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NBA Finals Capsules: Mavericks down 2-1, James not sure there's a big fix
DALLAS (AP) — Even when the Dallas Mavericks erase those big leads Miami keeps building, another problem lurks.
LeBron James simply switches over to Jason Terry, blanketing the Dallas Mavericks' No. 2 scoring option the way he did league MVP Derrick Rose in the previous round. Terry did nothing in the fourth quarters of Games 1 and 3, and not surprisingly, the Mavs lost both of them.
And here's worse news for the Mavs: James isn't sure many fixes can be made at this point.
"I don't think it can't be too many," he said Monday. " I think there are slight adjustments both teams make from game to game. Like I said, Game 4 of the Finals, which you've been working on all season since training camp is what you have. There's not too many things you can change."
Though James is one of the league's top defenders, Terry isn't planning to stay down long.
He questioned whether James "can defend me like that for seven games" and claimed that first-round foe Portland played better defense than Miami. He also said that if Dallas can score 100 points, "they can't beat us."
"I'm going to tell you this: We will be there in Game 4," Terry said. "I'm ready for the challenge."
So are the Heat, who refuse to consider that this game could've been — maybe should've been — the clincher.
Miami's lead is 2-1, close on the scoreboard even though it doesn't feel that way on the floor. The Heat have repeatedly built double-digit cushions, and a late collapse in Game 2 is all that's keeping them from the lead that's never been blown in an NBA series.
"You can't think about stuff like that. Everything in life happens for a reason," Dwyane Wade said Monday before practicing. "If we come in and we win that game, if we run away with that game, I don't know if our sense of urgency is the same in Game 3. Who knows? So our sense of urgency was that way for a reason. We lost the game we know we shouldn't. We are up 2-1. That's what we have to focus on and worry about."
The Heat insist the game isn't as easy as Wade and James are making it look, and the Mavericks refuse to admit they might just be facing a superior foe.
"We're just too stubborn," point guard Jason Kidd said Monday.
Game 4 is Tuesday night, and a Heat victory would put them in position to win a second championship on the Mavericks' floor if they followed that with another one Thursday.
Wade clutched the Finals MVP trophy that night five years ago, already a superstar in just his third NBA season, and figured he would be back plenty of times. Instead, the Heat never truly contended again — partially because they were clearing salary cap space for last summer — until James and Chris Bosh agreed to join Wade in Miami.
With that trio together, the Heat could win multiple titles, but Wade doesn't want to wait.
"Nothing is promised to none of us," he said. "You never know what's going to happen in this game. If you get your opportunity, you have to seize it."
That's why he and the Heat could be disappointed about where the series stands. They led by 12 in Game 1, were up 15 with 7:14 to go in Game 2, and they had a series of double-digit advantages in Game 3, when it peaked at 14 points.
Forcing turnovers on defense that sent Wade and James off for fast-break dunks, it's often appeared they could run away from the Mavericks whenever they wanted.
Yet Dallas rallied to pull out Game 2 by two points and kept coming back Sunday before falling 88-86. And though they've been playing from behind, the Mavericks remain unconvinced that's where they'll end up.
"I still feel like we're going to be NBA champs this year," center Tyson Chandler said. "It's a hard fight. Nobody said it's going to be easy. I've got the ultimate respect for those guys on the other side.
"It's going to be a tough road, but I feel like we're willing to do it."
The Finals have had consecutive games decided by two or fewer points for the first time since 1998, according to research provided to the NBA by the Elias Sports Bureau. So even when his team is building those sizable gaps, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra doesn't expect them to last, adding that regret over not having the 3-0 lead is "wasted energy."
"It's a possession series," Spoelstra said. "So many different things could happen during the course of the game. Make here, a miss here, a rebound here, a loose ball there, that can change the complexion of it."
So can Wade and James. Both are so good they can carry the Heat when the other is struggling. When both are rolling, it might be too much for Dallas' defense to stop.
"Those guys cause problems, and what we've got to do is we've got to approach it, we've got to guard each of those two great players with really all five of our guys," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said.
