Darvin Ham insisted Russell Westbrook is one of the best players the NBA has ever seen upon his announcement as Los Angeles Lakers head coach on Monday.
The nine-time All-Star and former MVP had a patchy first season in the purple and gold despite averages of 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists.
The 33-year-old was widely regarded as the cause behind the Lakers finishing with a 33-49 record which saw them finish 11th in the Western Conference, even missing the Play-In Tournament.
Asked about fitting Westbrook with LeBron James and Anthony Davis during his introduction as the Lakers coach, Ham took the opportunity to defend the embattled point guard.
"Don't get it messed up," he said. "Russ is one of the best players our league has ever seen, and there's still a ton left in that tank. I don't know why people tend to try to write him off.
"I'm going to approach him like I do every player I've ever encountered. We're going to talk about our running habits, with the ball, without the ball. And again, the team, the rhythm of the team and trying to establish a rhythm with LeBron, Russ, AD.
"And again, share the load defensively and offensively. Defensively is where you're going to see us make our biggest leaps and bounds. We have to commit to the defensive side of the ball or we don't have a chance to do anything. Our offence won't even matter if we don't get stops."
After an eight-year playing career in the NBA, Ham got his first coaching job in the league working as an assistant at the Lakers, as a part of Mike Brown's staff in 2012-13.
After that season, the 48-year-old spent the following years on Mike Budenholzer's staff with the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, winning the NBA title in 2021.
"The fact that I got my start as a coach here, this place will always be special for me," Ham said. "It's like a homecoming for me, in all seriousness."
"As sad as it is for me to be leaving coach Bud, sometimes you got to walk that walk on your own. We went from colleagues, to friends, to brothers while all the while making history."
Quin Snyder’s decision on Sunday to abruptly step down as coach of the Utah Jazz took much of the NBA world by surprise.
Especially the franchise's star player.
Donovan Mitchell was reportedly "surprised and disappointed" by Snyder's decision to step away after eight seasons in Utah, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, and has been left "unsettled, unnerved and wondering what it means for the franchise’s future."
The 55-year-old Snyder had led the Jazz to six straight playoff berths, three Northwest Division crowns and the NBA's best record in the 2020-21 season, but the team had not been able to advance past the Western Conference semi-finals.
''Love Quin. I love Quin. Love Quin,'' Mitchell said after the Jazz were ousted in the first round by the Dallas Mavericks in April. ''He's a guy that gave me an opportunity when I first got here and trusted in me, believed in me. He's a guy that I think has had so much talked about and he's been headstrong, he's been steady with it throughout the year.''
Mitchell has been the face of the franchise since his 2017-18 rookie season, earning a third-straight All-Star Game appearance this past season while finishing ninth in the league in scoring at 25.9 points per game.
The 25-year-old signed a five-year maximum contract extension with the Jazz in 2020, and considered his positive relationship with Snyder a significant reason he opted to stay in Salt Lake City.
Mitchell, who is owed $67.5million for the next two seasons, followed by a $37m player option, reportedly respects Snyder's decision for stepping down but is left wondering how the franchise will respond to such a sudden and significant change in leadership.
Snyder is the second-winningest coach in franchise history behind Hall of Famer Jerry Sloan, and since he took over in Utah in 2014-15, only Steve Kerr, Doc Rivers, Mike Budenholzer and Gregg Popovich compiled more wins than Snyder's 372.
The Boston Celtics were left to wonder what might have been after a poor third quarter saw them lose Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, levelling the series at 1-1.
An underwhelming first half performance saw the Celtics trail by only two points, and after their incredible fourth quarter showing in Game 1, the hope for Boston was they could finish strongly again and take a commanding 2-0 lead.
However, after finding themselves trailing by 23 points by the time the final quarter arrived, they had left themselves far too much to do.
Celtics coach Ime Udoka blamed the amount of turnovers, saying after the 107-88 defeat at Chase Center: "That's been an ongoing theme in the playoffs so far. We've turned over the ball. Take teams out of scoring against us in the half court, give them some baskets.
"But it was more of the same in that third quarter. We had 11 for 18 points in that first half and gave up five or six more in that quarter. Kind of blew it open, and that hampered our offense, as well."
Jayson Tatum - who top-scored for the Celtics with 28 points, though ended the game with a minus-36, which is the worst plus-minus of the 24-year-old's career - agreed with Udoka on turnovers, but also pointed to the general sloppiness at the start of the third-quarter that saw the Warriors pull away.
"I think tonight, turnovers, and I think sometimes letting our offense affect how we defend, kind of was a little stagnant in the third quarter," Tatum said.
"I feel like it translated on the defensive end, and they got going and hitting shots and things like that."
Boston have now been outscored by at least 14 points on four occasions in the third quarter during this year's playoffs, and guard Derrick White also expressed his frustration at the increasing trend of losing the game just after half-time.
"Yeah, it's definitely frustrating," he said. "I mean, we've talked about it pretty much the whole postseason. It's easy to talk about, but we've got to go out there and change something.
"That was a big quarter for them and really a quarter that put us away."
The Golden State Warriors evened up the NBA Finals on Sunday, comfortably defeating the Boston Celtics 107-88 on Sunday.
Stephen Curry was at his transformative best, finishing up with 29 points on nine-of-21 shooting, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Pertinently, facing an 0-2 series deficit, putting Curry in high pick-and-roll actions with Draymond Green forced the Celtics into tricky defensive situations.
The Warriors were able to get the shots they wanted as a result of Curry's presence, as well as the lingering injury troubles of Robert Williams III affecting Boston's rim protection.
Gary Payton returned after his gruesome injury sustained against the Memphis Grizzlies and did not miss a beat in the Finals atmosphere, pitching in with seven points, three assists and three rebounds while providing critical defensive presence.
