Jerry Brown of the East Valley Tribune: “Stoudemire was originally credited with a Boris Diaw alley-oop dunk in the fourth quarter and a career-high 51 points. The error was discovered just after the final buzzer, leaving him one shy of his career high, set in 2005, and the sixth 50-point night in Phoenix history. Even after the white-out, he added to his own franchise record with his 13th 40-point game and fashioned the first 49-point, 10-rebound, five-assist, five-steal night in the NBA in 34 years — when Rick Barry of Golden State exploded for 64 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and five steals against Portland in 1974. ‘And we needed every one of those points,’ Suns coach Terry Porter said. But for the veterans, seeing the player still 10 days shy of his 26th birthday take giant steps in his development was far more important than the stat sheet. ‘We were pretty low on energy tonight and I’m so proud of the way he just took over,’ forward Grant Hill said. ‘You can look at the points and the dunks … but he was so smart. He passed out of double teams and took what the defense gave him. He was rebounding, playing defense and getting in passing lanes, his ball handling and the distributing … that was the complete package.’”
Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: “Stoudemire is shooting 69.6 percent and averaging 25.8 points and 9.8 rebounds. But the best stat of all for STAT (or Sun Tzu or amarestoudemire.com or whatever he wishes to be called today) is that he is averaging 2.6 fouls per game. What a huge difference. That is keeping him on the floor for 39 minutes per game so far. That’s the kind of minutes Terry Porter wanted Stoudemire to be able to get this season. The scoring was fantastic but the energy he had to get steals in passing lanes, the willingness he had to pass to teammates (even to Boris Diaw for a 3-pointer?!) and the hustle he showed to retreat on defense for a block on Danny Granger’s fastbreak layup are the types of things that would put him in MVP conversation if done consistently.”
48 Minutes of Hell: “So what are we to make of Tony Parker’s epic 55, 10, and 7? He is only the third player in the history of the league to do so. The other two were Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan. If you didn’t believe it before, believe it now. Tony Parker is one of the league’s elite point guards. He’s one of the world’s great players. And, at this early stage, he’s the best player in basketball. Yes, Tony Parker. Some readers might find this laundry list tedious. ‘Another Spurs fan who thinks his team doesn’t get enough attention,’ they’re thinking. But here is the thing, I don’t mean any of the above as a complaint. The Spurs lack of fanfare is their glory. The fact that their team is consistently under appreciated is the most telling testimony of their greatness. Gregg Popovich likes to say that a Spur is someone who has ‘gotten over himself.’ In other words, in San Antonio you play as a team, and you play to win. Individual achievement be damned. So let Tony Parker’s big night stand as a memorial to this.”
Keith Langlois of Pistons.com: “The silver lining for Billups is where Joe Dumars sent him. When he saw the handwriting on the wall, he asked Joe D if it came to that, and it was at all possible, he could send him to the Nuggets, whose need at point guard was pronounced. Denver is home to Billups, where his extended family still resides and where they have never forgotten the greatest high school player in Denver history. Or the favorite son who stayed home to play college basketball at the University of Colorado, taking a bereft basketball program to the NCAA tournament in his sophomore season before entering the NBA draft and becoming the No. 3 pick in the 1997 draft. ‘Bittersweet,’ Chauncey told Joe D when he told him of the trade – and where he was going. Leaving Detroit is bitter for him. He adopted it as his second home. But going to Denver is sweet.”
Bethlehem Shoals of the Sporting News: “In Detroit now, though, Allen Iverson is once again subject to reinterpretation. There are parallels with his time in Philly: Motown is the same kind of troubled metropolis as Philadelphia, perhaps on an even grander scale. And while Larry Brown may be a distant memory in Detroit, the Pistons are still considered avatars of unselfish, orderly team ball. The city will have to appreciate his toughness but will have to come to grips with his style of play—capable of involving others, but first and foremost about taking on the world in an attempt to get buckets. Detroit’s not exactly known for racial tension, especially in sports. The city’s majority African-American population will embrace Iverson, at this point a living legend, while the suburban, predominantly white fans who flock to the Palace will approve for all the reasons Philly did—with the added incentive of an older, wiser, less erratic Iverson.”