Kidd had to face the Lakers of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in his first finals trip, when his New Jersey Nets were swept by the Lakers in 2002. As good as the Heat's duo is, Kidd said it's not the same helpless feeling for the Mavs.
"This a different scenario, different team," Kidd said. "We were just happy to be there. In this sense, we're not. We feel we can compete with Miami. We wouldn't have been here if we didn't think that."
But the Mavs will have trouble beating them without more help for Dirk Nowitzki. Already a team without a certified No. 2 option, Dallas has looked even weaker in its losses, when James defended top reserve Terry in the fourth quarter and held him without a basket in either game.
Nowitzki said the Mavs have to free Terry and their other perimeter shooters for better looks so they "don't chase them down 15 all night long, which takes a lot of energy out of everybody."
And eventually, the Heat won't blow one of those leads, so the Mavs know they can't keep playing from behind.
"It's very frustrating, because you feel like you have to climb out of a hole we shouldn't have," forward Shawn Marion said. "At the same time, because we have to work that much harder to get out of them holes, we're draining so much energy. We've got to play from a lead, and we need to make sure when we do get the lead that we sustain it."
Misfiring Mavs: Nowitzki needs help to beat Heat
DALLAS (AP) — As exciting as it is to watch Dirk Nowitzki make shot after shot in the NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks don't want to keep doing that.
Nowitzki needs help — from someone. Anyone.
The supporting cast that helped carry Nowitzki and the Mavericks into the NBA Finals has shriveled under the pressure of this stage, the defense of the Miami Heat or a little of both.
The Mavs trail 2-1 going into Game 4 on Tuesday night mainly because they aren't scoring enough. Their average of 88.3 points per game is down 11.4 from the previous three rounds.
Nowitzki is contributing 28.3 points, almost exactly his postseason average coming in. The dropoff is everywhere else, especially among the three guys who are supposed to provide instant offense from the bench: Jason Terry, J.J. Barea and Peja Stojakovic.
Terry's slump hurts the most. He and Nowitzki were among the league's top fourth-quarter scoring tandems this season. The Heat threw that off with the surprise move of having 6-foot-8 LeBron James cover the 6-foot-2 Terry. He was shut out in the fourth quarters of Game 1 and 3, the ones Dallas lost.
Terry was a big part of the Mavericks' winning rally in Game 2, scoring the first six points in a 22-5 surge and eight overall. In Game 3, when Nowitzki scored Dallas' final 12 points, Terry went 0 for 4 in the fourth quarter, including a 21-footer with the game tied in the final minute.
"Jet (Terry's nickname) hasn't really been a crunch-time, clutch player for us the way we need him to," Nowitzki said Monday. "We have to find a way to get Jet some freedom and get him off some movement, and he's got to make some shots for us."
Confidence is never a problem for Terry. This is a guy who got the Finals trophy tattooed to his right biceps in October and vows to have it removed if the Mavs don't win it all. On Monday he vowed that if he again gets the same shots he missed down the stretch in Game 3, "I bet I make them."
Perhaps tempting fate, Terry also questioned whether James "can defend me like that for seven games" and claimed that first-round foe Portland played better defense than Miami. He also said that if Dallas can score 100 points, "they can't beat us."
"I'm going to tell you this: we will be there in Game 4," Terry said. "I'm ready for the challenge."
Miami is flustering Dallas with its combination of active, long-armed defenders who seem to always be in the right place at the right time. The Heat are always charging at shooters, making them fire quickly or opt to pass.
Center Tyson Chandler said Miami's style has made the Mavericks "timid."
"Because they close out quick, guys second-guess their shots — is this a good shot? Should I drive?" he said. "We just have to make them pay. If we start knocking down shots, it loosens up everything."
The Heat are giving the Mavs some chances. When two guys are covering Nowitzki, as usually happens, then someone else is open. Those guys are simply missing, perhaps because they're anticipating a Miami player coming at them so they rush the shot.
"I think we still got a lot of open looks that we could've knocked down," Barea said. "If we'd knocked down a few more, we would've won."
Barea is the backup point guard who usually energizes the Dallas' offense. He zips around the court, somehow getting to the rim despite being maybe 6 feet in high tops, or dishing to others when the defense swarms him.
