Around The World: May 25

05/25/12

Written by: DHawes22

May 25

Trailblazers: 2012 Mock Draft Database

Trail Blazers: Record 24 teams scheduled for July Summer League in Vegas
"A record 24 teams will compete at the 2012 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas this summer, the NBA announced Thursday. From July 13- 22, 23 NBA teams, including 11 that participated in the NBA Playoffs, as well as a team of NBA D-League Select players will compete at the Thomas & Mack Center and the COX Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas."

Trail Blazers: Jerry Sloan Doesn't Deal In Hypotheticals
"It's unknown whether or not the Trail Blazers have or will consider Sloan, but if they do, you won't have to hear about it from an unnamed source. Sloan will just come out and tell you, at least if you ask him."

Oregon Live: NBA High-5: Was LaMarcus Aldridge 'snubbed' from all-NBA teams? Probably not, but it's good motivation
"Anthony was a controversial pick. His 22.6-point average was his lowest in eight years, and he shot 43 percent from the field. In February, when Anthony missed seven games with a groin injury, New York went 6-1 and saw the Jeremy Lin thing start. Which is one reason the Palm Beach Post's Ethan Skolnick nitpicked Anthony's selection. "Worst call, in my view: Carmelo Anthony on 3rd team All-NBA, over Aldridge, Josh Smith or even Iguodala, who got no votes."

CBS: Magic to begin scheduling GM interviews Friday
"The Magic also are interested in speaking with Pacers general manager David Morway and former Hornets GM Jeff Bower, both of whom have interviewed twice for the Trail Blazers' opening, and former Portland GM and current Pacers executive Kevin Pritchard, sources said."

Digital Refrain: NBA Teams as Bands, Obviously – Part One, Da West
"When things went downhill, they went downhill fast. The brief moment of electronica before they ultimately disbanded registered the last gasp of desperation. They were never truly great, but the hints of what could have been make the end hurt worse than people would lead on. At least J.J. Hickson managed to scrape something out of it. You feel bad for LMA, but he’ll count his money off the “Cherub Rock” royalties and will be juuuust fine."

Ball Don't Lie: ‘Deep Thoughts’ and Cheap Thoughts: San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
"Oklahoma City will be much better than what San Antonio has faced, but will they create enough problems for a legitimately improved defense to generate enough points to outstrip a rollicking offense four times in seven games? I just don't see it. The Spurs will lose during this series for the first time in nearly seven weeks, but they won't lose four times. The skeleton might not be the series' most valuable player, but the skeleton's not alone; this time around, he's got an army, and all the hearts and brains in Oklahoma City won't be able to turn back the horde."

Ball Don't Lie: Dwyane Wade’s hot pink pants: The kind of thing you can get away with when you drop 41
"Regardless of their analogue or origin, Wade's pink pants caught many an observer's gaze, including the jaundiced eye of NBA TV host Rick Kamla, who proclaimed them a "flagrant fashion foul" during the cable network's "NBA Game Time" program. While I am sure such critiques wound Wade to his core, he's probably found some solace in the fact that he got to show out before, during and after a 41-point, 10-rebound performance that sent him to the Eastern Conference finals for the fourth time in eight years."

Ball Don't Lie: Behind the Box Score, where the Miami Heat are moving on to the conference finals
"It was an astonishing night for Wade, a player who has been beyond dominant during the Heat turnaround that started with the third quarter in Sunday's Game 4. Forty-one points for the All-Star, missing just eight shots in 25 tries while pulling in 10 needed rebounds for a team featuring big minutes for two of the best-defending-but-worst-rebounding front-court players in the NBA in Joel Anthony and Shane Battier. Most frightening was the way Wade was scoring, consistently going glass with a series of runners, not exactly taking and making bad shots, but taking and making tough shots. Gorgeous game from Wade, and after all our worry from last week, it's great to watch."

Ball Don't Lie: David West hilariously denies each and every one of his young fans a high-five (VIDEO)
"Also, he doesn't want to low-five you, ya punk kid. Check out West's -- I'm sorry -- hilarious reaction to the eight outstretched hands of various children and one adult in the hallway leading from the Pacers' home court back to the team's locker room. And, it should be noted, this video was taken at halftime, and before West's Pacers saw their season end with a 105-93 defeat at the hand of the Miami Heat."

