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I just learned the Nuggets went years under Doug Moe, starring Alex English, with hardly any dunks at all.

But for a team with a lost dunker's decade, they sure do well in the conversation of greatest dunks of all time. There's the whole catalog of David Thompson's Nugget dunks to consider, and then three of this season's best dunks: Carmelo Anthony on Paul Millsap, Ty Lawson on D.J. Mbenga and J.R. Smith on the moon.

All of that is re-capped nicely, and well worth your read, in a monster jam of a post over at Denver Stiffs.

And let me weigh in right here to say that the 'Melo dunk, mostly for its sheer audacity, is my favorite by any player in the NBA this season.

• Cavs: The Blog's John Krolik: "LeBron James is having one of the most efficient scoring seasons a high-volume scorer has ever enjoyed. This much is statistical fact. He has also made me lose at least a year of my life due to his shot selection, which has been widely maligned. This much is medical opinion. There are two schools of thought on LeBron’s shot selection: 'LeBron takes way too many bad shots and is hurting his team by doing so,' and 'LeBron’s True Shooting is 61.1%. Haters to the left.' Rather than put things in black-and-white terms, let’s take a look at LeBron’s shot selection."
• Brian Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles assessing the idea that the Lakers will be great when they buckle down on defense: "Over the course of the season, the Lakers have been one of the best, if not the best, defensive teams in the NBA. All season long they've jockeyed with Boston for the top spot in defensive efficiency, which measures the number of points allowed per 100 possessions. (Through Thursday, L.A. is second at 102.4, just behind the Celtics at 102.1.) There's always room for improvement, but it's hard to do too much better than best. Meanwhile, as I noted after Sunday's loss to Orlando, the Lakers have far more serious problems on the other side of the ball. Not only are they performing below last year's output in both raw numbers (102.6 ppg this season vs. 106.9 a year ago) and fancy metrics (108.6 points per 100 trips in '09-'10, over four points less than last year, numbers via Basketball Reference), but the Lakers come up short relative to champions of the last decade as well. Well short."
• Jonny Flynn, talking to Marc Stein: "You look at a lot of the top rookies and they have a tremendous amount of freedom. They can go out and really almost do whatever they want. But Kurt [Rambis] is really teaching me the game of basketball. He's teaching me how to play in a system. And if you look at all the great point guards in this league, they know how to run a system and they can play pick-and-roll basketball. I already know how to play pick-and-roll basketball. Now I'm learning how to run a system."
• It can seem like when you make the NBA, you can stop worrying about money and just enjoy life. But there's a lot of evidence to the contrary, including the humiliating tale of Robert Whaley.
• The chest bump heard 'round the world.
• When they make a reality show where all the ESPN.com NBA writers live together in a house, the Kamenetzky Brothers deserve producer credits.
• Arn Tellem on Huffington Post: "Using the Ryder Cup format, I'd open up the Rookie Challenge to all players who were 24-and-under at start of season. This year the U.S. team might have included Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Brook Lopez and Brandon Jennings. On the international side, the team could have featured Danilo Gallinari, Omri Casspi, Yi Jianlian, Al Horford and Marc Gasol. And why not expand the roster to accomodate former draft picks, Euroleague stars and NBA prospects currently playing overseas. Fans would get to see such outstanding -- and heretofore mysterious -- talents as Ricky Rubio, Víctor Claver and Tiago Splitter, as well Donatas Motiejknas and Jan Veselý."
• The Wizards are playing three games in three nights.
• Luis Scola has been producing a lot more since the departure of Carl Landry.
• Orlando fans wanted Adonal Foyle. The game was a blowout. But Stan Van Gundy did not give the fans what they wanted.
• Watch Javale McGee jump!
• A long video made of nothing but Nicolas Batum blocking shots.
• Five things that feel wrong about Gilbert Arenas changing his number.

How any basketball game is won or lost is complicated. A zillion things go into it. And no highlight package can tell the whole story.

But this one tells us something about how the Warriors got outscored by 18 in the final quarter.

There are five plays here: A Brandon Roy jumper, two Roy layups, a Rudy Fernandez jumper, and an Andre Miller pass to LaMarcus Aldridge for a point-blank layup.

Three of the give buckets, in other words, came at the rim.

And here's why that's remarkable: Check out the Warriors' defensive set-up! At almost every moment, on those three plays when Portland scored in the paint, Golden State had five defenders in the paint. There were a minimum of four. The Blazers had open shooters all over the perimeter. That's what Golden State was conceding with their "pack it in" approach.

Yet somehow Roy and Aldridge manage to befuddle all those guys. Roy did a bit of the juking and tricking which made him famous. The Warriors are hardly the first to fall for his fakes. But he does get two big buckets in the paint, against five guys, without even getting above the rim.

More importantly, look at that last play in the highlights. Andre Miller drives baseline. There are five defenders in the paint. And ... nobody can stay with the high-scoring forward right under the hoop? Really?

It's like a martial arts movie: Can the hero really win a one-on-five battle? Not normally. But if the five are going to fight (or not) like that ... well then, maybe.

The other day the Nuggets' director of quantitative analysis, Dean Oliver, told me that he'd found teams with "quants" integrated into their decision process had won about 60% of their games.

David Biderman of the Wall Street Journal has checked on all 30 teams. First he found out if they have a full-time analyst, then he measured their records. He researched a slightly different question, but his findings were essentially the same as Oliver's:

According to interviews with every team, The Wall Street Journal found that half the league's teams this season have at least one of these statisticians who helps make in-game, draft-day and trade-deadline decisions. Many of these teams are among the NBA's best. The list accounts for all six division leaders, including the Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks, who have a data analyst traveling with the team. These 15 teams that have invested heavily in statistics have combined to win 59.3% of their games this season. The 15 teams without such analysts have won 40.7% of their games, and only three -- the Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks -- are on pace to make the postseason.

Biderman then quotes Minnesota GM David Kahn pointing out that analysts, of course, couldn't do it alone, and if you took LeBron James off the Cavaliers they wouldn't win much.

Of course!

There are a ton of things NBA teams all have to have. Stadiums, money and tall athletic people top the list.

Just like when you're driving to work, you need a car, gas and roads.

However, that doesn't mean you don't value a new shortcut on your drive. If someone teaches you about some side road that avoids traffic, or a nice little back alley that saves a few minutes ... that makes a difference.

In the big picture, you're still driving to work, like everybody else. If you get a flat tire, you get a flat tire, and you're going to be late. But most days, some extra knowledge sure can help you get to work a little more efficiently.

The same picture is evolving in managing an NBA team. Some may say it's not worth worrying about all the particulars of analysis. But there's a strong case to made blowing off that kind of thing could leave you behind.

The discrepancy is big: A 59 -41 difference in winning percentages. In hoops, 59-41 is an old-fashioned blowout.

• Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Based on the precedent set only a week ago, Dorell Wright likely will miss at least the next two games with the Heat. That’s the punishment the Timberwolves gave to center Al Jefferson after his recent DUI arrest. There is no issue with Wright being out at 3:30 a.m. If you got out of work after 11 p.m., there is a chance you would at least be up that late, especially with the next day off. Thursday essentially was a weekend day for the Heat, with no practice scheduled. But DUI is not a team matter, it’s a community concern. ... Just three weeks ago, Pat Riley saw enough in Wright that he persuaded owner Micky Arison at the trading deadline to forgo a potential $7 million in luxury-tax savings to retain the sixth-year forward, an impending free agent, for the balance of the season. Since then, the payoff has been limited. There is not a single unimportant day the balance of this season for the Heat. It would be nice if everyone got that message."
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: "After the Wizards lost their fifth game in a row to the Atlanta Hawks, the question that had to be asked had nothing to do with the performances of Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee, or how they were going to stay energized playing three games in three consecutive nights. No, Mike Miller had to explain his thoughts now that Gilbert Arenas's desire to abandon No. 0 - and all of the Agent Zeroisms that came with it - to switch the No. 6 currently in Miller's possession. As expected, Miller had no problem with it. 'He gave me a call, asked me about it. I gave him the go-ahead,' Miller said. 'If he wants No. 6, he can have it.' When asked what number he'll wear if he and Arenas are teammates in Washington next season, Miller said he would probably go with his familiar No. 33, which became available when the Wizards traded Brendan Haywood to Dallas last month. Miller will be a free agent next season, so he added that he'll make the switch 'if I have the opportunity. We just got to play it out and see how it happens.' "
• Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "After the game the Hawks were pumping up the Wizards as tougher than they seem because they had been competitive in losses lately. 'We’ll take it,' Horford said. 'They’ve been struggling but I’ve seen them play close games against good teams. We weren’t taking anything for granted.' I understand the Hawks taking a victory any way they can get it against whichever opponent, especially after what happened at Miami and New York. And I know all heck would have broke loose with a loss so give the Hawks credit for surviving. But come on, man. It’s getting a little late for that 'all teams are tough, sometimes you have nights like this' stuff. The Hawks got outworked for most of the game by a team headed for the lottery. They let a bad offensive team have an easy time scoring for long stretches and let a so-so rebounding team dominate them on the boards. ... I keep coming back to Washington’s 49.4 percent shooting and 42-29 advantage on the boards. I can’t stop thinking about how listless the Hawks looked most of the night when they were supposed to be desperate. It’s like they think they are much better than they are despite plenty of evidence they aren’t as good as they can be. And I don’t care how many close games the Wizards have been playing. They are headed to the lottery and after that trade have maybe three guys who could get major burn for the Hawks."
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: "Better keep Derrick Rose away from Dwight Howard. Howard was, and still is, hazardous to Rose's health. The Chicago Bulls point guard hurt his left wrist Thursday night after he drove into the lane, collided in midair with the Orlando Magic center and crashed to the Amway Arena court in a loud thud. Rose sat out the final three quarters of the 111-82 Magic victory. Chicago coach Vinny Del Negro said that Rose has a sprained wrist and will have an MRI exam today. ... Thursday's sequence looked almost identical to the collision between Rose and Howard on Feb. 10 in Chicago in which Rose also went up for a shot, bumped into a jumping Howard and fell to the court. That impact left Rose with a bruised right hip and kept him out of the game's final 45 minutes as the Magic cruised to an easy victory."
• John Jackson of the Chicago Sun-Times: "Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard wasn't exactly remorseful after knocking out Bulls point guard Derrick Rose again with a hard foul. After knocking Rose to the court and out of the game for the second time in about a month - Rose suffered a bruised right hip after a fall on Feb. 10 -- Howard was asked about Thursday's hit in the Magic's 111-82 victory. 'He went up and he fell,' he said. 'That's all I remember.' In fact, Howard even sort of blamed Rose for both falls. 'As a big man you never try to hurt anybody coming down the lane,' Howard said. 'Me and Derrick are cool. I think he's a great player, a great person. You never want to see him get hurt. I talked to him during the All-Star break and I told him, 'If you come down the lane, always come on two feet. That way you'll be on balance. If you come off one, all it takes is somebody's body to hit you the wrong way and you're gonna fall.' ... Magic coach Stan Van Gundy took the defense of his center a bit farther: 'You know, the thing on that play, looking at it, I don't even think Dwight fouled him. I think Rose fouled Dwight. He pushed off. But regardless, Derrick goes in there with such unbelievable force that it was the same [as last month]. He's going full speed and he's hitting basically an immovable object and he lands tough. I feel really bad. I hope he's not hurt badly.' "
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: "Jerry Stackhouse worked out for the Milwaukee Bucks coaches in Houston in mid-January, when the team was floundering at the end of a long western road swing. The Bucks liked what they saw in the 35-year-old Stackhouse, even though he had been home in Atlanta since the start of the season and had tried to stay in shape by working out with a local high school team. The match became a perfect union, with Stackhouse providing some needed offense off the bench and a veteran presence in the Bucks' locker room. 'We were already on a bit of an uptick with the way we were playing,' Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. 'All of a sudden we add him, a veteran with toughness. Then here comes John (Salmons). Things have fallen into place a little bit for us. During that period, it was very important. At that time, we didn't know we were getting John. We felt like we really needed to get better at that point.' "
• Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star: "But there is clearly much more to Toronto's poor play than a rusty return by Chris Bosh and the comatose Hedo Turkoglu. And certainly, at the very least, there is this: Jay Triano is employing a flabby rotation that continues to tolerate repeated lapses from unfocused players who would be, under a less sympathetic coach, riding the pine. 'You've got to take away some of the freedom around here, what guys have,' said Antoine Wright, offering the coaching staff some unsolicited advice. '(The players') leash is not going to be as loose as it's been. If you're not doing what (the team) needs you to do, you're going to have to come out of the game. That's the only way to address (the situation) right now at this point in the season.' Wright's agenda has been no secret from the beginning of training camp, when he began lobbying for the spot in the starting lineup still occupied by rookie DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan has long been underperforming on defence, where he is known for a wandering attention to detail. (Go figure that he was the only Raptor to play all 12 minutes of Wednesday's disastrous third quarter, wherein the Kings shot an astounding 75 per cent from the field and outscored Toronto by a season-high spread 43-23.) So as shameless as his campaigning has been, inserting Wright into the first five is perhaps the simplest way to jostle the Raptors out of their current slumber."
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: "There can be no debate on the impact of the trade, which is looking more and more like the biggest heist since Pau Gasol (although Washington got exactly what it wanted out of the deal, too, which was financial relief to expedite the rebuilding). This week, we're going to pay homage to the less celebrated member of the threesome that came from the Wizards: DeShawn Stevenson. If you were watching the Minnesota game Monday, you saw Stevenson get punched by Wolves thin man Ryan Hollins. Stevenson did not take it well. He confronted Hollins and looked like he was ready to rumble. He had to be restrained by coaches and teammates. That's great stuff. A throwback to Jerry Stackhouse, the kind of player the Mavericks have been missing since ... OK, since Jerry Stackhouse. Great teams need a rabble rouser. And it doesn't necessarily have to be a bad guy, either. Stack was one of the good guys. So is Stevenson. But both of them were just a little bit flaky, which served their teams very, very well."
• Frank Isola of the New York Daily News: "Every team other than the expansion Charlotte Bobcats has enjoyed at least one winning season over the last nine years and Larry Brown's team is on pace to finish at .500 with 41 wins. During that period, the Knicks have had Don Chaney, Lenny Wilkens, Herb Williams, Larry Brown, Isiah Thomas and Mike D'Antoni as coaches. They've had three general managers (Scott Layden, Thomas and Donnie Walsh) and too many underachieving players with bloated contracts to count. Perhaps that's why Mike D'Antoni chuckled when a reporter asked him if there are signs that the club is turning the corner. 'I can tell you July 1,' D'Antoni said, alluding to the start of the free agency. 'Right now, we're just trying to develop some young guys and be competitive. We have an interesting time ahead of us.' The Knicks (22-42) have the resources in terms of salary cap space to make a dramatic turnaround next season. They have the ability to sign two 'max' free agents, with LeBron James their obvious target. There is a growing sentiment among opposing team executives that at the very least the Knicks will sign Atlanta's Joe Johnson, whose agent, Arn Tellem, orchestrated the Tracy McGrady trade to the Knicks and has been friends with Walsh for 20 years. It's called a 'wink-wink deal,' and even though it is against NBA rules, the practice does exist and is nearly impossible to police. 'I think that's a done deal,' said one Eastern Conference GM."
• Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: "Arron Augustin Afflalo was picked up in an offseason trade to provide a boost at the defensive end, is arguably Denver's hardest worker. The dividends have him hoisting 3s for one of the best teams in the West. Entering tonight's game at New Orleans, the Nuggets' starting shooting guard is making 45.1 percent of his shots from beyond the arc -- third best among players with 50 or more treys -- and averaging 9.0 points per game, nearly double his total last year, when he was buried on the Pistons' bench. Not bad, considering few Nuggets thought he was starting material when Denver signed him. 'I don't think anybody did,' Carmelo Anthony said. Originally, Denver signed Triple-A for insurance. The thinking was Anthony Carter would start in the backcourt alongside Billups, and over time J.R. Smith would graduate to the starting role and Afflalo would spot in off the bench when needed. But Afflalo grabbed hold of the shooting guard spot in training camp and never let go."
• Mike Baldwin of The Oklahoman: "The whispers started when the Thunder got off to a 3-29 start last season. Could they challenge the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers for the worst record in NBA history? A year later, the same question hangs over the New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City’s opponent tonight. Jeff Green feels their pain. 'I know how they feel,' Green said. 'I talked to Devin Harris the last time we played them. It’s hard. I told him I’ve been through it and the only thing you can do is keep working.' ... 'It’s no fun to go through a year like that,' Thunder forward Nick Collison said. 'It’s not our job to be concerned why or why they aren’t winning. That’s part of the business. I’ve been there.' "
• Chris Iott of Booth Newspapers: "Statistics can be funny things. For example, take the numbers put up Wednesday night by Detroit Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva. He had 19 points to lead all scorers in a 115-104 loss to the Utah Jazz, but the Pistons were outscored by 23 points when Villanueva was on the court. That minus-23 was the worst plus-minus for any player in the game. Jonas Jerebko had the top plus-minus for the Pistons with a plus-16. Villanueva has the team's worst cumulative plus-minus rating for the season: The Pistons have been outscored by 242 points when he is on the court. For a comparison, Ben Wallace, thought by many to be the top defensive player for the Pistons, has the best plus-minus on the team with a minus-30. Plus-minus is an imperfect statistic. When comparing players on the same team, it can be skewed by player combinations. In other words, a poor defensive player can drag down the plus-minus of the teammates he plays with regularly in the rotation. But the statistic still is worth something, Pistons coach John Kuester said. 'It can tell part of the story,' he said. 'There's no question about it.' "
• Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee: "Mario Elie verbally spars with Donté Greene and needles Jason Thompson. When running a team in scrimmages, Elie coaches as if the season depends on every call. Elie is also still learning when to get on a player and when to hold back, something he didn't have to do as player. 'Sometimes I give it to them a little harder, and I've got to learn to give it to them smoother,' Elie said. 'It's just my passion for the game. I sort of come off a little tough sometimes, but at the end I love the guys and I just want them to be good.' Perhaps no King knows this better than Greene. The second-year forward instantly became one of Elie's targets for improvement. Elie challenged Greene to earn his playing time by playing good defense. And Elie had no problem getting in Greene's ear about his game. 'Mario likes to talk trash,' Greene said. 'Me being the competitor that I am, I talk trash and try to get back at him. It might get to the point where we stop talking the whole workout.' Greene isn't the first player to benefit from Elie's blunt approach. In his second season as a Warriors assistant coach, Elie began working with rookie Monta Ellis, who entered the league straight from high school. 'We used to play shooting games after practice, and he used to beat me,' Ellis said. 'He was showing me the ropes -- the ins, the outs, the cons, the pros. He told me I was going to be great in this league, and he wasn't going to rest until I was. Even now to this day, he tells me to keep my head up and continue to do the things I was doing my rookie year.' "