Eric Musselman for Pro Basketball News: Five reasons why L.A. can win it all
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Last season they were loose and free-wheeling, even while a new coach (Stan Van Gundy) was trying to work in a new player (Rashard Lewis) into the mix. That was before the Magic wound up winning a playoff series for the first time since ‘96, and they started sounding off about winning a title. Reviewing their first four games, even as they played against a schedule set up for a quick get-away, they at times appear uncomfortable, rushed and panicked when things go awry. They look as if they’re pressing as they try to handle the expectations heaped on them by fans, media and, mostly, themselves. As Van Gundy has often repeated after games, ‘We aren’t playing our game.’ Maybe it’s all part of the often painful, eye-opening process of becoming a contender. Maybe the Magic just caught a wave last season, rode it through their flaws and now the league has caught up. ‘We’re not sneaking up on anybody now,’ Lewis said.”
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News: “I think even if Monta Ellis was healthy and playing, Nelson wouldn’t like this roster at all, since he didn’t like last year’s roster a ton and that included BD (which led to the tremendous Chris Webber addition–greatness!) and he never was in love with Ellis’ game, except when he scores 22 a night at a 53% clip. So… If this team, after losing Davis permanently and Ellis for a while, isn’t about short-term gains and playing 6 or 7 men into the ground every night… if this team is about the future, which means Wright, Randolph and maybe Belinelli… Is Don Nelson really the best guy to be coaching this team? I mean, Nelson is a great, great, great coach. Again: So stipulated. And I’m not sure who the Warriors could get who’d be better, tactically or motivationally. But do you want Nelson, who has so little (or ZERO) patience with young players, coaching this team at this fragile time for the future?”
Adam Lauridsen of the San Jose Mercury News: “There was no denying that the Warriors’ roster is full of young talent and even more raw potential. Andris, Kelenna, Turiaf, let alone Monta have demonstrated that they have bright NBA careers ahead of them. Wright, Belinelli, Randolph and even Watson and Nelson look to have the ingredients to make solid pros. Standing in their way, however, was the seemingly immovable stubbornness of Don Nelson, often favoring a self-destructing Al Harrington or exhausted Stephen Jackson over even a few token minutes for his youth. When the Warriors found themselves down 17-34 in the first quarter against the Nuggets, the stubbornness finally gave way. In came Brandan Wright, back came the Warriors, and with the flood of buckets and surge of defense returned optimism for the immediate future of the team. It may all get pulled out back to the abyss should the team suffer another ugly loss or Nelson return to his veteran-or-bust ways, but right now we’re looking at 77 games that just became a whole lot more interesting.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “Larry Brown coached a good game tonight, made the right defensive adjustment to shut down ridiculously hot Nate Robinson in the second half. And Brown had his Bobcats within a Jason Richardson 3-pointer of sending the Knicks to overtime. But I had to laugh at one moment in the second quarter when Brown got confused. He pointed down the bench and yelled for Jared Dudley to come into the game. Problem is, Dudley was already in the game, as his players shouted back to the 68-year-old coach. ‘I look in the mirror and I’m 68 but I don’t feel I’m 68,’ Brown said before his Bobcats were beaten 101-98.”
Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: “Thunder owner Clay Bennett’s name may now be mud in Seattle, but you won’t hear any of that criticism from Allen. ‘I thought he was a straight shooter,’ said Allen. ‘He let me know what his intentions were immediately. He wanted to make a go of it in Seattle, but if things didn’t work out, then he had another plan. He was on the up and up. ‘He owns properties all over America,’ he said. ‘He didn’t need a team in Oklahoma City.’”
Jeff Caplan of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “If initially Josh Howard seemed the most critical aspect for team success in terms of forming a Big Three with Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd, the first four games this season tell a different story. The Mavs need the energetic Jet, a career streak- shooter, to score consistently. Of the seven Western Conference contenders, only the Lakers and Mavs have fewer than four players with scoring averages in double figures. The Lakers, though, have Kobe Bryant and production runs so deep that despite having only three players in double figures, Los Angeles ranks third in the league in scoring (105.7). The Mavs, with seven rotation players averaging between 1.7 and 8.5 points, are 18th. That makes Terry, averaging 17 points, third behind Nowitzki (23.8) and Howard (18.5), the ultimate wild card. In the two losses, Terry shot 5-of-21 for 20 points. In the two wins, he made 19-of-35 for 48 points.”
Dwight Howard: “Off the court, I just moved into another house and as soon as I moved, it was crazy, it got out that I moved and bought another house and it was on TMZ, it was on the news, in the paper the next day … and I’m like “All because I got a new house?” This is supposed to be my place to get away, my oasis, and I can’t even do that anymore. I just hope I don’t have many people coming by. I got some horses roaming around protecting the place, though. Man, it was crazy, though. I was upset because my house was all on the internet and then I read some of the comments the people were saying about the house, about how I should give back, and I was all thinking, I wish these people really knew how much stuff I do for my community and just for people in general. It may not end up on TV but I’d rather my good deeds be seen by people and not just do it for TV, because I don’t want it to seem like it’s just for show or it’s just for TV, you know? Or so somebody can say Dwight Howard did a good job. Whatever I do for my community, my fans or my friends, I do it because I LOVE doing that kind of stuff. After reading some of those comments about buying the house and all this stuff, I’m all 1. I work hard to be able to buy a house of this caliber, but at the same time I will never forget where I came from.” [Via Third Quarter Collapse]
NESW Sports: LeBron James Dressed as Danny Zucco for Halloween [Video]
Pickaxe And Roll: “After showing some progress defensively in the first three games of the season and in the first ten minutes of tonight’s game the Nuggets reverted to their old sloppy where-did-that-guy-come-from ways. Do not get me wrong, there were still flashes of solid defense after the first ten minutes. Melo played a few possessions on Stephen Jackson that showed some intensity and focus. J.R. Smith continues to fight over the top of screens which requires extra effort than just sagging behind of them. Smith also had a couple of nice possessions on Jackson too. However, the Nuggets overall defensive performance was weak. Their transition defense was particularly atrocious. On several occasions they were beaten up the floor after makes and on at least one occasion I can remember they gave up a fast break layup off of a dead ball. That requires some serious slow trotting on your way back to the defensive end.”
Clips Nation: “Tonight the Clippers played well enough for 40 minutes to lead 81-79. This, despite foul trouble for each of their three best players, and a discrepancy in fouls called of about 2 to 1. But over the course of the next 7 minutes, the Lakers went on a 22-0 run (a new season high in runs allowed!). It’s never a good time to give up a 22-0 run. But when you do it over the course of 7 minutes with 8 minutes left in the game, you don’t leave yourself a lot of time to recover. I’m at a loss. Why does this keep happening? Is it a lack of intensity? When the other team steps up the level of play, do the Clippers simply not respond? Is it a lack of conditioning? Did so many key guys miss training camp that they’re out of shape and sucking wind in the fourth quarter? How can this be explained? I’ll tell you this much – it’s no fun to watch. I don’t have a lot more to say about this game. Like I said, for 40 minutes the Clippers looked pretty good. Just like they looked OK for about 35 minutes against the Jazz on Monday, and for about 30 minutes in Utah before that.”
