Mike from Knickerblogger took his eight-month old girl to a Knicks game. Bold call, Mike. You could have soured her on the NBA for life. But in fact, it worked out beautifully: "The first Knick to be announced is Isiah Thomas, whose name is met with a boisterous derision from the crowd. As the players are announced I decide this is a good opportunity to teach my daughter the all important skill of clapping. However I find it hard to cheer for the Knick starters. Quentin Richardson? Zach Randolph? I wrestle with my conscience and decide teaching her to clap is more important than my dislike of Isiah's choice of starters. We cheer each player on in unison. Last is Stephon Marbury who receives just about the same reaction from the crowd as Yao Ming. A loud mix of cheers and boos. Unfortunately the action is good, but my daughter is still interested in the bright lights around the arena. As the game wears on, she grows restless. Every parent of a young child knows this is their nice way of saying "I want to go to sleep now. I give her credit for lasting until halftime. Luckily I live close enough to the garden to know I won't miss much of the action, and I catch most of the rest of the game from home. The next day I receive a call from my wife. "Wait until you come home and see what your daughter is doing. When I got home, my daughter showed me her new skill: clapping."
Mike Moreau of the Pro Training Center at IMG writes on Hoopsworld about working out Etan Thomas as he recovers from heart surgery: "You know how you always hear about guys being tentative on their knee when they first come back? How they might have some reservations about making that first hard cut? You don't die from a bad knee. As I'm working out Etan Thomas here in Bradenton, FL, I am amazed at how hard this guy is going -- asking for extra sprints and cardio to try to get back in shape as quickly as possible. So, we finish one of our workouts with a drill simulating four NBA possessions -- four on defense and four on offense. Etan slides and defends in the lane, snatches a rebound, outlets, and sprints to the offensive end. He posts, calls for the ball, and powers to the rim for an aggressive dunk. Free throws? No chance. He's sprinting 94 feet to the other end to repeat this sequence three more times. Although he is just in the early stages of building up his conditioning level, the guy who had heart surgery is pushing his heart through this drill. Can any of us really imagine what type of courage this takes? Whether you are cleared by your doctors or not, we're still talking about your heart. Thomas's motivation? We kid about trying to get back before Gilbert Arenas returns so Etan can get more shots, but his true motivation is plain and simple -- to help his team win. We talk about heart all the time with athletes: does he have whatever it takes to fight and battle against the odds, to stand by and behind his teammates when times get tough? To answer that question about Etan Thomas, come check out one of his workouts on our court. And also get a look at that scar on his chest - it will tell you all you need to know."
Sactown Royalty's "Section 214" writes about the Kings' open practice yesterday: "Walking toward the arena I see Ron Artest near the practice facility. As I approach I debate with myself. Will I tell him that I think we should trade him? Will I tell him that I didn't like his CD? My mind is racing as I close to within 15 feet. Here is what I say: 'Hey Ron, I'm a big fan. Get well soon, we need you back.' God I'm a wuss."
Dwight Howard has a cute baby boy with a former Orlando Magic dancer. Good for him. What's a little more complicated is that the outspoken devout Christian has meandered into a bit of a cultural minefield.
Remember the words of my eighth-grade coach: "It's the NBA. Anything can happen." Case in point: the Knicks can blow out the Pistons.
If Tracy McGrady had Kobe Bryant's teammates, David Berri's numbers suggest McGrady would have performed even better than Bryant.
Al Jefferson is starting to remind me of Zach Randolph: amazing post scorer who wins less than he should. Britt Robson of the Rake is talking about Jefferson here, but it might as well be Randolph: "... the evidence continues to mount that Al Jefferson is a lazy defender. Perhaps what damns him most of all in this regard is the huge disparity between his doggedly refined low-post game on offense and his frequent willingness to get undressed on defense. When the Wolves set up in the half court, Jefferson's precocious footwork, vast array of shots (jump hook, funky push jumper, up-and-under scoop, beneath-the-rim baseline banker, and well-calibrated wrist flick), cunning in avoiding predictible patterns on his moves and fierce determination to go up and finish in traffic already make him a top ten NBA scorer in the paint. To develop such multi-faceted skills takes dedication and intelligence. Neither of those virtues are apparent, to put it charitably, at the other end of the court."
History is made in Washington. There are many parts of this history, but the part you'll remember is the picture of Eddie Jordan.
I can't believe you watched football yesterday afternoon, when you could have been watching double overtime in Canada. For Portland it's the perfect start to a seven-game road-trip, except for the long minutes and the loss.
TrueHoop reader Anthony emails: "On Sunday morning I attended an invite-only event for Laker season ticket holders at Staples Center. Stu Lance (the Lakers announcer) was the MC and both Mitch Kupchak and Bill Bertka gave mini speeches to the crowd concerning the current status of the Lakers. During the talk, the Lakers came out for a shoot-around, and eventually the team held a mini-practice to prepare for the upcoming game. During this time, Stu and the Laker staff began raffling off prizes. Kobe Bryant was mysteriously absent from the initial session. Stu told the crowd Kobe was still recovering from a viral infection but would play in the night's game. Just before the players' session ended, Kobe came out of the locker room to a standing ovation. Kobe stayed on the court to take in some jumpers after Phil Jackson finished his speech to the team. At this point, Stu raffled off the final prize -- a basketball autographed by Kobe. Stu took the microphone to Kobe (who was in the middle of a shooting drill), Kobe then drew and announced the wining number. A lovely and exited woman arose from the crowd, ran down to the floor and gave Kobe a huge hug. As if that wasn't enough -- Kobe interrupted Stu's farewell speech to the crowd, unlaced his sneakers, borrowed a marker from the crowd, autographed his shoes and asked Stu to draw another ticket. I sat there with my mouth agape at what I was witnessing. This was not a stunt; this was not a pre-planned PR move. It was a genuine moment from a superstar -- giving back to the fans. Even Stu Lance was speechless. I was never more proud to be a Laker fan, and more importantly, a Kobe Bryant fan."
Up two with time expiring, the Clippers collapse on Dirk Nowitzki in the lane, and the Mavericks work the ball to wide-open Jerry Stackhouse in the corner. Ballgame, Mavericks. Kevin Arnovitz of Clipperblog writes: "When you're leading by two and the other team has the ball for one last possession, under no circumstances should you ever send a double-team from the wing. Ever. If you feel that it's imperative to double Dirk Nowitzki from 15 feet, then you send a defender from the post. That way, worst case scenario, Dirk finds Brandon Bass on the block, Bass converts, and it's tied. But here, both perimeter defenders -- Thornton and Knight -- decide to move off their perimeter assignments." And on the play before, the Clippers had the ball up two, but Tim Thomas shot (and missed) with plenty of time on the clock.
A bunch of Jazz fans complain about the arena experience on the Salt Lake Tribune's blog. "If I'm going to spend $8 on a bowl of pasta," writes one, "someone had better sing to me while I eat it."
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