November 6
Houston Chronicle
columnist Richard Justice
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Chuck Hayes is the most remarkable player on the NBA's most remarkable team. How's that for an opening sentence? Good one, huh? Don't believe me? Let's check in at Toyota Center and run it past some people who should know. "Luis Scola and I were talking in the weight room this morning," Shane Battier said, "and we both agreed Chuck Hayes is our favorite player in the NBA." How so? "It's pretty amazing what he does," Battier said. "He's a huge reason we've been one of the best defensive teams in the league the last few years." How about you, Carl Landry? Do you love Hayes as much as the rest of us? "He's the perfect player," Landry said. "He rebounds, plays defense, takes charges, gets ..."
November 6
Cleveland Plain Dealer
columnist Brian Windhorst
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Please file the memory of the ending of the Cavs' 86-85 loss to the Bulls for later reference. Most specifically when people complain about LeBron James passing too often with a chance to take the last shot. Also, please put it in the opposing view file when it is suggested that Mr. James gets all calls. This goes next to the games are rigged, David Stern tells the officials to protect stars, etc., etc. Sometimes it is better to pass and sometimes the officials make the correct call regardless of the player involved. After watching the replay, it seems pretty clear that Joakim Noah went straight up and did foul LeBron under the rules. The photo above seems to back this up, LeBron is ..."
November 4
Los Angeles Times
columnist Broderick Turner
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If you needed any proof that the Dallas Mavericks are going to be good this season, consider their impressive victory over the Lakers at Staples Center last Friday. And then instead of a letdown, the Mavericks went out the very next night and defeated the Clippers. Sure, it's the Clippers, but the Mavericks could have been satisfied after the big win over the Lakers. "I like the team, but it's on paper," Dallas Coach Rick Carlisle said. "It's a long haul and I do like the team and we're going to keep working at it." The addition of Shawn Marion and Drew Gooden gives the Mavericks more depth to help Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry. When Dallas gets Josh Howard and Tim Thomas back ..."
November 3
Denver Post
columnist Benjamin Hochman
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We've gone only about 0.2 miles in this marathon of an NBA season, but a fascinating story line is already developed in Denver, where Carmelo Anthony is going all Alex English on opponents. The most eye-popping number isn't his 37.7 points per game, but his 53.6 shooting percentage, which is emblematic of his efficiency that seamlessly transferred from the preseason to the regular season. So not only is Melo shooting better than ever, he's shooting more than ever - his 23 field-goal attempts per game would make for his highest season average, as would his 12.3 makes. But we forget that J.R. Smith has been suspended for these first three games (and the next four). Smith is Denver's ..."
November 2
Detroit Free Press
columnist Michael Rosenberg
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After the Pistons lost their home opener, new coach John Kuester said his team "didn't have any ball movement and we didn't execute" and struggled with "ball reversals and spacing" and said "we were looking to get quick attacks" instead of running the offense. If you are an astute basketball mind, or if you have ever seen a game in your life, you might say the point guard was part of the problem. This was the kind of game the Pistons don't want from Rodney Stuckey. But it is also the kind of game they need. In his second year as a starter, Stuckey remains the most tantalizing talent on the roster. The Pistons need to find out whether he can be a star. And that means letting him make ..."
November 1
Denver Post
columnist Benjamin Hochman
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Mark Warkentien has an idea. Consider three seasons ago, when the valiant Hornets won 39 games despite injured starters missing an astounding 133 contests. Meanwhile, in other cities, there were whispers of teams tanking in efforts to improve chances at drafting Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. But if Warkentien had his way, the Hornets, despite the West's 10th-best record, still could have made the playoffs. The tankers too. See, the Nuggets' vice president of basketball operations has penned a plan, which he is sharing with members of the NBA's competition committee. Here it is: In each conference, the top seven teams will make the playoffs, per usual. But after the regular season ends, the ..."
November 1
Miami Herald
columnist Linda Robertson
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If you see Dwyane Wade on the street, give him a hug. If you see him in a restaurant, pick up his tab. If you own a yacht, take him fishing -- and make sure he catches a big one. If you own an island, invite him over for a luau. Send greeting cards with gushing good-luck messages. Compliment his clothes. Donate to his charitable foundation. Offer to wash his car(s). Cheer extra loudly at Heat games, such as the season opener Wednesday against the New York Knicks. This is the Year of Loving Dwyane. We have to keep him happy in Miami or he will leave, and so will any hope of another NBA championship. We have to make him feel appreciated or when he opts out of the final year of his contract ..."
November 1
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ira Winderman
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No, 2010 free agency is not a single event. It is a journey. Sunday, the tour returns to AmericanAirlines Arena, this time with the Chicago Bulls looking to size up the playing field. Last Wednesday, it was the New York Knicks who did their window shopping. Like the Knicks, the Bulls also should be in position to add a max-salary free agent next summer. And while Heat guard Dwyane Wade won't submit to a physical for his hometown team before Sunday's tipoff, Chicago is going as far as traveling General Manager Gar Foreman to many road games, with a focus on next summer's free agency. If the whole thing seems a bit awkward, well, it is. "Everybody," Knicks forward David Lee said during last ..."
