Points in the Paint

» March 15, 2009 10:17 PM | By Brandon Hoffman

Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan admits that playoff pool money has helped motivate his teams to make the postseason: “I mean, I’ve never taken that for granted – because I like money, and I hope our players do,” he said. “As corny as that sounds, it’s always been an important part of it. I don’t see any thing wrong,” Sloan added, “with when you’ve got an opportunity to make a living, you want to try to do as well as you can, make as much money as you can because it’s a short life when it’s all said and done. It goes by pretty fast.”

Rasheed Wallace is presented with a hypothetical question concerning the salary cap and decreasing salaries: “Q: If you put a suitcase in a locker room with $25-million [compared with the $56-million or so salary cap] would players take it or would they leave it and go get a job? What would they do? Sheed: They would probably rely on that suitcase. I guess it depends on the up-bringing. Myself, personally, I have no problem going out there and getting a 9-to-5. If I have to do that to support my family, that’s what I’m going to do: get my black ass up, and get that 9-to-5.” (HT: Need4Sheed)

FOXSports.com’s Charley Rosen on the MVP award: “I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: The MVP award is nonsense, a chimerical honor that’s designed to promote public arguments and therefore gain beneficial publicity for the NBA.”

According to Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer, the Cavaliers decided to remain in Sacramento rather than fly home after their 126-123 win over the Kings on Friday night. Windhorst reports that “several teams have started this practice, including the Boston Celtics, when there’s just one recovery day coming East to West. It’s part of a new trend of teams taking measures to deal with switching time zones.”

If I was asked to describe Dwyane Wade in one word I would choose relentless. There’s simply no quit in him. A Heat-Hawks first round matchup could be epic. A Heat-Cavaliers second round series could be even better. I can’t wait for the money season to begin.

ESPN’s Jay Bilas played for Coach Krzyzewski in the early 80s. The Blue Devils went 38-47 during Coach K’s first three seasons in Durham. Bilas discusses whether Coach K would have survived in today’s era: “I think if Coach K had that start in his career now, he wouldn’t have made it,” Bilas says. “I think the microwave culture we’ve got now, where coaches are fired after a couple of years, [in] a few years he wouldn’t have survived — and look what everybody would have missed.” (HT: Eric Musselman)

I’m not a Larry Brown fan. I’ve never quite gotten over his handling of the 2004 Olympic team. Sure, that team was poorly constructed, but Brown coached with an agenda. LB sat LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony in favor of Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury and Richard Jefferson. Inexcusable. I don’t care how inexperienced LeBron, Wade and ‘Melo were. They were light years ahead of Iverson, Marbury and RJ. But I’ll give credit where credit is due and admit that Brown has done a fantastic job with the Charlotte Bobcats this season. Brown is one of the few coaches who “doesn’t take plays off.”

Former Detroit Pistons Head Coach George Irvine on Bill Davidson: “Mr. Davidson was an old school guy. A man’s word is his bond. We got paid at the Pistons every Friday. His belief, derived from the days when he was just starting up Guardian Industries, was ‘a week’s work, a week’s pay’. To me that motto tells a lot about the man. He didn’t believe in putting people at risk. He treated his employees well, and honestly. With all that has gone on lately, with the deception in business practices, and deception of our elected officials, I’ve come to really appreciate knowing people who are honest. While there are many adjectives that could be used to describe Mr. Davidson….generous, astute, kind, genuine, polite, smart, tough, caring,…. if you asked me to describe Mr. D. with one word, it would be honest.”

Ron Artest on Kobe Bryant: “He’s one of the only big names that doesn’t back down,” Artest said. “I cause a lot of players to back down. He’s one of the only guys, even if he’s playing bad, he’ll still shoot it. That’s why I respect him.”

Tiny Archibald, the only NBA player to lead the league in points and assists, talks about his most cherished accomplishment: “The NBA championship: that’s what every player plays for,” he says. “The stats don’t mean nothing without that.”

The Los Angeles Lakers have played their best in big games. Mike Trudell reports that “of the Lakers 13 losses, only three (arguably) have come against serious title-contending teams (Utah, San Antonio, New Orleans), and each had its own reasonable out-clause (fatigue, injury, interest).” Trudell breaks down each of L.A.’s “important games” this season at Lakers.com. John Hollinger oftentimes argues that point differential is a better indicator than win-loss record when predicting future success. I wonder if point differential against the league’s elite teams is an even better indicator of future performance. As Newday’s Alan Hahn would say, “just bloggin.”

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