Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: “To see Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin McHale talking is like looking at a history of power forwards in the NBA. Yes, according to the definition, they play – played, in McHale’s case – the same position. But did two people ever go about the same job so differently? McHale was maybe the greatest low-post scorer in the game during the ’80s when he and Larry Bird and the Celtics were winning three titles. Nowitzki? Well, let’s just say he’s a member of the group of power forwards who have taken the position farther from the basket. And yet, Nowitzki has the ability to do some of the same things McHale accomplished in his Hall of Fame career. That’s not just a random opinion, it’s McHale’s. He’s been visiting the first week of Mavericks’ training camp, stressing a strong attitude. But that doesn’t mean the fundamentals of low-post play haven’t been taught, too. ‘He’s talented enough that the defensive matchup should dictate where he gets the ball,’ McHale said of Nowitzki. ‘If they go big, he gets on the perimeter a little more. If they go small, he gets a little tighter to the basket. You start playing smaller guys closer to the basket, height takes over. And this guy is long.’ This is not a grand revelation. But when McHale is the one giving the advice, people tend to listen.”
Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: “After the emergence of his point guard as a consistent scoring option last season, Popovich is now prepared to make the Spurs’ offense even more Parker-friendly in the season to come. ‘I’m really trying to make an effort to call fewer and fewer plays, and let Tony run the show, and let the flow of the motion and the reads he makes dictate most of the offense,’ Popovich said. In short, the Spurs are likely to run more, freelance more and settle into a half-court set less. All of those things would play to Parker’s churn-and-burn style. Once upon a time, Parker would have had to pry the keys to the Spurs’ offense out of his coach’s cold, dead hand. Now, Popovich simply flips them to Parker and says, ‘Just bring it back in one piece.’ Parker, entering his ninth NBA season at age 27, is eager to justify Popovich’s faith in him. ‘Since the championship in 2007, Pop has given me more and more freedom,’ Parker said. ‘He’s just letting me run the offense, basically.’”
Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: “The offense is off to a good start, and coach Vinny Del Negro expects Rose to make vast improvements defensively during his second NBA season. ‘Derrick has made better strides with his concentration, getting down in a defensive position and using his great athletic ability and strength,’ Del Negro said. ‘So that’s been a big plus for us, pressure on the basketball.’ Learning to defend NBA opponents isn’t easy to accomplish during the summer. But Rose said he spent plenty of time chasing his personal trainer up and down the court to get his footwork down. The coaching staff may be using fear to help Rose focus on defense. ‘Coach is trying to put it on me that in some games I’m going to have to guard Kobe (Bryant) or LeBron (James) for some possessions,’ Rose said. ‘I would love to, and if I get the opportunity I’m going to try my hardest to guard them.’ Rose also hopes being in better condition this year will help him defensively. During his rookie season, Rose had trouble staying in front of opposing point guards. ‘If you’re in condition, your mind doesn’t wander anywhere,’ he said. ‘You stay more focused and that’s when you key in on your player.’”
John Reid of The Times Picayune: “In last season’s playoffs, Denver Nuggets guards Dahntay Jones and Chauncey Billups aggressively bumped New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul and hemmed him in on one side of the court. Worn down by the Nuggets’ incessant physical play, Paul could not assert himself and was flustered as New Orleans bowed out 4-1 in the first-round series. But any point guard who thinks the tactics Jones and Billups used will work again might be in for a surprise this season. Paul, who averaged 22.8 points and led the league in assists with an 11.0 average last season, spent the offseason going through an extensive weight-training and conditioning program. He went back to his Washington, D.C.-based trainers who helped him get ready for his first NBA season in 2005-06, when he won the league’s Rookie of the Year award. He went back to flipping heavy medicine balls over his head and lifting dumbbells until his arms hurt.”
Joe Freeman of The Oregonian: “After three weeks in the Northwest, a week of practices and countless media encounters, it has become blatantly clear that Andre Miller, the Trail Blazers’ biggest free agent acquisition, did not arrive in Portland to make new friends. Teammates and coaches have praised Miller for his superb passing ability, on-court leadership and veteran savvy. Early indications suggest that he is going to be an asset for this team, if not a force that helps propel the Blazers to a playoff run. But as positive as the on-court reports have been, Miller’s off-the-court demeanor has raised an equal number of eyebrows. After a frosty media day introduction, Miller has gone out of his way to make it clear that he is in Portland to work, not to build relationships. ‘I come to practice and go home,’ Miller said. ‘I practice and put in the time, talk to guys during practice and keep going. If it was college, then maybe that would be different. But this is a professional environment … a business. That’s just how I get down.’ On a team full of big personalities and outgoing dispositions, the Blazers’ new point guard is a polar opposite.”
Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: “Chris Douglas-Roberts loves the competition the team has created at the two-guard spot, and is a firm believer that the presence of two new guys — Courtney Lee and Terrence Williams — will make all three of them better. ‘This has become a dog-eat-dog team,’ he said. ‘And since I’ve always played like that, I’m loving that.’ Still, it needs to be asked: With all the attention being given to Lee and Williams — which is understandable, since the media and fans are always smitten by the new guys — is everyone sleeping on CDR? ‘Well … nah, I wouldn’t say that,’ he said, with a smile that indicated otherwise. ‘It’ll sound political, but I’m fine with that. Because here, the coaches have the final say. Actions speak louder than words, and my actions are really speaking loud right now. I’m having a great week, man — a great week — because we’re all out here competing like crazy.’ Frank saw it coming: ‘With Chris, you give him a challenge and he’s going to work like hell to get it,’ the coach said. ‘I would say he’s as determined a guy as we have. Very, very determined.’”
