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NBA season 2008-2009
#21
Quote:Thunder fire Carlesimo; Brooks named interim coach





OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The losses kept piling up for P.J. Carlesimo, and it didn't matter which city his team called home.



With the relocated Oklahoma City Thunder off to an NBA-worst 1-12 start, Carlesimo was fired as coach Saturday and replaced on an interim basis by assistant Scott Brooks.




The firing followed a 105-80 loss to the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night, the Thunder's 10th straight setback.



Brooks made his debut Saturday night in a rematch with the Hornets in New Orleans, and general manager Sam Presti said Brooks would finish the season.



"This isn't about one person," Presti said. "There's accountability for everybody involved -- players, coaches, myself and anyone involved with our basketball team. We understand that."



The Thunder also let go assistant Paul Westhead, who guided the Phoenix Mercury to the 2007 WNBA title and won an NBA title in 1980 with the Los Angeles Lakers.



Carlesimo was expected to produce a winner around Kevin Durant, but he never really stood a chance. Carlesimo inherited a roster shredded by the trades of stars Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis after a decision to rebuild.



"We have to get better no matter who the coach is," Durant said Saturday night in New Orleans. "To start off like we did my first year and now this year is tough to deal with. If we continue to work hard, things will start to turn around for us."




Carlesimo had questioned his team in recent games for failing to give full effort, performances resulting in a string of blowouts. The last six losses were by double-digits, and most of those were even more out of hand before the Thunder rallied.



"We feel like that is something that is nonnegotiable," Presti said. "We have to continue to play hard and put ourselves in positions to compete and win basketball games."



The loss Friday night served as a reminder of how the Hornets rebuilt from an 18-win season to a playoff contender during a two-year stay in Oklahoma City brought on by Hurricane Katrina. The Hornets improved by 20 wins their first season in Oklahoma City, and by last season were pushing the San Antonio Spurs in a second-round playoff series.



A similar scenario hardly seemed in the making for the Thunder following their switch from Seattle and discarding the SuperSonics nickname along the way.



"When you're hitting these struggles, there's different factors. I don't think it's necessarily professional and appropriate for me to dwell or dig into all of them," Presti said. "I'd rather just stay focused on the direction we're going."



Brooks, an 11-year NBA veteran, played on Houston's 1994 NBA championship team and bounced around with seven teams before becoming a Denver assistant in 2003. He also worked for Sacramento and joined Carlesimo's staff last season in Seattle.



"Things aren't good," Brooks said Saturday night in New Orleans. "It's a challenge to get our guys motivated to play every night. ... Our team needs direction. I have clear plans to make this team play with much more energy and passion."



Brooks has been a fill-in head coach a few times. He served as Sacramento's coach for two games in February 2007 when Eric Musselman was suspended for driving under the influence, and he substituted for George Karl in Denver when Karl was suspended for four games during the 2005-06 season. Brooks lost all four of those games in Denver, but won both when in charge of the Kings.



"He's someone that I do think has a skill-set potential," Presti said. "This is a new opportunity for him and as he continues to make his way and grow with our team, we're going to certainly support him and help him throughout the process."



Despite all the excitement leading to the season -- with the team selling out its full allotment of season tickets in five days -- only three of the eight home games have sold out: opening night, a visit from the NBA champion Boston Celtics and the return of the beloved Hornets.



That latest game turned into a rout and dropped Carlesimo's record with the team to 21-74 in just more than one season. Most of what had been a sellout crowd left early after the Hornets took a 32-point lead early in the fourth quarter.



"The first thing for us is coming to the floor with a passion and competing and playing a style of basketball that our fans are going to get behind and enjoy, and that our players are going to enjoy," Presti said.

[url="http://www.nba.com/2008/news/11/22/thunder.carlesimo.ap/index.html"]http://www.nba.com/2008/news/11/22/thunder...o.ap/index.html[/url]
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht.
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#22
Quote:Wizards fire Jordan, make Tapscott interim coach



WASHINGTON (AP) -- Eddie Jordan was fired as coach of the Washington Wizards on Monday after opening the season 1-10 without injured starters Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood.



