Former Brooklyn Nets head coach and current Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson will be hired as the next head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, with ESPN reporting that he will receive a four-year contract.
Aktinson's head coaching experience with the Brooklyn Nets spanned from 2016-20. He compiled a 118-190 record during his time with the rebuilding Nets, but helped guide the team from 20 wins in his initial season to a 42-40 record in 2018-19 and a playoff berth.
He was chosen to replace outgoing head coach James Borrego after a seven-week search during which the Hornets interviewed veteran coach Mike D’Antoni, former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts, and assistant coaches Sean Sweeney of Dallas, Charles Lee of Milwaukee and David Vanterpool of Brooklyn. They also interviewed Darvin Ham, who was hired by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Borrego was fired on April 22 following a 43-win season with two years remaining on his contract. He went 138-163 during his four seasons at the helm of the Hornets and they were routed in the play-in tournament for the second straight season.
Atkinson has a reputation as a talent developer and helped turn Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, Jarrett Allen and Spencer Dinwiddie into key players for the Nets, as well as elevating D'Angelo Russell to his lone All-Star appearance in 2019.
The Hornets have key pieces in place with guard LaMelo Ball and much-improved forward Miles Bridges, as well as veteran Gordon Hayward, but they have a glaring need at center, which could be addressed in a number of creative ways with the NBA Draft and free agency approaching.
Atkinson is the second Golden State assistant to accept a new job during the Warriors' playoff this season after fellow assistant Mike Brown accepted the role of head coach of the Sacramento Kings, though both are remaining with the Warriors through the end of the NBA Finals.
Stephen Curry will not have any minutes restriction in Game 4 as the Golden State Warriors bid to level the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.
Curry suffered a foot injury in the Warriors' 116-100 defeat in Game 3 at TD Garden on Wednesday.
The two-time MVP had insisted he would not miss Game 4 and head coach Steve Kerr confirmed Curry will be available for the entirety of Friday's critical clash.
"He's feeling well, just went through shootaround. He said he's ready to go," Kerr told reporters.
The Warriors trail the series 2-1 and will have history against them if the Celtics claim a third win in four.
Only one team in NBA Finals history has come back from a 3-1 deficit to prevail, the Cleveland Cavaliers famously doing so against the Warriors in 2016.
Curry has scored 26.8 points per game so far in the postseason. He has averaged 31.3 across the first three games of the Finals.
Despite missing all of last season due to injury, Zion Williamson remains very much in the long-term plans of the New Orleans Pelicans, according to executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin.
Appearing on a podcast, Griffin expressed confidence in signing Williamson to a maximum-salary extension this offseason and said it’s an "easy decision".
Williamson said in his postseason press conference that he’s eager to sign long-term with the Pelicans after the team made a late run to the playoffs. Griffin said it’s essentially a no-brainer that he will get a max offer of five years and at least $182 million.
"We feel really confident he wants to be here, and we’re equally confident we can come to an agreement," Griffin said.
Because Williamson missed the entire 2021-22 season due to a foot injury and has played in just 85 games since entering the league in 2019, the Pelicans could seek protections within the deal.
"It’s not a big decision. It’s a pretty easy decision," Griffin said. "This is a max player. That’s easy. The kid is historically good when he plays.
"What becomes significant with a team that’s a small-market team that can’t make mistakes in terms of injuries over time, you have to indemnify yourself in some way."
Williamson was recently cleared to play this offseason without any restrictions after recent imaging on the fifth metatarsal in his right foot showed continued improvement.
Barring any setbacks, he should be ready to return next season and take the court for the first time since May 2021.
Williamson has been an extremely effective player when healthy, averaging 25.7 points, 7 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting just over 60 percent from the field for his career.
Offseason work pic.twitter.com/scnFaHUil3
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) June 7, 2022
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry left no doubt about his status for Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday.
"I'm going to play," Curry told reporters on Thursday, a day after injuring his left foot while diving for a loose ball late in a Game 3 loss to the Boston Celtics.
"I don’t feel like I'll miss a game," Curry added.
The Athletic reported on Thursday that Curry will not need an MRI before Game 4.
During a scrum to recover possession in the fourth quarter, Boston big man Al Horford leapt into the fray and landed on Curry's left foot, leaving the two-time MVP hobbled.
Curry remained in the game initially but was removed with 2:19 remaining and Golden State down 14 points.
