Points in the Paint

» September 4, 2009 4:47 PM | By Brandon Hoffman

Tim Povtak has a good story about how David Vaughn went from being a first round draft pick to sleeping in the back of a Chevy Impala.

FOXSports.com’s resident grouch Charley Rosen lists 12 things he loves about the NBA, including: “Tim Duncan’s taking a pay cut a few years ago, thereby enabling the Spurs to enhance their championship hopes by signing whichever free agents they had in their sights without surpassing their mandated salary cap. This was the exact opposite of the mindset of most superstars and superstar wannabes. Sacrificing an extra million (or two or three) for the ultimate good of the team is a concept foreign to virtually all of Duncan’s peers. And by this decision alone, Duncan proved that he’s a winner.”

Ron Artest arrived at the Lakers practice facility at 6:45 yesterday morning, only to find Kobe Bryant had been there since 5:30.

Chris Bosh on his summer workouts, as transribed by SRI’s Tas Melas: “It’s been different; I always lift every year, I’ve tried to get stronger every year, but I think it’s really, really made a difference. I think I’ve worked a lot harder, I’ve worked the hardest I’ve ever worked this summer. And, I think I’ve seen improvements, I think people have seen improvements in me, and I’m really ready to test it out against some bigger starter guys.”

Steve Aschburner of SI.com: “There is an old saying about Hollywood, career arcs and directors’ casting demands that goes something like this: ‘Get me Denzel Washington! Get me a Denzel Washington-type! Get me a young Denzel Washington!’ I’m reminded of that today, in the wake of Bruce Bowen’s decision to retire after 12 proud (for him and his) and punishing (for opponents) NBA seasons. Bowen, 38, won’t make it into the Hall of Fame. He might have to wait to see his jersey number retired by the Spurs, the team he helped to championships in 2003, ‘05 and ‘07. But he exits the playing scene having achieved a distinction that only a special handful has managed in league history: Bruce Bowen leaves as an archetype. There have been far fewer pro-basketball archetypes across the years than there have been Springfield inductees, Top 50 honorees, All-NBA selections or certainly All-Stars. Only those with special games, styles or bundles of skills need apply. … Bowen was named to the All-Defensive team in each of his first eight full NBA seasons. He was runner-up three times for Defensive Player of the Year, though he never won the award that’s worthy of being named after him. That doesn’t really matter — what matters is that teams determined to chase a championship feel compelled these days to find a ‘Bruce Bowen-type’ of guy: a clingy, even irritating defender who, for long stretches or whole nights, can negate a dangerous weapon from the other guys’ arsenal. Now, from Raja Bell to James Posey, from Trevor Ariza to Jamario Moon, every alleged contender needs someone like Bowen if it expects to be taken seriously.”

Note to Hong Kong: Oklahoma City has an NBA team.

According to Chris Tomasson, the Nuggets are interested in Desmond Mason. Jeremy Wagner at Roundball Mining Company shares an inspirational story about how Mason suffered serious burns as a child. Doctors told Mason’s parents he would never be able to run again, but within a year, Mason was playing basketball.

Ken Berger explains Ramon Sessions’ offer sheet from the Minnesota Timberwolves, as it pertains to Ricky Rubio.

Brendan Haywood is training with the Hoops Whisperer. The Wall Street Journal explains Idan Ravin’s training methods: “Mr. Ravin’s goal is to create so much chaos and stress on a player during workouts that the physical game becomes less cerebral and more automatic. He uses a combination of humbling psychological tactics and exhausting, unorthodox and sometimes spontaneous drills. He’s been known to fire tennis balls at players while they’re dribbling or make them stare straight ahead while dribbling two balls in each hand in uneven rhythms and walking from side to side.”

I’ve been meaning to link to this post at Blazers Edge for a few days. It’s an in-depth study on the Portland Trail Blazers offense, with special emphasis on spacing and ball movement. Highly, highly recommended.

Art Garcia of NBA.com: “David Robinson’s calling wasn’t basketball, even if he was pretty good at it. The Naval Academy grad always knew his greatest impact would be made outside of the pampered world of professional sports. But the NBA provided a needed and rewarding vehicle for this Midshipman to take the next step. Make no mistake; Robinson loved his time spent in the NBA. He was the Spurs’ No. 1 pick in 1987, a big man who could run and jump like no one had ever seen from someone his size. When he finally broke into the league in 1989, after a two-year commitment to the Navy, he immediately impressed. ‘I couldn’t believe how athletic and quick he was,’ said Larry Brown, Robinson’s first coach with the Spurs. ‘He reminded me so much of Russell, who I got to see as a boy. I had never seen anyone like that since.’ An assistant coach on that team was equally impressed. ‘Imagine him as a young man walking in the gym and doing a [walking] handstand from one end to the other at 7-1,’ Gregg Popovich said. ‘He did a handstand from one end line to the other. It took one practice and everybody knew that this was a different deal. That’s when the Spurs started winning again.’”

Category: Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Points in the Paint, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards