- Still recovering from “flu-like symptoms” today. We should be back to your regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.
Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times: “NBA Hall of Famer and former longtime Clippers executive Elgin Baylor alleges in a civil lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles that team owner Donald Sterling has embraced a ‘vision of a Southern plantation-type structure’ for his NBA franchise, accusing him of decades-long racist behavior. Baylor worked for the Clippers for 22 years. The complaint against Sterling and others, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by The Times, presented Baylor’s version of an eroding relationship between Baylor and Sterling. Baylor contends, among other things, that the Clippers owner had ‘a pervasive and ongoing racist attitude as expressed to then-NBA player Danny Manning during contract negotiations.’”
Tom Ziller of FanHouse: “For the record, Sterling has hired 13 head coaches since buying the Clippers in 1981. Three of those were black men: Don Chaney, Alvin Gentry and Dennis Johnson. (Sterling inherited Paul Silas, and Mack Calvin coached three games in 1992.) The Daily News reports that the suit alleges Baylor was never paid more than $350,000 per year in his role as GM, a position he had held since 1986. Dunleavy, by comparison, makes more than $5 million per year in his coach/GM role. Sterling isn’t a stranger to allegations of race-based discrimination. In 2006 the U.S. Department of Justice sued Sterling for discriminating against blacks from the housing units he owns in L.A.; a year prior, a district judge ordered Sterling to pay plaintiffs $5 million following housing discrimination suits. It was said to be one of the largest fines for fair housing violations in U.S. history.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “As much as the Knicks talked about becoming a better team because of the trades, Dunleavy and Randolph do not agree. Dunleavy has Randolph, who’s averaged 22.8 points as a Clipper, and the Knicks don’t. Randolph said he knows the Knicks miss him. ‘I’m a pretty good player,’ Randolph said before his Clippers scored a 128-124 overtime victory over the Knicks. ‘Ain’t nobody in the league can guard me. I thought we were rolling, playing good, had the best start in a long time. We had a good team. I’m not going to start anything. It’s what they wanted to do. I don’t know why, but I guess they have plans. They say they have plans.’ And Dunleavy knows the Knicks didn’t make the move to get better now. ‘It’s pretty clear what New York’s plan is,’ Dunleavy said. ‘Under any other circumstances they wouldn’t have done that. Their belief is they can land one or two guys in 2010. I felt, ‘Why don’t I solve their problems?’ It’s a huge market and I think they get more than one.’”
Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: “With a week left before the NBA’s trade deadline strikes on Feb. 19, it’s tough to predict what will happen with the Bulls. Phoenix power forward Amare Stoudemire remains a possibility. But I keep hearing and reading that there will be a flurry of activity in the final days because so many teams are losing money in this poor economy and are becoming increasingly anxious to dump salaries. That stinks for most of the country, but could be an opportunity for the Bulls. The salary structure is the same everywhere in the league, but the Bulls have a much easier time filling the stadium in a metropolitan area of 8 million than they do in the smaller markets.”
Charley Rosen of FOXSports.com: “He’s one of the best in the league in a broken field, and eight of his points were registered before Orlando’s defense could get set. Even though his shot wasn’t falling, Anthony still managed to tally 28 points. Which serves to prove what a persistent and dynamic point-maker he really is. Best of all, he only forced two shots. Compare this number to the four shots that Billups forced. In other words, knowing that the ball will routinely come to him, Melo’s decision-making is much more judicious than when Iverson was on the scene. Even Anthony’s defense showed improvement. The Nuggets’ strategy called for switching on virtually every crossing, which enabled them to maintain constant pressure on the ball. And Anthony did a terrific job both in ball-denial and in ambushing passing lanes.”
