On the NBA: "The Unknown Superstar"

The Unknown Comic was the stage name for stand-up comedian Murray Langston, best known for his performances on The Gong Show during the 1970s.

It was a goofy gimmick in which the comedian performed with a paper bag over his head, but it enabled Langston to enjoy quite a career with over 100 major television appearances.

I can't help but think Brandon Roy and Langston may be kindred spirits.

You see, Roy may very well be the NBA's "Unknown Superstar."

Roy's "paper bag" is the City of Portland, the nation's 23rd largest television market.

While most of the East Coast was catching up on its shut-eye last night, Roy was torching the Phoenix Suns for a career-high 52 points at the Rose Garden. The University of Washington product capped his big night by burying the go- ahead jumper from beyond the arc with 1:01 remaining as Portland beat Phoenix, 124-119.

Brandon Roy may very well be the NBA's "Unknown Superstar."

But, just how many actually saw the scintillating performance?

Sure you can catch the highlights on SportsCenter, but it's just not the same as seeing history unfold. And make no mistake, the half-century mark is a big deal in the NBA.

When you look at the players that have scored 50 points in a game, the list is littered with names like Chamberlain, Jordan, Baylor and Gervin.

Among current players, Roy became just the 21st to ring up the magic number when he went 14-of-27 from the field, including 5-of-7 from three-point range against Phoenix. He also hit 19-of-21 free throws and had six assists and five rebounds for the Blazers, who snapped an 11-game skid to the Suns.

Usually the rarified air of 50 is reserved for superstars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Allen Iverson.

Sure, occasionally you will see a Jerry Stackhouse on the list or a Jamal Crawford, guys who aren't great players but have well-above average offensive skills and can light it up for a night here and there.

It's pretty clear which group Roy belongs in.

Most may not know it since the Seattle native is toiling in the relative obscurity of the Pacific Northwest but he's already a star, well on his way to elevating the Blazers to the top of the league.

Roy will never jump out at you with the incredible athletic ability of a Bryant, James or Dwyane Wade. He's not the quickest guy in the world, he doesn't jump out of the gym and he doesn't possess the freakish length to make things difficult on the defensive end.

What Roy does, however, is everything well. The 6-foot-6 All-Star is a plus shooter and ball-handler, who can move without the rock, create his own shot and defend some of the better two guards in the league.

Simply put, he's the NBA's "Unknown Superstar."

Cheeks was his own worst enemy

There's a few rules out there we all have to follow.

You know, real common sense stuff.

Don't spit in the wind...don't tug on Superman's cape...or in the case of
Maurice Cheeks, how about don't emasculate your boss.

I'm not saying Ed Stefanski doesn't deserve it. It's just a bad business
decision.

Mo Cheeks isn't exactly a type-A personality . In fact he might be the last
person you would peg as passive aggressive. In fact, Cheeks might be the nicest guy in Philadelphia sports judging by how quickly the locals jumped on their swords to defend him despite an embarrassing coaching performance this season.

If you listen to Mo's apologists, all the Sixers problems laid at the feet of
someone else, be it Stefanski, Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala or Samuel
Dalembert.

I, for one, am not buying it.

There's no question we all over-evaluated the talent Stefanski put together. Elton Brand looks like the proverbial square peg being forced into the round hole. Andre Iguodala should be embarrassed that his talent level translates to so little on the floor. Samuel Dalembert may be the first player in the history of the NBA, whose basketball IQ shrinks every time he hits the floor and Lou Williams looks like the stereotypical prima donna who mailed it in when he got the big contract.

Mo could have used all that as an excuse if he actually used the players
assembled by Stefanski the way his GM envisioned.

Instead, Cheeks played hard-head, coaching with little imagination or vision and stayed status-quo no matter how badly his "guys" performed.

The coach clearly didn't believe Brand was cut out for the running game and he
stopped pushing the ball like the team did last year when they overachieved.

Meanwhile, a few more minutes for Donyell Marshall or Kareem Rush when
Iguodala and Willie Green were throwing up brick after brick in the half court set would have went a long way.

If we all saw Brand look bad running up and down the floor, Marshall looking
his age and Rush looking like he should be playing in Turkey, Cheeks would
have indicted Stefanski and put this team's faults on the shoulders of the GM.

Instead, Stefanski's vision is the unknown.

And the unknown is a hell of a lot better than 9-14.

