It Was New York That Riley Had Forsaken To Come Make The NBA Matter In Miami

LeBron James arrived with great expectations, joining Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat two years ago with talk of multiple NBA titles and the jaw-dropping acrobatic plays that made him a star.
　　
After falling short last year by losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, the Heat went 46-20 this season to earn a No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs behind NBA overall leaderChicago.
　　
Pierce said the sprain was minor, and that he doesn't expect it to bother him Sunday when the Boston Celtics take on the Atlanta Hawks in game one of the 1st round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs.
　　
NBA.com reports that Pierce left Thursday season finale against the Bucks early in the first quarter, and though, the Celtics believed he would not return, he was back on the court late in the second quarter.
　　
Another member of the big 3, Ray Allen, is questionable for Sunday. Allen has missed 2 weeks with a sore right angle, and Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he wasn't sure if Allen will be able to play Sunday.
　　
After all Der- rick Rose went through in the regular season, with five different injuries shelving him for a total of 27 games, is anyone confident that he can stay healthy and lead his team to the Finals? Despite the reigning MVP’s repeated absences, the Bulls (50-16) still went 18-9 without him and finished with the No. 1 overall seed for the second straight season. Tom Thibodeau is seen as a lock to win his second straight Coach of the Year award as the Bulls led the NBA in scoring defense (allowing only 88.2 points per game, a Bulls record) and had the No. 1 rebound differential (6.7). Doug Collins’ Sixers (35-31) started 20-9, then lost 22 of their final 37 games. They’re not built for the playoffs — they have no stars, struggle to score (93.6 ppg) and lack an inside presence. Against the Bulls this season, they made only eight of 33 three-point tries. If it’s another quick first-round ouster, then everybody will await Collins’ decision as to whether he wants to come back for a third season on Broad St.
　　
Second seed Miami (46-20) host the New York Knicks (36-30) and high-scoring Carmelo Anthony in their first-round opener on Saturday (Sunday PHL time) as Dallas (36-30) go up against second-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder (47-19).
　　
Eight playoff series kick off on Saturday and Sunday as the grind of a 66-game NBA season compacted by the league's labor contract dispute gives way to the spotlight of best-of-seven series on the road to the title.


Miami will win the NBA title in Year 2 of the Big 3, or the perception of Riley’s grand superstar plan will go beyond disappointment toward monumental failure, an experiment already in need of an overhaul. Win it all, or the echoing braggadocio of those anticipated multiple titles (“Not one, not two, not three …”) will start to sound mocking, and begin to haunt.
　　
It was this very rivalry more than 10 years ago — Heat-Knicks — that inspired Pat Riley to first utter the memorable lament, “There is winning, and there is misery.”
　　
Back then, misery meant three consecutive years of playoff elimination at the hands of the Knicks (1998-2000), though the Heat was higher seeded every time. Worse, it was New York that Riley had forsaken to come make the NBA matter in Miami.
　　
Some dozen years later the alternative to winning presents a very different sort of misery for Riley and all he has built here. That misery is out there, lurking, threatening.
　　

After getting to the Western finals last spring, the Thunder (47-19) has been a popular choice to win the conference. Kevin Durant won his third straight scoring title (28.0 ppg) and has his best chance to win the MVP award. Russell Westbrook is coming off an All-NBA caliber season and James Harden is a lock to win the Sixth Man Award. Harden is ready for the playoffs after suffering a concussion at the hands of Metta World Peace last Sunday. After those three, who accounted for 67% of the team’s points, the Thunder has few scoring options. Ex-Laker Derek Fisher provided little (4.9 ppg) in 20 games. But Oklahoma City has one of the best interior defenses in the NBA, with veteran big men Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka, the NBA’s top shot blocker (3.65 per game). Coming off their championship season, the Mavs (36-30) have struggled, especially on the road (13-20), withoutTyson Chandler, J.J. Barea and DeShawn Stevenson. They got nothing out of Lamar Odom before releasing him. This is a transition season for owner Mark Cuban until he can restock his team, starting this summer with a move for free agent and Dallas-area product Deron Williams.
　　
The Knicks have navigated through a tumultuous season that included a coaching change and the emergence of point guard Jeremy Lin and subsequent knee injury that has sidelined him.
　　
Under interim coach Mike Woodson the Knicks have played spirited defense led by center Tyson Chandler and allowed Anthony to use his one-on-one scoring skills while also utilizing three-point sharpshooters J.R. Smith and Steve Novak.
　　
Dallas took a step back after losing Chandler and guard J.J. Barea to free agency, and face a difficult draw against the high-powered Thunder, who are led by NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant and offensive-minded guard Russell Westbrook.