November 1
Memphis Commercial Appeal
columnist Geoff Calkins
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He was one of the last two Grizzlies remaining in the locker room, tidying up, toweling off, strapping his dueling cell phones to his jeans. I asked Zach Randolph if he had a favorite play from the night's work. Randolph broke out in an impossibly big smile. "The block," he said. Which is perfect, isn't it? The man scores 30 points Friday night to carry the Grizzlies to their first win of the season. He has six massive offensive rebounds and three feathery assists. And all he wants to talk is the time -- the one time? -- he got Chris Bosh's shot. The Grizzlies had been trying to keep up with Bosh and the Raptors all night. They had finally drawn within two. So the Raptors went back to ..."
October 31
Boston Globe
columnist Dan Shaughnessy
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Tim Donaghy is back in the news. Serving time in federal prison, the former NBA official is once again trying to take down the NBA and its corps of referees. The dirty zebra has written a book - which may or may not be published - and he's again claiming that the games are not on the level. He's naming names, and some of the stuff found its way to the Internet. The NBA has delivered Donaghy's latest allegations to a former federal prosecutor who reviewed league officiating when Donaghy's crimes first came to light. There is probably some truth in Donaghy's new charges. The ref rat claims stars get special treatment - not exactly a "stop the presses'' bulletin. It's not hard to imagine refs ..."
October 31
New Orleans Times-Picayune
columnist John DeShazier
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Clearly the Hornets are under construction, the completion date unknown this season as to when the hammering will stop. On Friday night, at least they showed they're capable of winning while all the nails haven't been driven and none of the serious painting has commenced. The 97-92 win over Sacramento in the home opener Friday night at the New Orleans Arena hardly was a work of art. We shouldn't expect any team to be machine-like in performance in the second game of the season, and the Hornets weren't. A team that surrenders 21 offensive rebounds usually is lucky to not lose by that many points. But it was a win, and New Orleans needs every one of those it can collect until ...
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October 30
Boston Globe
columnist Dan Shaughnessy
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Big Baby got into a fight with a friend at 4 a.m., broke his thumb, and won't be able to play until at least December. He is young and foolish and he hurt the team. The Celtics owners are mad at him. Fans are mad at him. It's not a good situation. But let's not throw Big Baby out with the bathwater. This stuff is as old as dirt. Young athletes have been doing goofy things at odd hours since before the days of the original Big Baby, George Herman Ruth. It even happened to Larry Bird."
October 29
Salt Lake Tribune
columnist Kurt Kragthorpe
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The Jazz's season started without enough stops, just the way the last one ended. While their intentions may have been good, they did nothing to make anyone believe their defense is improved, could not overcome the horrible performance of their controversial power forward and missed a chance to open the season with a meaningful road victory. The Jazz needed much more than merely a few stretches of adequate defense Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center, where they ultimately could not keep up with the Denver Nuggets in a 114-105 loss. Amid all that Deron Williams gave them and everything that Carlos Boozer failed to provide, the Jazz crumbled in the second half of a game they genuinely ..."
October 29
Memphis Commercial Appeal
columnist Geoff Calkins
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He was sitting in the front row, enjoying the show and the opener. Lil Rounds was great. Three 6 Mafia rapped out an introduction. The Grizzlies came flying onto the court, looking snappy in their new blue jerseys. Yes, it was good to be a Grizzlies fan, especially one sitting smack in the front row. And then Michael Edwards, the new president of the Mid-South market for First Tennessee, saw the ball bouncing his way. "They say keep your eye on the ball," he said. They apparently never sat courtside. The ball bounced into the stands followed by Tayshaun Prince of the Detroit Pistons. Prince jumped over Edwards. Well, nearly. One sneaker did not make it over. One sneaker hit Edwards smack ..."
October 29
Miami Herald
columnist Israel Hutierrez
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Tim Hardaway's career wasn't defined here, but it was completed here. His signature move wasn't developed here, but it was shown off a few times here. His courage wasn't discovered here, but he was at his most courageous here. The legacy of Tim Hardaway was a cross-country creation that started on the South Side of Chicago, continued south in Texas, moved west to California and settled here in Miami. This wasn't Hardaway's last stop, just his most significant. So it's here that the legacy was fortunate enough to be celebrated with Wednesday's jersey retirement ceremony. Fortunate because Hardaway is simply one of the most unique, special players in the history of basketball. There aren't ..."
October 29
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Dave Hyde
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Everyone knows the hardest part of following the Heat this season: It's pretty much pointless. Well, OK, it's not pointless. But next summer means more. Next summer's free agency shopping spree means everything. The Heat's cast hasn't changed much from last season, it's not good enough to catch the top three teams in the East and so it's pointless to get too wrapped up in a season that comes with such a hard ceiling. But Opening Night's 115-93 win against New York brought the other side of the discussion. It showed what you can watch this year. It showed how you can make some peace with the next six months of basketball. Opening night brought the young games on display -- Michael Beasley, ..."