Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times: “Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey doesn’t play video games for fun or fantasy. Morey uses the EA Sports NBA game for professional reasons. He uses it to help evaluate talent. Morey says he is a statistical junky, an admirer of Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane and a mathematical nerd. ‘I’ve always loved numbers,’ Morey said. ‘I don’t play EA Sports as a game. I use it as a tool.’ While the kids plug in NBA 08 to ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ over how real it looks when Kobe Bryant dunks or LeBron James runs the court and finishes, Morey plugs in for more serious purposes. ‘Say if you’re thinking about acquiring Ron Artest,’ Morey said from Hawaii, where he was evaluating talent in person at the Maui Classic college tournament. ‘On the game, you can see how adding Artest can change the dynamic of your team. You can program it to run offensive sets with Artest and any combination of your players.’” [Via Dime]
Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune: “Everyone should be grateful for the roster filled with good guys who get along, watch out for each other and enjoy playing for the head coach, contrary to reports from one Internet contributor last week who speculated, based on his observations from the stands, sitting behind the Hornets bench, that there was a disconnect between Scott and point guard Chris Paul. This assertion was based on the columnist’s feeling that Paul’s body language during a conversation with Scott while a teammate was taking a free throw indicated Paul’s disdain for Scott’s message. Scott found the piece laughable. ‘Chris and I have never had an issue; we get along extremely well, ‘ Scott said. ‘He’s very respectful of me as a coach, and I’m very respectful of him as a player, as I am with all my players. I don’t know where it came from. I don’t really care. Whatever he thought he might have seen, I know what’s going on within our organization. It’s no big deal.’ For his part, Paul, too, was dumbfounded over the baseless Internet report.”
Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: “Over the Suns’ past four years, having fun became harder to achieve than wins. Emotion rarely overflowed to stoic faces, even after devastating runs. Fun was reserved for playoff success, the kind that never happened. That left the season to the drudgery of fulfilling expectations and filling stats. The Suns, including Managing Partner Robert Sarver, held a heart-to-heart chat after practice Saturday to rediscover the heart in their play and ensure they ‘heart’ their teammates. Because if 11-6 in the NBA isn’t fun, they aren’t doing it right. ‘Guys are a little woe-is-me,’ Suns guard Steve Nash said. ‘Guys aren’t having fun, myself included. We’ve also been punctured a little bit by expectancy. We need to worry about process and coming in every day and having fun together and build a team. If we do that, we’ll see a lot of improvement.’”
Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: “There were plenty of Cavaliers fans and outside parties not real thrilled with LeBron James’ public relations tactics over the last week, most outspoken of which was Charles Barkley. However, what most who don’t know him fail to realize is LeBron is just being LeBron. Being flirtatious with potential business partners, as some accused him of being with the Knicks in New York last week, is part of his personality and has been for years. Back when LeBron was a teenager – oh, those many years ago – he just loved to tease the shoe companies that were intently gunning for his services. It may not have been as high profile as this current chase over his next playing contract, but trust that the money and the business stakes were just as high. And yes, that one lasted for two years, too.”
Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com: “L’Affaire Marbury has been a monumental headache for Walsh and D’Antoni as the first few months of their joint tenure has unfolded. It appears Walsh did not understand or was not adequately told the degree of mutual disdain that remained between D’Antoni and Marbury from their brief time together in Phoenix, and Walsh said he was unaware on opening night that D’Antoni did not plan to put Marbury into the game. Marbury has been inactive for every game since — except for the night in Milwaukee when he dressed but did not play to allow the Knicks to meet the NBA requirement of having a minimum of eight players available. ‘I think everyone came in with good intentions, and it hasn’t worked out. So we have to acknowledge that and talk about it,’ Walsh said. ‘I’m disappointed in the situation. I’m definitely disappointed in the refusal to play because I think that’s central to a player’s contract. It says you will provide your services; it doesn’t say you will play if you have the playing time you want, or if you like or don’t like the coach, it doesn’t say anything about that.’”
Peter Vecsey of the New York Post: “D’Antoni’s testimony on camera following both episodes was unambiguous. He’d asked, not ordered, Marbury to break a sweat. Surprising no one, Hooked on Stephonics re-confirmed his legendary selfishness by leaving his under-manned team in the lurch. But that ask-order technicality, it says here, will recoup the money he was docked when his case goes to arbitration. Marbury is sufficiently street slick or schooled by union lawyers to have figured that much out. Yet he wasn’t smart enough to realize he’d blown an extraordinary opportunity to repair his contaminated image. Imagine the respect Marbury would have gained by rising above being callously discarded and coming to his decimated team’s rescue. Instead, Stephon confirmed why so many of us disrespect him so deeply.”
Brian Stensaas of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Following training camp, Love said one of the biggest adjustments was the pace of the pro game and the shot clock, which is 11 seconds quicker in the NBA than it is in college games. Adapting to that has gotten better, he said. But overall? ‘Not to where I’d like to be,’ Love said. ‘But I think it’s fair to say I’m definitely learning. The more that I get comfortable with the coaching staff, the players around me and the game itself, I’ll just keep getting better.’ Entering Saturday, Love was 15th in the league in rookie scoring averaging 7.9 points per game. O.J Mayo, whom the Wolves drafted but traded to Memphis in part for Love’s rights, leads NBA rookies with 21.4 points per game. Wittman, though, said stats don’t always tell the whole story.”
