UPDATE 12:31 pm: The league has announced this as official — Iman Shumpert has pulled out of the All-Star Weekend dunk contest and Jeremy Evans is in.
While Knicks fans are going to be bummed, the contest itself is not going to suffer — Evans is a great dunker. This should be fun (you can watch it Saturday night on TNT). The other contestants are Chase Budinger, Derrick Williams and Paul George. Not a big-name lineup, but some guys who can throw it down. So we’ll see.
10:40 am: Knicks rookie Iman Shumpert had been playing through knee pain for a couple weeks, but with the arrival of J.R. Smith and Baron Davis finally getting healthy, Shumpert was scratched Monday, is not expected to play Wednesday. He will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break.
But what about the All-Star Saturday Dunk Contest? Shumpert is scheduled to be one of the contestants.
Nothing is official, but there are rumors swirling Shumpert will pull out and the Jazz’s Jeremy Evans will replace him.
If you haven’t seen Evans — which is possible, he’s only been in 16 games for Utah and is averaging 5.6 minutes per contest — he is a human pogo stick who can leap out of the building. Honestly, I didn’t know much about him until I saw him at the Impact Series of workouts/games this past summer in Las Vegas, and in that free-flowing setting his athleticism caught your eye.
Evans was a snub — there had been a campaign for him from Utah, so if Shumpert has to be out this is the right call.
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This was expected once the Pacers were eliminated from the playoffs. Pacers lead assistant coach and former Phil Jackson right hand man Brian Shaw is going to interview for the Charlotte Bobcats coaching job this week, reports ESPN. They also plan to meet with Lakers assistant Quin Snyder in Chicago before the NBA pre-draft camp…
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Chris Bosh is not walking through that door… yet. The Heat’s big man who is key to their offensive spacing — and in the Eastern Conference finals could help cover Kevin Garnett — is still officially “out indefinitely” with a strained abdomen and will not dress for Game 1 against Boston Monday. However, Bosh was…
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When the game was on the line, Oklahoma City just did not have an answer for the herky-jerky style of Manu Ginobili. He had 11 of the Spurs 37 points in the fourth quarter as the Spurs found a system that worked — going small — and came from behind to win Game 1. Ginobili…
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British officials ticked Bulls tried to dissuade Deng from Olympics
May 28, 2012, 9:58 AM EDT
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From the start, Luol Deng has been clear about what he wants to do — his wrist may need surgery but he was going to play through it and be part of Great Britain’s Olympic basketball team, the way he played through it for the Bulls at the end of the season. Even if that…
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AP
SEASON RECORDS Miami 46-20 (No. 2 seed) Boston: 39-27 (No. 5 seed) SEASON SERIES Boston won the season series 3-1. In their second to final game before the playoffs the Heat did not play any of their big three against the Celtics, so toss that one out. KEY INJURIES Celtics: Starting two guard Avery Bradley…
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Reuters
The best part of this Gregg Popovich in-game pep talk to his team is really the way he snarls that last line. He started the speach (before that video clip above) with the line ”Are we having fun yet?” His Spurs were down 9 going into the fourth and he hadn’t seen the fight from them…
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Momma said there’d be days like this. Kevin Durant had a pretty bizarre Game 1 vs. San Antonio. He couldn’t get it going in the first half, shook loose in the third quarter, and then was bottled up by San Antonio in the fourth. He hit free throws, a result of the Spurs’ defensive approach…
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Popovich reaches into toolbox, makes adjustments, Spurs win Game 1
May 28, 2012, 12:18 AM EDT
Reuters
There’s a reason the Spurs haven’t lost a game since before you sent your taxes in (19 in a row now) — they can adapt and take what you give them. Gregg Popovich is the master of adjustments and this roster is a huge toolbox of options for him to choose from. He and the…
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AP
Rajon Rondo was asked Saturday night about how the Celtics feel about their chances. From Fox Sports Florida’s Chris Tommasson: Rajon Rondo believes Celtics can beat Heat: “We feel we can beat Miami. Obviously, we got to this point. There’s no doubt in our mind we can. We got to go down there and take…
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Josh Childress, the former Hawk sixth man who bolted for Greece and was coaxed back to the NBA by Phoenix, wasn’t impressive this season and fell out of the rotation with the Suns (at least until Grant Hill got injured). But that didn’t stop him from setting a dubious record this season, something pointed out…
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CSN New England’s A. Sherrod Blakely talks about Rajon Rondo‘s “big game DNA” after the Celtics Game 7 win Saturday night. It should be noted that Rondo’s Game 7 career averages entering Saturday were 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists, which is obviously good, but not by any means monstrous. Still, Rondo’s ability to…
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The Boston Celtics don’t mind the short two-day turnaround until the start of the Eastern Conference finals. At least that’s what they are saying now. We’ll see what they are saying Monday night after the game. So you can set your DVR and not miss a moment, following is the schedule for the Eastern Conference…
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AP
Now this is more like it. No more Shaq nonsense. No more ridiculousness. The Magic are reportedly in pursuit of interviews for three members from the Spurs-Thunder tree for their open GM position. From Yahoo! Sports: Thunder vice president and assistant general manager Troy Weaver and Spurs assistant GM Dennis Lindsey have been targeted, and…
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The Celtics wrapped up their series with the Sixers on Saturday night, and now have to fly to Miami Sunday morning for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against a Heat team that has been healing and waiting for five days. Considering the age and injury status of most of the Celtics, this might…
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Reuters
There is an argument to be made that Rajon Rondo is the single most compelling player in the NBA, at least the one still playing in these now Conference Finals after the Celtics’ 85-75 win in Game 7 over the Sixers to advance to face Miami. And if anything, Game 7 reinforced that idea as…
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Warriors working to leverage future assets to get back future asset they already leveraged
May 26, 2012, 8:18 PM EDT
The Warriors are in a hurry to rebuild, apparently. After trading Monta Ellis and Ekpe Udoh to get what they considered to be their franchise defensive center, a must for Mark Jackson’s plans since he was hired, the Warriors shut down their entire team and tanked so hard in order to keep their draft pick.…
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Saturday night will be the sixth time the Philadelphia and Boston have met in a Game 7. These are two of the NBA’s legendary franchises and located less than a six-hour train ride apart. They are natural rivals and this Game 7 Saturday in the Eastern Conference semifinals is just the next chapter in that…
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Video: Larry Bird and Magic Johnson remind you what everyone’s playing for
May 26, 2012, 5:00 PM EDT
ESPN’s rafters commercials have been really good. The Kevin Durant one held the promise of future, the Paul Pierce one held the reminder of glory for a franchise that hasn’t seen a title since 2008. The new “A Champion Will Rise” commercials speak to the league’s history, and feature two of the greatest to ever…
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The Hawks are not talking extension with Josh Smith, for some reason
May 26, 2012, 3:00 PM EDT
Reuters
Trying to figure out the Hawks’ approach to Josh Smith is a trick. They don’t regularly campaign for Smith for the All-Star teams and have never made a fuss when he’s not selected despite it routinely being pretty terrible. They wouldn’t give him a big deal when he was a restricted free agent in 2008,…
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Video: San Antonio Mayor welcomes Charles Barkley to San Antonio… with rings
May 26, 2012, 1:00 PM EDT
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Charles Barkley is well known for not liking San Antonio. It’s just not his kind of town. Like a lot of towns in Texas, the people that like San Antonio love it, those that don’t are very “meh” on it. Very few hate it. It’s hard to hate it. It’s a livable city. (Note: For…
