News From Around The World: August 30

09/04/12

Written by: DHawes22

August 30

Trail Blazers TV: Health of Wesley Matthews and Elliot Wiliams

Trail Blazers: Video: Damian Lillard High School Higlight Mixtape
"The folks at Yay Area's Finest (great name, by the way) put together a highlight reel from Damian Lillard's days at Oakland High School. Only about a minute long, but some pretty nice highlight's in there, including a posterization at the end that, while not to the same level as his summer league throwdown, is still impressive, especially for a high schooler. It's a couple months old, but I figure if I haven't seen it, you probably haven't seen it."

Blazersedge: The Portland Trail Blazers By Position
"In general you want to maximize players' strengths, which means playing them where they're best and most apt. You may gain advantages converting a player you're also at a disadvantage to teams who don't have to. You don't see the Lakers playing Kobe Bryant at point, nor will you see them with Dwight Howard at power forward. They're getting the most out of every player they have without second-bests. Switching a guy's position because of team need rather than personal aptitude means you're not getting the best out of that individual. You're a step behind teams who can."

Blazersedge via Trail Blazers TV Medina: Wesley Matthews & Elliot Williams Now "100 Percent" Healthy
"One hundred percent. He's been working really hard this summer. Was at Summer League. He's in Madison working out. My assistant Todd [Forcier] is working out with him right now. He's lost some weight. He looks great. I think he's going to have a great, great year this year."

Ball Don't Lie: Revisiting the NBA’s 1972 one-on-one tournament, and wondering if we could do it again (VIDEO)
"The trick, as has been expressed for decades, is to run something during the All-Star break; a break that existed 40 years ago, but without the Saturday activities the NBA introduced in 1984. Make the H-O-R-S-E tournament shorter. Make the Skills Competition a one and done. Take the top two participants from each and have them play a four-person tourney. Winner has to get to seven, by ones, win by two. Run it for charity, tax write-offs for all. Something, besides forcing some of the more breathtaking athletes in the world into putting their thumbs out while exciting a chest pass into a stupid, bloody net five feet off the ground. The Skills Competition is only fun for the men and women that mold those plastic obstacles for a living."

Ball Don't Lie Ann Meyers Drysdale will follow up on her own pioneer turn, and call 20 Phoenix Suns games in 2012-13
"Meyers Drysdale won't be the Suns' lead analyst — the very good Eddie Johnson will rightfully retain that role — but she will act as backup for 20 games in 2012-13. Though the national audience won't pay much attention to this story, not with Steve Nash and Grant Hill playing elsewhere and the Suns obviously (if not altogether strikingly) rebuilding, League Pass nutters like you and I and anyone else that is reading an NBA blog on Aug. 30 won't be able to help but give her a more strident listen."

Ball Don't Lie: Harrison Barnes was The Cat in the Hat for small Iowan children
"While he was clearly enthusiastic enough about following in Mike Myers' footsteps to let someone put paint all over his face, Barnes doesn't seem all that thrilled here. Maybe he remembered that, in the famed Dr. Seuss story, what the Cat in the Hat does is mostly cause a lot of trouble for two little kids (and a fish) by trying to show all the different kinds of tricks he can do, when really he should've been respecting the fact that there was an established order in place and that he should not have been mucking about too much when Mom wasn't around."

Ball Don't Lie: The Sacramento Kings’ team merchandise store was offline for two months; nobody seemed to care)
"Jason Williams' Sacramento Kings jersey is a dozen years removed from ranking in the top five in jersey sales for two years running. The greatest Sacramento King in history, Chris Webber, is quickly becoming the NBA's most beloved color commentator and probably isn't too far off from getting the retro jersey treatment in his own right. This used to be an appointment-viewing franchise, and for so many reasons it has lost its way."

Ball Don't Lie: Players we want back: Mike Miller
"To fit in this ever-evolving Heat crew, Miller needs to pull off those warm-ups and play the old man game. Shane Battier attempts this as starter every so often, but he's not nearly as gifted or as quick a passer as Miller is. With Dwyane Wade and LeBron James helping to guard quicker opponents and Erik Spoelstra working with a deeper (if much older) rotation as the Heat attempt to defend their championship, the gravy that Mike (new nickname: "If Healthy") Miller could provide doesn't have to come in the packet form of "another potential shooter off the bench."

The Basketball Jones: Don’t tell his mom, but Kevin Durant doesn’t eat greens
"Really though, it’s not much of a surprise that Kevin Durant doesn’t eat greens. He’s 23 so his body can still handle things like a triple Angry Whopper, whereas some of the older of us may have trouble digesting such a significant chunk of meat. Plus, if he was paying attention to when noted candy fiend Derrick Rose started trying to eat healthy and nearly severed some of his limbs, it’s understandable if he’s scared to really scour the produce aisle. Eating healthy can be dangerous and we all know how a restaurant salad is generally better than one you make at home. All of these are completely valid reasons for never eating greens."

The Basketball Jones: Did a toymaker just leak the Nets’ new home jerseys?
"Assuming these are the Nets new home uniforms — and I think we can agree that the evidence seems to agree with that assumption — this is just the latest and greatest leak from the Nets. First was someone posting the logo that had been taped up on a wall, then someone found Nets gear in some store before it’d officially been released, followed by someone spotting the Barclays Center floor being tested in the Izod Center. It’s like a weird version of “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?,” except with even lower stakes. Pretty soon we’re going to find out what the team’s black jerseys look like because Brook Lopez has a custom comic book made where he’s wearing the new look. That’s the only logical conclusion to this epic saga."

