ESPN NBA

By J.A. Adande

As a longtime student of the game who devoured NBA videotapes as a youngster, Kobe Bryant didn't need to hear an explanation when his circus shot from behind the basket against the Thunder Sunday night was compared to Larry Bird's over-the-backboard shot in the 1980s.

But Bryant felt compelled to point out one key difference: "His didn't count."

Indeed, if you watch Bird clip you can see the official on the baseline immediately waving the basket off. (Even if it was no good it still warranted inclusion in NBA commercial -- and I'm also glad whoever posted that to YouTube also included the old "Fan-tastic" tagline).

Should Bryant's shot have been disallowed as well? A recent rule change actually allows shots from angles behind the basket. As explained by a league spokesman, the key is whether the ball travels through an imaginary box that extends backward in the dimensions of the backboard (similar to the invisible "cylinder" that goes up from the rim for goaltending purposes). For example, a shot launched from near the rim on the back side of the glass that went straight over the backboard and dropped through the hoop would not be legal because it would have traveled through the imaginary box. However, a ball can travel over the imaginary box.

From the replays it's difficult to tell if the ball went through the box before it reached its apex. The best look is from the overhead angle at the :29 mark of the video.

Bryant didn't have a name for the shot, just a description: "Lucky."

By Henry Abbott

TrueHoop reader Nick just noticed a Brendan Haywood quote that comes from NBA.com (via Fanhouse): "That's what the Celtics do. Paul Pierce can have 12 in the fourth quarter. [But] if they're up, he don't care. That's what we gotta do. Check your ego at the door. Move the ball. Play some defense."

The theme, of course, is egolessness. The Celtics have it, and a recent title. The Wizards apparently have neither.

On egolessness, trust me, everyone should follow Nick's advice and watch musician Graham Parker in this tremendous, and not too long, video. He's talking about a lesson he learned from a producer, about the Rolling Stones, that could apply to any group trying to get something done together. Great stuff.

By Henry Abbott

Kurt from Forum Blue and Gold told me that he thought Kobe Bryant's miraculous circus shot may have, in fact, been illegal.

It didn't take a lot of poking around in the rulebook to find ol' rule 8 II b:

Any ball that rebounds or passes directly behind the backboard, in either direction, from any point is considered out-of-bounds.

That is to be interpreted as a tunnel, with the height and width of the backboard, that extends back into infinity. If a pass or anything else passes through that space, it's out.

Watch the multiple-angle replays on Kurt's site, and you know what? I'm not at all sure. At about the :41 mark you can see the release point, as shot from a camera on the ceiling, and it's darn near behind the backboard at the moment of release, and its on it way further behind the board as it makes its way up.

However, once it gets above the top of the backboard, however, the ball is entitled to be wherever it wants. So what really matters is where it was in those few feet of travel between release, at a little under ten feet, and reaching passing the top of the backboard, about 13-and-a-half feet in the air.

At about the :50 mark, there's a shot from the opposite end of the floor. The angle is not perfect, but it seems likely to me that the ball did not enter the "no fly zone" behind the backboard.

Here's what I'm wondering, though: Why would you even want this shot on the borderline of legality? It's pretty much the greatest thing that happened to the NBA yesterday.

