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Basketball Capsules: WNBA Finals: Prolific offense vs. tough defense
Comments 0 | Recommend 0PHOENIX — The Phoenix Mercury are all about offense, with All-Stars Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter leading a talented cast of scorers in search of the team's second WNBA title in three years.
The Indiana Fever built their identity on defense, a team that finally ended Detroit's dominance in the East and has the league's defensive player of the year, Tamika Catchings, geared up for a one-on-one showdown with Taurasi.
"Those are two amazing players," said Indiana rookie and ex-Arizona State standout Briann January. "Olympians going head-to-head, going hard. They are two of the hardest-working women in this game. They go at it. Their passion for the game is clear when you watch them play."
The teams open their best-of-5 series Tuesday night at US Airways Center, where Indiana beat the Mercury earlier this season.
To help make certain Phoenix has a loud homecourt advantage, Suns general manager Steve Kerr bought all 7,000 upper-level tickets and planned to give them away. Kerr said he took a cue from Larry Bird, who bought 9,000 upper level seats for Indiana's deciding game of the Eastern Conference finals against defending WNBA champion Detroit.
"Both of us were part of championship teams and understand the importance of a packed house," Kerr said. "For anyone who doubts the WNBA level of play, this is an opportunity to see for yourself. I challenge any doubters to come see the talent, skill and intensity on the court."
While the Mercury have been here before, this is all new for Catchings, who has spent all eight of her pro seasons with Indiana.
"Oh my gosh, it seems like forever," Catchings said before the Fever worked out on Monday. "... We've worked so hard and it's finally paying off."
The Fever defensive standout says she always looks forward to facing Taurasi, who led the WNBA in scoring for the third time and is averaging 23.8 points per game in the playoffs.
"I love playing against the best offensive players," Catchings said. "Being a defensive player and priding myself in defense, I definitely love the challenge. We and 'D' go way back. Even when she makes a good move or gets a shot in my face, it's all in love."
Mercury coach Corey Gaines uses the same ultra up-tempo style that his predecessor, Paul Westhead, installed in guiding Phoenix to the league championship two years ago. Five players remain from the squad that beat Detroit in five games two years ago.
"We take into this our experience from 2007, which is such a positive for us and knowing that we can get it done," Pondexter said, "and knowing what it took to get it done in 2007 is so important and gives me a lot of confidence in this team."
Catchings calls Phoenix "a great running team."
"They're very quick, move the ball, with 3-point shooters in Penny (Taylor), DT (Taurasi) and Cappie, and Tangela (Smith) has been shooting the ball very well," Catchings said. "We're going to have to step up our defensive intensity and try to knock more baskets down."
Taurasi calls the Mercury's preferred style "chaos"
Phoenix led the WNBA in scoring at 92.8 points per game. The Mercury allowed a league-high 89.1 points per contest. That's for a 40-minute game.
"We're not getting enough shots up, really," Gaines said. "We're getting around 85. I want to get like 90 or 95. Really 100, that's my goal. I need 48 minutes. You give me 48 minutes, I'll get 100 shots."
Indiana allowed 73.6 points per game, third-fewest in the league, but Fever coach Lin Dunn believes that it's more than her team's defense against the Mercury offense.
"I don't know that it's a clash in styles," she said. "They may emphasize offense a little bit more than we do, and we may emphasize defense a little bit more. But we both want to push the ball. The night we beat them here was a very up-tempo game."
That 90-83 victory on Aug. 9 gives Indiana confidence it can win a playoff game in Phoenix, something the Fever has to do to claim the championship.
"You've got to steal one. When you get one on somebody's home court, you've stolen it," she said, "because you're supposed to protect serve. That's the way it is."
Phoenix won at Indiana 106-90 on Sept. 2, one of only three Fever home losses. Indiana's No. 2 scorer, Katie Douglas, missed that game with an ankle injury.
-- Bob Baum
Capsule preview for the WNBA finals
A look at the best-of-5 WNBA finals, which start Tuesday:
| Phoenix Mercury (23-11) vs. Indiana Fever (22-12) |
|---|
Season series: Tied 1-1, with the road time winning each game.
