Marc Heisler of the L.A. Times: "IT'S HAPPENING! IT'S HAPPENING! If you didn't think you'd live to see the Lakers and Boston Celtics on course to meet in another Finals, it's official -- today, anyway -- with both teams No. 1 in their conferences."
I guess if you consult child development experts, they'd tell you that one worry about violent video games would be that players might blur the lines between what happens on the screen (shooting people is the key to success and fun!) with reality. And now I ask you, does Dwight Howard have to own a real sniper rifle just like the one in his favorite video game? Jon Robinson writes on GameTap: "'In my room I have a 72-inch TV with all the latest technology. I have my PS3, my 360, and my Wii all hooked up. I play my Xbox the most. It's probably the only thing I play right now,' he says. 'I'm playing Call of Duty 4 right now. It's probably one of the best games I've ever played. My favorite level is when you're a sniper. You have to crawl on the ground past this army coming toward you, then you have to run up to a building with your .50 caliber sniper rifle to shoot the president or whoever it is. What's hot is, I actually got that gun, so to shoot it in the game is fun.'"
Allen Iverson is working with the police from his hometown to reduce gun violence. Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post: "Nuggets guard Allen Iverson is donating $100,000 to support the Newport News, Va., police department's 'Gun Buy Back' program, U.S. Rep. Robert C. Scott announced Wednesday night. The program offers money to residents who turn in guns to police, with no questions asked. 'I have made this contribution because I want to make a difference and I hope that others join me,' Iverson said. 'I can remember growing up in Newport News and Hampton, and if we can prevent one more child from being killed and another family from crying and mourning the death of another loved one, then it is more than worth it.'"
What are the chances Maurice Cheeks keeps his job after his contract expires at the end of this season? I have no idea, but I do know that it's a bad sign when your GM refuses to talk about how well you're doing. Marc Narducci reports in the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Sixers president and general manager Ed Stefanski said in a telephone interview yesterday that he has no timetable to make a decision on Cheeks. 'I've made no judgments on anybody in the organization and, as I repeated over and over, I am reviewing everything,' Stefanski said. 'Communication between Mo and I is very good, and we talk every day.' While Stefanski wouldn't comment directly on the job Cheeks has done, an NBA source said the organization has been impressed at how Cheeks has held the team together."
These highlights will show you both Shaquille O'Neal and Ben Wallace playing vigorously. Surprisingly, they are not from three years ago. Scary thing for Miami: O'Neal is back putting up 24 and 10, but the Heat still got blown out by the middling Bulls. For Blogabull, the Heat are a sweet tonic: "I think if the Bulls played the Heat in a 50 game series, they'd win 54 of them. Somehow with that group it'd be possible. ... Even saw [Joakim] Noah chest-bump [Ben] Wallace after the latter had a nice block. Good times all around." And the Bulls now say yesterday's news of a squabble between those two was false. You decide for yourself.
It is really something to see this Bobcat resurgence. Jason Richardson can do 10,000 things that Matt Carroll can not do. Yet somehow, when Carroll is on the floor, Charlotte's offense is more efficient. Queen City Hoops digs around the numbers: "Matt and Jason Richardson's points per shot numbers are practically identical (at 1.19 for both now). The fact that Matt takes fewer shots gives more chances for his teammates to shoot ... who almost all happen to be doing more with each shot they take. Gerald, Emeka, and Nazr score 1.38, 1.30, and 1.29 points per shot attempt -- so, getting them more shots over a player who scores less per shot seems like one of the first ways to ramp up the offense. Raymond is right behind Matt/Jason at 1.17, so if the team could pry a couple of more attempts away from him a night, that would help also. ... Matt's turnover rate is 1.3 turnovers per 100 team possessions, while the number for Jason is twice that, at 2.6. Again, not wanting to take things too simplistically, but this logically helps the team score more points."
Zach Randolph isn't the only big man the Blazers shipped out as part of their improvement. Basketbawful on Jamaal Magloire: "Wasn't this guy an All-Star a few years ago? Last night he scored zero points to go along with one rebound and one personal foul. It was the 9th time he's gone scoreless in the 22 games he's actually been allowed to play. You know, he might actually be worse than Jason Collins."
Legal tussling over when the trial will start to resolve whether or not the Sonics can buy out the rest of their lease. The city wants to delay the trial until October, which would make it tough for the team to leave this summer.
Kevin Garnett trash-talked Blazer big men into submission last night. The Oregonian's John Canzano: "After the game, Blazers assistant Maurice Lucas just shook his head and said nobody trash-talked like Garnett during his playing career, because, 'Back then, it was only a $50 fine for punching a guy in the mouth.'" Also, the Celtics demonstrated what the Raptors have also showed -- defending Portland in the half-court is not unlike defending the Suns: stay home on three-point shooters and make Brandon Roy (or Steve Nash) just a scorer. Both would love to draw a double-team and then move the ball to an open teammate for a three.
According to Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post, it's time for "coaching legend" George Karl to act like one: "With a roster depleted by a serious health scare to Nene and so many nagging injuries it's depressing, Denver has two choices: The Nuggets can make a trade. Or George Karl can remind us what all the fuss was about when he was hired by Denver three years ago, and coach 'em up. ... In his official biography, the first words the Nuggets use to describe Karl are 'NBA coaching legend.' Could a man who fits that description please pick up the white paging telephone? We have yet to see him in Denver."
Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star on the latest bizarre chapter in Jamaal Tinsley's marred season: "The Indiana Pacers suspended Jamaal Tinsley for Wednesday night's game against Golden State following an incident during a film session one day earlier, The Star has learned. What exactly happened during the session is unknown. However, coach Jim O'Brien said prior to Wednesday's game that Tinsley would sit out because of an injured knee. O'Brien told The Star the same thing after the game. The Tinsley situation overshadowed a big comeback win by the Pacers, 125-117 over the Warriors. Former Pacer and current Golden State forward Stephen Jackson, along with several people with knowledge of the situation, confirmed that Tinsley was suspended. The length of Tinsley's suspension is uncertain. Tinsley, who has dealt with an assortment of injuries the past few weeks, has routinely attended home and road games while injured this season, but he was not at Conseco Fieldhouse on Wednesday."
Laker trainer Gary Vitti brought out a skeleton to demonstrate what happened to Andrew Bynum's kneecap. Elliott Teaford of the L.A. Daily News was there: "It could be quite some time before Bynum can begin rehabilitation exercises to strengthen the muscles around his knee. The plan is to increase Bynum's leg strength in order to prevent another kneecap injury. 'Right now, he can't do a whole lot,' Vitti said. 'He has a big, swollen knee joint. It's probably full of blood, which is not good. Blood is not good in a place that it doesn't belong. It belongs in your vessels. When it leaks out of there it has (bad) effects to other tissues. So we've got to get that out of there.'"
A new photography site has wholly new and often insteresting perspectives on the NBA game, like this, for instance. Feels a lot more like being at the game than traditional NBA photography.
When Nick Collison stops by your pickup game. Rafe Bartholomew on Seattle Weekly's website: "As the only player on the court with any college basketball experience, and the only one within five years of Collison's age, not only did I get to share the court with the former NCAA All-American, I got to guard him. Graciously, the 6'9" Collison deemed it unnecessary to post me up, since I'm seven inches shorter, and spent the night putting up 19-footers while I played tenacious, hounding defense on his armpits."
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