ESPN NBA

• Ben Polk of A Wolves Among Wolves on Don Nelson's Warriors squads: "Those Warriors were the NBA’s id, its dark, chaotic dream of freedom." The same post also provides a reminder that Eric Stoltz was one of Sean Penn's hangers-on in "Fast Times."
• Will 17-year-old Toronto native Sim Bhullar eventually be the first player of Indian descent to play in the NBA?
• The saddest basketball you'll ever see.
• At Brew Hoop, Frank Madden looks at the similarities -- and vast differences -- in the games of John Salmons and his replacement in Milwaukee, Stephen Jackson.
• Imagine being on a law school admissions committee and coming across Ben Wallace's application in your pile.
• The confluence of summer with an NBA lockout provides the best opportunity in years to catch up on your basketball reading. In that spirit, PistonPowered is hosting a book club. This week's selection: "The Jordan Rules" by Sam Smith.
• The Basketball Hall of Fame has always had a strange, byzantine standard for entry whereby lifetime achievement to the game means more than career stat line. Jay Aych at The Painted Area examines whether retired European NBA players like Vlade Divac and Sarunas Marciulionas belong in Springfield.
• Get ready for Blazer Star Smackdown. In the power forward division, you've got Buck Williams vs. LaMarcus Aldridge.
• How problematic is it that neither Carmelo Anthony nor Amare Stoudemire really helps the Knicks when he's playing without the basketball?
• You might not find it in the Thunder's media guide as a franchise milestone, but the Thunder's first win of the 2009-10 season was a foundational moment for OKC. Royce Young of Daily Thunder takes a look back.
• Still making money off the NBA's television revenue: The Spirits of St. Louis of the American Basketball Association.
• A reminder from Sebastian Pruiti of NBA Playbook that good basketball is good basketball -- irrespective of where, when and by whom it's played. Conversely, the same rule applies for bad basketball.
• Translating a Euroleaguer's numbers and projecting his transition to the NBA is a tough exercise. What do Jan Vesely's stats tell us about his future as a Washington Wizard?
• Which colleges have produced the most wins in the NBA?
• Set your bookmark: John Krolik of Cavs the Blog, the New York Times' "Off the Dribble," Pro Basketball Talk and Heat Index has launched Pick-and-Pop Culture: "For the last few years, I’ve been working as a basketball writer, both as an amateur and as a professional. During that time, I’ve been blessed enough to meet a lot of really cool and really smart people, and... I noticed that when we talked, we often didn’t mention basketball at all. Instead, we talked about our other passions: movies, television, books, video games, whatever ... a lot of us had really smart things to say about pop culture, and I got the idea to create a website that would allow us to put all of our long-form posts about our favorite non-sports things in one place."