DIME: San Antonio Is Finally Behind The Times
"The 2012 offseason didn’t move the needle. It’s misguided to relabel the NBA as perimeter oriented, these days. The whims of the game change yearly, and it just so happens that the best teams were of the perimeter variety. The real change has been versatility, and San Antonio simply lacked the roster maneuverability to match OKC’s varied lineup looks. R.C. Buford only straightened out his own closet this offseason, re-signing Tim Duncan and Danny Green and Patty Mills. No first-round draft pick, no free agent signings, nothing. And it’s an ironic lack of awareness, especially when San Antonio has thrived on value-based pickups and castoffs, the garbage of other teams. And now the NBA’s top tier is full of lineup versatility, so San Antonio’s hole is only growing. Still, it would be lazy conjecture to completely throw away the Spurs chances at a title. But sometimes more really is more. "

DIME: Who’s More Versatile? Magic Johnson vs. LeBron James
"Let’s get some rudimentary stats out of the way first. Over his 13-year career, Magic Johnson averaged 19.5 points, 11.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds per game — not far removed from a triple double every game. To many, those three numbers would shut down the argument for good. Especially since James, despite his higher career scoring average (27.6 points per game), has never broken double digit assists per game for a season and averages the same amount of rebounds as Johnson did. Based on these measures, Johnson easily comes off as more “versatile.”"

SLAM: Double Trouble
"Of course, Jared Sullinger is a Boston Celtic, is wearing a green jersey for these photos. And though he would have probably preferred being drafted higher than No. 21, preferred not being labelled as a medical liability, Sullinger is ecstatic at being a member of the Celtics organization. As for the Brazilian Melo, after facing eligibility issues during Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament run, the 7-0 center is still swimming in delight after going No. 22 in the Draft. Still, he shouldn’t have Air Jordan Concord XIs on today. But alas, he forgot to bring kicks and had to borrow from his friendly teammate, Sullinger, who is also wearing Concords."

ESPN: Forecast: 2012-13 West champions
"The young Thunder have their work cut out for them. After taking over the West during the 2012 playoffs, Oklahoma City now must fend off a new and much improved Los Angeles Lakers team looking to reclaim its crown."

Sports Illustrated: New stats on Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire could unlock Knicks’ offense
"Anthony shot the ball nearly half the time that he touched it at the elbow, and he ranked No. 1, again, in points per possession recorded on all of his elbow touches. (Side note: This is an imperfect stat, since it considers the points a player produces after every elbow touch, even ones in which he passes the ball as the first ingredient in a long possession. Power forwards touch the ball at the elbow more than anyone, with Marc Gasol, Kevin Love, Pau Gasol, Greg Monroe and LaMarcus Aldridge leading the league in touches per game, but they pass the ball about 75 percent of the time, per STATS. Their points per possession numbers by this measure are thus artificially low; Marc Gasol, for instance, shot 57 percent from the elbow but has a very low points per possession number). Anthony shot a whopping 62 percent on shots taken after an elbow touch, one of the highest numbers in the league."

Gather: NBA Rumors – Derek Fisher to San Antonio Spurs?
"Sam Amico of Fox Sports has reported that he believes Derek Fisher is a strong possibility as the team's latest signing. The 38-year-old has plenty of playoff experience and is looking to rebound from the worst year in his NBA career."

Trail Blazers: Weekend Plan: Specially Designed For Families And The Busy Nine-To-Fiver
"Built for the family-oriented fan with a busy work-week, the 12-game Weekend Pack maximizes the thrill-factor while keeping the competitions to Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A smattering of Western Conference rivals and Eastern Conference visitors during one-offs and key home stands, you can get your hands on this schedule-friendly pack for as low as $11/game and $52/game in the lower bowl."

Trail Blazers: The Rivals Plan: Two LAs, Oklahoma City And The Return Of Roy
"The smallest of the four big ticket plans, the eight game Rivals Pack packs a big punch. You’ll be in the building and eating a corndog while others are wondering how to get their hands on a way to see the return of Brandon Roy and the sure to sell out L.A. Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder."

Trail Blazers: Why The Value Plan Makes 'Cents' For You
"The Value Pack starts at just $5 a game. That’s 12 games for as low as $60! Talk about some serious bang for your buck. But that’s not even the best part about this ticket plan. Four of the 12 games take place in the month of January. And there is absolutely no better place to be during an Oregon winter’s night than inside the raucous Rose Garden. Not to mention this pack gets you into the arena to see some of the league’s biggest names and brightest young stars such as Dwight Howard, Dirk Nowitzki, Kyrie Irving, John Wall, and Rudy Gay."

Trail Blazers: Big Games Plan: 12 Of The Biggest Games
"This game has it all. Season opener, at home, against the loathe-inducing Lakers, in Steve Nash's first game in purple and gold and it's on Halloween night! Any game against the Lakers at the Rose Garden is going to be a lively one, but the confluence of circumstances in this particular game sets the stage for one of the all-time season openers in Trail Blazers history."