The NBA has sped up since then, with the league average now at 96.5, but even this year’s fastest team, the Philadelphia 76ers, at 102.6 possessions per game, are tortoises compared with RGV. ESPN stat guru Kevin Pelton has described their style of play as “the most extreme professional basketball in America,” and their pace is historically fast: At 109 possessions per game, the Vipers play far faster than any NBA team in the past two decades, including Mike D’Antoni’s Seven Seconds or Less Suns, who averaged around 98 possessions per game. His Vipers might just be the most running, gunning team pro basketball has ever seen. It’s possible that nearly every coach on earth would have hated that shot - except Nevada Smith. Seven seconds into the shot clock - and with a hand in his face - Daniels fires a 3-pointer, practically from across the Rio Grande.Īs the ball splashes through the net, Daniels throws up three fingers and bangs them against his head. Vipers guard Troy Daniels grabs the rebound and passes ahead to Canaan, who starts to drive to the hoop before whipping it back to Daniels, now standing at the top of the key, three feet beyond the arc. So Canaan coolly waits for the ball to bounce across the 3-point line before snatching it as he whirls and nails a playground triple.Ĭoming back the other way, the Toros, who usually play at one of the D-League’s slowest paces, rush a quick, contested 3. He’s in no hurry to grab it, though - his coach, Smith, preaches that besides a dunk, the best possible shot is a corner 3. On the Vipers’ next possession, point guard Isaiah Canaan, the 34th pick of last year’s NBA draft, down on assignment from the Rockets, tracks a long offensive rebound along the baseline toward the corner. Three minutes into the third, though, a Toros dunk cuts RGV’s lead to 11 and momentum seems to be shifting. Playing the Austin Toros at home in Hidalgo, Texas, a dusty town along the Mexican border, Smith’s team is keeping a frantic pace. On this night in late January, the Vipers are going. Off turnovers, rebounds, made baskets, whatever - it doesn’t matter. Now, the 33-year-old has been entrusted with running what amounts to Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s grand experiment, and all he wants is for his team to push the ball. A year ago, Smith, the coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Houston Rockets’ Development League affiliate, was leading the men’s basketball program at Division III Keystone College in La Plume, Pennsylvania. “Let’s go!” Nevada Smith’s instructions are not complicated. That brings us to D-League Week, an examination of the innovators, also-rans, has-beens, and oddities of the NBA’s minor league. We like it so much that bingeing on LeBron James off-the-wall dunks and Marcin Gortat “Dream Shake” Vines sometimes doesn’t cut it. Should Schwartz leave Philadelphia, Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com tweets that Eagles DB coach Cory Undlin would be a logical in-house candidate to replace him.Grantland really likes NBA basketball. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, in addition to providing a list of candidates the Giants planned to interview for their GM position had they not hired Gettleman, also confirms that New York will be focusing on veteran head coaching candidates ( Twitter link). La Canfora also names Steelers’ offensive line coach (and former Titans head coach) Mike Munchak as a dark-horse candidate for Big Blue’s head coaching gig. Nonetheless, Giants ownership prefers a candidate with previous head coaching experience, which could give Schwartz a leg up. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, echoing previous reports, indicates that new Giants GM Dave Gettleman is partial to current Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, whom Gettleman knows well from his time in Carolina. ![]() He has helped turn the Eagles into one of the league’s powerhouses, and in so doing, he has restored his viability as a head coach. Nonetheless, he has long been regarded as one of the league’s best defensive minds, having worked as the Titans’ defensive coordinator from 2001-08, and he was immediately tabbed as the Bills’ defensive coordinator following his ouster from Detroit. His tenure in Detroit was largely disappointing, as he compiled a 29-51 regular season mark in the Motor City and took his team to the playoffs just once in five years, losing his only postseason game. ![]() Schwartz, who is currently in his second season as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator, previously served as the Lions’ head coach from 2009-13. Schefter’s sources indicate that Schwartz will be a favorite - if not the favorite - for the position. ![]() The Giants plan to interview Jim Schwartz for their head coaching vacancy within the next week, according to ESPN’S Adam Schefter.
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