Latest news with #JamalMurray
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
David Adelman is the new head coach of the Denver Nuggets, and the players are the reason why
What's next for the Denver Nuggets after falling to Oklahoma City in second round? | The Kevin O'Connor Show Kevin O'Connor & Dane Moore react to the Denver Nuggets falling in seven games to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. After a tumultuous season which saw head coach Michael Malone fired with only weeks to go in the regular season and a shallow roster beyond stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray -- what moves should Denver make to not repeat the same mistakes of 2025? Hear the full conversation on 'The Kevin O'Connor Show' and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen. 3:10 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Should the Boston Celtics consider drafting Florida guard Walter Clayton?
Should the Boston Celtics consider drafting Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. if he falls to them in the 2025 NBA draft? The champion Gator 3-point marksman has been compared to players as good as Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, and prospects as rough as former Boston guard alum Carsen Edwards. His shooting from beyond the arc is undeniably intriguing for a team coached by the likes of Joe Mazzulla, but he has some notable warts to his game as well, especially on the defensive end of the court. Would it make sense for the Celtics to burn their No. 28 or 32 picks in the first or second round respectively on the Sebring, Florida native? Advertisement The hosts of the CLNS Media "How Bout Them Celtics!" podcast, Jack Simone and Sam LaFrance, took some time on a recent episode of their show to talk it over. Check it out below! If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network: This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Should the Celtics consider drafting Florida guard Walter Clayton?
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Why Cason Wallace Will Be The Next Breakout Star The Thunder Produce
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - MAY 18: Cason Wallace #22 of the Oklahoma City Thunder finishes a slam ... More dunk during the first half of game seven of the Western Conference semifinals against the Denver Nuggets at Paycom Center on May 18, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by) The Oklahoma City Thunder are in the midst of a dominant march to the NBA Finals, posting the best net rating by a Finals team since the superteam 2016-17 Golden State Warriors. And if you thought the Thunder were too much to handle right now, this postseason has proved that they still have another future star waiting to burst onto the scene. Cason Wallace didn't amaze anyone with his playoff debut last season. However, he was just a rookie, and he's bounced back in an incredible way this go around. Despite the Thunder adding Alex Caruso this offseason (a move that would figure to cut into Wallace's minutes), Wallace has played more minutes per game this postseason (22.4) than he did last (19.8). Wallace is one of the many formidable perimeter defenders on the Thunder's roster. During the regular season, he placed in the 92nd percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (per Dunks & Threes). In their second round matchup against the Denver Nuggets, Wallace did nearly as good of a job guarding Jamal Murray as his All-Defensive Team mentor, Luguentz Dort. According to matchup data, Murray shot 38.1% from the floor on field goals where Dort was his primary defender and 40.7% on ones where Wallace was shadowing him. The difference is Wallace is a much better offensive player. So, it is harder for defenses to ignore him on the other side of the ball than it is with Dort. Wallace has a better pedigree as a shooter – he's a career 38.9% 3-point shooter (Dort is only at 36%). Wallace is also a better passer and more capable of putting the ball on the floor and attacking the rim (see chart below). Wallace's ability to defend at a high level while also still providing value on the offensive end makes him an immensely valuable player to this current iteration of the Thunder, as evidenced by his being first on the team (by a mile) in playoff on-off rating (+18.3 per 100 possessions). Whether it be Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, or Chet Holmgren, the Thunder have a history of acquiring (mainly via the draft) and developing star players under the watchful eye of general manager Sam Presti. Drafted tenth overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, Wallace has (in my opinion) the best chance of all of the Thunder's current young talent at being next in this lineage of success. Between his blend of quickness and strength on defense, his promising shooting indicators, and his untapped potential (Wallace is only 21) as an independent scorer and playmaker, Wallace has drawn comparisons to Jrue Holiday – a six-time All-Defense selection and two-time All-Star. More than his personal accolades (which he should probably have more of, by the way), Holiday has a long-standing history of making whatever team he's on way better when he's on the floor. Last season, his first season with the Boston Celtics, Holiday had an on-off rating of +10.8 per 100 en route to the 2024 NBA Championship. During Holiday's championship run with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, his team was +14.8 points better per 100 when he was on the floor than when he was on the bench. For reference, those marks are higher than the on-off splits from Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo during those two respective runs. That's how impactful Holiday's two-way value was to his teams. Even if he doesn't reach the heights Holiday did in his prime, I could easily see Wallace following in the footsteps of Andrew Nembhard (an incredible perimeter defender who consistently makes winning plays and provides secondary creation) – another plus-minus God. In any event, these playoffs have shown us just how good Wallace is right now and how he can be even better in the future.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
New Nuggets coach David Adelman wants his team in tip-top condition and open to ideas
