Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: “If you had one guess, what would you say is driving Kevin Durant this season? The scoring title? An All-Star appearance? A playoff berth? How about video games? ‘People might not believe me, but when I go home (after practice) I play video games and I lose all the time,’ Durant said. ‘And I get so mad that I come back and I want to win everything. Something that small puts that winning mentality into my head.’ … Durant has become more vocal and is now complementing his work ethic on the court with time spent studying the game in the film room. After avoiding additional film sessions as a rookie, Durant adopted an appreciation for game footage last season when he couldn’t practice or play for seven games because of an ankle injury. He says he now watches film after every game. Durant’s psyche hasn’t developed as much at home, where losses to his brothers and close friends in games of NBA 2K10 on his Xbox gaming system have led to temper tantrums. ‘I threw my controller through my windows and threw it in the pool before,’ Durant said. ‘Even though it might sound kind of foolish, that’s how it is. It’s bragging rights to us. That’s all we do, since Sega. But without them knowing, they’re giving me the competitive edge to win.’”
Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe: “Chris Paul is wily enough to understand when he’s being prodded and provoked, and that happened twice in a 30-minute period last night at TD Garden. First, Paul walked over to shake hands and exchange congratulations with Paul Pierce following the Celtics’ rugged 97-87 win over Paul’s New Orleans Hornets. In the midst of that conversation, Paul was approached by Celtics guard Rajon Rondo – less than 24 hours away from signing a long-term extension in Boston or staying perhaps only one more season – who said some unkind words to his point guard counterpart. Paul shot back at Rondo and the two had to be separated. Rondo was ushered to the tunnel by Celtics director of security Phil Lynch, while Paul continued his testy conversation with Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, and the two were seen yelling at each other while Paul slowly walked to toward the Hornets’ tunnel. It was the culmination of a passionate clash between two under-25 point guards who each have a point of contention with the other. While many NBA players knuckle-knock, hug, and share laughs after games, hardly fostering any rivalry, it appears Paul and Rondo have an actual disdain for each other.”
Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register: “Ron Artest had a nice 12-point, seven-rebound game to salve his 4-for-16 start in the first two Lakers games. And, as he said, he’ll have to ‘start all over’ whenever Pau Gasol shows up in a uniform instead of the elegant blue suit he wore on the Lakers bench. What he really did was dissuade Joe Johnson from considering a 50-point night for Atlanta, which seemed a possibility early. Johnson was 7 for 8 in the first period for 18 points, including a four-point play because he was fouled while drilling a 3-pointer from the deep corner (‘unconscionable,’ Jackson described Kobe Bryant’s foul). ‘I just tried to get up in him, tried to do the things I normally do,’ Artest said. ‘I’ve guarded Kobe, LeBron James. It’s all about playing hard. I’m a little heavier this year, but I’m also quicker. I’m probably about three pounds heavier. Yeah, I weigh myself every day and I’m 265. So with that and some added muscle and quickness, I think that’s going to be tough for my opponents.’ Johnson was 1 for 8 in quarters 2-4.”
Brian Windhorst of The Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Usually the point guard position is quite cerebral, and the player in that spot is encouraged to be as analytical as possible. But last week Mo Williams learned there is a saturation point with that stuff as well. As the Cavs struggled through opening losses to the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors, there was perhaps no player more frustrated than Williams. He was completely mixed up trying to run the offense; uncomfortable and unsure of where he was supposed to be, where his teammates were supposed to be and where the ball needed to go. In those games, Williams made just seven of 22 shots and had as many turnovers as assists while often looking sluggish and confused on the floor and in the huddles. ‘I’m just thinking too much and I’m like, the worst at it, because I have to get everybody in their spots and I’m like, ‘oh, I have a shot,’ but I’m not even looking for it,’ Williams said while sitting in the locker room after the Cavs lost to Toronto last Wednesday. I’m just thinking too much. I’m not reacting and that isn’t what you want to be doing.’”
