continued.............
------------------------------------
Brown, Arenas feuding: The losses are taking their toll in Washington, and Kwame Brown, of all people, has had it. Brown put together a string of impressive performances while Gilbert Arenas sat on the injured list. Since Arenas has returned, Brown's numbers have been all over the board.
Kwame Brown
Power Forward
Washington Wizards
After a game against Bucks on Sunday in which Brown got just four shots, he blasted his teammates for not passing the ball.
"To me, it seems like guys are going out just to get numbers. ... If you look at the little bit of wins we do have, we have 20-plus assists," Brown told the Washington Post. "In games where we're getting killed, we have one guy with OK numbers, but he's shooting. We don't pass the ball, we don't share, we don't play like a team. We got guys whining and complaining about offense, and that's not basketball. It makes me sick."
The dig appeared to be directed at Arenas, who wasn't happy when he heard the quote.
"Everybody's getting the same amount of touches," Arenas told the Post. "If you ain't converting, you ain't converting. Last time I checked, I passed [Brown] the ball six, seven times. He passed it to somebody else, right under the basket. So, I don't know where he's coming from with that. I guess he didn't have 20 tonight."
Coach Eddie Jordan wasn't happy when he heard the comments, but Brown claims something had to be said, and no one else was saying it.
"It can't come from me," Brown said Sunday night. "People don't respect me. I'm a third-year guy. It's got to come from a coach. We've got guys in here seven-, six-year vets. They've got to step up to the plate."
Arenas agreed. Though with just two-and-half seasons of experience himself, he isn't the seven- or six-year vet Brown is referring to.
"This is our job," Arenas said. "We have to come out and play hard every minute we're out there. It has nothing to do with the coaching staff. It has nothing to do with anything. Individually you have to do what it takes to stay focused for 48 minutes."
Ainge blames weather, media, style of play for Celtics' woes: Celtics vice president Danny Ainge is under fire, and he's grasping for an explanation as to why he broke up a playoff team and turned it into lottery fodder this year. The fact the Celtics never had a real shot to win a title (which is true) is probably enough of an excuse. But Ainge has tried that line of reasoning, and no one seems satisfied. Monday he came up with a more interesting explanation.
"I got a lot of feedback last year in my conversations with players and agents, and they told me some interesting things," Ainge told the Boston Herald. "They told me they didn't like the way the Celtics play, and they didn't like the weather and the media and fan pressures in Boston. And guys just didn't like a team that had players that didn't share the ball. Those were the sad realities of what I discovered when I took over this team last summer.
"So I figured there's nothing I can do about the weather and nothing I can do about the media scrutiny, but we can do something about the style of play. We have to create an environment that people want to come to."
Ainge claims he believes a team can win an NBA title by running. He's trying to put a style in place that's attractive to players who want to do that.
"Realistically, we're not going to recruit the best players in free agency," Ainge told the Herald. "We're not going to be able to get Shaq or Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett, but there are a lot of players you can get in our price range that have four or five or more teams wanting them. Then it becomes a matter of the things we've talked about, and I was finding the Celtics weren't their first choice. They weren't the second choice. They weren't the third choice.
"The young players of today don't know who Cedric Maxwell and Tommy Heinsohn and Bob Cousy were. The 16 championship banners just don't mean enough. These guys want to go somewhere where they can play a style of basketball that's going to fit them. They also want to be on a winning team and a team that plays unselfish and a team that plays exciting basketball.
"There's not a player that you've ever asked what kind of team they wanted to play for and had them say, 'I want to play on a defensive team that walks the ball up the court.' There's not one player I've ever met who says that.''
Can Ainge get all of that by blowing up the roster? The same players who like to push the ball are usually the ones who like to hog it, too. Adding guys like Ricky Davis, who has a big-time selfish reputation, doesn't appear to fit the mold.
Divac gives an assist: Has any center in the NBA racked up more assists than Vlade Divac has in a five-game period? Divac is averaging 10.2 apg in the last five games and an amazing 8.3 apg for the entire month of February. We did some digging and couldn't find a center in the last decade who had such a hot streak passing the ball.