By Henry Abbott

• Jeremy from Roundball Mining Company on the give and take of Carmelo Anthony: "Carmelo played two stellar offensive games against the Clippers and Bulls. He did not force shots as he had done earlier in the season, he was doing a good job of taking what the defense was giving him and he passed the ball well. He had four assists in L.A. and seven in Denver versus the Bulls. What I liked best though was seven of those 11 assists lead to layups or dunks. Anyone can get an assist on a swing pass to a hot shooter, but making a pass that leads to an easy score for a teammate is even more valuable. That is part of the nebulous ability great players have to make the men playing with them better. However, as well as Melo played on offense, he was just as miserable on defense. Against the Clippers he was at best disinterested in playing defense. At one point after getting a dunk attempt blocked, he may or may not have been over half court when Rasual Butler hit a wide open three. What I do know is he was not in the picture and he forced his teammates to play four on five."
• Chris Sheridan makes strong points about worrying signs for the Celtics of late. Fascinating must-watch video and text breakdown of the Celtics' defense during the Knicks' big run.
• Watch Kevin Garnett moments before hitting his game-winner, looking like he's making a flag football double-tackle on Wilson Chandler. TrueHoop reader Jonathan, on the handsy big man: "See how he puts both his hands on the hips of the Knick defending Paul Pierce, giving the Pierce the angle he needs to create the mismatch that leads to KG being wide open. How is this a legal pick? KG got called for several moving screens earlier in the game, but placing both hands on the hips of a player as he tries to stay in front of Pierce? That's gotta be an unstoppable play, but not a legal one."
• William Wesley as a hero of Auburn Hills.
• Bill Simmons kind of stuck it to statistician Wayne Winston in a column about football that wanders into the NBA's Kevin Durant and Tim Thomas. Wayne Winston responds.
• Pay attention, I won't get to say this often: Amazing video of the Clippers playing beautiful basketball.
• You know how some people have freakish memories? For instance, they can count cards all the way through a game of poker, or rattle off every baseball player's batting average? Suddenly occurred to me that I'd love to see somebody who could remember an entire NBA basketball game. I'd love to see someone who could tell me one play after another, in sequence, all the way through. That would be a sight to see. I know this: I'm not that guy.
• Frank talk about what it might mean for the Blazers if owner Paul Allen can't work because of his recent cancer diagnosis. His sister already runs many aspects of his businesses, and her mantra is profitability, which has not been the Blazers' strong suit -- although they swear they're getting there.
• An oddity about language and sports. If you're cheering for someone, you say "go!" As in "Go Pistons! Go Lakers! Go Celtics!" But what does the word "go" really mean in that setting? In, say, a running race, the meaning is clear. Run! But in other sports ... it means something a little different than just moving. It means something like getting fired up, playing hard, being aggressive ... not a lot of which really has all that much to do with the strict meaning of "to go." Yelling "go" at a sports game means something else. During the game, you'd yell at a team to go. But after the game, would you praise the team that "went?" Not at all, right? In past tense, the sports application of the word "go" loses just about everything.
• At the Meadowlands this weekend, the scoreboard said, at one point, that "IT'S ALL ABOUT BEING HERE." Only thing was, a couple of bulbs were missing from a key part of the "R" so it actually said "IT'S ALL ABOUT BEING HEPE." Yes, indeed. Whatever that means. They also, I should add, threw hot burritos into the crowd, which is so fantastic I'm thinking about doing that around the office.
• Derrick Rose hasn't been scoring as well. Is his jumper off? Not exactly. In fact, he's hitting the jumpshot better than last season. The problem is really that he's just not getting to the rim nearly as much. That said, he is keeping his recent vow to be more aggressive.
• Monta Ellis destroyed Brandon Roy with his defense.
• Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm has never been a big Kobe Bryant fan. Then he read Chris Ballard's "The Art of a Beautiful Game" on a flight: "I put the book down as the wheels touched down in Chicago and sat back. What was this feeling? Respect? Understanding? Oh, no, that was just my head unclogging from the air pressure. But I walked away with whatever leftover hate I had for Kobe gone. James may be the better player in terms of what he’s able to do on the floor, but if you ask me who the best basketball player in the world is, and all that incorporates, I have no choice but to say Kobe Bryant. And I can’t hold anything against him any longer. After all, I can’t blame the snake for being a snake."
• That circus shot is, of course, completely ridiculously amazing.
• When the pace picks up, the Pistons lay down.
• Andre Miller goes back to the bench, Blazers roll.
• Jerryd Bayless, blogging about his parents, and offering insight into his intensity: "Now, I know you hear a lot of athletes say that their parents wouldn’t let them play or hang out after school until they got their homework done. My parents would take it to the next level -- not letting me earn more than one B on my report card without being grounded."
• E. James Beale, on Philly.com, making the case that while Philadelphia may be a basketball town, it has never been an NBA town: "Basketball is this town is hyper-local: High-school tournaments are filled with adults, playground teams have cult followings and every team in the Big Five has a big following. To those who insist Philly is a hoops town, I'd probably say, yes, you're right. But when was the last time you were at a Sixers game?"
• On Saturday, 2009 21st pick Darren Collison and 43rd pick Marcus Thornton played beautiful basketball as the Hornets beat the mighty Hawks. Both have been playing more in the last couple of games.
• Rumblings about a return of Mike Dunleavy Jr. soonish.

