Lindell's Gospel on Kobe Bryant: "Bryant's mid-range and pull-up jump shot is pure Jerry West. His shot fake, spin and 'step-through' is pure Elgin Baylor. He isn't part of some new generation of basketball player that's turning the game into a 'hip-hop' club; but instead, his game is a sacred homage to men who bask on the pantheon of basketball greatness. West, nor Baylor were ever called selfish--and, they shot the ball all the time. Scoring, in basketball, is not democratic-- it is meritocratic."
That Laker-Memphis game, by the way, would be a good start if you wanted to make a highlight video of missed layups. Memphis won by playing lots of zone defense (the Lakers have been having trouble against the zone all season). Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum ... all the Lakers found ways to miss last night, and Tony Barone looks like a genius. You can bet those Lakers will see some zone in the playoffs.
George Karl on Linas Kleiza, as reported in the Rocky Mountain News by Chris Tomasson: "He's a committed pro at a very young age (22), which is very unusual in our league. He's very serious about his regimen and his routine. It's paid dividends. I've never seen a kid go from where he was at the beginning of the year to where he is now as fast as he probably has. And he's earned most of it. ... The window has been opened up because of situations. ... But he's played so well we've had to find minutes for him." Am I the only one who's troubled by the suggestion there that most 22-year-olds in the NBA aren't committed professionals?
Interesting point from Jim Litke: if all those bad teams are tanking games to gain lottery position, how do you explain the recent performance of the Knicks, who have no lottery pick this year?
WithLeather accuses Sports Illustrated of lifting a John Amaechi quote without attribution. I noticed this last week and left messages for the relevant SI editors two days ago, but they haven't called me back. Innocent until proven guilty. But I'll point out that this is the same Sports Illustrated that recently warned readers that the "electronic blather" of the sports blogosphere was weak on professonal decorum.
Liz Robbins quotes Paul Silas in The New York Times: "Paul Silas, the first of James's three coaches in four N.B.A. seasons, calls James one of the smartest players he has ever known, but he senses that something is missing. 'A super player has to recognize that he needs his teammates to be successful, and LeBron understands that,' Silas said in a telephone interview yesterday. 'But he's going to have to develop more of a take-charge attitude and put himself on the line. That's what coaches, players, fans and everyone else expects. It's the attitude: 'If I take the shot, then that's all I need. If I miss it, at least I took it.''"
This perfect six game road trip for Dallas is no small matter. This team is rolling again, even though Dirk Nowitzki is sick and played short minutes. Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports: "'This morning, I was really struggling,' Nowitzki said after scoring 15 points in 23 minutes. 'But I got some good rest, and I ate enough medicine to cure a small German village...'"
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