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By: chun feng
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| Wednesday, 11-May-2011 07:14 |
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Davis continues to struggle in the playoffs
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He capably filled the role of starting forward during the 2009 NBA playoffs while replacing an injured Kevin Garnett.
Glen Davis, in his second season with the Boston Celtics, averaged 15.8 points on 49 percent shooting and 5.6 rebounds in 14 games.
A year later, Davis was a productive player off the Celtics’ bench when they made a postseason run that ended with a Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds.
This spring, though, Davis is providing very little help in a reserve role for the Celtics, who are one loss away from having their season come to an end.
In eight games, Davis is averaging only 4.8 points on 39 percent shooting to go with 3.8 rebounds in 22 minutes. His confidence looks like it has disappeared in the series against the Miami Heat with Davis scoring a total of 14 points on 5-for-17 shooting and has only 10 rebounds.
“I’ve been nowhere to be found throughout this whole playoffs,’’ admitted Davis after the Celtics dropped Game 4 in overtime to the Heat on Monday night to fall behind, 3-1. “I need to find myself.’’
He doesn’t have many chances left to make that happen because if the Celtics don’t win Game 5 tonight at AmericanAirlines Arena, they will be on vacation.
Davis was the leader of the Celtics’ second unit during the regular season, averaging a career-best 11.7 points, but that has hardly been the case in the playoffs. He looks nothing like the player who made numerous contributions during the regular season.
“When he gets caught into being the offensive player, thinking offense, I think that affects his game,’’ said coach Doc Rivers earlier this week. “We’ll free his mind up eventually, and the sooner the better.’’
Davis played a season-low 11 minutes in Game 3 on Saturday night and was 1-for-4 with no rebounds in 17 minutes in Game 4. Rivers has moved Jeff Green into the power forward spot a bit more to cut into Davis’ time.
Asked what he needs to do to turn things around, Davis said, “Everything. Hit some shots, rebound, take some charges. I have to find Glen and I don’t know where Glen is. I have no idea who is playing now.
“(It’s about) working on my craft and getting back to believing in my game. When you get a couple of games when you’re not playing well, you just got to keep going and continue to believe in doing what you do. You just have to go out there and do it. I just can’t find it.’’
Davis’ slump comes not long before he will become an unrestricted free agent. Davis, who signed a two-year, $6.6 million deal before the 2009-10 season, will be able to negotiate with other teams on July 1, but that date is likely to change because of the labor unrest.
Rare happening: The Celtics will be trying to become only the ninth team in NBA history to win a series after being down, 3-1.
There have been 199 teams that trailed a series by that margin, but only the Celtics (1968 and 1981 over the Philadelphia 76ers both times), the Lakers (1970 over the Phoenix Suns), the Washington Bullets (1979 over the San Antonio Spurs), the Houston Rockets (1995 over the Suns), the Heat (1997 over the New York Knicks), the Detroit Pistons (2003 over Rivers’ Orlando Magic) and the Suns (2006 over the Lakers) have come back to win three straight games.
Lakers may have company: If the Celtics are unable to rally and win the series against the Heat, the two teams who were in the NBA Finals last June will be out of the playoffs in the second round. The Lakers were swept out by the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
The last time both finalists were out of the postseason before the conference finals in the ensuing year was 2007 when the Heat and Mavericks were stopped in the opening round after meeting for the 2006 title, won by Miami.
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| Saturday, 7-May-2011 08:11 |
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Luck will teach Kaepernick San Francisco’s system
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The NFL lockout makes for some strange bedfellows, as players try to find ways to stay in football shape without team coaches, trainers, and facilities at their disposal. Washington Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb(notes) is in his preferred residence of Phoenix, Arizona, throwing to various NFL players (mostly Arizona Cardinals) in a camp hosted by Cards receiver Larry Fitzgerald(notes).
