Suicide lines: Knicks to decide on Iverson today; Dirkus Circus

Suicide lines: Knicks to decide on Iverson today; Dirkus Circus

By J.E. Skeets

Each weekday morning, BDL serves up a handful of NBA-related stories to digest with your pea and mint pesto crostini.

Frank Isola, New York Daily News: "The answer to The Answer appears to be yes. Donnie Walsh said Wednesday night that the Knicks have yet to make a final decision on whether to sign Allen Iverson(notes) but the Knicks president hinted that the club is leaning strongly in that direction. Iverson, a former MVP, is expected to clear waivers at 6 p.m. today and will become an unrestricted free agent. The Knicks could have competition from Miami, who according to a person close to Iverson said the team is 'hot' after him. 'Until something's done it's not done,' Walsh said. 'That's the way I've always been. If he's not signed it's not done.' It's worth remembering that Walsh used similar language days before Mike D'Antoni was hired as coach. Walsh has spent the past few days calling his inner circle of NBA friends about Iverson. One of those calls was to Larry Brown, the former Knicks coach, who was with Iverson in Philadelphia when the Sixers went to the NBA Finals."

Eddie Sefko, The Dallas Morning News: "Win, lose or draw, the Mavericks' fate lately always seems to come down to Dirk Nowitzki(notes). And as long as he's on, the Mavericks can lack all the style points in the world and still have a great chance to win. The game in Milwaukee proved it. Wednesday night's 99-94 victory over the Spurs reaffirmed it when Nowitzki tipped in the basket that ended up getting the Mavericks to overtime. The Mavericks slogged around for three quarters, couldn't find the basket with a GPS and basically looked like they should be losing instead of up by four points, which they were. But while the Mavericks go along through this early season, the only real constant has been Dirk. No matter who's hurt or who's playing poorly, he's been an anchor. [...] The more defenders hang all over him, the more Dirk just seems to figure out a way to thrive. And score. He had just nine points at halftime Wednesday, but lit up the Spurs in the second half and wound up with 41. He was the sole reason the game even made it to overtime. He was the heart and soul as well as the offense for the Mavericks."

Spurs Dynasty: "Sometimes the game can turn on a single sequence. Up two in OT, George Hill(notes) drives the lane. The ball is bouncing around the rim, and Duncan has a chance to tap it in, giving us a commanding four-point lead and momentum. Instead, Duncan leaves the tap short, the Mavs grab the board, Duncan trips over his own feet, And Nowitzki gets a layup at the rim and a foul. And like that we're down one, five-point swing, huge momentum shift, ball game. [...] In the end, we had our chance. But our opportunity to secure the win fell about two inches short. Sometimes, that's all it takes."

Jeff McDonald, S.A. Express-News: "The injury bug has bitten the Spurs again. Tony Parker(notes) is doubtful and Manu Ginobili(notes) is out for Thursday's home game against the Utah Jazz. [...] Ginobili is set to undergo further tests on the injury Thursday, and won't play against the Jazz. The injury is unrelated to the hamstring problem that kept him out of the fourth quarter of Saturday's loss to Oklahoma City. Limping noticeably as he left American Airlines Center after Wednesday's game, the 32-year-old Ginobili looked like he was either about to burst into tears or punch a wall. Coming off an injury-shortened 2008-09 campaign, he was clearly dismayed to already be dealing with nagging ailments so early in 2009-10. 'It's frustrating,' Ginobili said."

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald: "You can't exactly call it the shot heard 'round the world. For starters, the 73-foot swish that Kevin Garnett(notes) heaved in last night from just above the Golden State foul line didn't count. After a lengthy video review, referee Scott Foster determined that Garnett, who released the ball in a spinning, shotput motion, didn't beat the clock. For another, the Celtics forward was a blank slate after the game. He had to be reminded of the shot. 'I did make a halfcourt shot, didn't I,' he said after the Celtics' 109-95 win, getting the distance wrong. He turned to Paul Pierce(notes) and, in a mock scolding, said to the Celtics captain, 'Why didn't you tell me, dog?' Told the shot was actually made from three-quarters court distance, Garnett said, 'It was three-quarters, wasn't it. Whoa, that felt good.'"