Indiana: The Fever are in the finals for the first time after getting past defending champion Detroit in three games to win the Eastern Conference. The Fever lost seven of 10 to close the season, but are 5-1 in the playoffs. Katie Douglas led the offense in the regular season with averages of 17.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists, and perennial All-Star Tamika Catchings added 15.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists. Catchings (18.2 ppg, 11.2 rpg, and 4.2 apg), Tammy Sutton-Brown (13.4 ppg) and rookie Briann January (9.2 ppg) have increased their production in the postseason. The Fever set a WNBA record with 373 steals, and kept up that pace with 56 in five postseason games against Washington and Detroit. Catchings, who had a league-best 99 — one short of the league record — while earning Defensive Player of the Year honors, has 17 in the postseason. Tully Bevilaqua (Seattle in 2004) and Tamecka Dixon (Los Angeles, 2001-02) have won championships, and Douglas (Connecticut, 2004-05) is the only other player to have previously appeared in a WNBA finals. Catchings averaged 21.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 5.0 apg in the two games against Phoenix during the season. Douglas had 28 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in the Fever's win on Aug. 8, but sat out the second game with an ankle injury.
Phoenix: The Mercury are seeking their second title in three years after missing the playoffs last season. Phoenix won five of seven down the stretch to secure home-court advantage throughout the postseason, then outlasted San Antonio in three games in the first round and Los Angeles in the Western Conference finals — cruising to an 85-74 victory over the Sparks in the decisive Game 3. Diana Taurasi, who won her second straight scoring title in the regular season at 20.4 ppg, has increased her production and is leading all players in the playoffs at 23.8 ppg to go along with 5.2 rpg and 6.0 apg. Cappie Pondexter's scoring (16.0 ppg) has dipped about 3.1 ppg in the playoffs, but Penny Taylor (13.2 ppg) has increased hers by about 2.3. DeWanna Bonner (10.0 ppg) is a strong rookie of the year candidate. Taylor, a key cog in the Mercury's championship run in 2007, sat out last year but returned for the final 14 games this season. The Mercury have maintained their high-octane offense in the postseason after leading the league in scoring (92.8 ppg), field-goal shooting (46 percent), free-throw shooting (86 percent) and assists (18.4) during the regular season. Pondexter averaged 18.5 ppg in the two games against Indiana, and Taurasi and Bonner were at 15.0 ppg.
Prediction: Mercury in 5.
-- Vin A. Cherwoo
Nolan Richardson on board with Tulsa's WNBA effort
TULSA, Okla. — Nolan Richardson will coach Tulsa's WNBA team — if there is one.
Richardson will be introduced Tuesday as the prospective franchise's coach, the investors backing the effort say. Richardson, who won the 1994 NCAA championship at Arkansas, was fired by the Razorbacks in 2002. He later coached national teams from Panama and Mexico.
Before joining the Razorbacks, Richardson coached at the University of Tulsa.
The Tulsa World first reported the announcement.
The investors' news release says a final decision on whether Tulsa will get a franchise is expected next month.
Richardson did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
NBA
Heat telling players: No Twitter at work
MIAMI — At 10:05 Monday morning, Dwyane Wade told his 96,348 followers on Twitter that he was heading to work.
"The first drive in to the beginning of the season," Wade wrote.
That was fine with the Miami Heat.
But there won't be any updates by "dwadeofficial" from work.
Miami players can no longer participate in social networking while at the arena, home or away. Many Miami players are accomplished tweeters, often sending messages to each other at all hours of the day and night. But practice or game times, it's not allowed.
"We'll have strict rules on it," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Monday at the team's media day. "The NBA has put in strict rules about it. Social media, we will not accept that in our building during office hours. That's the way we'll look at it when we're coming to practice, to shootarounds and to games. We're coming to work and we're coming to get a job done. That's not time for social media."
There wasn't any known instance of Heat players tweeting during games last year. Charlie Villanueva created a stir last season when he sent a message on his feed during halftime of a game when he was with the Milwaukee Bucks, and teams are expecting to receive formal guidelines from the NBA about Twitter and things of that nature.
Plenty of other teams, both pro and college, have similar rules in place.
