Although he has been playing a little lately, Raef LaFrentz is one of many high-priced players not getting much burn. His Portland team is on a great winning streak, but Brian Hendrickson of the Columbian writes that it's not easy to be the high-priced veteran who almost never plays: "'It's not fun,' LaFrentz said. 'I'm not going to say it's a walk in the park and this is what I want to be doing as far as getting time during a game. But Nate has his rotation set and I'm not gonna be a disruptive force or a selfish influence on anything that's going on around here.'" Here's my thing, though: when he's old and gray, looking back over his life, is La Frentz going to think signing that seven year reported $70 million contract was a good move? The money is great, sure. But doesn't he define himself in many ways by what he can do on the basketball court. And hasn't that contract contributed mightily to keeping him on the bench? Not long after he signed it, he became an undesirable contract, and someone no team could afford to take a flyer on. As happens with those big contract players, he was included in a trade to a team that didn't really want him, but was willing to take on his deal to make something else happen. He could be a free agent this summer (it's his option) and the money says re-up. But if he wants to enjoy life as a basketball player, why not present yourself to GMs as a cut-rate sweet-shooting big man. Lots of teams have minutes for that guy.
Making the NBA is wild fun, right? Playing for those crazy high-energy Warriors would have to be just that much more fun. In reality, I think it's often not quite like that. Check out Brandan Wright's AOL blog: "I haven't been playing too much. That's kind of hard at times, but I don't get frustrated about it. I mean, yeah, I'd like to be playing more, but I know it's a process. ... My routine is pretty much the same most days: go to practice, go to the store, get some food, and come back to the apartment. ... I'm not particularly close with any one player on the team; I'd just say we hang out as a group for the most part. We usually just do our own things after practice. I'm not old enough to go to clubs or anything like that, but I've never been into that anyway. It'd definitely be a rare appearance for me to show up at a club. I've also been playing video games a little bit. Now I'm playing EA's NCAA Football '08. I've got a dynasty going with the team I used to root for growing up, the Tennessee Vols. Right now I'm up to 2011." Maybe he's just grumpy about this.
Kevin Durant tells GameTap's Jon Robinson how he developed cold blood in the clutch: "I just tried to tell myself in those situations that the worst thing that could happen is missing the shot and losing the game. If that's the worst thing that could happen, if you tell yourself that, all that pressure will just go away. Not in a bad way or anything like that, but I really don't care. I think that helps too, not to think about it and just let whatever happens happen. Like I said, not in a bad way or anything like that, but I just don't care and that helps."
You may not have heard the term "commitment bias" before, but if you're a sports fan, you have lived it.
ESPN's Marc Stein's latest power rankings have Boston at the top and Minnesota at the bottom. Stein writes: "Now that we've passed the 20-game marker, with the Wolves winning just three times and Boston having lost only twice, I think it's safe to say that the reality of the KG trade is starting to sink in." I don't think anybody predicted how little Minnesota would get from Ryan Gomes and Gerald Green.
New ways of attacking The Wages of Wins: a quiz. I have long felt that the point is many of these new statistics may prove to be very valuable, but none are done. Four months before the science fair is no time to pick the best miniature volcano, you know? And I have a feeling this particular science fair might be a decade out.
A working list of NBA stars being the targets of recent crime. That's terrible. I know it's not very macho, but players should probably start speaking out against violence.
So, how was the Clippers' defense against the Lakers? Clipperblog: "The Clippers were a mess defensively out on the perimeter all night. The Lakers' spacing is far too good not to take advantage of the slightest brainfart -- and the Clippers were prolifically flatulent all night. [Al] Thornton is still lost on rotations; [Richie] Frahm hasn't learned them yet. And [Dan] Dickau doesn't have the ability to bother the ball. Meanwhile, [Brevin] Knight has lost a step -- and quickness was his only attribute defensively given his size. On top of that, the double-teams were tentative and slow and [Paul] Davis, I'm afraid, is strictly a hacker. He might learn how to defend an NBA rim, but hasn't yet."
Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star: "I asked coach Jim O'Brien was there a reason why Jermaine O'Neal only had one rebound against Toronto on Friday. O'Brien's response: 'I think that's the way the ball was bouncing.' At first I thought O'Brien was joking, but he said it with a straight face and waited for the next question."
Owner Larry Miller dictates that the Utah Jazz not play home games on Sundays, and likely as a result the team plays a very high number of back-to-backs. Also, the same report says that TNT negotiated to have very few games league-wide on Thursday nights, to help the ratings of TNT's national broadcasts.
Rod Benson on Yahoo: "When I was in training camp with New Jersey, a sports psychologist came and talked with us the day before I was released. I've never really been a fan of sports psychologists before, but there was something that this guy said that really stuck with me. I actually think that due to the timing and situation, it may have been the most helpful lecture I've ever listened to. See, although this season is still young, I'm playing very well right now. I actually played well all summer and only really fell off when I went into camp with New Jersey. I don't know what it was, but I lost all my confidence while I was out there and things just didn't go my way. Now things are different. I'm aggressive, passionate and even almost cocky about my ability. This is the part where I'm supposed to say 'it's gotta be the shoes,' right? I guess I am the only player in the history of the D-League to wear Pony kicks, but I know it's something more. That last day in New Jersey, the psychologist talked about what it means to be truly confident. He explained that an athlete should feel he is the best at what he does and that his team is the best at what they do."
Britt Robson of The Rake on Timberwolves' coach Randy Wittman: "A disciple of Bobby Knight, Wittman isn't usually one to cloak his ire, or even disgust, as the Wolves are floundering. His sideline antics were blatant during the collapse versus Seattle on Friday, complete with quick hooks for lapses in concentration, tongue-lashings for players coming to the sidelines, and all manner of winces and frustrated body-spins and mutterings to himself. This would all be forgiveable, not to mention understandable, if the Wolves responded by righting the ship and learning from the tough love. Instead, Wittman's second quarter tantrums merely led to more cluelessness and less hope and enthusiasm on the part of his troops as they gift-wrapped the victory for the Sonics in that fateful third quarter pratfall. The bottom line is that Randy Wittman has a record of 15-51 as head coach of the Timberwolves thus far. That's close to Jimmy Rodgers territory -- a chilly outpost indeed. The excuse of Foye's injury will buy some time. But if the Wolves continue to play at an 11-win pace for the rest of the season, even as Kevin Garnett angles for a second MVP Award, the revenue streams for this stumbling franchise will increasingly run dry. And that, more than anything else, is what makes heads roll."
Only one player in the NBA has had his shot blocked by Steve Nash this season. Poor Francisco Garcia.
The Globe and Mail's Michael Grange: "How important is the simple act of winning to good performance? It's something that most sports psychologists can't explain, let alone sports writers. But if you accept the notion that most NBA players are excellent, with the exception of the small handful of superstars who are even better, winning, or the confidence you get from winning, seems to have a pretty important impact on actual performance. The Celtics started the second quarter with Paul Pierce, James Posey, Glen Davis, Tony Allen and Eddie House on the floor. Last season a group slightly better than this - substitute Al Jefferson for Davis and Delonte West for Eddie House - was one of the worst teams in the NBA and a blight on the Celtics proud history. But now they're part of the Celtics juggernaut that his laying waste to the NBA. Now they're poised to go on a 10-2 backbreaking run to start the quarter (at which point Garnett subbed for Pierce) and pretty much end the game. Those guys aren't great players by NBA standards, but they're confident, winning NBA players, which means they are playing loosely and passionately. The result is an effective second unit on a team that most critics panned for a lack of depth." I'd put in a little plug for new defensive-minded coach Tom Thibodeau, too.
LeBron James to the Akron Beacon-Journal's Brian Windhorst, after losing to Philadelphia: "I'm very concerned, we're not playing good basketball. Right now we are not a very good team. It looked good (Tuesday) but a loss to New Jersey and a loss at home puts things in perspective. We've got a lot of work to do. We're just not a good team, simple as that. It has to be (fixable) or we'll be 15th in the Eastern Conference soon."
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