Mike Kahn of FOXSports.com: “That has been his trend over the past two-plus seasons — a premier scorer from the wing shooting a demonstrably sub-par .704 from the line, especially when he’s constantly drawing fouls in the fourth quarter. He’s also shooting .314 from 3-point range, which is also not what it needs to be. Conversely, Bryant is a career free-throw shooter at a shade less than 84 percent, 34 percent from 3-point range and tends to be a lock from the line when it matters most. Jordan, meanwhile, notched .835 on free throws and .327 on 3-point attempts, and those numbers were adversely affected by his two retirements and subsequent comebacks. Nobody will question his response to crunch time. So that’s where we are at the moment with James.”
CavsHQ: “LeBron has not been agressive offensively in the first 3 games this season. Instead of forcing opponents to shift three defenders in his direction, thereby opening up the other side of the floor, James has let opposing defenses defend him more conventionally. Part of it has to be LeBron’s inability to make a jump shot, as he missed 9-of-11 shots outside of the paint last night. Add that to his 0-for-8 against the Bobcats and 2-for-10 against the Celtics, and LeBron is 4-of-29 (14%) on shots from beyond 4 feet. I’m no basketball expert, but I imagine that makes LeBron, and likewise the Cavaliers, much easier to defend.”
The Painted Area: “Certainly, Cleveland still needs to work out the kinks, but its new offensive approach seems to be very promising, esp. when employing a lineup with LeBron at the 4, and/or operating out of the high post on the left side. The Cavs’ UCLA sets seemed less effective with LeBron on the wing, mainly b/c it seemed like Cleveland got away from putting the ball in his hands. When they did get LeBron the ball on the move, off of cross screens or down screens, it was often very effective. In these instances, he would often draw two defenders immediately, setting up an easy assist. (Check the 1:03 mark of the NBA.com video package linked above for an example.) It was interesting that the Cavs’ new alignments seemed to set up James as a playmaker more so than as a scorer, as his stats (15 pts, 13 asts) bore out.”
Peninsula is Mightier: “The beauty of Wade’s play as a rookie, in the Shaq years and with the Olympic team this summer was his ability to fill a role. Now, it may have been a major role, like that of primary offensive option on the ‘06 Heat, or a more limited role, like that of offensive-minded point guard as a rookie or sixth man energy boost with Team USA (though he ended up leading the team in scoring). The point is that Wade has always excelled when he knows what’s expected of him, even if that’s a lot. The problem now is that Wade’s job description with the 08-09 Heat can best be described as “everything,” even, as Ned Flanders once said about the Bible, the stuff that contradicts the other stuff.”
Chris Perkins of the Palm Beach Post: “Wade gave up 23 points to Jason Richardson in Saturday’s 100-87 loss. In Wade’s last four games he allowed Memphis’ O.J. Mayo 28 points, New York’s Jamal Crawford 29 points, held Sacramento’s Kevin Martin to nine points, and surrendered 23 to Richardson. And Wade, who fouled out against New York and had five fouls against Charlotte, still hasn’t found his groove offensively. ‘Three games and I haven’t hit my stride yet or rhythm,’ Wade said.”
Ira Winderman of the Florida Sun-Sentinel: “No, that chart you may have seen, with the little arrow going decidedly south, is not the Dow or the NASDAQ. It’s the Shawn Marion salary meter. Based on the way Marion has been an ill-fit thus far with the Heat, any talk of an extension from Pat Riley is pure courtesy. This is not an experiment the Heat is in any position to commit to long term, particularly after Saturday’s head-to-head humbling against Gerald Wallace. If Marion, as expected, does become a free agent on July 1, it’s also not as if he is in position with the Heat (as currently constituted) to put his future value anywhere near the $17.8 million he is earning this season. A snap judgment off the first week of the season would put Marion closer to a mid-level value.”
Recliner GM: “Andre Iguodala still doesn’t have clear role on offense. I worry about him having too many poor performances because all of his touches and points in the half court are coming off of isolation plays around the top portion of the arc and relying on him making jumpers. Perfect example was with 2 minutes left in a tie game they went to an iso at the top for Iguodala and he forced up a terrible three that led to a wide open dunk by his man who broke loose after the shot hit all backboard. That can’t possible be the best option when the Sixers need a bucket late in games.”
Jeff Rabjohns of the Indianapolis Star: “A guy less than 24 hours removed from signing a deal worth between $60 million and $64 million. In a game the Pacers were on the way to winning 95-79 against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics. That guy dove on the floor and smashed his grill. That’s not effort? That’s not the soul of basketball in a state that loves the game more than any other, that treasures the correct playing of it, that loves its stars to hustle as much as its scrubs? People likely will forget that Granger finished with a game-high 20 points, four rebounds, two blocked shots an assist, but who cares? Stats are for coaches. Moments are for fans, and this entire evening was a moment.”
Bucks Diary: “Now, if Alexander were a big man with a high ceiling, and if you already had alot of talent in the cupboard — ala the Lakers drafting Andrew Bynum number 10 overall — I can see taking a flier on him. But Alexander came out as a college junior. I don’t care when he started playing, history suggests he doesn’t have too much upside, and, besides, you don’t want a wing player who’s a project unless he’s a high schooler on par with Kobe Bryant. And Alexander is not. Basically, the Bucks were overly wowed by Alexander’s workout numbers and forgot to look at his less than stellar production resume. And, anyway, if he were always considered a long term investment, how come we weren’t hearing that last June?”
Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK.com: “I wouldn’t read too much into Kevin Durant’s 7-for-21 shooting performance. He got good looks all night, but most of his shots rattled out. Those shots will begin to fall. I would question Durant’s assist total, zero Sunday night if you’re scoring at home. There are several aspects of Durants game that need to be developed, but how far down the list is making your teammates better? With all the attention he commands, he rarely should have a game with no assists.”
The Wages of Wins Journal: “Let’s say that Oberto comes back and plays about as many minutes as he did last year. Furthermore, let’s have Ginobili play about 75% of the minutes he played in 2007-08 (with Roger Mason getting the rest of his time). If that happens, the Spurs might reach 50 wins. Certainly a 50 win season is respectable. But in a conference with the LA Lakers, New Orleans Hornets, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, and Houston Rockets; 50 wins is probably not going to be good enough to get home court advantage in the first round. This means the Spurs would by trying to win an NBA title without having the home court advantage once. Although I think the Houston Rockets managed to pull this off in 1995, I doubt a team could do this in the Western Conference today. In sum, I think the Spurs championship dreams in 2009 are sunk.”
Bullets Forever: Which Washington Wizard would make the best President? [Video]
Eric Musselman’s Basketball Notebook: What’s more important, skill or talent?
Hoops Addict: Enter the URL of your favorite dunk found on any online video site and enter to win a P.P.T. Band and Jump Attack DVD by well known trainer Tim Grover
D.C. Sports Blog: Gilbert Arenas Plans to Elope
Kevin Love for NBA.com: “I got into a little trouble last week because I’m supposed to bring donuts every morning. The guys had mentioned to me: ‘Oh, it’s on practice days that you’re supposed to bring donuts.’ So, we had our last preseason game, I think it was the Bulls, and I didn’t bring donuts that day and it was game day. And they’re like: ‘Where are the donuts at?’ Me: ‘Well, you told me not to bring them on game day.’ They got mad and said, ‘Oh, you’re gonna get fined for that.’ Me: ‘Why? You told me not to bring them on game day.’ Eventually, they got past it, but that was my rookie moment because I had to leave and go get them, and I was almost late for shootaround that morning. I got the donuts and brought them back, so that was a little bit of tough love from those guys. But the funniest thing is: they don’t even eat the donuts. It’s just out of principle that they make you do it. Also, the Krispy Kreme store shut down, and I don’t know where the Dunkin’ Donuts is. So, I just cross the Mississippi River here and go to a bakery to get them. Me? I’m sick of donuts. I’m not really a sweets guy or a donuts guy. As people can see from my body, I like food. But I just hired a chef last week and eating right is something I’m going to have to focus on. I’m in the NBA, that makes it an easy investment for me. I can pay for a chef now.”
Pickaxe And Roll: “The source for the reports is once again coming from Peter Vescy, the NBA’s equivalent of a gossip columnist, but when combined with the Nuggets reneging from the Kleiza deal I am afraid that Vescey may be barking up the right tree for once. The key is the salaries. The Nuggets have committed salaries of about $53 or $54 million to six players for next season. They are going to be in a position to pay at least one player five to seven million dollars while still being able to fill in the rest of the roster and stay under the luxury tax. If the Nuggets sign Kleiza to that extension, then he is the player to receive that five to seven million in salary. Why would the Nuggets do a 180 and decide to wait on Kleiza. The only reason that makes sense is if they have another option for spending that money. Enter Jamaal Tinsley.”
Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post: “The problem is getting shots up. The Nuggets are averaging 78.6 shots per game and are clearly out of sync on the offensive end. The Nuggets averaged 85.8 shots last season; they took 74 against the Lakers. Last season, the season low was 73. Although the shooting percentage is nearly identical (47.0 percent last season, compared with 45.8 in the first three games), Denver’s scoring is down 9.4 points a game (110.7 compared with 101.3) so far.”
Tom Enlund of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “It was a natural career move for Skiles, who epitomized the term ‘coach on the floor’ during his playing days. It’s common in NBA games for defensive players to steal the play call that the opposing coach is signaling to his team and relay it to his own coaches, who interpret the play and let the defensive players know what is coming. But since Skiles knew the opposing team’s plays himself, he wouldn’t bother relaying the call to his coaches but would merely shout out to his teammates what was coming. And then, just for good measure, maybe chide an opposing player if he was in the wrong place on the court. ‘He was coaching both teams,’ Williams said. ‘Sometimes telling the opposition, ‘You’re supposed to be over here. Get over here. He wants you over here.’ He was coaching both teams while he was playing.’” [Via Eric Musselman's Basketball Notebook]
Inside Track: “The champ takes his role-model status very seriously. ‘I say kids have to educate themselves on the reality of life. The chance of me becoming an NBA player was one in a million so I will never tell a kid what he can’t do,’ he told the magazine. At the same time, he encourages kids to have a plan to fall back on. ‘I tell them, if that’s what you want and you follow it hard enough, you have an opportunity to do it, but you have to have a Plan A, a Plan B and a Plan C.’ As for Pierce’s retirement plan, he sees himself staying in Boston. ‘My life is Boston. I feel like I might open up some restaurants, maybe a sports bar or a car dealership. None of the other greats have done that. They won here,’ but none left a legacy, he said.” [Via Red's Army]
Frank Dell’Apa of The Boston Globe: “Celtics captain Paul Pierce changed diets and increased his workout schedule to prepare for the season. Kevin Garnett played soccer. In fact, Garnett played a lot of soccer, installing a field in the backyard of his Wayzata, Minn., home and playing pickup games. Garnett is a supporter of Chelsea FC and follows the example of Blues forward Didier Drogba as a goal-scorer. ‘I don’t have striker’s skills,’ Garnett said. ‘I just want the liberty of not only passing the ball but also the liberty of shooting the ball, or at least trying to be a striker.’”
Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: “Kevin Garnett was famous for scrawling short, affectionate messages to family and friends on his sneakers during his first years in the NBA. The young, emotional player was fresh out of high school, and his medium was considered unique. But as technology has since changed, so has Garnett’s political sophistication and stature. When the Celtics [team stats] play the Rockets tomorrow night – the night of the presidential election – the 32-year-old forward will be back at it. Garnett, a Barack Obama supporter, will once again be sending a message with his footwear. ‘I’m not going back to the ’90s, when I needed a ball point to write on my sneakers,’ Garnett said. ‘But now I have my sneaker company to put something on my sneakers for me.’”
Mitch Lawrence of the Daily News: “If the Knicks are really looking to change the culture and move past the Isiah Thomas era, then Jim Dolan has to get with it, do what’s best for his team and write a $22 million check to Marbury and have him leave. Let Dolan make the call on this one. Until then, Walsh and D’Antoni are stuck trying to explain what’s going on with Marbury. Wins are rendered relatively meaningless. Losses? Well, it’s not like D’Antoni has the right players for his system now anyway, but that’s a column for another day, after Marbury has left the building. Maybe there could be movement on the Marbury question today or tomorrow, when Walsh meets with his coach and banished star. Walsh admits he can’t see Marbury inactive for the next 79 games. He seems genuine in his desire to find a resolution that is best for the Knicks and Marbury. A divorce, what else? He knows he needs to get going on it, though.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “Chris Duhon and Jamal Crawford were out of sync. They combined for 7 points. The Knicks’ lack of size really seemed evident against the Bucks, with 7-foot Andrew Bogut towering over their interior. The Knicks had absolutely no spark. D’Antoni was so desperate, he dusted off Anthony Roberson, who does one thing – shoot 3-pointers. Maybe when Stephon Marbury is officially gone, the players will feel more relaxed. Yeah, that’s it. (There was one modest “We Want Steph Chant” in the fourth). It is not in Donnie Walsh’s nature, but it’s too bad Walsh doesn’t try to convince D’Antoni that the team’s most skilled, accomplished player deserves a chance.”
Howard Beck of The New York Times: “It is rare for players to represent themselves. Only eight current N.B.A. players are without an agent, according to a database compiled by DraftExpress.com. The group includes Gilbert Arenas, who negotiated his contract with the Washington Wizards last summer. Money matters aside, Marbury needs representation for some practical reasons, said several agents, speaking anonymously because Marbury is not their client. The most basic reason is this: Teams that want to sign Marbury have no one to call to gauge his interest. A good agent would know which teams need a veteran point guard and what they are willing to pay. With the Knicks’ permission, the agent could solicit tentative offers before negotiating a buyout — or even attempt to broker a trade.”
Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune: “Such closeness between foes isn’t uncommon in the NBA. Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, two of the game’s giants who had fierce battles in the post when facing each other, would dine at the other’s homes before Celtics-76ers games, although that unusual relationship wasn’t known until long after their playing days had ended. And Isiah Thomas and Scott’s Lakers teammate Magic Johnson echanged a kiss on the cheek at the center-jump circle before the first game of the 1988 NBA Finals between Detroit and Los Angeles. Yet, as with Paul and James, once the ball went up, the lines of friendship were clearly defined, and the battle was on. In the offseason, Paul has been a frequent visitor to James’ home in Akron, Ohio, where they spend hours playing cards and video games, training in the morning, engaging in pickup games later in the day.”
Travis Heath of HOOPSWORLD: “Bryant indicated the Lakers now have a structured defensive approach in much the same way most teams have a system they routinely execute on the offensive end. ‘We have a defensive system now as opposed to trying to kind of take it from game-to-game,’ Bryant said. ‘We have a system that we apply and play out of, and it really doesn’t change too much. Once you have a system, you get better playing in that system. It’s been working well for us.’”
Orange County Register via the East Valley Tribune: “If Bynum erupts in the next four years — as is completely expected — the Lakers will exercise that option and still not be paying him maximum money in 2012-13. And in the short view, it’s great for focusing on this season to have Bynum’s contract issue resolved. ‘All things being considered, I think it’s a good deal for our club,’ Jackson said. Said Bynum: ‘We went back and forth, back and forth. Finally, I told my agent, ‘Look, I want to be a Laker. Let’s get the deal done.’ The open market of restricted free agency was all set up to dictate better terms for Bynum after he came through this season healthy. But he took what was offered now, acknowledging that in so doing he ‘sort of minimized the team’s risk.’ So why did Bynum give in? To use Kupchak’s verbiage, he’s ‘unique.’”
Joe Freeman of The Oregonian: “The morning prior to the game, the Blazers attended a presentation sponsored by Athletes For Hope, a nonprofit organization that fosters professional athletes to contribute to community and charitable causes. As the team sat listing to a presentation at its hotel, the doors burst open and one of the organization’s founders entered: Muhammad Ali. ‘I wanted him to surprise everyone,’ Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. ‘The players just immediately stood up and were saying, ‘The Champ’ and applauding. It was great.’ After the presentation, players, coaches and team personnel mingled with and met Ali, posing for pictures with the former World Heavyweight Champion and soaking in the once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News: “Underclassmen can enter the draft according to the NBA’s spring deadline — and withdraw by the pre-draft date the NBA designates. In between, they can attend the NBA pre-draft camp and work out for individual teams — all on the pros’ (many) dimes. A proposal presented by the ACC this week to the NCAA’s board of directors would change all that. Underclassmen would have until roughly the start of the spring signing period to irrevocably decide whether to stay in college or to enter the draft. ACC commissioner John Swofford told the media assembled at the league’s annual Operation Basketball that the measure has some support from the other five big-money conferences. This is such a grand, epic mistake. It’s based entirely on the coaches’ self-interest — not what is best for the college game, the sport in general or the players who make it all work.”
