The Arlington Heights Daily Herald (Mike McGraw) reports: The Bulls named Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and Drew Gooden as team captains. Coach Vinny Del Negro said captain selection was a mutual decision after meeting with the players individually Monday. “I felt that way and most of the team did, so that was an easy decision,” Del Negro said. “I do take it very seriously. I think it’s important, especially with a young team like ours, that our captains show leadership. Not only during games, but in preparation and practice and things.”
Category: General NBA insight
General NBA insight
Hawks mess up a lot
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Sekou K. Smith) reports on the Hawks: Few teams have endured a more dizzying array of bad draft picks (Shelden Williams anyone?), puzzling trades (everyone’s still waiting for those Gary Payton Hawks jerseys to go one sale), botched free agent signings (in their defense, Speedy Claxton did have severe injury issues and Josh Childress got a groundbreaking offer from Olympiacos), off-court drama Hollywood screenwriters couldn’t dream up (let’s not revisit the ownership squabble), stunning drama (Jason Collier’s family remains in our prayers) and just about any other crazy thing that could happen to a team during a four-year stretch fit for the Twilight Zone. To their credit, the Hawks have come through all of it in relatively decent shape. The roster is as balanced as it’s been in years. The salary structure is solid, with the ability to get better with a few moves here and there over the next couple of seasons. They rekindled some of the love with their fans by putting on as good a home playoff show as any team (other than the Celtics) during the postseason.
Derrick Rose ready for opener
The Arlington Heights Daily Herald (Mike McGraw) reports: Rookie guard Derrick Rose refused to admit feeling nervous about his official NBA debut. “I can’t wait, but I don’t think I’ll be nervous,” he said. “My first pro game was the preseason. I (treated it like) it was a real game. So I’m just going to continue to play hard and act like it’s not the first game and try to be aggressive.” Rose rented a suite for tonight’s game to accommodate his friends and family. Also, he admitted it was his idea to be announced as “from Chicago” during pregame introductions instead of from his college, Memphis. “I’ve been here my whole life,” he said. “I’ve only been in Memphis one year. I think that the fans in Memphis will understand.”
Shaq is The Big Shogun
The Arizona Republic (Paul Coro) reports: Shaquille O’Neal can talk the topic of supremacy, having climbed the NBA mountaintop four times and believing that he still sits above all centers. “Because I’ve done the most,” O’Neal said. “I’m not worried about guys winning dunk contests and doing stuff like that. You still have to outdo the shogun to become the shogun. When I leave, it’ll be because my time is up, not because someone is outplaying me or someone has done more than me. The only one who has even done close, and I don’t really consider him a center, is Mr. (Tim) Duncan. Any other center, the things that they have done, I invented.”
Good and bad of Suns
The East Valley Tribune (Jerry Brown) reports on the Suns: Reasons to be excited: Depth. The Suns have their top seven players back from last season and have added Barnes, Dragic and Lopez to the rotation. The Suns have plenty of available fouls up front and several ball-handlers to soak up the responsibilities when Nash is on the bench. Porter plans to play nine players a night, but 10 or 11 should be involved when injuries and fouls are factored in. Reasons to be worried: The already loaded Western Conference got even better over the summer. Andrew Bynum is healthy for the Lakers in Los Angeles. James Posey is coming off the bench in New Orleans. Ron Artest has joined forces with Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady in Houston. Greg Oden and Rudy Fernandez are the latest to join a young and talented Portland team. And we haven’t mentioned the Spurs, Mavericks and Nuggets. A very good team won’t make the playoffs. Will the Suns find a chair when the music stops?
Jordan Farmar looked great in preseason
The Los Angeles Daily News (Elliot Teaford) report: Not to be overlooked was the play of backup guard Jordan Farmar, who ignited the second unit during the preseason. He has never lacked for confidence, dating to his days as a prep standout at Taft High of Woodland Hills and as a collegian at UCLA. But he raised his game to a new a level in October, prompting Odom to say of the 21-year-old Farmar, “At a young age, he’s found his niche.” The Lakers’ second unit, their so-called Bench Mob, was one of the best in the league last season. Coach Phil Jackson declined to stick with the status quo this season, however. He moved Odom to the bench, for instance.