NBA in 3-D

Turner Sports, the National Basketball Association and Cinedigm Digital Cinema will team up to broadcast TNT's coverage of "NBA All-Star Saturday Night" in live 3-D to 80 digitally equipped theaters across the United States. Scheduled for February 14, the broadcast will play on as many as 160 screens in 35 states.

The event represents the first-ever fully marketed deal to deliver an NBA sporting event to the public in live 3-D.

Participating theater chains include Carmike Cinemas, Celebration Cinemas, Cinema West, Emagine, Galaxy Theatres, Marquee Cinemas, MJR, NCG, Rave Motion Pictures, Showcase and UltraStar Cinema.

"NBA All-Star Saturday Night," which also be broadcast live on TNT at 8 p.m. ET will feature the league's top-players in such events as: Haeir Shooting Stars, with San Antonio players David Robinson, Tim Duncan and Becky Hammon; PlayStation Skills Challenge, with Utah Jazz guard Deron Williams; Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout, with Toronto Raptors forward Jason Kapono; and Sprite Slam Dunk, with Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard.

The event will employ Cinedigm's CineLive technology, which enables live 2-D and 3-D streaming currently to more than 80 theater complexes with more than 160 3-D screens in the U.S. Cinedigm expects to further expand its CineLive network throughout 2009 to at least 150 locations.

Last chance for McHale in Minnesota

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The NBA's coaching ranks are starting to resemble the killing fields.

Minnesota's Randy Wittman was the fourth head coach to pay for the sins of his boss this season when Kevin McHale, the Timberwolves vice president of basketball operations, wielded Paul Bunyan's axe to Wittman's career on Monday.

But, unlike Sam Presti, who unloaded P.J. Carlesimo in Oklahoma City, Ernie Grunfeld, who jettisoned Eddie Jordan in Washington and Bryan Colangelo, who ousted Sam Mitchell in Toronto, McHale is going to have to oversee the mess he created in the Twin Cities.

T-Wolves owner Glen Taylor "convinced" McHale to relinquish his front-office duties in order to take over the club and concentrate on coaching.

Reading between the lines, a rather long honeymoon is finally nearing an end for McHale in the Twin Cities.

Your average general manager with a similar resume to McHale would have been shown the door years ago. But, McHale, a Hall of Fame player with an incredible drop-step move for the Boston Celtics, is a Minnesota legend.

"I'm confident that we can get this turned around and get back to playing a brand of basketball that our fans can be proud of," Kevin McHale said.

Born in Hibbing, he was Minnesota's Mr. Basketball during his senior season at Hibbing High School. The 6-foot-10 power forward then moved on to the University of Minnesota where he was named All-Big Ten in 1979 and 1980.

Simply put, Kevin McHale is basketball in Minnesota. In 1992, he was elected to the Minnesota State High School League Hall of Fame and, in 1995, he was selected as top player in the history of University of Minnesota men's basketball.

McHale's tenure running the Timberwolves pales in comparison to his brilliant exploits on the court, however. His teams won just two playoff series during Kevin Garnett's 12 brilliant seasons in Minneapolis. He then jettisoned Garnett in July of 2007 for five players and two draft picks in the NBA's largest deal for a single player, a trade that looked like a favor to his old teammate Danny Ainge.

Of course, Garnett went on to win four playoff series during his first season in Boston and the NBA championship. This season, the Celtics are off to a gaudy 20-2 start.

Meanwhile, the Wolves are a miserable 26-75 since the trade and 4-15 this season, including a lopsided loss at home to the equally woeful Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.

So, Taylor threw down the gauntlet and put McHale on notice.

"There were certain goals and expectations that we had for this team at the start of the season, and we have not lived up to them," Taylor said in a statement. "I am disappointed in our record and believe that we have more talent than our record indicates. A change had to be made and with three-fourths of the season remaining, there is still time to make substantial progress this year."

The last time McHale stepped down from his throne was during the 2004-05 season after he fired his good friend Flip Saunders and coached the final 31 games that season. He actually did a good job, injecting life into the Wolves and guiding them to a 19-12 record down the stretch.

A similar showing is needed if McHale hopes to avoid joining Wittman on the unemployment line.

"Kevin has assembled the players on this team, and believes in their talent and skill level," Taylor said. "It is my expectation that Kevin will be able to get the most out of our team and our players in his new role as head coach."

With his back against the wall and his tenure hanging in the balance, McHale agreed.

"I truly believe that we have a talented group of players in our locker room who have a great amount of potential," said McHale. "I'm confident that we can get this turned around and get back to playing a brand of basketball that our fans can be proud of."

Of course, what else could McHale say?

