The Chicago Bulls talked often during the regular season about believing they had the personnel to play as a physically imposing team. Their output has caught up to those desires so far during the postseason. Jimmy Butler (6'7''-G/F-89, college: Marquette) scored 22 points, Rajon Rondo (6'1''-PG-86, college: Kentucky) finished one rebound shy of a triple-double and the Bulls beat the Boston Celtics 111-97 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their series against the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. While some might be shocked by how Chicago has played as a No. 8 seed that was just 41-41, Butler made it clear he's not one of those folks. "I'm not surprised because everybody's so locked in right now," said Butler, who added eight rebounds and eight assists. Rondo had 11 points and 14 assists on a night when all five Bulls starters reached double figures. Dwyane Wade (6'4''-G-82, college: Marquette) had 22 points, including 16 in the second half, and Robin Lopez (7'0''-C/F-88, college: Stanford) added 18 points and eight points. "Everybody's putting in each work, watching film, working on their game," Butler said. "That's where your confidence always comes from." The Bulls host Game 3 on Friday. After a better start by the Celtics, a familiar theme started to take hold as the Bulls took control by again dominating on the offensive glass. Chicago held a 43-38 rebounding edge for the game. Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points for Boston. Boston got within 91-82 early in the fourth before Chicago went on a 14-4 run to push its lead up to 19. The Celtics did a much better job containing reserve Bobby Portis (6'10''-PF-95, college: Arkansas) in Game 2 after he hurt them with 19 points off the bench in Game 1. But Paul Zipser (6'8''-G/F-94, agency: BeoBasket) picked up the slack in Game 2, scoring 16 points in 29 minutes. After getting thoroughly pushed around underneath in Game 1, the Celtics grabbed the first four rebounds of the night while scoring the game's first seven points. That changed quickly, though, as the Bulls responded with a 20-4 run. Boston's early rebounding edge evaporated just as fast, with all five Bulls starters grabbing an offensive rebound in the first six minutes of action. Boston shot 46 percent for game, but too many times was just one-and-done in the half court. Chicago again used its big men to push the Celtics out of the paint and was quicker to the ball in a lot of 50-50 situations. The Bulls outscored the Celtics in the paint 32-20 for the half. "I feel like in the second half, the ball stopped moving. It wasn't moving at all," Celtics guard Avery Bradley (6'2''-PG-90, college: Texas) said. "Even when we made a good play, got a steal, got an offensive rebound, we were just thinking quick 3s. As a polished team we have to know when to take those shots and when not to." Courtesy of: abcnews.com
TJ Warren to sign contract extension with Phoenix Suns - 8 hours ago
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Since general manager Ryan McDonough took over in 2013, the Suns have sifted through trades and draft picks in hopes of finding long-term talent. It appears they consider T.J. Warren(6'8''-F-95, college: N.Carolina St.) fits that category. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the fourth-year forward has come to terms with Phoenix on a contract extension that would keep him in the desert through 2022. A former ACC Player of the Year at North Carolina State, Warren has flashed the same fl... [read more]
Since general manager Ryan McDonough took over in 2013, the Suns have sifted through trades and draft picks in hopes of finding long-term talent. It appears they consider T.J. Warren (6'8''-F-95, college: N.Carolina St.) fits that category. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the fourth-year forward has come to terms with Phoenix on a contract extension that would keep him in the desert through 2022. A former ACC Player of the Year at North Carolina State, Warren has flashed the same flair for scoring that he showed in college, averaging 11.2 points per game on 50.2-percent shooting in just over 24 minutes per contest over his three-year career. He has, however, struggled to stay on the court due to injury, playing in just 153 games over the last three seasons. Courtesy of: nba.com
The Thunder tabs Markel Brown, ex Khimki - 23 hours ago
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Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) inked 25-year old point guard Markel Brown (191-85kg-92, college: Oklahoma State) on a training camp contract. He played most recently at BC Khimki Moscow Region in Russian VTB league. In 11 Eurocup games he averaged 5.0ppg and 2.3rpg last season. Brown helped them to make it to the quarterfinals. He also played 21 games in VTB United League where he had 5.3ppg, 2.7rpg and 1.1apg. Brown contributed to his team making it to the final. He also spent pre-season at... [read more]
Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) inked 25-year old point guard Markel Brown (191-85kg-92, college: Oklahoma State) on a training camp contract. He played most recently at BC Khimki Moscow Region in Russian VTB league. In 11 Eurocup games he averaged 5.0ppg and 2.3rpg last season. Brown helped them to make it to the quarterfinals. He also played 21 games in VTB United League where he had 5.3ppg, 2.7rpg and 1.1apg. Brown contributed to his team making it to the final. He also spent pre-season at the Cavaliers that year. Brown contributed to his team making it to the final. Three years ago he was drafted by Minnesota Timberwolves in second round (44th overall). Brown attended Oklahoma State until 2014 and it will be his fourth season in pro basketball. Among other achievements he received All-Big 12 2nd Team award back in 2013 and 2014 at his college time. Brown has played previously for two other NBA teams: Brooklyn Nets and Maine Red Claws.
