Author: John Paulsen (Page 572 of 937)

      Al Jefferson out with torn ACL

      February 9, 2009 /

      The Minnesota Timberwolves’ franchise player is out indefinitely with a torn ACL.

      The team made the announcement Monday after a somber practice. Coach Kevin McHale said Jefferson will likely have surgery to repair the injury in the next week to 10 days.

      “Al’s played at such a high level for this team and been such a big part of our team,” McHale said. “Everybody around here today is a little bit down in the dumps.”

      It was devastating news for a young Timberwolves team that has been playing better in 2009 after getting off to a 4-23 start to the season. With Jefferson the focal point, the Wolves went 10-4 in January, and the 24-year-old center was playing even better early in this month.

      “I feel terrible for Al. Al’s really, right now, devastated by it,” McHale said. “It all happens for a reason. It’s hard for me to figure out what this reason is. Somehow he’s just going to have to make the best of it and rehab and get better and move on from here.”

      The T-Wolves made news back in early December when they fired Randy Wittman and replaced him with then-GM Kevin McHale. At that point, the team was 4-15, and they went on to lose their next eight games to fall to 4-23. Then something strange happened: they started winning. They actually went 12-4 over the next 30 days, a run that included wins at Phoenix and at home against the Hornets. During that span, Jefferson averaged 23.0 points and 11.4 rebounds (numbers that are about the same as his season aveages), and was even getting some love as a possible All-Star (albeit as a long shot).

      So Jefferson has to undergo surgery and start rehab, but what do the T-Wolves do now? The team finally started to show some life under McHale — does he get another full season at the helm?

      NBA

      Vladimir Radmanovic criticizes Lakers, unintentional hilarity ensues

      February 9, 2009 /

      Just hours after being traded to Charlotte, Vladimir Radmanovic criticized his old team’s game plan.

      “Being a Laker was a great experience,” Radmanovic told The Charlotte Observer before Sunday’s 96-92 loss in Miami. “But it was also frustrating not knowing when and how I’d play.”

      “Phil’s system, great as it is, doesn’t give a role player much opportunity,” Radmanovic said. “For Kobe Bryant, it’s great. For Pau Gasol, it’s great. But role players don’t do much.”

      The Serbian pointed to the value of his versatility Sunday. He told the Observer he’s comfortable at power forward or small forward.

      “I’ve been playing 3 and 4 my whole career,” Radmanovic said. “Obviously I’m a little quicker than most 6-10 guys, so I can guard smaller players.”

      Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

      “I can guard smaller players.”

      Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

      I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit focusing solely on Radmanovic on the defensive end. Sometimes I’ll just watch him for a series of possessions just for a laugh. The guy is absolutely lost on that end of the court. Lost.

      He has no awareness, is unable to see both his man and the ball and is always caught out of position. If he were a rookie or maybe a second-year player, the Lakers could have worked with him. But he’s 28 and it’s tough to teach an old dog new tricks.

      You don’t have to be the quickest guy in the world to be a decent defender. You just have to understand positioning and know where you’re supposed to be on the court. Radmanovic doesn’t, and that’s why the Lakers traded him.

      I can’t wait to see what Larry Brown does with this guy. Radmanovic might very well force him into retirement again.

      Fantasy Basketball, Humor, NBA

      Stoudemire speaks out about trade rumors

      February 9, 2009 /

      Amare Stoudemire has never been shy about voicing his opinion, and nothing has changed now that he’s on the trading block.

      Amare Stoudemire knows he’s on the trading block, and he knows we know. While most athletes would dodge questions about rumors with trite cliches, Stoudemire was refreshingly honest following Sunday’s win in Detroit.

      “I know about the rumors. I know what teams are looking. I know what teams want me,” Stoudemire said. “I pretty much know everything — I know what’s going on. I’m definitely in the loop on what’s happening.”

      For outside observers, what’s happening is very confusing. The Suns have clearly taken a step back, but if shaking up the roster is the solution as opposed to riding things out, shouldn’t moving the 26-year-old franchise cornerstone be the absolute last resort?

      You’d think so, but as Stoudemire sees it, the Suns are motivated as much by their bottom-line as they are putting the best team on the floor. “I think it’s all about what they want to do and what they’re trying to do financially,” he said. “I think their main focus is their financial intake.”

      “I heard Avery Johnson say one time I was a bad locker room guy or whatever,” Stoudemire said. “That stuff’s totally B.S. — we get along so well inside the locker room, we hang out with each other probably more than any team in the league as far as camaraderie, as far as hanging out together. We try to enjoy ourselves.”

