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Slimmed Down Eddy Curry to Practice Tuesday

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 19:44:42 EDT

By Chris Sheridan

NEW YORK -- Knicks center Eddy Curry will scrimmage with the team Tuesday for the first time since injuring his calf muscle on the first day of training camp.

And here's the big news, according to Knicks president Donnie Walsh: Curry's weight is "way down."

Walsh refused to attach a specific number to Curry's actual weight, but noted it was "way down" from the 317 pounds that Curry weighed at the beginning of training camp.

The Knicks are not putting any kind of a timetable on returning Curry to game action, but the best-case scenario would allow coach Mike D'Antoni to at least showcase Curry for a few minutes Friday night when the Golden State Warriors come to Madison Square Garden.

Golden State remains one of�the league's most active teams in trade talks as they search for a deal to send Stephen Jackson packing, and the Knicks --�still anxious to clear additional cap room for the summer of 2010 -- would gladly get involved in any kind of three-way discussions in which Curry and/or Jared Jeffries could be dealt for players with expiring contracts.

�

The Daryl Morey of Healthcare

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 17:38:01 EDT

By Henry Abbott

This weekend's New York Times Sunday magazine had a story about how data collection is changing healthcare.

It's a sensitive issue. This is your doctor we're talking about. The last thing you want is for that person to be an automaton. This is as much art as science! Keep your studies to yourself!

I get that feeling.

And I know it from talking about basketball, where a ton of people still really believe that coaches and players know best and everyone else ought to shut up, especially if they're telling about things they learned from Excel.

But then I also understand that the dataheads are often right. Analyzing spreadsheets can tell you things that work that you wouldn't know about otherwise, and if you're in the business of doing the best job possible, you can't ignore all that information.

And this is the information age, right?

To me the question isn't whether or not we'll be getting valuable insights from data analysis. That horse is out of the barn and halfway to Houston. The question is how to integrate that kind of insight with the human intuition we also want. David Leonhardt writes about a doctor, Brent James, a doctor and a datahead who is a central player in the healthcare reform debate:

This debate between intuition and empiricism is as old as Plato, who thought that knowledge came from intuitive reasoning, and Aristotle, who preferred observation. The argument has seemed especially intense lately, as one field after another has struggled to define the role of human judgment in a data-saturated society. The police officials in New York City who overhauled crime fighting were classic empiricists. The debate over education reform revolves around how well teachers can be measured and what the consequences of those measurements should be. These disagreements can sometimes be exaggerated, because everyone agrees that intuition and empiricism both have a role to play. But the fight over how to balance the two is a real one. ...

The overall record of decision-making approaches that are based mostly on intuition is far weaker than the record of decisions based mostly on data. To give just one example, an article in the journal Psychological Assessment, analyzing dozens of studies that compared clinical judgments with data-based diagnoses, found that clinical judgments were better in only a few instances. The two approaches were equally accurate about half of the time, but the data-based diagnoses substantially outperformed human judgment in nearly half of the studies. And with data collection becoming ever cheaper, Kahneman says that the number of occasions in which an intuitive approach beats a systemic one is getting smaller all the time.

Looking Pretty Good Now

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 14:49:30 EDT

By Henry Abbott

They won't often say it to the media, but you know they're thinking it. The people who run bad NBA teams watch the good teams and think: If I had those players, everyone would think I was a genius.

Sometimes, though, they did have those players. As it happens, the NBA's best rosters -- the success stories like the Lakers, Celtics, Mavericks, Suns, Rockets and the like -- give heavy minutes to players who couldn't find long-term homes with cellar-dwelling teams.

With Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum trying to get healthy, Josh Powell has played some key minutes and been rather productive for the champion Lakers. Not only could the Clippers have had him, but they did.
Shelden Williams is looking like a new man in the Celtics' proven system -- and he's contributing to wins doing many of the things that meant almost nothing to the Hawks or Kings.
Matt Bonner is now known as the deadly shooter who makes defenses pay for double-teaming the Spurs' stars. But he was once a guy who failed to make his mark as a Raptor.
As a Celtic, Eddie House has been a bundle of energy, and a shooter who can get very hot at key times, including in the NBA Finals. At this stage he's seen as a key contributor. But is he really much better now than when he played for the Heat, Clippers, Bobcats, Bucks, Kings, Suns or Nets?
Louis Amundson is the Suns' hustling, high-energy big man -- who could barely get on the court when he played for the Sixers.
Kyle Lowry gets to the free throw line so much that other ways he contributes to the Rockets' success almost seem like gravy, and has been on the floor much of the time as the Rockets almost beat the Lakers. But the Grizzlies didn't really have a role for him when he was there.
The Mavericks surprised a lot of people by signing Kris Humphries, the former Utah and Toronto player. But he has played plenty of minutes on a team that now has a rejuvenated defense.
Steve Blake is the starting point guard for the team that finished last season tied for the second best record in the West. But he has passed through the Wizards and Bucks (and Blazers and Nuggets).
Jared Dudley had a hard time finding a role in Charlotte, but he has looked better and better since arriving in Phoenix.
Quinton Ross has been starting for the Mavericks, but apparently didn't have what it took for the Clippers or Grizzlies to keep him around.

