This past season, Darvin Ham was a first-year head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, and, at times, his inexperience showed.
Some fans criticized him for some of his schemes on both ends of the floor, as well as for some of his rotations and lineups. One glaring example was his insistence on rolling out three-guard lineups, as well as his tendency to go small at the center spot when Anthony Davis was resting.
Ultimately, Ham navigated his growing pains and did a solid job by guiding Los Angeles to the Western Conference finals despite starting 2-10 and being under .500 until late March.
He will have a new member on his coaching staff for his second season; DeMarre Carroll will join him on the bench.
The Lakers are hiring DeMarre Carroll as an asst coach on Darvin Ham's staff, sources told ESPN. Carroll worked for Mike Budenholzer in MIL last season. Ham, Carroll and Bud were all in Atlanta together when ATL went 60-22 w/ Carroll as the starting SF and was No. 1 in the East
Carroll is a former NBA player who spent 11 seasons in the league. He played for Ham, who was then an assistant coach under Mike Budenholzer, on the Atlanta Hawks for two seasons in the mid-2010s.
Citing family reasons, Avery Bradley didn’t join the Lakers for the restart of the 2019-20 NBA season at the Disney World bubble.
With Saturday’s victory in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals over Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers are now in the NBA Finals and just four wins from their first title since 2010. They should be heavy favorites in the Finals over either the Boston Celtics or Miami Heat.
As with the Houston Rockets in the second round, the Lakers dispatched the Nuggets with relative ease in another series decided by a 4-1 margin.
Should LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Lakers do as expected and claim the league’s 2020 crown, it’s worth remembering that their consistent dominance comes despite the unexpected loss of a starter.
Best known for his defense, veteran guard Avery Bradley started 44 of 49 games played for the Lakers this season. He averaged 8.6 points in 24.2 minutes per game, including 36.4% on 3-pointers.
But citing family reasons amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Bradley chose not to report when the 2019-20 season was restarted at the league’s Disney World “bubble” in July. After Saturday’s Game 5, veteran forward DeMarre Carroll — who played sparingly for Houston in the 2020 playoffs — asked on Twitter whether Bradley would get a championship ring.
Do Avery Bradley get a ring if the Lakers win the finals??!? Curious…
The answer: Probably. According to a July story from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka already told the 29-year-old that they would give him a ring, should they win the 2020 title.
However, Bradley told Haynes that he wasn’t sure if he’s accept it.
Will I accept the ring? I’m neither here nor there about it. I am 10 years in this league. The physical possession of a ring doesn’t make me feel like more or less of a person.
I play basketball strictly for enjoyment and to add to the support of my family. Supporting them is exactly what I’m doing right now.
Bradley was one of the only players from a perceived championship contender who chose not to report to Florida.
Nonetheless, Bradley’s family rationale is very understandable (he has a 6-year-old son with a history of struggling to recover from respiratory issues), and he was a valued contributor to a team that was 49-14 before the hiatus — meaning they already had the West’s No. 1 seed on virtual lock. It’s only natural for the organization to seek to reward him, should they accomplish their ultimate goal in the 2020 NBA Finals.
As for the 34-year-old Carroll, he’s set to enter free agency this fall after failing to find a consistent role in Houston. (The Rockets signed him in February after a contract buyout from San Antonio.) Given his age and relative lack of impact, it would be a mild surprise if he returns.
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Yahoo Sources: Los Angeles Lakers plan to reward Avery Bradley with a ring if they win the championship: “It’s a very kind gesture on their part. Will I accept it? I’m neither here nor there about it.” https://t.co/ALLQGzbqSzpic.twitter.com/AnGn6wnLxi
Caris LeVert has impressed quite a few people in the Disney bubble, but he garnered even more attention on Thursday.
It took a 37-point performance on the national stage — in response to Damian Lillard’s 42-point game — for the rest of NBA Twitter to realize just what Caris LeVert brings to the table.
If only they had just listened to Spencer Dinwiddie from the start of the season. Maybe then they wouldn’t have been quite as surprised by the effort LeVert put forth in Brooklyn’s 134-133 loss on Thursday.
But, Dinwiddie isn’t the only one of LeVert’s current and former teammates who weren’t stunned by the 25-year-old wing.
Former Net turned New York Knicks guard Theo Pinson took to Twitter mid-game to warn the Blazers while LeVert was going off:
Keep leaving him on @CarisLeVert island and they gon lose!
Keep leaving him on @CarisLeVert island and they gon lose!
Jamal Crawford has only been playing with LeVert for a short while, but he already knows full well what the young talent can do, tweeting in response to Dwyane Wade’s praise of LeVert:
…the best kept secret in the NBA!
After Thursday’s performance on TNT, “best-kept secret” may not be a fair title for LeVert anymore.
The timing of Rivers’ departure means that he will almost certainly miss all three of Houston’s scrimmages on Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday.
Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers has left the NBA “bubble” complex in Florida due to an urgent family matter, as first reported Friday morning by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports that the Rockets “are hopeful that Rivers will be able to return soon,” and Charania followed with an update that Rivers expects to return “sometime this weekend.”
Per NBA safety protocols, if Rivers’ absence is for seven days or fewer, he has to quarantine in his hotel room for four days upon his return before he can resume basketball activities and rejoin his teammates.
If Rivers is gone for more than a week, protocols still call for a quarantine of just four days, as long as he shows a negative COVID-19 test on the final seven days he is gone. If Rivers is not tested daily while outside the bubble, he would have to quarantine for at least 10 days upon re-entry. However, it appears neither the Rockets nor Rivers are currently anticipating his departure to be for more than a week.
Can confirm that Rockets guard Austin Rivers had to leave the NBA campus for family reasons, per source. @ShamsCharania first to report. The Rockets are hopeful that Rivers will be able to return soon.
The four-day timetable means that Rivers almost certainly will miss all three of his team’s scrimmages on Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday.
In order to be eligible to clear quarantine by Houston’s first regular season game on July 31, Rivers would presumably have to return to the bubble by Monday. Per Charania, that appears to be his current plan.
Rockets' Austin Rivers expects to return to the Orlando bubble sometime this weekend, sources said. https://t.co/eMpEYuha8a
Now 27 years old, the 6-foot-4 Rivers is averaging 8.5 points (35.8% on 3-pointers) and 2.4 rebounds in 23.4 minutes per game this season. As a key backup to All-Star guards Russell Westbrook and James Harden, Houston relies on Rivers for ball-handling, shooting, and on-ball defense.
On the court, Rivers’ absence is likely to mean more minutes for reserves Ben McLemore and potentially DeMarre Carroll.
“If we can all put it together and gel and have everybody compete on the defensive end, our offense is going to take care of itself.”
Both head coach Mike D’Antoni and GM Daryl Morey believe the unusual “training camp” late in the 2019-20 season — owing to the NBA’s long hiatus for COVID-19, and now its looming restart — could benefit the Houston Rockets more than most teams.
The main reason is because the Rockets had more changes during the regular season than most teams, and those shifts are difficult to fully implement on the fly when teams are jostling for playoff positioning.
Besides switching to a smaller lineup, Houston also brought in several new players such as Robert Covington, Jeff Green, and DeMarre Carroll. Of those three, Carroll had the toughest time immediately cracking D’Antoni’s rotation after signing with Houston (via buyout) in February.
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In 10 games with the Rockets before the hiatus, Carroll didn’t play at all in four of them. Of the six games he did play, his minutes often came due to blowout situations or the absence of a prior rotation player.
But D’Antoni and Morey believe these “training camp” practices could help players such as Carroll better integrate themselves. For his part, Carroll seems to believe it, too. When asked after Wednesday’s practice whether the circumstances benefit him, Carroll replied:
It’s great, especially for me. I can’t even deny that. Coming right in and coming to a team that’s already playing really good basketball, you just have to gel in. Now, giving me a training camp and letting me learn certain things, I think that can only help.
Carroll went on to describe specific situations in which the extended period of practices with his new team could help. He said:
I’m an active guy, I like to move around and play defense. But picking my spots, when to cut, when to go back door, when to set a pick… those are the little things. I’ve been in the NBA for 11 years, so it’s just all about me getting comfortable. When I’m comfortable, I think I can perform like I’ve performed all my 11 years.
