Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports: “Less than a week before the start of the season, the New Orleans Hornets still don’t know what to make of new center Emeka Okafor. He has yet to play or even practice with them, and his prolonged absence has some team members privately shaking their heads. Okafor has missed all seven of the Hornets’ preseason games because of a strained toe on his right foot. He isn’t expected to play in Friday’s preseason finale against the Los Angeles Clippers and his status for Wednesday’s season opener against the San Antonio Spurs remains in doubt. An NBA source told Yahoo! Sports that Okafor was cleared to play by the Hornets’ medical staff two weeks ago and by his own doctor a week later. Most of Okafor’s teammates know he has been cleared and are eager to see whether he works out with them for the first time over the weekend. ‘He better practice Sunday or he could lose some guys,’ one Hornet said. Prior to the Hornets’ shootaround on Thursday morning, Okafor acknowledged he has been medically cleared to play ‘based on how I feel.’ He said he hopes to practice on Sunday. ‘He might have been cleared medically, but from a mental standpoint he is not cleared,’ New Orleans coach Byron Scott said. ‘In his mind, he says he’s not ready. When you have a guy that says he is not ready, the worst thing you can do is force him to get out there.’”
Chris Tomasson of FanHouse: “If you Google Gunnar Peterson, you get articles such as ‘How Kim Kardashian Got Thin” and ‘Want J. Lo’s Body?’ But what about Melo’s body? Kardashian proudly notes she dropped from 128 to 113 pounds thanks to Peterson, the Beverly Hills, Calif., celebrity trainer. Meanwhile, Denver forward Carmelo Anthony says he dropped from 240 to 228 with the help of Peterson. But Kardashian isn’t leading all NBA players in the preseason in scoring. Neither is Jennifer Lopez. ‘I hope Melo,’ said guard Chauncey Billups, when asked who he thinks is in better shape, Lopez or Anthony, his Nuggets teammate averaging 23.6 points in seven preseason games. Anthony actually has been working with Peterson on and off since he was a rookie in 2003-04. But Anthony spent about 1 ½ months last summer in the Los Angeles area, and he made a point of seeing Peterson at least five times a week for sessions of an hour or more. Anthony, whose body fat dropped during the offseason from 8.6 to 7 percent, says he’s in the ‘best shape of my career.’”
Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: “Night in and night out, George Hill — a question mark last season — has been the Spurs’ best player this preseason. He has averaged 14.3 points, second only to rookie forward DeJuan Blair, and leads the Spurs in minutes with 23.7 a game. Odds are good the friends and family who make the 45-mile trek from Indianapolis to Bloomington today will see more of Hill than they did in April. They will also see a different Hill than they saw in April. ‘Before, he was a little hesitant,’ Manu Ginobili said. ‘That’s totally normal when you’re a rookie, with a coach like Pop. It’s hard at the beginning. ‘Now,’ Ginobili said, ‘he looks like he owns the team.’ Hill worked tirelessly over the offseason working, among other things, on improving his jump shot and extending his range. The work appears to be paying off. Hill is shooting 55.3 percent from the field, including a scorching 61.5 from 3-point range in six preseason games. Most of his 3-pointers have come from the corner. That is a shot he will often find to be open, especially when he plays alongside Parker as a shooting guard. ‘The corner is my new home,’ Hill said.”
Alan Hahn of Newsday: “Danilo Gallinari came from Italy last year with a great deal of mysteriousness that was only heightened when his back injury would not allow him to play at full strength. But when he did, Gallinari opened many eyes with his beautiful rainbow jumper and quick instincts. It was enough to prompt Mike D’Antoni, the unfettered optimist who was clearly intoxicated by preseason hope, to proclaim the 21-year-old as ‘the best shooter I’ve ever seen.’ He did this sitting next to Donnie Walsh, who happened to also draft a guy named Reggie Miller. To his credit, Walsh didn’t even flinch.So in this rebuilding season, when progress will be measured in salary-cap space next summer, the improbable chances of ending a five-year playoff drought rest on the thin legs (and surgically-repaired back) of the team’s most promising player, whose comparable upside ranges from Nowitzki to Hedo Turkoglu to Toni Kukoc and even Tom Gugliotta. But one thing is indisputable among those who have seen Gallinari: ‘He knows how to play,’ said one Eastern Conference general manager, ‘and he can really shoot.’”
