1．Dwyade Wade returns to Miami Heat practice Posted on: October 23, 2010 2:38 pm Edited on: October 23, 2010 2:43 pm Score: 164 Log-in to rate:
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Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade returned to practice on Saturday.Posted by Ben Golliver.
ESPN.com\'s Michael Wallace reported on Twitter that Miami Heat all star guard Dwyane Wade, who has been dealing with child custody proceedings in Illinois and with an injured hamstring, returned to the practice court on Saturday.
Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel writes that Wade was glad to be back.\"We\'re excited about having the band back together,\" Wade said after the two-hour, non-contact seion.\"It felt great.It was like I was dreaming about it.\"
Winderman also reports that Wade will participate in a full-contact practice seion tomorrow, in preparation for Miami\'s regular season opener on Tuesday in Boston against the Celtics.
Wade played just 3 minutes before injuring his hamstring in his only preseason appearance, an Oct.5th win over the Detroit Pistons.The injury kept him out of the Heat\'s six other preseason games.
2.Allen Iverson agrees with Turkish club Besiktas Posted on: October 24, 2010 11:17 pm Edited on: October 24, 2010 11:18 pm Score: 161 Log-in to rate:
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Allen Iverson has reportedly agreed to sign with Turkish club Besiktas, Posted by Ben Golliver.
Marc Spears and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports are reporting that former Philadelphia 76ers all star guard Allen Iverson has agreed to sign with the Turkish club Besiktas.Allen Iverson has agreed in principle to sign an incentive-laden, two-year, $4 million contract with Besiktas of the Turkish profeional league, sources told Yahoo! Sports on Sunday night.Iverson plans to sign the contract this week, the sources said, and is expected to report to Besiktas the week of Oct.31.Iverson’s contract will give him an opt-out clause after this season.
Given how Iverson crashed and burned out of the NBA twice last season, this move is not without risk for Besiktas.However, there\'s potential reward too, in the form of the international interest and profile that comes with adding a future NBA Hall of Famer. If there\'s a question about The Answer these days, it\'s one of reliability.Istanbul, although a modern, international city, is a long way from home in Newport News, Virginia.And, unfortunately, Iverson hit Barry Bonds territory last year, after refusing to come off the bench with the Memphis Grizzlies and attempting a hero\'s return to Philadelphia but then disappearing quickly amidst all sorts of accusations of gambling and drinking.
While this signing isn\'t creating the same stir as \"God Chose Memphis\", Iverson\'s once-in-a-generation personality and skills will be a draw no matter where he takes his act.
My gue is Besiktas won\'t be the final stop on A.I.\'s journey.
3.Forget MJ, Kobe Bryant is a top 5 guard Posted on: October 18, 2010 2:01 pm Edited on: October 18, 2010 3:11 pm Score: 169 Log-in to rate:
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Michael Jordan says Kobe Bryant is a top 10 guard of all time.He should have said top five.Posted by Ben Golliver. In a recent interview with USA Today , Michael Jordan, the greatest player in the history of basketball, was asked how Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant stacks up to the greatest who have ever played the game.
It\'s so hard to say.I think he is always going to be within the conversations of some of the greatest players who\'ve played by the time he is finished.Where does he rank among those, if you are talking about positions? If you are talking about guards, I would say he has got to be in the Top 10.
Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports caught up with Bryant for his reaction to Jordan\'s comment.“It’s an accurate statement,” Bryant said.“I’m definitely one of the top 10 guards.It could mean two, it could mean one, it could mean four or five.I’m definitely one of the top thousand.Look, I know how he feels about me.
“There have been a lot of great guards to play the game.For me to sit here and say, ‘He should have said top five,’ that’s disrespectful to the other guards that I’ve watched.”
In this case, I\'m happy to be \"disrespectful\" to Jordan on Bryant\'s behalf: Michael Jordan should have said Kobe Bryant is a top five guard.Period.
In his 2009 The Book Of Basketball , Bill Simmons set out to rank the best players in the game, in part, to help settle questions like this one.Simmons ranked Bryant as the No.15 player overall, and the only pure guards ranked ahead of Bryant were Jordan (No.1 overall), Magic Johnson (No.4 overall), Jerry West (No.8 overall) and Oscar Robertson (No.9 overall).You can quibble over West/Robertson, but the rest, including Bryant, seem right to me.Since the book\'s release last fall, Bryant won another title with the Lakers, so his standing has only improved.
Bryant refused to rank himself when given the opportunity by Spears, and this was a wise move, because current players will always be at a sentimental disadvantage when compared to retired players.Magic Johnson brings back memories, Oscar Robertson evokes tales, and Kobe Bryant still makes plays.That proce of continually adding to his resume works against him whenever we try to ae his standing against stationary targets.
Given that he is battling legends, the standard for Bryant to overtake guys like Robertson and West will be exceedingly high and probably not attainable until he retires, and his statistics and ring total go final.Jordan and Johnson may wind up completely unaailable, regardle of how Bryant\'s career plays out, such is the magnitude of their cultural power.
Whether Bryant ever cracks that top two isn\'t today\'s discuion.Today, it\'s more important to realize that it\'s far more difficult to exclude Bryant from the top five guards of all time than it is to include him.Who would you rather have? Bob Cousy? Isiah Thomas? John Stockton? Rick Barry?
Cousymakes the strongest sentimental case, but he doesn\'t pa the smell test.You don\'t think Kobe Bryant in his prime would wipe the parquet with Cousy in his prime if given the chance? On both ends Bryant\'s athleticism and length would be overpowering.As for the rest, they didn\'t win as often or in as dominating a fashingon as Bryant has.
Jordan\'s comment shows an appreciation for the game\'s other great guards and, perhaps, a self-protective impulse.Surely it\'s easier for Jordan to remain king eternally if his strongest current challenger is given more ground to make up.It was a savvy play by Jordan and Bryant\'s response showed equal thoughtfulne.
Bryant knows historical rankings can\'t be campaigned for, they are given out collectively once they\'ve been deemed \"earned\".He also knows he\'s well on his way.Category: NBA
Tags: Bob Cousy, Isiah Thomas, Jerry West, John Stockton, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson
4.History Tells Carmelo Anthony: Get Out Now
Carmelo Anthony is said to be ready to wait until next year to sign a new contract.Should he feel more urgency given his situation in Denver?
Posted by Ben Golliver.
This afternoon, Ken Berger noted that one major, practical implication of the ongoing CBA negotiations is that Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony might not feel the need to sign an extension prior to the implementation of a new CBA because the league could retroactively reduce the value of that extension, as the National Hockey League recently did.An NHL-style rollback would result in Anthony\'s extension (if he signed it) and every other existing deal in the league being reduced to fit the new model.
Maybe that is why a person familiar with Anthony\'s strategy told me that Melo is fully prepared to spend the entire season in Denver without signing an extension and then take his chances under the new deal.
\"Carmelo is not afraid to go into next year and test the CBA,\" the person said.Kudos to Carmelo (and/or his people) for this confidence and patience.For now, by not yet agreeing to an extension, Anthony holds all the cards when it comes to influencing his future destination.He can wait for the right team to make the right offer, and for the Nuggets to agree to that team\'s terms, and then pull the trigger, or he can continue to wait and enjoy all the riches free agency has to offer.
But while Anthony may be prepared to stick with things in Denver, history tells us that the next year of his life could be nasty, brutish and interminable.
Let\'s take a look at three recent, high-profile examples.
LeBron James
LeBron James was bombarded with questions last fall regarding his future with the Cleveland Cavaliers and he did a commendable job of sidestepping the iue until the season ended.As Danny Ferry and Cavs management desperately did what they could to put a winning team around him, including a trade deadline deal for Antawn Jamison, it became clear very quickly during the playoffs that the Cavaliers were not going to be the championship team they had hoped to be.James\'s season ended in bitter disappointment and defeat, frustrated with a supporting cast that couldn\'t keep up with the Boston Celtics and fed up with shouldering the burden by himself.
