Tag: Kevin McHale

Not so fast on crediting Jordan with …

Not so fast on crediting Jordan with the league’s ascension, according to former Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale, who was speaking with ESPN 97.5 The Game after the first four episodes of The Last Dance. McHale had the below to say: “No Michael didn’t build this league, because I was in the league before it was built. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird built this league, along with David Stern. David Stern had an unbelievable vision for this league.”

A look back: Serge Ibaka’s block parties in the early 2010s

Serge Ibaka was known for his rim protection during his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Toronto Raptors veteran Serge Ibaka has blossomed into the new prototypical big man. He can stretch the floor with his shooting, occasionally put the ball on the floor and be a good, versatile defender.

But earlier in his career, Ibaka was known for primarily one aspect of hoops: shot blocking.

Ibaka started his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder and was selected No. 24 overall in the 2008 NBA draft.

A two-time blocks champion, Ibaka is the Thunder’s/Seattle SuperSonics’ all-time leader in blocks (1,300). He ranks second among active players in total blocks, per NBA.com stats. He’s ranked 29th all-time, right behind Boston Celtics legend Kevin McHale.

A key player on the reigning champion Raptors, Ibaka had his top statistical seasons blocking shots while in Oklahoma City.

During the 2011-12 campaign, Ibaka held down the interior for the Thunder. In the video above at 33 seconds, Ibaka had perhaps one of the best blocks of his career.

The Thunder were playing the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the 2012 NBA Finals. LeBron James was driving to the hoop, and Ibaka came over to help, skying to meet James at the rim. He prevented one of James’ signature posterizing dunks, and the Thunder gained possession.

That season was arguably Ibaka’s best as a rim protector. He averaged a career-high 3.7 blocks per game, and he’s tied for the highest single-season blocks average in the 2010s, per Basketball-Reference. 

Portland Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside also posted 3.7 blocks a game during the 2015-16 season, when he was with the Miami Heat.

Ibaka’s defensive awareness, along with his athleticism, has made him such a quality rim protector. He regularly jumps straight up, reaching his apex to give himself the best chance to send shots away from the basket.

After the 2011-12 season, Ibaka continued his block parties. He averaged 3.0 blocks per game during the 2012-13 season, posting the second-highest average of his career. That season Ibaka showed more offensive development, as he had scored 13.2 points a game — it was the first time in his career he averaged double figures.

Ibaka’s blocks numbers have tailed off over the years, and before this season was put on pause, he was averaging a career-low 0.8 blocks.

Still, that’s in part because he has a larger offensive role. Ibaka has scored a career-high 16.0 points per game, and he has shot 39.8% from the 3-point line on 3.3 attempts. According to NBA.com stats, he ranks second on the Raptors in usage percentage (23.7%), right behind Pascal Siakam. Ibaka’s usage percentage is currently at the highest it’s been in his career.

With Ibaka’s role evolving over time, it’s a testament to basketball’s evolution. A floor-spacing big man who can defend multiple positions, Ibaka has ensured his value throughout his career.

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Kevin McHale tells his version of 1988 Celtics-Pistons series ending

Legendary Boston Celtics big man Kevin McHale shares his version of the ending of that 1988 Cs-Pistons series Isiah Thomas cites as why Detroit left the Bulls hanging later.

A little more has come to light in the controversy of the unamicable Detroit Pistons walk-off vs. the Chicago Bulls reignited by the ESPN Michael Jordan documentary, “The Last Dance”.

Former Boston Celtics big man legend Kevin McHale spoke with the Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett about what happened at the end of the series the Pistons beat Boston in 1988, used to explain the Pistons’ behavior towards the Bulls, who left the court in the loss refusing to shake hands with Chicago.

McHale disagrees with some — but not all — of Pistons point guard Isiah Thomas, noting that the longtime Boston foe was actually not inaccurate about the culture of the game in that era.

“I’m going to tell you this: of all the series that I played in all through the ’80s, after a close-out game, unless you were walking with somebody you knew, you almost never said anything,” he began.

