Magic Fire Van Gundy, Smith
We all saw this coming, right?
The Orlando Magic have parted ways with coach Stan Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith, the team announced Tuesday.
Smith's fate was most likely sealed when the high-risk acquisitions of players like Gilbert Arenas didn't pan out. Van Gundy was done in by a souring relationship with star center Dwight Howard - a player the team is desperate to re-sign, however unlikely that appears at this point.
If you're thinking, "This is remarkably similar to the situation in Cleveland immediately preceding LeBron James' departure" you're far from alone. I expect the Howard saga to continue along a similar path, and that the all-star center will be leaving Orlando when he hits free agency.
If not sooner.
Van Gundy is generally regarded as one of the top coaches in the league and will likely have his pick of jobs if and when he decides to return to the bench. In the meantime, anyone that has watched his press conferences knows he'd be a great addition to the broadcast booth - possibly alongside his brother Jeff?
D'Antoni Sets the Record Straight
I absolutely resigned. I was in my car driving to shootaround and it just came to me. That's it. It's inevitable. I have to resign. We're not going anywhere. I made the decision then and there. I called Glen [Grunwald, the Knicks' general manager] and told him that I was coming in to do it. Then I called Laurel [his wife] to tell her. Glen called in Mr. Dolan [Knicks owner James Dolan] and I met them after shootaround and told them that I was resigning.D'Antoni also said that he does plan to coach again, but that the likeliest short-term scenario would be him staying on the sidelines for one more year while his son finishes high school.
Warriors moving to San Francisco?
The next NBA team to move could be the Golden State Warriors. But it doesn't sound like they'll go very far.
ESPN's Ric Bucher is reporting that the Warriors are close to a deal to relocate to San Francisco, possibly to a new waterfront arena.
The move would be a return home, of sorts. The franchise was known as the San Francisco Warriors from 1962 - when they moved to the Bay Area from their original home in Philadelphia - until 1971, when they took on the non-specific "Golden State" nickname and began playing most of their home games in Oakland.
It is not known whether a name change would be part of the move.
Oakland officials are reportedly "committed" to keeping the Warriors on their side of the Bay Bridge.
Spurs Advance, Miami Rebounds
Chris Paul was the biggest acquisition of the year... but his season is over thanks, in part, to some excellent defense from unheralded Cleveland Cavalier castoff Danny Green. Green picked up a deflected pass and forced a miss on two of the Clippers' final two possessions, helping the Spurs close out Los Angeles and advance to the Western Conference Finals.
San Antonio swept the series 4-0, and has now won eight consecutive playoff games and 18 straight overall. They'll face the winner of the Lakers/Thunder series, which Oklahoma City leads, 3-1.
- Spurs beat Clippers, Advance to the Western Conference Finals
- Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (Thunder leads 3-1)
The Miami Heat tied their series with the Indiana Pacers at two games apiece as Dwyane Wade shook off a dreadful shooting slump. He and LeBron James combined to score 70 points for Miami, while Udonis Haslem added 14 points in his best game of the postseason.
Tonight's Games:
- The Celtics/Sixers series is tied at two, and shifts back to Boston for Game Five.
- The Thunder look to close out the Lakers and advance to the Western Conference Finals.
Decision on Waived Players Could Benefit Lin, Knicks
Last summer's lockout compressed the season to just 66 games, delayed opening night by six weeks and generated no end of animosity between players, management and fans. But the endless negotiations failed to settle a couple of minor issues - one of which could really benefit both Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks.
At issue is the question of whether or not a player's "Larry Bird" rights remain intact when he is claimed off waivers.
Under current rules, a player's service time under his contract is transmitted to his new team when he's traded. For example: Player X is traded during the second-year of a two-year contract. When his contract expires, Player X is eligible to be re-signed using the "early Bird" cap exception, which teams can use to re-sign players that have been under contract for two seasons.
Now... if Player X is waived and claimed before waivers expire, he is still bound to the terms of his original contract. But when that contract expires, the new team cannot use the Bird Exception to re-sign. Or, at least that's the current interpretation of the rules... they're a bit fuzzy on the point, which is why this will go to an arbitrator.
Why does this matter to the Knicks?
As is so often the case, it all comes back to Jeremy Lin.
Lin will be a restricted free agent this summer. Teams will be able to offer him contracts topping out at approximately $5 million per year, which the Knicks will have the option of matching using their mid level exception. If they had the option of using the Bird exception to re-sign Lin, general manager Glen Grunwald might be able to use the mid-level exception on another free agent or two... maybe a badly-needed backup point guard or shooter that can play the two.
As an added bonus for Grunwald - Steve Novak's status is the same as Lin's. So if the NBPA wins this arbitration case, the Knicks may have an easier time retaining both of this season's big waiver-claim finds.
This issue has never really come up before; most of the time, players claimed off waivers are marginal performers at best. (Otherwise, they wouldn't have been on waivers.) I think we can safely say that Lin is the first NBA player to be claimed off waivers twice and appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated - also twice - in the same season.
Playoff Updates: Lakers, Clippers advance, Bosh hurt in Miami's win
The Lakers and Clippers finally closed out their first-round series with wins over the Nuggets and Grizzlies, respectively.
The Laker win sets up a highly intriguing "revenge" subplot for the conference semifinals against Oklahoma City. The last time the Lakers played the Thunder, Metta World Peace elbowed James Harden in the head, leaving the sixth man of the year with a concussion and earning a six-game suspension. The enforcer with the ironic name returned to the court for the Lakers' game seven win over Denver, and will be available for the next round.
Of course, the whole Kobe Bryant/Kevin Durant thing is pretty compelling too.
The Clippers mounted a late charge to finish off the Memphis Grizzlies, but got very little from Blake Griffin, who is clearly still bothered by a knee injury. They'll face San Antonio in the second round. San Antonio is well-rested and healthy; the Clippers are a M*A*S*H unit, with Griffin (knee), Chris Paul (hip), Mo Williams (hand) and Caron Butler (hand) all nursing injuries.
Miami opened their Eastern Conference Semifinal series with a win over the Pacers, but lost Chris Bosh to an abdominal strain in the first half. It's not clear if Bosh will be available for game two on Tuesday - or the rest of the series.
Bosh is probably the member of the "Big Three" that Miami can least-afford to lose, as the Heat are very thin in the frontcourt. Look for Erik Spoelstra to use smaller lineups featuring Shane Battier or Mike Miller in Bosh's place whenever possible... but that'll create a major size advantage for Indiana's David West and Roy Hibbert.
The Celtics got a triple-double from Rajon Rondo and a season-high in scoring from Kevin Garnett, taking a 1-0 series lead over the Sixers.
Today's games:
The 76ers will try to even their series with the Celtics in Boston at 7:00 ET. The Lakers tip-off their series in Oklahoma City at 9:30 ET.
Birdman of Alcatraz? Nuggets' Andersen Under Investigation
Denver Nuggets reserve Chris "Birdman" Andersen is under investigation - reportedly for child pornography. Anderson's attorney has a very different explanation.
Colin Breese tells the Denver Post that Andersen's legal troubles stem from a female fan that sent a number of photographs - some in various stages of undress - and claimed to be 21.
When Anderson spurned her advances, she allegedly threatened blackmail.
Anderson has not appeared in a game for the Nuggets during the postseason, and is on indefinite leave from the team while the investigation continues. Denver will play the Lakers on Saturday night, with the winner advancing to face Oklahoma City in the Western Conference semifinals.
Report: LeBron Wins Third MVP
2011-12 Postmortem: New York Knicks
The Knicks hadn't won a playoff game in over a decade, so a seven seed in the Eastern Conference and a 3-1 series loss to the Miami Heat should probably be regarded as progress.
Slight progress.
I think the Knicks will be back more or less intact next season... but they'll fare much better in the Atlantic Division standings and the postseason.