Coaching Legend Larry Brown Will Take Over At SMU

DALLAS -- SMU announced Thursday that Hall of Famer Larry Brown will become the Mustangs' next men's basketball coach."I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to coach at SMU," Brown said in a statement released by the university. "I've built so many relationships in the basketball world and my success has been due to the coaches I've played for and the players I've coached. I always thought of myself as a college coach and this gives me a wonderful chance to get back where I started."

Many of you may not have noticed last week, but basketball coaching legend Larry Brown is back in the college game. At the age of 71, he is the new head coach at SMU.

Brown has had a remarkable career, but he is truly a coaching gypsy. He has been everywhere. In college he has coached at UCLA and Kansas. In the NBA and the old ABA, he has coached the Carolina Cougars, Denver Nuggets, New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76'ers, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks and Charlotte Bobcats.

He is the only coach in basketbal history to win an NBA championship and an NCAA championship. He won an NBA title coaching the Pistons in 2004. He won an NCAA title at Kansas in 1988. He also took UCLA to the NCAA finals in 1980 where they lost to Louisville.There have been issues. When he won the 1988 NCAA title at Kansas, the Jayhawks went on a major probably seven months later. They did not have to vacate their title, but they did admit to major violatioins. Roy Williams came in from North Carolina to clean up the mess after Brown left for the NBA and San Antonio.

Brown is a basketball Hall of Famer, having been inducted in 2002. As a player, he played on the 1964 U. S. Olympic team that won a Gold Medal in Tokyo.One thing that Larry Brown has not done in his career, is to coach in our state. That will change next winter. SMU will be in Conference USA for one more season before heading to the Big East. As a result, Brown will coach the Mustangs in Huntington next season when the Mustangs play at Marshall. His appearance in Huntington will make that game an event.

Brown has a reputation for impressive turnarounds and often messy departures from teams. When Michael Jordon hired him in Charlotte, Brown had been out of coaching for two years after going only 23-59 in his only season in New York and being let go by the Knicks.His longest tenure with any team was six seasons with Philadelphia. He had left the 76ers with two years left on his contract to go to Detroit.He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., in 2002.Brown has his work cut for him at SMU. The Mustangs are not very relevant in college basketball, but Brown's presence could change that. He does provide some sizzle.If his past history is any indication, Brown's stay in Dallas may not be that long. But it should be long enough for us to see him in our state in the winter of 2013.

One Proved The Los Angeles Lakers Need Kobe Bryant Now More Than Ever

It went on just long enough for everyone to start drawing conclusions. And Kobe Bryant didn't help with all those camera shots of him enthusiastically grabbing a clipboard and coaching up his teammates from the sidelines in a nationally televised win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

But let's be real. The Los Angeles Lakers might have won four straight games without Bryant. And yes, "Coach Kobe" is a fun storyline. However, after watching the way the San Antonio Spurs shredded a lifeless, rudderless Lakers team 112-91 on Tuesday night at Staples Center, there can be no argument the Lakers are a better team without Bryant.

This game meant a ton to both teams. The Lakers are trying to hold off the resurgent Clippers for third place in the Western Conference standings. The Spurs are trying to wrestle the top spot away from suddenly mortal Oklahoma City. But only one team played as if it were playing for something important Tuesday night: the Spurs, who got a sublime game from Tony Parker (29 points, 13 assists) and solid work from both Tim Duncan (19 points, eight rebounds) and Manu Ginobili (15 points, six rebounds, four assists).