Frank Dell'Apa, The Boston Globe: "The Celtics have become 3-point happy at the wrong times this season. Coach Doc Rivers finally stepped in, telling Rasheed Wallace(notes) to limit the threes, during the final quarter of last night's 109-95 win over Golden State. 'I got on him, and I rarely do, about the threes,' Rivers said of Wallace. 'Because even though he was wide open, it's really tough. I mean, he was wide open and he took two, but we had just taken two quick ones. But he's got an incredibly high basketball IQ. He's been phenomenal in the locker room. So, I'm just happy to have him.' The Celtics started the final quarter with two turnovers, and a Raja Bell(notes) 3-pointer cut the Boston lead to 80-70. Eddie House(notes) and Wallace hit 3-pointers, but the Celtics were then outscored, 6-0, over a 3:04 span. House made it 88-76 with 7:30 left on Boston's first 2-point basket in over eight minutes."

Mark Bradley, AJC: "The Hawks won their 10th game of the nascent season Wednesday night. In 2004-05, this franchise managed 13 victories over 82 games. A team once so far down it had to improve to get lousy is now, with the same coach and same power forward, tied with Phoenix for the NBA's best record. Said Mike Woodson, the coach in question: 'I'll never forget those 13 wins. I'll never forget walking into the locker room and seeing those faces, knowing we couldn't win many games.' We knew the Hawks would improve. When you're 13-69, you can get no worse. But did anyone expect the Hawks to get better in quite this way? Jamal Crawford(notes) didn't. A pro since 2000, he saw those Hawks firsthand. Did he foresee that woebegone bunch becoming the team that has become the league-wide talking point of the 2009-10 season? 'I'd be lying if I said I did. You knew they'd get better. You just didn't know it would be that fast.'"

Michael Lee, The Washington Post: "[Antawn] Jamison finally made his long-awaited season debut on Wednesday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers, coming around full circle since he partially dislocated his right shoulder against this same team during the preseason. He led the Wizards with 31 points and 10 rebounds as they snapped a six-game losing streak with a 108-91 victory before a sellout crowd at Verizon Center. 'One thing I've noticed lately is our energy level has been down,' Jamison said. 'I knew that I could come in and change that and [be] another added weapon for them to really key in on. I've been sitting down for what seems like forever, so I had a lot of energy. I knew it was going to be different from what we've been doing.' [...] 'It's great to have us all out there together,' [Caron] Butler said. 'That's been the talk for years, 'When is the Big Three going to be out there together, along with the new additions?' Antawn was great tonight. He kept the energy going. Gilbert did some spectacular things. I thought DeShawn did a great job of slowing down LeBron. This is what we expect. We expect to win games. That's what happened.'"

Loren Jorgensen, Deseret News: "[Andrei] Kirilenko, who started the first eight games of the season, is now back in the familiar role he played last year as the team's spark off the bench. He scored 20 points — three below his season high — with seven rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots in his reserve role. Even still, Kirilenko was given just faint praise by the Jazz coach afterward. Jerry Sloan wants Kirilenko to play more fundamentally sound on the defensive end of the court and to quit taking so many chances. 'Andrei had some good moments,' Sloan said. 'But he's been here nine years. He shouldn't be making some of the mistakes he does on defense.' [...] Kirilenko did not get his name introduced by the public address announcer before tip-off, and he wasn't on the floor when the game started for the third outing in a row. But he's still getting starter-like playing time — so he says he's fine with that role."