I'm not saying the teams that let these players go made mistakes. Often they just have different priorities.

But I am saying that there's clearly something going on when it's easy to come up with players who couldn't stick with bad teams but are right at home on good teams.

First of all, help me brainstorm this list ... who's missing? And then ... what do you think is going on? Why is this happening?

We'll dig in deeper in a follow-up.

Stephen Jackson's Get Out of Golden State Card

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 13:56:21 EDT

by Chad Ford

Golden State Warriors swingman Stephen Jackson has been openly pining for a trade for weeks. He's tried to force the Warriors to dump him by publicly demanding a trade to a contender, skirmishing with coach Don Nelson (and being suspended), and having his agent, Mark Stevens, rip Nelson on ESPN.com.

Meanwhile, Jackson does have a way out of Golden State if he really wants out.

The collective bargaining agreement allows a player and team to negotiate a buyout that reduce the compensation owed to the player. While the union doesn't love buyouts, they have been supportive in the past when players have sought them.

If Jackson were forgo his three-year extension, he could be paid in full for this season but also get his freedom and the opportunity to increase his 2009-10 wages while joining the team of his choice, playing for his next contract and becoming a member of the 2010 free-agent class, if he chose to do so.

For Chad's complete analysis of the Stephen Jackson situation, click here (Insider).

Lunch at Ikea

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 13:53:14 EDT

Professional basketball player Coleman Collins has written many tremendous TrueHoop posts about Steve Nash's charity soccer game, Paris, a fashion show, Germany, Iran, and more. Today, he writes about applying culinary lessons honed in Georgia to a life unfolding in Germany, where he plays for Ulm in the Bundesliga.

I have very particular tastes. If I am trying to find something to eat, and I'm the one doing the cooking, my favorite things to eat are baked chicken wings and Ramen noodles. They have to be chicken-flavored Maruchan Ramen noodles. This is very important to remember. Some people think you can just eat Ramen noodles as a full meal, in a bowl and drowned in water like some common soup, but I've found that they work best as an accompaniment to something else. So chicken wings are served with chicken-flavored Ramen, roast beef with roast beef Ramen, and so on. There's an art to it. The most important thing is to strain the noodles in a colander, and then add the seasoning when they have dried somewhat. In this way the flavoring adheres better to the noodle, and only then can the full power of the Ramen noodle be experienced. Try it at home.

You don't believe me. Trust me, I've heard all the naysayers. "Ramen noodles have absolutely no nutritional value." "How can you eat something that can be buried for ten years and not go bad?" "I thought those were for poor college kids." These sentiments are all somewhat true, but they are irrelevant. Who cares that they're high in sodium and have no vitamins? Ramen noodles are tasty and delightfully inexpensive - for 12 cents a pack you can eat like a king. It's your own personal recession special. I challenge you to find a better food value in this day and age.

This isn't a story about Ramen noodles, though, because I don't have any here with me. Strangely, the Germans do not share my love of Ramen, and I have had trouble finding them at my local store. This is a small tragedy, but I adapt. I am a very good cook. One of the best dishes I cook other than baked chicken wings and Ramen is spaghetti. I learned from the best. When I was about seven or eight years old and both of my parents were working, my father decided it was high time I learned to cook something so I could feed myself for a change. One day, we stood in the kitchen, huddled over the stove.

"Now listen up," he said, "and pay attention. I don't want to have to repeat this." I straightened up, all ears. I had conquered the microwave, except for that one time when I microwaved a spoon in a bowl of Spaghetti-O's, but no one had found out and the microwave still worked. Now it was time to move on to bigger and better things. He cleared his throat and began the lesson. "Any idiot can make spaghetti. You put water in a pot. Put a little salt in the pot, maybe a little olive oil. Then you put it on the stove. You make sure the stove is on," he said, gesturing to the knobs in front of us. I nodded and made a mental note. Make sure stove is turned on. This was clearly a step I would do well to remember. "You wait till the water is boiling. Then you put the spaghetti in. When the spaghetti's done, you strain it. That's it."

"What do you mean, 'boiling'?" Boiling. It was a nice, round word and I rolled it around and repeated it for a bit. Boy-yull-ing. It was news to me and sounded strange and important. I decided right then and there to bring it up casually at school. "Did you watch that new episode of "Doug" last night?" my classmates would ask. "Oh no," I'd say, "didn't have any time. I got carried away boy-yull-ing some water, and, well, you know how it is." Boiling water was clearly something that grown-ups did, and once I learned how to do it I'd be well on my way.

As I mouthed the word, giggling at its strangeness, he narrowed his eyes at me, probably second-guessing the decision to leave me alone near an open flame. "Pay attention. Boiling is simple. There will be bubbles coming from the water. Big bubbles. They'll be rising and popping really fast. You'll be able to tell. I hope."

"Ok." Bubbles were familiar territory. Show me a little kid that doesn't like bubbles, and I'll show you a future mortician. "But, wait - how do I know it's done cooking?"

He laughed and put his arm around my shoulder. "Ah-ha. That's the best part. But let's just keep it between you and me, alright son?" I nodded vigorously. At that point you could trust me with anything. I was a vault.

He glanced over his shoulder as if to be sure no one was listening, whispered in my ear. "You get it out a piece at a time - use a fork so you don't burn yourself or anything - and then you throw it at the wall. If it sticks, it's ready to eat."

