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Suns to interview coaching candidates J.B. Bickerstaff, Steve Clifford

2013-05-22T21:27:03Z

The Phoenix Suns have been granted permission to interview Houston Rockets assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Los Angeles Lakers assistant Steve Clifford, Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reports. The Suns will meet with Bickerstaff on Friday.

With general manager Ryan McDonough leading the search, Phoenix now begins looking outside the organization for their next head coach. Bickerstaff, the son of longtime NBA coach Bernie Bickerstaff, has also interviewed with the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks, while Clifford has met with Milwaukee and the Charlotte Bobcats, Wojnarowski reports.

The Suns first interviewed interim coach Lindsey Hunter this past week at the draft combine, but he is not believed to be a serious candidate since the team parted ways with former general manager Lance Blanks, a Hunter supporter.

Utah Jazz assistant Jeff Hornacek, who played for Phoenix, is also on the list, as is CSKA Moscow assistant Quin Snyder.

The Suns join Atlanta, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Detroit, Philadelphia, Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Clippers as teams currently with head-coaching vacancies. Phoenix fired former head coach Alvin Gentry in the middle of the season and replaced him with Hunter, then the team's player development coordinator.

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Heat vs. Pacers 2013: Eastern Conference Finals Preview

2013-05-22T20:39:03Z

After a grueling 6-game postseason battle a year ago, the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers will meet up again for the right to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2013 NBA Finals. Ben Golliver of SB Nation and SI.com breaks down the key factors, storylines and matchups with the series set to tip off on Wednesday evening.

Knicks' Pablo Prigioni wants to stay in the NBA rather than return to Spain

2013-05-22T20:17:59Z

New York Knicks guard Pablo Prigioni told an Argentine radio station that if he has a choice, he'd like to stay in the NBA rather than return to Spain, the New York Post's Marc Berman reports. During the interview, the 36-year-old rookie also denied reports that his wife wanted the family to move back to Spain.

The Post reported during the Knicks' playoff run that Prigioni's wife, who had never left Spain until this year, was pushing her husband to head back to Europe. Before taking a one-year deal with New York this year, Prigioni, from Argentina, had played in the Spanish League since 1999. Supposedly, that one-year contract was to give himself an out if his family, which includes two young children, didn't like New York and the United States.

For more Knicks opinion: Visit Posting and Toasting

As a restricted free agent, it could be difficult for the financially-hampered Knicks to re-sign Prigioni to a larger contract, but he proved this season that he's a very viable NBA point guard. Prigioni played 16 minutes a game through 78 regular-season contests and saw increased time in the playoffs. He played 20 minutes per game and averaged 4.5 points and 3.2 assists for the Knicks in the postseason.

More importantly, Prigioni proved to be a pest on the defensive end, averaging 1.3 steals per game in the playoffs. He's a capable shooter to boot and could be a valuable backup point guard should the Knicks not match an offer thrown his way.

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Pacers vs. Heat Game 1, NBA Playoffs 2013: Time, TV schedule and more

2013-05-22T20:00:02Z

Stylistic dominance will be the storyline in the Eastern Conference Finals duel between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers as the teams battle for the right to play in the NBA Finals. The traditionally-built Pacers will put a lot of stake in big man Roy Hibbert, and the Heat will ride a unique small-ball spread offense that revolves around LeBron James' creativity.

Game 1 of their playoff series in Miami on Wednesday will be an awkward meeting between two teams feeling each other out. Erik Spoelstra and Frank Vogel will tinker with their lineups, work against the opponents' preconceived weaknesses and hope that their strengths coming into the game are still strengths.

Here's what could sway the series opener.

Will small ball work?

While it's mightily apparent Hibbert will be the key ingredient for the Pacers, there's a bit of lacking attention aimed at Chris Bosh and the Miami lineups. Hibbert can't get into foul trouble as a rim-protecting monster and because of the obvious advantage that the Pacers have on the rebounding front. Yet, it's Bosh and the rolling of the dice by Spoelstra that could counter the Indiana big man.

