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The four-time NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs made a statement in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals with a 104-93 victory in Memphis.
That statement might as well have been one of those old clichés like “never underestimate the heart of a champion.”
Spurs—new and old—expressed their enthusiasm on Twitter after the game.
The official NBA Trade Deadline is on Thursday, at 3:00 P.M., EST. That means the clock is ticking for teams around the league, and rumors continue to circle around Josh Smith and company.
In today’s blog, we’ll get straight to all the rumors, including the ones that appear to be shot down and ones that are still well in discussion. All of this, of course, means plenty of Woj “bombs” and reports are to be expected.
Before we get to all the rumors, here’s a totally unexpected trade that went down between the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings, from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (as promised): “Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings The Houston Rockets acquired Sacramento’s Thomas Robinson, the fifth overall pick in the draft, in a three-way deal on Wednesday night, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. The Rockets sent Patrick Patterson, Toney Douglas and Cole Aldrich to the Kings, and Marcus Morris to the Phoenix Suns as part of the trade. The Kings give up Robinson, the power forward out of Kansas, Francisco Garcia, Tyler Honeycutt and a future second-round pick to the Rockets, sources said. Morris, the 14th overall pick of the 2011 draft, had started 17 games for the Rockets this season, averaging 8.6 points and 4.1 rebounds. Morris averaged 21 minutes a game for Houston.”
When you think about how good or how far the Brooklyn Nets might go this season, it all comes down to this: which version of Deron Williams are we going to get?
Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson are integral pieces to the puzzle, but the main reason the Nets have become as relevant as they have is because of the acquisition of Williams. This team goes only as far as he can take them.
During his days as a member of the Jazz, he was consistently known as one of the top three point guards in the league. Some even considered him the very best, period. Those days are long gone now, and you wonder if he’s even the best point guard in his own division. One of the issues that has caused his downfall has been the state of his body.
Word has been – since he became a Net, really – that the once-great guard has been dealing with an assortment of injuries, from his wrist to his ankles. In fact, he has been ailing all season with ankle issues and will have them treated during the much-needed All-Star weekend, from Tim Bontemps of New York Post:
2013 Dunk of the Year.
It seems a little early for such proclamations, and yet they keep coming.
Last night, famed film director and New York Knicks fan Spike Lee (indirectly) put in his vote.
Friday, four more votes were tallied. We’ll start with the non-Knicks votes for overnight high school sensation, Victor Dukes, which come from Boston Celtics rookie forward Jared Sullinger, San Antonio Spurs forward DeJuan Blair and Portland Trail Blazers rookie center Meyers Leonard.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have finished a combined 40-108 the past two seasons. Despite their growing pains 
following LeBron James’ departure, Cavaliers fans have an intriguing team moving forward.
Cleveland won its first game of the season against Washington but arrived in Los Angeles after a two-game skid in which they lost to Chicago by 20 and to Milwaukee on Brandon Jennings buzzer-beating triple with 0.7 seconds left.
Such is life for a talented yet youthful team: There will be surreal highs and bottomless lows, and sometimes you really can’t be too sure what you’ll get.
On Monday night, the Cavaliers showed why they are considered to be on the upward tick as they came away from the Staples Center with a 108-101 victory over the loaded Clippers.
The win was sparked by team play and hustle on both ends, and that always begins with Anderson Varejao. The Brazilian center cradled 15 rebounds (he is averaging 15 through four games and 4-plus on the offensive end), scored 15 points and played solid pick-and-roll defense all night, as he ended up switching onto and staying in front of Chris Paul multiple times in these situations.
Rookie Tyler Zeller looked the part of a center who is still grasping the speed of the NBA game but undoubtedly has a future rebounding and knocking down open pick-and-roll jumpers. Alonzo Gee has gone from D-League project in 2011-12 to jack-of-all-trades starter in 2012-13; it was Gee who was matched up with Paul for extended stretches, forcing him to work around a taller, stronger and more athletic defender.
Last but not least, the two-headed monster that Byron Scott has dreamt about since the draft finally came to fruition last night: Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters combined for 52 points on 18-of-40 shooting, including 11-of-19 from distance. Irving was red-hot in the first quarter, scoring 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting and three 3-pointers. When he began to slow down, Waiters steadily contributed difficult 3-pointers, and did so with flair.
At one point in the third quarter, Waiters was knocking home contested, off-the-dribble bombs and running the other way with a competitive smile that Cavaliers fans should begin to relish; the competitive streak of this combo guard along with the ability to hit difficult, clutch shots is what sets him apart from other players, as he showed throughout the course of his two-year career at Syracuse. Despite being maligned by the press for “being out of shape” at NBA Summer League, Waiters has continued to work hard to learn from coach Scott and staff and should continue to emerge alongside the multi-dimensional offensive talent of Irving.
Despite playing well in his 32 minutes as a starter last night, there are some areas that the Cavaliers staff will help Waiters to improve upon over time on the offensive end:
Patience: There are times where players get caught up in the moment and take bad shots. Waiters is human and since he was feeling it, he decided to pull up from deep with about 20 seconds on the shot clock and 1:40 left in a tight game. Scott was disappointed, but these are the growing pains that a coach, team and organization must go through when attempting to turn a rookie into an elite player.
Playmaking: Waiters is such a talented scorer because he is crafty with the ball and has a more consistent outside jumper than his less-than-aesthetically-pleasing form loans itself to. As the game slows down for him and his chemistry with Irving and the rest of his teammates develops, Waiters’ ability to make plays for his should come more naturally within the flow of the game. “They’re still getting better and they’re still getting used to each other,” Scott said. “As much as they want to talk about how they’ve known each other since AAU, they still haven’t played together that much. They’re still getting used to one another, but they’re starting to come along.”
Settling For Deep Shots: Has Waiters begun the season with an excellent shooting touch from deep? Sinking 55 percent isn’t a bad way to start your career, but relying on off-the-dribble triples – the case with many of Waiters’ attempts – could be a risky proposition for a rookie. The coaching staff in Cleveland is probably helping Waiters to craft an in-between, pull-up game so he isn’t so reliant on the 3-pointer.