Ed Tapscott, the Wizards' director of player development, will replace Jordan on an interim basis, running his first practice as the team's new head coach Monday morning, a team spokesman said.



The firing was first reported by the Washington Post on its Web site.



Jordan was in his sixth season with the Wizards and led the team to the playoffs each of the past four. In September, shortly before the start of training camp, the Wizards picked up a one-year option to keep him under contract through the 2009-10 season.



He leaves as the Eastern Conference's longest-tenured coach and No. 3 in the NBA behind Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz and Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.nba.com/2008/news/11/24/wizards.jordan.ap/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">[url="http://www.nba.com/2008/news/11/24/wiza"]http://www.nba.com/2008/news/11/24/wiza[/url] ... index.html</a><!-- m -->
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht.
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#23
Warriors vs Celtics online broadcast [url="http://http"]here[/url] now (5th stream).
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht.
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#24
Any info on Kostas Koufos improvement(?) ?
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#25
Mavs beat the Clippers 100-98 with a very thrilling finale. Kidd stole some balls, the Clippers missed consecutive shots and Barea handed the Mavs the lead (and later the victory) with a fearless 3-pointer. What a game <!-- sBiggrin -->[img]{SMILIES_PATH}/biggrin.gif[/img]<!-- sBiggrin -->





Jazz vs Kings online broadcast [url="http://http"]here[/url] now.
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht.
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#26
Garnett makes Glen Davis cry <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='Rolleyes' />



[y]-uSay2aWTc0[/y]
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#27
Quote:Timberwolves fire Wittman; McHale to coach team



Posted Dec 8 2008 2:30PM



MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Randy Wittman was fired as coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, two days after an embarrassing 23-point loss at home to the last-place Los Angeles Clippers. Kevin McHale took over as coach, leaving his job as the club's vice president of basketball operations.



The young team has a 4-15 record and has not responded to Wittman's demands for tough defense. The Timberwolves are in the midst of a five-game losing streak in which the average margin of defeat has been nearly 17 points.



"There were certain goals and expectations that we had for this team at the start of the season, and we have not lived up to them," Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said in a statement.



"I am disappointed in our record and believe that we have more talent than our record indicates. A change had to be made and with three-fourths of the season remaining, there is still time to make substantial progress this year," he added.



This was the fourth NBA coaching firing this season following P.J. Carlesimo (Oklahoma City), Eddie Jordan (Washington) and Sam Mitchell (Toronto).



Wittman was 38-105 since taking over for Dwane Casey in January 2007. McHale picked Wittman to preside over the team's rebuilding following the trade of Kevin Garnett, but the second year of the plan has not produced results.



After keeping things close early in the season, the Timberwolves lost by 29 points at New Jersey on Friday night, then were blown out by the Clippers on Saturday night to seal Wittman's fate. Wittman went 22-60 last year, his only full season in charge.



"I want to thank Randy for all of his contributions to the Timberwolves through the years as both a head coach and an assistant coach, and wish him the best in the future," Taylor said.



Now it's up to McHale to try and turn things around, and he has experience in this kind of situation. He went 19-12 in the final 31 games of the 2004-05 season after firing coach Flip Saunders. He has been the team's top basketball executive since 1995. But unlike his first stint coaching when he kept his VP role, McHale will concentrate fully on coaching this time.



The team did not immediately say who would fill the open executive slot. Assistant GM Fred Hoiberg, in training to eventually take over for McHale, is a top candidate.



"Kevin has assembled the players on this team, and believes in their talent and skill level," Taylor said. "It is my expectation that Kevin will be able to get the most out of our team and our players in his new role as head coach."

