Olympics Notes: Bryant, James, Popovich
Kevin Durant's strong performance throughout the Olympics served as a major reason why Team USA's leaving London with gold. The three-time reigning NBA scoring champion averaged 19.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 2.6 APG over the course of the Olympics. Let's catch up on the latest news and headlines from London…
- Doc Rivers endorses Doug Collins to succeed Mike Krzyzewski as head coach of Team USA.
- One of the many secrets to Kobe Bryant's success has been Dr. Judy Seto, the Lakers' physical therapist, writes Mike Trudell of NBA.com. Dr. Seto's so important to Bryant that she's accompanied Bryant to the last two Olympics to ensure his health while playing abroad. Bryant wanted to have Dr. Seto's services entirely to himself during the 2008 Olympics so he didn't tell Lakers teammate Pau Gasol that she was in Beijing.
- LeBron James joined Michael Jordan as the only players to win NBA title, Olympic gold, NBA regular-season MVP and NBA Finals MVP in the same year, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Durant stands as the most likely player to join this elite club in 2016 when the Olympics head to Rio.
- With Krzyzewski set to call it an Olympic career, much conversation has come up regarding his replacement. Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports says both Rivers and James believe Gregg Popovich should be the next USA Basketball head coach (via Twitter).
Winderman On Camby, Rebounding, Cuban
The Heat made a series of moves this offseason that will make their title defense more of a palatable endeavor when the 2012/13 season begins this fall. While the Heat should have minimal trouble returning to the NBA Finals, barring injury, the true test will be the presumed showdown with the Lakers in June, who appear to be favorites in the West thanks to their acquisition of Dwight Howard. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel examines a potential Finals matchup between Los Angeles and Miami…
- Winderman says the Heat wouldn't have pursued a big like Marcus Camby even if the trade for Howard took place earlier in the summer. The difference between Andrew Bynum and Howard on the offensive end of things isn't as much as people give Superman credit for as he heads West. The biggest issue in a Finals matchup would be the Lakers' ability to stop LeBron James.
- The notion that the Lakers have more size than the Heat and therefore will win the battle of the boards doesn't ring true for Winderman. He says the Heat have the ability to put a big lineup on the court with Chris Bosh playing center and James at power forward. The issue for the Heat, however, may be their lack of brawn as compared to the Lakers.
- Look for Mavs owner Mark Cuban to make some sort of public comment about the rich getting richer with regard to the Lakers acquiring Howard, says Winderman.
NBA To Continue Push For Olympic Age Limit
4:40pm: FIBA unveiled a few proposals it will take to the International Olympic Committee, and one of them is designed to address concerns NBA teams have had about the wear and tear of the Olympic competition by shortening its length, Zillgitt writes (via the Detroit Free Press). FIBA wants to increase the number of teams from 12 to 16 and reduce the number of games in pool play from five to three.
"It's certainly wear and tear – 19 days of London, plus the preparation time," said Baumann, the FIBA secretary general. "When you finish the (NBA) season on 20 of June, the beginning of July you are in Las Vegas, by the end of July you are here and by the time you get home and put your things down in a cupboard, that's a pretty long time."
2:45pm: FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann today told reporters, including USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt, that he feels his organization will not propose an age limit for the 2016 Olympic games (Twitter link). Ian Thomsen of SI.com reported earlier this week that a 23-and-under restriction was unlikely for 2016, but Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears the NBA will keep pushing for an age limit. A source tells Stein "this will eventually happen" despite FIBA's resistance.
Part of FIBA's unwillingness to restrict older players from the Olympics is the feeling that doing so would make Team USA even more dominant, Stein writes, adding that many from overseas feel American players generally develop faster.
Team USA chairman Jerry Colangelo has expressed a desire to know soon whether or not the age limit will be in place for 2016. Colangelo said that he will make multiple rosters for each contingency, Stein reports. Colangelo is not sure that Mike Krzyzewski can be persuaded to return as coach for 2016, despite lobbying from players, but is more optimistic that LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony will be back (All Twitter links).
Baumann said he would like to move basketball's World Cup, formerly known as the World Championships, back a year to avoid conflict with soccer's World Cup, Zillgitt tweets, meaning the 2018 competition might not take place until 2019. NBA commissioner David Stern has spoken about making the World Cup of Basketball the marquee international basketball competition instead of the Olympics.
Nine Assured Of Team USA Spot; Odom Withdraws
TUESDAY, 11:41am: Blake Griffin is expected to take Chris Bosh's spot on the U.S. roster, tweets Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com. As Goodman adds in a second tweet, that would leave five players competing for the final two spots.
Poll: Build A Franchise Around LeBron Or Durant?