Doug Smith, The Star: "The theory sounds great: Protect the paint, shrink the court, make teams beat you with contested jump shots. In reality: It's the one glaring and consistent weakness of this team right now. One play comes quickly to mind from last night. Think it was in the second quarter — or maybe the first — but a Jazz shot goes up and Andrei Kirilenko(notes) goes from the left elbow to the right side of the rim to tip in the miss. Not a single, solitary Raptor even shot him a passing glance, let alone put a body on him and it's a perfect example of them not protecting the paint. Now, it was one play that stood out but the anecdotal evidence is overwhelming that they have to work harder at doing what the coaches want them to do."

Marcus Thompson II, Contra Costa Times: "Warriors guard Raja Bell said he didn't intend for it to be a moving gesture. His goal wasn't to inspire or plant a subliminal message in the hearts of his new teammates. But that's exactly what he did in the Warriors' 109-95 loss to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday. Bell, who was acquired Monday in the Stephen Jackson(notes) trade, stunned his teammates and coaches by playing Wednesday, one day after he announced he was having potentially season-ending surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist. He scored 11 points in 23 minutes off the bench. He made 4 of 6 shots, including three 3-pointers, and had three assists. It turned out to be a one-game trial to see if his wrist would pass the test. It didn't. Bell heads to North Carolina today and plans to meet Monday with an orthopedist in the Charlotte area, where he will schedule the surgery."

Dave D'Alessandro, The Star-Ledger: "Brook Lopez took 27 shots against the Indiana Pacers Tuesday night, which isn't out of the ordinary when you consider that three other starters shot 36, 33, and 42 percent while a fourth was still trying to get his legs back from the swine flu. But even the Nets center, who is remarkably unselfish for someone who has the potential to dominate, wonders whether some of those shots made sense. There is a greater perimeter emphasis with Lopez lately, if only because he might be their most consistent shooter from 20-foot range, but against the Pacers, some believe it went too far. The best example was in the first quarter: Lopez drew two fouls each on Roy Hibbert(notes) and Solomon Jones(notes) — the two Pacers centers — in the first eight minutes of the game. How many post-ups did he get in the last 10 possessions of that period? Two. But he faded away on one, and handed it off to Chris Douglas-Roberts(notes) (for a layup) on the second. 'I don't mind it mixed up, but there are times I definitely want it on the block,' Lopez said. 'I've talked to them about it. I guess they figure we were just going up against a lot of good shot blockers in Dwight (Howard), Sam (Dalembert), Roy, and I'd try to pull them away from the basket.'"

Brian Schmitz, Orlando Sentinel: "Coach Stan Van Gundy has been concerned with the club's lack of energy — or 'malaise' — but the Magic looked like they chugged Red Bull. 'I think the energy and ball movement go hand-in-hand,' he said. Van Gundy liked [JAson] Williams' imprint. '[Jameer] is not the same in transition as J-Will. He does it a little better than Jameer, but Jameer does some things better than J-Will,' Van Gundy said. Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook(notes) was a defensive concern, but he shot just 3-of-11. 'I just get out and run,' said Williams, who turned 34 Wednesday. 'I hope guys will run with me.' [Anthony] Johnson, 35, has not been happy sitting on the bench. 'I guess coach has a vision and up to this point it didn't include me,' he said. 'I found myself on the outside of that bubble.'"

Michael Wallace, The Miami Herald: "[Dwyane] Wade knows he's struggling. He didn't need to be reminded of his stats from recent games. On Wednesday, he was 6 of 18 from the field. On Tuesday, he was 6 of 19. The game before that, Wade tossed up an 8 of 17 effort. And the one before that, he was 9 of 17. 'I got some real good looks, shots that I normally make in my sleep,' Wade said. 'I have to play through this and get myself back.' The shooting slump hasn't been Wade's only problem. He's also committed 10 turnovers in the past two games. That's another product of facing taller, athletic defenders. Joe Johnson(notes) picked up where Thabo Sefolosha(notes) and Jamario Moon(notes) left off. Wade went through this before. He bounced back. There's a really, really, really good chance he will do so again."

