Archives › Kurt Helin
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Last season was just ugly for Ben Gordon in Detroit. He had a nagging ankle injury, which is not good for a jump shooter. Due to injuries coach John Kuester’s rotations were all over the place, consistency was out the window. Midseason Gordon had to adjust to coming off the bench again. The result was…
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Rodney Stuckey: "On paper, we are the best team in the League." What paper? Zig Zag?
Sep 20, 2010, 1:39 PM EDT
We’ve said it before, this few weeks around when training camps open is the time to be optimistic, to believe. You’re team can make the playoffs. You’re team will live up to potential. This is the year. The Detroit Pistons are the best team in the league on paper. Okay, that last one is over…
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Last season: 61-21, best record in the NBA, but an early exit in the second round of the playoffs after they ran into a deeper and more defensive-minded Boston team. Unless you’re from Cleveland, in which case LeBron quit. Obviously. Head Coach: Byron Scott takes over the helm of a rebuilding project, looking to bring…
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Kobe inspired Boston to go get Shaq… and stop pretending that feud is marketing
Sep 20, 2010, 12:11 PM EDT
Did anybody really buy the whole “Shaq v. Kobe” feud was marketing. Oh, Shaquille O’Neal is smart enough to know how to make these things marketable, but like ancient myths the elaborate stories built up around some kernel of truth. Then when Kobe got ring number five last June and was quick to say he…
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Marc Gasol is down with the whole "Grizzlies will make the playoffs" thing
Sep 20, 2010, 11:16 AM EDT
Memphis shocked a lot of people with a 40-win season last go around. The team that was supposed to be so selfish with the ball turned out to have great chemistry and look like a young team on the rise. The problem with the West is that 40 wins leaves you 10 games out of…
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USA Basketball reached out to Joakim Noah, but he wants to play for France
Sep 20, 2010, 10:37 AM EDT
With the thin front line USA Basketball this summer — a lot of top names said no then Amar’e Stoudemire, Brook Lopez and David Lee couldn’t play — Jerry Colangelo was calling everyone and anyone. JaVale McGee got multiple chances to make the team. Lamar Odom was the starting center. They were looking around. That…
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Lance Allred — the first legally deaf player ever in the NBA — will get another shot as he has been given a make-good contract to the Pacers camp, according to a tweet from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo. The Pacers have injury questions with Tyler Hansbrough and Josh McRoberts along their front line and are…
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When LeBron James announced his decision, Dan Gilbert lashed out. It was an emotional response, a public letter that called James decision a “cowardly betrayal” and insulted James. It earned Gilbert a $100,000 fine and a rebuke from David Stern. Gilbert now says he has moved on. So the Detroit Free Press asked him if…
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There has been plenty of backlash after the Miami Heat’s summer moves — LeBron’s Q score fell, guys from Magic Johnson to Stan Van Gundy took shots, while other teams throughout the league have grit their teeth when talking about the franchise. It’s fashionable to hate the Heat. Coach Erik Spoelstra couldn’t care less. Other…
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Cavs Dan Gilbert says he would like to see Mike Illitch buy the Pistons
Sep 20, 2010, 8:32 AM EDT
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is not involved in the sale of the Detroit Pistons, but he still has an opinion about it. In that way, he’s just like the rest of us. Gilbert — a Michigan State grad — told the Detroit Free Press he would like to see Mike Illitch buy the team. Illitch…
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Rondo says his heart was not totally in Team USA adventure this summer
Sep 19, 2010, 5:56 PM EDT
USA Basketball has a consistent history of coming up with excuses for the last cut from the team. But in Rajon Rondo’s case this summer, they were more reasons that he withdrew as the 13th man. He told Ric Bucher of ESPN that he was hesitant to go in the first place (remember the in-or-out…
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It's not just players who go take huge steps to get back on the court
Sep 19, 2010, 12:57 PM EDT
Steve Javie is like a lot of NBA veteran players this time of year — he is excited, but wonders if his body will let him enjoy that excitement. We’re used to stories of NBA players going under the knife, trying experimental procedures, enduring a lot of pain for a couple more years on the…
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It’s not just you, me and every scout on the planet that thinks John Wall is going to be very good. So do his fellow rookies. During the rookie photo shoot last month, the league’s rookies took a survey about their expectations for the coming year (and John Schuhmann of NBA.com had the results). The…
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We last saw Brian Scalabrine cheering on the Celtics from the bench. This season he could be doing it for the Chicago Bulls. Scalabrine and the Bulls have talked this summer and he still could land a spot, according to Sam Smith writing at Bulls.com. And there actually is some logic here. The Bulls have…
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The Dallas Mavericks promo videos are just the best.
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Raptors draftee Ed Davis has knee meniscus injury. That's not good.
Sep 17, 2010, 7:14 PM EDT
This is the kind of thing you hate to hear right before camp, what the concern was when word leaked yesterday that Toronto draft pick Ed Davis injured his knee in a workout. The Raptors announced late today that it was a meniscus injury and that they are looking at treatment options. A torn meniscus…
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Today's Erick Dampier update: Heat, Rockets and Hawks (yes, it's the slow time of year)
Sep 17, 2010, 4:55 PM EDT
You now it is the slowest time of year when we have daily updates on Erick Dampier. Nonetheless, here we go: Dampier is finalizing his list for meetings and it is expected to include the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets and — the newcomer to the party — the Atlanta Hawks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of…
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Spoelstra says some Heat starting positions still open. Small forward is not one of them.
Sep 17, 2010, 4:18 PM EDT
Don’t assume Erik Spoelstra knows how all this is going to fit together. He’s spent all summer thinking about what the Miami Heat will look like next season — and as head coach he has some say in the matter — but he told Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel he wants to let the…
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UPDATE 9/17 4:07 pm: Or not. I mean who wants to go to camp in Utah anyway? According to his agent Mark Bartelstein, Scheyer will not be attending the Jazz’s training camp (according to the twitter account of Jazz beat writer Brian Smith). The Jazz have offered and it made sense to think he would…
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Dwyane Wade and LeBron James may be the two best players at getting to the rim in the NBA. It’s a scary prospect to think of that on the same team — but would the fact they like to do the same thing force one to alter his game some? Does one become a guy…
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People are not healthy eaters in Wisconsin. Sure, there are exceptions (I hear you Madison) but I’ve seen it. I live in image-conscious Los Angeles, where there are great burgers, but creative variations of the Steve Nash diet — or just sushi — are the diet staples. Visit my relatives in Wisconsin, and it’s a…
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Want to cover Miami Heat camp? Then pass a military background check.
Sep 17, 2010, 1:15 PM EDT
There were a few goals in mind by Miami Heat executives when they decided to move their training camp to Hurlburt Field and Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, up on the Florida panhandle. The key one — make it a lot harder for the media to be intrusive. The hotel where the…
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LeBron James had questions about Cleveland, its ownership and the grand plan. He didn’t have those questions (or far fewer ones) about Miami. Dirk Nowitzki was a free agent this summer too, although nobody expected him to move. He told Mavs Moneyball it was owner Mark Cuban’s commitment to winning that made sure he did…
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Video: Grizzlies ready for 'running' Spurs
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Video: Durant won't 'compromise himself' like other stars
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Video: Knicks avoid elimination
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Video: Heat finish off Bulls, James 'has no energy left'
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Video: Health woes make Heat vulnerable
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Video: Good news for Sacramento, Kings stay
