- Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune: "We've been here before. Sad to say, it's the Jazz's identity. They've played three absolutely critical games for their playoff fortunes on the road the last week-and-a-half and lost to Portland, Denver and Dallas by an average of 20 points. It's unbelievable, really. For the first time, we heard a couple of players call what happened unacceptable. Deron Williams and Kyle Korver both did after the game. The truth is that these losses would have been unacceptable in January. I don't know what you call them know. My theory, in case you're interested, is that the Jazz experienced so many highs on the way to the Western Conference finals in 2007 that they've been bored by the regular season, especially on the road, ever since. I think you'd have to agree their play has reflected it. The problem is they've also had a bulls-eye on their back every time they've walked into a visiting arena since that run and they've got spanked time and time again as a result. Otherwise, you have to admit they're a fatally flawed team unable to learn from and correct their mistakes. If that's the case, I suggest the Jazz waste no time in overhauling their roster this summer since Williams is under contract only three more years."
- Most coaches don't use the media to pick at their players, but Phil Jackson has been doing it forever, including now. UPDATE: And Phil Jackson is sidelined with plantar fasciitis, and won't make the trip to Portland on Friday.
- John Krolik of Cavs the Blog: "You know how everyone always talks about players who get 'the most with the least' and usually talk about great athletes who can't shoot or dribble? Well, in terms of the player who has the most natural basketball talent in terms of size, athleticism, shooting ability, passing, everything you can't teach, I think the player who gets the least with the most is [Andray] Blatche. He can do anything. He's big. He's athletic. He can shoot. He can handle. He can pass. He drained beautful jump-hooks tonight. He has every conceivable tool, and he just can't put anything together. By the way, the player who does the most with the least is Andre Miller. This is a whole other post, but every one of his possessions has a purpose." I'll nominate another "most with the least" guy: J.J. Barea. David Thorpe, for his part, has made the case for Reggie Evans.
- Question I was just discussing with Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm -- Is Dirk Nowitzki the first elite perimeter NBA scorer who does not score any points by using his speed? I'm sure there have been others, but not many.
- Remembering Marvin Webster. That version of the story points out three things about the man: Modern statistics suggest he was better than most people thought at the time. His son was an elite player, too, who, tragically, died as a teenager.
And Webster's nephew is the Blazers's Martell. - Brett from Queen City Hoops, with a sobering note from Charlotte: "At half time (or sometime around then) a congratulatory note was posted to the scoreboard about the Tarheels championship, which got the biggest cheer of the night to that point (even bigger than a Gerald dunk in traffic early in the game -- nasty dunk)." By the way, can we take up some kind of collection and donate ping pong ball combinations to the Bobcats? They played so hard, and came so close to the playoffs ... only seems fair that they should end up with a decent lottery pick out of the deal.
- TrueHoop reader Matt wonders if this proves Zaza Pachulia is the sexiest man in the NBA.
- John Hollinger has waded deep into the schedule and tie-breakers, and thinks the most likely first-round West matchups are: Lakers-Mavs, Nuggets-Hornets, Rockets-Jazz and Blazers-Spurs.
- Donald Hunt from the Philadelphia Tribune e-mails: "The Philadelphia Tribune will have a table at the Sixers-Cavaliers game for all fans who want to sign a petitions to support the effort to help NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain receive a commemorative U.S. Postage Stamp. The Sixers will host the Cavaliers game on Friday night at the Wachovia Center in Philly. The Philadelphia Tribune, the country's oldest black newspaper, is leading the effort to get Chamberlain's photo on a postage stamp. More than 17,000 petitions have already been sent to the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, which is in charge of selecting the stamps. According to the United States Postal Service, Chamberlain is under consideration to receive his stamp in 2011. Chamberlain played 14 seasons in the NBA from 1959 to 1973. He scored 100 points on March 2, 1962, when the Philadelphia Warriors defeated the New York Knicks. Chamberlain averaged 50 points a game that same year. In 1960, he had 55 rebounds against the Boston Celtics. In 1966-67, he led the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA championship. In 1971-72, he guided the Los Angeles Lakers to a league title. Chamberlain played more than 1,200 career games and never fouled out. He finished his career with 31,419 points." If you can't make it to the game, you can sign the petition online.
- Basketbawful: "[Jose Calderon's] team anointed him the PG of the future and exiled T.J. Ford to the Land of Corn and Hoosiers. There might not be a direct correlation, but the Pacers are better and the Craptors are worse. And last night, Ford (14 points, 7-for-10, 11 assists) thoroughly outperformed Calderon (4 points, 2-for-9, 6 assists)."
- Picking the best online Kevin Durant videos. This one isn't the best, but it's the most mysterious. What exactly happened?
- Jason Kidd tells Norm Hitzges of KTCK in Dallas about his long assist: "A couple of (my teammates) said, 'I can't believe you get an assist for that.' I said, 'Next time, take the ball out, you never know.'" He also says he'd like to play two more years, for Dallas or another competitive team. (Via Sports Radio Interviews)
- This post makes some great points about Yao Ming's elite play. Bonus for clicking the link a rewarding game of "spot Stan Van Gundy" in the accompanying photo.
- Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen profiles Ron Artest. It starts like this: "'When we go out there,' said a Houston Rockets security guard to forward Ron Artest, 'don't stop for autographs.' 'O.K.,' said Artest. 'They're going
to want to take a picture with you,' warned another Rockets employee, a community relations director, as they strode an uncongested hallway inside the Toyota Center, on their way to a meet-and-greet with thousands of Rockets season-ticket holders being staged in the arena's concourse. 'But don't stop.' 'O.K.,' said Artest. The same cautions had been issued to all of his teammates -- keep moving, don't cause an incident -- but there appeared to be an urgency in the message to Artest, given his unfortunate history of mixing with crowds in NBA arenas. 'You can sign if they ask you to,' said yet another security guard, 'but keep walking.' 'Don't stop,' said the Rockets' community relations director. 'Don't stop,' echoed the security guard. 'O.K.,' said Artest. The doors were flung open to the concourse and Artest began to wade through the fans. Some looked exultant in his presence; others intimidated. Then Artest noticed, on the far side of the concourse, a handful of grade-school children playing a virtual-reality game. They were leaping to swat at large images of spelling blocks that had been projected onto the wall. Artest stopped." - Carmelo Anthony to Chris Tomasson of INDenverTimes: "When I look at the West, I don't really see that one dominant team. Everybody says the Lakers. Yeah, the Lakers are pretty good. But I don't really see that one team that you say is going to win the West. I think it's pretty much even now.'' (Via Roundball Mining Company)
- UPDATE: Actual data showing that, for the Clippers at least, zone defense is not as effective as the regular kind. I'd say it's at least conceivable that on this issue, the blogosphere knows something the team doesn't.
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