Joe Lacob believes Andrew Bogut is “much closer” to a return, from Amick of USA Today: “Well, we’ve elected to take – and Andrew has to – to take a very quiet approach here, to just not say a lot. It’s clearly by design. I think it’s the right thing to do, to let him – without any pressure – work hard to make sure that he’s 100 percent when he comes back, and we have the luxury of doing that since we’ve been playing well. I think, honestly, we’re trying not to create any expectations externally, and we’re trying not to create any expectations internally. When he’s ready, he’s ready. There’s no pressure on him. We’ve told him repeatedly – no pressure whatsoever to come back by a certain date. You tell us when you’re ready, and you feel great. Everything I hear is that he’s coming along really well and that he’s getting much closer.
Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t think his team is as talented as some around the league, from Michael Wallace of ESPN: “I said it during the losing streak — we’re not as talented as some of these teams, but we have to make up for it,” Nowitzki said. “I like our chances. We compete. I like what we’re doing. We just have to keep on working and keep getting better. Execution down the stretch has been our problem all year. We’ve got to work on that. Last couple of years, we knew each other so well, it’s going to take us a little more time to figure some game situations out.”… “The legs feel a lot better than they did a week ago,” Nowitzki said. “I’m going to keep working and try to help this team more. Ultimately, I’ll start again maybe in a week or so, get my minutes back up, and we’ll go from there.”
Charles Barkley does not think fans should get to vote for the All-Star starters, according to Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida: “Charles Barkley said no way should Dwight Howard or Kevin Garnett be starting in the All-Star Game. “I don’t think the fans should ever vote is because they just vote for their favorite players,’’ Barkley told WMSF-FM. “I’m a big Kevin Garnett fan. But there’s no way in the world he should be starting the All-Star game right now. And the same way with Dwight Howard. Those fans who have penciled those two guys in (to) start… that’s a travesty to be honest. I like Dwight Howard but he ain’t played like no All-Star this year and Kevin Garnett (the same).’’
Former Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said he was not allowed to be hard on Andrea Bargnani, according to Mike Johnston of Sportsnet: “I wasn’t allowed to coach Andrea the same way I was allowed to coach Jose (Calderon),” Mitchell told Tim & Sid on Sportsnet 590 The Fan on Wednesday. “I was a hard ass on Jose; I was hard on him, but look at the type of player he turned out to be. “I was not allowed to be that tough on Andrea because within the organization we felt he couldn’t take it. And my whole thing was if he can’t take it then we can’t build around him. And no one thought Jose could take it, and Jose did.”… “I think because he was the No. 1 pick and a lot was invested in him, I just think people in the organization thought my coaching style would be too tough on Andrea.”… “He just doesn’t seem like he has the passion for the game. It don’t seem like it’s important enough to him.”
Charlie Villanueva heard what Isaiah Thomas said about him and lashed back at the point guard: “Dirty player? Not at all,” said Villanueva, who also was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Wednesday afternoon. “It was an open lane, I tried to block it. He’s four-foot-11, 100 pounds soaking wet, so it looks bad.” Actually, Thomas is 5-9, so one can surmise Villanueva was taking a shot at Thomas. Villanueva felt Thomas, a second-year guard, doesn’t have the NBA experience to differentiate between a hard foul and a dirty player. “None. He has less than 100 games? I didn’t know that,” Villanueva said. “He was a rookie last year? I didn’t know that.”… “He came after me. I learned my lesson after the last time (laughs), I wasn’t gonna do anything,” Villanueva said. “I’m not trying to hurt anybody out there.”
Rajon Rondo called himself a sore loser and hinted that there isn’t enough of that from some of his teammates, from Julian Benbow of Boston Globe: “The frustrating part is just losing,” he said. “I’m a sore loser. It’s tough to lose.” Then he put it in broader terms. “Everybody isn’t,” he said. “You’ll learn that everybody isn’t a sore loser. Some teams are OK with losing. Some guys are OK with just getting a check. But everything I do, I compete. So, this four-game losing streak is frustrating.” He stopped short of pointing fingers. “I can only judge myself,” Rondo said. “That’s my New Year’s resolution. I don’t want to judge anybody this year.”… “You go through adversity every season,” Rondo said. “It’s nothing to get too down about. It’s a long season. I’m staying positive. I haven’t lost faith or hope in this team. I still have high expectations. I know we will turn it around.”
- Raptors forward Amir Johnson got away with a crime of a travel that even he couldn’t keep a straight face about:
Stan Van Gundy says John Wall not good enough to build around
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Actually, worse injuries have already happened because of something at courtside. Mark Price’s career was pretty much ruined by those moving advertising things that are in front of the scorer’s table. It tore his ACL, and that was over 20 years ago. So what makes anybody think they give a damn about the players now? An all-star tore his ACL in the prime of his career, but two decades later they still have the exact same advertising setup in every arena.
I almost think these guys at the side of the court hope to hit another motherlode, like that wuss camera guy who extorted $200,000 from Dennis Rodman when Rodman kicked him in the thigh. Which might have hurt for two or three minutes at most (not kicked in the nuts like he pretended, unless he’s got nuts the size of an elephant).