“The crazy part about it, I used to be on Rasheed all the time. I used to be the guy on his shoulder telling him, 'Cut it out, we need you out here. I don't need you in the locker room.' I got to tell myself the same thing.”
December 10, 2010
RIP’S TEMPER
D-LEAGUE TIME FOR FLYNN
“The Wolves officially assigned point guard Jonny Flynn back to the D-League's Sioux Falls Skyforce on Wednesday. He will be play back-to-back games Friday and Saturday. If all goes well, he could make his Timberwolves return from July hip surgery when the team begins a five-game West Coast trip at Golden State on Tuesday.”
December 9, 2010
THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO PHILIPPINE TV
As recent as 15 years ago, the NBA game can be seen on Philippine TV a week delayed. During the 70’s and 80’s, the delayed telecast was three months. Nine years ago, Solar TV came in and brought the game on a same day telecast in 2001. The evolution reached a first in local TV history when Solar TV came up with the Basketball TV (BTV) channel on cable TV in 2006. BTV carried a daily game live with replays during primetime. There were even days when BTV covers a double-header live especially during the premier week of the NBA season. Last November, Solar TV introduced the first 24/7 NBA channel in local TV history with the NBA Premium TV. NBA diehard fans in the country can now enjoy at least three same day games daily (live or taped) with encore telecast during primetime. Surely, this is the greatest thing that ever happened to the NBA-crazed Filipino fans. We are truly lucky indeed considering that most of the people in the US do not enjoy such privilege. Thank you very much, Solar Entertainment.
“NBA Premium is an exclusive local simulcast of the American channel NBA TV. The entire roster of recent shows - from studio programs to live and game recaps - are shot and broadcast in 1080i HD. Older games not available in HD will be shown in stylized pillarboxes. At NBA Premium, fanatics can look forward to tons of exclusive content - from behind-the-scenes features and all-access programming designed to keep them at the top of the game.
“Subscribers will be able to catch a unique roster of over 400 regular season games. The channel will also show marquee match-ups such as the Opening Week, Christmas Day games and special events (such as the All-Star Weekend and Playoffs) - all in eye-popping HD, of course.
“During the offseason, NBA Premium will continue to give fans their daily dose of hoops. Expect action from the Summer League Games, Women’s Basketball Association, and other awesome events on the utra-packed NBA calendar.”
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIP
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| (AP Photo) |
Carlos Boozer of the Chicago Bulls, who has just returned to action after spending the early part of the season in the injury list, wants to win badly. So bad, that he has set his eyes on a possible championship finish. And he thinks the Bulls can do it if they play a strong defensive game because he strongly believes that great defense win championships in the end, according to ESPN.
“It’s the thing we’re going to hang our hat on. We know if we’re going to be a championship team, all the championship teams over the years, including the last few years, like the Lakers twice and the Boston Celtics and all down the line, they’re all very good defensive teams. We know for us, for us to get to that level, we have to be a very good defensive team. We’re not lacking in that area, we’re still improving in that area. We’re still improving in every area.”
OOZING WITH CONFIDENCE
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| (Getty Images) |
Ever since Brandon Rush started the season, he is on fire. He is scoring a career-high 12.9 ppg in 14 games so far for the Indiana Pacers this season and he is playing great defense too. The Pacers team officials, led by Larry Bird, are all very happy with the present form of Rush, the one that they have envisioned during the draft night in 2008. Rush says he is feeling very confident in his game on both ends of the floor, according to the Indianapolis Star.
“I really feel like every time I shoot the ball it's going in. I feel like I can defend players on the wing, too, and I can do things offensively to help the team win games.”
PUZZLED
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| (AP Photo) |
Jamario Moon began the season as a starter for the Cleveland Cavaliers. But as the season progresses, his minutes started to go down and he was benched the whole game recently against the Detroit Pistons. Moon says he is completely puzzled and he can’t understand why coach Byron Scott did not play him a single minute against the Pistons, according to The Morning Journal. Moon is currently submitting norms of 5.0 ppg and 3.3 rpg in 20 outings so far with the Cavaliers this season.
“I’m just looking at other guys. Joey (Graham) played pretty well for a while and hasn’t played real well the last few games. Jawad (Williams) has played pretty good. I didn’t do anything. I don’t know. I’m lost. It was the first time I haven’t played since I was a rookie and I wasn’t playing. I’m trying to figure it out, too. I’m not going to make a big fuss about it. I’ll be there when he calls my name. You have to take the good with the bad.”
UP TO THE TEST
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| (AP Photo) |
After playing the Toronto Raptors and the Washington Wizards, a tough grind awaits the surprising New York Knicks as they are set to face elite teams like the Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic in the next 18 days. But coach Mike D’Antoni is feeling optimistic that his Knicks, which currently totes a 14-9 win-loss mark and in second spot behind the Celtics in the Atlantic Division, are up to the test, according to the New York Daily News.
