Josh Smith doesn’t think Dwight Howard will leave the Lakers, from Mark Medina of Daily News: “First, Smith says he has a good idea on whether Howard will stay with the Lakers once he becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason. “I can’t pick his brain and be in his head but to me, I don’t see him going anywhere,” Smith said before the Lakers hosted the Hawks at Staples Center. “It would be a shock to me.” Why? “Dwight is a loyal athlete and loyal person,” Smith said . “He’s not a quitter and doesn’t run from situations. That’s why I believe with this franchise and the way he’s talked so well about it, I can’t see him going anywhere.”… Still, Howard’s encountered frustrations on his first season with the Lakers. That’s included rehabbing from 10-month old back surgery, a torn labrum in his right shoulder, a relatively diminished offensive role and larger media scrutiny. “He’s grasping that,” Smith said. “He’s trying to find his way on this team and trying to get back healthy. That’s the biggest thing he’s doing and worrying about. He’s getting his legs back under him and he’s starting to block more shots. It’s going to take some time.”
Zach Randolph wants to play for the Olympics team, from Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida: “Zach Randolph says he wants to play for Team USA in Spain. He says USA Basketball “has completely forgot about me” Randolph, the Memphis Grizzlies star forward, was very interested in me writing up something on his desire to play for Team USA next year in Spain. Randolph said he doesn’t know why he’s gotten little interest from USA Basketball since he played on the 2000 World Championship for Young Men qualifying team in Brazil when he had just gotten out of high school. “They’ve completely forgotten about me,’’ Randolph said. “I would love to play. Give me a chance because I feel like I can help them. I’m the type of player who can give them inside play and rebounding. I would love to play. They’ve never called me. I don’t know why.’’
- Amare Stoudemire is ready and willing for an expanded role, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York: “Amar’e Stoudemire has accepted his role off the bench since returning from knee surgery, not complaining about the 30-minute restriction on his playing time. But according to a source close to the Knicks, Stoudemire is “ready” and “healthy” to play more minutes to help the team. “He’s in tip-top shape,” the source told ESPNNewYork.com. “He wants to play; whatever it takes for [the Knicks] to win.”… If Stoudemire’s body is ready, it would be important to increase his minutes now, to better prepare him for increased playing time in the postseason. That’s usually what happens during this critical period of the season, as coaches shorten their rotation to focus on their best players. “Now is the time to be giving him extending minutes to see how his body reacts to it,” the source said, “especially when you’re not on [a] big winning streak. … Something has to shake up.”
John Wall wants the ball and be a hero when the game is on the line, from Michael Lee of Washington Post: “All were needed on Sunday night, as the Wizards let an eight-point lead evaporate into a three-point deficit and then lost Bradley Beal to an ankle injury before Wall scored the game’s final six points — two huge jumpers and two huge free throws — and recorded a game-saving blocked shot to secure a 90-87 victory at Verizon Center. “I like the ball at the end of the games,” Wall said after scoring a team-high 16 points with six assists and five rebounds. “With those type of plays, you want to be the hero. You want to have the pressure. Sometimes you’re going to succeed. Sometimes you’re going to fail, but as long as you have confidence and believe in yourself, you’ll be all right.”
- Check out this Kristine Leahy interview with Dwight Howard. One of the notable things he says is that in Orlando, he led a group of guys that nobody else wanted on their team.
- J.J. Barea got into it with Ray Allen on Monday. See what happened and what Barea said to Allen about the whole mix up: