I’m not saying “pity the weekend blogger,” but yesterday we got the announcement of Kobe Bryant’s return.
Today? That’s, as they say, yesterday’s news.
Sometimes big news breaks on the weekend, and this is certainly by no means a slow news day, but Kobe was only going to announce his return once, and of course he couldn’t do it on one of my blogging days.
Regardless, that’s news we all saw coming. What we maybe didn’t see coming was the Mavericks. And the Blazers, but again, yesterday’s news. Jan Hubbard writes about the Mavs here.
Now let’s get to today’s news, the latest from all across the NBA:
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com looks at Iman Shumpert, who’s not exactly happy: “Shortly after telling MSG Network’s Tina Cervasio that he was “pissed off … at the world,” Shumpert took the court and scored 10 points in 25 minutes in the Knicks’ 38-point win over Orlando. Those numbers aren’t eye-popping, but one of Shumpert’s field goals certainly was. In the third quarter, Shumpert drove the lane and finished with a thunderous right-handed dunk in between two Magic defenders to give the Knicks a 16-point lead. To Shumpert, it was “just a dunk.” But it’s easy to wonder if it was a little more than that. “Honestly, I’m just kind of pissed off, that’s all. So you just play like that,” he said. “I felt like people were laughing at my team and I don’t like it.””- Marc Berman of the New York Post talked to one of Shumpert’s teammates: “Stay angry. That’s J.R. Smith’s message to Iman Shumpert, who admitted Friday he is “[mad] at the world,’’ then took it out on the Garden rim with a violent right-handed driving dunk against the Magic that had the arena rocking and the iron shaking. “That’s when Shumpert plays his best, when he plays angry and [has] a chip on his shoulder,’’ Smith said. “That’s when he succeeds the most. He should keep playing like that. He should always play like that. He’s the guy with the most energy on the team. For him to be a defensive guy and make offensive plays like he did the last couple of games, that’s a hell of a combination.’’”
Shumpert has been one of the Knicks to show up in trade rumors, but what about their biggest star? Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com looks at the possibility: “If the Knicks do not turn around their season when Tyson Chandler returns from injury, you can expect the Anthony issue to become a monster heading toward the February trade deadline. Because if Anthony doesn’t think the Knicks are best for him over the next five years, he will make it an issue and possibly force a trade again if he thinks that would be best for him. The Knicks, sources say, have zero intention of trading Anthony no matter what he says about next summer. Not only did owner Jim Dolan personally seal the deal to bring Anthony to New York, but the front office realizes it has one of the most talented players in the league and won’t be able to get fair value in return. Dolan’s Knicks have never made rebuilding trades, and they’re sure as heck not going to start with the biggest star they’ve had since Patrick Ewing. And there’s no questioning Anthony is such a star. He was the engine for their 54-win season in 2012-13 and is the biggest reason Madison Square Garden keeps selling out despite huge ticket-price hikes. Give him this: From a monetary standpoint, Anthony is an excellent return on investment. But from a championship team standpoint, that is a different conversation, and it isn’t one that will take place with Anthony and the Knicks anytime soon.”- Last Knicks news item: if the Knicks decide to can Mike Woodson, Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News has one idea for who not to replace him with: “Jim Dolan’s obsession with Mikhail Prokorov and the Brooklyn Nets might serve the Knicks very well in one regard. Seeing how the Jason Kidd hiring has been a monumental mistake, Dolan should draw the conclusion that if he is going to pink-slip Mike Woodson, then he can’t make Allan Houston the next head coach of the Knicks. Houston’s name surfaced as a potential successor to Woodson around the same time last week that Kidd was removing Lawrence Frank from his bench and banning him from the practice gym. Houston is assistant GM to Steve Mills, and like Kidd, has no coaching experience. “When you see how Kidd has been a failure — his team shows no effort on a consistent basis — if Dolan would give the job to Houston, then New York fans would be in an uproar,” said one Eastern Conference team executive. “Allan Houston would be a disaster as a coach.”
USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt has a cool look at former Butler star and new Jazz leader Gordon Hayward: “The new role has resulted in increased minutes and shots for Hayward, who has struggled with his shooting in the first five weeks of the season as he adjusts to an increased role. “It’s a bigger role, and I accept the challenge for sure,” Hayward told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s exciting to have that opportunity in front of you. I’m doing a better job facilitating and making plays for others. I just haven’t shot the ball well this season. Hopefully that picks up and I’ll be doing all right.” Hayward, a tad weary of talking about his slump, is shooting 39.3% from the field and 28.9% on threes. He finished 1-for-17 in a 105-98 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans and 5-for-23 in a 91-82 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. “It’s just not going down right now for whatever reason,” he said. “It’s happened throughout my career so far in the NBA where I start off slow. I don’t know what that’s about. I have confidence and it’ll fall eventually for me.””
Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal wonders what’s up with Kyrie Irving: “The whispers have been growing louder around the NBA for weeks and now Friday’s scoreless performance will get everyone’s attention. With each lousy shooting performance, more and more people want to know: What has happened to Kyrie Irving? I wish I knew. I’m sure Irving wishes he knew, too. Yes, teams are defending him differently and appear to be running more double teams at him. Yes, he’s getting more resistance at the basket this year. Whereas the first two years he seemed to be able to attack at will, this year there are bigs waiting for him at the rim. But it’s more than that. Irving is missing wide open shots. He had a nifty crossover tonight that left him with an easy, short jumper and he clanked it. He’s missing 3-pointers, he’s missing free throws, he’s missing layups. He’s missing from everywhere. No matter how much he insists it’s not weighing on him, I have to believe it is. I asked him tonight after the cameras and recorders were put away if his arm is still bothering him, but he said no. Irving fell on his right arm during the second game of the season at Charlotte and complained of numbness. He said afterward it affected his shot and he was taken for x-rays, but they revealed nothing and Irving was back for the next game. Irving is sensitive to his injury history, and I thought perhaps he is playing through some sort of discomfort in the arm to keep from admitting he’s hurt again. But he said no, so we move on.”- In that game, Kyle Korver made history. Here’s Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Kyle Korver now stands alone in the NBA record books. The guard set the all-time league mark with a 3-pointer in 90 consecutive games. He broke the mark of 89 he shared with Dana Barros for two just days. Barros had held the record since January 1996. Now it belongs to just Korver. “It feels good,” Korver said. “I’m glad it’s done. My naps the last couple of games haven’t been very solid. I try not to think about getting this close and not getting it. That would not have been fun. I’m proud of it for sure.” The record breaking 3-pointer came with 5:29 remaining in the first quarter of the Hawks 108-89 rout of the Cavaliers Friday night at Philips Arena. It was part of a first-quarter Hawks onslaught.”
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Dan Malone is in his fourth year as a journalism student at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and spent this summer as a features intern at the Cape Cod Times. He blogs, edits and learns things on the fly for Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on Twitter.