Jason Quick of The Oregonian: “In NBA circles, he remains defined by that 108-word e-mail, a message made all the more discordant because it was written in the tone of the Blazers of old — bullying, pounding his chest, daring his peers to make a move. In his less-than-two-year tenure at the Blazers’ helm, it has become Miller’s most public moment. But Miller says it will not be his biggest. Instead, the grand vision of the man who turned around Portland’s tiny Jantzen swimwear company, and who elevated Jordan from mere Nike shoe salesman to a brand unto himself, is one his department heads can recite. It’s a vision he has sold them all. And if he achieves it, it’s a vision that’ll remake the franchise for years to come. He wants the Blazers to go global. He wants to see the Blazers logo on a T-shirt in China. He wants the team to have the instantaneous name recognition of the old Chicago Bulls. He wants the franchise to be mentioned in the same manner as the iconic New York Yankees.”
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: “I have no doubt that Tracy McGrady said exactly what Stephen A. Smith reported that he said. ESPN reported that McGrady said he would need microfracture surgery and would be out for the season. After that, however, the whole thing still seems typically weird, typically confusing and inconsistent. Last week, McGrady said he was not even considering surgery. He and the Rockets said his MRI showed no changes. He had not improved, but neither had anything gotten worse. He had been playing. He was feeling better, talking openly about how he had turned the corner. He said his missed dunk in Milwaukee, part of his 1-for-9 night, was because of a mental, rather than physical issue. Doctor after doctor said that McGrady could play and would grow stronger if he did. McGrady said nothing had changed in his condition. Now he needs microfracture surgery? The Rockets had no comment. That does not mean anything about the need for such an extreme operation. It should not be considered a denial.”
John Hollinger of ESPN.com: “The Suns said they’d need an adjustment period before they could reinstate their former ‘Seven Seconds or Less’ playing style. It lasted one possession. After running a halfcourt set for Shaquille O’Neal off the opening tip, the Suns scored in seven seconds or less on their second trip … and the third … and the fourth …and then, after a turnover, the sixth. As they did, a sensation started sweeping over the crowd: Holy &@#!$ … we’re back! Four times in five trips the Suns went down and scored in under seven seconds — their previous pastime under former coach Mike D’Antoni — and they didn’t stop there. With new coach Alvin Gentry reinstating the team’s old system, Phoenix ran after makes, ran after misses, and ran past the hapless Clippers for a torrent of layups en route to a 140-100 rout. Only four teams have scored more points in regulation in the past 10 years.”
Paola Boivin of The Arizona Republic: “Did you feel it? It started during Shaquille O’Neal’s memorable JabbaWockeeZ dance and culminated with his death grip on the NBA All-Star Game MVP trophy he shared with Kobe Bryant. The Suns center is positioning himself for one final run at greatness. Whether he accomplishes it is another matter, but he is re-energized after the league’s midseason celebration thrust him back into the spotlight, and after Suns management made a coaching change better suited for his team. ‘I’ve been dreaming about how this season’s going to end,’ O’Neal said Tuesday after his second practice with interim coach Alvin Gentry. ‘This is how it’s going to go down: We’re going to finish 22-9. We’re going to change the conversation about this team. We’ll be a force in the playoffs, and if we win it all, I’ll consider retirement.’”
Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News: “At first glance, Carter looks like the kind of overly paid and underachieving star the Spurs have beaten for more than a decade. Most think he’s related to Tracy McGrady by both blood and heart, and there’s a strike against him that execs in the NBA still wonder about. Jason Kidd had problems playing with Carter, when Kidd rarely has problems with anyone who plays hard. Still, the talent is there, and the Spurs saw that last week. Then Carter stretched out with the ball in his palm as he drove, doing things no Spurs player can do. He scored 25 points in New Jersey’s loss. He also has size for a wing player, meaning he would help the Spurs rebound. His ego is manageable. He can pass. And he has the kind of Kobe-LeBron body that might come in handy against Kobe-LeBron. He’s been durable, too. He missed a game earlier this month, before the Nets played the Spurs. But that made 11 games missed — in four years in New Jersey.”
Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post: “Anthony has averaged 24.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He is shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 82.9 percent from the free-throw line. All but the rebounds are above his season averages. After Nuggets coach George Karl insisted his team wouldn’t have scored ‘70 points without him,’ much less won a key game in Orlando last week, he notes that Anthony has stepped up his offensive productivity without losing his obligation to team play. ‘What I think I see is, while he was away he saw the good stuff that we do,’ Karl said. ‘I think he respects our team. He’s not forcing himself into the game. He’s kind of moving and fitting his way into the games.’ Anthony’s ability and willingness to fit into team concepts, offensively and defensively, have been his personal biggest story lines this season. He sacrificed scoring to expend more energy on defense, rebounding and in creating more opportunities for teammates. As a result, his assists are up this season and his points are down. But Anthony seems to be finding a marriage between playing team basketball and scoring, while devoting himself to defense.”
Melissa Isaacson of the Chicago Tribune: “And how does a rookie, now 20, deal with what on some days can surely seem a burden? Rose is not going to hand over the answer — doing so would not be his style. He does not lecture, he listens, politely. Rose has plenty to say, but his voice remains at the same level, low and even, his mouth barely moving when he speaks, so that even when he smiles, which is often, you can miss it. Same with sorrow. But that’s when the good-natured young man from Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood stops talking completely for a time and gathers himself. Tough? Playing the game you love in the city you love and getting paid millions of dollars for the privilege? No, tough was leaving home for Memphis, breaking from the small circle of friends he’d spent practically his whole life with and having to miss the funeral of one of those friends, who they said was killed playing Russian roulette.”
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Did you watch Dwight Howard treat the Charlotte Bobcats like one of those monsters in a sci-fi movie? Well, here’s the back story that provided him motivation. Howard was upset by his dismal effort in an earlier game this season against the ‘Cats — a game in which he incredibly scored no field goals. Zero. Zilch. All his points came at the free-throw line, if you can believe it. ‘Every time I watched ESPN and heard the name ‘Charlotte Bobcats’ I got upset,’ Howard said. ‘Just remembering that I scored only three points made me upset.’ Actually, it was four points, but who’s counting? Unfortunately for the ‘Cats, it was Howard. He demolished them for a career-high 45 points, grabbing 19 rebounds and blocking eight shots.”
Jeff Nelson for the Pioneer Press: “With Al Jefferson scheduled for ACL surgery on his right knee today in New York, Kevin McHale said he planned to send the center a text message after Tuesday night’s game to ‘tell him we’re all thinking about him, praying for him. He’s a little nervous about surgery, [his] first surgery.’ McHale can empathize with any trepidation on Jefferson’s part. McHale had surgery for the first time at 29 to repair an injured foot and ankle. ‘I was scared to death going into that,’ he said. ‘Your body was always something you just used and never thought much about because it didn’t ever fall apart on you. All of the sudden something happens, it’s shocking. You’re like, ‘Whoa.’ So we’ve gotta give Al some support.’”
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “After thus far failing to make a deal for Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire, the Cavaliers are trying to pry forward Antawn Jamison from the Washington Wizards, league sources said. The Cavaliers are offering Wally Szczerbiak and his $13 million expiring contract, sources said. The Wizards would have to add another player into the trade – possibly center Etan Thomas – to make the deal possible. So far, Washington wants no part of such a deal. Wizards executives aren’t completely adverse to trading Jamison, a league executive said, but they would want value back for him. ‘Money is no object for Cleveland right now,’ one Eastern Conference executive said. ‘They’re willing to spend what it takes to win a title. They understand that this is just pennies compared to the hit they would take losing LeBron [James].’”