But in this series he's made only 5 of 23 shots, 1 of 8 on 3-pointers. He's gone from scoring 8.9 pointers per playoff game to 4.3.
"The ball is going to start going down," Barea said. "I'm going to stay aggressive, play my game, keep doing what brought me here."
Then there's Stojakovic.
Dallas signed him around midseason in hopes he could be another weapon off the bench. He got into shape and had some great moments late in the season and early in the postseason, such as going 6 for 6 on 3-pointers when the Mavericks polished off a sweep of the Lakers.
This series, he's been a lost cause — making only 1 of 5 shots (0 for 4 on 3-pointers) and repeatedly getting beaten on defense. His average has plummeted from 8.8 points to 0.7.
"I think our ability to spread the floor and shoot is a big reason why we made it to the finals," Nowitzki said. "We just looked at the film. We had some opportunities. ... And if we get those opportunities, we got to make the most out of it."
-- Jaime Aron
James says he's not worried about Finals stats
DALLAS (AP) — Dwyane Wade grabbed LeBron James late in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, one Miami Heat star telling the other that he could play better.
Wade did the talking. James did the nodding.
And here's some likely unpleasant news for the Dallas Mavericks: Wade might be right.
Here's what constitutes what some might consider a "down" series for James so far: 20.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6 assists per game on just over 50 percent shooting from the field. James, as he's done most of the season, is shrugging off the criticism. The Heat are two wins from an NBA championship, and to James that's the only number that matters now.
"Anybody that knows me throughout the years, all I care about is the 'W' no matter if I'm scoring," James said Monday. "I'm not just a scoring guy. I've got a lot of points in my career. I have had some teammates who have given me great confidence and ability to go out there and score a lot of points. But I've done other things. I don't have to score points to be effective."
So true, as proven by this nugget. James had 17 points and nine assists in Miami's win over Dallas in Game 3 on Sunday night. Since December, when James has posted at least that many points and that many assists in a game, the Heat are 15-1.
He averaged 38.5 points in the 2009 Eastern Conference finals, and his Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Orlando Magic anyway. Not wanting to try and carry the workload alone any more, James came to Miami last summer, and the rest may soon be championship history. The Heat have three players — Wade, James and Chris Bosh — averaging more than 16 points in these Finals. Dallas just has one, Dirk Nowitzki. Want a reason why the Heat lead this series 2-1? Try that.
Game 4 is Tuesday night in Dallas. And the Mavericks, well, the last thing they want to see is more production from the two-time MVP.
"First of all, he's playing both ends of the floor," Nowitzki said Monday. "They keep sticking him on (Jason Terry) in the fourth quarters, and he's been doing a good job. Jet hasn't really been a crunch-time, clutch player for us the way we need him to. So he's done a good job. Look, Wade has been great in the fourth quarter, so LeBron is being more of a facilitator. It worked so far."
That was the formula Miami used in Game 3.
James has a total of nine points in fourth quarters so far in the finals, shooting 3 for 11. For comparison's sake, he averaged 9.8 points in the fourth in the 2007 Finals, when he led the Cavaliers there. Cleveland got swept anyway.
In Game 3 against Dallas, James had four assists in the fourth quarter, including the one that set Bosh up for the gamewinner with 39.6 seconds to play. Plus, his defense against Terry held the Mavs' sixth-man to 0 for 4 shooting in the final 12 minutes Sunday night.
"I'm welcoming the challenge," Terry said. "Again, we're going to see if he can do it for seven games. That's going to be the challenge. Right now, it's Game 4. Can he do it again in Game 4? He wasn't able to do it in Game 2. He did it again in 1 and 3. So Game 4 is another opportunity. ... A lot of guys wear down. So we'll see."
That's part of Wade's challenge to James and the rest of the Heat: Don't wear down now.
He told the team at the beginning of the Finals to savor the opportunity, because even though this team was put together with an eye on multiple title shots, Wade wants to assume nothing. In short, he's passing along the wisdom he collected from the likes of Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O'Neal during the last Miami title run in 2006.
