Ex-Cavs coach Blatt reveals multiple sclerosis battle

PIRAEUS, Greece -- Olympiakos basketball coach David Blatt revealed on Monday that he had been diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS).

"Sometimes life throws things at you that really have no explanation or rhyme or reason. Those are moments that upon recognising you have to make choices that test your true character," the 60-year-old Israeli American said in a letter to the team.

Blatt said he was diagnosed with PPMS a few months ago by the Olympiakos medical team.

"The first thing I did was to go back to my basketball coaching methodology of solving and overcoming difficulties," he said.

The former coach of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers said he had begun a specific exercise regime to combat the condition.

"I am a coach and my job is to lead and teach and inspire a lot of people," he added.

"Not being as agile or active doesn’t affect my ability to do those things. I am fortunate. I have great doctors trainers physical therapists and management that accept by disabilities and help me overcome."

The former coach of Israel and Russia national teams said he will ask his players and staff at Olympiakos "to be the best version of themselves, I must ask and even demand from myself to do the same."

Olympiakos have said that Blatt will once again lead the team on the last leg of his two-year contract in the EuroLeague, the 12th season he has been on the continental circuit.

The club will play in the A2 second division in the Greek Basketball League after being demoted last season for failing to show up for playoff contests against rival Panathinaikos.

Blatt has won six national championships and seven domestic cups, winning the EuroLeague title with Dynamo St. Petersburg in 2005.

He also led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA finals in 2015 and the Russian national team to the Euro Basketball crown in 2007 and the bronze medals at Euro 2011 and the 2012 Olympic Games.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Warriors welcome Kerr with win, Cavs say goodbye to Blatt

LOS ANGELES -- The Golden State Warriors welcomed head coach Steve Kerr back to the bench for the first time this season with a 122-110 NBA victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday.

Kerr, who had been sidelined by complications from pre-season back surgery, slipped seamlessly back into place, his return overshadowed by the stunning dismissal of head coach David Blatt by the Cleveland Cavaliers -- the team Kerr and the Warriors beat in the NBA Finals last season.

The Cavs sent shockwaves through the league when the sent Blatt packing, despite owning a 30-11 record that puts them atop the Eastern Conference standings.

"It's a tough business when you go 30-11 and you get fired (after) you get to the Finals the year before," Kerr said. "It's crazy."

The Cavaliers promoted associate coach Tyronn Lue to head coach, with general manager David Griffin saying that despite their record, the team was "regressing".

"There's a lack of spirit and connectedness that I just couldn't accept," Griffin said.

That's certainly not a problem for the Warriors, who thrived under interim coach Luke Walton as Kerr recovered from the after effects of a spinal fluid leak, which left him with debilitating headaches.

Friday's victory took their record to 40-4. It was their 20th straight win on their home floor in Oakland this season -- and their 38th straight at home in a streak dating back to last year.

"I've been waiting for this for a very long time," said Kerr, who received a warm ovation from fans at Oracle Arena.

Stephen Curry, who produced a triple-double of 39 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, said having Kerr back on the bench "just felt like normal".

"We had a great year last year with him running the ship," Curry said. "It was a little different with Coach Walton, obviously.

"We adjusted and held the fort down while Coach Kerr was out, but just his presence, his voice, mannerisms on the bench, pre-game, all that stuff was like it's supposed to be."

Forward Draymond Green added 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, who remained ahead of the 38-6 San Antonio Spurs in the fight for the best record in the league, with the Western Conference powerhouses due to face off on Monday.

- Spurs crash Kobe anniversary -

On the 10th anniversary of Kobe Bryant's epic 81-point game against Toronto, the San Antonio Spurs made sure that glorious performance was only a fond memory for Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Spurs dominated the Lakers 108-95, rolling to their 13th straight victory.

Argentine veteran Manu Ginobili scored a season-high 20 points and Kawhi Leonard added 18 for the Spurs, who improved to 38-6.

The Lakers paid homage during the game to Bryant's 2006 outburst against the Raptors -- the second-highest scoring performance in NBA history behind the 100-point game of Wilt Chamberlain in 1962.

But 10 years on Bryant managed just five points on 2-of-9 shooting with six assists in 27 minutes.

- Clippers' Jordan on fire -

DeAndre Jordan continued his torrid shooting for the Los Angeles Clippers making all seven of his shots -- all dunks -- in a 116-88 rout of the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Jordan scored 20 points to help the Clippers hand the Knicks their most lopsided defeat of the season. He did see his league-leading streak of double-doubles end at 11 games as he finished with eight rebounds.

