Tag: Miami

NBA weighs retroactive penalties for floppers

MIAMI — David Stern is determined to stop the floppers, even if it takes until the next morning.

The NBA commissioner and the league’s competition committee met Monday and had a discussion about players deceiving referees into calling fouls by falling down, or flopping.

Stern says one option could be a “postgame analysis” in which players could be penalized if it was determined he flopped. He says the league wants to find a way to “put a stake in the ground that says this is not something that we want to be part of our game.”

The committee also discussed expanding instant replay for flagrant fouls and goaltending, and seemed to favor leaving the away from the ball foul rule as is, so coaches could continue to foul bad free throw shooters.

Parker v. Harris: A playoff rivalry renewed

By Jeff McDonald

It would probably be overstatement to say Tony Parker still has nightmares about Devin Harris.

But Parker does recall the playoff series Harris had with Dallas in 2006, and the way it ruined one of the  most promising of Spurs seasons.

Harris returns to the ATT Center as Utah’s starting point guard on Sunday, when the Spurs and Jazz open a first-round series. The last time Harris was here in the playoffs, he was carving the Spurs up in the 2006 Western Conference semifinals.

“With Dallas, he was like a young buck,” Parker recalled Saturday. “He was playing with a lot of energy. He, like, had no conscience. Now he’s like running the team. It’s a little different, but he’s doing a good job.”

Harris, then in his second season out of Wisconsin, averaged 12.7 in the Mavs’ seven-game series victory. He averaged nearly 21 points in Games 2, 3, 4, all of which Dallas won to take an insurmountable series lead.

Josh Howard, another key member of the 2006 Mavericks, is now on the Utah roster as well.

The Mavericks went on to the NBA Finals, where the lost to Miami. The Spurs went home in the second round after winning 63 games in the regular season.

That series was fresh in the Spurs’ mind in February of 2008, when Dallas traded Harris to New Jersey as part of the Jason Kidd deal. Then, Parker suggested he was happy to have Harris out of the Western Conference.

“To be honest with you, I’m really happy for that trade,” Parker said at the time.

Harris hasn’t quite lived up to that promise since, though he did earn an All-Star nod in 2008-09 with the Nets before coming to Utah in the Deron Williams trade.

Parker, meanwhile, has earned three more All-Star berths plus an NBA Finals MVP in 2007, and is playing perhaps the best basketball of his life this season.

Harris, 29, averaged 11.3 points and five assists in the regular season. As his 2006 run against the Spurs reminds, he still has the potential to cause problems for a playoff opponent.

“You have to slow him down, try to contain him and find him in transition,” Parker said. “We know if he gets going, he can cause us a lot of trouble.”

Rondo’s uneven triple-double paces studs and duds

It wasn’t the most artistic of triple-doubles. 

But Rajon Rondo won’t trade the final results of Boston’s grinding 88-86 overtime victory over Atlanta Wednesday night.

Rondo notched his sixth triple-double of the season with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 20 assists to match the NBA high for the season.

The Celtics’ victory came only a day after an emotional victory at Miami. The residue of that game could be seen in some of the Celtics’ struggles.

”I gotta tell you guys: that was the worst game we’ve ever won,” Boston coach Doc Rivers told the Associated Press. ”I mean we didn’t play well. We just kept hanging in there. You could see the fatigue.”

One of the most notable was Rondo, despite the triple-double. The Boston point guard clanked through a miserable 3-for-16 shooting night with six turnovers.

But he had enough at the end to fill the stat sheet and notch his 19th consecutive double-figure game in assists.

”We kept fighting regardless of the other stuff out there. We stuck together, followed through and got the win,” said Rondo about his performance. It earned him a place as a stud and a dud on the same night.  

STUDS

Boston G Rajon Rondo: Notched his sixth triple-double of the season, going for 10 points, 10 rebounds and 20 assists to match the NBA high for the season. Rondo was plus-6 in the Celtics victory over Atlanta.

Los Angeles Lakers C Andrew Bynum: Went for 16 points, an NBA season-high 30 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and was plus-5 in the Lakers’ victory at the Spurs.

Memphis G Rudy Gay: Notched a season-best 32 points, seven rebounds, two steals and was a game-best plus-23 in the Grizzlies’ victory over Phoenix.

Los Angeles Clippers G Chris Paul: Produced 31 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and was plus-4 in the Clippers’ triumph at Oklahoma City.

Milwaukee G Monta Ellis: Erupted for 35 points, six rebounds, 10 assists and four steals in the Bucks’ loss at New York.

DUDS

Boston G Rajon Rondo: Despite the triple-double, Rondo struggled through a miserable 3-for-16 shooting night with six turnovers in the Celtics overtime victory over Atlanta.

Phoenix G Steve Nash: Went 4 of 10 from the field, had an NBA nightly high of seven turnovers and was a game-worst minus-21 in the Suns’ loss to Memphis.  

San Antonio G Tony Parker: Clanked through a 2-for-12 shooting night with only four points and was a game-worst minus-16 in the Spurs’ loss to the Lakers.

Sacramento C DeMarcus Cousins: Went 3-for-12 from the field with four turnovers and was minus-8 in the Kings’ loss at New Orleans.

Oklahoma City G Russell Westbrook: Struggled through a 3-for-14 shooting night with four turnovers in the Thunder’s loss to the Clippers.