Jody Genessy of the Deseret News: “Jerry Sloan might watch more TV sports highlights shows or read more basketball articles if media members switched their focus a little bit. Forget the spectacular rim-rocking dunks and the exciting net-snapping long-range shots. He’d rather watch cornstalks grow on his Illinois farm. Better yet, the 66-year-old Jazz coach would really prefer seeing those buckets that are taken about halfway between the hoop and the 3-point line. Sloan made that clear at practice Monday when he turned a comment about the evolution of C.J. Miles’ offensive game into a full-fledged sales pitch for the unheralded and overlooked mid-range shot. ‘Young guys have got to have a mid-range game. Everybody wants a 3-point shot or a dunk. That’s the nature of coming out of college into this league,’ Sloan said. ‘But you give me a guy that can make a 15-foot jump shot, that’s when you become effective.’”
Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus: “Right now, Oden is spending too much time thinking and not reacting, and that is death for even an NBA player so phenomenally talented. One good example is running the high pick-and-roll. At times, most notably during his 22-point outburst at Golden State, Oden has been impossible to defend at the rim. When he hesitates, that advantage is lost, so Oden must continue ‘rolling hard,’ as he put it after a recent game. It is also obvious that Oden is not athletically at 100 percent following his knee surgery, which is consistent with the general history of microfracture patients. (Compare, for example, Amaré Stoudemire’s explosiveness during his first and second seasons back from microfracture.) Oden himself has made progress in this regard over the last couple of months. He doesn’t seem to be laboring up and down the floor anymore and appears lighter on his feet, probably helped by dropping a little weight from where he started training camp. Where I still notice the limits on Oden’s athleticism in particular is in terms of multiple-effort plays.”
Sean Meagher of OregonLive.com: “Now, for all this talk and practice on containment and ‘overloading,’ the Blazers were not a very good defensive team to start the season. Through the first eight games, Portland was allowing an average of 99 points per game, which ranked near the bottom. That includes Greg Oden’s return against Miami on Nov. 12 (the eighth game). During those first eight, the Blazers also faced some very stiff competition in the Los Angeles Lakers (first in the league in scoring at 107.8 ppg), Phoenix Suns (100.6 ppg), Utah Jazz (99.9 ppg) and Orlando Magic (100.4 ppg). But over the last 10 games, the number of points allowed by Portland has dropped significantly, from 99 per to 88.2. And over the total of 18 games, the Blazers are now near the bottom of the NBA in points allowed, at 93 per, along with defensive-minded squads such as Boston (90.1), Houston (90.9), Cleveland (92.6), San Antonio (93.0) and New Orleans (93.0). It’s a fairly rapid change for a team that struggled to get stops early on.”
Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: “The challenge for the Lakers’ deep and talented reserve unit is maintain a high level of success in hostile environments. ‘I think we are mature enough to keep our composure, to keep our poise on the road,’ guard Sasha Vujacic said. ‘We did pretty good last year on the road, so coming into this season, I think we’re more mature and we’re playing together. We’ve just got to do what we’re doing right now.’ As of Monday, the Lakers’ bench was the second-highest-scoring reserve group in the NBA, averaging 37.2 points per game. Minnesota (38.9 points) was first, Portland (36.9) third, San Antonio (36.8) fourth and Oklahoma City (36.8) fifth. Lakers Coach Phil Jackson has talked about the difficulties his second-unit players face on the road: how they become more rattled, how they don’t get many calls, how the game slows down.”
Matt Watson of FanHouse: “It’s clear that Curry doesn’t trust Iverson to run the offense, and to compensate he’s frequently relied on a three-guard lineup, which bumps Prince to the four, or a traditional two-guard lineup with Prince running the show as a point forward. Either way, Prince is playing out of position. While he may be averaging a career-high with 15.3 points and 6.5 rebounds, those numbers are skewed by a handful of games early on. In his last seven games, he’s averaged just 11.1 points and 3.7 boards, and even though he’s played a lot at the one, he’s tallied more than three assists in a game just three times all year. Curry tried to clarify on Monday that he didn’t mean to single out Prince and was instead disappointed by all of his starters. If that’s the case, why not change the starting lineup? Iverson is a sure-fire Hall of Famer and one of the biggest superstars in any sport that Detroit has ever seen … but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a sixth-man.”
