Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe: “Sure, Pierce ranked in the franchise’s top 10 in games, minutes, field goals made, shots attempted, free throws made, points, and assists. His 23.1-points-per-game average put him second all time behind Larry Bird. But he was never in the discussion of All-Time Celtic Greats because there was not enough winning and there were too many bonehead moves. Pierce was often immature. He lost his composure. He sometimes put self ahead of team. There was the weird night he put the bandage on his head in Indiana. There was the unfortunate quote about being a great player on a bad team. There was the rift with Rivers and obvious pout. There was the diss by international basketball and his well-earned reputation as a spoiled scorer. Even at the beginning of the 2008 playoffs, the old stuff dogged Pierce when he was fined for flashing a gang sign. It all went away in the Finals. Pierce did what Russell and Bird and Hondo and the Cooz did. He willed his team to a championship.”
Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times: “The Lakers didn’t need to do this. He would have cost them as much as $13 million more if they had waited, but that was happening only if Bynum had a breakout season. And if that happens, the Lakers are probably having a ring-bearing season, so the investment would eventually pay for itself. By locking down the organization’s potential cornerstone for a less-than-max figure, folks will say Kupchak got a steal. But what did he steal? How is this different from sticking your hand in a darkened jewelry drawer and fleeing with a handful of, well, um, er, you’re just not sure? Kupchak has become possibly the league’s best general manager, and if this blind grab works out, he will take a huge step toward becoming Jerry West. If it doesn’t, well, the Lakers could go south.”
The Association: “The Lakers blinked. Instead of forcing Bynum to earn his extension this season, the Lakers out bid nobody and signed the extension. The Lakers held all the cards: Bynum was coming of knee surgery, has yet to prove he can play a full 82-games as a starter and the Lakers can match any offer for Bynum as he was a restricted free agent. A rule of thumb in the NBA, players PLAY for contracts (Barron Davis played a full 82-games in a contact year… need I say any more?). Have him go a full 82 and earn that contract extension!”
Tim MacMahon of The Dallas Morning News: “Stop me if this sounds familiar: The Mavs settled for way too many jump shots and didn’t get near enough stops in the fourth quarter. That was the consensus opinion of the three All-Star-caliber players in the Dallas locker room. Different coach, same ol’ late-game problems, at least in the season-opening loss to the Rockets.”
Detroit Bad Boys: An interview with former Pistons center James Edwards
Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press: “Most NBA players were big-time scorers before they got to the league, but they don’t have the talent to be big-time scorers in the NBA. They have to learn how to be effective without scoring. Johnson is different. Even in high school, scoring was an afterthought — his strengths were rebounding, blocking shots, deflecting passes. He is a freakish athlete, maybe the best on the Pistons. Johnson doesn’t just jump high, he jumps quickly and repeatedly. And he just wants to play. Consider what happened when he was a rookie and the Pistons sent him to the NBA Development League. Most rookies hate getting sent to the D-League. It’s hard on their egos, and it’s not glamorous at all. When Johnson was an 18-year-old rookie, he actually asked the Pistons to send him to the D-League so he could play. Johnson was never in this for the life. He was always in it for the game.”
Scott Bordow of the East Valley Tribune: “Steve Nash played 34 minutes against the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday. ‘Thirty-four minutes is about right for him,’ coach Terry Porter said. ‘We can keep him fresh that way.’ Guess how many minutes Nash averaged last year under Mike D’Antoni, when he supposedly was worn out by the postseason? You got it: 34. My point? Porter’s Suns won’t be as different from D’Antoni’s Suns as we were led to believe. Now, that doesn’t mean Seven Seconds or Less is going to make a comeback. Clearly, Porter has his own ideas and is his own man. He’ll use his bench – he went 10 deep against San Antonio – and there will be a greater emphasis on defense. Plus, he’ll stick Shaquille O’Neal where he belongs, in the low post. ‘The way they played last year, I think Shaq got lost a lot,’ said New Orleans coach Byron Scott before the Hornets’ 108-95 victory. In some ways, however, the Suns won’t change at all. Take their defense. For all the talk about the Suns’ shortcomings under D’Antoni, the fact is that last year Phoenix ranked a respectable 12th in the league in opponents’ field-goal percentage (45.6 percent).”
Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic: “He still is one of the best shows in town. And if this is the season that Stoudemire emerges as a legitimate MVP candidate, the Suns might yet contend for an even bigger trophy, the one that’s eluded them for 40 years. ‘We’ve seen him score 40 points in a game before, and all that,’ Suns assistant coach Alvin Gentry said. ‘But I think that (game against the Spurs) was one of the best games he’s ever played for us.’ Gentry was referring to Stoudemire’s on-court demeanor, the way he controlled his fouls, the way he passed out of double teams and the way he let the game come to him. In sum, it spoke to a level of newfound maturity. And, really, it’s about time.”