George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal: “The King has spoken. Give him the rest of his men, some who remain in various states of disrepair, and he can win a championship. In Cleveland. This year. ‘I’m excited about our team,’ LeBron James said today when asked about the first portion of the season. ‘I think if we stay injury-free — and we haven’t had the best of luck with that so far — hopefully we’ve got our injuries out the way. If we can stay healthy, we’ve got a good chance to win it.’ The Cavs stand 40-11 with 31 games to go — 17 of those at home, where they have been almost invincible. The team has won without Delonte West (fractured wrist) for several weeks and without the depth Tarence Kinsey (ankle sprain) provides. The Cavs haven’t looked as dominating, but the victories continue to pile up.”
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News: “There could be ownership transfers. Contemplations of re-location. Loans. Minority investors sought and sought and sought… Where are the Warriors and Chris Cohan, relative to this situation? Well, Cohan isn’t known as one of the league’s tycoons, that’s for sure. I’ve heard that the Warriors aren’t currently flush with cash, even with the great attendance of the last many years, and there’s a chance they could go into the red if the season-ticket sales take even a slight dip heading into next season. Emphasis on: ‘even a slight dip.’ It could be a lot worse than that, as you know. That could get very, very interesting this spring, when the Warriors get a feel for the season-ticket renewal rate. (Hint: I wouldn’t expect gangbusters.)”
Dave McMenamin of NBA.com: “In many ways, the Pistons’ sellout streak probably lasted longer than it should have. The team sold hundreds of tickets at severely discounted rates on several occasions just to keep it going. Given what the city is up against, the fact that the streak lasted more than five years is nothing short of amazing. A recent glance at the front page of the Detroit Free Press says it all. All four of the stories chronicled the city’s fiscal woes. The Greektown Casino needs $46 million to stay open. City workers face a 10 percent wage cut to help erase a $300 million deficit. Congress may step in to help the auto industry by offering drivers cash incentives to buy hybrid cars. Finally, the page’s lead story, ‘Hard Times, Hard Liquor,’ chronicled how Detroit residents are hitting the bottle these days. ‘On a whole, we’ve seen our economy go through rough times,’ said Pistons coach Michael Curry, ‘but even more so here.’”
Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee: “The Kings stink. But you knew that. Your friendly neighborhood fisherman would have gutted this catch months ago. They’re hard on the wallet and harder on the eyes. They’re a hard sell, period. Geoff Petrie must feel more like the fish than the friendly fisherman, but hey, the Kings’ longtime basketball president created this mess. He can clean it up starting today, resuming Thursday before the trade deadline and continuing the transformation during the offseason. Trade, waive, dump. Whatever works. But there isn’t any alternative to breaking up the gang that can’t shoot straight, refuses to rebound or defend, complains after every call, prefers a leisurely stroll to a sprint and basically has turned 2008-09 into an abomination of a season.To be fair now and even while blinded by the Arco nights the Kings only stink collectively. Several of those round pieces that stick out like square thumbs could fit nicely elsewhere. Petrie’s immediate task is finding that elsewhere and identifying the departees while adhering to the Maloofs’ directives: Reduce team payroll, retain salary cap flexibility and break the bank only if a franchise player suddenly becomes available.”
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “Across the NBA, the landscape is dramatically changing. The excess of old is going fast, and those unable to get fit in the short and long run promise to pay a steep price. The luxury-tax threshold will drop lower next year. Season tickets, corporate sponsorships and arena suite renewals could be off 50 percent. Owners are desperately trying to dump salary, and the haves are determined to fleece the have-nots on talent that richer teams can afford. SportsBusiness Journal reported the NBA just secured an additional $175 million league-wide line of credit – on top of the $1.7 billion it had – to assist the 15 teams that told the commissioner’s office they’d like to tap into the fresh borrowing. Three NBA front office executives told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday that it’s believed as many as seven NBA teams could need that money to cover operating and payroll costs by the summer. ‘Owners just can’t meet the payrolls with some of these high-salaried players and they’re going to be forced to give guys away,’ one Eastern Conference GM said. ‘I can tell you that things around the league are dire for some teams.’ So much so, one Western Conference GM says he’s heard peers discussing the elimination of several staples that they always took for granted, such as summer-league teams.”
