star-telegram.com: Mavericks/NBA

Duncan leads way as Spurs tie series

Mon, 12 May 2008 06:59 CDT

SPURS 100 HORNETS 80

Tim Duncan had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Tony Parker scored 21 as the Spurs routed the Hornets to tie their Western Conference semifinals series at 2-2 and assure there will be a Game 6 in San Antonio. The Spurs led by as many as 27 and were ahead nearly the entire game. They shot 51 percent (39-of-76), while the Hornets shot 37 percent through three quarters and finished 33-of-82 (40 percent) from the field. Spurs forward Robert Horry tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record for most playoff games played at 237.

JAZZ BLOCK LAKERS FROM GOING UP 3-1

JAZZ 123 LAKERS 115 (OT)

Andrei Kirilenko blocked Kobe Bryant twice in overtime and converted a three-point play with 35 seconds remaining as Utah beat Los Angeles, tying their Western Conference semifinals series at 2-2. The Jazz went 9-for-9 from the foul line in overtime, in which it outscored the Lakers 15-7. Bryant finished with 33 points and 10 assists. Utah was 40-for-76 (52.6 percent) on field goals and had a huge advantage at the foul line, making 37 of 45 free throws. The Lakers had only 25 attempts from the line. The Jazz's bench outscored the Lakers' 39-16. "We never have any doubts in our confidence," Kirilenko said.

NBA NOTES

Mon, 12 May 2008 04:37 CDT

Lakers' Turiaf ejected: Lakers forward Ronny Turiaf was ejected early in the second quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Jazz on Sunday for a flagrant foul. Turiaf knocked Utah's Ronnie Price hard to the floor as Price drove for a layup, leaving the Jazz guard with a bloody gash over his right eye. Turiaf came down hard with his left arm and Price went straight down and banged his head on the court. Price leaped straight up as his teammates swarmed the officials and pushed for the flagrant call. Utah coach Jerry Sloan also came off the bench immediately after the play. The officials conferred and kicked out Turiaf, who received a lecture from Lakers coach Phil Jackson on his way to the locker room.

James in New York?Newsday reports that new Knicks president Donnie Walsh is hoping that the hiring of Mike D'Antoni as the new coach will entice Cavaliers forward LeBron James to the Big Apple. James is due a $17.1 million player option. If he declines it, he will become a free agent in 2010. One person with knowledge of D'Antoni's thinking suggested he "would probably use [James] at the four spot [power forward] ... He would fit in anywhere." James is the mold of the ideal player for the D'Antoni system. "Ideally," the person said, "you would have a bunch of 6-9 guys who can handle the ball and shoot 3s." It would take a lot of payroll maneuvering, and some tough decisions. As the roster stands, the Knicks will have just $28 million against the cap going into the 2010-11 season.

Carlisle signs deal with Dallas Mavericks

Sun, 11 May 2008 08:12 CDT

Now it is official: The Dallas Mavericks' new head coach is Rick Carlisle. After reaching an oral agreement Friday night, Carlisle signed the four-year, $17.5-million contract on Saturday, the team announced.

The Mavs will hold a news conference Wednesday to officially introduce Carlisle as the franchise's ninth head coach.

Carlisle is 281-211 over six seasons, two with Detroit and four with Indiana. He led both teams to the Eastern Conference finals in back-to-back seasons. Expected to bring in his own staff, Carlisle takes over a team that has made the playoffs in eight consecutive years, but is reeling after consecutive first-round exits.--Jeff Caplan

Knicks, D'Antoni agree

Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni reached an agreement in principle to become the Knicks' 24th head coach. D'Antoni, 57, who was the NBA's Coach of the Year in 2004-05, was often criticized for his lack of emphasis on defense.

NBA PLAYOFFS

Sun, 11 May 2008 04:38 CDT

Team effort helps Cleveland rip Boston

LeBron James scored 21 points on another off shooting night, but Delonte West scored 21 and Joe Smith had 17 as Cleveland built a large, early lead and beat Boston. James was only 5-of-16 from the floor, but his teammates stepped it up, going a combined 32-of-53 (60 percent) to pull the Cavaliers within 2-1 in the series. Cleveland roared to a 32-13 lead after one quarter and led by 17 at the half.

108 Celtics 84

Pistons hang on in last seconds, lead 3-1

Richard Hamilton scored 32 points and Hedo Turkoglu missed a layup with time running out as Detroit beat Orlando to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Tayshaun Prince scored 17 for Detroit, including an 11-foot runner for the go-ahead basket with 8.9 seconds left. The Pistons, the first team to win on the road in the second round, were playing without All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups, held out after straining his hamstring in Thursday's game.

Pistons 90 Magic 89

Western Conference semifinals

2 New Orleans Hornets vs. 3 San Antonio Spurs

New Orleans leads series 2-1

Game 1: NO 101, SA 82

Game 2: NO 102, SA 84

Game 3: SA 110, NO 99

Today: at SA, 7 p.m.**

Tuesday: at NO, 8:30 p.m.**

Thursday:at SA, TBD***

May 19:at NO, TBD**

1 Los Angeles Lakers vs. 4 Utah Jazz

LA leads series 2-1

Game 1: LA 109, Utah 98

Game 2: LA 120, Utah 110

Source: Dallas Mavericks reach deal with Rick Carlisle to be head coach

Sat, 10 May 2008 08:08 CDT

By Jeff Caplan

After days of wrangling over contract details, the Dallas Mavericks reached an oral agreement with Rick Carlisle on Friday night to become the club's new head coach, a source confirmed.

The source said the four-year contract is worth more than $4 million a season -- slightly more than former coach Avery Johnson's per-season salary -- and would be signed by late Friday or today. A news conference to formally introduce Carlisle as the franchise's ninth head coach probably won't be held until Wednesday, the source said, because of Carlisle's duties as an analyst for ESPN.

Carlisle, 48, is set to begin his third stint as a head coach in the NBA and first in the Western Conference. Although he's inheriting perennial All-Stars Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd, the Mavs are coming off a second consecutive first-round playoff exit.

Known as an intelligent coach with superb strategic skills, Carlisle's greatest challenges will be to sharpen his communication skills with players and to loosen his typically structured offense for Kidd.

The Mavs had anticipated a Friday news conference to introduce Carlisle, but negotiations slowed to the point that by Friday evening it seemed as if the process would drag into the weekend.

Carlisle is expected to bring in his own staff. They will take over a team that has eight players under contract at more than $80 million next season, well over the salary cap. That leaves seven spots to be filled with limited financial maneuverability.

Carlisle is 281-211 in six seasons. He spent two seasons with the Detroit Pistons, where he won 50 games each season, advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals and won NBA Coach of the Year honors in 2001-02.

In four seasons with the Indiana Pacers, he won a franchise-record 61 games in his first year and went to the conference finals. His tenure began to unravel after the Ron Artest-fueled brawl at the Palace at Auburn Hills in 2004-05, although some suggest that was his best coaching job.

Mavericks, Rick Carlisle complete deal

Sat, 10 May 2008 02:40 CDT

Mavs waiting to get a nod from Carlisle

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:35 CDT

By JEFF CAPLAN

The Dallas Mavericks' courtship with Rick Carlisle extended another day without consummation, but it does appear to be coming soon.

Donnie Nelson, the Mavs president of basketball operations, responded to a text message Thursday night and said, "No," a deal had not been completed. It appeared Wednesday that both sides were very close. The Mavs anticipated holding a news conference today to introduce Carlisle as the franchise's new head coach. That will have to wait.

Although negotiations have seemed to drag since Avery Johnson was fired nine days ago, both sides have consistently reported steady and positive progress as the days have passed.

There appears to be no significant snags. Apparently only additional time is needed to hash out details. A deal should be finalized in the next few days, if not today.

The delay could be due to the travel situation of Carlisle's agent, Warren LeGarie, who was returning to San Francisco from Greece on Thursday.

When reached at midnight in Greece (4 p.m. CDT Wednesday), LeGarie said he had just received the contract from the Mavs and was preparing to give it a thorough read.

Time constraints Thursday might not have allowed ample time for LeGarie to consult with Carlisle. LeGarie indicated Wednesday that because of the late hour in which he received the contract that a final agreement might not happen as soon as both sides had hoped.

"We're still moving forward," LeGarie said Wednesday. "It may be delayed by a day, but we're still moving forward."

LeGarie, who did not return messages Thursday, also said Wednesday that Carlisle was not holding out to see if opportunities arise elsewhere.

Carlisle, an analyst for ESPN this season, remains the only known candidate to have interviewed with Nelson and owner Mark Cuban.

The former Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers coach accumulated a 281-211 record in six seasons with the two clubs.

ONLINE: mavs.com

Negotiations between Mavs, Carlisle dragging on

Fri, 09 May 2008 18:16 CDT

Carlisle is a smart guy, but hiring him sure isn't

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:35 CDT

By JAN HUBBARD

Hiring Rick Carlisle because he is the least flawed of all the head coaching candidates is not something I particularly oppose. That approach has worked quite well for a number of my very good friends, who are married in part because their wives simply could not find anyone better.

It does seem, however, that if the Mavericks were going to conduct a thorough search, it would have made sense to play the field a little. Instead, they divorced one coach and without even glancing at available talent, they immediately proposed to his twin.

If one of the local TV sports shows wants to have a little fun, tapes of Carlisle roaming the sidelines while coaching the Pacers should be played on a half screen next to Avery Johnson doing the same thing with the Mavericks. I would be willing to bet they could even synchronize each man holding up certain fingers for certain plays.

If Carlisle is so structured, however, how in the world did he convince Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson that he could coach a team that has clearly proven it cannot flourish in that system?

The answer is actually a good one. A guy who used to work with Carlisle put it this way:

"The thing about Rick is that he's really smart. I'm talking about an intellectual sort of smart. You can sometimes say something to Rick, and he'll look at you like you're from another planet because he thinks what you said is stupid. He's not rude about it, but he just gives you a look because intellectually, what you said is below him."

Being smart is good. And that, say others who know Carlisle, is how he managed to convince Cuban and Nelson that he can run an up-tempo offense.

"He is a smart guy," said a coach who knows Carlisle. "I'm sure he told them exactly what they wanted to hear."

Carlisle will inherit a situation that is more desperate than the Mavericks have had in many years. Their window of opportunity has been reduced to a small crack -- exactly one year. That's how long Jason Kidd, who will turn 36 during next season, has left on his contract.

For the Mavericks to compete in the Western Conference next year -- and I'm talking only about being competitive enough to be a long shot to win a title -- Jason Kidd has to be at his Jason Kidd best. And whoever coaches him has to mimic Byron Scott.

During the Hornets-Mavericks series, Chris Paul said he sometimes looked over at Scott to see if the coach wanted to run a certain play, and Scott simply waved him on, which indicated that Paul should make his own choice.

That's how Carlisle needs to coach Kidd. He needs to remain in his chair and keep his fingers to himself.

There is little in his past that indicates he can do that.

The Mavericks have received many good media suggestions for head coach. Donnie Nelson would be great. Paul Westphal would be better than Carlisle. Even waiting to see if Flip Saunders gets fired in Detroit would be worthwhile and Mavericks insiders say that if Cuban and Nelson had their druthers, Saunders would be the next head coach.

But there is no guarantee that he will be fired or even that he would take the Dallas job. And by the time the Mavericks would find out, then Carlisle could already be somewhere else.

So what? If that happened, I would bring Del Harris back for one year. Yes, I know, Harris is 70 and has taken himself out of the running. But he has coached great offensive players such as Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles. He knows the current team, and if the one-year window closed, then the Mavericks could survey the landscape next season and hire the younger coach to oversee the rebuilding process.

At this point, however, all suggestions will be ignored. The Mavericks will hire Rick Carlisle and it will not be a popular choice. In fact, it will be the most uninspired choice for a local coach or manager since, well, either Wade Phillips or Ron Washington. Take your pick.

I do feel a little sorry for Carlisle. Can you imagine coming to a team where the media and fans say, "Welcome to Dallas, Rick. We'd like to have anybody but you."

But, who knows? Maybe it will work out. My sister once dated a guy for a month and shocked us all by announcing her wedding. That was 42 years ago, and they're still married. I guess quick courtships can sometimes work out.

Dallas Mavericks ready to make Carlisle their coach

Thu, 08 May 2008 06:07 CDT

By JEFF CAPLAN

At the stroke of midnight Wednesday in Greece, Rick Carlisle's agent received the contract from the Dallas Mavericks and began to give it a moonlit combing.

As long as no last-minute snags disrupt the week-long negotiation, the Mavs will introduce the defensive-minded Carlisle on Friday as the franchise's ninth head coach.

"We're still moving forward," Warren LeGarie, Carlisle's agent, said Wednesday at 4 p.m. CDT, just as he received the contract overseas.

The deal is believed to be for four years. Financial terms were not immediately known.

Carlisle, 48, would begin his third coaching stint in the NBA and first in the tough Western Conference. In two seasons in charge of the Detroit Pistons and four leading the Indiana Pacers, Carlisle guided each to an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals.

He was the only candidate known to have interviewed with Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson and owner Mark Cuban.

Nelson did not return phone calls Wednesday, but a said the team is planning a Friday press conference, assuming both sides sign off on the deal today.

The Mavs desired a head coach with a sound defensive structure and a creative offensive mind. Carlisle's previous teams played with hard-nosed defensive resolve, but his offensive creativeness, not necessarily lauded at either stop, will be judged by how well he caters to point guard Jason Kidd's playmaking style, along with Dirk Nowitzki, who has stated his desire for a looser, more free-wheeling offensive scheme.

Carlisle, 281-211 overall and 30-32 in the playoffs, inherits a team that is coming off consecutive first-round defeats since its disappointing elimination from the 2006 NBA Finals.

The Mavs have only eight players under contract for next season -- Nowitzki, Kidd, Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Erick Dampier, Jerry Stackhouse, Brandon Bass and Eddie Jones -- so Carlisle, Nelson and Cuban have work to do, with little financial flexibility, to fill the seven remaining roster spots.

It's not known whether Carlisle would retain any of Johnson's staff -- Paul Westphal, Joe Prunty and Mario Elie -- which is under contract through next season.

Carlisle was Coach of the Year in 2001-02, his first season in Detroit, but Pistons general manager Joe Dumars fired him after a second 50-win season and replaced him with Larry Brown.

Carlisle then won a franchise-record 61 games in his first season at Indiana, but the team's win totals dwindled to 44, 41 and 35.

ONLINE: mavs.com