Jason Quick of The Oregonian: “Less than 12 hours after the Blazers’ defense had been sliced and diced for 111 points in Houston, leading some players to question the effort of the team, coach Nate McMillan talked to the Blazers about a simple concept: family. ‘Would you allow your brother to continue to do something he shouldn’t be doing? Or would you say something to him?’ McMillan remembers telling his team. ‘And that’s what it is all about. They are brothers out there, this is a family, and if we are not playing defense or you are not covering your man, say something to him. It’s not personal. It’s holding each other accountable.’ Not that anyone was taking odds, but not many would have bet on which Blazers player would apply McMillan’s concept later that evening during the Blazers’ 83-74 victory against Oklahoma City. It was the team’s gentle giant: Greg Oden. As a matter of fact, there was nothing gentle about Oden on Sunday. With a voice that was as loud, forceful and stern as ever before, and with animated body language that has rarely, if ever, been seen from him in a Blazers uniform, Oden on Sunday barked, ordered and inspired his teammates.”
Dave Krieger of The Denver Post: “George Karl is more interested in Anthony’s maturation than his point totals. ‘My big thing with Melo is be a team leader,’ Karl said. ‘The more effective and efficient he is both as a player and as a leader, a captain, a locker room guy, the more consistent he is in his approach, I think the more we’re going to feel comfortable following him.’ A year ago, the Nuggets had a leadership vacuum in the locker room. Then they traded for Billups, a veteran leader. And now their young star is shouldering some of that burden. ‘People talk about they want to be a leader,’ Anthony said. ‘If you don’t have them qualities in you, then you’re not a leader. Leadership is something that I always had in me. It’s just that it’s coming about now. I’ve been through a lot in my six-year career so far, so my teammates are starting to respect what I got to say, respect what I’m out there doing. My game is speaking for myself. They see me out there hustling, diving on the floor for loose balls, playing defense, and they’re going to do the same thing.’ Along the way, if Anthony should collect a scoring title or get the first serious MVP consideration of his career, he won’t object. But he has learned those things are byproducts, not goals.”
Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: “The slender Jennings topped all rookies’ performances on the opening week of the NBA schedule. He nearly joined Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson in exclusive company, when Jennings went for 17 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in his league debut on Friday. Robertson is the only player in NBA history to post a triple-double in his first pro game. What could Jennings do to top that? He carried the Bucks with a crowd-pleasing 16 points in the third quarter Saturday and finished with a team-leading 24 as the Bucks rallied to beat the division rival Pistons, 96-85. ‘My job is to keep him grounded,’ Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. ‘He and I looked at all of his shots from (Friday’s) game and all of his turnovers, and when I got done going through them, I told him it was one of the most impressive games from a rookie I’ve seen since I’ve been in the league. And then I told him, ‘You’ve got to try to follow it up.’ He certainly did that; that’s for sure.’”
Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald: “We all hear the sob stories about professional athletes feeling disrespected and, frankly, they’re almost all repetitive and boring and, most of the time, wildly exaggerated. Udonis Haslem’s story isn’t much different. It’s just a tad more obvious. Haslem is the only remaining Heat player other than Dwyane Wade to actually have contributed to the 2006 championship team. He’s the hometown product, the underdog story, the ultimate teammate. And entering the final year of his current contract — a year after which many assume his time in Miami will be over because the Heat is expected to throw max dollars at the premier players next summer — Haslem is asked to come off the bench so his successor at the position, Michael Beasley, can develop. It looked like multiple slaps to the face of one of this franchise’s most beloved figures. Leave it to Haslem to turn that into positive — for him and for his team.”
Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee: “Though soft-spoken and amiable by nature, Paul Westphal’s independent streak stretches every inch of his 6-foot-4 frame. He voices opinions that won’t be embraced by everyone. He argues that Bob Dylan is a conservative. He considers bombastic radio personality Rush Limbaugh a close friend. He maintains an equally tight bond with film director Dennis Dugan, whom he describes as a ‘very left-wing’ pal. And depending upon one’s perspective, he either coaxed an MVP season out of Charles Barkley (1992-93) or indulged the charismatic forward at the expense of the team, a lack of discipline costing the Phoenix Suns a championship. ‘Paul is not a conventional coach and not a conventional person,’ said Mayor Kevin Johnson, who was the Suns’ point guard during Westphal’s tenure. ‘A lot of things he does will have us all asking questions. You can’t put him in a box. But in the end, he always has his reasons.’ The Kings already can attest to his unorthodox lineups and substitutions. In the season opener Wednesday, last year’s starting center, Spencer Hawes, came off the bench. Incumbent point guard Beno Udrih, who had been working with the second unit, never stripped off his warmups. ‘The game is organic,’ Westphal said recently.”
Alan Hahn of Newsday: “LeBron will be here Friday for his only trip to the Garden this season; if the stars align, he could be here just in time for a championship parade down the Canyon of Heroes. The Knicks and Nets clearly won’t have much to show this season as far as potential on the court, but both teams could have an even better recruiting tool: a firsthand look at how New York treats a champion. Did we mention LeBron is a big fan of karma? It is mentioned often in his book, ‘Shooting Stars,’ released over the summer. The Nets have the Jay-Z connection and the potential lure of the very intriguing Brooklyn project, which, though still tenuous, is very much alive with Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov entering the game as the new owner. The Knicks, of course, have close ties to the influential William ‘Worldwide Wes’ Wesley, the ultimate networker, whose greatest skill is putting together people who need each other most. (For example, after the Cavaliers’ coaching staff lost John Kuester to the Detroit Pistons, Wes put LeBron in touch with Kentucky coach John Calipari to discuss his spread offense. There were plenty of concerns about the Cavs’ offense once Kuester left, and we’re already seeing that this season. Mike Brown is an excellent defensive coach. But without Kuester, he’s in over his head on offense.)”
Chris Tomasson of FanHouse: “Forget about a Tar Heel against a Dukie or a Kentucky Wildcat against a Louisville Cardinal. This is a lot different. On Monday night in Sacramento, an Israeli player could face a player from a rival Middle East Muslim nation for the first time ever in the NBA. Kings forward Omri Casspi is the first man from Israel ever to play in the NBA, and has three games under his belt. His team at Arco Arena next plays Memphis, which features Iran center Hamed Haddadi, a second-year man. Before his Grizzlies met Denver on Sunday night, Haddadi told FanHouse he never has faced an Israeli player on the court because teams from his Iran, which does not recognize the Jewish nation, are not allowed to play Israel. In 2005, Haddadi said his Iranian team was not allowed to go to Argentina for the 2005 FIBA World Championship for Young Men because of the possibility of Israel being an opponent. But Haddadi has no problems with facing Casspi. ‘It is just a sport,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what happened with the two countries. I don’t care. I just do my job. I don’t think about politics … I do not think what the two positions of Iran and Israel is.’”
Melissa Rohlin of the Los Angeles Times: “The NBA player was only 2 inches tall, but he left quite an impression on Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley. Conley was playing the popular video game NBA2K9 when a virtual Rajon Rondo appeared to go in for a layup. Instead, he pushed back off his left foot, deftly landed on his right and then made a short jumper from the paint. So Conley added the move, dubbed the Euro Step, to his personal repertoire of shots last season. ‘I hadn’t really thought about it until it happened in the video game,’ Conley said. ‘Now I can make it happen on the court.’ Popular video games such as Electronic Arts’ NBA Live and Visual Concept’s NBA2K9 are getting closer to reproducing the actual speed of the sport, with more realistic moves and updated rosters of the 30 NBA teams. The games, with their newest versions in release, are updated online so that if a player is injured in real life, he will be benched on the video roster within hours. Not surprisingly, some Generation Y NBA players use the video games as a tool to enhance their real-life basketball skills.”