Michael Grange of the Globe and Mail: “He saw it on Wednesday night in Philadelphia — the first time he touched the ball in an NBA game, the 76ers put up a wall of full-court pressure. And chances are he’ll see it tonight when the Raptors make their regular-season home debut at the Air Canada Centre against the Golden State Warriors, who like to play the game at breakneck speed. ‘I was expecting [the pressure on the ball],’ said Ukic, after helping the Raptors win their opener in Philadelphia. ‘I’m aware that everyone looks at me as a white, rookie point guard, but it’s okay. That’s my reality and something I will have to go through. It’s normal, people will try to steal the ball from me.’”
Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer: “If the Cavs are to achieve a very realistic goal of 50 victories and gain some type of home-court advantage in the playoffs — they need at least 30 home victories. Five times the Cavs have won at least 50 games, and they never won fewer than 30 at home. In their three best seasons of 57 (twice) and 53 victories, their worst home record was 35-6. The regular season does matter because the home team has won more than 80 percent of Game 7’s in the playoffs. In the James era, the Cavs are 0-2 in those contests on the road — including last spring’s elimination in Boston. So the goal is to win a lot at home, and do it without wearing out James.”
Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: “In their season-opening 82-71 loss at Houston, the Griz experienced too much carry-over from the exhibition season. It wasn’t that they relied heavily on Rudy Gay and rookie O.J. Mayo for scoring. That’s a major part of the plan. What isn’t, though, is continued futility from beyond the 3-point arc and faulty free-throw shooting. Consider, too, that the young, athletic Grizzlies created few fast-break opportunities. It all added up to their lowest point total in a season opener. Expect a different approach tonight when the Griz host the Orlando Magic for their home opener in FedExForum. There could be a different starting lineup, too. Don’t be surprised if rookie power forward Darrell Arthur’s name is called — a change that could happen for three reasons.”
Peter Finney of The Times-Picayune: “Years ago, when Tulane and LSU were facing each other in a football game, who would have thought there would be just as much conversation over a basketball game in the New Orleans Arena? For this, you have to put the blame on a kid who goes around wearing a look of Disneyland wonderment on a 23-year-old face. Blame it on Chris Paul, who has come closer than ‘Pistol Pete’ Maravich, and the onetime New Orleans Jazz, to turning the Big Easy into a basketball town.”
Bryan Chu of the San Antonio Express-News: “For Bruce Bowen, happiness and sorrow no longer hinge on wins and losses. ‘Moments after a game, if I’m upset, I just sit back and realize there are bigger things than just getting upset about a game,’ Bowen said after the Spurs lost to the Phoenix Suns in Wednesday’s season opener. Bowen, the Spurs’ veteran small forward and defensive specialist, said he owes his newfound perspective to a hairstylist from Scotland. Linda Harsh was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and brain cancer just two years later. Despite turbulent times, Harsh keeps a positive spin on life and remains one of the most popular stylists at Yardley’s Salon & Spa, owned by Bowen and his wife, Yardley. ‘I told Linda from this point on — until the day I stop playing ball — my season will be dedicated to you because of your strength and the things you represent,’ Bowen said.”
John Jackson of the Chicago Sun-Times: “With the Bulls, rookie hazing is a tradition. Rookies routinely are asked to perform menial tasks such as carrying bags on the road and buying doughnuts for all the players before practice. But before the Bulls embarked on their first regular-season road trip Thursday, point guard Derrick Rose admitted that his teammates really haven’t asked him to do anything yet. Is Rose getting the star treatment from his teammates? ”We can’t throw too much at him because he’s starting right now and playing a big role,” forward Drew Gooden said. ”With some of those bottom-of-the-barrel rookies, you can kind of take more advantage of them.”
Charley Rosen of FOXSports.com: “However, aside from Ron-Ron’s potential for disruptive behavior, the biggest problem for this particular cast of characters is to determine who the leading man should be. In Indiana, Artest and Jermaine O’Neal were perpetually battling to be the Pacers’ go-to guy, and although Artest has recently confessed the sins of his youth and vowed to change his ways (for the nth time), the pecking order must be clearly established for the Rockets to truly blast off into the league’s upper echelon. It says here that T-Mac is too fragile and too soft. That Yao is likewise injury-prone, and also must be passive and wait for the ball to come to him. And that because he can post-up, drive with power, and also shoot the lights out from downtown, it’s Artest who has to be the Rockets’ main man. Perhaps this responsibility might also make his latest, oft-repeated promises finally come true.”
Jason Quick of The Oregonian: “By no means did they dislike each other. But as each departed Portland and headed their separate ways for the summer — Roy to Seattle and Aldridge to Dallas — they knew their relationship wasn’t right. And they knew that as pillars of the franchise, that relationship had to change if the Blazers were to live up to the buzz as a team on the rise. It was an uncomfortable feeling for both, for how does one broach something that is so tacit, so vague, yet so real? As it turns out, it happened naturally. It started with a heart-to-heart talk in September, when the two were holed up in a trailer for 10 hours in Los Angeles. Along the way, there was a symbolic dinner in Kansas City, Mo., and an important assist from teammate Travis Outlaw. As a result, Roy and Aldridge have become more than just teammates. They have finally become friends. Real friends.”
