- Britt Robson of the Rake: "Begin with Paul Pierce, the man whose guidance of the offense in the half-court is what ultimately swung the Celtic series versus Cleveland. Tonight Pierce had his shot blocked as many times as it went in the hoop, making just 3-14 FG while getting housed three time. Worse than that, though, was that he doled one measly assist compared to four turnovers. Yes, his defense on Tayshaun Prince was stout, and yes he got to the line 11 times and sank ten of them. But in the half-court sets, Pierce, who has become the floor general and go-to creator, never really made anything happen via either the pass or the jumper."
- Magic Johnson and Larry Bird reportedly to write a book together (with Jackie MacMullen).
- Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra says he reads Malcolm Gladwell and Freakonomics. No chance he's not a stat geek at heart.
- Rudy Tomjanovich has battled all kinds of health problems. And -- remember when he coached the Lakers? -- says he never should have accepted the job to be head coach of the team. He still works for the Lakers, and says he files reports on NBA players that may or may not ever get used.
- Sam Smith says booze is a bigger NBA problem than marijuana.
- Shawn Kemp, Brandon Roy, Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson, Spencer Hawes, and others play in a tournament -- free admission! -- in Seattle. Also, Roy says that his goal for the off-season is to work on his outside shooting, to limit the pounding his body takes on drives to the hoop.
- Should the Heat spend a boatload to keep Shawn Marion?
- Bill Walker on video. He can envision some scenarios where a team would pick him over this college teammate Michael Beasley.
- Who's participating in the Orlando pre-draft camp (Insider). JR Giddens, Ty Lawson, Malik Hairston, Pat Calathes, Patrick Ewing Jr. ... just some of those who will be actually playing.
- Greg Johns of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Among the hundreds of thousands of words transcribed on 470 pages of depositions taken by lawyers for the upcoming trial between the city of Seattle and the Sonics' ownership group over the team's KeyArena lease, there are two Clay Bennett would surely love to take back. Boo hoo. In an e-mail to Oklahoma-based public relations consultant Brent Gooden after hearing some of the Sonics players were upset about the prospect of moving the franchise to Oklahoma City, Bennett responded by writing, 'Boo hoo,' according to a line of questioning by city of Seattle attorney Jeff Johnson. To which Gooden replied, 'Great response. I would play wherever for half of the lowest paid player on the team.'"
- Would you trade Kevin Martin for anything in this year's draft? Most Sacramento fans say no, and I'm inclined to agree. He gets better every year! He is a proven NBA commodity! Lots of players are potentially better at this or that. But you can't yet tell which ones will stop working before they reach their potential.
- Dave from BlazersEdge on how Portland ought not to use the 13th pick: "The first guy I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole at this point is Kevin Love. Sorry, I know he's local, but he's the kind of guy who often disappears after making the jump to the NBA. His biggest drawback is that he's un-athletic compared to the guys he'll be competing against. I'm well aware that some guys come in to the league overweight and learn what it takes, becoming effective players. Weight is one of the classic trouble signals but it can be overcome. But this isn't a case of an otherwise superb athlete hiding under a few too many Bloomin' Onions. If you look at Love compared to most prospective and current NBA forwards -- the angle of his shoulders, the way he moves, his torso -- it's like he's a garage sale couch in a showroom. Yes, he's got moves, but he's going to be playing at forward against guys who are as big or bigger than he, much quicker, and way stronger. You can make all the moves you want, but if you can't throw yourself around and move people you're going to have a hard time in an NBA frontcourt. Plus I'm shuddering imagining his prospective defense. We've also hearing rumblings about attitude and coachability for years. All of that adds up to a big no-go for me."
- Word that the Timberwolves love Kevin Love.
