Warriors’ winning formula

In sports there are many things I did not expect to see in my lifetime.
As a college basketball player and later as a coach, I was of the belief that, apart from talent, one needed to possess a certain physique and height to be able to excel in this game.
Steph Curry, who has the physique of an Asian, has totally debunked this belief and has opened my mind to new possibilities that I could never have imagined on my own.
Please allow me to share with you today my perspective from a coach’s point of view, of what I see as some of the reasons Curry has been able to play the way he does and lead the Warriors to break the NBA record of home wins.
Whenever I watch a basketball game live or on TV, I try to coach both teams in my mind and try to guess what the coaches are trying to do.
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I believe that the development of every player on the team rests on the style of the coach and how he handles his players.
Most players who have become professional coaches come from the position of having played guard during their playing days. This is true not only in America but also in the Philippines.
Given the position the guard plays, he is the one expected to control the flow of the game. In other words, he plays the role of “coach” on the court.
Now this is where it gets interesting.
Curry’s coach, Steve Kerr, was NOT a point guard during his playing days but he was an exceptional shooter who played minimal minutes with some of the best players (Michael Jordan) and coaches (Phil Jackson and Greg Popovich).
Now that Kerr is the Warriors coach, he appears to be courageous enough to change the coaching platform.
Kerr gives his players the freedom to use their imaginations freely and maximize their athletic ability to the fullest.
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It is very rare to see a center that rebounds and is also allowed to bring the ball down as a point guard. This formula goes contrary to all the recipes written in the coaching books, but Kerr allows this.
In my opinion, apart from Curry’s talent and hard work, his rising popularity and the success of his team could very well be attributed to the radical change in the coaching philosophy of Kerr and his assistant, Luke Walton.
Though it may be difficult to change the style of the coaches in the PBA because their beliefs in what they are already doing are so strong, our college coaches can get inspiration and new ideas from watching the Warriors play.
I feel that the formula Kerr is using is so enjoyable to watch. It is like a breath of fresh air. He has shown how a collaborative method between coach and player could very well be the new way to develop the player, the team and the game of basketball further.

source: sports.inquirer.net

The NBA starts paying Kobe Bryant his farewell compliments

MIAMI — The first time Shane Battier was involved in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers, he intercepted one of Kobe Bryant’s passes in the final moments to help seal the victory.

When they met a few weeks later, Bryant sure seemed like he remembered.

Bryant needed only 34 minutes to score 56 points on the then-rookie, something Battier never forgot.

“Pushed me to be better more than any player I’ve faced,” Battier wrote on Twitter not long after Bryant revealed that this season, as many expected, will be his finale with the Los Angeles Lakers. “He has my ultimate hoops respect.”

Sentiments like those weren’t hard to find Sunday night as many in the sports world reacted to the looming end of Bryant’s 20-year career with the Lakers.

The season goes until at least April, and Bryant remains hopeful of being selected to play for the U.S. Olympic Team at the Rio Games next summer. But now it’s official: Bryant’s final days as a professional basketball player have arrived.

“Hope (Bryant) receives (a) standing ovation in every city!” NBA veteran Caron Butler of the Sacramento Kings posted on his social media accounts. “One of the best to ever do it.”

Will Barton of the Denver Nuggets said Bryant was the only NBA player he ever idolized. Stephon Marbury — who was taken No. 4 in the 1996 NBA draft, nine spots before Bryant — called Bryant “the best of the NBA Golden Class of ’96.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver lauded what he called Bryant’s “relentless work ethic,” adding that the five-time NBA champion “is one of the greatest players in the history of our game.”

Bryant will leave the game as its No. 3 career scorer, with at least 17 All-Star appearances — it’s hard to imagine fans not wanting him in Toronto next February for a swan song — and with at least two Olympic gold medals.

“I was honored to have you as a teammate,” said Olympic hurdler and bobsledder Lolo Jones, who posted a photo of her and Bryant posing together in their opening ceremony attire from the 2012 London Games.

Starting Tuesday in Philadelphia, Bryant’s hometown, the Lakers will play eight straight games away from Los Angeles.

He’ll make his final appearances as an opponent in Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta and Detroit — that is, provided he plays in them all — in the coming week alone.

His last game in Boston, where the basketball-savvy fans have long loathed the Lakers but will almost surely salute Bryant in his finale there, is Dec. 30.

Bryant hasn’t wanted opposing teams to make any special fuss about what just about everyone suspected was his final lap around the league. He might not be able to stop it any longer.

“I never thought that he’d ever retire. He seemed like he would play forever,” Memphis guard Mike Conley said Sunday. “Obviously, he’s one of the greatest to ever do it. It’s hard to see him go, of all people, because he’s been etched in the NBA for so long, since I was little. A guy you really look up to, and you just wish him the best going forward in the future.”

Battier played at Duke as a collegian, won two championships with the Miami Heat as a pro, and seemed to continually draw the toughest defensive matchups throughout his career.

So when he paid Bryant the ultimate compliment, it was significant.

“Kobe is the greatest competitor I have ever faced,” Battier said. “I am glad he’s found peace. I don’t know if we’ll see another one like him.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

NBA: Golden State Warriors seen to break records this season

LOS ANGELES, United States — AFP looks at trends and topics in the National Basketball Association over the week ending November 22:

Warriors eye season record

They’ve already tied the record for the best start to a season in NBA history.

Now there’s talk that the Golden State Warriors could surpass the record 72-10 season of the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.

Golden State’s Klay Thompson is on record as saying 73 wins are possible for the defending champions, who moved to 15-0 on Sunday.

Reigning Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry thinks it would be a tall order — but has also indicated it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

“We know how hard it was to win 67,” Curry told the San Jose Mercury news. “You feel like, what games did you give along the way? But we’re off to a better start than we were last year, and I think we have talked about we’re a better team, so a lot goes into that.

“That would be nice to hit (72 wins) and something that we would be very proud of obviously. It’s still more to the formula of winning a championship. We want to be at the best we can be, and if that’s 72, 73 wins, then so be it.”

Hero to zero?

Luke Walton is officially the least-recognized record-equaling coach in NBA history.

Walton may have overseen Golden State’s remarkable 15-game unbeaten start to the season, but in the eyes of official statisticians, the rookie coach has zero victories in his wins column.

That’s because Walton is merely keeping the seat warm for Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who is currently on a leave of absence as he recovers from multiple back surgeries.

Walton, 35, says he’s unfazed by the fact that the wins don’t count towards his record.

“I’m completely okay with the fact that the wins don’t count on any record book for me,” Walton told SI.com recently. “Our concern here is getting the wins and the team continuing to get better while Steve isn’t able to coach.”

Philadelphia (horror) story

While the Golden State Warriors sweep all before them in the upper echelons of the NBA, at the other end of the scale the Philadelphia 76ers are closing in on an unwanted piece of history.

The 76ers have now lost 24 games in a row after Saturday’s 96-91 defeat to Miami, and on current form look well placed to equal their own record of 26 games for the longest losing streak in NBA history, set in the 2013-2014 season, a record they share with the 2010-2011 Cleveland Cavaliers.

Lieberman to reign at Kings?

With the Sacramento Kings languishing near the foot of the Western Conference standings, the pressure is mounting on head coach George Karl.

That has opened up the intriguing possibility that owner Vivek Ranadive could promote Nancy Lieberman to be the first female head coach in NBA history, according to Bleacher Report.

Lieberman, 57, was hired by the team over the summer and could be in line to replace Karl if Ranadive is unable to lure first choice John Calipari from the University of Kentucky.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Hawks apologize for racially charged comments

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks released an open letter of apology to fans and city of Atlanta on Saturday, saying the organization ”did not do the right thing” to correct racially inflammatory words and innuendos ”over a period of years.”

The apology, signed by CEO Steve Koonin, was released one day after the team announced general manager Danny Ferry was taking an indefinite leave of absence following his racially charged comments about Luol Deng.

Last Sunday, co-owner Bruce Levenson announced he’d sell his controlling share of the team following the release of his racially inflammatory comments in an email to Ferry and the team’s other owners.

”We are very sorry,” Koonin said in the letter.

”Over the course of the last week, the Hawks have let down our players, our employees, our fans and the city we love. Our shortcomings have been broadly shared – including how we have failed to operate well internally and externally. It has been humbling and, while we have read, seen and come to know many things about ourselves, our learnings have just begun.”

Ferry described Deng, who is from South Sudan, in a conference call with the Hawks’ ownership group as someone who ”has a little African in him.”

”He’s like a guy who would have a nice store out front and sell you counterfeit stuff out of the back,” said Ferry during the June call, which was recorded.

An internal investigation into Ferry’s comments uncovered an email sent two years ago by Levenson, who theorized that ”the black crowd scared away the whites and there are simply not enough affluent black fans to build a significant season ticket base.”

Koonin said the Hawks’ failures were not limited to Ferry’s comments or Levenson’s email.

”We know enough today, based on investigations conducted by the league, by external legal counsel on behalf of the team, and information that has appeared in the media, that our shortcomings are beyond a single email, a single person or a single event,” Koonin said. ”To the contrary, over a period of years, we have found that there have been inflammatory words, phrases, inferences, and innuendos about race. We as an organization did not correct these failures. We did not do the right thing.”

Koonin said the Hawks ”must own these shortcomings and failures.”

”To be clear, I am angry that this has happened,” he said. ”I am deeply saddened and embarrassed that this has put a blemish on our team and our city, which has always been a diverse community with a history of coming together as one. We should build bridges through basketball, not divide our community and serve as a source of pain.

”I am committed to seeing the Hawks change because of these past shortcomings. It starts by taking a hard look at ourselves, which in this case has been a particularly difficult thing to do.”

Koonin said the team will work with a diversity consultant and hire a chief diversity officer.

On Wednesday, Koonin cancelled a scheduled meeting with civil rights leaders, and the leaders said they were offended.

Koonin said in the letter the team also will reach out to community leaders ”not just now, but in an ongoing way to ensure that our values reflect, in the broadest sense, the community in which we play and work.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Spurs celebrate 5th NBA championship

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs celebrated their fifth title in franchise history by climbing onto barges that floated down the river walk followed by a triumphant rally at the Alamodome arena.

The National Basketball Association champions were greeted by about 100,000 people on the river walk parade and about 75,000 at the downtown Alamodome on Wednesday.

The celebration began at the Arneson River Theater and moved through the River Center extension before finally concluding at the Convent Street Bridge. Players and coaches then addressed fans inside the Alamodome during a special ceremony.

“It is soaking in, but I’m still going to live it up for about the whole summer,” said Kawhi Leonard, who was named MVP of the NBA finals. “I’ve been trying to live the moment. It’s been hard to sleep. Thought I would get some sleep after we won the finals, but I’m still celebrating.”

Some fans began lining up outside the Alamodome in 90 degree Fahrenheit heat five hours before the celebrations began.

The Spurs completed their five game demolition of the Miami Heat with a 104-87 win Sunday night in San Antonio.

They have five championships since 1999 and Tim Duncan has been part of all of those.

Asked if he would be back for an 18th season, Duncan declined to answer on Wednesday.

Duncan has a $10 million player option for next season.

“It’s been too long. Seven years since the last one,” Duncan said of the 2007 championship. “Toward the end of my career, it’s been sweet. It’s a great team, a great bunch of guys, a lot of fun.”

Once inside the Alamodome, Australian point guard Patty Mills introduced coaches and players. Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker received standing ovations after being introduced to the crowd.

“What I think we enjoyed the most is that we’re all friends before we’re teammates,” Mills said.

Duncan thanked former Spur and Hall of Famer David Robinson, who sat in the crowd wearing a championship T-shirt. The two played for San Antonio from 1997-2003.

“I give a lot of credit to David,” Duncan said.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Spurs clobber Heat in Miami for 2-1 lead in NBA Finals

MANILA, Philippines—The San Antonio Spurs outclassed the Miami Heat, 111-92, at the reigning champions’ home court to gain a 2-1 advantage in the 2014 NBA finals.

The Spurs waxed hot in the first half with brilliant 75.8 percent shooting from the field and led the Heat by as many as 25 points.

