Detroit Bad Boys: “I’m not going to pretend that people don’t have egos, and spending too much time analyzing Rip’s response distracts from the real question: should Rip be the one who leaves the starting lineup in the first place? Sure, the Pistons have won some games in Rip’s absence, but that’s not to say they’ve won because of his absence. Allen Iverson hasn’t had a 50% shooting night in 10 games, shooting 37.5% in that span. Rip, on the other hand, shot 51% for the entire month of December (or, more accurately, in 11 of the 14 games he appeared in). This stat has been bandied around endlessly in the DBB comments (it’s practically been Mike Payne’s signature) but sadly it’s been ignored by most of the mainstream media. Yes, Iverson has had his share of late-game heroics, but he’s also had more than his fair share of early-game struggles. No one wants to admit it, but at this stage in his career, Allen Iverson is nothing more than T.J. Ford without a conscience.”
Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press: “Hamilton’s become a diva. He told reporters recently that he’s not coming off the bench. Somebody should remind Rip that it’s not his call. He’s openly challenged Curry on the bench, disagreeing with the rookie head coach’s game rotation. There was one point during a Sunday Palace loss against Portland when Curry told Hamilton that if he didn’t like his decision, he could stay on the bench. Such confrontations aren’t uncommon in a league where ego isn’t always compatible with emotion. It’s an unavoidable aspect of a new coach’s indoctrination, and Curry no longer has the Chauncey Billups buffer when dealing with Hamilton. Billups was always in Hamilton’s ear when his emotions got the better of him. Curry cannot make any decision look like he’s merely appeasing Hamilton because of his tenure in the locker room. He must sell whatever decision he makes as the best for the team’s playoff interests.”
Keith Langlois of Pistons.com: “Beyond bruising egos, the Pistons can’t be certain how Iverson or Hamilton’s production would be affected by changing roles. Iverson has talked about the adjustment required of him in having his minutes slightly reduced and not having the ball in his hands on virtually every possession, as he’s done for virtually all of his first 12 seasons. Starting the game in warmups on the bench, it would seem, would be a greater adjustment for either player – one of whom has the third-highest scoring average in NBA history, the other the Pistons’ leading scorer for each of his first six seasons with the team. But Curry’s first priority is to establish a defensive consistency, and he’s convinced that the bigger lineup helps him achieve that. Over the past month, the Pistons’ field-goal percentage defense has skyrocketed from in the low 20s among all NBA teams to eighth at .445.”
Alan Hahn of Newsday: “Eddy Curry went from being questioned about his weight to being questioned about his sexual orientation. And as the Knicks ended the road trip with a commendable win over Chris Paul and the Hornets here in New Orleans, the controversy du jour only reminds us that this franchise is still just a lightning rod for drama. Curry right now is begging for a Marbury YouTube moment. Curry denied all of the allegations from his driver — see our report here for the entire story — and said, ‘This is absolutely false. ‘It’s incredible. I can’t even believe it.’ No one actually believes it. But what is believable is that this will stick to Curry this is yet another example of how professional athletes (like any wealthy celebrity) are easy targets to prey upon.”
Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle: “If you read between all the nice words, the Rockets sent a tough message to Tracy McGrady on Monday. To summarize: 1. Get in better shape. 2. Learn to deal with the pain in your left knee. 3. Don’t come back until you do. There were all sorts of things left unsaid as the Rockets delicately attempted to do the right thing for the team while not mentally losing their $21-million star. Conditioning? That’s a tough word to use halfway through an NBA season. Is McGrady’s conditioning an issue because he hasn’t been working hard, or because his surgically repaired left knee won’t allow him to work hard? Pain? Another tough one. The Rockets and their medical staff believe McGrady’s knee is sound and suggested he play through the pain.”
Tom Moore of Phillyburbs.com: “Elton Brand understands that the Sixers are playing well without him, having won four in a row heading into Wednesday’s home game against the Trail Blazers. So when he returns from a dislocated right shoulder, which could be as soon as this weekend but more likely next week, he said he’s willing to initially come off the bench if that’s best for the team. ‘I’m about winning,’ said Brand after participating in a half-court scrimmage during Monday afternoon’s practice. ‘Let’s get this thing right. When I come back and if we’re still winning, that’s what it’s about.’ Brand, a 10th-year power forward, said he’s come off the bench before, including the first game back last season with the Clippers after sitting out the first 74 with a ruptured Achilles tendon.”
Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: “I don’t know if Raymond Felton will ever be a great starting point guard. I don’t know if his shooting percentage for a season will ever top 42 percent. I do know this: Raymond Felton is the best teammate in Charlotte Bobcats history. The only guy who played NBA basketball here who might top him is Vlade Divac. By good teammate, I don’t mean those walk-ons at North Carolina who know it’s their jobs, on cue, to jump out of their seats whenever a starter dunks. Here’s what I mean: Felton is accountable. He’s quick to blame himself when things go wrong and reluctant to blame anyone else. Often major-league sport is a selfish business full of office politics. Felton is the opposite of all that.”
