And it won’t be because Allen Iverson had even the resemblance of a positive impact on this team. Maybe now Mr. Heisley will accept the reality that he has a smart coach, an intelligent GM and let those men do their jobs. Heisley has a lot invested in this team and I can understand his desire to have some control over what happens with the team. However he pays people to make those calls. If he doesn’t trust them then fire them and hire someone else. Just quit thinking you know more than the experts. You don’t.

Memphis is lucky that Allen Iverson is gone. If Heisley keeps interfering they likely won’t be lucky again.

via The True Iverson Effect | 3 Shades of Blue.

If you’d taken bets on which player would thrive and which would be gone three weeks into the season, the classic loser with effort problems facing a great young center and the #2 draft pick or the former All-Star and Finals contender whose only competition was Mike Conley? I’m betting Z-Bo would have gotten his fair share of the action. He definitely would have from me.

The Grizzlies aren’t necessarily succeeding at anything in particular, they’re just working very hard, on every play. We’ll have to see if it holds (it won’t), but for right now, they really are a fun team to watch. Of course, I said that last year about this time, and then they imploded into tiny little pieces.

…

I was going to make some sort of worn out comparison to the hot crazy girl, but it’ s played out. So instead, I will simply add that the Memphis Grizzlies give love a bad name.

When Glen Davis comes back, Shelden knows he will be a fight for minutes. Doc has actually reversed that and now says that Davis will have to fight for minutes. It should be very interesting to see how it all plays out.

Davis knows the playbook, is ahead of the curve on the defensive schemes and can play both the power forward and center positions. To many, Davis’ recent off court incident hasn’t helped. Shelden Williams appears to be a low maintenance kind of player, and a quick learner.

In the mean time, Shelden Williams has raised eyebrows with his play, is feeling like he did in college and is making the most of his time for the benefit of the Celtics and himself.

via Shelden Williams Making No Presumptions – CelticsBlog.

I’ll say it. I think Shelden Williams is a better player than Glen Davis.

(gasp)

Look, I get that Davis is all heroic and lovey-dovey and he hit that big shot that ended up not mattering because he  couldn’t guard Rashard Lewis with a machine gun, but Shelden Williams has earned his minutes. As Jeff’s piece lines up, his rebounding numbers are great. Not good. Great, for the minutes he’s putting in.

Let’s even take out the rebounding, where Shelden slaughters him dead dead dead. Let’s take a look at what Davis is supposed to bring to this team, that all the Celtics fans were all excited about in the Bulls series. That mid-range shot.

Davis v. Williams (per 40, HoopData, natch)

We’re going to compare this season to Davis’ last season, and make a huge leap in saying Williams will stay at this pace. There’s ample reason to suggest he won’t, but play along. (There’s also ample reason to believe Davis will regress, but we’ll get there.)

At the Rim: Davis (08 Season): 59% < Williams (09 Season): 61%

>10 Feet: Davis (08): 33% (VOMIT ALERT) Williams 25% (DOUBLE VOMIT ALERT)

10-15 feet: Davis (08): 20% Williams (09): 67%

16-23 feet: Davis (08): 41% (up 4% from rookie season) Williams (09): 40% (same as last season)

I won’t waste your time with their three point numbers.

So Davis shoots better than Williams between the rim and ten feet,  but Williams attempts only .8 per 40 from there versus 1.4 for Davis. Williams knows he can’t hit that shot.  And Davis shoots 1% better than Williams from 16-23 feet, or, if you’ve been paying attention, THE LEAST EFFICIENT SHOT ON THE FLOOR. Besides, KG’s back! You want him taking that shot! It’s the only one left in his wheelhouse! Give the old man his shot or he will eat your face, Davis! EAT YOUR FACE!

Meanwhile, between 10 and 15 feet, the mid-range, Williams shoots 47% better while attempting about as many shots (.1 attempts more). And even if you look at Williams’ uneven performance over his career from that spot, he’s got higher points that Davis’ small sample size.

Oh, yeah, and he crushes Davis in PER.

I think Davis has a place on this team. But to claim that Davis is more versatile than Williams because he knocked down a few uncontested jumpers in key moments last season and that gives him the minutes is kind of odd.  Besides, you don’t want him taking those shots now. You have KG, Pierce, Allen, and Rondo House.

Sit the baby.

It is not a political statement. It is not a protest. He said it is not intended as a slap on patriotism, or the ongoing war but Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy has long been absent from the Rose Garden Arena floor during the national anthem.For two seasons now, Roy leaves the court before “The Star Spangled Banner” is performed. He waits out of sight, in the arena tunnel, and has a quiet moment of prayer while his teammates stand and honor America together.Something about that feels troubling.

via Canzano: The moment when Blazers leader Brandon Roy is absent | John Canzano – – OregonLive.com.