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray was located in the back of the room and so he heard the message first-hand from new Denver Nuggets coach David Adelman . Same with Julian Strawther, who took a seat in the front row. For the players not in attendance at Adelman's introductory news conference Wednesday, a quick recap: Adelman wants everyone in even better condition and open to new ideas come training camp. Because the Western Conference won't be getting any easier, Adelman insisted. It's up to the Nuggets to adjust behind a roster that revolves around three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Adelman wants his players to have a big voice, too, just like they did after he took over following the firing of coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth with three games left in the regular season. 'New ideas are good ideas,' Adelman said. 'I have to give them something to come back to that excites them.' Adelman earned the promotion from interim to full-time head coach after a postseason run that saw the Nuggets get to a Game 7 against Oklahoma City in the second round before being knocked out of the playoffs. This with a thin bench and an injury-hampered starting five. Now, the work begins to put his own stamp on directing the Nuggets. He's gathered a wealth of knowledge through an array of NBA coaching mentors such as his father Rick Adelman, Sam Mitchell, Frank Vogel, the late Flip Saunders and, of course, Malone. 'Very prepared,' Adelman said of his level of readiness. 'When you're around those people and you see how they run their business and their process, it's kind of a cheat code.' Fitness, Adelman maintained, will be a key to a fast start — and health come playoff time. 'Teams that get off to great starts usually at the end of the year have the best chance of being healthy in these big games,' explained Adelman, who's working on rounding out his coaching staff. 'But, yeah, that will be the expectation to come back in much better shape.' One of the areas the Nuggets aim to address in the offseason is depth. The Nuggets ran out of steam in the Thunder series after beating the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games to advance out of the first round. 'Can they achieve that (championship goal) as currently constructed? I think the answer, as (Jokic) said after the playoffs, and it was obviously no,' Kroenke Sports & Entertainment vice chairman Josh Kroenke said. 'So we need to take a hard look at how we can raise our ceiling going forward, whether that's internally or externally. 'If you look at the teams still playing ... with a little bit of help, maybe a little bit of luck, maybe it could be us. But it's not. We're very conscious of that and how we need to go about improving.' Kroenke shocked the league last month when he fired Malone, the winningest coach in franchise history, and Booth after they helped bring home the franchise's first NBA title in 2023. It was Kroenke's way to rejuvenate the team's energy heading into the postseason. Next up for Kroenke, hiring a new GM. For now, Ben Tenzer is overseeing the role on an interim basis. The plan, Kroenke said, is to bring bring Adelman into the GM process at some point. 'The input will be relatively minimal,' Kroenke said, 'because what I'll be looking for is cohesion between those two.' Added Adelman of the GM: 'This business is about cohesion. It's all about just moving forward and winning. That's it. It's not about finding your best friend.' The Nuggets don't have a pick in the upcoming NBA draft. It may prove challenging to add depth without breaking up the core of Jokic, Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Braun. That's where Denver's youth factors in and improvement from the likes of Strawther, Peyton Watson, Jalen Pickett and DaRon Holmes II, a first-round selection last year who tore an Achilles tendon in NBA Summer League. 'We're hungry to get better,' Strawther said. 'It's all fuel to the fire.' As for the style of play, Adelman will add some wrinkles but defense will always be an important principle. 'We have to get back to being an execution-based team,' Adelman said. 'If that takes away some of our pace numbers, or whatever the analytics want to say, I think that's OK if it wins you a game in May, as opposed to playing a game in December. 'The majority of the time, if you want to win big, you've got to play slow. You've got to be efficient. You've got to be clean. So that will be things we'll talk about throughout the summer, going to training camp.' ___ AP NBA:
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Nuggets promote David Adelman to full-time coach after leading team to conference semifinals
Denver Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman, center, argues for a call with referee Tyler Ford, left, as Nuggets trainer Dan Shimensky, right, comes over to stop him in the first half of Game 4 in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Sunday, May 11, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) Denver Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman, left, confers with guard Jamal Murray as he sits on the scorer's table during a break in play in the first half of Game 6 in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) Denver Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman directs his team against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half of Game 6 in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman walks along the bench area late in the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman walks along the bench area late in the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) Denver Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman, center, argues for a call with referee Tyler Ford, left, as Nuggets trainer Dan Shimensky, right, comes over to stop him in the first half of Game 4 in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Sunday, May 11, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) Denver Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman, left, confers with guard Jamal Murray as he sits on the scorer's table during a break in play in the first half of Game 6 in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) Denver Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman directs his team against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half of Game 6 in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman walks along the bench area late in the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets have taken the interim tag off David Adelman, making him their head coach after he took over on the eve of the playoffs and led them into the second round. Nuggets boss Josh Kroenke said Thursday that he was proud of the work Adelman did and the way the team rallied around his leadership. Advertisement Adelman replaced Michael Malone last month. Under Adelman, the Nuggets won their last three regular-season games to avoid the NBA's play-in, dispatched the Clippers in seven games and took the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder to the brink in the semifinals only to get beaten 125-93 Sunday. Kroenke said he's going to take more time to decide about a general manager to replace Calvin Booth, who was fired the same time Malone was let go. Ben Tenzer has served as interim GM. ___ AP NBA:
