The Arlington Heights Daily Herald (Mike McGraw) reports (via blog): John Salmons continues to be almost shockingly efficient. In the last four games, he’s averaged 28.0 points and shot 63.1 percent from the field. Some people figured he averaged 18 points in Sacramento only because he got so many opportunities with a horrible team, but he’s been even better with the Bulls. His assist total is minuscule, but I don’t see that as a problem right now. Rose, Gordon and Kirk Hinrich spend so much time handling the ball that when Salmons gets it, it’s usually time to make something happen before the shot clock runs out. The best thing about Salmons is he’s had an almost even mix of outside shots and drives to the basket. He’s got a quick first step and finishes very well near the hoop. Tough to complain about his game. He outscored Bryant and Paul Pierce in games this week.
Category: General NBA insight
General NBA insight
Blake Griffin gets flipped by Ameer Ali
Morgan State basketball player Ameer Ali grabbed Oklahoma star Blake Griffin’s arm, pulled him and completely flipped him onto his back. It was a disgusting, cheap play from a player who scores under 3 points per game and is lucky to even be near a talent like Griffin. Here’s the video:
The Washington Post (Michael Lee) reports: Oklahoma Coach Jeff Capel was a bit fired up after Morgan State’s Ameer Ali flipped Griffin with 7 minutes 41 seconds to play on Thursday. Griffin popped up and refused to retaliate. Ali was ejected. “I couldn’t do it,” Capel said after the game. “When I was his age, no way I was able to handle that. It shows how smart he is. He understands why people are doing these things. I don’t think it was intentional, but it was something bad that happened. “Those kinds of things upset me. I know [Morgan State] coach Todd Bozeman doesn’t teach his kids to do that. I hope it was inadvertent. It upsets me. He gets hit like that all time, and it’s not called. I know he is a difficult guy to officiate. You have to be physical with him because he’s so physical. It’s borderline ridiculous. For me it’s scary and [ticks] me off, to be honest with you.”
Isiah Thomas is resurfacing
The New York Daily News (Frank Isola) reports: Isiah Thomas is slowly making the transition back into public life, first resurfacing with his successor and current boss, Donnie Walsh, at last week’s Pac-10 Tournament in Los Angeles and then appearing on an NCAA Tournament show in Las Vegas with his college coach Bobby Knight on Sunday. When reached by the Daily News Monday, Thomas politely declined an interview request. He would only say that he’s “feeling good” and that the last few weeks have been emotionally draining, referring to his former Pistons coach and long-time friend, Chuck Daly, being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and the death of Detroit Pistons owner William Davidson last week.
Shaq says he has years of good ball left in him
The Arizona Republic (Paul Coro) reports: “I’m going to be putting up big numbers until I’m 40,” Shaquille O’Neal, 37, said. “I can play at any pace. It’s just that no one my age has done what I’ve done. Because of what went on last year (in Miami), they thought I was done. But I’m the type of player I don’t really harp on my injuries. I say it once, ‘I was injured,’ and that’s it. But people want to be the unauthorized author of my book. Last year, I was messed up. Then Nellie (Suns head athletic trainer Aaron Nelson) and them fixed me up. Now, I’m loose again and ready.” O’Neal continues to say he can deliver big games nightly if he gets enough shots. With the Suns’ increased pace, there are shots for everyone.
LeBron James is a Nate Robinson fan
New York Newsday (Alan Hahn) reports: Count LeBron James among the many stars in the NBA who admire Nate Robinson and what he brings to a game. “Love him,” James said before Robinson and the Knicks faced LeBron’s Cavaliers last night at Quicken Loans Arena. “One thing about Nate, there are certain players in this league that you know what you’re going to get out of them every night,” James said of Robinson’s boundless energy. “We have one like that in Anderson [Varejao]. Every night, you know you’re going to get high energy and they’re going to compete every night. “They’re going to make mistakes, but they play hard and they give it their all every night and you can live with that,” James added. “You can live with those type of players, and Nate is one of those players.”
Daniel Goldstein fighting Brooklyn Nets
The New Jersey Nets want to move to Brooklyn and become the Brooklyn Nets — unless they change the “Nets” name, which is possible but the guess is they keep it — but they have not yet been able to start the project due to various legal issues. The New York Daily News (Mike Lupica) reports:
Ratner owns another building on Pacific, empty now except for one apartment, the one owned by Daniel Goldstein, who still lives there with his wife and their child and fights on 5½ years after Ratner officially announced his plans for Ratner World. When Goldstein moved to Brooklyn in the 1990s, he worked as a graphic designer. Now his full-time job is with Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and standing in there against Ratner and the Empire State Development Corp. He has been at this a long time, and plans to stay at it, even as Brett Yormark, the Nets CEO, promises that the Nets will be in Brooklyn for the 2011-12 season. “We’re like a resistance movement,” Goldstein was saying Saturday. Then he laughed and said, “Or maybe the U.S. soldiers who kept fighting in Japan after the war was over.”