“We're playing really well over the last 10, 11 games, but we'll get tested more as we go forward with some of the elite teams. I'm optimistic. It will definitely be a good learning experience. We'll see where we are. Obviously, we've taken some huge steps forward and we'll try to keep improving on that. But even when we were 3-8, we felt we could get it done. That's when they kicked in the will to win.”
IN A SLUMP
Not a few are disappointed with the performance so far this season of O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies. The 3rd pick over-all in the 2008 rookie draft is averaging a career-low 12.2 ppg in 22 games with the Grizzlies this campaign. Worse, his playing minutes are down and he lost his starting job to rookie Xavier Henry, which further dampens his spirit. Mayo says he has difficult time adjusting to his new role off the bench, according to NBA Fanhouse.
“I would say so. I would probably say so. What do you think? It's definitely an adjustment. So I just got to kind of roll with the flow, and, when I'm out there, play hard. ... Right now, it is what it is. I've got to make the most of it.
“The minutes definitely went down. That could be part of the reason. I never really was the first or second option in past years anyway. ... After my rookie year, I was never really the main focus on offense.”
Video: MAVS ON THE RAMPAGE WITH 10TH STRAIGHT WIN
December 6, 2010
STILL WARRY
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| Raptors guard Jose Calderon (AP Photo). |
Despite an 8-12 start, Toronto Raptors head coach Jay Triano is happy with the way things are going on with his young ballclub. So far, the Raptors had scored upset wins over league heavyweights Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, Triano remains warry on how the Raptors will respond to the challenge of an 82-game campaign, according to the Toronto Sun.
“We have showed a lot of real positive signs. When you look at the teams we have beaten (Orlando, Boston, Oklahoma City), we’ve beaten some very good teams and played with other good teams (Miami, L.A. Lakers, Portland). I think that shows where we can be.
“We have a lot of young players and being able to do that over the course of 82 games or over a 10-game segment and not just three or four in the middle of that (segment) is going to be the challenge for this team.”
IN SEARCH OF A LEADER
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| Coach Lionel Hollins (AP Photo). |
The Denver Nuggets has sent the Memphis Grizzlies reeling to their third straight defeat with a 108-107 squeaker of a win. Memphis is now occupying fourth spot in the Southwest Division with an 8-13 win-loss card. Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins did not hide his frustrations with the current form of his young Grizzlies squad, which clearly is in need of a team leader. Hollins said the team, as of now, lacks everything, according to The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
“We lack cohesiveness. We lack unity. We lack oneness. We have a lot of different agendas for whatever reasons there are. We have nobody stepping up and calling anybody out for lackluster effort or for not doing the job they’re supposed to be doing. That is leadership.”
December 2, 2010
DEVIL ACT
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| (Getty Images) |
Nobody expects this thing to happen so soon. Despite winning their last two games, everything is not rosy in South Beach. Internal squabble continues to unleash its ugly head on the Miami Heat. The celebrated trio versus the embattled head coach. It’s really not clear if the triumvirate has the blessing or the backing of the team president, who is rumored to take to over the coaching reins of the most celebrated team in recent years. The Heat’s resident star Dwyane Wade, who has been with his coach since he entered the NBA in 2003, is supposed to play the mediator in this epic struggle. But Wade surprisingly has sided with the man known to have the biggest ego in the basketball landscape and thus further igniting more flame into the fiery situation. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports recently wrote a very interesting and intriguing article about the mayhem in Miami.
“(Dwyane) Wade’s always been loyal, and that’s why it was so surprising to witness him bail this fast on (Erik) Spoelstra, whom Wade knows too well. Spoelstra is a good NBA coach. Everyone knows that Wade isn’t a star who plays hard all the time, knows that he takes plays off on defense. They know that Spoelstra did a terrific job coaching 90 victories out of that flawed Miami roster the previous two seasons.
As much as ever, the Heat need Wade to influence James. Only now, it’s clear James is influencing Wade. With Udonis Haslem out for the regular season, the locker room misses one of its vital voices. Now, Wade is struggling on the floor and (LeBron) James is the devil on his shoulder, whispering that he doesn’t need to be accountable, that there’s an easy fall guy for everyone: Spoelstra.
Those who know Wade well, who care about him, were disappointed Monday. When Spoelstra needed Wade to stand up for him, Wade never shrunk so small. Spoelstra was Wade’s guy, but Wade’s finding it much easier to align himself with James’ coward act than do the right thing. This was something that you’d expect out of Chris Bosh(notes), who’s never been a leader, never a winner, but Wade?