• ESPN's panel of prognosticators picked the Celtics to finish with 51 wins and the No. 3 seed, following a season in which they finished 50-32 and entered the postseason with the No. 4 seed. Given the Celtics' flourish in the 2010 playoffs, that prediction has some Celtics fans riled. Zach Lowe of Celtics Hub (who was on the panel) tells his brethren in green to simmer down: "[I]t is perfectly reasonable to predict the C’s will again proceed through the regular season prioritizing health and rest over win total. Why wouldn’t they? They did it last year and got to the Finals, and all they’ve done since is make an old team even older while the Eastern Conference has improved at the top and in the middle."
• Don't like ESPN's predictions? Check out economist Ian Ayres' prediction tools that allow you to forecast everything from the price of Bordeaux to how long your marriage will last.
• Kevin Love tells NBA.com's John Schumann that he feels more appreciated by Team USA than the Minnesota Timberwolves.
• Drew Cannon's new positional system, which he unveiled at Basketball Prospectus last week, continues to generate interesting conversation. Cannon seeks to address the problem of designating specific positions to players who, increasingly, defy that kind of classification (think Stephen Jackson, Hedo Turkoglu or point guards whose defensive assignments are the 2-guard or even the small forward). Both Tom Ziller of Fanhouse, and Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game delve deeper into the discussion and expose some of the problems with developing a new model and throwing out the old designations like "point guard" and "center." Spend some time looking at Mahoney's revised model.
• For a league that's reportedly struggling financially, we're seeing a host of suitors line up every time a franchise goes on the block. The Pistons are no exception.
• Speaking in his native Lettish, Andris Biedrins tells Warriors World's Rasheed Malek that Don Nelson's comments about the young center's free-throw shooting bothered him: "When he said I should practice underhanded, I felt very disrespected. At one point I spoke to a psychiatrist who reminded me of some things, but it’s not so bad that they send you and try to brainwash you. It’s mostly about believing in yourself, because, before this season it was more or less OK."
• Here's an impressive video compilation of Scottie Pippen's defense. When we talk about a player's versatility, we're usually referring to his offensive repertoire. We all know that Pippen displayed an uncommon range of skills on the offensive end of the floor, but this reel captures how incredibly talented Pippen was on the other side of the ball. He was both a pest to point guards, but capable of pushing guys like Charles Barkley off the block. With Pippen in close proximity, there was no such thing as an easy entry pass.
• Steve Perrin of Clips Nation has a comprehensive and smart breakdown of the current 15-man Team USA roster.
• Remember Ali Farokhmanesh, who hit the ballsiest shot of the 2010 NCAA Championships when Northern Iowa upset Kansas? He's headed to Switzerland to play for Massagno in the Swiss league (LNA).
• Daily Thunder has your Serge Ibaka "Air Congo" t-shirt modeled by ... Serge Ibaka.
• Slide over, Lamar Odom. Michael Beasley confesses that, among his other nicknames, "Skittles" took hold at a fairly young age: "You know growing up I ate a lot of candy, if you were at my dinners you would know that, you know but I eat a lot of candy so from eight to probably like 15, you wouldn't see me without a pack of Skittles." On the tart vs. chocolate debate, Beasley is very decisive: "I'm not a chocolate man. I'm skittles, anything made by Wonka, you know I like candy not chocolate."
• Jefferson Boswell of Salt City Hoops recounts a nice story about his grandma and Karl Malone during a physical therapy session. What did Malone mutter when he stepped up to the free throw line? Only Grandma Alene knew.
• DeJuan Blair: Menace under the glass; menace with CAP LOCKS!

As Don Nelson sits a game away from having the most wins of any coach in NBA history, he tells ESPN's Marc Stein that he doesn't much care if he makes the Hall of Fame or not. And if he has any regrets, it's mostly to do with two jobs he might have had:

There were two opportunities I probably should have made happen. One was when we beat the Celtics in the playoffs in Milwaukee [in 1983]. They were going to make a coaching change. I think Bill Fitch was their coach at the time. After the last game, Red [Auerbach] walked by and asked me, "Would you ever consider coaching the Boston Celtics?"

I said, "Red, it would be a dream come true. But the guy's been so good to me here, I really couldn't leave [Bucks owner] Jim Fitzgerald." But looking back as a career move, that's probably something I should have done at that point. They had a really good championship-caliber team and that would have solved all the problems if I would have done that. K.C. Jones got that job and did a really good job and they won a few championships. Looking back, I was a loyal guy because Jim Fitzgerald was so good to me, so I don't really regret not going. But as a career move I probably should have.

And then the second one was when I was in Golden State and I was having all the [Chris] Webber problems and Gregg Popovich was the GM in San Antonio and wanted to make a change. He called me up and said, "Can you get out of your contract and come here and be my coach?"

The thing you have to realize about Baron Davis is that this wasn't what he had in mind.

When he signed with the Clippers in July 2008, it was with a certain expectation: Davis would return to his beloved hometown and join forces with Elton Brand to form a powerful pick-and-roll tandem. Though Davis and Brand have vastly different temperaments, they share a common worldview and had a close friendship. Both are like-minded renaissance men with expansive passions that extend far beyond the basketball court. They've each dabbled in the entertainment industry, with successful results. Each places a premium on philanthropic causes. For all of Davis' moodiness on the court, he rarely, if ever, turns down a request to perform charitable deeds in the community he loves dearly.

Davis was prepared to create beautiful music with one of his best friends ... but you know the rest of the story. Brand snuck out of town in the middle of the night to sign a lucrative $82 million deal with Philadelphia, leaving Davis at the altar.

All of the sudden, Davis was alone in Los Angeles, assigned to a coach in Mike Dunleavy notorious for being a half-court fundamentalist. Former Clippers forward Corey Maggette, who feuded with Dunleavy, told Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News at Warriors media day in September 2008 that Davis was in for "a rude awakening" in Los Angeles. Maggette said that he expected his first call from Davis to be, "Man, I didn’t know we had to do all this! I didn’t know we had to watch film 45 minutes before practice!"