Speaking now as a New Yorker who looks forward to being able to take the subway to both Knicks and Nets games, I think Daniel Goldstein is a jackass. More from the Daily News:
“There is no way the lawsuits can be resolved before the summer,” Goldstein said. “And if they haven’t broken ground before this year is over, there is a chance the whole thing falls apart.” He laughed then and said, “But that is all speculative. They are still adamant about building the arena and they are tough opponents and they have an approved project of this size in New York City. And they know that if they show signs of giving up, they could lose the rights to the land.”
And more:
Goldstein says that the offer was the same other people got from Ratner: 850 dollars per square foot. He says that he and his wife have their savings. He talks about the paycheck he receives from Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn. He talks about financial hardship and says that he doesn’t know how long he can stay at this.
Again, speaking as a biased New Yorker for a moment rather than an objective journalist, I hope Daniel Goldstein loses his job and can’t afford to keep this up much longer. I want to go see the Brooklyn Nets.
Nets still fighting for playoffs
The New York Post (Fred Kerber) reports: Even with the recent flubs, the Nets (28-37, a season-worst nine games under .500) are amid the six teams fighting for the last spot. They came out of Friday one-half game away from Milwaukee and Chicago, who were in a virtual tie for eighth, while being tied with the Knicks and Charlotte. “We can outscore anybody for three quarters. But when it comes down to fourth-quarter play, it’s about can we stop ’em?” Devin Harris said. “In games we won, we’ve done that. In the games we lost, we haven’t… We’re still right there. It’s not like [other] teams are moving up – they’re losing just as much as us.” That may be the biggest consolation for the Nets – pretty much everybody else stinks, too.
Donte Greene and Bobby Jackson pranks
The Sacramento Bee (Sam Amick) reports: In a season-long series of punishments for rookies failing to execute their locker room duties, Donte Greene’s car recently was filled with popcorn, and Bobby Jackson was believed to be the culprit. Against his better judgment or NBA credo, Greene retaliated Thursday by dousing the outside of Jackson’s white Mercedes with a mixture of dog food, soy sauce and condiments that sent a stench emanating from the car and sent Jackson into a locker room rant not likely to go unresolved.
UPDATE (March 14): The Sacramento Bee reports: The Kings rookie small forward exacted revenge on Bobby Jackson on Thursday, retaliating for a recent popcorn prank on his car by dousing the veteran’s Mercedes with a variety of condiments and dog food after practice. Yet the hijinx that was intended to be in fun wound up reflecting poorly on Greene and sparking little laughter within the organization. Not long after it happened, Jackson’s angered opinion could be clearly heard at the team’s practice facility. And while Greene may not have come to his senses in time to avoid the subsequent fallout, he said he eventually realized the error of his ways. “Let’s just say this,” Greene said with a straight face before Friday’s game when asked if there was any resolution to the matter. “I did a lot of apologizing today.”
Stephen Jackson likes being bulked up
The San Francisco Chronicle (Janny Hu) reports on Stephen Jackson of the Golden State Warriors, who added 10 pounds of muscle and is 6’8″ and 235 pounds: Jackson says his new-and-improved physique is behind his sustained surge, and he’s giving credit to the Warriors’ strength and conditioning gurus Mark Grabow and John Murray. It was Murray who pointed out that Jackson’s lack of strength was causing him to get pushed around without getting his share of foul calls, so the nine-year veteran hit the weight room to bulk up. Jackson now lifts for 30 to 40 minutes after every Warriors shootaround to jump start his game-day routine. He’s also using meal-replacement shakes to boost nutrition. “This is the most I’ve lifted and the most I’ve been in the weight room my whole career, and it’s starting to pay off,” said Jackson, who usually plays at 222 or 223 pounds.
Chris Bosh on Raptors game struggles
The Toronto Star (Doug Smith) reports on the Raptors and their losing ways: “Right now, I think we’re in the process of `just do something,'” said Chris Bosh. “We as a team, we always talk about it, we talk about it, talk about it, talk about it, talk about it. Do we practise? Yeah, we practise great, nobody can get a shot off in practice. But in the games, for whatever reason, it’s different. “Are we going to keep talking about it, or are we going to do it? We’re past talking about it, it’s all about action. “I can sit up here and deliver a positive message every day, I can tell you what I’m going to do every day. But until you see me to do it, it’s a whole different story.”