The Philadelphia 76ers had an impressive party of sorts on Wednesday for Andrew Bynum’s press conference, thanks to all the devoted fans (see the video below) that showed great love for their newly acquired center. Bynum will surely look to make a notable impact on the team, but the Sixers have other players of significance that will have to mature into greater roles if they wish to play at a high level as a team. See who some of those players are, along with other noteworthy news from Thursday:
Andrew Bynum’s arrival in Philadelphia is big, but he will need help from Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner for bigger things to happen for the 76ers, from John Finger of CSN Philly: “It’s going to give him more opportunity. If you look at last year, we had four guys who wanted to finish games — we had [Lou Williams] and Evan and Jrue and [Andre Iguodala],” Collins said. “Evan is going to take a great step leadership-wise.”… “I think Evan knows what opportunity is there for him,” Collins said. “Just think about it — last year Evan was our best rebounder. This year he could arguably be our third or fourth-best rebounder. That would be amazing because with the big guys on the boards you can get out more and go with it. “Big men give you a chance to have a running game, they give you rim protection, they get you to the foul line and they get you to the paint where the game is won. I think Evan has a great shot to take another big jump. I know he’s working very, very hard.”… “We look at Andrew, Jrue and Evan as starters,” Collins said. “Then you have to look at guys like Nick [Young], [Jason Richardson], and Dorell Wright as guys who will need to step up and replace a guy like Andre Iguodala. We lost some key contributors, and we’re going to have to replace them. That’s what training camp is for.”
Lost in all the 76ers hoopla has been veteran swingman Jason Richardson, who is looking forward to prove that he is more than just a “throw-in” player, from John Mitchell of The Inquirer: “Richardson made it known that he intends to be anything but a throw-in player as part of the 12-player, four-team trade that brought Bynum and him to the Sixers last week. “It’s really a great opportunity for me at this point in my career to come to a team that is headed on the upswing,” the former Orlando swingman said. “I’m looking forward to coming to Philly and contributing in a big way.” And the Sixers are looking forward to his contributions.”
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was rather critical of Andrew Bynum on Wednesday, but changed his tone about the big man on Thursday through his facebook page: “I would like to wish Andrew Bynum good luck with his new team. I’m sure he will do well as he has continued to improve every year that he has played in the NBA. I’m sure he will be part of a strong foundation that will revive the 76er franchise. My good friend Doug Collins will be very pleased with the skill and experience that he brings to the team.” KAJ, August 16, 2012″
While rehabbing his injured knee, Derrick Rose will work on other parts of his body that he has never used before, from Sam Aggrey of CSN Chicago: “That’s what I’m thinking of right now. This is actually going to be the foundation of everything. I’m actually learning how to work parts of my body that I’ve never used before. Naturally, I’m just gifted,” he told CSNChicago.com in an exclusive interview, his first public comments since his late-April knee injury and subsequent May surgery to repair the ligament. “My balance wasn’t that good. I remember coming in my rookie year and the trainers and everybody on staff were like, ‘How do you play the way you play and you can’t even balance on one foot for that long? How do you move that way?’ Or not being flexible with the way that I play. One of the tightest guys muscle-wise, just super-tight; they never saw that and me playing the way that I play, it’s just weird.
Zach Lowe of Sports Illustrated explained the good and the bad of post play of a number of players. Here is the scoop on Paul Pierce: “The data include any possession a player finishes in the post via a shot attempt, drawn foul or turnover. It does not include data on assists a player records out of the post, an omission that makes LeBron James’ ranking here even more impressive. Some nuggets to pass along: All hail Paul Pierce, the only player to rank in the top five in both seasons. The Celtics’ small forward ascended to the top in 2011-12, when he averaged 1.057 points per possession and shot 48 percent from the post. Pierce, 34, posted up a bit more often last season than in 2010-11, suggesting that he has discovered a weapon that will age well. He drew a free throw on 21 percent of his post-up possessions, the highest number in the sample. That old man game …”
Hakeem Olajuwon believes Amare Stoudemire’s post game has drastically improved since they started training together and called it a “night and day” transformation, from Howard Beck of The New York Times: “The pick-and-rolling, power-dunking star is now a student of the low post. His teacher is a soft-spoken Hall of Famer with a Nigerian accent and two championship rings. Hakeem Olajuwon, a former Houston Rockets star and an oracle of the low post, is pleased with his pupil’s progress. “You won’t believe it,” Olajuwon said in a telephone interview from his ranch outside Houston. The apprenticeship began on Aug. 6, with daily three-hour sessions on Olajuwon’s private court. Stoudemire has proved a quick study, assimilating moves and countermoves as fast as Olajuwon can demonstrate them. “It’s night and day,” Olajuwon said. “What’s so nice is he wants it; he likes the post. He’s always wanted to play there, but he doesn’t have the moves that would give him that option.”
- Celtics rookie Jared Sullinger will do whatever it takes to help the team win and won’t mind sacrificing his offense, according to Jessica Camerato of CSNNE: “After getting his first taste of the NBA in the Orlando and Las Vegas Summer Leagues last month, where he averaged over 12 points per game, Sullinger has returned home to Ohio. He felt he rushed some of his shots and is working toward getting acclimated to the speed of the NBA game. The 20-year-old is applying the feedback received to his training before the start of the season. “[The coaches] just said I played really well and there are certain things I’ve got to get better at,” Sullinger said. “Pick-and-roll defense, understanding the offense a little more, understanding that there’s a lot I’m not going to be getting due to having Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo out there on the floor, and obviously Jason Terry. There’s a lot of shots I won’t be normally taking, so I’ve got to get used to it ASAP.”
- Jay-Z helped convince the NBA officials that there was nothing wrong with the new Nets’ color scheme, from David M. Halbfinger of The New York Times: “He helped design the team logos and choose the team’s stark black-and-white color scheme, and personally appealed to National Basketball Association officials to drop their objections to it (the N.B.A., according to a person with knowledge of the discussion, thought that African-American athletes did not look good on TV in black, an assertion that a league spokesman adamantly denied). He counseled arena executives on what kind of music to play during games. (“Less Jersey,” he urged, pushing niche artists like Santigold over old favorites like Bon Jovi.)
Greg Oden wants to be a gym teacher if he can’t continue his basketball career, from Slam Online: “‘If it happens, it happens,’ Oden said. ‘I’ve got to move on with my life. I know I want to play basketball. If I physically can’t play basketball, then I’ve got to move on … I’ve still got to wake up tomorrow. I’ve still got to live. One day, I’m going to want a family and I’ve got to provide for them. So if basketball doesn’t work out, you gotta keep it moving… I actually want to be a [high school or middle school] gym teacher,’ he said. ‘I feel like they have the best job ever. You think about it, they get their weekends off and they get to wear sweats every day to work.’
- Check out this wonderful story of a Nets fan, who runs into CEO Brett Yormark, who then turns the fan into an intern, from Nets Daily. A video of the whole scene can be found on the provided link: “The day after the Draft, long-time Nets fan Vivek Shah was walking near Rockefeller Center when he spotted Brett Yormark exiting a sushi restaurant with a member of the team’s ownership. Shah introduced himself as a long-time fan and had his picture taken with Yormark. The Nets CEO invited Shah for a tour of the Nets Brooklyn offices, which took place this week. The tour was taped and posted Tuesday. In it, Yormark shows off the ticket selling pit and some artifacts of the Nets New Jersey history and its Brooklyn future. At tour’s end, before giving Shah some Nets swag, Yormark asks about Shah’s education. On hearing economics and finances, tells his executive assistant, Jisset Pena, “Jisset, finance and economics, intern.” Not a bad fan day.”
- Dwight Howard apparently bought a home in Los Angeles for $20 million, according to Mike Gabriel of Mikedupradio:
So, Dwight Howard just purchased a home in LA, for nearly $20M......and wrote a check for the house. #Boss #Lakers
@MikedupRadiocom
Mike Gabriel
John Salley said that Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were all better players than Michael Jordan, from IAMAGM: “”I love Michael. I’m a Michael Jordan fan, like everyone else. I just don’t think he’s the greatest player ever. I think the greatest player I ever played against was Magic Johnson. Next was Larry Bird. Then Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The hardest guy I ever had to guard? Hakeem Olajuwon. …. The greatest player I ever played with? I played with Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen …. Isiah Thomas is the greatest player I’ve ever played with.”
- Here’s a video of Stephen Curry’s interview with broadcaster Tim Roye about the status of his ankle and being a father for the first time.
- James Harden and Russell Westbrook were in a hilarious commercial for Foot Locker. Some of the other commercials for Foot Locker featuring Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh can be found here.
Kobe Bryant’s wife thinks her husband should win a championship every season