Jason Quick of The Oregonian: “Unlike some star athletes, Oden is willing to acknowledge his failures and shortcomings — on and off the court. He said he has struggled to figure out his place on the team and how to deal with the responsibility of being a role model. And he shares his frustration that no matter what choices he makes he seems to get criticized. Of course, part of the problem is that he often has been unable to play. He missed six games early in the season with a sprained right foot, and he has missed the last 11 with a chipped left kneecap. In the three weeks, and counting, since he hurt his knee, Oden said he has examined a rookie season that he said has been ‘more down than up.’ The biggest conclusion he has come to is that he needs to shoot more. Oden is averaging less than six shots a game. ‘Like, I watched the Cleveland-Boston game the other night, and Joe Smith got in the game and within 10 or 15 minutes he got up near 12 shots. Me? I get up five shots and I’m like … ‘Am I shooting too much?’‘ He said LaMarcus Aldridge and other teammates have encouraged him to shoot and play freely, but Oden said that he is still hesitant because he is uncertain how to play with the Blazers’ star, Brandon Roy, whom he speaks of with reverence.”
Elliott Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News: “Pau Gasol went into Monday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers averaging team-leading totals in rebounds and minutes played. He also was second to Kobe Bryant in scoring and assists. Credit for his standout statistics can be attributed to playing a key role for the league-leading Lakers. It also could be due to a new weight-lifting regime the 7-foot center has adopted this season. ‘I lifted before, kind of early-season, training camp stuff, then I would stop and just play starting around midseason,’ Gasol said the other day. ‘Last year, what we went through as a team and what I went through motivated me this year to be more ready.’ Gasol referred to the Lakers’ loss to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. ‘In the playoffs, you need to be at your best physically just to be able to compete because of the physicality that’s allowed to go on and you just need to step up to the plate,’ he said when asked about his thrice-weekly program.”
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “It’s not necessarily the percentage. Dwyane Wade shot better on 3-pointers as a rookie and has had similar percentages two other seasons. It’s the volume. Entering Monday’s game against the Bulls, the Heat guard was 60 of 200 on 3-pointers this season. He had not attempted more than 79 in any of his previous five seasons or converted more than 22. ‘I’ve gotten comfortable with trying to hit the shots at the right times, sometimes to bring our team back, or sometimes to make the lead go up even more,’ he said. ‘And sometimes I shoot ‘em and I know it’s a bad shot, as well. ‘It’s my first year really, really shooting ‘em this way, and I’m sure I probably shot some that coaches probably cringed on.’ Wade not only went into Monday’s game 10th on the team in 3-point percentage, but 214th in the league. But it’s not as if coach Erik Spoelstra is about to put up a red light for his scoring leader, who Monday was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the third time this season.”
Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm: “Wade did it on 21 shots, tonight. 47 on 21 shots. 12 assists. 6 boards. 4 steals. 3 blocks. How is this guy getting into the paint and blocking guys out? In second overtime, down two, Wade looked absolutely gassed. He had that look like there was nothing left. Like his body was giving up. The 1.0 look. 2.0 was simply pulling a rope-a-dope. He caught the ball at the slight left wing, and measured. Good defense by the Bulls. Man defender to guard the pull-up three, man-help on the drive. As long as he’s not able to get to the corner…BAM. It was like watching a cannonball soar through the air,and then hit its burst. At this point, there’s nothing Wade’s not doing that would help his team. Defense, leadership, scoring, big shots, rebounding, hustle plays, savvy, consistency, efficiency, highlight reels, all of it.”
Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press: “If sustained success was impossible with Iverson, then could somebody explain the Pistons’ longest winning streak this season — five games — with Iverson starting and Hamilton on the injured list with a groin pull? At some point, players and everybody else must accept the necessity of embarking down an uncertain but calculated new path for the potential long-term benefit. There are no guarantees that’ll it work. There is no safe road. People are frustrated. They want assurances whether it involves the future of the automobile industry or far more mundane matters such as the Lions’ first draft pick next month. Iverson has become the perceived catalyst for the Pistons’ own competitive depression. He doesn’t deserve that sigma,but people have to blame somebody.”
Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: “‘He looks like he did in the beginning of the season. He’s defending some of the better guards in the league and doing a very good job on them, but he’s also doing the other things he did earlier in the season. He’s getting on the offensive glass, making some timely plays, driving the ball hard.’ Bucks general manager John Hammond has been credited with a steal in the second round of the draft, getting Mbah a Moute with the 37th pick. But the native of Cameroon also has benefited from Skiles’ supreme confidence in the 22-year-old’s abilities. Skiles said he could tell during the Bucks’ summer league session in Las Vegas that the team had something special. ‘We felt like even in rookie league, he was already, individually, an NBA defender,’ Skiles said. ‘Now that doesn’t mean you’re thinking you’re going to put him on Pierce and Garnett in the same game, nothing like that. But we could tell, the way he moves laterally, and with his length, and he has the will to do it, that he definitely was an NBA-ready defender.’”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “Mike D’Antoni thinks his point guard’s self esteem is hurting. Chris Duhon has played miserably lately, and maybe that is an appropriate way to describe more than just his basketball performance. D’Antoni said yesterday that Duhon’s ‘spirit isn’t real confident,’ calling his floor general ‘down in the dumps.’ In the 15 games he has played since the start of February, Duhon has shot 38 percent while averaging just 9.9 points and 3.5 turnovers. Before February, he was shooting 43 percent, averaging 12.7 points and committing just 2.8 turnovers. He also has committed at least four turnovers in six of his last eight contests. ‘I don’t know totally,’ D’Antoni said when asked about the reason for the high turnovers. ‘His spirit isn’t real confident right now. . . . And I think right now he’s down in the dumps for whatever reason. . . . We’re going to build it back up, and he’s just going to plow ahead.’ Duhon insisted yesterday it wasn’t a confidence problem. But he did say he feels like the Knicks’ losses are his fault.”
Brendan O’Shaughnessy of the Indianapolis Star: “The Indiana Pacers are losing about $30 million this season and cannot continue to shoulder the millions of dollars it costs to operate Conseco Fieldhouse. That was the announcement Monday to the Capital Improvement Board from CIB Vice President Pat Early, who has been in discussions with team officials about the financial problems both organizations face. Operating Conseco Fieldhouse costs the Pacers roughly $15 million a year. If the team can’t make those payments, it would fall to the CIB, which already is struggling with a budget shortfall of $20 million this year. That potential $35 million shortfall is driving the CIB to look at a number of options. On Monday, the board agreed to cut $1.4 million in grants to arts groups and others. That’s on top of $6 million in previous cuts.”
Beth Kassab of the Orlando Sentinel: “Luxury is on its way out, but the Orlando Magic are hoping it’s back in by the time the new arena opens in the fall of 2010. So far 54 out of 60 premium suites and 65 of 68 loge boxes are under contract, said team Chief Operating Officer Alex Martins. A $10,000 deposit was required on the suites, which cost between $150,000 to $295,000 a year, and on the loge boxes, which cost $40,000 to $60,000 a year. Those numbers aren’t bad, especially given the slash and burn cost-cutting most companies are going through right now. Time will tell, however, whether those contracts get broken. It’s a lot easier to leave a $10,000 deposit behind than commit to annual payments in excess of $150,000 for at least three years. No matter how many suites are actually sold the Magic will owe the city of Orlando, owner of the arena, $1.75million each year — a fee set to escalate 3 percent each year for 25 years — as part of its overall contribution to the arena.”
Peter St. Onge of The Charlotte Observer: “The Charlotte Bobcats are nodding to the difficult economy with discounts, incentives – and a sweepstakes – for 2009-2010 season ticket buyers. Prices on season tickets will be reduced an average of 17 percent, with some tickets going down as much as 25 percent, President and Chief Operating Officer Fred Whitfield said Monday. ‘We certainly understand it’s a tough economic environment out there,’ he said. ‘We’ve done everything we could to be sensitive to that.’ The Bobcats haven’t released a detailed pricing chart, but prices for premium seats – the Hardwood Club, Inner Circle and courtside – will remain the same. The team has cut season ticket prices several times since joining the NBA for the 2004-05 season. The Bobcats have 7,000 season ticket holders, a number Whitfield would like to see rise to 10,000. The team ranks 27th out of 30 NBA teams in attendance, which is down league-wide.”
Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: “Memphis joins many professional sports franchises in trying to convince cash-strapped fans that their product is still affordable. The difference here, says Griz senior director of marketing John Pugliese, is that Memphians will benefit from the NBA’s only 3-pointer in season-ticket renewals. Some teams are offering a 5-percent discount on season tickets purchased by April 17, a chance to get a full refund if you experience financial hardship before the start of the season and at least 10 months to pay. The Griz are offering all three. ‘We realize the economy is weighing on everybody’s mind,’ Pugliese said. ‘It’s entertainment. At the same time, we want to make people’s decision easier and help put their minds at ease. …We hope the incentives will help us.’”
Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post: “The Nuggets have lost it. They’ve lost their confidence. They’ve lost the faith in teammates, and their coach is making excuses. They’ve lost momentum it took a season to build in a blink of embittered eyes. For nearly an hour after the Nuggets lost 97-95 to Houston, star forward Carmelo Anthony sat alone in the dressing room still wearing his Denver uniform, long after all his teammates had showered and departed the arena. With a fist pressed to his clenched eyes, Melo slumped in a chair, the No. 15 across his sunken chest and his stocking feet propped up on a locker. ‘It’s frustrating. We done came so far and worked so hard to get where we were at, and it’s like we’re going backwards now,’ Anthony said Monday night. The Nuggets’ eighth loss in 11 games has the team mired in seventh place of the Western Conference. ‘It is the NBA; it is a very mean business,’ said Denver coach George Karl, who detects a slippage in the team’s confidence level.”
Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: “Remember when the Bobcats played so poorly against Orlando before the West Coast trip? Coach Larry Brown ripped them post-game, saying the point guards were selfish and Emeka Okafor sets ineffective screens. Bobcats assistant coach Dave Hanners showed up at practice the next day ready to perform what he calls ‘maintenance.” That’s Hanners’ term for smoothing it over when Brown has maybe overshot the runway in his critiques of the players. To Hanners’ surprise, the day after was a great practice: No complaining, just great focus. I told him I wasn’t surprised because for whatever else was wrong in the past, this team had great character. Bernie Bickerstaff demanded it, right up to waiving Kareem Rush when he wouldn’t get in line. Gerald Wallace and Raymond Felton are true leaders, and they both understand they need more coaching, not less. Brown’s relentless insistence on precision can wear a team out, but that hasn’t happened. I asked Hanners about this and he offered a telling analogy: Hanners said Brown’s coaching is like the guy determined to perfectly paint a fence. When he’s done, you’ll never find an unpainted spot on that fence, but he might apply two or three more coats than is necessary to do the job.”
Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: “Tex Winter paused to gather his thoughts before offering his analysis of how the Lakers are playing. Winter, the Lakers’ basketball consultant, had come to watch them play the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night, to see for himself in what direction they were headed. The Lakers came in with the best record in the NBA, 50-12, but Winter still saw troubling signs. And that was before the Trail Blazers routed them, 111-94. ‘I feel like our record is a whole lot better than how we’ve played,’ Winter, who lives in Portland with his wife, Nancy, said before the game. ‘I don’t think we’re playing nearly as good as our record indicates.’ The Lakers won their first seven games and 14 of their first 15. They have yet to lose more than two consecutive games.”
Alex Raskin of HOOPSWORLD: “It’s called the ‘Dribble-Drive Motion’ and it relies on guards with penetrating ability forcing defenses to compensate, thus creating passing lanes. The offense is a big reason the team now shoots 21 three-pointers per game (fourth in the NBA), which is up from 17.4 per game a season ago. The scheme is similar to the offenses played by Douglas-Roberts at Memphis and by Lopez under its creator, Vance Walberg. ‘It isn’t close to the same offense; it is the same,’ Douglas-Roberts told HOOPSWORLD. ‘It’s not similar. It is the exact same offense.’ But Frank’s decision to implement the dribble-drive motion has benefited Harris more than anyone. In his first full season with the Nets, Harris is shooting 9.2 free-throws per game – fifth best in the NBA. He’s dropping in 22.5 ppg (ten points better than his career average) and is still picking up a career-high 6.9 assists per game. ‘I think we definitely have an understanding of one another,’ Harris said of Frank. ‘I kind of know what he expects of me on the court. He has trust in me to do the things that I am capable of doing. He puts me in a successful position.’ The team’s offensive efficiency (points scored per 100 possessions) is down about a point from last year. New Jersey’s defense hasn’t done much better, but in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, the Nets are still within earshot of the final playoff spot in the East.”
Paul Forrester of SI.com: “‘Anybody could coach these guys,’ Sloan said of his current Jazz team, which appears destined to become the 18th playoff club in his 21 years in Utah. ‘They’re good people, they work hard in practice and they do the right thing. It boils down to people and how they work and how they respect their job. You always have a chance to win if you get good people who try to do their job. I don’t think it’s coaching.’ It’s hard to disagree with a man who ranks fourth on the all-time wins list, but the fact that the Jazz are within sight of the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed is a reflection of what could be some of the best coaching of Sloan’s career. Injuries, lineup changes, a typically tough conference schedule and sad off-the-court news for Sloan and the Jazz — all those factors have made life complicated for a team that came within two victories of the conference finals last season. ‘Our guys have played pretty hard trying to win some ball games,’ Sloan said. ‘We’ve lost some games we should have won and won some games we should have lost, but they’ve shown a lot of desire.’ Utah is finally hitting its stride, but it took a while because of injuries to top players. Stars Carlos Boozer (45 games missed) and Deron Williams (14), starting center Mehmet Okur (nine), ace sixth man Andrei Kirilenko (11) and reserve forward Matt Harpring (15) all have been sidelined for long stretches. In fact, the Jazz didn’t use their projected starting lineup until the 57th game of the season.”