"I've been here before," Wade said. "I've experienced a very weird tough series before to win the championship. I don't want none of these guys for us to walk away and say if we would have did this or would have did that. If you get beat, you get beat because you put it all out there and did everything you said you wanted to do. When those moments are happening, I feel like it's my time to step up."
Jason Kidd understands what Wade is doing better than most Mavs might.
Kidd and Wade have been USA Basketball teammates in the past, so the Dallas starting point guard knows what sort of impact the 2006 NBA Finals MVP can have when he decides it's time to say something.
"I think he's learned that he's the voice now, and that he has to talk to guys and tell them what he's looking for them to do, and they're doing it," Kidd said. "That just shows he's the leader and he understands how important it is this time of the year to talk. And when he does talk, guys are going to listen."
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said that approach from Wade isn't a new thing, either. In Spoelstra's mind, Wade's methods were similar all the way back when the Heat gathered for training camp.
"He has the ultimate respect of everybody in the locker room," Spoelstra said. "He's done that from the very first day of training camp as the captain and as the leader, the guy who can set the tone of what our franchise stands for as a first-class championship organization. And he's been able to sustain that all year. He leads with his example, but more so, the last couple of years, he's been doing it with his voice. And I think the guys really respond to that."
James said he does. He's been the unquestioned best player on every team he's played for throughout practically his entire life, and with that title comes the role of being the leader. In Miami, not only can he share the ball, he shares the responsibilities as well.
It's got him on the cusp of what he wants most, and if Wade wants to keep pushing him, James said he'd happily accept his close friend's words.
"I know I'm not bigger than this team or I know everything," James said. "I still got a lot of improvement to do."
-- Tim Reynolds
Notebook: Bosh's eye feeling better with Heat up 2-1 on Mavs
DALLAS (AP) — Chris Bosh isn't sure if he could even see out of his left eye after getting inadvertently poked. He just kept playing in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
"I wasn't thinking about my vision or anything. I was trying to play the best basketball possible," Bosh said Monday. "If I had an open shot, I had to knock it down and still make plays. I can't remember if I could see or not."
The Heat are up 2-1 in the series after Bosh made the tiebreaking 16-foot jumper with 39 seconds left Sunday night in an 88-86 victory. Game 4 is Tuesday night in Dallas.
Before the Heat practiced Monday, Bosh said his eye "feels a lot better" though it appeared his left eye wasn't open as wide as the right one.
"Last night was rough, really for the whole game for me. It is what it is," he said. "That's over and we just have to stay on top of it and make sure it's not an issue" Tuesday night.
LeBron James said he could see Bosh messing with his watering eye the whole game.
"Just trying to keep a tissue during timeouts to keep it padded," James said. "But he fought through it, and then you definitely respect that."
Early in Game 3, Bosh found himself in the air sandwiched between two Dallas players. Then he wound up in a heap on the floor in obvious pain after getting poked in the eye when Jason Kidd reached back trying to defend him.
"I was talking to one of my friends and I was kind of saying how tough it's going to be to come in here and win, and it was a little bit tougher on my end just because of that," Bosh said. "In situations like that, you really see what you're made of. And you have to go and get it done anyway."
HURT HAYWOOD: Injured Dallas Mavericks backup center Brendan Haywood was taking part in a shooting game at the end of practice Monday when he told a teammate to give him a break since he was "on one leg."
Haywood, who missed Game 3 of the NBA Finals because of a strained right hip flexor, said he was joking with starting center Tyson Chandler. Still, there's no certainty Haywood will be back for Game 4.
While Haywood said he felt a lot better, when asked how optimistic he was about playing Tuesday night, he responded, "I don't want to commit to anything." Though he was able to move a little faster, it was during a light workout and not the pace of a game. He did some jogging, but no full-out sprints.
"Really striding out is a problem, and then sometimes just making explosive plays around the basket," Haywood said. "I need to be able to go out there and feel like I can play a normal game at least 70-80 percent. If I feel like I'm pulling something or something is straining every play, then I probably don't need to be out there. We'll see how it goes."
Coach Rick Carlisle said Haywood would be a game-time decision again for Game 4, like he was for Sunday night's game when he was ruled out about 90 minutes before tipoff.