They scored 40 points in the paint over the game in comparison to the Celtics' 24, while shooting 40.5 per cent from the perimeter.
This came despite Curry and Klay Thompson shooting a combined six-of-20 from beyond the arc.
After their offensive explosion in the fourth quarter to take the opening game, the Celtics shot 37.5 per cent from the floor, while 18 turnovers were critical.
The Dubs scored 33 points off those Celtics turnovers, blowing the game wout with a 35-14 third quarter, capped off with an extraordinary buzzer-beating three-pointer from half-court.
Marcus Smart was ineffective on both ends of the floor, failing to restrict Curry in pick-and-roll situations while going one-of-six from the floor and committing five turnovers.
Draymond Green lauded the performance of Stephen Curry on both sides of the ball after the Golden State Warriors blew the Boston Celtics out 107-88 on Sunday.
The Warriors were up by 29 points at one stage in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, on their way to evening the series up in San Francisco.
Curry was transformative on and off the ball in both offensive and defensive senses, finishing with 29 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and something even more reflective of his overall impact, an astounding net rating of +39.6.
Green was full of praise after the win, putting Curry's status even before Kevin Durant left for the Brooklyn Nets into perspective.
"I thought he was incredible," Green said post-game. "Most importantly, his decision-making was great. He got off the ball, he didn't drive into traffic, he took what the defence gave him.
"I think for the first six minutes of that game he had zero points. He wasn't forcing anything and let the game come to him, and we all followed that.
"Our offence is always a lot of Steph. It all starts with Steph. When KD [Durant] was here it still started with Steph, and that's the way it's going to be."
The barrage of three-pointers by the Warriors obscured Curry's three steals and ability to stay in front of the ball, especially given the latter has been an important factor in each of the Warriors' previous three series in the Western Conference this post-season.
Despite offensive focus from opposition teams onto Curry, Green insisted the former unanimous MVP has worked to improve defensively and should be respected on that side of the court.
"I have been talking about it for the last couple of years, how much he's improved on that side of the ball" Green said. "Teams used to try to call him into every action and just try to pick on him.
"That's doesn't work anymore. He guards, and we're all there behind him if he does need help but hasn't been needing that often and it's great.
"I've spoken about how much stronger he is. He's able to hold his ground, so you're not able to bump him off his spot, and that's been huge for us. I'm not shocked he's playing that type of defence."
The Golden State Warriors evened up the NBA Finals on Sunday, comfortably defeating the Boston Celtics 107-88 on Sunday.
Stephen Curry was at his transformative best, finishing up with 29 points on nine-of-21 shooting, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Pertinently, facing an 0-2 series deficit, putting Curry in high pick-and-roll actions with Draymond Green forced the Celtics into tricky defensive situations.
The Warriors were able to get the shots they wanted as a result of Curry's presence, as well as the lingering injury troubles of Robert Williams III affecting Boston's rim protection.
Gary Payton returned after his gruesome injury sustained against the Memphis Grizzlies and did not miss a beat in the Finals atmosphere, pitching in with seven points, three assists and three rebounds while providing critical defensive presence.
They scored 40 points in the paint over the game in comparison to the Celtics' 24, while shooting 40.5 per cent from the perimeter.
This came despite Curry and Klay Thompson shooting a combined six-of-20 from beyond the arc.
After their offensive explosion in the fourth quarter to take the opening game, the Celtics shot 37.5 per cent from the floor, while 18 turnovers were critical.
The Dubs scored 33 points off those Celtics turnovers, blowing the game wout with a 35-14 third quarter, capped off with an extraordinary buzzer-beating three-pointer from half-court.
Marcus Smart was ineffective on both ends of the floor, failing to restrict Curry in pick-and-roll situations while going one-of-six from the floor and committing five turnovers.
Quin Snyder has resigned as coach of the Utah Jazz after eight seasons in charge.
Snyder was appointed as head coach of Utah in 2014, signing a three-year contract before extending his deal twice to prolong his stay in Salt Lake City.
The 55-year-old transformed the Jazz into a competitive playoff force, reaching the postseason for the last six straight seasons, although they have not progressed past the conference semi-finals in that run.
Snyder was the joint-third longest-serving coach in NBA, alongside Golden State Warriors' Steve Kerr, who trails Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra and San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich.
Having overseen a period of change in Utah, Snyder departs with the second-best winning record of any Jazz coach after boasting a 372-264 regular-season record.
"Quin Snyder has embodied what Jazz basketball is for the last eight years," said Jazz owner Ryan Smith.
"The tireless work ethic and attention to detail Quin displayed each day is a testament to the professional he is. I have nothing but admiration for Quin and respect his decision.
"We thank Quin and Amy from the bottom of our hearts for all of their contributions to the state of Utah and the Jazz and wish them nothing but the best."
Reports suggested Utah were intent on agreeing a new contract with Snyder, who is said to want to take a season's break to recuperate before he considers a new coaching role.
"At the core, and what drives me every day is our players and their passion for the game, their desire to constantly work to improve and their dedication to the team and the Jazz," Snyder said.
"I strongly feel they need a new voice to continue to evolve. That's it. No philosophical differences, no other reason. After eight years, I just feel it is time to move onward.
"I needed to take time to detach after the season and make sure this was the right decision. I greatly respect and appreciate Ryan, Danny [Ainge] and Justin's [Zanik] discussions regarding moving forward together, I just know it is time.
"I am forever appreciative of all the players, coaches, partners, and people I have worked with at the Jazz. Your sacrifice, your kinship have made this an incredible and special experience.
"Amy and I are so grateful for our time here as it has been just a tremendous place to raise our family. Thank you to our always supportive and passionate fans. We only want the best for you and to see you raise a championship banner."
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