John Wall was ejected from the previous game against the Warriors for losing his cool, from Michael Lee of Washington Post: ““I let the team down,” said Wall, who had a team-high 14 points when he got booted with 6 minutes, 41 seconds remaining and his team trailing, 69-57… “I said something, because I felt like we didn’t get a call our way,” Wall explained after the game. “Nothing outrageous, but something I knew I would get a tech for.”… Working a give and go with Nene, Wall went up for a layup when Thompson slapped down and caused Wall to go sprawling into the basket stanchion. Wall was on his back, looking up for a few seconds until he rose up and made both free throws. Curry then tried to set up Thompson in the post on the next possession. Wall reached up, trying to get a steal and batted the ball out of bounds. But as he attempted to track down the ball, Thompson shielded him, then lowered his left hip and shoulder to send Wall flying back to the floor. No foul was called on the play, forcing Wall to handle matters on his own, well aware that his next technical would his last for the night. “It’s always in the back of your mind, but the way I got hit those two times, I felt I like I was stating my point to say something and I guess they just gave me a technical,” Wall said.”
Kevin Durant helped Scott Brooks stay as the head coach of the Thunder, from Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: “When the clock ticked inside of what could best be described as a harrowing final hour of contract negotiations between Scott Brooks and the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer, the thing that ultimately kept the team’s coveted free agent coach from now pacing the sidelines of the Portland Trail Blazers was a text message. It came from Kevin Durant. “It was like the day before they got something done,” Durant said. “I think that day was the toughest.” The message moved Brooks, who had been tied up in tense on-again, off-again talks that had put his future with the Thunder in jeopardy. “During negotiations, it can be stressful at times,” Durant said. “One day it looks like something’s going to get done and then the next it might not. So I reached out to him and just told him I loved him and let me know what happens.”
Ethan Sherwood Strauss of Warriorsworld explains why Stephen Curry may be comparable to Dirk Nowtizki: “Stephen Curry currently leads the NBA in three point attempts. Stephen Curry currently leads the league in three-point percentage. Those two sentences shouldn’t go together. In fact, no player has pulled this off ever before. The best three-point shooters are often specialists, standing in the corner till a wide open shot finds their hands. Curry is flinging these tries off the dribble, from 30-feet away, and in transition. The paradoxical nature of Curry’s game is that he’s a subpar athlete who can easily create his own shot. Normally, we associate one’s ability to self create with elite athleticism. Quickness and power leads to separation or penetration. Steph circumvents this by being a fast draw with a good handle. He hits shots with uncommon accuracy, with a release that eludes closeouts. You wouldn’t think to compare Stephen Curry to Dirk Nowiztki, but I would. Both unleash the ball in a way that defenders can’t thwart. Dirk relies on shot height to do it, and Curry relies on shot speed. Even Anthony Davis can’t block it with a well-timed closeout.”
Frustration is mounting for Joe Johnson and P.J. Carlesimo due to his nagging injuries, from Roderick Boone of Newsday: “It’s frustrating for me because all these little knick-knacks are starting to happen with me down the stretch of the season,” Johnson said before the game, “and this is the most important part of the season at this point right now. So that’s probably the most frustrating thing. It’s not about where we are playing and who we are playing. I always want to be out there with the guys. I hate sitting out and watching. That’s the hardest part.” Since the All-Star break, Johnson hasn’t been the same explosive player. He’s averaging 13.8 points, down from the 17.0 he posted before the break, and his three-point percentage has taken a serious dip, dropping by nearly 8 percent. “Yeah, I’m concerned, because he’s come back and he’s not healthy yet,” Carlesimo said. “I just think it’s very similar to what we were talking about with Deron. You saw the difference when Deron came back and felt good and was close to — 100 percent is the wrong word, but when he’s the best he’s felt all year, it made a big difference. “Every time I ask Joe how it feels, he says he’s OK. Again, he wants to play. But I think that if you look at the numbers and you look at what Joe’s done since the injury, it’s not the same Joe. So yeah, we need to get Joe Johnson back healthy. If he’s healthy, then he’ll play the way Joe Johnson plays.”
Mike D’Antoni admitted losing his cool after the Lakers’ loss to the Wizards, from Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles: “You got so much adrenaline going through you that it’s tough not to be livid after a loss like that,” D’Antoni said. “It’s disappointing. But the clear thing is, I’m mad at myself, I’m mad at the coaches, I’m mad at the players, we’re all mad and we all have to do a better job and we all have to guard against things like that.” Was his message received? “You try to pick spots (to get angry) because you can’t just be a mad man the whole time,” D’Antoni said. “Sometimes adrenaline gets to you and gets a little bit of the best of you, but at the same time players have to know that, ‘Hey, we just messed up royally’ — coaches and the players (have to know that) — and hopefully the message gets through. I think it does because these are good guys. They knew without me getting mad.”