Brian Windhorst of The Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Jamario Moon has a new team this year, which meant a move for his wife and newborn baby girl, change-of-address forms, finding a place to live and learning where in town he can get good Southern food. For Moon, this is an annual ritual. He follows where basketball takes him, though admittedly his landing in Cleveland with the Cavaliers is the softest of his career. Depending on who’s counting, this is about Moon’s 19th different team in the past nine years. Not counting the various summer league teams he was on for a week or so. All of it from the allure of his 6-8 frame and spring-box legs that always cause scouts to scribble on their notepads and, in turn, Moon to dream of the NBA. ‘I heard I had a Wikipedia page, so I went there and saw someone who I think has been stalking me listed all these teams I played for,’ Moon said. ‘But they missed a few.’”
Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: “Aaron Afflalo is a role player, a guy who could walk the 16th Street Mall and get more requests for change than requests for autographs. He has a paltry career scoring average (4.3 points). And the summertime acquisition from Detroit has yet to play a regular-season game for Denver. But just listen to what they’re saying about him in the Nuggets’ locker room, and one can quickly conclude he may have a bigger impact for this team than most fans realize. Teammate Carmelo Anthony: ‘He doesn’t take possessions off. He wants to get better in the gym — every day.’ Coach George Karl: ‘He’s the most organized, regimented young player I’ve ever coached.’ Vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien: ‘He is everything a coach wants in a player. . . . We knew he had ridiculously high character.’ Now, Afflalo ain’t Air Jordan. The guy isn’t going to win scoring titles and sell you sneakers. But for a Nuggets team that was yearning for role players — the right role players — Denver feels it got a steal in Afflalo.”
Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times: “Lessons for a rookie, Part 9. There’s plenty for Clippers rookie Blake Griffin to remember and, by all accounts, he’s doing a standout job, on and off the court. But even the most diligent of pupils can slip up from time to time. ‘Biggest thing I’ve learned?’ he said on Thursday. ‘Being in somebody’s spot when you’re a rookie, you’ve got to move. I’ve been kicked out of so many spots.’ Such as the wrong chair on the side of the court, wrong seat on the bus, wrong yoga mat . . . and wrong shower. Shower? Griffin nodded. ‘You’ve got to remember,’ he said. ‘I think I’ve got it down now.’ Almost. ‘Ricky [Davis] was in the bathroom and there was a [yoga] mat open. I’m stretching and all of a sudden I look up and Ricky’s standing over me, like, ‘You must have forgot,’ ‘ Griffin said. ‘ ‘You’re right. I did.’ Forgetfulness on the court has been rare in camp. Griffin quickly answered any outstanding questions about his defensive abilities and worked tenaciously on his shot since the Clippers took him with the No. 1 overall pick in June.”
Chris Mannix of SI.com: “A rigorous rehab had Michael Redd back on the court in September, several months ahead of schedule. Upon his return, he found a team that was considered a potential playoff contender last fall gutted. Out were starters Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions. In are rookies Brandon Jennings and Jodie Meeks, along with Ersan Ilyasova, Hakim Warrick, Carlos Delfino, Kurt Thomas and Roko Ukic. Despite the Bucks’ massive overhaul, the 30-year-old Redd says he never considered asking for a trade. ‘The Bucks’ organization has been good to me,’ Redd said. ‘And [Milwaukee general manager] John [Hammond] told me he has a plan to turn things around. The NBA is a business and I understand that. Sometimes changes have to be made.’ Still, Redd left the door open for finishing his career in another uniform. ‘I’ve been here a long time and a big part of me wants to finish my career here,’ Redd said. ‘But, yeah, there is definitely a part of me that wants to play for a winner.’”
Jonathan Abrams of The New York Times: “This off-season, the Wizards cleaned house. They hired Coach Flip Saunders, who has a past of deftly handling such diverse personalities as Stephon Marbury and Rasheed Wallace. The Wizards traded for Mike Miller and Randy Foye and signed Fabricio Oberto. Arenas, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson, all hampered with injuries last season, are scheduled to return. As the off-season progressed, Saunders dined with Arenas in Chicago, where Arenas rehabilitated with the renowned trainer Tim Grover. They talked and texted throughout the summer. In Saunders’s offense, the point guard is crucial and ball-dominant. One of the first questions Saunders posed was how Arenas wanted to be viewed — as a blogger or a basketball player. ‘When they mention him, they mention that he’s the guy who gives away jerseys after games,’ Saunders said. ‘He wants to be known for the dominant player that he is.’ To some degree, that probably explains Arenas’s new reticence. But beneath the almost silent facade, a more outgoing Arenas probably still remains.”
