Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “He’ll have to make the most of his opportunities, be prepared, be focused and that just isn’t Marbury. He’s never had the discipline to do it. And with all of Marbury’s insecurities, with his need to have a circus surrounding him, there come massive jealousies. Never mind those that consumed him as an NBA player. Consider that employees of the Steve & Barry’s stores that once sold his Starbury sneaker line tell hilarious stories of how obsessive Marbury became over the now-bankrupt chain’s catering to actress Sarah Jessica Parker and her clothing line. They would see his car pulling up to the corporate headquarters and employees would tense up awaiting Marbury bursting through the doors, bemoaning the fact that SJP and her clothing line was a bigger deal, a bigger seller, than a product ultimately doomed by his poisoned brand name. Now, Marbury can climb aboard the Celtics, the champs, and somehow he’ll sell this as his destiny. He was meant to find his way to Boston, to be a champion and that will be the biggest lie of the season. They’re desperate for a guard. There’s no one else out there. Boston is selling a little of its soul, a little of its championship heritage, to take on Marbury as a mercenary.”
John Hollinger of ESPN.com: “The Celtics need another ball handler to help House on some nights, and they need somebody who can serve 15-20 minutes as a wing reserve when Pierce or Ray Allen is out of the game. Marbury makes sense on both fronts. Obviously, he’s a capable ball handler who can get the Celtics into their offense. And although he’s only 6-2, he’s one of the league’s strongest guards and has defended opposing 2s often throughout his career. Whether this would work depends on a lot of factors — whether Marbury is willing to take on a subordinate role, whether he’s willing to commit at the defensive end for the first time in his career and whether he can avoid alienating his own locker room. But much of it depends on a question we simply don’t know the answer to: How much does this guy have left, anyway?”
Steve Aschburner of CNNSI.com: “Mikki Moore gets benched by a dreadful Sacramento team, yet surveys the field of playoff-bound juggernauts before selecting Boston as his playoff aspirant of choice. Sam Cassell secures his freedom from the Clippers last season so he can glom a third championship ring, with the Celtics. And then there’s Smith, a perfectly logical candidate to exit a loser and shore up a winner. ‘What for?’ Smith told The Oklahoman when asked about his buyout ambitions. ‘I’ve been here all year. Why would I want to do that now? I’m [not] seeking it.’ One piece of Smith’s response seemed odd: ‘A lot of people assume that when you reach a certain amount of years in the league that you always want to seek a title.” It sounded, if you didn’t know him, like he might be one of the several NBA players — it might be a handful, it might be a ton, but for our purposes here, we’ll stick with ‘several” — who care more about the money, the lifestyle and themselves than they do about winning or their teams. But it also was realistic, based on the difficulty of chasing something — one difficult relocation at a time — that only one of 30 teams achieves each year.”
Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune: “The concern is that there are just 27 games remaining in the regular season, and the calendar is getting short with games practically every other day, leaving limited practice time to review those defensive tendencies. Will time permit a refresher course? ‘There’s enough time, ‘ Scott said. ‘It’s not so much that we need to work as far as practice is concerned. We just need to walk through things and put them in scenarios that we’ve been putting them in all season long. But we’ve just got to get sharper on that end of the floor. ‘Defense is all about desire and wanting to do it. It has nothing to do with skill. So we’ve just got to get back to our defensive principles and understanding what we need to do on every play.’ Forward James Posey, New Orleans’ unquestioned defensive leader, couldn’t put his finger on the reason for the Hornets’ recent defensive misfortunes, other than to say he and his teammates must do a better job of communicating on the floor.”
John Branch of The New York Times: “The franchise, forever a bridesmaid, made 20 consecutive playoff appearances from 1984 to 2003, with no championships to show for them. Boozer and Deron Williams, a new generation’s sequel to Karl Malone and John Stockton, similarly carried the Jazz well into the playoffs the past two seasons, only to exit before June. It is only February, but something feels different. Maybe it’s the way the team has bandaged together its contender status despite an onslaught of injuries that kept Boozer and Williams apart for 54 of the season’s first 56 games and forced 16 starting combinations. Maybe it is Miller’s death at age 64 of complications from Type 2 diabetes, a few weeks after his lower legs were amputated. Maybe it is the thought of creating a championship legacy for Miller that the team could not create when he sat in that seat. ‘As much as a crossroads, we hope it is a launching pad,’ the team president, Randy Rigby, said.”
Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post: “Though there are just 25 games left in the season and in the ever-tightening Northwest Division race, the Nuggets profess not to panic. There are injuries involved. Carmelo Anthony is dealing with multiple ailments, Nene is likely out for the week with a bruised knee and Kenyon Martin is jousting with back spasms. Those three account for 49.3 points and 21.4 rebounds per game. If they aren’t at their best, it has a tangible impact on the Nuggets’ ability to be successful. ‘I don’t think it’s a panic. It’s a wake up, re-energize and regroup,’ Karl said, but added, ‘We need to recommit to some fundamentals.’ In the past four games, the Nuggets have averaged more turnovers (19.8) than their opponents, and well above their season average (15.9). They’ve had four consecutive games with fewer steals than their opponent and three consecutive games with fewer assists. Defensively, opponents’ ability to score on the Nuggets has risen. Denver held foes to 97.6 points per game in November. That increased to 101.5 in December, 102.1 in January and has held at 102.0 this month.”
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News: “I am now told that yes, Warriors owner Chris Cohan has Bay Area ‘territorial marketing rights’ and would almost certainly be heard loudly in the NBA offices if the Kings or any other team wanted to move to San Jose. BUT: The NBA Board of Governors can do anything it wants as it pertains to franchise location in the best interests of the league and there is not a high tolerance for watching massive annual losses by any franchise. Each owner has a vote on the board. Best interests = the most money for the owners’ collective. The Warriors DO NOT have strict veto power over any such possible move to San Jose. They’re a major player in this situation, but all power flows to the board of governors. That’s a big difference from what I originally heard and wrote, and that’s especially important leading up to Friday’s scheduled meeting to present an NBA/Cal Expo plan for a new Kings arena on the fairgrounds site.”
Jeff Caplan of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Popeye Jones didn’t just kick around the NBA for 11 hard-nosed seasons. He threw some elbows, too. How else would the former power forward and current Dallas Mavericks assistant coach hold the franchise record of 28 rebounds in a single game? Yet, for all his years of hardwood labor, from his small-town Tennessee roots to NBA workhorse for six teams, Jones never faced the gripping decisions his two supremely talented stick-wielding sons do now. Justin, a strong, compact and gritty 18-year-old right winger, and Seth, a tall and lanky, smooth-skating, 14-year-old defenseman, inherited their father’s athleticism and work ethic, if not, astonishingly enough, his passion for basketball. ‘At the beginning, when I saw how involved they were in hockey once I came home from that first year playing in Washington, I got mad a little bit,’ Popeye said, only half-joking. ‘I was like, ‘What’s going on here? What about basketball? You guys are at the hockey ‘ rink every day.’ The brothers might one day eclipse their dad’s accomplishments in the NBA with their own careers in the NHL. To get there, however, will require a circuitous journey steered by unique sacrifice and life-altering decisions — choices as exhilarating as they can be overwhelming.”
Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee: “The Kings need Andres Nocioni for his bruising physicality, but their fans need him just as much to soothe their own sagging psyche. He’s fun. He’s passionate. He cares. He sprints on and off the court, and most notably, performs as if he has actually read the fine print in the collective bargaining agreement. And nowhere in the language of the contract does it say that putting a body on an opponent violates the spirit of the agreement. ‘It’s just my way,’ Nocioni says simply, as if that explains everything. ‘I’m the kind of guy who likes to play with energy, with a lot of contact. With my energy, sometimes I can (overcome) my mistakes.’ Of the seven veterans acquired in the Kings’ recent massive shake-up, Nocioni, 29, is the one most likely to remain when the other newcomers’ contracts expire this summer and Geoff Petrie continues shopping for rookies and draft choices.”
Jason Quick of The Oregonian: “The injury is a chipped knee cap, suffered when Oden collided with Golden State’s Corey Maggette on Feb. 12. At the time, Oden went to the floor in pain, but went on to play about six more minutes. ‘I just thought I would get some ice and get it over with,’ Oden said Tuesday. ‘It turned out to be bigger.’ Or longer, to be more precise. Initially, Oden thought he would be back for the Blazers’ first game after the All-Star Break. Now, there’s no guarantee he will play again in February. He has been ruled out for today’s game in San Antonio, and McMillan said Oden has to show him he can run in Thursday’s practice before he thinks about playing him Friday at Minnesota. ‘It goes from day-to-day, then after the doctors look at him, it’s a few more days,’ McMillan said, shaking his head. Oden said the knee is improving and that the decision to return has been left up to him.”
