ESPN NBA

By Chris Sheridan

I want to hurry and get this post up before tipoff, because there's no telling if Lawrence Frank will even make it to halftime before getting fired by the New Jersey Nets.

Sorry, poor attempt at humor -- and it especially pales in comparison to what the Nets beleaguered coach had to offer when he arrived at his office for his usual pre-game interview and saw at least three national writers awaiting him.

"This is like seeing the guillotine squad," Frank said as his team tried to avoid an 0-13 start in their afternoon game against the New York Knicks.

Frank's spirits were fine, but his fortune certainly was not bolstered by comments made Friday by Nets president Rod Thorn strongly implying that Frank's job is on the line, despite the team's litany of injuries, if the team doesn't make it into the victory column soon.

Saturday's game against the 2-9 Knicks will be the Nets' final home game before they embark on a four-game West Coast swing to play the Nuggets, Trail Blazers, Kings and Lakers. Losses in all five of those games would give New Jersey an 0-17 record, which would tie the worst start in NBA history (by the expansion Miami Heat in 1988 and the L.A. Clippers in 1999.)

Asked if he agreed with the axiom that you are what your record says you are, Frank delivered the following:

"Yeah, especially since I have the utmost respect for coach (Bill) Parcells, and it’s basically his line. I feel more sorry for our guys that 0-12, the blemish that comes with that, why it’s a story because you’re 0-12, when it’s eight guys who truly have worked their tails off. And if they were coming in half-assed at practice or not focused at shootaround, then I’d say 'Hey, there’s not much hope.' But they’re not. They work every single day. These guys care. So it’s more I feel bad for them because of the blemish, and I‘ll take 100 percent responsibility for where we’re at because these guys have worked their tails off, and I do believe in habits, and if we continue to have thesse habits, we don't allow frustration to lead to a lack of confidence and a lack of faith, I think we will break through. But again, we’re 0-12. We are. And that’s on me."

Frank did have Devin Harris available Saturday for the first time since the second game of the season after he missed 10 games with a strained right groin. Courtney Lee (strained left groin) is expected to return sometime during the road trip.

Frank is in the final year of his contract (as are Thorn and general manager Kiki Vandeweghe), and the Nets franchise is in limbo while it awaits approval of the sale of the franchise to Russian billionaire Mikhael Prokhorov -- a sale that is contingent on the Nets breaking ground on their new Broolyn arena by Dec. 31.

The roster is loaded with players on expiring contracts, and the Nets will be in the company of the Knicks and the Heat in having the most salary cap space to spend in next summer's free agent market.

But the present? It's bleak.

So bleak that Saturday's matinee had a strange sort of Game 7 feel to it -- especially as it concerned Frank.

"I think, as a Net fan and as someone who has been part of the organization for 10 years, I can see how you can be very very excited about where this team is headed. There’s no doubt about it, and there’s a plan in place, and I think the Nets have a chance -- we have a chance -- to be very, very good for a long time. Now, at 0-12? You’re just focusing on what you need to do. I’m here to serve our guys: Give ‘em a plan, lead them, hold them accountable, I only worry about, we only worry about, this group. The future? I don’t spend really any time over it other than giving you that poetic waxing."

LOS ANGELES -- If ever there were a team and a head coach in desperate need of a win, the Los Angeles Clippers and Mike Dunleavy were it.

The Clippers had lost five of six games entering Friday night's game against the Denver Nuggets, all without their most efficient player second-year guard Eric Gordon. Over that stretch, which included a couple of embarrassing blowouts and a gut-wrenching fourth quarter collapse, dark clouds descended over the team. Reports that Dunleavy's job was in serious jeopardy went public, and the malaise that infected the team last season began to surface.

What better antidote for a team on the ropes than a nationally-televised date against the NBA's fourth-ranked offense featuring the league's hottest player, Carmelo Anthony?

The Clippers couldn't do much to stop Anthony, but they showed Denver a variety of effective looks on defense, and got some timely shooting from their wings and reserve unit. That was enough to hold off Denver 106-99 at Staples Center.

To no one's surprise -- least of all the Clippers -- Anthony dominated the game with 37 points (12-for-20 from the field; 12-for-13 from the stripe).