Chris Tomasson, NBA FanHouse: "Two weeks after the third-year option on his rookie contract wasn't picked up, Milwaukee forward Joe Alexander(notes) says he wants to be traded. Alexander's 2010-11 option for $2.76 million was not picked up by the Nov. 2 deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent next summer. In an interview with FanHouse before Tuesday's win over the Nets at the Bradley Center, Alexander was asked if he believes that means the Bucks could deal him as the February trade deadline approaches. 'They made it pretty clear that they don't see me having a future here,' said Alexander, the No. 8 pick in the 2008 draft who averaged 4.7 points last season as a rookie. 'So I'm assuming a trade would definitely be one of the options.' Alexander then was asked if he would welcome a trade. 'I mean, yeah,' he said. 'If they don't want me, if they don't see a future with me here, that really is the only other option.'"

Jimmy Smith, The Times Picayune: "Austin 'Red' Robbins, a smooth and swift former center of the New Orleans Buccaneers who helped re-define the role of the pro basketball post player, died at his Metairie home early Wednesday morning after a 3 1/2-year battle with cancer. He was 65. [...] 'He was a great teammate,' [Larry] Brown, now coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, said Wednesday night. 'A wonderful guy ... an undersized center. When Doug Moe and I were teammates, he had a phenomenal year in New Orleans. Every time I went to New Orleans, I got to see him.' At 6 feet 8 and 190 pounds, Robbins' ball-handling and shooting helped change the way professional basketball personnel people looked at big men. 'I think, as I remember, he was one of the first (big) guys who could play out there on the perimeter,' said former Hornets general manager Bob Bass, [...] 'He handled the ball and ran the floor well enough and hit the perimeter shot,' Bass said."

Patrick Hayes, MLive.com: "The Pistons have a problem that many teams would love: two young, promising point guards, both who have experienced some NBA success, both who should continue to get much better. But who's the guy? This is probably something team executives don't really worry about right now, but it's pretty clear that many fans are hugely behind Will Bynum(notes) while perhaps being a tad harder on Rodney Stuckey(notes) while he goes through growing pains that every young player does. I tend to believe that the exciting, frenetic style of Bynum's game particularly endears him to fans, while perhaps masking the fact that he does most of his damage through one-on-one, isolation style offense. Stuckey, on the other hand, plays the game more laid-back, more methodically. He has some of the same skills Bynum has as far as attacking the basket, but his demeanor on the court makes him harder to notice at times, and also perhaps magnifies his mistakes. But who's better?"

Mike Wells, Indy Star: "The Indiana Pacers have enjoyed a five-game winning streak during the past two weeks. Not so coincidentally, it was their hottest streak since the 2004-05 season, a campaign wrecked by one horrible night in Detroit. Five years ago today, in the final minute of a blowout statement victory over the defending champion Pistons, former Pacer Ron Artest(notes) fouled Ben Wallace(notes), who then shoved Artest. Rather than retaliate, Artest retreated to the scorer's table — until Pistons fan John Green hit Artest with a beer cup. What followed shook the NBA, destroyed the Pacers' realistic championship hopes and contributed mightily to the revamped roster you see today. [...] 'That was the beginning of the end of things for the organization,' former Indiana Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said. 'It set things in motion.'"

Sports Media Watch: "The 2009-10 NBA season is off to a strong start on TNT. Through 8 games, TNT is averaging a 1.6 U.S. rating and 2.4 million viewers for NBA coverage, up 33% and 36%, respectively, from a 1.2 and 1.7 million through the same point last year. TNT opened the season with its most-viewed NBA doubleheader in 13 years (an average of 3.7 million viewers for Cavaliers/Celtics and Clippers/Lakers). Over the last two weeks, the net has followed up that strong performance with more solid numbers — including 2.4 million viewers for Bulls/Cavaliers on November 5, and 2.6 million for Cavaliers/Heat last Thursday."