Bob Young of The Arizona Republic: “‘I’m using a lot more,’ O’Neal said of his low-post options. ‘My game is different. It’s a mixture of everybody’s game. When I was coming up I was like, ‘OK, spin lob – David Robinson. Get the knees up – Rony Seikaly. ‘Bow people in the face and look mean – Patrick Ewing. Then I just added a little of my own.’ Like his signature drop-step spin move. It’s back. ‘You always take what the defense gives you, but I couldn’t always do that last year,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a lot of young, energetic, new-millennium trainers here, and they’re really into their craft.’ O’Neal said his problem was major. ‘A muscle in my (rear) wasn’t firing,’ he explained. ‘So they left me for dead. ‘He’s old. He don’t have it anymore.’ Now I’m doing things I couldn’t do last year because my (rear) wasn’t firing.’”
Paul Forrester of CNNSI.com: “Nelson credits his improvement on the offensive end — he leads all guards in shooting percentage and ranks 12th overall in three-point shooting — to his offseason preparation. ‘Every offseason I try to get with a shooting coach and concentrate on my form. But last summer I wanted to try it by myself,’ said Nelson, who shot 45.7 percent from the field in his first four seasons. ‘I tried to make 1,000 shots a day and stuck with a routine one of my old college coaches, [former St. Joe's assistant] Matt Brady, gave me two summers ago. I also tried to incorporate some things to help me use my left hand a little better. It’s working out right now.’ Nelson’s emergence has provided even more room for Orlando’s stars to operate, making the Magic not only one of the 10 highest-scoring teams in the league but also one of the 10 most efficient (as measured by points per 100 possessions).”
Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register: “Many times in between the Lakers’ morning shootarounds and night games – the time when it’s quite accepted, actually, for nap-happy NBA players to sleep on the job – Bryant and Bynum would be the only two players in the weight room. Few people relish running on the track at dawn the way Bryant does, but that’s how he can chase Wade like he did Sunday night and still create offense for the Lakers: ‘His conditioning level is remarkable,’ Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. At one point when Lakers coaches identified a set play the Heat was about to run for Wade, they called out to Bryant, who waved back that he already knew it from his personal preparations studying Wade’s tendencies. These are the little things that make a big star, and the highly analytical Bynum is figuring that out. He deserves all the credit for finding his work ethic, but the long view is that the example Bryant sets in doing his job – in addition to the scalding caught-on-video criticism he spewed about Bynum last summer – have been part of Bynum’s landscape.”
Sarah Rothschild of the Miami Herald: “Beasley’s game is maturing, and he’s using a simple-minded approach. ‘I’m just not thinking,’ Beasley said. “I’m going out there and doing what I do. I’m not afraid to be aggressive.’ Beasley is averaging 18 points and 7.4 rebounds in the past five games, better than his season averages of 13.6 points and 5.2 rebounds. He’s shooting 53.4 from the field during that stretch (compared with 45.8 for the season). Forward Udonis Haslem jokingly said the Heat likes the older Beasley better. ‘Yeah, the 20-year-old Beasley is averaging [more than] 20 points a game,’ Haslem said after the Heat’s optional practice Monday at Target Center. Beasley helped key the Heat’s near comeback Sunday against the Lakers in Los Angeles, scoring 19 of his 23 points in the second half. It gave him back-to-back 20-point-games for the first time this season. Beasley finally is getting comfortable.”
Dime: Carmelo Anthony Making Movies With Mike Tyson
Matt Watson of FanHouse: GQ Plays Pickup With LeBron James
Ivan Carter of the Washington Post: “According to http://www.82games.com, a site that tracks statistical trends, 66 percent of the team’s attempts are on jump shots, 29 percent are on shots close to the rim, 3 percent are dunks and 1 percent are tip-ins. Tapscott said he feels the same way whether the team’s outside shots are going in or not. ‘Even if they are going in I do because there’s gold and there’s fool’s gold,’ Tapscott said. ‘You’ve got to stay balanced. The key is can we establish more of a grind-it-out game early so that later on, when we have to shoot some jump shots, they’re a little bit easier and they’re in the flow of what we’re doing?’ A reliance on outside shooting can also contribute to the kinds of scoring droughts the Wizards have battled all season long.”