By and large, Maggette's prophesy turned out to be true. The Clippers weren't two weeks into the season before Davis told the Los Angeles Times' Bill Plaschke that Dunleavy's thick playbook was cramping his style. "There's definitely a disconnect there. I've never had so many plays in my entire career," said Davis. "I have to figure out how to fit more into his system, and he has to figure out how to relax his grip."

Not the first time
In November 2007, Davis' Warriors were in town for an early-season matchup at Staples Center with the Clippers. The Dubs were working out at Davis' old haunt, Pauley Pavilion on the campus of his alma mater, UCLA. Davis was waxing nostalgic about his days at Pauley, when he mused, "We should have a banner up there: the only team to make the tournament without a coach.” The coach in question at UCLA during Davis' years was the embattled Steve Lavin.

By most accounts, during his formative years in Charlotte, a young Davis had a decent relationship with his first coach, Paul Silas. The same cannot be said for the Hornets coaches who followed Silas. Davis was constantly at odds with Tim Floyd, then Byron Scott. Soon after his trade to the Warriors in 2005, Davis told the New York Times' William C. Rhoden, ''Tim Floyd was a guy from college who hadn't won in the league and he still had that college coaching style of a dictatorship. He didn't want to listen. Playing with Coach Scott, it was more like he was a dictator. It was his way or the highway."

Davis and then-Warriors coach Mike Montgomery got along initially, but it wasn't long before Davis clashed with his traditionalist coach. But once Montgomery left Oakland, Davis finally got what he always wanted: The ultimate laissez-faire guerrilla general, Don Nelson. For Davis, Nelson was a godsend, a coach who not only tolerated Davis' freelancing, but designed his game plan to maximize those instincts.

Under Nelson in 2006-07, Davis had a blast. The Warriors led the NBA in pace factor as Nelson allowed Davis to run the show. Davis recorded the highest player efficiency rating (PER) of his career (21.0), and was the catalyst for possibly the greatest upset in NBA postseason history when the Warriors shocked top-seeded Dallas in the first round of the 2007 playoffs. Davis emerged as a folk hero. Celebrities jetted up to Oakland from Los Angeles to witness Davis' electrifying performance. In the six-game series, he averaged 25.3 points per game on a true shooting percentage of 62.2. Although the Warriors bowed out in the conference semifinals to Utah, Davis exploded for one of the most enduring dunks in recent NBA history, when he posterized Andrei Kirilenko.

The Nelson/Davis marriage seemed eternal, but in the season that followed the Warriors' improbable playoff run, the bond between the two deteriorated. In the Warriors' penultimate game of the season -- one they had to have to cling to playoff contention -- Nelson benched Davis for the entire second half after Davis put up a stinky 2-for-13 line in the first half and failed to play a lick of defense.

Weeks later, Davis was gone.

A rocky start in Los Angeles
Some of Davis' comments about disconnects with Dunleavy and the heavy volume of x's & o's had real merit. Creative coaches find a way to maximize the strengths of their principal talent, and Davis was hindered somewhat by Dunleavy's commandeering each set from the sidelines. But Davis' worst enemy during his maiden voyage as a Clippers player was his own conditioning, something Davis readily acknowledged following the Clippers' disastrous 19-63 season in 2008-09. Davis was overweight and, by his own admission, lost much of the explosiveness that guided his game in Golden State. He converted only 48 percent of his shots at the rim in 2008-09, and was an indiscriminate chucker off the dribble. It took Davis until February 25 to shoot better than 50 percent in a game.

More generally, he appeared uninspired and lackadaisical on the court. His defensive rating of 111 was the worst of his career, some of it attributable to his being out of shape, some of it due to disinterest. There were even questions that Davis might be intentionally trying to sabotage Dunleavy's tenure with the team, a sentiment expressed to me by more than one executive around the league.

Davis is a thoughtful, expressive guy who isn't afraid to be introspective. To his credit, he was self-critical about his first year with the Clippers. In August, he told Ramona Shelburne, "I sucked. I sucked last year. I admit it. What (else) should I say?"

