NBA Roundup: Boylan out as coach of Bucks, Kobe tweets photo of ankle stitches
Jim Boylan will not return as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks next season, the team announced Wednesday. Boylan went 22-28 as the interim coach of the Bucks after replacing Scott Skiles on Jan. 9, 2013, for the second time in his coaching career. Boylan previously stepped into head coaching duties on Christmas Eve 2007 when the Chicago Bulls fired Skiles. Bucks general manager John Hammond said when Boylan was elevated to head coach with the Bucks that the franchise was not in dire straits and expecting good things to happen. The Bucks made the postseason, but made an immediate exit last week, suffering a four-game sweep at the hands of the defending champion Miami Heat.
---The NBA released its list of 46 college and 31 international players who have applied for early entry into the 2013 draft.
Among the prominent names who project as possible lottery picks are Nerlens Noel, who left Kentucky after an injury-shortened freshman season; Kansas guard Ben McLemore, another freshman who departed after one season; Michigan guard Trey Burke, the national player of the year; Georgetown forward Otto Porter; UNLV forward Anthony Bennett; Indiana's Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo; Gonzaga center Kelly Olynyk; Maryland center Alex Len and UCLA forward Shabazz Muhammad.
Others on the list are Miami's Shane Larkin, son of Baseball Hall of Famer Barry Larkin; Michigan's Tim Hardaway Jr., son of former NBA player Tim Hardaway; and Gorgui Dieng of national champion Louisville..
The international players who could be selected in the first round of the draft in June include forward Giannis Adetokoubo of Greece, forward Dario Saric of Croatia, guard Dennis Schroder of Germany and center Lucas Nogueira of Brazil.
The NBA Draft Lottery is scheduled for May 21 and the NBA Draft is June 27.
---Golden State coach Mark Jackson didn't care for the defensive tactics that Denver used against guard Stephen Curry in its victory over the Warriors in Game 5 of their first-round NBA playoff series on Tuesday night.
Jackson went so far as to call it dirty pool after Denver stayed alive in the best-of-seven series. He said the Nuggets took a shot at Curry's ankle, which he injured in Game 2, on one play.
"They tried to send hit men at Steph," Jackson said after the Warriors' 107-100 loss in Denver. "There were some dirty plays early. It's playoff basketball. It's all right. Make no mistake, we were up 3-1 (in the series) playing hard, clean, physical basketball, not trying to hurt anybody."
Leading 3-2, the Warriors have a chance to close out the series at home on Thursday night.
---The Los Angeles Clippers list forward Blake Griffin as day-to-day because of a high ankle sprain that forced him out of Game 5 in the first-round playoff series with Memphis on Tuesday night.
Point guard Chris Paul also is dealing with an injury. Paul bruised his left thumb in the same game but is expected to play in Game 6 on Friday night in Memphis.
Griffin, who originally suffered the injury in practice Monday but tried to play through it in Tuesday's game, had an MRI and X-rays on Wednesday that came back negative, but he was having trouble walking.
If Griffin is unable to play in Game 6, Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said Lamar Odom would start.
---NBA assistants Kevin Sampson and Nate Tibbetts will interview for the Charlotte Bobcats' head-coaching job, according to multiple reports.
The Bobcats requested permission from the Houston Rockets to speak with Sampson, a former Oklahoma and Indiana University coach who was ousted for recruiting violations. He has worked as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, Milwaukee Bucks and Rockets.
Sampson took over the Rockets for a portion of this season while coach Kevin McHale was away after the death of his daughter.
The Charlotte Observer confirmed with the Hornets that they have received permission from the Cleveland Cavaliers to talk to Tibbets, 35, who is considered a mentor for Cavs star Kyrie Irving and was a successful head coach in the NBA Developmental League.
The Bobcatss dismissed Mike Dunlap as coach after one season. Charlotte finished 21-61 in 2012-13, the second-worst record in the NBA.
---Kobe Bryant tweeted a picture of the stitches being removed from his surgically-repaired ankle Tuesday, 17 days after the Los Angeles Lakers forward suffered a torn Achilles' tendon.
"Sitches out! #progress," Bryant wrote.
He is expected to miss at least six to nine months while rehabilitating the injured ankle. Without Bryant and with multiple other injury issues, the Lakers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
