Dwyane Wade tells the Miami Herald that the key to his active defense is short minutes: "Being healthy, I'm a very good defender. My job with the Heat is totally different ... It's about being smart and getting the right guys on your team that can help. I wouldn't be a good defender on this team if I didn't have anybody to come in. I can go hard for 15-17 minutes and know that Kobe (Bryant) is going to come in, Deron Williams is going to come in and those guys are going to keep the pressure up."
David King of the San Antonio Express-News: "The last time Argentina and the United States met in the men's basketball tournament at the Olympics, Fabricio Oberto came away with a broken finger. Oh yes, and Argentina came away with a victory, on the way to the gold medal in Athens. Oberto, always the joker, said Wednesday night he would be glad to see both scenarios repeated when the teams meet in the semifinals Friday night at the Wukesong Olympic Basketball Gymnasium. 'If they tell me that we are going to win the gold again,' he said with a sly grin, 'I would break my finger again.'"
Gary D'Amato of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "... if you can hang with the gravity-defying Americans for a quarter or more, they might fall back on their natural tendency to go one-on-one. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade didn't become household names by watching teammates shoot. And once they stop passing the ball, they're not invincible."
Matthew Sekeres of The Globe and Mail: "There was Toronto's starting point guard, Jose Calderon of Spain, at the top of the key. Playing defence against him was Roko Ukic of Croatia, the Raptors' new backup point guard, set to join the team from the European professional ranks next month. Calderon dribbled left, pulled up and sank a three-point shot over Ukic, one of several easy baskets for the world champions, who dispatched Croatia 72-59 to move into a semi-final game against Lithuania on Thursday. The United States will play Argentina in the other semi. Call it Ukic's first in-house lesson. It came from a teacher with whom he has a history. Welcome to the Raptors, rook."
Janny Hu of the San Francisco Chronicle: "St. Mary's point guard Patty Mills might be a few years away from the NBA, but the Aussie already has left an impression on its biggest stars. 'I think I read somewhere that he's faster than me,' Chris Paul said. 'Probably right, and I'm one of the fastest guys in the NBA.' Mills ended his Olympic run Wednesday with his best game against the tournament's best team, and much of the buzz surrounded the speedy guard after the U.S. whipped Australia 116-85 in the quarterfinals. Not only did Mills score a team-high 20 points in the losing effort, but he did so blowing by Paul, going right at Deron Williams and losing Chris Bosh on a beautiful fake."
Joe Freeman of The Oregonian: "During an informal news conference at the team's practice facility in Tualatin, Brandon Roy walked without a limp and showed no signs he had undergone surgery last Thursday to repair a partial tear in the meniscus of his left knee. The All-Star guard, who laughed and joked with reporters throughout the interview session, seemed unfazed by his recent setback, the third time since high school he has endured knee surgery. 'I feel like once the swelling goes down and my flexibility is back, I won't even worry about it,' Roy said. 'I had this surgery on this knee once in high school and when I came back from it, the knee felt great. For me, this is just a minor setback. We can only play this game for so long so I'm not going to spend the time worrying about it now.'" Video of Roy meeting the media.
Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: "Danny Granger, who is going into his fourth year, is still in his rookie contract. The Pacers can sign him to an extension at any time between now and the end of October. If not, he'll be a restricted free agent next summer. Larry Bird said a few weeks ago that they haven't really had much discussion with Granger because they can match any offer made to him if they don't sign him to an extension. ... I recently asked a league official what type of deal Granger should get. He threw him in the same category as Iguodala. Iguodala and Granger, who play a similar style, put up similar numbers last season."
Tim MacMahon of The Dallas Morning News: "You can debate whether the return of Devean George makes the Mavericks better. There's no question, however, that Mark Cuban's willingness to put his grudge with George's agent aside to get the deal done is a good sign. Cuban made no secret of his displeasure with Mark Bartelstein after George blocked the original Jason Kidd trade based on his advice. That's why George coming back to Dallas is a surprise. However, Rick Carlisle wanted George. And Cuban is more concerned with putting his new coach in position to succeed than carrying out a grudge against an agent."
Art Thompson III of the Orange County Register: "As crowded as the guard spot appears to be, it would not hurt the Lakers to take a long look at Shaun Livingston, who has been playing five-on-five, for at least the past week and a half, at fitness trainer Tim Grover's Attack Athletics facility in Chicago."
Jimmy Smith of Times-Picayune: "Hugo seems to be sporting a snarl, teal has been replaced by 'Creole blue' and pinstripes, which the team debuted in the NBA two decades ago, have returned to the new-look Hornets uniforms unveiled to a large gathering of season-ticket holders and sponsors Wednesday afternoon. The popular 'fleur-de-bee' logo, which made its first appearance as a patch on the uniform fronts last year, returns as the secondary logo and becomes what the team is calling a major element of the brand identity. It's also now on each side of the shorts as well as at the top of the back of the jerseys, above the player's name." UPDATE: Visuals.
Greg Johns of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Turns out Seattle isn't losing just the Sonics. There's also a flat-screen TV in the coaches' room at KeyArena that'll now be headed to Oklahoma City. Six radios out of the media room. Four headphones from the statistician's table. And don't forget the basketball-inflating machine. The city of Seattle's agreement with the Professional Basketball Club was obtained Wednesday in a public-records request by the Seattle P-I, and the final document -- signed by both parties Tuesday -- includes a number of 'assets' from KeyArena that the PBC wants transferred to its new Ford Center home."
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