New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez(notes) is hosting his second annual "Jets West" camp for teammates in Mission Viejo, Calif., with high school coach/quarterback guru Bob Johnson and son/former NFL quarterback Rob. "Jets West" is a way for Sanchez to become even more of a leader of his team — he's putting all the drills together and organizing social events, as well.
But perhaps the most unusual training method this offseason was implemented by new San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh, whose new team selected former Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick(notes) in the second round of the 2011 draft. Before he took the 49ers job, Harbaugh groomed Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who almost certainly would have been the first overall pick in the 2011 draft had he not elected to stay in school.
And since Harbaugh is prohibited from talking to, or coaching, Kaepernick until the current lockout is over, Kaepernick will have by far the youngest quarterback coach in pro football. The 23-year-old Kaepernick will learn the Harbaugh offense from the 21-year-old Luck, who is on track to get his degree in the spring of 2012, and will look even better to NFL talent evaluators than he did before when he finally does apply for the draft.
"I'm going to try and pick his brain as much as I can and try to get a jump-start into this offense, and pick up as much as I can from him," said Kaepernick, who received a call from Luck soon after he was drafted last Friday. And when Kaepernick moves from Reno to a place in Santa Clara, near the 49ers' headquarters, he'll be just a 15-minute drive from the kid he may soon call "Coach".
Multiple players got playbooks from Harbaugh during the recent and all-too-brief lockout stay, and all Harbaugh would say when asked if he would be "disappointed" if his veterans somehow got a copy of the playbook to his new rookie quarterback was that he wasn't "into hypotheticals."
Surely, it was said with a nod and a wink.
The 49ers' workouts have been confined to the weight room to date, according to the Sacramento Bee, but that will change soon as the players begin to organize their own brand of minicamps. To whatever degree Luck is able to participate, it would be a win/win — he would learn a bit about the speed of the NFL game, gain even more credibility as a player and person, and Harbaugh's new quarterback could learn from his "old" one.
We can only hope that the NCAA doesn't do something phenomenally stupid, like deciding to penalize Luck for fraternizing with "professionals" -- perhaps Pac-12 officials will be too distracted by their new 12-year, $3 billion deal to pay attention.
This is certainly just the latest in what will be a line of creative solutions to the problems created by the lockout. Stay tuned for more!
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| Wednesday, 4-May-2011 03:27 |
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NFL Draft 2011: How Much Impact Will the Rookies Make in the Des
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It's kind of a letdown actually.
The end of the NFL draft.
Now all the excitement about who your team could get is done, and football is months away from starting.
Okay, enough of that.
While we're still in the aftermath of the NFL Draft, let's talk for a minute about the rookies, and what impact they'll make.
Or at least we can imagine the impact they'll make.
I'd like to cover two types of impact, however: the short-term and the long-term.
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| Tuesday, 26-Apr-2011 07:27 |
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Broncos' best option at No. 2: LSU CB Peterson
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Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, no cornerback has been selected higher than the No. 3 pick.
Shawn Springs was selected by the Seahawks at No. 3 in 1997, and Bruce Pickens was taken by the Falcons at No. 3 in 1991. The highest the Broncos have drafted a cornerback was Deltha O'Neal at No. 15 in 2000. Louis Wright was selected 17th by the Broncos in 1975.
If the Broncos take the best player on the board Thursday night, LSU's Patrick Peterson could change that. He not only is the best defensive back on the board, but front to back, on the field and off, is the draft's most well-rounded prospect.
There is a school of thought that a cornerback can't affect a game as much as some other positions. NFL people have disagreed with that sentiment with their wallets. During the salary cap era, cornerback is the only position to have passed quarterback at any point in terms of average salary for the highest-paid players by position.
The draft is two days away, and the Broncos' best option is to stay put at No. 2 and take the most disruptive defensive player on the board. That would be either Peterson or Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller.
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| Saturday, 23-Apr-2011 06:53 |
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2011 NFL Draft, 50 in 50: Prince Amukamara - CB - Nebraska
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It's almost here... we've got six more days until we start finding out who the new faces of the 49ers are going to be.
