Mike Woodson believes the Knicks have enough to get to Eastern Conference Finals, from Al Iannazzone of Newsday: “The Knicks close out their best regular season in nearly 20 years Wednesday night, and believe one of their best postseasons lies ahead, as long as they get healthy and stay healthy. “I feel good about the makeup of our ballclub,” Mike Woodson said on ESPN Radio Tuesday. “Although we’ve been beat up and kind of rode this roller coaster this season, we still have enough guys to compete for the Eastern Conference finals. Only time will tell.” The Knicks’ health heading into Game 1 of their first-round series against Boston on Saturday is their biggest concern. Woodson said the Knicks definitely would have injured big men Tyson Chandler and Kenyon Martin back. The Knicks were hoping to have Rasheed Wallace, too. But he left Monday’s loss in Charlotte — his first game in four months — after playing just 3:50 with a sore left foot.”
Doug Collins will remain a part of the 76ers organization by being a special consultant, from John Mitchell of Inquirer: “Doug Collins and the 76ers have reached agreement on a deal that will install Collins as special consultant to the team. The final stages of the deal are being hammered out between Collins’ lawyers John B. Langel, the chairman of law firm Ballard Spahr’s litigation department. The deal will allow Collins, who will coach his final game for the team Wednesday at Indiana (49-31), to receive the remainder of the final year on his contract. Collins, 61, who received his current extension at the end of the 2012 playoffs, advised Langel not to seek an extension beyond next season. This is Collins worst record in 11 seasons as head coach.”
Is Kyrie Irving a soft defender? That’s what Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer emphasized in this piece: “Kyrie Irving can be great. That’s right, the Cavaliers point guard can be great. But he’s not there. Not yet. Great players defend. Great players help their team win. Great players find a way to stay on the court for most games. It will be up to Byron Scott or whomever coaches the Cavs to deliver that message next season. At times, Scott has tried. He has pulled Irving from games for a lack of defense. He has talked about Irving’s disdain for defense. He consistently compares Irving to Chris Paul, adding that Paul is superior defensively. It’s no secret that Irving is a soft defender. That’s true of many young players, who believe all that matters is the points next to their name in the box score. The fact the team has yet to come close to the playoffs with him should point out that Irving still has a lot of work to do.”
Mike Miller went from almost quitting to feeling great now, from Ira Winderman of Sun Sentinel: ‘There was a time, just 10 months ago, when Mike Miller not only didn’t think he would be in position to challenge for playoff playing time, but wasn’t sure he even would be playing. “I was very close to quitting,” he said, as the Miami Heat turned their attention to Wednesday night’s regular-season finale against the Orlando Magic at AmericanAirlines Arena. “If I felt like I was going to be a liability for this team, I was going to.” Then came an offseason of rigorous rehabilitation on his balky back, followed by minimal playing time for the opening months of the season. Now? “Right now,” he said, “I feel great. “The way I feel, I feel better than I have in the last four years.”
Mitch Kupchak said Kobe has the power to go back into a game when he wants to, from The Jim Rome Show: “His spirits were through the roof,” said Kupchak. “He was excited about getting this thing handled right away and he was thinking about training camp and next season.” The general manager said it’s impossible to know for sure if the volume of minutes Bryant, 34, had been logging lately contributed to him getting injured. Kupchak also made it clear the coach determines how much a player plays, but Bryant’s a special case and the 2-time scoring champion wanted to play as much as possible in their quest to make the playoffs. “We’re dealing with a player who’s at the top of his game in his season 17th season in the NBA,” said Kupchak. “He’s earned that respect.” Kupchak said Kobe has a history of checking himself back in a game without his coaches telling him to, but those are the perks of a 5-time champion. “There are times during the game when Mike (D’Antoni) or Phil (Jackson) or Mike Brown or Rudy Tomjanovich have taken Kobe out of a game,” said Kupchak. “Then Kobe, at some point, says ‘Well, it’s time for me to go back in.”
- The official word on Steve Nash’s status is that he hopes to be able to play in the next several days, from NBA.com: “Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash underwent an MRI exam, which confirmed several preexisting issues related to his hip and back, which are causing nerve irritation and contributing to his hamstring pain and weakness. Nash received an epidural injection this morning, and will not play in tomorrow night’s game against the Houston Rockets. It is hopeful that he will be able to return to play in the next several days.”
- Shannon Brown has not been happy with the Phoenix Suns this season, from Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: ‘“I did what I needed to do as a starter and handled my business,” Brown said. “For some reason, they want to cut my legs from under me. I know I’m built for it. I did a great job of holding my composure and not letting it get to me to where I did something detrimental to my career. I showed a lot of character by sitting back while I was taken advantage of in a lot of ways. I’ve done everything asked of me in practice and made sure to show these people what time it is. It definitely hurts to sit on the bench, watching us lose night in and night out knowing I can help and being lied to. It’s been a crazy year. I’m just glad I made it through.”… “The part that hurts most is, whenever I step on the court, I give whatever I got even though it might not be the best situation. I give it all until it hurts. It hurts even more when you’re always fighting an uphill mountain-climb battle with no gear, butt-naked out there, clawing and scratching. People come to me and apologize for what’s going on.” Asked who pledged a change or lied, Brown only said, “The people in charge.”
Err.. Dwade already has 3 rings. The one in 06 still counts right?