By Henry Abbott

Remember when Steve Nash, Mike D'Antoni and the "Seven Seconds or Less" Phoenix Suns redefined NBA basketball -- and even sniffed a championship in the process?

Back then it was one of those funny academic debates. Who's more important to the team's success? The coach with the clever free-wheeling offense, or the point guard to makes it all work?

D'Antoni used to joke that we'd never find out, because he was going to retire when Nash did.

In fact, of course, D'Antoni took his system to New York, and Nash is running something like it again now in Phoenix under Alvin Gentry.

Last season was inconclusive for both, but at this juncture ... you have to consider that Nash has the upper hand in that debate. Yes, D'Antoni is a hamstrung by a roster built for free agency in 2010. But if you're keeping score at home, at this point D'Antoni's Knicks are 3-10 and among the NBA's worst, while Nash's Suns have started out a mighty 11-3.

An NBA front office official once made an interesting point to me about this. He says that D'Antoni's free-wheeling, up-and-down system is every bit as brilliant and amazing as anyone ever thought it was. But that style has only ever worked in the NBA when run by a transcendant point guard.

The Suns, right now, have the system (as run by D'Antoni's former assistant Alvin Gentry) and the player, in Nash. And it works.

Despite a lot of enthusiastic talk about Chris Duhon at this time a year ago, D'Antoni's team has the pace, but not that player, and it has been a struggle.