“He knows better than this,” one of Wade’s former assistant coaches said. “I’m not saying he hasn’t changed some, but he knows right from wrong. And this is wrong.”
Video: HOT, HOT SPURS!
December 1, 2010
CHANGE OF PLANS
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| Ray Allen (AP Photo). |
Before the start of this season, the Boston Celtics plan to play a deep rotation to help the starters get additional rest. That is the original plan as the men in green do not want a repeat of what happened last season, which resulted in a heartbreaking loss in the NBA finals. However, that was the plan when everybody else was healthy during the training camp. But with the team being bugged by various injuries lately, head coach Doc Rivers have no choice but to alter his plans for the Eastern Conference leaders. Rivers says it’s impossible to go deep into their line-up right now and he has no other choice but to extend the minutes of his starters, according to ESPN.
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Doc Rivers: “You come into the year with a plan, and you've got to change the plan sometimes. That's something we're doing as a staff too. The 10-man unit is not going to work right now. It just can't. We went into the year, and I told you, I believe it's really important for us to have [a deep rotation] because it allows us to get rest. But with injuries, it's unrealistic.
“We'll still try to keep minutes down, but we'll have to sub differently. Again, it's not what I wanted to do. Really, the way our starters play, I'd rather extend their minutes together. But it's not going to work out that way. So we just have to sub in one of our bench guys earlier and hope this doesn't affect the starting group. We'll find out.”
ALL SET TO RETURN
“It's great to be back on the court. My hand definitely has come a long way so it's really good. It's a little sore today, but I expected it to be that way. I'm going to get treatment right now and then go through another practice. It may or may not be [Wednesday]. I'm expecting hopefully this week, maybe this weekend but we'll see. I don't want to say I'm playing [Wednesday] and then not be able to play.”
WILL HE DO IT OR WILL HE NOT?
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| The LBJ Pre-Game Ritual. |
The pre-game ritual of throwing the powdered rosin into the air by the scorer’s table before the game by LeBron James has become a popular tradition not only for his present team, the Miami Heat, but also during his days with his former squad, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now, the question is will he do it on Thursday (Friday, Manila time) when the Heat plays the Cavaliers on the road in one of the most anticipated game of the year. James, in his usual puzzling mode, says he may or he may not, according to NBC Sports.
“I probably will. That’s a ritual for myself. I probably will … I don’t know. We’ll see. I may change.”
GOOD FOR TWO MORE YEARS
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| Tracy McGrady (AP Photo). |
Tracy McGrady of the Detroit Pistons is looking forward of playing one more year after this season. McGrady signed a one-year contract with the Pistons last summer. T-Mac is currently playing a limited role with the Motor City outfit, a far cry from his scoring machine days. He is submitting norms of 4.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg and 1.8 apg in 17 games so far for Detroit this season. McGrady says he has adjusted to his role with the Pistons and if he remains healthy, he is giving himself a couple more years in the league, according to The Orlando Sentinel.
“I’m not what I once was, but I think I’m a smart enough basketball player to be able to modify my game. It’s just working on fine-tuning what I can and what I can’t do on the basketball court. Everything is an adjustment. As long as I’m healthy, I feel good about my future.”
November 30, 2010
SPOELSTRA ON THE ROPES
Things are really bound to get ugly when a team starts to struggle after all the hype and high expectations in the NBA, especially if it’s the Miami Heat. First, the unexpected early season defeats, then came the Phil Jackson prediction, followed by the LeBron James bump during the Dallas Mavericks game and now comes the wavering support of Dwyane Wade. Taking all the punches is the Heat Fil-Am mentor Erik Spoelstra. If this is a boxing match, Spoelstra is clearly clinging to his dear life as he finds himself on the ropes absorbing all the combinations of left and right. Everybody knows and it is no secret that if the Heat continue to perform below expectations, the inevitable will finally happen (remember Stan Van Gundy in 2005-06 season?): Spoelstra out, Heat President Pat Riley in. It seems Spoelstra is alone in this crusade and the coming days or weeks will see if he will be able to turn things around. Here are the latest statements from Spoelstra and D-Wade according to Fox Sports and Sun Sentinel, respectively.
Erik Spoelstra: “It is so easy for everybody to push the panic button right now. We’ve gone through a tough stretch right now; panic is probably at an all-time high on the outside. My job is to prepare this team and get us ready for the games and continue to help us get better. That keeps my days full. And nights. And when I’m not preparing and working to make us get better I’m actually trying to take some moments away where I’m not thinking about this team or the game, which is tough.”