He is the architect of the eyesore that is the T-Wolves, and now he is finally being held accountable.

Better you than me

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Better you than me.

It's a simple philosophy with its roots stemming in survival of the fittest.

We are a quarter of the way through the NBA season and 10 percent of the league's coaches have already been shown the door, with more certain to follow.

In any walk of life, when things aren't going well, the higher-ups on the food chain always need a scapegoat. In this sour economy, you can pick up a newspaper every day and read about some company downsizing to make its bottom line look a little more enticing to its stockholders. In essence, it's the people in power saying to their underlings -- better you than me.

In the NBA, that means general managers sacrificing coaches to placate restless owners.

When Oklahoma City and Washington made changes, it was understandable. As I wrote last week, professional sports is a bottom-line business, and the bottom line was pretty ugly for both the Thunder and the Wizards early this season.

P.J. Carlesimo's Thunder were off to a dismal 1-12 start when Sam Presti went looking for his fall guy, while Eddie Jordan's Wizards were a miserable 1-10 when Ernie Grunfeld made him an example.

But, how about Toronto?

The Raptors were supposed to be much improved this season but were off to a sluggish start, so general manager Bryan Colangelo fired coach Sam Mitchell Wednesday, a day after one of the most embarrassing losses in franchise history, a 132-93 drubbing at the hands of Denver in the Rocky Mountains.

"Obviously, (the Denver) game was just an absolute kick to the gut," Colangelo said. "When you look back, it's a culmination of things. Expectations are high. We want to win."

The addition of six-time All-Star Jermaine O'Neal and the continued development of one of the NBA's most underrated point guards, Jose Calderon, had many thinking the Raptors should be a 50-win team that would make things tougher on the Boston Celtics in the Atlantic Division.

Toronto won its first three games but has gone just 5-9 since so Mitchell, who led the Raptors to the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and was the NBA's coach of the year for 2006-07, was sent to the unemployment line. and replaced with assistant Jay Triano.

Triano, the first Canadian head coach in NBA history, will attempt to turn around a team that has underachieved but is nowhere near ready to compete with the Celtics.

"This is a difficult but necessary step the franchise must take," Colangelo said.

Difficult? Yes.

Necessary? Not really. The change won't mean much. If the Raptors can stay healthy and continue to develop better chemistry they will improve, but Colangelo over-evaluated his team.

You simply can't expect him to admit it, however. After all, better you than me.

Maurice Cheeks could be next after the Sixers' pedestrian 8-11 start.

So who's next?

Stick in the Atlantic and look at another underachieving team overvalued by its head honcho, the Philadelphia 76ers.

If you are the pilot of a struggling team you definitely don't want the general manager sniffing around, but that's exactly where Maurice Cheeks found himself this week after the Sixers' pedestrian 8-11 start.

Ed Stefanski followed his team to Chicago on Tuesday and had a little get together with the media before the team's game with the mighty LA Lakers on Wednesday.

Stefanski is clearly not happy with the team he has cobbled together, and spoke about a number of things in a clandestine way.

"Mo is coaching, the players are the players and they all have to figure it out with me," Stefanski said before Wednesday's game. "We talk and communicate daily to try and straighten this out. All of us, including everybody in that locker room, are not happy."

The GM acknowledged that Andre Iguodala has had a difficult time with the two spot, and might need more minutes at the three. Asked if that meant a possible trade for a legitimate shooting guard, Stefanski said not necessarily, intimating that Willie Green, who he called one of the team's most consistent players early in the season, or Kareem Rush, who Cheeks has virtually ignored, could be answers.

Stefanski also said the team is trying too hard to fit in around Elton Brand and needs to revert back to a team that fuels the break with pressure defense. Stefanski feels Brand, who injured his hamstring against the Lakers, is a good enough player that he can flourish in any system.

"You'll never hear 'patience' come out of my mouth," Stefanski said. "I'm not going to say I'm shocked that we're taking a little time to try to get this all figured out."

So, what if it never gets figured out?

Better Cheeks than Stefanski.

LeBron is Eastern Conference Player of the Month

CLEVELAND – Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James was named today as the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Month presented by KIA for games played in the month of November.

In 15 games during the month, James averaged 28.6 points on .497 shooting, 7.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. James has now won the award eight times in his career: for the first time this season; two times during 2007-08, once in 2006-07, twice in 2005-06 and twice during the 2004-05 campaign.

