SH Blog: Stern sets date for last day as Commissioner, Rubio and Lin compared to Nash

“I honestly think he’ll be better than Steve Nash. Obviously, he needs to improve his shooting and some other things, but, man, he can dominate a game and get easy baskets in a way that very few people can. Just dribbling down the floor, if his man is sealed, he makes eye contact with his guy — and if Rubio has any advantage, any angle, he’s able to find the guy and it’s two points. He makes his teammates so much better. You could see it last year, when they were on their way to making the playoffs before he got hurt. If Rubio becomes a good shooter like Nash did, you can forget about it.Defensively, he’s better than Nash. Even though he gets a lot of steals, it isn’t because he’s gambling. It’s because he’s able to use his length and size and great feet while he’s playing solid defense.”

• Mark Cuban stated that Jeremy Lin can be just as good as the two-time MVP Nash, from the Dallas Morning News: “We really looked at him as a potential as another Steve Nash. We wanted to sign for summer league, wanted to sign him to a contract for the Mavs, but he wanted to go play close to home and he grew up in the Bay Area so he went to sign with the Golden State Warriors and the rest is history. Rose: Can he be another Steve Nash? Cuban: Yeah, he absolutely can. He’s that good. He’s got that type of talent. But, part of what made Steve Nash great, when Nash went from the Mavericks to the Suns and became MVP, it was a system that he just excelled at. So, Jeremy has got to play in the right environment with the right players and he can be a star.”

• Lin believes – despite his preseason struggles – better times are ahead. Jonathan Feigen of Houston Chronicles has the story: “For me, it’s progress,” Lin said. “Obviously, I’m not where I want to be right now. Do I wish I played better? Of course. But I have to be realistic and understand when I came into training camp I couldn’t even get into the paint, and now I can get into the paint, but I’m not finishing. The next step is to start finishing, hitting open shots, and hopefully the dam breaks loose. “I want to mix in the mid-range as well. But for the most part, the shots that I took are the ones I can finish and should finish. It’s one of those things (where) I took the shots and missed them, got blocked on a couple, didn’t make the right adjustment. But it will be better — much better — coming up soon.”

• Chris Kaman could miss the season opener, according to Dwain Price of Star-Telegram: “Kaman has missed the last three games while nursing a strained right calf. The 7-footer also missed less than a week of practice earlier this fall when he sprained his lower back during the first day of trianing camp. Now the Mavs aren’t sure how long he’ll be on the sidelines. “I don’t know how realistic (playing opening night) is,’’ coach Rick Carlisle said. “I know he mentioned the other day that he thought he could do it, but we’re going to have to evaluate him each day and just kind of see what’s what. “He’s working at it and he’s made some mild progress. He’s not there yet, and so we’ll just working with him.’’

• The Mavericks have picked up Eddy Curry off the waivers, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas:

• Neil Olshey hopes to see Nicolas Batum blossom into a scorer the same way that Eric Gordon did, from Chris Haynes of CSNNW: “I’m hoping that’s the kind of jump Nic makes,” Olshey said. “Like Eric Gordon who was 16 [points] a game, 16 a game when he played for Vinny [Del Negro] and before he broke his arm, he was averaging 24 and a half a game [during the 2010-11 season] and was fifth in the league. “Now, I’m not putting a number on Nic, but if Nic can make a jump, if Wes [Matthews] can make a jump, if L.A. [LaMarcus Aldridge] can just be L.A., and Damian [Lillard] can be who we think he has the ability to be, we’re not that far away. And having a lottery pick potentially, and three second [round picks], and having $13 million in room potentially, is a pretty good position to be in eight months from now.”

• Tyson Chandler received some great news about his injured knee, from Al Iannazzone of Newsday: “An MRI done Thursday revealed a bone bruise in his knee. The Knicks have listed Chandler as day-to-day. It’s too soon to know if Chandler will be able to play in the Knicks’ regular-season opener next Thursday in Brooklyn. But the fact they didn’t find any structural damage in his knee after he collided with Nets forward Gerald Wallace in the first minute of Wednesday’s preseason finale and left Nassau Coliseum on crutches is a good sign. They sound optimistic he will play, but the Knicks usually are cautious with injuries. With someone as critical as Chandler, there’s certainly no reason to rush his recovery even with several Knicks players already banged up.”

• Chris Webber believes the Nets will be better than the Knicks, according to Stefan Bondy of Daily News:

• Is Gerald Wallace one of the best small forwards in the league? Michael Scotto of SNY Nets dives in on the topic: “On Media Day, Williams was asked how he felt about being teamed with Wallace and Johnson. Both players were the only two other starters on board and two key reasons why Williams re-signed with Brooklyn. “I just think those are two of the best players at their position and I feel like I’m one of the best players at my position,” Williams said. With that in mind, is Wallace one of the “best” players at his small forward position? Last season, Wallace was ranked in the Top-5 among small forwards in defensive rebounds per game, rebounds per game, steals per game, minutes per game, and double-doubles. Wallace ranked fourth in defensive rebounds per game (5.16) and rebounds per game (6.66). Wallace ranked fifth in doubles-doubles (9), steals per game (1.5), and minutes played per game (35.8).”

• The Warriors have  exercised the third-year contract option on guard Klay Thompson, according to NBA.com: “The Golden State Warriors announced today that the team has exercised the third-year contract option on guard Klay Thompson, which is for the 2013-14 NBA season. Thompson, 22, appeared in all 66 games last season, averaging 12.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 24.4 minutes per contest, earning First Team All-Rookie honors. In 29 starts, he averaged 18.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.10 steals in 33.9 minutes. For the season, he led all rookies in three-point percentage (.414, 17th in NBA) and three-point field goals made (111), while ranking second among rookies in free throw percentage (.868) and fourth in scoring (12.5 points).”

• Did Stephen A. Smith say “Nigga please” on ESPN’s First Take? That appears to be the case, according to Jason McIntyre of BigLeadSports:

• It’s not really much of a surprise that Tracy McGrady is adored by fans in China, but it’s still fun to see just how excited the fans can get for him there, via Patrick Cassidy of Dime Magazine:

Andrew Bynum shut down until knee pain subsides

Carmelo Anthony ready to play power forward

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