Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee: “Donté Greene was happy after the Kings’ practice Thursday, seemingly unaffected by the troubling situations that face him. On the lighter side, he’s in for a tough day with veteran Bobby Jackson after the rookie exacted revenge on the veteran. In a season-long series of punishments for rookies failing to execute their locker room duties, Greene’s car recently was filled with popcorn, and Jackson was believed to be the culprit. Against his better judgment or NBA credo, Greene retaliated Thursday by dousing the outside of Jackson’s white Mercedes with a mixture of dog food, soy sauce and condiments that sent a stench emanating from the car and sent Jackson into a locker room rant not likely to go unresolved. Greene, meanwhile, faces a more serious scenario as his former college, Syracuse, confirmed it is investigating whether an agent’s recruitment of him as a freshman last year violated NCAA rules. According to Yahoo Sports, Greene’s uncle, a mortgage broker named Derrick Marcano, allowed the Ceruzzi Sports Agency to secure a $50,000 line of credit for him during the 2007-08 season.”
Buck Harvey of the San Antonio News-Express: “Bryant swished his share over the years against Bowen, too. But there was something about their rivalry that was different. Bowen was so focused on him, looking into his eyes and body language to figure out what was next, that Bryant was almost flattered. Bryant won some and Bowen won some, and they had considerable respect for the other. Earlier in the season, in L.A., they sat together talking before the game. That’s why Thursday was so odd for both. Then, with the Spurs behind by two points, when Mason picked up his fifth foul, Gregg Popovich went with George Hill. That’s telling of what Popovich thinks of Hill. And also of what Popovich thinks of Bowen. The Spurs not only want to emphasize offense now, they also don’t count on Bowen even for situational defense. So Bryant stood at the 3-point line, with Hill working under him, and Bryant rose up. As it was with Battier, as it was with Artest, as it was with Mason, the defense didn’t matter. The 3-pointer went through cleanly, and more remarkable was what followed. Then, on his way to an ordinary night by his standards, Bryant heard sizeable portion of the San Antonio crowd chant ‘MVP, MVP.’”
Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus: “With Boozer on the court, Utah has outscored its opponents by just seven points, essentially playing even with them. Nonetheless, the Jazz is 15-5 this season when Boozer plays, as compared to 26-19 without him. How can we make sense of this seeming paradox? Plus-minus offers an answer in terms of Boozer’s backup and his replacement in the starting lineup, Paul Millsap. The budding third-year big man capably stepped in for Boozer, putting up All-Star-caliber numbers as a starter, averaging 16.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game with 54.5 percent shooting. Even accounting for his increased playing time, Millsap has been more effective this season as a starter. His per-40 minute averages went up in every major category save blocks, including slight improvements from 17.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per 40 minutes as a reserve to 18.6 and 12.0, respectively, when he starts. Millsap’s shooting percentage is also better as a starter. In terms of team impact, however, Millsap has been much more valuable to the Jazz as a reserve. Pairing him with Andrei Kirilenko has given Utah head coach Jerry Sloan two overqualified players to bring in off the bench, and the result has been impressive plus-minus numbers for Millsap.”
Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: “In response to increased scrutiny in recent years, the NBA is examining rewriting its traveling rules as soon as next season. It may include allowing for two steps, not one as currently written, and possibly even a provision for LeBron James’ famous, or infamous, depending on your perspective, crab-dribble move. ‘We’re working on it,’ Joe Borgia, NBA’s vice president of referee operations, told the ESPN.com blog Truehoop recently. ‘Our traveling rule we’ve been discussing for a couple of years,’ he said. ‘The game has evolved. I don’t think the rule has evolved since the time of Bob Cousy. But we’re also going to probably share it with the NCAA and maybe FIBA, because it would be nice if we could all come up with a similar rule. A similar rule would be great for the players, the coaches, and the officials.’ The news that the league is considering clarifying the rule, which gets violated and called differently all season long, was received with satisfaction from James. Though players have been allowed two steps in practice for many years, James has been caught in controversial traveling situations numerous times in his career.”
Richard Soloman of the Houston Chronicle: “Yao Ming hates to lose. If you saw him after defeats, you would see that it tears him up. Seven years in the NBA, and he never has won a playoff series. It is time for him to take his game to another level. Not his play, necessarily, but his handling of the game and his teammates. He is the Rockets’ best player, their leader. Everybody in the world knows it, but it is time for Yao to let his teammates know it. He tiptoed around Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley. He deferred to Tracy McGrady. Now it is time for Yao to Americanize his game and let his teammates know what’s up. As complex as the workings of a basketball team are, it is a simple game. At times, the Rockets make it too difficult.”
