The Fundamentals

Jotham Sederstrom of the Daily News:  “Work has abruptly halted at a key location of the controversial Atlantic Yards project, raising the possibility of additional delays on the $4.2 billion plan. A spokesman for developer Forest City Ratner said Wednesday construction at the Vanderbilt Rail Yards – where an NBA basketball arena and 16 towers are planned – would not resume until a lawsuit against the developer is settled. ‘As we said this fall we anticipate additional delays because of a pending court case,’ said spokesman Joe DePlasco, referring to an Appellate Division lawsuit challenging the use of eminent domain to acquire private land at the site. Over the last two years, we’ve prepared the site for the next steps. We’ve gone about as far as we can go at this point with preliminary work, including sewer, track, infrastructure and utility work, along with demolition,’ DePlasco added.”

Alan Hahn of Newsday:  “LeBron James, at a young age, understands the game and understands how to play it, and we’re not talking about basketball.  Charles Barkley and others have criticized him about his willingness to talk openly about 2010, but really what’s wrong with having some fun and creating some positive buzz? At a time when we’re shaking our heads about Plaxico Burress and debating the Stephon Marbury mess, here we are enjoying the preamble to what will be one of the most anticipated offseasons in the history of the NBA 18 months from now. It’s compelling lead role played by LeBron, who will have to decide between staying put and enjoying the quiet life in his hometown or going for the big stage in the big city. Think about the build-up. The anticipation. There are people who don’t know who LeBron James is, but there figures to be a lot less by 2010 just because of the coverage. It’s a brilliant strategy. He remains non-committal, but yet is willing to allow the conversation to go on. Let the scribes perpetuate the frenzy, then benefit from the results of the constant exposure.”

Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer:  “After the game nearly the entire Cavs team stayed in the shower area for an hour. They were leaning against walls, sitting on counters and enjoying adult beverages all in towels. They were talking, making fun of each other, hanging out. It may seem like normal locker room behavior, but it isn’t. Maybe these guys go hang out with each other in groups after the games at restaurants or their houses. But in my six years covering the Cavs I’d never seen that after a game. You have to preface everything you say about these Cavs with ‘it’s still early,’ but I have not seen chemistry like this before. The season is long, trying times are certainly ahead, but the team is more than just winning, they are enjoying doing it with each other. I’ve talked to a couple of the veterans privately and they insist this is the best chemistry they have ever been a part of. Again, I have to reserve some judgment; a couple years ago I was noticing how well the Cavs got along. But Larry Hughes was unhappy and messing some things up behind the scenes.” (Special thanks to BallerBlogger contributing writer and unabashed Cavs homer ‘Tsunami’ for emailing me this tip)

John Ireland of the Los Angeles Times:  “Any lawyer or agent representing a star athlete will tell you there is an unwritten code they hope their big clients will follow: Don’t be political. Don’t take unnecessary stands on serious issues. Keep your image clean, and you could be looking at an eight-figure shoe contract, a national sports-drink campaign and your own videogame. It worked for Michael Jordan. It worked for Tiger Woods. And it can work for you. Mention this to Baron Davis, the new point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers, and he smiles. He has his own code. ‘No disrespect to anybody,’ Davis says, ‘but I’d rather stand for something than nothing. I’d rather have my voice be heard than sell products. I’m more someone who wants to inspire.’ That’s just one thing about Davis, 29, that surprises most who meet him.”

Marty Burns of CNNSI.com:  “Brand has done his part, averaging 17.4 points and 10.3 rebounds. But the Sixers as a team have looked oddly passive and not at all like themselves. Unable to play a small lineup as often, they seem to have lost their identity as a fast, athletic, defensive-minded hurricane that forces turnovers and gets up court for easy baskets. Philadelphia ranks in the bottom seven in scoring (94.4), field goal percentage (43.4), free throw percentage (74.0) and turnovers (16.4). Meanwhile, its defense has not been creating offense like it did so well in 2007-08. One of the league’s top steals teams a year ago, the Sixers have slipped to 17th in that category (7.3) this season.”

Chris Mannix of CNNSI.com:  “Five games, five Golden State losses and a more than 2:1 turnover-to-assist ratio. Maggette’s selfish play hasn’t gone unnoticed by other players. According to sources, after the final buzzer against Boston, Celtics forward Kevin Garnett turned to Maggette and shouted, ‘Way to get your numbers’ ‘He just puts his head down and goes to the basket,’ an Eastern Conference scout said. ‘He doesn’t even look to pass.’ Word from team sources is that the Warriors are already regretting signing Maggette to a five-year, $50 million deal last offseason.”

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News:  “The big problem facing the Spurs now is chemistry. They had to learn to play one way in order to stay afloat without Parker and Ginobili. Now they have to learn to play a new way with them. Especially when it comes to new rotation players in Roger Mason Jr. and George Hill, this will take time. ‘We need to get to know each other,’ is how Ginobili put it. This round of get-to-know-you is a work in progress: Mason, the sharpshooter who carried them through a few rough patches this season, attempted just six shots against Detroit. That’s not enough. Hill, the rookie point guard who routinely sparked the shorthanded Spurs last month, played just seven minutes. That’s not enough, either, although with the way the Pistons’ pressure was getting to him, maybe it was for the best. Ginobili, meanwhile, needs some time to remember how to be Ginobili again.”

Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News:  “The knee that required surgery in 2000 has been bothersome at times, and some in his locker room think this knee has handicapped him more in the past than he lets on. No one can tell; Duncan usually saves his concerns for the referees, after all. But that’s about the extent of it. Duncan has kept playing at about the same level, year after year, and his Nuggets opponents tonight show the other side. Kenyon Martin and Nené have combined to play fewer games over the past three seasons than Duncan. Duncan has endured some sprained ankles and plantar fasciitis along the way. But this season, he’s playing more and scoring more, appearing as fit as he has since his MVP years, and he also looks freer. Give some credit to Popovich for this. He’s preached to Duncan for years to not hesitate when he has an open outside shot. This season, Duncan is doing just that. There was something else going on early, too, when Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker were out. Instead of being bored by the early season, as he sometimes was in the past, Duncan had a spark.”

John Hollinger of ESPN.com:  “Success usually spawns countless imitators. Various teams have tried to impersonate the Spurs for some time now, most notably the Cavs, Suns and Thunder, while clubs like the Nuggets, Bucks and Bobcats also have shown a renewed commitment to defense. So it stands to reason that defense is on the rise this season and offense is down. Indeed, several commentators have already written more or less that exact thesis. Only one problem: It’s not true. Offensively, teams actually are scoring a bit more than they were at this time last season. Through the end of November, the league average in offensive efficiency was 102.5; a year ago at the same point in the season, it was 101.5. Per 100 possessions, offenses are about 1 percent better than they were a year ago.”

Jason Quick of The Oregonian:  “‘This is what we want,’ Roy said. ‘This is where we want to be. I want it not only for this team, but for me personally. To see where I’m at, you know? To see where this team is at, to see where I can get this team to.’ What you are hearing, Portland, and what the rest of the NBA is seeing, is an All-Star morphing into a great player. Or at least a great leader. It’s not because Roy is welcoming the challenge of the Celtics, or that he wants to measure himself … it’s more of the way he goes about declaring it. He sets a tone for the Blazers, both in the methodical tempo of his play, and in his subtle and confident way of guiding the team in the locker room. In the first month of the season, there have been so many performances and so many behind-the-scenes developments that to a person, every member of the Blazers traveling party would say Roy has become much more than just a captain and leader of this team. He has become the face, and soul, of the franchise.”

Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com:  “Question:  ‘Do you feel like you have a good balance right now between your personal and professional life?’ Martell Webster: ‘Yeah. When you think about it, kids commit more hours in school than we do to basketball all day. We come to practice for two hours and I get the rest of the day with my family. I feel blessed. We don’t deserve it, but I make sure that I play hard and I have no regrets. The most important thing is your family, but this is your job so you have to take care of this first. But two hours a day? Why would anyone complain about that?’”

Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee:  “There is one game the Kings can afford to lose, and it’s not Saturday’s matchup against Denver or any other tilt on the schedule in the near future. It’s the blame game. In the midst of a seven-game losing streak (overall and at home), the Kings’ situation is so grim that head coach Reggie Theus’ tenuous job status remains as such, and locker room frustration is rising. But they have largely resisted the urge to play the blame game, which is a rare positive for this embattled squad. Even after Tuesday’s 99-94 loss to Utah that included a questionable late substitution (Quincy Douby), the ill-fated effort to conserve the minutes of a key player (Francisco García) and poor late-game execution for a team that entered with five losses by two points or fewer, there was no public finger pointing. The only way out, said Spencer Hawes, is to let the misery continue.”

Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times:  “He wasn’t being critical when he said the Lakers (15-2) wouldn’t do it this season. Nor was he throwing in the towel by conceding it wouldn’t happen. It didn’t even seem like he was inspiring the team with a publicly delivered ‘us-against-them’ tactic. He might have just been telling the truth, at least from his perspective. ‘I don’t think there’s any chance that we’re going to get anywhere close to 70 wins,’ he said. ‘I’m not going to say that we can’t win 60, but I don’t think that there’s a chance [at 70] — and that’s if everything goes well health-wise. Traveling in the West is just too difficult. Changing time zones, it just makes it very difficult to be consistent night in and night out on the road.’”

John Schuhmann of NBA.com:  “Over the last few games, the vaunted Lakers’ defense, the defense that looked like it was going to turn a great team into a dominant one, has shown some holes. Last Friday, the Lakers allowed the Mavs to shoot 51 percent from the field before holding on for a 114-107 win. On Tuesday in Indiana, they allowed the Pacers to pick up 24 second-chance points off of 19 offensive rebounds, with Troy Murphy winning the game appropriately with a tip-in at the buzzer. Wednesday night in Philadelphia, the Lakers allowed the normally anemic Sixers’ offense to score 102 points while shooting 49 percent from the field. The Lakers were able to rely on Kobe Bryant to help pull out a 114-102 win, but it wasn’t nearly the pounding you would have expected coming into the game. The Lakers are still doing the same things that they’ve been doing defensively, but teams are adjusting.”

