SB Nation Cleveland: All Posts by James Herbert

Damian Lillard was more than ready for the NBA

2013-05-10T16:01:11Z

When Damian Lillard accepted his Rookie of the Year award last week, he gave a five-minute speech. The Portland Trail Blazers point guard made sure to mention the naysayers that fueled him, bringing up all the things he heard a year prior: he didn't face the best competition at Weber State, he stayed in college for four years and he supposedly wasn't very athletic.

"It's almost as if he needed haters to propel him into his destiny," said Chris Farr.

Farr is an assistant coach at Loyola Marymount University. Last summer, he worked with Lillard to get him ready to show NBA scouts and executives what he could do. Farr remembers Lillard telling him about prospects from bigger schools snubbing him at team workouts, brushing him off. He remembers, years before that, Lillard not receiving an invite to a camp for the top local high school players.

Lillard didn't talk much about it. He just went to work. He'd show them.

Farr remembers the process, the preparation that went into his rise up the draft boards. He remembers Lillard drenched in sweat at the end of a session, saying it wasn't enough, saying he needed a little more.

"It just blew me out the water ‘cause I gave him everything I had," Farr said.

All of Lillard's workouts were at game speed, so nothing his potential employers put him through would tire him out.

Indiana Pacers assistant coach Brian Shaw counts Farr as his best friend. Shaw spent some time in the gym with them, coming away impressed with Lillard's basketball IQ, his shooting and -- most of all -- his ability to keep going and going.

Lillard played all 82 games in his first professional season, one that saw him become the eighth player in NBA history to sweep Rookie of the Month honors and the fourth to win Rookie of the Year unanimously. In addition to easily leading his class in points (19.0) and assists (6.5) per game, he led the entire league in total minutes played. You could quibble with his defense, but he was as equipped for the NBA as any rookie in recent memory.

"He's one of the best-conditioned athletes in our league," Shaw said. "And most people don't know that."-Brian Shaw, Indiana Pacers assistant coach, on Damian Lillard

"He's one of the best conditioned athletes in our league," Shaw said. "And most people don't know that."

***

When Lillard accepted his award, he made sure to mention the draft combine in Chicago. He played both days with a purpose; he wanted to prove he wasn't scared.

"He wanted to be on the floor, dominate the drill, but not only dominate the drill," said Jay Williams, formerly a star point guard at Duke and currently a college basketball analyst for ESPN and ESPNU. "[He wanted to] look into his opponent's eyes and [make] them understand that he dominated the drill."

At the combine, Williams saw Lillard's moxie, "myopic vision" and a mentality unmatched by his peers.

Before that, Williams shared the critics' common concerns and voiced them. He liked Lillard's game, but didn't know how his Big Sky Conference numbers would translate to the next level.

Those doubts started to disappear when watching the guards shoot around before their workout in Chicago. Williams anticipated Lillard would be slightly shorter and he thought his frame would be slightly smaller. His demeanor was more important than that, though. While most of the other guards were lollygagging before things got started, Lillard was locked in.

"I was like, ‘OK, I guess my overall assessment of Damian Lillard before I saw him was a little bit off,'" Williams said. "This was a different cat."

***

When Lillard accepted his award, he made sure to mention his hometown of Oakland. That's the place that taught him to be gritty, how to respond to adversity, how to handle himself.

"If you're truly, truly from Oakland, you're not really backing down from nobody," said Farr, who grew up an Oakland point guard like Lillard, Shaw, Gary Payton and Jason Kidd.

You could see that fearlessness on the floor. There were no signs of nerves with pressure-filled shots or situations. Lillard scored 37 points in his first game at Oakland's Oracle Arena, with hundreds of friends and family in attendance. The first time he played under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, he hit a stepback three-pointer to seal a win over the Knicks.

Those who know Lillard away from the game describe him as easy-going, funny and family-first. In interviews, he's always poised, polite and patient. But none of this takes away from his Oakland-style toughness. Farr calls him an assassin.

"He's a verb, he's an action word. He gets it done by his actions."-Chris Farr describes Damian Lillard.

"He's the opposite of [Payton], he's real quiet," Farr said. "He's a verb, he's an action word. He gets it done by his actions."

***

When Lillard accepted his award, he made sure to mention his expectations of himself. The accomplishment didn't surprise him -- he knew he put in the work to earn it. He made it a goal when he declared for the draft.

Believing in yourself isn't usually enough, though. Ups and downs are inevitable for just about everyone coming into the league. The rookie wall is as much mental as it is physical. The schedule is the most obvious factor, but there isn't an aspect of life that stays the same. Even the most thoroughly-prepared players take time to adjust.

Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer, USA TODAY Sports

Lillard stood out because his transition appeared smooth, almost seamless. He dealt with the increased expectations that came with his early success, he dealt with defenses designed to stop him. He didn't appear to change despite all of the off-court things that did.

"You go from never really having any money to all of a sudden being an instant millionaire," said Williams, picked second overall by Chicago a decade before Lillard's draft.

Out of college, Williams' skills were spectacular, but he still struggled throughout the Bulls' 30-52 campaign. He detailed those difficulties in a piece in New York Times earlier this year.

"It's easy to lose yourself because it's a different world that is very based off material things, and sometimes basketball becomes secondary to the lifestyle," Williams said, recalling the newness of the private planes and the car services and the ability to do or buy whatever you want.

He warned of the people around you afraid to say no to anything and the "random women who know who you are."

Portland finished just 33-49 this year, but Lillard never let any resulting frustration derail him. His effort stayed the same as his team lost its last 13 games, even with several starters out of the lineup with injuries. As much as Lillard's work ethic and competitiveness made noise leading up to the draft, his ability to stay grounded and consistent during the season spoke volumes.

"Even with the accolades now, he is so humble," Farr said. "Like a Derrick Rose humble, it really truly is. That's what's important to me, to see him like that after all this."

***

After Lillard's acceptance speech, he took questions from the assembled media. The final question was a simple one: How does he top this?

He said he needed to let it go the next day and focus on what's next. Lillard wanted to look forward to possible All-Star appearances, MVP awards and championships, not back at what he had already accomplished.

"He's serious," Farr said, speaking from experience.

Shortly after Lillard's last regular season game, he asked Farr if they could get started on a workout schedule. "Not now, Dame," Farr said he told him. Farr urged Lillard to take a month to get some rest before worrying about improving his game.