The last few months have been one of the most chaotic and entertaining off-seasons in memory. With the inarguable dominance of the Golden State Warriors, every NBA General Manager not named Bob Riley has had to decide whether to build their teams slowly and hope the Warriors taper off in the next few years or to push their chips in and make a run for the current champs. Well, we now have our answers and it seems the gaps between the haves and have-nots have grown. Let's take a look at the... [read more]
The last few months have been one of the most chaotic and entertaining off-seasons in memory. With the inarguable dominance of the Golden State Warriors, every NBA General Manager not named Bob Riley has had to decide whether to build their teams slowly and hope the Warriors taper off in the next few years or to push their chips in and make a run for the current champs. Well, we now have our answers and it seems the gaps between the haves and have-nots have grown. Let's take a look at the big trades that created would-be contenders for next season's championship.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The first splash made was on June 21, as the Chicago Bulls traded away 2016-17 All NBA 3rd Team member Jimmy Butler to Minnesota. After picking up hometowner Dwayne Wade last year, expectations grew that the Bulls could make some noise in the East. The result was a 41-41 group and a less-than-happy locker room. Butler is thrilled to be reunited with head coach Tom Thibodeau and the T-Wolves expect the three-time All-Star to bring the same offense of departing Zach Levine plus lockdown defense and leadership to great young talents Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony-Towns. Throw in the free-agent acquisition of point guard Jeff Teague and you have a legitimate contender in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Trade Grade: B
Houston Rockets
Next up was the Rockets. They managed to grab elite point guard Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers. CP3 had one foot out the door with a deteriorating relationship with head coach Doc Rivers. Paul is one of the best distributors in the game (career 9.9apg) and even at 32 years old, is a top defender, with seven All-Defensive First Team awards). He joins a team that is building itself in the image of the Warriors with a premium placed on an up-tempo offensive pace with a lot of three-point shooting. Houston finished last year with the third-best record in the league and, on paper, are now stronger. The question everyone is asking revolves around Paul and Harden's ability to share the ball; if they can, the Rockets might have punched a ticket to the Western Conference finals. Trade Grade: A
Oklahoma City Thunder
Not to be left out of the Western Conference arms race, the Thunder swooped in and traded for the highly prized Indiana Pacer, Paul George. OKC didn't give up much given the expectation that George will head elsewhere when his contract expires, with the Lakers being his top choice. With George, OKC now has one of the toughest defenses on paper and although getting through the Warriors, Rockets, Wolves and Spurs will be tough, the Thunder, as of August 13, provide great value to win the West at +1700. If George and and reigning MVP Russell Westbrook play well together, Thunder GM Sam Presti believes he can convince both to stay rather than have George - and possibly Westbrook - walk at the end of the season. Trade Grade: B
Cleveland Cavaliers & Boston Celtics
In a summer of big-name moves, the true blockbuster came on August 21 and surprisingly was between the two prohibitive favorites in the East. The Cavs sent the disgruntled Kyrie Irving to Boston for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and a 2018 first-round pick. Celtics GM Danny Ainge was expected to keep methodically building his team for contendership in the near future but with the signing of Gordon Hayward he apparently thinks Irving puts Boston over the top. Thomas has a hip injury with no fixed date of return so his absence hurts the Cavs now and increases their interest in acquiring Dwayne Wade although there's no guarantee there. The addition of Crowder and a likely early first-round pick next year helps them in the future. Trade Grade: Cavs B / Celtics A-
As with most trades, it takes time to get a true evaluation and when draft picks are included a bad trade can become good, or vice versa. It seems all of these trades were made with an attempt to win in the short-term. Many of these big names have only one year left on their current contract and are UFAs at the end of this season (Paul, Thomas, George) so their departure would be a bitter pill for the teams they currently play for. While these teams seem to represent the short list of teams to occupy the four conference finals spots, let's not forget that sometimes the best trade you make is the one you don't. The San Antonio Spurs still have kept their roster largely intact with FA signings and still have arguably the best head coach in NBA history. In the East, Toronto, Washington and Milwaukee will look to improve on last year's performances. The rest of the league, however, seems to be content to take the slow lane to rebuild for the long-term and wait for these current Warriors to go away.
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