Points in the Paint

» November 10, 2009 4:28 PM | By Brandon Hoffman

The Associated Press reports: “Shaquille O’Neal’s wife is splitting up with the Cleveland Cavaliers center. Va’Shaundya O’Neal filed for legal separation with intent to divorce Monday in Los Angeles. She cited irreconcilable differences. She is seeking spousal and child support and full legal custody of the couple’s four children. No monetary amounts were listed in the court filing.” This isn’t the first time Shaq and Shaunie have appeared on the brink of divorce. In 2007, Shaquille filed for divorce, claiming his marriage have been “irretrievably broken.” The couple reconciled a year later.

The NBA has released its All-Star ballot, and is allowing fans to vote by text message for the first time.

Who says J.J. Redick isn’t athletic? Redick won the annual “Iron Magic” belt for his performance in the Orlando Magic’s various strength and conditioning tests, including bench press, vertical jump, and 3-minute run.

Bethlehem Shoals: “Leading the league in blocks and rebounds does a lot to land a player atop the Defensive Player of the Year favorites. Assists are pure gold, even if they’re handed out way too liberally. And at the same time, the statistical revolution is supposed to make it easier than ever to distinguish between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ statistics, such that a mercenary scorer could be separated from a valiant warrior of offense. Still, the scoring title remains that most double-edged of swords, a high-profile honor that, nevertheless, will be read by many as a slap against that player’s reputation.”

From ESPN’s Daily Dime: “Sloan recalled playing for the Chicago Bulls against the Boston Celtics in the first game of a doubleheader when a piece of metal suddenly dropped from the ceiling and landed on the Celtics’ trainer’s chair just after that trainer had stood up during a timeout. ‘Metal pieces at the top of the building just came out. It wasn’t a bolt, I don’t know what exactly it was — just look straight up, it’s that same metal. [Bill] Russell and Sam Jones were standing back here in the tunnel, and a piece of metal hit the floor and bounced up.’ Sloan also told another old sky-is-falling tale from the Garden’s early days. ‘We were here watching NYU play Notre Dame, [Tom] Boerwinkle and a couple of others, and one of the lights blew out, and kind of like a falling star it landed on a guy’s shirt or sweater,’ Sloan said, remembering how the spectator’s garment caught on fire. ‘We were on the opposite side. We felt safe.’”

Nuggets guard J.R. Smith has made a decision — from now on, he wants to be called by his given name, Earl — reports Benjamin Hochman. UPDATE: After a slew of calls, text messages, and emails, Earl Smith III is back to being J.R. Smith again.

David Aldridge: “For almost two years, the Knicks have been the lead speculators for James, with their ability to clear tens of millions in cap room. Initially, the idea was to have enough to sign two maximum players, but the worldwide recession has hit the NBA, too, and it’s no longer a given that the Knicks can go for two superstars next summer. Enter the other suitors, from the Bulls’ and Clippers’ solid cores, to Miami’s three Ws — water, windsurfing, Wade — to the championship certainty that would come if Kobe and LeBron hooped together, to Mikhail Prokhorov’s $30 billion (you heard me; he’s got a lot more in the bank than he’s letting on, one of my in-the-know moles says).”