HoopsVibe: “Enter the sixth man role. Odom can check-in and do whatever is needed. He can be assertive like with Miami. He can facilitate from the point-forward spot. Or he can dominate the boards with his lanky arms. But instead of being underused as a starter, he becomes the best player on an excellent second-unit. Opponents would have to adjust their game plan to Odom’s new role. For example, teams try changing their line-up to slow San Antonio’s top reserve Manu Ginobili. They fail. And the Argentine still goes off and opponents, by adjusting, are off balance all night. Odom as sixth man would have the same impact.”
Peninsula is Mightier: “Marion should own Miami’s failures because he’s a member of the Miami Heat, and a player accepts the history and situation of a team when he joins that team. When you get married, you’re marrying that family, and when you get traded, you’re marrying a franchise. Whether he owns it or not, Marion is now part of the fabric of the Miami Heat. To that end, Marion isn’t the only new guy who should own the Heat’s 15-67 record last year: Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Jamaal Magloire, James Jones, and Yakhouba Diawara should all be aware of what happened in 2007-08 and take it upon themselves to ensure their new team’s fans never have to suffer through something like that again. Here’s a more visceral response to Marion’s quote: You sure did own all of that money, didn’t you? You sure bought into that paycheck, right? You can’t reap the rewards without assuming the risk. When you get paid the way you’re getting paid, I don’t want to hear about which parts of your career you own or don’t own.”
Hooped Up: NBA Players as Superheroes
Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel: “Magic fans have had to wait a while to witness their team tasting sweet success after a long drought in the post-Shaq years. It happened last season, with the club winning 52 games and reaching the second round of the playoffs. Now comes the obvious question. And fans should feel fortunate that they long last have a chance to ask it: Are the Magic fat and happy — or are they still hungry? Ah, yes, good old complacency. Welcome back, Mr. C. Haven’t seen you around here since Shaq roamed the floor. How does a relatively young club — at least a club inexperienced to the culture of winning — top last season’s act? Is it any wonder that Stan Van Gundy says his team will have to play even better to reach 52 wins again? It will be up to Van Gundy and his relentless personality to set the agenda. GM Otis Smith is also a no-nonsense guy whose daily mission is to hold players accountable. So I think the management — on the floor and off it — is there.”
X’s & O’s of Basketball: Mike Krzyzewski, Kobe and Kidd Talk USA Basketball [Video]
Sekou K Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “After three tumultuous and disappointing seasons with the Hawks (he played in 61 games in each of his first two seasons but managed to make appearances in just 35 last year), Stoudamire knows his position in the league is tenuous, at best, right now. That’s why he isn’t taking anything for granted. “This is definitely my second chance and it might be my last chance,” Stoudamire said. “But I know how to turn negatives into a positive. After these three years in Atlanta I can say that I’ve finally become a man. Being in a situation where I wasn’t playing, it humbled me. It made me appreciate just being in the NBA a lot more. It made me work a lot harder and realize that this is a blessing. There are only 400 and something guys in the NBA and billions of people in the world. So once you take that into account, your focus is there, your clarity is there and you can move forward.” Stoudamire leaves the Hawks without cashing in on all the potential he showed, but with a chance to seize an opportunity elsewhere (and when it’s with a perennial powerhouse that routinely plays deep into the playoffs, it’s hard to ask for a better situation).”
Cavs Board: The Worst Offseason Moves of 2008
A. Sherrod Blakely of Michigan Live: “Improved health would be especially beneficial for Wallace and the Pistons in the playoffs, which, in recent years, has been a time when Detroit collectively played some of its worst basketball. Wallace’s scoring in the postseason compared to his regular season averages have been slightly higher the past two seasons. But in the playoffs, Detroit needs him to be more than just a scorer. Because of his size and versatility, the Pistons look for him to not only be an inside scoring force and solid defender, but a rebounder as well. However, rebounding has been the one area in which Wallace has not been as effective in the playoffs as he was in the regular season. In three of the past four postseasons for the Pistons, Wallace’s rebounding numbers have been lower from his regular season average. “I know a lot of people talk about Rasheed going down in the post,” Curry said. “I talked to him a lot about that last year. We’re going to call more plays for Rasheed — not only Rasheed, but other guys to get down in the post because getting points in the paint is going to be one of our main focuses. “But it takes a lot of conditioning, especially as you get older, to get down in the post.”"