Inspired by one thing he read on TrueHoop, and another thing he read on Hardwood Paroxysm, Brian Tung has proposed a clever new statistic. He explains on his blog the Null Hypodermic:

The statistic I'm proposing is, what is the expected points scored on this possession when a player starts his usage, and what is the expected points scored on the possession when he ends it? The difference between those two is a measure of his offensive value for that usage.

Example: Chris Paul dribbles the ball up court, with everybody already set in a halfcourt stance. In this scenario, the Hornets score, let's say, 0.8 points per possession on average. (Lower than their typical points per possession because all the high-value transition points are eliminated.) He dribbles around, and locates David West open underneath the basket, and gets the ball to him, whereupon the Hornets expected scoring at this juncture is 1.5 points. (Not exactly 2.0 because maybe he geeks the dunk, gets fouled, or whatever.)

Let's suppose West actually does score the basket. The ledger for this possession is as follows:

• Initial expected scoring: 0.8
• Increment by Chris Paul: +0.7
• Increment by David West: +0.5
• Actual score: 2.0

Maybe what he's talking about is a little hard to envision. Picture a basketball video game where the ball changes color when it's very likely to become points. So, if it gets close to the rim on the fast break, it might get really red, or hot. On the other hand, if the ball-handler is double-teamed in the corner, maybe it would be blue, or cold. If a great shooter catches the ball in rhythm for a corner 3, it'd be red hot.

Basically, players would be rewarded for taking a cold ball situation, and making it hot.

In general, it would be very very tough to accurately hand out credit for the many different things players do.
For instance, if I'm Chauncey Billups, and overhear the other team plans to defend our first option a certain way, I might call an audible and do something totally different. In reality, I've done something potentially brilliant. But if a teammate doesn't understand what was happening, and screws up the play, all you'd see, most likely, was me dribbling around a lot. Which would not help my team.

That's a minor quibble, though. More to the point, the smart kids are learning more and more every day how to quantify what matters in hoops. As they learn, this strikes me as a smart framework to organize new knowledge. Instead of putting valuable new numbers into spreadsheets or lists, put them into a play.

As Tung explains near the end of this post, this framework can also lends itself to a new way to value certain crunch time plays. Shots that seem really big to fans -- a 3 to win Game 7 -- look like any old points in most systems. But here, they can be seen as momentous.

Most NBA teams sell themselves to fans as a good night out.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, on the other hand, are selling themselves as a good upcoming half-decade or so. They aren't making any promises about tonight. Consider, for instance, some recent Minnesota Timberwolves sales materials.

New basketball boss, new coaches, new players, new hope. And just when you thought the season was winding down we’re really cranking things up: A 2010 draft with two -- or possibly even three -- first-round draft picks, and massive cap room for this summer’s free-agency market.

Combine that with being one year closer to Ricky Rubio and maybe signing European big man Nikola Pekovic, and you have a recipe for another exciting offseason.

Nikola Pekovic, currently playing for Panathinaikos, is part of the sales pitch -- and yet not one current Timberwolf is. Could it be any clearer that this team is positioning itself for the long term?

That kind of thinking has been evident in the coaching, too. In recent days, the team has had private trainer Idan Ravin in to run some special sessions in addition to regular practices and shootarounds. It is yet another break from the norm.

Ravin is the focus of a whole chapter of Chris Ballard's The Art of a Beautiful Game, in which Carmelo Anthony explains why he calls the trainer Crouton: "Because his name rhymes with crouton, and he's a lot cooler than a regular cracker."

Ravin -- who has a reputation both for challenging, and connecting with, players -- took some questions on the phone on Thursday, and says he hopes to inspire the young Timberwolves.

Word from the players has been that the workouts these last few days have been tough!

Hopefully, if this has been hard for players, that's a good thing. It's good to break out of your routine. That keeps you from losing sight of the fact that it's not about this season. It's good to get excited about change. People only see the losing, but there's a lot more going on here.

I think it is important to see the lessons in losing. That's foresight. That's smart. For a lot of players this may not be going as planned. But if you can see the silver lining in the cloud ... there's a lesson to learn from everything.

I'm here to socialize you to a different mindset. There's so much growth that's possible over time with consistency of effort. It's seven months until next season. There's a lot you can do.

Is it uncommon to bring someone in like you at this time of year?