With the Warriors trailing the series 2-1 and a 48-hour turnaround before Game 4, Curry's status quickly became the focal point.
"I'll be alright," Curry said after Game 3. "I got caught underneath Al. Obviously there'll be some pain, but I'll be alright.
"Figure out how it feels tomorrow and get ready for Friday. [It was] the same thing I did against Boston during the regular season, but not as bad."
Curry is shooting 48.6 percent from three-point range in these Finals and is averaging over 31 points per game, almost double the Warriors' second-leading scorer in the series: Klay Thompson at 17 points per game.
"Curry will be needed if the Warriors are to claim a fourth NBA title in eight years.
"We need him if we want to win this thing," Thompson said of his Splash Brother and team-mate.
Stephen Curry is confident he will not miss any of the remainder of the NBA Finals despite hurting his foot in the Golden State Warriors' Game 3 defeat to the Boston Celtics.
The Warriors went down 116-100 at TD Gardens to slip to a 2-1 deficit, with Curry scoring a game-high 31 points despite the losing effort.
What was of even bigger concern to the Warriors was the sight of Curry's leg getting caught under the huge frame of Al Horford when jostling for a loose ball deep into the fourth quarter.
Curry was down for a considerable amount of time and when he did manage to get back to his feet he was noticeably limping and did not return for the remaining minutes.
Speaking about the injury after the game, Curry told reporters: "I'll be all right. I got caught. Obviously I'm in some pain, but I'll be all right. I'll see how it feels tomorrow and get ready for Friday.
"That's [a foot strain] what it felt like, and we'll see how it responds. Not much else to say. I don't feel like I'll miss a game. I'll take advantage of these next 48 hours to get ready."
Curry likened the injury to the one he sustained against the Celtics back in March during a similar scenario coming up against Marcus Smart.
The Warriors' talisman, however, does not believe it is as severe as the issue that caused him to miss the final month of the regular season.
"[Horford is] a big body, obviously," Curry added. "I haven't seen the play, so I don't know if it could have been avoided or not.
"I was in that situation with Marcus back in the Bay, and you just want to get your foot out of there. That's all I was trying to do at that point, knowing the position I was in.
"Like I said, for what I feel like, it's not as bad. So hopefully it responds well over the next two days."
Head coach Steve Kerr said of Curry: "I didn't say that [there was no concern].
"The injury didn't force him out of the game, but I took him out down 14 with two minutes left because we weren't going to catch up.
"We will know more tomorrow."
It was a night to forget for Draymond Green, who contributed just two points and struggled defensively leading him to admit afterwards: "I was s***."
Kerr was somewhat more diplomatic, adding: "He had a tough game, but I trust Draymond as much as I trust anybody.
"You know, he always bounces back from losses and from tough nights individually. He'll be back on Friday."
A hostile home crowd jeered Green with chants of "f*** you Draymond", with Kerr adding sarcastically: "Classy. Very classy."
Green was asked if his struggles could have anything to do with the post-game recaps he has been supplying on his podcast.
He replied tersely, saying: "No. I don't see much difference on the podcast than I say to you right here, so nah. What's the X's and O's that I said on the podcast?
"If that's X's and O's, you're reaching for something. It's all good, though, keep going.
"The only thing, you find that they are taking X's and O's away from your podcast? Well, the only thing you said is [Derrick] White, Smart and Horford. Hmm.
"You went for it. Appreciate the podcast promo you just gave me, though. The Draymond Green Show. Next time just mention it that way."
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart highlighted how the bumpy journey to this point is what makes his team so unified, after they produced a near-perfect defensive fourth quarter to defeat the Golden State Warriors 116-110 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
The win gives the Celtics a 2-1 series lead, with a chance to go up 3-1 by holding serve at home in Game 4.
In the process, the Celtics core of Smart, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown became the first trio since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Michael Cooper in 1984 to all have at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in a Finals game.
The Celtics needed to get up off the canvas after a trademark Golden State Warriors third-quarter run saw them claw back from a 12-point half-time deficit to take an 83-82 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the third.
In response, the Celtics held the Warriors to just 11 points in the fourth quarter, completely shutting down one of the most dynamic offenses in league history to lock up the win at home.
Smart, who has been criticised for trying to be too involved in the Celtics offense while neglecting his point guard duties, credited his star team-mates for helping him believe in his own scoring ability.