• Howard Beck of The New York Times: "Nate Robinson made seven shots on Sunday, all of them in the correct basket. For that, the Knicks were grateful. Yet his performance was marred again by impulsiveness and immaturity -- the same issues that have dogged Robinson throughout his career. Twice in Sunday’s loss to Boston, Robinson celebrated while the game clock was still running. The second incident surely cost the Knicks. ... Teammates and coaches appreciate Robinson’s passion and talent, but these are the sort of thoughtless acts that drive them crazy. In Saturday’s game against the Nets, Robinson infuriated Coach Mike D’Antoni by shooting at his own basket with time expiring in the first quarter. The shot left Robinson’s hand after the buzzer, but it could have resulted in 3 points for the Nets. The play immediately became fodder for highlight shows and basketball blogs, embarrassing both Robinson and his team."
• Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun: "Until Vince Carter offers a contrite apology for abandoning the Raptors franchise and its fan base, under no circumstance should he be honoured. Until he comes clean and airs his laundry, metaphorically speaking, there is no purpose in acknowledging his contributions to the Raps. It speaks to the team's naivete that the mere notion of honouring Carter in the Raptors' 15th anniversary season was broached. ... One day, Carter's name and number should take its rightful place in the ACC rafters and he'll be accorded the same reception that ushered in the arrival of Vinsanity in Hogtown. But that time will never arrive until he bares his soul. The ball, literally and figuratively, is in Carter's court."
• Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: "It was a bad brunch in the Big Apple for Rasheed Wallace, who finished with more technical fouls than points. And he had just one technical. ... His last pointless regular-season game came on Jan. 31, 2007 at New Jersey - another 0-for-7, this one in 21 minutes. 'I ain’t worried about it,' Wallace said after picking up four rebounds, an assist and four steals in 15:21. 'I’m in a little slump right now, but a ‘W’ supersedes it all. Every good shooter goes through it. It’s just a matter of you can’t stop shooting; you’ve got to keep shooting. It’s frustrating a little bit, but I still don’t let it stop me from my overall game. That’s just one facet of the game, shooting the ball. I don’t let it stop me from playing defense. I don’t let it stop me from talking on ‘D’ and rebounding. I’ll make a shot one of these days.' "
• Tom Knott of The Washington Times: "Gilbert Arenas is missing a half-step. Even when he is able to get to the basket, he does not finish in the manner he once did. That makes him more reliant on his perimeter shot, where it is more difficult to establish a shooting rhythm. Nothing establishes a good shooting rhythm like a couple of easy baskets. The Wizards, in effect, are still waiting on Arenas. You do not overcome three knee surgeries and two lost seasons in 12 games. It may take Arenas most of the season to resurrect his old self, if he ever does. The trickle-down effect of a substandard Arenas sets in motion the corrosion of the offense. He is going to get his shots, just not the kind that compromise the integrity of a defense. Sometimes there is no logic to when Arenas takes a shot. All this is understandable. Arenas is returning from an interminable rehabilitation process. He is not who he was. And getting back to who he was will not be easy on him or his teammates, not when he has the ball in his hands so much of the time."
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: "I'll admit that having several players looking for contracts could be a distraction, but I have a hard time seeing any of those guys as the problem right now. It's not like any of them resurrected old nicknames, are trying to get a million followers on Twitter or just established Web sites to promote their all-star campaigns. Look, Arenas is free to market himself in whatever manner he pleases -- as Angry Gil, Silent Gil, Agent Zero, Hibachi, etc. -- but the timing of all this seems pretty bad with the season slipping. He really needs to just play basketball and stop worrying about the ancillary stuff. Three and nine should lead to a change in priorities. Ultimate stardom comes with wins."
• Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "They are short and short-handed, playing with Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady -- representing more than $39 million of annual salary -- sitting out. Yet, because they refused to consider themselves undermanned or overmatched, they cannot be satisfied with the success that has surprised others, but not themselves. 'I think we could do better,' Trevor Ariza said. 'It's not bad. It's better than everybody expected. But for ourselves, I think we expected a little more. We're not doing bad, but we're not doing as well as I thought we could.' That might be an indication of how they have won despite the challenges of the brutal early-season schedule and injury-altered roster. There have been stunning wins over their most frequent playoff tormentors, a few frustratingly close defeats and even one or two McGrady-inspired (driven) flare-ups of drama and potential distraction. They have won admiration and praise, yet cannot enjoy that because they had so trained themselves to ignore comments and expect this and more. Instead, they looked at what could have been."
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: "In addition to an attitude adjustment that a players-only meeting brought about last week, the Griz discovered an efficient inside-out attack working with Rudy Gay and center Marc Gasol. Gay is averaging 26 points and eight rebounds in his last three games. Gasol averaged 16.5 points on 84.4-percent shooting in the last four outings. Controversy is no longer hovering over the Grizzlies like a cloud. Cohesion is the operative word. 'We haven't forgotten about how it was a few weeks ago,' Mike Conley said. 'That keeps us motivated. Nobody wants to see the lack of effort that we had and the distractions we had. We're trying to forget but that's what keeps pushing us.' "
• Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press: "Staring down double barrels of a dubious losing streak, the Timberwolves sound blissfully ignorant about a possible date with infamy. With tough-to-win home games against first-place Denver and Phoenix later this week, the 1-12 Wolves are poised to establish a new record in futility to start a season unless they can defeat the hapless Los Angeles Clippers tonight at Staples Center. No Wolves team stumbled out of the gate more poorly than the 1994-95 squad that opened 1-13. However, this year's version has lost 12 straight since an opening-night victory over New Jersey Oct. 28. And they are closing on the 13-game losing streak last season's club endured Nov. 29-Dec. 23, which cost coach Randy Wittman his job. That is three games off the tragic number of 16 straight losses, which Minnesota twice skidded to in 1991-92 and over a two-season span in 1994. Point guard Jonny Flynn said Sunday he did not know about the records in jeopardy and asked reporters how long the Wolves' current skid was. Perhaps it is just as well considering the Wolves have not tasted victory in 27 days while their 106-78 blowout loss at Portland on Saturday was their eighth-straight double-digit defeat."
• Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News: "One thing I'm noticing on the NBA beat is the schedule plays such a big role. It didn't seem as much in the NHL. It does in the NBA, and you could tell this was going to be a tough game to win from the day the schedule came out. Fourth game in six days, last game of a trip, and the Pistons wound up playing overtime Saturday in Utah. All the ingredients for a blowout loss, which it turned out to be."
• Michael Wallace of The Miami Herald: "So this is the difference Udonis Haslem makes, huh? It's a shame that the guy has so many near-haters out there. As I've said all along, you can love Michael Beasley without having to bash on Udonis Haslem. Can't we all just get along? Haslem's jumper with 15 seconds left lifted the Heat to a 102-101 victory over the feisty New Orleans Hornets on Sunday at AmericanAirlines Arena. The Heat snapped a three game skid, with Haslem missing a two of those games with a shoulder strain. No, it wasn't all about UD. He simply delivered the final dagger on a night when the Heat's balance boosted the team to a much-needed victory."
• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: "After making his first All-Star Game start last season, Amar'e Stoudemire is turning back to viral publicity to appeal to All-Star voters again. Stoudemire spent four hours Saturday shooting an online commercial that will feature comedic actor David Spade. 'I'm really focusing on improving my game, and I go out and get the best teacher,' Stoudemire said. 'It's going to be hilarious.' Stoudemire's best help came from the ballot committee that put him at center, even though Channing Frye is the Suns' starting center. With competition such as Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony and Tim Duncan at forward, Stoudemire will fare better against centers such as Mehmet Okur, Nene, Al Jefferson and Greg Oden."
• Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times: "This just in: Bulls' Record in Jeopardy Again. Actually, it isn't, barring a 63-6 finish, but these are no longer last season's by-hook-or-crook champions, following Thursday's rout of the Bulls by crushing Oklahoma City's Prekocious Kids, 101-85, Sunday night to run their Awesome Streak to two. The Thunder, which took the Lakers into overtime before losing their first meeting, trailed by 27 points in this one, learning an important lesson: If this is Prime Time, they're not ready for it. The Lakers' last two games, of course, coincide with Pau Gasol's return, but perennial All-Star that he is, he's not that good. He is that important, though, like Chauncey Billups, whose arrival in Denver last season chilled out Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith, so it was like getting four players, not one. With Gasol, Bryant immediately goes from I Must Carry Us Mode, to I'll Facilitate Too, and between them, that's a lot of facilitating."
• Mike Helfgot for the Chicago Tribune: "Ivica Dukan remembers the criticism like it was yesterday. 'He can't play in the post. He's not strong enough. He's not quick enough. He can't guard anybody,' Dukan recalls. 'And this is the sixth man of the year. Imagine how good he would have been if he could do those things.' Dukan, the Bulls' international director of scouting, was referring to fellow Croatian and former Bulls star Toni Kukoc, who was among the first wave of European players to hit the NBA in 1993. Six-foot-10 players were supposed to post up and block shots in those days, not dribble like a guard, throw pinpoint, no-look passes and shoot 3-pointers. Sixteen years later, the NBA's European explosion has impacted basketball on all levels. The Chicagoland area is full of tall perimeter players like Deerfield's Duje Dukan, Highland Park's Marin Kukoc and another 6-6 star with Croatian roots, Notre Dame-bound Alex Dragicevich of Glenbrook North."