Recliner GM: “Andre Iguodala’s first shots were deep jumpers that probably cracked the backboard. That was simply a sign of things to come for Iguodala in this game. His first points, not just his first field goal, came with 3:35 left in the game. WOW! Every concern and criticism the fans had about Iguodala and Stefanski signing him to that huge contract have shown true so far through 5 games. He has done nothing to silence his critics. In fact I think this is the worst I have ever seen him play. What happened to all the talk about him working on his game. Working on his jumper. Practicing with the U.S. men’s basketball team. Right now this guy doesn’t even look like an average NBA player. No one in the league making over $80 million should digress or play at this level of performance. Final stat line: 1-7 from the field, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 4 turnovers.”
Brew Hoop on Andrew Bogut: “His final line looks OK–10 points, 13 boards, two blocks–but Bogut continues to struggle from the line (2/7, now just 6/18 for the season) and he’s turning the ball over far too carelessly in post. Tonight he looked passive for much of the night in spite of the Wizards’ massive size disadvantage, and when he does get in the post he’s still too vulnerable to double-teams. At this point I’m not sure why any team wouldn’t double him immediately, as his superior passing from the high post still doesn’t translate fully to back-to-basket situations.”
The Aresenalist of Raptors Republic: “The player of the game was Tayshaun Prince who finished with 27/9/8 on 10-13 shooting and made a mockery of Jamario Moon’s attempt at playing defense. This was an all-night thing and there wasn’t a single Raptor who could slow him down, Prince gave Moon nightmares and even prompted Mitchell to use Bargnani on him in hopes of matching his length but the result was an embarrassing dunk off a simple fake that left Bargnani turned inside-out. We had no answer for him and since he’s good enough to pick out players who are spaced out perfectly on the floor and are always moving without the ball, our defense needed to be alert and intense for us to compete. But Jermaine O’Neal took the wrong night off and failed to ever enforce himself on the defensive end and finished with 3/3/3 – that’s 3 points, 3 turnovers and 3 rebounds. Not a good game for O’Neal who continued to miss his share of layups and mid-range jumpers which I still contend will return to him in December.”
Blog-a-Bull: “I am so frustrated watching this team, which has no plan from the highest levels of the organization to how they behave on the court. Reinsdorf bungles most things he touches, Paxson has no clue what to do with the roster except draft and stockpile more lottery picks, Vinny is completely searching for anything to work, and the players are showing him nothing really does. So instead of watching a real basketball team, you instead get a series of gimmicks. And while it’s not fair to expect this team to know how to fit together yet, and the Bulls losing to the Cavs on the road is not unexpected, the gimmicks we’ve seen are obviously not a way to find something sustainable and successful.”
At The Hive: “In a game when the Hornets led just once (with 2:11 to play in the third) and were unable to top 80 points, Paul’s stellar line of 22 points, 11 assists, 3 steals, and 2 turnovers could not offset a disappointing performance from the rest of Bees. Of course, some of the credit for tonight’s loss has to go to Byron. When CP collected his second foul 6 minutes into the first quarter, Byron pulled Paul and let Mike James run the show for 9 solid minutes. During that time, the Hornets’ scoring deficit went from 2 to 8. You may be thinking that this move on Byron’s part was totally justified, especially when you consider that CP ended up playing 37 minutes. And while that may be partially true, consider that had Paul been left in the game, we could have been playing at a higher level and (hopefully) exchanging shots, which could’ve kept the score close. Instead, Paul had to come back into a game in which the Hawks were totally dictating the pace while holding a sizable lead. I completely understand this strategy for big men as playing in the paint leads to more contact which leads to more fouls. But when it’s your game-changer and he averages only 2.5 PF/G over the course of his career, you leave him in. Especially when your contingency plan = Mike James.”
Hawks BasketBlog: “It’s early, but I’d just like to point out that the Hawks just went into New Orleans tonight and beat a Hornets team that, as Peachtree Hoops pointed out before the game, is ranked #1 or #2 by most power rankings after the first week of the NBA season. Atlanta waltzed into New Orleans and not only beat the Hornets but in the process handed Chris Paul his first loss ever against the Hawks. How are they doing it? D-FENCE. New Orleans came into the game averaging a league-high 106.6 ppg, which means the paltry 79 they posted tonight was nearly 30 below their average. 79 points! And that’s a Hornets team, mind you, that was putting up those numbers mostly without Peja Stojakovic and Tyson Chandler, both of whom returned to the lineup tonight.”