"It's fascinating how fast technology is moving forward and how people will be able to use it," said Spoelstra, who has a Twitter account but does not post onto the feed. "But you have to be educated now about it."
Twitter was a burden for Heat forward Michael Beasley this summer. He closed his accounts twice, the second time after posting two messages that left some concerned that he was depressed over a looming 30-day stay in a Houston rehabilitation facility.
Beasley said last week that he's done with social networking, that he doesn't need it in his life.
Wade has no complaints, however, with either Twitter in general or the Heat policy.
"When you come to work, you come to work," Wade said. "You can tweet before, you can tweet after. It's not addicting like where I'm going to take a bathroom break, go downstairs and tweet. I think people take it a little too far with that. But I think it's very good to have communications with your fans, personally. A lot of people, you can see them in a different light."
Most Heat players who Tweet — Dorell Wright, Mario Chalmers, Quentin Richardson and Jermaine O'Neal among them — say they expect to hit the send button less now anyway.
Miami formally opens training camp Tuesday, and two-a-day practices won't leave much time for anything.
"I tweeted so much this summer because it was the summertime," Wright said. "I'd come in here, handle my business and I had the rest of the day to myself to tweet. I enjoy it because I'm able to open up and talk to fans and different people."
O'Neal was leery at first with Twitter. He opened an account, then basically let it sit idle for several weeks before getting the bug.
His Twitter account shows he posted 13 times in about an hour on Sept. 21, then hadn't posted again before Monday.
"In the workplace, it's too much," O'Neal said. "Games, it's ridiculous. Leisure time, that's on you. You should be able to tweet or whatever you want to do when you're home, but bringing it into locker rooms or bringing it into games, that's too much because basically you're not focusing on the task at hand."
O'Neal checks his Twitter often and tries to respond to people — even the thousands he doesn't know.
"The problem is, you can't respond to everybody," O'Neal said. "And you get cursed out when you don't respond to everybody."
-- Tim Reynolds
Bucks ban Twitter on any team time at any arena
MILWAUKEE — Former Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva said he made history by sending a message on Twitter during an NBA game last year. Under the team's new rules, he'll go down as the only one in franchise history to do so without getting fined.
The Bucks are banning the use of Twitter any time a player is at the team's St. Francis practice facility, the Bradley Center or any road arena, coach Scott Skiles said Monday at the team's media day.
"Their free time is their free time and their work time is their work time," Skiles said. "I don't think there's anything unreasonable about that."
Skiles said tweeting players also are being encouraged to be cautious about what they write.
"Don't put your personal business out there and don't put your team business out there," he said. "You shouldn't be telling people where you're going on a given night."
Center Andrew Bogut called the new rule "totally fair."
"You're on business hours. If I ran a business and went to an office and I saw my colleagues, my workers, on Facebook and Twitter, I wouldn't be too happy," said Bogut, who uses Twitter to help keep up with his friends and family in Australia. "I've never even thought about Twittering at the arena or when I'm about to suit up."
That's just what Villanueva did at halftime of a Bucks game with the Celtics in March, writing that he had to step up. He did and the Bucks won, but Skiles wasn't happy. Villanueva left as a free agent this summer and signed with the Detroit Pistons in the offseason.
Bogut and guard Charlie Bell often like to tease each other through Twitter, and Bell said talking directly to fans is part of the appeal of social networking.
"I'm still going to interact with fans," Bell said. "It's going to be tough trying to stick to the rules and the guidelines, but you've got to think about everything that you tweet. ... Hopefully I don't get fined too much."
Rookie Brandon Jennings maintains his Facebook account, but has protected his Twitter feed and booted all his followers. Jennings ran into trouble for an expletive-laced conversation that made its way onto YouTube shortly after he was picked and the experience led him to silence his tweets, too.
"After (that) whole situation and then just reading what other players were saying and how they were getting in trouble about it, I just stopped it. I'm just focused on this season," said Jennings, who turned 20 last week. "Twitter is like ESPN, everybody's waiting to see what you have to say. You've just got to be careful."
Skiles, meanwhile, yearns for simpler times.
"I remember the days when I didn't have a cell phone," he said. "I liked those days."
