Category: NBA Player News

Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen have buried the hatchet.

Rondo is organizing a vacation for the players who were on the Celtics’ 2008 championship team, but last year he said he would not be inviting Allen.

Now he seems to have changed his mind, telling the Boston Globe that everyone is allowed to go on the trip.

“Everybody (on the team) is invited,” he said.

“He’s a huge threat at the rim,” Heat forward Kelly Olynyk said after a win over the Hornets last month. “Diving, screen-and-rolls, lobs, rebounds… Hopefully, [we can] try to get a little bit more spacing, and it just makes it tougher for guys to guard.”

Adebayo’s dependence on those plays means he’s reliant on his teammates to create scoring opportunities for him — 70.7 percent of his baskets this season have been assisted — but it makes him a perfect fit alongside players who can collapse the defense off the dribble. It’s why it didn’t take him long to develop chemistry with Goran Dragic and Josh Richardson.

Blatt, who led Cleveland to the NBA Finals in 2015 and was unceremoniously fired in 2016 after a 30-11 start, took the opportunity to joke about the Cavs’ porous defense during a pregame interview with NTV Sport.

“Well, I don’t think we’re going to have any problem scoring. I’m just wondering if we’re going to defend anybody. That’s what I’m worried about,” Blatt said. “I hope we don’t give up as many points as the Cavaliers gave up last night.”

Things have gone south quickly for the Cavs in January. In nine games this month, Cleveland is 3-6 with the worst defensive rating in the league (114.3). It has gotten to the point where even Cavs players are wondering if the problems are fixable.

Part of the reason that the Colts have struggled in recent years is because of the absence of quarterback Andrew Luck. Luck, who will have missed 26 games since 2015 by the end of this season, routinely covered up so many of the team’s flaws during his first three seasons.

Luck, as ESPN reported in November, has been in Europe trying to find ways to stop the soreness in his shoulder, which he had surgery on in January.

“He’s doing fine, communicating via email and text, making progress,” Pagano said. “I think everybody knows he’s in Europe somewhere getting some great treatment. He’s communicating with our docs and our trainers. They’re all communicating together.”

Ultimately, the scandal — on top of two earlier ones involving Louisville basketball, the financial engine of the athletic department — cost Jurich his job. And it did so while underscoring the moral compromises and questionable priorities at the heart of his success, according to interviews by Outside the Lines with more than three dozen current and former Louisville administrators, athletic department staffers, government officials, state regulators, faculty and local media, as well as independent audits and documents obtained under Kentucky’s Open Records Act.

Further evaluation Monday of Greg Olsen’s foot showed not major issues, NFL Network reported.

The Panthers tight end re-aggravated his surgically repaired right foot during Sunday’s game against the Jets and he was slated to see an orthopedic foot specialist Monday in Charlotte, N.C., ESPN reported.

According to the report, initial X-rays on Olsen’s foot came back negative and the team didn’t believe the setback will be serious, but the veteran was to get an opinion from the doctor who performed the reparative procedure in September.

Olsen, who had been out since Week 2 with a broken foot, made his anticipated return Sunday but left the team’s Week 12 win over the Jets after halftime, and was ruled out for the rest of the game. He caught a 10-yard pass in the first quarter for his lone reception of the game.

Tuesday’s trade marks the seventh that Beane has made since being hired in May. In addition to trading Watkins and Jones, he also sent cornerback Ronald Darby to the Eagles and linebacker Reggie Ragland to the Kansas City Chiefs in the preseason; cornerback Kevon Seymour to the Panthers in September; and defensive tackle Marcell Dareus to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week.

“[The trade for Benjamin] probably saves me from getting my tail kicked in, walking in [the locker room],” Beane joked Tuesday. “Those guys are probably getting tired of me moving guys and not bringing anything in.

They sit a half-game behind the Patriots, who beat the Chargers 21-13 Sunday — and Buffalo’s was the more convincing home victory over a struggling AFC West opponent. The Bills have a short-week road game this Thursday, but it’s against the Jets, and a win would tie the Bills with New England at the top of the AFC East with two head-to-head games left.

To me, this suggests Rondo can still distribute at an elite level. Since last season is the most recent sample of his play, it’s worth noting Rondo was also 11th among all guards last year with 8.6 rebounding chances per game. With what should be heavy minutes and unfettered facilitation duties for the Pelicans once he returns from injury, Rondo is arguably the best injury stash among widely available players at the moment.

The deal did little for the Cowboys in the short term or long term, but it helped the Lions rebuild from a season that would end 0-16. In 40 games over three seasons, Williams caught a total of 94 passes with Dallas. The Cowboys reached the playoffs once in his tenure but lost in the wild-card round. The trade not only included a bounty of draft picks but also a five-year contract extension for Williams that included $20 million in guarantees. The Lions took the picks and selected, among other players, tight end Brandon Pettigrew.

“Just when I thought I could describe Game 2 as my favorite game of all time, I think Game 5 exceeded that and more,” Hinch said. “It’s hard to put into words all the twists and turns in that game, the emotion, doing it at home, in front of our home crowd. Just exactly what you expect to come to the park with [Dallas] Keuchel and Kershaw pitching. Just a perfect setup game for a bunch of runs.”

“It’s great when you can learn some lessons that you need to learn in a win, rather than making some mistakes and have it cost you a game,” Frost said Tuesday.

With or without their head coach, the Knights will be bringing an elite offensive attack that is averaging 51.0 points per game, tops in the nation. The Knights are fifth in the nation in total offense, averaging 529.7 yards per game, and have scored 30 or more points in each of their games this season.

Hood scored 15 of his season-high 25 points in the third quarter to help the Jazz rally to beat the Dallas Mavericks 104-89 on Monday night.

“Just aggressiveness,” Hood said. “My teammates were telling me to be more aggressive. The early foul trouble kind of threw me out of rhythm. Being more in attack mode.

“I knew I was going to get a chance to make an impact. … I knew I was going to get into the flow.”

But Utah came alive in the second half thanks to Hood and a 25-4 run to start the third quarter.

The Jazz adjusted their defense in the second half and made things much more difficult for one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league. The Mavericks were just 3 for 10 from behind the arc in the second half.

Who’s looking good for the 2017 NFL playoffs as we approach the rough halfway point of the regular season? Who’s already stuck scraping for a wild card or bust?

Prior to Sunday, the 49ers’ previous five games (all losses) had been decided by a combined total of 13 points. So they had reason to feel they were close to breaking through. Dallas thrashed them with Ezekiel Elliott, but they were at least a little encouraged by the fact that quarterback C.J. Beathard didn’t look overwhelmed in his first career start. Even if the 49ers don’t win a game all season, the Niners believe Beathard has progressed to the point in which they can get a good look at him to help them decide whether and where he fits into their quarterback picture in 2018 and beyond. That’s something the final team on our list can’t say.

While the trio of stars have put up some big numbers this season, the Steelers quarterback admitted that he needs to get wide receiver Martavis Bryant in on the action as well.

“Hopefully, it’s lots of touchdown passes,” Roethlisberger said Wednesday, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We need to get the ball to him, to everybody, we all need to score points. There are opportunities there. That’s why I told him to come talk to me.

“We’ve had opportunities with deep balls that were just missed whether it was me overthrowing him or it’s the Chicago game where he slows down a little bit or this last game where he doesn’t see the ball coming out of my hand. There are plays to be had. We just have to make them.”

The Browns left tackle left Sunday’s game against the Titans in the third quarter with a triceps injury. The 10-time Pro Bowler, who had never missed a play in 11 seasons, was injured on a 3-yard Duke Johnson run to the left side of the line.

In 21 games under Trestman, Baltimore ranked 15th in total yards and 25th in scoring. In 17 games under Mornhinweg, the Ravens are 23rd in total yards and 23rd in scoring.

The Ravens have been held to one or no offensive touchdowns in seven games under Mornhinweg. That’s 41 percent of the time.

The one area where the Ravens have significantly improved is running the ball. Baltimore has the sixth-best ground attack in the league, although a large part of the credit for this goes to senior offensive assistant Greg Roman.

Harbaugh surprisingly chose to retain Mornhinweg as his playcaller at the end of last season. He didn’t sway from that decision as the offense has played a major role in Baltimore’s 3-3 start this season.

Green Bay is a 2-point road underdog at Dallas at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. When these two teams met in Texas in the postseason last year, Green Bay won 34-31 as a 5-point underdog.

Beathard’s first drive was a three-and-out, but his second spanned 75 yards over 11 plays and ended with the first points of the game for San Francisco when Carlos Hyde ran in for a 1-yard touchdown.

By the end of the game, Beathard had 245 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception. That was impressive enough to earn him the starting job moving forward, according to 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan.

Bet the under. The paper-thin Wolves start two traditional bigs and three so-so 3-point shooters who dominate the ball in Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins and Jeff Teague. Those three will diminish each other — at least over the first stretch of the season. The Wolves will have to bash through walls of defenders in the paint.

It’s fun to joke that the bench doesn’t matter, since Tom Thibodeau will play the starters into the ground. Luckily, the foursome of Teague, Butler, Wiggins and Towns has been remarkably durable. But what if one of them misses 20 games? Can Karl-Anthony Towns give a crap on defense before we anoint him a top-10 player? Minnesota flopped to 27th in points allowed per possession in Thibodeau’s first season. Swing the ball just once, and the Wolves fractured, conceding both the rim and the arc.

And they might not register 12 months from now, either. But any conversation about who’s next absolutely needs to include the Mile High franchise that is doing a better Warriors impersonation than any other team.

All eyes were on Danny Ainge this summer, waiting on which move the Celtics president of basketball operations would pull off next. AP Photo/Elise Amendola
“It was a really busy summer,” Ainge said recently while reflecting on Boston’s blizzard of activity. “My golf handicap should be a lot better than it is right now.”

Beyond the jaw-dropper trade for Irving, the Celtics dealt away the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft and sent out its longest-tenured player, Avery Bradley, in order to clear cap space to ink Hayward. Boston also signed 12 players this summer, if you include rookie deals and a ceremonial signing of Celtics legend Paul Pierce so he could retire as a member of the team that drafted him.

McVay has installed a more up-tempo offense similar to what Goff ran at Cal and is emphasizing mistake-free football so Goff is more careful in his decision-making. The new offense also has set up running back Todd Gurley as a modern-day Marshall Faulk with his production jumping significantly as a runner and receiver (362 rushing yards, 234 receiving yards and seven combined touchdowns, on pace for 2,384 yards and 28 touchdowns this season).

Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall on the NFL’s best defense: “We’re gonna shut down everybody we play, I promise you. We just have a different tenacity about us this year, a different mindset. A lot of guys came back stronger and more focused. We’re just more aggressive, more confident.”

I’m good with pie and mash though. That I could probably have every day but they’d probably have to move me to nose tackle, so I only had it once. Something about steak and ale pies doesn’t go well with being an athlete but chicken and leek, chicken and leek is healthy, right?”

McVay on his team’s 3-1 start and assessing the next four games: “The players have really done a great job about being able to buy into that and I think that’s a credit to our coaches as well. But, that’s really I know it’s like, ‘No duh, Sean.’ But, that really is our approach and I think that’s helped us because you have a tendency to want to look ahead, but really all you have is whatever this game is this week, your one day at a time approach and preparation.”

Chiefs coach Andy Reid on rookie kicker Harrison Butker making the game-winning field goal to beat the Redskins: “Buttkicker-dot-com did a nice job.”

This is a figurative and literal nightmare. Every crevice of his body is packed full of emulsified egg food lube, and the crowd is LOVING every second of it. We don’t know if this fan has tickets to the game on Sunday, but if he does we’re just praying he has a way of getting hosed off first. Baking in mayo all day long in the Jacksonville sun sounds like a layer of hell Dante never made it to.

If this is what happens when the Jags are 1-0 things are going to keep getting Authentic Nene Jersey scarier until they lose a game. We’re all for it. You do you, Jags fans.

Update: We learned about how this got started from Alfie Terrance West Womens Jersey Crow, managing editor of SB Nation’s Jaguars blog Big Cat Country.

There’s been an ongoing joke among Jaguars fans that Titans fans eat mayonnaise straight from the jar. This has evolved, morphed and taken on a life of its own. So it wasn’t random, it was calculated — as calculated as diving into a pool of mayo can be.

Former Attorney General of New Jersey Peter Harvey, an independent advisor appointed by the league, spoke to the media via phone about what they learned over the course of the investigation. Harvey said that he came to the conclusion that Elliott had been physically violent toward his former girlfriend.

Elliott’s accuser did cooperate with the league’s investigation into her allegations. She met with league investigators six times. They had concerns with her credibility, but the independent advisors assigned to the investigation found the woman’s version of events credible even when taking into account her false statement to police on July 22 and other inconsistencies.

The letter to Elliott announcing his suspension also noted that a lack of cooperation from Elliott wasn’t a factor. If Elliott had failed to cooperate, his suspension might have been longer.

he Raiders’ 2017 schedule will be a good litmus test for how much they have improved from their breakout 2016 regular season. Getting back to the playoffs won’t be easy; Oakland’s opponents carry over a combined .564 winning percentage from last season, including their foes in the stacked AFC West and NFC East.

From wire to wire, there’s no breathing room or real gimme games for Oakland in 2017. One of the NFL’s most talented young teams will need to grow up faster, but with Derek Carr leading the way, that certainly can happen by the Bay.

Kundla was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995, in the same class as Mikkelsen.

“That was one of the great highlights of my career,” Kundla said in 2014.

Kundla got his start in coaching at a Greek church and later coached the DeLaSalle High School team in Minneapolis. He spent just two seasons at DeLaSalle before serving in the Navy during World War II in both the European and Pacific theaters.

After the war, Kundla took over at St. Thomas, where he went 11-11 in his lone season leading the Tommies. He twice turned down offers to coach the Lakers before finally accepting the job. Kundla remained a fan of the Lakers and has always had high respect for former Lakers coach Phil Jackson, whom he described as “cool.”

Kundla’s wife, Marie, died in 2007. They had six children, one of whom is deceased. Kundla’s grandsons Isaiah and Noah Dahlman played at Michigan State and Wofford, respectively. His granddaughter, Rebekah Dahlman, was Minnesota’s all-time leading high school scorer before playing at Vanderbilt.