I’m watching the Boston Celtics at Portland Trail Blazers game on NBA League Pass right now.
Boston is up big early in the second quarter, up 25-13. I think it was their worst first quarter of the season. Not sure, though.
They’re playing without Brandon Roy, and clearly still adjusting to it.
A very key observation: The Blazers sideline reporter is Rebecca Haarlow, a beautiful young blond woman who has done a perfectly good job so far.
But one thing: She seems bummed out! Maybe it’s that Brandon Roy is out. But even early in the game when it was close, she sounded a bit too low-key. Pick up the enthusiasm, Rebecca!
As for the Blazers, they’re getting pushed around and look all shook up. The Celtics are assassins out there.
I’ll be glued to the game for the evening.
The Orlando Sentinel (Brian Schmitz) reports: Rashard Lewis continues to be the Magic’s Ironman. Lewis remained the only member of this season’s original starting lineup to play every game. He was on the floor on Monday night against the Pistons despite sitting out the morning shootaround because of a bone bruise on his left ankle. Lewis said he was injured after being kicked during the Magic’s game Saturday night in Minneapolis against the Minnesota Timberwolves. “I’m going to play if I have to drag my leg out there,” laughed Lewis before the game.
The Indianapolis Star (Jeff Rabjohns) reports: Memphis has eight players 23 or younger and is one of only four teams in the league with at least four rookies. The Grizzlies’ starting lineup in 15 games — Mike Conley (21), O.J. Mayo (21), Rudy Gay (22), Darrell Arthur (20) and Marc Gasol (23) — averages 21.4 years old. Last year’s University of Memphis team that was the NCAA runner-up had a starting lineup that averaged 21.6 years old. “After you’ve been through a year, you understand the wear and tear, the grind and the level you have to play at, night in and night out,” Conley said. “It’s something I’ve gotten used to. “It’s a matter of putting all the things you’ve worked on every day in the offseason into games. You definitely have more responsibility as a second-year player.”
The Denver Post (Chris Dempsey) reports: Nene just can’t seem to feel 100 percent. He swears he has been fighting a cold for the past couple of weeks. “After the cancer, I don’t know,” Nene said. “I’m hard to get sick, you know? But now I get sick all the time.” That’s not all. Nene will play his 30th game tonight, which is nearly double last season’s workload. While he’s held up just fine, there is a wear-and tear factor that warrants keeping an eye on the 6-foot-10 Brazilian as the season progresses. Nene acknowledges the difficulty of his nightly tasks and says he is doing all he can to stay healthy and in game shape. One of those things is letting the coaches know when he needs a breather. He has signaled the bench more often of late to remove himself from games to grab rest. When he has been on the court, his level of exhaustion is obvious. On his way back down the defensive end of the court, he walks the first few steps, gradually trots and then runs.
The Sacramento Bee (Melody Gutierrez) reports: Candace Parker may not be rooting for the Kings tonight. With her brother, Anthony Parker, on the Raptors, and her husband, Shelden Williams with the Kings, the WNBA star will have her allegiances tested. Anthony and Candace Parker became the first brother-sister duo to represent the NBA and WNBA after the Los Angeles Sparks drafted Candace in April. “It will be like a family reunion,” said Williams, who joined Kings teammates and Monarchs players in handing out turkey dinners Tuesday to 200 families.
The Sacramento Bee (Scott Howard-Cooper) writes: Don Nelson has the look and sound of someone trying to get fired. This comes as no surprise to those who know him well: thrive in the underdog role, scuttle the ship when people get excited for a genuine payoff. Except that, now, the timing is curious even by his standards. He signed a two-year, $12 million extension in October, set to begin after the current deal expires with $5 million due this season. One of Nellie’s closest friends, Larry Riley, was moved from the bench to the front office to handle personnel matters in place of titular head Chris Mullin. Nelson is entirely in position to be at the intersection of everything that goes on with the Warriors, without having to get bogged down in management minutiae. There is no such thing as shocking in the Nelson world, but quitting and walking away from $12 million would qualify. No one expects that to happen. Moving himself into the line of fire to become the seventh coach to get the ax, that’s another story. He would get a sizable payoff and the freedom to swing a new deal elsewhere, if he suddenly feels tough enough again.