TrueHoop: Contributors
Every time the San Antonio Spurs get this deep into the playoffs it turns into a referendum on NBA fans. You’ve seen the columns before and you’ll surely see them again during the course of the Western Conference finals: The Spurs represent what’s right about sports, so you really need to appreciate them. Etc., on and on, blah blah blah.
Then the television ratings will come out and reveal how little America really cares about the Spurs. They can retool their roster and revamp their style into the highest-scoring offense in these playoffs and the perception of them will never change. And let's face it, as long as Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are around the Spurs will seem...redundant. The problem is, they're a PBS documentary and we're a nation that's addicted to shows about the Kardashians.
So be it. I’m not going to tell you who to like and what to watch. I sure hate it when soccer snobs tell me I need to appreciate their version of football. If I were going to tell you to pause and enjoy a team it would be the Miami Heat, because if you’re still mad that LeBron had a TV show and the Heat threw a party you’ll miss out on breathtaking basketball plays like these. And if you find the Heat’s act too self-serving for your taste, maybe you should root for a low-key team like the Spurs. Oh, that’s right, I said I wouldn’t tell you to root for the Spurs. See the quandary you created?
People keep overlooking a critical aspect of the Spurs: they don’t care if you don’t care about them. In a strange way, the thing I respect the most about them is that they’re not concerned about whether or not I respect them.
When Tony Parker, fresh off beating the Clippers and outplaying Chris Paul, was asked if he should be ranked higher among the elite point guards he responded, “I gave up on that dream a long time ago. Since I’m in San Antonio, we’re under the radar all the time, I don’t really care about that. For me, the most important opinion is Coach Popovich. As long as Coach Pop is happy, I’m good.”
You’ll find a similar sentiment throughout the locker room. You definitely won’t hear anything like what Danny Granger of the Pacers recently had to say about how his team felt disrespected because of its lack of national TV appearances.
The goal is the Larry O’Brien trophy, not the Nielsen ratings. The Spurs recognize that better than any other franchise. That’s why they stay winning. And if their winning ways doesn’t make any national noise, their response is more silence.
Whether or not you enjoy the Spurs, we all can appreciate a little peace and quiet.
Then the television ratings will come out and reveal how little America really cares about the Spurs. They can retool their roster and revamp their style into the highest-scoring offense in these playoffs and the perception of them will never change. And let's face it, as long as Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are around the Spurs will seem...redundant. The problem is, they're a PBS documentary and we're a nation that's addicted to shows about the Kardashians.
So be it. I’m not going to tell you who to like and what to watch. I sure hate it when soccer snobs tell me I need to appreciate their version of football. If I were going to tell you to pause and enjoy a team it would be the Miami Heat, because if you’re still mad that LeBron had a TV show and the Heat threw a party you’ll miss out on breathtaking basketball plays like these. And if you find the Heat’s act too self-serving for your taste, maybe you should root for a low-key team like the Spurs. Oh, that’s right, I said I wouldn’t tell you to root for the Spurs. See the quandary you created?
People keep overlooking a critical aspect of the Spurs: they don’t care if you don’t care about them. In a strange way, the thing I respect the most about them is that they’re not concerned about whether or not I respect them.
When Tony Parker, fresh off beating the Clippers and outplaying Chris Paul, was asked if he should be ranked higher among the elite point guards he responded, “I gave up on that dream a long time ago. Since I’m in San Antonio, we’re under the radar all the time, I don’t really care about that. For me, the most important opinion is Coach Popovich. As long as Coach Pop is happy, I’m good.”
You’ll find a similar sentiment throughout the locker room. You definitely won’t hear anything like what Danny Granger of the Pacers recently had to say about how his team felt disrespected because of its lack of national TV appearances.
The goal is the Larry O’Brien trophy, not the Nielsen ratings. The Spurs recognize that better than any other franchise. That’s why they stay winning. And if their winning ways doesn’t make any national noise, their response is more silence.
Whether or not you enjoy the Spurs, we all can appreciate a little peace and quiet.
Inside the paint with Grizzlies-Clippers
May, 12, 2012
May 12
1:31
AM ET
If you love basketball, you should make it a priority in your life to watch at least one NBA playoff game from within 15 feet of the basket. You will see, hear and feel the intensity with which players battle for the ball. It’s not a comparison to the regular season that you can track statistically, such as pace or points per possession or whatever other metric you want to use. It’s something you must quantify through your own impressions. It’s what makes the playoffs the playoffs.
“As soon as that ball goes up, it’s kind of a free-for-all,” Blake Griffin said.
The victories are so hard-fought that something as simple as tying up Zach Randolph for a jump ball during Game 6 of the Grizzlies-Clippers series could prompt L.A.’s Kenyon Martin to celebrate like a linebacker who had just dropped a quarterback for a 5-yard loss.
“Whoooo!” Martin yelled, gripping the ball like a prize for his effort as he locked eyes with the courtside fans. “Let’s go!”
It was the Grizzlies who ultimately prevailed on more of these little skirmishes. They outrebounded the Clippers, 48-32. They had more blocked shots, 9-6. They finished with more points in the paint, 46-40. That’s why it feels like they’re in the lead of a series that is tied at three games apiece ... because Game 7 is in Memphis on Sunday.
It’s not as if the Clippers weren’t willing to engage in the battle. Martin, and particularly Reggie Evans, spent the afternoon wresting with Randolph, Marc Gasol and whoever else dared enter the lane. Eric Bledsoe had almost as many rebounds as Griffin, proving that the ball was there for anyone bold enough to get it.
The Grizzlies just were more determined. It was a result, Randolph said, of “having our mindset coming into the game, knowing it was going to be a physical game. Having 48 minutes of pushing, arm-grabbing, locking, whatever.”
“We did a great job of taking the first hit,” Gasol said. “Doesn’t matter what happens. We kept on playing. We were very focused on our task defensively. We made some shots; defensively we were way more disciplined than we’ve been.”
Lamented the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan: “They got stops, they got offensive rebounds.”
Lionel Hollins won the coaching matchup, as well, thanks to his substitution pattern. During a timeout with 9:28 left in the game, Hollins sent in Rudy Gay, Hamed Haddadi, Tony Allen and Randolph. They fell behind by eight points, then that group rolled off seven consecutive points to get right back in the game. Haddadi might seem like the odd name in that group, but he had three rebounds, a blocked shot and scored two points on a putback of a missed free throw during his three-minute stretch before Gasol replaced him.
“We had the right lineup that I wanted in the game,” Hollins said.
Vinny Del Negro can’t truthfully say the same thing. He stayed with the group that got the lead just a little too long, waiting until there was only a point separating the teams before calling a 20-second timeout and substituting Chris Paul for Mo Williams. He let Bledsoe, who had been outstanding taking on an added burden for the injured Chris Paul, stay on the court a little past his stamina point.
The Clippers lost the lead and couldn’t prevail down the stretch. Paul committed an uncharacteristic two turnovers late in the game and missed the only shot he took. Their decisions on and off the court weren’t as good as Memphis’. They lost the mental game in addition to the physical battle.
From the bumps under the basket to the calculations on the sideline, there’s a greater magnitude to everything in the playoffs.
“As soon as that ball goes up, it’s kind of a free-for-all,” Blake Griffin said.
The victories are so hard-fought that something as simple as tying up Zach Randolph for a jump ball during Game 6 of the Grizzlies-Clippers series could prompt L.A.’s Kenyon Martin to celebrate like a linebacker who had just dropped a quarterback for a 5-yard loss.
“Whoooo!” Martin yelled, gripping the ball like a prize for his effort as he locked eyes with the courtside fans. “Let’s go!”
It was the Grizzlies who ultimately prevailed on more of these little skirmishes. They outrebounded the Clippers, 48-32. They had more blocked shots, 9-6. They finished with more points in the paint, 46-40. That’s why it feels like they’re in the lead of a series that is tied at three games apiece ... because Game 7 is in Memphis on Sunday.
It’s not as if the Clippers weren’t willing to engage in the battle. Martin, and particularly Reggie Evans, spent the afternoon wresting with Randolph, Marc Gasol and whoever else dared enter the lane. Eric Bledsoe had almost as many rebounds as Griffin, proving that the ball was there for anyone bold enough to get it.
The Grizzlies just were more determined. It was a result, Randolph said, of “having our mindset coming into the game, knowing it was going to be a physical game. Having 48 minutes of pushing, arm-grabbing, locking, whatever.”
“We did a great job of taking the first hit,” Gasol said. “Doesn’t matter what happens. We kept on playing. We were very focused on our task defensively. We made some shots; defensively we were way more disciplined than we’ve been.”
Lamented the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan: “They got stops, they got offensive rebounds.”
Lionel Hollins won the coaching matchup, as well, thanks to his substitution pattern. During a timeout with 9:28 left in the game, Hollins sent in Rudy Gay, Hamed Haddadi, Tony Allen and Randolph. They fell behind by eight points, then that group rolled off seven consecutive points to get right back in the game. Haddadi might seem like the odd name in that group, but he had three rebounds, a blocked shot and scored two points on a putback of a missed free throw during his three-minute stretch before Gasol replaced him.
“We had the right lineup that I wanted in the game,” Hollins said.
Vinny Del Negro can’t truthfully say the same thing. He stayed with the group that got the lead just a little too long, waiting until there was only a point separating the teams before calling a 20-second timeout and substituting Chris Paul for Mo Williams. He let Bledsoe, who had been outstanding taking on an added burden for the injured Chris Paul, stay on the court a little past his stamina point.
The Clippers lost the lead and couldn’t prevail down the stretch. Paul committed an uncharacteristic two turnovers late in the game and missed the only shot he took. Their decisions on and off the court weren’t as good as Memphis’. They lost the mental game in addition to the physical battle.