"That's the kind of kid he is," said Farr with a laugh. "He's like, ‘Farr, but I want to get back at it.'"

It's fortunate Lillard's so self-motivated. It can't be all about proving detractors wrong once you've turned them into believers.

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• Why Len is a better prospect than Noel

• Joakim Noah: Flicked off, flirting with death

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• Living and working with anxiety disorder

• Steph Curry and Klay Thompson deserve the hype

Setting the Pace: How Paul George went from an unheralded recruit to starring in the NBA playoffs

2013-05-07T15:09:12Z

Before the Most Improved Player Award and the All-Star Game, before the 3-Point Shootout and the Slam Dunk Contest, before his first highlight on ESPN and the draft, there was the YMCA. When Indiana Pacers swingman Paul George played his first basketball game, he wore jean shorts.

"They were pants and he cut ‘em into shorts," said his sister Teoisha George, now a fashion designer and formerly a forward at Pepperdine. "My sister and I, we were just cracking up. We were like, ‘Oh my God, look at him playing in jean shorts.’ All these other kids, they had their full YMCA uniform. "He was looking at us, like, ‘What are you guys laughing at?’ He didn’t see anything wrong with it."

You wouldn’t think the kid wearing jean shorts would turn out to be one of the best wing defenders
on the planet.

In a league with only 450 players, everyone has defied odds. But of all the kids in that YMCA, you wouldn’t think the kid wearing jean shorts would turn out to be one of the best wing defenders on the planet, guarding point guards and power forwards when required. You wouldn’t think that an NBA All-Star would arrive via Palmdale, Calif. and the WAC.

A relative unknown coming out of Fresno State when the Pacers picked him No. 10 overall in the 2010 draft, George’s emergence was unlikely. He saw himself as a Tracy McGrady-type and possessed promising physical characteristics at 6’8 and 214 pounds with exceptional leaping ability, but there is a lengthy list of athletic wings who never approached stardom.

Shooting up two inches to 6’10 and expanding his game in the seasons since, he’s gone from a solid starter to the face of the Pacers, averaging 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per contest this year.

He started the 2013 postseason with a 23-point, 11-rebound, 12-assist triple-double and led Indiana in all of those categories -- plus steals -- in its first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks.

If you’re wondering how he got here, his never-satisfied attitude provides a hint.

"At 23, I know I’m nowhere close to where I want to be and where I need to be and where I’m going to be," George said, "but I guess it’s a good start to see where I am."

***

Growing up in the small desert town of Palmdale, George didn’t play a lot of organized basketball as a child. He loved the game and played "every free moment he had," said Teiosha, but a lot of it was at the park or one-on-one against his older sister. He arrived at Pete Knight High School lanky and raw.

"We knew there was a lot of potential for growth and development in Paul."

"He was probably about six feet tall and he was as skinny as a rail," said Knight head coach Tom Hegre. "I knew at the time that [Teiosha] had been a tremendous player in high school and she was attending Pepperdine, so we knew there was a lot of potential for growth and development in Paul."

Although George joined the varsity team early in his sophomore season, he wasn’t a star until he was a senior. As he got taller, he was asked to play on the inside, but he always wanted to play on the wing. He emulated McGrady and his favorite player, Kobe Bryant, when working on his ball-handling and outside shot.

As the only non-senior in the starting lineup, he averaged 14 points and eight rebounds per game as a junior. Selfless perhaps to a fault — "He was always a distributor and that was one of the things that we kind of pressed him about, being more offensively minded," said Teiosha — he played his role and Knight went 24-4. Then, his role changed.

"It was the summer before his senior year that we really started to see him reaching the potential," Hegre said. "What we anticipated really skyrocketed."

No longer taking a backseat to more experienced players, it was time for George to stand out. It was time to be more confident on the court, to lead by example even if his personality wasn’t such that he’d tell people what to do. In a team meeting before the season started, Hegre asked if anyone had a problem with George scoring 30 points a game. No one did, with one teammate speaking up to say that’s what was needed in order to win. That was what he needed to hear.

George played on the inside and outside at the end of his high school career as a combo forward. He didn’t quite average 30, but his 25 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals per game were signs of things to come.

"He was a completely different player and person on the court his senior year," Hegre said.

The drive and dedication he displayed meant Hegre wanted his other players to spend as much time with George as possible. In the most literal sense, Hegre thought he made those around him better.

"Before Paul, we were always looking for qualities of leaders and players with work ethic," he said. "Now we’re looking for guys that have Paul George qualities. He’s kind of set the bar for us. He gives us kind of a measuring stick and it’s hard to find those guys. They don’t come around very often."

***

George’s name was nowhere to be found on ESPN’s top 100 or the Rivals 150.

As beloved as he was by his high school team, he was under-recruited. Palmdale was far from a basketball pipeline -- "It’s not really the place where you get recruited … you have to make a lot of noise to get people to come out to see you," said Teiosha -- and he wasn’t the best player on his AAU team. That distinction belonged to the exponentially more hyped Jrue Holiday, who went on to attend UCLA. George’s name was nowhere to be found on ESPN’s top 100 or the Rivals 150.

George picked Fresno State over schools like Georgetown and Penn State because he wanted to play major minutes immediately. Once on campus, he took little time making the same impression he did in high school, organizing workouts with teammates and calling his coaches to unlock the gym on weekends.

In a challenging time for the program, George was enthusiastic. The Bulldogs weren’t playing to sold-out crowds every night — under head coach Steve Cleveland the program was rebuilding after being put on probation by the NCAA for earlier recruiting violations.

"I know it seems a little cliché, but it was the truth: He was always the first guy in the gym," Cleveland said.

Cleveland, now an analyst for ESPNU and BYUtv, said that in his 30-plus years of coaching, he never enjoyed working with anyone more than he did George.

Still lean in his freshman year in college, he needed to put on weight to compete against older players. Starting and playing exclusively on the wing like he wanted, he also needed to improve his ball-handling and perimeter defense, and he knew it. Cleveland said George wasn’t even thinking about leaving after his sophomore year when he was heading into it but the time he devoted to the weight room and improving his skills put him on that path.

"When he came, it was one dribble to create space for a jumper," Cleveland said. "By the time he was [leaving], he could get the thing to the rack."

He made his first appearance on a 2010 mock draft on DraftExpress just over a month into his sophomore season. He was slated as a late-first round pick. The hours he put in upped his numbers from 14.3 to 16.8 points per game, from 6.2 to 7.2 rebounds per game and from 70-percent free throw shooting to 91 percent.