Given Denver\'s aging roster and injured frontline, it\'s easy to imagine a similar situation playing out if Anthony decides to stick around.It\'s a certainty that the Los Angeles Lakers -- deeper, more athletic, longer, more talented, more tested -- would pick the Nuggets apart in the playoffs.The only question would be whether it would take four games or five games.Anthony, a collegiate champion, should understand that reality better than anyone, just like James did last spring, when he quit on his Cavs teammates because he knew not even a superhuman performance from him would overcome the Celtics collective.Indeed, James\'s Cavaliers supporting cast last season was arguably better than Anthony\'s this year.The question Anthony should be asking himself is, \"If LeBron couldn\'t do it, how will I?\"
Amar\'e Stoudemire
The best case scenario for Carmelo Anthony if he does stay in Denver is the path traveled by Amar\'e Stoudemire last year in Phoenix.Despite trade rumors whirling throughout the year, Stoudemire came on strong down the stretch, helping Steve Nash and an inspired Jason Richardson push the Suns all the way to the Western Conference Finals.It was surely the highlight of Stoudemire\'s career and it paid off in a big way: a max deal from a big city, marquee franchise in the New York Knicks.
Are the Nuggets capable of such a push? Probably not, but no one foresaw the Suns streak last season either.If there\'s a key difference between the two teams it\'s that there are no major systemic changes for the Nuggets entering this season.Other than the addition of Al Harrington, it\'s a similar cast of characters, one year older, and with the same coaching
staff and philosophy.The Suns surprised people in large part due to the quick succe that came from a shift in coaching style and offensive philosophy brought on by coach Alvin Gentry.Also, the Suns poeed unbelievable chemistry on the second unit, something Denver doesn\'t poe on paper.
While it\'s not impoible for the Nuggets to ride Anthony and his veteran teammates deep into the playoffs, it\'s also not likely.If you\'re Anthony, are you really willing to bet on that risk?
Chris Bosh
The worst case scenario for Anthony is what Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh endured last year.Forced to carry a mediocre supporting cast, Bosh simply couldn\'t do it, and the Raptors failed to quality for the playoffs as critics questioned his toughne and commitment to winning.Disagreements and bickering between teammates were clearly visible on the court last season, and Bosh was unwilling, unable or too frustrated to rally the troops.
During late-season road trips it was difficult to imagine a le enthusiastic prime time player, as Bosh went through the motions and the loes piled up.Could this history repeat itself in Denver? No question about it.If the Nuggets start slow, or Kenyon Martin mies significant time, or Chauncey Billups is out for a stretch, or Anthony doesn\'t get his required touches one night, what happens? If his heart and mind are already somewhere else, what\'s in Denver motivating him to pull the team together?
This nightmare isn\'t difficult to imagine.In fact, I would say it\'s the most likely of the three situations discued, given Denver\'s questionable depth, the fact they are playing in a loaded Northwest Division and the tumultuous offseason the organization just endured.
Keeping these examples in mind, shouldn\'t Anthony and his people go easy on the \"wait it out\" approach? If it\'s just posturing, fine.But if they\'re serious? They need look no further than to last season to realize it\'s not the best idea.For Stoudemire, James and Bosh it all worked out fine in the end: they found lucrative new homes thanks to the wonders of free agency.But it wasn\'t an easy path to riches, and Anthony would do well to remember those struggles as he ponders his own future.
5.MJ and LeBron have the top basketball card
Posted by Royce Young
Does anyone still collect basketball cards? I know I stopped years ago, but that wasn\'t before I acquired six or seven of the exact same Tom Chambers card, yet only had one Michael Jordan card.Maybe that\'s why I stopped.Or I turned 15, but who knows.
But if you do collect, boy do I have something for you.That is, if you have $50,000 or so burning a whole in your pocket.
There\'s a 2008-09 Upper Deck black dual autograph and game-used jersey card of Michael Jordan and LeBron James out there.I use the word \"a\" because there\'s just one.Meaning it\'s a one-of-one.Meaning, it\'s rare.Meaning, it\'s expensive.
6.
Posted by Royce Young
The new Miami Heat tend to get ahead of themselves a bit.When they introduced the new members of the team, they threw a championship sized party.And immediately, the team didn\'t start talking about winning a championship.They started talking about winning championships, plural.
And it appears that kind of braggadocious mentality has sort of rubbed off on their fanbase.Example the first, via Ira Winderman: They are chanting \"Beat L-A!\" at open scrimmages.Um, too soon?
No doubt there\'s already been a little sniping back and forth between the two evident top dogs in the league.Kobe Bryant briefly talked about the Heat, mentioning is first thought besides \"How the expletive did that happen?\" was, \"I\'ve got to get my knee healthy.\" Ron Artest left LeBron off his top two players list.Artest also talked about how losing weight will help him defend Kevin Durant, but he worries about defending LeBron in a seven-game series.
So both teams are kind of getting ahead of themselves a bit.But \"Beat LA?\" at an open scrimmage in October? Yeah, that\'s sort of skipping the forward, the introduction, the plot and the climax of a book and reading the last chapter.
Granted, this is one open practice.And fans like to have fun and chant things.I don\'t blame them.But what if this persists into the regular season? What if when the Heat are blowing out the Raptors in December, Heat fans start up with it? Couldn\'t that give some extra fodder to teams like the Magic, Celtics and Bulls, all teams that feel they\'re a hurdle for the Heat to jump?
Thinking NBA Finals in October isn\'t a big deal.It\'s every team\'s goal.Right down to the Clippers, the Nets and the Wizards.Everyone wants to
hoist the trophy.But talking about it, chanting about it and being downright brash about it in October, before your team has even played a game? If the Heat and their fans want to be the NBA\'s villains, they\'re off to a nice start.Category: NBA
Tags: Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Heat Stroke, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Ron Artest
7.Rose: \"Why can\'t I be MVP of the league?\"
Posted by Royce Young
When the GMs voted in their annual survey, most were a little shocked that one player wasn\'t on top.LeBron James, the two-time reigning MVP, only got a fraction of the vote.Kevin Durant led the way with Kobe Bryant, James and then Dwight Howard trailing behind.
But one player that feels a little slighted to not be mentioned is Derrick Rose.As he told Tim Povtak of FanHouse, \"Why can\'t I be MVP of the league?\"
It\'s a good question, really.Why can\'t Rose win the award? His Bulls are lined up to have a succeful season, he\'s entering his third year and has been extremely good in his first two years and by all accounts, he\'s better than before.He\'s going to be the Bulls focus and he\'ll have plenty
of attention of on him all year.It kind of adds up.
But at the same time, Rose hasn\'t even begun to touch what he\'s capable of.Watching him in the open floor is almost a revelation.He\'s not just fast, he\'s smooth fast.No player moves the way he does.It just looks good.Rose is flashy, but he has substance.When he\'s got the jumper going and he\'s creating aggreively, look out.Problem is, it doesn\'t always happen.But that\'s something that shouldn\'t surprise anyone from a guy that\'s played two seasons and is 21 years old.
(Quick timeout: How beautiful is that little jump-stop runner Rose has developed? I\'m talking about the one where he dribbles down the floor acting like he\'s looking for someone to pa to, heads to the right side of the lane, plants quickly and in a blink, shotputs the ball at the rim.It\'s gorgeous.And pretty much unstoppable.)
Rose\'s biggest challenge is translating his quiet demeanor into strong vocal leadership on the court.But that comes with comfort.He\'s gaining in confidence.For example, this MVP comment.I don\'t think Rose would have said something like this two years ago.Not because he didn\'t believe it, but because he wasn\'t as sure of himself.He wasn\'t exactly sure how to expre himself.And now he\'s getting there.Which is all part of the proce.
In his first two years though, Rose was teamed with somewhat of a lackluster roster.He had Ben Gordon on his wing his rookie year and he\'s had Joakim Noah inside.He\'s had the often injured Luol Deng on the wing, but really at no point did Rose have a go-to scorer to rely on.He\'s kind of been forced to be the go-to scorer but always creative and distribute.Now, with Carlos Boozer on the interior and a couple weapons to kick to on the outside, Rose might be capable of scratching his statistical ceiling.
Could a 20-10 season be in the cards for Rose? Probably not, but with some of the defensive focus pulled off him, he could potentially score in the upper 20s while also handing out six, seven or eight aists a game.For instance, look at the damage Rose did last April against the Cavaliers in the playoffs: 26.4 ppg, 7.2 apg, 3.2 rpg, plus excellent percentages.That type of year is certainly something Rose has in him.Maybe not now, but eventually for sure.
And if the Bulls are in contention, is that enough to at least put Rose in the MVP discuion? I\'d think so.Hard to ignore numbers like that.
7.Ron Artest gives us his two best players
Posted by Royce Young
Don\'t ask Ron Artest to count to five.Or even three.Because he can\'t.Well, at least he can\'t when he\'s naming the best players in the NBA and he may or may not be trying to slight LeBron James on purpose.
Since Artest is known as one of the league\'s most talented bulldog defenders, he\'s a good source to go to in terms of finding out who the best players in the game are.Whoever he has the most trouble defending, that means they\'re probably pretty good.
So Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles asked Artest what he thought the biggest offseason signing was and Artest didn\'t go where you thought he would.He picked Kevin Durant signing an extension with Oklahoma City, as opposed to the taker of talents to South Beach.As to why? \"He\'s the second best player in the NBA,\" Artest said.
Well do elaborate, Ron.
\"Kobe\'s got five rings, six game winners [last season], 23-straight points in [Game 5 of the Finals] off mostly jump shots,\" Artest said.\"[He\'s] the biggest shot maker, big shot maker.So, that said, Durant\'s the second best player in the NBA.\"
What you did there, I see it.Durant\'s two, because Kobe\'s one.Of course
that begged the question: Where\'s LeBron?
\"I only count to two,\" Artest said.\"I\'ve been out of school 15 years, so I only count to two.\"
Only Artest.Somehow, despite some pretty horrible moments for him over the years, his transformation from bad guy into an endearing player is almost complete.But the story here is the subtle smack talk Artest just gave LeBron and the Heat.The two teams will meet Christmas Day and Artest will be guarding LeBron.I\'m sure LeBron took mental notes on Artest\'s statement so you can be sure James will play like he has something to prove.
And that might be Artest\'s point.He\'s trying to get into LeBron\'s head early and talk him into playing one-on-one instead of playing his game.It\'s a very Phil Jackson-ish move.I gue Artest has been reading Jackson\'s books after all.He can\'t count, but I gue he can still read.
8.The tree of complaint, KG, and you
For the love of Stern, can we relax about the new tech rules? Posted by Matt Moore
In the beginning, there was complaining.
It\'s pretty natural, really.You\'re body-to-body, struggling, fighting,
adrenaline rushing, and the whistle blows.You can\'t poibly think you did anything that could be considered a foul (especially not after how you were just elbowed at the other end of the floor!) and so you complain.It probably wasn\'t all that bad in the beginning, a hundred years ago.
It is now.
Then, there was the complaining about the complaining.And lost in this newest wave of outrage is the fact that there genuinely was a great deal of complaining about the complaining.Casual NBA fans? They loathe what they see when there\'s a whistle.Grown men, profeionals, whooping and hollering, badgering officials, acting like they\'ve just been stubbed on the toe by a whistle.Most of the time for a foul that was pretty easy to call.It reflects poorly on the game and every time it happens, a friend will point and say \"that\'s why I don\'t follow the NBA.\" As if that were to somehow overtake the athleticism, the tactics, the chemistry, the powerful emotion of the game.But it does.It reflects poorly on the game.
So the NBA decided to do something about it, finally.
And now, finally, we\'ve reached the zenith of this ridiculous story.There\'s now complaining about the rules designed to help with all the complaints about the complaining.
Welcome to the Catch-22, David Stern.Have fun trying to make people happy who cannot be made so.
Last night in a meaningle exhibition game, Jermaine O\'Neal was whistled for a bad technical foul.At least, that\'s what it seemed like to the camera\'s eye, which is what everyone uses (we\'ll get into how that\'s a flawed start in a minute).It certainly didn\'t seem like O\'Neal was worthy of a technical foul.It was a bad call, the same kind of bad call that\'s been made since the invention of the modern game and will be made for as long as officials are human.As Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported last night , it\'s probably an iue with both sides trying to find where the line exists.
Kevin Garnett? That was not a bad call.I understand that the paying fans at Madison Square Garden didn\'t come to see Garnett ejected.I get that we want players like KG to be able to play with emotion, with their paionate hearts on their sleeves.You\'re absolutely right that emotion is a pivotal part of the game\'s heart.
What Garnett was doing? What he usually does? It\'s not.It\'s intimidation
at worst, and overreaction in the least, and he needed to be toed under the new rules.Arguing the call by trying to show the foul, that\'s debatable.If he was calm, cool, and collected, then the first technical would have been completely wrong.Let me ask you this:
When was the last time you saw or heard of Kevin Garnett being calm, cool, and collected on a basketball court?
We have no idea what he said to the officials, and that\'s the biggest problems here.He could have said \"Good sir! I heartily object, and though I respect your opinion, I was wondering if we might discu the iue for a brief moment!\" We don\'t know.We\'re reacting based on microphone muted interpretations of what we see on screen, without a clue of what was actually said by these players.I\'d imagine if the officials were able to come out and say what the players said to them, we might feel differently.We\'d also probably feel differently about the players, and that\'s not something the NBA wants at all.For all the talk today about how the league is victimizing the poor players, they could just mike up everything, let the profanity be released in a transcript, and then see how those endorsement dollars come rolling in.
But, no.We side with the athlete because it\'s his work we appreciate.His work, being the key phrase there.These are profeionals.They always want to talk about that.How they are profeionals and deserve to be paid as such.That they\'ll switch teams because they\'re profeionals or hold out because they are profeionals or don\'t care about the fans because they\'re profeionals.But they can\'t control themselves on the floor? We\'re talking most often about guys who are 25 years of age or older.Grown men, who can\'t control their own reactions to something they know won\'t change no matter what they say or do? Do you think Kendrick Perkins screaming \"What?!\" or Tim Duncan\'s eyes bulging or Kobe Bryant making faces will actually convince a referee to say \"Oh, you know what? When you put it that way, you\'re right.You didn\'t foul him.I\'m sorry.Let me change this call.\"? No.The calls won\'t change.It\'s just complaining for complaining\'s sake, or it\'s an attempt to influence the outcome by preuring officials.And that\'s a serious problem.
You don\'t want to go down that road, and it\'s one that gets tread upon a lot in an NBA season.It\'s not an epidemic, but it\'s enough to want to force the players to pump the breaks.It\'s the same as Phil Jackson flexing his muscle in pre conferences.Last night, after the first technical, Kevin Garnett had to be restrained by another teammate from coming at the official.He wasn\'t going to hurt him.He wasn\'t going to do anything but scream and yell.That\'s pretty obvious.But let me ask you something.If
a man of KG\'s height, width, and intensity is charging at you screaming like a lunatic, are you going to get a little rattled? Because I would wet myself and call games however it is the big scary man wants me to.And that\'s not how you want NBA games called.
The final piece of this ridiculous counter-reaction to a call for responsible, mature behavior is the \"robot\" argument.\"I want my players to play with emotion, not be robots!\" As if this behavior has anything to do with the emotion of the game.The new rules don\'t prohibit a fist pump after a big shot down the stretch.From a defeated collapse or hitting the floor after a player knocks down a tough shot over you.It doesn\'t prevent the hip bumps, chest bumps, high-fives, fist-pounds, jersey-popping, or any of the other things that produce imagery we\'ve come to love about this game.There isn\'t an ounce of in-game emotion that\'s being sapped by this rule set.
It\'s just a measure to force grown men to act as such.If you\'re capable of shrugging through that mid-March game with the zeal and intensity of a manic-depreive tree slug, you\'re capable of keeping perspective enough to know that the call was made on you, and whether you like it or not, it is.And it will happen again within the hour, no doubt.If you\'re mature enough to be paid millions of dollars for your role on a team vying for a championship, you should be mature enough to not badger and scream when something doesn\'t go your way.
