Dose: GSW Eliminate Rockets
The Warriors eliminated the Rockets on Wednesday to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in 40 years. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes all scored 20+ points for Golden State, though Thompson may have suffered a concussion in the process, while James Harden committed an NBA postseason-record 13 turnovers in Houston's season-ending defeat. Thursday's Daily Dose recaps Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals after running through the day's injury updates, free agent rumors and much more.
Kyle Korver had ankle surgery to repair a damaged ligament and he's expected to miss three months, leaving him probable for the start of Atlanta's training camp. Korver cooled off in the playoffs but his regular season endeared him to lucky fantasy owners who soaked up top-40 value in 9-cat leagues and top-50 value in 8-cat.
He was only slightly behind those rankings in 2013-14 and 2012-13 so this wasn't a fluke. In addition to ranking third in the NBA with 221 made 3-pointers this year, he ranked fifth in blocks (0.56 per game) behind only John Wall, Danny Green, Klay Thompson and James Harden. He's also one of two players since the 1946-47 season to shoot at least 48.7% from the field, 49.2% from downtown, and 89.8% at the FT line while playing more than 250 minutes in a season. The other player to do it was Steve Kerr during the 1995-96 season with Chicago.
Hawks teammate Shelvin Mack is also scheduled for surgery on a damaged shoulder. He injured himself during Game 4 and left the arena in a sling due to what is believed to be a separated shoulder. It's not a given that he'll be ready for training camp, depending upon the severity of the injury, but the odds are very good that he'll be active on opening night. Mack is owed a guaranteed $2.4 million next season, with a completely non-guaranteed $2.4 million salary for 2016-17.
The Grizzlies’ veteran PG Beno Udrih needs ankle surgery and he will not play with the Slovenian National Team during the EuroBasket tournament. The translated page I read was incoherent and it's unclear how serious the surgery was or how much time he might miss. He finished the playoffs without any obvious issues, so hopefully this is a minor arthroscopic procedure to clear out some flotsam from his ankle.
In happier injury news, Jae Crowder (sprained left knee) is making "great strides" in his recovery. All signs point to him being ready for opening night. He's a free agent but the odds are good that he'll begin the season in Celtics' green, as he said this week, "I just think what I bring to the game and what they need ... it’s a good fit. Hopefully we can get something done that’ll keep me here for a long time." Crowder barely cracked the top-150 in nine-cat leagues during the final month of the season, while averaging 27.4 minutes per game, and his lack of a stand-out categorical strength makes him an unpalatable fantasy option no matter where he lands.
Unrestricted free agent Kosta Koufos is drawing interest from the Magic, Celtics and Kings. He said he wants to be a starter and Boston is the only scenario in which that's remotely possible, as Nikola Vucevic and DeMarcus Cousins aren't going anywhere next season. The Grizzlies may also be interested in retaining Koufos, but their first order of business is to re-sign Marc Gasol.
The Mavericks have reportedly "mentioned" the possibility of a sign-and-trade sending Tyson Chandler to L.A. for DeAndre Jordan, according to ESPN Dallas. The notion has been floated in "offseason brainstorming sessions" and L.A. wouldn't partake unless Jordan insisted upon the move. In other words, this is currently nothing more than a one-sided thought experiment.
The slow-motion disaster that is Tom Thibodeau's relationship with the Bulls' front office may have picked up speed on Tuesday. According to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, "some players and people around the Bulls already have heard that coach Tom Thibodeau won’t be back next year." He qualified that report almost immediately, however, writing, "But despite what the players were told, the Bulls have made no final decision on Thibodeau’s future." ESPN's Marc Stein also reported that the Bulls are "giving increasing consideration" to firing Thibs despite the two years and $9 million remaining on his contract.
The Pelicans met with Jeff Van Gundy about their vacant head coach position on Tuesday, in what Adrian Wojnarowski termed a "formal interview." New Orleans GM Dell Demps previously met with current Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry and may meet with Gentry a second time before making any decisions. It's hard to envision them passing on Van Gundy if he wants to return to the bench after years as a TV announcer, but Scott Skiles has also entered the mix for New Orleans. According to ESPN's Marc Stein, Skiles is also the "frontrunner" for Orlando's vacant head coaching spot, so there are plenty of moving pieces.
Warriors advance to Finals with 104-90 win vs. Rockets in Game 5
The Golden State Warriors are going to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1975. They'll have seven days off before returning to action for Game 1 vs. the Cavaliers on June 4, setting up a must-watch series between the NBA's No. 1 seed, powered by the Splash Brothers, and LeBron's surging Cavs.
