Wade was not the only member of the Miami Heat talking about injuries on Tuesday, though. LeBron James came to Wade’s defense by giving a little insight into the injury he was dealing with in the 2010 playoffs as a member of the Cavaliers. This was also referred to as the “phantom elbow,” back in the day: “In an unexpected show of solidarity, James talked extensively for the first time about what he felt was a similar injury he suffered in 2010. During those playoffs when James played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, he nebulously complained about a right elbow injury. At one point, he took a free throw left-handed because he said the elbow was bothering him. He got an MRI for it but never directly discussed it at the time or, really, ever since. Until Monday night, which was three years and one day after his unusually poor performance in Game 5 against the Boston Celtics, did he refer to it to sympathize with Wade’s situation.”- More from Windhorst: “It was his final home game as a Cav and a game for which many fans accused him of quitting in a blowout loss. James shot just 11-of-35 in the final two games of that series, which the Celtics won in an upset. The mysterious elbow issue became a significant talking point at the time.”
Whatever is going on behind the scenes in the Knicks locker room isn’t great, and it is reflecting on the court. Marc Berman of the New York Post can explain why Carmelo is confused by Tyson Chandler’s recent remarks: “It’s all going haywire for the Knicks at the wrong time, trailing the Pacers 2-1 in their second-round series. Call them the Bickerbockers. Carmelo Anthony was perplexed by negative comments made the past two days by center Tyson Chandler.”
“I don’t want to go back and forth with that,” Anthony said. “I don’t know exactly what he’s talking about. But if he feels that way, we’re about to get together right now amongst ourselves and figure that out and get his take and perspective on that comment. We’ll handle that internally and figure it out among ourselves.”
Tom Thibodeau has also made headlines for his recent comments to the media. Is he starting to retract his statements about the refs? Jeff Arnold of the Daily Chronicle has the scoop: “Three days after he insisted his team wouldn’t get any calls against Miami, Thibodeau said the series isn’t about officiating – and never has been. The Bulls were whistled for 10 technical fouls and had three players ejected in the series’ first three games. Although Thibodeau said his players can’t get wrapped up “in the things that are unimportant,” he knows the Bulls – still playing without guards Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich – can’t afford to change their playing style. Forward Luol Deng was shifted to active status just before Monday’s game.”
After what was one of the most highly criticized coaching jobs of the season, Lakers’ coach Mike D’Antoni’s assistant, Steve Clifford, is interviewing for the Milwaukee Bucks head coaching position: “Milwaukee has interviewed Nate McMillan and Houston Rockets assistants Kelvin Sampson and J.B. Bickerstaff for its head-coaching job. When Bucks general manager John Hammond reached out to gauge Stan Van Gundy’s interest in the job, Van Gundy declined but delivered a strong recommendation for Clifford, league sources said. Clifford spent five years on Van Gundy’s Orlando Magic staff before joining the Lakers in the summer of 2012. Clifford fits the profile of the kind of hands-on, defensive-minded candidate that Hammond has been seeking to replace interim coach Jim Boylan. Clifford will also interview with the Charlotte Bobcats in the near future.”
Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.