From the bumps under the basket to the calculations on the sideline, there’s a greater magnitude to everything in the playoffs.
Before any NBA players griped about the back-to-back-to-back games in this year’s lockout-compressed schedule they should have talked to the 1971-72 Lakers, who won games on three consecutive nights four times during their 33-game winning streak. That’s a hidden attribute of the team’s legacy.
Their 69 regular-season victories were surpassed by the Chicago Bulls. Their championship, the Lakers’ first in Los Angeles, was eventually followed by 10 more. The 33-game streak, which began against the Baltimore Bullets on Nov. 5, 1971, and was ended by Milwaukee on Jan. 9, 1972, endures as the longest winning streak in American pro sports.
The surviving members of the team gathered in Los Angeles this week, for a reception in Manhattan Beach Thursday night and an appearance at halftime of the Lakers game in Staples Center Friday night.
In talking with some members of the team, one common theme emerged: respect for the job done by coach Bill Sharman. It’s similar to the constant credit to John Wooden I’ve heard at gatherings of former UCLA players.
Sharman's wife, Joyce, was the impetus for the reunion and team member Keith Erickson did a great job of arranging media access to the players. Here are the recollections of some of the participants of that historic run.
PAT RILEY (Fifth season, averaged 6.7 points and 1.9 rebounds per game)
“Four sets of back to back to backs? I’ve got to remember that. We took it like it was nothing. It was like doing business. It was what you did. You play the game, you go out after the game, whatever. You get up at 5 a.m., you get on the plane, you sleep a little bit on the plane. You get into the hotel and you go to bed, have lunch, go play the game. Wash your own uniform.
“What I used to do, I’d go right into the shower. If I played, I’d go right into the shower, in uniform, I’d take it off in the shower, I’d rinse it out, wring it out real hard, put it in my bag, then go home and put it on the radiator. In the morning, it would be dry.
“Some guys never did it. Some guys played a lot of minutes, take it right off, put it in the bag. The next night, open the bag…whoooh. I remember Walt Bellamy one time would not get next to Wilt.”
JIM CLEAMONS (Rookie, 2.6 points, 1 rebound per game)
“One of my duties as a rookie, [coach] always wanted his own balls. I always had six balls. Whether we used them or not, I always had the balls. Exhibition season, I had the balls and the hydroculators. I got them to the bus. On the bus, somebody else took them. That was part of a rookie’s duties.”
GAIL GOODRICH (Seventh season, 25.9 points, 4.5 assists per game)
“I played in all 82 games. I was in great shape going in. I was in shape and I was ready to play. I could run all day and I never thought about it.
“The truth of the matter is, we were really just having fun. I don’t think at the time we really realized what we were doing. We gained that confidence game after game after game. And I played for John Wooden, and that’s the same kind of feeling he had. We were a very confident team. We probably bordered on being a little cocky.
“If you look at the 33, very few games were we even challenged. Very few games were close. We had a dominant team.”
FLYNN ROBINSON (Sixth season, 9.9 points per game)
“The last game that got real close was Houston, right? [A five-point victory in the 18th game of the streak.] We just had an unbelievable stretch. We could have won more games, but just to get an opportunity to play on the 72 team and win the championship, that was real beautiful.
“I remember game No. 16. We were down to the Philadelphia 76ers. We were down 15 or 16 points. We wound up beating ‘em by [15].”
PAT RILEY
“We never thought we were going to win 33. You win 10, okay. You’re at 17. There were about three or four benchmarks that sort of kept us going. I think the Knicks had 18 in a row. We thought about maybe doing that. Then there was another milestone at about 25 or 26 games [the American pro sports record of 26 that was set by baseball’s New York Giants in 1916]. Then after that it’s just how many more were we going to win?”
JERRY WEST (12th season, 25.8 points per game)
“It’s rare to have a team that everyone seems to know their roles. We could win any kind of game. We certainly could win a game where we scored a lot of points. We could win a slowdown game, a physical game, We could win any kind of game.
“With that team, there weren’t any missing ingredients, really. It was a magical year for all of us.”
FLYNN ROBINSON
“On that particular team, Jerry and Gail and Wilt [Chamberlain] and Jim McMillian, those guys were playing at the top of their game, all at the same time.
“Playing on that team, there were some games, we were just hot. And I know that all of the younger guys are going to say it wasn’t that many teams [the NBA consisted of 17 teams at the time], it wasn’t that much competition, but you still have to play the games. In basketball, anybody can win. So you just had to be on top of the game.”
JIM CLEAMONS
“West Coast rivalries were the best. Phoenix was always tough, Golden State was tough. Seattle was tough.
“They know you. You play them in exhibition….We played 12 exhibition games that year.”
GAIL GOODRICH
“Certainly the game today, the players are quicker and faster. I think they’re even smarter. How did the game change? We averaged 121 points a game. You can’t average that [today] because the defense is back. Everything now is all pick-and-roll. Throw it into the post, kick it out. We had more motion, more ball movement.”
JIM CLEAMONS
“It’s more entertainment now. It’s more entertainment and with the collective bargaining agreement, they can only do back-to-back [in normal years]…and with charter [flights]. We took the first thing smoking.”
PAT RILEY
“Uniform was all wrinkled. There was all of that kind of stuff. Eight dollars a day per diem. Cabs -- no buses. No security people. No entourage. No brands – nobody had a brand to worry about.”
MITCH CHORTKOFF (Los Angeles Herald-Examiner)
“I was the only reporter who traveled with the team full time.”
JIM CLEAMONS
“The scouting reports in those days, you went around the locker room and you talked to the starters and the sixth and seventh guys, and it was verbal. ‘This is how I’m going to play so-and-so. I’m going to force him left. I’m going to force him right. He’s a good shooter, so I’m going to press up on him. He’s not a good shooter, so I’m going to back off of him.’ You gave your own individual scouting report.”
GAIL GOODRICH
“One of the things I’ve always said is the Lakers were really an isolation team. And [Bill Sharman] came and changed that. We played like Boston did. We moved the ball. We were a great fast-breaking team.”
PAT RILEY
“It just came together. When it happens, when those two worlds collide, of conflict and voluntary cooperation, there was never any of that. I think Bill had a lot to do with that. He brought something to the team from Boston. You’d have to talk to Jerry about this, about how he felt about that. I know when we talked about it in the summertime and there was a rumor [Sharman] was coming he said, ‘Oh, I don’t want to play for him.’ He had played against him six times and lost.”
JERRY WEST
“That’s way overstated. I always had great respect for Bill. I never had a coach I didn’t like.
“Everyone seemed to have their own niche. Bill was very consistent about when people where going to play. He made sure that these people were going to play at a prescribed time. It was just one of those years when everything seemed to go right for us.”
FLYNN ROBINSON
“Wilt’s game, he had really slowed down. But he was still powerful. And I think Coach Sharman got Wilt to be more. He was telling Wilt, ‘You don’t have to win the scoring championship, but you can rebound.’ Wilt wanted to be the top rebounder, the top field goal percentage…everything that he did, he wanted to be No. 1 at.”
GAIL GOODRICH
“He convinced Wilt that if we played fast he didn’t have to come past halfcourt, so he could extend his career.”
JERRY WEST
“Bill wanted to have a team that was upbeat and could run up and down the court. Even though we were older, we were capable of doing it because we knew when to run, when not to run. Gail averaged 26 a game, I averaged close to 26 a game, led the league in assists. And this was when I thought my career was really on the decline. I wasn’t close to the same player, really, because of the knee injury. Bill’s way of playing probably enhanced all of our abilities.
“Wilt turned into a rebounder/shot blocker. You were not going to fake him, okay? It was not going to happen. He was going to block a shot or alter a shot.”
PAT RILEY
“Bill brought a real genuine integrity to the franchise. He was very honest with all of us. He communicated extremely well. Any time he sensed there was some kind of tension or somebody was unhappy he would take you aside and talk to you. And we bought in.
“When you start winning like we’re winning and you buy in, ‘This guy knows what he’s talking about, he knows how to coach.’ The wheels never came off.”
GAIL GOODRICH
“The streak was about consistency. Night after night after night, you’ve got to be able to come to play. I’ve always said records are meant to be broken. This one, I’m not so sure.”
PAT RILEY
“I don’t think it will ever happen. It’s almost illogical, today, in team sports.”
Kirby Lee-US PRESSWIRE Marc Gasol and O.J. Mayo of Memphis could end up leaving foes with a surprised look.LOS ANGELES -- The Memphis Grizzlies’ 102-96 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday night was Memphis’ first in 11 tries against the top four teams in the Western Conference. The Grizzlies are average or below in most NBA statistical category rankings. And yet ... nobody wants to see them in the playoffs.
They dumped the top-seeded Spurs from the playoffs last year and took the Thunder to seven games in the second round. And that was without Rudy Gay. They’ve scuffled to a 26-21 record this season with Zach Randolph available for only 10 games, and just getting back into shape after his recent return from a knee injury. They have one month and 19 games to things right ... which means other teams have that amount of time to worry about facing them in the first round.
“They’re very versatile,” said Kobe Bryant after the Grizzlies' Tony Allen made him work hard just to get 18 points. “They have great size, great speed. And they’re good passers. Their bigs are extremely good passers.”
Interior passing might be the only pretty part of Memphis’ game. Usually they get down and dirty. They only crack the top 10 in the league when it comes to steals (first) and offensive rebounds (ninth).
What’s so impressive is that they all buy into that approach. You hear the same talking points in every corner of the locker room. What’s so unusual is that they take their cue from a role player. All of the attributes of this team – scrappy, play hard, etc. – can be used to describe Allen.