      As one reporter pointed out, several of the Suns have described Stoudemire as being one of the most social players on the team. “That’s my thing, that’s why I don’t understand what Avery Johnson was saying or Tim Legler on NBA Shootaround when they said I was a bad locker room guy. That’s not me. That’s not me.”

      “I take pride in really keeping everybody’s spirits up in the locker room, just being that guy that keeps everybody happy and smiling and having a good time,” he continued. “Shaq [is] that way, as well. So with our personalities, we just enjoy ourselves. And even though we went through a bad losing streak there for a minute earlier in the season, we still stayed together, we still kept our motivation, we still had fun. We knew one day [if] we’d stay together it’d turn around.”

      Most players field such questions with cliches or gruff non-answers, so it’s refreshing to see Stoudemire talk about it so honestly. He addressed the concerns over his presence in the locker room and is generally upbeat about all the trade talk. I’d like to see someone ask him about the criticism about his defense, but I think much of that is Phoenix trying to justify trading him in the first place.

      I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — you just don’t trade a 6’10”, 1st Team All-NBA talent who is just entering his prime. It’s highly unlikely that the Suns are going to get equal value — just look at last year’s Pau Gasol trade. They’ll probably get a young star, but not someone that’s on Stoudemire’s level.

      The funny thing is that Suns fans have turned on Amare, and with this news out in the open, I think something will happen prior to the Feb. 19 deadline. I think it has to. With this many teams competing for his services, someone will offer the Suns something they want.

      If he still hasn’t been traded by Thursday, I’m going to offer up 29 trade scenarios for Amare — one for each team.

      Fantasy Basketball, Rumors & Gossip

      Andrew Magee opens mouth, inserts foot

      February 9, 2009 /

      Devil Ball Golf has the story of golf announcer Andrew Magee and his…um…unfortunate decision last weekend.

      Now, the FBR Open is, as we discussed in this space a week or so ago, an insane booze party frequently interrupted with golf. And at such parties, it’s likely that someone may choose to wear a t-shirt that’s perhaps a little inappropriate. But repeating what that shirt says … not such a bright idea.

      Magee, wandering the course for The Golf Channel, told fellow analyst Gary McCord that he’d just seen a guy wearing a t-shirt that said, “I got kicked out of the Boy Scouts for eating a Brownie.” I sincerely hope we don’t need to explain to you why some people might find that offensive. (Aside: why do we assume it’s a sexually suggestive remark? Could be about cannibalism, not that that’s any better.)

      Anyway, McCord wisely kept his mouth shut, and several agonizing seconds of dead air followed Magee’s remark, during which Magee surely wished he could disappear into his own navel. Magee has been “disciplined” but apparently not suspended.

      D’oh!

      Golf, Humor, Television

      Lakers beat Cavs in impressive fashion

      February 8, 2009 /

      The Cavs were up 61-51 at halftime, but a 22-8 run to start the third quarter put the Lakers in control of the game, and they went on to win, 101-91. That run included an 11-0 spurt at the start of the quarter, and Mike Brown failed to call a timeout to stop the bleeding. After all, the Cavs are still a young team, so they are not as adept at playing through adversity as, say, the Celtics, Spurs or even the Lakers. I kept waiting for Brown to call a timeout but it never happened, and in many ways, that shift of momentum at the beginning of the second half was the difference in the game.

      But it didn’t help that LeBron James shot 5 of 20 from the field. He had a near triple-double (16 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds) but he’d be the first to admit that he didn’t play very well. It’s not often that the Cavs get 57 combined points from Mo Williams, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Wally Szczerbiak and still find a way to lose, but they did just that today.

      After the loss of Andrew Bynum for 8-12 weeks, the Lakers have to feel great about completing this five-game road trip with consecutive wins against the Celtics and Cavs. Kobe was apparently battling the flu, but still managed to outscore LeBron (with 19 points) and hit a crucial rainbow jumper with just 2:48 remaining to put the Lakers up six. Lamar Odom (28 points, 17 rebounds) continues to play big basketball in Bynum’s absence, and is doing wonders for the contract that he’ll be signing this summer as a free agent.

      So with a 1-3 combined record against the Celtics and Lakers, do the Cavs make a move with Szczerbiak’s expiring contract or do they stand pat and hope for the best? I think they have to do everything they can to win a title (or at least get to the Finals this year) if they hope to keep LeBron next summer, but clearly they have to hold out for a deal that has a great chance to make them better. I think they could package Szczerbiak with Hickson (and maybe a first round pick or two) and get themselves an impact big like Jermaine O’Neal.

      Is that worth the risk? Well, O’Neal had 22 points, nine boards and nine blocks in a recent loss against the Lakers and his contract expires in 2010, so it wouldn’t affect the team’s cap flexibility in the long term.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals, Rumors & Gossip

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