I sat down with NBA Development League President Dan Reed for an interview before the Erie BayHawks played the Iowa Energy on Friday night at Erie Insurance Arena.
In Part 1, I asked Reed about how the D-League has changed since he joined in 2007. We also talked about the D-League’s groundbreaking hires and future NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s feelings about the league.
NBA commissioner David Stern canceled more games through Nov. 30 after talks with the NBPA broke down Friday./AP Photo.
Yo D? What’s up guy? Haven’t seen you in a minute. What’s good?
Ah man. Nothing much. Staying busy. What’s good with you?
You know me, kid. I’m out just trying to do the right thing. So it looks like you’ve slimmed down some. Getting your run on?
Yeah man. Trying.
I hear you. I saw you one time darn near get trucked by a car over there by the hospital. I was like, ‘Yo, that looks like D right there.’ Got to wear brighter colors bruh. You know moms taught you to look both ways before crossing the street.
You right. You right.
Anyway, what’s up with this lockout man? The NBA has one of its greatest seasons in recent memory then just shut it down. What you think the problem is?
Dollars. It’s all about the dollar.
Got millionaires fighting over billions. I just heard they canceled games through the end of next month and there won’t be an 82-game season.
Yep. Well, NBA commissioner David Stern never says never, but he even admitted it’s not “practical” to have a full season. Shouldn’t have even tried to do that after canceling games earlier. Never understood trying to cram an 82-game season in.
When you're standing next to NBA commissioner David Stern (center), you're going to smile no matter what.
The Erie BayHawks made history this week.
They became the second D-League team to have the logo of a sponsor on its jerseys. The WNBA has had teams do so before Erie and Rio Grande Valley did so heading into this upcoming season.
LECOM has been the major sponsor of the BayHawks since they came to Erie before the 2008-09 season. LECOM provides the team quite a bit like a state-of-the-art training facility.
Now I’m from the old school of not having that kind of stuff on jerseys or uniforms. Remember in Rocky when Rocky Balboa sported the rob from the meat packing plant?
Rajon Rondo and Doc Rivers are on the same page for Boston, which is bad news for everyone else in the playoffs.
Come on David Stern.
We don’t need a break this long between playoff games. We really don’t, but then again, we’re not playing the games.
However, the time between these games is pretty ridiculous. Yo Dave, you’re better than that.
After playing Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday, the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics won’t play Game 3 until Saturday in Boston.
Game 3 of the Western Conference finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns will be Sunday in Phoenix.
They played Game 2 Wednesday.
What amazing is after Game 3 of these two respective series, the remaining games will be played every other day as long as each series continues.
That’s even more puzzling, but I have a greater issue with the time in between Game 2 and Game 3. Each team should take advantage of the time off, though.
What a bad week for LeBron James.
LeBron James was fined $25,000 for snubbing the media and the Orlando Magic after Cleveland’s Game 6 loss in the Eastern Conference finals that eliminated the Cavaliers from the NBA playoffs after they finished the regular season with the league’s best record.
The Magic lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers, 100-75, Thursday night.
To you and I, $25,000 is a lot fo money.
To James, that’s chump change, but I don’t like losing a penny so I’m sure he’s not thrilled about the fine.
As I’ve said before, that’s the first time I’ve seen him do that in his career after the final playoff loss. I think part of this is due to the fact he’s not only the MVP of the league, but he’s now the face of the league.
So NBA commissioner David Stern is trying to show James just how important it is to set the example for the remaining players to follow.
“He’s extremely passionate. When I go to games, I just love to watch him and his intensity and that’s obviously one of the characteristics of his team.” – Pitt baseball coach Joe Jordano on Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon.
Jamie Dixon won national coach of the year honors in leading Pitt to a school-record 31 wins.
Jamie Dixon can relax, too.
On Tuesday, I caught with the Pittsburgh head coach after he had played golf in Erie in conjunction with an Pittsburgh alumni banquet.
“It was good to be with (Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson) and (Pitt baseball coach and Erie native, Joe Jordano),” Dixon said Tuesday. “I’m not a big golfer. I do a few outings when I feel they’re necessary (smiling).”
In today’s Erie Times-News, I mainly wrote about what he had to said about college coaches having to pass a recruiting test before being allowed to recruit. Very interesting stuff, but Dixon and I also talked about DeJuan Blair leaving early for the NBA draft, coaching the 19-under national team and much more.
Final score: Cleveland Cavaliers 99, Atlanta Hawks 72
After NBA commissioner David Stern presented him the MVP trophy, LeBron James took off for 22 first-half points in Tuesday night's 99-72 win.
Analysis: LeBron James celebrated his NBA MVP award by leading the Cavaliers to a Game 1 victory. Josh Smith showed Tuesday he could be a major problem for Cleveland, but likely won’t be because he’s inconsistent (17 points in the first half, five in the second half). Overall, the Cavaliers made it look relatively easy in the sense that they got open shots whenever they wanted.
The go-getter: LeBron James (Cleveland) had a game-high 34 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists in 34 minutes and 19 seconds of play. He scored nine straight points to help the Cavaliers build a double-digit lead in the third quarter they never relinquished.
The brick-layer: Joe Johnson (Atlanta) actually shot 5-of-10 from the field, but only scored 11 points. If Atlanta has any shot of winning even a game in this series, he’s got to score more points than that.
The stunning stats: The Hawks had several. They scored just 28 points in the second half. For the game, Atlanta committed 17 turnovers that lead to 23 Cleveland points. Finally, the Hawks had just 10 bench points.
The play: On the game’s first play, James, off a pick, went to the basket and finished the play with a powerful two-handed dunk. Smith avoided getting dunked on, but his hand was in the picture when James powered the ball through the basket.
What’s next: Game 2 Thursday at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
What to expect: With Cleveland having been off a week after sweeping Detroit in the first round, it didn’t play its best game as a team Tuesday. The Hawks had a chance to take advantage of that and didn’t. Now with a recent game under their belt, the Cavaliers should play better as a whole, thus really take it to the Hawks in Game 2.
