November 20
New York Times
columnist Jonathan Abrams
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With the basketball in his hands, Orlando's Jameer Nelson performs the two-man two-step that the Magic and the entire N.B.A. have sought to perfect. His eyes dart, his mind absorbs, his feet react as his teammate Dwight Howard sets a pick and rolls to the basket, initiating a chain reaction designed to produce defensive mayhem. No other play in the N.B.A. creates such havoc, no other play is used as often. The basic pick-and-roll is the bread and butter of the N.B.A., with two teammates working in conjunction on offense, with one player dribbling the ball and the other standing still and trying to block the path of the ball handler's defender. As all hoopsters know, once the pick, or ..."
November 19
L.A. Daily News
columnist Ramona Shelburn
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It happens to all of us at some point, usually on a schoolyard, and usually during recess or lunch. A boy or a girl, whichever applies to you, starts picking on you for seemingly no reason. Only there is a reason, but it doesn't become evident to you until you're in your mid-20 s. Jest, infinite or otherwise, generally means exactly the opposite as what it seems, indicating affection rather than derision. In team sports, it is something of a rite of passage. The butt of everyone's jokes often tends to be the most popular guy on the team. All of which means congratulations are in order for Lakers forward Pau Gasol, and not simply because he is set to make his season debut tonight against ..."
November 18
Houston Chronicle
columnist Richard Justice
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The Rockets played with their usual heart, energy and unselfishness. Those things may be their trademark. They can beat almost any team when they're perfect. That is, when the perimeter shots are falling, everyone contributes and the lack of size isn't exposed. This was one of those nights that reminded the Rockets what they don't have and that there are going to be occasions when teamwork and passion can't overcome size and strength. The Rockets have known this fact since the first day of training camp. They held out hope Joey Dorsey would emerge as a contributor around the basket, but that hasn't happened. So Rockets general manager Daryl Morey spends a lot of time attempting to add a ..."
November 14
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ethan J. Skolnick
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Ten minutes. That's all it took. That's the world in which we now live. Ten minutes, and it had spread like a pandemic, with NBA fans and players scrambling to type Twitter tweets and embed YouTube video and update Facebook pages, all so you could see what they couldn't believe they just saw. They had just seen the soles of Anderson Varejao's shoes. That was caused by Dwyane Wade dribbling down the right side, veering into the lane, shifting from right to left and back to right, taking off, kicking out, climbing, climbing, climbing, slamming, sending Varejao sliding back into the stanchion, heels over curly-permed head. Wade then stepped over his victim and stormed off, first silent and ..."
November 13
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
columnist Michael Hunt
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It wasn't like the Milwaukee Bucks woke up one morning with "We Are the World" stuck in their heads and decided to make the Bradley Center a global melting pot. They tried to work the international cachet / marketing angle a couple of years ago with Yi Jianlian, and you saw how that turned out for them. But on Aug. 18, when the Bucks sent Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems to the Raptors for Carlos Delfino and Roko Ukic, they suddenly became the league leader in foreign players with seven, almost half the full 15-man roster. An Argentine in Delfino and a Croatian in Ukic. An Australian in Andrew Bogut. A Turk in Ersan Ilyasova. A Cameroonian in Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. And a couple of Dutchmen ..."
November 13
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ethan J. Skolnick
"
Ten minutes. That's all it took. That's the world in which we now live. Ten minutes, and it had spread like a pandemic, with NBA fans and players scrambling to type Twitter tweets and embed YouTube video and update Facebook pages, all so you could see what they couldn't believe they just saw. They had just seen the soles of Anderson Varejao's shoes. That was caused by Dwyane Wade dribbling down the right side, veering into the lane, shifting from right to left and back to right, taking off, kicking out, climbing, climbing, climbing, slamming, sending Varejao sliding back into the stanchion, heels over curly-permed head. Wade then stepped over his victim and stormed off, first silent and ..."
November 12
Denver Post
columnist Benjamin Hochman
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Buck O'Neil, the old baseball sage, famously talked about "that sound" - the bone- chilling crack of Babe Ruth's bat, a sound O'Neil experienced just two other times, from Josh Gibson and Bo Jackson. Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin spoke softly Monday about "that speed" - the in-his-prime pace of point guard Jason Kidd, a speed Martin has experienced again this month while trying to keep up with teammate Ty Lawson. "The kid is able to play," Martin said of Denver's rookie guard. "I played with Jason Kidd, man. Moving that ball, it was unbelievable. (Lawson's) strength is getting the ball up the court, getting into the gaps, making plays." With Lawson coming off the bench, and all-star ..."
November 12
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Dave Hyde
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Let's start here: No one knows what they're talking about. No one. Not the unnamed agent who says LeBron James is going to Los Angeles or the columnist who says he's staying in Cleveland or the league source who mentioned Minneapolis -- Minneapolis? -- or the reporter asking James right now if Dwyane Wade was really, "selling you on the beautiful city of Miami?" Ten feet away, across the locker room, sat the remnants of yesterday's Heat prize. Shaquille O'Neal's folded Cleveland jersey and Size 23 sneakers awaited him before Wednesday's game against Orlando. Here stood today's next Heat hope, it's prime one for next summer it now seems, putting his two cell phones that buzz constantly in ..."