Gregg Bell of the Associated Press: “‘One of two in 100 years of basketball (to get his number retired)? That’s amazing,’ Roy said, wearing cuff links beneath his monogram at the ends of the open-collared, white dress shirt that complemented his dark suit. ‘Even more, the 30th Pac-10 player? It’s a great list to be on.’ An improbable one, too. Roy failed to get qualifying college entrance scores out of Seattle’s Garfield High School in 2002. His scores improved so dramatically when he took the SAT a second time the disbelieving NCAA’s clearinghouse rejected them as invalid. So he took it again — and his scores were lost. Then they were found. The NCAA cleared him for eligibility. The UW did not, initially. Months of what should have been his freshman year passed, darkly. The Huskies’ season began and Roy was a confused teenager, shut out of college and the arena in which he is now immortalized. He needed a purpose, a job.”
Nets Daily: “‘According to Nets officials, Williams was miserable — late for a practice and a disruptive influence, is the common refrain — leading MacKinnon to strongly endorse his return to Jersey for more individual attention’. This follows reports (denied by the Nets) that he had refused to join his teammates at the half, that he was abusive to D-League refs (confirmed by his ejection). Moreover, he didn’t join his teammates on their road trip. Instead, he was sent home to ‘work with Kiki Vandeweghe’. Not good. Increasingly, it looks like Williams’ career as a Net is careening down the same path that Marcus Williams’ took: downright giddiness (in spite of warning flags) on Draft Night, an up-and-down rookie season that ended with All-Rookie Team selections and some tempered hope, and then a collapse into immaturity when things went south.”
Mavs Moneyball: “OK, here’s the setup. It’s the middle of the first quarter, and Dirk has started the game three for three. Jon Barry decides that it’s a good time to point out the one thing causing the Mavs inability to win it all. Summarizing: ‘Dirk is off to a hot start and you’ll notice that they were all jump shots. And that’s really the Mavs problem. Dirk, their star, their best player, doesn’t get to the free throw line enough.’ Let’s just ignore the general premise of his statement that the Mavs issues have anything to do with Dirk, who at times has looked a little disinterested this year, but who is also top 5 in scoring and has carried the team for large stretches. Barry wants to say that Dallas shoots too many jump shots? No problem. He wants to say that Dirk sometimes isn’t aggressive enough offensively? No problem. But to say the problem is the number of free throws Dirk attempts is absolute insanity. Dirk is scoring 26ppg this season and he’s doing it while shooting 47.7% – actually little low by his standards. He’s shooting at a higher percentage than Dwyane Wade, Paul Pierce, and Kobe Bryant. And you know what else he’s doing? He’s getting to the free throw line. He always has.”
Bullets Forever: “Last year, Butler gave signs that he was in the 15 percent category. On the court, he upped his passing ability to a level that was well above his career high while also cutting his turnovers down. His defensive effort picked up, even if his defensive talent remained lackluster. Off the court, he became a silent leader, voicing concerns when appropriate while still being the lead-by-example type. Nowhere was his off-court leadership more prominent than in the first-round series against Cleveland. Butler struggled on the court, but his words off it made an impression on me. One year later, and I’m really wondering where that Butler went. No doubt, Caron’s still producing on the court quite decently, but his effort and concentration level seems to have gone really downhill. As we preach all the time here, effort is hard to quantify, particularly when you use something as nebulous as body language (which I won’t do), but I think you can look at several troubling on-court stats here.”
Daily Thunder: “Durant is averaging almost 19 shots per game, while Green and Westbrook get little more than 13 and 12 respectively. That means Kevin Durant, while part of the big three for the Thunder is taking 42% of the big three’s shot attempts. Usage% is the percentage of the team plays used by the player while he is on the floor. Kevin dominates the ball more than the point guard Russell Westbrook. It’s not uncommon for the ‘star’ player to dominate the ball in the NBA these days. Lebron James takes 19 shots per game and has a usage % of 33.9%. Carmelo Anthony takes fewer shots (17) but also has high usage than Durant at 30.7%. Dwayne Wade probably epitomizes this ‘star/usage’ connection; he takes almost 22 field goals per game and has a usage of 36%. You would see similar high shot attempts and usage on a number of teams by it’s star or stars. Most of these you would also find to be on winning clubs as well, but not all of the time.”
Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register: “As eager as Bynum is to score and succeed – to the point that he has whined about his playing time periodically – his level of respect for Gasol as the team’s go-to interior force says a lot about Gasol. Even after Bynum hammered the Clippers for 42 points – and answered a question about what it would take do that kind of thing again by saying, ‘Just getting the ball, really’ – he looked ahead to the Washington game this way: ‘If I’m not having such a great game, Pau’s definitely going to have a great game.’ Asked about Gasol’s All-Star candidacy, Jackson said: ‘We think it’s pretty obvious the difference in our team between the acquisition of Pau Gasol and what we were before that.’ How good is the Lakers’ 34-8 start with Gasol? It’s the best in basketball today, but there’s more. It’s actually better than any start Bryant and Jackson ever had with O’Neal.”
Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: “Carter was the most positive guy in the building, and his confidence showed throughout the game. It made a difference, his teammates say. ‘Obviously between the three veterans — I mean Vince, Devin and Keyon, who’s the most vocal of all — if they don’t lose faith, there’s no reason for us to,’ center Josh Boone said. ‘We’ve experienced it before, when our top guys have kind of lost it and things went south. With this team, it’s completely different. It’s like night and day.’ The obvious reason being, he admits, is that Carter’s natural ebullience reaches every corner of the locker room. As Frank put it, ‘Your best player sets the tone to how you react to virtually everything — both good and bad.’”
InsideHoops.com: Nate Robinson plays COD5 on XBox Live
Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: “I ended up writing for the paper about how LeBron nailing that shot was sort of an answer to what Rick Barry ripped him about earlier this week. Branson Wright broke it down here. And it was an answer to some degree, because LeBron has carried the Cavs with his jumper the last couple games and that hasn’t happened to much in his career. That said, much of Barry’s point was on display in the fourth quarter. LeBron settled for jumpers and sometimes just terrible, terrible jumpers (the airball 3-pointer from about 25 feet being exhibit A1A). It helped the Warriors play defense, which is exactly what they wanted because they’re a horrid defensive team. It seems more and more than LeBron just tightens up with the ball when the game is close or the Cavs are behind. In the first half, seven assists and almost no bad shots. In the second half, one assist and lots of bad shots.”
Branson Wright of The Plain Dealer: Rick Barry sets the record straight about LeBron James
ReclinerGM: “The Sixers are 4 wins ahead of last year’s 40-win pace. 44 wins would be the most since 2003 and easily enough to get into the playoffs. According to John Hollinger’s playoff odds the Sixers have a 92.5% chance to reach the playoffs and right now has them with a projected record of 45-37 which is good for 5th in the Eastern conference. Since Tony Dileo took over, the Sixers are winning at rate of .611. In order to reach 45 wins the Sixers would need to finish the regular season 25-16 essentially continuing to win at the rate they have been the last 18 games under Dileo. Doable? Sure, anything is possible. What the Sixers have going for them is the fact that only 19 of their remaining 41 games are against teams currently with a winning record.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “The feel-good vibe of the Donnie Walsh-Mike D’Antoni Era has extended to celebrity row, where the rich and famous aren’t waiting for 2010 and LeBron James to don the orange and blue. The Garden celebs are showing up en masse, despite what looks like an eighth straight losing season. Spike Lee has had plenty of company, with Knicks officials believing this season has had the best celebrity turnout in years. Nobody can explain it, other than the Garden still being a happening place, even when the KnicksNew York Knicks are modestly fighting for an eighth seed. ‘The Garden is unlike any other place,’ said MSG Network’s Jill Martin, who has had her hands full with her ‘Gimme a Minute’ celebrity halftime interviews. ‘Athletes love to play here, the fans love to come here and celebrities love to sit back and take in the atmosphere.’”
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: “The Lakers reclaimed the league’s top record after blowing past the Washington Wizards, but how much of it is talent and how much of it is a friendly schedule? The answer is a lot of the former and a little of the latter. The Lakers (34-8) have the league’s highest-scoring offense, an All-Star starter, possibly an All-Star reserve, and one of the NBA’s deepest benches. But they’ve also played 25 home games and only 17 on the road — with two at Staples Center against the Clippers. Cleveland (33-8), on the other hand, has played 20 home games and 21 on the road. Boston (36-9) has played 23 at home, 22 on the road. Orlando (33-9) has played 20 at home, 22 on the road. And, by the way, the Lakers’ next two games are at home. So this was why Coach Phil Jackson reacted cautiously when asked his thoughts on having the NBA’s top record.”
David Friedman for Pro Basketball News: “The Magic do not currently have a power forward like Thorpe or Grant, nor do they have an All-NBA level swingman like Drexler or Hardaway. Therefore, it is reasonable to wonder how well they will perform in playoff games against elite teams when their three point shots are not falling and it becomes increasingly important to be able to control the boards. Also, although Howard certainly provides a dominant presence in the paint, he is averaging 19.9 ppg on .559 field goal shooting-good numbers but not on par with O’Neal’s 1995 production (29.3 ppg on .583 shooting) or Olajuwon’s 1994 and 1995 outputs (27.3 ppg on .528 shooting and 27.8 ppg on .517 shooting respectively). During the postseason, O’Neal and Olajuwon would become almost unguardable for extended periods of time, O’Neal because of his great power and Olajuwon because of his amazing repertoire of low post moves. Howard has yet to show that he can carry a team offensively in that manner.”