-- Colin Fly
AP source: Magic extend deals for Van Gundy, GM
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic have extended the contracts of general manager Otis Smith and coach Stan Van Gundy, a person familiar with the negotiations said Monday.
The person says the team picked up options that extend Van Gundy through the 2010-11 season and Smith through 2011-12. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deals have not been officially announced.
The Orlando Sentinel first reported the extensions Monday.
The duo led the Magic to only their second NBA finals and first since 1995 last season.
Van Gundy has led the team to consecutive division titles since taking over before the 2007-08 season. He has a 111-53 record since taking over as coach of the Magic before the 2007-08 season, replacing Billy Donovan after the Florida Gators coach decided to return to college only days after going to Orlando.
Smith has overseen the franchise's resurgence since being promoted to general manager ahead of the 2005-06 season.
His trade to acquire Rafer Alston from Houston last season after All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson suffered a shoulder injury kept the Magic as contenders last season and propelled them to the finals. This offseason, Smith helped the Magic acquire Vince Carter from New Jersey as the team parted ways with Hedo Turkoglu.
-- Antonio Gonzalez
Lead negotiator for referees pulls out of talks
The lead negotiator for the locked-out NBA referees removed himself from the talks Monday in hopes of resolving a dispute that threatens to have replacements on the floor this week.
Lamell McMorris released a statement saying the negotiations with the NBA would be handled by general counsel Brian Lam and the executive board of the National Basketball Referees Association.
McMorris said his departure was "in the best interest of the NBA Referees and the league." He did not comment beyond his statement.
The contract between the league and its officials expired Sept. 1 and they have been unable to reach a new deal. The NBA held referees training camp with replacements over the weekend, and those officials could be on the court when preseason play begins Thursday with Denver's game at Utah.
Negotiations have broken down at least twice, and the sides remain apart on the league's proposed changes to the referees' pension and severance packages, as well as a plan to develop younger officials.
NBA commissioner David Stern already took himself out of the negotiations earlier this month following McMorris' criticism of his behavior after he abruptly ended a meeting at league headquarters in New York.
If a deal is not reached, the NBA will use replacements in games for the first time since early in the 1995-96 season.
-- Brian Mahoney
West happy to be back with Cavs
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Cavaliers guard Delonte West does not want to discuss his recent arrest on gun possession charges but says he has resumed taking medication for bipolar disorder.
West was arrested in Maryland on Sept. 17 near his home after police found he was carrying two concealed handguns and a shotgun in a guitar case after they pulled West over on a traffic violation. He was booked with two misdemeanors.
At the Cavaliers media day Monday, West declined to comment about his legal trouble. He blamed his problems to being off his routine and said he is "back to taking my meds."
West passed his physical and said he is focusing on the Cavaliers and playing basketball. He said being back in Cleveland was "a breath of fresh air."
-- Tom Withers
Williams' N.J. prosecutors under racial scrutiny
NEWARK, N.J. — The next few days may feel like alumni week for the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office, minus the good vibes and fond reminiscences.
In the latest twist in the long-running manslaughter case against former NBA star Jayson Williams, current and former employees, starting with county prosecutor J. Patrick Barnes, are expected to be grilled about racial bias in the investigation of the killing of hired driver Costas "Gus" Christofi at Williams' central New Jersey mansion in 2002.
Among those scheduled to testify are: Steven Lember, who tried Williams in 2004 and later resigned from the prosecutor's office; Katharine Errickson, who was to have headed the prosecution at Williams' upcoming retrial for reckless manslaughter but was fired in early 2008; and William Hunt, the former investigator whose use of a racial slur to describe Williams, who is black, precipitated the chain of events that led to this week's hearings.
Williams, who played nine seasons in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter in 2004 but convicted on four counts of covering up the crime. Several witnesses testified that after Williams handled a shotgun that fired and hit Christofi in the chest, he told them to lie to police and tampered with evidence.
The jury deadlocked on a reckless manslaughter count, and a retrial is tentatively scheduled for January. Williams has been free on bail since the shooting.
