Gregg Patton of The Riverside Press-Enterprise: “It’s not just the points with Bryant, which he’s been piling up at a pace just under his career-high average of 35.4 per game. It’s his defense, his offensive grunt work and, well, his attitude. It’s an every-possession-counts thing. It’s captivating, even when it seems counter-productive. Sunday night, as teammate DJ Mbenga took a dribble toward the basket and appeared ready to launch a 16-foot jumper, Bryant yelled, ‘No!’, gestured for the ball, then launched a 25-foot shot that hit nothing but … air. The occasional misfire the Lakers can deal with. What you wonder about is the sustained intensity, and the ability to play all out for 82 games, plus a postseason that requires another jump in mental toughness. ‘Come on, man,’ says Bryant, when asked about his hyper-speed game, ‘I’ve always played like that.’ Except, he concedes, coming into the season a year ago. ‘Last year I had to pace myself,’ he said, recalling the 2008 playoffs, which melded into the Olympics, which made for a short offseason. ‘But 12 of my 13 years I (didn’t worry about) a long season. I’m in great shape.’ We’ve noticed. No one sprints a marathon, of course, but until further notice — or Gasol and Bynum return — someone is trying.”
Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: “A Chinese philosopher said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and for J.R. Smith, the past seven months must have seemed like a thousand miles. After the Western Conference finals, he found himself in a courtroom, sentenced to 24 days in jail for his role in a car accident that killed Smith’s close friend. From hugging the victim’s mother to days staring at a prison cell wall, Smith battled emotional demons. There was also summertime nonsense with his appearance in a controversial online video with NBA center Eddy Curry. And then came the seven-game suspension, a painstaking detour. Smith sought solace in a caring duo — Grgurich and assistant coach Jamahl Mosley, who serve as mentors, friends, advisers and, in a way, therapists. ‘They understand what it takes for me to get to a certain level,’ Smith said. ‘Plus, they know the game, they know where I get my shots at, where I get the ball to make plays for other people. They’re great at what they do.’ Now it’s time for Smith to do what he does — change games.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “Mike D’Antoni’s man crush on Chris Duhon is over. In the summer of 2008, D’Antoni convinced Donnie Walsh that Duhon was the bridge to 2010 — the point guard who would bring a winning attitude to a losing culture. Duhon possessed a high basketball IQ, leadership, defense and intangibles Stephon Marbury did not bring. The two-year deal has turned into an Isiah Thomas-like blunder. The bridge has collapsed. Duhon, newly named captain, is going down with the Knicks’ ship. The Knicks are in chaos as they take their 1-6 record into tonight’s game vs. the Jazz to begin a four-game homestand. Duhon’s role as starting point guard is under intense scrutiny again. With backup Nate Robinson still out with an ankle sprain, Duhon’s starting job is safe until Robinson returns. D’Antoni yanked Duhon 2:32 into the third quarter Saturday for good. Duhon scored one point, committed three turnovers, and was 0 for 4 from the field. Duhon is shooting 25 percent, has played sloppy and looks like what everyone in the league figured he was in the summer of 2008 — a good backup.”
Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune: “The on-court demeanor hasn’t changed, New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul wants people to know. Paul’s in-game countenance, a perpetual scowl, isn’t anything new, isn’t a reflection of any dissatisfaction he might feel as New Orleans has broken away from the starting gate with a 2-4 record as it struggles to formulate the kind of seamless chemistry that comes naturally to teams that have played together longer than two weeks. ‘There’s no frustration. I’m fine, ‘ the two-time All-Star and one-time league MVP runner-up said before the Hornets departed for a three-game West-Coast road trip that begins tonight here in Staples Center against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. ‘The only thing is I just want to win. It’s not like everyone is blowing it up to be. ‘You know, it’s funny. Everybody is saying I’m playing with this look on my face. Well, they must have just started watching me play yesterday. Because I’ve been like that. That’s my normal thing. A guy like K.G. (Celtics forward Kevin Garnett) who doesn’t smile during the game, people love that about him. But me, they want me smiling. That (unsmiling visage), it’s been me since Day One.’ Paul last week succinctly summed up his persona and his passion in one sentence: ‘I hate losing more than I like winning.’”
Michael Wallace of the Miami Herald: “Beasley said he hasn’t been discouraged by his lack of playing time late in games. He has been told that his defense, focus and foul trouble have been among the issues.`I’m just not doing everything I’m supposed to do,’ Beasley said Sunday of his rap sessions with Spoelstra. `It wasn’t a punishment type of conversation. It’s not that I’m doing anything bad. It’s that I’m not being as productive as I am in the first half. I think lately, I’ve been playing to [focus on] my offense.’ Beasley scored a season-low seven points on 3-of-8 shooting against the Nuggets. The previous two games, he was limited by foul trouble. Beasley’s overall production has dipped slightly since he averaged 11 points and 10 rebounds in the first two games. Teammates and coaches have challenged Beasley to do more in other areas when his offense is off. `A couple of shots don’t drop [and] I get into a funk,’ Beasley said. I’ve got to forget about my last shot, whether it’s made or not.’”