Complaining in the NBA isn\'t an epidemic.It was simply something that reflected poorly on the game and needed to be corrected.The league took an initiative as such.People say that the market research the NBA is claiming is somehow fabricated, because no one\'s actually complaining about the complaining.Right.Just like no one wants to hear about LeBron James, as traffic on Heat posts grow to phenomenal numbers. The NBA does things badly sometimes, like any sports league.And officials will often get calls wrong, like the call on Jermaine O\'Neal last night.But in this instance, asking the players to temper their reactions isn\'t just reasonable, it\'s the right thing to do, and the game will be better for it, for casual and hardcore fans alike.
You can consider this the complaining about the complaining in response to the rule brought about because of complaining in order to limit complaining.
9.Shootaround 10.15.10: Good and bad places
Dwight Howard thinks the new rule has its place, Monta Ellis\' wife is keeping him in the right place, Andre Blatche needs a new place, and Al Jefferson is getting into a good place, all in today\'s Shootaround.Posted by Matt Moore So while the Union\'s suing and the Celtics are freaking out, Dwight Howard has come out and said that in regards to the new tech rules, \"They want us to cut down on talking to the refs, as hard as that may be.We\'ve adjusted to everything else that\'s put out there.So we\'ll adjust.\" That\'s right.The guy that watches cartoons, does funny voices, and is pretty much known as a big kid, he\'s the one who\'s being grown up about this.The world\'s gone mad.Dwight Howard is in a place where he can have perspective and Kevin Garnett is not.What is happening?
Marvel Comics is teaming up with ESPN and the NBA for a series of promotional spots .Does it bother anyone else how much the league is marketing towards the storyline of LeBron leaving Cleveland? Don\'t get me wrong, I\'ve been softer on James than others because if you asked me if I wanted to go work somewhere nicer with two of my friends with a greater chance of succe, I\'d probably do it too.But rubbing Cleveland\'s nose in it constantly for marketing purposes and playing into their spurned response seems exploitive.
Monta Ellis is in a much better place emotionally and mentally.Why? Dude got married and his wife, a lady cop, has him in line.I can understand where Ellis is coming from, as I\'m sure a lot of men can.You have your wilder 20\'s, jacking up shots and riding mopeds, and then you get married and that stuff gets thrown out.This would be better if she were a segway cop or something.Still, it\'s good to see Ellis in a better place.
Mike Wells of the Indy Star reports that both Dahntay Jones and Solomon Jones are on the block as the Pacers try and move for a big man.
TruthAboutIt.Net\'s Kyle Weidie is more concerned with Andre Blatche at the moment than Gilbert Arenas.Blatche boosted his stock immensely last year with some solid play on the blown-up Wizards.But he thinks of himself as a primary scoring threat, not as a complimentary piece, and has big chemistry iues.If they can get him on the market and get a good player to put next to Wall for him, they should move, and quickly.
Alvin Gentry is telling his team that if they want to be succesful this year, they\'re going to have to be a \"GREAT\" defensive team .This for a team that had a worse defensive rating than any of Mike D\'Antoni\'s years.Even if you think Amar\'e was the problem (and he wasn\'t), good luck with that, coach.
Sasha Vujacic suffered a concuion in practice and is out indefinitely.Perhaps he was confused on what being \"unconscious\" from the arc meant.
In case you mied it last night , you need to see John Wall destroying the Bucks in 40 secons.For real. Mike D\'Antoni called Anthony Randolph a \"stat magnet.\" If only that magnet wasn\'t similarly charged to that of a \"high basketball IQ magnet\" because Randolph seems to repel that idea.Many, Knicks fans especailly, hope this is the season that changes.He can be an absolute game-changer when his head\'s in the right place. And finally, just a small basketball note.If you caught last night\'s Jazz game you saw this, but if you didn\'t, Al Jefferson looked really good.Even with an out-of-shape Deron Williams working with him, Jefferson was hitting from all over the floor and attacking the gla on both sides of the ball.Defensively he\'s still figuring the system out, but things are looking tremendously good for Utah\'s new acquisition.
