Harden not yet cleared to play; no word on World Peace suspension
Apr 24, 2012, 2:27 PM EDT
AP As of Tuesday afternoon, it looks like the concussion suffered at the elbow of Metta World Peace will keep James Harden out Tuesday night.
He sat out Tuesday’s shootaround and continued to undergo the battery of tests needed to get cleared after suffering a concussion under the new league policy, according to NBA.com.
Coach Scott Brooks said he would not make a call on Harden’s status for Tuesday night’s game against the Kings until closer to game time.
“He’s just going through the process, the league-mandated process. We’ll know more later on,” Brooks said.
Harden has not spoken to the media but tweeted: “”Im solid. Feeling good. Appreciate y’all for checking on me!!”
Brooks also said that while the Thunder are locked in at the two seed in the West for the playoffs he planned to play his regular rotations, although key players could see reduced minutes.
Meanwhile, World Peace and the Lakers continue to wait for word from the league on what the suspension for World Peace will be. The league is not under pressure to make a decision as the Lakers do not play again until Thursday.
Reactions around the league have been all over the place. There are some calling for World Peace to be out through the playoffs. The consensus seems to be at least five games maybe up to 10, impacting the Lakers in the playoffs.
Mark Jackson, current Warriors coach and former NBA player, told CSNBayArea.com he lands on the lenient side.
“I don’t think you can say that it was intentional. You can guess that it was intentional — the footage shows that it was somewhat intentional,” Jackson said. “But at the same time, I think that he is the same way that we treated him as Ron Artest in the past, and said what his body of work said. We also have to treat him as Metta World Peace.
“He’s done a very good job of putting his life back together and being sane on the basketball court and not having any issues. That being said, a punishment has to go forth. I’m not one of those guys that say ‘the rest of the way’ and ‘no playoffs’ and all that. I think that’s drastic. You punish him a couple of games and you move forward.”
“Somewhat intentional?” Next time I do something stupid, I’m going with that. I’ll let you know how it works.
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MIAMI — The Spurs lead the Heat 50-44 at halftime of Game 6 of the Finals, and if Miami is to prevent a championship celebration tonight on its home floor, they must find an answer from what is developing into an all-time great performance from Tim Duncan. Duncan has been unstoppable thus far, and has…
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Mike Miller remained in the starting lineup, but that merely made him the guy in the way of Kawhi Leonard. This ferocious dunk gave Leonard eight early points after he made a three-point play and a 3-pointer.
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It is elimination game time — welcome to the PBT Live Blog for Game 6 of the NBA Finals. San Antonio has the 3-2 series lead now they have a chance to close it out on the road, do that and it builds the legacy of a Spurs team that will challenge the Lakers for…
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LeBron would like to see Mike Miller more involved for Heat in Game 6
Jun 18, 2013, 8:39 PM EDT
MIAMI — Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra hinted that a lineup change might be possible in advance of Game 6, but wasn’t going to reveal it until absolutely necessary. “I’ll turn in my card at 45 minutes,” he said. There was no lineup change to be found when the time came, however, as three-point specialist…
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Miami has gone very small against the Spurs — and it worked at first, the Heat won a game and forced the Spurs to adjust to them. However a consequence of that has been Chris Andersen has slid out of the rotation. The Birdman’s size was key against the large Pacers front line last series,…
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Kansas’ Ben McLemore was pretty much a top three pick on everybody’s board a month ago, but he may be sliding down some boards right now. In part that is because the smooth-shooting guard out of Kansas didn’t help his cause in some recent workouts, reports Chad Ford at ESPN.com (Insider). Multiple sources told me…
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I know, there’s some irony to Chris Bosh talking about physical play. But the thing is, he’s right — the Miami Heat have to come out with their best defensive effort they are not going on to a Game 7. They need to stick with shooters on the perimeter, make crisp rotations and stop cheating…
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No. The Spurs could lose Game 6 and then win Game 7 to win the title. Previously: Is Game 5 a must-win for the Spurs or Heat?
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Chris Paul, not Celtics trade, will make or break Clippers’ offseason
Jun 18, 2013, 3:24 PM EDT
Although the Celtics would be in a tough spot if they don’t trade with the Clippers, Los Angeles doesn’t face the same pressure. Acquiring Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett and maybe Paul Pierce is one option of many. The Clippers will continue interviewing Lionel Hollins, Brian Shaw and Byron Scott, and if they choose the best…
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Monta Ellis has told the Milwaukee Bucks he is opting out of the $11 million he is owed next season become a free agent this summer. As noted at the time, it would be interesting to see what teams would go after a volume shooter — he scored 19.2 points a game but shot just…
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While the NCAA and its ridiculous rules force American college players to make their draft decisions much earlier, international players and those not in college have longer to make their decision. That deadline was today and 18 players pulled out the league announced. The biggest one we already knew, Dario Saric of Croatia. DraftExpress had…
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If the Celtics-Clippers trade is indeed dead – and like Kurt, I have my doubts – the offseason doesn’t get any easier for the Celtics. Boston is obviously ready to move on from Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers, at least if it nets a certain combination of DeAndre Jordan, Eric Bledsoe and first-round picks and…
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Legacies are always on the line in the NBA Finals. I wrote about that earlier and Kay Adams and I talk about the impact of legacy if the San Antonio Spurs win Game 6 Tuesday night. She also calls me out for that Heat is 6 prediction. As she should.
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Danny Green has been on fire, setting a record with 25 three pointers made — he’s passed Ray Allen and has the record for most threes in the NBA Finals. He just doesn’t seem to miss, having shot 65.8 percent from deep this series. What is stunning is the quality of looks he’s getting —…
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Trade deals come back to life more often then Freddy Krueger. I’m not willing to believe this deal is dead until I see real evidence. Meaning the Clippers hire another coach (Lionel Hollins, Brian Shaw or Byron Scott) or the Celtics announce they will keep Paul Pierce and not buy him out. Until then, anything…
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If Spurs win, it is LeBron’s legacy that will take biggest hit
Jun 18, 2013, 12:00 PM EDT
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Only LeBron James could average 21.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2.2 steals a game through the NBA Finals and look like he is being passive and not doing enough. He has for much of the NBA Finals looked like the physically best player on the floor but one that couldn’t impose his will…
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And the people wearing tinfoil hats start screaming, “I told you so, the end of the world is neigh.” The NBA has announced that Joey Crawford will lead the crew of official in Game 6 that also includes Mike Callahan and Ken Mauer. This is the second game this series that Crawford — the most…
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Allen Iverson’s children back with wife, judge agrees he didn’t kidnap them
Jun 18, 2013, 9:54 AM EDT
As a parent, I read these stories and I cringe for the children. They are being used as pawns in the parents’ fights. Yesterday we told you how Allen Iverson’s ex-wife filed court documents that Iverson had kidnapped his children. Those children are now back with his wife and Iverson told the judge he never…
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There is no doubt — Danny Green has been fantastic in the NBA Finals Look at his shooting chart, it is ridiculous from three. Green has knocked down 25 threes through five games, the NBA record, shooting 65.8 percent from beyond the arc. He has averaged 18 points a game. He has been key to…
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Heat coach Erik Spoelstra asked the most pertinent question about Game 6 just after the end of Game 5: “Can we put together our best game on both sides of the floor in Game 6?” Over the course of a long NBA season the San Antonio Spurs built very good habits as a team —…
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