Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett are impressed with what the Nets have done with their roster, according to Paul Flannery of Weei: “They’ve had a heck of a summer,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “They’ve obviously had a lot of game-planning about the summer because they had two game plans: The Dwight Howard plan and a secondary plan, which is still a pretty good plan. They’ve done it. They’ve pulled it off. I think the new arena and all that helped recruit players. I think it helped keep a player. I thinkDeron Williams, if they had stayed in Jersey, probably wouldn’t be there.”… “I like Brooklyn,” Kevin Garnett said. “Brooklyn’s a very solid team. With Joe Johnson and with Deron and everybody, they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with. They’re nothing like last year. They’re going to be strong. I like their team.”
Leandro Barbosa has finally come to an agreement with a team, according to Wojnarowski: “Free-agent guard Leandro Barbosa has reached agreement on a one-year contract with the Boston Celtics, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Barbosa, 29, gives the Celtics another offensive weapon to play off its revitalized and revamped bench. Barbosa finished the season with the Indiana Pacers a year ago, averaging 11.1 points per game with Toronto and Indiana in the lockout-shortened season. After playing fairly well in the Pacers’ five-game series victory over Orlando in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, Barbosa struggled to find his shooting touch in the conference semifinal loss to the Miami Heat. Boston could lean more heavily on Barbosa until guard Avery Bradley returns from shoulder surgery sometime before Jan. 1.”
- Kevin Love hurt his hand in his condo, according to Jerry Zgoda of Star Tribune:
A little tidbit: I'm told KLove broke his hand working out at his Minneapolis condo this morning before practice at Target Center
@JerryZgoda
Jerry Zgoda
Steve Novak worked on moves to be more than just a spot-up shooter over the summer. The effort looks to be paying off, according to Marc Berman of New York Post: “In the preseason game against the Celtics at XL Center, Novak was 1-of-6 from 3-point land and 3-of-5 on 2-pointers. That’s a statistical oddity that deserves an investigation. Coach Mike Woodson explained it yesterday, saying the 3-point specialist has added a dimension to his game — creating shots off the dribble. Novak was a catch-and-shoot machine from 3-point territory last season, leading the NBA in 3-point percentage (47.8). But that became the only way he could score. “In the last game, he made a couple of shots off the dribble,’’ Woodson said. “That’s something we didn’t see [last season]. That’s something we talked about in the summer about developing. All it is, is two, three escape dribbles to get your shot. He’s been working on that. The next step is get him to take it all the way to the hole and make him get knocked on his [butt] and get to the free throw line.’’
- If James Harden becomes a restricted free agent, expect the Mavericks to pursue the guard, from Tom Haberstroh of ESPN (via RealGM): “The Dallas Mavericks are interested in pursuing James Harden should he become a restricted free agent in the 2013 offseason, according to sources. Harden has until October 31st to reach an agreement on a contract extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns are also expected to pursue Harden.”
Jeremy Lin was very frustrated after struggling against the Spurs in his last exhibition game, from Jonathan Feigen of Houston Chronicles: “It’s frustrating,” Lin said. “Any time you don’t play as well as you think you’re capable of, it’s frustrating. I have to remember it’s a process. It’s not just going to happen overnight for me. I’m going to have to build and build step by step, brick by brick. As long as I get an upward progression of improvement over time, I think I’m happy.”… Lin said he would not have been able to live with his play Sunday had it been a regular-season game, so coach Kevin McHale, knowing Lin would have to live with it for a few days, met with him on Sunday evening and again Monday morning in Dallas. “He’s just getting his confidence back, trying to get his mojo going, which is very common,” McHale said. “I said, ‘Just go out and relax and play. It’s going to come.’ Anybody who has ever played and come back has gone through a period (when) it’s kind of odd. All of a sudden, things click, and he’s back to playing well and confident.”
- Here is a quick clip of LeBron James working on his newest post move: