Alan Hahn of Newsday: “If this were the NHL, where every team gets an all-star representative (it’s not a written rule but more of a league-wide standard), you could argue between Lee and Chris Duhon. And as much as you can’t overlook Lee’s growth as a player and what he’s been able to do on offense in the frontcourt since Zach Randolph was traded, you have to agree that Duhon is the catalyst for the Knicks. He makes the offense go and without him, Lee doesn’t get the ball in the perfect spot to score off those PNRs. Duhon is the team’s MVP this season. He came in with a lot of pressure on him to perform and had to do it with the Stephon Marbury issue very much front and center. All he did was put up career numbers and break two franchise records (most assists in a game and consecutive free throws) while also making the constant adjustment to new players and changes in the lineup. The guy’s been an ironman, with the most minutes of anyone in the NBA. Sure, he showed some fatigue around the holiday season, but it looks like he’s getting his second wind lately.”
Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post: “As much as Billups deserves a trip to Phoenix for the All-Star Game, the press has absolutely zero power to write the 6-foot-3 point guard an invitation. Fans vote for the starters. Coaches pick the reserves. But we can certainly understand the concern of Karl, who has been around hoops long enough to sense an outrage waiting to happen. While Billups is the No. 1 reason the Nuggets have surprised the league and staked an early claim to first place in the Northwest Division, the only way Colorado’s favorite son might get in the All-Star Game is if he slips the velvet rope and crashes the party. ‘Some very tough decisions have to be made,’ Phoenix coach Terry Porter said. ‘But it’s weird that you mention it. Because I was part of an all-star team that had five point guards on it. In 1991 at Charlotte, we had me, Magic Johnson, John Stockton, Kevin Johnson and Tim Hardaway. Not a bad group.’”
Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: “His only overtime opportunity when the game was still competitive came on his offensive rebound, after which he drew a foul for two free throws. ‘We’re still trying to figure it out,’ Stoudemire said. ‘It’s going to take a little more time, hopefully, to swing my way. We’ll see if it works. Pick-and-roll is one facet of our offense but there are other ways we can get guys involved. But it’s OK. We’ve just got to figure it out. Hopefully, this will change here soon so guys can be afraid of me again. Right now, they’re just, ‘Hey, I’m playing Amare.’ It’s all right. I want to get back to the point where I put fear in guys’ hearts. Hopefully, it comes soon.’”
Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: “LeBron James leads in the NBA in more than a dozen statistical catagories, but one of them isn’t so attractive. When James was slapped with a technical foul Tuesday night for hanging on the rim after a dunk in Memphis he moved into the Top 5 in the league in technicals with seven. The Pistons’ Rasheed Wallace leads with 12. The midpoint of the season hasn’t arrived yet but it’s already a career high — James had just two all of last season — and he’s on pace to brush up against the 16 technical foul barrier which means an automatic one-game suspension.”
Darren Rovell of CNBC.com: “Not only are there 300 million basketball fans in China, there are 298 million people online in China, according to the China Internet Network Information Center. The announcement comes a day after Oppenheimer analyst Paul Keung dropped his price target on Sina, traded on the NASDAQ, from $32 to $25 ‘to reflect tougher market conditions.’ Keung said the company’s advertising revenue will likely suffer in the economic downturn. Seems like they are fine enough to sign this deal with Bryant, which I think will be a good one if both sides live up to their side of the bargain. Knowing Bryant as I do, I know he’ll keep up with his site. Too often, athletes sign these types of deals and just abandon them weeks later. Bryant won’t do that.” [Via The Score]
Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: “Meet Vince Carter, Witness To History. Which, apparently, a lot of people can say if they live in a Weehawken high-rise overlooking the Hudson River. ‘I was just sitting there, looking out the window — dead even where the plane hit,’ Carter said before tipoff Thursday night, still incredulous over the US Airways crash he saw hours earlier. That in itself was unexpected: The Nets star is usually napping at that time of day. ‘No, I was up — I was just sitting in the bedroom, and. . . .I thought I was watching TV. It landed like it was a movie. It hit like nose first, and you could (hear) the impact. Couldn’t believe it. Just couldn’t believe it.’”