Marcus Thompson II of the Contra Costa Times: “The last thing Warriors coach Don Nelson expected to worry him was Stephen Curry’s shot. Nonetheless, he’s concerned. Curry scored 14 points on 6-for-13 shooting Thursday night as the Warriors walloped New Orleans 126-92 in their exhibition finale. It was a step in the right direction for all parties, especially Curry. The rookie No. 1 draft pick entered the game shooting 34.8 percent, including 4-for-21 from 3-point range. Nelson said Curry is not even making shots in practice. ‘I just thought it was a fluke for the first few weeks,’ Nelson said. ‘He was always a volume shooter,’ Nelson said. ‘We’re having him think more as a point guard. That may be a factor, but I don’t think so. He feels free to take shots, and we encourage him to do it. I don’t really know any reason. He was a great shooter in college. … All I’ve been doing is just encouraging him. Keep shooting.’ Nelson has told the Warriors’ strength and conditioning personnel about cutting back Curry’s weightlifting to see if that’s the problem. Curry said he lifts three days a week ‘heavy’ for an hour straight. At most at Davidson, he said, he lifted ‘light’ twice a week.”
Julian Benbow of The Boston Globe: “After going 6-2 in exhibition games, with no major injuries, the Celtics are comfortable with their preparation, though there are things they still want to work on. Rivers said he has more plays he intends to put in, and he’ll likely emphasize the things he was disappointed with in the exhibitions – transition defense among them. ‘We’ve still got some things to clean up,’ Pierce said. ‘We’re nowhere near where we want, but we’re still trying to get there.’ There are no real checkpoints in Rivers’s eyes, no way to gauge when the team is hitting on all cylinders. It’s not necessarily fast starts. ‘Last year, I kept making a point when we were 16-1 we were horrible, that we were playing horrible,’’ Rivers said. ‘People were laughing; I believed that. I thought we were and it proved itself a little bit right after that. So you just watch your team.’ Chemistry becomes a cliché after a while, but making sure roles are clear and every player is comfortable in theirs is a priority.”
Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star: “Jim O’Brien doesn’t have sweaty palms. There are no beads of sweat running down his face, either. The Indiana Pacers are allowing a league-worst 110.8 points this preseason, and while fans might have a ‘here we go again’ feeling, the Pacers coach isn’t panicking. He’s pleased with the defensive progress. ‘Points per game is irrelevant,’ O’Brien said Wednesday, a day after his team gave up 117 points in a loss at Orlando. ‘If you’re scoring more than the other team, it’s irrelevant. Field goal defense without fouling is what’s relevant.’ He is encouraged because opponents are shooting just 41.9 percent overall, fifth in the league. The Pacers were 15th last season. ‘Frankly, I think we’re (moving) along in the right direction defensively,’ O’Brien said. … O’Brien wants to limit the defensive switches players make while helping others who get beat. He wants each defender to take ‘ownership’ of his man.”
Dave D’Alessandro of The Newark Star-Ledger: “A coach’s prime directive is to put his five best players on the floor whenever practical, and since it has become apparent that three of the Nets’ top five guys all play the wing position, Lawrence Frank has a dilemma to wrestle with. Is there a legitimate way to play Chris Douglas-Roberts, Courtney Lee and Terrence Williams for stretches together – along with point guard Devin Harris, and Brook Lopez as the only big man in the quintet? Perhaps not for long stretches, the coach said. But for short stretches, anything goes – and probably will. ‘Well, we’ve played that unit — done it in practice, done it in games,’ Frank said. ‘That’s what you’ve got to do. Throw them in there and see how they do.’ They’d do just fine, as long as they rebound. But Frank doesn’t know how long he could count on it. Douglas-Roberts is 6-7, Williams is 6-6, and Lee is barely 6-4. All three are built like shooting guards. Matching up with a conventional lineup could be problematic.”