"It's such a tough matchup with 'Melo, trying to get anyone to guard him," Dunleavy said. "So we mixed up our double-teams, our locations, we mixed up the clock with our zone work. We tried to keep him a little off-balanced, but he's so tough. He makes shots. He's got that hang time. He draws fouls."

Al Thornton, who drew the defensive assignment on Anthony for much of the night, was even more emphatic.

"I think he's the best offensive player in the league, hands down this year," Thornton said. "He can do everything out there on that court."

The Clippers countered with a balanced, more fluid attack, racking up 28 assists on the 36 field goals, and earned 36 free throw attempts in the process.

For a team that's sleepwalked through much of the past two weeks, the Clippers played an intelligent brand of basketball. They got into the bonus early. They worked Al Thornton in the post against a smaller Aaron Afflalo. Rasual Butler, mired in a miserable slump over the losing streak while straining to create shots for himself (not his strong suit), returned to doing what he does best -- spot-up shooting. He led the Clips with 27 points, draining four of nine from beyond the arc.

Most of all for a team that occasionally has trouble getting on the same page, the Clippers communicated on the defensive end.

"The guys did a great job of talking," Mardy Collins, who relieved Thornton on Operation 'Melo, said. "That allowed us to make good decisions on defense."

After the game, the Clippers coaching staff was huddled in the assistant coaches' office studying film, examining the tea leaves, gleaning what they could from a satisfying victory. Whether the Clippers' win over an elite Western power is enough to reverse the tide remains an uncertainty. Eric Gordon's strained groin will keep him sidelined for at least a few more games, and rookie Blake Griffin won't return before December 15.

Those concerns aside, Mike Dunleavy should have his best night of sleep in weeks.

By John Hollinger

ATLANTA – It took 47 minutes and 59.3 seconds, but the Hawks finally found the Rockets’ Achilles heel. And fittingly for a team named after birds, it was in the air.

Josh Smith rose higher than any Houston player could hope to reach and slammed home Mike Bibby’s miss, allowing the home side to escape with a 105-103 win over a physical, tough Rockets team that continues to stun opponents with how hard they play.

“We can cover for everything else, but if there’s a play to be made at ten feet we’re in trouble,” said one Rocket, and unfortunately that was the play that needed to be made. Houston players and coaches signaled for basket interference after Smith’s putback, but replays showed it was a good basket.

Until that point, however, Houston’s gritty play unnerved the Hawks – particularly by bludgeoning Atlanta on the boards. In one 11-minute stretch of the third quarter, the Rockets only scored two points on their first shot attempt of a possession. But they battled their way to a staggering 15 second-chance points in that stretch, finishing the game with 20 offensive boards and 29 second-chance points

"That was a scrappy, scrappy team and they played very physical," said Jamal Crawford.

“Oh man, they played hard,” said Marvin Williams, “Their bigs aren’t very big, Chuck Hayes isn’t a tall guy, but they work hard, they pound the boards.”

In a departure from the Hawks’ usual formula in racking up a league-best 11-2 record, the key to the victory was Williams. He had a breakout game with 29 points and nine rebounds to make up for rough nights from Smith – until his game-winner – and Joe Johnson. Williams came in shooting only 38.9% on the year and had scored double figures just once in his past five starts, but said GM Rick Sund had been encouraging him to stay aggressive and look for his shots.

“I’ve been here every morning at 8 o’clock shooting, so thankfully it paid off tonight,” said Williams. “My job is to defend and rebound, and shoot when I have the opportunity.”

Oh, and if you're looking for any Tracy McGrady drama from this game, move along. The Rockets forward worked out with trainers before the game but never donned a full uniform, while Rick Adelman admitted the two had a difference of opinion about his return date. The Rockets have been steadfast since September that McGrady would be reevaluated after a Nov. 23 MRI, and Adelman noted they hadn't practiced in ten days so it was tough to know what McGrady's fitness level might be.

I'm not quite old enough to participate in a debate about whether Wes Unseld or Bill Walton is the greatest outlet passer of all time. (A colleague in the Staples Center Media Room insists that Bob Lanier be mentioned among the candidates).