The Basketball Jones: Tony Parker rented out a theater so the Spurs could watch ‘Men in Black 3′
“Private premier of men in black. Thanks TP. Team bonding.”

The Basketball Jones: Video: LeBron misses dunk, gets taunted by inflatable flamingo
“Look honey, I can’t explain to you why I need to bring my flamingo to the game tonight, but I just do. I got great seats and if anything cool happens nearby, I’d like to be able to pull out the flamingo and like celebrate with it or wave it in somebody’s face or something. I don’t know. I just feel like I might want to have it with me, just in case."

The Basketball Jones: Where will Linsanity happen next season?
"Sure there’s room for improvement and it seems that with Lin’s work ethic and ability to rise above being the underdog, which he still is, Linsanity will survive. Plus he’s stated that he would like to return to the team and signing him for the MLE will be a solid value for the Knicks, not only because he’s capable of putting up 15 and 7, but also because of his popularity and marketing value to bring in more money and attention to the franchise."

SLAM: Spurs-Thunder Series Preview
"This is quite possibly the most exciting individual matchup in the entire NBA postseason. The 30-year-old Parker enjoyed his best season as a pro, finally able to open up the court, push the pace and dictate a tempo he has always preferred. Westbrook has continued to improve and despite still being prone to bouts of emotion, he has been more mature and offensively dangerous than we have seen in the past couple postseasons."

SLAM: Post Up: Miami Moves On
"All in all, the Pacers simply were in over their heads in the second round. Credit their effort, their intensity, their scrappy play, and their never-die attitudes for creating possibly the most compelling second round series of the playoffs. As has been evident since the start of the season, the Pacers lacked the true star to answer the blows delivered by James and Wade. Beating the Heat requires an incredible amount of discipline both offensively and defensively, a skill the Pacers did not have down at times on the offensive end. Too many quick shots with 20 seconds left in the shot clock and somewhat of a lack of offensive identity doomed the Pacers in the end. They head home empty handed but gained a sense of respect from across the league. The Pacers may not have a superstar yet, but they sure will have every team’s attention in the years ahead."

ESPN: Daily Dime
"The Pacers do many things well, but clearly have work to do when trying to contain a superstar explosion. As Pacers forward David West summed up, "It's not our time yet." But at least it seems like their time as a perennial Top 3 team in the East is at hand. "

ESPN: Avery Bradley's postseason is over
"Avery's a big blow, yeah, there's no doubt," Rivers said. "If I'm the other guys on any other team, and the fact that I don't have to play against Avery Bradley, I would sleep a little better. No one wants to play against Avery. Our guys don't want to play against him in practice. He's a pain in the (butt) defensively. That's what he does."

Sports Illustrated: (1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (2) OKC Thunder
"San Antonio will provide that adversity. During the regular season, the Thunder held San Antonio to just 48 percent shooting in the paint, well below its 61 percent season average, according to NBA.com. But San Antonio won two of three anyway by converting 51.9 percent of its three-pointers. The Spurs are a resourceful offensive dynamo that is almost impossible to stop. To win, the Thunder need to slow down San Antonio, hope they are more accustomed to pressure and continue to hit big shots of their own. My head says San Antonio will win in five or six games, but the matchup is too delicious not to let my heart rule on the side of maximum drama."

Sports Illustrated: Another year, another round of curious votes for NBA All-Defensive teams
"Boozer received one second-team vote, placing him exactly two votes behind Shawn Marion, who spent the season tirelessly defending four positions for the Mavericks, one of the league’s 10 best defensive teams. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their players, so the anonymous Boozer backer is not Chicago’s Tom Thibodeau and may not be a head coach at all; some coaches have been known to farm out the voting to staff members."

Sports Illustrated: Knicks' Smith arrested for lack of license
"Sgt. Bobby Hernandez says 26-year-old J.R. Smith was stopped Thursday night on Washington Avenue in South Beach. A routine search revealed the bench warrant and he was arrested."