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “While I still think the Heat has to find a way to make things work with Michael Beasley in the starting lineup, the growing pains clearly had made such an immediate role a bit too painful. As witnessed by Beasley’s second-quarter, 17-point outburst Saturday against the Clippers, there is something to be said about having a scorer on the court when Dwyane Wade goes to the bench. In fact, one of the players indicated that the ball tends to stop too often when Beasley is on the court, something that does not seem to be as much of a concern when Wade is on the bench and points otherwise would be scarce. But that doesn’t mean that this is the ultimate answer. Too much has been made about Beasley’s defense. There are plenty of talented scorers in this league who have endured, even thrived, for years as one-way talents.”
Sekou Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Bibby said before Saturday’s game that news of a potential deal never made it to his ears. ‘What the hell is Yahoo Sports?’ he said before breaking into his comedy routine about the media. ‘That’s news to me Sekou. I never heard anything like that … you and the rest of the damn media always making stuff up.’ The way they’re playing right now, the Hawks would have to think long and hard about moving Bibby or anyone else, unless it was a totally one-sided deal that added an All-Star caliber talent (and for the record, Bibby is shooting the lights out of the Verizon Center right now). A first month shakeup in years past always seemed to breathe a little life into things around here. Now it would seem like tinkering for the sake of tinkering. And that’s not what these Hawks need.”
Britt Robson of The Rake: “If you want the glass to be half-full, you can say that the Wolves have split their last six games after enduring an 8-game losing streak. Of course that pattern–a stronger finish after a terrible start– is one reason why folks were more optimistic about the team’s chances this season. In that sense, you could say that the Wolves first month of the season is a microcosm of their entire 2007-08 campaign. Bottom line, their current record of 4-11 (.267), is as statistically similar to last year’s 22-60 (.268) won-lost ledger as possible. Same as it ever was. The three games played over the Thanksgiving holiday likewise feel familiar to a year ago. Signs of progress don’t feel bankable, mostly because the plan is muddled, the performances relatively inconsistent and the chicken-or-egg quandary about whether the problem is lack of talent or not enough synergy of the talent on hand (or what combination of both) remains a vexing unknown.”
Frank Dell’Apa of The Boston Globe: “Paul Pierce has either failed to, or barely topped, double-figure scoring in four of the last six Celtics games. But Pierce needed only the final 3:57 to score 10 of his team-high 19 points in the Celtics’ 89-84 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats last night. With Pierce’s help, the Celtics (16-2) improved their winning streak to eight games and are 5-1 in the second of games played on consecutive nights. Things did not go as planned against the lowly Bobcats (5-11) until the final minutes. Coach Doc Rivers inserted the Celtic starters with 5:25 remaining.”
Brian Hanley of the Chicago Sun-Times: “The Bulls have played only 16 games, but when it comes to defense, the same porous effort from last season’s 33-49 team has carried over. Heading into the game today in Philadelphia, the 7-9 Bulls have allowed 101.2 points per game, almost a point more than last season (100.4). Only six teams have allowed more points on average, and through Friday, they were a combined 27-66. ‘Probably not [a good recipe for success],’ coach Vinny Del Negro said. ‘We’re not as consistent as anybody would like, especially in the transition defense. That’s got to get better. Transition defense is something we’ve really stressed and emphasized but we’ve not been very productive at.’”
Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: “If you haven’t just beamed in from Alpha Centauri, you may have noticed that Devin Harris is one of the hottest players in the league. This hot, to be precise: In his past nine games, he has averaged 27.2 points and 6.4 assists — so unguardable off the dribble that he has moved into second place in the NBA in free-throw attempts with 11.4 per game (a shade behind Dwight Howard’s 12.1). ‘It’s not a secret anymore that Devin Harris is one of the better players in our league,’ Keyon Dooling said after Harris had what has become a typical night (34 points, six assists) against Utah. ‘With the ball in his hands he is pretty much indefensible.’”
John Reid of The Times-Picayune: “Until he combined to make 18 of 37 shots for a 17-point average in games last week against the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers, Hornets forward Peja Stojakovic was struggling to live up to his reputation as one of the league’s better perimeter shooters. Instead of knocking down 3-pointers, Stojakovic was marred in one of his worst early-season shooting slumps in his 10-year career.”
Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: “Atop former Grizzlies president Jerry West’s wish list when he took over in Memphis was that team move to the Eastern Conference. He cited geographical issues. Truth is that West thought the reclamation project would have a better chance in the East, then-fertile ground. But what West, and all NBA-lifers, know is that conference power goes in cycles. In the 1990s, East teams dominated The Finals stage, winning seven titles over the decade. Then, from the 1999-2000 campaign through last season, the East had a woeful .421 winning percentage in interconference games. The NBA landscape has changed a bit with the Boston Celtics serving as reigning champs, and the East holding a 42-29 record in interconference play this season through games played as of last Thursday.”
Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star: “If NBA players have grown blasé about their luxury lifestyle, consider that it’s been more than 20 years since the Detroit Pistons led the move to now-universal private-charter air travel. And even Mitchell, the 43-year-old former player, can scarcely recall the days when a veteran had to pay a premium to secure his own room on the road. In this every-man’s-an-island league, a spacious room of one’s own is now an inalienable right written into the collective bargaining agreement. But NBA-style luxury is relatively new to a handful of Raptors. For Roko Ukic, the 23-year-old rookie who honed his game in Croatia’s lower-pro rungs, life wasn’t always thus. ‘We stayed in some bad places. It just was terrible, terrible. You cannot imagine,’ Ukic was saying last month. ‘No TV. Cockroaches. No curtains on the windows, so you wake up at 5 a.m. …’”