"He’d always call me," said Greg Smith, a big man then for Fresno State and now with the Houston Rockets. "He was like, ‘Do you wanna go to the gym? [We’ll] work on some pick-and-roll, we’ll get some jump shots up’ … and that really helped us out with chemistry."

The sophomore George set an example for the 6’10, 250-pound freshman Smith with his practice habits. On a team that was only allowed to have eight scholarship players, the two stood out. George could make even opposing crowds go wild with his dunks, Smith’s enormous hands could catch everything around the basket. The mentorship and friendship endured, with George later telling Smith to keep fighting when Smith was getting down on himself, playing in Mexico after going undrafted in 2011.

"There was a connection because I think they both felt that they had a chance to play at the next level," said Cleveland.

The Bulldogs failed to reach the postseason with a 15-18 overall record despite the presence of the talented tandem. Ranked in the 20s in pre-draft projections in May 2010, George put in the work to show NBA teams he could develop into something special. His rare quickness, length and smooth skillset at his size translating perfectly to the individual workout setting, he shot up the boards in the weeks leading up to the draft.

George never stopped working after hearing his name called at No. 10.

George never stopped working after hearing his name called at No. 10. Not when he was collecting DNP’s in his first couple of months in the league. Not after he earned a starting role as a rookie and found himself guarding MVP Derrick Rose in the playoffs. He turned himself into a deadly 3-point shooter in his second season, then made the most of his increased minutes and role in his third by making his first All-Star team.

"Just make sure that whenever you come in, man, you have some fun," Kevin Garnett told him in this NBA.com video before the game earlier this year in Houston. "You’re used to bumping heads with these cats, but you should be enjoying it, too."

More than the individual accomplishment, more than meeting hip-hop artists 2 Chainz and Meek Mill, George said being around his fellow All-Stars was the highlight of that weekend. George certainly won’t forget speaking with Garnett, saying the Boston Celtics big man "still gets the same feelings at All-Star Weekend" after being selected to the team 15 times in his 18 NBA years, numbers that George can recite from memory.

"It’s one thing to compete against them, it’s another for it to be my first time to experience it with the guys I was able to experience it with," George said. "That’s something that I’ll always cherish and remember."

***

That was George’s second brush with greatness in a matter of months. Last July, he guarded Bryant and LeBron James in scrimmages against the United States Olympic Team as part of the USA Basketball Select Team in Las Vegas.

"He’s always competed and he competed extremely hard," said USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo. "There are things that happen during those practices that are very, very competitive. It’s not a lark. They’re there for a particular reason, they’re trying to earn a spot, if you will, going forward on our teams."

Colangelo said George recognized the opportunity in front of him and when players like Bryant took the lead in the weight room, younger players followed almost immediately. George was amazed by what he saw from the would-be gold medalists.

"I think me making the Select Team was huge," George said. "It was the chance for me to be around those guys and see their work ethic and how they prepare. I think that’s what I took the most away from it. It’s just the way they carry themselves."

George will absolutely be one of the approximately 20 players invited back to Las Vegas this summer, according to Colangelo. From that pool, USA Basketball will select who will represent the country at the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.

Colangelo consulted Larry Bird when considering George for the Select Team. Bird drafted George when he was president of basketball operations for the Pacers and he has advised and supported him since. After a playoff loss against the Miami Heat last year, Bird spoke with George on the phone for over an hour.

George struggled in that Heat series, looking uncomfortable and tentative as he averaged 8.6 points on 37-percent shooting. Reviewing the film afterward, he realized he had to get better, stronger and more comfortable with the ball in his hands. Aside from the fact he had the best defensive schemes in the world to combat, it was a similar situation to the one he was in before his senior year in high school and his sophomore year in college.

"Everything I did [last] summer really prepared me for the year I’m having," George said. "It gave me the opportunity to have my mindset to put my hands on goals like making the All-Defensive Team and the All-Star team. So I just really credit it to hard work."

Understanding what it took to approach his job like an elite NBA player took some time.

Indiana assistant coach Brian Shaw observed some of that work when he visited George in Los Angeles. When he first watched George, he noticed his size, agility and footwork. When Shaw thinks footwork, he thinks Bryant, who he’s known since he played in Italy at the same time as Bryant’s father. Years after playing one-on-one against the 11-year-old Bryant, Shaw played alongside him with the Lakers, then coached him as an assistant on Phil Jackson’s staff.

Shaw knew George’s talent. He also knew his goals and wanted to help him reach them, through Bryant. George had the enthusiasm to improve since he first picked up a basketball, a boundless work ethic in high school and college, but understanding what it took to approach his job like an elite NBA player took some time.

"It was just a matter of trying to get his mindset to the point where his confidence is so high he feels like he can do anything and everything that he wants to out there on the floor," said Shaw.

Whenever Shaw mentioned Bryant’s name, George perked up. When George asked Shaw questions about Bryant’s intensity and regimen, Shaw gladly answered. When Shaw stressed that Bryant wasn’t taking a single day off, that he was getting in the ice tub after games and watching film of himself and his opponents, it carried weight.

"If Kobe is doing it and he’s the best at his position, then why would he think that he’d be able to take time off from doing those same things that made Kobe so great?," Shaw said.

***

In early November, Brian Shaw called George into his office to show him an article listing contract extensions signed by a number of members of the 2009 draft class. James Harden signed for $80 million over five years with the Houston Rockets. Holiday, George’s AAU teammate, got a four-year, $41 million deal from the Philadelphia 76ers. DeMar DeRozan, another product of California, signed with the Toronto Raptors for four years and more than $38 million.

"You’re still on your rookie contract," Shaw said to George, who will be eligible for an extension this offseason, "but you have to put the pressure on this team to do the same thing with you. And the only way that that’s going to happen is you gotta be consistent and you gotta show it in your play."

Approaching the season with star small forward Danny Granger out of the lineup with a knee injury, George said that he welcomed the load being placed on him. Granger’s absence obviously wasn’t what George wanted, but it meant more touches, more shots and more of an opportunity to show he’d improved. It also meant he’d be seeing the opposing team’s top wing defender every night.

There was no team meeting telling George he should score 30 points per game -- not on a team with as many offensive options as Indiana -- but Shaw told him he had to play aggressively. He told him that if the Pacers improved this season, it would be because of his growth. They knew what to expect out of forward David West, center Roy Hibbert and guard George Hill. The same couldn’t be said for George as a featured part of the attack.

