Clint O’Connor of The Cleveland Plain Dealer: “LeBron James finally found one of the few things he can’t conquer: tears. Welled-up with watery-eyed emotion, James tried to push them back with thumb and forefinger, but they just kept coming. He wasn’t alone. There was a lot of crying and hugging when the lights came up at Saturday’s world premiere of “More Than a Game.” The documentary, by Akron-native Kristopher Belman, follows James and his teammates from grade school through travel-team friendships and basketball glory at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, where four tight buddies became five. It’s a touching, crisply told saga of boys becoming men.”
Patrick Goldstein of The Los Angeles Times: “If he needed any advice about film stardom, he had the perfect person sitting right next to him, Spike Lee, who’s in town promoting his new film, “Miracle at St. Anna.” James and I ended up talking about high school basketball, with him telling me about his schoolboy days and me reminiscing about some of his NBA rivals (Tayshaun Prince, Paul Pierce and Tyson Chandler) who played ball at L.A.-area high schools. As for Iovine, he says an old record producer friend of his got him involved with the film, which Iovine sees as a great launching pad to further the James brand. (No one’s bought the film, though it would be a perfect fit for a streetwise indy studio like Lionsgate, which has already shown interest in acquiring it.) I plan to catch up to it as soon as possible. With James’ presence on screen, both in old footage and new interviews, the film seems to have the star power to transcend some of the normal documentary box-office boundaries. At dinner, Iovine and James’ management were talking about “More Than A Game” sneakers, soundtracks and all sorts of other marketing ideas that could perhaps transform the film into a true pop culture event.”
Adam Lauridsen of The Contra Costa Times: “This third option seems to be the best fit, allowing the punishment to match the crime. Ideally, I’d suggest that the Warriors “suspend” Ellis for every game he misses due to the injury. Ellis would forgo his pay for these games, thereby losing the compensation he placed at risk when he was engaged in the injury-creating activity. The Warriors could also tack on another fine to cover the damage done to the team as a result of his slow recovery, unlikely to leave him in top shape the first day he returns to the NBA court. The combined suspension / fine approach allows the team to strongly reprimand Ellis, but in a way that can be defended as appropriate.”
20 Second Timeout: “The general public does not have a very high opinion of Thomas at the moment, so the reaction to Davidson’s comments by Detroit fans may be either “So what?” or “Good riddance” but that still does not make it right for Davidson to put Thomas’ name in a negative light without making a specific allegation that Thomas could refute if he so desired. Davidson could have either simply said, “I had planned to hire Isiah after he retired but then I decided to go in a different direction” or he could have offered up a more precise explanation of what made him reconsider his plans. Whatever you may think of Thomas as a person or as an NBA executive, put yourself in his shoes for a moment: if you gave your heart and soul to your employer for more than a decade and twice helped your employer reach the pinnacle of the profession–in this case, a pair of NBA championships–regardless of whatever your flaws may be wouldn’t you be hurt and disappointed if that employer not only reneged on a previous understanding to give you a bigger role in the organization but then publicly cast aspersions on your character?”
Erick Blasco of Bleacher Report: Ranks the top 30 small forwards
ClipperBlog: “However miserable the past couple of seasons have been for the Clippers, they rarely got torched by opposing scorers out on the perimeter. Instead they lost basketball games in a much more workmanlike fashion on the offensive end by a simple inability to score. Even at their nadir during the dark Smushian days of last winter, the Clippers remained, at worst, an average defensive team and, on most nights, measurably better than that. This year, the Clippers don’t have a lot of choices. Al Thornton will the start the season at small forward. Maybe Thornton will be a quick study; there’s precedence for a steep learning curve. Dominique Wilkins entered the NBA as a clueless perimeter defender. By the time the Hawks came of age in 1985-1986, he was excelling defensively under Mike Fratello. Thornton improved down the stretch last season, but an Anthony-Thornton…even a Maggette-Thornton matchup probably gives you pause.”
Hoops Addict: Battier Wins the Floor Burn Tournament
Celtics 17: “Of anyone, I’m more concerned with Paul Pierce because we’ve all witnessed the punishment that he’s taken during the years as the Celtics lone wolf. He’s administered his slashing style on the opposition time and again, only to get hacked hard and proceed to the foul line. Now that we’ve all seen him a bit punch drunk this summer as he revels in this first NBA championship, he could be putting himself in a precarious situation with regard to his conditioning and warding off future injury. Here’s hoping that Pierce comes to camp in shape so that he can best ward of the injury demons.”
Blazer’s Edge: “If you run plays for Martell and give him the ball, he’s going to score well for you. If you expect him to play a supporting role he’s probably going to fade away. Granted he did more non-scoring things last season to justify his minutes. It was clearly his best year so far in those terms. Even so his best games clearly came when he had double-digit shot attempts…the higher the better. Minutes are almost immaterial to his production. It’s how many times he gets to put it up that matters. This is what brings up the Martell Quandary. He’s a decent player already and may develop into a legitimately good one. But how many shots can he earn on this team? The de facto reason for him remaining in the starting lineup is that his shooting better complements the interior players. The unspoken assumption there is that Martell will flourish as a complementary player. I’m not convinced that’s so. That’s not a knock on Martell either. Some guys just play better and feel better when they’re central to the offense. Martell’s proclamations as far back as his rookie year have been of the “I want to lead this team, be an All-Star, be one of the great players in this league” variety. If that’s his self-assessment, he may not be able to fulfill it here.”
KGW.com: Greg Oden sings (don’t quit your day job Greg) at a Summer Slam event for kids [Via Blazer’s Edge]
Alan Hahn of NewsDay: “The latest I’m hearing on the Zach Randolph-to-Memphis talks is that the Grizzlies want a first-round pick from the Knicks. Getting a bit greedy, no? Donnie has countered by saying if he’s giving up a first-rounder, he wants something more back with Darko Milicic and Marko Jaric. Jaric, by the way, has to be stoked by these trade talks. He’s spent the summer in New York — his wife-to-be is a model, or did I not say that already? — and I’ve heard he’s been working out recently with possible future mates David Lee and Nate Robinson. Darko is apparently pretty happy about it, too. Starberman caught Darko’s agent, Marc Cornstein, at the US Open over the weekend and Cornstein said they would welcome the chance to play for Mike D’Antoni. And there is a report in the Serbian media that claims Darko Milicic says it’s “99 percent” he’ll be a Knick by the end of the week.”
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