Suicide lines: Feisty Celtics-Cavs dress rehearsal; vocal Brooks
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...October 22, 2009
Each weekday morning, Ball Don’t Lie serves up a handful of NBA-related
stories to digest with your alfajores.
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe: "… if there was a moment that showed how intense the [Celtics-Cavs] matchup has become, it was at the end of the first half when Mo Williams(notes) and Shelden Williams(notes) tussled, prompting players on both benches to stand and leading to technical fouls. [VIDEO] ‘That’s what happens when teams face each other a lot,’ Rivers said. ‘They know each other a lot. I’m glad everybody eventually kept their composure and we eventually got back to playing basketball.’ Rivers wants to keep his lineup and game plan possibilities to himself until the opener, but he knows there are few secrets between the teams. ‘It’s not like when they call ‘Dribble 1,’ we don’t know what Dribble 1 is,’ he said. ‘Whether we stop it or not, that’s a whole different subject. I’m sure they’ll unveil something new in Game 1, just like us. Then after it’s run twice, your guys are smart enough to pick it up or somebody on our bench is. It all comes down to execution at the end of the day.’"
Mike Baldwin, The Oklahoman: "Thunder coach Scott Brooks is about as upbeat a coach as you will see. He’s constantly encouraging players and prefers to talk about a player’s strengths instead of their weaknesses. That’s why Brooks’ late-practice, high-volume lecture to his team Wednesday afternoon at the end of practice was eye opening. After players half-heartedly completed what’s supposed to be a fast-paced, 100-pass, spacing, ball movement drill, Brooks screamed some unprintable words and then told his team that he and his assistant coaches, all in their 40s and 50s, could go at that speed. Brooks almost never uses R-rated language but his tongue lashing certainly got his team’s attention. Brooks informed players they would re-run the drill and go at game speed, not just for this particular drill but every drill throughout the entire season. Players responded by running the drill crisply and effectively."
Tom Enlund, Journal Sentinel: "Bucks coach Scott Skiles is going to wait one more game before he decides whether it will be veteran Luke Ridnour(notes) or rookie Brandon Jennings(notes) who will start at point guard on opening night. Ridnour started the first five preseason games while Jennings has started the last two games. Skiles said after practice Wednesday that he wanted to wait until after the final preseason game before deciding which of the two would start. Skiles has not said who would start at point guard against the Pistons. ‘I’ll wait until the last game is over for sure (before making a decision),’ said Skiles. ‘That’s a position that obviously changed in the preseason. At all our positions, we want to make sure we doing whatever it is we can to give our team the best chance to win on opening night and the next night and …’ [...] Skiles said that there was a lot to consider in making the choice at point guard but what it may come down to is if the coaches think Jennings is ready yet to face the league’s top point guards on a nightly basis as a starter. Sometimes, there is something to be said about bringing a rookie off the bench initially and letting him play against the other team’s second unit."
Jason Quick, The Oregonian: "Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge(notes) is nearing a five-year extension with the Trail Blazers, the player said Wednesday night, but the details of the deal have yet to be worked out. Yahoo! reported that Aldridge reached a five-year deal worth approximately $70 million, and sources told The Oregonian the deal is for five years and $65 million. Aldridge said his agent and general manager Kevin Pritchard are still working on the deal. ‘It’s very close,’ Aldridge said from Vancouver, B.C., where the Blazers will play Phoenix in a preseason game Thursday. ‘It should be done soon.’"
John Reid, The Times Picayune: "[Byron] Scott said Morris Peterson(notes) definitely will start the opener next week against San Antonio ahead of rookie Marcus Thornton(notes) and Peja Stojakovic(notes) at shooting guard. But Scott said the backup point guard position is undecided between Bobby Brown(notes) and first-round draft pick Darren Collison(notes). They have been battling since training camp opened last month, and Scott plans to use a two-point guard lineup on occasion with Brown or Collison paired with starter Chris Paul(notes)."
Mark Murphy, Boston Herald: "Doc Rivers, Paul Pierce(notes), Kendrick Perkins(notes), Kevin Garnett(notes), Tommy Heinsohn — any member of the Celtics who saw Leon Powe(notes) in his courtside seat last night made the pilgrimage. As happy as he was to accept their good wishes, the former C’s forward and current member of the Cavaliers — a dichotomy if ever there was one — couldn’t help but sense the weirdness of it all. ‘It does feel strange,’ Powe said before last night’s exhibition game at Ohio State between the Celts and Cavs, two Eastern Conference rivals. ‘That’s especially true because of the last couple of years when we’ve had something going. We’re definitely teams that are on opposite sides. But it’s a business, and sometimes you’re going to go to a rival in this league.’"