Divac may be 36 years old, but the way he's playing someone will throw some money his direction this summer when he becomes a free agent. That stat is just too good to be true.
------------------------------------------------------
Peep Show
NBA Insider
Tuesday, February 24
Updated: February 24
8:37 AM ET
Arenas
Washington Wizards: Point guard Gilbert Arenas had a mouthful for teammate Kwame Brown. "To tell you the truth, I don't know what he's looking for," Arenas said in the Washington Times. "He gets the ball as much as anybody else. No one else is complaining. Most of the time I'm giving him the ball. He said people were worried about numbers. If you're worried about touches, then obviously you're worried about numbers. I just say do what it takes for your team to win. Look, when I'm having a bad game or somebody else is having a bad game and he has 20 [points], I don't hear him complaining." Then it got personal. "Maybe he sees all those guys who came out of high school and turned into studs, and he's a little bit frustrated over that because he feels he needs to be there," Arenas said. "And we want him to get there. I'm going to try my best to get him there." Then it got even worse. "This stuff, we'll get past it," Arenas said. "Right now we're all forcing things, probably trying to do more than we can because we want to get out of this. We're going to have our differences. This is what happens on bad teams."
New Jersey Nets: Forget the NBA. Lawrence Frank is out to break the record for the best start in pro sports history, currently tied with Joe Morgan of the 1988 Red Sox and James Price of the 1884 New York Gothams at 13 wins. "Any time you have success, there's a tendency to think big picture because you think you're gonna be there, that you've arrived," Frank said in the N.Y. Post. "But we understand we've got to earn our way every day. You're not thinking about yesterday or tomorrow, you're just worried about today." Jason Kidd agreed. "Accountability and communication, that's the two biggest things," said Kidd. "And the swagger and confidence everybody has. It's a matter of understanding what's at stake and being focused. Those are the things that stand out the most."
Boston Celtics: Far be it for Danny Ainge to blame himself for the current Celtic mess when he's still got the weather to point at. "I got a lot of feedback last year in my conversations with players and agents, and they told me some interesting things," Ainge said in the Boston Herald. "They told me they didn't like the way the Celtics play and they didn't like the weather and the media and fan pressures in Boston. And guys just didn't like a team that had players that didn't share the ball. Those were the sad realities of what I discovered when I took over this team last summer. So I figured there's nothing I can do about the weather and nothing I can do about the media scrutiny, but we can do something about the style of play. We have to create an environment that people want to come to."
Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers know they haven't really beaten anybody yet but at least they're not beating themselves. "We're starting to get in a rhythm now, and everybody's starting to play," Gary Payton said in the Los Angeles Daily News. "We're being unselfish. Everybody's giving everybody the ball, everybody's getting good looks and we're playing defense. And that's the best part about it. As soon as Karl gets back, we'll try to just fit him in, and hopefully we'll get him in the same rhythm we are in right now."
Bender
Indiana Pacers: Even Ron Artest can see a good side to his injury that may force him to miss the rest of the regular season. "It's giving Jonathan Bender a chance to shine," Artest said in the Indianapolis Star. "Even though I can play defense, Jonathan Bender has the same effect on the defensive end that I have, because he changes shots. I'm keeping guys out of the paint, but he's changing shots. We need J.B. This is a chance for him to get out there and play. It's a good chance for (Croshere), too. Everybody needs to step up, so when I do come back they'll be stepping up and I'll be back also." Even if it means the all-star will be coming off the bench when he does return. "Whatever it takes," he said. "If the team is rolling along, I'll do whatever it takes to get victories."
Denver Nuggets: Who would have thought anyone would be using these three words in the same sentence . . . Nuggets . . . Grizzlies . . . and playoffs. "You could tell there's something going on between us and the Grizzlies," Carmelo Anthony said in the Denver Post of Monday night's game. "Just the energy in the air when we step on the court and the ball goes up ... This felt like a playoff game tonight, Game 1 of a seven-game series." Marcus Camby had even another word after the Nuggets dropped their third game in a row. "The schedule's not in our favor," Camby said. "We have to get off this schneid, especially with Portland playing so well. It's dwindling."