Sophomore Surge
Even while he logged arguably the worst season of his career, life in Los Angeles treated Davis well. He was close to his family and lifelong friends. There were club openings, drinks with the industry crowd at Chateau Marmont, movie premieres and a chance to add to his portfolio of extracurriculars.

None of that erased the embarrassment of his 2008-09 performance, and over the offseason he focused on his conditioning. Davis lost more than 15 pounds and worked out incessantly. At Clippers media day in September, he was absolutely ripped. Once the season started, teammates took notice. Marcus Camby and Eric Gordon never missed an opportunity to talk about Davis' re-dedication. It's one thing to be the titular face of the franchise, but the efficacy of that leadership is hollow unless it's accompanied by on-court performance.

Davis has revived his game. He's raised his PER from a mediocre 14.54 in 2008-09 to an impressive 18.38. His assist rate is the highest of his career. The true shooting percentage is back up over 50 percent. There are fewer ill-advised jumpers and that old explosiveness is back -- Davis is finishing at the rim at a very respectable 56.1 percent clip this season.

The numbers speak for themselves, but beyond the stats, Davis has established himself as a leader both on and off the court. He's cultivated a smooth rhythm with a pick-and-roll partner, Clippers center Chris Kaman. The two mouthy vets have an old married couple vibe to their relationship, but Davis' willingness to deliver the ball how and where his center likes it has been a pivotal part of Kaman's restoration from last season's foot injury. Most nights, Davis has re-committed himself to using his muscular frame to challenge opposing point guards on both ends of the floor. Davis' transition game is the stuff of highlight reels, but his efficiency numbers suggest he's been most potent over the course of the league as a post-up guard. One scout told me that Davis is most dangerous not in the open court, but at the left elbow bullying smaller guards. Despite his preference for winging it, Davis was a willing post player for Dunleavy.

The Clippers' surge in the days before and after New Year's produced a palpable feeling of goodwill around the team. Davis' buzzer-beater to defeat Boston on December 27 was his biggest moment as a Clipper. In the stretch that followed, Dunleavy and Davis independently spoke of their growing relationship.

The Clippers' recent slide, including humiliating losses to New Jersey and Minnesota, washed away the good feelings. Davis' old protests against Dunleavy's tight grip on the Clippers' offense and appeals for more freedom to improvise resurfaced. Dunleavy answered back that Davis' desire for a "free-flowing" offense was already a part of the Clippers' game (He was right. The Clippers rank 8th in the League in percentages of possessions used in transition). Dunleavy further argued that an open court offense was contingent on getting defensive stops, something the Clippers weren't doing during their slide.

Although Dunleavy's arguments were logical, Davis was right about this: The Clippers offense was stale and going nowhere. They're 23rd in the league in offensive efficiency, and those half-court sets just weren't producing buckets. On their recent 2-6 road trip, the Clippers topped 100 in offensive efficiency only once -- in their finale against Atlanta, a game in which they surrendered a third-quarter, 13-point lead and lost.

After a six-and-a-half year run, Dunleavy was out as the Clippers' head coach by Thursday afternoon.

It's his team now
On Friday morning at the Clippers training facility in Playa Vista, Davis was in the weight room brimming with energy. As he worked out on the Reebok core board, Davis belted out every rhyme to Makaveli's "Against All Odds." Over in the corner of the gym, Kim Hughes held his first press avail as Clippers interim head coach. Hughes quickly established what kind of offensive blueprint he's drawing up for the Clippers.

"My style would clearly be running," Hughes said, before elaborating on where he departs from Mike Dunleavy. "[Dunleavy] called a lot of plays for our guys and they’re very good plays,” Hughes said. “I’ll give the players a little bit more freedom. Twofold. Because I don’t know as many plays as [Dunleavy] does. And I don’t think our players want to hear me call a lot of plays. So I’ll leave a lot of the play-calling up to Baron … and we will try to push the ball whenever possible.”

For Davis, Hughes' vision couldn't be more inviting. When Davis is happy, he's very politic with the media. He managed to heartily endorse Hughes' goals without evoking any residual qualms he had with Dunleavy's system (and praised Dunleavy's legacy at every opportunity).

"We should try to play in transition where we can all benefit from our talents," Davis said. "I think it's going to be up to me to manage the game -- who gets the ball, how we play.

