Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald: “Through their time together in Miami, there were occasionally whispered suggestions that O’Neal actually was a poor influence on Wade. That O’Neal’s questionable work ethic, his ”I’ll play when it counts” approach and his reluctance to yield to authority rubbed off on Wade and made him more difficult for a coach to reel in. Wade dismisses that theory entirely. Not only does he consider himself his own man, not easily influenced regardless of who’s providing the persuasion, but Wade can only recall benefiting from O’Neal and his advice. ‘He was great for me, man,’ Wade said. `Coming into the league after my rookie year, he really helped my confidence grow. I know he made me work harder because I wanted to help him win a championship. I wanted to help him be one of the greats of all time and do my job.’ O’Neal wanted to return the favor. He knew that reserved sports stars such as Tim Duncan or Pete Sampras usually end up underappreciated and even criticized for a lack of personality. So he made sure Wade wouldn’t become one of them.”
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: “The Rockets blew it again on Wednesday, falling apart late to lose to the Pacers, 91-90, by coughing up a 10-point lead in the final 6 ½ minutes, just as they gave away the 10-point lead in the final 4 ½ minutes less than two weeks earlier in San Antonio. Something else, however, is wrong there. They’ll get that closing time thing worked out. They showed enough of that on the road trip to figure they can do it again. It should not, however, come to that night after night. Sometimes, when you have a team down, whip them. Blow them out. Show no mercy. It’s the NBA. You’re not going to blow out every team with a bad record. They have talent, too. But can’t the Rockets ever finish what they start? Just once, drop the hammer. Get a 13-point third-quarter lead, as the Rockets did on Wednesday, and put a boot on a team’s throat. These Rockets are good guys, and that’s nice. They seem to truly want to do well, to perform as athletes and as professionals. But they never seem to have that taste for the jugular, to want to make a team suffer, to see a team struggling and be so competitive, so ruthless, they just pound a team to surrender.”
David Whitley of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Magic will awaken this morning in Washington, D.C., after arriving in the wee hours from Philadelphia. They’ll get up, have a meeting, lie around, get on a bus and head to an arena. Unless rookie Courtney Lee is forced to perform a one-man re-enactment of the first Thanksgiving, there will hardly be a hint of the holiday. ‘It’ll be like any other day on the road,’ Coach Stan Van Gundy said. They might as well get used to ignoring the calendar. The Magic are the only NBA team that will play on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. As if that weren’t enough of a holiday downer, they also are scheduled to work on St. Patrick’s Day, Groundhog Day and even America’s highest holy day, Super Bowl Sunday.”
John Schuhmann of NBA.com: “The Magic are one of the most improved defensive teams through the first four weeks of the season. But the improvement started before they came to camp in October. ‘I thought by the end of last year, we were a good defensive team,’ Van Gundy says. ‘We’re just further along earlier in the year, which should be expected, because we’ve got a year under our belt in the same defensive system.’ There is one significant difference this season, though, and that’s Dwight Howard. Howard averaged 2.15 blocks last season and has averaged 1.78 through the first four seasons of his career. Back in October, he blogged that he wanted to lead the league in blocks, an ambitious goal for someone who finished a block and a half behind league leader Marcus Camby last season. But Howard is doing just that, tallying 3.93 per contest.”
Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: “The Nets arrived here as the third-worst defensive team in the NBA, and the only teams worse are those who espouse the shoot-first-and-shoot-often school of thought, with coaches (Mike D’Antoni and Don Nelson) who don’t emphasize defense all that much. So with the Nets’ average yield exploding (a whopping 104.5 points per game), their field-goal defense ranked 23rd (.459), and their 3-point defense ranked 29th (opponents tee off at a .415 clip), it raises a question: Does Rod Thorn really have his heart set on having a good defensive team this season?”
Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: “Halfway through the third quarter of their game at AT&T Center on Wednesday night, the Spurs found themselves nine points down to the Chicago Bulls and in need of a lift. With just one full game and two full practices under his belt this season, Manu Ginobili deemed this a perfect opportunity. In just two minutes and 49 seconds, Ginobili made two twisting layups, set up teammates for 3-point baskets, turned the deficit into a Spurs lead and convinced himself, once and for all time, that the September surgery that repaired a left ankle impingement had been a complete success. ‘I’m doing good,’ said the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man Award winner. ‘I’m happy and excited. I felt good, and we won.’ Ginobili played nearly 18 minutes in the Spurs’ 98-88 victory, scoring 15 points, with four assists and three rebounds.”
Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe: “Before the Celtics met the Warriors last night, statisticians made certain reference books were in place and the Elias Sports Bureau’s telephone number was handy. They did not have to wait long to start researching and making calls, the Warriors’ up-tempo style and lack of defense contributing to a fast start. First, the Celtics’ superlatives. They set season highs for first-quarter scoring (35 points) and for a game in a 119-111 victory. They also had several lows: surrendering the most points in a half (67) since the Warriors scored 69 in a 119-117 win Feb. 20; allowing the most points in an opening half since Charlotte scored 68 March 14, 2005; allowing the most points in a quarter (39) since Jan. 20, 2007 at Washington.”
Dime: Larry Bird’s Rap Debut
Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: “The Cavs rank fifth in the NBA in fewest turnovers, committing just 13 a game. ‘Early on we were not valuing the ball,’ Brown said. ‘That is one of the things we have been stressing, especially on the road. If you can keep control of the ball, it helps you control the tempo of the game.’ Most of it can be attributed to the team’s three primary ball-handlers performing at a high level. LeBron James is averaging the fewest turnovers per game in his career, Mo Williams his fewest in three seasons and Delonte West his fewest since his rookie year in 2004-05.”
Randy Kim of NBA FanHouse: A Quick Conversation With Delonte West About Thanksgiving
Jennifer Floyd Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “RC is right to be brutally honest. Stack is right to be brutally annoyed. Who really knows who is right. Maybe, Stack is right that the Mavs are wrong about him. Maybe, the Mavs are right that Stack’s best days are behind him and his best role is mentoring Antoine Wright and Co. What I know for sure is Stack has a right to ask to go elsewhere, especially how he handled his request. Peacefully. With no vitriol or hyperbole. And with the intention of avoiding a brouhaha.”
Brad Rock of the Deseret News: “The audience gave him an enthusiastic ovation during introductions. Was he sharp? Surprisingly so. He did air ball a couple of driving shots that would normally go in, and throw a perfect entry pass in the lane — to Memphis’ Marc Gasol. Still, if you really need proof the Jazz are better without Williams — considering they started the season 5-0 — remember that after the quick opening, they went 4-6. Yes, they survived without Williams, and others, but the absence has left a mark. It isn’t Boozer’s detached coolness that drives the Jazz, but Williams’ fierce insistence.”
Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: “A young mother of three didn’t know if today would be Thanksgiving — or just another Thursday. ‘We don’t have any money,’ sighed Ernestine Fishburn of Park Hill. ‘Been laid off. But then I heard about Kenyon.’ On Monday, Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin invited 250 needy families to the Mount Carmel Community Baptist Church, where gap-toothed kids and gracious parents fixated on the NBA star, who happily handed them all the fixins, frozen turkeys, cans of cranberries and corn, fluffy loaves of bread and sweet potato pies. Martin wore a genuine smile and a goofy hat, which was the shape of a light brown turkey with a couple of bones pointing toward the ceiling. Call him Turkey Claus.”
Lang Whitaker of SLAM: What I’m Thankful For…
Chris McCosky of The Detroit News: “Allen Iverson was among the many Pistons players grumbling after the victory over the Knicks on Wednesday because coach Michael Curry called a practice for 10 a.m. Thanksgiving morning. ‘I got to get up at 9 a.m. and practice on Thanksgiving,’ Iverson said. Well, apparently not. Iverson was the only Piston to skip practice Thursday and that didn’t go over too well with Curry. ‘He will be fined, a heavy fine, and he won’t start (Friday against Milwaukee),’ Curry said. ‘Whether he plays or not, we will make that decision internally (before the game).’”
Lakers.com: “Lakers center Andrew Bynum suffered an injury to his right foot in Tuesday’s game against the New Jersey Nets. MRI and CT scan results show that a small bone spur chipped off and is the cause of Bynum’s pain and inflammation. Bynum’s playing status is day-to-day, and the Lakers will issue an update tomorrow (11/28) prior to the game vs. Dallas.”
20 Second Timeout: Durant is Back in his Comfort Zone at Small Forward
Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: “Never before has there been such talk about a free-agent period two years before it will commence. With superstars such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh scheduled to be free agents in 2010, several NBA teams are already making moves to become major shoppers. Grizzlies center Darko Milicic’s name never enters the discussion. But that’s OK with the 7-foot Serbian. He’s not necessarily thinking about the NBA as a long-term proposition. Milicic, who also will be a 2010 free agent, said his change of address could see him returning to Europe.”
Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: “It’s Thanksgiving Day and the Mavericks will leave town later this afternoon for Los Angeles, where they play the Lakers Friday night. This is a work day for the Mavericks. They will have a practice, although it’s not scheduled to be as long as some of the marathons they have had this season under Rick Carlisle. Lengthy workouts have become the norm. And they also have gotten the players’ attention — at least, one player’s. ‘With the practices we’ve been having, I’d rather play, to be honest,’ Dirk Nowitzki said. ‘We’ve been practicing three or four hours. I told them yesterday that I’d rather have 41 back-to-backs than one practice with Carlisle.’”
Bucks Diary: “The problem with Charlie’s inside game is its so damn ineffective. In fact, among players with at least 100 attempts, Charlie Villanueva is the worst “inside” shooter in the NBA. I’m not saying the worst among big men, either. I’m talking about THE WORST IN THE ENTIRE ASSOCIATION… point guards, midgets, everyone included. And it makes zero sense. There’s just no easy explanation for the incompetence of his interior game. Sure, Villanueva isn’t the greatest athlete ever. But neither is Bogut, or Mehmet Okur, or Brad Miller… they all make a far greater percentage of their inside shots than Villanueva. And he’s got excellent size. His bulk is above average for a power forward, and his standing reach of 9′00 almost qualifies him as a center. And he’s a decent “pure” shooter. His free throw percentage is quite good, and he can obviously hit the three.”
Greg Johns of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: “The Sonics may be long gone, but one remaining lawsuit lingers in Seattle over their departure. A suit filed just over a year ago against the Oklahoma City owners by three Sonics season-ticket holders continues to push forward in U.S. District Court, where Judge Richard Jones must rule on several motions in the next few weeks. Sonics fans Robert Brotherson, Patrick Sheehy and Carolyn Bechtel recently filed an amended class-action complaint seeking to have all season-ticket holders from the team’s final season at KeyArena be granted the right to buy Thunder tickets at Oklahoma City’s Ford Center for the 2009-10 season at the same price and priority as they believe was guaranteed to them by the former owners in Seattle.”
Kevin Ding of The Orange County Register: “Here’s something that was very wrong during the Lakers’ 11-1 start: Derek Fisher had 123 field-goal attempts (and shot 35 percent on them), whereas Gasol had 142 attempts (and shot 52 percent on them). In the Lakers’ 12th victory, Gasol shot 9 for 12 from the field, scoring 26 points to lead the Lakers over New Jersey on a night when Kobe Bryant was off (5 for 17 from the field, 12 points). And Lakers coach Phil Jackson acknowledged afterward that the Lakers need to be mindful of going to Gasol, who isn’t going to demand the ball the way that a certain former Lakers big man coached by Jackson did. ‘With Pau, we’d like to get him more post-up opportunities, especially when he has to play forward a lot,’ Jackson said. ‘So we a lot of times have to engineer something to get him in the post.’ Jackson wants 10-15 post touches per game for Gasol, which can get lost in the shuffle when the Lakers do not operate with the attitude that 7-footers Andrew Bynum and Gasol are interchangeable.”
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: “It was cause for dejection in past Lakers locker rooms, a poor shooting night by Kobe Bryant often leading to a loss. Not so much this season. Bryant’s production is down across the board, but the Lakers are off to a 12-1 start, beating teams by a league-high average of 14.3 points a game. The Lakers continue to win with ease, even when Bryant has poor shooting nights. He was five for 17 against New Jersey on Tuesday, but the Lakers won by 27 points. He was eight for 23 against Phoenix, but the Lakers won by 13. He was five for 15 at New Orleans, and the Lakers won by “only” seven. He went eight for 21 against the Clippers, and the Lakers won by 18.”
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “Once again, Marbury has been empowered to drain the spirit out of the locker room. Once again, he’s been enable to dictate the terms of engagement. With his franchise in crisis, Walsh should’ve been in Detroit on Wednesday to suspend Marbury on the spot. Once Marbury had refused Mike D’Antoni’s demand to play for a second time in six days, the guard never should’ve been allowed back into the Knicks’ locker room. As much as anything, Walsh never should’ve left his coach to manage this mess alone. Reports were that Walsh had been traveling back to his Indianapolis home for Thanksgiving. As one NBA executive said, ‘You have to be on the road with your team right now if you’re Donnie. You can’t wait until LeBron shows up in two years and then decide to travel with your team.’”
