Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh tends to be left out of conversations involving top players in his draft class. He’s noticed, and gotten annoyed about it, and used the motivation to make himself better.

Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reports:

“It’s mentality, mentality,” [Bosh] said when asked where the numbers come from, a mentality buried and finally brought to the fore by being held out of conversations about the game’s greats.

“Was it hidden? Yeah, I guess so,” he said after Toronto had dropped a 104-91 decision to the Utah Jazz. “I always thought of myself as a good basketball player, but after a while I really wanted to turn the corner. I looked at all the other guys who are considered top guys and I was tired of not having my name mentioned.

“I wanted to do the necessary work to make sure I put myself in a situation to be successful.”

This season Bosh is putting up monster stats. In 35.9 minutes per game he’s averaging 26.8 points and 12.3 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field.

Share your Raptors opinion on the InsideHoops Toronto Raptors forum.

Two of the best Detroit Pistons players are shooting guards Ben Gordon and Richard Hamilton. Both are too small to play small forward, and neither one is a true point guard. While they can play together for stretches, it isn’t an ideal, permanent solution.

So far this season, an injury has caused Hamilton to miss all but one game, leaving plenty of two-spot minutes for Gordon. But Rip returns soon. Will there be a rotation issue?

Ian Thompson of Sports Illustrated writes:

Both Gordon and Hamilton have insisted there will be no friction when Hamilton returns from a badly sprained ankle. Gordon will be willing to come off the bench, which was something his predecessor, Allen Iverson, wasn’t willing to do for Detroit last year.

“It’s about winning,” said Gordon, who was a sixth man in half of his games with Chicago over his five years there. “At the end of the day I know Rip is a winner, and you’re not able to say that about a lot of other guys. I don’t think he sees me as a threat; I think he sees me as someone to help win games.”

At the same time, Gordon’s job, as he sees it, is to continue to push Hamilton for the starting position. “It’s always positive to have some competition out there, and have somebody [who], if you’re not performing well, they can come in and challenge you. Even though we have an understanding that we want to win, we’re also going to challenge each other and that’s going to make both of us better.”

Both players have good attitudes and care about winning, so there’s likely no big problem looming.

Have Pistons opinions? Share them on the InsideHoops Detroit Pistons forum.

Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group reports:

After Tuesday’s 114-108 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Warriors guard Monta Ellis was faced with the same, obvious question. With Stephen Jackson traded to the Charlotte Bobcats, does he see an opening for him to increase his role?

“I told you all,” Ellis said after totaling 23 points and eight assists, “I’m not putting any more on my back.”

The Warriors are hoping just the opposite. According to team sources, Warriors officials are watching closely to see if Ellis assumes the role as face of the franchise, being the team’s highest-paid, and perhaps best, player. How he responds could determine whether he is around for the long term.

Reports surfaced Tuesday about the Warriors actively shopping Ellis on the trade market, and Ellis’ agent, Jeff Fried, is set to meet with general manager Larry Riley this week, possibly to talk about a trade.

On the one hand, I get what Monta is saying. He’s doing all he can, so he can’t step up and do more, because he’s already doing it. On the other hand, the team needs emotional leaders as well as floor leaders more than ever, and he certainly can have the ball more, create for others more, and raise his star-level even higher. But, he’s apparently not interested in that. Which isn’t really too impressive.

Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports:

No one can say Spencer Hawes looks at his performance through rose-colored lenses.

When asked to assess his progress nine games into his third season, the Kings center was blunt.

“Not terribly excited,” Hawes said. “But I think that has mostly to do with offensive stuff, shooting the ball. But the other things I’m feeling pretty good about.”

While the other things – rebounding, defense and setting screens – have drawn praise from the coaching staff, Hawes has been inconsistent on offense.

Hawes has made just 41.8 percent of his field-goal attempts. One of Hawes’ strengths is his outside shooting, but the 7-foot-1 center is 0 for 12 on three-point shots. Hawes, however, is second on the Kings with 7.2 rebounds per game and tied with Jason Thompson for the team lead in blocked shots, averaging 1.3.

Despite this, the Kings are off to a better than expected start to the season, even with super-scoring, shooting guard Kevin Martin injured.

The AP reports:

LeBron James may persuade NBA players to give up their No. 23s, but a leaguewide retirement of Michael Jordan’s number seems unlikely.

James said on Thursday that he is considering switching his number next season and wants other players to do the same in honor of Jordan, the Hall of Famer who is often regarded as the league’s best player ever.

Major League Baseball retired Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 and the NHL did the same with Wayne Gretzky’s No. 99, but that hasn’t been done in the NBA. Spokesman Tim Frank said on Saturday that ”retiring a player’s number is a decision that has been made by the teams” and not the league.

Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee reports:

The Kings’ attendance is still lagging. After selling out only one of their first two home games as part of the Sellout 2009 initiative, the Kings had crowds of 11,751 and 10,760 in their following two home games. But Westphal said he’s confident the fans will come out if the team continues to compete as it has recently.

“This town is watching,” he said. “Whether this building is full yet or not, people are paying attention to see what we do. We can’t guarantee any records. We know how tough this league is. But we do have a lot of players with a lot of fight in them, and we’re doing that on purpose.”

The Kings have actually been worth watching lately and are playing better team basketball ever since Kevin Martin went out. That’s not a knock on Martin; he’s a super-scorer and the entire team has stepped up in his absence. They’re also playing better defense without him, though.

New Phoenix Suns center Channing Frye began his NBA career in 2005-06 with the New York Knicks.

His rookie year was solid. Playing 24.2 minutes per game, Frye averaged 12.3 points and 5.8 rebounds on good shooting, looking versatiel and talented.

Frye stayed with the Knicks for his second season, then spent two years with the Portland Trail Blazers. But of his first four seasons, his rookie year stood out the most.

Now with the Suns, something crazy has happened. The 6-11, 245-pound big-man has become a huge threat from three-point range.

In his first four seasons, Frye’s three-point shooting totals were: 3-of-9, 3-of-18, 3-of-10, and 11-of-33.

This season, in the six games Phoenix has played, Frye has fired 33 three-pointers and hit 16 of them; a 48.5% clip.

The team, meanwhile, is off to a great 6-1 start.

Playing a faster style of basketball now that Shaquille O’Neal is gone, the Suns are playing fun, winning basketball and are worth watching. Steve Nash is playing great. The fans are entertained. And Frye has been a great surprise.

Have an opinion? Share it in this forum topic.

Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard is a bad free throw shooter, so it’s a good gamble for defenders about to give up a potential easy inside shot to be sure to foul him and force him to sink the charity stripe shots.

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports:

The Hack-a-Howard is in a lot of opponent’s game-plans just as the Hack-a-Shaq was when O’Neal was a young Magic center.

The Magic have no more answers today for Howard than they did in the early-to-mid ’90s with Shaq.

The club complained to the league back then about the intentional, body-jarring fouling and little changed. Ditto in the Dwight era.

On Friday, General Manager Otis Smith threw up his hands and said, “What’s the league going to do?” Coach Stan Van Gundy has talked like a defense attorney this season on behalf of Howard, hoping the NBA might get the message through the media.

The answer?

“We — and Dwight — have to adjust to the situation the way it is,” Van Gundy said.

Howard for his career shoots 56.9% from the field, and only a little better, 60.2% from the free throw line.

Denver Nuggets rookie point guard Ty Lawson has immediately shown he’s worthy of being a part of a winning team’s rotation. Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post reports:

Lawson was projected to have to scratch and claw for playing time, but he has averaged 21.2 minutes per game and has backed it up by averaging 11.8 points to go along with 2.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

“He reminds me a little bit of, when I came (into the league), a fast little guard was Brevin Knight,” Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups said. “The only reason I say that is because Brevin was really, really fast but he was never out of control. He was really fast and didn’t look like he was moving that fast. Ty is really, really fast, and most guys have to get low instead of standing straight up. He’s got a special gift.

“He’s small in stature, but he’s stronger than people think. You can’t just knock him around. He’s low to the ground, like a pit bull. But a lot faster than a pit bull.”

At 5-11, 195 pounds, Lawson is worth keeping an eye on.

The Nuggets are off to a hot start in 2009-10 and as of Friday are undefeated with a 5-0 record.

Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reports:

Artest’s return to Houston wasn’t exactly akin to Brett Favre’s return to play in Green Bay, where he spent 16 seasons.

“There’s nothing really to get too excited about,” he said.

In fact, Artest estimated that he lost $20 million in potential salary because he came off the bench for part of last season, in a contract year, until Tracy McGrady’s knee injury allowed him to move into the starting lineup.

Artest said he regretted playing in Houston for one season.

“Yeah, I do,” he said. “I’ve been blessed to get paid to play basketball. One percent tells me I wish I could have been somewhere else. Things didn’t go the way I wanted it to.”

Then, after thinking about it for a split second, he hedged his words: “I was fine with that even though I was in my contract year.”

During his NBA career, Artest has generally been paid on the slightly lower end of what he was probably worth. A defensive superstar who isn’t quite as good offensively as his stats suggest, he’s basically gotten fair paychecks, but still probably could have landed an inflated deal somewhere along the way.

Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (via blog):

Timberwolves forward Oleksiy Pecherov has become the team’s most improved player, and he’s done it in the past three games. When Pecherov, as Wolves coach Kurt Rambis puts it, “learns how to compete in this league and gets a better understanding of our offense and defense,” the Wolves might get quality production out of a player they weren’t sure about.

The 7-foot Pecherov, a three-year veteran from Ukraine, came to the Wolves from the Washington Wizards in June in the draft-day trade that shipped out Mike Miller and Randy Foye. Pecherov was a relative unknown, but that could change.

Rambis has started Percherov the past four games, and his career-high 24 points against Boston Wednesday night will keep him in the starting lineup.

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports:

After watching this Ryan Anderson kid through his first three starts as a stand-in, you have to ask (if only in jest):

So how are the Orlando Magic going to find Rashard Lewis playing time when he comes back?

Even Anderson laughed at the question.

Anderson, 21, has been doing more than just keeping Lewis’ power-forward spot warm, but he realizes his days as a starter are numbered. He’ll be heading to the bench when Lewis returns from a league-mandated suspension in seven more games.

Anderson has been very Lewis-like in playing the role, averaging 17.3 points per game, second only to Dwight Howard’s 21.7 ppg. He, too, is 6 feet 10, and can shoot 3-pointers, nailing 11-of-20 for 55 percent.

And he’ll be looking to provide offense again if shooting guard Vince Carter (sprained left ankle) and small forward Mickael Pietrus (flu-like symptoms) are unavailable tonight against the Detroit Pistons.

Lewis will obviously start when he comes back. But it’s still a great “problem” that Anderson has fit in so well it’ll be difficult for coach Stan Van Gundy to move him back to the bench.

Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman reports:

If you had one guess, what would you say is driving Kevin Durant this season?

The scoring title? An All-Star appearance? A playoff berth?

How about video games?

“People might not believe me, but when I go home (after practice) I play video games and I lose all the time,” Durant said. “And I get so mad that I come back and I want to win everything. Something that small puts that winning mentality into my head.”

The NBA’s sixth leading scorer last season is off to a good start after Wednesday’s season-opening 102-89 victory over Sacramento. A stiffer test is in store tonight as the Thunder rolls into Detroit to take on a more talented Pistons team. But the goal of winning remains the same.

“That’s what this year is all about,” Durant said. “We have the right group of guys here and we all want to win, so that makes it easier as well.”

The Thunder are a fun, young team off to a nice little 2-0 start, and in the two wins Durant averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

Mark Puente of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (via blog):

Predators lurking for local children on the Internet could soon be talking to a 7-foot-1 undercover deputy.

The Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy is reviewing paperwork to determine whether Cavaliers center Shaquille O’Neal is eligible to carry a gun and a sheriff’s five-point badge.

Cuyahoga County Sheriff Bob Reid last week notified the state agency, which determines officers’ eligibility, that he intends to deputize O’Neal if approved by the state, according to records obtained by The Plain Dealer. O’Neal held law-enforcement commissions in Arizona, Virginia and Florida. Reid declined to comment until the process is complete.

If O’Neal is approved, he would need to complete 36 hours of police training within six months and take the Ohio police examination to maintain the appointment, said Holly Hollingsworth, spokeswoman for the Attorney General. He would also have to pass a test on a shooting range.

This is one of the few things Shaq appears to take pretty seriously. He’s pursued it for a long time. But I still doubt he does it full-time after his NBA basketball career wraps up in a few years. Helping the law will probably be a side-hobby for the big fella.

Dan Duggan of the Boston Herald reports:

When Ray Allen said he entered training camp in the best shape of his career, it was an attention-grabber.

After all, it’s tough to improve your condition when you have 4.5 percent body fat.

“I’m never out of shape, so I don’t really have to get back in shape,” Allen said. “But even getting quicker ahead of the game so when I came in here it was like I could just start getting stronger now and just focus on the small little things I needed to do to get back into basketball shape.”

Allen credits a more intensive running schedule this offseason for his improved conditioning. The difference between this summer and his first two with the Celtics [team stats] is that his ankles finally are healthy.

Lots of NBA players tend to declare things like this quite often, and whether it turns out to be true or not usually remains to be seen. But as is the case with all older players, Allen has to pace himself so that he’s healthy enough to stay atop his game for the entire post-season.

The Golden State Warriors have all sorts of issues. A minor one, for now, is that rookie guard Stephen Curry isn’t quite a shooting star just yet.

Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group reports:

The rookie No. 1 draft pick entered the game shooting 34.8 percent, including 4-for-21 from 3-point range.

Nelson said Curry is not even making shots in practice.

“I just thought it was a fluke for the first few weeks,” Nelson said.