"I knew coming into my third year I was going to have to have a huge year," said George. "And with Danny being out it really magnified on the performances I was going to have to have, the consistency I was going to have to keep."

This dependability eluded George early on in the season. He averaged 13.5 points and shot 38.5 percent from the field during the first 17 games. His offseason work with a dribbling coach initially produced uneven results. The guy who had been told to play more aggressively, more selfishly his entire basketball-playing life was now pressing, being told to slow down and stop trying to split the pick-and-roll.

The low point came on Dec. 1 when he went scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting in a road loss to the Golden State Warriors. If he was looking to let the game to come to him that night, it never did.

George said that was the turning point of his season.

"I think that was embarrassing for him that he didn’t score," Shaw said. "And it wasn’t like Golden State shut him down. He wasn’t hitting shots, he wasn’t aggressive offensively."

George said that was the turning point of his season.

"It was good that we had a long flight back to Indiana right after that loss," he said. "It was just a lot of stuff I was able to think about and one of the things that I needed to change was how I prepare for games. Not that I wasn’t preparing for games well enough, but I needed to do that extra, giving the extra effort on preparing. And that included film and coming into the gym early, getting four or five hundred shots up before games, getting a lift in before games, and really just getting my mind right."

He went to the gym to get about 500 shots up as soon as the plane landed in Indianapolis at 7 a.m. The next game against Chicago, he scored 34 points and grabbed nine rebounds, shooting 14-for-25 from the field and adding three steals and two blocks.

"Once I wrapped my mind around [the new routine], and the first couple of games start rolling, that’s when the confidence sets in," George said. "I knew that that’s the level that I could play at, so when I step into games now, I’m expecting to perform well."

George is now expected to build on this. Part of that is developing a killer instinct on the court — one that runs contrary to his polite nature off it. Over the course of the regular season, Shaw continually texted George when the Lakers were playing to tell him to pay attention to Bryant’s demeanor.

The other part is becoming more efficient, selecting better shots and making better decisions. While his drop in field goal percentage (44 percent to 42 percent) this season is understandable considering the added responsibility and defensive attention, he and his coaches know that number needs to go back up. His turnovers, 2.9 per game on the season, need to decrease, too.

Even with all the strides George has made, there’s still plenty of potential to unlock.

Even with all the strides George has made, there’s still plenty of potential to unlock. His whole life he’s shown the ability to do that. As improbable as his rise appears, those who had the opportunity to observe him closely aren’t exactly surprised.

"All the guys that make it to that level, it has to take an incredible amount of dedication and work ethic," said George's high school coach Hegre. "But … there’s guys that take it just a notch beyond the others. And I just think he’s always had the attitude of ‘I can always work harder.’ "When the NBA guys were calling … one of the things that I always liked to talk about when describing Paul was ‘He’s not anywhere near as good as he’s going to be.’ And I still believe that today."

After this postseason, the NBA’s Most Improved Player will once again be focused on his craft, showing that same spirit he had when he started back in Palmdale, wearing jean shorts at the YMCA and dribbling his ball inside the house.

"My mom would always yell at him, ‘Get that basketball out of here,’" said Teiosha. "He’d always get in trouble for that. But, I mean, looking at it now, we laugh. As the time we thought he was just crazy — 'What are you doing?' you know? But that’s the type of passion that he had, he always worked on his game. If something was stopping him or there was some type of obstacle, he would find a way to get around it, to maneuver around it."

That passion for the game and that knack for negotiating such challenges has taken George this far. There’s no telling where he’ll end up.

Producer: Chris Mottram | Editor: Mike Prada | Copy Editor: Kevin Fixler | Photos: Getty Images

Raptors' End-of-Season Press Conference: Colangelo and Casey Speak to the Media

2013-04-22T20:15:04Z

TORONTO -- Monday marked the fifth straight year that Toronto Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo met the media to discuss a season that ended in April. While head coach Dwane Casey took questions separately beforehand, it was clear that the two have situated themselves side-by-side.

"I will tell you that anyone who was trying to drive a wedge between us failed to do so," Colangelo said. "We are fine. We get along great and if I come back there will be no question about who the coach will be. Dwane Casey will be the coach of this basketball team."

Colangelo flatly denied that he ever thought about making a coaching change earlier in the season. "Absolutely not," he said. "Put that one to bed. I'll leave it there."

"I hope it's Bryan and I back because we started this plan together," Casey said, repeating himself from the last night of the regular season. Colangelo said that his own contract status should be resolved in the next two to three weeks.

Much of what was said Monday has been said ad nauseum over the past little while. Casey talked about losing close games and Jonas Valanciunas' steep learning curve at the start of the season. In Colangelo's nine-minute opening statement, he once again explained the rationale for DeMar DeRozan's contract extension and referred to selecting Valanciunas despite outside criticism. Both pointed to the way Valanciunas and Kyle Lowry finished the season as positives and brought up the team's 30-29 record after its 4-19 start.

What follows are selected quotes from the two men who are steering this Raptors ship, at least for the time being:

Casey:

On where the team is going into next season: "I'm not guaranteeing the playoffs but [we] expect to be in the playoffs because that's the next step of progression in the plan. It's funny, you kind of laugh because you hear about how disappointing, how terrible a season we had. Well, in the plan we talked about I don't think anybody promised the playoffs. I said we'd be knocking on the door and we did."
On Kyle Lowry: "There's a lot been made about Kyle and I hitting heads and going at each other. The one thing I was guilty of with Kyle is, and I probably hindered him a little bit, was making sure he got the ball to DeMar first and then to Jonas rolling to the basket because we have all those weapons. Kyle's strength and his gift is attacking the rim, attacking the basket and his stubbornness and his toughness is also a gift. And anytime you have that combination, again, it was never [that] we weren't talking, we weren't speaking. We talked every day about what we needed to do to win and that type of thing, so it was never a contentious dislike or anything like that. It's coaching, I call it."
Why didn't Andrea Bargnani perform like he did in 2011-2012?: "That's an amazing question ‘cause Andrea is a talent. There's no question about that. Pulling that out of him, I've used every bit of experience that I had in the book of pulling it out ... Our offensive package was built on the similar offensive package we had in Dallas for Nowitzki. And it never got to that, I was looking for him to be the go-to guy in close games, in crunch time. It never developed this year. He was a mystery but I do know that the talent is there and I'll continue to try to pull it out of him and get it out of him and whatever it takes to get that out of him."
On Landry Fields: "Landry for me has probably one of the highest basketball IQ's on our team. Moving without the basketball. We always sic'd him on one of the top offensive players if someone was getting out of control. His biggest thing was health. His elbow, getting it right this summer. Working with his shot, reconstructing his shot as Eddie Davis did last summer. John Townsend did a heck of a job with Eddie. I know Alex and John Townsend are going to work with him on his shot to get it back. I know if you shoot 39 percent in this league you still have it. It's like swimming, you don't forget it. It's still there. His deal is to get his shot back, reconstruct it."
On Terrence Ross: "Learning the nuances, learning to continue to focus on every possession offensively and defensively is where the next level Terrence has to go to. A lot of that is maturity because I think he has a gift, the shooting skill. Now he has to learn when to drive it, when to pass it, when to shoot it. Defensively not taking a possession off ... His thing is consistency, maturity, getting stronger and learning to get that mental focus on every possession which if you look around the league every rookie has that issue and problem. I'm very impressed with his talent. He's a big time talent. Now we've just got to continue to push him this summer to be that complete player going into next year."
What team would you try to emulate?: "I'll tell you who went through a similar process with similar type athletes is Indiana. If you notice, you remember, they had [Danny] Granger, they brought in [Paul] George, they had [Roy] Hibbert there, it took them a little while, a few years to get it going, get it together. They added a few pieces, it took [Lance] Stephenson a few years, he's a lot like Terrence Ross, to come in and jell together. They brought in a point guard in Hill to go in and kind of glue it all together but it took ‘em a while. It didn't happen overnight, they did a lot of it organically I think is the word. I look at Indiana as kind of the example that we should go by or can go by or are a lot like...And now look at them, they're one of the top three defensive teams in the league and very efficient offensively and play the style that I think wins in the playoffs."

Colangelo:

On where the team is: "I believe where we are is a much greater place, a much more developed team much further down the path then a number of people in the media seem to think. And that's not to be defensive or take offense to to what's being said, but we are pretty much exactly where I thought we would be with respect to the roster make-up. Maybe not from a wins/loss perspective but when you talk about this process, I believe three years ago year one we won 28 percent of our games. Year two it was 35 percent and this year we won 42 percent. The next step is obviously to get to the point where you exceed 50 percent and guarantee yourself a playoff spot."
On Lowry's season: "There was a comfort level there with Jose Calderon and the coach that made it a little bit difficult for a player like Kyle to come back and find his way [after his injury]. Unfortunately too long of the season I would say, too much time passed where he was ineffective and he was ineffective because he wasn't in a position to use his skillset and his mentality. That's not a knock on the coach at all. That's absolutely a function of a player - Jose Calderon - who was a very good player and a solid player for this organization fitting in and finding his way back to a point of productivity and efficiency that warranted him to play. That doesn't make the Lowry trade a bad trade, but it made it hard to swallow for those watching from the outside. But we knew that ultimately a scenario would play out where Jose wasn't with us anymore and immediately Lowry was thrust back into a situation where he is now ready to play and he needed to get in shape, get in game shape where he was playing 36-40 minutes a game. He needed find his way with the coach, which ultimately they did."
More on Lowry: "He's got a big summer ahead of him. He's got to work on his body physically and get right for the start of training camp. He was coming off of a surgery last year that no one really talks about. It's an intricate surgery that needs some time. It was one of the reasons he did sit out some or part of training camp. I can't say that he was ever physically right this year."
On Valanciunas, who he credited for watching and learning and coming back better after his hand injury: "This kid is a sponge and I can't say enough about what we think of him as a bright spot for the future of the organization. All the numbers, all the analytics say he is going to be just tremendous as he ranks or compares to a number of all-star centers that have played in this league or are playing in this league."
More on Valanciunas: "I've made the comment to coaches and training staff that we need to back off a little bit in terms of his pre-game routines. This kid puts two hours in before every game, sometimes even in back-to-back situations. He's always one of the first guys in the gym. We have to say, ‘Slow down.' We've got to hold him back from himself. We've got to protect him a little bit. You could not have a more gregarious, energetic young guy to kind of shoulder more burden next year. This is a big summer for him. But he's going to come in with a full understanding of what's expected of him. He's going to come in with a full understanding of what we're doing defensively. His offensive game is just blowing up. It's expanding every day. We're going to make sure we continue down that process."
Asked if he'd tied Casey's hands by giving him players that don't fit his system, Colangelo said he thinks the athletic players on the roster have upside on the defensive end. "I think anybody that thinks these guys can't play together, the talent that we've assembled, you've grossly misinterpreted this team," he said. "It's not all about analytics. It's a big part of it, but it's not all about that. It's about putting talented basketball players on the court and finding a way to get the most out of them. That's what we're doing right now and that's what happened for the better part of 70 percent of the season. I'm looking at this season as more positive, and I don't think we've tied anyone's arms behind their backs in terms of where we're going."
He reiterated that they looked into trading Bargnani before he got injured and nothing has changed since then. "Andrea is a talent," Colangelo said. "He is a talent that's undeniable, and we'll continue to try to utilize him the best we can until we announce otherwise."
Looking toward the offseason, he said that he wanted to add more perimeter shooting regardless of what happens with Bargnani and that it would be very important to add more experience. He added that a decision has yet to be made about the backup point guard spot, while stating that John Lucas III was originally brought in as a third point guard.

Jeff Green reflects on a year of personal triumph

2013-04-18T17:30:05Z

TORONTO -- Jeff Green suited up in every game for the Boston Celtics this season. Last year, he didn't play a single minute, recovering from heart surgery. The Celtics discovered an aortic aneurysm in a routine physical before the season started. It was life-threatening. After surgery he was told it would be two years before he'd completely recover.

"Oh, man, I'm truly blessed," Green said after the Celtics' final game of the regular season at the Air Canada Centre. "I mean, coming from heart surgery one year ago to come back and play every game and play the way I did. I got better as the year went along, that was all I wanted. I'm just blessed to be able to say that I played the whole season after having heart surgery and I just want to continue to get better."

"It's amazing," Boston guard Avery Bradley said. "Jeff, personally, we're all a family but he's like a brother to me. And to see everything that he's been through and be able to overcome everything and to have the season that he's had this year is just amazing."