Jordan also got his eighth technical foul of the season after tangling with Knicks starting center Robin Lopez, who was ejected from the game.

Jordan had come to teammate Chris Paul's defense after Lopez smacked the Clippers point guard in the mouth.

"Chris is the smallest dude on the floor," Jordan said of his retaliatory shove of Lopez. "So we have to protect him."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cavaliers fire Blatt, hire Lue as new coach

NEW YORK, United States - David Blatt was fired Friday as coach of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers and replaced by associate coach Tyronn Lue, the first coach axed with his team atop an NBA conference.

"I'm measuring more than wins and losses," Cavaliers general manager David Griffin told a press conference at the Cavaliers' training facility, which was streamed on the team's website.

"I'm focusing on a bigger picture and I'm really trying to decide -- are we working toward a championship, are we building a championship culture."

Griffin said he thought Lue would be able to instill a "collective spirit" in Cavaliers players, something he said all elite NBA clubs have and which the Cavs are lacking under Blatt.

Griffin was at pains to say he did not consult superstar LeBron James prior to the move.

He informed the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player -- who rejoined his home state club in 2014 with the goal of bringing a championship to the region -- along with the rest of the players after the fact.

"LeBron plays for this team," Griffin said. "LeBron doesn't run this organization, he's about this organization."

The Cavaliers lead the Eastern Conference with a 30-11 record, third-best in the league behind the Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs, and figure to be contending for the title again after losing to Golden State in last year's NBA Finals.

Griffin said a humbling 132-98 loss to Golden State on Monday wasn't the trigger for Blatt's sacking.

Instead, he felt that while the Cavaliers had coped well with adversity -- including injuries sidelining Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert for the first two months of the season -- they were not dealing as well with "prosperity" now that they are largely healthy and on top of the East.

Blatt becomes the seventh NBA coach in 40 years to reach a final only to be fired the next season.

"I am proud of what we have accomplished since I have been the head coach and wish the Cavaliers nothing but the best this season and beyond," Blatt said on Twitter.

- Questions nagged Blatt -

Questions had nagged Blatt almost since the start of his tenure. He had been selected as coach of the team in June 2014 just weeks before James announced he was leaving the Miami Heat to rejoin the Cavaliers.

Suddenly Blatt, who made his name as a coach in Israel and by leading Russia to a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, was guiding a team with nothing less than championship aspirations, payroll and talent.

Blatt leaves his first NBA coaching post with an 83-40 record and a club-record .675 winning percentage.

Lue, himself a former NBA point guard, has a strong relationship with James and other Cavs players as he goes into his first NBA head coaching job.

US media reported Lue had signed a three-year contract to be the team's head coach.

However, Griffin said that while Lue has been given the head coach's title -- without an "interim" tag -- such a contract is "absolutely not in place."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Irving helps Cavaliers defeat Wizards

In Kyrie Irving's seventh game since breaking his kneecap in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers' guard broke the hearts of the Washington Wizards.

LeBron James scored 34 points, but Irving dazzled in the fourth quarter with 19 of his 32 points as Cleveland won their fifth straight game with a 121-115 victory over the Wizards.

After surgery in June, Irving returned to Cleveland's lineup on Dec. 20. He has now moved beyond mere progress and into jaw-dropping territory for the surging Cavaliers (24-9).

"There will be days when he's better and days when he's going to have some effect of the many months he was out," Cavaliers coach David Blatt said, "but that sure didn't look like that tonight."


 James helped stake the Cavaliers to an 18-point lead by hitting all four of his three-pointers less than four minutes into the third quarter.

The Wizards (15-18) countered with their own barrage from beyond the arc, eventually tying the game 95-95 with 10:53 remaining.

Irving dominated from there, scoring the game's next 10 points. His third dazzling layup in that stretch gave Cleveland a 105-95 lead with 7:35 remaining.

J.R. Smith added 25 points for the Cavaliers, who evened the season series after losing 97-85 in Cleveland on Dec. 1.

"That was nuts," Smith said of Irving's finish. "To be out months and still be able to come out there and shake and bake like he's doing is remarkable. I don't think there is any question who the real All Star is."

Garrett Temple scored 21 points for the Wizards, who have lost two straight and four of five since winning four in a row. John Wall had 20 points and 12 assists for the Wizards.

