Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers hailed the "absolutely amazing" defensive improvement made by Tyrese Maxey following the rookie guard's starring role in his side's progression to the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Maxey laid on 13 points, six rebounds, two assists and claimed one steal during his 26 minutes on the court in Wednesday's 129-112 series-closing win against the Washington Wizards.
The 20-year-old has posted double digits in successive playoff games, but Rivers was more impressed by the other aspect of the youngster's performance against the Wizards.
"I think he is a hell of a player," Rivers said. "I think he has found himself. He figures out now how we need him to play.
"That makes not only him a good player, but everybody else good on the floor when he is on the floor."
With star man Joel Embiid again absent for Game 5 due to a knee problem, Maxey has stepped up for the 76ers when needed after struggling during the regular season on defense.
"He was our worst defender and it wasn't close – the numbers said that to you," Rivers added.
"The last month he has turned a corner defensively. He made so many little plays defensively – rebounds, digs, getting steals. Obviously, the offensive energy was there but watching him grow defensively for this team has been absolutely amazing."
Seth Curry's playoff career-high 30 points, a triple-double from Ben Simmons and a 28-point showing courtesy of Tobias Harris helped the 76ers past the Wizards.
The Atlanta Hawks await in the Eastern Conference semi-finals and Rivers is hopeful Embiid will be back in contention for Game 1 on Sunday.
"He's a competitor. The fact that he's not playing tonight or whenever he can't play, it bothers him," Rivers said. "He's really not in a great place that way, but he's good. He'll be fine.
"I don't know exactly when he will be back. At least I'm hopeful. I think that's be a better way of putting it. He's going do his treatment, and we're going to assess the day-to-day and see when we can get him."
Nikola Jokic has triple-double to lead Nuggets past Heat in Game 1 of NBA Finals
The Denver Nuggets didn’t show much rust despite a lengthy layoff and Nikola Jokic stepped up down the stretch in his NBA Finals debut, helping his team hold off the Miami Heat for a 104-93 victory in Game 1 on Thursday.
Jokic scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter – including eight in the final four minutes after the Heat stormed back to cut a 24-point deficit to just nine points.
The two-time league MVP also assisted on 14 baskets and grabbed 10 rebounds to notch his ninth triple-double of this year’s playoffs.
Jokic had plenty of help with Jamal Murray finishing with 26 points and 10 assists, Aaron Gordon adding 16 points and six rebounds and Michael Porter Jr. chipping in 14 points and 12 boards for a Nuggets team that improved to 9-0 at home in the playoffs.
The Heat were led by Bam Adebayo’s 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Gabe Vincent scored 19 and Haywood Highsmith had 18 points off the bench.
Jimmy Butler, the MVP of the Eastern Conference finals, had 13 points – his fewest of the playoffs – along with seven rebounds and seven assists.
With nine days off between games after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals, there was concern that the Nuggets would be a bit rusty, but that wasn’t the case.
Playing in its first Finals in the franchise's 47-year history, Denver came out firing on all cylinders early in front of a raucous crowd, shooting 59.5 per cent in the opening two quarters to jump out to a 59-42 half-time lead.
The Nuggets pulled away in the third quarter to build an 84-60 advantage but the battle-tested Heat responded.
Highsmith scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and his 3 with 2 ½ minutes to play pulled the Heat within nine points, but that is as close as they would get.
Game 2 will be Sunday in Denver, and it’s possible Tyler Herro will be cleared to play.
Herro has been sidelined since fracturing his right hand in Miami’s playoff opener on April 16, and has been increasing his basketball activities in the last week.
Pistons hire Monty Williams as coach
Monty Williams will be named the next coach of the Detroit Pistons and is expected to sign a six-year, $78.5 million contract, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Pistons will give Williams the largest coaching deal in NBA history to replace Dwane Casey, who stepped down as Detroit’s coach in April to move into a front-office role.
The Athletic reported that there are team options for the seventh and eighth year, and incentives that could increase the deal to $100 million.
Williams was fired by the Phoenix Suns on May 13 after four seasons with the team, including a trip to the 2021 NBA Finals. He won 63 percent of his games with the Suns and was named the NBA Coach of the Year in May 2022 after leading Phoenix to a franchise-record 64 wins.