By the time I started following the NBA, Walton was waving a towel on the Celtics' bench. But his teammate, Robert Parish, was breaking my young heart as a Hawks fan by lobbing gorgeous outlets to the likes of Gerald Henderson and Larry Bird, who filled the lanes and finished the break.

The outlet pass is the powder keg that ignites the fast break, and lunch-pailer Chuck Hayes knows a thing or two about heaving the ball downcourt to the Rockets' speedsters:

By Henry Abbott

Here's a fun little project I'd like your help with: Let's name the NBA's twenty all-time dirtiest players. I have a brainstorm list working, but I'd like your ideas, your anecdotes, your YouTube links ...

To get you in the mood, here is the recently retired Bruce Bowen, talking to HoopsTV about his own reaction when people call him a dirty player:

When people said that it allowed me to understand that they weren't necessarily competing.

See, you never heard Michael Jordan call someone dirty. Even though, the Pistons during that time were hard fouling him, he never called them dirty. ... The true competitors of the game, they just compete. They don't say anything about anyone else, they just compete, and that's what it's all about.

So, if I were ever to complain about something, say if someone pushed off to create space, is that person dirty for pushing off to get their shot? I don't think so.

So it's all a matter of whose saying this and you go from there.

You take it with a grain of salt and you keep it moving.

He adds:

A few coaches have said, yeah Bruce is dirty if you're playing against him, but he's a player that you'd love to have, and that's all that matters to me.

By Henry Abbott

He has only played 11 minutes, but as Chris Sheridan just explained, slimmed-down Knick big man Eddy Curry is already playing a pivotal role in the Knicks' thought process about Allen Iverson.

Curry could also play a pivotal role in helping to unravel a couple of NBA mysteries.

The first mystery is obvious. When will the misery end for Knick fans? The team David Stern, and a zillion other people, grew up loving, has lost all sparkle. The Knicks are a miserable team hoping to use the city of New York and Cablevision's deep pockets (anything but the roster) to lure a top free agent this summer. However, if Eddy Curry can prove he's a desirable NBA player, the Knicks' whole situation changes dramatically -- either because they'll have another quality player at a key position, or because they'll be able to trade his hefty contract and bring in more talent.

The other mystery is William Wesley. What does he do? I spent ages poking around that issue. Curry's recent life is a bit of an answer. Curry has had every problem a person could have. Murder in the family. Accusations of misconduct. Financial problems. A career in shambles. Health problems. Weight problems.

Enter William Wesley. The story has been told many places, but the basics are in Alan Hahn's training camp report from Newsday:

William "Worldwide Wes" Wesley was in attendance yesterday, marking the second straight year the well-connected attache to many NBA stars (including LeBron James) has been present at Knicks camp. Wesley has an interest in Curry's progress, of course. He is the one who set Curry up with strength coach Tommy Weatherspoon and basketball trainer Jerry Powell to work with Curry this summer. For most of June, Curry stayed at Wesley's home outside of Detroit.

What does Wesley do? He's integral to a lot of things, arranging mortgages, arranging trades, arranging jobs for coaches and a whole lot more. But he's also, clearly, something of a camp counselor for people like Curry, and the Knicks have placed a ton of trust in him.

Everything changes if Wesley's work pays off. He'll be hailed as a genius. The Knicks will swell with pride.

If it doesn't ... then the joylessness you have seen on the court so far is what the Knicks will be.

As Hahn points out, Wesley is also famously close with LeBron James (and, complicating things somewhat, Allen Iverson). If the Knicks and Wesley can have success together in resurrecting the career of Eddy Curry, the good vibes that come along with that couldn't hurt the free agent conversation next summer.

In the meantime, Donnie Walsh and William Wesley will be watching Curry closely, knowing they both have a lot at stake.

By Chris Sheridan

GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Eleven minutes of Eddy Curry helped doom the possibility of 71 games of Allen Iverson.

That was one of the nuggets of information revealed by Knicks president Donnie Walsh this afternoon as he explained New York's decision to pass on the opportunity to sign unrestricted free agent Allen Iverson.

Curry played 11 minutes Wednesday night in the Knicks' victory in Indiana, and Walsh said the continued rehabilitation and re-integration of Curry -- along with the fear that Iverson would take minutes away from the young players the Knicks are trying to develop -- impacted the decision.

