- Allen Iverson's wife files for divorce. That's a family under some stress, for sure.
- A little bad blood between Paul Pierce and Stephen Jackson.
- These kinds of comparisons can make you go crazy, but how about Evan Turner being part Brandon Roy and part Dwyane Wade? Chad Ford says he's nearly a lock to be the second overall pick.
- In an outtake from the documentary Sonicsgate, Sherman Alexie offers absolutely amazing perspective on Howard Schultz and Starbucks, saying it would be hypocritical of him to cheer the efforts and brilliance of Ray Allen, while not also recognizing the greatness and efforts of Schultz in taking a tiny company and making it a huge one.
- Kevin Pelton ranks free agent destinations for the summer of 2010. When you factor in rosters and cap space, New Jersey looks good. But can they get a big name free agent in the mood?
- Rasheed Wallace is having one of the worst 3-point shooting seasons in NBA history.
- Kevin Durant says that if he were to be offered a max extension in Oklahoma City, he'd sign it. That would seem to neutralize somewhat any threat -- which is every future free agent's implied threat -- that he's ready and willing to skip town. On the other hand, it sets up nicely for the public relations battle -- if for some reason things fall apart, Thunder ownership looks like the bad guy, 'cause Durant certainly seems ready to make a deal.
- The Grizzlies were in a very close game with the Hornets, and then everything just started going amazingly well. Zach Randolph buzzer-beater banker 3 with a hand in his face? In the closing minutes? It more or less decided things. Watch. Mike Conley's great play is detailed nicely here.
- Lindsey Hunter, waived by the Bulls.
- Zydrunas Ilgauskas as a pawn. Surely, if you're making an NBA chess set, a guy that tall needs to be at least a bishop.
- LeBron James' play of the night.
- The case for Sonny Weems.
- Amazing and almost scary mascot activity. "There goes the Raptor, and we're never going to hear from that cheerleader again."
- New age piano goes surprisingly well with footage of Philippine layups.
- Beyond the big win, the Nuggets had another piece of good news, as described by Jeremy from Roundball Mining Company: "Chris Andersen looked healthy again. Just two days after moving around the floor in Phoenix like an octogenarian he was spry and bouncy. All the evidence I needed to see came when Andersen stepped away from his man to challenge Russell Westbrook as he approached the rim from the right baseline. When Birdman met Westbrook in the air the point guard dished off to Birdman’s man Nick Collison. Andersen landed, recovered and leapt in time to block Collison’s point blank shot before it started on its way down. It was an impressive play and hopefully a sign that Bird’s chronic patella tendinitis will not be a problem in the near future."
- Salt City Hoops quotes Utah Flash coach Brad Jones talking about Jazz call-up Othyus Jeffers: "He’s one of the toughest, if not the toughest guy in our league. He’s an energy guy. He’s a prototypical Jerry Sloan/Phil Johnson guy. There’s not a lot of ‘coolness’ about his game, he’s just a junkyard dog. He’ll play so hard, but you might not notice everything that he’s doing, and then you’ll look at his line and say 'wow, he really helped us win.'"
- There were 80 rebounds, and against the Clippers, the Suns got 50 of them.
- Steve Nash sees plays others don't, and that's sometimes credited to his soccer background. I suspect there's more than a little to that. The angles, passing lanes and scoring opportunities that are central to soccer can really help in basketball. For instance. Which makes me wonder -- would it be worth it for youth basketball coaches to spend a little time having players scrimmage at soccer?
- The Spurs have long had minutes for burly big men who can run the pick and roll with Manu Ginobili. DeJuan Blair is evolving nicely into the Fabricio Oberto role, only he's also very skilled attacking the basket.
- Clipper DeAndre Jordan is a ridiculously athletic 7-footer with tantalizing potential. A college coach once called him 18 going on 12. Will he capitalize on the opportunity that came with Marcus Camby's departure?
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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