The Heat's small lineup could be equally deadly. Bosh has been quiet this postseason, averaging 13.2 points per game, but he could find himself with many opportunities as a stretch center. Bosh is shooting 46.7 percent from three-point range, though he's been selective in his attempts. His influence on the perimeter could pull Hibbert away from his shotblocking duties, all while giving Miami a consistent and efficient scoring option.

And none of that is to mention the ability for Miami to beat the turnover-prone Pacers in transition.

How does Indiana slow the pace?

The Pacers must find a way to keep the Heat out of transition. As the Heat showed all this season, they can turn grind-it-out games into blowouts with the flip of the switch. First and foremost, turnovers have to be avoided at all costs.

Secondly, the Pacers must balance their affinity to crash the offensive glass with getting back off missed shots. Long two-pointers and threes should lead to immediate retreats by Indiana's backcourt players, and even to an extent those in the frontcourt. The bad news is that the Pacers combine the fourth-most turnovers per game (15.9) of all 16 NBA postseasons attendees with the third-worst shooting percentage (42). Thus, taking good shots will be important as well, and that's not easy to do against a very good Miami defense -- not to mention Indiana's sometimes-lacking offense.

Stopping James from pushing the pace and finishing or finding teammates in transition is hard. Avoiding it altogether is ideal.

Who wins the backcourt battle?

Much of the Pacers' offense will run through Hibbert, Paul George and even David West to a degree. But Indiana must get consistent offensive production from its backcourt on both ends of the floor. George, after all, could be tasked with handling LeBron James, and his offensive game could suffer because of it.

George Hill has shown the ability to shift into a playoff gear, as has Lance Stephenson. For them to take turns and continue to do so will be huge, and defensively it's important they keep lightning-rod point guards Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole from getting hot. If the Pacers can outplay the Miami point guards all while keeping an injury-riddled Dwyane Wade from doing too much damage, they will be in good shape.

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

TV: TNT

Odds: Miami opened as an 8.5-point favorite.

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Clippers' Donald Sterling admits players called shots on Vinny Del Negro decision

2013-05-22T19:39:45Z

Chris Paul's apparent distaste for Los Angeles Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro had enough weight for the team not to retain the head coach. Multiple media outlets, including Yahoo! Sports and CBS Sports, reported that Paul didn't back the winningest coach in Clippers history, but Los Angeles Times columnist T.J. Simers took the issue a step further by asking team owner Donald Sterling if that was true.

Then Sterling responded with surprisingly honest but questionable agreement.

"So I wonder, is this decision being made because the players are now calling the shots? Am I off base?" Simers asked.

"No, you're not off base," Sterling said. "This is a players' league, and, unfortunately, if you want to win you have to make the players happy. Don't you think that's true?"

Just last week, ESPN reported that Sterling was a strong supporter of Del Negro, even to the point that Los Angeles was mulling over the option of extending his contract that ended after this past season. Sterling told Simers that he was sad to let Del Negro walk and that their working relationship was a very good one, backing up that report. Del Negro offered to the Times columnist that he would have easily returned to the Clippers if they offered him a new contract, adding that he had a sound working relationship with his players.

In the end, it appears management overlooked its own wishes to appease the players and especially Paul, who is a free agent this summer.

If Sterling and the Clippers' front office continues to take heavy weight in its players' opinions, Paul's voice will likely be the loudest once again. The All-Star point guard's relationship with former head coach Byron Scott, who was fired from the Cavaliers this spring, and former assistant Mike Malone, now with the Warriors, makes for two potential candidates to be hired in Los Angeles.

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NBA Playoffs 2013 schedule: Pacers and Heat open series in Miami

2013-05-22T16:00:06Z

Exactly a year ago, the Miami Heat entered May 22 deadlocked with the Indiana Pacers, 2-2, in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Miami would eventually fend off the upstart Pacers in six games en route to an NBA title, but one year ago was the reason that Indiana finds itself here today.