"That's part of it, because Eddy is now on the team and we've got to develop a lot of attention to Eddy from a franchise standpoint, because he went out there in 11 minutes and I thought actually changed the game in a lot of ways. Their big guys were having their way with us, which big men do because David (Lee) is not a natural center, and when Eddy went in -- just the fact that he could take the ball and go at them -- I could see they went back on their heels and they weren't the same after that no matter who was playing. I thought he helped us win the game right there. He's got a lot of talent, he's got great size, you can see he's worked on his body tremendously, so yeah, Eddy is a guy we're very high on, and we wanted to work with him."

By Henry Abbott

• Dirk Nowitzki vs. the Spurs. A killer shooting night, with a killer soundtrack.
• Thunder GM Sam Presti must cringe, just a little, at seeing Kevin Durant say this in the Oklahoman: “I always was a big Antoine Walker fan."
• Sam Bowie has applied to become the first black member of one of Lexington's exclusive golf clubs. He's talking like a guy who loves golf, more than a civil rights leader, though.
• Mayor Kevin Johnson appoints a "Dream Team" of bigwigs to figure out a Sacramento stadium in a bad economy. Good luck! (I really mean that.)
• To their banquet of efficient scrappers, the Rockets will soon be adding a gunner. Tracy McGrady is almost back, telling the Houston Chronicle: "After putting in all the work this summer, I'm so eager to get back out there. I'm hungry. I'm so ready to play, man, it's not even funny. It's tearing me apart to sit here and watch my guys go out and playing and I can't do anything but watch.” I still remember learning from Chris Ballard's book "The Art of a Beautiful Game" that McGrady ranked last on the Rockets in the percentage of his shots that were "high-quality" as in, from the paint, the free throw line, or 3-point land.
• Timothy Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell: "I’m concerned about Tim Duncan. He played 41 minutes last night in a toughly fought battle with Dallas. Tonight he must run through the gauntlet that is the Utah Jazz. And that knee brace, it’s big."
• The Bucks are off to a great start, but Andrew Bogut injuries are never good.
• Josh Smith as statistical superman.
• It's possible Earl Boykins can bench-press more than any other Wizard, even though he's tiny.
• The Sacramento Kings have two of the NBA's top three rebounders right now. Measured by what percentage of available rebounds they have nabbed while on the court, Jon Brockman is tops, and Kenny Thomas is third.

Yesterday, Sonny Vaccaro explained why he feels defensive about Brandon Jennings.

Jennings, says Vaccaro, has endured criticism -- and perhaps was drafted artificially low -- as punishment for playing his post-high school year playing professionally in Italy, instead of paying his dues to the powers that be in NCAA basketball.

The way people talked about Jennings leading up to the draft does suggest opinion-makers weren't at all sure what to make of the player who has been the shining star of the rookie class in the season's early going.

Vaccaro is a powerful basketball insider, who has played a pivotal role in the careers of may top basketball players, from Kobe Bryant to O.J. Mayo. In the second installment of the conversation, Vaccaro discusses getting to know a young Brandon Jennings, a fateful meeting in an Italian restaurant, and how Jennings came to the decision to skip college.

Do you have a favorite Brandon Jennings moment? When you thought he would be special?
Yeah! This is a true story. He was in eighth grade, going into ninth grade. We had one of my camps or something at Artesia High School. Near his house.

He was playing on this AAU team. The best one. Southern California All-Stars. They had great players. They were really good, and he was beating this team like 100-10. Just killing them.

And the end of the game, he threw a long pass, like over his head and behind his back to get somebody a dunk. I ran after him, I swear to god almighty, and he's like 13 or 14, and I ran after him and said: "Don't you ever do that. You're too good. Don't you ever show up the people you're playing against like that."

I gave him a Sonny speech. It was a Sonny moment.

I don't know why I did it.

But I saw that this kid had this thing about him. But I didn't ever want him to take it for granted, or to embarrass other players. It was a moment.

He didn't play at a lot of my camps. I quit the camps his senior year. He didn't play at the Roundball Classic because I didn't have a Roundball Classic his senior year. Those are the things that the kids usually went through all the process, O.J. [Mayo], Kevin [Garnett], Greg [Oden], Kobe [Bryant] ... they went from the camp to the Big-Time Tournament and all that.

The last time, his junior year his team beat Derrick Rose and Eric Gordon's team in the final of the Big-Time Tournament in one of the greatest summer league's game ever. I just talked to Reggie Rose -- Derrick's brother -- about it a couple of days ago. It was Eric Gordon and Derrick Rose and his Chicago team, against Pat Barrett's Southern California All-Stars team with Kevin Love, Daniel Hackett, Taylor King, Brandon Jennings, a sophomore Renardo Sidney. And they won by two points or something. Derrick and Eric were unbelievable. It was one of the greatest summer league games ever.

Then there was a year of separation. He went to Oak Hill. I didn't talk to him for a year.

Then that fateful call. I flew to New York as soon as I got that call. I wanted to be part of that.

Tell me about the fateful phone call.
I hadn't seen him in a year. That was the first thing. It wasn't like we were continuous, like everybody thinks it was. Then he said I'm in New York. [Vaccaro's wife] Pam and I were going to the draft the next day. So we flew and met Brandon in an Italian restaurant.

Just a coincidence that -- as you embark on sending him to Italy -- it was an Italian restaurant?
No. Most of my restaurants are Italian restaurants. [Laughs].

Turned out to be prophetic.
Yes it was.

You have to understand. That was right before the NBA draft. I kept saying: Do you know what you're doing? They're going to beat you up. And then when you say that I'm the guy who is handling all of this, you're going to get double indemnity here. The two of us ... a perfect couple for Vogue magazine, you know that!

I think I was a little proud that he asked me to do this. That he believed in me.

Had you shared with him in advance that going to Europe was something he ought to consider?
He heard it on the radio! I never spoke to him about it. He heard me say it on the "Loose Cannons" radio show I used to be a regular on. I had nothing to do with Brandon's decision.

I had been preaching "Go to Europe" since David Stern put that stupid rule in. And then he heard me and called me.

It's too simple for skeptics to believe.

I told him they were going to kill him.

We did everything, Pam and I. I did the shoe contract, I did everything. Duff [Agent Bill Duffy] came on in January.

Brandon, me, and Alice, and [Jenning's half-brother] Terrence, and my wife Pam, we walked this walk together. And that's what people don't understand. And to see this happen now. You have to be inhuman not to feel good for him.

I don't know what's going to happen. But one thing we can say, Henry Abbott, there's no more questions about whether he can play basketball. All the great coaches, all the great commentators, and all the great universities had nothing to do with it.

Why Italy, by the way?
Well, because we went to Las Vegas. Right after the draft, as you know, they all go to the Summer League out there. ... He started working out at the Tarkanian gym, and then I got these teams, reluctantly, to come watch. The Italians were really really interested. I met the general manager, and he worked him out personally. The first day, there was great interest. So the Israeli people come. The Russian people come to meet the next day at the games over in the gym, and they wanted to have workouts.

And by the afternoon of the second day, the Italian team had made, to paraphrase, an offer that we couldn't refuse.

I said Brandon, this is a lot of money. We can work out for the Israelis, the Russians, the Greeks. But s---, this is a lot. This is a lot! Let's go for it.

They were good. We met, and we got the deal done, and everything they said it was going to be, it was. They called the coach up, who was in Greece for the World Championships and all that sort of stuff, so they really wanted him. They recruited him, and we never really entertained much else. Two days after that I saw these other guys in the gym, and I said we made a deal.

Basically, the money was great. And Brandon had an affinity for going to Rome. If nothing else, Rome is an international city. A lot of Americans go through it. It has such history to it. The amenities were great. The living quarters, the car for the mom, the school for the brother -- they paid tuition, $25,000 for his brother to go to a diplomat's school -- all the things were good. And it was the highest level of European basketball. That was basically it.

And then we did the shoe deal. I talked to all the shoe companies, they Under Armour stepped up, and I think ... he got the fourth best shoe deal last year, I think the money he's earning this year, is more than what any rookie got this year. I don't know that the other people all got, but Brandon's is pretty damn good. And Under Armour stepped up.

We had the stars and the moon, everything lined up. They were a new company, and he's dynamic, and we go to Rome, and have a beautiful press conference overlooking the city.

