DIME's Austin Burton talk to Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler about that highly effective pick and roll that so often ends in a Chandler alley-oop dunk. Chris Paul on Tyson Chandler: "It's amazing how much he's changed my game. Sometimes I take it for granted, and when he's not in the game I'm like 'what am I gonna do?' Just having that option every time I drive the line keeps the defense on their heels a little bit." Tyson Chandler on Chris Paul: "I wasn't used to the pass at first -- he was throwing it up and it was hitting the backboard. I remember one time I thought he was gonna throw it and I wasn't paying attention, and he dribbled all the way under the basket and shoved the ball in my stomach. After that I was like 'I'd rather you throw it up than shove it in my stomach.'"
Reacting to a point about Robert Horry getting good mileage out of his various cheap shots (a gimpy David West, perhaps, or suspended Suns last year), TrueHoop reader William writes: "On one level, I guess this is true. But I think there's a much bigger tradeoff that happened there. I used to be a big fan of his. When I hear the name 'Robert Horry,' I really want the first thing I picture to be the classic 'oh yeah, that's good' expression on his face while the ball is still in the air against the Kings. But now the first thing I picture is him throwing a pointless cheap shot on Steve Nash, a guy 10 inches and 100 pounds smaller. The shot on West cements that. I know a lot of people who feel the same way. I'd go so far as to say the loss of goodwill from those two cheap shots takes him from 'borderline HOF'er' to 'no way.' That's the true cost to Horry, the legacy he'll live with for the rest of his life. Those are the highlights his kids are going to see on ESPN Classic. What cost could be greater than that?"
David West has been practicing. Robert Horry says he never even knew West's back was hurting him. And Gregg Popovich says, tongue-in-cheek, that the Spurs are famously the dirtiest team in the NBA. It's all in a big Hornets247 roundup.
If you really love math, and you really love basketball, I assume you'll really love this. (I say assume, because in fact I don't understand it. I did, however, see the word "fun" down there near the end.)
The Painted Area: "The Cavs are trying to build a team in the model of the Spurs, when I believe the skills of their star player dictate that they should be building a team in the model of the Showtime Lakers, a team that won with dominant fast-breaking offense and good defense. Again, I believe that LeBron is potentially the greatest fast-break finisher in history, and that it's crazy not to take advantage of this skill. Does Cleveland's current personnel work with a fast-breaking offense? Sure doesn't."
Kurt of Forum Blue and Gold: "Compared to the regular season, the Lakers are scoring 3 more points 100 possessions, their offense is really clicking. One key reason is they are doing better - they are getting more shots right at the rim. In the regular season, 64% of the Lakers shots were jumpers, 36% were in close, but in the playoffs that has increased to 40%. Obviously, you shoot a higher percentage in close, so getting more shots there means more points (even if we are talking just four shots a game, that likely means two more makes and four more points a game, and that matters)."
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