I suppose if Portland’s GM can’t ignore the fact that Darius Miles wants out in the worst way, he’s to be applauded for taking action.
6’9″, 210 lbs Was picked 3rd out of the 2000 NBA draft right out of High School. One low mileage unwanted Small Forward. Very versatile with good mid range jumper and ball handling skills. Jumping ability and quickness gives him above average ability to create own scoring opportunities. Slight body damage. Has been reported that he is damaged up in the head but that is unconfirmed. Lack of bulk is made up by speed and quickness on defensive end. 48 pt career scoring high shows he has not consistently achieved his full potential but potential is still there. Does have 2nd career as actor, starring in the Hollywood motion pictures, The Perfect Storm and National Lampoon’s Van Wilder. Desperately wants bobble head figure made out of likeness of himself and will possibly feel disillusioned with team if it does not happen. Will consider trades of both players and valuable items.
I’m not sure what Craig will make of such initiative, however.
As the Nets prepare for their first round playoff series with the Pacers, the Newark Star-Ledger’s Dave D’Alessandro would really prefer to cut to the chase.
We hate this time of year. Not the games, those are still great “ it™s the practices that make this job as irritating as Rita Cosby™s voice, as you have to perform the crab-crawl with a half-dozen TV cameras, which usually means you™re getting slugged by a heavy metal object across the frontal lobe at least twice, all for the pleasure of hearing Jason Collins talking about how much he respects Jermaine O™Neal™s shooting range.
The New York Post’s Peter Vescey, while wondering if “Steve Nash and Shawn (Maid) Marion played too many minutes and run too many miles?”, seems to be predicting the Suns will defeat the Lakers in their Western Conference clash.
The Purple Feign merit big ups for winning 11 of 14 to secure the second season. Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, Kwame Brown (can he play in this series?), Smush Parker, Brian Cook and professional pest Sasha Vugaric appear looser, and less afraid of Kobe Bryant, to miss a shot and make a mistake. Then again, other than Shaquille O’Neal’s newest best friend, this is a squad that, come playoff time, is used to teeing it up vs. jumping it up. Guess who might be tempted to overdo basket-weaving?
Particularly, should Raja Bell (above) again get under Kobe’s DNA? Or will the Bruce Bowen clone spend the series in foul trouble? The Lakers seem to suffer most when the game’s most competitive hombre gets duped into a confrontation. Kobe takes it as a challenge to his manhood. In fact, offers a Los Angeles courtside observer, “if the ball boy hands him water that’s not cold enough, he takes it as a challenge to his manhood.”
The thing about Nash, LeBron James and Duncan, who play above the squalor and the mad-hatters, is that their focus is about winning; Kobe often goes off on a personal tangent. Think about it, why else did he “allow” Phil Jackson to come back? It’s a personal challenge, not a team challenge. Raja is shrewd to pick up on it. He knows his bumping and talking bug Kobe and uses it to distract and frustrate him.