"Spaghetti can stick to a wall, without glue or anything?"

"It most certainly can. And if it doesn't stick, you just wait and keep throwing strands of spaghetti every so often until one does. That's how you know. Only don't tell your mother I told you. It'll be our little secret."

I was beside myself. Who knew cooking was so fun? Boiling water with bubbles floating all over the kitchen and popping overhead? Spaghetti that magically stuck to any surface? It was almost more than I could bear. I composed myself, tried not to let on how excited I was. "What about the ceiling? Would that work too?"

"Sure, why not? I don't see why the ceiling'd be any different. If it's done, really done, it'll stick to anything. Got it?"

I nodded again.

"Ok, good. I'm gonna go upstairs and watch the game. Why don't you try it out?"

He chuckled to himself and walked away, leaving me beaming, standing in a kitchen full of magic and possibilities. That was the day I made my first pot of spaghetti.

My mother came home about an hour later. "I made dinner!" I said brightly, clutching a colander half-full with overcooked pasta. She smiled weakly and took a piece, chewing and glancing around the kitchen at the other half-pot of spaghetti, the half that covered the ceiling and walls and the raw pieces that littered the floor. I'd thrown a piece about every fifteen seconds from the moment I'd first dropped them in.

"Mmmmm," she said, "that tastes really good. How'd you learn to do a thing like that?"

"Dad taught me," I said. Then I thought about our secret. "Well, he showed me a couple things, but I came up with a few ideas myself."

"Ah," she said. "I see. Good job. How about you put that spaghetti down for a second, and sweep this floor up? Where's your father right now?"

"Upstairs."

She sighed. "I think I'll go up and tell him how well your spaghetti turned out."

Over the years I have perfected my spaghetti technique, but I have not forgotten those first lessons in my family's kitchen. They have served me quite well. I make phenomenal spaghetti. I often receive compliments about the tenderness of the pasta, and I nod and accept them with a knowing smile. Because I am so good at making spaghetti, I will often find myself eating it three or four times a week. 'But what of the other days of the week?' you might ask. This problem is easily solved. On Tuesdays, most of the KFCs in Germany have a wing special -- six wings for two euros. Tuesday nights I get a big bucket of chicken wings and fantasize about having Ramen noodles to eat with them. On nights that are not Tuesdays I might order delivery from the selection of pizza and Chinese places. If I am hungry for a high-class meal with vegetables I will visit an actual restaurant.

Lunch time is simple. Connoisseur that I am, regardless of where I am living I will always be well apprised of the various buffets in the area. There is a Chinese buffet downtown, all-you-can-eat for 6.90. There is another buffet that is also all-you-can-eat, which charges 6.70. These two restaurants are directly across the street from each other. I imagine the owners, peering out their respective windows and plotting against their competitor. In my mind they are brothers who have had a falling out over their father's will. The older brother coerced a deathbed rewrite and stole the recipe for their father's secret sauce, and after years of court challenges they've retreated to their respective bunkers, silently hating each other from a few yards away. I have begun to subtly sow seeds for a price war. "How much was that again?" I ask. "Six euros even, right? No? Oh, I'm sorry, I don't eat here often. I usually go to that other, cheaper place across the street, but today it was so packed I just couldn't get a table."

When I am tired of eating Asian buffets or making lunch from cold cuts, I dine at IKEA. Most people think that IKEA is only for bland furniture and rock-bottom prices, but for those blessed with houses already full of furniture and discerning palates, it can also be a wonderful place for lunch. The food is vaguely Swedish with a German twist. I like to think of it as European fusion. Someday it will catch on elsewhere, but for now IKEA is the only outlet for the European fusion enthusiast. The only problem is that the menu never changes; IKEA's restaurant was (sadly) not designed for repeat customers. People only go to IKEA at most once a month, and even still, they won't stop to eat each time they walk in. As a result IKEA is able to keep its menu static with the average consumer none the wiser. But I am, as I have told you before, a culinary connoisseur, and I cannot help but notice. For this sad reason, the joy of eating IKEA's food is gradually lessened with each visit. I have begun changing up my order when I go there, but am secretly hoping that 2010 has a new IKEA menu in store for me. But if you haven't been yet, you should go. The meatballs are excellent this time of year.

On extremely rare occasions, I might even experiment with something other than spaghetti, but normally the sole reason I haven't cooked spaghetti is that there are no clean dishes. My apartment here doesn't have a dishwasher. This is the primary source of stress in my life. I hate washing dishes by hand. To me it's like washing a load of clothes in a river or using flint to start a fire: sure, it's noble, but there are machines that do that better than I ever will, so why bother? Paradoxically, I absolutely can't stand a dirty kitchen, so after cooking on consecutive days I tend to spend most of my time in the living room. When the living room got too dirty to bear, I found an older German woman to clean things up. For 10 euros an hour she will come in and clean your apartment from top to bottom. Her husband dropped her off, and there she was standing at my door, mop in hand and ready for battle. "Don't forget to do the dishes," I told her. "I'm planning on making something special tonight." I left her there, went to practice and came back a few hours later. The place was absolutely spotless, save for the cleaning lady collapsed on the couch, glistening with sweat from the labor. I paid her the money I owed (with a little extra out of embarrassment for how dirty the apartment was) and we said our goodbyes. Then she ambled down the stairs, out the door and into the arms of her waiting husband, who had to have been shocked at how long it took her to finish. I can only imagine their conversation on the way home. "Now, wait - just wait one minute," he says, scratching his head. "The floor I can understand. That part makes sense. But how on earth would he have gotten that stuck to the ceiling?"