A. Sherrod Blakely of MLive.com: “Iverson, who owns a career average of 27.6 points per game, is averaging 17.6 per game with the Pistons. Part of his problem goes hand in hand with the fact he is playing fewer minutes. A mainstay among the league’s leaders in minutes played, Iverson is averaging a career-low 36.1 minutes per game this season. Only once in his career has he averaged fewer than 40 minutes per game. But Iverson knew to expect fewer minutes when he came to Detroit. ‘This is the best team he has been on,’ Pistons coach Michael Curry said. ‘We have very capable guys coming off the bench. And for all our starters, they’re probably going to play less minutes.’ It’s understandable that fewer minutes would result in fewer points scored. But Iverson’s touch has dipped. He’s shooting just 39.1 percent from the field. He hasn’t shot worse than 40 percent from the floor since the 2003-04 season, when he shot a career-worst 38.7 percent.”
Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Edge: “O.J. Mayo is looking like a generational player. The rookie guard out of USC was named Monday the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played from the start of the season Oct. 28 through November. That came as no surprise. But did you know that Mayo is one of only four players in the past 25 years to record at least four 30-point games in his first 17? Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan and Terry Cummings are the others. Mayo, the third overall pick, leads all rookies with a team-high 21.9 points per game. It’s the highest scoring average for a first-year player since Iverson (23.4 ppg) in 1996-97.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “I reported in today’s Post that the balleyhooed buyout meeting went so poorly, Stephon Marbury withdrew his standing offer to take $1 million less than his wage. That’s bad news for Knick fans who want Marbury waived ASAP. Marbury’s offer stood for 18 days. When Donnie Walsh countered yesterday with a $3 million discount, Marbury was stunned. That’s why the meeting lasted 15 minutes. The Post also reported in today’s editions The Players’ Association is also investigating whether the Knicks can ban Marbury from games and practices. The Players’ Association believes the Knicks must show “just cause” to discipline Marbury beyond the $400,000 worth of fines and one-game suspension. I guess Walsh could hand the Players’ Association a copy of The Post from yesterday and Marbury’s inflammatory quotes about his teammates ’shooting him in the dead’. and calling D’Antoni a liar.”
John Reid of The Times-Picayune: “‘The tape doesn’t lie,’ Scott said Monday. ‘There are too many times when we don’t get enough possessions. One of the reasons I think our scoring is down is because of a lack of possessions. We are just not speeding up the game.’ Scott has made defense a priority since training camp opened in late September. It’s working. The Hornets are holding opponents to 93 points per game, putting them in the top five in the league. However, New Orleans’ 96.2 scoring average ranks 21st among the 30 teams. After 15 games last season, the Hornets were averaging 49.3 rebounds. This season, they are averaging 44.9, which has caused fewer offensive possessions. The Hornets (9-6) are 7-0 when they have scored at least 100 points. But in five of their losses, they have failed to score more than 89 points.”
Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: “Hill remains in his comfort zone as a starter, and the Suns (11-7) are 4-1 in those games, with the loss coming when Shaquille O’Neal was out. In this uncomfortable time, Hill might best reflect the team’s seesaw season. In the Suns’ victories this season, Hill averaged 10.2 points and shot 51.7 percent from the field. In the losses, he averaged 4.9 points and shot 33.3 percent, well off the 50.6 percent he has shot over the past five seasons. Last December he averaged 17.3 points per game and shot 55.5 percent. He entered this December looking like a 36-year-old who is struggling to get loose in his first reserve role.”
Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News: “On the day Billups was acquired, Karl said without a true point guard ‘you have directorship of maybe 80 percent’ of the game but predicted it would drop to ‘a little more than half’ with Billups. ‘The really good point guards have instinctive decision-making that just happens,’ Karl said. But it didn’t happen overnight for the Denver native and former University of Colorado star. After being drafted with the No. 3 pick by Boston in 1997, it has been well chronicled how Billups bounced around, playing for five teams before he found his niche after arriving in Detroit in 2002. ‘It took a lot of studying,’ said Billups, regarded as more of a combo guard early in his career. ‘Not just myself, but studying other players, studying what guys did at certain times of the game. Just a lot of homework that brought me the knowledge of the game I have today.’”
Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: “This is a happy man today, and he deserves to be. His rebuilding plan has been accelerated by a few months, the kids are developing at an acceptable rate, they’re starting to get some bodies back, his perennial All-Star is playing extremely well, and he suddenly found out in the last few days that he has the best point guard in the conference. . . .again. So let’s cut to the chase, as T. Soprano would say: Is it getting close to the time when you might reconsider what this season’s goals might be? ‘Very good question,’ Thorn said. ‘And my answer would be the same: I don’t think we’ve played enough games to know. But I’ve been pleased with what I see. The players are getting better, we have good camaraderie, guys pulling in the right direction. Young guys are getting better, nobody seems to be caught up in shots or things of that nature – there’s a healthy respect all around. I like that part of it a lot.’”
Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “The Wolves played out without Corey Brewer’s energy but what they lacked mostly, if you listened to Randy Wittman, were enough players willing to follow the game plan. That’s why Brian Cardinal was out there in the third quarter, or so Wittman said. And why Kevin Ollie, back from his calf injury, led the offense for 10 second-half minutes while Randy Foye moved over to two guard. The Wolves committed 14 first-half turnovers, just four after intermission. Foye had three turnovers, all in the first half, and four assists, all in the second half. The Wolves trailed by seven at halftime and never recovered. ‘I don’t think it has anything to do with energy,’ Wittman said. ‘It’s just a matter of executing the game plan. You have an idea where you want to attack from an offensive standpoint and where you’ve got to take their strengths away from a defensive standpoint. You’ve got to do those things. We lacked in the game plan. I’ve got to find some guys — and probably some veteran guys — who are going to follow the game plan and what we want done.’”
Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune: “The day Larry Miller grabbed the phone to dial up Dave Checketts, a call that changed Miller’s life and the sporting life of an entire state, he had no clear concept of what he was doing or why he was doing it. It was the first of a number of ‘just cuzes’ that led to him buying the Jazz and building a business empire, gaining the vision and personal scope for a series of bold moves that snowballed. ‘It’s like when your 5-year-old kid wipes his dirty hands on the wall,’ Miller says, ‘and you ask him why he did that, and he says, ‘Just cuz.’ I did the same.’ Those dirty handprints kept the Jazz in Utah, preventing the club from heading off to any of six different locations, the most likely of which were Minnesota or Florida. The fact is, if Miller hadn’t stepped in with a decision he characterizes as ‘more emotional than rational,’ the Jazz would have been gone.”
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News: “He’s the one who has stubbornly stuck with Small Ball — and Maggette launching wild jumpers from the power-forward position — for long odd stretches this season. He’s the one who won’t play Wright or Randolph for significant minutes, either because he doesn’t trust them or because he’s worried they might succeed and force him to play a more regular lineup. He’s the one who has installed his right-hand man, Larry Riley, as the presumptive general manager. Without Nelson on hand, Rowell probably never would have dared to take on Mullin publicly, which was the move that has caused all the franchise reverberations. Nelson went for instability. He heightened the drama. He showed no loyalty to Mullin. He took the $12 million, and, eventually, he’ll probably run. There was a little mini-example of that Saturday, when Nelson left the court with more than 10 seconds left, at the end of the Warriors’ humiliation in New York. ‘The game was over and we weren’t going to foul, because we were down 12, I think, or 13, and we were going to let the clock run out,’ Nelson said. ‘And if it bothers you, I won’t do it again.’”