“When I came here, I tried to let the guys know it was going to take that type of effort to win ballgames,” Allen said. “Me being under the Celtics, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, watching how they did it and actually getting a chance to be in that atmosphere, I took all that learning experience and brought it here. And guys listened, bought in and we did great last year and are trying to do something special this year. We’re just hanging our hats on it.”
Gotta have stars in the playoffs, though. Randolph is still playing his way back into shape. He wants to lose 10-15 pounds. The Grizzlies have taken to bringing him off the bench while he works on his conditioning, a move he gave an unenthusiastic, “it’s OK.” But the Grizzlies need to get him as much time as possible with Gay just to see how it works.
“I think everybody wants to see how we’re going to play together,” Gay said.
We know Rudolph gives them a formidable inside presence; he helped the Grizzlies to a 52-36 advantage over the Lakers in points in the paint Sunday. We know he can rebound (12 in 27 minutes Sunday night.)
And we can expect more consistency from a team that is so dependent on energy during the playoffs, when the schedule gives you a chance to breathe between games.
“Recently we got stagnant and were standing around and watching everybody,” said Lionel Hollins, who’s doing a heck of a job coaching this team. “We added Zach to the mix, we picked up Gilbert Arenas and I think everybody thought, ‘I don’t have to do as much anymore.’ But the reality is that we have to play with the same effort and same energy and everybody has to contribute on the same high level in order for us to be successful.”
The thing is, they know what makes them successful. It sounds simple, but not every team has figured it out.
“We’ve got good inside play, we’ve got good guard play,” said O.J. Mayo, who had 16 points off the bench. “We’ve got a lot of tough guys. A lot of big-time competitors. We haven’t been 100 percent. It’s been kind of hard to put it together. Once we do ... I see lot of great things.”
"I've always liked you, Lacy."
Those words could have come from an array of people Lacy J. Banks encountered during his four decades of writing for the Chicago Sun-Times. They happened to come from Michael Jordan, during the news conference for his second retirement in 1999.
Lacy was the only journalist Jordan mentioned by name while up on the dais that afternoon. It's fitting, because Lacy was exceptional. He was the first African American on the sports staff of the Chicago Sun-Times, and even after many others joined the press boxes that Banks helped integrate, he found a way to stand out from the rest. Often the best responses at news conferences came from questions that Lacy had asked. He established a great rapport with athletes, and that helped him elicit great quotes. But he had this persistent way of asking questions that prompted memorable sound bites even from those who were irked by him. One reason was that even if someone disliked Lacy's line of questioning, it was next to impossible to dislike the man himself.
What a sweet disposition he had. He was always smiling, always playfully using the full extent of his vocabulary, Don King style. I wish I still had the tape of the sing-song messages he used to leave on my answering machine when we worked together at the Sun-Times. I also wish I had recorded him swearing at a cab driver that Lacy thought was jacking up the fare for our trip to the Newark airport. It's the only time I ever heard him curse, which is one more time than most folks who knew him. The Rev. Lacy J. Banks, we called him, because he also was a minister. Sometimes I would deferentially refer to him as Your Lacyfulness.
Yes, Lacy could cross the bounds of media decorum by exuberantly celebrating big plays by the Bulls (look for him at the 4:01 mark of this video of Jordan hitting The Shot over Craig Ehlo) . He also could put journalistic duty over friendship and call Jordan out for associating with dubious gamblers. Most of all, he could get the story. He was the first to have Jordan retiring on the eve of training camp in 1993.
When I saw Lacy during the 2010 NBA Finals and (for what turned out to be the last time) at the 2011 Eastern Conference finals I wrapped him up in a big hug, then teased him for still carrying around a full-sized cassette player to conduct his interviews while the rest of us were using tiny digital recorders. That we are just now writing about his death in 2012, rather than 10 years ago, is a testament to his fighting spirit. He had so many major health issues posing serious threats to his life that I lost track. What I do know is that we would have passed away a lot earlier if it hadn't been for Shaquille O'Neal forcing Lacy to seek medical treatment as a condition for granting him an interview.
As Lacy recounted for the Sun-Times
Shaq cared about Lacy's well-being. Lacy cared about the story. That pretty much sums up this remarkable journalist and the relationships he forged with some of the biggest names in sports. The only way I can think of to say goodbye to Lacy is to quote his greeting whenever he answered the phone: "God bless you."
Those words could have come from an array of people Lacy J. Banks encountered during his four decades of writing for the Chicago Sun-Times. They happened to come from Michael Jordan, during the news conference for his second retirement in 1999.
Lacy was the only journalist Jordan mentioned by name while up on the dais that afternoon. It's fitting, because Lacy was exceptional. He was the first African American on the sports staff of the Chicago Sun-Times, and even after many others joined the press boxes that Banks helped integrate, he found a way to stand out from the rest. Often the best responses at news conferences came from questions that Lacy had asked. He established a great rapport with athletes, and that helped him elicit great quotes. But he had this persistent way of asking questions that prompted memorable sound bites even from those who were irked by him. One reason was that even if someone disliked Lacy's line of questioning, it was next to impossible to dislike the man himself.
What a sweet disposition he had. He was always smiling, always playfully using the full extent of his vocabulary, Don King style. I wish I still had the tape of the sing-song messages he used to leave on my answering machine when we worked together at the Sun-Times. I also wish I had recorded him swearing at a cab driver that Lacy thought was jacking up the fare for our trip to the Newark airport. It's the only time I ever heard him curse, which is one more time than most folks who knew him. The Rev. Lacy J. Banks, we called him, because he also was a minister. Sometimes I would deferentially refer to him as Your Lacyfulness.
Yes, Lacy could cross the bounds of media decorum by exuberantly celebrating big plays by the Bulls (look for him at the 4:01 mark of this video of Jordan hitting The Shot over Craig Ehlo) . He also could put journalistic duty over friendship and call Jordan out for associating with dubious gamblers. Most of all, he could get the story. He was the first to have Jordan retiring on the eve of training camp in 1993.
When I saw Lacy during the 2010 NBA Finals and (for what turned out to be the last time) at the 2011 Eastern Conference finals I wrapped him up in a big hug, then teased him for still carrying around a full-sized cassette player to conduct his interviews while the rest of us were using tiny digital recorders. That we are just now writing about his death in 2012, rather than 10 years ago, is a testament to his fighting spirit. He had so many major health issues posing serious threats to his life that I lost track. What I do know is that we would have passed away a lot earlier if it hadn't been for Shaquille O'Neal forcing Lacy to seek medical treatment as a condition for granting him an interview.
As Lacy recounted for the Sun-Times
Heck, Shaq saved my life in 2003. Upon the advice of Los Angeles Lakers trainer Gary Vitti, Shaq made me go to hospital in Milwaukee before he’d give me his annual interview. As it turned out, I was on the verge of suffering a heart attack. Emergency medical care prevented it. The next day I underwent a potential life-saving coronary stenting at Northwestern University. Shaq got on Jay Leno’s show telling everybody he saved my life and drew laughs when he grossly imitated how heavily I was breathing.
Shaq cared about Lacy's well-being. Lacy cared about the story. That pretty much sums up this remarkable journalist and the relationships he forged with some of the biggest names in sports. The only way I can think of to say goodbye to Lacy is to quote his greeting whenever he answered the phone: "God bless you."
King's crossing: agendas help Sacramento keep team
March, 21, 2012
Mar 21
12:01
AM ET
Sometimes there’s a benefit to fitting into the grander scheme, and there just may be enough agendas in play that the byproduct will be keeping the Kings in Sacramento.
David Stern wants to halt franchise movement so that it doesn’t join the lockout as the lingering memories of his final years as NBA commissioner. And sports and entertainment industry giant AEG wants to protect its local turf while adding new arenas to its concert promotion business while staying on the good side of the California state politicians it needs to get a football stadium built in Los Angeles.
AEG has pledged almost $59 million toward arena construction and would operate the facility. What’s in it for them? In addition to a percentage of the annual revenues, keeping the Kings in Sacramento means they would stay out of Anaheim and the AEG-owned Staples Center would remain the only home for NBA basketball in Southern California.
A new Sacramento arena would also bring another venue to AEG’s concert portfolio, and give them arenas in every major region on the West Coast: Seattle, Portland, Northern California, Los Angeles and San Diego. That would allow AEG to “route” large tours through the region, and make AEG “the largest arena operator and concert promoter on pacific rim,” according to President and CEO Tim Leiweke.
Then there is the side benefit of pleasing the locals in the state capital. AEG already won passage of a critical bill last year that limits the company’s susceptibility to lawsuits in its efforts to build a new football stadium in Los Angeles and streamlines the environmental review process. Still, it doesn’t hurt to stay on the good side of the state politicians by keeping the Kings around (with Seattle and Kansas City looming as other potential destinations for them).
“This goes a long way with politicians,” Leiweke said. “They like a company that’s from California making sure teams and jobs stay in California.”
Even though AEG owns or operates more than 100 venues around the world, “This is our home state,” Leiweke said.
It could add to its California footprint if it’s successful in its bid to operate the Oracle arena in Oakland that houses the Golden State Warriors and the adjacent stadium that’s home to the NFL’s Raiders and baseball’s Athletics.
There is much left to be done in Sacramento. AEG is working on a naming rights deal for the new arena. The city, meanwhile, has pledged $265 million in funding, with a large share of the money coming from leasing parking garages under a plan championed by Mayor Kevin Johnson. But they need to demonstrate the parking revenues will meet the estimates. Environmental studies need to be finished. There’s still the matter of a $70 million city bonds-backed loan to the Kings that the Maloofs inherited when they bought the team. And what would become of the current arena and its grounds north of the city, of which 85 acres are owned by the Kings and 100 acres by the city?
