SH Blog: Howard compares current teammates to former Magic teammates, Kobe admits having insecurities and self-doubt

• Chris Bosh believes the race in the Eastern Conference is between five teams, from Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report: “Throughout Tuesday’s media sessions, Heat players politely noted the Wizards’ progress, touting the talents of John Wall, referencing Washington’s late-season success when he was healthy. Still, Chris Bosh put a stop to that silly storyline before it started. “Right now, the East is very top-heavy,” Bosh said. “With that said, there’s a lot of teams that feel they can really make a move, get into the playoff race. For the most part, it’s the New York teams (the Nets and Knicks), Indiana, Chicago and us, and we’re going to be duking it out all season.”… “There’s a lot of teams that want to knock us off, there’s a couple teams in the Eastern Conference that hate us, and we know who they are,” James said Tuesday. “We’re not going to hide behind that; we’re a focused group. And we’re looking forward to the challenges that this season has to bring.”

• In a brilliant article by Lee Jenkins of SI, Kobe Bryant said he has insecurities and self-doubt like the rest of us, and discussed how he may come back from the Achilles injury: “I have self-doubt,” Bryant says. “I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I’m like, ‘My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don’t have it. I just want to chill.’ We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it. You rise above it. … I don’t know how I’m going to come back from this injury. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll be horses—.” He pauses, as if envisioning himself as an eighth man. “Then again, maybe I won’t, because no matter what, my belief is that I’m going to figure it out. Maybe not this year or even next year, but I’m going to stay with it until I figure it out.”… “Maybe I won’t have as much explosion,” Bryant says. “Maybe I’ll be slower. Maybe I’ll lose quickness. But I have other options. It’s like Floyd Mayweather in the ring. There’s a reason he’s still at the top after all these years. He’s the most fundamentally sound boxer of all time. He can fight myriad styles at myriad tempos. He can throw fast punches or off-speed punches, and he can throw them from odd angles.”

• Carmelo Anthony is not fond of the computer system that projects the New York Knicks to win 37 games this season, from Matt Ehalt of ESPN NY: “ESPN.com used the SCHOENE system to predict the Knicks would finish 37-45 this season, a 17-game difference from last year’s 54-win campaign. Anthony and the Knicks aren’t putting any stock in that projection. “Sometimes there’s glitches in the computer,” said Anthony, who added he doesn’t pay attention to predictions. “That’s all I got to say.”  The SCHOENE system projects the Knicks will regress in both their offensive and defensive ratings, as it says the Knicks will drop from third to 20th in offense, while going from 16th to 18th in defense. “Do they play? It’s a computer system. So I don’t think computers run up and down the floor. You still gotta play the game,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. “I don’t get caught up into that. Bottom line is we take it one game at a time and put our best foot forward and we try to win. That’s what it’s all about. “

• Although nothing is concrete, Mike Woodson may not be expecting a whole lot from Amare Stoudemire this season, from Ian Begley of ESPN NY: “Mike Woodson hinted that Amar’e Stoudemire may not be allowed to play more than 20 minutes per game this season. “We’ve just got to figure out if it’s going to be 10 minutes, 15, 20. We won’t know at this point until he’s back on the floor and seeing how things are going,” Woodson said Tuesday. Stoudemire averaged 23.5 minutes per game last season, when he was limited to 30 minutes per game by the team’s medical staff. The minutes limit proved prudent because Stoudemire needed a second knee surgery in March after he experienced soreness following a four-games-in-five nights stretch. In two of those games, the 30-year-old Stoudemire played more than 30 minutes. Stoudemire will likely be on a stricter minutes count this year. “I thought we were really doing a pretty good job managing his minutes last season,” Woodson said. “And they were, I thought, positive minutes in terms of helping us win basketball games when he was in there.” 

• Michael Jordan responded to Robert Pera’s one-on-one challenge, from Rick Bonnell of Charlotte Observer: “Hours removed from the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies challenging Michael Jordan to a charity one-on-one game, MJ had a response: “Comical.” That’s the word the owner of the Charlotte Bobcats (and Hall of Fame player) used in a brief interview with the Observer Wednesday. If new Grizzlies owner Robert Pera wants to play one-on-one for $1 million to charity (as he said on Twitter), Jordan won’t be his opponent. “I think that’s comical,’’ Jordan said. “It didn’t make any sense. Why would I play one one-on-one? It’s a no-win situation for me no matter what.”

• Grantland has been posting a video of Jalen Rose and Bill Simmons breaking down each NBA team on a daily basis. It’s must-watch stuff, and the latest clip is on the Minnesota Timberwolves:

 

James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. Find him on twitter @SheridanBlog.