Are you as excited as I am? It doesn't seem like it can get here fast enough. In spite of being in the middle of a lockout that seemingly will not end, the draft will bring a bit of normalcy to the NFL again... even if for just three days. Maybe the excitement of the draft will make both parties realize how ludicrous this all is.
In any case, the 49ers need help. They need help in a few areas. Specifically, at the cornerback position. There's been a lot of debate about who the Niners will ultimately wind up with. Will it be Peterson? Can he fall? Or will the 49ers decide that Prince Amukamara is a bit more versatile as a defender? Or will there be something completely different than a defensive back early on that will shock everyone? We will find out real shortly.
After the jump, we'll preview the first-round prospect Prince Amukamara out of Nebraska.
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| Monday, 14-Mar-2011 01:33 |
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Penn St. at Ohio St.
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With a No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament nearly certain, perhaps the biggest motivation for Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament championship game is making one more case to be the top overall seed.
Not having to sweat out the selection show is all the incentive Penn State needs.
The top-ranked Buckeyes try to make it back-to-back Big Ten titles Sunday in Indianapolis by continuing their dominance of the Nittany Lions, who can wrap up their first NCAA berth in a decade with their first conference tournament crown.
Ohio State (31-2) rolled into Conseco Fieldhouse having won four straight games by an average of 21.2 points, including a 93-65 walloping of then-No. 10 Wisconsin a week ago.
The Buckeyes got a scare in Friday’s quarterfinals before edging Northwestern 67-61, but had an easier time Saturday against Michigan. Ohio State led by 18 late in the second half, then held off a Wolverines run to win 68-61 and advance to its third straight Big Ten championship game.
Coach Thad Matta’s team should have a No. 1 seed locked up in the NCAA tournament, and Big 12 champion Kansas appears to be the only other candidate for the tournament’s top overall slot. Matta, though, thinks his players will find plenty of value in trying to become the conference’s first back-to-back winners since Michigan State in 1999 and 2000.
“We’re going to prepare like it’s the next game on the schedule because it is and the thing that I love about this team, that’s sort of how they want it,” Matta said. “It’s another opportunity to play a game. That’s how I’ve seen their minds work all year.”
Penn State (19-13) is certainly relishing the chance to earn a tourney bid.
By all accounts, the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions entered the week on the outside of the NCAA tournament bubble, but they may have played themselves in for the first time since 2001. After an ugly 36-33 quarterfinal victory over No. 13 Wisconsin on Friday, Penn State was in control for most of its semifinal contest with Michigan State on Saturday, getting 25 points from star Talor Battle and 22 from Tim Frazier in a 61-48 victory.
“Whatever happens, we need to be in the tournament,” coach Ed DeChellis said. “We’ve done the things that people said we needed to do, and our RPI is great and our strength of schedule is one of the top seven in the country. I don’t know who else you want us to play.”
Even if the Nittany Lions punched their ticket with Saturday’s win, a victory in the championship game could be critical. That would allow Penn State to avoid being one of the NCAA’s “First Four,” which will pit the final at-large qualifiers against each other Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Nittany Lions will have quite a bit of history working against them, however. They’ve lost 15 consecutive games to the Buckeyes since a 64-47 win Jan. 10, 2004 - the first game DeChellis coached against Ohio State.
Penn State went toe to toe with the Buckeyes in Columbus in a 69-66 loss Jan. 15, but Jon Diebler made sure Ohio State would cruise in the March 1 rematch in Happy Valley. The Buckeyes’ senior guard hit 10 of 12 3-pointers and scored a career-high 30 points in a 82-61 rout.
If Diebler isn’t hitting Sunday, Ohio State can always go to Jared Sullinger, who’s averaged 17.0 points and 15.5 boards in Ohio State’s first two tournament games. He’ll try to join former Buckeye Mike Conley as the only freshmen to win Big Ten tournament MVP honors.
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