Dwyane Wade: “In this league, and in sports in general, you really don’t look at it and say a coach is your guy. A coach is a coach and he has to take hard stances at times, more times than not. Players and coaches, it’s always that kind of weird type of relationship. You don’t look at him and say, ‘That’s my guy right there,’ in the sense of me. Yeah, I came in when Spo was early in his coaching career. He wasn’t even on the bench when I first came in. He’s grown to know me; I’ve grown to know him.
“He’s a different person and I’m a different player than when we came in. So, I’m not going to say he’s my guy, but he’s my coach, you know. We listen to him and try to execute a game plan and sometimes players and coaches get into disagreements. In general, that’s life with people. It’s the nature of sports. Right now, in my opinion, no one is doing a good job, we’re 9-8. We’re all in this together. Players not doing a good job; coaches not doing a good job. As a whole. When success comes, we win as a whole. We win four in a row, Coach is going to look great.”
IT’S A 48-MINUTE GAME
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| Manu Ginobili (AP Photo). |
The New Orleans Hornets learned their lesson the hard way in a 109-95 home defeat to the San Antonio Spurs. The loss was the Bees’ first this season at Ford Center. The crowd were on their feet the whole of the first half as the Hornets surged to a 17-point lead at halftime. Then it was an all-Spurs show in the next 24 minutes as they outscored the Hornets by 31 points. That’s is what champions are made of. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich credited their defensive adjustments and aggressiveness for the big turn-around for the league-leading Spurs in the final half. First-year Hornets head coach Monty Williams on the other hand, says he was simply out-coached by this former mentor, the veteran Spurs drill master, according to Yahoo! Sports.
Gregg Popovich: “I saw a 17-point deficit, so we changed up the defense and it helped us. We made shots and got more aggressive, got a little more physical and just competed better in the second half.”
Monty Williams: “The bottom line is I got outcoached. Coach Popovich made a great move, going small, and I didn’t make the immediate adjustments to put us in position to hang on. … It was just an old-school whipping from a coaching standpoint.”
STICKING TOGETHER
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| Brandon Roy (AP Photo). |
“We're at a tough point right now. It's a young season. We've lost three games in a row and we're .500, so it's a difficult time. But we have to stick together and really see what we're made of.”
November 26, 2010
TIGHT SECURITY FOR LEBRON’S RETURN TO CLEVELAND
Mark the date, December 2, 2010 (December 3, Manila Time). This will be the very first time in which Miami Heat swingman LeBron James meets his former NBA team, the Cleveland Cavaliers in a nationally-televise game at the Quicken Loans Arena. Expect tight security to be provided by the NBA, Cavaliers and the Cleveland Police Department for James safety to avoid any untoward incident that could occur. The Cavs diehards are still fuming mad in what they perceived as total betrayal by James when he left Cleveland for South Beach last summer, according to ESPN.
“The Cavaliers, the league and the Cleveland Police Department have had conference calls discussing the proper way to secure the game, which will be televised nationally on TNT. To ensure James' safety, there will be dozens of extra police officers on hand, both uniformed and undercover. Officers will be stationed inside and outside the arena, and many will be positioned by the Heat bench and at the tunnel where the Heat players will enter the court.
“The team has done research on the various crude and offensive James T-shirts in circulation locally, and officials will be stationed at entrances to make sure no fans enter with such shirts or signs that disrespect James or his family members. They'll also be in the stands, authorized to take away inappropriate apparel. Fans who have such shirts will be required to remove them and then will be given a Cavaliers-branded T-shirt to wear instead. All inappropriate signs also will be confiscated and officials will be on the lookout throughout the game for inebriated fans or fans who are preparing to throw things onto the court.”
EURO OPTION FOR NBA LOCKOUT, IS IT POSSIBLE?
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| Brandon Jennings |
With the looming work stoppage due to NBA lockout next summer, league players are now looking into the possibility of playing overseas to generate income. But is it possible considering that they are under contract with NBA teams? Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks started it off by saying he would return to Europe if ever the lockout pushes through. Here are thoughts of some players from the Chicago Bulls, according to NBA Fanhouse.
Luol Deng: “I would, (but) maybe because I know Europe. A lot of guys are going to want to play (overseas). It's a way to stay in shape. Financially, a lot of guys have got families and everything, so I see a lot of guys doing it. I think if you can, a lot of players will.”
Kyle Korver: “There might be three guys that do that (in the entire league). I think everybody thinks they're going to get some crazy contract over there, and it's not going to happen. If you're going to get like $10 million, then yeah do it. But no one is going to get that. There are no guys in the NBA who will go over there and play for a million dollars.”
Carlos Boozer: “I'm going to have to have my (agent) look into that. If your contract says that you can only play basketball with (your current NBA team), then there's no gray area. That's black and white. You can't (do it) unless you want to breach that contract. But if that language isn't in there.”
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