76ers have expressed interest in Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, report says by @Basketball News - Post Details
76ers have expressed interest in Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, report says
The 76ers may be looking to upgrade their roster in a big way this offseason. The Sixers have expressed interest in Spurs star forward Kawhi Leonard and the Thunder’s Paul George, according to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Inquirer’s report cited unidentified league sources. Leonard, a two-time All-Star, appeared in just nine games for San Antonio in 2017-18 because of an injured right quad, and he had a tense relationship with the team throughout his rehab process, according to multiple reports. A recent ESPN report indicated that the Spurs were worried Leonard and his advisors might try to force a trade to a bigger market. George was traded from the Pacers to the Thunder in July. He averaged 21.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game for Oklahoma City this season. The 27-year-old is expected to opt out of the final year of his contract and become a free agent. Sixers co-managing partner Josh Harris told The Inquirer the team would do whatever it takes financially to acquire a star player like George, Leonard or LeBron James. “For a certain small number of players, we are going to go after them hard,” Harris said. “People have asked me about the luxury tax. I don’t have any problem spending for good players.” Led by Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid — who combined to average 38.7 points and 19.1 rebounds per game — the Sixers finished the regular season with a 52-30 record and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2011-12. They topped the Heat in their opening-round series before falling to Boston in five games. Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said in a recent interview he thought the team needed to add to its core of Simmons and Embiid if it wanted to compete for an NBA title. "At some point, when the time is right, I think we need help to win a championship," Brown said (via ESPN). "If that's the goal — and for me and us it is — then that's the answer I give."
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ASIAN GAMES: Philippines dominates Japan as Clarkson gets first Gilas win
It took a week but Jordan Clarkson finally got his first win with Team Philippines. Gilas Pilipinas started the classification phase of the 2018 Asian Games with a 113-80 demolition of Japan Tuesday at the GBK Basketball Hall in Jakarta, Indonesia. Taking another disappointing loss to rival South Korea Monday, the Filipino vented their frustrations on the eight-man Japanese crew, moving to one win away from 5th place in the Asiad. The victory over the Japanese also secured a better finish for Gilas compared to 2014 when they ended up with a sorry 7th place. Gilas will face either Syria or host Indonesia in the final consolation round game on Friday. Despite playing with only eight players, Japan matched the Philippines point-for-point in the opening period with Taichi Nakamura leading the way. However, Christian Standhardinger would continue his stellar showing in the Asian Games, posting a double-double at halftime as Gilas took a 10-point lead to the break. The floodgates opened in the second half with the Philippines holding Japan scoreless for about five minutes into the third and the national opened up a 21-point lead, 68-47. Come the fourth quarter, the highlights came with Jordan Clarkson and Raymond Almazan each throwing down slam dunks to cap off the bounce-back win for the nationals. Standhardinger dominated all game long, posting 27 points, 13 rebounds, and three steals in 26 minutes. Clarkson added 22 points and nine assists in the win. Paul Lee was the other player in double figures for Gilas with 17 points. Nakamura scored 16 points for Japan but he went scoreless in the second half. The scores: Philippines 113 – Standhardinger 27, Clarkson 22, Lee 17, Pringle 9, Belga 7, Almazan 6, Taulava 6, Norwood 5, Ahanmisi 5, Tiu 5, Erram 4. Japan 80 – Nakamura 16, Kumagae 15, Vendrame 11, Shaefer 11, Ota 10, Harimoto 10, Tsuji 5, Tamaki 2. Quarters: 27-27; 57-47; 82-64; 113-80.
Celtics complete again as Hayward, Irving set to rejoin camp
THE Boston Celtics are set to return to full strength with Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving back to top shape. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge disclosed that Hayward (ankle) and Irving (knee) have recovered from respective surgeries on their injuries that left them sidelined last season, witnessing their team just fall short of the finals. Chris Forsberg of ESPN reported the development on Tuesday, Manila time. Ainge played down the news, but confirmed that Hayward and Irving are healthy and prepared for the upcoming season. "I don't want to hype it up too much, but I'm saying that if our training camp were starting today that they would be here today going full speed," Ainge said. "It's not like they need an extra month. I think that they know they have an extra month, so they are sort of pacing themselves. They're playing as if to build up to that opening day of training camp [Sept. 26],” he added.
South Korea deals Philippines another heartbreak in Asian Games basketball
South Korea has been the bane of the Philippines’ campaign in the Asian Games basketball. The Filipinos’ 91-82 loss in the 2018 Asian Games on Monday is just the latest of a long list of heartbreaks handed to the Philippines by the hotshooting South Koreans in the continental meet. The last time the country was successful over South Korea was in the 1970 edition of the Games at Bangkok, Thailand where the Filipinos came away with a 70-65 win. While the Philippines had put an end to the South Korea curse with a phenomenal semifinals victory in the 2013 Fiba Asia Championships, the same can’t be said in the Asian Games. The hastily-formed Philippine squad was once again booted out of the medal race this year by South Korea in a frustrating fashion, which has become an all-too-familiar situation for the Filipinos. Even with NBA guard Jordan Clarkson in tow, the Filipinos didn’t have enough fight left in the endgame and failed to stop the South Koreans from heating up in the fourth. A 13-2 run turned a 68-67 lead for the Filipinos into an eight-point game in favor of the South Koreans with under five minutes left to play and there was hardly anything Clarkson and the rest could do from then on. In 2014, the Filipinos also lost grip of a chance to vie for a medal after a stunning 97-95 loss to South Korea, which came back from 16-points down, in the preliminary round. The Philippines, then led by some of the players from the silver medal-winning team in Fiba Asia, was sent reeling to their worst finish in the Asian Games at seventh place. Even in the 1998 Asian Games, the last time the country had a podium finish in basketball, it was South Korea which botched the Filipinos’ gold medal plans. The Tim Cone-coached Centennial team, led by players who have become PBA legends today, absorbed a jarring 83-103 loss to the South Koreans which sent them into a collision with defending champion China in the semifinals. The Filipinos could also salvage the bronze medal that year. But there is perhaps nothing more heartbreaking than the Filipinos’ defeat to the hometown team in the 2002 Busan Asian Games, widely considered as the most painful loss in the country’s basketball history. With the Philippines a few seconds away from returning to the Asian Games finals after a long drought, Olsen Racela missed two potential game-sealing freethrows before the South Korea’s Lee Sang-min stole the 69-68 win with a buzzer-beating three. The Filipinos, though, get their chance at revenge in the 2022 Asian Games in four years.