Monday Bullets

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 13:42:08 EDT

By Henry Abbott

Toni Sharpless, a single mother and a nurse, has been missing since August 23. One of the last places she was seen, according to police, was at a party at Sixer Willie Green's house. Police say Green had nothing to do with her disappearance, and are asking for help in finding her black 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix with Pennsylvania license plate DND-7772.
The Dallas Mavericks' defense, in fine video breakdown.
A big bunch of bullet points describing all the reasons not to like Clipper owner Donald Sterling.
Despite his age, and a trend in his own game in recent years, Kobe Bryant is getting more shots at the rim and free throw line -- evidence that off-season work on his post game is paying off.
Mark Cuban explains how Twitter is cutting Google out of the breaking news picture.
There are probably four zillion dorks online who will tell you they're NBA players. One of them, it turns out, really is Danny Granger.
A commenter on this story says that Glen "Big Baby" Davis needs to give up his nickname so Allen Iverson can have it.
How's Jeremy Tyler, the would-be high-school senior who's playing professionaly in Israel, faring? Pete Thamel of The New York Times: "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 na�ve and immature that he has no idea how na�ve and immature he is. So enamored with his vast potential, Tyler has not developed the work ethic necessary to tap it."
Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star, on Tyler Hansbrough's first NBA game: "The stat that stood out was the 10 free throw attempts. Hansbrough's either going to get called for an offensive foul or he's going to get fouled when he goes up for a shot in the paint."
Tim Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell: "The Spurs’ early struggles owe themselves almost entirely to lousy defense, especially in terms of rebounding and contesting shots near the hoop. The problem is neither with schemes (the Spurs typically dominate the defensive glass) nor with the personnel (the roster has more than enough shot blocking and rebounding talent). The team simply needs to adjust the minutes within the rotation and feature more of its traditional bigs."
John Krolik of Cavs the Blog: "When Delonte West is on the floor, the Cavs are a +15.9 per 100 possessions. That’s the highest mark of any player on the team, including LeBron. Delonte needs more minutes. I get the off-court issues, but I still fail to see how bringing Delonte off the bench is worse for his mental health than starting him. However, I can definitely see how starting Delonte would make the Cavaliers play better basketball."
Brook Lopez, meet the low post.
Jeremy of Bucksbetball on Ersan Ilyasova, who has done an amazing job at being a really annoying defender: " Ilyasova has been one of the most productive players on the Bucks this year. What Ilyasova brings to the table is hard to quantify in statistics, advanced as they may be getting. While Ersan is frequently drawing charges (his three drawn rank him second to Bogut) it’s his maximum effort that really stands out. Whether he is grabbing a rebound, taking a charge or going to the hole, Ersan puts everything he has into each play. When Ersan sets a screen he gets as wide a base as any player I’ve ever seen on the Bucks. When he sees a rebound up in the air that he won’t be able to grab, he tips it and tips it until it’s either his or knocks it out to a teammate waiting on the perimeter. Ersan plays the pesky defense that opposing teams hate, constantly slapping at the ball when it’s exposed, trying to poke it away when it’s not; there is absolutely a reason he’s second on the team in fouls. The best way to quantify how productive Ersan has been is like this: he’s had a total of 23 stints in five games, in 12 of those stints the Bucks have outscored their opponent, in four they scored the same amount and in only seven have the Bucks been outscored. On the year Ersan’s plus/minus is plus 37, good for second on the team (behind Charlie Bell, sometimes these things aren’t perfect)."
On Cleveland.com, reader Yiannis submits Brian Windhorst a question I've often wondered: "Hey, Brian: Maybe it's just my ignorance, but why is Madison Square Garden considered the 'Mecca' of basketball? I looked up and saw that the Knicks have only won two titles. Furthermore, they showed a top-10 plays of MSG moments and I believe seven were from opposing teams." To me, it's in the biggest city in America, and that's a big deal. But the building and the teams that have called it home -- neither stands out in a major way.

Five thoughts about Timberwolves at Blazers

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 12:00:11 EDT

By Henry Abbott

One of the stranger games of the NBA season happened in Portland last night. In a game of two stars -- Portland's Brandon Roy and Minnesota's Al Jefferson -- neither much mattered as Portland rolled to the victory powered by the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge and Andre Miller.