Fred Kerber of the New York Post: “Carter, beset with early foul trouble, shot 5-of-18, scored 14 points – and had just two assists and two rebounds. Other games, he struggles, he gets big numbers elsewhere. Not this time. ‘I was missing easy shots, just in and out,’ said Carter, who admitted foul trouble took him out of early rhythm. ‘This game you can’t just put this on Vince,’ said coach Lawrence Frank, whose Nets will try to redeem themselves against 40-24 Portland. Frank’s right. There was equal-opportunity stinkage. Composure and poise on the offensive end went out the window – right after the defense – when the Warriors started a third-quarter run. And without Carter supplying his potent offense, the Nets fell short. In his past 12 games – going back to Feb. 8 when he sat with the strained elbow – Carter has shot just 93-of-226 (.412) and averaged 20.1 points with maybe two good games in the stretch. Most importantly, the Nets are 4-12.”
Marc J. Spears of The Boston Globe: “It started as a gentlemen’s bet before the season between two ultracompetitive Celtics, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. The issue was free throws. As long as Pierce can stay within 6 percentage points of Allen’s free throw accuracy, he wins. No money was involved. Just pride. At .838, Pierce is just .06 shy of surpassing his career-best mark. But even with that average, he is getting trounced by Allen, who is not only doing the best free throw shooting of his career but seems poised to surpass a longstanding Celtics record and challenge the NBA standard, too. ‘That dude’s having a super career year, Ray Allen,’ Pierce said. ‘He’s never shot over 92 percent. I thought I’d get within like 6 or 8 percent of him, but he is just running away with it. That’s little stuff we do to push each other. Dang, he’s got his career year. I didn’t know he was shooting 95. He’s killing me.’ Allen ranked fourth in the NBA in free throw percentage last season at a career-best .907. The 13-year veteran is now shooting a stunning .954 from the line (206 of 216).”
The AP: “LeBron James is stepping out for his Ohio hometown on his newest Nike sneaker. The latest shoe in the company’s Zoom LeBron VI line pays tribute to Akron by featuring the city’s downtown skyline in its stitching. It also shows a sign for Hickory Street – where the Cleveland Cavaliers star grew up – and a milk crate, the “basket” James used when he first played hoops. Nike spokesman KeJuan Wilkins says the shoe is a sign of James’ deep connection with Akron. The limited-edition white, navy blue and gold sneaker is being released Friday in New York and costs $140 per pair. At least one chain store in Cleveland expects to have a few dozen pairs available for sale on Saturday.”
Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: “Just 14 games into his tenure as Suns coach, Alvin Gentry received early backing from his boss during a TNT interview with Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver during the Suns-Cavaliers game Thursday night. ‘I enjoy the way our team has rallied around Alvin,’ Sarver said. When asked about the Suns core’s future Sarver said ‘I think we’ll have a lot of flexibility going forward, and that will give us options.’ When TNT’s Craig Sager asked about General Manager Steve Kerr, Sarver said, ‘His job’s pretty safe.’”
Chris McCosky of The Detroit News: “Assistant Dave Cowens walked slowly, head down, into the Pistons locker room following the punch-in-the-gut overtime loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday. But just as he was about to walk through the door, he turned and walked over toward the assembled media. ‘I hope you understand how good Antonio McDyess is playing,’ he said. ‘It’s an honor for me to watch him play. What he is doing right now is special, and I hope you understand that.’ Has there been a player other than Ben Wallace the past 15 or so years who more embodies the credo of Pistons basketball than McDyess? Hustling, scrapping, fighting on every possession, regardless of the score or situation. At 34, with three knee surgeries under his belt, he’s playing more minutes and producing more results than he has since his early days in Denver. ‘It’s been every game,’ reserve guard Will Bynum said. ‘Dyess has been huge for us. It seems like he just keeps reaching into that fountain of youth.’”
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Magic find it dicey trying to work around Howard’s foul trouble now. The consequences of trying to weather the problem during a playoff series could be dire. His absences change the way they play. ‘I’m not overly concerned. It gets frustrating at times,’ Coach Stan Van Gundy said. ‘He has to keep his head and not get dumb fouls. ‘It does change the game for us. But we’ve gone through stretches where he won’t get into foul trouble. Hopefully, we got one of those coming up.’ Howard is in a foul-prone stretch, struggling in five of the past six games. The Magic won all five, beating Philadelphia, Phoenix, New Jersey, Boston and Chicago, but Van Gundy doesn’t want to tempt the fates in the postseason. What’s happening with Howard and officials? ‘I try to be nice to them,’ he said. ‘That hasn’t worked.’”
