Matt Barnes knows Chris Paul well, and believes the point guard will probably re-sign with the Clippers, from Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles: ” Matt Barnes is one of six unrestricted free agents on the Los Angeles Clippers roster this off-season, but if he were a betting man, he would wager that Paul would be back with the Clippers, and he hopes the same for himself. “Chris and I have seen each other a few times after the season and that’s something we’ve discussed,” Barnes told the Mason & Ireland Show on ESPNLA 710 on Wednesday. “Not to really get into his business too much, but I think the Clippers are one of his of top teams to say the least and if I was betting guy I would say he would be back with the Clippers next year.”
- Barnes also addressed his own issues as a free agent: “I’m going to sit down and talk to my family and see where the market’s at,” Barnes said. “I’ve been one of those guys the last three or four years that’s always been a great bargain. I’ve played for the mid-level and have played well but have yet to see a pay day. Not to say that I’m asking for the world, but I’m definitely looking for a salary increase.” Barnes, who scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Game 6 of the Clippers first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies, said he was open to going elsewhere but his preference would be to stay in Los Angeles. “I had a great season with the Clippers and my family is very comfortable here in L.A.,” Barnes said. “So the Clippers are going to be one of my top choices, but we’re looking for a pay increase.”
Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith disagreed on the effectiveness of Derrick Rose, should he return against the Heat, from Ira Winderman of Sun-Suntinel: “Kenny Smith, on Bulls point guard Derrick Rose’s possible return in Game 3: “He’s coming back this series. He looks like he’s ready to come back. I think they need it.” Barkley, on Rose’s possible return in Game 3: “The big decision is [whether he will] come off the bench or start. Him coming back will mess up rhythm. I think it’s too late right now. He should have been back before the playoffs.”… Smith, on how the Bulls could utilize Derrick Rose if he returns: “He doesn’t have to be a superstar with everything on him. He could take the minutes that [Marquis] Teagueand Nate Robinson are playing and be more influential. He will demand a double-team because you can’t take the chance that he won’t be good.”
Amare Stoudemire will look to play minutes in Game 3 against the Pacers, from Berman: “Stoudemire, coming off his second knee debridement surgery, staged his second 3-on-3 scrimmage yesterday, and he will finish off his trial run tomorrow with a 5-on-5. If he doesn’t get hurt, he will be cleared to play Game 3 by Knicks medical director Lisa Callahan tomorrow afternoon before they fly to Indianapolis. Though the Knicks were told to report to their practice facility yesterday, the media were not invited to watch Stoudemire’s second scrimmage. His first one didn’t go well as he was outplayed by center Earl Barron. However, Woodson said on his ESPN Radio show all Stoudemire systems are go.’
According to Ken Berger of CBSSports, Monta Ellis and Larry Sanders nearly came to blows in the first round of the playoffs: “Though the players had to be separated, the dust-up didn’t get serious enough to trigger disciplinary action for either player. One source described the confrontation as “just words between teammates in the locker room.” But the incident offered a glimpse into some troubling team dynamics as the Bucks navigate a critical offseason for the franchise. After the Bucks lost 104-91 to the Heat in Milwaukee on April 25, Sanders vented in the locker room and said in a fiery speech, “We need to start playing together as a team and stop worrying about next year,” according to one of the people briefed on the confrontation. “We need to stop being selfish and start worrying about right now.” Ellis “took umbrage,” according to another person with knowledge of the situation. Correctly assuming that Sanders’ comments were directed primarily at him and backcourt mate Brandon Jennings, who both are prospective free agents, Ellis approached Sanders and squared off with him, sources said.”
Gregg Doyel of CBSSports blasted Derrick Rose, saying the guard should not even be able to look at his teammates: “The Derrick Rose Watch, pretty much the leading storyline of the 2013 NBA playoffs, is about his eyes. As in, how can he look at his teammates? Seriously, how can he do it? Only Rose knows how he can look at Nate Robinson, puking into trashcans during timeouts, wiping his mouth and returning to the floor. Only Rose knows how he can look at Joakim Noah, playing on a sore foot, an affliction called plantar fasciitis, the kind of thing that sounds manageable until you’ve actually had it, and then you know the only way to heal it is to stay off it. Noah stays off it a good 12 minutes per game. The other 36? He’s playing. Only Rose knows how he can look at Taj Gibson and Luol Deng, who had been playing with flu-like conditions. Turns out Deng was suffering from a lot worse than that. He was sent to the hospital with symptoms so bad — symptoms that had doctors wondering about meningitis — that he had to have a spinal tap.”
- Doyel went further, saying reports indicate that Rose has been scrimmaging for months and has looked like the best player when he does: “Notice the phrase I keep repeating: two months ago. A lot has changed in two months. For one, we now know just how long, and how well, Rose has been scrimmaging full-court with his teammates. As it happens, Rose has been playing five-on-five basketball since February, more than 2½ months ago. It has been reported that Rose has been the best player on the court. Nobody has disputed those reports, by the way, not even Rose’s mouthy, media-friendly brother. Derrick Rose has been playing full-court basketball for almost three months, and he has been playing so well of late that he’s the best player — the word “dominating” has been used — and still he’s not playing in playoff games?”
Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson addressed getting technicals in Game 2, from Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today: “It’s frustrating. I lost my cool,” Gibson said. “It’s playoff basketball. There’s a lot of aggression out there. You’ve got to be there for your teammates. Things weren’t going our way. You’re going to get frustrated, especially when you’re getting blown out. We lost our composure as a team. This hardly happens to me.”… Gibson had to be restrained from going after an official after his ejection and was ushered off the court by Bulls support staffers. Noah even provided a light moment afterward. “Not being very Zen,” he said… Noah said he deserved the ejection. “I just wanted to let the referee know how I felt about the game,” he said.”
I would take anything that Kawakami has to say about David Lee with a grain of salt. He has been a known Lee hater for years.
I know this, but what he’s saying right now are facts. If he’s saying stuff without substance, I’d never promote it.
What Kawakami is saying is speculative. Isn’t there just as much reason to think they would have taken game 1 had they another body as capable as Lee down the stretch as there is to think that their success is in part due to Lee’s absence? I.E. we can only speculate on what his absence means, and to ignore the positive appears biased, a la Kawakami. At the very least to say that it is factual is a stretch. We would have to not only judge the Warriors at their best, but also at their worst, and, in my opinion, without Lee their worst is worse than it is with him…