Kevin Garnett tells SLAM's Lang Whitaker that when Glen Taylor told him the team was moving in another direction, it felt a little bit like getting dumped: "SLAM: So you're loving Boston ... I guess we can say you've got a new girlfriend and things are working out pretty well for you? KG: Yeah, my new girl is hot, she got all the curves, she can cook, she's dynamic. And you know what's crazy? I got people in other places that's loving her, when last year she wasn't really all that. She's hot, she's definitely hot."
More insights from basketball junkie Michael, who is watching more NBA than me and you put together: "How is Jose Juan Barea finishing in traffic? He's only 5'10. This guy might be the first NBA role player who is actually better in the NBA than playing for his national team. He looks really sharp. ... Aaron Gray is more effective in the NBA than people probably thought. He's getting lots of touches around the basket. ... Louis Williams can dunk the ball like LeBron James. His dunk at the end of the game brought four people out of their seat. Considering the attendance, that's pretty good. ... Oleksiy Pecherov might just be the next Arvydas Sabonis. He's really big, very alert, and his three point jumper looks like a free throw. Ernie Grunfeld clearly knew something a lot of others didn't. This guy can play." For the record, I was not impressed by Pecherov in summer league, where physical play made him wilt. But lots of people smarter than me like that guy.
Coach Dan Barto takes in a preseason game and wonders if Dwight Howard will set an all-time record for most blocks in an NBA season. He also has advice for anyone going to an NBA game: when the song "Soldier Boy" comes on, it's time for action. "When this song comes on," he writes, "grab your children first and secure your beer/drink."
ESPN's David Thorpe is a big believer that having a trusted authority tell you you are fantastic can do amazing and permanent things to your confidence, which can in turn unlock better performance. He's always on the look out for examples of that, and just ran across (you have probably seen this) the story of opera singer Paul Potts, who went from a car phone salesman to one of the top selling classical musicians in the world, in part thanks to some tough-minded TV judges telling him that he was talented.
Knickerblogger has a threepartseries on, essentially, what's wrong with the Knicks. It'll be a tough read for James Dolan and Isiah Thomas. Here's part of the conclusion: "... this behavior suggests intolerance for self-examination, competing approaches, fresh ideas, or honest criticism. Nowhere has this intolerance been more perfectly exemplified than through the organization's relationship with Stephon Marbury. If the Browne Sanders verdict has done nothing else it has established beyond any reasonable doubt Thomas' coddling and enabling of Marbury. Thomas has demanded nothing of Marbury since his arrival, despite making him the face of the franchise. ... I imagine that the best the Knicks fans -- and I continue to count myself among them -- can hope for in the immediate future is a rift between Dolan and Thomas that leads to his dismissal. The problem of course is that Dolan has all the same problems Thomas has. There is little reason to believe he wouldn't hire another Thomas."
A report, via anonymous sources, that Kobe Bryant is among those who thinks the Knicks' situation is not healthy.
Graphs that show Mike D'Antoni's starters in Phoenix are logging some long minutes compared to, for instance, the Spurs. Why does this matter? Because Phoenix is a title contender before the playoffs start, but seem to run out of gas a little in the playoffs. Here's hoping Grant Hill doesn't get hurt again, because it could get worse. As told by the blog Phoenix Suns Basketball: "The Suns have five players above the 2,500 minute mark. The Spurs have only one. It doesn't take a genius to see the correlation between the players with very few minutes and the players with way too many minutes. In terms of skill level, the Suns seemingly downgraded from Kurt Thomas to Brian Skinner, and upgraded from James Jones to Grant Hill. However, Jones was always very durable. Grant Hill's injury history speaks for itself. The Suns off-season moves do not seem to have put them in a position to change the distribution of minutes for the upcoming season. Hill could probably take the minutes that Jones played, and slightly reduce the minutes of Marion, Bell, and Nash. Skinner will probably play the same amount of minutes that Kurt Thomas did last year. However, with Hill being especially susceptible to injury, one can't help but wonder if the Suns are actually worse off than they were last year."
The charity roast of Steve Nash took place on Friday night. Eddie Johnson got in some digs, as reported by Kathy Shayna Shocket of the Arizona Republic: "'He runs his hands through his sweaty hair, touches his sweaty jersey, touches the ball, and high fives his teammates. Then he puts his fingers to his mouth,' stressed Johnson, referring to the video playing on the big screens nearby. 'But you love him so much, you overlook it.'"
I'm a little late to this, but Randy Wittman and others have noodled with the idea of having a top European team or two join the NBA for the playoffs. Wow. If that team did come over, it wouldn't have NBA quality stars, most likely. But we all know that team might win a series now and again, right? Doesn't that mean there must be some good coaching in Europe? See next item.
If you play pickup in Melbourne, and line up against a non-descript looking 5-8 guy, do not talk trash and do not put money on the game. It could turn out to be this guy, who has the physique to be one of the best basketball hustlers of all time.
I haven't even read this Basketbawful blog post. But I know it's good, because this is the first line: "I learned 97 percent of what I know from the feral wolves that raised me. The other three percent I learned from Internet porn and the Nike Fun Police commercials." Bingo. Boom. Case closed. How could that not be a good read?
Sager Savant of Donning Craig Sager's Suit points out: "The Hawks are 3-0 with Acie Law and 0-1 without him." I wouldn't read too much into that, but he is not a non-factor, either, that's for sure.
How's Andrew Bynum handling all the pressure? The whole city of Los Angeles will breathe easier if he can mature quickly. Maybe he can be trade bait for Kobe's future running mate. Maybe he can be Kobe's running mate ... So far this pre-season, more fits and starts.
The Nets drafted a super talented and long player in Sean Williams. He fell to them because he has a history of complications and trouble off the court. Here's a thoughtful look at the risks and rewards of Sean Williams.
Rod Benson: CUT! Somebody, please, I'm begging you, give this guy a job in the NBA. He's not bad. But mostly, us bloggers need an embedded reporter. Now he's just spending his birthday alone at Wal-Mart and getting cake in his face at McDonald's. The only person to sing him Happy Birthday was atonal Sean Williams.
Interesting stuff in the Suns' preseason, courtesy of The Rising Suns: "The Suns came out with a line up including Marcus Banks, DJ Strawberry, Alando Tucker, Boris Diaw and Sean Marks for a period of time ... and the Suns pulled away. They didn't do it through the usual array of irrepressible scoring prowess, flinging three after three at the hoop in a barrage that made the opposition hang their heads in shame ... nope ... they played defense. Excellent defense. And, following that, put their head down and went to the rack, clawing desperately at a chance for a lay up, dunk, or free throw. It's not something that Suns fans are used to seeing, outside of the occasional Amare isolation play."
Amare Stoudemire's two new tattoos, thanks to Paul Coro writing on AZCentral.com: "On the inside of his left bicep, it says, 'Knowing is knowledge.' On the inside of the right one, it says, 'Knowledge is power.' 'They always say what you don't know won't hurt you,' Stoudemire said to explain his new ink. 'I think what you don't know will kill you.'"
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