Five things I noticed:

In the last few weeks, I have heard Corey Brewer mentioned three or four times as the butt of jokes. It's getting to be time for that to stop. He and Andre Miller both dared each other to shoot all night, but Brewer did it with purpose -- and was an effective help defender helping to keep Roy (who had one of his worst games as a professional) at bay. He's no All-Star at this point, but there's no doubt he's vastly improved.� He's among the team's leaders in steals, assists, blocks and free throws attempted -- and his defensive talents and efforts are constant and not to be overlooked. When he hits a couple of 3s, like last night, he's hard to miss.
This season the Blazers have been a bit underwhelming. Brandon Roy is part of the reason -- for whatever reason, he has not been his regular self. Last night the whole team's energy level seemed higher when he was out of the game. That's concerning. There has been a lot of discussion in Portland about Andre Miller not mixing well with Roy, and that could be a factor. But a simpler explanation is that Miller is a guy who has the ball a lot, and Miller has spent most of the season missing shots. One of Miller's great gifts is to get into the paint. But I just watched video of every shot he has taken this season, and a huge percentage of them have been misses. He has also been a very bad spot-up shooter in the young season too. That does three things to Roy -- takes the ball out of his hands, makes his team's offense inefficient, and emboldens defenders to help off Miller onto Roy. Last night, however, when Miller finally hit some shots, the Blazers' offense rolled, even if Roy couldn't hit more than one field goal before taking an early seat in the blowout.
Absent other things to sell, the Timberwolves have been trying to fire up fans with the notion they're an up-tempo team ("United We Run"). They're kind of fast. They play at the NBA's ninth fastest pace -- behind teams like the Clippers, Grizzlies and Hawks. But their points per game are 26th in the NBA, and if you tune in excited for layups and dunks you're going to be disappointed. On the other hand, you have to assume that running machine will look a lot better when rebounder/outlet passer Kevin Love is healthy again.
Ryan Hollins, the young center the 'Wolves signed in the off-season, is living proof that being long and athletic is not nearly enough to be a good NBA defender. Opponents out-thought him all night.
LaMarcus Aldridge is one of those players who has nearly limitless potential yet seldom gets mentioned as a top player. Even people in Portland have been unsure about the guy. If anyone ever questions this man's ability, show them tape of this game. He rebounded, he scored on the break, from the post, and with that sweet jumper. He also had some amazing passes. In the second quarter, he slipped the pick and left Ryan Hollins clueless at the 3-point line. After catching the Rudy Fernandez bounce pass, Aldridge drew help and delivered a nice, quick and thoughtful pass to Joel Przybilla alone under the hoop. Later, in the third quarter, he went up to shoot and instead found Andre Miller sneaking under the hoop. To my eyes, Aldridge became a much more determined and gritty player some time around last March, and now he's on a whole different, and better, career trajectory.

First Cup: Monday

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 08:48:32 EDT

Geoff Calkins of The Commercial-Appeal: "The Grizzlies should never have signed Allen Iverson. By signing him and then losing him, they're making it harder for everyone. Lionel Hollins will be known as the coach who ran Iverson out of the game. MikeConley will be known as the player who kept Iverson on the bench. Conley, at least, deserves better. Michael Heisley, Chris Wallace and Hollins deserve all the ridicule they'll get. They're the ones who failed here. They're the ones who created this mess. Allen Iverson is contemplating retirement. The Grizzlies' incompetents remain."
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: "As if the loss to a reigning lottery team wasn't bad enough, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard said it appeared his team "quit" during the dreary proceedings. 'We haven't had a game like this in a long time. We'd miss shots and guys would hang their heads,' Howard said. 'I don't think we should quit in a game. Seems like, as a team, we shouldn't quit.' It's one thing for the Magic to be routed by the Oklahoma City Thunder 102-74 on Sunday night at Ford Center. It's another thing for Howard to suggest the Magic (5-2) retired early against a team that is improving, but one that won just 23 games last season. Howard showed no anger. He was singing some song as he sprayed a cloud of cologne. Nobody turned over a table in the middle of the room that offered chicken and mixed vegetables. 'It doesn't seem to bother anybody in the locker room,' Coach Stan Van Gundy said."

