The Fundamentals

Jerry Brown of the East Valley Tribune:  “Since Steve Nash returned to Phoenix in the summer of 2004, the Suns have been searching for an understudy to keep the team pointed north while he rested. It has been a fruitless pursuit. Joe Johnson wanted to be the star. Leandro Barbosa and Eddie House were shoot-first guys. Marcus Banks was … whatever that was. This season was supposed to be different. The Suns were finally going to peel back in their dependence on their overworked two-time MVP, and even had early plans to sit him completely in selected games. But that plan was shelved when the Suns whiffed on an attempt to lure a veteran backup to town through free agency with a minimum contract. And with Goran Dragic and Sean Singletary going through the normal struggles of a non-lottery rookie in the NBA, the domino effect of not having a steady backup option has never been more pronounced.”

Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic:  “There was a surprise awaiting the Suns at the end of Tuesday’s practice. It wasn’t pretty. ‘In the locker room!’ coach Terry Porter bellowed. ‘Everybody!’  Off they went, silently and obediently, bracing for the conversation ahead. It was an impressive show of authority from the new man in charge. It was prompted by a shoddy practice before the team left for New Orleans but could’ve been directed at any number of nuisances, from the dissenting voices in the locker room to the recent and reckless comments by Amaré Stoudemire. It was just what this ruffled, shuffled team needed to hear, and very conveniently, it was just what the media needed to see. Hopefully this will be rock bottom, the day the 2008-09 Suns turned the corner.”

Project Spurs:  “I took at look at Duncan’s pages for this season and the last two seasons. Sure enough, even the numbers back up Ludden’s claim. In 2006-07, Duncan attempted 9.56% of his shots from the ‘perimeter’, making 37.9% of them. In 2007-08, Duncan attempted 12.06% of his shots from the ‘perimeter’ and made 40.85%. This season he has attempted 17.89% of his shots from the ‘perimeter’ and made 47.83%. While this season is still young, it shows a shift in Duncan’s game. In two seasons he has increased the number of perimeter shots taken by nearly 90%. Even better, he is making them at a higher rate. With Manu Ginobili back and Tony Parker back, I expect Duncan to find more looks inside and this number of perimeter shots to decrease. Both guards can create open space for Duncan besides the pick-and-pops he has been running with Roger Mason and George Hill. Still, I see this as a growing trend in Duncan’s game.”

Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News:  “Gregg Popovich made another vow Tuesday evening, but he might have been the only one who believed it. He told Manu Ginobili he’s a starter again, this time ‘in perpetuity,’ and later listed off all the reasons why the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year will never be a sixth man again. Then Popovich watched his new starting unit in action, and followed that by saying a few other things Ginobili has heard before. He called his team ‘soft’ and ‘intimidated,’ words that traditionally have preceded other spurts of lineup tinkering. Everyone in the Spurs’ locker room understood what this meant. Diamonds are forever, but perpetuity might not even last until Thursday. Even before Rasheed Wallace rediscovered his wild oats and the Pistons ripped through the supposedly healed Spurs at the AT&T Center, Popovich admitted his comments about Ginobili’s future were a tough sell. Over the past six years he’s declared Ginobili a starter about as often as ‘Pacman’ Jones has been declared a new man, and every time,  people winked the same way when they heard it.”

Woody Paige of The Denver Post:  “When I flew over for the opening game in Salt Lake City, the Nuggets (sans suspended Carmelo) played hard, but fell late, and, frankly, looked to be headed toward another season of finishing behind Utah. Afterward, Karl acted like a beaten man. With a 1-3 start, the Nuggets seemed headed for a sub-.500 November and, eventually, a season out of the playoffs, with not even a first-round series to lose. Afterward, Karl would be a fired man. Then, suddenly, the Nuggets’ ownership and management presented him with Billups. Gift-wrapped. Ho, Ho, Oh! Iverson-for-Billups was a fair exchange. But who would have thunk? The Nuggets were 11-3 in November with Billups. They are 1-0 in December, tied for first place in the division with surprising Portland and could win 20 games by Christmas. And there’s been an implausible Billups domino effect on the Nuggets. Karl has been a major beneficiary. All his coaching ideals and ideas are working.”

