D’Antoni believes Dwight Howard has to expand his game beyond 4 feet from the basket, from Mark Medina of Daily News: “Mike D’Antoni explains how he wants Dwight Howard to incorporate mid-range shots into his game “We just want to expand his game all over,” D’Antoni said. “If he’s going to dominate the league, which he’s young enough and he can, you can’t play within a four foot box. You have to play. He’s doing that. He’s getting more confidence. That will help him on his foul shooting and his overall game. He shoots the ball well. We want to keep developing that and keep getting better.” I then asked if there’s a key for him in finding the balance between expanding his game and still providing a dominant inside presence. “It doesn’t take away from what he does inside,” D’Antoni said. “He’ll still post up when he can. When a team knows all you can do is post up and you’re not a good foul shooter, he has to be really good to overcome that. If you can get guys to make jump shots and hit 15 footers and he’s able to make his foul shots, he’s great anyway. But that just adds another dimension to his game.”- Howard hints at payback against David Lee for busting him up on Monday night, from Marc J. Spears: “After the Lakers’ 109-103 loss at Golden State on Monday night, Howard said that Lee will face retaliation in the future for elbowing him in the mouth during the second quarter. Howard ended up with a bruised lip, a bloody mouth, a personal foul and eventually three stitches. He also received a technical foul for mouthing off to Lee after the play. “He got away with a shot,” Howard said. “I will remember this game. I will remember that shot. He said he wasn’t trying to do it. You can look at the play and see it for yourself. I will take care of it later.”
A reporter learned what word not to use with Randy Wittman when describing the Wizards, from Sarah Kogod of Washington Post: “Coach Randy Wittman just went ballistic on a local TV reporter comparing franchise to a circus. The exact question: “the circus was here this past weekend. Is it a relief to u that this is no longer a circus?” Wittman: “You didnt seriously just ask me that question, about the (expletive) circus being in town? Are you (expletive) me? Wittman (cont): “You called this organization a circus at one time. So Im not going to answer that question….” “I’m part of the damn circus. It’s not a circus around here…. I don’t want to hear that no more. That’s disrespectful” Was looking for one of his “voodoo” answers. Caught him at the wrong time. He’s the man and I didn’t mean any disrespect. We’re cool”
Kevin Durant sang the praise of Maurice Harkless, from Josh Robbins of Orlando Sentinel: “In last week’s game against the Magic, Durant scored 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting as he was defended by Harkless and, occasionally, Tobias Harris. Durant said he was impressed by Harkless, a 19-year-old rookie. “I tell you the last thing I worried about is how old he was,” Durant said a few minutes ago. “That guy, he plays like he’s been in the league for years the way he defends and how long and athletic he is and how hard he plays. To be honest, I didn’t know he was that young, but he played me tough. The whole team, they did such a great job of making me see bodies, so I know it’s going to be a tough one tonight. I’m looking forward to going out there and playing my game and having fun and putting pressure on those guys. Hopefully, I get it done tonight.”
Blake Griffin and Vinny Del Negro appear to be at odds about the team’s defense, from Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles: “Our bigs are getting stretched out a little bit,” Del Negro said. “They have to have a little sense of urgency in closing out. Some guys can make that adjustment, and some guys are struggling with that but drilled it again today. That’s obviously an area of concern.” Clippers forward Blake Griffin disagreed with Del Negro. “It depends on our defensive strategy and our defensive principles for that game,” Griffin said. “We switch them every single game. I don’t see that, no, but I’m biased.” Griffin, however, did think the Clippers had the ability to turn around their defense before the playoffs begin next month. “Our main focus of practice and our theme of practice has been defensively making sure we’re executing our game plan,” Griffin said. “Because like I said, we switch it up every game, depending on who we’re playing and who has the ball and who’s a threat for them.”
- Although this doesn’t exactly answer any questions, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar answered a fan’s rumors about him becoming a coach for the Milwaukee Bucks: “Fan: “Rumor has it you will be coaching the bucks next season.” KAJ: “I don’t address rumors. The real news about my life will always come from me directly.”
- If you haven’t enjoyed Dwight Howard and his drama over the past couple of seasons, you might like this clip: