ClipperBlog: “There’s a very low threshold of expectation among Clippers fans. Other than the tail end of Maurice Taylor’s time with the team, the losing has always been tolerable. Most of those Clippers teams lacked talent, but that wasn’t their fault. Some of those squads actually overachieved [the 39-win 2001-02 team] given the composition of their rosters. Wednesday felt like rock bottom, like franchise armageddon, and it triggered a strong sentiment that I’ve been trying to sublimate, even though Kelly Dwyer has made it difficult: This team is loathsome, and nobody — not even Clippers fans — have an infinite supply of resilience. My thoughts differ from the hard-line fatalism that dominates most public conversations about the franchise. I find arguments that begin and end with some immutable belief that the team is destined for eternal failure irrational. Any franchise that’s willing to make a material commitment to building a roster can assemble one that can win. For the Clippers, ownership granted its consent for that strategy a few years back. It isn’t fate that’s sentenced the franchise to failure. It’s real life events — personnel decisions and performance.”
Red’s Army: “It’s one thing for an idiot blogger to write something about Doc Rivers blasting him for how he’s playing his guys. I’ve never been closer than 30 rows from an NBA bench and most of that time I’m double fisting beers. I get it. But I’m not asking Doc to listen to me or the fans. I’m asking Doc to listen to himself. You said that you’d have to sit and take it, but last night you didn’t. Not only both play more than 40 minutes last night… Pierce is averaging over 41 mpg and Ray is averaging over 37 mpg since February 1. Enough is enough, Doc. Something has got to give. You keep talking a good game about not burning these guys out. You keep saying being healthy for the playoffs is more important. But what you say and what you do are completely different things.”
Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: “The Suns are starting to looking like those kids with their noses squished against the glass at a pet store. They long for what they can’t grab. They are trying to draw inspiration from the tales of Jason Richardson and Matt Barnes, who were members of the Golden State team that won 16 of its last 21 games two years ago to chase down a playoff spot. But there’s a cautionary tale that even a great run might not suffice. The last time Steve Nash was a playoff spectator was 2000, when his Dallas team also won 16 of its last 21 yet still placed ninth. The only time Shaquille O’Neal missed the postseason was his rookie season 16 years ago, when Orlando won four of its last five but lost a tiebreaker for the final spot. The Suns, meanwhile, are on a season-worst, five-game losing streak, feeling the loss of Amaré Stoudemire and needing a turnaround tonight against the East’s top team, Cleveland. ‘The only thing worse than not making the playoffs would be to not play it out and play hard and not just to play for a sense of pride and competitiveness and opportunity,’ said Nash, who has not played in a Suns win since Feb. 24. ‘It’s very new territory. It feels really uncomfortable to be on the outside looking in at this point.’”
Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: “March has been comeback month so far for the Cavaliers, which already has been stocked with fourth-quarter rallies. None was more supreme than their stalking and then overtaking of the Clippers by outscoring the hosts at Staples Center, 35-14, in the fourth quarter to eke out an 87-83 victory. But is it truly a trend worth celebrating? As the team continues to try to wrestle away the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs along with the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs, collecting victories in any matter is vital. The team left Los Angeles on Wednesday tied for the best record in the NBA ahead of today’s matchup with the Suns in Phoenix, where they haven’t won in 10 years. A win in Phoenix or Friday in Sacramento would establish a franchise record for road victories. The Cavs are 22-12 away from home, tying the 1991-92 team’s mark. But the flip side is how the Cavs are slipping so far behind in these games, a departure from earlier in the season when their style was to get ahead going into the stretch run and hold charges off.”
Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Going into last night’s 115-106 victory over lowly Toronto, the 76ers had gone 3-7 since the all-star break. Were they anxious to bury Sunday’s embarrassing 15-point loss to Oklahoma City, one of the NBA’s worst teams? ‘Definitely,’ Sixers coach Tony DiLeo said. ‘That was one of our worst games of the year.’ The post-break problems have been myriad: poor shooting, struggles on defense, and even issues with rebounding, one of the team’s early-season strengths. While starting power forward Thaddeus Young brings a slew of offensive weapons to the position, he has been less than effective – 4.9 rebounds a game – as a big man on the glass. Young scored 29 points and had five rebounds against Toronto. ‘We have to rebound better as a team,’ DiLeo said. ‘He has to be quick to the ball and rebound better.’”
Dave D’Alessandro of the Star-Ledger: “We say this with all the equanimity and detachment we can muster at a time like this, but it has to be asked: When the hell is somebody going to kick down a door? It’s not that we often advocate the destruction of property for the purpose of alleviating anger, but you expect the response to a loss such as this one to be immediate and volcanic, with the blood of 16 guys singing with the implacable fury of blowing a game they absolutely had to have. Instead you get. . . . .nothing. The coach was cool about it. The two stars were very cool about it. Of course, Rod Thorn wasn’t anywhere in the locker room, but we’re pretty sure he’s chewing on thumb tacks over GS 116, NJ 112 about now. At least we have a new winner for Worst Loss of the Season. This one actually tops Boston and New Orleans from last week, because we’re talking about an opponent that is counting the days toward summer vake (and one that was 2-35 when it opened the fourth quarter with a deficit, by the way), and the Nets just let them take it from them like bad teams do for good teams.”
Ivan Carter of the Washington Post: “Well, one thing you can say about the Wizards is that they sure aren’t tanking games in an effort to get the number one pick. Look at last night’s distribution of minutes: Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler both playerd over 40, Dominic McGuire played 35, Mike James played nearly 30 and Andray Blatche played over 30 off the bench. Rookie JaVale McGee meantime, played only eight and Nick Young played 13 (he scored 14 points on 4 of 9 shooting in that span). Javaris Crittenton played 12. Those three have periodically flashed talent with inconsistency and poor play. Such is life as a young player in the NBA. Ed Tapscott’s theme all along, and it’s been supported from upstairs, is that minutes must be earned in practice and on the floor.”
Roundball Mining Company: “After 54 games the Nuggets had a defensive efficiency of 106.0. Over their 11 game slump that number has risen to 113.0! They are giving up seven more points per 100 possessions than over the first 54 games of the season. Denver’s field goal percentage allowed has only changed slightly from 43.9% to 44.6%. That is not a huge increase. In fact, it is a pretty minimal one. That is actually a difference of less than one made shot a game. So how is it that they are giving up so many more points per 100 possessions? One reason is fouling. Denver sent their opponents to the line 26.1 times per game over the first 54 games of the season. That number has risen to 30.1 in the last 11 games. Right there is an extra three points per game and a little more than three points per 100 possessions (due to the fact that the average game has fewer than 100 possessions). The Nuggets shot an average of 4.4 more free throws a game than their opponents while they were winning, but that advantage has disappeared over the previous 11 games and it is entirely due to their opponents getting more trips to the line.”
Ross Siler of The Salt Lake Tribune: “Even if he came off the bench, the expectation always was that Andrei Kirilenko would play starter’s minutes as the Jazz’s sixth man. Since returning from ankle surgery, however, Kirilenko has been more a role player than super sub. There is no pain in Kirilenko’s ankle and no restrictions on his minutes, but he has averaged only 21.3 in the last 12 games. Kirilenko played 20 minutes Wednesda vs. the Hawks, finishing with four points and three rebounds. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan acknowledged the difficulty at finding Kirilenko playing time with Carlos Boozer back in the lineup, Paul Millsap demanding minutes off the bench and Ronnie Brewer making the case to play in the fourth quarter. ‘It’s all right,’ said Kirilenko, who guarded Joe Johnson down the stretch Wednesday. ‘I don’t have a problem with this. I feel pretty good with that time.’ Sloan started the season bringing in Kirilenko for C.J. Miles midway through the first and third quarters. But Kirilenko recently has been coming off the bench at the very end of those quarters, often in the final minute.”
Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: “Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said Wednesday that O.J. Mayo’s recent shooting slump isn’t a major concern nor is it entirely the rookie guard’s fault. A combination of Mayo’s adjusting his shot selection and the coaches tweaking the offensive schemes will help Mayo break free. He was shooting a shade better than 40 percent for the month entering the Grizzlies’ road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. ‘There’s time when he doesn’t get the shot when we call something for him,’ Lionel Hollins said. ‘We have to find ways to make sure he does get his shot. We have to keep working. He has to keep working, and when he does get his shots he has to make them.’ Hollins conceded that center Marc Gasol’s emergence in the paint has affected Mayo’s game. The Griz have used the post more to facilitate their offense partly due to a lack of point guard production in reserve. ‘O.J. is standing out there waiting for a shot,’ Hollins said.”
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: “A few years ago, Bryant pleaded with the Lakers’ front office to trade for Artest. On Wednesday, he merely seemed offended by Artest’s in-game antics, calling the dialogue ‘edgy’ and scoffing when asked about their one-on-one ‘battle.’ ‘It wasn’t much of a battle . . . I kicked his . . . ,’ Bryant said. ‘We’ve had some battles in the past and he’s gotten the best of me a few times. [Wednesday], I got the best of him.’ Artest, other than an impressive six steals, had a miserable night, scoring 11 points on four-for-16 shooting. ‘We are not friends out there at all,’ Artest said. ‘After the season, we might play pick-up games or something like that. Not now.’ The Lakers (51-13) moved half a game ahead of Cleveland for the league’s best record and resurrected what looked like a ragged trip.”
48 Minutes of Hell: “If you are a mediocre mid-range shooter who prefers finishing at the rim, Bowen will give you just enough room to where you feel comfortable giving your underwhelming jumper a try. If you prefer to catch and shoot, Bowen will make it damn near impossible for you to get your hands on the ball in the first place (see his masterful defense of Peja Stojakovich in the ‘08 Western Conference Semi-Finals for further evidence). But if you are Kobe Bryant, there are two problems: Your options are nearly limitless and although some may be inferior to others, none are really that bad. My description of this style of defense and the problem Kobe poses to it may remind you of something; it is fundamentally the same defensive approach described in Michael Lewis’ much discussed New York Times piece, The No-Stats All-Star. Despite the praise heaped on Shane Battier and his defensive acumen, yesterday’s box score from the Lakers-Rockets game tells a slightly different story. My point is that some players possess enough skill that, when at the peak of their careers, they cannot be stopped. Everyone has bad nights. Some days Kobe’s fadeaway just isn’t falling. Some days Duncan’s bank shots just keep popping off the rim. It is not immediately clear that these off days are the by-product of a defensive plan well executed. Sometimes they may be. But those games occur against Portland and Sacramento only slightly less frequently than they occur against Cleveland or Boston.”
Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: “The Nets aren’t asking a lot from their second-year center. He’s asked to fill time and space when Brook Lopez is getting a breather, put some numbers up in the rebound and block column, and protect the rim at all costs. In the past few games, he has done it superbly, as illustrated by the four blocks he had against the Knicks Sunday. Other times, he doesn’t have to put up many numbers at all to have impact on the game. So why was this so hard in the first four months of this season? And why has it returned to Williams so easily? The D-League experience, as everyone knows by now, sobered him up. Since then, Williams decided to face the music, and dance alone. ‘You know, as time goes on, you go through things, and you learn from them,’ Williams said yesterday, as his team prepared for last night’s trip opener against the Warriors. ‘The NBA’s a long season. Throughout the season, you have to get better, and you have to learn from the experience you had. We’re all doing that.’ But it was more than that, Williams admits. When he was recalled on Jan. 22 from Colorado — where he didn’t exactly take the demotion as well as they had hoped — he was read the riot act by management, and finally noticed that his career was hanging by a thread.”
