Points in the Paint

» August 27, 2009 4:05 PM | By Brandon Hoffman

Kevin McElroy at Knickerblogger.net assesses Donnie Walsh’s brief tenure with the Knicks: “If Walsh’s patience and indecipherability are his greatest qualities in negotiation, they may also be his best assets in avoiding the kind of criticism that is typically heaped upon New York pro sports executives by media and fans. His stern demeanor and unshakable calm suggest to observers, even at moments of seeming misjudgment, that he knows more about the situation than they do and so deserves their trust. A move-by-move analysis of Walsh’s Knicks tenure reveals a well-reasoned overall plan that has been tarnished by some truly baffling decisions.”

John Schuhmann of NBA.com: “The Charlotte Bobcats are halfway there. In their first season with coach Larry Brown, the Bobcats went from the 23rd-best defensive team in the league, allowing 106.8 points per 100 possessions in 2007-08, to the seventh best, allowing 103.2 in 2008-09. Only two teams (Cleveland and Milwaukee) improved more defensively last season. The turnaround started with Brown’s insistence on defensive accountability and continued with trades that brought in Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and DeSagana Diop. ‘After we made a couple of trades, our core started to mold together,’ Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins told NBA.com. ‘That’s when we became better. Guys held each other accountable and guys started buying in.’ A 15-9 stretch from early February to late March helped the Bobcats challenge the Bulls and Pistons for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They fizzled at the end, winning just one of their eight games in April, but have built a defensive foundation to help them keep moving forward. The Bobcats need to find a way to get better offensively, as they ranked 27th last season, scoring just 101.8 points per 100 possessions. It’ll be a tall order, though, considering Charlotte lacks a go-to scorer.”

Bill Walton: “The three legitimate contenders in the East all got significantly better, but Boston easily improved the most. The title will come down to who controls the paint. The Celtics — with superior talent, depth and versatility up front — have positioned themselves perfectly for a run at No. 18.”

Blazers President Larry Miller: “I think we have our LeBron (James) or Dwane Wade with Brandon Roy.”

Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle: “Rather than make a bad deal, Daryl Morey made a series of small moves he believes will strengthen the Rockets both now and in the years ahead. ‘We’re going to be up-tempo, fun to watch, young players easy to root for,’ he said. ‘It’s exciting. I think it’ll be fun to watch the team group up and grow together, all in a style we’re trying to move to. You’re going to see us playing the way coach would rather play.’ It’s funny how coaches see this kind of team. They would rather have three All-Stars because it’s good for business, but real coaches love the challenge of taking a young group and coaching it up. ‘The coaching staff is quietly excited,’ Morey said. ‘They know they can have a big impact on this group. No one is going to pick us to win anything, and they think they can coach them up.’”

Nike went all out on the set of their new “Hyperizers” commercial, as desribed by Mo Williams: “It was Hollywood. It was definitely Hollywood. We were movie stars. It took us three days to shoot. We’d start in the morning around 9-ish or 10 a.m. and shooting didn’t end until about midnight or 12:30 in the morning. And that was three days straight. But the good thing about it: We each had our own trailer. We had our X-Box 360s with all our games. We had catering – whatever we wanted. So I put them to the test on the first day. They said, ‘Anything you want, you got it.’ And I said, ‘Anything I want? Cool. Let me get a bucket of Popeye’s chicken.’ And they brought it!”