Kobe Bryant calls out Shaq for being lazy: “The problem was that nobody knew we were in a Kobe Bryant era during his rookie season, and for the next seven seasons after that neither O’Neal nor subsequent Laker coaches wanted the Bryant era to take hold, preferring instead to mainly go through the league-altering O’Neal as Los Angeles chased down three championships. Following O’Neal’s peak season of 1999-00, though, he routinely returned from summers off looking out of shape and often not nearly as motivated as the trimmed-down giant that dominated during his lone MVP season. Bryant, who had a front row seat to these changes, is still frustrated at how things fell apart. From a piece in the New Yorker, by Ben McGrath”
For Bryant, an obsessive who prides himself on a kind of basketball virtuosity (“As far as one on one, I’m the best to ever do it,” he has said), O’Neal represented an affront to the game itself: a giant so physically dominant around the rim that his indifference to mastering something as elementary as free throws was rendered maddeningly inconsequential.
“It used to drive me crazy that he was so lazy,” Bryant told me. “You got to have the responsibility of working every single day. You can’t skate through (bleep).” O’Neal was a clown, and beloved for it, while Bryant, who once told Newsweek that he didn’t believe in happiness, remained aloof. “I was stubborn as a (bleep) mule,” he said. Bryant shunned reporters whom he saw talking to O’Neal. O’Neal, in turn, refused to accept help from the same trainers who taped Bryant’s ankles. Their desperate coach, the Buddhist, bookish Phil Jackson, wound up consulting a therapist, and at one point recommended that O’Neal read “Siddhartha.”
- Paul George explains why the top spot in the East is so important: “”We want to be able to play Game 7 on our floor,” George said. “Having the best record proves that we play well here and we could get four games out of a series, we’d love that.” “I mean it’s going to be tough regardless,” George said. “We’re not saying it’s going to be easy because we’ve got home-court advantage. It’s going to be tough. “We’re going to probably have to win a game on their floor,” George said, looking ahead. “Not to say that we can’t go there and steal a game as well, it’s just going to be a little tougher.” Since the start of the season, the Pacers have publicly repeated the goal in achieving the No. 1 seed in the East. Now in late March, George stands behind that proclamation. “I don’t know why we get criticized for having a goal,” George said. “I don’t know if that wasn’t popular back in the day but we were just a team that set out a goal for ourselves, a goal that we feel was very achievable.” “It’s a huge game for us,” George said about tonight’s matchup. “Get a chance to play against great competition, a great team, a team that’s on our heels right now in the East. This is a building block game for us and a game that I feel like we must win or we should win.””
A great piece on how Vince Carter’s career with the Toronto Raptors a decade ago is affecting the NCAA Tournament today: “Melvin Ejim, currently the leading scorer for Iowa State, was 4 when the Raptors were founded. Cyclones teammate Naz Long, a clutch guard, was 2, the same age as Nik Stauskas, the leading scorer for Michigan. Brady Heslip, Baylor’s second-leading scorer was 5, just a year older than Dwight Powell, Stanford’s top big man and second-leading scorer. Each grew up in the greater Toronto area. They weren’t alone. So too did just-eliminated stars such as Tyler Ennis, Kevin Pangos and Sim Bhullar of Syracuse, Gonzaga and New Mexico State, respectively. Then there is Andrew Wiggins of Kansas, the potential No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft who could follow Anthony Bennett, formerly of UNLV and the No. 1 pick in last June’s NBA draft. That’d be two consecutive top overall picks from the same Canadian city. These are but a few of many. The Toronto Star reported there were 97 Canadians on college rosters this year, the majority from greater Toronto. It’s an unexpected influx of top talent from a city of over 2 million and a region that boasts more than 6 million. It’s dictating how American college basketball is being played and has redrawn common recruiting territories.”
Chris Bosh says the Big 3 will stay in Miami next season: “Before the team took off for Indianapolis on Tuesday afternoon, Bosh was a guest on the local South Florida hour ofThe Dan Le Batard Show, which airs nationally from 4 to 7 p.m. on ESPN Radio. Rather than conduct a conventional interview, Le Batard—the longtime Miami Herald columnist—and co-host Jon “Stugotz” Weiner played two games with the Miami Heat forward/center, first asking him to “fill in the blank” and then asking him to answer “true or false.” The final true-or-false question is the one that will get the most attention. Le Batard stated that Bosh—who can opt out of his contract after this season—will be in Miami next year.” “True,” Bosh answered. “And so will LeBron…,” Le Batard continued. “True,” Bosh replied. While the tone of the interview was light-hearted, and Bosh would have made even bigger news for answering “false,” he also could have said “no comment” or “can’t answer yet,” which would have been consistent with his previous public statements. Instead, he offered a definitive, one-word affirmative.”