The battle between superstars LeBron James and Kevin Durant has stolen headlines throughout the NBA Finals as the series heads to Miami tied 1-1. For James, winning his first ring in his third trip to the Finals would validate a career highlighted by individual achievement but lacking a Larry O'Brien Trophy. For Durant, winning a championship arguably ahead of schedule would start the dynasty chatter and make many wonder if James will retire as the best player to never reach basketball's pinnacle. With both James and Durant playing basketball at a remarkably high level, we ask you to consider tonight's poll question: Which player would you rather build a franchise around?
Odds & Ends: Bosh, Battier, Harden, Sixers
One of the most highly anticipated NBA Finals in recent history doesn't kick off until tomorrow night, but here are a few links relating to both teams involved—as well as some that, unfortunately for them, are not.
Celtics-Heat Notes: Spoelstra, Big 3, Shooting
Kevin Garnett reminded the world on Tuesday night that a 36-year-old player can still be a game-changer as the man known as The Big Ticket put up 26 points and 11 rebounds in a 94-90 victory over the Heat. The Celtics, deemed underdogs by perhaps even their own mothers, have willed themselves to come within one victory of beating the Heat and advancing to the NBA Finals. LeBron James is averaging a double-double in the series as he's scoring 31.8 PPG and grabbing 10.0 RPG against Boston. The Heat, losers of three in a row, face a win-or-g0-home game in Boston on Thursday with a Game 7 in Miami looming. Let's catch up on the latest news and headlines surrounding the Eastern Conference Finals…
Winderman On Bosh, Odom, James
The Heat will get underway in the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday against the Celtics after Boston knocked off the Sixers in Game 7 of the Conference Semifinals on Saturday evening. The series marks a rematch of sorts as the two teams faced each other in the playoffs last season when they met during the Conference Semifinals with the Heat winning the series 4-1. Let's check in with the South Florida Sun Sentinel's Ira Winderman for the latest news out of South Beach.
- Winderman is unsure of Chris Bosh's status for the Eastern Conference Finals and thinks the Heat aren't expecting anything out of the former Georgia Tech big man against the Celtics. Without Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have stepped up their play to the next level and have seen improved efforts from the role players around them. While the Heat should be OK against the Celtics without Bosh, there's little chance that the squad could take down the Thunder or the Spurs without him in the NBA Finals.
- Don't count on the Heat acquiring Lamar Odom during the offseason, writes Winderman, as the former Lakers Sixth Man of the Year probably won't come cheap even after a disastrous season in Dallas. Odom would have to be bought out by the Mavs and then willing to take a heavy discount to take his talents to South Beach. Look for the former Rhode Island star to return to the Lakers or sign with the Knicks as he needs to find an environment that he is familiar with so he can revive his career.
- Winderman says it doesn't make any sense to compare James and Wade in terms of who is the better leader or who is the best player on the team. As we've seen over the course of the past week, the success of the Heat is predicated on both players working in unison at a high level. Simply put, it doesn't matter who the face is of the franchise is if the team is winning games.
LeBron James Wins Most Valuable Player
It's official. The Heat held a press conference this afternoon in Miami to present LeBron James with his third career MVP trophy. The 27-year-old averaged 27.1 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 6.2 APG with 53% shooting from the field in yet another brilliant campaign.
James was in a two-horse race for the award with Kevin Durant for the bulk of the season but pulled away as the year wore on. James had 85 first-place votes while Durant was the runner-up with 24 first-place votes. After that, Chris Paul finished in third place, Kobe Bryant in fourth, and Tony Parker in fifth.
Only seven other players in the history of the game have won MVP honors at least three times: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Moses Malone. Abdul-Jabbar won the trophy six times, Jordan and Russell five times each, and Chamberlain four times.
Dan Gilbert On Scott, Draft, Irving, LeBron
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert addressed a few topics of interest during today's press conference with local media. Here are a few of the highlights from the afternoon session, courtesy of Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio and Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal…..
- Gilbert "loves" having Byron Scott as the Cavaliers' coach, noting that he brings stability and credibility to the franchise (Sulia link). The Cavs' owner added that he believes the right people are in the front office and on the coaching staff, and now it's just a matter of bringing in the right players (Sulia link).
- This year's draft is "very important" for the Cavs and the team wants to make it their main area of focus heading into the offseason (Twitter link).
- Gilbert specified that the Cavs want to build "with" Kyrie Irving rather than "around" him, perhaps alluding to a mistake the team made with LeBron James (Twitter link).
- Speaking of LeBron, Gilbert was asked how he felt about comments the former Cav made earlier this season hinting at a possible return to Cleveland. "Nothing in the NBA surprises me," Gilbert said.