla, Windhorst adds. Stevens selected Mazzulla to run the team after Ime Udoka was suspended last fall and then appointed him as permanent head coach in midseason.
However, Windhorst cites a “rising expectation” that Mazzulla will become the fall guy for the disastrous playoff ending it appears the Celtics are headed toward. He was given an undisclosed contract extension when the “interim” was removed from his title in February, but the organization may decide that a 34-year-old with no prior head coaching experience isn’t the right person to run a team with championship aspirations.
The recent firings of high-profile coaches such as Mike Budenholzer, Nick Nurse and Doc Rivers, who have all led teams to titles, may make Mazzulla’s future even more tenuous.
Boston also has to determine this summer whether to give Jaylen Brown an extension worth more than $280MM that he qualified for by earning All-NBA honors. Brown has been particularly bad against Miami, shooting 2-of-20 from three-point range, including an 0-of-7 performance Sunday night.
Windhorst states that questions are re-emerging about whether Brown and Jayson Tatum should be the foundation of the team. It will eventually cost the Celtics more than $50MM apiece annually to keep them together, and the front office has to determine whether that’s the best pairing for the future.
Barring an unprecedented turnaround, the Celtics will enter the offseason haunted by the feeling that the team wasn’t prepared for the Game 3 challenge and quit when things got tough. Another loss Tuesday night could set the direction for a summer upheaval.
Community Shootaround: Celtics’ Offseason
The Celtics completely unraveled in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Miami on Sunday night. Coming into the series as the clear favorite, the Celtics would now surprise people by avoiding a sweep after getting completely outplayed and outcoached by the Heat in the series.
Barring a miraculous turnaround, the Celtics will soon face some hard offseason decision rather than making the Finals for the second straight year. Most notably, they have to figure out what to do about their coaching situation and whether to break up their All-Star duo.
Joe Mazzulla had the interim tag removed and received a contract extension in mid-February. The young coach handled himself well during the regular season after getting thrown into the fire following Ime Udoka‘s suspension. He also guided the Celtics past the first two rounds, but has looked overmatched trying to match wits with Miami’s Erik Spoelstra.
Another hot topic of discussion will be Jaylen Brown‘s future. His contract expires after next season and it may behoove the Celtics’ front office to explore trade possibilities for the star wing, who has played poorly in the series.
They’ll also have to decide what to do with Grant Williams, who will be a restricted free agent after being in and out of the rotation this postseason. What price are they willing to match for him, considering their other salary obligations?
Jayson Tatum, Malcolm Brogdon, Al Horford, Marcus Smart, Robert Williams and Derrick White are all under contract through at least the 2024/25 season. Tatum isn’t going anywhere, but the Celtics might look to deal one of those veterans to shake up the rotation and fix the issues that have been exposed by the Heat.
That brings up to our topic of the day: What changes should the Celtics make this offseason?
Please take to the comments section to voice your opinion. We look forward to your input.
And-Ones: Curry, Pelicans, Fredette, Maddox, NBA Con
The Warriors‘ Stephen Curry won another NBA award, but it wasn’t for his on-court prowess. He’s the recipient of the Professional Basketball Writers Association’s 2023 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his inspiring work in the community, the PBWA tweets. Curry was selected for promoting youth literacy, fitness and nutrition, as well as fostering gender equity in sports. Lakers center Wenyen Gabriel, Clippers forward Paul George and Celtics forward Grant Williams were the other finalists.
We have more from the basketball world:
- The Pelicans’ lease at the Smoothie King Arena expires next June but they plan to renew it to remain there for several more years, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. However, after renewing the lease, they plan to commission a study on whether renovations can be made to upgrade the arena or whether a new one is needed. Commissioner Adam Silver has stated that every arena in the league needs to be state of the art. New Orleans’ arena has the fewest seats of any lower bowl in the NBA.
- Former NBA player Jimmer Fredette is among the players chosen for the USA’s Men’s 3×3 World Cup Team, the organization tweets. Timberwolves video associate Kareem Maddox is also on the squad, Minnesota’s PR department tweets. The four-member team will compete in the FIBA 3×3 World Cup from May 30 to June 4 in Vienna, Austria.