Jerome Soloman of the Houston Chronicle: “McGrady should have played Wednesday. Sitting out for precautionary reasons under the circumstances is like calling in sick for work on the off chance you might catch a cold. Is embarrassment a precautionary reason? Getting stuck on the bottom of the rim at Milwaukee was humiliating. McGrady can’t always do what he wants on the court, and he’s embarrassed about it. McGrady is not the type of player who will stay in the NBA too long. When he loses his game, he’ll shut it down. As he keeps reminding us, this was his first surgery. When he was hobbling and finding his game once a week or so, he needed to sit. Now the funk hits the fan about once every four or five games. The Rockets and McGrady might have to deal with an occasional stinker from him for the remainder of the season. It doesn’t sound like he or his ego can stand the pain.”
Marcus Thompson II of the Contra Costa Times: “Jackson considers himself a premier player. Lately, he’s been playing like one. His numbers have been flat-out ridiculous recently, more like those of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade. For February, Jackson is averaging 28.4 points, 9.0 assists, 6.8 rebounds and 2.4 steals. During that five-game span, he’s totaled at least 30 points and 10 assists three times — vs. San Antonio, Phoenix and New York. The last player to get 30 and 10 three times over a five-game stretch was James in 2007. The last Warrior? Tim Hardaway in 1992. ‘Honestly, he’s playing as well as any small forward in the league,’ Warriors guard Jamal Crawford said after Tuesday’s game. ‘Jack right now is playing as well as anybody.’”
Neil Paine of Basketball-Reference.com: Biggest All-Star Snubs: 1974-2008
Paul Forrester of CNNSI.com: Baron Davis, Tracy McGrady headline NBA’s Anti-All Star team
Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press: “A much needed All-Star break can’t fix what’s broken with the Pistons. They’ll rest over the next four days. They’ll heal physically. But they’ll remain a mentally-fractured team when they return to business on Monday. The disconnection between the veterans and an organization they suspect has abandoned them won’t dissipate over time. It’ll only worsen. The Pistons are within range of not making the playoffs at all. That wouldn’t be the worst thing for them. If the alternative is getting bounced out of the first round, then not making the playoffs at all wouldn’t be that much more of an embarrassment.”
David Whitley of the Orlando Sentinel: “Cutting a 20-point deficit to six points showed character. If this is what life without Jameer is going to be like, they’re going to need it. ‘Offensively, we’re just not, I’m not and they’re not finding any answers right now,’ Stan Van Gundy said. That from a team that had all the right ones until five games ago. The Magic were on a 60-win pace and thinking NBA Finals. Then Nelson dived for a loose ball and came up with a loose labrum. Counting that game, Orlando is 2-3 since losing their point guard. When it comes to playoff positioning, the setback won’t really matter.”
Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic: “Kerr will help Porter coach this team. He will see what trade offers come across his desk. He will hope for his luck to change, and for his soggy draft picks to blossom. And maybe this team can make the playoffs. Maybe it can make a run at the second round. Maybe it can clear cap space for 2010, when a stellar crop of free agents hits the market. Right. Like anyone wants to play here anymore. Sorry, folks. It’s not pretty when pillars fall. But don’t be mad at Kerr. Feel bad for Kerr. All he wanted was for D’Antoni to play a little defense. And just imagine working for Robert Sarver in this economy, and handing him a luxury tax bill for a team that doesn’t make the playoffs. Besides, we’re all to blame here. We all got greedy.”
Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: “Brown’s actions continue a trend the Cavs have been developing this season of protesting officials’ decisions both in game and afterward. In the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, Brown created a pivotal moment following Game 2 when he refuse to criticize a key non call and proclaimed the Cavs a ‘no-excuse’ team. This season the Cavs have been attacking officials, having racked up 24 technical fouls and soon a hefty fine. It was 25 but one tech belonging to LeBron James from a Jan. 13 game in Memphis has been rescinded by the NBA after appeal. Last season, they were hit with just 27 in 82 games. The returns have been limited. They are being called for 0.3 fewer fouls per game compared to last year and their opponents are being hit with 0.5 more fouls per game. They are shooting less than one more free throw per game and their opponents about one less.”