Eddy Curry has already been much discussed as a key to the Knicks' future.

Against the Nets on Saturday, in his fifth game since the 2007-2008 season, he didn't blow anybody away. He still got great post position -- he's among the best in the NBA at that. He had some looks. But time and again he couldn't catch the pass, his teammates couldn't get it to him, or his shots went awry.

At one point his teammates raced ahead and drew a foul. Curry, at a slow walk, trailed the play so severely he barely arrived in time to line up for the free throw.

He looked ... "Like he hadn't played for two years?" quipped coach Mike D'Antoni after the game. But he said it with a smile, and right now the relationship between the Knicks and Curry is a happy one.

"We're still learning each other," confirmed Curry. "I've only practiced with them maybe five times. In a sense, I'm like a new player here. And at the same time we're still trying to win games. I'm not trying to disrupt them. I'm adjusting to it. But I think it's only a matter of time before I'm able to dominate this game."

"The team will improve on getting him the ball where he needs it," adds D'Antoni, "and he'll improve with his footwork and feel more comfortable. We'll both have days like this and it'll be a while. But he's giving us something that we need and lifting up our spirits."

Consider that last point. Curry -- the poster child of the big, bad contracts that Isiah Thomas doled out in condemning the Knicks to long-term mediocrity -- is an inspration. The player who has endured just about everything anyone could imagine, and could well have soured on life, is flashing smiles.

On the court through his career he has been out of shape, out of sync, and sometimes a laughingstock. Off the court, the stories have been nightmarish, with murders in his family, lawsuits, and accusations. No one will ever accuse Curry of having had a smooth ride, and as much as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett may be the poster children for players coming straight from high school to NBA success, Curry -- despite big earnings -- has been a cautionary tale.

And yet, he has reached a point where he's a ray of light in the locker room of the franchise that has been called the most valuable in the NBA.

"Kind of like a new person coming around," says Curry of the mood since he returned to the team. "Everybody's just kind of revitalized. I love the energy in the locker room and on the court."

On Sunday, he'll play in Madison Square Garden for the first time since March 2008, when Thomas was still coach.