During November, James ranked second in the NBA in points per game (28.6) and ranked sixth in assists (6.2) and steals (2.1) among Eastern Conference players. James led his team to a 13-2 record during the month, which tied for the most wins in a month in franchise history and was their best November record ever. James also won Eastern Conference Player of the Week twice during the month (for weeks ending November 9th and 16th).

With his second steal at Dallas on November 3rd, he became the youngest player (23 years, 308 days) and fastest (395 games) to reach the following milestones in five statistical categories: 10,000 points, 2,500 rebounds, 2,500 assists, 700 steals and 300 blocks.

During the month of November, James scored 41 points three times and became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1991 to reach the 40-point mark at least three times in his team’s first eight games of a season. James scored 41 points twice against Chicago (November 5th and November 8th), becoming the first player to have consecutive games with 40 or more points versus Chicago since Rick Barry (1974-9175) and he has now scored 30 or more points against the Bulls in seven straight games. He joins Nate Archibald (9 games from 3/10/72-10/10/73), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (8 games from 2/13/71-2/20/72) and Oscar Robertson (7 games from 12/2/67-11/9/68) as the only players to accomplish that feat. In the Cavs’ next game on Nov. 11th, he scored 41 points versus Milwaukee on 16-24 shooting (.667) and added six assists and three steals. With James’ 13th point in the first quarter at New Jersey on November 18th, he became the youngest player in NBA history (23 years, 324 days) to score 11,000 points, surpassing Kobe Bryant who reached the plateau at 25 years, 99 days.

The New Orleans Hornets’ Chris Paul was named the Western Conference Player of the Month. Other nominees for Eastern Conference Player of the Month were New Jersey’s Devin Harris, Orlando’s Dwight Howard and Toronto’s Chris Bosh.

CP3 is top player in Western Conference for November

NEW ORLEANS - The NBA announced today that New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul was selected as the Western Conference Player of the Month presented by Kia for games played from the start of the season (Oct. 28) through November. The honor is the third of Paul’s career (December, 2007 and March, 2008). He becomes the first Hornet to win the award three times.

“It is an honor to receive this award, especially with how many great players are in this conference,” said Paul. “I have to give a lot of credit to my coaches and teammates, we are all striving towards one collective goal, a championship."

Paul averaged 20.3 points, 11.6 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 2.8 steals in guiding the Hornets to a 9-6 mark since the start of the season. Paul’s start included collecting an NBA-leading two triple-doubles and 12 double-doubles. He also scored 20-plus points in 10 of the 15 games and had 10 games of 20-plus points and 10-plus assists. In addition, Paul had a steal in every game during the season to extend his steals streak to 99 straight games, just six short of the NBA record set by Alvin Robertson (Nov. 16, 1985-Dec. 29, 1986).

“Chris is a special player and deserves all the credit and awards coming his way,” said Hornets Head Coach Byron Scott. “He is one of the best players in our league and the leader of our team.”

Paul had 24 points, 15 assists and one steal in a 104-92 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Nov. 1. He collected 30 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds and four steals in a 86-93 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 12. On Nov. 22, he had 29 points, 16 assists, 10 rebounds and three steals to secure his first triple-double of the season in a 109-97 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Paul had his second straight triple-double against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 24, garnering 14 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds in a 99-87 win. He collected 22 points to go along with 10 assists and three steals in a 105-101 win on Thanksgiving night on TNT at Denver.

Paul ranks first in the NBA in assists, steals and triple-doubles, while ranking second in double-doubles and 21st in scoring.

Courtney Sims is D-League Player of the Week

Courtney Sims of the Iowa Energy today was named the NBA D-league Performer of the Week for games played during the week of Nov. 24. Sims becomes the first Energy player and the first player of the 2008-09 season to earn the weekly honor.

In the season’s first two games for Iowa, both wins, Sims averaged a double-double of 22.5 points and 14.5 rebounds in addition to 8.0 blocks while shooting .542 (13-24) from the field. He opened the season with a triple-double on Friday against the Sioux Falls Skyforce, tallying 22 points, 17 rebounds, and 11 blocked shots. Sims' 11 blocks ties the NBA D-League single game record set by Cheikh Samb last season.

A 6-11 center from Michigan, Sims joined the Energy late last season after opening the 2007-08 campaign with the Indiana Pacers, where he played in three games. Sims averaged 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in 15 games with Iowa last season and also participated in the New Orleans’ Hornets training camp this past fall.