Ivan Carter of the Washington Post: “‘The way I look at it, I rushed back twice and got hurt again twice so this time, I’m going to take my time and make sure. I came back quick twice and it didn’t work for me or the team. I’m just going to keep practicing on it, make sure it’s all the way right and then go from there.’ Arenas said he hasn’t wanted to tell the media or public about practicing for fear that it would ramp up the pressure on him to get back onto the court for games. He also asked the team (front office and Ed Tapscott) and teammates to cover for him as well. Specifically, Arenas has participated in full court games of five-on-five. He’s teamed up with the ‘young guys’ against teams comrpised of vets. ‘It’s about getting my game back but also about helping those youngs learn how to play,’ Arenas said. ‘It makes it more competitive.’”
Solange Reyner of The Associated Press: “‘He’s one of the guys they’re going to keep around and help turn this franchise into a winner. The good thing about him is he’s more mature than these (other) rookies.’ Gordon is admittedly quiet. He bought a Range Rover and a town home after the Clippers selected him with the seventh pick in last year’s draft, but stayed away from any other big purchases. ‘I like cars, but I don’t really get into too much jewelry,’ Gordon said. Eric Gordon Sr. said his son has always been that way. ‘He likes his casual dress clothes, too,’ Gordon Sr. said, in a phone interview from Indianapolis. ‘He used to have these clothes that were a little larger but all of a sudden I saw him for the first time before a game, and this dude had nice threads on and the clothes were nicely stitched.’”
Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: “The numbers do jump off the stat sheet when comparing home and away effectiveness for the 24-year-old Villanueva and 22-year-old Sessions. Villanueva is averaging 18.1 points at home and shooting 50.8% from the field, and he is averaging 14.3 and shooting 41.2% on the road. But the big disparity comes with his three-point shooting, with Villanueva shooting 46.8% from beyond the arc at home and 27.8% on the road. ‘We need some road games where he’s shooting a good percentage,’ Skiles said. ‘He’s certainly capable of doing that. You can’t expect mid-30s (in points) out of him every night or anything. Teams are going to try to take things away from him. It’s another step in his development.’ Sessions has averaged 14.9 points while shooting 52.5% at home, and those numbers are 9.4 and 37.1% on the road. He also has averaged 6.1 assists at home to 3.6 on the road. ‘I’m not trying to put an age to it, but guys that are under 25, young guys in the NBA, the road is more difficult,’ Skiles said. ‘It’s nothing out of the ordinary. It’s something as time goes on, guys learn how to conquer a little bit.’”
Darnell Mayberry and Mike Baldwin of The Oklahoman: “Kevin Durant entered Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers scoring at least 30 points in eight of nine February games. He attributed his recent scoring binge to a new mentality. ‘I approach practice and shootarounds different than I did last year,’ Durant said. ‘I come out and practice hard. I go through shootarounds hard, like it’s a full practice. I work out after practice and before. I get my shots up and I think that’s helping. If I take that approach every night in the games, in practice and in shootarounds that’s going to make our team better.’ Durant’s scoring streak has led many to wonder if he will soon win a scoring title. ‘That’s not what I’m aiming towards,’ Durant said. ‘If it comes it comes, but I’m just trying to get better with my teammates and make that push into the postseason. That’s all I’m worried about.’”
George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal: “It’s not uncommon to hear the Cavaliers talk about winning the NBA championship. Mention taking the Central Division for the first time in 33 years and the players shrug, stating that’s not their goal. So it wasn’t surprising to hear Williams’ answer on ESPNRadio’s Tirico & Van Pelt show when guest host Stephen A. Smith asked if the Cavs would win the title this year. ‘Oh, that’s for sure. That’s a guarantee. We plan on winning it so, to answering your question: yeah,’ he said to Smith. Coach Brown supported his starting point guard’s contention: ‘Our goal is an NBA championship; that’s not something we’re trying to hide from, but you’ve got to respect the Celtics because they’re the NBA champions and if we want to make it there, we have to go take it from them.’ When asked about his words and the Boston Celtics, Williams stood his ground.” [Via SLAM]
Kevin Ding of The Orange County Register: “Bryant’s urgency in developing the Lakers’ overall game has come at a cost in one aspect: There is a perception is that he’s not nearly as dominating this season, especially in comparison to Cleveland’s LeBron James. Jackson, one of the first to predict that the Cavaliers would leap forward this season because of James, is aware of this. ‘Kobe’s having a really great year,’ Jackson said. ‘LeBron’s having a greater year than he has ever had. He’s a better player than he was – by far – last year.’ James’ improvement as a defender is real. The rest of his numbers, actually, are virtually identical to last season’s, with his points, rebounds and turnovers down just a shade in three fewer minutes per game. Bryant’s rebounds, assists, steals and turnovers are all also down a tick in 2 ½ fewer minutes per game, although he’s scoring more efficiently at 27.6 points on 47.2 percent field-goal shooting compared to 28.3 points on 45.9 percent last season.”