Sekou K Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:  “It’s taken a little more than a month for it to come into good focus, but I’ve finally discovered what has changed most about these Hawks from last year (really, the last four years) to now. They’re tighter than ever. And I’m talking about the players and coaches as a unit, and specifically the players. By no means am I suggesting that there have been major rifts between factions in the locker room in the past couple of seasons. But there was a time, say in the second half of the 13-69 season, where it would have taken a Gabrielle Union-led peace summit to get all the players on the same accord. Those sort of locker room splits (it used to be the young guys the Hawks were trying to groom versus the veterans that thought they shouldn’t be “given” time) are impossible to prevent. And you’ll find them in every sport. But the Hawks, because of external forces and some internal which have since been removed, always seemed a bit more dysfunctional than usual. They’ve had shed all of that unique dysfunction in the last 10-12 months.”

Empty The Bench:  “The Mavericks have the second-largest payroll in the league at $92.3 million this season, but it’s being wasted on a roster of fading and mismatched talent. Marshalling the bad-contract parade is Jason Kidd, the fourth-highest paid player in the league. His $21.4 million will mercifully come off the books after this season – and the Mavs should be happy to let him walk. They’re not going anywhere with this group, it’s time to think of the future. Dirk Nowitzki is the face of the franchise, but at 30 years of age and with the ability to opt out after next season he presents a dilemma. Do they want to pay him, even if he chooses to stay? If Dirk had a younger running mate or two in the prime of their careers it might make sense for him to stick around, but they don’t.”

Scott Howard-Cooper of the Sacramento Bee:  “The Kings are losing, a lot, and lately looking especially bad in the process, so the search for signs of life turns to Hawes. That would make sense anyway — obvious skills, a passion for the game, basketball IQ far beyond most 20 year olds, all of which were known long ago. The new, very important progress report: Five weeks into his second season, and his first healthy season, Hawes is defending at a rate that surprises even him. This is not to be confused with quickly turning into a stopper. But compared to the projections of someone with the chance to be a standout on offense and an easy mark on defense, compared to what looked a year ago like a long road ahead, his defensive improvements early in 2008-09 has become an unexpected bright spot.”

John Hollinger of ESPN.com:  “While the West is stronger 1 through 9, however, there’s a very different story at the bottom. The East only has one truly horrible team, the Wizards, and even that club could play much better if and when Gilbert Arenas returns. Every other Eastern squad projects to win at least 34 games. Meanwhile, the West is the Big Nine and the Little Six. Minnesota, Memphis, Golden State, Oklahoma City, Sacramento and the Clippers all project to win 31 games or fewer as of today; four of them project to win fewer than anybody in the East. Similarly, Western teams comprise six of the bottom eight in today’s Power Rankings. Ultimately, that’s why the East is going to win the head-to-head battle this season. Charlotte’s win over Minnesota and Miami’s win over Golden State put the East at plus-19 for the season, and it’s hard to find a compelling reason why the West would catch up from here.”

Chris McCosky of The Detroit News:  “Rasheed Wallace  isn’t going to admit to experiencing dead legs. Never mind that he’s 34 and has played more early-season minutes than he has since 2005-06. Never mind that in Sunday’s loss to Portland, he struggled to move, let alone jump, and had one rebound in 39 minutes. ‘I play where I am needed and when I am needed,’ Wallace said. When asked if he was feeling dead-legged, Wallace said, ‘Nah, not really. It’s all on your rest. Just make sure you get the proper rest and it should work out.’ Clearly, he hasn’t been getting enough rest.”

SLC Dunk:  Karl Malone talks about athletes carrying weapons [Video]

Bullets Forever:  The long-term roster plan post

Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer:  Bobcats report: What’s happened, what’s coming?

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News:  “I don’t think SJax is pleased with the way his friend Al Harrington was ushered out of town and since I believe Stephen is very, very smart, he can’t love that Nelson is, in retrospect, pining for Al’s play at power forward and using his absence as an excuse for the team’s rapid descent. Uh, Don? You’re the guy who drove Harrington crazy. Al’s not a bad guy. He can be sensitive, but he’s not a bad guy and definitely not a bad player. Harrington just happened to be Mullin’s favorite player on the team (with Brandan Wright way up there, Marco Belinelli, too, and Marcus Williams–gee, note a similarity in their treatment by Nelson?) and Nelson didn’t quite respect Harrington’s game. So SJax and the other players are looking around and thinking: Who’s the next target on the Nelson Blame Game?”