COOL CHALMERS: Mario Chalmers is often remembered for that 3-pointer he made for Kansas in the closing seconds of regulation to send the 2008 NCAA championship game to overtime, when the Jayhawks beat Memphis.
Don't overlook the 3-pointer he made against Dallas in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. His 36-foot buzzer beater at the end of the first quarter pushed the Heat ahead 29-22 in a game they went on to win by two points to take a 2-1 series lead.
"His halfcourt shot was the difference in the game. In the finals, you look at every critical situation, every possession. That 3, you don't make that shot — he made it," Mavericks guard Jason Terry said. "The 3 I let him get in Game 2 that could've tied it up, sent it to overtime if Dirk didn't hit the shot, he made that one. So he's making shots. Give him credit."
Left wide open with 25 seconds left in Game 2, Chalmers hit a tying 3-pointer before Dirk Nowitzki made the game-winner for Dallas.
Chalmers said Monday he is recognized more for what he has done with the Heat and being teamed with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh than his NCAA championship shot.
"I really don't hear too much about the championship game anymore," Chalmers said. "That was three years ago. A lot of people just talk about what I'm doing with the Heat now."
STERN'S SCHEDULE: Surrounded by current and former Mavericks players, Commissioner David Stern told a group of school children that NBA Cares events are among his favorites parts of the finals. And he said the NBA will keep caring, even if the players can't.
Though Stern didn't want to discuss what current players' roles would be if there is a work stoppage, he said the league's community service initiatives will continue no matter what.
"We do this all over the world with NBA sponsorships, legends," Stern said. "Sam Perkins and Bob Lanier and Dikembe Mutombo have been to more events than any players alive, and that will continue as we're represented around the world."
Stern was at the J.W. Ray Learning Center for the dedication of the 610th NBA Cares live, learn and play center, joined by Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, guard Jason Terry and four other Mavericks players. Perkins was among the former Dallas players, along with Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman and Derek Harper, who were on hand to see the new reading area and computer lab in the renovated center.
Stern will be back at work Tuesday for the first of two days of meetings scheduled with representatives of the NBA players. The collective bargaining agreement expires June 30, and the sides remain far apart as they try to negotiate a new deal in time to prevent a lockout.
Many owners and players are expected to attend the talks, and Stern said they didn't come in "just to enjoy the cool weather."
"I think it's going to take courage on both sides to make a deal, but for reasons that probably defy logic, I think that potential courage is there on both sides," he added. "Whether we can squeeze ourselves through the window of opportunity remains to be seen, but I think there's a window of opportunity and I think there's a will to give it a shot."
PLUSES-MINUSES: For as maligned as the plus-minus stat — which charts the margin a team outscores another with certain players on the floor — can be in basketball, it clearly has some merit. Just look at the leaders this season.
Entering Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Miami's LeBron James and Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki are tied for the league lead with plus-689 ratings. That's three points ahead of Miami's Chris Bosh and 52 ahead of Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who ranks fourth on the NBA list in that department this season, including playoffs.
FREE THROWS: The Miami Heat have won consecutive NBA Finals games in Dallas, their title-clinching Game 6 victory in 2006 and Game 3 of this year's series Sunday night. But in regular season games on the road against the Mavericks, the Heat have lost nine consecutive games since March 2002. ... Mavs guard Jason Kidd has 50 double-digit assist playoff games after dishing out 10 assists in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. In 138 career postseason games, Kidd had 1,198 assists, trailing only Magic Johnson (2,346) and John Stockton (1,839).
-- Stephen Hawkins
Ratings remain high for NBA Finals
DALLAS (AP) — ESPN says ratings for the NBA Finals remain as high as they've been in the last seven years. Through three games of the Miami-Dallas series, broadcasts on ABC are being seen by an average of 15,311,000 viewers. Miami's victory in Game 3 at Dallas on Sunday night earned an 11.1 overnight rating, marking the 22th straight time a Finals game has been the most-watched program on a given evening, according to Nielsen.
Ratings are up 15 percent over the last Miami-Dallas series in 2006. Viewership is up slightly over last year's series between traditional powers Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program. Overnight ratings measure the country's largest markets.