Other top performers last week included Austin’s Malik Hariston, who averaged 25.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in two games for the Toros; Richard Hendrix, who averaged 21.5 points and 13.5 rebounds for the Bakersfield Jam while on assignment from the Golden State Warriors; Colorado’s James Mays, who posted 22.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals over two games for the 14ers; Joe Crawford, who scored a league-leading 31.5 points during his first two games for the Los Angeles D-Fenders and Damone Brown, who finished the first week of play averaging 22.5 points and 14.0 rebounds for the Reno Bighorns.

Rose, Mayo Rookies of Month

NEW YORK, December 1, 2008 – The Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose and the Memphis Grizzlies’ O.J. Mayo today were named the Eastern and Western Conference T-Mobile Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played from the start of the season (Oct. 28) through November.

Rose is ranked first among all Eastern Conference rookies in scoring average (18.4), assists per game (6.0) and minutes per game (38.0). He has scored in double-figures in all but one game and has led his team in scoring six times and in assists 13 times. He became the first Bulls rookie since Michael Jordan, in 1984-85, to score 10 or more points in the first 10 games of his rookie season. His nine assists in his NBA debut tied for the second-most by a No. 1 pick in his pro debut since the common draft began in 1966.

Mayo leads all rookies in scoring with 21.9 ppg, the highest scoring average for a first-year player since Allen Iverson (23.4 ppg) in 1996-97. He ranks in the Top 10 among rookies in seven major categories, including scoring average, minutes, assists, steals, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage, and is the first rookie to have four 30-plus point games within his first 17 career games since Allen Iverson (five) in 1996-97. In addition, Mayo is on pace to become just the fifth rookie since the 1996-97 season to average over 39.0 minutes, joining LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson and Shane Battier.

T-Wolves' Brewer done for season

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that forward Corey Brewer will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study done this morning revealed the extent of the injury, which occurred during Minnesota's game vs. Denver on Saturday night. The date for surgery has yet to be determined.

"This is a tough situation for Corey and we feel for him," said Timberwolves VP of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale. "Corey has worked extremely hard on his game. He was starting to really feel comfortable on the floor and was playing well. We'll miss his energy, defensive mindedness and toughness moving forward."

Wasted Talent

When I think about Stephon Marbury's career, I can't help hearing Lorenzo "the bus driver" from 'A Bronx Tale' in my ear.

For those of you who may have overlooked this gem of a film, 'A Bronx Tale' is the 1993 directorial debut of the brilliant Robert De Niro. The movie is set in New York City during the turbulent 1960s and follows the path of a young man guided by two distinctly different father figures, played by De Niro and Chazz Palminteri.

In one of the better scenes, Lorenzo (De Niro) tells his son Calogero (played by Lillo Brancato Jr.), "The saddest thing in life is wasted talent."

The enigmatic Marbury has evidently never seen the film.

Professional sports is filled with underachievers like Marbury. Guys with unbelievable talent that throw it away on vices ranging from to women to drugs to plain old fashioned hubris.

I'm not sure if stupidity qualifies as a vice but if it does, Stephon should be headed to the next anonymous meeting with the other 12-steppers intent on turning their lives around.

Stephon Marbury has not played this season and has been at odds with new coach Mike D'Antoni.

Marbury has not played this season and has been at odds with new coach Mike D'Antoni, who had planned to use the Brooklyn native in a very limited role since...well...Marbury is a jackass.

Few blamed D'Antoni for wanting to go with guys with far less talent, and the early results were promising. The Knicks were finally turning things around, albeit slowly, and dreaming of the day they could make a run at LeBron James.

New York's roster situation changed dramatically last week when they began clearing cap space for the inevitable run at LeBron and dealt guards Jamal Crawford and Mardy Collins. So, D'Antoni needed Marbury, if only for a few games.

Instead of looking in the mirror, taking self-inventory and recognizing a chance to prove everyone who thinks he is a lost cause wrong, Marbury balked at playing and ripped the well-regarded D'Antoni in the process.

"I wouldn't trust him to walk my dog across the street," Marbury reportedly said of D'Antoni.

Personally, I think the canine would relish spending time with D'Antoni over Marbury if it had a choice.

The Marbury era in New York is mercifully coming to an end and the Knicks finally suspended the petulant one on Friday.

It was a toothless penalty considering the former All-Star guard was docked one game's pay and an additional 1/110th of his massive $21.9 million dollar salary for refusing to play against the Pistons.

"A player's central obligation is to provide his professional services when called upon," Knicks president Donnie Walsh said in making the announcement. "Because he refused the coach's request to play in the team's last game, we had no choice but to impose disciplinary action."

Marbury's central obligation is to himself.

Always has been. Always will be.

Wasted talent indeed.