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: “It was an intrasquad scrimmage against guys he’d been beating on for more than a week, yet Reggie Evans was still unrelenting, chasing down errant shots and loose balls and knocking anyone in his way aside. It was hustle, pure and simple, and the 1,200 or so fans in the Raven’s Nest at Carleton University on Saturday loved it. ‘Reg-gie, Reg-gie, Reg-gie’ they chanted after one particular aggressive series and the Raptors’ power forward loved it. After all, the fans paid money, so why wouldn’t they get the best he had to offer? ‘It just lets me know how hard I’m working and stuff like that,’ he said after the Raptors wrapped up their five-day foray here for training camp with a game amongst themselves. Right now, we’re going through a recession, so people are trying to do whatever it takes to be in a positive way. … A lot of times when they come to the game, they at least want to see hard work. No matter if you win or lose, they want to see somebody going real hard because they’re working hard to earn a living just so they can come to our games.’”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “Yesterday, D’Antoni clarified last week’s grand statement in which he called Gallinari ‘the best shooter I’ve ever seen.’ D’Antoni explained he is not calling Gallinari a great scorer, but a great spot-up 3-point marksman, admitting he still cannot create his own shot. Big difference, and a big problem when the Knicks need a big shot in the big moments. ‘He’s not one of those guys who can get his own shot,’ D’Antoni said, explaining why Gallinari may not be certified go-to guy in the final possessions. ‘He’ll have to play off other people who will have to create and pass. A pick and roll, they help and there’s Gallo. He’s more that type right now.’ D’Antoni feels he can develop into the elite status of Hedo Turkoglu, to whom the coach has compared him. ‘We’d like for him to get to be Turkoglu-ish where he can pick and roll and create his own stuff,’ D’Antoni said. ‘He’s not there yet. I don’t know if Turkoglu was there either when he was 21. Right now, he doesn’t have the explosion or speed to get by somebody or create something for someone. In two three years, he’ll get stronger. To be honest, that is what will make him really good. If he never gets that, he’ll be good player, great shooter. That will separate him.’”
Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: “The Celtics couldn’t be happier. Adding a player of Rasheed Wallace’s talent to their bench is an explosive depth charge. Even if he can be an explosive personality. ‘I mean, you never know until you coach anybody, but I felt confident,’ coach Doc Rivers said. ‘With all the research that we did about Rasheed and about his teammates and how the relationships were, it made you feel very good about him. He’s been great. He’s such a high basketball IQ player. It’s amazing listening to him. I’ve had numerous college coaches who are watching practice come up to me and say, ‘Man, that’s the loudest defensive talking team I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen anything like it.’ It’s good because it’s on both units now. In the past, it’s been on the starting unit. When we had (James) Posey, there was some from the second unit. Now with Rasheed, he’s got Baby (Glen Davis) talking.’ And he’s got a set of reserves that can do more than simply hold on to what’s inherited from the starters. The Celtics bench figures to be one of their main strengths.”
Michael Lee of the Washington Post: “The Wizards will enter another season hoping to improve on defense, a declaration that is often treated with the commitment of a lazy couch potato who makes a New Years’ resolution to work out more and lose some weight. Everything is okay in the beginning, with frequent visits to the gym, but by the end of summer, he settles back into the comforts of his Snuggie and a bag of Doritos. But this year, Coach Flip Saunders has found a group of players who seem more receptive to making a commitment on the defensive end of the floor. And that begins with constant communication. Haywood said that at different times this training camp, Saunders has stopped practice, ‘Not because guys were in the wrong spot, but because we wasn’t talking on defense.’ ‘I’ve always believed you have to talk,’ Saunders said. ‘If you don’t talk, you can’t play. What talking does, it lets your teammates know you know what you’re doing. If you’re talking, you’re not thinking about yourself. You know where your help is coming from.’”
Jody Genessy of the Deseret News: “Deron Williams was surprised how little time the Jazz spent in film sessions in his first four years. Coach Jerry Sloan admits it, too. That coaching method just hasn’t been his style. He’d rather make players learn and improve on the court during intense practices. And that still happens, of course. But the Hall of Famer is trying to adapt to the YouTube generation of players now on his roster who like the help of visual aids so they can see a picture of how to play better defense. Williams admires Sloan for being ‘old school,’ but the point guard also likes that he is going out of his comfort zone to help the Jazz find a more comfortable defensive zone, so to speak. ‘He’s said we’re going to watch a lot more film this year, which I think is important to show guys where we make mistakes,’ Williams said. ‘Sometimes you can say it, but it’s hard to comprehend it or maybe you want to look past it until you see yourself on film. Then you’ve got to be held accountable.’”
Brian Windhorst of The Cleveland Plain Dealer: “For the Cavaliers, it takes a village to manage a Shaq. In the wake of making the huge trade for Shaquille O’Neal over the summer, the team began a campaign to collect as much information as possible on their new center, which is now being employed in training camp. It was a multi-layered effort that included many conversations, hours in the film room, and plenty of paperwork. ‘We feel like we’ve done our homework and information gathering,’ Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ‘Now we’re working on seeing what fits with him.’ The first bits of evidence will be on display today at the University of Akron, where the Cavs will hold their annual Wine & Gold Scrimmage. Brown talked to several coaches who worked with O’Neal over the years, including friend Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat. Spoelstra, now the Heat’s head coach, was an assistant when the Heat won the 2006 NBA championship with O’Neal in the middle. Assistant Hank Egan, one of the most experienced coaches in the NBA, also spent time drawing on his contacts for tips on handling and coaching O’Neal. Mike Malone, who Brown has made the de facto offensive coordinator this season, spent time pouring over old game film. That included O’Neal’s days with the Lakers 10 years ago up until last season with the Suns. Malone had perhaps the toughest job, working on getting O’Neal to fit into the Cavs’ offensive schemes and creating new ones for him.”