The story won't be over until the shovels hit the dirt.
“We’ve signed a non-binding term sheet; the whole deal has to be negotiated,” Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof said. “There’s a lot of heavy lifting still to be done.”
One advantage the Kings have that wasn’t present while the SuperSonics were exploring options to get a new arena in Seattle is the full support of Stern. Stern checked out of the Seattle situation after he was all but shown the door by Washington state legislators. California has been much more receptive, thus Stern has been more active.
“David’s been terrific,” Maloof said. “He’s always come to our assistance, any time we needed help in any area. We appreciate his work.
“Everybody’s trying hard. At the end of the day we hope we can find a solution and get a new arena built. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
Stern has his legacy to consider. He doesn’t want a series of shifting franchises to mar a departure he keeps saying will be sooner than later. It’s too late for Seattle. The NBA took the extraordinary step of buying the Hornets – leading to awkward moments such as the vetoed Chris Paul trade to the Lakers – in order to keep them in New Orleans. Now he’s trying to save Sacramento so there are, as Leiweke put it, “No leaks in the dam that he’s trying to plug up.”
“After moving a team from Seattle, David found a will and a drive where he didn’t want to go through it again with Sacramento,” Leiweke said.
There’s a little bit of sentiment involved for Leiweke as well.
He remembers going with the Lakers to Arco Arena for playoff games in those memorable meetings that started the last decade, when the noise reached eardrum-shattering decibels.
“I always thought it was the best environment in the NBA,” Leiweke said. “I remember going up there when it was good and the Lakers having to compete in that environment. As much as we hated it, we admired the hell out of that environment and the way they supported the city.”
The goal is to bring that roar back in a new arena…an arena that AEG can profit from.
David Stern wants to halt franchise movement so that it doesn’t join the lockout as the lingering memories of his final years as NBA commissioner. And sports and entertainment industry giant AEG wants to protect its local turf while adding new arenas to its concert promotion business while staying on the good side of the California state politicians it needs to get a football stadium built in Los Angeles.
AEG has pledged almost $59 million toward arena construction and would operate the facility. What’s in it for them? In addition to a percentage of the annual revenues, keeping the Kings in Sacramento means they would stay out of Anaheim and the AEG-owned Staples Center would remain the only home for NBA basketball in Southern California.
A new Sacramento arena would also bring another venue to AEG’s concert portfolio, and give them arenas in every major region on the West Coast: Seattle, Portland, Northern California, Los Angeles and San Diego. That would allow AEG to “route” large tours through the region, and make AEG “the largest arena operator and concert promoter on pacific rim,” according to President and CEO Tim Leiweke.
Then there is the side benefit of pleasing the locals in the state capital. AEG already won passage of a critical bill last year that limits the company’s susceptibility to lawsuits in its efforts to build a new football stadium in Los Angeles and streamlines the environmental review process. Still, it doesn’t hurt to stay on the good side of the state politicians by keeping the Kings around (with Seattle and Kansas City looming as other potential destinations for them).
“This goes a long way with politicians,” Leiweke said. “They like a company that’s from California making sure teams and jobs stay in California.”
Even though AEG owns or operates more than 100 venues around the world, “This is our home state,” Leiweke said.
It could add to its California footprint if it’s successful in its bid to operate the Oracle arena in Oakland that houses the Golden State Warriors and the adjacent stadium that’s home to the NFL’s Raiders and baseball’s Athletics.
There is much left to be done in Sacramento. AEG is working on a naming rights deal for the new arena. The city, meanwhile, has pledged $265 million in funding, with a large share of the money coming from leasing parking garages under a plan championed by Mayor Kevin Johnson. But they need to demonstrate the parking revenues will meet the estimates. Environmental studies need to be finished. There’s still the matter of a $70 million city bonds-backed loan to the Kings that the Maloofs inherited when they bought the team. And what would become of the current arena and its grounds north of the city, of which 85 acres are owned by the Kings and 100 acres by the city?
The story won't be over until the shovels hit the dirt.
“We’ve signed a non-binding term sheet; the whole deal has to be negotiated,” Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof said. “There’s a lot of heavy lifting still to be done.”
One advantage the Kings have that wasn’t present while the SuperSonics were exploring options to get a new arena in Seattle is the full support of Stern. Stern checked out of the Seattle situation after he was all but shown the door by Washington state legislators. California has been much more receptive, thus Stern has been more active.
“David’s been terrific,” Maloof said. “He’s always come to our assistance, any time we needed help in any area. We appreciate his work.
“Everybody’s trying hard. At the end of the day we hope we can find a solution and get a new arena built. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
Stern has his legacy to consider. He doesn’t want a series of shifting franchises to mar a departure he keeps saying will be sooner than later. It’s too late for Seattle. The NBA took the extraordinary step of buying the Hornets – leading to awkward moments such as the vetoed Chris Paul trade to the Lakers – in order to keep them in New Orleans. Now he’s trying to save Sacramento so there are, as Leiweke put it, “No leaks in the dam that he’s trying to plug up.”
“After moving a team from Seattle, David found a will and a drive where he didn’t want to go through it again with Sacramento,” Leiweke said.
There’s a little bit of sentiment involved for Leiweke as well.
He remembers going with the Lakers to Arco Arena for playoff games in those memorable meetings that started the last decade, when the noise reached eardrum-shattering decibels.
“I always thought it was the best environment in the NBA,” Leiweke said. “I remember going up there when it was good and the Lakers having to compete in that environment. As much as we hated it, we admired the hell out of that environment and the way they supported the city.”
The goal is to bring that roar back in a new arena…an arena that AEG can profit from.
Wilson Chandler, back at last
March, 18, 2012
Mar 18
11:26
PM ET
AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
With a five-year, $37 million deal in hand, Wilson Chandler is back in Denver's fold.
No more communicating with teammates through a translation app on his iPhone. Wilson Chandler, the first of the three Denver Nuggets to sign with a Chinese team during the lockout and the last to return to the NBA, is back in Denver.
When labor negotiations were at their bleakest he signed with the Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association, even though the Chinese league did not allow escape clauses should the lockout be resolved. And when agreement was reached in time to re-start the NBA on Christmas day, all Chandler could do was follow from the other side of the world.
“At first it was tough,” Chandler said. “I was sitting there like, ‘Man.’ When Kenyon [Martin] left and got to play, that’s what made it really hard.”
Martin left China in December, but wasn’t cleared to rejoin the NBA until February. He signed with the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 3. On Feb. 17, J.R. Smith signed with the New York Knicks. Chandler was cleared on Feb. 26, but his return was further complicated by the fact he was a restricted free agent (unlike the other two, who were unrestricted). That meant that any team besides the Nuggets had to sign him to at least a two-year offer, while Denver had the right to retain his services by matching.
It also represented his first contract negotiations under the new collective bargaining agreement, which his agent Chris Luchey described as “Very different. Much more difficult.” There were flirtations with the Toronto Raptors and talk of signing in Italy, before Chandler and Luchey headed to Denver for face-to-face negotiations that resulted in a five-year, $37 million contract hammered out over nine days.
“Wilson always had interest in Denver,” Luchey said. “He just wanted to get a long-term deal.”
In exchange, Denver well get an improved version of Chandler.
“I think I learned to be a better teammate,” Chandler said. “More vocal. When I was here before, I never was vocal before.”
Chandler, who never averaged more than 15.3 points per game in four NBA seasons, averaged 26.6 points in China. Perhaps that experience of being The Man in China can help out a Nuggets team that has searched for an assertive player in crunch time ever since they sent Carmelo Anthony to New York in the trade that first brought Chandler to Denver.
Chandler enjoyed the camaraderie in China, where teams seemingly have every meal together. But there’s nothing like the NBA.
“Just being around the players I grew up playing against and watching them play,” were what he missed about the league. “The competition level.”
He only has 20 games to get back to NBA speed as the Nuggets, who currently occupy the seventh spot in the Western Conference standings, push for the playoffs. It’s a younger, more athletic team than the one he left thanks to the trade deadline deal that sent Nene to Washington and brought in JaVale McGee.
And it’s worth noting that Chandler is the only one of the three Nuggets who went to China who is back in Denver.
“It says they want me,” Chandler said. “Masai [Ujiri, Denver’s general manager] was pretty aggressive before I went to China. I’m glad to be here. They wanted me to be here. I’m glad it worked out.”
NBA barges in on NCAA tourney
March, 16, 2012
Mar 16
3:19
PM ET
This week we learned another side effect of the lockout: the NBA is stomping all over the NCAA tournament.
March is supposed to belong to the college kids. The NBA usually recedes to the background during the tournament and goes completely dark on the first Monday in April to let the NCAA championship game have the stage to itself.
Not this year. With the trade deadline pushed back because of the delayed start to the season, the Dwight Howard news dominated basketball discussion on Thursday. Yes, that Thursday, the hoop holiday, the one that features wall-to-wall ball and the first full slate of games.
It doesn’t get better on the other end. This year there will be six NBA games played on the same Monday night as the NCAA championship. The pros just couldn’t afford to take a night off while trying to cram a 66-game schedule into 18 weeks.
I feel bad for the NCAA tournament. Not the NCAA part. I’ll never pity the NCAA as long as it sticks with its outdated, exploitive notion of amateurism and denies fair compensation to the players generating the lucrative TV and sponsorship deals. It’s the tournament itself that gets my sympathy. It’s such a great event, the most fun part of the sports calendar.The tournament sucks in everyone who fills out a bracket.
But once your picks are eliminated what compels you to stick around and watch? It could be that college basketball no longer fits the way we follow sports. We’ve become a transaction-based media and fanbase. We don’t obsess over discovering the next big names, we obsess over what the big names will do next. Keep in mind, more people watched LeBron James’ Decision than watch a typical NBA playoff game.