"Definitely fun to play my first game in the Garden since I don't know when,'" he says. "I was scared that it wouldn't happen here. ... Definitely looking forward to it. Hopefully they'll accept me. But they don't have a choice. I'll be there!"

Scheduled to be showing support for Curry in the face of Garden critics on Sunday -- and sitting courtside at the Izod Center on Saturday -- was Eddy Curry's "uncle" and noted NBA insider William Wesley. As a trusted advisor of a long list of players, including Curry, LeBron James, and Allen Iverson, Wesley has the potential to be a major figure as Donnie Walsh works to bring the Knicks back to respectability.

Wesley has already been a central figure in Curry's recent weight loss and rejuvenation.

Wesley very seldom talks to reporters on the record, but made an exception, speaking from his courtside seat at halftime of the Knicks' win at New Jersey:

Seeing Eddy Curry out there obviously means a lot for the Knicks. But also for you. Why?
Because of his personal struggle to get back to where he once was. There's a lot of people that doubt that he can get back to his form. He's trying. He's trying. This is just another step. The bar is being raised in each game.

Do you like his chances?
I like his chances.

These two teams we're watching, they're both banking on getting much better through free agency. If you could give them advice on how to succeed in attracting a premium free agent this summer, what would you say?
I'm not going to answer that question, because I think it's a set-up question. I'm here to talk about Eddy Curry, and to support Eddy Curry.

Tell me about your summer with Eddy Curry. What did you actually do?
We did two-a-days. He worked out. He ate right. Chris Douglas-Roberts came in and supported him -- Chris is from Detroit, so he came in and supported him. There's a lot of guys that wanted to come in to support Eddy through this process. J.R. Smith came in and spent some time with him. It was really great to see people coming and rallying around Eddy's family. A lot of people just wanted him to be in the right situation.

The stories about Eddy's situation have been terrible. There have been murders. There have been weird accusations. Just about everything bad you can imagine ... Very serious stuff. As someone who knows him better, it must kind of kill you to see Eddy Curry be the butt of jokes.
Yeah, but I've seen that my whole life with these young kids. Some of them get held to different standards. But at the end of the day, we have to remember that these are still young kids, and they're our kids. We're responsible to lead them down the right road. So if they hit a bump in the road, we should help them.

What do you say to people who make fun of him?
You're wasting your breath to talk to them. They're called haters. Their thought process isn't going to alter. You spend too much energy trying to convince them.

Is the perfect scenario for him to be a long-term Knick? Or would it be better for him to get a fresh start?
No, with Eddy, I think the best place for him is to be a New York Knick. People have to remember, the Knicks took a chance on Eddy when nobody else did. He hasn't forgotten that. Donnie Walsh has bent over backwards for Eddy to be successful. Knowing Eddy, Eddy's not going to take that lightly. He understands the commitment from Donnie Walsh and the New York Knicks organization.

So, Eddy's playing 11 minutes in Indiana, Donnie Walsh said in the papers, played a role in the Knicks' decision not to sign Allen Iverson.
I don't know anything about that.

Donnie talked to the media yesterday, and said basically that there were enough good signs from the young Knicks that they didn't want to alter the structure of the team. And he specifically mentioned Eddy's performance as part of that.
I don't know.

Sounds like the kind of thing you're talking about, though, with a big Knick commitment to Eddy Curry.
I guess! I don't know. I wasn't privy to the information.

Eddy spent the summer with your trainer and with you, and then he came to training camp and was immediately injured and the Knicks didn't seem to think he was in shape.
I don't want to comment on that. But I'll say that he had to start somewhere. And he started it in Detroit, Michigan.

And you're happy with where he is now?
Yeah.

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 beleaguered Nets coach had to offer when he arrived at his office for his usual pregame 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 Brooklyn 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."

UPDATE: Understandably, Frank was not in quite the same jovial mood afterward as the Nets dropped to 0-13 with a 98-91 loss to the Knicks in which New Jersey came back from a 15-point third quarter deficit but was outscored 9-4 in the final 1:43. "It would take a toll on anybody, obviously no one wants to start oh-and-whatever it is," Harris said. "What hurts more is the so many close games that we're losing. I think if we were getting blown out every game, I think everybody would be like 'OK, we need a change.' But we're right there each and every game. We've just got to find a way to overcome a lot of these things."

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 Arron 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.