I've done it with several teams. My schedule didn't allow me to make it here earlier. But there are some very good guys here, and it has been really good.

In today's newspaper, there's an article about Kevin Love being frustrated. One of the things that came up is the fact that he was asked to guard Carmelo Anthony one-on-one for a bit last night, which nobody thought was optimal. Is that the kind of challenge you propose for players?

I think it's important to give players new opportunities. You're more versatile than you think. You have to learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable.

That's incredibly important.

I don't think you can ever grow when your whole world is laid out so that at 11am you do this, 11:16 you do that ... too much ritual can kill you. That routine gets old fast. You can say you want to get up at this time, or shoot at that time, but you better mix up what you're doing every week.

So, are you wearing out these players?

Are they working extra hard? No. They're doing new stuff. New things. If they're fatigued, I suspect it's more mental than physical. But the sessions are maybe 30 - 45 minutes, two hours before practice. Or a little bit in the evening. You can still play with a lot of effort. These are 21-year-olds, in a world where AAU teams play six games in two days. They might practice for an hour and 15 minutes, and then they get the rest of the day to be off their feet. These are not 12 hours in the gym. This is not China.

And learning new things can be exciting. It's like if I came into your office and taught you how to write with your toes, and you were good at it! You'd say you didn't know that was possible! We have to feel challenged, to keep growing.

How's the team?

There's some good promise there. Al Jefferson ... wow. He's got a lot of upside, let's put it that way. He's a 20 and 10 guy pretty much just using jump hooks. Have you seen him shoot with two hands? Jump-shots? And he could get to the line a lot more. He has just scratched the surface. We worked on free throws the other day, and then he had a 36 and 16 game. Afterwards, he said "Idan, that free throw stuff was great." The guy's going to be a killer.

Jonny Flynn is just getting started with what he can do. Corey Brewer, Kevin Love ... they've all just scratched the surface.

And Darko Milicic -- he's way more talented than anyone ever gave him credit for. He has been beat up in his first six years in the NBA. I wish I could sneak you into the gym so you could see what he can do. He really is seven-feet-plus. He's really bouncy. He's really running. You can see why it was a debate who should be first, second or third in that draft.

And you're a Carmelo guy!

Carmelo's my guy. But Darko's ta-len-ted. They're doing something smart here by welcoming him openly, and making him feel a part of what's happening. He's a good kid. There's nothing bad about him. What's the point of all the yelling and screaming and cursing and insulting that he has endured? Once you have lost your dignity and self respect, it's hard to be professional. Now he's somewhere where they are acting like they're happy to see him, and it's awesome.

It's good for people to be challenged. Kids get excited when they realize there's a lot still to be done.

This is just the beginning.

Spike Lee is almost defined by his love of the Knicks. He wrote a book about it, in fact, and essentially represents "the Knicks" in a story about that team's greatest rivalry of the last twenty years.

But he's from Brooklyn.

So what is the world like for him in a world with an NBA team based in Brooklyn? Is it really even possible the Knicks' best-known fan would ditch the Knicks?

It'll be interesting to see how the award-winning director plays it.

Curbed.com is doing a nice and slightly PG-13 job of liveblogging the Barclays Center groundbreaking in Brooklyn. Blogger Joey notes that the lobster roll sliders being served at the ceremony are very nice, that Mayor Bloomberg may or may not have taken a brief nap in his chair, that David Stern is reportedly a no-show and that ... there's a nice seat reserved at the press conference for Spike Lee.

As I learned from reading Jackie MacMullan's When the Game Was Ours, the night after winning a title with the Celtics in 1986, Bill Walton spent the night alone, in someone else's kitchen, listening to the Grateful Dead and sipping Wild Turkey.

Whose kitchen was it?

Answer after the jump.
(Read full post)

• You ever wonder where NBA nicknames come from? There's actually a minor deity that creates them from scratch, and bestows them in dramatic fashion.
• Not all assists are created equal. If I draw a double-team in the lane, and shovel a pass to an uncovered big man ... I have essentially created two points for my team. However, if I am about to lose the ball, and bail out to a covered teammate who happens to hit a long 2-pointer ... that's less valuable. Here's a new way to account for assists that takes those realities into account.
• The Magic dunking in warmups. It's undeniable that the goofy silliness of players like Dwight Howard and LeBron James does something uplifting to their teammates.
• Remember when James Posey was the big acquisition of two summers ago? The Hornets nabbed a key role player from the champion Celtics. Since then, the Hornets have had some injuries, and some trades. And Posey has been largely quiet. Niall Doherty of Hornets247 on Posey's performance in a loss to the Thunder: "James Posey missed all four of his field goals (three from deep), grabbed three rebounds, had one steal and delivered four hard fouls in 13 minutes. Not cool."
• On his SIRIUS XM Mad Dog Radio show “Stack’s House,” Bucks swingman Jerry Stackhouse talks about Richard Jefferson's performance in San Antonio: "I just don’t think he’s as good as everybody talked him up to be, to me. I mean, I think he has some talent, he’s an athlete but a lot of the best basketball we’ve seen from Richard Jefferson came when he played with Jason Kidd, when he was just pretty much spoon-fed at the basket and was able to run out and just be an athlete. When it comes down to a half-court set and just being able to play half-court basketball I don’t think he’s that special of a player, in my opinion. It’s just one of those things where it’s just not a good fit. It wasn’t a great fit for him in Milwaukee when he was here. He had some big games but really nothing special. He wasn’t a guy that really helped them go to another level as far as wins and losses. And I think they’re finding out in San Antonio that he may not be the right fit for what they want to do. If I know [head coach Gregg] Popovich like I know him I could very easily see him not in a San Antonio uniform next year."
• Dallas fans eager to see the Mavericks atop the power rankings, read this. UPDATE: Fascinating. Hollinger goes through the dozen teams ranked ahead of Dallas (Insider) in his power rankings, and explains why he'd pick just about every one of them (exceptions: the Spurs, Celtics and maybe Hawks) to beat the Mavericks in a playoff series.
• John Krolik of Cavs: The Blog on Sebastian Telfair and point guards: "On the court, a great point guard is a detective. They succeed by figuring out what’s going to happen before anybody else does, and that’s how they get their baskets. Steve Nash is Sherlock Holmes on the court. Not only is Nash usually the smallest and weakest guy on the court; he’s often the slowest guy on the court. But he more than makes up for it by knowing what’s going to happen before it happens. Steve Nash always has a plan. If the defense goes under the screen, he’ll hit the jumper. If they trap, he’ll find his man in the seam for a layup. In the open floor, he always knows where to go with the ball. It’s beautiful to watch, and it’s the nuance that separates basketball from the other major sports. Sebastian Telfair isn’t just a point guard. He’s a New York point guard. If Steve Nash is Sherlock Holmes, New York point guards are Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon. Spade was only a half-step ahead instead of three steps ahead, but he made it work because he had the bravado of a man who was holding all the cards. That’s a New York point guard. Kenny Anderson, Stephon Marbury, Sebastian Telfair, and many more. None of them quite made it at the pro level, but oh did they have style. Pulling massive crossovers on hapless defenders. Baiting the help defender with a shameless mug at the man on their right side before dropping a slight-of-hand masterpiece to the trailer before a dunk. Putting a defender on his heels by feinting a drive, then putting him on his tuckus by snapping back for a pull-up jumper from 20. Maybe they didn’t always make the right play, but their confidence never wavered."
• Jeremy from Roundball Mining Company, on J.R. Smith's 3-point barrage against the Timberwolves: "Up until J.R. converted his barrage of bombs the Nuggets had the body language of a first grader who did not get to eat the last cookie."
• Mark Ginocchio of Nets are Scorching: "After last night, I refuse to believe the 2009-10 New Jersey Nets are the worst team in NBA history. Their final record may very well suggest otherwise and the schedule-makers certainly haven’t done them any favors as 12 of their final 17 games are against teams in the thick of their respective playoff races. But the Nets should be better than a 7-win team right now. Forget should. The Nets are better than a 7-win team right now. If you want physical proof of why I believe this, look no further than the first quarter between the Nets and Dallas Mavericks last night. Yeah, you could say that the Mavs were caught napping and were taking the Nets lightly, and went on to eventually take care of business in their 96-87 victory, but the worst team in basketball history doesn’t come out on the road against a team that has just won 12 straight games, and knock them silly en route to a 33-19 first quarter. The Mavs missed some open shots in the period, but the Nets also took it to them, by being aggressive in the paint. During a two minute stretch where the Nets grew their lead from 9-1 to 17-3, Jersey made five consecutive field goals off layups and dunks."
• Zach Harper of Cowbell Kingdom: "Let’s get this out of the way, first and foremost. [Tyreke Evans] was credited with his first triple-double of his career -- 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. A couple of days ago, I decided to take Warriors’ play-by-play announcer’s challenge of watching the Hornets win over the Warriors in which Darren Collison was credited with 20 assists. He asserted Collison didn’t actually have 20 but more like 13 assists. I checked it. He really had 16 assists and was given four extra based on shoddy stat keeping. Well, I feel confident in saying that Tyreke’s ninth assist of the game was EXTREMELY questionable. It was a pass to Francisco Garcia on the left wing. It didn’t lead him to the scoring play. Well, I guess it did technically. But in reality, he passed it to Cisco and then Cisco decided to drive to the basket. Four or five dribbles later, he scored inside and Evans was given his ninth assist. Again, it was very questionable and probably unwarranted. But until they take it away, Tyreke had his first triple double of his career." And, from NBA Playbook, a deeper look at how Evans got his triple-double.
• Orlando Magic players running around tethered to each other by velcro. If the "defender" is doing his job, the offensive player will never get enough seperation to sever the velcro tie.
• Lovely little chart showing how geeks are different from nerds, dweebs and dorks. (Thanks Aaron, who got it from Ed Kupfer and Ryan Parker on Twitter.)
• This is sort of PG-13, but check out the latest twists in the professional life of Mengke Bateer (who, it should be pointed out, has more NBA rings than Karl Malone.)
• The Blazers essentially never win in Golden State. One more try tonight.
• Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune with more tales from the road: "We arrive at the Walt Perrin International Airport in Detroit. I’ve named it such after the Jazz’s vice president of player personnel, who’s one of the many people behind the scenes who work to contribute to the Jazz’s success. Perrin is the lead college scout and lives in suburban Detroit. Most amazing to the two beat writers, he almost reached Diamond Medallion status as a frequent flyer on Delta last year. This is a Ruthian number (125,000 miles) that even those of us who spend our lives on planes can’t fathom. Of course, Perrin’s not around to catch the Jazz’s annual visit to Detroit. He’s on the road scouting college tournament games. Soon he’ll be attending predraft camps and setting up workouts and filling out summer-league rosters. Every time you watch Wesley Matthews, credit Perrin and Kevin O’Connor with seeing something in the undrafted guard from Marquette that everybody else missed. You can say the Jazz missed, too, but they were on the phone reaching out to Matthews before the 2009 draft was even over."