College basketball doesn’t give us trades to stir things up during the season. It only has players leaving to go to the pros after their final buzzer sounds.
The problem with the tournament is it doesn’t feature the element that sets college basketball apart: the atmosphere. Come March there aren’t games in Cameron Indoor Stadium or Allen Fieldhouse. Instead we’ll see regional finals played in NBA arenas and a final in the Louisiana Superdome. The crowds feel muted, the students aren’t right on the court….and the shooting backgrounds get worse the bigger the building.
But if the two championship teams can’t fare any better than that Connecticut-Butler brickfest last year, you’ll have options this time. How does Grizzlies-Thunders or Clippers-Mavericks sound?
Magic's best way to keep Dwight? Try to trade him
March, 15, 2012
Mar 15
5:39
AM ET
As the Dwight Howard saga took one last lap along the curvy road course, with a declaration to RealGM.com of his intent to sign off on a return to Orlando for the final year of his contract (backed up by a source who has spoken to Howard), it turned out that the Magic’s best shot at keeping him was intensifying their efforts to trade him.
That was the Magic’s response to Howard’s statement Tuesday night that he wanted to spend the rest of the season in Orlando and that the Magic should “roll the dice” afterward. Or, perhaps, that was their strategically leaked response. Whatever the actual means, the end was the intended effect.
The Magic forced a resolution by calling Howard on his season-long signals of yearning to make his future home with the Nets by threatening to send him there right away…and letting him watch the playoffs from home. Moving up to New Jersey would move Howard down nine spots in the Eastern Conference standings. He would go from four games behind the Miami Heat for the No. 2 seed to 4 ½ games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the final playoff spot. And a league source said that missing out on the playoffs would cost Howard significant bonuses from his Adidas contract.
What a great play by the Magic. It seemed to drive home the point they were trying to make all along, that if Howard wants to win a championship the Magic are about as good a short- and mid-term option as he’s got. It didn’t hurt that the Magic racked up victories against the Bulls and Heat in a recent six-day span.
So all of a sudden Howard was willing to consider opting in for the final year of his contract and spending another season in Orlando. That was the only realistic expectation the Magic had. They just wanted to buy some time to see if they could convince Howard to stay even longer. The public waffling by Howard this week is the same sort of alternately encouraging and discouraging signals he’d sent to them in private discussions throughout the season.
With the moment of truth drawing near, Howard says he will sign the waiver of the early termination option on his contract. You can debate whether this whole affair has diminished Howard’s value as a franchise player, but the Magic see him as one, and they have wanted to keep him. It’s looking like they have reached their goal.
That was the Magic’s response to Howard’s statement Tuesday night that he wanted to spend the rest of the season in Orlando and that the Magic should “roll the dice” afterward. Or, perhaps, that was their strategically leaked response. Whatever the actual means, the end was the intended effect.
The Magic forced a resolution by calling Howard on his season-long signals of yearning to make his future home with the Nets by threatening to send him there right away…and letting him watch the playoffs from home. Moving up to New Jersey would move Howard down nine spots in the Eastern Conference standings. He would go from four games behind the Miami Heat for the No. 2 seed to 4 ½ games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the final playoff spot. And a league source said that missing out on the playoffs would cost Howard significant bonuses from his Adidas contract.
What a great play by the Magic. It seemed to drive home the point they were trying to make all along, that if Howard wants to win a championship the Magic are about as good a short- and mid-term option as he’s got. It didn’t hurt that the Magic racked up victories against the Bulls and Heat in a recent six-day span.
So all of a sudden Howard was willing to consider opting in for the final year of his contract and spending another season in Orlando. That was the only realistic expectation the Magic had. They just wanted to buy some time to see if they could convince Howard to stay even longer. The public waffling by Howard this week is the same sort of alternately encouraging and discouraging signals he’d sent to them in private discussions throughout the season.
With the moment of truth drawing near, Howard says he will sign the waiver of the early termination option on his contract. You can debate whether this whole affair has diminished Howard’s value as a franchise player, but the Magic see him as one, and they have wanted to keep him. It’s looking like they have reached their goal.
Revisiting the Lakers and Lamar
March, 3, 2012
Mar 3
3:43
AM ET
One of the strangest developments of this strange season is that the Los Angeles Lakers have been justified for trading Lamar Odom for next to nothing before the start of the season.
There were no immediate benefits. They got a first-round draft pick and an $8.9 million trade exception. The player who once playfully reminded Pau Gasol that he was traded for Kwame Brown while Odom was traded for Shaquille O’Neal had been traded for nothing but air.
For the suddenly cost-conscious Lakers it still beats being on the hook for Odom’s full salary this year while he is producing half the numbers he put up last season.
In other words, we reacted too quickly when we said the Lakers reacted too quickly.
The three-team trade that would have sent Odom to New Orleans and Gasol to Houston and brought Chris Paul to the Lakers fell apart on a Thursday. Odom met with Lakers management on Friday, then skipped out on the Lakers’ first practice. The next day the Lakers shipped Odom off to Dallas.
There was outrage throughout Lakerland, emanating from the players in the practice facility and spreading outward. How could the Lakers give up a key part of their back-to-back championship runs ... and send him to the team that ousted them from the playoffs last season?
It turns out just about anything would be better than watching him slip so drastically on their account. He has gone from averaging 14.4 points and 8.6 rebounds in 2010-11 to 7.7 and 4.5. His shooting is down to 36 percent. He worked his way down the bench (Kobe Bryant jokingly referred to Odom as “the best eighth man in the NBA this year” before the Lakers played Dallas last week) and almost wound up in the D-League.
At least he’ll return to a basketball court Saturday night. Odom was originally scheduled to play in Frisco, Texas, for the Texas Legends, but it appears he will now report to Dallas instead for the Mavericks' matchup with the Jazz. He hasn’t been in a Mavs uniform since Feb. 20, missing the past four games to clear his head and visit his father in California. The Mavs lost all four, and they’ve also lost their patience with Odom.
“We need people that are engaged and we need people that are into it,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said on ESPN Dallas Radio.
That description wouldn’t apply to Odom. It might not for the rest of the season.
“I hope I’m wrong, but I think he’s out of it,” a team source said when I asked if Odom might be mentally gone for good.
This is what the Lakers must have seen coming. They’d been around him enough to gauge his moods, and they saw the toll of an offseason in which he attended the funeral of a slain cousin and then was a passenger in a car involved in a traffic accident that wound up fatally injuring a pedestrian. It was a particularly troubling time even in a life that had been filled with loss, from his mother to his infant son. In the summer he told the Los Angeles Times he “thought [he] was breaking down mentally.”
It doesn’t take much for Odom to feel betrayed, and with his grief-stricken summer as the precursor the voided trade left him lower than he had been in his time with the Lakers. This would have been the Lamar Odom they would have to deal with.
When they traded him he couldn’t bring any of the goodwill he built in L.A. with him. He was respected in the locker room. Players naturally gravitated to him. Even Phil Jackson in his grumpiest moods had a hard time staying mad at him. He was a go-to guy for the media, a favorite of the fans.
None of that equity transferred to Dallas. All he’s done there is underperform for a team that desperately needed him to provide some of the depth lost when Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea went elsewhere. The fans have had it. ESPN Dallas columnist Jean Jacques-Taylor started a Facebook post with “Lamar Odom is…” and his followers left some pretty nasty descriptions in the comments.
There’s no way to see if a return to the more forgiving environs of Lakerland would cure Odom’s blues. Even if the Mavericks bought him out -- and they say they won’t -- the new collective bargaining agreement prohibits waived players from re-signing with their previous teams until one year after they have been traded or the July 1 expiration of their contracts.
Would he have found his way out of his funk sooner if he stayed in L.A.? The Lakers couldn’t take that chance. Not for what it would cost them. They’d rather have the empty space. Feel free to question their choice to count cash while Kobe hears the clock ticking on his elite-level years. It won’t change the reality that their mindset is to shed money unless they can add the type of player that will put them over the top.
In Odom’s current mindset, he would have dragged them down.
There were no immediate benefits. They got a first-round draft pick and an $8.9 million trade exception. The player who once playfully reminded Pau Gasol that he was traded for Kwame Brown while Odom was traded for Shaquille O’Neal had been traded for nothing but air.
For the suddenly cost-conscious Lakers it still beats being on the hook for Odom’s full salary this year while he is producing half the numbers he put up last season.
In other words, we reacted too quickly when we said the Lakers reacted too quickly.
The three-team trade that would have sent Odom to New Orleans and Gasol to Houston and brought Chris Paul to the Lakers fell apart on a Thursday. Odom met with Lakers management on Friday, then skipped out on the Lakers’ first practice. The next day the Lakers shipped Odom off to Dallas.
There was outrage throughout Lakerland, emanating from the players in the practice facility and spreading outward. How could the Lakers give up a key part of their back-to-back championship runs ... and send him to the team that ousted them from the playoffs last season?
It turns out just about anything would be better than watching him slip so drastically on their account. He has gone from averaging 14.4 points and 8.6 rebounds in 2010-11 to 7.7 and 4.5. His shooting is down to 36 percent. He worked his way down the bench (Kobe Bryant jokingly referred to Odom as “the best eighth man in the NBA this year” before the Lakers played Dallas last week) and almost wound up in the D-League.
At least he’ll return to a basketball court Saturday night. Odom was originally scheduled to play in Frisco, Texas, for the Texas Legends, but it appears he will now report to Dallas instead for the Mavericks' matchup with the Jazz. He hasn’t been in a Mavs uniform since Feb. 20, missing the past four games to clear his head and visit his father in California. The Mavs lost all four, and they’ve also lost their patience with Odom.
“We need people that are engaged and we need people that are into it,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said on ESPN Dallas Radio.
That description wouldn’t apply to Odom. It might not for the rest of the season.
“I hope I’m wrong, but I think he’s out of it,” a team source said when I asked if Odom might be mentally gone for good.
This is what the Lakers must have seen coming. They’d been around him enough to gauge his moods, and they saw the toll of an offseason in which he attended the funeral of a slain cousin and then was a passenger in a car involved in a traffic accident that wound up fatally injuring a pedestrian. It was a particularly troubling time even in a life that had been filled with loss, from his mother to his infant son. In the summer he told the Los Angeles Times he “thought [he] was breaking down mentally.”
It doesn’t take much for Odom to feel betrayed, and with his grief-stricken summer as the precursor the voided trade left him lower than he had been in his time with the Lakers. This would have been the Lamar Odom they would have to deal with.
When they traded him he couldn’t bring any of the goodwill he built in L.A. with him. He was respected in the locker room. Players naturally gravitated to him. Even Phil Jackson in his grumpiest moods had a hard time staying mad at him. He was a go-to guy for the media, a favorite of the fans.
None of that equity transferred to Dallas. All he’s done there is underperform for a team that desperately needed him to provide some of the depth lost when Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea went elsewhere. The fans have had it. ESPN Dallas columnist Jean Jacques-Taylor started a Facebook post with “Lamar Odom is…” and his followers left some pretty nasty descriptions in the comments.
There’s no way to see if a return to the more forgiving environs of Lakerland would cure Odom’s blues. Even if the Mavericks bought him out -- and they say they won’t -- the new collective bargaining agreement prohibits waived players from re-signing with their previous teams until one year after they have been traded or the July 1 expiration of their contracts.
Would he have found his way out of his funk sooner if he stayed in L.A.? The Lakers couldn’t take that chance. Not for what it would cost them. They’d rather have the empty space. Feel free to question their choice to count cash while Kobe hears the clock ticking on his elite-level years. It won’t change the reality that their mindset is to shed money unless they can add the type of player that will put them over the top.
In Odom’s current mindset, he would have dragged them down.
No trade noise from Nash
February, 18, 2012
Feb 18
3:19
AM ET
Amid all the NBA noise, there is conspicuous silence emanating from the Arizona desert. That sound you don’t hear is Steve Nash, not asking for a trade.
Maybe it’s a cultural thing for the guy who referred to himself as “the Canadian Jeremy Lin” on Friday. Canadians aren’t big on rocking the boat, or putting individual agendas ahead of the group goals. Then again, Nash comes from hockey country, and it’s commonplace in the NHL to see aging stars moved to a team that gives them a shot at the Stanley Cup. (The most famous was Ray Bourque who latched onto the Colorado Avalanche’s Cup run at age 40 after a standout career in Boston). This is Nash’s window to do the same thing.
Nash is 38, and entering the….nah, the solar metaphor is too easy. Let’s go lunar and say he’s in the waning crescent stage. If he asked out after giving eight great years to a Phoenix Suns franchise that has repeatedly made fiscal obligations a priority over championship aspirations, could anyone blame him?
“I’m not oblivious to [the chance of] playing on a contender,” Nash said. “But at the same time, especially in the position I’m in right now, I feel a sense of loyalty to my team. To go and ask for a trade, it’s not like I’m going to say, ‘Trade me to...’
He made a circling motion with his finger, as if he were about to land it on a destination. That seems to be the vogue in the NBA for players with an opt-out looming in their contract. Carmelo Anthony forced his way to New York, Chris Paul wound up in Los Angeles (one way or another), Dwight Howard has made his list for whenever Orlando realizes it’s time for him to go.
“I think they are in slightly different scenarios,” Nash said. “Mine’s a different scenario at this stage in my career. I don’t want to jeopardize or turn my back on my teammates for that limited…let’s say, unknown.”
He can improve his chances to win a ring…but they’re still just chances. No guarantees in the NBA. And besides…what would be in it for the Suns?
Placing Nash on a contender and getting back the most amount of talent in return for him are inherently contrasting goals. If the Suns cleaned up the way the Nuggets did with Carmelo, what would be left for Nash to contend with?
Also, the Suns don’t have a single, monstrous contract that will keep them over the salary cap for years to come. In fact, one reason to keep Nash aboard for the duration of the season is that his contract is expiring. That’s $11.7 million that comes off the books this summer.
The Suns aren’t trying to move Nash. They respect his professionalism in not speaking out and making an already trying season any more difficult.
He surely wouldn’t mind going someplace better. He just isn’t the one to demand it.
So he remains tied to a team that fell to 12-19 after a loss to the Lakers Friday, locked in a situation that Nash described as, “a team in transition. Everyone wants to be on a contender. It’s cyclical. Right now we’re not contending. We’re just trying to fight for an eighth spot.
“I just feel like I owe it to my teammates [to stay],” Nash said. “I like these guys a lot. I want to fight for them and see how good we can be. If we take our lumps, we take our lumps.
“I don’t knock anyone else. They’re in the prime of their careers. They’re trying to sign a max [contract]. Everyone’s situation is different. I’m not condemning anyone else.
“I’ve had some really good years here. I feel like I owe it to my friends and my teammates. I don’t feel it’s in my place to call for a trade.”
Maybe he won’t get his ring. He’ll always have those two Most Valuable Player trophies (the two Kobe Bryant tries to avenge every time they meet, and did so to the tune of 36 points in 35 minutes Friday night). And he’s left a stylish imprint on the game that’s evident every time you watch Lin or Chris Paul keep dribbling, circling, probing, even stopping in the middle of the lane when necessary.
“I wouldn’t want to take any credit for the way any other guys play,” Nash said. “Chris is fantastic and the best point guard out there. Any similarity is a compliment to me.”
It’s there. You don’t even have to watch that closely to see it. And you don’t need to have a vested interest in Nash to be curious to see what it would be like for him to chase a ring.
As strongly as the Miami Heat are coming on, they could still use a veteran point guard. Nash could help the Philadelphia 76ers with their halfcourt offense. And we all know the Lakers could use more from their point guards although he wouldn’t help with their defensive issues at the position.
It looks like any movement will have to wait until this summer when he becomes a free agent. He said he wants to play “two or three years, for sure” and maybe he can make a trip to the NBA Finals by then.
Just don’t expect it to happen this year.
Maybe it’s a cultural thing for the guy who referred to himself as “the Canadian Jeremy Lin” on Friday. Canadians aren’t big on rocking the boat, or putting individual agendas ahead of the group goals. Then again, Nash comes from hockey country, and it’s commonplace in the NHL to see aging stars moved to a team that gives them a shot at the Stanley Cup. (The most famous was Ray Bourque who latched onto the Colorado Avalanche’s Cup run at age 40 after a standout career in Boston). This is Nash’s window to do the same thing.
Nash is 38, and entering the….nah, the solar metaphor is too easy. Let’s go lunar and say he’s in the waning crescent stage. If he asked out after giving eight great years to a Phoenix Suns franchise that has repeatedly made fiscal obligations a priority over championship aspirations, could anyone blame him?
“I’m not oblivious to [the chance of] playing on a contender,” Nash said. “But at the same time, especially in the position I’m in right now, I feel a sense of loyalty to my team. To go and ask for a trade, it’s not like I’m going to say, ‘Trade me to...’
He made a circling motion with his finger, as if he were about to land it on a destination. That seems to be the vogue in the NBA for players with an opt-out looming in their contract. Carmelo Anthony forced his way to New York, Chris Paul wound up in Los Angeles (one way or another), Dwight Howard has made his list for whenever Orlando realizes it’s time for him to go.
“I think they are in slightly different scenarios,” Nash said. “Mine’s a different scenario at this stage in my career. I don’t want to jeopardize or turn my back on my teammates for that limited…let’s say, unknown.”
He can improve his chances to win a ring…but they’re still just chances. No guarantees in the NBA. And besides…what would be in it for the Suns?
Placing Nash on a contender and getting back the most amount of talent in return for him are inherently contrasting goals. If the Suns cleaned up the way the Nuggets did with Carmelo, what would be left for Nash to contend with?
Also, the Suns don’t have a single, monstrous contract that will keep them over the salary cap for years to come. In fact, one reason to keep Nash aboard for the duration of the season is that his contract is expiring. That’s $11.7 million that comes off the books this summer.
The Suns aren’t trying to move Nash. They respect his professionalism in not speaking out and making an already trying season any more difficult.
He surely wouldn’t mind going someplace better. He just isn’t the one to demand it.
So he remains tied to a team that fell to 12-19 after a loss to the Lakers Friday, locked in a situation that Nash described as, “a team in transition. Everyone wants to be on a contender. It’s cyclical. Right now we’re not contending. We’re just trying to fight for an eighth spot.
“I just feel like I owe it to my teammates [to stay],” Nash said. “I like these guys a lot. I want to fight for them and see how good we can be. If we take our lumps, we take our lumps.
“I don’t knock anyone else. They’re in the prime of their careers. They’re trying to sign a max [contract]. Everyone’s situation is different. I’m not condemning anyone else.
“I’ve had some really good years here. I feel like I owe it to my friends and my teammates. I don’t feel it’s in my place to call for a trade.”
Maybe he won’t get his ring. He’ll always have those two Most Valuable Player trophies (the two Kobe Bryant tries to avenge every time they meet, and did so to the tune of 36 points in 35 minutes Friday night). And he’s left a stylish imprint on the game that’s evident every time you watch Lin or Chris Paul keep dribbling, circling, probing, even stopping in the middle of the lane when necessary.
“I wouldn’t want to take any credit for the way any other guys play,” Nash said. “Chris is fantastic and the best point guard out there. Any similarity is a compliment to me.”