Janny Hu of the San Francisco Chronicle: “Stephen Jackson says he’s bigger and stronger than ever after adding 10 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-8 frame and tipping the scales at 235 pounds. His teammates offer up a slightly different view. ‘I don’t know how he put on that much weight,’ said Kelenna Azubuike, the Warriors’ resident bodybuilding champ. ‘But I guess it’s all muscle.’ ‘It’s just fat,’ Andris Biedrins joked. ‘Who said it was muscle?’ The proof is in the numbers, and Jackson’s have been bulging for the last several weeks. Not only is the Warriors’ swingman leading the team in points, assists and minutes, but he’s on track for a second-straight career season.”
Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: “One subplot to Luol Deng’s possible stress fracture in his right tibia is how surgery would effect his ability to play for Great Britain in the European championships this summer. Deng spent the past two summers helping his adopted country qualify for a rare berth in the event. It’s been a great story. When he was very young, Deng’s family left its native Sudan to escape a civil war. A few years later, his family was granted asylum in England and moved to London from Alexandria, Egypt. Even though he attended high school in the United States, Deng still considers London his hometown. He’s often said he’d like to repay that country’s generosity toward his family by helping give Great Britain a competitive basketball team for the first time in history. The timing couldn’t be better with England about to host the 2012 Olympics. But if the stress fracture becomes a season-ending injury, it’s possible Deng’s international basketball experience is part of the problem.”
Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: “Coach George Karl calls Martin his top defender. If Martin can’t get healthy by playoff time, Karl’s biggest fear could turn into a sobering reality. Martin has missed 11 games because of injury this season, but none as problematic as his back spasms. Strength and conditioning coach Steve Hess remains optimistic Martin’s back strain ‘will go away like he never had it’ and Martin will be ‘ready to roll’ come playoff time. Karl, and Martin, don’t sound quite so sure. ‘It’s frustrating,’ said Martin, who tried to play Monday night against Houston but couldn’t make it through the whole game. ‘I can’t move and do things I’m capable of doing.’ Karl, who battled back problems when he played, said, ‘It’s not fun. You can be having spasms and your doctor can’t tell you why. The next day, you wake up, the chiropractor cracks you, and you’re fine.’”
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News: “A few weeks ago, I was thinking there was something like a 5% chance of Mullin returning to the Warriors for 2009-2010 just ’cause nobody was truly absolutely ruling out, so you give them wiggle room. Not any more, though. Now… from the conversations I’ve had with league sources who know the situation, it’s clear that there is basically 0% chance of Mullin returning to the Warriors once his contract runs out in June. In the past, I’ve heard assumptions that Rowell wanted Mullin out, but around the league, executives heard nothing definitive. No hard word from the Warriors that Mullin for sure was done. But now… Rowell and Co. aren’t trying to hide the decision. Mullin is out. Warriors management is not even considering bringing him back. Mullin gives no indication that there’s a clear path to bring him back, if that was a possibility.”
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: “Someone apparently delivered ‘2009 Pacific Division Champions’ T-shirts to the visitors’ locker room, but they never came close to being worn. There are bigger things at stake. If winning the division is the best the Lakers do this season, it’ll obviously be a long off-season for them. In fact, many of the players didn’t even know they clinched the division, not to mention the automatic playoff berth that comes with it. ‘Really? Cool,’ Bryant said. So there was going to be a huge celebration on the flight back home after the game? ‘Yeah, you know, we’re really big on Pacific Division titles around here,’ Bryant said sarcastically. For the record, it’s the team’s 20th Pacific Division title in the 39-year existence of the division itself. ‘It’s news, but it’s not something that we were specifically pointing towards,’ Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said.”
Chris Mannix of SI.com: “When you are writing a story about Smith, which I did last year for Sports Illustrated, you have to delve into his relationship with Woodson. The two are at constant odds over Smith’s role in the offense; Woodson believes Smith is most effective playing around the rim, using his superior athleticism to create second chance opportunities and get easy baskets. A Shawn Marion-type, if you will. Smith fancies himself as more of a traditional scorer, one with three-point range. Take a peek at Woodson’s face next time Smith launches an errant three and you will get a good idea what he thinks of that. The seemingly endless tug-of-war usually simmers quietly, only to be interrupted now and again when Smith explodes, as he did in April ‘07, when he directed a profanity-laced tirade at Woodson during a loss in Philadelphia. The Hawks suspended Smith for two games. The latest butting of heads happened last Friday in Charlotte. After watching Smith fire up a few too many perimeter bombs in the first half, Woodson reportedly teed off on him, calling his shot selection selfish. When Smith said something back, the two got into a heated exchange that was serious enough to warrant Woodson benching Smith for the entire second half. ‘I don’t know,’ Hawks guard Joe Johnson said after the game. ‘I think we all need to get on the same page. But it’s kind of tough to play when the chemistry is not there, and we’re not playing as one.’”
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: “The ‘situations’ the Raptors find themselves in are unusual for a team that’s experienced success in each of the last two regular seasons. They are 23-42 heading into tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons and even some miracle turnaround will do nothing to salvage the season. But the players – supremely confident in their abilities because that’s the nature of every athlete in every pro sport – won’t publicly speak about salvaging a season with a few wins because they feel – rightly or wrongly – that they can win every game they play. It may not happen, but that doesn’t mean they don’t think it can. But they do seem intent on trying to at least let their actions speak for themselves. ‘Right now, I think we’re in the process of `just do something,’‘ said Chris Bosh. ‘We as a team, we always talk about it, we talk about it, talk about it, talk about it, talk about it. Do we practise? Yeah, we practise great, nobody can get a shot off in practice. But in the games, for whatever reason, it’s different.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “Hughes, who revisits Cleveland Sunday for the first time as a Knick when they close their Rust-Belt Tour, told The Post he thinks there’s a good chance James will stay in Cleveland, possibly signing a contract extension this summer. ‘I think it would be a tough situation for him to actually leave everything,’ Hughes said. ‘It’s set up for him there, being from the area [and] taking that team as far as he’s taken them. He’s the face of the organization. He’s the face of sports in that city. It would be tough.’ Nevertheless, Hughes said the Knicks could be James’ next choice if he doesn’t re-sign with the Eastern Conference leaders. ‘I’d definitely think he’d consider it especially if he doesn’t re-sign,’ Hughes said. ‘I think all his options will be open. At the same time, I think he’s going to go to a place where he feels he could win the most and also get the exposure of being in that market.’ Hughes may have his inside information on James’ plans. Hughes and James text-message twice a week. Their wives hang out in the summer and talk all the time, Hughes said.”
Nakia Hogan of The Times-Picayune: “The New Orleans Hornets, the NBA franchise whose viability in a rebuilding Crescent City was in doubt after Hurricane Katrina, have exceeded attendance benchmarks set in their lease agreement and will not need any inducement payments from the state this year. As part of the amended lease agreement signed in 2007 that runs through 2014, the state could have had to pay the Hornets as much as $6.8 million if the Hornets failed to reach certain attendance and revenue benchmarks tied to ticket sales. It is the first time since the Hornets moved from Charlotte, N.C., in 2002 that the franchise has not received inducement money. The Hornets have thrived at the turnstiles this season, averaging 17,122 fans a game and reaching the sellout limit of 17,188 at the New Orleans Arena 14 times with nine regular-season games to go, according to the team. Last season, the Hornets sold out 13 games. By doing so, the Hornets surpassed 80 percent of sellout capacity, the benchmark that eliminated the state’s obligation to make any payments to the team because the team is bringing in at least $38.7 million in annual ticket sales.”
Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee: “‘We probably should have made a bigger deal out of this,’ Gavin Maloof said. ‘This isn’t like us. We’ve just been consumed by everything … These are really tough times. We understand that. We’re trying to say, when one-third of your seats are $25.50 or less, we want people to come back. We want the energy back in the building.’ Remember fun? Fans with cowbells? Fannies in every seat? Joe and Gavin barking at Dick Bavetta? The team still stinks and still needs a coach, but more on that later. The ticket discount represents huge, if incremental progress. Season tickets suddenly are more affordable, with lower-level seats starting at $67.50 per game. The Kings also will continue offering 1,000 seats at $10, introduce additional discount and promotional packages, and swipe ideas from their 29 brethren. All good ideas. Desperate times call for discounts, with teams competing to be most creative. The Charlotte Bobcats and Minnesota Timberwolves, for instance, recently introduced aggressive price reductions, with the T-wolves granting refunds to customers who lose their jobs by next Jan. 1. The Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors offer free parking for certain packages. The Milwaukee Bucks include food vouchers in some renewal plans.”