Travis Heath, HOOPSWORLD: "When Denver Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien recently mentioned to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post that his team is never afraid of making a big trade, many in Denver started speculating about potential deals. While teams don’t often make major deals early in the season, Denver also bucked that trend by dealing for Chauncey Billups(notes) on November 3rd of last year. Add to that the fact that Denver still has a hefty Traded Player Exception (TPE) in its back pocket that expires on November 3rd of this year from the aforementioned Billups’ deal and it’s easy to understand why people’s imaginations are running wild. The name that seems to surface most frequently, for obvious reasons given his recent trade request, is disgruntled Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Jackson(notes). There has been speculation in Denver that the Nuggets could cash in the team’s largest TPE in exchange for Jackson. While this sounds good on paper there is one major problem: Denver’s largest TPE has been whittled down to just $7.4 million as a result of the moves the team made this summer. Meanwhile, Jackson is scheduled to make $7,650,000. What this means is that Denver does not have enough money left on the team’s largest exception to acquire Jackson."
Jeff McDonald, S.A. Express-News: "For the Spurs’ Malik Hairston(notes) and Marcus Williams, D-Day has almost arrived. Five days remain before the NBA’s roster deadline Monday, and they have almost certainly begun to do the math. There is one likely spot up for grabs. Two legitimate contenders for it. One preseason game left. Put together, that’s not a lot of time to make a closing argument. Hairston, a 6-foot-5 second-year forward, and Williams, a 6-foot-7 third-year wing, both have fans throughout the Spurs’ organization. Both are former second-round picks, and both are former Development League All-Stars. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich doesn’t seem eager to cut either. ‘They’ve steadily improved since the day they became a part of the program,’ Popovich said. ‘They’ve put in their time in the D-League in Austin and summer leagues with us. They’ve both continued to develop nicely.’"
Steve Buffrey, Toronto Sun: "Now that forward Antoine Wright(notes) is totally healthy, the former Texas A&M star plans to make life difficult for the other Toronto shooting guards. Shooting guard is the only position where the starter at this point is undetermined. There’s been talk that rookie DeMar DeRozan(notes) will get the assignment because he’s a lottery pick and that no one else has really grabbed the bull by the horns. But Wright, a four-year NBA veteran, has been hurt for most of the pre-season (sore right knee) and now a battle royale for the starter’s job is expected leading up to the Raptors’ regular season opener on Oct. 28 — with the amiable Wright leading the charge and kicking the rookie’s derriere in practice. ‘I think I have to challenge him,’ said Wright of DeRozan. ‘Being a rookie and not knowing what to expect at this level, I have to make it hard on him in practice, especially if he’s going to be out there if I’m not out there because one of us is going to have to set the tone for the game.’"
Frank Isola, New York Daily News: "[Larry] Hughes is a veteran guard in the final year of his contract who doesn’t have a spot in D’Antoni’s rotation. Even the mere mention of Hughes’ diminishing role is enough to make the Knicks coach get uncharacteristically testy. ‘I’m not getting into that,’ D’Antoni said before the game. ‘If you want a story, write the story. I’m going to play the guys I think I need to play to win. He knows that, everybody knows that. But I can’t get into every nuance and every little thing. I’m not going to comment on that stuff.’ Knicks president Donnie Walsh doesn’t appreciate the media suggesting that there is a possibility that the club could eventually reach a buyout with Hughes. ‘I’m not going to comment on something just because you have an imagination,’ Walsh said."
Sekou Smith, AJC: "The [Hawks'] returnees are a year older and wiser. And the new additions, mainly Jamal Crawford(notes) and rookie point guard, are offensive talents that will help alleviate the scoring load. In short, [Mike] Bibby won’t have to spend the majority of his minutes this season as Johnson’s safety valve on offense. ‘I’m not looking to score as much,’ Bibby said. ‘I’m here to lead, because we’ve got more guys that are established now. My job is to knock down the open shot, get the guys into the offense and lead the team. And that’s what I’m going to do. I’m not going to try and score 20 points a night. My job is to make things happen, make sure everybody gets their shots where they want them and make sure everybody is happy.’ Cast for years as one of the league’s most consistent scoring point guards, the career reinvention Bibby is undergoing these days is simply a natural progression. And it’s one Woodson said he has no doubt Bibby will ace."
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