“You might congratulate them if you saw them later, but there wasn’t a lot of talk, I mean, congratulatory or [smack]-talking or anything … You just kind of went in the locker room. Ninety percent of the series we won, I didn’t talk to anybody.”

“They didn’t come up to me, and I didn’t think they should,” added the three-time NBA champion.

He also didn’t mind the physical play, suggesting the Bulls “complained all the time,” noting ” their physicality never bothered us. I thought their physicality made us play better.”

But, on the issue of how that Detroit-Boston playoff series in 1988 ended, McHale related a version true to the refutations of Thomas’ version of events.

“Someone told us to get out of there before they stormed the court,” he explained.

“Security people guided the Celts off, as fans began invading the floor with three seconds left and the Pistons going to the free throw line. You had a really long walk to get out of there … It wasn’t like the Garden or other places. You had a hundred yards probably before you got to the entryway to the locker rooms.”

This largely corroborates the version of events given by a Celtics staffer in contrast to Thomas’ take after he reiterated those old claims in the ESPN documentary.

McHale did have a conversation with the Pistons point guard, who he considers a friend to this day despite those tough battles.

“I knew Isiah from the Pan-Am Games, and Zeke and I have always been friends,” said the seven-time All-Star.

“He said something to me, and I said, ‘Hey, man, look, it feels just as bad to lose in The Finals as it does to lose in the Eastern Conference finals.’ I said, ‘This [expletive]’s not over with. You guys got another series to play, so don’t celebrate too much.’ I said that, then I walked off.”

“That was just my advice to him as a friend,” McHale finished.

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“First of all, you can see why the …

“First of all, you can see why the Pistons didn’t like the Bulls,” the Celtic legend told the Herald. “The Bulls complained all the time. That’s one thing that came across (in the documentary). Like, ‘This is not basketball. This is thuggery.’ All that stuff. I thought the Bulls really disrespected what the Pistons were able to do. “But, hey, when you kill the king, you can talk (expletive).”

But McHale also wanted to put things in …

But McHale also wanted to put things in context. While the NBA has become a more fraternal order in latter years, it has never had the formality of the NHL’s post-series handshake line. “I’m going to tell you this: of all the series that I played in all through the ’80s, after a close-out game, unless you were walking with somebody you knew, you almost never said anything. You might congratulate them if you saw them later, but there wasn’t a lot of talk, I mean, congratulatory or (expletive)-talking or anything,” McHale said. “You just kind of went in the locker room. Ninety percent of the series we won, I didn’t talk to anybody. They didn’t come up to me, and I didn’t think they should.”

“I knew Isiah from the Pan-Am Games, …

“I knew Isiah from the Pan-Am Games, and Zeke and I have always been friends,” said McHale. “He said something to me, and I said, ‘Hey, man, look, it feels just as bad to lose in The Finals as it does to lose in the Eastern Conference finals.’ I said, ‘This (expletive)’s not over with. You guys got another series to play, so don’t celebrate too much.’ I said that, then I walked off. That was just my advice to him as a friend.”

Although Phil Jackson is held in high …

Although Phil Jackson is held in high regard by basketball fans, he didn’t exactly make friends with his opponents, case in point Kevin McHale. The former Rockets coach was on Houston’s ESPN-based radio show 97.5 The Game and had some rather interesting comments about the Zen Master, to say the least. “Phil is Phil. Phil’s different. I don’t know him well and that’s by design. I don’t know him well because I made it a point not to. I don’t know anything about him and I don’t particularly care that I don’t know him.”

The Houston Rockets and general manager …

The Houston Rockets and general manager Daryl Morey have become pioneers of the NBA’s analytics movement in recent years, which is why they’ve employed coaches like Mike D’Antoni, have played essentially without a true big man and shoot more 3-pointers than just about any other team in league history. With that being said, former Rockets head coach and Hall of Fame power forward Kevin McHale isn’t a fan of analytics and even took a bit of a jab at his old team during a radio interview this week. “You guys are caught up a little bit in Houston on numbers. Numbers do not win games. The one number that wins the game is if you have one more point than the other team. That’s the biggest number. But numbers don’t win games,” McHale said on ESPN 97.5’s The Usual Suspects.