------------------------------------
Brown, Arenas feuding: The losses are taking their toll in Washington, and Kwame Brown, of all people, has had it. Brown put together a string of impressive performances while Gilbert Arenas sat on the injured list. Since Arenas has returned, Brown's numbers have been all over the board.
Kwame Brown
Power Forward
Washington Wizards
After a game against Bucks on Sunday in which Brown got just four shots, he blasted his teammates for not passing the ball.
"To me, it seems like guys are going out just to get numbers. ... If you look at the little bit of wins we do have, we have 20-plus assists," Brown told the Washington Post. "In games where we're getting killed, we have one guy with OK numbers, but he's shooting. We don't pass the ball, we don't share, we don't play like a team. We got guys whining and complaining about offense, and that's not basketball. It makes me sick."
The dig appeared to be directed at Arenas, who wasn't happy when he heard the quote.
"Everybody's getting the same amount of touches," Arenas told the Post. "If you ain't converting, you ain't converting. Last time I checked, I passed [Brown] the ball six, seven times. He passed it to somebody else, right under the basket. So, I don't know where he's coming from with that. I guess he didn't have 20 tonight."
Coach Eddie Jordan wasn't happy when he heard the comments, but Brown claims something had to be said, and no one else was saying it.
"It can't come from me," Brown said Sunday night. "People don't respect me. I'm a third-year guy. It's got to come from a coach. We've got guys in here seven-, six-year vets. They've got to step up to the plate."
Arenas agreed. Though with just two-and-half seasons of experience himself, he isn't the seven- or six-year vet Brown is referring to.
"This is our job," Arenas said. "We have to come out and play hard every minute we're out there. It has nothing to do with the coaching staff. It has nothing to do with anything. Individually you have to do what it takes to stay focused for 48 minutes."
Ainge blames weather, media, style of play for Celtics' woes: Celtics vice president Danny Ainge is under fire, and he's grasping for an explanation as to why he broke up a playoff team and turned it into lottery fodder this year. The fact the Celtics never had a real shot to win a title (which is true) is probably enough of an excuse. But Ainge has tried that line of reasoning, and no one seems satisfied. Monday he came up with a more interesting explanation.
"I got a lot of feedback last year in my conversations with players and agents, and they told me some interesting things," Ainge told the Boston Herald. "They told me they didn't like the way the Celtics play, and they didn't like the weather and the media and fan pressures in Boston. And guys just didn't like a team that had players that didn't share the ball. Those were the sad realities of what I discovered when I took over this team last summer.
"So I figured there's nothing I can do about the weather and nothing I can do about the media scrutiny, but we can do something about the style of play. We have to create an environment that people want to come to."
Ainge claims he believes a team can win an NBA title by running. He's trying to put a style in place that's attractive to players who want to do that.
"Realistically, we're not going to recruit the best players in free agency," Ainge told the Herald. "We're not going to be able to get Shaq or Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett, but there are a lot of players you can get in our price range that have four or five or more teams wanting them. Then it becomes a matter of the things we've talked about, and I was finding the Celtics weren't their first choice. They weren't the second choice. They weren't the third choice.
"The young players of today don't know who Cedric Maxwell and Tommy Heinsohn and Bob Cousy were. The 16 championship banners just don't mean enough. These guys want to go somewhere where they can play a style of basketball that's going to fit them. They also want to be on a winning team and a team that plays unselfish and a team that plays exciting basketball.
"There's not a player that you've ever asked what kind of team they wanted to play for and had them say, 'I want to play on a defensive team that walks the ball up the court.' There's not one player I've ever met who says that.''
Can Ainge get all of that by blowing up the roster? The same players who like to push the ball are usually the ones who like to hog it, too. Adding guys like Ricky Davis, who has a big-time selfish reputation, doesn't appear to fit the mold.
Divac gives an assist: Has any center in the NBA racked up more assists than Vlade Divac has in a five-game period? Divac is averaging 10.2 apg in the last five games and an amazing 8.3 apg for the entire month of February. We did some digging and couldn't find a center in the last decade who had such a hot streak passing the ball.
