First up, there was a small but potentially significant trade today, with the Bulls dealing Marquis Teague to Brooklyn for Tornike Shengelia. I wrote up the report on it, so go read it and then tell me whether or not I’m an idiot. My Twitter link is at the end of this article. Seriously, do it.
Also on Sheridan Hoops, we’ve got a couple people who have been writing about basketball a lot longer than I have offering different takes on the end of David Stern’s tenure as commissioner. First we’ve got a positive take from Danny Schayes, and then a more negative position from Peter May. They’re both very interesting reads for someone like me, who has never known an NBA other than Stern’s NBA. I grew up with MJ and Shaq and I never knew Bird and Magic as active players.
Regardless of what you think about Stern’s values, whether he changed the NBA for better or worse, there’s no arguing with the fact that he was wildly successful at turning the league into what he wanted it to be. That doesn’t really say much of anything, but then I’m probably not the guy to be giving NBA history lessons. I’m best at giving the latest NBA news. Which is what I’ve got for you right now:
- J.R. Smith was back to his best, but it wasn’t enough for the Knicks. Here’s Zach Braziller of the New York Post on Smith’s good night: “For once, it wasn’t J.R. Smith’s fault. The problematic shooting guard, who was benched in two of the Knicks’ previous five games by coach Mike Woodson, actually was a bright spot in the Knicks’ otherwise gloomy 109-95 loss to the Clippers Friday night at the Garden.Smith made 9 of 18 shots, scored a season-high 24 points, sank a trio of 3-pointers and got to the line four times. … The Knicks hope it’s a start. Woodson said it reminded him of last year, when Smith was the Sixth Man of the Year and played a key role on the Knicks’ 54-win season and run to the second round of the playoffs. “We need him,” Carmelo Anthony said. “I told you guys the other day, we need J.R. Smith. We need him to play the way he played [Friday]. I thought he played extremely well and we’re going to need more of that.””
Sam Cassell’s in the news again, and he’s managed it without actually having to do anything. In fact, it’s Jameer Nelson who’s bringing Cassell back into public view. Here’s FoxSports.com’s Ken Hornack with the story: “After nailing a fallaway jump shot over 6-foot-11 Bulls center Joakim Noah to tie the score late in regulation, the 6-foot-1 Nelson ran back towards the Magic bench cupping his hands in a gesture that had been made famous — or infamous — by the now-retired Sam Cassell. “I accept the fine,” Nelson said Friday at the Magic’s shootaround before their game against the Charlotte Bobcats. “Hopefully I won’t get emotional again. If I have to pay $15,000 for our fans to get excited I’ll do it again. If I offended anyone, I’m sorry,” he said. “Basketball is a fun game, and you get emotional. You never see my emotions, but you did that game.””- Grantland’s Zach Lowe noticed the fine Nelson got, and wrote an excellent column on what fines for “obscene gestures” are really about: “The Big Balls fine is in line with fines the league doles out for some instances of fighting and/or dangerous flagrant fouls, and larger than what any player has lost for flopping. A player has to reach his fourth flopping violation before facing a $15,000 fine under the league’s flopping regulations, now in their second season. The first offense is a warning, the second gets you a $5,000 fine, and the third carries a $10,000 penalty. No player has even reached the $10,000 fine yet. Not even James Harden or J.J. Barea! This feeds into the belief, not uncommon around the league, that the NBA cares more about public perception than about substantive issues affecting the game. I don’t personally believe that criticism is fair. There are loads of people at the league office who care deeply about the nitty-gritty stuff that affects game play — rules changes, length of games, the quality of officiating, flopping, and the overall aesthetics of the game experience. Adam Silver, the soon-to-be-commissioner, is one of them. … But the league has an interest in preventing the NBA from becoming some foul-mouthed, taunt-heavy, WWE-style universe. That would get tiresome and dilute the quality of the product. Surface perception, as shallow as it might seem, matters to any business. That’s why every corporation has a PR department. The league says it gets complaints about the Cassell thing, and that kind of fan reaction matters.”
One previous big-name proponent of the “Sam Cassell Dance” is Kobe Bryant, who says he’s coming back this season no matter what. Via ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Dave McMenamin: “Kobe Bryant plans to have his injured left knee re-evaluated sometime in early February and has no intention of sitting out the rest of the season, no matter how bad things get for the Los Angeles Lakers in the standings. “The only thing I can afford to consider is getting better, getting stronger,” Bryant said before the Lakers’ 107-104 win over the Boston Celtics on Friday. “I can’t allow myself to think any other way. I can only think about the next step. To do anything else becomes distracting if you allow yourself, if you give yourself wiggle room to not push yourself as hard as you possibly can. To think about sitting out and this, that and the other, your motivation is all wrong. I refuse to think that way.” Magic Johnson disagreed, as the former Lakers star questioned whether Bryant should come back at all this season in an interview with the Los Angeles Times this week.”What is he coming back to? He’s not going to be able to stop the pick and roll, all the layups the Lakers are giving up,” Johnson told the newspaper. “He’s been hurt twice, give him the whole year to get healthy.””- The Rockets are getting a key piece back just in time for the West race to really heat up. Here’s Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “Within a month of suffering a fractured hand, Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley will return to the lineup against Portland on Monday, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Beverley, who was injured on Dec. 23, has been practicing with the Rockets this week and the team trainers cleared him to return to the court on Monday, sources said. Beverley has evolved into a vital part of the Rockets, bringing a tough, physical presence to the backcourt. Beverley has shared time with Jeremy Lin as Houston’s starting point guard.”
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@ESPNStatsInfo Durant with 54 points on only 68 touches. Only had the ball in his hands for 3:17 all game. Crazy efficient #SportVU
— Brian Kopp (@bkoppstats) January 18, 2014
Jimmer Fredette is finally starting to make an impact in Sacramento, writes Cowbell Kingdom’s Jonathan Santiago: “He may not be playing the minutes his diehard fans would like, but Fredette now knows he’s part of the rotation. That may be one of the reasons for the third-year guard’s improved comfort level on the floor according to Chris Jent. Among his many duties, the Kings lead assistant often works on shooting with Fredette and the other guards as well the wings during pregame warmups. “Well, I think with Jimmer it’s stated, and I think it’s probably accurate for any player, is that he knows he’s gonna play,” Jent said in an outtake from this week’s Cowbell Kingdom Podcast. “And when you know you’re going to play, you’ve got a different approach to your day. You’re in your routine,” added Jent. “You know you’re going to step on the floor and you’ve just got a certain comfort level – before game, during game.” Over his last nine games, Fredette has shot 45 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point distance and averaged 7.8 points and two assists in 13.5 minutes per contest. Per 36 minutes, Fredette is posting averages of 20.7 points and 5.3 assists a game in that span.”
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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.