Other NBA Capsules
Warriors hire analyst Jackson as coach
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Mark Jackson's leadership skills as a player more than outweighed his lack of coaching experience when it came time for the Golden State Warriors to hire their coach.
The Warriors hired Jackson to replace Keith Smart on Monday, giving the former point guard and television analyst his first chance to be a head coach on the game's biggest stage.
"He epitomized leadership as a player in this league for 17 seasons and we think that characteristic — and many other positive traits — will translate very well into his coaching duties with our young team," owner Joe Lacob said in a statement. "He was a leader and a winner both on and off the floor in this league and we're convinced that he is the right person to guide this team into the future and help us achieve the success that we are striving for as an organization."
Jackson will get a three-year, $6 million contract with a team option for a fourth year, Yahoo! Sports reported.
Jackson interviewed with Lacob, newly hired consultant Jerry West and general manager Larry Riley before being picked for the job. Riley said the decision was unanimous throughout the organization that Jackson's attributes outweighed his inexperience.
"It was his analysis of the game and the way he sees the game overall in our discussions that really convinced me this guy has thought about the game of basketball," Riley said. "I think he's been yearning to be a head coach for a long time. Some guys sit back and say, 'I can be a head coach.' I think he's been preparing all along for the day when he can be a head coach in this league. It isn't something he had a dream about."
Jackson played 17 years as a point guard in the NBA, for New York, the Clippers, Indiana, Denver, Toronto, Utah and Houston. He won Rookie of the Year honors in 1988 and made the playoffs 14 times. He ranks third on the NBA's all-time assists list.
But he has never coached, spending the past few seasons as the lead analyst for ESPN and ABC for their NBA coverage. He won't start his new job until after he's finished calling the NBA finals.
His first coaching job is a daunting one, taking over a team that has made the playoffs just once since 1994.
"I am really elated about this opportunity and I'm looking forward to the challenge of building the Warriors into a perennial contender," Jackson said.
Jackson played for five Hall of Fame coaches in his college and pro career: Lou Carnesecca, Lenny Wilkens, Jerry Sloan, Pat Riley and Larry Brown.
Jackson, 46, had been looking to get into coaching while working as an analyst in recent years. He interviewed for the opening in New Orleans last year and was one of three finalists for the Minnesota job in 2009, but lost out to Kurt Rambis. He also interviewed in previous years for openings in Phoenix, New York and Chicago.
He finally ended up getting the offer he wanted from the Warriors, who have made big changes in the front office and coaching staff under Lacob's new ownership.
"I have sensed that Joe is committed to winning and building a team and a culture the right way," Jackson said. "I think we all witnessed that with some of the recent front office additions as well and some of the other positive things that have been done in recent months. This is an incredible opportunity."
The hiring of Jackson is the latest move by Lacob, who took over the team last year after buying it from Chris Cohan for a record $450 million. The team cut ties with Don Nelson before Lacob and co-owner Peter Guber officially took over ownership and Keith Smart coached the team to a 36-46 mark this past season.
But Smart did not keep the job despite Golden State showing a 10-game improvement in the standings. Lacob also brought in West as a consultant last month and former agent Bob Myers as assistant general manager and GM in waiting in April.
Jackson takes over a team led by a high-scoring but undersized backcourt of Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. The Warriors and their new coach must also address the team's lack of an inside presence.
"He has a strong personality, not abrasive, but he has a strong personality and should have the right mix to lead our team," Riley said. "I think he'll be a guy who will relate to our team. That's important. That was part of this decision. That was an ingredient we were looking for. Not only can he relate to the team, he can get the point across and get results."
-- Josh Dubow
Allen misses Nets' workout because of ankle injury
EAST RUTHTERRFORD, N.J. (AP) — Lavoy Allen didn't get a chance to score points with the New Jersey Nets' front office personnel and scouts during a pre-draft workout Monday.
A sprained left ankle kept the Temple power forward on the sidelines as four other players were put through drills by the NBA team's coaching staff, and that may hurt him.
"It's definitely a bummer," Allen said after watching the workout. "I wanted to do any many workouts as I could and perform well at all of them. Just sitting down and watching these guys work out is definitely not a good thing."