It’s there. You don’t even have to watch that closely to see it. And you don’t need to have a vested interest in Nash to be curious to see what it would be like for him to chase a ring.
As strongly as the Miami Heat are coming on, they could still use a veteran point guard. Nash could help the Philadelphia 76ers with their halfcourt offense. And we all know the Lakers could use more from their point guards although he wouldn’t help with their defensive issues at the position.
It looks like any movement will have to wait until this summer when he becomes a free agent. He said he wants to play “two or three years, for sure” and maybe he can make a trip to the NBA Finals by then.
Just don’t expect it to happen this year.
Blazers, LaMarcus left to lament
February, 7, 2012
Feb 7
3:08
AM ET
PORTLAND, Ore. -- It’s not that the Thunder should still be the SuperSonics, it’s that the Trail Blazers could be the Thunder.
It’s hard to forget the Thunder’s roots when they play a big Northwest Division game within driving distance of Seattle, just as with Kevin Durant in town, it’s hard not to imagine what the alternate course the Blazers could follow if they had picked him over Greg Oden with the first pick in the 2007 draft -- or if Oden and Brandon Roy could have functional knees to give Portland a duo to match Oklahoma City’s Durant and Russell Westbrook (with LaMarcus Aldridge in Rip City to boot).
In the alternate universe, the maturing Trail Blazers would be hitting their stride and possess the best record in the Western Conference, the way the Thunder (19-5) do now. Instead, the cold facts have the Blazers (14-11) in fourth place in what’s become the toughest division in the NBA, and one spot out of the playoffs after Monday's 111-107 overtime loss to Oklahoma City.
Even if Aldridge is fulfilling the best-case scenario projections for his talent, the Trail Blazers, as a team, aren’t maxing out. That’s because they aren’t taking care of the gritty parts of the NBA, such as winning on the road or, in this home game, boxing out on the defensive boards.
Fortune favors the most determined, and while the Blazers fans had every reason to be upset about a bad goaltending call on an apparent clean blocked shot by Aldridge on a Durant layup, they’d be remiss in ignoring what enabled the play to happen: a failure by the Blazers to grab the rebound on three consecutive missed shots by the Thunder.
That set up Durant’s drive to the hoop, and Aldridge’s block that quickly smacked off the backboard and back toward midcourt, only to be ruled a goaltend and tie the game at 103.
“I timed it,” Aldridge said. “I knew he was going to go to the basket, shoot with his right hand, so I timed it perfectly. I put it on the glass. It didn’t hit the glass first.”
The Blazers still had a last possession, still had enough time for Nicolas Batum to drive down a wide-open lane, only to veer away from the basket and have his layup swatted by Westbrook.
And let’s not forget the Blazers were at home for the overtime period, playing on a court where they’d lost only once in their first 12 home games. But the Thunder, cheered on by a small group of fans wearing old Sonics jerseys and calling them by their birth name, outscored the Blazers 8-4 in the extra period.
“Regardless of calls, we still had an opportunity to win that game if we do the things that are necessary: rebound the ball, offensively you execute, you attack, you put the ball in the basket,” Nate McMillan said. “Normally, the fourth quarter -- certainly in close games like that -- it’s going to come down to making plays. They made the plays.”
So now the Blazers are 14-11. Nine of their losses have come on the road, including in Detroit and Sacramento. If the Blazers are still struggling to grasp the basics of being a great NBA team (step one: win at least half of your road games), the Thunder are close to mastering it. They’re 10-4 on the road, and they just pulled out a victory in one of the league’s most challenging venues.
“We are not where we need to be,” Scott Brooks said. “And I think anytime you play i n a hostile crowd like Portland and play the game we played, it’s going to help. No matter how old or how young you are, you always need games like this.”
Truth is, the NBA needs more games like this -- at least the first 47 minutes, before the officiating came to the forefront, when it was just two young and fast teams going at it, producing 13 ties and 12 lead changes, plenty of full-court action, and the occasional back-and-forth between Aldridge (who finished with 39 points) and Durant (33). But Aldridge didn’t have a Westbrook riding shotgun, producing a stat line of 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Aldridge didn’t even have Ray Felton, who missed the game with a foot injury. (I know “foot injury” is a sensitive word combination in Portland.)
This would be a great playoff series if the Trail Blazers can grab the eighth seed. They’ll need a little more determination, some better late-game execution, a little more of the moxie displayed by the Seattle SuperSon—er, Oklahoma City Thunder.
It’s hard to forget the Thunder’s roots when they play a big Northwest Division game within driving distance of Seattle, just as with Kevin Durant in town, it’s hard not to imagine what the alternate course the Blazers could follow if they had picked him over Greg Oden with the first pick in the 2007 draft -- or if Oden and Brandon Roy could have functional knees to give Portland a duo to match Oklahoma City’s Durant and Russell Westbrook (with LaMarcus Aldridge in Rip City to boot).
In the alternate universe, the maturing Trail Blazers would be hitting their stride and possess the best record in the Western Conference, the way the Thunder (19-5) do now. Instead, the cold facts have the Blazers (14-11) in fourth place in what’s become the toughest division in the NBA, and one spot out of the playoffs after Monday's 111-107 overtime loss to Oklahoma City.
Even if Aldridge is fulfilling the best-case scenario projections for his talent, the Trail Blazers, as a team, aren’t maxing out. That’s because they aren’t taking care of the gritty parts of the NBA, such as winning on the road or, in this home game, boxing out on the defensive boards.
Fortune favors the most determined, and while the Blazers fans had every reason to be upset about a bad goaltending call on an apparent clean blocked shot by Aldridge on a Durant layup, they’d be remiss in ignoring what enabled the play to happen: a failure by the Blazers to grab the rebound on three consecutive missed shots by the Thunder.
That set up Durant’s drive to the hoop, and Aldridge’s block that quickly smacked off the backboard and back toward midcourt, only to be ruled a goaltend and tie the game at 103.
“I timed it,” Aldridge said. “I knew he was going to go to the basket, shoot with his right hand, so I timed it perfectly. I put it on the glass. It didn’t hit the glass first.”
The Blazers still had a last possession, still had enough time for Nicolas Batum to drive down a wide-open lane, only to veer away from the basket and have his layup swatted by Westbrook.
And let’s not forget the Blazers were at home for the overtime period, playing on a court where they’d lost only once in their first 12 home games. But the Thunder, cheered on by a small group of fans wearing old Sonics jerseys and calling them by their birth name, outscored the Blazers 8-4 in the extra period.
“Regardless of calls, we still had an opportunity to win that game if we do the things that are necessary: rebound the ball, offensively you execute, you attack, you put the ball in the basket,” Nate McMillan said. “Normally, the fourth quarter -- certainly in close games like that -- it’s going to come down to making plays. They made the plays.”
So now the Blazers are 14-11. Nine of their losses have come on the road, including in Detroit and Sacramento. If the Blazers are still struggling to grasp the basics of being a great NBA team (step one: win at least half of your road games), the Thunder are close to mastering it. They’re 10-4 on the road, and they just pulled out a victory in one of the league’s most challenging venues.
“We are not where we need to be,” Scott Brooks said. “And I think anytime you play i n a hostile crowd like Portland and play the game we played, it’s going to help. No matter how old or how young you are, you always need games like this.”
Truth is, the NBA needs more games like this -- at least the first 47 minutes, before the officiating came to the forefront, when it was just two young and fast teams going at it, producing 13 ties and 12 lead changes, plenty of full-court action, and the occasional back-and-forth between Aldridge (who finished with 39 points) and Durant (33). But Aldridge didn’t have a Westbrook riding shotgun, producing a stat line of 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Aldridge didn’t even have Ray Felton, who missed the game with a foot injury. (I know “foot injury” is a sensitive word combination in Portland.)
This would be a great playoff series if the Trail Blazers can grab the eighth seed. They’ll need a little more determination, some better late-game execution, a little more of the moxie displayed by the Seattle SuperSon—er, Oklahoma City Thunder.
Mozgov on Perkins getting Mozgov'd
February, 2, 2012
Feb 2
10:30
PM ET
Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images
The act that led to a new meaning for a young Russian center's last name.
LOS ANGELES -- Timofey Mozgov was back where the crime happened to him last season, only now there’s a fresh chalk outline on the Clippers' court.
The Denver Nuggets were in town, which meant a chance to catch up with Mozgov in the visitors’ locker room. As you might guess, Mozgov doesn’t feel feel any sense of pride that Clippers forward Blake Griffin victimized him last season when Mozgov was a Knick, long before Griffin threw down on Kendrick Perkins on Monday night.
“No one likes someone to dunk on them,” Mozgov said. “It’s not a great feeling.”
He doesn’t mind that it caused people to dig up the clip of the original, because “People see it on YouTube every day.”
His name has become so synonymous with being on the wrong end of a vicious dunk that immediately after Griffin's slam on Perkins, Clippers play-by-play announcer Ralph Lawler said, “Almost a Mozgov.” Which prompted color commentator Mike Smith to exclaim, “It’s better than a Mozgov!”
Mozgov says, “I really don’t care what people are thinking.”
But maybe we should care what Mozgov is thinking. Maybe he’s got it right, that instead of always returning back to the original we should be looking forward to what’s in store.
“After my dunk, everybody said the dunk was unbelievable,” Mozgov said. “Nobody thinks it can be a little bit better. And, two nights ago … [Perkins happened.] So who will be next?”
Mozgov showed he has learned from the past. He wisely stepped aside on one Griffin flight to the hoop, and deterred Griffin with a hard foul on another. Mozgov was knocking Clippers down all over the court -- a new definition of getting Mozgoved on a night the Nuggets blew out the Clippers.
