- Bomani Jones tells of Allen Iverson on SBNation: "It felt like he caught hell for refusing to believe there was something wrong with who he was, how he dressed and how he wore his hair. It wasn't just a refusal to conform. It was a demand for his right to exist. He wasn't analyzed as much as he was indicted by his critics, many of whom never considered how truly impressive it was for someone from his side of the tracks to be a tax-paying millionaire. So many treated him as if he were doomed, that he could never be more than he was as a jaded, immature man in his early-20s. No matter what anyone thought he did in that bowling alley, or what they thought he deserved, he made it out. Talent alone won't do that for anyone. That's the sort of thing done by hook or crook, and there's no time on the back end to worry too much about how it got done. After suffering the worst in a dying shipping town, being caught on police cameras buying drugs for his mother like it was just a run to the store, the slim chance Iverson had to be successful panned out. And successful he was. The city he played in, Philadelphia, loved him for his passion. His teams won. He brought home scoring titles, led his team to six playoff series victories and dragged a motley crew of role players to the NBA Finals. And, for better or worse, he brought his people with him. No matter how silly it was to support dozens of people, or how selfishly Iverson handled his role in a team sport, he'd reached places that once seemed impossible for him. That's why, no matter how boorish he could be or how self-inflicted his problems were, I rooted for Iverson on the court, and why I will continue to do so in life."
- Kyle Weidie of Truth About It on John Wall vs. Derrick Rose: "Wall come out in full-on attack mode versus Rose. No, he wasn’t trying to match a league M.V.P. in a contest of who could piss the furthest, rather, he had to look for his offense in hopes of sparking something for Washington against a stingy Chicago defense. But the fact that Rose had 13 points (6-8 FGs) and 3 assists in the first quarter to Wall’s 8 points (3-7 FGs) and zero assists in the period pretty much sums up the story of the night. When asked after the game, and in light of Rose’s performance, about the difficulties of developing decision-making as a point guard (when to look for yourself, when to look for teammates), Wall said, 'It’s not hard when you got guys like Kyle Korver that can make shots, and you can run off down screens and a guy like Carlos Boozer that can pick-and-pop, and Luol Deng and guys you can run plays for that make shots and create their own shots, it’s kind of easy.' Sure it is, John, sure it is."
- There has long been a debate in the NBA stats community about how to value the ability to create a shot. (Crudely: Somebody like me might say that Kobe Bryant or Carmelo Anthony takes really tough shots. Somebody else might say at least they can get shots off.) Mike Kurylo of Knickerblogger, writing on The New York Times website, says that Anthony's move to New York, and the success of the Nuggets without a go-to scorer, makes a strong argument that the ability to create a shot might not be as valuable as most had thought.
- Sebastian Pruiti on Grantland, talking about LeBron James' post-game: "James is most dangerous when he catches the ball in the post and faces up. Some purists might say this isn’t a true post game, but the fact remains that defenders want to avoid James facing them up at all costs. He’s so effective in these situations that it's a wonder he doesn’t turn and face in the post eight times a game. James scores 1.143 points per possession when he faces up on the right block and one point per possession on the left side. When he backs his man down, James scores 0.938 points per possession."
- Ian Segovia, on Bucksketball, with the curious case of Stephen Jackson, who looks to be on the trading block. He's sitting out and the team is playing better, but that hardly makes him a locker room cancer: "Without Jackson, the passing looks crisper and the offense looks better. Possessions aren’t wasted on Jackson heat checks. Delfino is playing better perimeter defense. And the team is stocked with better scorers, shooters and distributors. “Scott is right. We are playing well without me in the lineup,” said Jackson. “The rotation is great and as long as we’re winning. There’s nothing for nobody to complain about.” Jackson isn’t playing well, but he isn’t a locker room cancer. The other players generally adore him. He’s the first one off the bench to high-five everyone during time-outs. He’s around and not playing well, but he’s not undermining any efforts to win. “My situation is going to get better soon,” Jackson said, “Until then, I’m going to support these guys and continue to collect my check.”
- Enes Kanter can really rebound. But scoring in the post is not his thing. Not yet.
- The Warriors have had opportunities to acquire several different stars but have been risk-averse. Most recently, that took the form of not trading for Chris Paul unless he would sign an extension. Missing is the Nets' gunslinger/bet-the-farm-on-Deron Williams-and-cap-space-'cause-we-have-nothing-to-lose vibe. Here's the argument that's a big mistake.
- The state of Rodrique Beaubois. Let it be noted he had one of the steals of the year against the Spurs: Some guys block shots from behind. Only the select few steal shots from behind.
- Nate Drexler of Magic Basketball on the state of the Magic: "You can see it all over these guys’ faces. Turkoglu is the best example. He looks like he’d be happier hanging out with his family somewhere, eating duck, wearing Italian suits, and laughing about how fun yesteryear was. He has no interest whatsoever in being on a basketball court. I’m going to dare to say it — his time is up. It’s come and gone. I love the guy to death, but no type of shock therapy can revive him from his current state. Speaking of guys who are probably done, Jameer can’t dribble, and when he tries to dribble, he falls. He also can’t shoot for some reason, so guys don’t really have to guard him at all when he’s in a pick-and-roll. I don’t know why, but you can probably stick a fork in him too. Von Wafer did a better job bringing the ball up the floor against the 76ers than Nelson has this season. So did Larry Hughes."
- In case you ever believed all those hours poring over microfiche would never amount to anything.
- Shortly after not taking the Blazers' offer of a contract extension, Nicolas Batum suffers a knee injury.
- Nick Collison for GQ on rookie hazing: “I’m pretty easy on rookies, and I think it’s because I had it easy myself. There is one thing, however, that I do enjoy doing: Once or twice a year after shoot-around on the road we will empty the entire ball rack by either throwing or punting each ball into the stands, then make the rookies climb the steps all around the arena to get each ball. I’m not sure why, but I really like doing that.” (Lifted wholesale from Daily Thunder.)
- More talk of Gregg Popovich and Royal Jelly, from (author of a book on the Pistons) Patrick Hayes of PistonPowered: "I was struck by not only the fact that Popovich, on the surface the last guy you’d expect to be patient with youth, plays his young players. It’s that he plays them with the expectation that they will play at a level nearly as high as his regulars. I’m sure Popovich berates those guys, is hard on them and does all the things that you’d expect a cranky old perfectionist coach like Popovich would do to players behind the scenes. I’m sure that if they get into games and prove to be mistake-prone, he’ll bench them, and if they do it a lot, he’ll probably bury them too. But he also understands something that Saunders and, to a lesser extent, Michael Curry never did. Namely, that although it’s important that young players execute, play defense and play mistake-free basketball, it’s just as important that they know you believe in them."
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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