"The 'Jays' – Jayson and Jaylen – have done a really good job of encouraging me to be aggressive on the offensive end," he said. "And really understanding that for me, in this team, I have to be aggressive to help us win."
Smart's relationship with the 'Jays' goes deeper than basketball, and he said it took some growing up, as well as some tough conversations for the trio to become who they are today.
"First off, this is a family here," he said. "I grew up with the Jays.
"I've been playing five years with Jaylen, four years with Jayson. When my mom passed… they all came down to the funeral, so we've already had that bond.
"Early on in the season for us, it's just like it is with your siblings.
"You get into it, you squabble, you're mad at each other – and then the next day you're laughing, talking, hugging… giving each other their roses, and that's what this team is.
"It started off shaky for us, but that right there is what helped us get to where we are now. We had to go through the storm to see the rainbow at the end of it.
"For me, I had to look myself in the mirror. Along with my team-mates, we had to have a heart-to-heart, we had to sit down and have that hard talk, and understand that what we're saying is to help each other.
"It's nothing bad, it's nothing personal, it's to help us get to where we want to be. It's crazy, we're here, and nobody thought we would be here… but we stayed with it, and that's why I'm proud of this team, and it's what makes us who we are."
The Celtics have done plenty of soul-searching this season, and it was the case again after a demoralising Game 2 loss, but Smart said he was determined to not let the Warriors "bully" his side.
"We pride ourselves on being a physical team, and for us, [Game 2] left a bad taste in your mouth," he said.
"Coming out of Game 2, hearing and knowing that we got beat up. It's just like anybody else, if you're in a fight with a bully or anything, you've got to keep going, you've got to stand up."
When asked if he feels like the Celtics are in a fight with a bully, Smart replied: "We definitely are, we got the Golden State Warriors, who have done this before, multiple times, and they understand what it's like to be here.
"We're that little guy that is new to the school, and they want to see exactly what you've got. They came out and punched us in our mouth in Game 2, and we responded.
"We watched the film – and that was a nasty film session for us. It was ugly, we had to sit there and watch the whole film.
"You have to look yourself in the mirror and get it together. Coming out today it was not a matter of 'are we going to be physical' – it was 'how physical are we going to be'."
The Boston Celtics have taken a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals after defeating the Golden State Warriors 116-100 in Game 3.
In front of their raucous home fans, the Celtics started red-hot on the offensive end, highlighted by Jaylen Brown's 17 points in the first quarter to carry his side to a 33-22 lead at the quarter-time.
Boston's offense did not slow down in the second quarter, either, putting up another 35 points, but the Warriors were able to put up 34 themselves to stay within touching distance, down 68-56 at half-time.
Brown led the way with 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the first half – nearly matching his regular season averages of 23.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
For the Warriors, Klay Thompson had 15 points, Stephen Curry had 14, and Andrew Wiggins had 13, while the rest of the team combined for 12.
As has been a theme with the Warriors, they exploded once again in the third quarter, winning the frame 33-25 as Curry scored another 15 points in an eight-minute stretch.
The Warriors took the lead 83-82 with Curry's 15th point of the quarter, before the Celtics settled and fought back to take a 93-89 margin into the final break.
This Celtics team will be remembered as one of the finest defensive units of the modern era, and they relied on that end of the floor to pull out the win, holding the Warriors to just 11 points in the fourth quarter, while Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with eight down the stretch.
After setting a career-high of 13 assists in Game 1 of the Finals, Tatum showed it was no fluke, dishing another nine assists to go with his 26 points (nine-of-23 shooting).
Brown cooled off late to finish on 27 points (nine-of-16 shooting) with nine rebounds and five assists, while Marcus Smart put up similar numbers, scoring 24 points (eight-of-17 shooting) with seven rebounds and five assists.
The game-changer for the Celtics, however, was Robert Williams III. The injury-plagued center showed exactly why he received Defensive Player of the Year votes and NBA All-Defensive Second Team honours, finishing with four blocks and three steals to go with his eight points and 10 rebounds. Williams also finished with a game-high plus/minus of plus 21.
For the Warriors, Curry was terrific, scoring an efficient 31 points on 12-of-22 shooting, hitting six-of-11 from long range, while Thompson had his best game of the Finals with 25 points on seven-of-17 shooting.
Public enemy number one in Boston was Draymond Green, and the crowd gave him a fitting send-off when he fouled out in the fourth quarter with just two points, four rebounds and three assists in his 35 minutes.
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