Stephen Curry began Game 5 with a protective sleeve on his right arm as a precaution, as the Warriors' training staff had overruled Steph's objections. He shed the sleeve in the second half anyway, then promptly sank a 3-pointer on his way to a final line of 26 points, three 3-pointers, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals in 42 minutes. He shot just 7-of-21 from the field but was 9-of-12 at the FT line and has over a week to recuperate before the Finals kick off in Oracle Arena.
Fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson shot 8-of-14 from the field for 20 points, four 3-pointers and four assists, though he committed a few very bad fouls which forced him to miss nearly the entire third quarter. His return in the fourth quarter didn't last long. His pump-fake got Trevor Ariza in the air but Ariza's knee connected cleanly with the right side of Thompson's head -- for the second straight game the Warriors watched one of their star guards take a scary walk to the locker room.
The Warriors' medical staff determined that Klay had nothing worse than a "laceration" but he took a second trip into the locker room after his ear started bleeding while on the bench. He eventually had three stitches but said during a postgame interview that he felt "a little dizzy" which raises all sorts of questions. It was initially reported that Klay didn't require any concussion testing, yet after the game the Warriors said that he "had been put through a concussion evaluation during the game and began not to feel well after the game." Golden State's treatment of their star SG is open to debate, but with a full week off before Game 1 it's safe to assume that Klay will be ready for the Finals.
Marreese Speights (calf) was sidelined again, though he recently resumed on-court work and should also be ready to go when the Finals kick off on June 4. His absence didn't lead to playing time for David Lee, who finished without any stats in a token appearance lasting less than one minute, but it did give Festus Ezeli another chance to shine on a national stage. Ezeli was terrific in 28 minutes off the bench, finishing with 12 points, nine rebounds, one assist and two blocks, combining with Andrew Bogut (14 boards) and Draymond Green (13 boards) to give the Warriors a convincing 59-39 edge on the glass.
James Harden committed a galling eight turnovers in the first half and 13 overall, setting a new NBA record for turnovers in a playoff game. Many of his errors were the result of fancy dribbling gone wrong, making Steve Kerr sound prescient in his game plan vs. Harden -- he told his players before the game, "if [Harden] starts dancing get into him." Harden was no more effective shooting the ball -- he made 10-of-13 free throws but was just 2-of-11 from the field, a far cry from his scintillating 45-point outburst in Game 4. Whether due to exhaustion, poor game-planning, the Warriors' defense or a combination of those factors and more, it was far from the performance we expected from the runner-up for MVP honors. On the heels of his botched play to end Game 2, Harden enters the season with more than a few postseason demons to exorcise.
For all of the flack Dwight Howard has taken in previous postseasons, he deserves praise for his play vs. Golden State. He finished the series averaging 14.4 points, 14.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.8 blocks, all while emerging as a steadying presence in Houston's locker room. After Houston's crushing Game 3 defeat, Terrence Jones told reporters, "[Dwight] is tough and he works hard. He inspires us. He told us to keep fighting. I really appreciate the big fella expressing himself and letting us all know how much he wants to win, and hopefully we can all go out there and give that kind of effort."
Dwight finished Wednesday's defeat with 18 points, 16 boards, two steals and four blocks. He also picked up a questionable technical foul during a 'double-tech' spat with Andrew Bogut, however, which would have resulted in a mandatory one-game suspension (unless the league rescinded it) since he'd reached the seven-technical threshold allowed in the playoffs. Throw in another near-flagrant he committed while setting a screen on Andre Iguodala, and Houston was unlikely to have their star center even if they had advanced to Game 6.
The Rockets were moribund in the fourth quarter as James Harden fumbled away possession after possession and Harrison Barnes morphed into a wrecking ball for the Warriors. That changed when Corey Brewer got going -- he scored Houston's first 10 points in the fourth quarter, finishing with 16 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal in just 24 minutes of action. He was the only reserve to score, however, as Terrence Jones, Clint Capela and Pablo Prigioni combined for zero points, two rebounds and one assist in a combined 27 minutes off the Rockets' bench.
Brewer joins Jason Terry and Josh Smith as the Rockets' only unrestricted free agents this summer. It's safe to assume that Terry can be retained cheaply, and Brewer seems like a cost-effective fit, but Smoove's future is cloudy -- he played well in the postseason but his perpetually poor shot selection clashes with the Rockets' offensive ethos, and he may draw some hefty offers on the open market.
In addition to those three players, Houston must decide whether to guarantee Pablo Prigioni's $1.7 million salary for 2015-16. They also have the opportunity to match any offers for potential restricted free agent Patrick Beverley, whose absence was keenly felt vs. Steph and the Warriors over the past 10 days. He won’t come cheap for one simple reason, which he described to reporters earlier this week: “I know I’m the best on-ball defender in the NBA. I’m the best point guard defender in the NBA. I think the whole league knows that.” For the Rockets to take the next step in a brutal Western Conference, owner Leslie Alexander may need to write some impressive checks payable to the order of Beverley.