Allen is a player who has pro scouting directors scratching their heads.
At 6-foot-9 and 225 pounds, he has the body to play in the NBA. The fact that he finished his career as the Owls' all-time leading rebounder (1,147) is another plus. Averaging close to a double-double (10.5 points and 8.5 rebounds) is another positive.
However, there is the one negative that causes Nets general manager Billy King and others some concern: Allen had a habit of disappearing in games.
"He has a lot of skill," said King, who is good friends with Allen's college coach, Fran Dunphy. "There are times he didn't always show it or play 100 percent, but he has all the tools to play at this level. Now it's up to him how much he wants it."
Being told that he doesn't play hard all the time is nothing new to Allen.
"That question always comes up," Allen said. "People say you dominate the game and other times you don't. You know, sometimes I don't dominate the game with numbers, but I do other things. It's small things, things that help my team win, and winning is the most important thing. So if my other teammates are having a good night offensively, I don't have to score and I can do other things."
In hindsight, Allen admits he probably should have been a little more selfish.
"Sometimes I gave up too many shots," he said. "I can't take it back now."
Allen said his goal in the pre-draft workout is to show teams that he can run the floor, rebound, play defense and do the other little things that mean so much for a team looking for depth.
"Some many of the teams that I have worked out for aren't looking for a scorer," Allen said. "That already have guys on the team that can score. Sometimes coming out of college being a 25-point scorer isn't that important."
Allen sprained his left ankle Saturday working out for the Philadelphia 76ers. He had another workout scheduled with the Knicks on Wednesday, but he does not think he will be able to participate.
His goal is to work out for the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers next week in preparation for June 23 draft.
"Coming into this whole workout thing, they were talking about me being as a late second-round pick or going undrafted," Allen said. "There is a good possibility I won't get drafted at all. Right now, I am just playing for a position in the draft. I want to get as high as I can. I really don't care. I just want to be drafted."
Guards Chaisson Allen of Northeastern and Eniel Polynice of Seton Hall, center Sean Kowal of Northern Illinois and power forward Jamel McLean of Xavier worked out for the Nets.
Polynice, who only started seven games for the Pirates, was a late addition after Allen and Baylor shooting guard LaceDarius Dunn were unable to play because of ankle injuries.
"They're just giving me a shot to prove myself," said Polynice, who averaged 3.7 points in 31 games.
The workout was the first one for Polynice, who said he was limited all season by a high ankle sprain before the start of the season.
King likes to give local players a chance.
"There are always kids who didn't play well or get a lot of minutes, didn't showcase themselves," King said. "Maybe you bring them into a training camp and they shine. Just because a guy didn't have ultimate success at college doesn't mean he can't have it at this level."
-- Tom Canavan
Memphis to honor Grizzlies coach Hollins
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The city of Memphis will honor Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins for his role in leading the NBA team to its most successful playoff run in franchise history.
Hollins will be honored at Tuesday's City Council meeting with a formal proclamation by Mayor A C Wharton and City Council chairman Myron Lowery.
The Grizzlies upset the No. 1 seeded San Antonio Spurs and pushed Oklahoma City to seven games before ultimately losing in the Western Conference semifinals. The Grizzlies went 5-1 in front of six consecutive sellout crowds at FedExForum in Memphis during that run.
Since becoming Memphis' coach on Jan. 25, 2009, Hollins has guided the team to a 99-104 record, eclipsing Mike Fratello as the franchise's all-time winningest coach.
Hornets launching a new ticket initiative
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The NBA's appointed caretaker of the Hornets is scheduled to be in New Orleans on Tuesday to discuss the latest efforts to strengthen the club's season ticket base. Hornets governor and chairman Jac Sperling says there is "urgency" for the team to sell 10,000 season tickets, or about 2,000 more than it has sold so far.
Sperling is slated to join team president Hugh Weber to announce a new ticket initiative aimed at helping the team reach that benchmark, which the NBA often uses to gauge whether teams are on solid financial footing.
The NBA bought the Hornets in December with the stated intention of finding new owners who'll keep the club in New Orleans. Officials see a strong season ticket base as a key to attracting such buyers.\