Now 33 years old, the 6-foot-6 forward is best known for his rugged, hard-nosed defense and reliable 3-point shooting. From the 2013-14 season through 2018-19, Carroll shot 36.4% on 3-pointers on relatively high volume at 4.5 attempts per game (in 29.1 minutes).
For a Houston squad that leads the NBA in 3-point attempts yet also needs a boost on the defensive end (they rank No. 2 in net rating on offense, but No. 16 on defense), Carroll could be a valuable addition.
“I want to bring not only my 3-point shooting, but my defense,” Carroll said Wednesday. “Those are the two key elements, and that’s what I’m going to try to go out there and do.”
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As far as the defensive end of the court, the veteran could thrive in the switch-heavy scheme organized by assistant coach Elston Turner. Regarding his priorities, here’s what Carroll said Wednesday:
I’ve got to be active, and do what I’ve been doing my whole career. Switching on good players, trying to slow down great players. I’ve just got to use my IQ like I always have been, and that’s what I want to bring this team.
Led by a pair of former MVPs and 2020 All-Stars in James Harden and Russell Westbrook and a legendary offensive coach in D’Antoni, nearly everyone agrees that Houston should have an elite offense. The big question about the Rockets (40-24), who enter the restart tied for No. 5 in the Western Conference, is whether they have the defense to match. For example, the West’s top two contenders — the Los Angeles Lakers (49-14) and Clippers (44-20) — each rank in the NBA’s top five in defense.
But the Rockets have raved about their defensive intensity early in this training camp period, and the opportunity to mix in new pieces such as Carroll could be a part of the potential turnaround.
“We’re actually looking well [on defense],” Carroll said. “Really well. If we can all put it together and gel and have everybody compete on the defensive end, our offense is going to take care of itself.”
“Everybody on the team can shoot threes, so that’s not going to be a problem,” Carroll said Wednesday. “The main problem is we just have to be active on defense and rebound collectively, because we’re a small team. Those are things we really have to focus on.”
With a stylistic change to going small and several midseason acquisitions, Houston might benefit more than most teams from training camp.
With a midseason switch to a smaller lineup and related acquisitions such as Robert Covington, Jeff Green, DeMarre Carroll, and now Luc Mbah a Moute, the Houston Rockets have made more changes during the 2019-20 NBA season than most NBA teams.
That’s why they hope an unusual training camp late in the regular season — owing to the season’s multi-month stoppage due to COVID-19 — could benefit them more than their Western Conference rivals.
In Wednesday’s Zoom session from Toyota Center, where the Rockets are going through individual workouts until a July 9 departure for the Florida “bubble” site, head coach Mike D’Antoni said this to reporters:
No other team changed its philosophy and players at the All-Star break. We’re the only team that hasn’t had a preseason or training camp.
D'Antoni says he wants to make it feel like a training camp – "No other team changed its philosophy and players at All Star Break. We're the only team that hasn’t had a preseason or training camp."
He wants to get back to basics and conditioning. #Rockets
— Cayleigh Griffin (@cayleighgriffin) July 1, 2020
The hiatus is also allowing players with nagging injuries, such as reserve guard Eric Gordon, to finally get healthy. But that type of benefit would seemingly apply to most of the 22 NBA teams headed to Florida, which would reduce its competitive advantage for the Rockets.
On the other hand, the combination of a stylistic shift and several new acquisitions from February onward are fairly unique. Time will tell, but on paper, there’s a clear case for D’Antoni’s optimism.
“We have as good of chance to win this as anybody,” D’Antoni said. “At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to big players making big plays, and it’s always that way. We’ve got two of the best, if not more.”
Led by the All-Star backcourt of James Harden and Russell Westbrook, Houston resumes its regular season on July 31. The Rockets (40-24), who have already clinched a playoff spot, are tied for the West’s No. 5 spot and could finish anywhere between No. 2 and No. 7 in the final standings.
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Coach pointed to Robert Covington and Jeff Green in particular as players he expects to get significant minutes and who he wants to feel comfortable in this system. #Rockets
— Cayleigh Griffin (@cayleighgriffin) July 1, 2020
“Who those nine [players] are, they could change,” Mike D’Antoni told Kelly Iko. “Maybe early we experiment, practice, and watch.”
