Points in the Paint

» July 29, 2009 4:53 PM | By Brandon Hoffman

Red’s Army says it’s time to appreciate Paul Pierce, the last great Celtic.

A Matt Moore number about Gregg Popovich and the Spurs, that includes this passage: “Popovich is a man of surprises. His life spans: working in intelligence circles after graduating from the Air Force Academy, to championship gold, to a small winery outside of Portland. Knowing that, did you expect him to go quietly? And so Pop, alongside General Manager R.C. Buford, arranged the trade for Richard Jefferson, instantly covering multiple holes in the Spurs at once. A combo-forward who provides immediate scoring impact and can play multiple positions to improve depth is pretty much just what the doctor ordered. There was no question the Spurs had improved, but surely the trading of Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas would mean that their frontcourt was effectively decimated (or pentimated, I suppose). Then the Spurs acquired Antonio McDyess and Theo Ratliff, adding the same high level of quality veterans with playoff experience for manageable contracts. So now the Spurs enter the season with the same core of Duncan, Parker, and a (hopefully) healthy Manu Ginobili, but bolstered by Jefferson and high-upside sophomore George Hill, to go along with key role players Roger Mason Jr., McDyess, Ratliff, and whatever developing talent they decide to pull from their D-League affiliate in Austin. There has obviously been a come-to-Jesus (figuratively) moment for the Spurs following their loss to the Mavericks in the first round. The window was almost shut, and it’s still in the process of closing, but by making significant upgrades at multiple positions and giving themselves the sweet relief of time off (as opposed to playing into early June year after year after year), they’ve wedged it back open. Now’s the time to make a break for the gap.”

Kevin Durant responds to whispers that he’s better than LeBron.

Tom Povtak of FanHouse: “Was anyone else chuckling yesterday when they read the comments by Steve Nash about Shaquille O’Neal fitting in so well with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers this season? Isn’t that what the Chicago Bulls said a couple years ago about over-the-hill Ben Wallace when they duped the Cavs into taking his bloated contract, thinking his arrival would appease King James? Then the Cavs paid Wallace a lot of money for a year-and-a-half to do very little. Nash was being nice and polite earlier this week, but he also was the same guy a month ago who told his general manager that he would not sign an extension with the Suns if O’Neal was still on the roster. Nash thought playing with Shaq was like dragging an anchor. Reminds me of that old polka tune, can’t remember the band, but the lyrics still ring in my ears: ‘I don’t want her, you can have her, she’s too fat for me.’”

ESPN gives Starbury TV two thumbs down.

John Canzano: “Miller, introduced officially by the Blazers on Tuesday, has missed only five games in 10 NBA seasons. He doesn’t miss practice. He prides himself as being the quietest guy off the court and loudest on it. Does this make him the solution? Nope. But the Blazers are better with Miller than without him, and if you’re looking to quantify what ends up as a shaky summer for the organization, there you go. Point guard wasn’t the team’s biggest need. But Miller gives the Blazers leadership, and toughness and he’s uber-confident, which is only to say that I’d have loved to see what the team might have done with him as part of that first-round Rockets-Blazers NBA playoff series that didn’t go Portland’s way. The Blazers are spending a lot of time spinning the Miller signing into more than it really is. There was no talk of Plan B or C or D or E or F. Miller, 33, was built up on Tuesday as if he were the guy the Blazers zeroed in on all along. But we all know he was a fall-back plan behind the fall-back plan. There’s no shame in telling Miller, who has a college degree and did post-graduate work in sociology, that the Blazers weren’t so sure about him early in the free-agent period. He’d thrive, knowing that. Remember, this is a guy who arrived in Cleveland as a rookie and had a fan tell him, ‘Welcome to Ohio, but we already have a point guard.’ And Miller replaced Allen Iverson in Philadelphia and rallied around the fact that a faction of 76ers fans revolted over the move.”

The NBA has decided to allow teams to put ads on practice jerseys. Which Darren Rovell believes could be the first step toward putting ads on game uniforms.

Kelly Dwyer on LeBron James: “First, his heavily favored Cavaliers, whether they should have been heavily favored or not, were swiftly dismissed by the Orlando Magic in last spring’s Eastern Conference finals. LeBron then compounded the pathos by refusing to shake any Magic player’s hand, and leaving Quicken Loans Arena post-game without speaking to the press. A few weeks ago, James was involved in an embarrassing incident that saw him get dunked on, sort of, by a heretofore unheralded Xavier wing named Jordan Crawford at his self-styled basketball camp. According to eyewitnesses, James then asked Nike staffers (the shoe company was sponsoring the event) to shake down and confiscate video tapes from anyone who may have documented what turned out to be a rather ho-hum throwdown. Then there was this shirt, pictured on the right. This might have been the biggest embarrassment of them all. You see, more and more, James is coming over as someone who is far removed from reality. Someone who needs a good sit down to tell him that, no, you’re not supposed to wear shirts like that.”

Category: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA Teams, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Points in the Paint, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs