SH Blog: Gay available for trade, D’Antoni’s mind boggled by Stoudemire comment

• Danny Ainge believes Rajon Rondo needs to be more consistent on the defensive end, according to Jimmy Toscano of CSNNE: “”I think that Rondo needs to get more consistent effort defensively like all of our guys,” Ainge said. “I always hate to pinpoint one guy, but the ball at the point of attack is huge for us, and Rondo has a lot of offensive responsibility. But I do think we need to give a better effort all around, not just Rondo.”… “For whatever reason, I’m not sure if they’re incapable or not, or if they can’t physically, but time will tell. The reality of it is that they haven’t. And it’s not just the new guys. I don’t think that the veteran guys who have been here have played to the best of their capabilities either.”

• Charles Barkley thinks the Lakers have no shot at winning the championship this season. He doesn’t love the Clippers either, according to Steven Cuce of Sports Radio Interviews: “You don’t think the Lakers have any shot of winning an NBA title? Barkley: None. Zero. Zero chance. I think Oklahoma City, Memphis and the Spurs are the three best teams in the West. I still have my concerns. Everybody is on the Clippers’ bandwagon. I don’t like their half-court offense. I don’t like their free throw shooting. I love Chris Paul. I said it for years. I thought Jason Kidd was the best leader in the NBA. I passed that mantle, in my personal opinion, to Chris Paul, but I don’t like their half-court offense. I don’t like their free-throw shooting, and I’ve said this about the Knicks, everybody is on their bandwagon. If you look at their stats, they’ve only rebounded like three teams, even when they had that gaudy record. They only lead a team in rebounding like three times. I don’t think you can live by 3s and not rebound the ball and that can last for the entire season”

• Kobe Bryant thinks the Clippers are contenders for sure, from Mark Medina of Daily News: “They’re very spectacular and fun to watch,” he said. “There’s no question about it. They have higher jumpers than Showtime.” There’s one team that Bryant considers a team the Lakers will have to go through should they win an NBA championship. The Clippers. Said Bryant: “They’re one of the top contenders.”… Bryant credited Chris Paul for changing the Clippers’ culture. Bryant touted Jamal Crawford as the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. And Bryant sounded well aware on public sentiment after seeing the Clippers’ 17-game winning streak and the Lakers struggling to stay around .500.”

• Gregg Popovich thinks Stephen Jackson tweets too much, according to Dwain Price of Star-Telegram: “San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was doing an interview after this morning’s shoot around at the American Airlines Center when he looked over and saw forward Stephen Jackson typing something on his cell phone. That’s when Popovich couldn’t help but share his opinions — tongue-in-cheek, obviously — about Jackson. “Jack’s a pain in the (butt),” Popovich said. “Look at him, all he does is twitters. “He’s twittering some stuff right now that’ll probably get him fined, and then I’ve got to call the league and talk to the league and say, ‘Yeah, I talked to him.’ ” Jackson then chimed in and said: “It’s not Twitter. It’s Instagram.”

• When told of Amare Stoudemire’s comments about defense, Mike D’Antoni congratulated him with a hint of sarcasm, from Nate Taylor of The New York Times: “I think it’s great,” D’Antoni said Thursday after the Los Angeles Lakers’ practice. “I think it’s great that he’s listening. He might have forgotten that Mike Woodson was also running the defense the last year I was there, so I don’t know if he just didn’t pick that year to listen. But Amar’e’s great. Sometimes you say things, but hopefully, that’s another step he can take forward and help his game. That would be great.”

• D’Antoni, in reality, thinks what Stoudemire said was mind boggling, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles: “It’s mind-boggling, but I don’t think he meant it bad.”… Added D’Antoni on Friday: “I mean, come on. He just threw Frank Johnson, myself, Alvin Gentry and actually Mike Woodson [under the bus]. Was [Woodson] saving the good stuff? Because he coached him eight months and he was the defensive coach. So it was like, ‘You know, I won’t tell him that, I’ll save that until I really coach him.’ It doesn’t make any sense. “Anyway, a lot of times players will say things just to say things. I have a good relationship with him. He’s a good guy and I hope him the best. You know, if he’s learning, great. He needs it. That would be super.” “It just boggles the mind,” D’Antoni said, shaking his head. “It just boggles the mind.”

• Jeremy Lin was badly cut after a collision with Larry Sanders on this particular play:

• Chris Paul got the best of Darius Morris with this crossover move:

Kyrie Irving hit the game-winning jump shot against the Bobcats, as seen below:

• And here is Joe Johnson finishing off the Wizards with his second double-overtime buzzer beater of the season:

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