Category: NBA (Page 281 of 595)
Courtney Lee and Chris Douglas-Roberts fighting to be Nets’ starting shooting guard. Courtney Lee is a player. He can shoot, score and defend, and he’s still troubled by Orlando’s decision to trade him away. That layup he missed in the Finals was no gimme. By the time he was in position to release the ball, his entire torso was behind the backboard. It’s a shame that’s what people remember of Lee from last season. This battle may go deeper into camp, but Lee has more talent and should be starting for the Nets this season.
Replacement refs aren’t up to snuff. Last night in the Rockets-Celtics game, 75 fouls were called and 102 free throws were shot. This is astounding. NBA refs get a bad rap. Basketball is a tough game to officiate because there is so much contact on any given possession. Refs have quite a bit of leeway, which can lead to inconsistency from game to game and from crew to crew.
HC Don Nelson plans to use Stephen Curry as a starter…at times. He says it’s going to be a matchup thing because Curry is so good. So look for Curry to start when the opponent also has a couple of smallish guards in the starting lineup. But wouldn’t a Monta Ellis/Stephen Curry backcourt create huge matchup problems on the other end of the court? I think most off guards would have a tough time getting back in transition to cover Curry on the wing.
When will the Milwaukee Bucks get a new arena? I grew up outside of Milwaukee and remember when the Bradley Center was state of the art. Needless to say, that was a while ago. The Bucks are in a tough spot because with the recession, they’re going to have a tough time making money this season unless the team is playoff-caliber. Given the environment, neither the city nor the franchise are going to want to pay for an arena, so there’s a real chance that the Bucks’ owner — Senator Herb Kohl — sells the team in the next few years. It would be a shame, because Bucks fans are great when the team is good (or at least mediocre).
Delonte West leaves the team…again. Other than maybe the Lakers, the Cavs are probably the best equipped to handle this kind of drama during training camp. With the whole LeBron/Shaq honeymoon, eyes are elsewhere, but West has the potential to become a distraction as the season wears on. He’s too good to cut loose, but not so good that he deserves special treatment. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Cavs handle West if he continues to miss time.
Per the Memphis Commercial-Appeal…
Allen Iverson will miss three weeks with a partial tear in his left hamstring, the Grizzlies announced before Wednesday’s preseason game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. That means Iverson will be sidelined for the rest of the preseason — and his availability for the team’s regular-season opener against the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 28 is in jeopardy.
Iverson suffered the injury coming to a jump stop during the team’s open intrasquad scrimmage at Birmingham Southern College on Sunday. He said the entire back of his leg turned “black and purple,” and he underwent an MRI on Wednesday morning that revealed the damage.
Ouch, that doesn’t sound good. The AI era in Memphis is off to an inauspicious start.
David Lee wooed by Blazers, but was worried about playing time. Portland offered $28 million over four years, but Lee didn’t think there were enough minutes to be had with LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden already on the front line. It looks as if Lee left $21 million in guaranteed money on the table to stay with the Knicks and play out the season. This is a big risk, but it may pay off next summer.
Blazers, Aldridge still talking extension. While it’s good to hear that negotiations aren’t at a standstill, it’s still worrisome that a deal has not yet been finalized. Aldridge is not a no-brainer max-contract guy, so right now, the Blazers are trying to convince his agent that Aldridge is not worth the max. This can be a tough pill to swallow, expecially with all those teams sitting on loads of cap space next summer. If Aldridge becomes a restricted free agent in 2010 and gets a max deal in the form of an offer sheet, then the Blazers will probably match. But it’s their job to get him for what they think he’s worth, and right now the franchise has the leverage.
Monta Ellis warming up to Stephen Curry. Ellis was worried that Curry was just a shooter, but he’s shown the ability to create (specifically the nine assists he had in the Warriors’ first preseason game). I’m not sure why Ellis is so concerned with the team’s front office decisions, as he should be focused on having a bounce-back year after a fairly disastrous 2008-09 season. Curry and Ellis may face some matchup problems on the defensive end, but they have the potential to create as many problems for their opponents on the other end of the court.
LeBron not a fan of the “sit down” rule. I don’t blame him. He doesn’t want to see the emotion sucked out of the game, and that’s what this rule does. The league doesn’t want its players to block the view of the fans that pay thousands and thousands of dollars for premier seats, but there has to be a compromise here. Why not have a rule where the players can stand up to cheer a play but have to sit down within some set amount of time?
After Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of his friends early Monday morning outside of a Cleveland nightclub, Cavs’ superstar LeBron James called the actions of the Browns receiver “childish.”
James said Edwards punched Edward Givens, a friend of James’ and a promoter with a Cleveland marketing firm who was working outside the club around 2:30 a.m. ET.
“I’ve never crossed paths with Braylon before, but it seems like there’s a little jealousy going on with Braylon and me and my friends. I have no idea why,” James said. “I’ve never said anything to Braylon at all. But for him to do that is very childish. My friend is 130 pounds. Seriously. It’s like hitting one of my kids. It doesn’t make sense.”
James says he was home when the fight occurred, but got a call from Givens telling him about it at 7 a.m. Monday.
As I wrote earlier today when the news broke, this is incredibly bad timing for Edwards, who is seeking a new long-term contract. Why he would feel the need to strike anyone in the face is beyond me, but to do it when you’re trying to convince a team to pay you millions of dollars is just idiotic.
I wonder what fueled Edwards’ hatred of James. I know Braylon takes exception to LeBron not rooting for Cleveland teams, but I hardly think that’s the only reason why Edwards has decided to openly rip James in the past, not to mention punch his buddy in the face.
Considering Braylon is a Michigan guy, one would think that this isn’t a territorial issue. My guess is that Edwards is just flat out jealous that LeBron holds the key to Cleveland while Braylon has been one of the city’s whipping boys for several years now.
Gerardo Orlando of Cleveland Scores wonders if it’s time for the Browns to give up on Braylon following this incident and rookie Mohamed Massaquoi’s coming out party Sunday vs. Cincinnati.
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