- Michael Lee of the Washington Post: "Duncan was asked if he was honored that so many teams are making major moves because of him. 'No, I'm not honored in any way. I'm a little [ticked] off,' Duncan said, jokingly."
- Utah's win in Denver last night was, essentially, a playoff game. It was exciting. The crowd was intense. And two good teams were going at it hard. In crunch time, Deron Williams got buckets that Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony couldn't match -- and Utah looks like a real force. Here's a re-cap, and highlights. What you won't see there was a great Deron Williams and-one against Marcus Camby.
- Best thing in the NBA: close games that feature a lot of remarkable made shots. Double overtime between Phoenix and New Orleans does not disappoint. (Ron Hitley of Hornets247: "We put the ball in Chris Paul's hands twice to win it tonight, and he missed both times. However, 42 points, 9 assists, 8 steals, 5 rebounds and just one turnover tells you the guy's still on some MVP type s---. Way to bounce back from the Utah game, Chris.") As long as we're talking highlights, the Hawks squeak by the Lakers, and Dirk Nowitzki gets his first triple-double.
- Super Bowl party at Gerald Green's place.
- ESPN's Marc Stein, on Chad Ford's Daily Dish, says that Steve Kerr was one of the last people in Phoenix to be convinced the team should get Shaquille O'Neal.
- Roland Lazenby, writing on SportsHubLA, with some bulletin board material for Shaquille O'Neal from a former coach: "Add Tex Winter to the list of top basketball people scratching their heads at the move. 'I saw it, I thought, 'That ain't gonna work,'' Winter admitted. 'I don't even know if Shaq's ever gonna play another game.' That's how far O'Neal's image has fallen this season after the Miami Heat has absorbed loss after loss and the Diesel has revealed a dramatic decline in his effectiveness, not to mention long absences due to nagging injuries. 'I'm surprised Kerr would do that,' Winter said of the Suns' trading Shawn Marion this week for Shaq. 'It's a strange trade. Shaq sure misses a lot of games. He's not a very good defensive rebounder, or offensive rebounder for that matter. He does rebound his own misses a lot.'"
- Brian Berger of Sports Business Radio: "It's no secret that the economy has declined sharply in recent months and Phoenix has been hit very hard because of the decline of the real estate market. So people are watching their disposable income as close as ever. But now the Suns will send out their season ticket renewal packets with one of the most recognizable faces in sports inviting customers to renew. Yes Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire are two of the most exciting stars in the NBA, but Shaq's bigger than life personna may be just the tonic the Suns need to hit their agressive 90% renewal mark. Two premium seats to watch the Suns play starting next year will cost you over $120K. The most important seats to sell will be the 504 floor-area seats the Suns have that are priced as high as $1500.00 per game. Prior to this season, the Suns had 125 floor area seats instead of 504 seats so by adding the extra seats, they've added $10M to the revenues. Shaq is a household name and he draws the people who will pay the big bucks for these seats. Just like he did in Los Angeles and just like he did in Miami."
- Gilbert Arenas talks to Michael Tillery for SLAM about athlete blogs: "With a player blogging, there's a different tone. He's not aggressive and is in a chill state of mind. When it comes out (in a blog), it's perceived as kind hearted fun and entertaining. When you are talking to the media, you might run into someone who is being an asshole at the time and wants to write some negative stuff."
- Once controversial: basketball during Lent.
- Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee asks David Thorpe if his client, Kevin Martin, is future MVP material: "In terms of MVP, I think he's much more likely to get MVP of a championship series than he is MVP of the league. The way the league is, the guys who win the MVPs are going to be high usage guys. And I think Kevin is someone who's never going to be a real high usage guy because he's too efficient. He's just going to make the right play, get other people involved and play off of people - passing and cutting, which he's obviously one of the best in the league at that. So I don't think I would ever see him as an MVP unless he played for a team that really had no other offensive weapons and he scored 30 a night, which I think he could do."
- Several people have asked me what would happen if an All-Star switches conferences before the All-Star Game. The NBA tells me they'll deal with that if it happens. If it does happen, whatever the NBA decides will, I'd bet, come to be known as "the Jason Kidd rule."
- This is a pretty good clue where those "Sam Cassell to Boston" rumors could be coming from.
- An interesting PR email from BoDog: "Odds on Phoenix Suns to win the Western Conference Pre Trade 5/2 Odds on Phoenix Suns to win the Western Conference Post Trade 2/1. Odds on Phoenix Suns to win the NBA Championship Pre Trade 4/1. Odds on Phoenix Suns to win the NBA Championship Post Trade 7/2."
- The Guardian's Mark Woods says that if you want a competitive All-Star Game, make it U.S. vs. the World. Because as it is, the game is less than thrilling: "The annual All-Star Game, as NBA commissioner David Stern oft remarks, 'is our Super Bowl.' And when the league's weekend of merriment and mayhem touches down in New Orleans next week, it will replicate much of the hubris and carnival that was so evident during the build-up to last week's climax to the NFL season in Phoenix. With one notable exception. Despite the myriad sideshows surrounding it, the Super Bowl remains, when stripped back to basics, a ferociously competitive game between two teams who leave nothing behind in their pursuit of a victory that will define the careers of every individual involved. For the planet's best basketballers, depending on the perspective of those concerned, the zenith will be either lifting an NBA championship or winning an Olympic g
old. This is not to say the All-Star Weekend is not an event worthy of the moniker. The gathering of the clan in the Big Easy will provide three days of incessant intrigue, from celebrity spotting at the relentless circuit of parties to the various contests designed to allow the big names (and some of the lesser lights) to showcase their athleticism and skill. But the Sunday night centrepiece is merely an excuse to cram in as many dunks as possible while breaking into a minimal sweat. If you want competition, look elsewhere." - Jason Quick of the Oregonian: "[Brandon] Roy did not accompany the team this morning on its flight to Detroit for the start of a four-game trip leading into the All-Star break. He headed to Seattle late Wednesday because of a family emergency. Roy said he was unsure how long he would stay in Seattle and plans to notify McMillan by tonight of his status for Friday's game against the Pistons."
- Viktor Khryapa was bought out by the Bulls. That means that, in effect, the Bulls traded the second pick in the 2006 draft to Portland for the fourth one, straight up.
- Steve Kroner of the San Francisco Chronicle: "On Nov. 9, 1993, Webber played in his first NBA game when the Warriors took on Olajuwon and the eventual champion Rockets in Oakland. Webber had missed the first two games of that season because of an ankle injury. After Wednesday's practice, Webber said he remembered his first pro game 'like it was yesterday,' even though it took place more than 14 years ago. 'I remember everything Hakeem Olajuwon had on and how he looked,' Webber said. 'The first play of the game, I told Latrell (Sprewell), 'I'm not going to play. I'm just going to look and take this moment in.' ... I'm glad they didn't pass to Hakeem. I just remember looking at his legs and his arms, how tall he was. He was somebody I admired my whole life.'"
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