Big expectations for Sixers youth
The Philadelphia Daily News (Phil Jasner) reports: Lou Williams, the fourth-year guard, began building a reputation last season as an off-the-bench energy jolt, capable of not only scoring but changing the pace of a game. Thaddeus Young was the rookie who blossomed in the latter stages, starting 22 of the last 38 games, a seemingly natural small forward who had to find the bulk of his minutes as an undersized power forward… Williams came to the Sixers as a raw talent directly out of South Gwinnett (Ga.) High midway through the second round of the 2005 NBA draft, the first high school player selected by them since Darryl Dawkins in 1975. Young was the No. 12 overall pick from Georgia Tech in 2007, with just one season of college experience. “They drafted us off our potential,” said Young, who expected to be fully back practicing today after suffering a midback strain last Friday. “They don’t know [yet] what we really can do. They see bits and pieces and flashes of it, but we haven’t been that consistent, All-Star types.”
Brook Lopez may start for Nets
The New York Post (Mike Puma) reports: The Nets’ opening night starting lineup could include a little rookie flavoring. Though coach Lawrence Frank wasn’t ready yesterday to reveal his plans for Wednesday’s opener at Washington, it’s a safe bet that rookie Brook Lopez will get the nod at center, with Josh Boone and Sean Williams coming off the bench. Boone, who missed the Nets’ final four preseason games after he was diagnosed with a rapid heartbeat, practiced on a limited basis yesterday, sitting out the 5-on-5 drills. He might have to win back his starting job from Lopez, the 7-footer from Stanford who impressed the Nets with a strong preseason. “Coach has said a lot of times this preseason that after Vince [Carter] and Devin [Harris], three through 12 is wide open and everybody has a shot at the starting lineup,” Lopez said. “[The rookies] are all getting a little experience this preseason and we’re all really learning. We just have to be prepared when he calls on us.”
The New York Post (Fred Kerber) reports (via blog): Lawrence Frank won’t announce his starting five for Wednesday but if you were to flip a coin for the center spot it would likely go, “Heads, Boone; tails, probably Boone.” Figure an edge defensively and a little experience gives Boone the edge over Brook Lopez at this point. Josh Boone, who went out Oct. 17 when he experienced a rapid heartbeat – a condition that doctors were unable to duplicate or pinpoint and have since issued a clearance to continue – went through practice today. He said it went well and he felt far better than he expected.
Rockets want to be like Celtics
The AP reports: The Rockets hope Ron Artest can do for them what Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen did for Boston last season, forming a trio with Paul Pierce to lead the Celtics to the NBA championship. Boston was the worst team in the Eastern Conference in 2006-07, before Garnett and Allen arrived. “For that team to go from worst to first,” Tracy McGrady said, “that gives me hope.” Yao Ming dismisses comparisons between the threesomes by pointing out the glaring difference. “Boston already got a championship. They can say they have the best three guys,” Yao said. “We are looking for that day. I have that confidence that we can do that.” The Rockets don’t have to make as big of a jump as the Celtics did. Houston went 55-27 in 2007-08, its first season under Rick Adelman, and lost to Utah in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight season.
Rudy Fernandez can play
The Columbian (Brian Hendrickson) reports: This fall was supposed to be a transition period for Rudy Fernandez. But the Portland Trail Blazers rookie at times has looked like he has been playing NBA ball all along. The seven-year veteran of the Spanish ACB League filled up his stat line throughout the preseason, throwing down electrifying lob dunks, assisting on a pass through an opponent’s legs, and scoring in a variety of ways. He has also demonstrated an exceptional understanding of the game, a dynamic range of skills and an ability to inject instant energy into the offense. But when he explains the quick adjustment to his new teammates and league, Fernandez makes the move sound fundamental. “Basketball is basketball, Europe or in USA,” he explained. The Blazers never expected the transition to be that easy, but Fernandez has certainly made it look that way. He led the Blazers in steals (2.6 a game) during the preseason, and ranked third in assists (4.0 average) and fourth in scoring (12.0 average). And if Fernandez continues to play with that level of comfort, then his quick, smooth transition could pay big dividends.