The Lakers, well, they got decent games from Pau Gasol (16 points, seven rebounds) and Andrew Bynum (21 points, seven rebounds). But the Lakers needed a lot more than "decent" to beat the Spurs for the second time in a week with this much on the line. They needed what Parker gave the Spurs. They needed leadership. They needed one of their big men to dominate in the way Bynum did last week in San Antonio.

It's games like this in which that extra bit of moxie shows up. In which it can be the difference between winning and losing. Bryant doesn't always make every shot, but he is never afraid to grab hold of a game and try to win or lose it.

Say what you will about how he can bog down the Lakers' offense at times. But Bryant is the team's leader. The guy who always shows up. The guy who always puts up. And yes, the guy you opposing teams will forever have a hard time shutting up. There are times when he shoots the Lakers out of games. But you can count on one hand the number of games in his career in which he has disappeared on the Lakers when they needed him.

Bynum and Gasol both played well Tuesday. And truth be told, this loss really isn't on them. As big men, they can do only so much. The ball has to get to them before they can score. And too often during what proved to be a decisive eight-minute stretch in the second quarter, when the Spurs blew open a tight game with an 18-0 run, the ball never made it inside to either Gasol or Bynum.

That would be the stretch of the game after Metta World Peace, who had been doing an admirable job of controlling the pace of the game in Bryant's sted, was called for an offensive foul on Gary Neal and had to sit out with three fouls.

"When Metta was out, I think we lost control of the tempo of the game," Lakers coach Mike Brown said. "They kind of sped us up, and we did not look like we had -- nor tried to get -- control of the tempo. We'd come down and take a one-pass 3-pointer or a no-pass 3.

"We kind of got out of character of the way we've been playing lately."

Without World Peace in the game, the Lakers looked frazzled. They turned the ball over at an alarming rate, and San Antonio capitalized with its run, most of which was in transition.

What does that have to do with Bryant being out? That's simple. He's normally the guy who controls everything for the Lakers. Who reads the game, adjusts to it and does what the situation calls for. Sometimes that means putting up 28 shots himself; other times that means feeding Bynum and Gasol to get the inside-out game working. But it always means dictating the best tempo for the Lakers to play.

"I think [Bryant] always makes a difference. Whether you win or lose, his presence is felt," Brown said. "He's a guy that can feel or understand tempo. He may not say anything to our guys, but the way he helps control it is he may run to the block and ask for it and get the guys to settle down.

"It kind of calms everybody down."

With Bryant out, those duties have fallen to World Peace and point guard Ramon Sessions, and as you might have guessed, it's not exactly the same thing.

"I know how to control the tempo because I've been a go-to player before," World Peace said. "The tempo is very important. It's more important than scoring sometimes. If you understand the game, how your tempo is, not the other team's tempo, your tempo, it makes a big difference. You don't even have to score the ball."

For the past six games, it has been easy to forget things like this. To look at the wins and the way the Lakers have played, and conclude that maybe they can win without Bryant running the show.

But six games is far too small a sample size. Far better to look back on what Bryant has done the past 16 seasons.

He leads; others follow. That proportion might get out of whack at times. He might do too much; his teammates might do too little. But in a game the Lakers need to win, they are always better off with Bryant at the front of the charge

Dwight Howard Scores Just 8 Points As Knicks Roll To 96-80 Win

Dwight Howard was much more likable as a high school senior, a kid wearing braces, a dreamer who wanted to become the first African-American president of the United States.

He was something of an underdog back then, a relatively anonymous class valedictorian in 2004, otherwise known as Year 1 A.B. -- After Bron. LeBron James was preparing to play a game in Philly early in his rookie year with Cleveland when I started a locker room conversation with him about the prom kings preparing to follow his lead.

James knew a bit about the center from Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. Just a bit. "Dwight Something," he called him.

Dwight Something grew into a somebody, a big somebody, too big for his own good. Thursday, it all ended for Howard. His innocence -- or whatever remained of it -- was shattered like a glass backboard even before he embarrassed himself against the New York Knicks.

Seven hours before tipoff, before Howard went scoreless for the first 35 minutes and 56.5 seconds of a 96-80 loss to the Knicks, Stan Van Gundy disclosed that his bosses had told him Howard did indeed ask for his head. The franchise player suddenly appeared out of left field, clueless to what Van Gundy had just told reporters, and wrapped an arm around his man.

Howard thought this would be just another us-against-them moment, just another case of an embattled jock and an embattled coach finding a common and convenient enemy in the news media. The center all but broke out his world famous Stan Van impression in an effort to lighten the mood and mock the report that he'd pulled the ol' him-or-me stunt with management.

Only Van Gundy wasn't about to laugh along. He got out of there as quickly as he could, and left Howard alone to absorb the same kind of sucker punch he threw at his coach behind closed doors.

"Stan just didn't want to lie anymore," said one league source close to the situation. "Letting this linger has already ruined the season, and there's so much more beyond this that's going on behind closed doors. If nothing else, by exposing Dwight, Stan did the next head coach a huge favor. Now Howard has to be on his best behavior in Orlando, at least until he leaves."

And yes, after all that opt-in, opt-out, opt-back-in drama, Howard will almost certainly leave the Magic sometime next year, probably for the Nets. Most superstars only get to kill off one coach, "and Dwight was also in on Brian Hill," the league source said. "People forget that. Stan is the second coach he's running out of there."

Brooklyn beware. Hand your new franchise and new arena to this disruptive force at your own peril.

"We've just got to stay together," Howard said after delivering eight garbage-time points in 40 lousy minutes. "We can't let anything from the outside tear us apart."

This might've been the most absurd thing said on an absurd day and night. We can't let anything from the outside tear us apart?

These are self-inflicted wounds, all of them, and Howard knows it.

When Orlando's fifth consecutive loss was complete, Van Gundy explained that he "simply clarified a situation" when confirming his center wants him out. The coach had met with Howard and Magic GM Otis Smith before the game, and the three agreed -- at least for now -- that the mutual loathing had to be boxed up again and stored behind closed doors.

"I don't want to talk about it," Howard said when asked about Van Gundy. In the losing locker room, all Howard would talk about was Orlando's need to weather this storm.

"Everybody's expecting us to fall apart," he said, "and we have to stay together. No pointing the finger, no blaming anybody ... "

More stand-up genius from the guy whose index finger leads the league in flagrants.

Thursday night, after the longest day of his career, Howard should've taken out his frustration on the Knicks, the team that crushed him in the Garden ("a horrendous, inexcusable game," Van Gundy called it) after Howard and teammates reportedly partied late into the night. Here was the big man's big chance to even the score.

But instead Howard appeared disengaged, even willing to concede defeat. In the first half he took all of two shots, didn't get to the foul line, and allowed Carmelo Anthony to outscore him 17-0. If Howard was trying to make up with Van Gundy, he had the funniest way of showing it.

He finally scored with 3.5 seconds left in the third quarter, on an uncontested dunk. "I thought Dwight played really, really hard," Van Gundy actually said, if only because he'd already shredded his center enough.

The Knicks made 13 of their 25 3-point attempts, and after their collapse in Indy they suddenly looked alive again.

"I don't think anybody would want to play New York (in the playoffs)," Van Gundy had said after his shoot-around for the ages. "Any team that's got Carmelo Anthony is going to scare the hell out of you."

And any team that's got Dwight Howard is going to scare the hell out of its coach.

Sure, there's a long, not-so-proud tradition of stars firing coaches in the NBA. But if you're going to do what Magic Johnson did -- lead Paul Westhead's fastbreak out of L.A. -- then you have to be worth the trouble, like Magic.

Howard hasn't been worth the trouble, and that's a shame. The kid I remember meeting for the first time in a high school locker room in Delaware was a Finding Nemo fan who drove a 1984 Ford Crown Victoria, the perfect antidote to LeBron's Hummer.

Howard was a do-gooding son of a state trooper, and he only generated controversy when he stated his pre-Tebow hope that Christ's crucifix would someday be part of the NBA's logo.

Oh, and young Howard had this to say of LeBron James: "I think I can surpass him."

Against the odds, Howard has surpassed James as a villain. As a self-appointed Superman with video-game muscles, Howard wanted to be known for his red cape, not his black hat.

He'll wear both into Brooklyn at some point, long after Stan Van Gundy is going, going, gone.