Kawhi Leonard finished with 29 points off-the-bench on 10-of-13 shooting. Danny Green and Tony Parker added 15 points each.

Sparked by Dwyane Wade, Miami trimmed the deficit down to seven, 74-81, in the third period, but San Antonio found ways to keep the Heat at bay the rest of the way.

It was the Heat’s first loss at home in the entire 2014 NBA playoffs.

Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is on Friday (Manila time), still at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Hot NBA Finals game 1 takes toll on coaches, players

MANILA, Philippines – When the first game of the National Basketball Association Finals commenced Friday at the AT&T Center, neither the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat thought that they would go up against the heat.

During the game, the air-conditioning system of the Spurs home arena malfunctioned causing temperatures to rise to 32o Celsius.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said that the malfunctioned air conditioning system was “tough” on the players, who play inside an arena with cool air blowing from the rafters.

“It was tough on both teams,” Popovich said. “They were pretty dead. We tried to get guys in and out…It was really hot out there.”

LeBron James, who suffered cramps in the Finals of 2012, was one of the casualties of the hot temperature and asked to get replaced with under four minutes remaining for which the Spurs took advantage of with a 16-3 run to close the game.

Spurs shooter Danny Green benefitted from the rising temperatures, getting hot on his own with back-to-back three-pointers and a poster dunk on a fastbreak.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra prevented any damage to James as the two-time Final Most Valuable Player tried to get back into the game.

“James on one point, stood up, and tried to go [to the game],” Spoelstra said during the post-game press conference. “I told him ‘don’t ever think about it, you can’t move.’”

Spoelstra said that they were not making the heat as an excuse for the loss of the game saying that both teams suffered from the temperatures.

“We’re not making excuses, it’s unfortunate, both teams tried to manage through it,” Spoelstra said. “It felt like a punch in the gut when you see your leader limping to the bench like that. But we still had a chance after that.”

Spurs management said that an electrical failure was the cause of the aircondition malfunction, for which they immediately apologized, but at the same time poked fun at by playing songs with “hot” in the lyrics.

Right after Game 1, the malfunctioned air-conditioning system generated an unofficial Twitter account with the handle @ACspurs__which, as of posting time, has a total of 355 followers.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Nets clinch playoffs spot with win over Rockets

NEW YORK, New York—The Brooklyn Nets clinched a playoff berth by beating the Houston Rockets for the first time in eight years as Joe Johnson scored 32 points in a 105-96 victory Tuesday.

Shaun Livingston added 17 points for the Nets, who extended their home winning streak to 14 games, longest in their National Basketball Association history and tops in the league this season. They also pulled within one-and-a-half games of Toronto and Chicago for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Nets ended a 14-game skid against Houston with their first victory in the series since March 13, 2006. The Nets hadn’t defeated the Rockets at home since March 31, 2003, when they were still playing in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

James Harden scored 26 points for Houston.    



Golden State’s Stephen Curry made a tiebreaking jump shot in the final second of overtime to help lift the Warriors to a 122-120 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Curry finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Klay Thompson led Golden State with 27 points, and Jermaine O’Neal added 20.

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 33 points and 11 rebounds. He had 16 in the Mavericks’ 41-point second quarter.

Dallas dropped from seventh in the Western Conference to ninth, a half-game behind Memphis and Phoenix in the final two playoff positions.

At Los Angeles, Damian Lillard scored 34 points and LaMarcus Aldridge had 31 points and 15 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers overpowered the Lakers 124-112.

The Blazers’ fourth straight victory, coupled with Houston’s loss at Brooklyn, moved Portland within one-and-a-half games of the Rockets for fourth place in the Western Conference and home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. The Rockets have three games in hand.

Nick Young, the fifth and last player off the Los Angeles bench, made his first eight shots and finished 15 for 26 with a season-high 40 points. But it wasn’t enough to prevent the Lakers’ 10th defeat in 14 games. They slipped to 25-49—the most losses by the club since finishing 33-49 in 1993-94. The franchise hasn’t lost 50 games in a season since 1974-75 (30-52).

source: sports.inquirer.net