“He was always a volume shooter,” Nelson said. “We’re having him think more as a point guard. That may be a factor, but I don’t think so. He feels free to take shots, and we encourage him to do it. I don’t really know any reason.

“He was a great shooter in college. … All I’ve been doing is just encouraging him. Keep shooting.”

Nelson has told the Warriors’ strength and conditioning personnel about cutting back Curry’s weightlifting to see if that’s the problem.

Curry said he lifts three days a week “heavy” for an hour straight. At most at Davidson, he said, he lifted “light” twice a week. But he said he doesn’t think weights are the issue.

I see this as no big deal at all. He’s shooting 35 percent now, on a team that’s making all sorts of adjustments. He’ll probably start shooting 40 percent soon, and perhaps higher in the near future. No problem just yet.

For most of his short NBA career, Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley has merely been solid.

Entering the league in the 2007-08 season, Conley didn’t shoot particularly well and averaged 9.4 points and 4.2 assists per game.

In his second season the 6-1, 185-pound Conley improved his three-point shooting range and free throw shooting, but the rest of his game didn’t show much improvement.

The time has come for him to make a strong impression on Grizzlies management.

Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:

Conley has received a strong message. The coaching staff is demanding he be more assertive and in charge of a group that features strong personalities and offensive wills.

Under Hollins, Conley already proved he is a credible NBA point guard. The pressure this season is for Conley to build on his personal gains and prove his position isn’t in need of an upgrade.

“I don’t want to be the weak link,” Conley said. “You want to be a key part of why a team is winning. It forces me to look at the game differently. I’ve got to be a force so that guys can’t sag off me or take me for granted.

“I know people may have given up and lost interest in me, but I use all of that as motivation. The people who doubt me, I try to go out and prove them wrong. I know I can help make this team better. I’m at the point now where I feel like people are going to realize that I belong in this league.”

Conley’s shooting has been good this preaseason. But he must soon prove that he’s capable of being a starter on a winning team.

When a team is 16-1 it is a safe assumption that they’re pretty good. Actually, more like very good, or great. But Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers judges by what his eyes tell him as he watches the team play, not the win-loss column.

Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe reports:

“Last year, I kept making a point when we were 16-1 we were horrible, that we were playing horrible,’’ Rivers said. “People were laughing; I believed that. I thought we were and it proved itself a little bit right after that. So you just watch your team.’’

Chemistry becomes a cliché after a while, but making sure roles are clear and every player is comfortable in theirs is a priority.

“A lot of the jobs for guys are new, even some of the guys that have been here, and it’s going to take them time to understand it completely,’’ Rivers said. “And that’s what we mean by, ‘We’ll be better as the year goes on.’ ’’

This reminds me of when the Houston Rockets went on their incredible 20+ game winning streak a while back. Even though they kept winning game after game, there was nothing particularly impressive about the team other than good chemistry and smart, unselfish play. Yet they kept right on winning.

The Toronto Raptors have a hot rookie shooting guard in DeMar DeRozan.

Aside from being extremely athletic, DeRozan has both a first and last name with two capital letters. Clearly an added bonus.

But is the kid ready to be a real starter on a team that hopes to make the playoffs? One writer says no.

Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun reports:

The starting five, which has four legit pieces, has a major hole at shooting guard, an area rookie DeMar DeRozan has yet to seize.

The kid looks like a keeper, but the kid isn’t ready.

Assuming his right knee holds up, the right move is to start Antoine Wright.

If Wright’s knee regresses and the Raptors are forced into force-feeding DeRozan into the starting unit, then the team is in trouble.

DeRozan needs time and now is not the time to thrust him into a role he is clearly not equipped to handle.

I agree that it’s better to give Wright the bigger role and minutes early on, while giving DeRozan more time to learn the ropes. Ideally, DD will be ready to handle the job a few months into the season.

Power forward Craig Smith, a new member of the Los Angeles Clippers, has been making a strong impression on his new teammates. That being, stay away from him or bad things may happen to you.

Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times reports:

Rhino’s wreckage has taken out two teammates. First, it was rookie power forward Blake Griffin’s knee (four days before training camp), and on Friday, Marcus Camby, though that was more of a fluke when Camby rolled over on his left ankle and sprained it close to the end of practice.

Camby was clearly in pain and sat on the floor for several minutes before he was able to hobble back to the training room. He is doubtful with the Clippers facing three exhibition games in the next four days, starting today against Utah at Staples Center.

Earlier in the week, the 6-foot-7, 250-pound Smith seemed genuinely mystified about how Griffin got hurt in the first place in their informal scrimmage before training camp.

The bone bruise kept Griffin out until the second game of the exhibition season.

Hopefully Smith has not hurt any of his fellow Clippers during the time it took me to post this entry.