The Suns, however, had huge losses in elimination games in the playoffs in consecutive seasons and that ultimately led to Williams’ firing.
Casey went 121-263 in five seasons with Detroit and the team made the playoffs only once under his guidance.
The Pistons finished an NBA-worst 17-65 in 2022-23 for their seventh straight losing season. They haven’t won a playoff round since 2007-08.
Local stars eager to play part in influencing change in schools, communities through National Basketball League
Having yearned for the return of the National Basketball League (NBL), a number of the country's top players are now raring to go, not merely to give of their best, but also to hopefully inspire youths in troubled communities to view the sport as a way out.
The ambitions of Adeeb Vernon, Leslie Cassell and Matthew-Dane Henry, coincide with Jamaica Basketball Association’s (JABA) objective, which is to use basketball as a way of influencing communities and schools to reduce incidence of violence, through partnership with the Ministry of National Security.
The upcoming season to target certain communities in Kingston, St James and Westmoreland for violence-intervention projects, marks the return of the nation’s top basketball league from a three-year COVID-induced break and will see 10 teams –down from 12 in 2020 –vying for supremacy over a four-month period, staring June 17.
Vernon, a member of defending champions St George’s Slayers, said the league’s objective hits close to home as he revealed that basketball saved him from his disruptive ways.
"I think this game can help Jamaica in the sense that it can get kids on the right track, and I should know because I was one of those teenagers who gave a lot of trouble growing up and it wasn’t until I got involved in basketball that my behaviour and overall attitude changed,” Vernon said during the League’s launch at the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) Phoenix Avenue base on Wednesday.
The power forward, who is now gearing up to represent Jamaica at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games next month, is hoping to continue his rich vein of form from a previous tournament.
“I was one of the top power forwards in the Phase 1 Caribbean League and so I now hope to be one of the best players in the NBL. I am working towards that goal and so I am looking forward to giving my all and entertaining the spectators,” Vernon declared.
Urban Knights representative Cassell, pointed out that his recent return to basketball came with a higher calling.
"I am one of those players that have been away from the sport since COVID, but I found my wait back through a community league which my team won. But my bigger approach to that game was to be a role model for the younger players on the team,” he explained.
“My vision for basketball in Jamaica is to give the aspiring players something to look forward to. Yes, it would be good to get to the NBA or Europe, but if we are to be honest, we know chances of getting there are slim.
“So, my goal for Jamaica is to have a league that our younger players can look forward to, a league from which they can make a living, it seems far-fetched, but not impossible. So for me it starts with the NBL and so I plan to bring entertainment and professionalism to the league,” Cassell added.
Matthew-Dane Henry, of Upper Room Eagles, shared similar sentiments.
"Upper Room is aiming for a championship and in doing so, we plan to bring a certain level of professionalism, tenacity and energy to ensure that the entertainment value for the fans is at optimum. That three-year break was like torture, so thanks to the sponsors for coming on board and like you, we are looking forward to healthy competition and intensity,” he said.
Meanwhile, JABA president Paulton Gordon, expressed delight that the league is back on the basketball calendar to showcase the best local-based basketball talent and aspiring national payers who will display their skills in the presence of national coaches.
The other confirmed teams are, UWI Running Rebels, Rae Town Raptors, Tivoli Wizards, Falmouth Saints, Central Celtics, Spanish Town Spartans, and Portmore Flames.
An all-star NBL team will be selected mid-season to play against the visiting University of Missouri NCAA team during the summer.
“We are looking forward to a good four months of solid basketball and not only that but the partnership with the Ministry of National Security will help us take basketball into some of the communities and to use it as a tool for behaviour modification, so we are excited about that,” Gordon stated.
To achieve that goal, Gordon explained that though games will be played primarily at the National Stadium courts, they will move away at some point to select venues in Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and possibly St Mary.
“We want to move the games outside of the urban hubs that are quite familiar with basketball so we will be playing some of the games in Montego Bay and we also think there is huge potential in St Ann and St Mary. So we want to carry high level basketball into that space so that more persons can become more familiar and interested in participating in the game,” he noted.
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