Jared Dudley thinks Michael Beasley needs to listen to the coaches instead of tuning them out, from Adrian Martinez of Arizona Sports: “According to Dudley, Beasley, who is known as a sort of enigmatic figure around the league, should take heart to the instruction he is receiving from the coaching staff. “I don’t know why he would be tuning out the coaches because sometimes when he may be tired of people getting on him all the time, they’re trying to stay on him to become a better basketball player,” the shooting guard said. “He shouldn’t take it as a negative, it should be a positive. “I would say there’s got to be a better balance. Don’t tune them out, listen to them but play your game in a concept of what the team wants you to do.”
Neil Olshey explained why JJ Hickson is not a good fit for the Blazers, from Jason Quick of The Oregonian: “Blazers general manager Neil Olshey this week said he is not ruling out keeping Hickson on the roster, but he doubts the team will have the role, and the money, to pacify Hickson’s desires next season. “For us to make a jump next season, JJ can’t be our starting center,’’ Olshey said, referencing the Blazers’ 47.4 points allowed in the paint per game, an NBA high. “I’m not saying he can’t be part of the roster. But we need to find a starting-caliber center who protects the rim and gets defensive rebounds at a high rate and that has a presence. And we have to do a better job at defending the paint. So you have to ask: Is it likely there is enough minutes to commit the kind of dollars JJ will command, when clearly there are other positions that need to be upgraded? Probably not.’’
Kobe Bryant says no one wants to see the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. He also told Pau Gasol to stay stationary in the post, from Sam Amick of USA Today: “You really can’t find an opponent that’s really excited about playing us in the first round,” he said after a 30-point outing in which 23 came in the fourth. “That’s just the truth. We shall see. That’s why sports is such a beautiful thing. You never know what can happen. Teams like the (San Francisco) Giants and the LA Kings go on these incredible runs when the postseason comes around and everybody thinks we can’t do the same. It happens.”… “We had a conversation in a timeout, and I just basically told (Gasol), ‘Dude, especially when I’m not in the game, dude you’ve just got to go to the block and not move,'” Bryant said. “When I’m out there, I can slow the game down and call plays off and just give it to him. But if I’m not, then listen, you’ve just got to go to the block and not move, just stand there.”
- Here is Gasol’s version of the story, from Amick: “(Bryant) just tells me to run to the post and take it and screw everything else basically,” Gasol said. “That’s not my personality. I like my team and my coaching staff to want me to be there instead of positioning myself there. “(But) it helps that Kobe, who has a lot of control of what happens out there — just a little — wants me to be there and sees that it works and is supportive.”
- Kobe said he would have hit Mike Rice right back if the coach tried to hit him, and said his mom was the only person with the license to hit him:
TNT is taking a different approach to announcing Thursday’s game, from Reid Cherner of USA Today: ‘When TNT carries the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Golden State Warriors on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET), the network is hoping that subtraction will end up being a plus. Calling the game that night: Steve Kerr, Chris Webber and Reggie Miller. Not a play-by-play man among the former NBA stars. Kerr says he won’t be trying “to be Marv Albert or Kevin Harlan” but will act as “point man leading us to breaks. Maybe a little bit of a traffic cop if the game calls for it. It is more like three former players having a round table (discussion) almost during the game.”
LeBron James says he will sit some of the remaining games out to prepare for the playoffs, from David J. Neal of The Miami Herald: “James said he’s “getting back to form” and his hamstring has “reacted well the last few days.” But as for the last six games… “I want to play, but I’m going to go against myself for the first time in my career,” James said. “OK, probably about the third time in my career. I sat out a few games when we had it locked up in Cleveland as well, to really use those games to get healthy as well.” James started Tuesday with point guard Mario Chalmers and forwards Mike Miller, Shane Battier and Udonis Haslem.
I’m glad the GSW made the playoffs, and their level of intensity, coupled with the fact that NOONE thought they could do it, should provide some fireworks in the early rounds. I’m a huge Nuggets fan too, and Step Curry scares the bejeesus outta’ me, lol. I’ve been watching GSW games over the last few weeks to try and get a sense of what we’re going to be up against, and it should be pretty darn exciting to watch. I work a lot of late nights at DISH, but I have a new app at home that saves me time finding games. My DISH Game Finder locates all the games on TV in a matter of seconds, which is a great tool to have living outside that market. I also like that it lets me set reminders and recordings for upcoming games, so by playoff time I’ll have a pretty good idea as to how the games will end up!
Still no guarantee of who will end up facing who, but most of the matchups for the Warriors will be pretty tough, including the Nuggets.