Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News: "The Warriors and Don Nelson can feel good (terrific start), feel unconsolable (give up a 26-point lead to a Laker team playing without Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum) and feel lucky and happy (Stephen Jackson's two three-pointers in the last minute win the gamehis only FGs of the second half) all at once. That's a pretty stunning game, all in all. Confusing and highly entertaining and stunning. The Warriors: Where holy #$!#% happens."
Marc J. Spears of The Boston Globe tells the world Rajon Rondo is dead serious about roller skating, and gives opponents a new line of trash talk: "He takes very good care of his $150 boot-like skates that look new, but he rarely has an opportunity to skate during the busy season. 'I'm the best skater in the [NBA],' Rondo said. 'I don't know who's good, but I'm the best skater in the league. That's just something I like to do outside the court. A lot of us like to bowl, too, but I'd rather skate.'" UPDATE: Here's Rondo's competition on roller skates.
Brian Windhorst of The Akron Beacon-Journal: "The Wizards would probably love another playoff shot after losing the past two years. To a man, the Wizards have made it seem they really don't fully respect the Cavs. Their core players are the same from two seasons ago, when the Wizards believed the Cavs got favorable whistles and lots of luck in winning that first-round series. Last season's sweep was considered invalid by many because Wizards' stars Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler were hurt. Then there's the budding DeShawn Stevenson-LeBron James feud, which has been good theater. It is hard to believe a superstar and a role player could get into such a mess, but it's happened and it's gotten rather intense."
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has a blog on the L.A. Times website (thank you, Jones on the NBA), and today's topic is: what does Kareem think when people ask why he's always so angry? "What's weird about it is that every morning when I get out of bed, bluebirds, squirrels, and deer help me get dressed while we sing 'We Are the World.' By the way, squirrels really suck at tying shoes. And deer often mumble the lyrics. Even that doesn't make me angry. What's interesting about the question is that the person who asked the question is white. In fact, no black person has ever asked that question. That's because they already know the answer. In the 1960s and 1970s, when the civil rights movement was at its most intense and volatile level, I often used my celebrity to speak out against certain injustices. This seemed to irritate some people who expected black athletes to simply be silently grateful for their opportunities and not rock the boat. However, being given this tremendous opportunity to play college basketball at UCLA, how could I not speak out to help the many other black athletes who were not being given the same opportunity? To not stand up for integration of college athletics would be to dishonor the brave heroes who spoke out and made my opportunities possible. People like Bill Garrett (who is sometimes called the Jackie Robinson of college basketball), Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, and dozens of others. How could I not be angry to realize that many great players were being denied a college education and/or the chance to play before larger crowds( and therefore be more valuable if they chose to turn professional)? They were being denied a future. The integration of college sports would have happened without me. But I like to think that I made some small contribution by adding my voice to those who fought to make this a better world. For some, my voice may have seemed shrill or angry; but for those on the right side of the issue, it seemed loyal and compassionate. How do I feel now? Grateful that we've come so far. Encouraged that so many people are still adding their voices to the fight for equality for all people. In other words, I feel happy. Just ask the bluebirds."
Steve Nash as Phoenix opponents would like to see him: with his arms encased in cement (or darn close). (UPDATE: You know NBA.com's Hot Spots feature, that lets you see how certain players shoot from different parts of the floor? I can't link to the final report, but I urge you to assess Steve Nash's shooting in home games this season. Unbelievable. He's hot from everywhere.)
The Globe and Mail's Michael Grange: "Allen Iverson seems like a cool guy. The pre-game love-fest is always conducted with varying degrees of sincerity. Iverson isn't too showy about it, but he makes a point of standing near the spot where the players all come over to wipe their sneakers and just offers a kind of warm welcome to all the Raptors guys as they come on the floor. He wishes Herbie a happy Easter; asks Bosh if his knee is okay. Nothing showy or phony, just a welcome into his Hall-of-Fame experience."
Just hang on to this clip for the next time we are told that young basketball players are dangerous. To the extent it's true, it's sure not unique to basketball.
Winning is inspiring, but it's also, I have heard from several basketball people, emotionally draining to play at an amazing level against great competition day in and day out. As quoted by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Rick Adelman confirms that theory: "That stretch we had with the streak was great, but it did take a lot out of us."
We live in a world of new and better statistical measures. Things like PER are now commonplace. Used appropriately, many such systems have been shown to be fantastically effective. Yet those kinds of statistical innovations -- poked and prodded by some of the smartest statistical minds -- are still regarded as hocus-pocus in many quarters. Meanwhile, a hokey statistical formula (add a bunch of good box score stats, subtract a bunch of bad ones) that could easily proven to be way less effective than PER is gets play because it came from Larry Bird.
Flynn Robinson scored in bunches off the bench for that title-winning Laker team that won 33 games in a row. (He says team owner Jack Kent Cooke rewarded the players with a "cheap $5 pen set.) Jerry Crowe of the L.A. Times tells the story: "'I'm enjoying life, having fun,' he says. 'That's been my outlook all my life. We get eight to 10 retired players dying every year, and when you see that, you realize you've got to do some positive things and keep on moving.' One thing that keeps him going, Robinson says, is participating in a program that takes underprivileged kids out on the ocean and teaches them how to fish. Interacting with the children, Robinson says, is a kick. 'On the boat, he's kind of a rah-rah guy,' says Philip Friedman, who runs the 976tuna.com youth fishing program. 'He's really into the whole thing of high-fiving with the kids and getting them enthusiastic about the whole thing and also preaching the message of conservation and protecting the ocean.' Says Robinson: 'We have fun and we touch lives.'"
James White is playing fairly well in limited minutes in Turkey. But he's well ahead of his peers in thedunkcontest. On pure athleticism, he belongs in the NBA dunk contest -- but these days it takes extremely clever and theatrical dunks to even make the final. (Thanks to Mete Aktas, Editor-in-Chief of NBA TURKIYE magazine for the links.)
More on the preps-to-pros debate, from a 2003 Ian Thomsen Sports Illustrated article: "It's hard to imagine how a year or two in college could have made these players any better. 'Everybody who said [that entering the NBA from high school] was a bad idea was just completely wrong,' says Bryant. 'I learned so much in my first two seasons in the NBA. It's tough to believe that college would have done that for me.' American teens are also likely to fall behind their European counterparts by attending college. The NCAA restricts practice time to 20 hours per week, while players overseas face no limits on the hours they can spend in the gym. Then again, all this could be moot if a future LeBron challenges the proposed rule in court. 'You tell him he's got to go to the CBA or somewhere and make $35,000,' says Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders. 'How is that going to fly?'" (Thanks, Matt.)
People always say the Nuggets are a miserable defensive team because opponents score a lot of points. But at the urging of TrueHoop reader Raj, I'm pointing out to you that they are a top ten defensive team in terms of points allowed per 100 possessions. The difference is that if you shoot quickly, you give the other team more possessions to score on you. But that doesn't mean you are terrible at stopping them.
The other day I wrote about how useful it would be to track how often a player is fouled. TrueHoop reader Jeremy reports that is already done in Spain: "The ACB league in Spain actually keeps track of those stats on an average basis. Rudy Fernandez has played in 22 ACB games this year for DKV Joventut and has committed 1.8 fouls per game, but has been fouled 5.7 times per game." Wouldn't it be nice to know that about NBA players?
Joanne C. Gerstner of The Detroit News: "Jason Maxiell has earned the reputation of being the Pistons' one-man wrecking crew off the bench. But the question still lingers: Can Maxiell maintain his high-energy style under the strain of playing more minutes and being in higher-pressure situations? He's already played more minutes this season (1,495) than his first two seasons (1,102) combined. 'I think I have been a little more run down at times, yeah,' said Maxiell, 25. 'But that happens to everybody and you have to learn how to deal with it. And that's what I am trying to do. It's part of learning what you should do in the NBA.'"
Michael Wallace of The Miami Herald: "At a time when the coaches are demanding professionalism and maximum effort from an injury-depleted roster, the Heat limps to the finish, knowing that too much success could adversely affect its draft status."
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