Divac may be 36 years old, but the way he's playing someone will throw some money his direction this summer when he becomes a free agent. That stat is just too good to be true.
------------------------------------------------------
Peep Show
NBA Insider
Tuesday, February 24
Updated: February 24
8:37 AM ET
Arenas
Washington Wizards: Point guard Gilbert Arenas had a mouthful for teammate Kwame Brown. "To tell you the truth, I don't know what he's looking for," Arenas said in the Washington Times. "He gets the ball as much as anybody else. No one else is complaining. Most of the time I'm giving him the ball. He said people were worried about numbers. If you're worried about touches, then obviously you're worried about numbers. I just say do what it takes for your team to win. Look, when I'm having a bad game or somebody else is having a bad game and he has 20 [points], I don't hear him complaining." Then it got personal. "Maybe he sees all those guys who came out of high school and turned into studs, and he's a little bit frustrated over that because he feels he needs to be there," Arenas said. "And we want him to get there. I'm going to try my best to get him there." Then it got even worse. "This stuff, we'll get past it," Arenas said. "Right now we're all forcing things, probably trying to do more than we can because we want to get out of this. We're going to have our differences. This is what happens on bad teams."
New Jersey Nets: Forget the NBA. Lawrence Frank is out to break the record for the best start in pro sports history, currently tied with Joe Morgan of the 1988 Red Sox and James Price of the 1884 New York Gothams at 13 wins. "Any time you have success, there's a tendency to think big picture because you think you're gonna be there, that you've arrived," Frank said in the N.Y. Post. "But we understand we've got to earn our way every day. You're not thinking about yesterday or tomorrow, you're just worried about today." Jason Kidd agreed. "Accountability and communication, that's the two biggest things," said Kidd. "And the swagger and confidence everybody has. It's a matter of understanding what's at stake and being focused. Those are the things that stand out the most."
Boston Celtics: Far be it for Danny Ainge to blame himself for the current Celtic mess when he's still got the weather to point at. "I got a lot of feedback last year in my conversations with players and agents, and they told me some interesting things," Ainge said in the Boston Herald. "They told me they didn't like the way the Celtics play and they didn't like the weather and the media and fan pressures in Boston. And guys just didn't like a team that had players that didn't share the ball. Those were the sad realities of what I discovered when I took over this team last summer. So I figured there's nothing I can do about the weather and nothing I can do about the media scrutiny, but we can do something about the style of play. We have to create an environment that people want to come to."
Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers know they haven't really beaten anybody yet but at least they're not beating themselves. "We're starting to get in a rhythm now, and everybody's starting to play," Gary Payton said in the Los Angeles Daily News. "We're being unselfish. Everybody's giving everybody the ball, everybody's getting good looks and we're playing defense. And that's the best part about it. As soon as Karl gets back, we'll try to just fit him in, and hopefully we'll get him in the same rhythm we are in right now."
Bender
Indiana Pacers: Even Ron Artest can see a good side to his injury that may force him to miss the rest of the regular season. "It's giving Jonathan Bender a chance to shine," Artest said in the Indianapolis Star. "Even though I can play defense, Jonathan Bender has the same effect on the defensive end that I have, because he changes shots. I'm keeping guys out of the paint, but he's changing shots. We need J.B. This is a chance for him to get out there and play. It's a good chance for (Croshere), too. Everybody needs to step up, so when I do come back they'll be stepping up and I'll be back also." Even if it means the all-star will be coming off the bench when he does return. "Whatever it takes," he said. "If the team is rolling along, I'll do whatever it takes to get victories."
Denver Nuggets: Who would have thought anyone would be using these three words in the same sentence . . . Nuggets . . . Grizzlies . . . and playoffs. "You could tell there's something going on between us and the Grizzlies," Carmelo Anthony said in the Denver Post of Monday night's game. "Just the energy in the air when we step on the court and the ball goes up ... This felt like a playoff game tonight, Game 1 of a seven-game series." Marcus Camby had even another word after the Nuggets dropped their third game in a row. "The schedule's not in our favor," Camby said. "We have to get off this schneid, especially with Portland playing so well. It's dwindling."