"We definitely want to run more," Davis continued. "I think the element of fun and excitement were far and few in between."

Davis' funhouse opens on Saturday night as a struggling Spurs team, losers of seven of their last 11, comes into Staples Center. The Spurs rank 24th in pace factor. The matchup seems like an optimal opportunity for Davis to initiate his unshackled transition offense. That may mean fewer touches for Kaman, who has stated repeatedly he performs best in Dunleavy's pre-ordained sets, deliberately picking apart slower big men on the block en route to the basket or with kickouts to stationary shooters.

Whether Davis orchestrates an open court free-for-all, or merely splits the difference between Nelson and Dunleavy with some early offense that utilizes Kaman on quick pick-and-pops from 17 feet, one thing is certain: The success and failure of the Clippers from now until April 14 rest on Davis' shoulders. With his former coach now upstairs busying himself with scouting the incoming draft class, Davis can't gripe about the playbook weighing down his knapsack.

He wanted his freedom and now he has it.

Don Nelson was on radio station KNBR in San Francisco talking about Stephen Jackson. He couldn't have been clearer that he's no longer assuming things will work out.

“We know Jack wants out, we’re trying to accommodate him," he explains. "It’s harder than hell to trade that guy. He’s got his history; he’s got a long-term contract. We’re trying.”

The main thing I take away from the interview, however, has nothing to do with Jackson.

It's that Nelson is speaking, he says, live from an Indianapolis bar where he's enjoying a scotch and cigar.

Meanwhile, Warriors fans are pulling their hair out. The team they love is in terrible disarray, becoming the laughingstock of the NBA. The players are in full mutiny mode, a team that once had great promise is fading from relevance, and Nelson, more than anyone, has been calling the shots.

Everyone is entitled to some downtime, but this has a certain "let them eat cake" vibe to it, hearing Nelson chuckle away at the various different ways the team he runs is falling apart. Listen for yourself. Where's the sense of urgency?

Worst of all is the knowledge that if he's fired, he'll still be paid into 2011.

(Via Sports Radio Interviews)

Watching the Thunder without Durant has been a revelation. Watching Paul Pierce is crunch time something to behold.  Just don't try watching a Celtics game in a Philly sports bar.  Watch and learn at the TrueHoop Network. 

Royce Young of Daily Thunder: "I don't deny that something's changed without Durant in the lineup. Some very, very good things have happened. The team has worked together and focused on all the details and little things. They knew in order to win, there couldn't be any room for error. There would be no 'Pass it to Durant, stand back and watch.' It was five working as one on both ends of the floor. Guys like Kyle Weaver and Nenad Krstic picked up their offensive games. Russell Westbrook was making everybody better around him. Thabo Sefolosha was a bear defensively and a smooth operator offensively. And when Durant steps back on the floor ... things should be better for him because he'll have a group of guys playing with more confidence and a better understand of their role...

One thing to remember is that Durant hasn't really has the chance to play with Thabo yet. KD hasn't been able to reap the benefits of a teammate that can wreak havoc and entirely change a game by himself on the defensive end. Thabo can pull off and help with the best of them. And he's also a better offensive player than people give him credit for. He plays smart, takes good shots, makes solid cuts, moves well without the ball and is a solid passer ... So Durant and Thabo really haven't had a ton of burn together. And Thabo is clearly a very important key to winning some of these games...

Playing without Durant has been a great thing for the team. Everybody has had to elevate themselves and play better ... Hopefully with this solid stretch without him, the team has realized that they are a major part of this success. It's not Kevin Durant and four other guys. It's five guys and one of them happens to be Kevin Durant."

Zach Lowe of Celtics Hub: "Paul Pierce has taken ONE HUNDRED freaking free throws in crunch time. 100!

... That is a remarkable number. Pierce has shot 445 free throws this year, meaning a full 22 percent of his free throw attempts have come in 30 fourth quarters and three overtimes–a span that makes up just 12 percent of the season so far. Read another way, Pierce has gotten to the line twice as often in 'clutch' fourth quarters as his normal FTA rate suggests he should have. Pierce has taken 26.7 percent of the Celtics 1,666 free throws overall this season; he's taken 37.5 percent of the free throws in my 'clutch' sample.

