Three talking points from the NBA

Emotion getting the better of Warriors' Raymond Green? Joe Johnson a perfect fit for Miami Heat? We look at trends and topics in the National Basketball Association this past week that caught our attention:

Published : Mar 01, 2016 13:38 IST , Los Angeles

Miami Heat forward Joe Johnson, playing in his first game with the Heat, gestures as he runs down court in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Miami Heat forward Joe Johnson, playing in his first game with the Heat, gestures as he runs down court in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York.
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Miami Heat forward Joe Johnson, playing in his first game with the Heat, gestures as he runs down court in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Here's our pick of the topics from the National Basketball Association (NBA) that caught our attention:

Warriors' Green apologizes for rant

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was apologetic on Monday, saying his emotions got the better of him in his halftime tirade during the NBA champion's victory over Oklahoma City last weekend.

"I admit my mistakes, and I made a mistake," Green said. "I made a mistake with my teammates and coaching staff. I apologize to my teammates and my coaching staff and this organization. That wasn't the right way to handle what needed to be handled."

Green didn't go into details, but denied he threatened to sit out the second half.

"I will never quit on my teammates, as some have reported," he said. "I will never quit on my coaching staff. I will never quit on this organization."

Warriors coach Steve Kerr scoffed at any suggestion that the incident indicated any deep problem in the team that could derail their bid to repeat as champions, and perhaps break the single-season record of 72 victories set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls — a team Kerr was on.

"Every team I've ever been on has had stuff like this," Kerr said. "Every team. Championship teams or not, it happens. It's 15 Alpha males in a room trying to compete, money on the line and prestige and trophies and competition. This is being so overblown."

Long-range solution?

The explosion of three-point shooting in the NBA — led by the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry — has Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban suggesting making the long-range shot, well, longer.

Cuban thinks the three-point line — 23 feet and nine inches from the basket at the top of the arc and 22 feet away at the baseline — should be moved back.

"It has turned into that nobody has a mid-range game coming out (of college) anymore," he said. "Unless you shoot a three, you can't shoot for the most part.

"It would open up play for more drives, guys with mid-range games will be rewarded and they would stay in the game, there would be more diversity of offensive action in the game."

Cuban said he knew it would take time for the idea to gain traction.

"You bring it up and they laugh at it for a few years," he said. "And then they decide whether to do something or not."

Heat lobby hard, land Johnson

Veteran NBA guard Joe Johnson said it was the personal touch — in the form of appeals by Heat players Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem and Amare Stoudemire — that prompted him to sign with Miami after he was waived by the Brooklyn Nets.

With LeBron James's Cleveland Cavaliers and the Atlanta Hawks also interested, Johnson said the Heat players were just too persuasive.

"I've had guys on this team that I've been pretty close with, talking to D-Wade, U.D., played with Amare. So just talking through those guys throughout the process just kind of helped my decision," he said.

"This is a tough decision, but I think it was the right thing."

Miami, currently fourth in the Eastern Conference standings led by the Cavaliers, wasted no time in putting Johnson to use. He started Sunday night in a 98-81 win over the Knicks in New York.

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