Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: “Each season, a new name or two will pop up on the NBA’s top-10 scoring list, an unexpected party crasher, like Mickey Rourke at this month’s Golden Globes or Charles Barkley in a holding cell. Last season, it was Sacramento’s Kevin Martin, who has a career 15.6 scoring average, but finished last season with 23.7 points per game, sixth-best in the league. The year before, it was Atlanta’s Joe Johnson. This season, listed after one-name stars D-Wade, Bron, Kobe and Dirk is a gentleman whose two names you might not know — Danny Granger. He’s the budding Pacers forward, fifth in the league with 24.9 points. Sixth is Olympian Chris Bosh, but after him is yet another surprise, New Jersey’s Devin Harris, who had never averaged more than 15 points per game, but this year puts up 23.6.”
David Moore of The Dallas Morning News: “The star potential of this group isn’t as great as some previous classes. But with more than a third of the season in the books, the most impressive aspect of the class of 2008 is the number of players who have made an immediate contribution. The star potential of this group isn’t as great as some previous classes. But with more than a third of the season in the books, the most impressive aspect of the class of 2008 is the number of players who have made an immediate contribution. Ten rookies were averaging double figures in scoring entering this weekend. That’s four more than last season. That’s as many as the classes of ‘05 and ‘06 combined. A total of 23 rookies have appeared in starting lineups this season.”
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Saturday that the price of victory is what is costing Michael Beasley his minutes. Unlike with other top picks drafted into losing situations, Spoelstra said Beasley, the No. 2 selection last June, is being asked to earn his playing time. ‘Mike’s in a different situation than a lot of the top picks,’ Spoelstra said. ‘If you look at the top picks, three, four, five, they’re playing on teams where it’s a totally different situation, and they’re getting minutes and allowed to play through ups and downs.’ Beasley went into Saturday’s game having played only 27 minutes in the previous two games combined and fewer than 20 minutes in five of his previous seven appearances.”
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Janny Hu of the San Francisco Chronicle: “He said that he was relying on family and prayers to get through his rough patches, and that it helped a little knowing that Brandan Wright and Marco Belinelli – who also saw extensive bench time as rookies last season – get more of a chance this season. He just hopes to earn his own, despite the perception that a poor attitude toward not playing helped land him in Nelson’s doghouse. ‘Can’t do anything about what somebody thinks, I can’t control somebody’s thoughts,’ Randolph said. ‘I just go out there and do what I’m doing. If I get my minutes, I play hard, like I do every game.’ While it remains unclear what exactly prompted Nelson’s latest comments, they only fueled questions about Randolph’s future with the Warriors, especially given Nelson’s infamous feud with Chris Webber.”
Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle: “You probably think McGrady should be ordered off the floor for a while, that he’s helping no one, particularly the Rockets. You’re right about this. It’s not just that McGrady is playing the worst basketball of his career. He is. He’s shooting 28 percent and averaging 8.2 points over his last five games. His 15 points per game and 39.5 percent shooting for the season are career lows. Here’s the tough part. The Rockets have enough talent to make the playoffs without him. They’re 5-4 when he doesn’t play and 16-10 when he does. In previous years, they couldn’t be successful without him. Thanks to Morey, the Rockets have depth: Aaron Brooks, Carl Landry, Luis Scola, etc. Luther Head plays with more confidence when McGrady isn’t around. In fact, they all do.”
The Dream Shake: “The Rockets are a mediocre basketball team. That’s the truth. And the truth hurts. Yes, I know we played hard tonight… without Artest or Battier and with Von Wafer having cramping issues. Plus Tracy McGrady was a spectator for this game (then again, even when Tracy’s been on the court this year he’s been mostly a spectator.) Speaking of Tracy, I always thought centers were the position most likely to all of a sudden just “lose it” – but McGrady is done. We should have done the Kobe trade a year ago. And if that wasn’t an option, we should have taken whatever the Chicago Bulls would have offered. In fact, maybe they’ll still give us Kirk Hinrich and some spare parts for McGrady (?). Pretty please?”
Jan Hubbard of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “‘I was joking with Donyell Marshall [of the Sixers], and he said, ‘How long do you think you can go?’ Kidd said. ‘I said maybe five more years if I’m playing the way that I am now and this is my role. I’m fine with that.’ Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News did research on players who have played 20 seasons. Only four have — Robert Parish, Kevin Willis and Moses Malone, who played 21 seasons (Malone had two in the ABA), and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played 20. ‘All big guys,’ Kidd pointed out. Which is true. So Kidd could be the first guard. And if he did play and there was not a big dropoff in his production, he eventually could be No. 2 on the all-time assists list. He currently is fifth with 9,772 and could pass Mark Jackson, who is second with 10,334 (Magic Johnson is third and Oscar Robertson is fourth). John Stockton had 15,806, however, and that’s out of reach.”
Ross Siler of The Salt Lake Tribune: “The urgency has become unmistakable as the Jazz search for some kind of turnaround after opening this season 19-15 and muddling through six weeks of life as a .500 team since Carlos Boozer went down with a knee injury Nov. 19. ‘You’ve got to be concerned about it,’ Paul Millsap said. ‘If the playoffs started right now, we wouldn’t be in it. We had a few nicks and knacks to stop us, but we’ve got to push forward and try to win games now.’ The schedule, however, just might be turning favorable at the right time for the Jazz. They will open a four-game homestand Monday against Golden State desperate to start a winning streak of any kind. The Jazz propelled themselves into the division lead last season thanks to a 10-game winning streak that started in mid-January. They have yet to win more than two consecutive games this season since opening 5-0.”
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Mark Glover of the Sacramento Bee: “Gavin Maloof was aware of the challenges when he spoke just prior to this season’s opening game: ‘We understand that these are tough times. Because we don’t have a large corporate base, ticket sales account for one-third of our revenue, so we have to get folks in the building. It’s critical. I told our salespeople, ‘I don’t care how you do it, selling large packets or three- or four-game plans. Just get people in the house.’ Elmets said putting the Kings brand out there beyond Arco Arena and California is important, and he cited historical precedent to support that. ‘In our heyday, the Kings were internationally recognizable,’ Elmets said. ‘It was because of the international flavor of our team, with Peja (Stojakovic) and Vlade (Divac). They were international ambassadors for the Kings, and that is something that we are lacking now.’”
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “The top four teams in 3-pointer percentage — the Spurs, Suns, Hornets and Trail Blazers — also are four of the top teams in the league. For the Heat, currently 19th in the league in 3-point percentage, that could make the impending return of James Jones that much more significant. Has the 3-pointer become the NBA’s ultimate weapon? Can you win without it? Of the Lakers, Celtics, Magic and Cavaliers, the league’s current dominant teams, only Cleveland ranks in the bottom half of the league in 3-point percentage.”
David Friedman for CavsNews.com: “Unlike Varejao and Wallace, Ilgauskas is also a deadly outside shooter who can spread the court after running a screen/roll action with LeBron James or Mo Williams. Ilgauskas’ absence during the next month or so could have critical playoff implications because the Cavs are not only battling the Boston Celtics for the best record in the Eastern Conference but they also only have a slim lead over the Orlando Magic for the third seed. Last season, the Celtics demonstrated the value of home court advantage during their title run; the L.A. Lakers have openly spoken about wanting to have the best record in the league this season and that is also a goal that the Cavs should have in mind. Nine of Cleveland’s next 14 games are on the road—including visits to the Magic and the West-leading Lakers—so this promised to be a tough stretch for the Cavs even if they had been at full strength.”
Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: “As long as Miles plays in 10 regular-season games, his $9 million salary will be reinstated to the Portland Trail Blazers’ payroll. That development would make the Blazers a taxpayer this season. Miles resuming his career for at least 10 games would also lower Portland’s room under the salary cap by $9 million for the 2010 free-agent period. Griz general manager Chris Wallace continues to deny that the motivation for acquiring Miles was to adversely affect Portland’s salary cap. ‘He came to us not in game shape,’ Wallace said. ‘He’s in the process of building himself up after suffering the injuries. But he’s shown an ability to help as a weak-side shot blocker and someone who will make the extra pass.’ Miles is making a favorable impression despite his physical limitations. ‘He’s been grounded a little bit,’ Gay said, ‘but he can still play.’”
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: “‘I asked him the other day how he felt and he said he wasn’t totally happy with the way things have been going for him lately,’ Jackson said. ‘He thought he had fallen in a rut a little bit. I thought he played well enough against Boston, spirited against Boston. [Friday] night, I thought he . . . had a couple opportunities there that he didn’t convert, and then he missed two free throws, and that’s like a turnover.’ Bynum struggled with his shot to start the season, making only 45.5% of his attempts through eight games. Then, after a 13-game string in which he averaged 15.4 points and 8.9 rebounds, he hit a stretch where early-game foul trouble threw him out of sync. Jackson wants him to get better position in the post. ‘We talked a little bit about getting the ball deeper and getting a better start,’ Jackson said. ‘He’s getting the ball a little bit higher than I’d like him to.’”
Marc J. Spears of The Boston Globe: “Despite their recent losses, the sky hasn’t fallen. The Celtics won’t make a kneejerk move to add a veteran big man or a veteran guard with scoring skills off the bench. As they did with Brown and Sam Cassell late last season, expect them to take their time to make sure they get the right piece to their puzzle. The Celtics will keep an eye on what big men are waived by Saturday, when contracts become guaranteed for the rest of the season. Potential candidates include Memphis’s Darius Miles, Chicago’s Michael Ruffin, the Lakers’ Josh Powell, Miami’s Jamal Magliore, Milwaukee’s Austin Croshere, New Orleans’s Sean Marks, and Toronto’s Jake Voskuhl. One NBA source said the Celtics seem interested only in players that are free agents or are bought out. But stay tuned. Don’t be surprised if Celtics president Danny Ainge has something up his sleeve. As Mutombo said, the Celtics are still trying to find out exactly what they want to do. Championship teams with elite records can take their time.”
Mitch Lawrence of the Daily News: “Garnett is still talking trash, still picking on opponents a foot shorter and still doing his best to draw the ire of opposing players, coaches and executives. Evidently, one ring didn’t ruin his appetite for winning. Judging from the complaints registered with the league about Garnett’s antics, he has done nothing to hurt his reputation as the NBA’s reigning Public Enemy No. 1. And that’s good, for the Celtics. Seven months after winning the title, Garnett hasn’t lost a bit of his legendary intensity or competitive fire. Oh, that can happen, as past champions have found out. The last time an Eastern Conference team won the title, Miami’s Dwyane Wade decided that he could start coasting and shift his energies to his endorsement portfolio, to the dismay of Pat Riley. Three seasons later, Wade appears to have finally gotten his priorities straightened out. The beauty of Garnett is that after finally winning a title after so many playoff failures in Minnesota, he didn’t lose his edge.”
Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “‘When I took this job, 90 percent of the people in the NBA thought I was crazy,’ he said. Roth resigned from the Milwaukee Bucks’ front office about this time last year and left the NBA after a decade as a scout, assistant coach and advisor to take over a D League team that was 3-18. His reasoning might seem logical only for a fellow who briefly played in the NBA after first leaving the University of Wisconsin to play in Europe and the Continental Basketball Association and then returned to Europe to play six more seasons when his NBA career was through. ‘For me, it’s always been about the journey, not the destination,’ said Roth, who now is close to his home in Phoenix where his daughter is a high school senior. ‘This is a humbling game and a humbling league. This is the toughest league in the world. I think the journey is well worth it. I’m basically a product of the old CBA. I know what it takes to get out of here. I’ve been through the rigors. I feel I can pass those experiences on to these players.’”