Israel Gutierrez of The Miami Herald: "Yes, it's probably true that both LeBron James and Dwyane 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? Think about the impact this would have. Together, they could go down as the most dominating force this league has seen. In the big picture, isn't that exactly what they play for?"
Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News: "Perhaps it's hard to believe, but the Dallas Mavericks' new mantra is strong defense. For a team that once believed the fastest way to the win column was getting to 100 points, this season's Mavericks have talked defense from the beginning and backed it up on the court. Even on Saturday night, when the offense finally found a rhythm with swingman Josh Howard making his season debut, forward Shawn Marion attributed the Mavericks' season-high point total in a 129-101 win over Toronto to defense. 'Everything starts with the defensive end. We're all playing defense, and you're seeing it now,' Marion said. 'The more we keep playing defense and getting stops, it's going to fuel our offense.' "
Tom Knott of The Washington Times: "The Wizards already are immersed in self-doubt. They are out of sync and out of sorts, found wanting in purpose and cohesiveness. They are not a pretty sight, whether it is Caron Butler missing three shots at the rim or Randy Foye, inexplicably, making an ill-advised move to the basket before halftime that allowed the Suns enough time to sink a 3-pointer. The latter prompted assistant coach Sam Cassell to give Foye a quickie lesson in time management as the players made their way to the locker room. That snapshot is emblematic of a team that is exhibiting a low basketball IQ and lacks a sense of urgency."
John Jackson of the Chicago Sun-Times: "As crazy as it sounds, Joakim Noah quietly has become one of the top 12 or so true centers in the NBA. He's not a big-time scorer, but he does things that don't get noticed in the box score. He's stronger this season and is better able to hold his ground against big centers. That much was evident against Shaquille O'Neal of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. Noah also is able to play strong post defense without fouling, which is no small factor because it keeps him on the court and keeps the Bulls from exceeding the foul limit early in quarters. With starting power forward Tyrus Thomas out for at least a month with a fractured left forearm, Noah assumes a larger role. He played more than 40 minutes against the Bobcats and, for at least one game, showed he's up to the challenge."
Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald: "Nearly two weeks into the NBA season, things are shaping up pretty much as expected – with one exception. I’m not sure anyone thought the Phoenix Suns would be off to such a fast start. The Suns improved to 6-1 by beating Washington on Sunday afternoon and during their current road trip have knocked off Boston and Miami. This is basically the same roster that failed to reach the playoffs last season except for Channing Frye taking the place of Shaquille O’Neal. What a trade that turned out to be, since Frye, who never saw the court in Portland, is averaging 13.5 points and leading a crew of lights-out 3-point shooters by making 16 of 33."
Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: "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,' Alvin Gentry said. 'We thought that would be our Achilles' heel. We've done a good job of staying in and fighting.' "
Jonathan Abrams of The New York Times: "For much of his first six N.B.A. seasons, Carmelo Anthony settled on the wrong side of great. Great scorer, not a great player. Great shooter, not a gracious passer. Great athlete, not a good defender. The distinctions are important in the N.B.A. One side nearly always carries the connotation of losing, garnering a player name recognition and little more. The great player can score, but he flows in and out of the game’s rhythm as required, guiding his team to victories. In a coming-of-age transformation, Anthony is crossing to the positive side. The Nuggets’ streak into the Western Conference finals last season only whetted his appetite. Denver (5-2) began this season with five straight wins, its best start in 24 years. Anthony is still on a Mile High high, averaging 31.4 points as an all-around player. 'Young guys coming into the league, they want to score in the N.B.A. and establish something early,' said Anthony, 25. 'But as you get older, you become smarter. You become more aware of basketball things.' For basketball purists, the evolution is special. It appears sudden but is more of a gradual progression. There is no light bulb that suddenly turns on or gears that magically shift."
Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post: "Danny Granger’s desire to be a leader is very much like Denver’s Carmelo Anthony, who has taken baby steps each of the past few seasons to be a leader in the Nuggets locker room. Anthony has established himself in that role this season. Granger is walking a similar path and is confident that his mental makeup will allow him to take control and adapt to a leadership role quickly. 'It kind of comes naturally, especially if it’s in your personality,' Granger said. 'And it somewhat is in mine. I think it’s also a learning process, because if you’re going to lead you have to be doing a lot of things right yourself. When everybody is down you’ve got to be the one to pick everyone up. It’s a hard job.' Right now, it’s a job that requires patience. The Pacers are a relatively young basketball team, but more than that, they are an injured basketball team. Their first-round draft pick, Tyler Hansbrough, just played his first game for the team on Friday. Two of their best players, Troy Murphy and Jeff Foster, have been out with injuries. And Mike Dunleavy Jr., a player who has the ability to help take Indiana to the next level, has been dealing with a right knee injury for the better part of the last two seasons."
Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: "And on the 13th day, they rested. The relevant numbers are eight, 12 and seven, but the Celtics�don’t want to get muddled in the math. They made it through their season opening run of eight games in 12 days with seven wins. Big whoop, sayeth the C’s. 'It’s over, and coming out 7-1 ... before the season when we looked at these eight games we would have said, ‘Oh, we’ll take that,’ ' coach Doc Rivers said. 'But for us it’s not all about the record obviously. We want to just keep getting better.' The Celtics are trying to win these games, but they are after something larger than regular-season glory. And unlike other franchises, they don’t hang banners for division and conference championships. They are paying attention to now only as it relates to later."
Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee: "This league never fails to surprise, though. Two nights. Two victories. Two appearances this weekend by Dont� Greene, and suddenly, the 6-foot-11 forward, best known for his pranks and his playful personality, has thrust himself into the conversation with the other promising young Kings. If he was effective Saturday night in Salt Lake City, stroking timely jumpers in his club's victory over the Utah Jazz, his contribution Sunday was significantly more influential, and yes, definitely worthy of some love from the late-night crowd at ESPN. Greene energized both the crowd and his teammates with a pair of baseline drives and nifty finishes, stole a ball at the far end of the court that led to a field goal, reached in and deflected others. He lunged for rebounds, blocked a shot, converted all of his free throws. He also produced the most spectacular sequence of the evening, inbounding a perfect alley oop that Jason Thompson slammed through as time expired at the end of the third period."
Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer: "Doc Rivers coached Tracy McGrady in Orlando and Paul Pierce in Boston. But he didn't win an NBA championship until the Celtics also acquired Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen two years ago. Is there a difference between coaching one superstar and multiple superstars? 'I wasn't very good with the one,' Rivers said, laughing. 'I had Tracy in Orlando and that didn't go very well. I like the multiple ones much better. I will say that.' Actually, Rivers said, the players were more responsible for the team's success than he was. 'I think the secret is them,' he said, referring to Pierce, Garnett and Allen. 'I don't know if it's the coach. If you have stars -- and it doesn't have to be stars -- but if you have stars willing to be coached and willing to try to make it work with each other, then you have a chance. We have that.' The Cavaliers are hoping they have it, too. Certainly, to this point, LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal have said and done all the right things in the early days of what they hope will be a long, long season. Whether it will end with the championship they long for remains to be seen."
Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: "What's the deal on that espn.com blurb about Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw? Would the Bobcats be interested in adding Stephen Jackson? Sure. Would they give up Diaw to make that happen? Highly unlikely. ... Are the Bobcats a better team with Jackson, but without Diaw? Nope. Coach Larry Brown diagnosed early last season that this team's biggest problem was ball movement. Diaw improved that dramatically. Diaw has flaws -- his nonchalance is annoying in a sport where intensity counts for plenty -- but he's still the most skilled player in franchise history."
Frank Isola of the New York Daily News: "The Utah Jazz has more of a vested interest in the Knicks this season than most of the Knicks themselves. Utah is the sole beneficiary of every loss the Knicks pile up this year. And from the looks of things, there will be plenty of losses. Utah owns the Knicks' 2010 first-round pick, a pick that originally was included in the ill-fated Stephon Marbury deal with the Phoenix Suns and later rerouted to Utah. The defining trade of the Isiah Thomas regime is the trade that keeps on giving ... to everyone except the Knicks. It's the one that continues to haunt the franchise every bit as much as the ill-fated Patrick Ewing trade. Utah makes its only trip to the Garden Monday and Jerry Sloan's club should be encouraged by what the future holds. The Knicks, 1-6 and coming off Saturday's woeful loss to the Bucks, appear to be on the verge of a complete breakdown."

Moral victory for winless Nets in loss to Celtics?

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 22:55:20 EDT

By Chris Sheridan

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -� They don't give out Ws in the NBA for moral victories, which is why the New Jersey Nets will awake Sunday still sporting the league's only goose egg in the win column.

But what happened Saturday night, with New Jersey sticking with the Boston Celtics all the way into the final minute of the fourth quarter of an 86-76 loss despite having only eight healthy bodies, can arguably be considered the most positive night thus far of what promises to be a dismal season.

"Our guys are battling their tails off, and we'll break through. We're not discouraged," said Nets coach Lawrence Frank, whose team dropped to 0-7. "Our team going in, we said none of us is as strong as all of us, and it's literally come to fruition in a seven-game stretch. Go figure. But our guys have a great deal of� pride and they're trying to win. We walked in the locker room, and it wasn't like a moral victory. They wanted to win, and we're disappointed we came up short, but it's a credit to those guys in the locker room, and we're going to keep on battling."

The Nets were without starters Devin Harris (strained right groin), Courtney Lee (strained left groin), Yi Jianlian (sprained knee) and Chris Douglas-Roberts (swine flu), along with reserves Keyon Dooling (hip), Jarvis Hayes (hamstring) and Tony Battie (knee), but they led by as many as eight, kept the game tight the entire way and had four chances to cut into a six-point deficit in the final 90 seconds, only to miss on offense each of those four times.

Frank had to go with a starting five of Brook Lopez at center, Bobby Simmons and Josh Boone at the forward spots and Rafer Alston and Trenton Hassell in the backcourt. His only available reserves were rookie Terrence Williams (4-for-14, 4 turnovers), Eduardo Najera (zero points, one rebound and two turnovers in 12 minutes) and Sean Williams (4 points in 5 minutes of playing time.)

"Sometimes when you're in that forest it's hard to see in between those trees," Frank said,�"but I think in the process we are getting better, and the numbers will take care of themselvs in terms of wins and losses. If we keep plugging away, we'll get the wins we deserve to get. I like the approach that our guys have, they have no fear of anyone."

If Frank has any fear concerning his job security, he is keeping it well hidden.

Frank, team president Rod Thorn and general manager Kiki Vandeweghe are all in the final year of their contracts, and the entire organization is in a state of limbo while they wait to see if the sale of the club from Bruce Ratner to Russian oligarch Mickael Prokhorov goes through.

That issue may not be resolved until the end of December, and the school of thought at the Meadowlands is that nobody on the coaching staff is in job jeopardy simply because of the fact that the club would have to spend money to pay a replacement, and spending money is not something the Nets are doing these days.

(Frank's No. 1 assistant, Brian Hill, decided to leave over the summer after management asked him and most of the other assistant coaches to take pay cuts, and the Nets are scrambling so far and wide for sponsors that the rotating signage on the front of the scorer's table featured advertisements, in English and Chinese, for the Agricultural Bank of China, and for a product called YiLi Low Lactose Milk).

So for at least another 7-8 weeks, Frank -- the�longest tenured coach in the Eastern Conference, with a career record of 225-232�-- should remain secure.

But once the outcome of the Ratner-Prokhorov transaction is known,�everyone in the organization is apt to morph from lame duck to on the chopping block.�

"I think somtimes because your record is bad people assume that the coach is in trouble, and�I don't know if that's the case here," Boston coach Doc Rivers said.�"I know it shoudn't be. In our case, at least in Boston, it was more talk from the media than from inside. I never felt threatened that I was going anywhere�-- that don't mean you're not, it can happen.

