Points in the Paint

» March 23, 2009 6:09 PM | By Brandon Hoffman

The Oregonian’s Jason Quick witnessed the attempted hazing of Greg Oden: “As I turned, they ambushed Oden. Roy went low to the legs, Outlaw up high. They were attempting the rookie initiation of Oden, which typically involves one of three treatments: a cold shower, a dunk in a tub of ice water or a dunk in a garbage can. This season, the team has already given Batum and Bayless the cold tub dunk. But Oden is a different beast. The action is violent and frantic, as if an animal is being attacked by lions. But it lasts for only a couple seconds. That’s how long it took for Oden to not only fend off the 6-foot-9 Outlaw and 6-foor-6 Roy, but get them both in a headlock. With Roy and Outlaw under his arms like little brothers, Oden parades them in a circle, all while he has a deliberate, ho-hum look on his face. As if … Oden releases them both and straightens his sports coat with a tug at the bottom and a couple of brushes of the sleeves.” (Via Blazer’s Edge)

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: David Stern is a marketing genius. The NBA is partnering with the Cartoon Network. Get em’ when they’re young David.

Orlando Magic beat writer Brian Schmitz criticizes Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, and Rafer Alston for failing to come to JJ Redick’s defense after Redick took a hard foul versus the Bucks: “The other night in Milwaukee, Malik Allen, a tough veteran, was upset after being called for a foul on Dwight Howard. At the time, the Magic were well on their way to a rout of the Bucks, leading by 25 after Howard made both free throws. Still steamed by the call, Allen hammered J.J. Redick on the very next possession, practically beheaded J.J. ‘It wasn’t until I watched it on tape that I saw how bad it was,’ Redick said. What was really bad was that not one of Redick’s teammates rushed over in his defense. Not one teammate gotin Allen’s face. Not one. Not even a stern stare from a teammate in Allen’s direction. Redick had no comment when I asked him about that. But it’s happened for years: The Magic usually let people push them around, refusing to retaliate. Here’s who was on the floor at the time: Redick, Hedo Turkoglu, Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Rafer Alston. Gimme a leader. Problem is, Turk, Dwight and Rashard are all too nicey nice. All too happy-go-lucky. Alston, I believe, has some fight in him, but he also was giving away about 60 pounds to Allen. Still, no excuse. And the Magic wonder why people don’t think they are tough enough. Don’t have that edge.”

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: “Yes, we’re still worried about Tim Duncan. Those who know him say just the fact that he’s talking about his sore knees proves just how uncomfortable he is. Duncan is a guy who never complains about anything physical. Duncan is a gamer, and he will continue to fight through it, but if this is the Duncan the Spurs get in the playoffs, they’re in for a tough ride.”

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News: “Crawford isn’t a long-term piece next to Ellis, but Maggette isn’t a long-term piece next to ANYBODY–Kelenna Azubuike is probably a better all-around player, Anthony Randolph is going to turn into a small forward and Stephen Jackson is a standard 2/3 combo player. Plus Maggette is stubborn, does things entirely his own way and bolts down to LA whenever he can for ‘treatment,’ which is basically the Baron Davis treatment for a player who is four levels down from prime BD. If there is merit to Nelson’s handling of Crawford, why won’t Nelson go after Maggette, too? Easy answer: Maggette is Nelson’s ‘guy’ in the locker room, so he’s untouchable. Right now, Nelson doesn’t care much about chemistry or defense or anything except manipulating those he can and pumping up the players (and executives) who make him feel powerful.”

Celtics Assistant Coach Kevin Eastman: “Too often in today’s game players base their ego almost exclusively on the offensive end of the floor, and in particular, on whether they are making shots and scoring points. We see it in the NBA with our rookies. For their entire careers they have been the star — and more specifically, the offensive star. The most important message we give the rookies is that they will get on the floor by what they do defensively. Do they understand the pick/roll coverages? Do they understand our rotations? Do they understand when, how, and why we switch? Do they understand that late game is played harder and with more focus by the great offensive players? Do they understand that it’s not as easy to score in this league as a rookie, and that we need to have a consistent defensive performance from them? Successful teams are built on players who understand that even though their shots are not going in, they still have a responsibility to their team.”

Michael Jordan’s son helped lead his high school team to the Illinois Class 4A state championship Saturday. Marcus Jordan scored a game-high 19 points and knocked down four free throws in the final 26 seconds to seal the deal. His Airness was in attendance.

82games.com founder Roland Beech on one number player ratings: “I am not a fan of one number, overall type player ratings since I don’t think players have constant value. Their contributions depend heavily on who they play with, the coaching schemes, the role they are asked to play, whether they are happy, healthy, etc. The Roland Rating used to just be straight on/off but then people started to think I was advocating that as a stand alone player rating, so I added in a few more simple elements, intending maybe one day to publish a more comprehensive rating system, but that hasn’t been a priority since I don’t really look at players in that way. On the other hand something like ‘clutch stats’ is a pretty straightforward look at some specific numbers and so yes, I’m happy to say that a player is a good clutch scorer or something by stats.”

The Nets’ move to Brooklyn may have hit another snag: “A New Jersey congressman is asking Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to intervene to void a deal that would put the name of a financial services company on the proposed Nets basketball arena in Brooklyn. Rep. Bill Pascrell says the naming rights deal with Barclays Capital Nets-CEO-Brett-Yormark Mar-14-2008 is inappropriate because its parent, London-based Barclays PLC, has received more than $8 billion in taxpayer bailout money through payments from troubled insurer AIG. Barclays Capital plans to spend $400 million over 20 years to put its name on the Atlantic Yards arena.”

Sponsors