Archives › Kurt Helin
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Three years ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers fired Mike Brown after back-to-back 60-win seasons in one of the series of desperate moves they made to convince LeBron James not to leave the Cavaliers. Now they may be bringing Brown back. Thursday the Cavaliers fired Byron Scott after three seasons where the talent and defense never seemed…
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The Chicago Bulls are a trendy upset pick over the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs (if the five seed beating the four is really an upset). The theory goes that the size of the Bulls front line — Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson — can protect the paint and the…
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It’s official: The New Orleans Pelicans live. So long Hornets.
Apr 18, 2013, 3:26 PM EDT
Log on to the old New Orleans Hornets Web site today and you are redirected to a new site with a dramatic change: As of today, they are the New Orleans Pelicans. The change was announced earlier this season to mixed reviews — people in New Orleans seemed to like it while people outside the…
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I officially got off the “Lawrence Frank knows how to build a team” train earlier this season, when Andre Drummond was showing real promise but was being held back so Jason Maxiell could get more minutes. Despite what owner Tom Gores thought, this was not a playoff team, it was a team that needed to…
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SEASON RECORDS New York:54-28, second seed in East Boston: 41-40, seven seed in East (the odd number of games is due to the cancelled one the day after the Boston Marathon tragedy, it did not impact the standings) SEASON SERIES The Knicks won the regular season 3-1, but both these teams went through seasons within…
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As owners meet in New York, Stern says vote on Kings fate weeks away
Apr 18, 2013, 12:30 PM EDT
Over the next two days in Manhattan — in between expensive dinners and reports on the NBA’s efforts to get a marketing foothold in India — the owners are going to hash out the fate of the Sacramento Kings. In a lot of detail. But they will not vote on it. We’ve told you about…
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This had been a hot rumor the final weeks of the season, and now apparently it has come to pass. The Cleveland Cavaliers have fired Byron Scott as coach, reports the well-connected Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (since confirmed by multiple sources). Owner Dan Gilbert has been unhappy with the Cavs’ lack of defensive…
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This isn’t a surprise. Not to you — we told you this was coming a week ago. And not to the Sixers organization — coach Doug Collins said he let the organization know his plans just after Christmas. But now it is official — Doug Collins has resigned as the head coach of the Philadelphia…
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Report: Lawrence Frank tells Pistons “pick up my extension or let me go”
Apr 18, 2013, 10:21 AM EDT
Lawrence Frank job as the Pistons coach was already in trouble. There were serious questions about whether Frank the right guy to coach a developing team. The Pistons owner said he expected to make the playoffs this season and what he got instead was a 29-win season. Which followed a 25-win season. And while this…
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Lakers GM Kupchak makes it clear: D’Antoni will be back next season
Apr 18, 2013, 9:31 AM EDT
Bad news for those Lakers fans who have chosen to scapegoat coach Mike D’Antoni for the Lakers disappointing season: He’s going to be back next season. That’s not my opinion, that comes straight from Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, speaking to the Los Angeles Times. “Yeah, he’s back. I think he’s done a great job,” Kupchak…
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If you want to hold the Larry O’Brien trophy — the one that goes to the NBA champions each June — you’re going to have to pry it out of Miami’s cold, dead hands. Good luck. They are the defending champs. They had the best regular season record in the NBA despite coasting to start…
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Stephen Curry breaks Ray Allen’s record for most threes in a season (VIDEO)
Apr 18, 2013, 8:19 AM EDT
His ankles finally healthy, Stephen Curry has proven not only to be as good a pure shooter as there is in the game, but maybe one of the best ever. With the two threes above, Curry tied then broke Ray Allen‘s record for most three pointers in a season. Curry finished the season with 272…
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It is time to get serious. Finally. No more guys sitting out with “injuries” that exist only so David Stern won’t fine teams for resting players. No more talk of real injuries that actually have wrecked some of the fun of the season. No more Derrick Rose talk… oh, I guess that doesn’t end. But…
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While everybody was watching the overtime drama to see how the bottom half of the Western Conference would play out, there were a lot of questions in the middle of the conference as well: Could Denver hold on to the three seed? Could the Clippers hold off the Grizzlies and have home court in the…
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We’ve got a lot more stuff coming from PBT about how we got here — looking at the games tonight — and breaking down these matchups. And of course, we should have the series schedules up later tonight, once the league sends them out. But for now here are the NBA first round playoff matchups.…
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Derrick Williams is one of those guys in Minnesota that next season — when the team is healthy and playing together *knocks on wood* — could take a big step for ward next season. This season he moved up to a solid NBA player (11.8 points a game), but the former No. 2 pick could…
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NBA players reportedly among those defrauded in $18 million scam
Apr 17, 2013, 9:26 PM EDT
Despite the perception of some, plenty of NBA players are smart about their money. Like anyone who makes seven or eight digits, the smart players want to put that money to work to make more money (I’m told, I don’t exactly know that first hand). They are looking for investments. And like a number of…
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Martell Webster, at age 26, had his best season as a pro — 11.4 points a game on 44.2 percent shooting overall and 42.2 percent from three, 3.9 rebounds a game, all those numbers were career highs or close to it. The swingman who was a Wizards starter is a free agent this summer and…
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Nerlens Noel to Dan Patrick: “‘With my hair, I’m seven feet” tall
Apr 17, 2013, 5:41 PM EDT
Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel is very likely the No. 1 pick in this draft and certainly a Top 3 choice. As has been said by many, this is a draft full of risks and gambles so you might as well gamble on the 6’10″ guy with the crazy wingspan who can jump out of the…
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Michael Jordan’s trainer thinks MJ was poisoned for “flu game”
Apr 17, 2013, 5:13 PM EDT
We all know the legend of the Michael Jordan flu game (or if you’re young, you’ve seen the images in Gatorade commercials. It was Game 5 of the 1997 NBA finals and the Bulls and Jazz were tied 2-2. The night before Game 5 Jordan got sick and by game time the next day he…
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Why we’ll miss him: A video compilation of Rasheed Wallace yelling “Ball Don’t Lie”
Apr 17, 2013, 4:36 PM EDT
In terms of injury and game on the court, maybe it was time for Rasheed Wallace to hang it up and retire. Again. But we’re still going to miss him, one of the great unconventional personalities of the game. And we’re going to miss him complaining about every foul ever called on him then yelling…
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Some teams have packed it in already. The Portland Trail Blazers decided to play their young guys a lot more rather than chance a final playoff spot and have lost 12 in a row. The Cleveland Cavaliers are disinterested, and unfortunately that group includes Kyrie Irving. But they aren’t the only teams that can’t wait…
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Report: Phil Jackson “itching” to return to NBA, but not only as coach
Apr 17, 2013, 2:14 PM EDT
NBA coaching is a grind — a lot of time spent in dark film rooms making game plans, lots of travel and odd hours, a lot of stress and a lot of drama. When he left the Lakers and the NBA a couple years ago, Jackson seemed done with that grind. But after a couple…
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For a few minutes in the final game of the season, the Spurs are going to roll out most of their A-List team and get them a little run. Manu Ginobili will return to play some limited run for the Spurs Wednesday night when they take on Minnesota in an otherwise meaningless game (the Spurs…
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Rasheed Wallace retires from NBA. Again. But he means it now.
Apr 17, 2013, 12:45 PM EDT
Coach Mike Woodson basically begged Rasheed Wallace to come out of retirement and play for the Knicks this season — and for 20 games it worked. He averaged 7.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game giving them solid play off the bench and letting Tyson Chandler and other bigs get some rest.…
