Points in the Paint

» May 14, 2009 6:50 PM | By Brandon Hoffman

Chris Ballard of SI.com praises Shane Battier’s defense on Kobe Bryant and reveals that “According to Synergy Sports Technology, which logs every play of every NBA game, Bryant drove right 49.01% of the time this season and left 50.99% of the time. In Synergy’s finely parsed statistical analysis, he ranked in the top 20% of the league in (deep breath): shots off cuts, shots off screens, spot-up attempts, shots against single coverage in the post and off one-on-one isolation moves (and he’s only slightly less effective in pick and rolls and transition).” Ballard also talks to Lakers assistant Coach Brian Shaw and Spurs shooting Coach Chip Engelland. Good stuff.

Love this quote from George Karl via Travis Heath’s recap of last night’s Nuggets-Mavericks game: “I think it’s a great day for Melo,” explained Karl. “I think winning and getting to the Western Conference Finals and making Third Team All-NBA solidify how good he is. Making All-NBA is real. I mean, basketball people talk about that. Winning in the playoffs is real. Some of the other stuff isn’t as real — statistics, All-Star Games, hype. But what he’s done in the last few weeks has been first class, big time and real.”

LeBron James reveals his all-time starting 5: “Magic Johnson at the 1, I’m gonna take Michael Jordan at the 2, I’m gonna take myself at the 3 since they’re playing alongside me, I’m gonna take Kevin Garnett at the 4, and, wow, at the 5 (thinking)… Shaquille O’Neal. (Patrick: Why did you hesitate on that?) Because I like Kareem too, and Kareem is great, but I like Shaq – he’s just more intimidating. If I got in to a fight, I know Shaq would be right there to help me.”

Cavs assistant coach Mike Malone recruited Delonte West when he was in high school, and talks about his first impressions of West: “‘The reason I fell in love with him wasn’t because he was a jump shooter or he’s this or that. It was his makeup. And to me, it’s Delonte’s toughness inside, the mental toughness he has, the physical toughness and just the competitive nature.’ West said Malone is the one who saw his potential. ‘He told me I was going to be a pro,’ West said ‘I couldn’t see it, but he could.’ How tough and competitive is he? Malone tells a story about when he was recruiting West. He was actually there to look at another player, but West caught his eye. ‘I remember going to watch him play summer basketball games and he’s taking charges on outdoor courts,’ Malone said.”

Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register shares an unusual exchange between Ron Artest and the Executive Vice President of the Lakers, Jeanie Buss: “With 2:03 left in the first half, Artest was walking alone at the end of the court near the Lakers’ bench when he made eye contact with Lakers employees Jeanie Buss and Linda Rambis (Phil Jackson’s girlfriend and Kurt Rambis’ wife) and their girlfriends, all of whom regularly whoop it up in party style from their second-row seats. Hearing some light mockery about his shorts being too tight, Artest looked over and yanked his shorts up as far as they would go – making them ridiculously tight in the crotch. Then Artest said simply to Ms. Buss, Mrs. Rambis and the gals: ‘You like that.’ They cracked up, and he grinned, too.”

Mike Celizic of NBCSports.com: “Van Gundy’s coaching style consists of screaming at his troops and waving his arms a lot, following by more screaming and inane exhortations to play harder. It ain’t playing harder that’s the problem, it’s playing smarter. The coach has made a prophet out of Shaquille O’Neal, who during the regular season predicted that Van Gundy would go into panic mode when things got tight in the playoffs. And that’s exactly what’s happened. You don’t have to take anybody’s word for that. Just listen to him ranting during timeouts when the microphone is stuck in his huddle. Then ask yourself if he’s imparted any useful information to his team. In the old days, the coach was always right, even when he was more wrong than a white belt with a charcoal suit. That all ended during the 1981-82 season when Magic Johnson was given the credit for getting Lakers coach Paul Westhead fired and replaced by Pat Riley. At the time, such influential voices as Dave Anderson of The New York Times, beat Johnson up for his presumption. Players weren’t allowed to fire coaches. It was written someplace. After Riley turned out to be something of a genius and the Lakers a dynasty and Magic the best player in the game this side of Boston, people realized that maybe the players should have something to say about who coaches them.”

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