Last season Bradley needed surgery on both shoulders during the Celtics' second-round series and couldn't contribute to the latter half of their playoff run. He and Green texted one another watching the games, wishing they could be out there.

"It was tough because you want to play the game, you want to be out there trying to help your teammates," Green said. "I think this year we have a little chip on our shoulders because now we have the opportunity to do what we couldn't do last year, so we're just going to go out there and play hard and try to give it our all."

It took Green some time to get comfortable and consistent with the Celtics, but he's been playing the best basketball of his career over the second half of the season. In the last 39 games, he averaged 16.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest, shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 43.1 percent from the three-point line.

His 43-point outburst against the Miami Heat in mid-March sticks out, but what's more significant for the Celtics is that it's not surprising when he puts up big numbers anymore. Green closed out March with a pair of efficient 27-point games, went for 34 three days into April and hit the Heat with another 25 last Friday.

When Boston lost Rajon Rondo, Leandro Barbosa and Jared Sullinger for the season and then dealt with injuries to Kevin Garnett and Chris Wilcox, it created more opportunities for Green. As he's been more counted on, he's been more confident.

"I'm happy for him," Bradley said. "And I hope he wins like Most Improved or something ‘cause that's just amazing to go through what he's been through and then play the way that he's been playing. It shows that he has a strong heart and at the same time he's a good guy and he's a great player."

Green's last playoff appearance was in 2011, just months removed from the controversial trade that brought him to Boston and sent fan favorite Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He averaged 7.3 points per game on 43.4 percent shooting over nine games against the New York Knicks and the Heat, averaging 19.2 minutes as he tried to figure out his place in the offense off of the bench. When he steps on the Madison Square Garden floor as the postseason begins on Saturday, it will be in an increased role.

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"I'm pretty sure it's very special for him," Bradley said. "I'm happy that he's playing. I'm happy that we're both playing, ‘cause we both were going through the same thing not being able to play, be there for our teammates. So we're excited. I'm excited, this is my second playoff experience so I can't wait. And I know he can't, I know he can't wait. The atmosphere is like no other."

"I'm just happy to be at this point," Green said. "To be able to say I finished the season strong and healthy and we're going to the playoffs."

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Doc Rivers discusses Boston Marathon bombings

2013-04-18T01:23:47Z

TORONTO -- Before the Boston Celtics' 81st and final game of the regular season -- Tuesday night's home game against the Indiana Pacers was cancelled in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings -- head coach Doc Rivers met with the media at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday. As well as the normal end-of-season questions about who would be sitting out the last game and how they will prepare for the New York Knicks in the playoffs, Rivers discussed what happened in Boston.

"I think it's individual; individual for each guy," Rivers said of how it affected his team. "Probably the guys who've been around here the longest, it's probably affected more. Paul [Pierce] has been here in Boston his whole career, so I think it's had a big affect on him. But listen, I don't think you have to be a basketball player or anything. You don't even have to be from Boston. Or from the United States. When something like that happens, I think it has an affect on everyone because it threatens our safety and our freedom to gather as a group and that's part of what makes us human is that we do that. And every time something like that happens, it threatens that. So that's the sad part."

Rivers was on his way to watch the marathon when the bombings occurred. "I live right around there," he said. "I was coming out of the tunnel but, listen, I had no issues compared to what everybody else had. I just had, I witnessed a panic, which you don't ever want to see. And then I also witnessed, I said this, I witnessed some great things. I witnessed a lot of people just taking charge of their city. And I thought that was awesome."

Before the game in Toronto, both teams shared a moment of silence at halfcourt. Then "Sweet Caroline" played as the Celtics' starters were introduced. Rivers said he was all for anything that could be done to give anyone comfort.

Rivers added he was struck by the unity that he has seen around the sports world in the past couple of days. "I don't know if anybody saw the [sports] page, I think, of the Chicago Tribune," he said. "That was beautiful, that was awesome. You know, 9/11, it was very similar, you saw the Yankee/Red Sox hats. Don't get me wrong, we still hate each other in sports but not in life. You can separate the two things. And I think all the big cities do a great job of showing that, that we're with you and we're against you. It's a neat little thing."

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In Bulls' season of questions, Jimmy Butler answers the call

2013-04-17T16:00:05Z

TORONTO -- Jimmy Butler will do whatever you ask of him. Lately, the Chicago Bulls are asking a lot. He's played an average of 42.7 minutes in his last 12 games, starting at shooting guard or small forward depending on who else is available. He's jumped the opening tip and played backup power forward. Butler is one of just two Bulls, the other being Nate Robinson, to suit up in every game this season.

For a team forced to shuffle its lineup because of injuries to Joakim Noah (foot), Taj Gibson (knee), Luol Deng (hamstring, foot), Richard Hamilton (back), Marco Belinelli (abdominal strain) and Kirk Hinrich (foot, elbow, knee) in addition to being without Derrick Rose all season long, Butler's been a constant. He's trusted by head coach Tom Thibodeau because of his defense and he's shown off his growing game on the other end.

"He's an excellent offensive player," Thibodeau said. "The way he scores, he runs the floor, he moves without the ball, he's great to the offensive board, he has worked extremely hard on his three-point shot. He's a very good corner three-point shooter right now and we felt good about that from the start. He's always been an excellent free throw shooter so we thought that showed us that he would have the ability to improve his shooting and he's done that. He can play off of people, he's great feeding the post, he does a lot of things that help your team win."

"He's been able to step up in big games when we needed him to," Gibson said.

Last week, Butler scored a career-high 28 points on 10-for-12 shooting against the Toronto Raptors, playing all 48 minutes and grabbing seven rebounds while matched up against the Raptors' No. 1 option, Rudy Gay. Two nights later, he played 50 minutes in an overtime win against the New York Knicks. He had 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting, 14 rebounds, two assists, three steals and three blocks and guarded the league's scoring leader, Carmelo Anthony, for significant stretches.

"With this team, you never knows who's going to be hurt," Gibson said. "A lot of guys been banged up, so he's been stepping up, playing big minutes. You can tell by the way he's been playing, especially when we let Ronnie Brewer go, you knew his minutes were going to go up a lot more."

"You gotta earn every second when you play for a coach like Thibs." -Jimmy Butler

Going into the season, Butler didn't see it that way. Even with the offseason departure of Brewer, a versatile defender and a starter on last year's team, he didn't think an increased role was a sure thing.