Marc Berman of the New York Post:  “Banned Stephon Marbury said yesterday he is no longer willing to negotiate a buyout and either wants to be released or be told to rejoin the team to play. Marbury’s new tact sounded as if he was daring the Knicks to play him now that they are in desperate need of guard help. Marbury actually used the word ‘we’ when talking about the Knicks’ chances against the Cavaliers last night. However, it may be too late after his recent rips on his teammates and coach Mike D’Antoni. If Cuttino Mobley files for a medical retirement today because of a heart condition, the Knicks would have an open roster spot to sign a guard.”

Marc J. Spears of The Boston Globe:  “A phone call from Celtics guard Ray Allen helped an American friend stay safe during the recent terrorist attack in Mumbai, India. Allen’s longtime friend Daryl Jones was in the Oberoi Trident Hotel when it was attacked with grenades and assault rifles in a rampage beginning Nov. 26. The Northwest Airlines flight attendant had gone to the front desk to get a new room key when he heard shooting in the lobby. Allen said Jones immediately headed to the 21st floor, where another hotel guest allowed him to hide in his room for two days. Allen learned of the attack during a phone call from his wife, Shannon, after a win over Golden State that night. Upon arriving home, Allen gave a whispering Jones an updated television news report for about 20 minutes.”

Gary Dzen of The Boston Globe:  “Rajon Rondo made his case for the All-Star team tonight. Three times over. Rondo recorded the first triple-double of his young NBA career tonight against the Indiana Pacers, stuffing the stat sheet with 16 points, 17 assists, and 13 rebounds. When he was done, the Celtics had a 114-96 win over a team that beat them a month earlier, and Rondo had his campaign slogan: Triple threat. How good was Rondo? He almost recorded a triple-double in the first half (he was one rebound and two assists shy), and might have accomplished the feat had he not gone to the bench with a fat lip 90 seconds into the game.  ‘You thought last year he was good,’ said Paul Pierce. ‘He’s just getting better.’”

Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic:  “Suns center Shaquille O’Neal and point guard Steve Nash are expected back in the starting lineup tonight. If Nash wants to have the offense bolting and breaking, he has O’Neal’s blessing. ‘If we’re going to run, we should stop talking about it and just do it,’ O’Neal said. ‘We don’t need coach’s permission to get a rebound and run. I’m going to be the one igniting the break because I’m getting most of the rebounds. It doesn’t matter to me. I can play any style.’ O’Neal apparently has heard the grousing internally and from fans about the Suns’ offense being predicated more on O’Neal post-ups this season.”

Ivan Carter of the Washington Post:  “Since the Wizards relieved him of his coaching duties last Monday and replaced him with Ed Tapscott, Eddie Jordan has enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family, attended his children’s karate workouts and basketball practices, and even rooted for his former team from the comfort of his living room couch. ‘I watch the games with my son Jackson and we cheer every time they make a shot,’ Jordan said in a phone conversation. ‘I’m pulling for them and wish them the best.’ If Jordan harbors any hard feelings about the team’s decision to fire him so early in the season, he’s hiding them well.”

Charley Rosen of FOXSports.com:  “At least Sam Mitchell is no longer on the hot seat. Less than two years after he was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year, Mitchell has been dumped into the same fire-pit that has so recently scorched the coaching careers of P.J. Carlesimo and Eddie Jordan. Mitchell now joins the not-so-short list of guys who have been canned after being honored by the league’s writers and broadcasters as the best coach in the league. Indeed, of the past five COY winners, Hubie Brown (2004) was forced to retire 12 games into the following season, Avery Johnson (2006) is unemployed, Mike D’Antoni (2005) was forced to change his address, and only Byron Scott (2008) has held on to his job. Dipping even further in the record book, Doc Rivers was COY with Orlando in 2000, only to be dismissed four years later. Rick Carlisle won the same award with Detroit in 2002, and was pink-slipped one year later. Why, then, is this coveted award the kiss of death?”

Bethlehem Shoals of the Sporting News:  “Kobe no longer strives to be important to the man on the street, to matter the way Jordan once did. His marketing presence has bordered on goofy: Dressing up as Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein, faking a jump over a speeding Aston Martin in a viral video, and coming off as way too excited to play ‘Rock Band’ in a primetime ad for the game. With this, though, has come an almost universal appreciation of just how darn good the guy is, how his mastery of the sport, work ethic, and relentless determination are probably the closest we’ll ever see to another Jordan. So what about that other side of Jordan, the larger-than-life icon whose wealth, celebrity, and influence reached astronomical heights? Some might cast a vote for Kobe’s former teammate Shaq, who once upon a time was the league’s most beloved figure. Or perhaps Allen Iverson, though he was always more of an anti-hero. Looking around today’s league, though, the choice is clear. LeBron James, while not yet the disciplined master that Bryant is, fills that niche of mainstream multimedia god that Kobe gave up on, and that no one since Jordan has so clearly taken as his own.”