Luke Walton for NBA.com: “The first Dead show I remember going to was in high school. We came up to L.A. from San Diego and saw them play at the Forum. Although I saw them at a much earlier age, I just don’t remember the show or the experience. I have a picture in the house of me sitting backstage with my brothers and Jerry, Mickey — all of the guys –at a Dead concert. I was like 5 or 6 years old. There was a time when all my dad listened to was the Dead — at the house, in the car, on vacations. Growing up, me and my brothers didn’t really like it or appreciate the music. We always asked him to turn it off and then when we got a little older, we started to appreciate it and would bug my dad for concert tickets whenever they came to the West Coast.”
The Dream Shake: A Day in the Life of Tracy McGrady
Neil Paine of Basketball-Reference.com: Breaks down the five best teams since 1999-2000 without a title
Chris Mannix of CNNSI.com: “With the Feb. 19 trade deadline five weeks away, the Cavs possess two enormously attractive assets in swingman Wally Szczerbiak (who is being paid $13 million this season in the last year of his contract) and forward-center Ben Wallace (who has one year and $14 million remaining on his contract after this season). That is $27 million in salaries that expire before the anticipated summer of 2010, when a free-agent bonanza is expected to hit the market. Those assets put the Cavs in position to significantly upgrade an already impressive roster and, with the right move, position themselves as the clear favorite to win the NBA title this season and perhaps in 2009-2010, too.”
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News: “I still don’t expect his entire Clipper tenure to be this horrendous, though it’s hard to see how BD and Dunleavy. are going to last too long together. But I will say that, over the years, when Baron fans wondered why oh why he could never get onto an All-Star team… when he was the third or fourth-best guard in the West and kept missing out on the coaches’ vote as an All-Star reserve… This right here, these 38 games of Clipperdom and Baron Tailbone and Hollywood Friends and waiting for him to decide when he wants to play, this is why he never made the All-Star team during his Warriors tenure.”
Clips Nation: “The Clippers are 6-6 in the 12 games where Zach Randolph started and finished. And none of those featured Chris Kaman. So .500 basketball while still dealing with a key injury (not to mention while still learning to play together) is a good thing, and encourages one to think that the team can be quite good when fully healthy (if that were to ever happen). But turn that Randolph stat over on it’s head for a moment. WITHOUT Zach Randolph, the 2008-2009 LA Clippers are 2-24. 2-24! Two wins in 26 games – that’s a single digit winning percentage citizens (below 8, to be exact). That works out to 6 wins over the course of an 82 game season. Bear in mind that the NBA record for futility is 9 wins. 2-24 is historically, colossally, monumentally bad. And lest you dismiss the situation completely based on injuries, please bear in mind that Baron Davis played in 18 of those game. And Marcus Camby played in more than that. Even Chris Kaman played in 15 of them.”
Wages of Wins: “Atlanta’s improvement can be linked primarily to three players. As noted, Bibby is playing very well. In fact, Bibby – in his eleventh season – is having his best season ever. And this improvement is tied to the fact Bibby is making fewer mistakes. His shooting efficiency – especially from beyond the arc – has never been better (in other words, he is missing fewer shots). And he has also dramatically reduced his turnovers. Although Bibby’s improvement is the biggest change in Atlanta, the play of Marvin Williams and Zaza Pachulia should also be noted. Both of these players were very bad last year (Pachulia had injury issues). This year each player is slightly above average. For Williams, the specific changes – like Bibby – can be seen with respect to shooting efficiency and turnovers. Pachulia’s improvement is primarily tied to rebounds. Beyond this trio, the Hawks are also receiving above average contributions from Al Horford and Joe Johnson. And perhaps contrary to popular perception, it’s the latter that is producing more wins.”
Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times: “Orlando’s fancy gunners are also No. 4 in defense (to the Lakers’ No. 16) and No. 3 in opposing field-goal accuracy (to the Lakers’ No. 9) This is no coincidence. The hard-nosed Van Gundy came up on Pat Riley’s staff in Miami, as his brother had come up on Riley’s staff in New York. (The sons of Bill Van Gundy, who coached prep and junior college ball in California, their mother, Cindy, once noted, ‘We’re living proof that insanity is inherited.’) ‘Stan Van Gundy is a great coach,’ said Howard, grinning. ‘He pushes us to our limit. . . . ‘I’m really glad he’s around — even though he gets on my nerves. I hate to hear his voice all the time, but he pushes us to be better. . . . I could score 50 points, but if I don’t have two blocks, four blocks, he’s going to kill me.’”
Don Seeholzer of the Pioneer Press: “Since Kevin McHale moved from the Timberwolves’ front office to the coaching sideline, Randy Foye guesses he looks at the bench an average of three to five times per game. And before that, under Randy Wittman? ‘Almost every possession,’ the Wolves’ third-year guard said. ‘Almost every possession, we ran a set. You know, that was Witt’s style, and this is Mac’s style. Mac wants us to get up and down, and first good shot you have, take it.’ If the tale of this season could be summed up in one sentence, that’s it. As they prepare for their 19th game under McHale, the same number they played this season under Wittman before he was fired, the Wolves are playing the game on the court, not through the bench.”
Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Because Villanueva and Sessions are coveted players the Bucks would lose without compensation, teams are low-balling them. They’re trying to unload junk on the Bucks because they think they have them over a barrel with Villanueva and Sessions. They’re leverging the Bucks by saying, look, if you don’t take our offer, we’ll wait until the end of the year and sign them as free agents and then you’ll get nothing. Then so be it. Even at the certainty of no return on two good players with cheap contracts, the Bucks owe it to their fans to ride out the rest of the season with Villanueva and Sessions. The greater risk would be the possibility of trading for players who would give the Bucks no chance to make the playoffs. If Kohl was willing to hire a top-shelf coach in Scott Skiles and pay him $4 million a year to get this shaky roster into playoff contention, why risk alienating Skiles by taking away the few reserves who can actually play?”
Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle: “He has been everything Leslie Alexander hoped he’d be when he hired him 18 months ago. The Rockets have learned firsthand how he has succeeded for 17 seasons in a league that chews up and spits out coaches. ‘Every response isn’t an emotional one,’ Rockets assistant coach Elston Turner said. ‘He thinks things through and can get his message across without being abrasive.’ Coaching in the NBA is an interesting challenge. Coaches give explanations, not orders. They persuade instead of push. ‘Players appreciate how Rick deals with them,’ Turner said. ‘I can’t tell you how many guys that have played for him would like the chance to play for him again. He’ll blow up in meetings. He’s human. Certain things get to him. But he doesn’t let the players see that side of him.’”
Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Cuban told us in October that ‘more than five, and as many as seven’ of his players demanded a trade if he didn’t fire Avery. His best move would have been to fire Avery, then also get rid of every player except Jason Terry, and start all over. Yes, Dirk, too. Let’s be real brief on the told-you-so stuff, but nobody wanted to read or hear the obvious last year. The Western Conference of the NBA had, in a surprise to all of us, suddenly shot past the Mavs in talented teams. The West was no longer just about Spurs, Suns, Mavs. It quickly came to be about the Lakers and many other vastly improved clubs. The Mavericks were sleeping on past accomplishments as so many others got better. As they now struggle, it’s because the schedule got tougher after a long run of barely beating bad teams. You can say, schedule-wise, what happens between now and the All-Star break in mid-February will be the story of this season.”
Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus: “With nothing to play for in terms of the postseason, it’s easy to imagine players mailing in their efforts and teams playing for a better draft pick instead of wins. That’s why it has been encouraging to see three of the NBA’s cellar-dwellers of recent vintage–the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder–playing competitive basketball of late. Entering the season, either the Grizzlies or the Thunder were picked by most sources to finish as the league’s worst team. Basketball Prospectus’ projection had Memphis bringing up the rear, with Oklahoma City not far ahead. The Timberwolves were actually projected as a fringe playoff contender, but those hopes were quickly dashed when Minnesota opened the season 1-8. The Thunder overshadowed that with one of the worst starts in NBA history–1-16 and then 2-24. Predictably, both teams changed coaches. If published reports are to be believed, Marc Iavaroni narrowly avoided that fate when the Grizzlies dropped seven straight to fall to 4-14 on the season. Yet, as we near the midway point of the season, all three teams have shown that they have enough talent to be dangerous when overlooked by opponents.”
Ira Winderman of South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “The scene could just as easily be Dolphin Stadium, Giants Stadium, Soldier Field. Instead, it is AmericanAirlines Arena and locker rooms throughout the NBA. Thigh pads? Check. Hip pads? Check. Chest pads? Check. Armed, and ready. Tucked inside those ever-baggier shorts and stealthed beneath jerseys is a variety of protective gear that reaffirms this also is a contact sport. ‘It’s almost like how football is,’ Heat President Pat Riley says of the protective gear. ‘This is just an NBA staple right now.’ In some ways, the layered look has become the league’s hidden secret. So as not to offend the league’s apparel heavy hitters, such as adidas, logos of protective gear must remain hidden, as must most of the gear, unless it is being utilized to protect an injury in an exposed area. Yet it’s there, and just about everywhere.”
Ken Rodriguez of the San Antonio Express-News: “It’s a good time to be a Spurs fan, all right. It’s not the best time for Spurs management. Attendance isn’t crashing like it is in Sacramento. But the Spurs are drawing fewer fans than last season and wondering about the future. How hard will the slumping economy hit their fan base? ‘We’re down a few percentage points in attendance,’ Rick Pych, president of business operations, said recently. ‘Obviously people are concerned about how secure their jobs and futures are. And we’re seeing some of that.’ Officially the Spurs average 17,888 fans at home, 14th in the league, and fill 95.2 percent of their seats. But NBA attendance figures are deceptive. The league announces tickets distributed; turnstile counts are kept private. So the Spurs will admit they’ve lost fans. They just won’t say how many. They’ve felt the recession’s bite, but the pain could be worse. The Dow didn’t plunge until late September, long after most season tickets had been sold.”
John Branch of The New York Times: “Less than three years ago, Pittsnogle was an all-American senior averaging 19.3 points who led West Virginia to the 2006 regional semifinals. He expected to be chosen in the N.B.A draft. He was not. Now, at 24, he is a middle school teacher in his hometown. He is also an unpaid assistant coach for a high school basketball team. He bowls in leagues three nights a week and occasionally plays bingo at Big Bucks Bingo. His wife, Heather, is a bank teller. They have two children and live in a double-wide trailer, and together they wonder how much appetite they have for uprooting their lives again so Pittsnogle can have one more chance at a basketball career.”
Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star: “‘The teams that either don’t value strength training, or they’re stuck back in the Dark Ages, they lead the league in injuries every year. Every year,’ said D’Amelio. That’s a stat worth looking into, although man-games-lost-to-injury numbers are notoriously deceiving. Still, D’Amelio has made his case well enough that, while O’Neal sometimes goes his own way in the weight room, most of Toronto’s roster follows the team-prescribed program to the letter. What does D’Amelio preach? It’s too complicated to detail here, but the program aims to build what’s known as functional strength, an overall increase in the body’s ability to handle the NBA grind. While the biceps curl and the bench press are perhaps the flagship exercises of a bygone time in sports conditioning in which one or two muscles were worked in isolation, D’Amelio said the signature movements in a more state-of-the-art program force a group of many muscles, big and small, to fire together.”
