SH Blog: Who’s telling the truth? Reactions about Phil Jackson and Mike D’Antoni from all parties involved

• Mark Medina of L.A. Daily News had some updates on the status of the Lakers players. Check out how Kobe Bryant made sure Steve Blake got his ultra sound: “Nash missed Monday’s practice so he could get more treatment on the fracture in his left leg. Bryant sat out of a voluntary scrimmage to rest his foot. Then, he took Lakers guard Steve Blake in his helicoptor to Orange County so he could receive an ultra sound on his lower abdominal strain, which worsened during the Lakers’ 103-90 victory Sunday over the Sacramento Kings.”

• Blake, by the way, will miss Tuesday’s game against the Spurs, according to Bresnahan:

• Here is the latest update on D’Antoni and his earliest possible availability, from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports:

• Carmelo Anthony implied the possibility of Bryant and D’Antoni having “something under the table” during their time together in the Olympics, from Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York: “Carmelo Anthony said he was “happy” for D’Antoni, who manned the sideline in New York from 2008 to March, when he resigned. “I knew he was trying to take some time off and get healthy and things like that,” he said. “I was with him this summer. He didn’t really know what was going to happen as far as getting a job this year or next year. “Obviously it worked out this summer with him and Kobe (Bryant). Maybe they had something under the table, I don’t know. But it’ll be fun. I know Kobe’s excited about that, so we’ll see what happens.”

• Not surprisingly, Jeremy Lin gave his full endorsement on the return of D’Antoni, from Jonathan Feigen of Houston Chronicle: ““Obviously, I’m very, very happy for Coach D’Antoni,” Lin said. “He deserves it. He changed my career. He changed my life. I’m always thankful to him for that. I wish him the best of luck in LA. Obviously, I’ll be seeing him soon.”… “He gave me confidence in running the offense,” Lin said. “He’s a coach that empowers his players. He gives his players the confidence and freedom to go out and play to the best of their abilities. That’s what he did for me last year. “His system is so hard to guard, if the players buy in I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. You have so much spacing and you have Dwight Howard in the middle. The last thing he needs is more space. You have Pau Gasol, a versatile four man who can pick-and-pop, pick-and-drive. And obviously, Kobe (Bryant), he can do it all and Nash, we’ve seen what he did in that system. “The system, there is a lot of spacing because they lift the four man. There’s a lot of space and a lot or reads, quick reads, quick decisions, and a lot of free-flowing, fast movement so the defense is always moving, running in rotation. That’s tough to guard.”

• Bill Plaschke of Los Angeles Times explained why the hiring of D’Antoni made little sense if you’re going to fire Mike Brown: “Mike D’Antoni is a great guy and a charismatic presence. If they add some younger and quicker pieces, the Lakers could eventually be wildly fun. But he has even less credibility with players than Mike Brown. He is exactly as one-dimensonal as Mike Brown. And his postseason basketball success makes Mike Brown look like, well, Jackson. If you want to hire D’Antoni, you give Brown more than five games to get this roster figured out, because the transition time for D’Antoni is going to be long and the rewards are going to be questionable. If you want to hire D’Antoni, you make darn sure this season is trashed first, because there are no guarantees that his system can get any team past the second round.

• Andrew Bynum’s knee situation may have gotten a whole lot worse than originally anticipated. Wojnarowski explains in this tweet:

Here’s a video of Shaquille O’Neal trying to explain why he is not a hater when it comes to his criticism on Howard:

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