Steve Kerr of Yahoo: "During the playoffs, the Warriors have walked a fine line between being frenzied and being crazy. Frenzied is good; crazy is not so good. Just as they did in Game 2 of the Dallas series, the Warriors got a little crazy Sunday, and they may pay for it. Both Baron Davis and Jason Richardson will be under review by the NBA on Monday after a couple of incidents late in the game -- Davis for elbowing Derek Fisher and Richardson for a clothesline foul of Mehmet Okur. The Davis incident wasn't seen by the officials, but he clearly took a cheap shot at Fisher and could face a suspension. Richardson's hard foul most likely will merit a fine. Without either man, Golden State would be in huge trouble in Salt Lake City for Game 5 on Tuesday."
"Excuse me, Derek Fisher, how did you become so freaking awesome?" In addition to taking it like an hombre when Baron Davis got chippy, Fisher played muscly diplomat after a Jason Richardson hard foul. And, for the record, when Fisher was on the floor, the Jazz outscored the Warriors by 19, which was by far the best +/- in yesterday's game. He's also a big part of the reason the inexperienced Jazz have looked so poised under pressure.
Brian Windhorst of the Akron Beacon-Journal: "It won't happen publicly, but expect Damon Jones, Donyell Marshall and Ira Newble to ask Danny Ferry for trades in the offseason. As for Pollard, even if he doesn't retire he probably won't be back. Then again, having veterans who believe they are capable and aren't playing is a common thread across all sports.
New York Times columnist William Rhoden has been against minor leagues, saying they offer a way for a league or team to unnaturally squelch promising young careers. But after considering the case of Amir Johnson and his D-League Coach Mo McHone, Rhoden has changed his tune. (Select)
Jim Buss implies hope is coming for the Lakers, won't rule out a Jerry West appearance, and makes clear that for the right player Andrew Bynum is movable.
ESPN Insider Chad Ford is traveling the country dropping in on players who are preparing for the draft. One player he just saw is Nick Young of USC: "... with his athleticism and skill, Young is going to look really good in workouts He's currently ranked No. 15 on our Top 100, but could work his way into the top 10 if he continues to work out as well." Here's Ford's interview with Nick Young.
ESPN Insider John Hollinger: "Do we really have to keep pretending that Tim Duncan and Jermaine O'Neal are power forwards just because their teams insist on calling them that? At what point does the fact that they guard the other team's center, are guarded by the other team's center, and spend the whole game doing things that centers do factor into this? At any rate, Duncan's being a 'forward' forced voters to put Stoudemire as their first-team center and cost James a first-team All-NBA spot, even though if you surveyed 100 people and asked who had a better year, I'd say, oh, about 100 of them would answer LeBron."
The Mavericks, it says here, need a dynamic new point guard. The Miami Heat need one too. I think Andre Miller is about to be in demand.
Don Nelson, as quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle's Janny Hu: "I don't have as quick a substitution as a lot of coaches that worry too much about a second or even a third or fourth (foul)," Nelson said before the game. "I've seen too many situations where they never get the fourth or fifth, and sometimes you lose the ballgame by being too conservative."
If anyone ever needs to light a fire under Kirk Hinrich, use this video.
Check this blog post, and especially the comments where his agent chimes in, for more on Ira Newble's work in the name of peace in Darfur.
A few days ago I got an email which I assumed was a joke: "Heres how desperate Ive gotten with regards to TrueHoop. I work 16 hour days in the banking and finance sector, thus I have no time to scroll through your posts online. However, yesterday I had a great idea -- I had my assistant print out your page. I read through the 20 or so pages in 10 minutes or so while I was walking somewhere in the building, made notes, gave them back to her and am having her write out a response. I figure I can do this once a week and she can formulate something decent. If she doesnt she will be fired." I asked if it was a joke, and he said only the part about her getting fired. Even then I did not believe. Until today, when the assistant sent over her first transcribed dispatch, with promises of more to come. Amazing.
Many have pointed out that this is hardly the first time Baron Davis has played well. Here's the YouTube proof (thanks, Ben). He has even put up big numbers in the playoffs before. But when he averaged 22 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists per game in the 2002 playoffs, he shot 38% (even though he shoots 100% in the highlight video). The next year he managed 20 points, four rebounds, and eight assists while shooting 45%, but even that was only five games. In the ten games of these playoffs he's averaging 26 points, six assists, five rebounds, and well over two steals per game, while making 55% of his shots. A high-volume shooter making 38% makes it tough for his team to win. A high-volume shooter making 55% make it tough for his team to lose. So, in many ways, this is a new Baron.
Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of use. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
