Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “When Stan Van Gundy called out Shaquille O’Neal for flopping, he understood the consequences. Perhaps, he welcomed them. Shaq would rip him and rip him hard. He’d get personal. The Orlando Magic coach knew Shaq would eviscerate him and leave him looking like the fool. So yes, O’Neal responded on Wednesday, calling Van Gundy a ‘nobody,’ a ‘frontrunner’ and a ‘master of panic’ in the playoffs. Yes, Stan Van Gundy knew how Shaquille O’Neal felt about him and he still leaned into a high inside fastball. ‘He definitely knew that Shaq doesn’t care for him,’ said a coach who has worked with Van Gundy. ‘He also knows that Shaq does this to every coach he’s ever played for. At least Shaq did it out in the open this time and not behind Stan’s back. That’s what he did when he played in Miami for him. ‘I mean, Shaq ripped Pat Riley and Phil Jackson after he was done playing for them. That’s what he does.’”
Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald: “It was the foul before that when O’Neal knocked Wade to the floor and stood over his former teammate’s body for a few extra moments staring down at him. Playful? Maybe. A message? Probably that, too. And it’s not just a one-sided distaste. Wade has continuously stated that the relationship between the two has died down some since O’Neal was traded to Phoenix last year. And he said twice before Wednesday’s game that his grandmother taught him to forgive but not forget. What exactly did he need to forgive O’Neal for? Was it strictly for bailing on the sinking ship that was the 15-victory Heat last season, or is there more to it? Are those rumors of O’Neal mockingly calling Wade ”Wonder Boy” toward the end of their tenure together true, and is that sticking with Wade? Maybe it’s how O’Neal gushes over Bryant these days and never brings up the other two-guard with which he won a title.”
Alan Hahn of the Daily News: “The Knicks have already lost the season series to the Bucks (so the tiebreaker is another important element to consider), but to avoid the sweep is a critical battle to win here mainly because it still could be a full-game swing in the standings. But the 13 wins won’t be easy to get, not with three more games against Orlando still to come, three with the Nets, one more at Cleveland, that daunting road back-to-back in the high altitudes of Salt Lake City and Denver, at Miami on Easter Sunday and a challenging weekend back-to-back, home-and-home with Toronto. Where can you pencil in the Ws? At Minnesota (March 13), vs. Sacto (March 20), vs. the Clips (March 25) and maybe one or two of the games against the Nets? It’s going to take 13 out of 22 games. It’s going to take some surprising wins, too. Those games in hand are critical. And it really is amazing that a record as poor as 38-44 (.463 winning percentage) can actually make the playoffs in the NBA, but it’s not the worst record to ever clinch a postseason berth. Not by a longshot. Did you know that the 1952-53 Baltimore Bullets earned an invitation to the party with a 16-54 mark? That’s a winning percentage of .229.”
Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake Tribune: “As the Jazz players ambled toward the locker room Wednesday night, guard Brevin Knight climbed onto Carlos Boozer’s shoulders for a ride. There was a lot of that going on at EnergySolutions Arena, as Boozer announced his arrival in 2009 with 20 points and 17 rebounds in a 101-94 victory over Houston. The convergence of Boozer’s breakthrough game, more brilliant efforts from Deron Williams and Ronnie Brewer and the team’s continuing climb in the Western Conference standings – even coach Jerry Sloan is noticing these things – with a ninth win in a row makes it so, so tempting to declare that the Jazz are here to stay. Not quite. Not yet. Not necessarily. Not with the schedule treating them so kindly and their opponents so harshly lately. Is this streak evidence of the real Jazz, now that everybody’s healthy, Boozer is on his game and they have not lost for a month?”
Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times: “Owner Donald Sterling, frustrated by what he perceived as a lack of effort, went on a tirade in the locker room afterward. According to team sources, Sterling offered a blanket denunciation of the players and strongly backed Coach and General Manager Mike Dunleavy. The owner said he would be willing to trade all the players and said he was putting their future in Dunleavy’s hands. ‘Bottom line is he stated some views and everyone understood the views he took,’ said Dunleavy, who declined to comment further. Asked if Sterling singled out any players, forward Al Thornton said, ‘You’ll have to ask Coach about that. He can give you more detail. Ask Sterling.’ Did the talk help the team? ‘I really can’t say did it help or did it motivate us,’ Thornton said. ‘I can’t go either way with it.’ Sterling openly ranted in the press room during the game against the Spurs and pulled a Times reporter aside at halftime to voice his displeasure.” (Via ClipperBlog)
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: “It’s hard to point out exactly when this became the most significant stretch of the season for the Raptors; they’ve been talking about March almost since the day the schedule was released and it has taken on added importance every month since. And with the losses mounting and any faint hope at salvaging something of the season slipping away with each defeat, they are now forced to take action rather than speak hollow words. The Raptors play 11 games between tomorrow and the end of the month, nine of them at home, a handful that have to be in the ‘winnable’ column even for the most disgruntled of fans. Time to put up. Or shut up. ‘This year has certainly been a year where we’ve been capable of losing to any team but, on the flip side, I think we’ve seen also that we’re capable of beating every team, at home or away,’ said Toronto’s Anthony Parker. ‘So I think that’s one of the ways, as a team and individually, we keep our confidence.’ But are there any indications that all of a sudden things will be different?”
Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post: “A week ago, Nuggets coach George Karl called Chris Andersen ‘a gift by the basketball gods.’ Well, what Andersen giveth, he stands to receive back tenfold during the offseason in the form of a large multi-year contract. The Nuggets may be the team to give it to him. The Nuggets’ shot-blocking big man has, on-court, made fans forget about Marcus Camby, and that’s saying something given Camby is a former Defensive Player of the Year. In fact, Andersen is tied with Camby for second in the NBA at 2.3 blocks per game this season. His energy has been invaluable and he is a vastly improved player on the offensive end. In his last five games he’s averaged 6.0 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.0 blocks. Overall, his 6.2 points and 5.7 rebounds are the second-highest averages of his career, and his 2.3 blocks are the highest of his career. Conventional wisdom says he may not be a full mid-level exception player, but he’ll certainly push his annual salary well into seven-digits.”
Charley Rosen of FOXSports.com: “Nowitzki is best suited to be a secondary scorer in a situation where all the pressure to take important shots would be delegated to somebody else. Team him with somebody like LeBron, Kobe, D-Wade, or Paul Pierce, and Nowitzki would score fewer points but become a much better player. Nonetheless, he’s a keeper — unless a major trade could be worked out that would bring Dallas another big-time point-maker who’s not quite as insecure. Finally, what does this team need to become a great team? A couple of reliable 3-point shooters to discourage defenses from clustering in the paint. A shot-blocking big who also has the potential to attract double-teams in the pivot. A starter at the shooting guard who can create his own shots and isn’t too much of a chump on defense. A top-notch sub at the point guard slot. Another scorer beside Terry off the bench. A mobile banger.”
Chris Mannix of SI.com: “Marbury first emerged from the trainer’s room about 65 minutes before the opening tip of Wednesday night’s game between the Nets and Celtics. As he headed to his locker, Marbury was followed by a herd of media, many if not most of who had traversed the Lincoln Tunnel from Manhattan to chronicle his every movement. With the hot camera lights on him, Marbury was cordial. Affable, even. He answered a few softball questions about leaving New York, coming to Boston and having a chance to compete for a championship. He spoke calmly. He smiled. After a few minutes, several local reporters exchanged quizzical looks. Was this really Stephon Marbury? Then the cameras turned off. And the real Stephon Marbury returned. He was asked how he felt playing the two-guard, a position he refused to play in New York. ‘As long as I’m on the court, it doesn’t matter,’ said Marbury. He was asked if he had talked to incumbent point guard Rajon Rondo about his role with the team. ‘I’m just here to help them win a championship,’ Marbury deadpanned. After that, Marbury brushed past the dozen or so media and disappeared back into the trainer’s room. ‘At least we know it’s really him,’ remarked one reporter.”
Bernard Fernandez of the Philadelphia Daily News: “In an era when many point guards look for their own shot first, the 76ers’ Andre Miller is something of a traditionalist. Low-key and unassuming, the 10-year veteran out of the University of Utah always has been perceived as a facilitator and distributor first, a scoring threat second. Or maybe even third. ‘He would be just as happy scoring eight points and getting 12 assists as scoring 30 points,’ Sixers coach Tony DiLeo said of Miller following yesterday’s practice. But different teams and different circumstances have a way of altering players’ roles, and, of late, Miller has had to assume increased scoring responsibilities to take up the slack created by the cold snaps that have enveloped several of his teammates. In the eight games since the All-Star break, in which the Sixers (29-30) have gone 2-6, Miller has averaged 20.4 points to lead the team. If you extract a six-point off-night, on 2-for-10 shooting, at Indiana on Feb. 17, and a 17-point effort (which still led the Sixers) against one of his old clubs, the Denver Nuggets, on Feb. 18 in which he left the game in the third quarter with a strained calf and did not return, he has averaged 23.3 points. He had a season-high 30 points at Miami on Feb. 21, and has reeled off games of 25, 23 and 28 points in his last three outings.”
Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post: “Carmelo Anthony thought he never should have been suspended in the first place. However, blatant insubordination earns suspensions in the Nuggets’ organization these days, and Anthony admitted as much Wednesday, three days after refusing to come out of a game against Indiana. But he wasn’t happy with the punishment, being suspended for Tuesday’s game at Detroit. ‘In my eyes, I thought the situation was minute,’ Anthony said in his first public comments about the suspension. ‘Nobody really knew what happened. I didn’t think it was going to get as big as it got. ‘He (coach George Karl) took that stance. At that point in time it wasn’t no need for me to even try to argue with it. He was already in the mode about a suspension. The suspension already took place. It happened.’ Anthony returns tonight for a key division game against Portland, the first of four games in five nights. ‘We need him,’ Karl said. ‘I’m excited.’ In fact, Karl said had Anthony played against the Pistons, they ‘probably’ would have won.”
Mike Baldwin of The Oklahoman: “Oklahoma City Thunder season ticket prices for 2009-2010 will remain the same, according to Brian Byrnes, the team’s vice president of tickets and services. Fans in all sections have until April 10 to renew their season tickets. Details on fans wanting to change season ticket options, and the procedure for fans on the waiting list, will be made available in upcoming days. Byrnes said all season ticket holders will be notified of the 2009-10 season ticket policy within the next week. According to a story in the Sports Business Journal, only three of the NBA’s 30 teams will raise season-ticket prices for 2009-10. Nineteen teams are expected to remain the same. Seven teams are projected to decrease prices. One team has not yet decided on pricing. Ticket revenue generally accounts for up to 50 percent of a team’s annual budget.”
William C. Rhoden of The New York Times: “Everyone associated with the Nets’ owner, Bruce C. Ratner, insists there is no way the Nets are staying in New Jersey. Ratner’s vision has always been that the team would be the crown jewel of a sprawling real estate complex in Brooklyn. ‘The fact is, we’re going to Brooklyn,’ Brett Yormark, the Nets’ chief executive, said Wednesday. Booker is undaunted. He spoke confidently about luring the Nets. He was passionate in describing the economic and psychic impact they would have on the city, which already has a great arena in the Prudential Center, where the Nets will play two preseason games in October. ‘We don’t have to use state money to build anything,’ Booker said. ‘The Nets coming to Newark would supercharge the city. I’m working on it every day.’ He added, ‘We think it’s the right thing for the state, it’s the right thing for the team and it actually makes sense.’ Still, Ratner is determined to give Brooklyn a pro basketball team — whether the borough wants one or not.”
JONES ON THE NBA: “In the NFL, the home team splits the gate 60-40 with the the away team. In the NBA, the home teams keep everything. In the NFL 70%-75% of team revenue comes from revenue sharing. In the NBA it is only 20%-25%. In the MLB 35% of each teams local media revenues (TV, Radio, etc.) are put into a pot and redistributed. There is no such agreement in the NBA. In the NBA $49 million was redistributed for revenue sharing (via the lux tax and the escrow system) in 2008, while the MLB redistributed $300 million in 2007. Look at the NBA team income distribution from last year: Outside of the Spurs, the small market teams are struggling, while the large markets are thriving. The discrepancy is only going to get larger as the league is handing off local digital rights to the individual teams. Of course, the large market teams will pocket a ton of money, while the small markets will hardly see a dime from this arrangement. The Players Association needs to take a strong position and force the owners to get their financial houses in check before they come and ask the players to give up money.”