The party line has always been that there are not a lot of performance enhancing drugs in the NBA, because they wouldn't help much in the NBA.

When people say "the kind of bulk people get from steroids isn't handy in the NBA" it's not enough. Did you notice that in baseball, a lot of the drug cheats turned out to be those skinny little pitchers?

Not to mention, there are far more PEDs these days than anabolic steroids. Human growth hormone, genetic therapies ...

I don't know if there are a lot of PEDs in the NBA or not, but I do know what I have never been inclined to follow the argument that it's safe to assume there are not. I'm also not sold that players would get caught (cheating techniques are ever evolving, and exceedingly tough to test for in every sport), or the argument that players are too scared to mess with their bodies in that way.

NBA players have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. There are drugs, these days, that help people recover between contests. Think about how great that would be? There are gene therapies that help mice gain the exact kind of muscle people are working hard for in NBA weight rooms. Not to mention -- what about stimulants? Wouldn't a little extra energy be handy on those nights when you just don't have it?

All that leaves me open to the idea that it's not a pervasive problem, but hungry to understand how that could be so.

And that's hard to come by.

But this past weekend, on a panel about performance enhancements at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, Steve Kerr did more than anyone ever has to make me feel like there's some real reason to believe PED use is not pervasive.

Consider:

• Kerr admitted that late in his career, he used Vioxx, and found it to be a performance enhancer. They cycled the doses, so he was on it sometimes, and off other times. He found that when he was on it, he was a better player. Admitting that gives him some credibility. This was not going to be a whitewash.
• Kerr is the president of the Suns. In that role, his most precious assets are the players he knows well and cares about. He has a real interest in keeping them healthy, long-term.
• Kerr was notably terrified when Tom Gugliotta nearly died after some amateurish supplementing with combinations of things he bought for himself at GNC. Gugliotta collapsed, and the proper treatment was only discovered once his wife had been consulted, and was able to supply a precise list of the things that he had been taking, which informed the doctors in how to treat the collapse.
• From that moment on, Kerr says he has been convinced that, for safety reasons, he is adamant that the team's medical staff needs to know everything every player is taking. He's convincing on this point, I think he really believes that.

OK, so, you take all of those points, each of which is intuitive and believable out of Kerr's mouth.

And then let me add one more element, which is circumstantial and potentially meaningless. But consider that the bunch of players Kerr manages were also the stars of the last book to really dig deep and first-hand into an NBA team -- Jack McCallum's "Seven Seconds or Less." Kerr wasn't running the Suns then, but he was involved. Most teams won't give anyone that kind of access, no matter what. But the Suns did. McCallum was all over that team for the better part of a season. If Kerr is right, that in a post-Gugliotta collapse world, teams want to know who's taking what, would anyone in their right mind have invited a writer to crawl all over the team and potentially discover a secret that more than a few people might know about?

It's weak as proof the NBA is clean. But it's meaningful as a glimpse into the kind of thinking that could keep NBA players clean, despite omnipresent pressure to seek out each and every competitive advantage.

I come away from the PEDs panel genuinely convinced that Steve Kerr does not think he's running a team of drug cheats, and that he believes being cavalier about such things is potentially a matter of life and death.

That's no proof the league is clean, but it's something.

• Monte Poole of The Oakland Tribune: "Don Nelson is ascending to the pinnacle of his profession, within walking distance of history, soon to be king of the NBA coaching jungle. Where is the roar? The Warriors coach is seven wins away from surpassing Lenny Wilkens to become the league's all-time leader in wins by a coach. Yet he approaches the finish line not to the sound of cheers, or even a visible or audible countdown. Any sign of anticipation for consummating this lifetime achievement is muffled, if not utterly muted. 'I'm OK with that,' Nelson said after practice Wednesday. 'I really think I prefer it that way.'' His bosses don't have a choice. They're caught in the middle, between their loyalty to Nelson and their distaste for what the team has become on their watch. It would be grossly transparent to exploit the record pursuit, yet its magnitude can't be dismissed. So Warriors ownership holds its breath with sheer anxiety. The biggest fear is Nelson won't get the record over the final five weeks. Then what? How can there be a fresh start next season? The Warriors merely want this record shattered, soon, so they may have a cleaner, simpler lens through which to evaluate the coach."
• Mike Baldwin of The Oklahoman: "Funny how you don’t hear anyone these days wishing the Hornets had stayed in Oklahoma City. The first year after the Hornets returned to New Orleans -- after temporarily relocating two seasons in the Ford Center as New Orleans recovered from Hurricane Katrina -- fans that had invested emotionally in Chris Paul and the team pined for what might have been. The Thunder’s 98-83 win over the Hornets on Wednesday night was another reminder that Oklahoma City fans are just fine with how things turned out. 'I think this is a far better opportunity for the city,' said season ticket-holder Scott Sachs of Edmond. 'This is a far more talented team. They’re a young, talented team that’s only going to get better.' What a difference two years make."
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: "Most NBA players are good enough in a 'me' sense. Not so many in a 'we' sense. And that's why Gerald Wallace just might have saved the Charlotte Bobcats' season roughly a week ago. It wasn't a tip-in or a block or one of Wallace's trademark leaps into the stands in pursuit of a loose ball. It was telling the difficult truths to his teammates and through the media that the Bobcats had lost their collective soul. They'd stopped communicating, which led to inferior defense and selfish shot selection. The message got through. You can see it in a four-game winning streak, in them back in the top eight in the Eastern Conference and most emphatically in a 102-87 road victory over the Philadelphia 76ers."
• Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times: "If you're really you, everything could soon be in pieces around you, and ESPN'S Bill Simmons, who compared Mike Dunleavy to an undertaker, could be calling his time 'The Good Old Days.' The first question everyone wants to know from you is: If you were going to fire Mike/force his resignation as GM, why not do it when you fired him/forced his resignation as coach? Instead, you waited a month, didn't tell him it was coming and left your people to explain the unexplainable, suggesting once more you're -- how to put this gently? -- clueless. Look out, old Donnie's back! Of course, there's a method to your cluelessness. Isn't there? It's not Jerry West. People close to him say there are 29 NBA teams he'd talk with, but after Elgin Baylor's unhappy ending, you didn't make the list. That leaves the once-and-perhaps future Clippers coach, Larry Brown, with whom you were recently exchanging longing looks. Amid reports he reached out to you or vice versa, I heard your heart went pop, and he was interested enough to ask Billy King, who once ran his front office in Philadelphia, to do it here."
• Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com: "It was never close. Memphis, a team that wouldn't even be in the postseason if the season ended today, used an early burst to build a double-digit lead in the first nine minutes and never looked back. The Grizzlies led by 15 at the end of the first quarter and Boston never got closer than 14 the rest of the way. Again Kevin Garnett stepped to the podium and delivered the same tired spin. 'We never said it was going to be easy, we never said it was going to be perfect,' he said. 'It's not going to look good at times, [Wednesday's game] sure as hell is an example of that. But we'll get better. We will. We have no choice.' We assume Garnett truly believes what he says, but it seems impossible for anyone else to buy that talk at this point. Maybe the Celtics are downright delusional about their potential. Of maybe the team simply isn't as good as it was pegged to be."
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: "Orlando Magic forward Matt Barnes has a message for the Los Angeles Lakers' Lamar Odom: Take this dirty diaper and be quiet. Irked by Odom's continued trash talk, Barnes posted a message on Twitter on Wednesday in which Barnes said he might need to take one of his twin sons' dirty diapers and stick it into Odom's mouth. 'Morning yall up early w/ the babies watchn Dora,' Barnes tweeted. 'Seems Lamar can't keep my name out his mouth maby I need 2 put my sons [expletive] diaper n it.' The tweet continued the war of words between Odom and Barnes that originated Sunday after the Magic defeated the Lakers 96-94. Physical play dominated that game, which included some tense moments between Barnes and Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant. ... This Magic team hasn't won a title, of course, but Barnes does bring grit to the table. That edge now has manifested itself in Barnes' response to Odom. 'It is what is,' Barnes told the Sentinel. 'The game is, what, three days old now? And we're still talking about it? It's ridiculous.' "
• Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic: "After Tuesday's practice, Amare Stoudemire said he'd love to stay in Phoenix if the Suns meet his number. No hard feelings or hometown discounts, just good business moving forward. It's shaping up as a decision with major consequences, and the Suns must wonder: What's real? What's temporary? And once Stoudemire gets his money, how long until his knees scream for a doctor? This much is tangible: Stoudemire has grown considerably in 2009-10. He is no longer a lone wolf on the road. He is an engaged teammate who hangs out with the entire group, a noticeable change that began in training camp. The stoic manner in which he handled a recent wave of trade rumors earned him much respect in the locker room, turning him into an empathetic figure. On the court, he clearly benefits from the hulking presence of Robin Lopez, who is now the starting center and occupies the other team's biggest player. That could be a powerful combination in the future. And after all these years, Stoudemire never runs out of surprises. ... Whether he views himself as Sun Tzu, Black Jesus or a predator fueled by vegetables, it's clear that Stoudemire is on some kind of mission, and has been ever since he was benched in the fourth quarter against Dallas. These days, he resembles the significant other who looks too good to let walk out the front door, straight into the arms of someone else. Alas, you can only imagine history's wrath if the Suns break up with Stoudemire just when he arrives on the doorstep of greatness. Surely, it is a frugal owner's worst nightmare."
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: "OK, here's the question starting to be heard around the NBA. How good are these guys, anyway? And these guys they're talking about, believe it or not, are the usually ignored Milwaukee Bucks. But winning 10 out of their last 11 games, with the only loss coming in overtime at Atlanta, has brought the Bucks some deserved attention on the national level. The Bucks (34-29) have vaulted into the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference standings, leading sixth-place by Toronto by 1½ games entering play Wednesday. Unless Milwaukee has a major meltdown over the final 19 regular-season games, it should secure its first playoff berth since 2006. But can the Bucks keep it up? They have gone from simply fighting to stay in playoff contention to looking like a team that could be a dangerous postseason foe for someone."
• Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times: "Before the start of the NBA regular season, Andrew Bogut, the Bucks' veteran center, purchased 100 tickets for all 41 home games and created a wild-and-crazy fan section titled 'Squad 6' -- aptly dubbed after Bogut's jersey number. Like Bogut, Squad 6 is enjoying a banner season. They have brought a renewed sense of energy to the BC with their array of creative and hilarious chants. They have frequently targeted opposing players and have drawn responses from many of them. To wit: When Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade went to free throw line, Squad 6 started chanting, 'Novak's better.' It was a good-natured dig at Wade's former teammate at Marquette University, Steve Novak. Wade couldn't help but laugh. There was also a game when Minnesota Timberwolvers forward Kevin Love went to line, prompting Squad 6 to sing 'Love stinks.' Squad 6 got some love for that zinger, too, as Love broke a smile. Almost nothing seems to be off limits to this irreverent bunch of Bucks' backers, either. Just ask Mo Williams. The former Bucks and current Cleveland Cavaliers guard was the subject of a 'Shave your shoulders' chant from Squad 6. Williams took it like a pro, pointing to Squad 6 and laughing."
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: "After playing their rescheduled game against the Hawks on Thursday at Verizon Center, they will face Detroit in Auburn Hills, Mich., on Friday and host the Orlando Magic on Saturday. Then, after playing a rare back-to-back-to-back set, the Wizards will travel to play back-to-back road games in Utah and Denver. 'The rock star tour,' FlipSaunders joked. 'We're going total AAU basketball after this. Games every day.' No team has been forced to play this many games in such a close period of time since the lockout-shortened season in 1998-99, when the league had to cram a 50-game schedule into four months. In a season that has already seen owner Abe Pollin die, Gilbert Arenas suspended for bringing guns into the locker room and three starters dealt at the trade deadline, reserve guard Nick Young could only shake his head about the Wizards' current schedule situation. 'Whew. It's crazy,' Nick Young said. 'I've seen everything this year.' "
• Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "They are well within striking distance of 50 victories at 40 with 19 games to go. Yet the Hawks are 23-19 since Dec. 26. And in the last two weeks, with the Southeast Division title out there as a carrot, they’ve blown leads in two ugly losses (at Golden State and vs. Dallas) and suffered from mental lapses late in two others they had chances to win (at Miami and at New York). Overall, the Hawks’ offensive numbers are very good, maybe even elite. But lately when it’s time to win tight games, their situational offense often sufferers from poor ball movement, bad shot selection, untimely turnovers and a general lack of focus. The Hawks are supposed to be a defensive-minded team under Woody. For about the last month, though, they regularly haven’t defended with intensity for more than a few stretches per game (and, again, this is the time of year when they are supposed to be cranking it up). Then again, as they showed Monday in New York, when they decide to get after it defensively the Hawks look very good."
• Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee: "Believe it or not, Tyreke Evans doesn't clamor for this kind of attention. In fact, all the attention of the rally for Evans to be Rookie of the Year tonight had Evans feeling a bit embarrassed. That's right: Embarrassed. 'A little bit,' Evans conceded. 'They had the NBA All Stars up there (on the jumbotron) talking about my game. I was trying not to let it get to me.' Evans, of course, turned in a 19 point, 10 rebound, 10 assist effort on a night in which so much attention was devoted to him. He kept the game ball, too. It would seem easy for one to be a bit conceited with 5,000 cutouts of his face throughout the stands. But that's not Evans' personality."
• Kerry Eggers of The Portland Tribune: "Of all the bad streaks the Blazers have amassed in various arenas throughout the NBA -- Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Pepsi Center in Denver, TD Garden in Boston, US Airways Center in Phoenix, EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City -- the most perplexing is what has happened at ORACLE Arena in Oakland. Portland has lost nine in a row there dating back to February 2004 to Golden State, which has been a lousy team most of that time. 'Can't let it get to 10,' Portland point guard Andre Miller said. 'We have to figure out how we can get a win down there.' Nate McMillan is 0-7 as the Trail Blazers’ head coach, and that surely must stick in his craw. McMillan believes Portland has always played at the Warriors’ pace -- fast -- and will try to slow the tempo down in tonight’s matchup, seeking a score in the 90s."
• Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle: "Late at night, 10 or 11 o'clock on non-game nights, Stephen Curry lets himself into the Warriors' practice gym in downtown Oakland, and shoots. Typically, he'll go an hour and a half, long enough to reach a goal, like sinking 500 shots. He'll bring along a buddy to rebound, and an iPod sound dock loaded with rap (Lupe Fiasco is his favorite), R&B and heavy metal. These sessions are on top of the half hour or so of extra shooting Curry does after team practices, launching from beyond the three-point arc, a robot rebound machine spitting a ball to him every few seconds. At night, he has the place to himself. That would be the case if he played on any team. That's not because the league is full of Allen Iversons. Practice? Practice? It's because the league is full of humans who wear down. Most players save their sweat for the games and the regular practices and shoot-arounds. All the money in the world won't buy you a set of fresh legs. But work is what Curry knows, and 'round midnight you see why the Warriors' point guard has emerged as one of the two or three leading candidates for Rookie of the Year."

Through the years, there have been many different sets of data about clutch shooting. Any which way I have ever seen it sliced (last five minutes of close games to last ten seconds), as I have written on TrueHoop before, it has looked like Kobe Bryant has been a guy who shoots a ton in crunch time, and hits at a pretty good, but not elite, rate.

I'm open to the idea that he could still be the best clutch player in the NBA. At that time of the game, there's value in being able to create scoring opportunities. Bryant may shoot those difficult fallaways that often miss, but he'd be a far worse player if he couldn't get a shot off at all. And that's the situation some lesser players would find themselves in.

Quite honestly, I think the real way to crown a crunch time king would be with video. Somebody should make a TV special where they string together every crunch time touch of the handful of elite end-game players (Bryant, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony etc.) If we want to tell the world that somebody is the most likely to succeed in a certain setting, let's take an honest and complete look at how they do in that setting. Show me the turnovers, the misses and all that. Let everyone watch all of that video -- not just the makes! -- and at the end of that I think we'll end up with a good sense of who's the best.

A lot of sports fans think it's crazy talk to even consider candidates other than Bryant. And they're especially vocal right now, when Bryant seems to be hitting game-winners just about every night.

So, how's it going?

Very well.

Peter D. Newmann of NBA Statistics and Information Research has tallied some numbers that take into account this season. Here are some of his findings:

• This season, Bryant has made seven of the 12 shots, with a chance to win or tie the game, in the last ten seconds of regulation or overtime.
• Bryant's the only player in the last decade who has made seven such shots in a season.
• Bryant has made 26 of the 89 potential game tying or game-winning field goals he has shot over the last decade. That's 29.2%, which is slightly above League average.
• His game-winners, against the Heat, Bucks, Kings, Celtics, Grizzlies, Heat and Raptors come in a season when no other player has hit more than three such shots. Derrick Rose has the second-most attempts, with eight.
• The best field goal percentage, on potential game-tying or game-winning field goals in the last 10 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime, belongs to Chris Paul. He has hit three of his four shots. Chris Bosh, Chris Duhon, Tim Duncan, Raymond Felton, Rudy Gay, David Lee, Rashard Lewis and O.J. Mayo are all two of three. This season, the League as a whole makes just 26.7% of its shots in that situation.
• Over the last decade, by field goal percentage the best shooters in this setting have been Carmelo Anthony (13-28, .464), Pau Gasol (9-22, .409), Tony Parker (11-29, .379), Chris Paul (9-24, .375) and Shawn Marion (10-28, .357). Bryant over the same period is 26-89 (.292).
• Bryant has attempted by far the most such shots of anyone over the last decade. His 89 is trailed by Vince Carter's 69, Paul Pierce's 57, Dwyane Wade's 51 and LeBron James' 50.
• Bryant's 26 makes also lead the League, followed by Carter with 20, Ray Allen with 17 and Allen Iverson's 14. Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce have each made 13.

It's not unusual in Africa to see kids wearing David Beckham jerseys, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a pick-up game or anything emblazoned with a Lakers or Bulls logo. Amadou Fall is the man in charge of changing that. In January, the Senegal native was named vice president of development for the NBA in Africa after 12 years working as director of player personnel and vice president of international affairs for the Dallas Mavericks. Fall will be in charge of opening the NBA's office in Johannesburg this spring. This week, Fall is in Dakar to announce the eighth annual Basketball without Borders camp in Africa. I caught up with him by telephone.

You've arrived in Africa. What's the first item on your to-do list?
On this trip, we're first in Senegal to plan for Basketball without Borders. We've held events in Johannesburg since 2003, but we're having the event in Senegal for the first time. Once we get to Johannesburg, the first item on the agenda is to hunt for office space. We'll have some meetings, then get back to New York, where we're working now. We'll then be back to open up the office. Speaking in general terms, our agenda starts with engaging all the basketball stakeholders in Africa.

Who are some of those stakeholders?
First and foremost, the basketball federations and the local entities. At the end of the day, in every country, the basketball federation is the local authority. You also have the governmental authorities and the minister of sports. These are bridges we have to build. There's been sound groundwork laid before us. Let's remember that the NBA has had a presence in Africa for nearly 20 years now. Dikembe Mutombo, Patrick Ewing, Wes Unseld were in South Africa in 1993. A year later, the commissioner was part of a trip. Even before Basketball without Borders, there were trips to Kenya. Opening the office in Johannesburg is just the next step in this two-decade long relationship. Now we have the chance to go and have a physical presence.

Is the goal of opening the office to extend the NBA brand into Africa or is it to develop more African players for the NBA?
The goal is to grow the game of basketball at the grassroots level. The exciting thing is this: Without much of an infrastructure on the ground, there have still been 22 people who have made their way to the NBA. You have Hakeem Olajuwon, one of the top 50 players ever. Dikembe had a Hall-of-Fame career. We've got some young guys: Luol Deng, DeSagana Diop and Luc Mbah a Moute, who attended our camp back in 2003. You see all this tremendous potential coming out of places where there is little infrastructure. As basketball has grown over the last few years, it has truly become a global game. Africa is on the map and now we're really going to grow the game here and increase participation, but one of the biggest issues we're up against is the lack of infrastructure.

When I was in West Africa, one of the things I found surprising was that few people -- adults and kids -- had any interest in talking hoops. You couldn't find anyone wearing NBA gear, which isn't the case in Asia. In West Africa, it was all soccer, all the time.
There's really no point of reference, so to speak. There just isn't that connection to the game. Also, the lack of infrastructure is a big factor. Basketball isn't a game you can just pick up. In soccer, when kids start walking, they start kicking anything that's in their way. You don't need much to create a soccer pitch. So now we're going in and focus on making the game accessible by creating platforms for kids to play.

What percentage of kids in Africa play basketball?
It's tough to put a number on. Maybe it's about 30 million. You could dispute that, but now that we're on the ground we'll be able to impact that number rapidly. With training, grassroots events and instruction we can encourage kids to pick up a basketball.

If you live in Africa and you want to follow the NBA, how do you go about doing that?
Right now, with the internet and technology, it's becoming accessible. The NBA has been seen in 54 countries in Africa. There are television partners. Part of making the game accessible is making sure that people are able to watch our games. There are avenues. We have satellite television and the internet. It's not as far off as we might think from a distance, and that's only going to increase. As that happens, the rest of our business will grow naturally.

Can we speak about some of the impediments that exist getting a kid with talent and an inclination to play from Africa to the NBA?
Again, making the game more accessible will alleviate a lot of those roadblocks. There's a lot of misinformation, but we think accessibility --

Isn't it more than just "accessibility," though? I'm not suggesting this is unique to Africa -- we could be talking about Baltimore or Los Angeles. But it seems like there are often people around a talented young player -- a "trainer" or a "minister of athletics" or a "village leader" -- who all want their pockets filled. Isn't this bigger than the fact that it's easier to build a soccer field than a basketball court? These issues are real, aren't they?
Yes, they're real. But by training teachers of the game, by creating the infrastructure, by developing the right type of expertise, I think it will put a lot of these myths in a different light.

They're myths?
No. What I mean is that when someone can come and sell a kid a bill of goods or a pipe dream, these kids will have a better understanding of what's realistic. We'll get involved in teaching the basics. At the same time, we'll make sure that kids understand that this is more than just a game. It can be utilized to achieve great things in life and not just playing in the NBA. Our goal is not just to come find the Next Great One. That will happen, I believe, out of the work we'll put into training, and giving people who want to do that training opportunities to do so. By having the right kind of people around the game and around these young people, you alleviate a lot of those problems. And these problems exist in America too, where you have misguided people in it for their own personal gain.

But I don't think we're going to be in Africa to police that. But if we do it our way, do what we do best, we'll grow the game. The game is what's at the core of our business. Engaging these communities, making sure we give back, emphasizing the importance of getting involved -- our guys are doing that. Luc Mbah a Moute had his camp in Cameroon. Guys like DeSagana Diop and Boris Diaw are giving kids opportunities they didn't necessarily have in their native countries. These players are taking a stake, and that will move the needle in the right direction. But we won't come in and act like we're the police. That's not our mission. But we're committed to growing the game and teaching the right values so that young people who have a hunger for the game will have an opportunity to succeed.

Looking five years down the road, how are you going to gauge success?
By how much the game has grown and by how much participation has increased. You asked me earlier what percentage of kids in Africa play the game. My hope is that we'll be talking about a significant number. We'll have better-trained coaches and a better quality of basketball. You can gauge that now. This past summer, when I was in Tripoli for the African championships. You could see a big difference in the level of play. Basketball without Borders has had an impact. I look around the national teams and see players who went to the camps. There are also players who have been through American universities who are taking back what they've learned by going back to their countries and getting involved with their national team. So five years down the road, competition between African nations will be a good indication. In soccer, you see all these pros go back and play for their native countries.

Can you give me the names of a few young African players who will be playing in the NBA one day?
Our mission is so broad, I don't want to focus on specific players. Why don't you come to Basketball without Borders? That would be a great place for you to see them!

Oh, the travel request to Dakar is already in. Haven't heard anything back!
Tell them to send you!

I'm totally into it. I could hit the beach in Cape Verde on my way back.
There are some good players in Cape Verde, too!

TrueHoop reader Jonathan e-mails:

Honestly, it's getting really obnoxious with you referring to to the people who study analyze basketball statistics as "geeks" or "dorks." Whether intentional or not, you bring a stigma to the people who study it and just make it sound like these people are above us and very snooty. Just read Hollinger's last article about the future of analytics and how teams are hiding their information. Not once is the word geek or dork used, yet he does a wonderful job getting his point across. In fact, it is much more pleasant to read his articles than basically anytime you mention advance statistics.

People who are into sabermetrics are not known as geeks or dorks, and it should be no different for basketball. All they are doing is analyzing statistics. In fact, all fans are constantly doing that. When they compare points, assists or blocks per game, everybody is doing their own version of statistical analysis. It just so happens that what the people studying advanced statistics are doing is more complexed analysis that generally yields better results. Please, please stop using the words dork and geek every time you mention advanced stats. I really like your work, and appreciate that you are doing a large part in opening people's eyes to advanced statistical analysis -- but you are also making many people dislike it, and find it to be something obnoxious, and grow to resent it. I hope you take my e-mail seriously.

Not that it matters, but I could hardly be more blatantly pro-geek, even saying earlier this week that it's clear the geeky NBA teams were right all along. (When I left the house for the MIT Sloan conference, my wife said, "Don't be too geeky!" I replied, "That's a promise I can't keep.") The idea that Jonathan has been reading TrueHoop, yet suspects I'd throw around those words thinking they might demean, makes me feel we're having, as they say, a "failure to communicate."

Of course, my sunny intentions matter not at all, if, as Jonathan suggests, the effect of saying "geek" is, in fact, harmful. And it's not just Jonathan who thinks they are. Notably, one of the titans of the field, Dean Oliver, says that he finds designations like "geek" and "jock" to be misguided. And I have to respect that, I really do. I know that those words have been part of the bullying of brainiacs for decades, and I hate that.

I do it anyway, though, out of a certain geeky calculation:

• To build credibility with the old guard who would never read an article about "quants," but know what geeks are.
• To show a blatant lack of shame in the word "geek."

The NBA is a big business where success is determined, in many cases, by one man being bigger, stronger or tougher than another man. It is physically difficult to move Shaquille O'Neal, and that fact alone played a major role in building an NBA dynasty. The default, throughout the history of the game, has been to think of the challenge of sports as one that was primarily physical.

In that world, it's an outsider's bold theory that people who only know Excel could really make a difference. (Michael Jordan, in his Hall of Fame acceptance speech, spat on the idea that even his general manager could have had a major role in winning games. What about his general manager's number cruncher?)

My point: Yes, statistical analysts have come a long way very quickly in this game, but at the same time, they're also facing marginalization, for sure. They are the new kids, judged with suspicion. Should stat geekery fail in some way, there would be plenty of people ready to say, "I told you so."

Preaching to the converted is fun and all, but if that kind of closed-mindedness is to be addressed meaningfully, the only dialogue that matters is with those old-guard skeptics. And to them, the people we're talking about are, simply, geeks. Or nerds. Or dorks. They just are. Those people aren't going to think "ooh, let's go to TrueHoop to read about quantatative analysis." But they might read about geeks -- at least that makes sense.

Does that mean that using those words is capitulating to bullies? Hardly. I think the fastest way out of the insult "geek" is to turn the tag into an honor. (May 25's Geek Pride Day is coming!) Make it a rallying cry! Remember when the word "gay" was in insult? What's better -- getting people to stop saying that word, or making clear anyone who ever used it as an insult was always wrong? I'll choose B. It's a longer term play, and it stirs up some trouble, but anything else strikes me as dishonest.