- The NBA is adding a new fan-friendly event at the Summer League in Las Vegas, according to a league press release. NBA Con, a celebration of the best of hoops culture, will debut at Mandalay Bay from July 7-9, 2023. NBA Con will bring together the fashion, music, cuisine, art and technology that make the league a cultural phenomenon, with appearances by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, top draft prospects Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson and numerous current NBA stars.
Draft Notes: Whitmore, Black, Bailey, Podziemski, Wembanyama, Morsell
Villanova forward Cam Whitmore is held in higher esteem by The Athletic’s John Hollinger than many other draft experts. Hollinger ranks Whitmore as the No. 3 prospect in the draft, one spot ahead of Alabama forward Brandon Miller.
Hollinger believes Whitmore’s level of athleticism and scoring ability as a wing makes him a top-three prospect. Arkansas point guard Anthony Black also makes Hollinger’s top five, while his top 10 includes a couple more surprises, including Michigan guard Kobe Bufkin.
We have more draft-related notes:
- UCLA’s Amari Bailey helped himself at the draft combine in Chicago and now deserves first-round consideration, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. Another combo guard, Santa Clara’s Brandin Podziemski, may also have earned a first-round ticket. On the flip side, North Carolina State guard Terquavion Smith and Kansas forward Jalen Wilson were among the prospects who didn’t make favorable impressions in Chicago, per Wasserman.
- Why is Victor Wembanyama considered the best prospect since LeBron James? The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie goes into great detail on that subject, concluding that Wembanyama has the upside to be the best player in the world at some point and the ability to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame when his career is over.
- North Carolina State guard Casey Morsell is withdrawing from the draft and returning to the Wolfpack, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein tweets. Morsell has one more year of eligibility remaining.
Lakers Notes: Role Players, Russell, Bamba, KCP, James
Among the many issues the Lakers face as they try to dig themselves out of a 3-0 hole in the Western Conference Finals is the lack of production from their role players, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register writes.
Beyond their two superstars and Austin Reaves, the Lakers got modest contributions from the remaining members of the rotation in Game 3 against the Nuggets. D’Angelo Russell (three points), Dennis Schröder (five points) and Jarred Vanderbilt (two points) were non-factors offensively.
“I thought they did the best they could, all of them,” coach Darvin Ham said. “They competed. I’m disappointed but I’m not upset. Yeah, it sucks to lose, but those guys, they fought their hearts out. They tried to do it. They tried to execute what we gave them.”
We have more on the Lakers:
- Russell admitted he’s baffled by his ineffective play, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. Russell, who’s headed to free agency, shot just 1-for-8 from the field on Saturday. “I really don’t. I don’t know,” he said when asked about how his approach needs to change. “I’ll try to figure it out.” He’s averaging just 7.0 points in the series after contributing 14.7 PPG in the second round against Golden State.
- The Lakers will have another frontcourt option for Game 4 on Monday. Mohamed Bamba is expected to be available, Ham told Chris Haynes of TNT (Twitter link). Bamba, who has appeared in only three postseason games due to a left ankle injury, hasn’t played since Game 6 in the first round against Memphis.
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope‘s defensive contributions and 3-point shot-making were often taken for granted during the Lakers’ 2020 title run at the Orlando bubble. His all-around contributions for the Nuggets in this series are a painful reminder of the ill-fated Russell Westbrook trade in 2021, which included Caldwell-Pope as part of the package, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN notes. KCP is averaging 15.3 points on 51.4% shooting in the series.
- LeBron James is showing his age by his inability to carry the Lakers in this series, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times opines. James played well enough in Game 3 but wasn’t great, and he needed to be great to bridge the gap that exists between the Nuggets and Lakers.
Heat Notes: Clutch Wins, Martin, Robinson, Playoff Run
An up-and-down 44-38 regular season full of close games helped propel All-NBA small forward Jimmy Butler and his Heat to what has been an incredible playoff tear, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
Miami is leading the Celtics 2-0 in their best-of-seven conference finals series.
Windhorst notes that 38 of Miami’s 44 regular season wins were achieved in clutch time, defined as instances when the margin is five or fewer points during a game’s final five minutes in regulation or overtime. He adds that this has helped galvanize the team in the playoffs, even when it has fallen behind. To wit, the Heat are 6-2 in the postseason when trailing by 10 or more points in a contest.
“Just being in those (clutch-time) situations 50-plus times during the regular season, that just brings great experience for us,” center Bam Adebayo said.
There’s more out of South Beach:
- Heat forward Caleb Martin, who established a new personal postseason high with 25 points on Friday, has capitalized on Boston’s inferred disrespect of his abilities, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. In leaning on a single-big lineup for much of the night, the Celtics opened the door for the Heat to play the 6’5″ Martin as a small ball power forward, and he promptly lit them up. Though giving Martin space to beat them worked in the Celtics’ favor during the conference finals last year, he’s making them pay this time around. “One thing Caleb told me was, ‘This is not last year,’” Adebayo said. “That really resonated with me, because they did the same thing to him last year. I feel like he felt like it was disrespectful.”
- Although he was out of the rotation for much of the second half of the season, Heat forward Duncan Robinson made a point to remain prepared in the postseason and has emerged as a critical bench role player, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Through 13 playoff games, the 6’7″ wing is averaging 7.9 PPG on .424/.420/1.000 shooting splits in 17.1 MPG off the bench.
- The Heat are a testament to the fact that surrounding a superstar with depth, rather than fielding top-heavy “super-team” rosters, can be a formula for playoff success, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Miami’s togetherness as a cumulative unit, heavy on chemistry, has helped push it to being just two games away from its second NBA Finals berth in four seasons.
Northwest Notes: Jazz, First-Round Picks, Nuggets, Jokic
The Jazz currently possess the ninth pick in this year’s top-heavy NBA draft. Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune considers how the Jazz could theoretically trade their way into a higher pick.
Larsen notes that Trail Blazers, Rockets, and potentially even the Pistons could be looking to move on from their own lottery selections in the 3-5 range.
At this past week’s draft combine in Chicago, the Jazz spoke to Alabama forward Brandon Miller, Villanova wing Cam Whitmore, UCF big man Taylor Hendricks, and Houston forward Jarace Walker, all of whom are projected to be off the board before Utah can draft.
“I’m sure we’re going to have a lot of interesting conversations here over the next few weeks,” GM Justin Zanik told Larsen. “As we get our own internal work done, then we’ll really start engaging with teams as they get to build their board and know a little bit more as well.”
There’s more out of the Northwest Division:
- Sources around the NBA inform Sarah Todd of The Deseret News that they don’t expect the Jazz to retain all three of their current first-round draft picks. Besides No. 9, Utah also controls No. 16 and No. 28.
- Organizational patience has been a huge factor in the Nuggets’ playoff success story this season, opines Sam Amick of The Athletic. “I remember [former team president Tim Connelly] calling me up, [and saying], ‘Hey, we can trade Jamal [Murray] for this guy,’” head coach Michael Malone recalled in a conversation with Amick. “[This was] probably three or four years ago — [and it was] a marquee player. I said ‘No.’ Like, ‘What? Let’s not rush this. We have a patient ownership group. Let’s f—ing take our time and build this the right way. A bigger name is not always better.’” Murray discussed how the close-knit chemistry among the team’s core players has positively impacted their on-court performance. “You’re a tighter group when you’ve been together for so long,” Murray said. “You know each other’s tendencies. You have a better feeling for each other. I just think that we’ve grown as a team, and as a core. We’ve grown, (as opposed to) the team that moves around a lot.”
- The expert passing and basketball IQ of the Nuggets’ core players has helped the team put their own unique stamp on a postseason run that sees them just one game away from their first ever NBA Finals appearance, writes Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. “I love it, just because you can see everybody’s moving,” All-NBA center Nikola Jokic said of the team’s ball distribution. “I think that’s hard to guard.”