I think the one thing that really helped a lot was the honest look that Bryant Gumbel did on Real Sports. I think Bryant helped defray the negative stuff that was coming. And I think Chris Broussard went over there, and Brandon was the leading scorer in the exhibition season. That was the irony here. Then his coach went brain dead on me [and played Jennings in a limited role].

That happens.
It all happened. But the public didn't know that. They just know he didn't go play for Lute Olson.

Moreso than Kobe and all those guys, he's demonized. Because he took the European route. In the eyes of a public, he was a failure. But in Brandon's eyes, he wasn't. He learned. And that's why, of all the kids, through all the things ... Obviously, my life has been blessed, and every one is special in their own way, but I think I feel better personally, my wife and I, about the outcome of Brandon Jennings to this point then all the other ones.

Because the other ones, the landmines weren't there. When Kobe went out of high school, when Kevin went out of high school, when they all went out of high school you accepted it. That was the rule.

This guy wouldn't accept what they told him he had to do.

One more Brandon Jennings conversation with Sonny Vaccaro to follow on TrueHoop.

• Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times: "Making his season's first appearance after sitting out the first 11 games because of a hamstring injury, Pau Gasol took the Staples Center floor against the Chicago Bulls to an ovation that was less than standing. Folks cheered, but only slightly louder than if he'd been here all along. Gasol scored the game's first basket, and the clapping was polite. He scored the third and fourth points on free throws, and the yawns were evident. He then scored the second basket on a fast break layup placed in the rim with the gentleness of a guard, and finally there was some recognition that this was somebody special returning to something special. Those cheers lasted only as long as it took folks to serenade Kobe Bryant with, 'M-V-P.' Even now, it seems, folks just don't appreciate the value of a guy for whom those same letters could be chanted. ... When Gasol has been on the court for more than three minutes, the Lakers are 116-35. When he has not, they are 44-24."
• Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: "Doc Rivers didn’t want to get into a debate with hypothetical history. After finishing his chat with the media at large, he was asked directly if the Celtics would have won last year’s second-round playoff series against Orlando with Kevin Garnett in the lineup. 'I don’t even go down that road,' the coach said. 'I don’t.' Paul Pierce, on the other hand, had no qualms with making the trip. 'I believe it,' he said. 'I believe if we just had Leon (Powe) we would have. That’s just my belief.' Garnett’s knee injury spoke volumes, but the Celtics’ transgressions may have been louder. You may recall they blew a Game 6 lead. Or you could note the embarrassment of Game 7, when they entered the final period down just five and on a roll - and proceeded to surrender 11 straight points. On their own floor. Garnett remembers how he felt when he left the Garden that night. (Ticked),' he said. 'Probably like everybody else. Very (ticked).' "
• Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: "There is the natural inclination to label Dwight Howard as the spoiled superstar who is bucking authority and wrestling control of the team away from Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. It is what we are programmed to believe whenever we hear an NBA player complain about being criticized by his coach. And, admittedly, it was my initial reaction when I first read Brian Schmitz's Sentinel story about Dwight having a private meeting with Van Gundy and telling his coach, in effect, to stop being such a miserable human being. But the more I thought about it, the more I reached this conclusion. Dwight Howard is right. And Van Gundy knows it. Howard said Thursday Van Gundy spends too much time 'focusing so much on our mistakes. Instead of bringing each other down, we have to pull each other up.' Van Gundy agreed and admitted that his constant negativity has been 'draining the enthusiasm from his team.' Call me Pollyanna if you want, but I don't think this is such a bad thing. It's a positive. I give Howard and Van Gundy credit for handling this like a team -- a real team -- is supposed to handle it.' "
• Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "You agree with Dwyane Wade, that this is merely a shooting slump, because it is difficult to consider the alternative. You accept the fact that the Hawks are unique in their ability to 'build a wall' around Wade, because Atlanta's unique mix of length and athleticism hardly is the rule in the NBA. But you also have to consider the alternative. Or, to be more accurate, the alternatives. Put yourself in the shoes of opposing coaches. Do you really need to take measured steps in your closeouts on Quentin Richardson at the 3-point line, when he has not attempted a single foul shot all season, despite starting every game? Do you have to cover the lane when Mario Chalmers comes off the pick-and-roll, considering how rarely he attacks in the paint? Do you need to double-team Jermaine O'Neal, when the overwhelming majority of his attempts are fadeaway jumpers? And for all of Michael Beasley's potential, he appears most at ease when lofting jumpers, hardly making himself a tough cover. So why wouldn't you put an overwhelming focus on Wade, be it with zones, traps or double teams, when there isn't a single player in the Heat's starting lineup who otherwise commands extra attention?"
• Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: "In Tuesday night's game against Toronto, Carmelo Anthony received a pass on the right wing and cruised by his defender, thanks to a Stonehenge pick set by Renaldo Balkman. A hard, crossover dribble was Melo's key to unlock the key. Once in the lane, he Adrian Peterson-ed a pair of post players, soared toward the rim and then, in one midair motion, yanked the ball down waist-high and flung up a backwards, no-look layup. It's good! And the foul! On this singular play, Melo did everything that's epitomized Denver's success so far. He got into the paint, got the layup to drop, got to the foul line. ... George Karl suggested his team has achieved 30 layups in 80 percent of the games. Moreover, Denver (8-3) is sixth in the conference with 41.4 points in the paint per game. And here's the big one. The Nuggets are first in the NBA with 26.7 free throws made per game, more than three made free throws per game than any other team."
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: "Brendan Haywood said his increased rebounding, scoring and shot-blocking numbers this season are a direct correlation to playing a career-best 33.8 minutes. 'That's big because it helps me from a mental aspect. If I go out there and I know I'm going to play 30 minutes, it gives you confidence, because you feel your coach has confidence in you. You don't have to go out there pressing,' said Haywood, who is averaging 10.9 points. 'Not trying to speak negatively about anyone, but in previous years, I was playing like I had to make something happen. If it didn't happen in the first five minutes I felt like I had to do something or I might not play in the second half. That's a tough way to play. Now, it's a little bit different. I think Flip has confidence in me and I benefit from it.' Before his breakthrough season in 2007-08, Haywood often would complain about how he was utilized, as former coach Eddie Jordan often called on Etan Thomas, believing that he could provide a more physical presence. The competition with Thomas often became personal and ugly, as they exchanged blows at least three times, fighting in the locker room and on the practice court."
• Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press: "One of the common questions I've been getting from readers recently is what happens when shooting guard Rip Hamilton returns from his severely sprained right ankle. The worry is that it might upset the chemistry of the Pistons' three-guard offense, which has worked well early this season. The unspoken question is whether Ben Gordon will respond well to returning to the sixth-man role he occupied before Hamilton's injury. Gordon, who is averaging 21.1 points per game, doesn't appear to have a gigantic ego -- unlike the guy who was here last season and just left the Memphis Grizzlies. Of course, Gordon, who was going through a 4-for-12, 11-point performance Wednesday, might have been singing a different tune if he had been having a great shooting night. But he appeared sincere and not just politically correct. 'I had been sitting for a while,' Gordon said. 'Towards the end of the game, (Kuester) gave me look a few times. I guess he was thinking about putting me in, but at that time, the flow of the game was in our favor, so I think he just decided to keep those guys out there. I thought it was a good move.' " And that's a good attitude for maintaining a harmonious locker room."
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: "Michael Redd said the Bucks can’t take their impressive start for granted, and he cautioned that not too much can be inferred from a nine-game stretch. 'Shhhh, don’t tell anybody,' Redd said. 'We’re trying to keep it hush-hush around here, man. We’re staying humble and working hard every day still. We realize that we’ve got a long way to go. I remember a couple years ago we were in first place in March (in 2001-’02), and we were out of the playoffs the next month. The good thing about being young is we don’t know any better. The young guys don’t realize how hard it is. But we’ll learn on our way throughout the season and continue to get better.' "
• Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "Rockets center David Andersen began following the Hawks several seasons ago, when they began their rise in the Eastern Conference. It seemed like a good idea to know about the team he would join, or he might have just been curious. Either way, he believed he was ready to make the jump to the NBA, and the Hawks held his draft rights. Andersen was the 37th player chosen in the 2002 draft. Andersen's arrival in Atlanta was delayed until tonight, when he arrives with the Rockets. But he had no complaints. 'It's another game, so you want to win,' said Andersen, whose rights were traded to the Rockets in July. 'Obviously, it was my draft team. I'm not too emotional about it. It was close a couple times, I suppose. I hoped that one day it would happen. The way things worked out, the trade happened and I ended up in Houston, so that was a good thing.' "
• Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: "Even though he's probably led every team on which he's ever played in scoring, don't ever confuse LeBron James with being a high-volume chucker. James, the Cavaliers' all-time leading scorer, is averaging a career-low 18.1 shots per game this season. And, don't equate that with being a bad thing. He's averaging his customary 28.3 points per game, third best in the NBA. If he doesn't have to do it all for the Cavs (8-4), they will likely have a better chance to win. 'I've always been an efficient player,' James said. 'This is a year where I haven't had to take as many shots. It just happens. The only thing I'm conscious of was making the right plays at the end of the game.' "
• Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com: "Samuel Dalembert empathizes with Elton Brand. The minutes of the Sixers' two starting big men have fluctuated greatly, ranging from 14 to 35 for Dalembert and 19 to 42 for Brand, in the season's first 11 games. But even while he was logging a season-low 14 minutes and sitting out the final 16:26 during Wednesday's 86-84 victory over the Bobcats, Dalembert couldn't help but smile on the bench because of Brand's breakout performance. ... 'I'm just happy that EB was able to come out there and hold it down for us,' said Dalembert after Thursday's practice. 'He was like a beast out there. That was great. I was excited about it. It's been tough. We laugh about it. We still go out and do what we can do in a short period of time, in the minutes we play. Coach (Eddie Jordan) kind of let him be himself out there. He made some things happen.' "
• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: "Seems Chris Bosh has an ego after all. And it's driving him. 'Every day I turn on the TV and they're talking about guys, especially my draft class, '03 draft class, and this and that,' he said. 'They keep bringing up all these and I never hear my name, unless I'm like second honourable mention or something like that. I got tired of that. I don't even think people know I've made all-star teams or know what I've done in this league.' This is the new -- vastly improved -- Bosh talking, a guy with more consistent determination, greater bulk and numbers that place him among the very best in the NBA right now."
• Joe Freeman of The Oregonian: "Andre Miller tumbled onto the Rose Garden floor, grimacing as he rolled over on his back and cupped his hands around his ankle. Moments later, the Trail Blazers' starting point guard limped off the court and plopped down in the middle of the team's bench, prompting athletic trainer Jay Jensen to meander over and inquire about his health. 'But he didn't want to hear it,' Jensen says, recalling their conversation during a game against the San Antonio Spurs earlier this month. 'I wanted to get him to walk down the hall and get him back (to my office) and see what was going on. But he wouldn't have it. He said, 'I'm fine. Don't mess with me.' ' Welcome inside the mind of the NBA's Iron Man. Miller enters tonight's matchup against the Golden State Warriors having played in 543 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NBA. Thanks to a bulldog-like tenacity, conservative diet and countless naps -- yes, naps -- the 11-year veteran has managed to miss just three games during his NBA career."
• Jonathan Abrams of The New York Times: "The basic pick-and-roll is the bread and butter of the N.B.A., with two teammates working in conjunction on offense, with one player dribbling the ball and the other standing still and trying to block the path of the ball handler’s defender. As all hoopsters know, once the pick, or screen, is carried out, the ball handler can pursue several options: pass the ball to his teammate who set the pick and is now rolling toward the basket or another space on the floor; take a shot himself; drive to the basket; or pass the ball to another teammate who may be open. 'When it comes down to it, that’s what we’re going to be in when the game’s on the line,' Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy said of basketball’s most reliable play. 'I say it all the time: I don’t care how good you are, you can’t take away everything.' The pick-and-roll is the play of choice for some of the league’s best players, like New Orleans’s Chris Paul, Phoenix’s Steve Nash, Miami’s Dwyane Wade and Cleveland’s LeBron James. The league’s dependence on the play is steadily increasing, according to a five-year analysis by Synergy Sports Technology, which logs every N.B.A. game, providing analytics to nearly every team. Use of the pick-and-roll rose to 18.6 percent of the league’s total plays last season from 15.6 percent in 2004-5, when Synergy began tracking it."