Don’t expect to see Derrick Rose on the sidelines much this season. K.C. Johnson of Chicago Tribune explains why: “Although by all accounts Rose’s rehabilitation is progressing well, taking the chance of having action spill into him while sitting down is an unnecessary risk. “It depends on what’s going to serve us best,” Thibodeau said. “He’s usually doing rehab during the games so I want that to be the focus. He may travel some. He may not. If it better serves us to have him here or someplace doing rehab, we’ll do that. He’s around the team plenty. We see him and he’s working extremely hard so he’s giving all that he can give at this time. At some point, he’ll rejoin us and we’ll move on from there.”
- It was assumed that Aaron Brooks would win the starting point guard position for the Kings when he signed with the team, but that appears to be unlikely now, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee: “It didn’t take long last season to realize Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas had dynamic leadership qualities. So what happened when the Kings signed veteran point guard Aaron Brooks? Thomas kept on leading. Brooks didn’t step on any toes upon his arrival, and the Kings added depth at a position they had been looking to solidify for some time. Entering Wednesday’s season opener in Chicago, Brooks and Thomas are working together in a close duel for the starting job. Thomas appears to have held onto the starting job, and that’s fine with Brooks.”
Scottie Pippen hopes to become a head coach in the NBA someday, according to ESPN Chicago: “Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen said Tuesday his goal in the next few years is to become an NBA head coach, and he said it would be “great” if the team he coaches has Phil Jackson in the front office. “It is (my goal to be head coach),” Pippen said on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000. “I still enjoy the game. I’m around the game. I’m a guy that has always loved basketball, and I love being a part of it.” Asked if during the offseason he was close to becoming a coach, Pippen said: “No, I don’t think so. I just think it was some rumors that got out there. Nothing really stuck. I can’t say I sat down to talk to any team about being a head coach.”
- There’s some bad news about the status of Danny Granger’s knee, according to the Pacers:
Forward @dgranger33 has continued soreness in his left knee and will be out indefinitely.
@Pacers
Indiana Pacers
- Mike Wells of Indianapolis Star had further detail on Granger’s knee issue:
Granger felt a "sharp pain" in his knee after a layup attempt against Chicago last Friday.
@MikeWellsNBA
Mike Wells
LeBron James isn’t gushing over the idea of receiving his championship ring, from Brian Windhorst of ESPN: “Winning it was what I dreamed of, I never dreamed of actually having the ring ceremony,” James said. “So I’m just like whatever. I think it’s going to be a special night and I’m going to be excited for it. But the game is what I’m more focused on than actually receiving the ring.” James has said he wishes that the Heat could’ve had the ring ceremony on Monday so that it wouldn’t come before such a key early-season game. James is, of course, concerned about a team-wide letdown. The Heat were up by 35 points on the Mavericks on their ring night last year. The Heat themselves lost by 42 points on their ring night back in 2006-07 to the Chicago Bulls. But defending champs have actually won 10 of the past 13 years on ring night…“Do I look like the type of guy that would wear my ring every day? Nope.” James said. “It will be put up somewhere with the rest of my individual accolades. That’s a team thing. But I’m moving on.”
Jeremy Lin scared rookie Scott Machado by telling him goodbye, except he meant to call Jeremy Lamb, from Jonathan Feigen of Houston Chronicle: “Jeremy Lin thought he was doing the right, veteran thing. He called Scott Machado to say goodbye and good luck. The only problem was that he called the wrong rookie. Machado had been nervously awaiting word on whether he had made the Rockets’ roster. As Lin wished him well, his heart skipped a few beats until he realized he did not need to worry. Lin had thought he called Jeremy Lamb, who had just been traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. By Monday, Machado knew he made the team when no one called. “I was like, ‘Hey, it’s Scott, it’s not Jeremy,’ ” Machado said of his conversation with Lin. “’Did you hear something about me?’ I was all nervous. He was like, “Oh, I apologize, I apologize.’ It all worked out.”
- Here’s how Kevin Garnett reacted when Ray Allen reached out to him during the season opener between the Heat and the Celtics, from Jose3030:
- Stephen Jackson has a new soundtrack, featuing Kevin Durant. Trey Kerby of TBJ has details: “As I’m sure you could guess by the title, the song’s all about how hard it is to be on top and how haters are the worst. In fact, the phrase “haters gonna hate” is literally in the hook, so that kind of tells you everything you need to know about this song. Both guys acquit themselves pretty well, but I’d say Jackson is the better rapper by a hair. His voice kind of sounds like Andre 3000 at times, though his rapping doesn’t. Durant, meanwhile, sounds like Dave Chappelle rapping which is kind of unsettling but not that bad. You probably wouldn’t want to listen to this if you weren’t an NBA fan, but it’s pretty good for a couple of NBA players. Not the most ringing endorsement, I know, but it actually is a compliment when you consider some of the NBA rap songs we’ve heard in the past. Also, it comes edited, which is funny.”
How badly did it sting to lose to the Heat in Game 7 for Rajon Rondo? He’s still not over it, according to Shandel Richardson of Sun Sentinel: “Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo is still having a tough time dealing with the loss to the Miami Heat in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals. “Maybe like six months,” Rondo said of how long it will take to move on. When informed six months have not passed since Game 7, Rondo smiled. “I know,” he said. “I’m not past it.” The sting of blowing a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series remains entering Tuesday’s season-opener at AmericanAirlines Arena. The Celtics came up one victory short of playing theOklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. “We had a 3-2 lead and I don’t think we realized it,” Rondo said. “We had a 3-2 lead and all we had to do was win one game out of two. We just couldn’t seal the deal.” Rondo added,”They had the last word. They beat us and that’s the end of it. I haven’t said too much about the back and forth about me personally, but they’re the defending champs.”
- Mark Jackson shows in the following clip that he still has a little something left in his game:
- David Stern called Hurricane Sandy what? The answer is in the video below:
James Harden devastated by trade to Houston