Blazer’s Edge: “The Blazers don’t know how to hold a lead yet. This was true most of last season and it remains so. One reason is that their offense is still more gamble than surety on any given possession. The easiest way to hold leads is simply to score right along with the opponent. The Blazers can’t do that yet with a perimeter-oriented game sprinkled with heavily covered drives and posts. The trust and experience mentioned above also factor in. No matter how potent the weapons are, guys going into battle for the first time together trying to take objectives that are new to them also will hesitate and question. When Utah made a run tonight to get back from a double-digit deficit you could feel the team (and indeed the whole fanbase) thinking, ‘Is this a run where they get back and take the game?’ The proper response is, ‘We’ve seen this before and they don’t have a chance.’ The Blazers can’t make it. Too young and unsure. I mention these psychological aspects first because, though less tangible, development here would win games like this for us. Yes, there were technical reasons that we lost but technical mistakes happen every game. I mention these psychological aspects first because, though less tangible, development here would win games like this for us. Yes, there were technical reasons that we lost but technical mistakes happen every game. The difference between those becoming temporary obstacles and game-finishers usually involves confidence, poise, and the resulting execution.”
Jason Quick of The Oregonian: “For the season, both Roy and Aldridge have attempted 67 shots. And both have made 28 — that’s a .418 shooting percentage. Aldridge is a career .489 shooter. Roy is a career .455 shooter. They will get better, but right now, it’s clear neither are on track. ‘Both LaMarcus and Brandon … those two guys, if they play well, normally we play well,’ McMillan said. ‘They have been OK, but they have been here before. What we have to do is get them in their rhythm. Those are the guys we are going to go through on both ends of the floor.’ To their credit, neither Roy nor Aldridge were taken aback by a line of questioning that was critical of their play. They accepted it and agreed with it. Heck, it might be that missing ingredient that teammate Channing Frye was talking about before the game. Last year, Frye said, the team had a (heck-with-it) attitude toward all the haters — the ones who wanted their season tickets back after Greg Oden had knee surgery. Toward the people at ESPN and TNT who pulled the Blazers’ national television games because Greg Oden was hurt. ‘Now this year, we are trying to find that (heck-with-it) at somebody,’ Frye said. ‘We are looking around going (heck with) … what? We are looking for that, but we shouldn’t have to.’”
Charley Rosen of FOXSports.com: “I knew what his fellow refs thought of Dick Bavetta several years ago: During a timeout in a CBA game at Oshkosh, all interested parties were notified by the home team’s radio guy that some as yet unidentified NBA player had just taken a punch at an as yet unidentified game official. One of the guys working the CBA game also worked a limited NBA schedule, and said: ‘I hope the ref was Dick Bavetta.’ A few years later I learned firsthand that Bavetta was indeed a jerk: Bavetta was addressing a preseason meeting of the CBA’s coaches to go over some new rules and new interpretations of some old rules. When he was finished, he asked for questions. It seems that several of my players had been complaining for years about some of the CBA refs’ after-game activities. Given the relatively small cities that hosted CBA franchises, there weren’t many appropriate nightclubs and bars to choose from where the players could party after the games. Those refs who were likewise interested in the same nocturnal pursuits were faced with the same limitations and subsequently frequented the very same venues. Given all the available alcohol and female companionship, there were bound to be rivalries and confrontations between the players and the refs. Edgy faceoffs that the players swore subsequently influenced the refs’ on-court judgment. So I brought the subject to Bavetta’s attention, emphasizing that it was never a healthy situation whenever refs and players tried to romance the same women.”