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: “This might have been difficult to believe two seasons ago when Joakim Noah seemed more conditionally challenged than a Bulls cornerstone. But some of Noah’s fondest memories with his famous father, Yannick, are of early morning jogs through Central Park. ‘When I was in high school, he used to wake me up in the morning sometimes and it was a good time to bond with him,’ Noah said. ‘My father is really busy, but I always remember him running and jogging and doing extra stuff. He took it pretty seriously.’ And so, finally, is Noah. After his career-best game in Saturday night’s victory over the Bobcats, Noah is averaging 11.3 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and shooting 60.9 percent from the field. Noah’s conditioning-committed summer has been well documented. But those Bulls fans panting for more from the third-year center might salivate at this notion: He’s not done.”
Jason Quick of The Oregonian: “After years of talking about pushing the tempo, the Trail Blazers are finally doing it, and it’s no coincidence that the new fast-break Trail Blazers are being led by point guard Andre Miller. With long passes, and urgent dribbling, Miller continued to change the look and style of the Blazers on Sunday as the Blazers amassed 21 fast-break points during a runaway 116-93 win over Minnesota in front of a Rose Garden sellout of 20,306. In the first five games of the season, when Miller was coming off the bench, the Blazers had 19 fast-break points, compared to 62 by their opponents. In the two games since he was inserted into the starting lineup, giving the Blazers a three-guard attack, the Blazers have a 33-10 advantage in fast-break points. And guess what? Miller says this is just the start. The Blazers can, and will, get better at running. How? ‘Defense,’ Miller said. ‘Defense can create easy baskets on offense. A lot of people think you can just fast break after a basket, but defensive teams are up there in fast breaks by forcing turnovers.’”
Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: “The Suns finished the preseason by getting outrebounded 50-28 in Portland and had to go through training camp all over again. To open four consecutive days of practice before the season opener, Suns coach Alvin Gentry ripped his team and brought clarity to their rebounding woes. ‘He said the reason why we’re not good at rebounding is that we don’t crash the boards offensively, so we’re not used to playing guys who crash the boards,’ forward Grant Hill said. ‘He said the threes, fours and fives (forwards and centers) had to crash the boards every time a shot was taken. If not, everybody runs.’ Message delivered. In turn, the Suns are delivering on the boards. After having the NBA’s worst rebounding margin in the preseason, the Suns have outrebounded opponents in four of seven games. ‘That’s probably been the biggest surprise,’ Gentry said. ‘We thought that would be our Achilles’ heel. We’ve done a good job of staying in and fighting.’”
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com: “The good news is that defensively, the Wizards are no longer a pushover. I wasn’t as impressed with their defensive performance against Phoenix on Sunday as Saunders was, but maybe he was trying to mix in a little positive in his post-game analysis of an effort that produced only 15 assists – five of them by Fabricio Oberto. That was two fewer assists than Nash dished out all by himself. Saunders was right when he described the Wizards’ offense as ‘stagnant.’ Arenas was right when he said the team is still ‘trying to find out where we are, what we are.’ The common ground ended there. ‘We’re just trying to figure out how we can put the ball in the basket, what coach wants from each player,’ Arenas said. ‘That’s what we’re struggling with.’ Once again on Sunday, the ball wasn’t moving, the cuts weren’t crisp enough, and there was little trust in the system that Saunders brought here. The typical offensive set consisted of someone getting the ball on the wing, dribbling toward the basket, and shooting. Yet listen to Arenas’ assessment: He thinks the Wizards aren’t shooting fast enough.”
Matt Steinmetz of FanHouse: “It’s not so much the Warriors’ 1-4 start that’s the problem. It’s the teams they’ve lost to and the manner in which they’ve been defeated. Nobody expected the Warriors to be among the Western Conference elite. But they shouldn’t be a team that can’t compete with the L.A. Clippers and Sacramento Kings. But they can’t. Not now. What a miserable weekend it was for the Warriors. And you could tell by taking one stroll through the locker room after their 120-107 loss to the Kings on Sunday that there’s more to this tough start than just a tough start. ‘No identity, that’s it,’ Corey Maggette said. ‘There’s no identity, there’s no chemistry … so we’ve got to figure it out. It’s chaos.’ Don’t be fooled by the 13-point margin of defeat. The Warriors were down 112-87 midway through the fourth period before a late run made the final score more cosmetically appealing.”
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: “Of all that had been worthy of Rockets coach Rick Adelman’s concern, the production of his bench seemed down the list. He worried about that, anyway. With his top three scorers from last season, Yao Ming, Ron Artest and Tracy McGrady, out or elsewhere, and his sixth man, Von Wafer, allowed to walk, depth did not seem likely to be a strength. It is not easy to be short-handed and deep at the same time. The play of the bench has gone from a presumed liability to a strength. The Rockets’ second unit has outscored its opponents by an average of 36 to 26.8. In the three games last week, the bench outscored the Jazz, Lakers and Thunder by an average of 37 to 16.7. The Rockets have done that going with three players — point guard Kyle Lowry, shooting guard/small forward Chase Budinger and power forward Carl Landry — with center David Andersen mixing in for cameos.”
Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: “Start with this premise: Young players are dumb players. That’s not an insult, that’s a fact of NBA life. Young players may have all the talent in the world, but there’s a distinct difference between having talent and knowing how to play, and the latter takes time. Years, even. Especially when it comes to learning the intricacies of team defense. Eddie Tapscott, the former Knicks GM and Wizards coach, liked to call it his NRA analogy: ‘You could have a gigantic gun that makes a lot of noise,’ he once said, ‘but if you don’t have a site on it, it’s not going to hit a damn thing.’ Are the Nets – in a painful but illuminating way – learning that their best chance for any advancement this year could be with veterans? Consider: They played without half their roster over the weekend, yet the last two games have arguably been their best defensive performances.”
Julian Benbow of The Boston Globe: “This season’s Celtics are giving the term ‘Big Three’’ a whole new meaning. More than any other team in the Doc Rivers era, these Celtics lust for the 3-point shot. Only two teams have taken more shots from long range than the Celtics so far this season – the Magic, who live by the three, and the Knicks, who die by it. Through the first eight games, it’s hard to say the Celtics (7-1) haven’t thrived on it, particularly after seeing them drown Charlotte (11), Chicago (12), and Philadelphia (14) in a shower of treys. Their 40.3 percentage from behind the arc is sixth-best in the league, third in the East. … There’s a certain kind of long-distance shot the Celtics are looking for. It comes after good ball movement, and it’s almost always a result of the offense working it from the inside out. They made 32 treys in their first three games and all but one of them came via an assist. Of point guard Rajon Rondo’s first 37 assists, 14 led to threes. ‘With the three-ball, you want to establish the game, you don’t want to start the game off shooting threes,’ said Allen. ‘That’s the difference in shooting a lot of threes. We have [great] 3-point shooters on this team. And with pick-and-roll coverages, it’s so wide open out there, especially with Rasheed out there.’”
Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: “This is bigger than the Pau Gasol trade. Bigger than Christian Laettner telling the world he planned to buy and then play for the team. The Grizzlies brought in Allen Iverson and then chased him into the sunset because he acted like — ready for it? — Allen Iverson! Whoever would have thought it? The nerve of the guy! Yes, Iverson has confirmed to the world he is all about Iverson. But what part of the world didn’t know that already? Answer: The part occupied by Michael Heisley, Hollins and Chris Wallace. Maybe it’s not that surprising, given the track record. These guys also apparently didn’t know that Hasheem Thabeet isn’t real good at basketball. Or that this year’s team couldn’t guard a chair. But even the Los Angeles Clippers knew about Iverson. They thought about signing him this summer but declined after they talked to him about his role.”
Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald: “Initially, the thought of a James-Dwyane Wade pairing seems unreasonable when you consider that neither would appear willing to play a supporting role, as well as unfair when you consider that no other team in the league would even stand a chance at competing when two of the league’s top three forces have unified their powers. As fun as domination sounds sometimes, isn’t competition what makes these games fun to watch? Let’s think about this for a second, though. Yes, it’s probably true that both James and Wade badly want to be the main man on their respective teams and be surrounded by complementary talent that wins them a championship. But it’s also true that both James and Wade think big. They think about image. They think about legacy. They want to be great, and they want to be remembered for accomplishing great things. If they team up and start collecting championship rings like trading cards, dominating the league for a decade and winning more titles than Michael Jordan ever did and possibly even reaching Bill Russell numbers, wouldn’t that be so much more memorable than winning a championship or two on their own?”
Pete Thamel of The New York Times: “Jeremy Tyler came to this scenic city overlooking the Mediterranean as a trailblazer. As the first American basketball player to skip his senior year of high school to play professionally overseas, Tyler signed a $140,000 deal to play for Maccabi Haifa this year. The grand plan revolves around his being a top pick, if not the top pick, in the 2011 N.B.A. draft. ‘My mission is to shake David Stern’s hand,’ he said. But after nearly three months of professional basketball in Israel’s top division, Tyler is at a crossroads. Caught in a clash of cultures, distractions and agendas, he appears to be worlds away from a draft-night handshake with Stern, the N.B.A. commissioner. His coach calls him lazy and out of shape. The team captain says he is soft. His teammates say he needs to learn to shut up and show up on time. He has no friends on the team. In extensive interviews with Tyler, his teammates, coaches, his father and advisers, the consensus is that he is so naïve and immature that he has no idea how naïve and immature he is. So enamored with his vast potential, Tyler has not developed the work ethic necessary to tap it.”
(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein NBAE/Getty Images)