Asian Games: Philippines falls to South Korea anew, out of basketball medal race
The Philippines continued its decades-long losing battle to South Korea in the Asian Games, this time reeling to a 91-82 defeat to bow out of the 2018 men’s basketball medal race Monday. After the Filipinos managed to keep up with their rivals for three quarters and even lead by eight, the South Koreans slowly pulled away midway the fourth quarter with the locals finally finding their killer touch from three. “I take responsibility for it (loss). We were in the game until the last 5-6 minutes,” said head coach Yeng Guiao after the game. “We were not just comfortable with the zone (defense).” The hastily-formed national team was even ahead 68-67 in the payoff period before South Korea, which only shot 35% from three, started breaking down the Filipinos with one triple after the other. A 13-4 run from the Koreans highlighted by three threes put them in the lead for good. The Filipinos dropped to the classification phase of the tournament, where they can get as high as fifth place, which will still be an improvement from their seventh-place finish in the 2014 Incheon Games. Jordan Clarkson kept the Philippines alive and wound up with 25 points including four triples, eight rebounds, and three assists. Christian Standhardinger added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Filipinos while Stanley Pringle had 14 points. The loss extended the Philippines’ misery against South Korea in the continental meet. The last time the Filipinos won over the Koreans was in the 1970 edition in Bangkok, Thailand. The Koreans, meanwhile, advanced for a shot at the medal against the quarterfinal winner between Iran and Japan. Naturalized center Ricardo Ratliffe, who played as an import in the PBA, unleashed 30 points and 14 rebounds for South Korea.
China clinches top seed after pulling away late vs Kazakhstan
China beat Kazakhstan handily, 83-66, on Thursday to clinch the top seed in Group D of the 18th Asian Games men’s basketball tournament at the GBK Basketball Hall. Liu Zhixuan had 18 points, five rebounds, and six assists, while Ding Yanyuhang bounced back after fouling out against the Philippines by finishing with 14 points in the match. China recovered after leading by just one point, 38-37, at halftime to oust Kazakhstan out of playoff contention, a week after its 37-point loss to the Philippines. China also survived the foul trouble of NBA player Zhou Qi. Fellow big man Wang Zhelin also fouled out in the game. The result also made the Philippines the second seed in Group D, setting the stage for a showdown with Group A topnotcher Korea in the quarterfinals slated Monday.
Asian Games: Philippines - China in numbers
The Filipinos nearly slew the titan that is the Chinese basketball squad. But just how close were we? We examine the numbers and the odds that shaped Team Philippines’ 80-82 loss in the 2018 Asian Games on Tuesday night: 44 It's been more than four decades of years since the last time the Philippines defeated China in the men’s basketball tournament of the quadrennial meet. 4 Zhao Rui’s total points in China’s last-ditch effort to turn the tide — all coming from the charity stripe. Before that, the Chinese cager stripped away the ball leading to a foul that sent him to the first trip to the free throw line. 3 Three Filipino players reprised their double-digit scoring performances. Stanley Pringle reinforced the scoring effort, Christian Stanhardinger had steady hands anew, and Paul Lee—who was responsible for the game-tying triple in the payoff period, all breached the decade mark in points produced. 3 The Filipinos were actually in the driver’s seat in the final 72 seconds of play. The scoreboard read 80-78, with three comfortable points in favor of the Nationals. 3 The Chinese national squad stood at an average of 6’6”, three inches taller than our team’s collective ceiling at 6’3”. 2 Lee settled for a triple to take the lead in lemon time. Although it is worth noting that the gap between the Filipinos and the powerhouse Chinese only amounted to two points. 2 Before Lee’s Hail Mary three, Jordan Clarkson and Standhardinger both had clean looks to break the tie 80. 2 The Philippines, despite being on the back seat for over three quarters, managed to knot the game twice. Once at 55 and again at 80. 28 Clarkson, the NBA cager whose clearance came a bit late, had a team-best 28 points to keep the Chinese within striking range. All that despite having only… 6 …days to acclimate with coach Yeng Guiao’s schemes and tactics, and familiarize with his fellow Filipinos’ tendencies on the floor. 12 China beat us by a small margin in every possible statistical category. But the Filipinos actually forced the Chinese to commit more turnovers: 12 against their 11. 36 The Nationals are assured of a spot in the next round barring any major upset by the Kazakhs when they face the Chinese this Thursday. They need to beat the perennial powerhouse by 36 points to derail the Philippines’ campaign for a deep finish in the Asiad.