Both teams shot over 53 percent from the field. Washington made 14 of 24 three-pointers, but only 17 of 27 from the free-throw line.

In the opening game of a six-game road trip, James grabbed 10 rebounds as the Cavaliers finished with a 44-33 advantage on the glass.

'TOO MUCH KYRIE'
Cleveland led 62-50 at halftime and 73-55 early in the bombs-away third quarter. The Wizards fought back and closed within 92-89 on Temple's third three-pointer of the third quarter. Washington hits eight of 11 three-pointers in the quarter while Cleveland sank seven of 13 before the sellout crowd.

After the Wizards tied the game at 95-95, Irving took control. He sank eight of 11 shot attempts in the quarter.

"Too much Kyrie," Temple said. "He was hitting some tough, tough shots."

The 85 points from the previous meeting represented the fewest by a Wizards opponent this season. This time, Cleveland surpassed that total with 4:25 left in the third quarter.

"It was in the front of our mind," James said of the earlier loss. "We know what they did to us. We just wanted to try to get some give back."

Wall led all scorers with 35 points in Washington's win at Cleveland. The All-Star guard was eventually named Eastern Conference Player of the Month.

There was little award winning about Wall's early performance in the rematch and first meeting of the season against Irving, who missed the opening weeks of the season following knee surgery. Wall shot one of nine from the field in the first half while committing six of his seven turnovers.

"He's one year ahead of me, battling for a few years now," Irving said of Wall. "It's just always a great matchup with him and the Wizards."

Otto Porter, Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley all had 12 points for Washington.

The Wizards reached the Eastern Conference semi-finals in each of the past two seasons. One week into 2016, they are 12th in the East. The next three games are against teams ahead of them in the standings.

"Every stretch (of games) for us is huge right now," Wall said. "We just take it one game at a time. It's an opportunity just to try to get back on the right path." (Editing by Peter Rutherford)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cavaliers mull over possible Game 5 tweaks

Just as Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr did not want to reveal details of an altered game plan for Game 4, his Cleveland Cavaliers counterpart did not want to tip his hand for Game 5.

Cavaliers head coach David Blatt was asked how he would counter Kerr's decision to go smaller with his starting five last Thursday, replacing center Andrew Bogut with swing-man Andre Iguodala.

Iguodala scored 22 points in the 103-82 win in Cleveland to tie the NBA Finals at 2-2 with Game 5 at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Sunday (Monday, Manila time).

"I think that we've made more than our share of adjustments throughout the course of the entire playoffs, not only in this series," said Blatt, referring to the adjustments he has been forced to make because of injuries to starters Kevin Love (shoulder), Kyrie Irving (knee) and a suspension to J.R. Smith.

"Every game brings out new things and certainly presents new challenges. If you look at the one game, it makes you think 'okay, we've got to change this, that and the other thing.' If you look at the four games, in three out of four of those games we were pretty good doing the things that we did. So I think you'll see a combination of both of those possibilities.

"We've got to continue to do certain things really well. What we need to change, we will."

If Cavaliers superstar LeBron James has his way, he wants his coach to stick with the team's starting five of James, Matthew Dellavedova, Iman Shumpert, Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov.

"In this case with our bigs, Timo and Tristan, Timo's starting off on (Iguodala), it's a different match up than Bogut, obviously," James said.

"You've got a guy that's primarily on the perimeter in Game 4 versus guarding a guy that's always in the paint, for the most part, unless he's initiating offense.

"So it's definitely a different change for us. But I think we'll be much more prepared for it tomorrow night if they go with the same lineup.

"We're going to play our game. We've gotten to this point by playing the way we play, and we're not going to change. We'll make adjustments throughout the game, but we won't change our starting lineup."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Red-hot Irving scores 55 as Cavs beat Blazers

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers, who were playing without injured superstar LeBron James, beat Portland 99-94 to extend their win streak to eight games behind an electric performance from Kyrie Irving.

Irving tallied a career-high 55 points which included a team-record 11 three pointers in front of a crowd of 20,500 at the Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday. His final dagger from beyond the arc came with just six seconds left and gave the Cavaliers the lead for good.

"He delivered," said Cavaliers coach David Blatt. "I've seen a lot of great performances, but something quite like that? No.

"I've never seen that. And I've been coaching a long time."