This is personal.
It has to be. Even though the number of people Kobe Bryant would love to shut up this season (including every voting member of the ESPN.com NBA rankings panel) would probably exceed the total number of Facebook users, I’m convinced the 48 points Kobe dropped Tuesday night were directed at one person in particular: Steve Nash.
Kobe keeps saying how much he hates the Phoenix Suns.
But there’s almost nothing left from the Suns teams that knocked the Lakers out of the first round of the playoffs in 2006 and 2007. The coach is gone, the general manager is gone, every other player is gone ... there’s even a different guy doing tricks in the gorilla suit. The only one who remains is Steve Nash. The same Steve Nash who won the Most Valuable Player award over Bryant in 2005 and 2006.
So really, whom else is Kobe supposed to hate? Channing Frye? Hakim Warrick? He sure doesn’t hate Shannon Brown, his former teammate whom he embraced in a tight hug right after the buzzer sounded.
It’s gotta be Nash.
Those 48 points Kobe scored during the Lakers’ 99-83 victory were his most scored since March 22, 2011 -- against the Phoenix Suns. *And as Dave McMenamin pointed out, the last time Kobe scored more than 48 was when he put up 49 on March 1, 2009 -- against the Phoenix Suns. This can’t be a coincidence. Kobe is too cold and calculating for this to be coincidence.
“I don’t like them,” Bryant said of the Suns. “Plain and simple, I do not like them. They used to whip us pretty good and used to let us know about it, and I. Will. Not. Forget. That.”
Even though most of the guys from that team are gone?
“I. Don’t. Care,” Bryant said. “I won’t let it go.”
He still remembers those people who doubted him when he was drafted in 1996, so he sure is going to remember the guy who took his trophies and sent him home twice.
When Bryant got the chance to go one-on-one with Nash in the first half Tuesday night, he even changed his signature sound. Normally Bryant calls for the ball by using his tongue to push staccato bursts of air through his teeth. It sounds kind of like the Smoke Monster on “Lost.” As soon as Nash switched onto Bryant, however, Kobe made sure he wouldn’t miss out on the opportunity. He posted up Nash on the right block and let loose a holler that could be heard throughout Staples Center.
“Whooo!” he yelled. “Whoo!”
The ball found its way to him, and he scored.
Later, Nash was guarding Bryant again, trying to deny him from the front. But the entry pass sailed over Nash’s head to Bryant, who turned around and had an easy, open jumper.
That was it for Nash’s defensive duties on Kobe. The task fell to Grant Hill for much of the night.
“Just make him work,” Hill said of his thankless task. “He hit some tough shots. He missed some shots at times. I thought in the third quarter I did a decent job ... then he came out in the fourth and really did a good job of closing it."
Bryant made six of his seven shots in the fourth quarter. (LeBron James, meanwhile, didn’t take a shot in the fourth quarter and was 1-for-3 in overtime of the Heat’s loss at Golden State, if you feel like having that discussion.)
Over the past five games, Bryant has made 69 of 134 shots (51 percent). So while this might not be as spectacular as, say, his run of four consecutive 50-point games in 2006-07, the fact that he can be so accurate while playing with a torn ligament in his right wrist makes this as impressive a stretch as I’ve seen him play.
“He’s doing it in a pretty efficient manner,” Derek Fisher said. “That’s what really stands out about what he’s doing now. He’s always going to be aggressive and assertive to score, but he’s picking his spots and he’s doing it in a very efficient manner. That ranks it right up there with the best of them because it doesn’t look like he’s trying to do it. He’s just doing it within the flow of the game. That’s been very effective for him and us.”
Fourteen of Bryant's 18 baskets Tuesday night came from below the foul line. Only five of his 13 misses were from that range.
“Just making adjustments,” Bryant said. “You have to figure out a way to get it done. There’s no time to make excuses.”
I still don’t think it’s a good long-term indicator for the Lakers if they need Bryant to be so great in order to beat the likes of Phoenix and Golden State at home. But it’s not as detrimental if he’s shooting so effectively, instead of taking wild shots at the expense of getting the ball to the big men. That was the issue I’ve had with him before: not playing the percentages. On Tuesday night, he made 58 percent of his 31 shots. Maybe he should have shot even more.
There’s no way he can shoot 58 percent every game ... if only because there’s no way he can play every game against Steve Nash.
It has to be. Even though the number of people Kobe Bryant would love to shut up this season (including every voting member of the ESPN.com NBA rankings panel) would probably exceed the total number of Facebook users, I’m convinced the 48 points Kobe dropped Tuesday night were directed at one person in particular: Steve Nash.
Kobe keeps saying how much he hates the Phoenix Suns.
But there’s almost nothing left from the Suns teams that knocked the Lakers out of the first round of the playoffs in 2006 and 2007. The coach is gone, the general manager is gone, every other player is gone ... there’s even a different guy doing tricks in the gorilla suit. The only one who remains is Steve Nash. The same Steve Nash who won the Most Valuable Player award over Bryant in 2005 and 2006.
So really, whom else is Kobe supposed to hate? Channing Frye? Hakim Warrick? He sure doesn’t hate Shannon Brown, his former teammate whom he embraced in a tight hug right after the buzzer sounded.
It’s gotta be Nash.
Those 48 points Kobe scored during the Lakers’ 99-83 victory were his most scored since March 22, 2011 -- against the Phoenix Suns. *And as Dave McMenamin pointed out, the last time Kobe scored more than 48 was when he put up 49 on March 1, 2009 -- against the Phoenix Suns. This can’t be a coincidence. Kobe is too cold and calculating for this to be coincidence.
“I don’t like them,” Bryant said of the Suns. “Plain and simple, I do not like them. They used to whip us pretty good and used to let us know about it, and I. Will. Not. Forget. That.”
Even though most of the guys from that team are gone?
“I. Don’t. Care,” Bryant said. “I won’t let it go.”
He still remembers those people who doubted him when he was drafted in 1996, so he sure is going to remember the guy who took his trophies and sent him home twice.
When Bryant got the chance to go one-on-one with Nash in the first half Tuesday night, he even changed his signature sound. Normally Bryant calls for the ball by using his tongue to push staccato bursts of air through his teeth. It sounds kind of like the Smoke Monster on “Lost.” As soon as Nash switched onto Bryant, however, Kobe made sure he wouldn’t miss out on the opportunity. He posted up Nash on the right block and let loose a holler that could be heard throughout Staples Center.
“Whooo!” he yelled. “Whoo!”
The ball found its way to him, and he scored.
Later, Nash was guarding Bryant again, trying to deny him from the front. But the entry pass sailed over Nash’s head to Bryant, who turned around and had an easy, open jumper.
That was it for Nash’s defensive duties on Kobe. The task fell to Grant Hill for much of the night.
“Just make him work,” Hill said of his thankless task. “He hit some tough shots. He missed some shots at times. I thought in the third quarter I did a decent job ... then he came out in the fourth and really did a good job of closing it."
Bryant made six of his seven shots in the fourth quarter. (LeBron James, meanwhile, didn’t take a shot in the fourth quarter and was 1-for-3 in overtime of the Heat’s loss at Golden State, if you feel like having that discussion.)
Over the past five games, Bryant has made 69 of 134 shots (51 percent). So while this might not be as spectacular as, say, his run of four consecutive 50-point games in 2006-07, the fact that he can be so accurate while playing with a torn ligament in his right wrist makes this as impressive a stretch as I’ve seen him play.
“He’s doing it in a pretty efficient manner,” Derek Fisher said. “That’s what really stands out about what he’s doing now. He’s always going to be aggressive and assertive to score, but he’s picking his spots and he’s doing it in a very efficient manner. That ranks it right up there with the best of them because it doesn’t look like he’s trying to do it. He’s just doing it within the flow of the game. That’s been very effective for him and us.”
Fourteen of Bryant's 18 baskets Tuesday night came from below the foul line. Only five of his 13 misses were from that range.
“Just making adjustments,” Bryant said. “You have to figure out a way to get it done. There’s no time to make excuses.”
I still don’t think it’s a good long-term indicator for the Lakers if they need Bryant to be so great in order to beat the likes of Phoenix and Golden State at home. But it’s not as detrimental if he’s shooting so effectively, instead of taking wild shots at the expense of getting the ball to the big men. That was the issue I’ve had with him before: not playing the percentages. On Tuesday night, he made 58 percent of his 31 shots. Maybe he should have shot even more.
There’s no way he can shoot 58 percent every game ... if only because there’s no way he can play every game against Steve Nash.
Stephen Curry ankle update
January, 6, 2012
Jan 6
10:28
PM ET
Stephen Curry isn’t playing for the Golden State Warriors against the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night because of his sprained right ankle. He says he won’t play against the Utah Jazz Saturday, when he’ll have a doctor examine the ankle again. He hopes to return next Thursday, Jan. 12, when the Warriors play the Orlando Magic in Oakland.
Curry had surgery to repair two of the three main ligaments in his ankle and now has sprained the third. He hurt the ankle in a preaseason game against the Sacramento Kings, then in the second regular season game against the Chicago Bulls and again vs. the San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 4.
Curry said the most frustrating aspect has been an inability to find any consistency because he is constantly getting hurt. He’s already going to make one change: he’s switching shoe models, from Nike Hyperdunks to Nike Zooms.
Curry had surgery to repair two of the three main ligaments in his ankle and now has sprained the third. He hurt the ankle in a preaseason game against the Sacramento Kings, then in the second regular season game against the Chicago Bulls and again vs. the San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 4.
Curry said the most frustrating aspect has been an inability to find any consistency because he is constantly getting hurt. He’s already going to make one change: he’s switching shoe models, from Nike Hyperdunks to Nike Zooms.
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