“The larger worry is on offense, where Holiday especially will face a difficult test early if Bynum is out. Holiday has ranked near the bottom among rotation point guards in shots at the rim and free throws, and those fancy motion-tracking cameras also found he rarely drove the ball from outside-in, according to a report from the camera’s distributor, STATS LLC, shared exclusively with me over the summer. Bynum was supposed to help change that by drawing double-teams and setting picks. If he’s out for an extended period, Holiday and Turner will have to show how much they’ve developed on their own. If they struggle, Philly could start behind the eight ball in a beefed-up Eastern Conference, where making the playoffs will require at least a .500 record — and maybe better. Philly can withstand a brief absence of Bynum, but a prolonged one — 20 games or so — could be a killer.”
Kevin Love shaved his head for women with breast cancer and will donate money for every retweet of this tweet, from Zach Harper of A Wolf Among Wolves.: “To show solidarity with those who have had to suffer in some way from the victims of breast cancer, Love decided to shave his head. Now he’s got a Matt Geiger, Marcin Gortat type of look going. But it’s all for a fantastic cause and one I hope people are able to donate toward. Remember that for every retweet of the video and Facebook “like,” they’re going to donate 25 cents to Breast Cancer charities. Grab the video link and social media the hell out of this video.”
- Check out Yao Ming’s golf swing. It’s not Charles Barkley bad, but it is fun to watch nonetheless, via Kurt Helin of NBC Sports:
- If you saw the Heat game against the Bobcats on Tuesday, you may have seen one of the stranger technical foul calls given to LeBron James. Perhaps the referee misjudged James’ gesture after getting hit on the play. Here is the play in question:
The bad technical foul call on James has been rescinded by the league, according to Ira Winderman of Sun Sentinel: “Never mind. That essentially was the NBA’s verdict when it came to Heat forward LeBron James being called for a technical foul while being the victim of a foul in Tuesday’s exhibition victory over the Bobcats. On an odd sequence that appeared to involve a block-charge scenario, no sooner had James received the call in his favor then referee Marat Kogut whistled James for a technical foul seemingly for thrusting his chest into Bobcats guard Gerald Henderson. An incredulous James tried to plead his case, but amid the chaos, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra also was called for a technical foul. Wednesday, the Sun Sentinel learned that the league rescinded James’ technical. As it is, technical fouls during the preseason do not count toward the total that can lead to a regular-season suspension.”
- Before the start of the Heat game, James went into a crowd of people to sign autographs and quickly learned that it probably wasn’t a great idea:
Though LeBron James refused to elaborate, Dwyane Wade took a minute to explain the Heat’s weakness, from Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida: “Yeah,” James said. “But we try to hide those. …Why would I tell you (what Miami’s weaknesses are)? I would never tell you that.” Well, the memo about secrecy apparently didn’t reach Heat guard Dwyane Wade. In an interview with FOX Sports Florida, he offered some specifics… “Yeah, we have weaknesses,” said Wade, whose Heat went 46-20 during the 2011-12 lockout-shortened campaign, an equivalent of 57-25 during a normal season. “We’re not the biggest team in the league. It’s a glaring weakness.”… “As well as it’s a weakness, it’s a strength,” Wade said. “And so we got a weakness. We’re not going to come out and we’re not going to say this big guy is going to get 14 rebounds a game. We have to rebound collectively as a team. So, obviously, that’s a weakness for us. But it’s also a strength for us because at the other end of the floor, when the ball gets off the rim, we’re able to use our speed.”
Kobe Bryant is done for the preseason due to soreness in his right foot, according to Ben Golliver of SI: “Kobe Bryant, his preseason work complete, will sit out until the games matter. The Los Angeles Lakers announced Wednesday that their All-Star guard will be shut down for the remainder of the preseason with a sore right foot. The Lakers have preseason games against the the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday and the Sacramento Kings on Thursday. Bryant will be re-evaluted before the Lakers begin their 2012-13 regular season schedule by hosting the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 30 at the Staples Center. The shut down decision will give him nine days of rest between the injury and L.A.’s season opener.”
- K.C. Johnson of Chicago Tribune has an update on Kirk Hinrich’s groin injury, which appears to be minor:
Thibodeau said Hinrich feels better but no determination has been made on his availability for Friday. Bulls just shot, watched film.
@KCJHoop
K.C Johnson
- How serious was Deron Williams when he said he almost chose the Mavericks over the summer? John Schuhmann of NBA.com may have the answer:
Deron Williams actually signed a contract (with contingencies) on a house in Dallas this summer. Backed out after choosing to stay with BKN.
@johnschuhmann
John Schuhmann
- Magic Johnson and Jeff Van Gundy shared their thoughts about the status of the Lakers and Thunder, from Brian Mahoney of The AP:
Magic Johnson says Lakers have a ways to go to beat Thunder. Van Gundy thinks Thunder not only will win West but can win NBA title.
@briancmahoney
Brian Mahoney
The Nuggets are willing to offer point guard Ty Lawson a contract extension worth about $45 million, according to Royce Young of CBSSports: “The 24-year-old point guard has quietly risen to be one of the better point men in the league, averaging career-high numbers in points and assists per game last season. He definitely seems to fit into Denver’s long-term construction plan, but the Nuggets need to lock him up. And according to the Journal-Times, the word around the league is the Nuggets are willing to offer Lawson something in the $45-million range over four years. Is that adequate? Too high? Too low? A max extension would be four years, $58 million, so it’s definitely well under that. But compared to other elite point guards in the league, it seems to be a bargain, depending on your opinion of Lawson.”
- After parting ways with long-time reporter Ric Bucher, ESPN tried to hire Adrian Wojnarowski, who is recognized as one of the best NBA journalists around, to no avail. Jason McIntyre of BigLeadSports has the story: