News from April 25. Avery Johnson (Dal) was named as Coach of the Year. Johnson received 63 of 124 possible 1st place votes. Total position votes (124 media votes) Coach Points 1st 2nd 3rd Avery Johnson (Dal) ...... 419 63 29 17 Mike D'Antoni (Pho) ...... 247 27 31 19 Flip Saunders (Det) ...... 223 18 36 25 Mike Dunleavy (LAC) ...... 88 5 15 18 Byron Scott (NO) ......... 57 7 3 13 Gregg Popovich (SA) ...... 25 2 3 6 Phil Jackson (LAL) ....... 13 1 1 5 Mike Brown (Cle) ......... 9 1 0 4 Lawrence Frank (NJ) ...... 8 0 2 2 Scott Skiles (Chi) ....... 8 0 2 2 Mike Fratello (Mem) ...... 7 0 0 7 Jerry Sloan (Uta) ........ 6 0 1 3 Brian Hill (Orl) ......... 4 0 1 1 Bernie Bickerstaff (Cha) . 1 0 0 1 George Karl (Den) ........ 1 0 0 1 [POM, ROM, and COM were announced 4/20, but I forgot to look for it and the NBA didn't do a good job of announcing it.] The NBA named Kobe Bryant (LAL) and Dwight Howard (Orl) as Players of the Month for April. Bryant averaged 41.6 points and 5.5 rebounds as the Lakers went 6-2. Howard averaged 18.1 points and 14 rebounds as Orlando went 7-2. The NBA named Mike Fratello (Mem) and Scott Skiles (Chi) as Coaches of the Month for April. Memphis went 8-1 and Chicago went 9-1 in April. The NBA named Chris Paul (NO) and Raymond Felton (Cha) as Rookies of the Month for April. Paul averaged 15.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 8 assists as New Orleans went 4-7. Felton averaged 17.2 points and 9.8 assists as Charlotte went 6-3. Denver suspended Kenyon Martin indefinitely for refusing to enter the game in the 2nd half of Monday's Den-LAC game. Indiana activated Jamaal Tinsley and placed Peja Stojakovic on IL with a sore right knee. New Jersey activated Antoine Wright and placed John Thomas on IL. Daniel Gibson (sophomore, Texas, guard), Ian Vouyoukas (junior, St. Louis, center), and Marcus Williams (junior, Connecticut, guard) declared themselves eligible for the NBA draft. SA 128, Sac 119 OT at SA Tim Duncan (SA) had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Tony Parker (SA) had 22 points, 10 assists, and 7 turnovers. Manu Ginobili (SA) had 32 points including 9-12 FG and 9 assists. Brent Barry (SA) had 22 points including 4-7 3-pointers. Kevin Martin (Sac) had 26 points including 10-10 FT and 8 rebounds. Bonzi Wells (Sac) had 28 points including 12-17 FG and 12 rebounds including 5 offensive. Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Sac) had 27 points including 12-19 FG and 9 rebounds. Ron Artest (Sac, suspended) did not play. SA leads the series 2-0. NJ 90, Ind 75 at NJ Richard Jefferson (NJ) had 21 points. Nenad Krstic (NJ) had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Vince Carter (NJ) had 33 points including 12-20 FG, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 turnovers. Jason Kidd (NJ) had 6 points on 3-10 FG, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. Jermaine O'Neal (Ind) had 12 points including 3-12 FG, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 6 turnovers. Anthony Johnson (Ind) had 17 points and 6 rebounds. Fred Jones (Ind) had had 13 points and 6 rebounds. NJ shot 46.5% (33-71) FG and Ind shot 35.4% (28-79) FG. The series is tied 1-1. Was 89, Cle 84 at Cle Caron Butler (Was) had 21 points and 9 rebounds. Antawn Jamison (Was) had 21 points including 3-4 3-pointers and 7 rebounds. Gilbert Arenas (Was) had 30 points including 7-11 FT, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. LeBron James (Cle) had 26 points on 7-25 FG and 11-15 FT, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 10 turnovers. Drew Gooden (Cle) had 24 points including 11-12 FG and 16 rebounds including 5 offensive. The series is tied 1-1. Playoff Standings 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Finals (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) 1 San Antonio (2) __ 8 Sacramento (0) |_ __ _ | 4 Dallas (1) ______| |_ __ 5 Memphis (0) _ | | | 2 Phoenix (1) ____ | | 7 LA Lakers (0) |_ __| | _ | 3 Denver (0) __| | 6 LA Clippers (2) |_ _ | 1 Detroit (1) ____ | 8 Milwaukee (0) |_ __ | _ | | 4 Cleveland (1) ___| | | 5 Washington (1) |_ __| _ 2 Miami (2) ______ | 7 Chicago (0) |_ __| _ 3 New Jersey (1) ___| 6 Indiana (1) First Round (Central times) *if necessary Wednesday, April 26 Game 2: Milwaukee at Detroit 6:30 pm NBATV Game 2: Memphis at Dallas 7:00 pm TNT Game 2: LA Lakers at Phoenix 9:30 pm TNT Thursday, April 27 Game 3: New Jersey at Indiana 6:30 pm NBATV Game 3: Miami at Chicago 7:00 pm TNT Game 3: LA Clippers at Denver 9:30 pm TNT Friday, April 28 Game 3: Cleveland at Washington 7:00 pm ESPN Game 3: San Antonio at Sacramento 9:00 pm ESPN2 Game 3: Phoenix at LA Lakers 9:30 pm ESPN Saturday, April 29 Game 4: New Jersey at Indiana 2:00 pm TNT Game 3: Dallas at Memphis 4:30 pm TNT Game 3: Detroit at Milwaukee 7:00 pm ESPN Game 4: LA Clippers at Denver 9:30 pm ESPN Sunday, April 30 Game 4: Miami at Chicago 12:00 pm ABC Game 4: Phoenix at LA Lakers 2:30 pm ABC Game 4: Cleveland at Washington 6:30 pm TNT Game 4: San Antonio at Sacramento 9:00 pm TNT Monday, May 1 Game 4: Detroit at Milwaukee TBA Game 4: Dallas at Memphis TBA *Game 5: Denver at LA Clippers TBA Tuesday, May 2 Game 5: Indiana at New Jersey TBA *Game 5: Chicago at Miami TBA *Game 5: Sacramento at San Antonio TBA *Game 5: LA Lakers at Phoenix TBA Wednesday, May 3 Game 5: Washington at Cleveland TBA *Game 5: Milwaukee at Detroit TBA *Game 5: Memphis at Dallas TBA Thursday, May 4 *Game 6: New Jersey at Indiana TBA *Game 6: Miami at Chicago TBA *Game 6: Phoenix at LA Lakers TBA *Game 6: LA Clippers at Denver TBA Friday, May 5 *Game 6: Cleveland at Washington TBA *Game 6: Detroit at Milwaukee TBA *Game 6: San Antonio at Sacramento TBA *Game 6: Dallas at Memphis TBA Saturday, May 6 *Game 7: Indiana at New Jersey TBA *Game 7: Chicago at Miami TBA *Game 7: LA Lakers at Phoenix TBA *Game 7: Denver at LA Clippers TBA Sunday, May 7 *Game 7: Washington at Cleveland TBA *Game 7: Milwaukee at Detroit TBA *Game 7: Sacramento at San Antonio TBA *Game 7: Memphis at Dallas TBA