Golden State fans are getting ready with some coaching from Golden State of Mind: "I don't even need to tell you what you have to do. Be LOUD. Be insanely loud. If the Warriors get the lead, get LOUD. If the Warriors lose the lead, get LOUDER. No respectable GSoM member should have their voice tomorrow. If you are at home, shout at your TV until your neighbors call the cops. Then when the cops show up, have them come in and get loud too. Be sure to offer them something to drink though. It's only polite. The Mavs actually have the guts to step back into our house tonight. Let's play some 5 on 20,005!"
And while we're touring Insider, ESPN's John Hollinger points out that Dirk Nowitzki has not been so terrible: "In reality, he's done plenty of positive things, even before his onslaught at the end of Game 5, and that's why he's had a productive series despite shooting a subpar 42.0 percent. He's averaging 11.6 rebounds per game, he's been big on D (2.0 steals and 1.6 blocks, including a game-saver Monday night), and he's been his usual low-turnover self -- just 11 in five games. By the way: Those rebound, steal and block numbers rank sixth, second and seventh, respectively, among playoff participants. Overall, Nowitzki's playoff PER isn't as good as his regular-season mark, but it still ranks ninth, right between Chauncey Billups and Kobe Bryant. No, this series hasn't been his finest moment, but it hasn't been the disaster some would have you believe either."
You see Allen Iverson's quote about TNT's Gone Fishin' bit? This is what he said: "The crazy thing is that they are joking about it (going fishing), but I really am going to be fishing!"
Wait a minute, you mean Stan Van Gundy is interested in being an NBA coach? No chance he stepped aside at Pat Riley's behest, though, right?
Is it possible to have the word is italicized in three-straight bullets?
Big deal: the Euroleague Final Four is coming up. Sure, there are some players worth following, but also the coaches. All four that made it are NBA quality, and before long I'm sure at least one of them will be in the NBA. One of the players for CSKA Moscow, David Vanterpool (he once had a cup of coffee in the NBA) has a pretty good blog about the whole experience.
If the Hornets ever find some way to leave New Orleans, you can bet it will have something to do with their tiresome squabble with the state over a practice facility. The more that's in the news, the easier it would be for the Hornets to leave. It's in the news today.
Sam Mitchell, coping with two banged up point guards and no obvious alternative, promises a "surprise." I love gimmicky stuff! This should be great.
Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News: "How weird is this: The Warriors stayed over in Dallas last night and practiced at American Airlines Center today; Dallas flew out this morning and will be practicing at Oracle Arena today. Umm, shouldn't that be reversed? I asked Nelson last night about his decision to stay in Dallas and he said it was just because they flew late after Game 2 last week and felt like got in too late and lost a day. (Nice try, Nellie. I think it has much more to do with his great comfort level in Dallas and not minding his team lingering in Cuban's furious midst for another half-day.)"
Wayne Thompson was the sports editor of the Oregonian when David Halberstam was writing "The Breaks of the Game." Thompson talks about Halberstam and how he wrote that book. Calls him the best journalist of the 20th century, and one of the best historians, but nowhere near the best writer.
Luke Walton is one of my favorite free agents, and he's sounding like someone who is not a lock to return to Los Angeles. Jason Reid of the Los Angeles Times reports: "'Ultimately, I'd like to be back, but it's hard to say' what's going to happen, Walton said. 'It's free agency, so I have to go out and see what else is out there. ... It's part of the business. In a perfect world, I'd be back here in L.A. with the same guys and the same coaches. Hopefully, we'd be able to build on this and compete for a championship with these guys.' Using the Suns as a measuring stick, it appears the Lakers have lots of work ahead to reach a championship level again."
Brian McCormick is a trainer, coach, and blogger who is about to get a whole bunch of comments: "The Warriors play bad basketball. Sure, it's fun to watch in spurts when they are playing well, because they play like my friends and I play at the park, hugging the three-point line and jacking at all costs rather than risk injury getting hacked on the way to the hoop. But, they are not the Suns. Each plays at a quick tempo, but the Suns are efficient. They take good shots. They space the floor well. They move the ball. They rarely commit turnovers. The Suns are very much a traditional, pick-and-roll team with a once a decade playmaker in the perfect situation and a slightly faster tempo. The difference between the Jazz of Stockton and Malone and the Suns of Nash and Stoudemire is Sloan's tough guy persona vs. D'Antoni's easy going manner. Sloan would not stand for giving up a lay-up, while D'Antoni would rather stay out of the bonus and keep the tempo high. But, in terms of execution, they are very similar, though the rule changes (no zone defense violations) changed the dynamics and made the Suns' outside shooters more valuable. The Warriors, on the other hand, play bad basketball. They take bad shots and make bad turnovers. When they are playing well, it's fun to watch and everyone starts to drink the Kool-Aid. But, when they are not hitting shots, they are a sloppy, bad basketball team. Now, I like Nellie because he is willing to be a contrarian and every league needs that. And, he makes do with what he has, which is a small, fairly athletic, above average shooting team with no offensive post players. So, I enjoy the success he is having with his team. However, I do not think the Warriors and Suns should be lumped together as examples of anything because they are far different teams."
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