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When we last saw the Houston Rockets in March, head coach Mike D’Antoni regularly utilized a nine-man rotation.
The team’s starters were Russell Westbrook and James Harden in the backcourt, along with Danuel House Jr., Robert Covington, and P.J. Tucker in the frontcourt. Reserves were Eric Gordon, Austin Rivers, Ben McLemore, and newcomer Jeff Green, who backed up Tucker.
Upon the team’s expected return in July following the NBA’s extended COVID-19 hiatus, the number of players in the regular rotation is likely to remain the same. However, in a new interview with Kelly Iko of The Athletic, D’Antoni indicated that the names could change. He said:
With Daryl [Morey] and data, with how we think gives us the best chance to win, it probably comes down to nine guys. Now, who those nine are, they could change, and maybe early we experiment, practice, and watch. And obviously you’re also biased about their previous play.
So I go in with the notion of how I think it’s going to be. I can change my mind. I don’t want to watch practice or games and think ‘Wait a minute, this guy’s better than this other guy.’
That analysis is in line with recent comments from Morey, who explained why he believes that an extended training camp just before the playoffs is uniquely beneficial to the Rockets. The Houston GM said:
It’s one of the reasons why a stop and restart slightly favors us. … We have a very deep team. We have veterans who have not been with us all year who have contributed to very good playoff teams in the past. They probably didn’t get much of a chance to show what they could do. But with a new training camp and some games before the playoffs… it gives those guys a chance to show Coach D’Antoni what they can do.
Coach likes a tight rotation in the playoffs, which I do think the evidence does support his choice there in the playoffs. But in terms of who our eight, nine, or 10 guys are going to be in the playoffs, I do think it gives those guys a chance and it gives us some potential upside.
The Rockets (40-24) acquired veterans DeMarre Carroll, Jeff Green, and Bruno Caboclo just weeks before the season’s suspension on March 12, but Green was the only one of that frontcourt trio to immediately receive a spot in the team’s new small-ball rotation.
However, the “restart” might change that dynamic, since it resets the season and puts rosters on level footing for training camp. Carroll, for example, could challenge the likes of McLemore or House for more playing time. Or Caboclo could make a push for minutes at backup center.
Houston ranked No. 2 in the NBA in offensive rating before the hiatus but only No. 16 on defense, and Carroll would potentially upgrade their perimeter defense. The 6-foot-9 Caboclo, with his long 7-foot-7 wingspan and athleticism, could provide a shot-blocking presence.
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As D’Antoni mentioned, they could also “experiment” during eight regular-season games at the neutral site in Florida. In the daily grind of February and March, seeding was at a premium in the tightly packed Western Conference standings, and the Rockets were understandably hesitant to make significant changes to their rotation on the fly.
In July, beyond having a full training camp with the new players after an extended layoff for everyone, there’s also the reality that seeding probably isn’t as important anymore. That’s because higher seeds in the 2020 NBA playoffs won’t have their usual perk of home-court advantage.
None of that makes it a guarantee that D’Antoni will change his rotation, of course. But it does make it more likely that he and the Rockets will enter the upcoming training camp with an open mind.
Daryl Morey says the unusual delay before the 2020 playoffs could help Houston by allowing newly acquired players to earn playing time.
Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey says the unusual delay (due to COVID-19) before the 2020 NBA playoffs could be beneficial to the team’s chances of making a championship run this season.
In a Facebook Q&A with Cayleigh Griffin, the team’s courtside reporter, Morey said the multi-month hiatus could be beneficial to veterans acquired during the season. By virtue of a second training camp, they could get a new opportunity to earn the trust of head coach Mike D’Antoni and potentially work their way into Houston’s playoff rotation.
The Rockets (40-24) acquired DeMarre Carroll, Jeff Green, and Bruno Caboclo just weeks before the season’s suspension on March 12, but Green was the only one of that frontcourt trio to immediately receive a spot in the team’s new small-ball rotation.
However, the “restart” might change that dynamic, since it resets the season and puts NBA rosters back on level footing for training camp.
“We do feel like our odds have gone up with the restart,” Morey told Griffin in Thursday’s chat. “Because we probably can’t call ourselves the favorite — we just haven’t played well enough to say that — anything that adds uncertainty to the system is generally good for us.”
Griffin followed up by specifically asking about the second training camp, and Morey explained how it could be an advantage:
I think that’s an edge for us. It’s one of the reasons why a stop and restart slightly favors us. … We have a very deep team. We have veterans who have not been with us all year who have contributed to very good playoff teams in the past. They probably didn’t get much of a chance to show what they could do. But with a new training camp and maybe some games before the playoffs… it gives those guys a chance to show Coach D’Antoni what they can do.
Coach likes a tight rotation in the playoffs, which I do think the evidence does support his choice there in the playoffs. But in terms of who our eight, nine, or 10 guys are going to be in the playoffs, I do think it gives those guys a chance and it gives us some potential upside.
To Morey’s point, both Green and Carroll have contributed to several playoff teams in recent seasons.
The timetable of the summer training camp remains unclear, though it needs to begin relatively soon in order to hit the league’s July target of resuming play. More clarity on the timeline could come in the days ahead, since NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has conference calls Thursday with GMs (including Morey) and Friday with team owners.
In the 2009 NBA re-draft, the Philadelphia 76ers select DeMarre Carroll with Jrue Holiday off the board.
It’s always fun to take a look back at the past and wonder what could have been in a few different scenarios. With everybody stuck in quarantine, there have been plenty of NBA re-drafts that have popped up recently to pass the time.
This re-draft takes us back to 2009, courtesy of Bleacher Report, and the Philadelphia 76ers held the 17th pick after making the postseason as a 7 seed in 2009. The Sixers faced some free agency questions heading into the summer as point guard Andre Miller was set to enter free agency so the Sixers grabbed UCLA freshman Jrue Holiday as insurance.
Holiday has had a terrific career making an All-Star appearance in 2013 for the Sixers and during his time with the New Orleans Pelicans, he has morphed into one of the better two-way point guards in the game. So, all of that has him being selected 4th by the Sacramento Kings in the re-draft. That leaves the Sixers taking DeMarre Carroll out of Missouri.
B/R on Carroll to Philadelphia at 17:
Carroll didn’t find an NBA home until 2013-14 with the Hawks, bouncing between Memphis, Houston, Denver and Utah before establishing himself in his late 20s. From that year through 2018-19, he was a valuable three-and-D wing, joining Harden, Curry and Green as the only players drafted in 2009 to accumulate 600 threes and 400 steals during that span.
He’s ninth in defensive box plus-minus among 2009 picks who played at least 400 games and might be the class’ style leader.
Carroll has carved out a nice 3-and-D career for himself, but at the time, the Sixers probably would have gone with a point guard still. In the re-draft, Brandon Jennings was still on the board and he probably would have been the safer pick due to Miller, in fact, leaving in free agency. [lawrence-related id=29886,29864,29858]
Joe Harris has gone off for 30 points once in his NBA career, and he did it against his old team and LeBron James.
With the NBA on hiatus — which NBA commissioner Adam Silver set at 30 days — and New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, placing a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, no Brooklyn Nets games will be played for the time being.
For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.
Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight major individual performances and key developments throughout Nets history:
Heading into the Brooklyn Nets’ March 25, 2018 matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Joe Harris’ single-game career-high scoring total was 21 points. He had just reached the mark in December, and it was the only time he’d reached the 20-point mark at the NBA level.
Then came the visit from Harris’ former team, which was still led by LeBron James. The Cavs got the better of the Nets, winning 121-114 (full box score), but Harris made sure to let his old team know how much he’d grown since his time in Cleveland.
Brooklyn’s sharpshooter scored 30 points off the bench on 11-for-14 shooting. Half of his shot attempts were from beyond the arc and he drained six of them — at the time, this was also a career-high for Harris. (He would drain seven in a game the next season.)
Harris also had seven rebounds, two assists and a steal.
“Joe has been a true professional,” DeMarre Carroll said about Harris the night of his big game. “I feel like he’s one of the key guys that shows which direction this program is going and how you can keep getting better each and every day.”
Carroll finished second on the team in scoring with 18 points. Spencer Dinwiddie (16), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (15) and D’Angelo Russell (12) each finished in double figures, as well. Caris LeVert scored eight points and led Brooklyn with seven assists.
