SH Blog: Melo has no idea how to fix the Knicks, Wade unsure of what approach to take with current contract

Brian Shaw says he has to help Nate Robinson control his emotions, from Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post: “He’s always wound up,” Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said, with a grin that quickly faded away. “That’s what you get with Nate Robinson. So we just have to continue to keep working on him on that. I told him, let me deal with the referees, you just play the game. But that’s easier said than done.” Shaw said, “I’m going to have to talk to him about controlling his emotions. It’s almost like he has a target on his back, and the referees are just not going to tolerate him saying anything to them at all.”… “They hate me, they hate me,” he said. “I don’t know why, but it is what it is. I already know I’ve got the target on my back, but I’ll play through it; I don’t care. I really don’t. It doesn’t bother me none. If I get a call, I get a call. If I don’t, I don’t. If I get a tech, hopefully it’s not in the fourth quarter. Hopefully I don’t get any more. But I know I will. It’s nothing new for me.”

The Sacramento Kings were especially frustrated after losing a close contest against the Golden State Warriors, from Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee: “It’s all good and dandy that we’re staying in games and fighting hard, but we’re always on the losing end of it,” guard Marcus Thornton said. “One of these days, we have to start winning some of these games because at the end of the day, it don’t say Sacramento Kings stayed in the game. It says Sacramento, L (loss) and the other team wins. One of these days, we have to get over that hump.”… “That loss hurts,” Thomas said. “We had that game. Especially with the turnovers we had, we were still in a position to win.”… “We can talk about progress every day,” Cousins said. “But with that progress, we’re still making some of the same mistakes. When we stop making those mistakes, then we’ll get over that hump.”… “That’s part of having to fight back,” forward John Salmons said. “When you’re fighting back, everything has to go your way, and that’s the reality of basketball – everything’s not going to go your way. So when you’re fighting back down the stretch and you’re down like that, every little thing hurts.”

Brandon Bass is a big reason for the defensive success of the Boston Celtics, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPN: “Bass loves living under the radar, but his contributions shouldn’t. Boston is quietly on the fringe of being a top-10 defense (11th in defensive rating, but 10th in points allowed per possession) despite a sub-.500 record, and a good chunk of the success on that side of the ball is a product of Bass. Among Boston’s 11 regulars, Bass owns the best defensive rating on the team as the Celtics allow 98.1 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court. That’s three points below the team’s season average (101.1) and that rating spikes to 105.8 when Bass is off the floor. Bass isn’t a great rebounder and he often gives up size at the power forward position, but his athleticism gives Boston the flexibility to switch him in many situations and he is strong enough to joust with even the NBA’s biggest bodies.”

Michael Beasley discussed his appreciation for Erik Spoelstra’s trust in him on something other than offense, from Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald: “It feels good to be trusted by Spo on something other than offense,” Beasley said. “It’s definitely different than what I’m used to.” Asked when the last time a coach trusted him on the basketball court, Beasley named Frank Martin, his coach at Kansas State. “Spo has trusted me before but it’s different now because I think my rookie year, Spo had to trust me,” Beasley said. “We didn’t have too many choices. Now, we have a full roster and everyone can contribute. He can put me at the end of the bench and forget about me for 20 games. “And that’s not him doing it consciously, but we have so many guys that can do so much. So when he calls my name, it speaks a lot. But, like I said, I can’t get complacent. I can’t get comfortable. I gotta keep going.”… “With this team, like I said before, and I’ve been screaming all year, I’ve got to find something else to bring to the table,” Beasley said. “It’s not going to be the same thing every night, but it’s got to be something.”

Dwyane Wade isn’t sure if he will take the Kobe Bryant approach in the coming summer, from Brian Windhorst of ESPN: ““When I get into that position, it’s something I’ll think about,” Wade said. “You have to sit down at the time and see what is best for you and for your team.” Here is the situation. Next summer Wade has an opt out in his contract. He is owed $20 million next year and $21 million in 2015-16. It is reasonable to think that Wade, who turns 32 in January, will not opt out and just collect that money. But Wade could also re-do his contract and, if the Heat agreed, get a four-year deal worth up to nearly $100 million. Or the sides could do a deal for anything in between. Basically, the Heat could ask Wade to take a pay cut and make it up to him by adding years to his deal… “I remember when Shaq did that,” Wade said. “Not everyone is going to do that.”… “There are different times and different mindsets that you deal with. That was 2010,” Wade said. “I’m not saying that LeBron James or Chris Bosh, if they get the opportunity again, are going to leave $17 million on the table. No one can say they should do that. You have to do what is best for you.”

Speaking of Wade, he became the all-time leader in blocked shots for players 6-foot-4 or shorter. Here is a list of some of his work, from Tom Haberstroh of ESPN: “Get this: Wade has blocked a 7-footer more times (45 total) than players who are 6-feet or shorter (35 total). The average height of a Wade blocked player? 6-foot-6. The tallest player he has blocked? That would be former teammate Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who is 7-3. The shortest? Earl Boykins, at 5-5. Who are the other players? Well, the list is 342 names long. So here’s just a sample of the top casualties. Nine blocks: Howard and Johnson. Eight blocks: Vince Carter, Andre Miller. Seven blocks: Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Ray Allen, Ben Gordon, Baron Davis, John Salmons, Larry Hughes. Six blocks: Brook Lopez, Russell Westbrook, Rashard Lewis, Marquis Daniels, Jameer Nelson. Five blocks: Pau Gasol, Danny Granger, David West, Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams, Gilbert Arenas, Courtney Lee, Cuttino Mobley, DeMar DeRozan, Stephen Jackson. One last thing: Wade has gotten LeBron James three times in his career. No one needed to remind him of that. He knew.