- One of the greatest things in the NBA is the circle-around-Rasheed Wallace dance the Pistons do as part of their pre-game warmup. It's the tail end of yet another excessive lights-out NBA warm-ups. I mean, if that thing doesn't get you going ... check with your doctor. Only, here's the great irony: Until last night, a theme of the playoffs had been that the Pistons had been starting games with low energy. ... Also, you know how these Pistons are seen as bullies? Their former teammate Mike James even said so. I wouldn't deny it. But it's also noteworthy that unlike most teams, just about every big man the Pistons put out there is highly skilled. Even Jason Maxiell (who totally fouled Kevin Garnett on that breakway block) is not a simple brute.
- Former Duke player Reggie Love is Barack Obama's body man.
- The Globe and Mail's Michael Grange wants more drama: "The regular season had been very entertaining, the play out West in particular. Even the Eastern Conference playoffs promised great things, with a Boston-Cleveland match-up on tap for the second round and all signs pointing to a Detroit-Boston ECF – a showdown with history, baggage and featuring the two best regular-season teams in the NBA. The West? The West was going to be ridiculous. And the epic Game 1 between the Suns and the Spurs only served to make the point. Sadly, that mad final flurry was the high point of the playoffs so far. I've watched roughly 35 games since then and none of them have even come close to the drama of that long ago first game of a first-round series. How many games really jum
p out? Certainly Game 7 of the Boston-Cleveland semi qualifies for instant classic status, with Pierce and James dueling it out. Watching Chris Paul explode on a national stage was unforgettable, but he did it without having to make a shot – or even an assist – at the buzzer through 12 playoff games. There have been three seventh games so far, and while the aforementioned Cavs-Celtics contest was worthy, Hawks-Celtics and even Spurs-Hornets were pretty much drama free. If fact, those two seventh games kind of sum up the post-season: there have been a lot of tough series and compelling match-ups, just very few occasions when both teams have played well at the same time." - Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune: "Kobe Bryant shoots 96 free throws in a six-game series against the Jazz but, in the first three games of the conference final against Bowen and the Spurs, he goes to the foul line six times. S-i-x. Against the Jazz and the defenders they threw at him -- Ronnie Brewer, Andrei Kirilenko, Matt Harpring, Kyle Korver -- Bryant averaged four free throws per quarter, eight per half and 16 per game. For Bryant to shoot 96 free throws in a six-game series against Bowen and the Spurs, he will have to average 30 in Games 4, 5 and 6. If I was Laker coach Phil Jackson -- and I'll bet First Lady Jeannie Buss is glad I'm not -- here's what I'd do: I'd compile a tape of how the Spurs are defending Bryant, tell everyone willing to listen that Bowen is "laying all over" the MVP and demand the league instruct its officials to "clean up the game" and start calling more fouls. Hey, it worked for Houston coach Rick Adelman. After Game 5 of the opening-round series between the Jazz and the Rockets, Adelman sent a tape to the NBA because he believed the tactics Utah had used to the limit Tracy McGrady's effectiveness were contrary to the rules. What happened? In Game 6, McGrady shot 18 free throws."
- Sports Illustrated's Chris Ballard with a fascinating article about Kobe Bryant's killer instinct. Fascinating to hear about Bryant forcing teammates to stay late at practice trying to stop some new move he has been working on. And there are lots of stories like this: "During the Kobe era at Lower Merion no moment was inconsequential, no drill unworthy of ultimate concentration. In one practice during his senior year, 'just a random Tuesday,' as coach Downer recalls, Bryant was engaged in a three-on-three drill in a game to 10. One of his teammates was Rob Schwartz, a 5' 7" junior benchwarmer. With the game tied at nine, Schwartz had an opening, drove to the basket and missed, allowing the other side to score and win. 'Now, most kids go to the water fountain and move on,' says Downer. Not Bryant. He chased Schwartz into the hallway and berated him. It didn't stop there, either. 'Ever get the feeling someone is staring at you -- you don't have to look at them, but you know it?' says Schwartz. 'I felt his eyes on me for the next 20 minutes. It was like, by losing that drill, I'd lost us the state championship.'"
- Kobe Bryant takes on Tim Duncan one-on-one. If anybody wins, I guess it's Sprite.
TRUEHOOP CONTRIBUTORS
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