I never served in the military, though I am the son of United States Navy sailor. My father-in-law is a former marine, my brother-in-law is currently flying large airplanes over Germany and hopefully smuggling back Rieslings for me. So I can’t vouch for what it means to them to have people stand at attention. I have a pretty good idea, but I can’t say for sure.

This isn’t to say I have an issue with Brandon Roy. He’s not lazy, he’s reflecting in something personal. I always think about if it gets annoying for the players, standing every other day for the National Anthem. You can focus on the sacrifices made in this country’s honor probably most of the time, but isn’t your mind going to slip to what you need at the grocery store, or paying that bill, or you know, how the hell you’re going to guard Kobe Bryant?

Roy isn’t blanking, he’s taking a personal moment to reflect, integrating that into his schedule at an appropriate time. To do that night in and night out when it would be easier to stand on the floor and daze out as I’m sure some players are would be easier than what he does. So I’m not upset with Brandon Roy. I admire him.

And frankly, it’s none of our damn business.

“People always say, ‘New York, they always booing us.’ They’re just scared,” Artest said Tuesday after the morning shootaround, before the Knicks, who are owned by Cablevision, which also owns Newsday, played the Lakers last night at Staples Center. “They’re just scared of the fans and scared of the media . . . They’re scared because you know how crazy it is in New York in the media and when you have a bad game and once that pressure gets to you. But if somebody wants to be there, they’ve got to be able to say, ‘Enough of this B.S., and I don’t care what anybody thinks of me.’ Even if the fans boo when you lose, you’ve got to be able to take that and play.”

via Artest thinks N.Y. scares free agents away from Knicks.

Artest talks about players being ‘afraid’ of New York. But because of the media, you know, not the guys dying from getting stabbed with chair legs.

I mean, Artest’s got a point, though, doesn’t he? Free agency is at a point where you’re going to get the money you want from someone, it just depends on where. It’s rare to find someone who will drastically overpay you one place over another. It’s the same dollar amount, different real estate market. Meanwhile, you’ve got other factors to weigh, like the weather, comfort, if your wife will constantly nag you when you’re at home about how much that place sucks and how much she misses her mother, and schools. Why would you be more receptive to a place that’s going to hate you the second you have an off game? If you go through a slump in New York it can turn into a career killer. Why put up with that?

In actuality, though, Crazy Pills just meant he was scared because of the nature film he’d seen with snake eggs in the Garden.

One face is pretty, the other is pain. Intros that barely rhyme are kind of lame.

Lion Face: Monta Ellis

Allright, 37  points on 29 shots ain’t the stuff to light up the advanced stats magic. 11 turnovers, even in 48 minutes is ungodly. Even the God of Turnovers looks at that and goes “Jesus, man! Stick ém!” But for all his inefficiency, the Warriors don’t win this game without him. He probed, he stabbed, he conquered. Faders, up and unders, leaners, floaters, no threes, just shooting, shooting, shooting, and getting to the stripe. There were points late in the game where you knew the Mavericks were just hoping he’d be merciful or get tired or something, anything to stop torching them. I’m sure not having Nellie on the sideline had NOTHING to do with his 37 poing, 8 assist performance.

Lemon Face: The Dallas Mavericks’ manifest destiny.

No matter how much the Mavericks try and begin a new era, that playoff series in 07 continues to haunt them. A disaster team, runs them off the floor in the fourth, with shots that should be defensible. What magical power do the Warriors’ jerseys have over Dallas coaches? You’re watching the late game lineup of Kidd-Barea-Terry fail over and over again (you might as well trot out Mugsy Bogues in that lineup and call it good), and yet Carlisle sticks with it. But then, that’s why they call it a bum rush, and why they say you can’t stop it.

Lion Face: Antawn Jamison

32 points on 23 shots, 14 boards, 8 on the offensive glass. Someone on Twitter noted how crazy it is that he gets so little recognition. At his age, still pouring it in. Why does this guy not get the Ray Allen swan song? Oh, that’s right, because Gilbert Arenas is a space cadet and the Wizards are cursed. That’s right.

Lemon Face: New Jersey Nets

There. Now let us never speak of that again.

Lion Face: NBATV crew

Webber’s comes leaps and bounds, McHale is solid, and Andre does a great job hosting. Really enjoying their work this season in between games.

Lemon Face: Mike D’Antoni

Hey, I figured out what it’ll take Mike to play Toney Douglas (12 points in just under 17 minutes). HELL FREEZING OVER. Good, God, Mike. I’ve defended your Duhon love the past few weeks, but the time has come!