There's one obvious caveat here: About one-quarter (maybe a little bit less) of these 'clutch' foul shots came in end-of-game scenarios where the other team fouled Pierce to stop the clock. Even with this in mind, the number of FTAs is still enormous. And it's a hugely important skill. Jump shots go hot and cold, ingenious plays break down, but Pierce's will to attack the rim never wavers. Pierce at the foul line is probably the C's best late-game weapon -- even better than a Pierce jumper.

The Celtics also rely heavily on that. Pierce's 97 total two-point 'clutch' FGAs make up 22.5 percent of the Celtics 'clutch' total. Overall this season, Pierce has taken 17.7 percent of the team's two-point field-goal attempts. Clearly, the team leans on the Truth when games get close."

Rob Mahoney of Hardwood Paroxysm: "[Don Nelson] is the 'mad scientist.' the offensive wizard, and the cooky, unconventional coach who escapes to Maui in the offseason.  His coaching style appears whimsical, and so he appears whimsical.  But now, more than ever, we need to realize that he, as a person, is not.  His basketball mind is a unique one, and he's done plenty of things that make me smile and think about the game in new ways.  But time and time again, he has angered everyone around him, and split town with more enemies than friends.  Mullin had a good gig going before The Whimsical One waltzed into town, and though his performance was poor, his job never seemed to be in jeopardy.  One Don Nelson later, Mullin seems to be the one packing his bags while Nellie coasts through the end of the season, laughing maniacally on that extended flight to the islands.  Nellie might be doing us all a favor by getting rid of Mullin, but is a good move for all the wrong reasons still a good move?"

THE FINAL WORD
The Painted Area: A smart assortment of basketball book notes.
Hornets247: Tyson Chandler is coming along.
Celtics Hub: "This is Philly. You're not getting the [flippin'] Celtics game on in here.”

(Photos by Layne Murdoch, Garrett Ellwood, Frederic J. Brown/NBAE via Getty Images)

Are the Rockets peaking too soon? The Bulls' peaks and valleys are frustrating for their faithful.  And Seth Davis is at the peak of his game.  Take a peek at the TrueHoop Network: 

Anup Shah of Rockets Buzz: "Remember what was going on with the Rockets a year ago at this time? Yao Ming was riding the sidelines and TMac pranced around like a God while the Rockets were in the midst of a 22-game win streak. They were working their way to the top spot in the Western Conference. Life was good in Houston.

And then the Celtics beat the Rockets. Ended their streak. And the Rockets slowly dropped to 4th in the West. People started doubting whether the team (or the streak for that matter) was legitimate. And when they fell in the first round to Utah, all those questions seemed to be answered.

This year, I'm left wondering if its the same deal. Last night, the Rockets topped the Raptors 107-97 and won their 10th straight home game. Carl Landry led the way with a career high 22 points and Luis Scola had 20 points and 16 boards (yet another double double for him). With the win and the Nuggets loss to the Pistons, the Rockets moved up to 3rd in the Western Conference. That being said, this is all too reminiscent of how well the team gelled right BEFORE the playoffs.

Are the Rockets peaking too early? Will they have the same fire left for the first round where it looks like they'll face Utah, Portland or New Orleans? How much different is it being without TMac this year than being without Yao last year? And the million dollar question: Will they get out of the first round?

It just scares me to declare this team a good team until they actually prove it when it matters."

Matt McHale of By the Horns: "Beat the Nuggets at the United Center, fall to the Pacers at Conseco Field House. Defeat the Magic at home, lose to the Nets and Wizards on the road. Overcome the Rockets in Chicago, get overrun by the Bobcats in Charlotte.

See a pattern here?

The Bulls have developed a tendency to rock it at home and then play poorly when away, and they were truly terrible in last night's 96-80 road loss to the Bobcats. They couldn't shoot (39 percent), couldn't defend (the 'Cats connected about 49 percent of their field goals), couldn't hold onto the ball (18 turnovers), and couldn't seem to grasp that they were facing a team that's suddenly competing for the same playoff spot they're looking up at with hungry eyes. Hungry when they're playing at home, that is.

Young teams struggle on the road. I get that. The Atlanta Hawks pull the same Jekyll and Hyde routine. But Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich are veterans now, and John Salmons and Brad Miller are 29 and 32, respectively. So we have guys who should know when it's time to play with a sense of urgency."