Defense attorneys will try to use this week's hearings to place the entire case against Williams into question, including the convictions and retrial. They have leveled charges of prosecutorial misconduct at Lember for, among other things, waiting until more than three years after the trial to disclose the slur incident.
Prosecutors have argued that the slur or any alleged bias had no effect on the convictions since the jury reached its verdicts on the basis of testimony by witnesses to the shooting.
Neither Barnes nor Lember, who is in private practice, returned phone messages seeking comment Monday. Williams and attorneys involved in the case are prohibited from speaking to the media under a gag order imposed by state Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman.
At the very least, the hearings will focus more scrutiny on a prosecutor's office that already faces three lawsuits by current and former employees — including Errickson — including one that alleges a hostile work environment and "racially prejudicial atmosphere."
The sight of prosecutors being questioned on the witness stand by defense attorneys is unusual, said Donald Robinson, former president of the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey.
"Within my experience, when there are charges of prosecutorial misconduct, there's an internal investigation and it usually ends there," Robinson said. "But to have an open court hearing on what a prosecutor did or didn't do is a healthy thing because they should have to defend themselves when they're accused."
New Jersey's Supreme Court in February ordered prosecutors to turn over all information regarding Hunt's slur, including who was present when it was made, but defense attorneys said most employees of the prosecutor's office refused their requests to be interviewed.
Coleman ruled last month that the defense could have subpoena power to compel them to testify.
-- David Porter
College Men
Md. basketball player charged with Conn. assault
TORRINGTON, Conn. — A former local high school basketball star now playing for the University of Maryland has been charged with assault in his hometown.
Jordan Williams, a 6-foot-10 freshman forward, is one of five teenagers arrested for an assault on Aug. 8, Torrington police said.
Authorities told The Register Citizen newspaper that Williams, 18, turned himself in at the police department Saturday and was charged with misdemeanor assault and breach of peace. He was released on a promise to appear in Bantam Superior Court on Oct. 5.
Police declined to release other details, saying the warrants are sealed.
Williams did not return a message sent to his Facebook account Monday.
Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams, who is not related to the player, said in a written statement that he was aware of the arrest and was monitoring the situation.
"We will let the judicial system run its course before making any decisions," he said. "Any discipline coming from the campus will be in accordance with our student-athlete code of conduct."
The four other people charged, a 19-year-old woman, a 17-year-old girl, a 16-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy, surrendered earlier and face similar charges.
Alabama-Kansas State to meet in hoops doubleheader
MOBILE, Ala. — Alabama's basketball team will play Kansas State and South Alabama will host UAB in a doubleheader in Mobile.
The two matchups for the Coors Classic on Dec. 19 were announced Monday.
This is the event's 11th year at South Alabama's Mitchell Center.
South Alabama and UAB will play at 5:30 p.m., followed by Alabama-Kansas State.
Alabama forward Jemison to miss season
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama forward Demetrius Jemison will miss the entire season with a ruptured Achilles tendon.
The injury was confirmed by an MRI on Sunday. It will require surgery to repair.
The senior sustained the injury on his left leg during a team workout on Saturday. He's set to undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair the damaged tendon.
Jemison averaged 3.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 28 games last season.
Vols F Emmanuel Negedu stable after collapse
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee officials say forward Emmanuel Negedu is in stable condition after collapsing during practice.
The sophomore from Kaduna, Nigeria, collapsed during a Monday afternoon practice and was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
Associate athletic trainer Chad Newman says Negedu will be kept overnight for observations. Tennessee officials did not know what caused him to collapse.
As a freshman, Negedu played in 33 games, averaging 7.2 minutes, 1.9 rebounds and 1.7 points per game.
Michigan Class C player of year commits to Duquesne
PITTSBURGH — Mike Talley, a point guard and two-time Michigan Class C high school basketball player of the year, has given a verbal commitment to Duquesne for the 2010-11 season.
Talley also was recruited by Providence, but wanted to play in the Atlantic 10 Conference according to his father, former Michigan player Michael Talley.
The 5-foot-10 Talley averaged 25 points last season and 24 as a sophomore at Melvindale Academy for Business and Technology, where his father coaches him.
Duquesne advanced to the Atlantic 10 tournament championship game last season and also played in the NIT.
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