The Fundamentals

Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press:  “They reminisced, told stories, savored their last hours before Billups’ 4 p.m. flight to another franchise. It was a strange dynamic, and not just because of the crying. The three had been teammates since 2002, when they joined the Pistons. There had been trade rumors all summer. Pistons president Joe Dumars had told Billups that he had offered Billups and Prince for Denver’s Carmelo Anthony, and that he had turned down a Billups-for-Iverson trade over the summer. Once the season started, Billups figured the Pistons would stick with their core. Now Billups knew he was gone. Prince knew the trade meant that he probably would stay put. And Hamilton had just agreed, days earlier, to a three-year contract extension. There is no place for sentiment in the NBA. But there was a place for it in Chauncey Billups’ hotel room that day.”

John Schuhmann of NBA.com:  “Granger admits to keeping track of those guys selected before him, but isn’t upset about the results. He signed a contract extension at the start of this season reportedly worth $60 million over five years. ‘[The draft] put me in a good situation where I’m at and I’m happy,’ Granger says, ‘so I’m not complaining.’\ He’s probably not second-guessing his decision to attend Bradley (before transferring to New Mexico) out of high school, instead of the school his dad wanted him to go to either. The school his dad preferred? Yale. Granger was accepted to the Ivy League institution, but turned it down because ‘they didn’t have a good basketball program.’ The Pacers’ Danny Granger is at No. 4, averaging 25.3 points, more than 11 points above his career average. With Mike Dunleavy having yet to play this season, Granger has helped the Pacers surprise people with a 4-3 start. ‘He just worked his butt off this summer,’ Indiana coach Jim O’Brien said before the Pacers’ 98-87 win in New Jersey on Wednesday. ‘He’s in great condition, he has a lot of confidence in himself and he’s a guy that we’re going to. So, I just think it’s a combination of his work ethic and his maturity as an NBA player.’”

John DeShazier of The Times-Picayune:  “Playing one half of good basketball (the Hornets outscored the Lakers 56-42 in the second half) isn’t enough to mask a half of awful play (the Hornets trailed 51-30 at halftime) against the Lakers. It’s not satisfactory against any of the caliber of teams the Hornets are going to have to fight through and hold off if they want to be the top-seeded team in the Western Conference. You don’t play anything like that and win the required three playoff series’ to advance to the NBA Finals. No, I’m not suggesting it’s already time to stash the high hopes most of us have for the Hornets. I’m thinking they still have what it takes to reach the conference finals against the Lakers – assuming, of course, they wind up on the opposite side of the playoff bracket from the Lakers. But they’re going to have to avoid the kinds of slides they’re in. We can’t stress enough that they’re going to have to realize that because they now are targeted, they’re not going to benefit from much charity by NBA teams. They’re a coveted skin that opponents want to put on the wall.”

Sactown Royalty:  “If there’s a common thread among Sacramento’s successes (in the win column and on an individual basis) this season, it’s aggression. Spencer Hawes has been a marvel because he has been really aggressive. He attacks the rim on both ends, coming up with more blocks than we dreamt and a highlight putback slam nightly. (See below.) Jason Thompson’s entire paint presence is predicated on pure aggression. He fills the lane on guard penetration like a bulky Mikki Moore. He pounds the boards from absurd angles, inserting himself into action he hasn’t been invited to. Kevin Martin’s season turned to the black when he started attacking in transition, stabbing through the passing lanes and darting to the rim in the half-court.”

Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News:  “Speaking before the game, James said Anthony ‘finds a way to mention that every now and then’ that he entered Thursday leading 7-2 in games between them. Asked if Anthony’s recent haircut gives him a LeBron look, James said, ‘There’s no way you can get a LeBron look. Only LeBron and his kids can get a LeBron look.’”

Waiting For Next Year:  “For the first time, Mike Brown has had real pieces to work with. Mo Williams is a very good PG who has a strong knack for knowing when to push the ball, and when to slow things down….for knowing when to initiate the offense and get others involved, and when to look for his own shot. Delonte West’s move to shooting guard has been an enormous blessing. West looks infinitely more comfortable at the 2 than he ever did at the 1, and this year Delonte has further developed his offensive game and is really coming into his own. It’s with these capable pieces to the puzzle that Mike Brown is starting to show us that he actually can coach an offense.”

Michael Grange of the Globe and Mail:  “I would say the moment I was least impressed with Andrea Bargnani was during a game last year when Reggie Evans started banging him around and Bargnani just let him. No resistance; no reaction; no futile pissed-off shoves. No response at all. It was weird. Last night Bargnani torches Evan for the blow-by dunk; mocks him with a triple on the next play and then competes with him for every inch of floor and every loose ball. That’s progress.”

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News:  “While checking in with Harrington’s agent, Dan Fegan, I wondered if he’d seen the little jab Don Nelson took at him yesterday about having to get medical info on Harrington from ‘Dr. Fegan.’ (I thought it was a funny line, actually.) Not shockingly, Fegan wasn’t as amused. And when Fegan isn’t amused, he knows what to do. ‘I’m not surprised that president/general manager Nelson made light of Al’s condition,’ Fegan said. ‘The only thing that surprises me is, since he’s grabbed every other important position in the organization, Nelson hasn’t made himself team physician and examined Al’s back himself.’”

Pickaxe and Roll:  “The Nuggets did not hedge off of screens and as a result they allowed open jumpers and unfettered drives into the lane.  They were almost always a step or two slow on their rotations and they just flat out lacked intensity on defense.  I realize that the Nuggets are not going to turn our 82 straight strong defensive games and if this had happened in New Jersey on the second half of a back to back in late January we could write it off as a bad night.  For it to happen in the eighth game of the season in front of a national television audience, well, that is disappointing. You have to give the Cavaliers credit though.  They hit a lot of shots.  It makes no difference if you are tightly defended or not, it takes some hot shooting to make 57% of your shots.”

Frank Dell’Apa of The Boston Globe:  “Near the end of the Celtics’ 103-102 win over Atlanta Wednesday night, Rajon Rondo attempted two open shots from the corner in front of the Boston bench. He converted the first from just inside the 3-point line at the shot-clock buzzer, then sent an airball over the rim on the second try. Those attempts symbolize Rondo’s shooting this season – he has mostly been effective driving the lane, but inconsistent on anything from 15 feet or so away. In fact, Rondo is second on the Celtics in field goal percentage (.532) and second to last in free throw percentage (.543). ‘It’s something he has to work on, and he’ll get better,’ coach Doc Rivers said. ‘I’m more concerned we shoot free throws better as a team. But we want the ball in [Rondo's] hands to make plays. And if you can’t shoot foul shots, it’s tough to have you in late in the game.’”

Philadelphia Daily News:  “Empty seats have been a chronic problem for the Sixers even before Allen Iverson left town. Now, even off last season’s playoff run and the offseason signing of Elton Brand, those low numbers are creeping back into the picture. Through four games, the Sixers are averaging 12,601 in attendance, ranking them 28th out of 30 NBA teams. That they started by losing five of their first seven hasn’t helped. Neither did that shadow the size of Yao Ming cast by the Phillies and their world championship.”

Marc Berman of the New York Post:  “Exiled Stephon Marbury was summoned yesterday morning to a 45-minute meeting with Knick president Donnie Walsh at the team’s Westchester headquarters, and the sides held preliminary discussions about a buyout, two sources told The Post. Marbury, who has no agent, was joined by Players Association attorney Hal Biagas. The ball is now rolling for a Marbury-Knick divorce. A team source said an official breakup could happen in one week.”

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel:  “Like Shaquille O’Neal, Howard is recording some mind-boggling numbers on the floor for the Magic, such as his first career triple-double (30 points, 19 rebounds and a career-high 10 blocks) he posted in a win against Oklahoma City on Wednesday night. He was a rebound shy of becoming the first player to post that species of triple-double since Hakeem Olajuwon’s 32-point, 25-rebound, 10-block game in 1989 (against the Magic). He became the first to record the triple with 10-plus blocks since Marcus Camby (10 points, 11 rebounds, 10 blocks) did it in 2007.”

Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News:  “Coaches are hanging around longer because the money is so good, because modern medicine has helped people stay younger. It also doesn’t hurt that, with expansion, there are more jobs. Until Hubie Brown became the first full-time 70-year-old to coach, Chuck Daly came close, finally stepping down in 1999, just shy of his 69th birthday. Utah’s Jerry Sloan, 67 in March, is also a strong candidate to eventually join the 70 club. While there are some who say the old-school Sloan hasn’t changed a thing, Larry Brown admits he has had to make adjustments through the years to deal with today’s athletes. ‘Kids are so much different,’ he said. ‘When I was growing up, you listened or you paid the consequences. Now, kids want to know why or have a hard time dealing with it in a group. So you have to go privately (with criticism).’”

Wages of Wins:  “After nine games in 2008-09, the Celtics are 8-1.  Such a mark looks outstanding.  But the team’s efficiency differential is only 6.23.  So Boston – after nine games – looks to have slipped. The team the Celtics defeated in the 2008 NBA Finals, though, has surged ahead.  The Lakers finished the 2007-08 regular season with a 7.35 efficiency differential.  But the Lakers never had Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum together at the same time last season. With these two players together in 2008-09, it was expected the Lakers would get better. After seven games, that expectation has been more than met.  The Lakers are currently the only NBA team without a loss.  And the team’s efficiency differential is 18.39.  To put that mark in perspective, the Chicago Bulls of 1995-96 – who set a record with 72 regular season wins – had a differential of 13.00 (the best mark since 1973-74).”