Bill Livingston of The Plain Dealer:  “Much can be learned from a man’s dreams. The sun around which the Cavaliers orbit, LeBron James, wanted to be like Mike, and so wears Michael Jordan’s No. 23. The previous generation wanted to hover like Dr. J. After a turnover, point guards in the generation before that had to answer the taunting question, ‘Who do you think you are? Cousy?’ Ben Wallace, ‘Big Ben,’ patrolman of the paint, doom-toller for the unwary, wanted to be … who? ‘As a kid, I wanted to be L.T.,’ he said. That would be of the NFL’s L.T.  The connection is evident. Lawrence Taylor, a Pro Football Hall of Famer at outside linebacker, brought such mayhem to offensive schemes that it became foolish to try to block him on blitzes with a running back. Teams actually stationed an extra tackle in the backfield, and L.T. still came screaming in like something with a smokestack, iron wheels and fire box. And, no, the connection with Wallace is not the havoc he wreaks on rims, but his irresistible rebounding.”

Chris Perkins of the Palm Beach Post:  “After getting trounced by 38 points at Portland (106-68) in the opening game of the trip, the Heat appeared headed for meltdown mode. But it came back to hand Phoenix a shocking and decisive 107-92 loss. Miami then dropped a controversial 97-96 game to the Los Angeles Clippers before gathering itself for a gutty 130-127 come-from-behind overtime victory at Golden State. It’s a road trip that epitomizes the resilience that’s led the Heat (9-9) to becoming a .500 team. ‘It’s not bad,’ forward Udonis Haslem said. ‘Definitely not bad.’ Not bad? It’s somewhat amazing. Here’s a group with a rookie head coach, no one taller than 6-foot-8 in its nine-man rotation, and six players in that rotation with less than three years of NBA experience. The Heat gets most of its attitude from its leader, All-Star guard Dwyane Wade, who has lived up to his pre-season pledge to ‘play angry’ this season.”

Marc Berman of the New York Post:  “With the Players Association reviewing whether Donnie Walsh’s actions were proper under the collective bargaining agreement, Marbury spent 90 minutes yesterday working out in the weight room at a White Plains gym, New York Sports Club. He’s under the impression he can’t even go to the facility to work out when the team is not there. ‘It’s terrible,’ Marbury said of his impasse with the Knicks. Marbury wants to be bought out, but the sides are $3 million apart. As The Post reported yesterday, Marbury withdrew the $1 million give-back on his contract. That came after Walsh presented a $3 million discount on Marbury’s $21.9 million during Monday’s bust of a buyout meeting. ‘That’s what you get when you try to pay for your freedom,’ Marbury told The Post. ‘You can’t pay for your freedom. Freedom has to come free. I’m not giving nothing. That’s for real.’”

Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal:  “As the Griz — losers in 10 of their past 11 contests — take a six-game skid into a road game tonight against the Atlanta Hawks, Gay is traveling with more baggage than expected. He’s averaging 20.2 points per game, second behind Mayo’s 21.9, but Gay isn’t enjoying the effectiveness or efficiency that marked his sophomore season. His overall shooting percentage (.430), 3-point shooting (.254), rebounds (5.5) and assists (1.8) are all down from the 2007-08 season. He’s logged roughly the same minutes, and with the exception of a marginal rise in Gay’s scoring, turnovers (3.06) are all that’s significantly increased. Simply put: the young, emerging franchise player who finished second last season in the NBA’s Most Improved voting is experiencing a rough ride.”

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:  “While No. 1 overall pick Derrick Rose has been nothing but a starter for the Bulls, and while No. 3 selection O.J. Mayo has been the same for the Grizzlies, Beasley has accepted the respite from some of the confusion he had experienced as a starter. ‘If that’s how Coach wants to play me, then that’s how I’m going to play,’ he said, acknowledging frustration over watching from the bench for so long in Monday’s second half. ‘I’m not going to be uncomfortable with anything.’ While Beasley is playing about eight fewer minutes as a reserve (21.7 compared to 29.9), his shooting percentage is up, while his rebounding and scoring averages are just about the same. ‘Coach can hold me out for 38 minutes and play me the last 10 minutes of the game and I’m going to play,’ he said.”

Rick Telander of the Chicago Sun-Times:  “There have been Rose dunks and balls swatted away and no-look assists and crazy dribbles through traffic. Rose doesn’t want to see any of it. ‘No,’ he says in the Bulls locker room before Tuesday’s rematch with the 76ers. After playing in one NCAA tournament at Memphis during his one year in college he decided all the ESPN-style hype and critiquing was more than he needed. ‘So I’ve never watched ‘SportsCenter’ ever again.’ When rookie Rose ‘clowns’ — to use an Iverson linguistic contrivance — someone on court, he puts his head down and continues playing. In this era of celebration over the slightest dominance and egomania after the slimmest success, Rose stands out as an old-fashioned disciple of hard-working integrity. Show guys up and gloat? ‘No I wouldn’t want anybody doing that to me,’ he says. ‘So I wouldn’t do that to somebody.’”