Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: “There’s a good chance LeBron James will claim his first Most Valuable Player award this season. Winning that honor is no doubt an extreme accomplishment, but it may not be the only individual trophy James will be chasing during his career. As he has matured over the last two seasons, he’s continued to become more of a force at the defensive end and now some are wondering whether he could ever get his hands on a Defensive Player of the Year Award. ‘There’s no doubt he can,’ said Blazers coach Nate McMillan, who worked on James with his defense over the last three summers with Team USA. ‘He’s as quick and as strong as anyone at his position, he’s going to have to continue to work at it but he has the ability to be the best.’ Last season, James started picking it up on defense and using his size and speed as a late-game weapon. For the first time he got a couple All-Defensive Team votes from the league’s coaches. Now, he appears to be a lock to be a first teamer this season because he’s been excelling for entire games.”
Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: “Derrick Rose was trying to get some rest and pick out an outfit for Saturday’s game with the Lakers, but his phone rang constantly with Memphis Tigers updates in the NCAA Tournament. ‘I’m getting calls almost every 10 minutes asking me if I know they’re winning,’ he said. ‘My mom calls me. She’s still a Tigers fan.’ The lost rest didn’t seem to bother Rose in the game. When it comes to the so-called ‘rookie wall,’ brought on by the longer NBA season, Rose doesn’t remember confronting it. ‘I hope I did hit it earlier and didn’t know it, just played through it,’ he said. ‘There’s no room for a wall right now. This is all critical.’ Rose probably has the rookie of the year award about 80 percent locked up. New Jersey center Brook Lopez is making a nice surge, but Rose hopes team success will make a difference. ‘I really want it,’ he said. ‘I hope I get it for winning and making the playoffs. If not, it will be a letdown.’”
Stefan Swiat of Suns.com: “The irony of the injury was that just before he was injured, he mentioned to the training staff that when he returned to Phoenix he wanted to have his eye examined. On that night, the Clippers’ Al Thornton went up to dunk and poked him in the eye. When he visited Dr. Dugel at the Spectra Eye Institute in Sun City, AZ, STAT was informed that he was going to have emergency surgery. Stoudemire first suffered an injury to that right eye when former teammate Boris Diaw accidently poked him during this season’s training camp. ‘I was more terrified I couldn’t see at all for the first three minutes,’ he said. ‘Right then and there I was more afraid.’ Actually the second time, he possessed less fear. ‘You can’t tell if you have a detached retina unless someone sees it,’ he said. ‘I caught it at a great time to save my eyesight.’ Stoudemire, who is predicted to be fully healed in about a month, admitted that he’ll be wearing protective sport goggles for the rest of his career.”
Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: “Williams told team and league officials that he was tetchy when he entered the store, as he was arguing with someone on his cell phone — a girlfriend, some surmise — that caused him to raise his voice. And when he was told to take his conversation outside, he allegedly reacted violently. He immediately volunteered to pay for the damage, and was turned down. The only problem with the police account: No one around the Nets can remember a single instance in which Williams — on most days, the happiest guy in the gym — showed such a display of temper, or at least one severe enough to damage $1,300 in computer equipment. Lawrence Frank’s depiction of him is typical: ‘A very engaging person,’ the coach called him. ‘He’s got a great heart.’ But while everyone finds him endearing, Williams, like most people, can also be fractious and irrepressible. For two years, the Nets have been mystified by him. He does what one team employee calls ‘goofy stuff — never vindictive — just childish stuff, like never showering.”
Mike Baldwin of The Oklahoman: “A first-grader watching his father’s high school practice, Nick Collison spotted a ball on the opposite side of the court. Unaware a turnover had players streaking back to the other end, little Nick sprinted onto the court. ‘One of my players flattened him, ran right over him,’ said his father, Dave. ‘Because he was always at practice, he was a kid that very much looked up to the high school kids. He would mimic things they did, what shoes they wore, their shots, everything.’ One of only three McDonald’s All-Americans Iowa has produced and an All-American at Kansas, Nick Collison is a savvy NBA veteran with the Oklahoma City Thunder who makes plays that don’t show up on a stat sheet, the consummate example of a fundamentally sound coach’s kid. ‘Nick never gets the credit he deserves,’ said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. ‘He’s an intangible player, the type player every team wants someone like him on their team.’ Those intangibles include saving a ball from going out of bounds, tipping the ball so a teammate can grab a rebound or setting the perfect screen to give a teammate a wide open shot — fundamentals taught by his father, a high school coach in Iowa for 21 years.”
Frank Isola of the Daily News: “It’s one thing to lose to Cleveland and blame it on the fact that they have LeBron James and you don’t, but the Knicks have better talent than Sacramento. But this wasn’t even a case of having more talent. The Kings played harder and there is simply no excuse for the Knicks playing as poorly as they did. But in some ways, you saw this one coming. After the Knicks returned home from their 3-1 trip, they had two days to prepare for the Nets. They rested on Monday, practiced on Tuesday and mixed in a couple of personal appearances along the way. Remember Nate Robinson having a billboard unveiled on 34th St. for having won the all important slam dunk contest? (Do you realize that the since Robinson and David Lee have been on the team the Knicks are exactly 100 games under .500? Over the past three-plus seasons the Knicks record is 107-207. Those are numbers Donnie Walsh should be thinking about when he’s deciding what type of money to invest in Robinson and Lee, two restricted free agents this summer.) It’s clear the Knicks lack the maturity and leadership to use that 3-1 road trip as a springboard to crush two inferior opponents at the Garden. Instead, the Knicks lost by 26 to New Jersey and 27 to Sacramento. The Knicks need to make a greater commitment to defense and they have to start holding each other accountable. And that all begins with the head coach.”
Kevin Ding of The Orange County Register: “Phil Jackson, 63 years old and talking in an unenthused tone Saturday night about how he did give his players books this season but ‘kids don’t read anymore,’ did say more firmly than ever that he’ll be back next season to coach the Lakers. They need him, by the way, as much as ever. People overlook that because he has been around so long now. He’ll pass Pat Riley on Friday night for most Lakers games coached by anyone, and next season will mean Jackson has been Lakers coach even longer than he was Bulls coach. Maybe he is playing a weary Pau Gasol too much and can’t control every Kobe Bryant whim, but Jackson has built this team into yet another fascinating ensemble that can think for itself and react to the game’s developments instead of being overwhelmed by fear of failure and coaching mandates.”
Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: “For the Spurs, who have not trailed in the division sinceJan. 6, maintaining that lead would be nice. Nicer still would be holding on to the second seed in the Western Conference, which would ensure home-court edge at least until the conference finals. Most importantly of all, to Popovich at least, will be judging how the team gels going forward. He views the regular season as just the process by which a team prepares for the postseason. That is another tenet of Spurs culture. ‘There’s more intensity, more awareness of what needs to be done,’ Mason said. ‘This time of year, they’re used to getting geared up for the playoffs.’ In years past, the Spurs would be firing on all cylinders by now, full steam ahead toward the postseason. This season, they are battling injuries (Manu Ginobili has missed 17 straight games with a sore ankle, Duncan is wrestling with gimpy knees) and are working in a new and important rotation piece in Drew Gooden. That has made the prospect of peaking toward the playoffs a difficult one. It has put them behind their typical schedule.”
Tim Buckley of the Deseret News: “‘We play really good together,’ Boozer said. Millsap concedes that ‘we’re missing a lot of scoring’ when Okur is not on the court, but suggests he doesn’t at all mind playing alongside Boozer. ‘We know each other,’ he said. ‘(I) know what he’s gonna do. I actually ready off of him, see what he’s gonna do.’ Downside to using the duo is that they yield some height, as Okur — who, despite his eye being swollen Saturday, is expected to practice today and play Tuesday night when the 43-26 Jazz host Houston — has about three inches on the 6-foot-8 Millsap. That might work against an Oklahoma City, but not when a 7-foot-6 Yao Ming stands on the other end. ‘I thought it worked out fine (Friday),’ Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. ‘We’re just a little bit shorter, obviously, at length out there — and they (the Thunder) got some offensive rebounds, I think, that I was concerned about all night long.’ But over time, and especially against smaller opposing lineups, rebounding could ultimately prove to be the biggest benefit of using the two together.”
John Reid of The Times-Picayune: “After each played 41 minutes Friday night against Memphis, Chris Paul and David West barely touched a basketball during Saturday’s practice. They sat on opposite ends of the bench while their teammates took shots, made free throws and worked on improving the defense in preparation for today’s game at the New Orleans Arena against the Golden State Warriors, the league’s highest scoring team, averaging 108.8 points. With 14 games remaining in the regular season and the Hornets desperately in a fight for playoff positioning, Coach Byron Scott said there is little chance Paul’s and West’s minutes per game will decrease to fewer than 40. To keep them from wearing down and in an effort to avoid injury, Scoot practically is giving them non-work days between games. Scott said he plans to tell Paul and West not to show up for a few a practices next week.”
Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle: “In a season during which Nelson has managed to alienate Crawford, Anthony Randolph, Monta Ellis and a number of lesser lights, he did offer a concrete plan for the future. He claims he’ll make Ellis the point guard, with Jackson taking his “natural position” at shooting guard and Randolph targeted for small forward. Well, fans, if that’s the plan, I’ve got your ticket for the next five years of Western Conference playoffs. It’s a ticket to your sofa – and here, take this lifetime supply of potato chips. The thing is, I don’t believe that’s the plan at all. Nelson has little choice but to call Ellis the point guard right now, but he needs to free the young man’s mind. Ellis was born to come flying down the wing, to blow past people at will, to come off a screen and hit the big 18-footer, to lead his team in scoring every night. Just to look at him, to examine his face, you know he’s not a point guard or a decision-maker – just as you sense leadership qualities immediately in a Walt Frazier, Maurice Cheeks or Chris Paul.”
Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times: “Baby, baby, where did our race go? Just like that, it’s over? Boston Coach Doc Rivers surrendered in the East, acknowledging the Celtics can’t catch Cleveland . . . while Lakers Coach Phil Jackson, intent on resting Olympians Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, mused about how long to pursue the Cavaliers, who’ll play eight of their last 13 at home. The tipping point was the Cavaliers’ 3-0 West Coast trip, including dramatic fourth-quarter rallies against the Clippers and Kings. Noted Jackson last week, showing how closely he followed it: ‘They escaped unscathed.’ Deeper than the Celtics, more humble than the Lakers, the Cavaliers win when they’re supposed to — 2-5 against the Lakers, Celtics and Magic, 53-8 against everyone else, to the Lakers’ 4-2 against Cleveland, Boston and Orlando, 50-12 against everyone else.”
Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: “Martin seldom speaks publicly about his private life. But he opened up last week, talking about what it’s like to be camera phone-flashing famous — and dating a pretty woman who graces magazine covers wearing, to quote Marilyn Monroe, ‘Chanel No. 5.’ ‘Ain’t nothing normal about it,’ Martin said, ‘especially in the public eye. She has fans, I have fans. You can’t go certain places or do certain things — we probably don’t go to too many clubs, but we do go to eat, and people will recognize her or me.’ The duo became acquaintances about three years ago, Martin said, ‘but nobody really knew at first,’ he said, ‘becoming friends at first, just getting to know the person she is, it was a cool (process).’ It wasn’t hard to fall for her. She’s what a hip-hop artist would call ‘a dime’ (translation: a modern Bo Derek). And, just as Martin has established a reputation for being a bad boy on the court, speaking his mind with thunderous honesty, Trina has a similar reputation in the recording studio, where she raps lyrics that would make Lenny Bruce cringe.”
Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: “Bucks coach Scott Skiles fined Charlie Villanueva last week when he discovered his forward had tweeted a Twitter message during halftime of a game. This brought to mind one of my favorite inside stories of life in the NBA. It involved Magic Johnson in his brief tenure as head coach of the Lakers at the end of the 1993-94 season. The Lakers were dreadful in the post-Showtime years, and Johnson was frustrated with what he discovered was a less-than-serious attitude after he took over. Danny Schayes was a backup center on that Lakers team, and he told me about a halftime tirade by Johnson that included a rant about players more concerned about making pregame calls on their cell phones — they were a big deal in 1994 — than about that night’s game. When Elden Campbell’s cell phone rang in the middle of Johnson’s rant, he grabbed it and fired it against a wall, shattering it into dozens of pieces.”
Charley Rosen of FOXSports.com: “There’s an important lesson to be learned from the fact that a pair of failed NBA coaches are coaching two of the NCAA’s most highly regarded teams: Rick Pitino at Louisville and John Calipari at Memphis. The lesson is simply this: It’s much more difficult to be a successful coach in the NBA than to succeed in the college ranks. And the respective pro careers of both Pitino and Calipari are primary examples of why this is so. After serving his apprenticeship under Hubie Brown and having a short but successful run at Providence, Pitino actually had a fairly good two seasons as head coach of the Knicks. From 1987-89, Pitino’s Knicks went 90-74, with a first-place finish in the Atlantic Division in his last season in New York. Despite these positive results, Pitino’s arrogant personality and high-tempo game plan alienated so many of his players that the mix was never a good one.”
Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “Since late February, when longtime NBA agent and power broker David Falk told the New York Times that league owners were likely to threaten players with a lockout in 2011 to force radical changes to the league’s venerable salary-cap system, fears about a second protracted work stoppage in league history have been steadily bubbling. Asked specifically if he believes that the unusually early jump on negotiations could lead to a fast deal, Stern said: ‘We’ll see what happens. I don’t rule that out as a possibility. … I wouldn’t be overly surprised if we were able to work this out with our players given how attuned they are to the situation with our fans and sponsors. ‘I believe that [the talks] will be the start of something substantive. Whether it leads to an agreement or not is up to both sides, but there will be substantive discussions.’ NBA owners have the right to extend the current collective bargaining agreement through the 2011-12 season, but are widely expected to reject that option either on or before the deadline of Dec. 15, 2010. There is growing dissatisfaction among many owners with issues such as contract lengths, average salary — roughly $5.4 million — and the 57 percent annual share of revenues guaranteed to the players during the most crippling worldwide economic slump in 80 years.”
