Points in the Paint

» May 12, 2009 6:42 PM | By Brandon Hoffman

Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Much has to happen. The Hawks need to re-sign Mike Bibby, to work a sign-and-trade with Marvin Williams and to draft a guard, preferably Eric Maynor of VCU, in Round 1. But for this team to climb from pretty good to really good, something more must be done. The Hawks must wean themselves from their reliance on Joe Johnson. Almost every bit of the Hawks’ offense since 2005 has run through Johnson, and it’s past time for an adjustment. It’s not that he isn’t a fine player; it’s that this team has two younger players who require room to grow. Come 2011, Josh Smith and Al Horford should be the Hawks’ best players. (And this assumes Johnson re-ups next summer.) Together, Smith and Horford took 1,443 shots this regular season. By himself, Johnson took 1,420.”

Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News: “Cuban is not quick to apologize about anything. He especially hates the idea when he’s being pressured to do so. He doesn’t want to look like he caves in to anyone. So whether you bought his sincerity or not, you have to believe he’s realized not only the error of his ways but the ramifications. Cuban has a family, too. He tells us they have been subjected to bad treatment from fans, and I don’t doubt it. But he has to take some blame for that. When you go out of your way to make yourself a focal point — sitting on the floor, getting up to take issue with refs and opposing players, forever catching the camera’s eye — you have to consider the consequences. He acknowledged in his apology that the atmosphere was highly-charged in Game 3, and he acted inappropriately. But that’s the problem when you’re as emotional as Cuban is. And that’s why, if he can’t control himself at all times, he needs to sit with his family up in his nice box.”

As you probably know by now, all hell broke loose during last night’s Mavs-Nuggets game. BDL has footage of Carmelo Anthony’s fiancee, LaLa, being escorted out of American Airlines Arena. FanHouse has a video showing Kenyon Martin’s profanity laced tirade directed at owner Mark Cuban. UPDATE: LaLa says Dallas fans yelled racial slurs at her.

Chris Mannix of SI.com: “‘We kind of do it by feel,’ Brown continued. ‘In the last round Z (Zydrunas Ilgauskas) came to me and said ‘let’s take this day off.’ I thought about it, decided it made sense and we did it. There’s really no rhyme or reason for our plan, except for the fact that everyone has a voice.’ Complicating matters is the fact that for most of the week Brown will be preparing his players for two entirely different teams. Orlando has a low post-oriented offense that centers around Dwight Howard (‘the most dominant big man in the game today,’ said James). Boston is more perimeter-oriented and attacks with wing players Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. Which raises the question: who do the Cavs want to play? While most of the players said it didn’t matter, James allowed a little of his personal feelings to leak out. When asked if getting another crack at Pierce, who went shot for shot with James in an epic Game 7 of last year’s conference semifinals, a small grin creased his face.”

Rockets GM Daryl Morey on the value of all-in-one player ratings like PER: “There’s certainly value in a catch-all stat, especially from a public or media perspective. I look at it this way: I don’t think people who minimize it are right, or the people who trumpet it. Being able to rank players that way is a way to simplify for mass audiences. But in terms of decision-making, it really is almost useless. Everything becomes more contextual. How will this player fit in our system, with the plays we run, with our defensive scheme? Those are the questions that rule the day, not whether a player is No. 7 or No. 6.”

Dave McMenamin of NBA.com: “Deron Williams’ and Aaron Brooks’ penetration has been a problem, but while conventional thinking might pin that problem on the ineffectiveness of an aging Derek Fisher, Jackson says it’s more about the help — or lack thereof — behind him. If there’s one damning statistic, it’s L.A.’s -2.5 rebounding differential. The Lakers are the only team still standing in the postseason with a negative number in that category. The Incredible Shrinking Andrew Bynum hasn’t helped, but Bynum’s 4.3 points, 2.9 boards and six available fouls per game are all better than what he provided last postseason, when he was injured. Pau Gasol has to make his impact known earlier and more forcefully. Lamar Odom is going to have to rehabilitate his lower back contusion around the clock to rehab L.A.’s rebounding efforts. Otherwise, the Lakers’ shooting percentage is up slightly (from 47.4 percent in the regular season to 47.7 in the Playoffs) and the defense is slightly stingier, allowing 97.5 points per game instead of 99.2. L.A. has cut its opponents’ shooting percentage from 44.7 to 44.0 percent.”

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