- Jordi Scrubbings: "Although I am a supporter of the National Rifle Association, I am extremely critical of them. As I wrote a few weeks ago, I think they do a horrible job of reaching out to people outside of their stereotypical demographic. Unfortunately, because the NRA seemingly only targets (no pun intended) white, suburban/rural, middle class supporters, other groups outside their demographic are not usually influenced by the largest gun group in America. ... Along with being the foremost lobby group, the NRA is also the premiere gun education and safety organization in the US. In the wake of the Gilbert Arenas gun debacle, the time is now for the NRA to reach out to organizations it doesn’t normally associate with. What the NRA should absolutely do is reach out to the NBA, NFL, MLB, and any other sports leagues and offer to teach instruction classes on safe and proper gun ownership, handling, and transport. This would benefit not only the athletes, but also the leagues and the NRA itself."
- A must-read roundup of Gilbert Arenas' history of pranks, including a quote from Javaris Crittenton when he first got to D.C., saying he didn't think Arenas would do that to him.
- John Hollinger (Insider): "And for those of you who complain about the whistles LeBron James or Kobe Bryant gets, eat your heart out. I swear to you, nobody gets more superstar calls than Maggette, even though he's nobody's idea of a superstar. It's unbelievable but undeniable once you watch enough Warriors games, and it further pads his astounding free-throw totals."
- Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel on this play: "As heartbreaking as it gets. How? How could Mario Chalmers lose Rajon Rondo. How? How?" There were many great elements that combine to answer that question: A well-designed play that made it tough to help. A perfect pass. And ... a blatant moving screen from Big Baby!
- It's hard to find anybody who understands Eddie Jordan's substitution patterns.
- Just one assist over a 16-minute stretch of play for the Celtics.
- Emeka Okafor and Chris Paul are really starting to click, and did you ever notice that Devin Brown leaves the straps hanging open on his shoes?
- The Pistons need a backup center. OK, fine, sure thing. But, speaking as a Blazer fan, I'd say: At least you have a center.
- Luol Deng is playing with a busted thumb.
- John Krolik of Cavs the Blog on the Wizards' first game since Gilbert Arenas suspension for guns, with my notes in brackets: "In a development that could be seen as ironic, Delonte [West, who has his own legal troubles related to guns] played one of his best all-around games of the season on Wednesday. He finished with 14 points on only eight attempts, and was effective from just about everywhere on the floor. He was active in transition, and managed to pick [Deshawn] Stevenson [at whose house there was a shooting] clean and make the coast-to-coast slam early in the second quarter."
- Good news for the Nets: Yi Jianlian is back and better than ever. Caveat: It's hurting Brook Lopez's game.
- D.J. Foster of ClipperBlog on Baron Davis' heroism against the Lakers: "There’s a sequence late in the fourth quarter of tonight’s game where Baron Davis is leading the break up the middle of the court. He’s flanked by Eric Gordon on his right, who trails behind Baron only slightly. Baron separates from the pack, and then does something that evokes memories of Sam Cassell: Baron yells at Gordon to run harder on the break, and physically points out to Gordon where he wants him to go. Once Gordon obliges, Baron leaves a beautiful dime for the suddenly streaking Gordon for the dagger layup and foul. The Staples crowd roars in approval, and the other Clippers maul Gordon with celebratory backhand slaps. And that’s exactly the kind of thing an engaged Baron Davis brings to the table."
- Outside of the NBA, which is the best basketball league in the world? Almost everyone would agree it's the Euroleague, but Danny Ainge says the D-League isn't as far behind as you might think.
- As people dissect the odd success the Rockets have had with a team of role players, perhaps the most important factor is that they just play harder than everybody else. You can see it. Rahat Huq of Red94: "There was an absolutely awesome camera angle with one minute remaining in the third quarter for which I am very grateful to the Suns’ television producers for providing. If there was to be a DVD about the 2009-2010 Houston Rockets, this sequence would suffice as far as actual game footage. The camera angle was from beneath the hoop. We saw Carl Landry face up against Robin Lopez out on the block. He then drove and lost control of the ball at the rim. He regained it and missed. Andersen grabbed it and missed. Landry once more snared the board and missed. Lowry then came flying in and brought down the board. All amidst a sea of white jerseys. My description does no justice to the possession. It was microcosmic of the determination and grit that has punctuated this team’s surprise season and the camera angle really captured those qualities to their fullest. The Suns’ announcer remarked, 'I have never seen a team show more tenacity.' I would have to agree." Here's video of Landry from a different game, with similar tenacity.
- A clever look at how well different teams draw fans on the road. Cleveland is, by this measure, the most popular team in the league, followed by the Lakers, Celtics, Heat and Knicks.
Henry Abbott | email
TrueHoop, NBA- Senior writer for ESPN.com
- Founder of TrueHoop blog and network
- Began writing about NBA for magazines in 1999
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