The Sport Count: Gilbert Arenas’ Rehab Diary
Clips Nation: “My feeling is that two things will determine how good this team will be (and I’m not going to include injuries in the discussioin – it goes without saying that they have to enjoy relatively good health): Baron Davis and chemistry. I guess I’m surprised (and certainly pleased) that expectations are not higher for this team based simply on Davis’ addition. As I mentioned before, the Warriors had missed the playoffs 10 consecutive seasons, and were among the worst teams in the league when they traded for Davis in February 2005. In three plus seasons in Oakland, the Warriors were 125-102 with Davis in the lineup. They overcame lots of serious injuries (including to Davis himself) to make the playoffs and defeat the Mavs in 2007, and they won 48 games last year – a terrific season, despite missing the playoffs. He’s an impact player, and certainly a leader. If he was able to have such a positive effect up north, imagine the possibilities in his LA homecoming. There’s no question that he is motivated.”
Jerry Brown of The East Valley Tribune: Starting Barnes makes a lot of sense for Suns
Alan Hahn of Newsday: “Know this: Marbury is in good physical shape. Wherever he winds up — my bet is Miami — he’ll likely play well. This is what I believe has led to Donnie Walsh waiting so long before he pulled the trigger: it’s not easy to hand almost $20 million (buyout) to someone and have him go play for the veteran’s minimum elsewhere at potentially an all-star level. But everyone in the NBA by now knows you get two sides of Starbury. You get the driven, unstoppable offensive force who can still get to the hole and knock down a three. But you also get the petulant, self-involved and intolerable personality that can destroy the sanctity of a locker room and undermine a coach. (In other words, good luck Erik Spoelstra).”
Sharon Pian Chan of The Seattle Times: Seattle budget director Dwight Dively proposes how to spend the $45 million settlement received in exchange for the Sonics leaving town
Jody Genessy of The Deseret News: “”We pretty much kept the same core, and I think that’s good …,” Williams said. “Guys are starting to realize their roles.” Williams even believes the possibility of a mass exodus from Utah next summer could play in the team’s favor this year. “A lot of guys got a little bit of pressure on them this year to perform because it’s their contract year. I always think that’s a plus,” he said. “I think that’s another reason why this season’s so important. While we have everybody here, we’ve got to make a run at it and see what we can do.” For his part, Williams has worked to become thinner and fitter than he was while helping Team USA reclaim the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics last month. Williams, who signed a contract extension this summer that could keep him in Utah for five more seasons, said he gained some weight in China because he only played 20 minutes a game and missed out on some cardio workouts. Late games also led to a somewhat crazy eating schedule.”
Mike Barrett of Blazers.com: “A little before 2pm on Monday, before meeting the Blazers staff at the team’s offices, Rudy was given a quick tour of the Rose Garden. It just so happened that a Rose Garden crew was doing some work on the shot clocks, and had basket standards set up, and a small strip of the court was in place from end line to end line. Fernandez let his eyes circle the upper reaches of the arena, and then walked out to the three point line, looked at the rim, smiled and nodded his head. Some interpreted this as sizing up the three-point line, checking out the sight lines of the building, or feeling the court under his feet. To me, it seemed like a “yeah, I finally made it,” kind of moment. Afterall, he has said so many times in the past that his ultimate dream is to play in the NBA. That dream got a lot closer to reality on Monday, and Fernandez took it all in.”
Sean Meagher of The Oregonian: Portland welcomes Rudy Fernandez [Video]
Jason Quick of The Oregonian: “When Rudy Fernandez squared off against Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and the rest of Team USA last month in the Olympics, the Spanish guard said his first thought was to respect the NBA stars. By the time he and Spain met the Americans a second time, in the gold medal game, his mindset had changed. “The second time,” Fernandez said through interpreter and agent Gerard Darnes, “my thought was ‘I’m going to kick their (behind) every time that I can.’ “”