Frank Dell’Apa of The Boston Globe: “Losing streaks can either galvanize a team or cause dissension and doubt. Judging by the Celtics’ seven-game winning streak, it appears the adversity of a two-week, 2-7 stretch had positive effects. The questions raised by the slump were answered, most emphatically in the Celtics’ 90-80 victory at Orlando Thursday, their first road win over a potential contender this season. The Celtics (36-9), who host Dallas tomorrow, knocked the Magic (33-9) out of first place in the Eastern Conference and were tied with Cleveland (32-8) for the lead before last night. After adding Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett last season, the Celtics have won 93 of 111 regular-season games, following a 66-win season with a 27-2 start. But from Dec. 25 (94-83 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers) to Jan. 9 (98-83 defeat at Cleveland), they staggered.”
Scott Bordow of the East Valley Tribune: “It’s one thing to get embarrassed by the Boston Celtics. But to lose to the New York Knicks then get blown out by the Charlotte Bobcats? Clearly, something is very wrong with the Phoenix Suns. This team is too talented to play as if it’s the Memphis Grizzlies. From the outside, it appears the players don’t have any confidence in coach Terry Porter. Why, just the other night, after the loss to the Knicks, Shaquille O’Neal was praising Mike D’Antoni for the way he coached defense. If that’s not a shot at Porter, I don’t know what is. But this is not all Porter’s fault although, at this point, you have to wonder about his coaching chops. The Suns’ draft last June – Robin Lopez and Goran Dragic – was a bust, and that falls on general manager Steve Kerr. Meanwhile, Amare Stoudemire doesn’t look anything like an All-Star. There may not be a more disappointing player in the NBA this season, and if this keeps up, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Suns shop Stoudemire at the trading deadline.”
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: “The Rockets’ goal heading into their five-game, 10-day homestand was to raise the level of their play without Artest and McGrady to have them join a better team than the one they left. The sense, particularly after beating the Jazz and Nuggets, was that they did that. ‘I think we played well on both ends, except for the Denver game on defense,’ Battier said. ‘We’re playing at a pretty good level right now. We’re playing together. We like who we are today a lot more than we did a month ago. That has evolved from teamwork and playing hard. It is on Ron and Tracy to do that when they come back.’ This has been the Rockets’ history, too. Last season, the Rockets had begun to turn things around when McGrady was out. After consecutive losses, McGrady returned for a win against the Spurs. A week later, the Rockets took off on a 22-game winning streak.”
3 Shades of Blue: “Coming into this year, everyone knew that Iavaroni was on the hotseat and had almost lost his job in the spring. Owner Michael Heisley demanded that the team play better defense and the team brought in Kevin O’Neill as an assistant coach/defensive coordinator. The only problem was that the roster was overhauled again and they now had 3 rookies (O.J. Mayo, Marc Gasol, Darrell Arthur) in the rotation, with another (Hamed Haddadi) at the end of the bench. Darko Milicic, with his 5 years of experience (although only half that actually counts) was the veteran presence and best defender on the team, while the rest of the regular rotation averaged around 2-3 years of experience. In other words, he was given a basket full of bananas and told to make lemonade with it. And that worked for the first dozen games of the season until the players stopped playing solid defense once again. You see, young players are predictable creatures. If they aren’t playing well on offense, they tend to take plays off on defense. Well this team’s offense was abominable (and a majority of that blame can be attributed to Iavaroni), so their defense started to mirror that.”
Randy Hill of FOXSports.com: Gauging the impact of the new coaches
Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times: “The Bulls appear in the midst of a major meltdown. The team started slow and is not improving or responding to their first-year coach’s leadership. They have rarely played together on either end of the floor and on many nights their effort is lackluster. Given all that, Ben Gordon’s profanity-laced confrontation with Del Negro at Thursday’s practice should come as no surprise. If this keeps up — and, sadly, there’s no reason to think it won’t — chairman Jerry Reinsdorf may be forced to fire general manager John Paxon and Del Negro in the face of mounting evidence that his franchise is spinning its wheels. If that’s the case, and Del Negro is shown the door, he would be the eighth coach fired during an NBA season that has yet to reach the All-Star Game — a staggering number even for a league where in-season coaching changes have become commonplace.”