The Heat host a more mature group of Pacers this year, and the Eastern Conference finals tip Wednesday in Miami at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Danny Granger is sidelined after failing to come back from his knee injury, but his gritty spirit still lives in his teammates. Since last season, Paul George has grown into an All-Star, Roy Hibbert and Lance Stephenson have only gotten better, and the hard-nosed David West and George Hill have brought their usual toughness.

Miami has improved too. Erik Spoelstra's team has only lost four games since the beginning of February, and the pieces placed around LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have melded well together. Ray Allen has been a formidable bench scorer, Norris Cole has come out of his shell during the playoffs and the midseason addition of Chris Andersen has bolstered the Miami frontcourt.

The Heat find themselves vying for their third NBA Finals appearance in a row after cruising past the Bucks in the opening playoff series of 2013. They found some resistance against an overmatched Chicago Bulls team but after a Game 1 loss did enough to down them with four straight wins.

The Pacers could likely find keys to success in the Bulls' defensive strategies, but they will hope that their lack of injuries and a less-lifeless offense can turn into a series win. In this year's playoff run, the Pacers were pushed to six games in the first round against the Atlanta Hawks and again to six in the conference semifinals against the New York Knicks. While winning on the road hasn't been Indiana's strength -- the Pacers are 2-4 on the road during this playoff run -- they appeared plenty capable of beating Miami in Indianapolis during the regular season. They went 2-1 against the Heat.

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

TV: TNT

Odds: Miami opened as an 8.5-point favorite.

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Charlotte Bobcats to change name to Hornets in 2014

2013-05-21T22:46:04Z

Paying homage to the city of Charlotte's last NBA franchise that left for New Orleans, the Bobcats announced on Tuesday that they will rename the team to the Hornets in 2014.

The former Hornets franchise, the New Orleans Hornets, itself underwent a transformation following the 2012-13 season by renaming the team to the New Orleans Pelicans. With the Hornets moniker free, Charlotte reverts back to the name that some fans have been clamoring for since the Bobcats joined the league in 2004. Jordan on Tuesday said that the support in favor of the name change has been "overwhelming."

The team also started a website campaign to help with the rebrand at BackBuzzCity.com.

The Bobcats were named because the animal is indigenous to the Carolina region, but it was also speculated the name also was related to owner Robert "Bob" Johnson.

The Hornets namesake has a long history in Charlotte, one beyond the initial naming of the first franchise's inception into the NBA in 1988. In the Revolutionary War, British commander Charles Cornwallis called Charlotte "a veritable nest of hornets," according to the Gaston Gazette. Several other pro franchises in the city have been named the Hornets.

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Chris Paul was 'not a fan' of Vinny Del Negro, according to reports

2013-05-21T20:08:55Z

One piece of the Los Angeles Clippers' decision not to re-sign Vinny Del Negro was point guard Chris Paul's refusal to back his head coach, reports CBS Sports' Ken Berger and Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.

All along, it was widely believed that the Clippers would put a great deal of weight in Paul's opinion in the matter, and Paul's apparent lack of confidence in Del Negro might've been one of the biggest keys to the Clippers' decision, which was reported by Wojnarowski on Tuesday.

As a free-agent-to-be, Paul's decision to stay with Los Angeles appears likely, though the team certainly helped themselves by deciding not to re-up on Del Negro, who went 128-101 in three seasons with the Clippers. The decision also wasn't helped by Del Negro's failure to coach his talented squad past the first round of the playoffs this season -- they lost in six games to the Memphis Grizzlies despite winning the first two games of the series.

For more insight on the Del Negro firing: Visit Clips Nation

Paul will certainly be in touch with Donald Sterling and the Clippers' front office as they search for a new head coach.

Berger reports that Paul thinks highly of Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Malone, who coached Paul with the Hornets. Wojnarowski's sources said that Memphis coach Lionel Hollins is a target for the Clippers.

Paul's former coach, Byron Scott, is also without a job and could be a candidate, USA Today's Sam Amick reported. Amick also lists Jeff and Stan Van Gundy as candidates, as well as former Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry and former Portland coach Nate McMillan.