Posted by Matt Moore

Rick Carlisle is known to be one of the most cerebral coaches in the league. But what's little known is his passion. His passion for his players and all members of Mavericks Nation.  This video brings that passion and devotion to life.  




Happy Friday, everyone. 

Posted by Royce Young

It's been a tough season so far for Brook Lopez. He's averaging 18.2 points a game, which is good, but his rebounds have dipped way down to just 5.9 a game.

Also, he's kind of fallen in love with a jumpshot that doesn't best utilize his talents, which are to go inside and pound opponents on the block. And it looks like his love of the jumper has started catching up to him.

In the Nets' loss last night to the Suns, Lopez was subbed back into the game with a little over three minutes left, with his team down three. Lopez promptly missed a jumper and was immediately pulled for Derrick Favors. Lopez dragged himself to the bench, sat down and did this.



We can't be certain, but it would appear Lopez said, "I'm so tired of this guy. [F-word] him." Lopez was apparently directing those comments at coach Avery Johnson, who he's clashed with some this year. I don't think Lopez was referencing the ball boy that came and handed him towel or some fan behind him that kept yelling, "Hey Brook! More like Brook-lyn!"

(The best part is obviously Travis Outlaw's non-reaction.)

Lopez hasn't played that well this season and Johnson has let him know about it. Recently when speaking to the media, Johnson was asked if he dreamed about the possibility of having Carmelo Anthony. Johnson said, "No, I dream about our starting center getting 10 rebounds." Zing.

On the season, Lopez has only grabbed at least 10 boards twice, with the last such outing coming over a month ago, on Dec. 1, vs. the Thunder. And that was in overtime. Not exactly what most coaches have in mind for their seven-foot center that plays 35 minutes a game.

So Johnson has likely been in Lopez's ear about such matters. Avery has always been a demanding coach that will ride players and isn't afraid to sit someone down if he's not doing his job. A little different than the experience last season with Kiki Vandeweghe. The team might've completely sucked, but at least Kiki was chill -- right, Brook?

Via Deadspin

Posted by Royce Young

On this week's NBA Drive, Ken Berger and Al Iannazzone of the Bergen Record join the show to talk extensively about the Johan Petro sweepstakes. And they also discuss that Carmelo Anthony stuff a little too.

Iannazzone makes the interesting point that with $65 million on the table might be enough to sway Carmelo to go ahead and sign an extension with the Nets if the Knicks decide not to trade for him. If Melo waits until free agency, he'll have to take less than that.

However, Berger mentions that the idea of Melo signing an extension with New Jersey is a bit of a leap of faith for the Nets if they go through with the deal. That's the leverage that Anthony has. He can sign that extension with whoever he likes. Also, Berger elaborates on how the Knicks are kind of laying in the weeds waiting on the dust to clear before they make a move.

The ball still sits in Denver's court though. "There's a timing issue," Berger says. "How long can the team go on with all this chaos hanging over it and how and when can the Denver Nuggets get the best possible deal for Carmelo Anthony."

Posted by Royce Young

You should really read Chris Ballard's fascinating piece on Ricardo Reyes, the Pop-A-Shot king who defeated five NBA stars on Jimmy Kimmel Live. But there was actually supposed to be a sixth NBA player for Reyes to take on. Only there was a problem.

An interesting side note: there was supposed to be a sixth Kimmel opponent, Ron Artest, but then Artest showed up for his interview with Kimmel wearing only boxer shorts. The Lakers handlers, sensing disaster, whisked him away from the studio before he could film his showdown with Ricardo.

So, so many questions here. Did Artest drive to the studio in only boxers? Did he not bring any pants? Why? Did he know he was going on TV? Why couldn't he have just put on pants for the pop-a-shot contest? Did Artest have some sort of stipulation that he'd only appear if he got to wear boxers?

Here's the thing though: Artest still went on TV in only boxers. He just didn't film his competition with Reyes in boxers.

Posted by Royce Young

I really shouldn't have to spend 150 words trying to convince you to watch this video. It's one of the NBA's funniest people ever appearing on a show with another very funny person. Good things will happen, I promise you.

It'd been 10 years since Shaq appeared on Letterman (so says Shaq) so naturally the first thing Letterman points out is that Shaq is wearing a blazer with a hood on it. I keep telling you, it's a good interview.

Posted by Royce Young

Gilbert Arenas, who is never short of quote-worthy material, gave a good one to reporters Tuesday saying he and J.J. Redick are "the two best white shooters in the league." Everyone chuckled, the immediately started scratching their head trying to figure out exactly what he meant.

Well today, he clarified. Kind of. (Via the Orlando Sentinel)

 

Arenas said, “In practice I’m one of the best shooters in the world. I proclaim I’m the best shooter in the world in practice. It’s just not falling in the game right now. He’s a very great game shooter. When you shoot that good, you gotta be white. So he said when you guys ask him he’s going to be the best black shooter.”

Now I'm not really one for harumphing about non-issues, especially when the comment is done in jest, but I know someone out there is thinking what I am so I'll go ahead and say it. If you turn this around and have J.J. Redick say something like, "All the best dunkers are black," wouldn't he probably get a little Heat from that?

Besides, Arenas is kind of wrong. Reggie Miller? Ray Allen? Kevin Durant? Three very good shooters. And all not white. In fact, look at the top 10 in the league in 3-point percentage. Redick is the only white player in there. (besides Mike Bibby... but, um, I don't know where he falls. It's like that Seinfeld episode where Elaine's dating a guy she thinks is a mix but really isn't. Should we even be talking about this? )

But it is kind of a stereotype that goes with white basketball players. If you aren't "gritty" and "hard working" (like Nick Collison or Brian Cardinal) then your only reason to exist on the basketball court must be because you can shoot. There aren't a lot of high flyers of the white variety out there (Josh McRoberts, Blake Griffin... sort of) but there are a number of good white shooters (Mike Dunleavy, Redick, Luke Ridnour, Steve Nash). Stereotypes exist whether we like them or not and really, the reason it's a stereotype is because in most cases, it's actually true or close to it.

In the end, I don't care on bit what he says though. I get Arenas' point and come on, it's Gilbert Arenas. This is what he does. Says funny stuff. Because of him, the NBA is a little more fun than it would be without him.

Posted by Royce Young

Each game is made up of elements which help formulate the outcome. Monday through Friday, we'll bring you the elements from the night before's games in our own specialized version of the game recaps. It's not everything that happened, but it's an insight into what lead to the results you'll see in the box scores. This is the Game Changer.

THE BIG ONE: SAN ANTONIO CAN'T RUN WITH NEW YORK

The Knicks have had quite a turnaround early in this season. However, the major qualm is that they're beating up on average and bad teams, but aren't good enough to actually beat a good team.

Well, you can cross that one off now.

The Knicks completely outran the league's best team with a 128-115 win over the Spurs at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks shot nearly 55 percent from the field and got 31 points from Wilson Chandler, 28 from Amar'e Stoudemire and 28 from Raymond Felton as they pulled away late.

The Spurs have ramped up pace and tempo this season, playing faster than ever. And it's been a large part of their success. But it didn't work against the team that actually lives by running. The Spurs just couldn't keep up and after the game got into an up-and-down flow, they couldn't slow it down and get it into a style they liked. San Antonio tried to grind it out in the fourth, but the Knicks were still running.

One curious move was Gregg Popovich sitting his starters down with three minutes left, only down 10. With a game tonight against the Celtics, I'm sure Coach Pop wanted a little extra rest for his guys and with the way the Knicks were running, his team of veterans were probably gassed. Still a bit curious though, especially considering the 3-point shooters San Antonio has. A 3, a stop and a bucket and it's a five-point game with lots of time left.

Regardless of that, this is New York's biggest win of the season and finally something the Knicks can point to and say, "See! We're good!" Not that they need that validation because their quality record says enough, but any time you beat the league's best team, it helps in every way.

GO-GO-GADGET LINES

Zach Randolph put up a monster double-double, going for 31 points and 16 rebounds against the Thunder.

Marcus Camby had 10 points and 20 rebounds in a loss to Dallas.

Jamal Crawford notched a season-high 31 points and added seven assists in Atlanta's win over Sacramento.

Wilson Chandler deserves a mention with his season-high 31 points against San Antonio.

MIAMI ROLLS AGAIN

I feel like it the season started in December, then yeah, we probably could've started talking about 72 wins for the Heat. Because they are rolling right now.

With their win over the Bucks, that makes 19 of 20 for Miami and most of those have come in impressive fashion. Dwyane Wade notched another big night, dropping 34 as LeBron dished out nine assists. Really, everything is working according to plan right now. Miami has scoring when it needs it. The Heat have defense all the time. And playmakers are all over the floor.