Rob Mahoney of Hardwood Paroxysm: "Nelson has tapped into the unconscious and utilized its most prized weaponry.  Maybe that makes him both a visionary and completely bonkers.  But don't pretend that the thought hasn't crossed your mind.  When you see a team with Anthony Randolph, Anthony Morrow, Brandan Wright, and Marco Belinelli sitting around twiddling their thumbs, the natural instinct is to find a way to get them some playing time.  One problem: Stephen Jackson, Jamal Crawford, and Corey Maggette are pretty well-paid and proven, veteran roadblocks.

I wouldn't say that Nelson's plan is 'crazy enough to work,' because what 'works' in the conventional sense and what 'works' in this type of framework aren't exactly similar.  Nellie is sitting at the control panel and pressing buttons just to see if one of them causes the planet to explode.  Why would it matter if he accidentally turns the fan on?

I doubt very much that there is some grandiose, progressive goal in mind.  Nelson's just trying to appraise the assets he has in front of them.  But the uproar over these arbitrary benchings tells me two things: One, that no other coach would do this, and two, that it was something that was on all of our minds anyway.  In Randolph we trust."

THE FINAL WORD
Hoopinion: An insightful review of Seth Davis' new book on the 1979 NCAA Championship game.
Celtics Hub: The Celtics roster, mythologically speaking.
Valley of the Suns: Tempo, Tempo, Tempo. 
 

(Photos by Bill Baptist, Brock Williams-Smith, Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz

• Valley of the Sun puts Amare's boffo game into historical context: "Amare's ridiculous 40-10-5-5 game puts him elite company, as only six players have recorded such a stat line since 1986-87 and nobody has since Vince Carter turned the trick in 2001-02. The others aren't so shabby either: Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon."
• Which Wizard would make the best POTUS?
• Matt Yglesias says that, at this point, the president-elect might be a nice addition to the Wizards' rotation. 
  
• Ramona Shelburne explains how rookie and former D-Leaguer Mike Taylor leap-frogged veteran Jason Hart on the Clippers' depth chart at point guard.
• Tim Kawakami has the latest on the Nellie-Harrington row.
• Bulls fans are dripping with frustration.  Blog-a-Bull: "I am so frustrated watching this team, which has no plan from the highest levels of the organization to how they behave on the court. Reinsdorf bungles most things he touches, Paxson has no clue what to do with the roster except draft and stockpile more lottery picks, Vinny is completely searching for anything to work, and the players are showing him nothing really does."
  
• Who's the big winner in the Detroit-Denver swap?  Try Will Bynum. 
• 48 Minutes of Hell: Being underrated is...underrated: "The Spurs lack of fanfare is their glory. The fact that their team is consistently under appreciated is the most telling testimony of their greatness."
• Carmelo to the Clippers...so to speak? 
• By all accounts, the Blazers showed a lot last night.  But, in what's becoming a pattern for Portland, the whole didn't quite equal the sum of its parts.  Mike Barrett has more. 

Yes, he's one year into a three-year deal. Yes he just got fat bonuses for making the playoffs. Yes, those same bonuses are available again this year.

No, he's not satisfied with the contract he signed a year ago.

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News explains the standoff between the coach and the team:

Under his current deal, Nelson is due $6.2M guaranteed over the next two seasons. But...

• Nelson wants to re-negotiate the deal to give him $10.2M guaranteed (or something close) over the same period, and he's silently threatening not to go to training camp in October if he doesn't get it.
• The Warriors' last offer, made last week, is $5.1M guaranteed this year and a team option for $5.1M the next year.

That means management gets to wait until the end of this season before deciding if it wants to commit the extra $5.1M to Nellie and Nellie has to wait. (But he becomes a free agent if they don't commit.)

The offer: More money than his current deal in the short term, less money than his current deal in the long term, more freedom for both sides.

Nellie, being Nellie, wants more $ in the short and long term and doesn't give two hoots about the Warriors' freedom, so we have the standoff, possibly headed to a climax in the next week or so.

What happens now? I think, in large part, public sentiment over the next few days and weeks-or the perception of public sentiment-will have a determinate effect.

Kawakami goes into great detail explaining why it makes sense for the public to support Nellie on this one (shoddy short-hand version: he's the straw that stirs the Golden State drink, and the team has no other good option) and why they should not (shoddy short-hand version: it's just plain wrong).