-
Google Search
-
-
ESPNShop Deals and Coupons- ESPNShop MLB Jersey SaleAny Team. Any Player.<br>Customize an MLB jersey of your choice.
- ESPNShop Mother's Day SaleTreat Mom Right<br>Save on Women's apparel.
- ESPNShop NBA Play-off gearBring Your A-Game<br>save on NBA apparel
- ESPNShop Baseball GearGear Up and Save<br>for your baseball and softball season.
- ESPNShop MLB Jersey Sale
-
07
Each weekday morning, BDL serves up a handful of NBA-related
stories to digest with your protein shake. At least for now. We’ll
see how long this lasts.
George M. Thomas, Akron Beacon Journal: "It’s too early to call it a trend, but there’s a glimmer of something different sneaking from the shadows for the Cavaliers, who take on the Dallas Mavericks tonight at the American Airlines Center. That difference: an offense relying less on its superstar and showing that when it comes to scoring, it’s share and share alike. Through three games, four Cavs — LeBron James, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson — all average in double figures, with Delonte West close behind. It’s a developing story from a team that all too often has relied on James’ scoring skills. Consider that in the three games James has not had a breakout scoring game, and his 9.3 assists per game are up over last year to start the season. Spreading the wealth, in this instance, isn’t a bad thing."
Scott Howard-Cooper, Sacramento Bee (via Real GM): "Siena coach Fran McCaffery, who coached against Rider’s Jason Thompson at least twice a season each of the last three years, believes that Sacramento rookie Jason Thompson is better than both Brook and Robin Lopez. ‘If you ask me who I’d rather have, I’d take Jason Thompson over either of them,’ McCaffery said. Thompson has averaged 13.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in his first three NBA games. ‘I honestly believe this: In a couple years,’ McCaffery added. ‘People are going to say, ‘That was a great pick. That was a great draft pick.’"
Michael O’Keeffe and Mark Lelinwalla, NY Daily News: "For Stephon Marbury, the dream is dying hard. As he sits at the end of the Knicks’ bench in street clothes, ostracized by the team he dreamed of playing for since he was a kid growing up in Coney Island, the former New York schoolboy star may look the picture of composure, but inside he is hurting. ‘His pride is hurt,’ says Rob Johnson, a Queens basketball consultant and a longtime observer of New York City basketball. ‘I’ve known Steph since he was 10 years old and I can tell he’s really hurt by this. He won’t cause problems. He wants to get on with his business and hopefully play for another team next year. They should just let him go.’"
Washington Post: "The stench of Saturday night’s Heat loss in Charlotte probably wasn’t as rank to Shawn Marion. The Heat confirmed yesterday that the veteran power forward broke his nose during the 100-87 defeat and will have to be fitted with a protective mask. Marion said he did not know when he was injured, saying after the game, ‘The third quarter, the fourth quarter? I don’t know.’ The team said Marion is not expected to miss any time. Marion said he has previously played through such discomfort."
Lisa Dillman, LA Times: "Clippers point guard Baron Davis remained home in Los Angeles, having suffered another injury. This time, it was a sore left hip taking him out of the lineup, and he hasn’t even come close to recovering from his sprained left ring finger. It appears as though Davis will also miss Monday’s game against the Jazz at Staples Center. ‘It’s probably going to be three or four days and we’ll kind of re-evaluate,’ Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy said. ‘I guess tomorrow we’ll know a little bit more about where he’s at.’"
K.C. Johnson, Chicago Tribune: "Indeed, Derrick Rose’s stoic demeanor rarely changes, although he claims that’s about to change. His trip to Boston left a lasting impression on him, and his eardrums. Watching Kevin Garnett unleash his primal screams and listening to arguably the league’s best defensive team and reigning world champions chatter throughout impressed Rose. ‘Man, that’s an emotional team,’ Rose said. ‘There wasn’t one time on the court they weren’t talking to each other. They were having fun. I just have to be more emotional on the court, talk a little bit more, yell. It’s so hard for me. I don’t know why. I really didn’t care about emotion and all that because that’s just not me or my personality. I’m a quiet guy, so why change?’"
Howard Beck, NY Times: "The Knicks were outhustled Sunday evening by the Milwaukee Bucks in a 94-86 loss, dropping D’Antoni to 1-2 in his inaugural season as the Knicks’ coach. His postgame assessment centered on the elusive concept of ‘energy’ — a word that characterized everything his former team in Phoenix did, and a word poor teams use frequently to explain their inadequacies. Most troubling of all, D’Antoni’s analysis left the impression that the Knicks’ mind-set remained locked in the recent past, when losing became a bad and predictable habit. ‘It’s the spirit that we’re playing with, the energy that we’re playing with,’ D’Antoni said. ‘We never attacked almost until we get in a desperate situation, both offensive and defensive. It’s like we’re on our heels the whole game, and we’re kind of waiting for something bad to happen to us. We’re going to have to get over that.’"
Dave D’Alessandro, The Star-Ledger: "The knee-jerk chorus will take one look at the combined output from the Nets’ starting forward tandem Saturday night and conclude that it may be time for a change. Lawrence Frank isn’t going there — not yet, anyway. But he’s not exactly married to the current lineup, either. ‘I think we have to evaluate it,’ the coach said Sunday, in the aftermath of the Nets’ 105-97 loss to Golden State. ‘Right now, you look at it and give these guys a legitimate opportunity. And once you’ve given it enough time, you make a decision. But it’s a constant evaluation.’"
Chris Sheridan, ESPN: "Al Harrington wants to be traded, and Warriors’ head coach Don Nelson isn’t opposed to the idea of seeing the forward shipped out of town. ‘He thinks he’s a superstar. I think he’s a very good player. If he wants to be traded, we’ll try to accommodate him,’ Nelson told ESPN.com on Saturday night …  Harrington publicized his trade request before the season opener, and the Warriors have been fielding inquiries from numerous teams ever since … ‘I’m just going to keep doing what I can do to be the best player I can be,’ Harrington said after hearing Nelson’s latest comments. ‘If something happens, it happens. I’m prepared either way.’"
Benjamin Hochman, Denver Post: "A day after the Nuggets and Linas Kleiza couldn’t come to an agreement on a contract extension, coach George Karl remained optimistic Kleiza could return to the team next summer, signing as a restricted free agent. ‘We have no desire to lose L.K., we just wanted to be financially responsible,’ Karl said. ‘We’re still in somewhat control of what we want. If he gets an offer, we have the right to match that.’ Still, there was disappointment from Kleiza, who thought a deal would be done, and now there’s also the possibility that the Lithuanian could play overseas, as suggested by his agent, Bill Duffy."
