Shaq’s Tendinosis

Peter May reports

The Celtics have been understandably cautious in bringing back O’Neal, who, because of his age (39) and his girth (substantial), is not the best candidate for the type of injury he has. Achilles injuries can be notoriously slow to heal for even the most well-conditioned athletes.

Some doctors have taken to calling what O’Neal has as Achilles tendinosis rather than tendinitis because the ailment is due to overuse, not inflammation. With tendinosis, there can be a very, very slow growth of new cells in the area due to a lack of blood flow. Doctors sometimes refer to this as the “watershed area.” Also, Achilles tendinosis does not respond well to anti-inflammatories, which are used to treat Achilles tendinitis.

But whether it’s tendinitis or tendinosis, it behooves the Celtics and O’Neal to be as patient as possible, for one setback could end his season.

David West Done For Year

ESPN reports

An MRI exam Friday revealed that New Orleans Hornets forward David West suffered a torn ACL Thursday night when his left knee buckled late in regulation in an eventual 121-117 overtime victory over Utah.

Wade/LeBron Creating Open Shots For Teammates

Good article in the Miami Herald

At times, it seems Heat shooters are so open they could eat a snack before the nearest defender offers resistance.

“It’s like practice,” Mike Bibby said.

The attention drawn by Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh has had a predictable effect: The Heat is in the top four in the league in the number of unguarded catch-and-shoots, with the Spurs the only team that has taken significantly more.

Miami has had 920 unguarded catch-and-shoot field-goal attempts, according to synergysportstech.com. By comparison, the Lakers have had 712.

2011 – Leading Iso Players

The Wall Street Journal reports (info from Synergy Sports)

One-on-One Masters

Of the NBA’s leading scorers, none play in isolation situations as much as Carmelo Anthony of the Knick.

Player Name	PCT. of Plays in Isolation	FG% on ISOs	Overall PPG
Carmelo Anthony	35.2%	41.2%	25
Tyreke Evans	30.7%	39.2%	18.3
Kobe Bryant	30.3%	45.5%	24.9
Kevin Durant	25.1%	38.3%	27.9
Monta Ellis	24.0%	37.2%	24.1
LeBron James	22.2%	42.1%	26.3
Dwyane Wade	14.8%	37.7%	25.4

I just the numbers were very interest and would be to others.

Haslem Update

The Miami Herald reports

Heat forward Udonis Haslem is progressing faster than even he expected, but coach Erik Spoelstra indicated Tuesday that Haslem’s return still might be a month away.

Batum’s Full Court Defense On PGs

Great article in the Oregonian on Nicolas Batum’s ability to defend the point and in particular his ability to provide full court pressure defense against PGs and how he slows down the opposing team’s offense by doing so.

Meet the Trail Blazers’ newest defensive weapon, an old weapon used from time to time the last couple of seasons that has been dusted off and polished for the stretch run. When coach Nate McMillan inserted Gerald Wallace into the starting lineup 10 days ago, he did so in part to stimulate a more aggressive defense that applies pressure through a variety of half-court traps and full-court schemes.

But while Wallace received most of the attention during the lineup shuffle, it turns out that Batum — specifically his ability to defend point guards full-court — was one of the biggest facilitators of the move.

James Harden’s Hot Streak

The Oklahoman reports

“We had to make up for those 15 points that we lost,” Harden said. “Everybody’s level of play had to step up.”

Harden, though, shot up to a level few thought he could reach — at least not this quickly.

In 15 games since the All-Star break, Harden has averaged 17.7 points. That total trails only Dallas’ Jason Terry for points off the bench over that span. Harden’s 50.6 percent shooting over that same span, meanwhile, ranks fifth among shooting guards with at least 10 games played.

By comparison, Harden averaged just 10.3 points on 41.3 percent shooting prior to the All-Star break. T

Doc’s Learning How To Use Jeff Green

Nice article by Peter May

Doc Rivers has had Jeff Green for three weeks — and he still is trying to figure out the multidimensional, multitalented forward.

Power forward or small forward? Inside guy or outside guy? Deferential guy or aggressive guy?

How about all of the above?

“I’m still learning how best to use him,” Rivers said before his team headed to Texas for a Friday night meeting with the Houston Rockets. “He can do so many different things in so many different ways.”

The article continues

There’s a Garnett-ian, unselfish streak in Green, what Rivers calls “his passive-aggressive thing.” The coach said he’s working on triggering the aggressive part of Green as he experiments with how to use the 6-foot-9 forward.Against the Pacers, Rivers ran plays to get the ball to Green in the post. Green also nailed a 3-pointer. Green ran the floor like a gazelle. Rivers said he thinks Green may be even faster than Rajon Rondo who, you may recall, challenged Usain Bolt to a race. Green won’t go that far, but he thinks he could take Rondo.

“I would win. I would definitely win. You can ask Rondo,” Green said.

Said Indiana coach Frank Vogel: “He is a real athlete who can really run. Normally, when you talk about spread-4s in our league, you’re talking about big, slow guys, not really athletic guys. [Think Troy Murphy.] But he’s not like that. He’s got great speed. And he is an absolute beast in the post.”

Defensively, he is just as versatile. Green is what coaches call “long,” and last year in the playoffs he guarded Pau Gasol on one possession and Kobe Bryant on the next. How many guys can do that?

Jeff Green

• Small Forward — Post up three. His size and skill-set in the low post is very difficult for most wing players to contain. He is a threat inside. He is also a very intelligent cutter so he makes nice darts to the rim whenever his man plays help defense and gets easy hoops that way too. Nice interior scorer.
• Power Forward — An undersized quick four who is great in transition, capable of taking his man off the dribble at will and has a perimeter jump shot. Quick lineups are a priority.

Link: Excellent Michael Jordan Interview

A 10 page interview full of interesting tidbits from MJ

Courtesy of www.cigaraficionado.com

Marion + Tyson Limit Kobe Bryant

The Lakers won 96-91 but the Mavericks did a very good job, a noteworthy job, in limiting Kobe Bryant’s effectiveness as a scorer.

• Kobe Bryant finished 6-20 from the field and added 4-4 from the free throw line (plus 2 turnovers) to finish with a grand total of 16 points.
• Of those six made field goal attempts
  • The first came against Jason Kidd when caught on a switch in transition.
  • The second was a broken possession, a long offensive rebound, caught the Mavs defense napping and got into the paint and then made a tough contested shot in the lane.
  • The third came when Roddy Beaubois was caught on a switch against Kobe. A nice jumper over the top of the smaller player from the foul line area.
  • The fourth basket, a driving dunk in the halfcourt offense late in the first half, came when Dallas went to a zone defense.
  • The fifth basket came in transition. Fisher pushed it upcourt, found Kobe in the right corner, Kidd closed out, Kobe beat him off the bounce, got into the paint and hit an off balance short jumper in the paint. Tough shot.
  • The final basket came against Shawn Marion in the halfcourt set. Kobe caught the ball out on the right wing, dribbled up top, then drove right, Marion pushed him wide, Kobe went for the step back J along the baseline from 17-18 feet with Marion’s hand in his face and drained the jump shot. The only shot he made against Marion when the defense was set up. Very tough shot.
• Of the two trips to the free throw line – one came on a switch when the much smaller Roddy Beaubois was covering him and the second

Excellent job by Shawn Marion (main man-to-man defender) and Tyson Chandler (main help defender, deterrent at the rim). Kudos.