"Nothing's given to you," Butler said. "You gotta earn every second when you play for a coach like Thibs and I feel like I've done that. I feel like I've been working, he's seen me putting in that work and it's showing."

As a rookie last year Butler put in work in practice but spent a lot of time bolted to the bench. He appeared in 42 of the Bulls' 66 games in the lockout-shortened regular season, playing just eight minutes per game.

Butler played one playoff minute when Chicago fell to Philadelphia in the first round. This weekend the Bulls will be back in the postseason and his role will be drastically different.

"It's huge," Thiobdeau said of Butler's development. "He's a team-first guy and he's made a great commitment to our team. He has steadily improved since he was drafted. Unfortunately for him, he came in, the first year was the lockout season, so he missed the summer and the fall, so he was learning on the fly most of last year."

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It might seem like the No. 30 pick of the 2011 draft has come out of nowhere, but those around him aren't surprised.

"I could see it in practice," Gibson said. "I could see it in his demeanor, how he approaches the game."

"Everybody knew what his talent was but you gotta think about everybody who was playing ahead of him last year," said Toronto Raptors point guard John Lucas III, who played for Chicago last season. "From Kyle Korver, Rip Hamilton, Luol Deng, Ronnie Brewer. So it was just a pecking order. He knew he had to wait his turn, he wasn't frustrated, he came in and put his work in and it shows this year."

Butler averaged 17 minutes per game as a backup until Deng hurt his hamstring in mid-January. He then suddenly found himself in the starting lineup and playing 43-plus minutes for five-straight games. He's had ten 40-plus minute nights since and it rarely looks like he has tired legs. Butler is shooting 37.5 percent from behind the three-point line on the season, 48.1 percent in the last 22 games when his minutes have been the heaviest. It's particularly impressive considering he shot just 2-for-11 from behind the arc all of last season.

"I thought last summer he showed us how serious he was by being in the gym every day all summer long," Thibodeau said. "He didn't take a day off, just kept working and working and working. It wasn't anything that he said, it was what he was doing. And when you get that type of commitment, you're going to see improvement. He's got a great demeanor, great work ethic and those types of guys continue to improve and that's what he's done."

Thibodeau isn't the least bit surprised with what Butler has done. Asked if his perception of the swingman had changed, he offered a simple "no" before pausing for a few seconds and adding that he watched him a lot in college.

At Marquette, Butler's shot looked slightly different but his style was the same. He so much took pride in his defense that he put a picture of a game-winning shot made against him on the back of the door in his dorm room. He wanted a reminder that he couldn't let it happen again. It's this attitude that makes him a typical Thibodeau player.

Photo credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

"I feel like we connect in more ways than one," said Butler. "Especially on the defensive end, that's what I pride myself on and just his winning mentality and how he always wants to win."

"It's not a coincidence that he's there," Lucas said, adding that he knows Butler likes the challenge of guarding the league's best.

"He just goes hard every possession," said Lucas. "Every possession, he goes hard. And he knows he's good. You gotta have a cocky attitude to play this game of basketball. You have to be very sure of yourself. And he's assured of himself. I talked to him over the game [last Friday] and he was talking all trash. I was like, alright, young fella. But when you put the work in and you go out there and you know what you're capable of doing, you don't worry about anything else."

Heading into the playoffs with an inconsistent offense, endless questions about the potential return of their superstar and numerous rotation players coming off of injuries, there are plenty of concerns for Thibodeau in Chicago. When it comes to the dependable Butler, there's nothing to worry about.

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How John Wall turned his 2012-13 season around

2013-04-15T17:30:06Z

TORONTO -- You can't keep John Wall away from the basket. He's just too fast. If he wants to get into the paint, he's probably getting there.

"Speed kills," said Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey before a recent game against Wall's Washington Wizards. "And it's one of those things that you can't scheme for. You can kind of know where your help is and know which direction you want to send him because he does have a predominant direction he likes to go. But that's about it."

Wall's been playing like he knows you can't stop him. Since the beginning of March, the point guard has averaged 22.9 points, 7.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game. He's shot 47.8 percent from the floor and taken 7.5 free throws a game. Those are Russell Westbrook numbers; Derrick Rose numbers. If this is his case for a maximum contract extension, it's a convincing one.

Wall is now consistently making shots off the dribble. The scouting reports show you shouldn't give him space around the right elbow, but that's more difficult than it sounds when you're concerned about him getting inside. This past summer, you could find 2010's No. 1 pick in an L.A. gym early in the morning, putting in the hours on his jumper and his change-of-pace moves with Rob McClanaghan, the man who trains both Rose and Westbrook.

Where earlier in the season and earlier in his career he might have forced things, he's making defenses pick their poison.

"There's a balance," Wizards head coach Randy Wittman said. "That's the thing that I think he's done a great job with. He has an understanding of picking and choosing where that aggression comes out and when it comes out. It's just, it's a feel. It's a feel. And he's in a good mode now, he's shooting the ball extremely well, he's playing with confidence."

The same couldn't be said before March. After missing the season's first 33 games with a knee injury, he averaged 13.7 points per game on 40 percent shooting over a seven-week stretch. In January, ex-Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy said in a radio interview he didn't think Wall was a player you could build around. In February, agent David Falk told the Washington Post the Wizards should trade him because he had no feel for the game. When ESPN.com ranked the top 25 players under 25 years old, the 22-year-old Wall didn't make the cut.

A 1-for-12 shooting night with seven turnovers in a loss to the Raptors on Feb. 19 was the low point until another seven-turnover night eight days later in a loss to the Pistons. Wall played 24 minutes in that Detroit game, had poor body language on the bench and talked about teammates not catching his passes after the game as those teammates had to answer questions about his struggles.

That night, veteran Washington big man Emeka Okafor got into an argument with Wall. Normally not one to be particularly vocal, Okafor challenged him. He wanted Wall to take ownership of the team, of his mistakes. If there was going to be accountability in the locker room, it had to start with the most talented player on the roster.

The sense around the team was that the confrontation would be meaningful. The question was if it would make things much better or much worse. As it turns out, it was just what Wall needed.

In the weeks since, Wall's played freer. Long gone are the days where he was learning his teammates' tendencies, learning to trust himself after an injury, learning to play at the right pace. He knows his place in the locker room and what his teammates expect of him.

Wittman has called fewer plays, giving Wall more responsibility.