[url="http://www.nba.com/2008/news/12/08/120808wittmanfired/index.html"]http://www.nba.com/2008/news/12/08/120808w...ired/index.html[/url]
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht.
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#28
That's a pretty creative way to pave the way for McHale's firing.
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#29
Quote:Darko Milicic’s torn jersey from Grizz v. Rockets win to go on online auction block



MEMPHIS, December 9, 2008 — When the Memphis Grizzlies said that they were going to provide fans with the opportunity to bid on one-of-a-kind team memorabilia as part of their Online Auction Series, they weren’t kidding. On the auction block starting December 11 at 9 a.m. is the game worn jersey that Darko Milicic ripped in last night’s 109-97 win over the Houston Rockets.

Darko Milicic did his best Incredible Hulk impersonation during the third quarter of the Grizzlies second consecutive home victory last night. The remnants of the jersey, which include a rip down the center that is more than a foot and a half long, will include a personalized autograph from Milicic addressed to the highest bidder.




All proceeds from the online auction benefit the Memphis Grizzlies House at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Grizzlies House has the capacity to serve up to 100 families each night and provides a free, safe and comfortable alternative to staying in a hotel.



Along with Milicic’s ripped game-worn jersey, fans can also bid on the opportunity to sit in Grizzlies majority owner Michael Heisley’s courtside seats or have their child be an Honorary Ball Kid on December 30 when Shaquille O’Neal and the Phoenix Suns come to FedExForum.

[url="http://www.nba.com/grizzlies/news/milicic_torn_jersey_on_auction_block-081209.html"]http://www.nba.com/grizzlies/news/milicic_...ock-081209.html[/url]
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht.
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#30
Everything going well for the Mavs... After Dirk got ejected two games ago, now it was Rick Carlisle's turn <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='Rolleyes' />
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht.
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#31
[quote name='rikhardur' post='13335' date='Dec 31 2008, 07:01 AM']Everything going well for the Mavs... After Dirk got ejected two games ago, now it was Rick Carlisle's turn <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='Rolleyes' />[/quote]

Tha Mavs managed to make the biggest comeback in the history of the team, they were down by 29.



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Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht.
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#32
Nice win for the Mavs indeed. That kind of comeback would never happen in the play-offs I guess.
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#33
LeBron gets called for travelling <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='Tongue' /> <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='Tongue' />



[y]hhv101bx9u0[/y]
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht.
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#34
The Rockets just handed the Celtics another loss. I watched the final minutes, it's hard to believe the Rockets managed to grab the win, they lack focus, a bit of shot selection and are too relaxed on defense, the Celtics had a couple of shots which wouldn't have happened in a tight defense.
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht.
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#35
[center]Top 5: January 10th



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#36
Lakers vs Rockets online broadcast [url="http://http"]here[/url] now.
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht.
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#37
I saw a highlight reel after that Mavs game. I can't believe how any team could throw that kind of a lead away!
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#38
Dirk's awesome buzzer-beater a few hours ago to end the 76ers seven-game winning streak. Final score 95-93. How's that for a choker? <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='Wink' />



[y]WIVGQyvhGaw[/y]



[Image: sixers3.jpg]



Quote:PHILADELPHIA(AP) Dirk Nowitzki came through when it mattered.



Despite missing 13 of his first 14 shots and 16 of 23 overall, the seven-foot forward hit a turnaround 17-foot jumper over Reggie Evans at the buzzer to give the Dallas Mavericks a 95-93 victory against Philadelphia, snapping the 76ers' season-high seven-game winning streak.



"I'm a shooter,'' Nowitzki said. "I always think the next one is going in.''



Nowitzki received the inbounds pass with 4.3 seconds left and spun around the 6-foot-8 Evans to deliver the game-winning shot.



"It's easy to get it to him because he's seven feet,'' Kidd said of Nowitzki. "He's done it all year. He's an All-Star and an MVP and he enjoys these moments.''

[url="http://www.nba.com/games/20090119/DALPHI/recap.html"]http://www.nba.com/games/20090119/DALPHI/recap.html[/url]
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#39
Jazz vs Rockets online broadcast [url="http://http"]here[/url] now.
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht.
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#40
last night Kobe Bryant broke Bernard King's MSG scoring record, pouring in a stunning 61 points <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='Ohmy' />
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