Lion Face: Kobe Doin’Work

34 points on 20 shots. I’m pretty sure he’s going to start hitting four point shots soon.

Lemon Face: Jazz

Lost to the Thunder. At home. OKC’s better. They’re not that much better.

Lion Face: Abe Pollin

Rest easy, sir.

And then you can look at history and say the Suns have met the Spurs and Lakers pretty frequently in the playoffs and even their regular season games have a playoff vibe to them. Of course, the problem there is that historically, both the Lakers and the Spurs have more or less pwned the Suns so those rivalries would seem to be a bit one-sided (see Red Sox vs. Yankees, 1919-2003). Technically speaking, this would make the Lakers and Spurs more nemeses (from Merriam-Webster.com: a formidable and usually victorious opponent or rival) than rivals.

via Who Are The Phoenix Suns’ Rivals? – Bright Side Of The Sun.

I think you’re probably a rival if the other team gets joy out of beating you. For example, the Blazers don’t have a great recent history against the Lakers, but they win enough to get LA to want to beat them. Conversely, the Warriors are clearly not in the Mavericks’ league, but that’s definitely a rivalry.

And I mean, they threw your MVP into the scorer’s table, broke his nose, and have murdered you with close shots. I think it qualifies as a rivalry. For instance, no one enjoys beating the Clippers, because you’re supposed to. They have no rivals. Not even the guys they share the building with.

BOF_next_Rodman on Flickr – Photo Sharing!.

Seriously, GRANDBigBird. Let’s get some Jennings up in here. Tyrus Thomas.  Or, if you like the old school, Manute Bol.

Pistons’ Jonas Jerebko knows stopping Cavaliers’ LeBron James won’t be easy

via Pistons’ Jonas Jerebko knows stopping Cavaliers’ LeBron James won’t be easy | Detroit Pistons – - MLive.com.

Oh, IKEA. How I love you.

Jerebko’s a Paroxi-Wife favorite. Because he’s “pretty.” Since LeBron’s her favorite player (it’s not my fault, she saw the “Time After Time” commercial and laughed so hard she almost threw up), this should be a huge conflict for her.

In other news, … no. I can’t even come up with something obvious enough to use here to mock him saying guarding stopping LeBron won’t be easy.

Posterized: The Ballad Of Greg Oden – SB Nation.

Oden’s been playing great all season.He really has. Phenomenal defense and the offense is catching up. He was dominant last night. Not good. Dominant. But why is the era open for business?

It means something that he got dunked on. Don’t get me wrong, Rose got him like Joey-Lawrence whoa. And I actually liked Noah’s better because, well, I like the big ladder extension style. But the thing is that both of these dunks are especially notable because they dunked on ODEN. It means something now. It’s not Samuel Dalembert, it’s not Hasheem Thabeet, it’s not DJ Mbenga. It’s Oden. And with the way he’s been a defensive wall, it means something. Getting him is a challenge. He’s the denier.

You have to reach a particular level for it to be relevant that you got dunked on. Never getting dunked on means you’re A. too wussy to challenge or B. not a big enough name to get in except garbage time (which means you’ll only get dunked on by Shannon Brown).

Oden’s rise to atmospheric is indicated by it being notable that Noah worked him. Rose popped him. He’s been posterized, and that doesn’t make immediate sense. A year ago? Another sign he’s not ready. Now? It raises the impressiveness of Noah and Rose’s work. AND THEY GOT POUNDED BY 20.

Them winning the battles makes your legend bigger by the fact that you are worthy of being a name in the story. You’re not just “some guy Rose dunked on,” you’re “Holy crap, Rose dunked on Oden!”

Welcome to the Oden Era.

The Frisco D-League needs that team name and is hosting a party Wednesday for fans who want to contribute a name, meet team execs Donnie Nelson, Del Harris, Nancy Lieberman and Spud Webb and possibly win two season tickets and an “NBA All-Star Backstage Pass Experience.”

via Dallas Basketball – Frisco D-League Wants You To ‘Name That Team’.

Other option would be the Treats.

I’m really excited to see what the Mavericks are going to do with this club. They’ve got the potential to really use the league well. They’ve seen what Houston’s done, what San Antonio’s done, and they’re willing to spend the money on it.

The Mavericks have a good enough core to keep contending for 2-3 years, while stockpiling draft picks and using them to stash and develop talent. They’ll have quality coaching and development crews and play against NBA competition out of Rio Grande Valley and Austin. The Texas Triangle is going to be even further lightyears ahead of the league, just in time for teams like Memphis, New York, and Golden State to go “Oh, maybe we should do that.”