SH Blog: Durant accepts “Mr. Unreliable” headline, Sterling has cancer and doesn’t know why the public is upset with him

David Stern is delighted with the job that Adam Silver has done so far, from Katherine Rosman of Wall Street Journal: “David Stern, the former longtime commissioner of the National Basketball Association, said he is proud of his replacement Adam Silver, who earlier this week banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life for making racist comments. “He and I worked together for 22 years. I told everyone he was going to be great at his job and I’m delighted to see that I was right,” Mr. Stern said this morning, attending the DLD tech conference at the IAC Building in Manhattan.”

Jason Kidd is concerned about the lack of calls for Joe Johnson and wasn’t afraid to open up about it, from Mike Mazzeo of ESPN NY: “Nets coach Jason Kidd made an emphasis of telling reporters that during a Thursday conference call. Specifically, Kidd, unprompted, mentioned that guard Joe Johnson took 23 shots in Game 5 and got only one free throw, something he called “mind-boggling.” “If flopping is the way to go, then we have to maybe play that game,” Kidd said later. “But Joe is a strong individual and unfortunately, he doesn’t flop. He plays and he doesn’t complain. But that’s why we have officials, for them to make calls.”

Patrick Beverley played in Game 5, but he did so while feeling extremely ill, from Dave Zangaro of CSN Houston: ““It was tough. It was tough. I could hardly breathe,” Beverley said when asked how hard it was to play on Wednesday night. He didn’t get an IV during the game. “It was hot out there; I felt cold. I had the chills, a mix of things. But none of it matters anymore now that we got the victory. I’ll probably go to the hospital tonight, check myself in, get some more IVs, get ready for the next one.” Beverley said that he had a 103.8 temperature on Tuesday. It was down to cool 101 on Wednesday. According to Beverley, his stay in the hospital lasted 28 hours.”

According to Tim Kawakami of Mercury News, there may have been a rift between Mark Jackson and Jerry West during the season: “This is where Jackson has run into some indirect conflict with NBA legend and Warriors executive Jerry West, by the way. Jackson has occasionally rolled his eyes whenever West interacts with Warriors players because Jackson believes all basketball instruction should come from the coaches. West, meanwhile, has privately voiced concerns to other front office members about Jackson’s strategic ideas and the strength of the coaching staff after the departure of former assistant Michael Malone last summer. West and Jackson are, of course, aware of the other’s feelings, though I have heard of no direct dispute between them.”

Andray Blatche has been heavily scrutinized for the inexplicable pass he made to end the Brooklyn Nets’ chance of stealing Game 5. He acknowledged the poor pass, but also had a reason for why it was made, from Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN NY: “Shaun made a great play to keep the ball alive,” said Blatche, who scored all seven of his points in the fourth. “I tried to get the ball out to D-Will to get a 3 and take the game home. But somebody ran out there to try to make a tougher pass and backcourt [violation].” “It was unfortunate that pass I made,” Blatche added. “Too strong.” Blatche also explained that the ball slipped out of his hands.”