"But I think they're pretty smart here. They know what they have. They know what they're dealing with, especially right now with the injuries and the youth. They decided to go in this direction. So you just do your job. You come and you show up and you do your job every day, and I think Lawrence has done a fantastic job but has nothing to show for it, and that's tough."

The last time a coach was fired in-season without any victories was in 2002 when Memphis dismissed Sidney Lowe after the Grizzlies opened 0-8. In 1988, the Pacers let Dr. Jack Ramsay go when Indiana started 0-7, in 1996, Cotton Fitzsimmons was fired in Phoenix with an 0-8 record, and Rivers lost his job in Orlando six years ago after the Magic opened 1-10.

"All of us go through it [rebuilding]," Rivers said. "Pat Riley went through it, Phil [Jackson] went through it, one year. Guys go through it, and you've got to just maintain what you do and your belief system. And when you go through this, is does challenge you, it�absolutely does.

"In Boston I went through it,� and you just think 'How am I going to figure a way to win this game tonight?' And then to also build for the future when you have a young team, it's a tough, tough line to walk."

Answers few and far between on Allen Iverson's future in Memphis

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 22:40:37 EDT

by Chad Ford

Is Allen Iverson's career in�Memphis�over after just three games?

On Saturday, Iverson was granted permission to leave the Grizzlies to deal with a personal matter a Grizzlies spokesperson confirmed.

The question is, will he be back?

Head coach Lionel Hollins said Saturday night that Iverson's departure was "indefinite." Owner Michael Heisley said Iverson's absence has nothing to do with his displeasure about his role on the team.

“I’m not going to get into the personal reason but it has nothing to do with the other stuff,” Heisley told the Commercial Appeal, referring to Iverson’s unhappiness over his sixth man role. “I’m the guy who said he could go. It’s a real family issue that I don’t think should be reported.”

However, Heisley also said that there are still big issues to address when and if Iverson returns.

“There’s no question that when he comes back we have to work some things out,” Heisley said. “He’s got a lot of work to do, but we’ve all got to get on the same page. He understands what the conditions are. And we need to be less hyper about this along with Allen.”

Despite Heisley's remarks to the media, the rumor making its way through the NBA grapevine, according to a number of league sources unconnected to the Grizzlies, is that Iverson's gone for good from the team.

One rival GM, citing a conversation with someone from the Grizzlies coaching staff, told ESPN.com that the Grizzlies and Iverson had mutually agreed to part ways. �According to this source, the word is that Iverson was causing too many distractions and the team didn't want to deal with Iverson's insistence that he be put in the starting lineup.

But another league source cautioned that these things often have a way of working themselves out over time.

"You never say it's over until it's over," the source said. �"The Grizzlies still owe Iverson a lot of money. �I'm sure they're going to explore trading him but it's going to be really, really hard. If they can't, they may have to swallow $3.5 million this season. �That works out to $1 million per game. �They have a lot of financial problems there. I'm just not sure they are going to give up just yet."

Iverson, who signed with Memphis as a free agent in the offseason, can't be traded until Dec. 15. If the Grizzlies intend to trade him, they have to keep him on the roster until at least that date, and they might also have to insist that they intend to keep him for the remainder of the season to keep teams from merely waiting for him to be waived. Of course, it's unclear whether Iverson has trade value at this point, given his problems with the Grizzlies.

A number of GMs I spoke with on Saturday night said they had no interest in acquiring Iverson via trade or off the waiver wire. �"I can't imagine anyone wanting him at this point," one GM said. �"Struggling teams now know he's going to be a distraction. �Contending teams have to live with the fact that Iverson puts himself above the team. �Even the Clippers backed away from him this summer and Donald Sterling will do anything to sell tickets. �I'm still not sure what the Grizzlies were thinking."

No one is, especially in light of recent revelations that neither GM Chris Wallace nor Hollins addressed Iverson's role as a starter or bench player before signing him.

"That is, in a word, amazing," said one NBA executive who explored signing Iverson this summer said. �"The guy has a documented history of resisting coming off the bench. �The Grizzlies had a young starting backcourt of Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo. �No one thought to explore it?"

Iverson started the season sidelined by a hamstring injury. In his three games with the Grizzlies, he has come off the bench. After his first game, he made it known he was unhappy.

"It's something that I never did in my life, so obviously it's a big adjustment," Iverson said of coming off the bench.

Iverson also indicated that he was off to a rocky start with Hollins over more than just a starting position.

"I think that's probably the worst part of all this," Iverson said Friday. "That while all this is going on, we have never talked to each other. That's probably why it's at this point right now. We've just never had a conversation, so it's probably going to always be hard for me and him to see eye-to-eye, because we've never even talked to each other. Obviously that's what you do if you're trying to accomplish the same goal."

Iverson ran into similar issues last season with the Pistons. After he was demoted from his starting job to a sixth-man role, he eventually left the team and didn't return for the rest of the season. While the official reason provided was that Iverson was rehabbing �an injury, sources said later that the Pistons and Iverson had mutually agreed to part ways because he couldn't come to grips with being demoted to the bench.

Is history repeating itself? �If it is, one GM was ready to write AI's NBA eulogy: "He's finished in the NBA. He can go hang out with Stephon Marbury."