"I feel like the first couple minutes of the game, I get everybody involved," Wall said. "If I feel like we're struggling a little bit, I try to pick up my load of being more aggressive. And when I start being more aggressive it ends up tending to get guys easier shots. Sometimes I need to score and sometimes I don't, but lately I've been scoring a lot."

When Wall erupted for a career-high 47 points in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies in late March, he added eight assists. In a win three days prior to that, he set a career high with 16 assists to go along with his 24 points against the Los Angeles Lakers and only turned the ball over once. It's not just that the numbers are nice, it's that he's doing it within the framework of a functional team.

Washington's turnaround since its 5-28 start without Wall prompted an apology from Van Gundy. The Wizards will miss the postseason but went 15-7 when Wall, Bradley Beal and Nene were in the lineup. Wall is adamant that he'd be preparing for the playoffs if not for injuries. Despite the 50-plus losses, there's optimism about this group.

"I really enjoy the team," Wall said. "We really have a lot of fun of just hanging out with each other, joking around. When we're on the court we're all serious, we all want to win, we know what it takes and we know what this team is capable of if we do it the right way. And that's playing defense from the start of the game and just letting our offense go and putting pace into the game."

If the offseason brings Washington some more pieces who can run with Wall and a big man who can stretch the floor, it would make him even more dangerous. Even if the Wizards bring back essentially the same group and have some better luck with health, it'll be a radically different situation from his first two years.

"Oh I have a lot, way more weapons now, just to be honest," Wall said. "More consistent shooters, guys that understand their roles, want to win and want to play for the organization. It makes it a lot easier because if you help off me I'm doing a great job of finding those guys and if you don't help off me I'm going to get to the basket and finish or get fouled. I just wish we were all healthy from the start."

While Wall will have to wait until next year to prove his point about the playoffs, he's already answered the most important questions about his game. He still has all the skills and the qualities that made everyone so confident in him coming out of college. He's also shown he has the mental toughness to take the lumps that come with hype, injuries and losing and come out the other side.

"He's very mature," said Okafor. "He has the stuff, he has his goals together. He's on the right track."

And he isn't about to slow down.

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Raptors' Rookie Acy Keeps Working

2013-04-02T16:45:10Z

TORONTO -- Quincy Acy left an impression on the Chicago Bulls 11 weeks ago. In a tough 108-106 loss at the Air Canada Centre on Jan. 16, the Toronto Raptors forward made all of his field goal attempts: three dunks and a mid-range jumper. Acy, the 37th pick in the 2012 draft, also finished with six rebounds, a block and a steal, making the most of his 15 minutes.

In the visitors locker room after the game, Bulls forward Taj Gibson talked with frontcourt partner Joakim Noah about Acy's aggressiveness. During the game with play paused for free throws, Gibson showed the rookie some love.

"Way to earn your minutes," Gibson said to Acy. "Just keep playing hard, you're going to stay on the court and find your way into the rotation."

Acy simply told Gibson he appreciated it.

"It means a lot because I watched him for these past couple of years and I like how he plays," said Acy. "He plays hard, he's improved a lot just off playing hard and working hard. To hear that from a guy who's been through some of the things, just playing hard to get where he is, it means a lot."

When Gibson was a rookie in Chicago three years ago, he was in the starting five before the season's second week. While the story has not been the same for Acy, you can see some similarities in style.

"Taj was the same way - great worker, high motor," said Raptors center Aaron Gray, a Bull when Gibson began his career. "I don't think anyone in the league would not appreciate the effort and intensity that Quincy gives. To hear that Taj kind of gravitated toward him doesn't surprise me at all."

Since that game, though, Acy's minutes dried up. Jonas Valanciunas and Andrea Bargnani returned a couple of weeks later and the newly-acquired Rudy Gay played some power forward. Acy played just two minutes in the month of February, then five on the first day of March before spending three weeks in the D-League.

Monday finally marked his return to an NBA court. In the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons, Acy skied for an offensive rebound, then rose up again and screamed as he attacked the rim with a vicious one-handed dunk. He finished with four points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal in seven minutes. More important than the role he played was the fact he was ready.

"He's a hard worker and he's a great teammate," Gray said. "People like that, you want to see succeed. You want to see them put in the best position possible when they do get their opportunity and that's kind of been my thing with him. Especially as rookies, it's hard for first round high draft picks to break into rotations. Now you're coming in as a second-rounder, you need to develop a little more, but just stay patient and keep doing the things you're doing. He's done a great job."

Gray was a second-round pick himself and knows all about staying patient and persistent. On separate occasions this season he's received DNP-CD's in seven straight games and started six straight. From night to night, you don't know whether or not you'll see him on the floor. Before every game, though, you can find him attentively watching game tape in the locker room. Not only has Gray's approach had an impact on Acy, he has taken him under his wing.

"I can't even start on A.G., man," Acy said. "That's my vet. I love A.G. like a brother because he's a humble guy. No matter if he plays 20 minutes of zero minutes, he's gonna be the same. He comes in, he'll work out with me in the morning. He don't have to be here early but he comes early. It just says a lot about him, his humility and his, I don't know, he's a good dude, man.

"You ain't gonna find too many dudes like Aaron Gray," Acy continued. "He's a great dude and it's just like little things - he's always making sure we go hard in the weight room. When we're shooting, he makes it competitive. He's like, ‘Keep working, young fella, keep working.' At halftime, at a certain time on the clock: ‘Come on, Q. Let's go out.' He's like my big brother. I'd do anything for Aaron, man, because he's done so much for me and I can't even stress to you how important he is to my development and how good he's been to me mentally."

Photo credit: USA TODAY Sports

At the same time as Acy is earning encouragement, he is doling it out to his former Baylor teammates. Even though he, Quincy Miller and Perry Jones III are all rookies, Acy still feels like their vet. He says both Miller and Jones have "all the talent in the world" but understands that, on good teams, they'll have to wait to showcase it.

Jones has jumped from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Tulsa 66ers and back all season long and Miller just played his first Denver Nuggets minutes in of 2013 on Saturday. Acy knows how difficult that is to deal with.

"I'm older than them so I just feel like I can give them a little more advice," said Acy. "And it's coming from somebody that's going through the same thing as them, not somebody that's playing 30 minutes or something like that. I think they can relate to that a bit more."

Acy's easy to relate to, easy to root for. That's always the case when your style of play is all heart, energy, extra effort. With eight games left and the playoffs out of the question, it's time for him to make some more impressions in Toronto.

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