Forum Blue & Gold: “This is what happens when you rely on points per game as your measure. Look at it this way: The Lakers average 95.2 possessions per game right now, fourth fastest pace in the league. If the Lakers play an averaged paced game against the worst offensive team in the NBA (right now the Clippers) and that team scored at its average, the Lakers would give up 95 points to the Clips and everyone would scream ‘how can you do that? terrible defense.’ Every team in the NBA right now averages at least one point per possession, and the vast majority averaged well above that. So, if you play at a fast pace, the other team scores more points because they get more shots. Pretty simple, really. And Phil Jackson gets it. ‘This is the time of the season when you just fall in the rhythm of the games. Teams that are low possession, like a variety of teams we’ve played, you end up on a short end and scoring is low. We don’t try to be short possession, we try to have a high frequency, high possession game.’”
20 Second Timeout: “Boston’s problems are clearly at the offensive end of the court. Although the Celtics are averaging 99.9 ppg–nearly matching last year’s 100.5 ppg average–they have scored just 82.4 ppg in the past 10 games. The Celtics have given up 91.7 ppg during that same stretch, virtually identical with the 91.5 ppg that they have allowed overall this season; they rank second in the NBA in points allowed, just like they did in 2008. Boston’s reserves have become the scapegoats for the sputtering offense. There is a lot of talk that the Celtics lack depth and that they need to acquire one or more bench players in order to be ready for this year’s playoffs. Certainly, every team in the NBA would like to add more depth but the big story in Boston is not so much the bench but rather that two members of the team’s ‘Big Three’–Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett–have been markedly less effective offensively this year while playing virtually the same number of minutes; if the bench were the big problem then one would assume that the starters would be forced to play more minutes and that perhaps fatigue would be wearing them down but this has not been the case so far.”
Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: “Before returning to the lineup Monday, forward Luol Deng had some words of wisdom for the Bulls’ porous defense. Specifically, he thinks it’s time to speak up and not shut up. ‘The best defensive teams are those that talk,’ Deng said. ‘Example: the Celtics, they talk the whole time. We’ve got to do that. We don’t really talk much on defense. ‘It’s easy saying it right now and probably you guys are wondering, ‘Why don’t you guys talk?’ I really don’t have an answer for it. We’ve just got to figure it out somehow. I think if guys start doing it, others will follow.’ Actually, it’s easy to understand why the Bulls don’t talk much on the court. So many of their key players – Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose – are reserved by nature.”
Marcus Thompson II of the Contra Costa Times: “The Warriors are taking to the new offensive scheme, which is predicated on motion and ball movement. Nelson installed the system after his team was humiliated in San Antonio on Dec. 6. Since that Sunday-morning practice at Trinity College the next day, the Warriors have made noticeable strides when it comes to sharing the ball. In the 19 games since that practice, the Warriors have reached their goal of 20 assists or more 14 times. They’ve shot 45 percent or better 14 times during that span. In the 20 games before the switch in offensive strategy, the Warriors reached 20 assists 11 times and shot 45 percent or better nine times. Golden State has been especially productive of late. In their past nine games, a stretch that began with the home upset of the Boston Celtics, the Warriors averaged 108.6 points on 48.5 percent shooting with 22.2 assists. During that stretch, the Warriors were without at least one of their top four scorers — Crawford and swingmen Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette and Kelenna Azubuike — in every game.”
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Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: “The Thunder’s play in the past five games is even more inspiring because of how two of the past three defeats have came by only a combined six points. Oklahoma City held its opponents to less than 100 points on three occasions during the stretch. ‘This team has a lot of heart and a lot of belief in each other,’ said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. ‘That’s why we’re continuing to battle and stick together.’ The Thunder continues to make strides because of its defensive improvement. Oklahoma City entered Monday’s game allowing opponents to shoot 47.4 percent from the field, the fourth highest percentage in the league. But over the past five games, the Thunder has limited teams to a more than respectable 44.2 percent shooting.”
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Cavs (29-6), Magic (30-8) and Celtics (31-9) are so close they could be triplets. Boston jumped to a 27-2 record, reeling off 19 consecutive victories. While the Celtics’ recent slump has brought them back to the field, they are capable of another long run with the Big Three (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen). Cleveland has used a remarkable 19-0 start at home to sit on the pole in the East. The Cavs also have LeBron James, regarded by many as the MVP frontrunner over Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard. Orlando simply is one of the hottest, most consistent teams in the NBA. And what are the Magic’s chances of winding up as the top seed? Good. Real good. Maybe better than you think.”
Sekou K Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “The Hawks aren’t taking advantage of mismatches on the offensive end of the floor that they exploited brilliantly earlier this season. ‘There was one stretch where Andre Miller was guarding Josh Smith and Louis Williams was on Marvin Williams and the Hawks ignored both of those opportunities for their standard sets on the other side of the floor,’ my scout friend said. ‘That’s not winning basketball in this league. You have to be able to recognize where those mismatches are and max them out. Joe and [Mike] Bibby have been piling up assists, but they left a lot of plays on the floor Sunday. Even worse, they let those Philly guards off the hook on the defensive end. They didn’t make them work the way you have to with two 6-9 guys on them.’ I’ve heard that critique of the Hawks several times this year, that they don’t utilize the entire floor the way they should offensively because they’re so used to their default setting of ‘Give it to Joe and watch him go.’”
Frank Isola of the Daily News: “He’s officially listed at 285 pounds but he’s gained at least 15 pounds since the start of the season as he has been sidelined with a right knee injury. Curry made his season debut last Thursday, but has missed the last two games due to left knee soreness. ‘Right now it’s with the trainers and guys working him out, they just have to tell me what’s going on,’ D’Antoni said. ‘It’s too bad he had a setback. He did have a couple of practices and I thought maybe we’ll get something fairly quick, but there doesn’t seem to be a quick solution.’ Curry has struggled with his weight since entering the NBA out of high school in 2001. And he is not alone. Jerome James and Quentin Richardson have seen their weight fluctuate during their time in New York. Former Knicks lottery pick Michael Sweetney was never in shape and is now out of the league. Last year, an opposing head coach, watching the Knicks go through their pregame routines, called them ‘the fattest team in the NBA.’”
Patrick Danner of the Miami Herald: “The Miami Heat is putting a full-court press on premium-seat holders and sponsors it claims haven’t paid up. The Heat or affiliate Basketball Properties, which operates the AmericanAirlines Arena, have filed 16 lawsuits in the past year against companies and people they claim owe about $1.6 million — if not more. At least a few of the cases have been resolved. The Heat has taken the most litigious approach among South Florida sports franchises to force customers and clients to honor agreements.”
Stefan Swiat of Suns.com: “Steve Nash may be known for his shooting prowess on the court, but now he’s becoming recognized for his shooting off of it… movies that is. Nash’s production company Meathawk, which he started with his cousin and filmmaker Ezra Holland, has commenced shooting their first documentary this year. ESPN has commissioned the company to make the documentary about Canadian runner Terry Fox. Fox, who like Nash, is from British Columbia, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of cancer that forced doctors to amputate the majority of his right leg. A few years after losing his leg at age 18, Fox became a hero in Canada when he decided to run from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to raise money for cancer research. At a pace of 23.3 miles a day, Fox ran 3,339 miles on one leg before being forced to stop because of his cancer. ‘Well I thought it was a unique story to tell in the United States,’ the two-time MVP said. ‘Terry Fox is a part of our cultural fabric in Canada, but he’s largely forgotten in the United States.”
Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: “The discussions between Yormark and the Devils owner began at least one week ago, and whether this represents a sea change in the Nets’ thinking about the viability of eventually moving to Newark — should the Atlantic Yards project fall through — is being discussed throughout the organization. ‘That’s what everyone is wondering,’ one high-ranking Nets official said Monday night. ‘With Brooklyn still up in the air, the question is whether they’re warming to the idea of moving to Newark, even though it’s clear that getting to Brooklyn is best for the long-term health of the franchise.’ The Nets have played at Izod Center — and its various incarnations — since 1981, and it remains one of the most antiquated arenas in the NBA. In a recent interview, Yormark extolled the relationship his team has with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, but reiterated that the team can never get in the black if they play in a facility with only 28 luxury suites.”
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “Before the Portland Trail Blazers resorted to a threatening email to frighten rival NBA teams from signing Darius Miles, team officials late last week made a brazen bid to claim the forward off waivers only to be stopped by the league, multiple front-office sources told Yahoo! Sports. So determined to salvage the salary cap space that would come with the foiling of Miles’ comeback from a devastating knee injury, Portland president Larry Miller and general manager Kevin Pritchard apparently were willing to stash Miles on the sideline and keep him away from other NBA teams. In denying the Blazers’ move to control Miles, NBA front-office sources say that league executives in New York denied the waiver claim because they believed the Blazers were merely trying to circumvent league salary cap rules.”
Howard Beck of The New York Times: “Where do you turn when confronted with the great riddles of the N.B.A. salary cap? Where is the sage who can explain the implications of base-year compensation, Bird rights and the over-36 rule? Who can save curious fans and callow sportswriters from total madness? This awesome task falls to a middle-aged computer scientist with a passion for basketball and a knack for decoding legal minutiae. Larry Coon, 46, writes, edits and manages NBA Salary Cap FAQ (cbafaq.com) — perhaps the only Web site devoted solely to the cap, in all its arcane beauty. Fans and bloggers flock to the site in search of enlightenment. It is bookmarked on every beat reporter’s laptop. In the modern N.B.A., Coon is cited more frequently than Naismith.”
