- Rodney Stuckey says the Detroit Pistons are not on the same page right now, according to Sam Amick of USA Today: “It seems like every year there’s new players who you’re trying to get accustomed to,” Stuckey told USA TODAY Sports by phone recently. “It’s just trying to figure each other out and all being on the same page. I really don’t think right now …” He pauses ever so slightly. “We’re not on the same page,” he continued. “It’s difficult to try to go out there and try to win games and win games consistently.”… “I know our record is not what it should be (now), but we’re definitely in a better place. Definitely in a better state of mind. And that’s important. I feel happy, feel relieved. We’ve got a great group of guys. “
The Phoenix Suns received some positive news about Eric Bledsoe, from Matt Petersen of Suns.com: “While the Suns run off win after win, Eric Bledsoe is racing equally as fast to get back on the court as soon as possible. The fourth-year guard, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in January, was re-evaluated over the weekend. Suns Head Coach Jeff Hornacek said the news was positive. “Doctors said everything looks good,” Hornacek said. “He’s going to continue his rehab. I think because they got that ‘OK’, they’ll step up his workload and continue to push him to get back as soon as he can.” Bledsoe had been restricted to strength-building exercises both for his knee and in general. With the first portion of that process successfully completed, speed and endurance form the next step in the rehab process. “I think they’ll have him do more running, now,” Hornacek said. “They wanted to wait on that pounding a little bit to see how he’s progressing.”
After years of getting the doghouse treatment due to defensive reasons, Carlos Boozer finally expressed his desire to play more when it matters, from K.C. Johnson of Chicago Tribune: “I think I should be out there, but it’s (Thibodeau’s) choice,” Boozer said at Monday’s morning shootaround at Sleep Train Arena. “I play. I don’t coach. But honestly, he’s been doing that a lot since I’ve been here, not putting me in in the fourth quarter. Sometimes we win, more times than not we don’t.” Boozer played 21 minutes, 34 seconds with four fouls on Saturday in New Orleans, a Bulls loss. He logged 25:40 in the trip-opening victory at San Antonio. “It’s very frustrating, especially when I’ve got a great game going,” Boozer said. “Obviously as a competitor, you want to help your team win and especially when the game is close, you can do things that can help your team win. And not being out there, all you could do is really cheer them on.”
Tom Thibodeau responded to Boozer’s frustration, from Johnson of Chicago Tribune: “I’m asking Taj to sacrifice not starting, and in some cases Carlos has to sacrifice not finishing,” Thibodeau said. “For us to achieve what we want to achieve, both guys have to play very well for us.”… “Sometimes you have to sacrifice what might be best for yourself for what’s best for the team,” Thibodeau said. “That’s what I love about Taj. Taj could be upset he’s not starting. He never complains. Whatever you ask him to do, he just goes out there and does it. To me, what he does speaks volumes. He’s not talking about it. He’s going out there and doing it. “It’s my job to get the best out of everyone and to do what’s best for the team. So that’s what I’ll do. I’ll always do it. And that’s not going to change.” “Carlos has a lot of pride,” Thibodeau said. “He should want to play. But you have to get it done too. You can’t play everybody. Joakim (Noah) has gone to a completely different level. Carlos is going to play some in the fourth. Right now, Taj has the hot hand. So that’s the way we’re going. That doesn’t mean it’s going to stay that way.”
Kevin Durant is not in love with the newest nickname that has been given to him, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: “Kevin Durant doesn’t like the nickname “The Slim Reaper.” “I’m here to shine a bright light,” Durant said. “I’m not here to be a guy of, I guess, death. I just like KD better.”… “It’s always opportunities for quick hits like that in the marketplace,” he said. “So you never know. But I never really thought about it.” For now, Durant sounds appreciative of admirers tagging him with a nickname but maintains this one misses the mark in his book. “That name is what it is,” Durant said. “It’s cool to have a nickname somebody else gave to you. It’s kind of weird if you make your own nickname up. But to have that out there, I guess, is cool…Everybody’s been loving the name. I think I’m the only one that really doesn’t like it too much.”
Evan Turner said he never expected to get a contract extension from the Sixers and expressed that he was frustrated with criticism in his first two years, from Sean Deveney of Sporting News: ““I never expected to get a contract extension, especially when we switched GMs, you know?” Turner said. “I always said, Mr. Hinkie is going to do what he wants to do, and he has his own vision and everything like that. So when you trade an All-Star like Jrue, I mean, what occurs next isn’t going to surprise me. I was just trying my best to keep focused, keep helping the team win and getting better.”… “That’s what the No. 2 tag comes with,” he said. “Sometimes there are people who write stuff and say stuff that don’t even watch the game, you know what I am saying? I enjoyed my first two years… “I was young,” he said. “When it came down to it, I got blamed for dang near everything. I wasn’t this, I wasn’t that. You become insecure about it.”
- Tyson Chandler is dreaming big about where the Knicks could end up at the end of the regular season, from Ian Begley of ESPN NY: “Obviously, we didn’t come in expecting to put ourselves in this situation. But … I feel like it’s still wide open,” Tyson Chandler said. “I looked at the standings today and I feel like we’ve got a real opportunity to kind of shoot up to that third spot or so and try to get ourselves in the mix.”
Luol Deng is upset with what has been written about him as of late, from Jason Lloyd of Beacon Journal: “I’ve never been in a situation where I start talking and turn my back on what’s in front of me. It’s not me, it’s not who I am,” Deng said. “I’m really upset that’s written about me and I just hope guys within the team understand that. It’s something we don’t need right now.”… “Obviously we’re losing, I’m not happy,” Deng said. “But to go as far as to say I’m frustrated with the guys, that to me doesn’t make sense. … We know we’re struggling, we know we’ve got to get better as a team. But writing an article like that is just giving a writer who wants everyone to read whatever he’s writing. I’m really disappointed and it hurt me a little bit because I do care about the guys in the locker room and I’ve never in my career had something like that written about me. I’m disappointed.”
Andrei Kirilenko touched on a variety of topics with Devin Kharpertian of The Brooklyn Game, including how American players have a tendency to care too much about one-on-one play: “I wanted to talk defense with Kirilenko, but much of our early conversation trends towards offense. “If you take a look, the majority — I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, but the majority of the guys, especially here in America, they’re so concentrated on (the) individual game,” he says, with just a hint of derision, before quickly hedging. “Which is alright.” “Individual is so big in NBA and college basketball,” he continues. “Beating your man one-on-one. But sometimes it’s underestimated and undervalued, moving without the ball. If you don’t have the ball, if you’re moving and you can find the opportunities, you can be twice as effective.”… “Since the beginning of my career, I kind of played on both ends of the court, very energetic, slashing in,” he adds. He’s the anti-Joe Johnson, more focused on what he can do without the ball than with it. “I’ve never been a great shooter. I’ve always been the guy who likes to play with no ball in hand. If it needs to be, good. If I don’t have the ball, okay. I still adjust.”
James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. You can find him on twitter @SheridanBlog.
Pages: 1 2