Sometimes, it's honestly a little tough to see how someone can beat them. But the thing about the Heat is that they make themselves vulnerable at times. They lapse, get selfish and don't play defense. It's the reason they've lost nine times.

But lately, everything has been working according to plan. To win 19 of 20 is pretty good, especially because that meant beating some solid teams.

Tony Allen: GOOD AT PUNCHING, BAD AT LAYUPS

The next time O.J. Mayo and Tony Allen get into it, Mayo's got some ammunition to at least make fun of him with. On a solo fast break, Allen streaked toward the rim with his tongue hanging out like he was going to finish big. Instead, he blew the layup. This was actually one of four layups Allen missed on the night. He did finish with 19 points though and hit two crucial 3s.

Lakers VENT A LITTLE, THIS TIME AGAINST THE COMPETITION

Instead of yelling at each other, the Lakers started doing it to their opponent, beating down the Pistons 108-83. It was a blowout so that stats are a bit skewed, but Kobe Bryant only attempted 18 shots as Pau Gasol went for 21 points and Lamar Odom added 16. That's the Laker formula we've seen work this season.

Kobe went just 6-18 from the floor, but had eight assists and grabbed seven rebounds. So maybe there was something to Phil Jackson's critique of his recent play and Bryant came out looking to be more unselfish. He set teammates up and looked a bit passive at times. He didn't have his shot going again, so he let his cast of very talented characters bring him through.

PARTING THOUGHT

In Oklahoma City's 110-105 loss to Memphis, Jeff Green registered zero rebounds in 42 minutes of play. That's only the third time since 1986 a power forward has had that happen. The other two were Cliff Robinson and Pat Garrity. Not exactly wonderful company to be in.

Posted by Royce Young

Another month, another batch of jaw-dropping highlights courtesy of Blake Griffin. So let's look back at his five best from December.

5. From 45 feet away...

I don't know what the Clippers plan on doing with Baron Davis, but there is one advantage to keeping him -- he throws a lovely alley-oop. Consider this 45-foot beauty that I'm not even sure Peyton Manning could put on the money like that.

A play like this kind of makes you wonder what Griffin would look like in pads though. It would be like a cross of Antonio Gates and DeMarcus Ware I think. Or it would just look like Blake Griffin in football pads. I think that's a little easier to picture.

4. A layup better than a dunk

The only thing that's Blake Griffin can do that we haven't already seen is to start upping the degree of difficulty. And that's what he did with a simple layup. Forget just jumping over people and dunking. Let's turn a simple layup into a spectacular, highlight worthy play.

That's the thing about Griffin. Even the routine play is so far from routine. Everything is flashy. Everything is exciting. I don't know if it's the way he plays or if it's just watching a man his size do what he does, but no matter what Griffin does, it looks special.

3. One hand, with emphasis

Heavens. Look at how he reaches back. The first thing I wonder is how in the heck he even caught the thing. That's some serious hand-eye coordination. Then there's the jumping. And then the power to finish it off. Heavens.

2. A little closer than 45 feet, but a little better

What makes one halfcourt alley-oop better than another? In this case it's the punctuation on the end of it. Any time you get a long pass finished off by Blake Griffin soaring through the air it's going to be good, but add in a little hanging and swinging on the rim like a little kid on a jungle gym? Well, you've got something special now.

What I love most is the vision from Davis though. Nothing is really there at first glance, but Griffin is weaving through defenders, makes eye contact with Baron and boom, the ball is in the air and Griffin is tracking it down for a stuff. It's a beautiful thing, really.

(Also, I really enjoy Ralph Lawler's almost-signature call of Griffin dunks now. Slaaaam dunk! Oh ME oh MY!

1. Face dunk



At some point, and I think everyone will agree with me here, Blake Griffin will kill himself dunking. It almost happened here against the Rockets where he nearly plowed his face straight into the rim. (If that would've happened and this were the NFL, I think the rim would've been fined $25,000. Amirite?)

But just look at Griffin's elevation. He jumped too early so when the ball got to his hand, he was too high. He didn't so much finish the dunk as he just tried to dunk and get out of the way. For a second there I thought Griffin was going to dunk himself. Maybe that should be his finisher in the dunk contest if he enters. He dunks the ball and just follows straight through the rim, dunking himself. That would be something we haven't seen.