NBA | Dwight Howard's touches to increase

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Mike D'Antoni plans to increase Dwight Howard's role in the Lakers' offense.

D'Antoni said Howard's "touches should increase, his ability to get to the rim should increase and it should be a lot easier for Dwight." That's music to owners' ears, but D'Antoni still has a lot of other mouths to feed in the Lakers' offense. We're expressing cautious optimism that his offensive output will increase, but his warts (poor FT shooting, no assists) will remain.

Source: CBSSports.com

Fri, Nov 16, 2012 09:43:00 AM

Kupchak denies Howard vented about D'Antoni

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak reiterated that Mike D'Antoni "did not come up" in his meeting with Dwight Howard following Howard's exit interview.

ESPN Los Angeles reported that Howard specifically complained about D'Antoni, but that doesn't appear to be the case. "Criticism of a coach did not come up," Kupchak said. "Our coach did not come up. I think in general they all felt that there are ways to utilize their talent better going forward. That would include Dwight in that group." Kupchak added that "players don't have to like coaches. They just have to play hard."

Source: Mark Medina on Sulia

May 23 - 11:31 AM

Reports: Vasquez to have surgery on ankles

Multiple reports from Venezuela indicate Greivis Vasquez will have surgery on both ankles during the offseason.

The news is passed along from Bourbon Street Shots, a True Hoop affiliate of the ESPN Network. One report from Venezuela indicates Vasquez will need 12-to-16 weeks for recovery, and it's possible this impacts Vasquez's ability to play in the FIBA tournament in late August. Vasquez dealt with ankle injuries late in the year, but there has been no word on any sort of surgery or procedure to date. Stay tuned, we shouldn't have to wait too much longer to know more.

Source: BourbonStreetShots.com

May 23 - 8:50 AM

Report: J.R. Smith (knee) had fluid buildup

J.R. Smith played through the postseason with a swollen left knee "that contained fluid buildup," a source told the New York Post.

According to the source, Smith is "likely" to have his knee drained at some point during the next two weeks. While this would certainly help to explain Smith's struggles in the playoffs, we're not buying into the idea that the knee was solely responsible for his shortcomings. He's expected to be fine well in advance of training camp, but it's unknown where he'll be. He has until June 25 to exercise his player option for next year, or he'll be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.

Source: New York Post

May 23 - 8:23 AM

Roy Hibbert sits out at the end of overtime

Roy Hibbert scored 19 points with nine boards, one assist and two blocks on 9-of-18 shooting in 41 minutes on Wednesday.

Frank Vogel sat Hibbert on the last two possessions of the game and he's going to catch a lot of criticism for that call. Both times LeBron got an extremely easy bucket and Indiana's weak-side help was non-existent. Vogel said in the post-game conference that he put a switching lineup in, hoping to force a jump shot for LeBron. Hibbert only finished 10th in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, which looks like an injustice after tonight. Miami might be planning to attack Hibbert more in Game 2 on Friday to get him in foul trouble.

Source: Scott Agness on Twitter

May 23 - 12:26 AM

Paul George erupts in Game 1 loss to Miami

Paul George was phenomenal during Game 1's loss to the Heat on Wednesday, scoring 27 points with four boards, five assists and three 3-pointers in 47 minutes.

He hit a ridiculous 32-foot jumper with one second left in regulation to send the game to overtime, then hit all three free throws with two second left in overtime. George has already solidified himself as a fantasy superstar, but tonight he made his case as one of the best players from a reality standpoint. He's one of the best rebounding wings, plays terrific defense, has a diverse offensive game and showed he can be clutch.

May 23 - 12:10 AM

LeBron triple-doubles and beats buzzer in win

LeBron James drove to the basket for a layup at the buzzer to give Miami a 103-102 overtime win on Wednesday, finishing with 30 points, 10 boards, 10 assists, three blocks and two 3-pointers on 12-of-24 shooting.

He got to the basket for a relatively uncontested layup not once, but twice in the last 10 seconds of the game with Roy Hibbert on the bench for each of the last two possessions of overtime. LeBron was a ridiculous 78.3 percent on shots at the rim during the regular season, so Frank Vogel has some explaining to do to leave the middle wide open in the clutch moments of the game. This was the ninth playoff triple-double of LeBron's career and he's come a long way from his naysayers claiming he can't close games. Game 2 will be Friday night, so clear your schedules.

May 23 - 12:03 AM

Carmelo Anthony has small tear in shoulder

An MRI revealed that Carmelo Anthony has a small labral tear in his left shoulder.

The plan for Anthony will be to let the injury heal on its own for three or four weeks, then if there is no improvement, surgery will become an option. Melo's shooting numbers were awful in the postseason, making just 29.8 percent from the field. There's no correlation to his shoulder causing this issue, but it does make some sense since he was visibly bothered by the issue over the past month. Regardless of the treatment, Anthony should be ready for the 2013-14 opener.

Source: Frank Isola on Twitter

May 22 - 8:46 PM

Report: Coach K to re-up as Team USA coach

Duke's Mike Krzyzewski will return as head coach of Team USA for the 2016 Rio Olympics, a source with direct knowledge of the situation tells SI's Pete Thamel.

Coach K had previously stated he was done with international basketball after winning back-to-back Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012. It probably doesn't hurt that Krzyzewski, who is 62-1 with USA Basketball, will likely coach a team centered around LeBron James and Kevin Durant that will be the odds-on favorite to win gold in Rio. Krzyzewski will also coach Team USA at the 2014 FIBA World Championship in Madrid. An official announcement is expected Thursday.

Source: SI.com

May 22 - 3:23 PM

Report: Mavs look to deal No. 13, sign Howard

The Mavs are looking to trade their first-round pick (13th overall) in hopes of creating cap room for Dwight Howard, multiple sources tell ESPN.com's Chad Ford.

This isn't the first we've heard of the Mavs' reported interest in both Howard and point guard Chris Paul. In fact, Dirk Nowitzki said he's willing to play salesman to the two free-agent stars and is also open to taking a substantial pay cut next summer to make the financials work. Both Howard and Paul would have to leave a year and several million dollars on the table to sign with Dallas, but the lure or playing for a title next to Dirk might be enough to win them over.

Source: ESPN Dallas

May 22 - 3:09 PM

Tony Parker (calf) to have precautionary MRI

Tony Parker (calf) will have a precautionary MRI on Thursday.

There is no indication of anything serious, and the MRI is just designed in order to monitor his recovery after he's dealt with a calf injury during the playoffs. We don't expect Parker to miss any time, but we're putting him on the injury report just in case. Parker reported improvement in the calf, but also noted it was the worst bruise of his career. "The calf is doing better," he said. "I'm turning the corner."

Source: San Antonio Express-News

May 22 - 12:51 PM

Dwyane Wade good to go for Game 1 vs. Pacers

Dwyane Wade (knee) will start in Game 1 vs. the Pacers, as expected.

Wade was never in danger of missing this one, but after he described himself as day-to-day, there was some concern. Regardless, Wade will be out there for the opening tip and has already said he isn't planning to take time off to rest his knee.

Source: Tim Reynolds on Twitter

May 22 - 11:19 AM