With James out because of a sprained right wrist that could keep him sidelined for at least one more NBA contest, Irving missed his first seven field goal attempts but went 17-of-29 after that.

He scored 28 points in the first half and had 16 in the fourth quarter to keep the Cavs from blowing a game they led by as much as 14 points.

LaMarcus Aldridge paced the Trail Blazers attack with 38 points, including a pair of free throws that tied the score with 27 seconds remaining.

Following a timeout, Irving drained his final shot from the left side over Nicolas Batum to give Cleveland the lead and break CJ Miles' franchise record for three pointers in a game.

Irving grabbed the rebound after Damian Lillard was short on a three from the right corner at the other end and made two foul shots for the last of his 55 points.

His 55 points bettered his previous career high of 44 points which he posted in an overtime loss to Charlotte last season.

It was also just one short of James' franchise record set in a game against the Toronto Raptors in 2005.

Portland had an extra day off after Monday's scheduled game in Brooklyn was postponed because of a snow storm that hammered parts of the US eastern seaboard.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

LeBron suffers sore knee, sits out game

After complaining of general knee soreness, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James did not play in Thursday night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

James missed the Cavaliers' morning shootaround Thursday in order to receive treatment on his left knee. But coach David Blatt doesn't seem too worried that the injury is severe. He said no MRI is planned and that James could play Friday in New Orleans.

- -

The Philadelphia 76ers officially acquired forward Andrei Kirilenko from the Brooklyn Nets in a trade involving three players Thursday.

The Nets received forward Brandon Davies and the 76ers also acquired guard Jorge Gutierrez, the Nets' second-round draft pick in 2020 and cash considerations.

- -

The Brooklyn Nets signed guard Darius Morris on Thursday.

Morris played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and Memphis Grizzlies last season after spending his first two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. He has career averages of 3.7 points and 1.5 assists per game. (Editing by Frank Pingue)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cavs to sign top draft pick Wiggins

The Cleveland Cavaliers plan to sign No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Wiggins to a contract this week, according to ESPN.com.

The delay in signing the rookie shooting guard is reportedly not related to speculation that the team may trade him to the Minnesota Timberwolves for All-Star power forward Kevin Love.

Instead, the Cavaliers have been looking for ways to use their remaining $1.4 million in salary cap space before signing Wiggins to a contract that will pay him about $5.5 million this season.

The Cavaliers and Timberwolves have been in talks about a trade involving Wiggins and Love since star forward LeBron James decided to return to Cleveland.

NBA rules dictate that once Wiggins is signed, the Cavaliers must wait at least 30 days before they can trade him.

- - -

The Los Angeles Lakers officially re-signed guard Nick Young to a multi-year contract, the team announced Monday.

Terms were not released, but the Los Angeles Times reported previously that Young agreed to a four-year, $21.5-million deal.

Young had a career year in 2013-14 after originally signing with the Lakers as a free agent in July 2013. The Los Angeles native averaged a career-high 17.9 points in his first season with the Lakers.

The Lakers also re-signed free agent forward Ryan Kelly. In 2013-14, his rookie NBA season, the 23-year-old Kelly averaged 8.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 22.2 minutes per game, and started 25 contests while appearing in 59 total games.

- - -

The Dallas Mavericks signed free agent forward Richard Jefferson.

Last season, the veteran averaged 10.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 27.0 minutes while shooting 45 percent from the floor and 40.9 from 3-point range in 82 games for the Utah Jazz.

- - -

The Indiana Pacers signed free agent guard Rodney Stuckey. Last season, Stuckey averaged 13.9 points and 2.1 assists in 73 games with the Detroit Pistons.

- - -

The Phoenix Suns signed free agent forward Anthony Tolliver to a multi-year contract.

Tolliver, a six-year NBA veteran, averaged 6.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 20.3 minutes in 64 games last season with the Charlotte Bobcats.

- - -

The Chicago Bulls re-signed guard Kirk Hinrich. Last season, Hinrich averaged 9.1 points, 3.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game for the Bulls.

The Bulls also signed second-round draft pick Cameron Bairstow. The 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward was taken No. 49 overall by the Bulls.

- - -

The Charlotte Hornets signed free agent forward Marvin Williams.

Williams averaged 9.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 25.4 minutes over 66 games for the Jazz last season.

- - -

NBA Development League president Dan Reed is stepping down to join Facebook as head of global sports partnerships. Reed's last day with the league is July 31.

(Editing by Larry Fine)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com