Michael Wallace of the Miami Herald: “Seven preseason games in the books. Six different starting lineups. Five days to get the rotation in order before the regular-season opener against New York. The Heat closed its seven-game exhibition season with a 92-87 loss to Atlanta on Thursday night at Veteran’s Memorial Arena. But the subject of the Heat’s regular-season playing rotation remains open for debate. Even after the Heat wrapped up a 2-5 preseason stretch, coach Erik Spoelstra still wasn’t ready to divulge the pecking order of players the team will rely on most this season. The preseason is over for the Heat, but the competition for key roles apparently will continue indefinitely. Outsiders aren’t the only ones in suspense over the rotation. There also is uncertainty in the locker room. ‘Hopefully, Coach Spo will get to a point where he’ll figure that out,’ forward Udonis Haslem said. ‘After [Thursday night], he’s got five days to make some decisions. I’m pretty sure he’ll get all that taken care of.’”
Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Herb Kohl, about to begin his 25th season as the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, is a realist about the state of the franchise, its place in the National Basketball Association and the future of the Bradley Center. As with most teams in the NBA and in sports, the recession has taken a toll on the team’s bottom line. Kohl expects revenue will drop this season. ‘Our summer selling season was down from last year,’ Wisconsin’s senior Democratic U.S. senator said. ‘But it’s also accurate to say we’re not singular in the NBA in that respect.’ The Bucks, he said, remain committed to Milwaukee and are in the midst of rebuilding a team that hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2006. Personally, Kohl, who is 74, says he is in no hurry to sell the team. ‘I don’t have a calendar on it,’ he said. ‘I recognize the realities. But I’m not thinking that needs to be addressed immediately.’”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “The Knicks have proven cap space sells. The Knicks, with virtually the same roster but a new salary-cap situation, have seen an inordinate rise in new full season-ticket packages, according to MSG Sports president Scott O’Neil. According to O’Neil, the Knicks have sold more than 2,500 new full season-ticket plans, ranking them in the top five in the NBA. The only rational explanation is Knicks fans believe Donnie Walsh is going to land LeBron James in 2010 with his league-leading cap space. Some businesses may be using the 2009-2010 season-ticket plan as an investment. Knicks stock would go through the roof if the franchise lures King James next July. The season-ticket waiting list from the 1990s will return. The Knicks haven’t had cap space since 1996, when they signed Allan Houston and Chris Childs. ‘One thing about Knicks fans, they’re the most knowledgeable in sports,’ O’Neil told The Post. ‘They study the NBA. They understand what the salary cap is. They understand free-agent classes. That absolutely plays a part.’”
Howard Beck of The New York Times: “The proposed sale of a controlling stake in the Nets to a Russian billionaire will be put to a vote of N.B.A. owners by the end of the year, according to Commissioner David Stern, who spoke positively Thursday about the deal. The billionaire, Mikhail D. Prokhorov, has an agreement with Bruce C. Ratner, the Nets’ principal owner, to pay $200 million for 80 percent of the team and 45 percent of a proposed arena in Brooklyn. The deal needs approval from 23 of the league’s 30 owners. Prokhorov met with a subcommittee of owners Wednesday, during the league’s board of governors meeting in Midtown Manhattan. Stern described it as a ‘robust and lively discussion’ that focused on Prokhorov’s rise from stevedore to blue-jeans salesman to banker to metals investor to billionaire. It was Prokhorov’s first face-to-face meeting with his prospective future partners. ‘I would say that he came off as a very intelligent businessman, with a good sense of humor, sort of an ability to get outside of himself and laugh a little bit,’ Stern told a small gathering of reporters.”
Rich Calder of the New York Post: “Russia’s richest man blew the equivalent of 552,000 rubles for lunch at one of the city’s priciest restaurants as he celebrated his soon-to-be new career as a basketball baron, sources told The Post. Billionaire playboy Mikhail Prokhorov, who is close to buying the Nets, took a half-dozen comrades to Nello on the Upper East Side Wednesday afternoon, following a meeting with NBA owners. He concluded that they had hit it off so well, he’ll have no trouble getting them to approve his plan to buy the team. The tab and tip totaled close to $19,000 for Prokhorov and his pals. Besides pricey booze, the mogul from Moscow and the men and women in his party spared no expense on food. Their check included $825 for three orders of truffle tagliolini; $600 for four orders of truffle carpaccio; $210 for three orders of veal chops with mushrooms; and $72 for six large waters. Not to mention $15 for a bowl of chicken soup. The lunch was topped off with a $5,000 bottle of vintage 1998 Chateau Petrus and two bottles of 2002 Montrachet Latour for $3,600. Nello Balan, owner of the celebrity hotspot, said Prokhorov acted like the deal to buy majority ownership of the New Jersey Nets from developer Bruce Ratner and move the club to Brooklyn was already done.”
