AP We are about to see one of the two returns that could make the Eastern Conference playoffs more interesting.
Danny Granger is expected to make his season debut for the Indiana Pacers Saturday night against the Pistons, reports Mike Wells of the Indy Star. Granger has missed the entire season with a knee injury and his return was expected this weekend.
Without Granger the Pacers are 34-21, currently the second seed in the East. They have the league’s best defense but an offense ranked 21st in the league.
Granger, the Pacers leading scorer at 18.7 points a game last season, can help change that. He is not the most efficient scorer (he shot just 41.6 percent last season) but he can space the floor and knock down threes (38.1 percent clip last year) and if he can learn to co-exist with the newly emerged All-Star Paul George the Pacers will now have a couple of players who can create their own shot, break down defenses and put the ball in the basket.
Indiana showed last year they have no fear of the Heat (they were up 2-1 in that series and forced the Heat to adjust their game) and they have a defense that can keep Miami’s stars in as much check as anyone. The Pacers can attack the Heat with size, one vulnerability teams want to go after.
Ultimately, Indiana will need the Roy Hibbert of last season to show up (it’s not been his best season, to be kind) to have a real chance. But in an East where we are trying to see who will break out of the pack and really try to challenge the Heat for conference supremacy, the Pacers may be the best call. Chicago, when it gets Derrick Rose back and the Knicks if they can get their defense back, are in the mix. But before the season I saw the Pacers as the second best team in the East and now that may finally be coming together.
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Report: Knicks’ J.R. Smith played end of season with fluid in his knee
May 24, 2013, 7:21 AM EDT
AP
J.R. Smith struggled in the playoffs. Well, he looked great the first couple games but he really struggled after returning from a one-game suspension for an elbow to the head of Boston’s Jason Terry in the first round. Against the Pacers he averaged 14 points a game but on just 29 percent shooting. His play…
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Carlesimo reiterates what we all know: The Nets aren’t winning a title
May 24, 2013, 7:01 AM EDT
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Veteran coach P.J. Carlesimo has landed on his feet. After the Brooklyn Nets let him walk when the season ended he strolled over to ESPN and has landed a job as an analyst (essentially taking the Flip Saunders job). Carlesimo held a conference call on Thursday to talk all things NBA, but much of the…
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PBT Draft preview: Victor Oladipo may be the hottest prospect in the draft
May 23, 2013, 11:33 PM EDT
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For the next few weeks PBT will be profiling likely first-round draft picks in the upcoming NBA Draft. Today we talk about Indiana’s wingman. ESPN’s well connected Chad Ford put it this simply in a chat Wednesday: “Oladipo is the guy that GMs love in this draft.” Victor Oladipo was one of those guys with…
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Celtics deny Nets permission to speak with head coach Doc Rivers
May 23, 2013, 11:20 PM EDT
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The Nets are looking to hire a big name with a strong track record to fill their vacant head coaching position, after parting ways with interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo following a season that ended with a first round playoff loss in seven games at the hands of the Bulls. Brooklyn reached out to Phil…
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AP
Most likely, the Cleveland Cavaliers will take Nerlens Noel with the No. 1 overall pick. When you think about their needs, a big man who can run the floor and defend the rim fits that. Of course, Noel is a project, a couple years away from really contributing much at all to an NBA team.…
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Roy Hibbert believes Shane Battier’s knee to his groin in Game 1 was intentional
May 23, 2013, 7:01 PM EDT
Late in the first quarter of the Heat’s overtime Game 1 win over the Pacers, Shane Battier drove into the lane and challenged Roy Hibbert on a layup attempt. Battier’s form was more than a little unorthodox as he went up for the shot, leading with his right knee that caught Hibbert squarely below the…
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PBT Extra: Talking Heat/Pacers, and why Indy might be optimistic
May 23, 2013, 6:51 PM EDT
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Today Kay Adams and I are talking what everyone else is — Heat vs. Pacers. I feel bad for Paul George because the Pacers wouldn’t have been in the game at the end if not for him, but that’s not what anyone will remember. And of course, we talk sitting Roy Hibbert a little —…
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Mike Krzyzewski must replace Nate McMillan as Team USA assistant
May 23, 2013, 6:11 PM EDT
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Mike Krzyzewski will return as Team USA’s head basketball coach, but he must replace both his NBA assistants. Not only is Mike D’Antoni moving on, so will Nate McMillan, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. McMillian, via Spears: “It was a great experience with Coach K,” McMillan said. “Jerry Colangelo did a great…
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If Phil Jackson could have any player to start a team it would be… Bill Russell
May 23, 2013, 5:16 PM EDT
AP
It’s all about the rings. For Phil Jackson — out promoting his book “Eleven Rings” — it’s always been about the hardware. It’s about building a real team around the stars he was given, about managing the egos, about having a team that didn’t seem fazed by the biggest stages. So when Time Magazine asked…
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Sixers GM Hinkie missed draft lottery… maybe to talk to Brian Shaw?
May 23, 2013, 4:10 PM EDT
AP
If the Philadelphia 76ers had beaten the odds and won the NBA Draft Lottery Tuesday it would have made new GM Sam Hinkie’s life a little easier. But he would have heard about it on the phone, he wasn’t in New York. And he wasn’t at home in front of his television with a beer,…
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The network suits at TNT have to be happy they have the rights to the Eastern Conference finals — they got the Heat and LeBron James to showcase. Indiana may be a small market to go against them (you know the network was pulling for the Knicks last round) but at least they have crossover…
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Dwight Howard reportedly adds Hawks and Warriors to his free agent list
May 23, 2013, 2:47 PM EDT
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As the Dwight Howard free agency news cycle rolls on, the latest report has him expanding the list of teams he’ll consider signing with this summer. It’s been previously reported that Howard is most intrigued by the Houston Rockets, thanks in no small part to a young star already in place there in the form…
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Pablo Prigioni reportedly was considering returning to Spain in part because his wife wanted to go back, but the Knicks guard is making intentions clear now. Marc Berman of the New York Post: “If I can choose, I prefer to play in the United States and stay in the NBA,’’ Prigioni said on Argentine radio.…
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Even before the season tipped off you had a pretty good sense that LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul would be All-NBA First Team — they are dominant players at or entering their peak. But Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan continue to defy father time. The two veterans round out the All NBA Team…
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520px;”> Phil Jackson has been virtually everywhere the last couple weeks selling his new book “Eleven Rings” but one of my favorite interviews so far is the one from last night with John Stewart on The Daily Show. And not because as a Knicks fan Stewart wants to know about those two rings. It’s near…
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It’s official: Krzyzewski back to coach Team USA through Rio Olympics
May 23, 2013, 11:39 AM EDT
Reuters
We’ve all done this: After a really difficult project, no matter how rewarding it was, right afterward we say “no way, I’m never doing that again.” Then six months later we look back on it and think “you know, it wasn’t that bad” and talk ourselves into doing it again. That’s Mike Krzyzewski and coaching…
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John Calipari: Cavaliers’ GM scouted Kentucky more than any other GM
May 23, 2013, 11:22 AM EDT
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There’s a big risk that comes with draft Nerlens Noel. And not just his torn ACL. Noel played only 24 games last season, and although that’s more than twice as many as Kyrie Irving did his lone season at Duke, it’s still a pretty small sample. I think Noel proved enough to justify becoming the…
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The Wizards rightfully believe they would have made the playoffs if they remained healthy this season. Washington went 24-25 with John Wall – a better winning percentage than the eighth-seeded Bucks (38-44). And when Wall, Nene and Bradley Beal all played, the Wizards were 15-7. Washington should be excited to have a team on the…
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Hibbert said he will speak up in future, demand to be in game at end
May 23, 2013, 10:47 AM EDT
AP
Pacers coach Frank Vogel had his reasoning — the Heat with their small lineup had five guys who can shoot from the perimeter so he wanted to match that with a small lineup that could switch everything. Twice in the last 10.8 seconds he pulled the 7’2” rim-defending center and went small with Tyler Hansbrough…
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Reuters
It’s good to have the best player on the planet on your team. At the end of the day that was the reason the Miami Heat are up 1-0 — as great as Paul George was for Indiana, the Miami Heat have LeBron James. From the very start LeBron was knocking down jumpers from the…