Mavs owner Mark Cuban believes this is still Dirks time: “Just 48 hours later, any creeping doubt about Dirk was crushed as he delivered one of the best all-around performances of his Hall of Fame career, carrying the Mavs to a much-needed, magnificently entertaining 128-119 overtime win Tuesday night over the Oklahoma City Thunder. “Dirk was Dirk,” said Mavs owner Mark Cuban, who has seen Nowitzki respond to off nights with spectacular performances so many times. “He was fired up. That’s what he does. It’s no surprise. “He’s done that his entire career. There’s no reason to think it’s going to change now. This is his time, right? This is where he gets to show everybody what he can do, and it started tonight, right when we needed it.” The line in the box score — 32 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals — doesn’t even do Dirk’s night justice. You had to see his emotion, the intensity in his face, the fire in his eyes, the passionate fist pumps as he screamed an F-word he swears was, “Finally!” following his overtime dagger 3-pointer to fully appreciate this performance. As far as the Mavs are concerned, this might as well have been a playoff game. If they would have suffered their third overtime loss in a week, the Mavs would have been on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture looking in, a half-game behind the hot Phoenix Suns.”
Russell Westbrook is still unsure if he will have a minutes restriction in the playoffs: ““I’m not sure,” Westbrook said prior to Tuesday’s game against the Mavericks. “Once I talk to the doctors, the coaches and the people I I need to talk to about that, then we’ll figure it out.” What is known is that coming off three surgeries in eight months, and with Friday night’s collision with Raptors guard Kyle Lowry reminding him of his vulnerability, Westbrook is embracing the bigger picture. “I feel great, but it ain’t about this year,” Westbrook said. “I’m 25 years old, you know? It’s not all about right now. You got to think about the future. I can’t just think about what’s going on right now. I’m still young, I’m trying to play as long as I can.” Westbrook’s knee nightmare started 11 months ago in the first round of the playoffs when Rockets guard Patrick Beverley careened into him, tearing the meniscus in Westbrook’s right knee and ending his season. He underwent surgery to repair the meniscus days later and then required two subsequent, and unexpected arthroscopic procedures, one coming days before the start of training camp and another two days after he put up a triple-double at Madison Square Garden on Christmas Day.”
- Steve Masiello thought he had a new gig, but not so fast: “Masiello indicated on his résumé that he earned a degree in communications from Kentucky, but the University of South Florida learned this information was incorrect when conducting a background check during Masiello’s candidacy for its coaching vacancy. Manhattan College issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon that acknowledged the discrepancy. The Bulls confirmed Wednesday that they had an agreement in principle to lure Masiello away from Manhattan, but that the contract was contingent on “a verification of credentials.” “Through the verification process it was determined the candidate’s credentials could not be substantiated and therefore he did not meet the requirements for the position,” USF said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon Masiello’s bio on Manhattan’s website incorrectly states the coach graduated from Kentucky in 2000 with a degree in communications. Masiello, 39, played for the Wildcats from 1996-2000 under coach Rick Pitino and then Tubby Smith.”
- The Detroit Pistons may make a run at Michigan State’s Tom Izzo: “After firing Mo Cheeks midseason, the Pistons will be opening up a coaching search after the season. And one name to potentially watch is Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, according to USA Today. Pistons owner Tom Gores is a Michigan State alum, but that doesn’t guarantee anything. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert also is a Spartan and pursued Izzo in 2010, but came up empty. College coaches making the jump to the NBA don’t have a great track record, but Izzo is obviously one of the most well respected basketball minds in the game. He has built a power in East Lansing, and has a unique ability to always produce competitive tournament teams no matter where their seed is. Would that translate, though? With other past failures like Mike Montgomery, Lon Kruger, P.J. Carlesimo, John Calipari, Tim Floyd, Rick Pitino and Leonard Hamiliton, the history doesn’t suggest success. Currently Brad Stevens is trying to buck the trend in Boston, but it’s too early to tell.”
Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
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