Allen Iverson?s infamous ?practice? rant, 10 years later (Ball Don't Lie) ...more ?
It was a frustrating end to a frustrating season, and it created possibly the most famous end-of-season press conference of all time, if not the most famous press conference in NBA history. Allen Iverson, in the days following his Philadelphia 76ers' first-round exit, was more than upset at coach Larry Brown's contention that Iverson's lacking practice habits may have cost Philadelphia a chance at another Finals appearance, so he went off on the local media. In an infamous rant, he treated the word and premise of "practice" as if it were as inconsequential as choosing Gatorade over water or choosing fish over chicken as a pregame meal.
And all of it took place 10 years ago ? May 7, 2002.
Ostensibly, Iverson's frustrations were taken out on longtime Philadelphia Daily News beat writer Phil Jasner, who was following up on coach Brown's specific criticism of both Iverson's practice habits and refusal to participate in some practices as he worked through the myriad injuries resultant from the combination of his aggressive play and wispy frame. And though Iverson took great delight in singling out Jasner (calling him "Phillip" repeatedly, in a typical bully move), his real anger was directed at Brown, clearly, and what he apparently thought was an anachronistic ideal that drew a direct line between all-out play in practice, and success on the court in games that mattered in the win/loss column.
Tyson Chandler is the NBA?s Defensive Player of the Year, and our best attempt to know the game better (Ball Don't Lie) ...more ?
Tyson Chandler won the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award on Wednesday , as Yahoo! Sports' Marc J. Spears first reported on Tuesday evening, and the New York Knicks center has more than earned the honor. The veteran big man was gracious in his acceptance, calling his singular recognition more of "a team thing" during the press conference announcing his selection, while tweeting later on that he was "blessed" to be the first Knick in the team's longstanding defensive history to be given the award.
Chandler has seemed to be the runaway winner for a few months now, especially since Orlando Magic center (and three-time winner) Dwight Howard seemed to flake out more and more. This allowed The Basketball Jones' Trey Kerby, in a pitch-perfect column , to point out the fact that Howard's team-based and individual defensive stats were actually on par or better than Chandler's in several instances, and that Howard (even in an off year of his own design) may still have been a victim of voter fatigue, 12 missed games, and his own submarining of Orlando's season. Trey's correct, even as he points out that Chandler deserved the award.
With that point in place, it's probably best to move on to another surprising element of Chandler's turnaround, and one that tends to get lost as we tend to stay in the day-to-day realm of the NBA's shifts and feints. Tyson Chandler was always supposed to be at that podium, accepting that award. Then he wasn't. Then he was, again. Then he definitely wasn't. Though Chandler probably doesn't want to look upon this honor as a culmination and/or peak moment in his career, especially at just 29 years of age, he should be proud at what he's had to overcome just to become the first Defensive Player of the Year in Knick history.
Paul Silas, Charlotte Bobcats part ways, beginning a very interesting coaching search (Ball Don't Lie) ...more ?
Coming off perhaps the worst regular season in NBA history, the Charlotte Bobcats announced Monday that head coach Paul Silas would not return to coach the team during the 2012-13 NBA season.
Rod Higgins, Charlotte's president of basketball operations, announced the separation ? it's not a firing, per se, as Silas' contract ran out at the end of the season ? in a press release , saying that the "search for [Silas'] successor will begin immediately."
"I would like to personally thank Paul for everything he has done for this team under some pretty unique circumstances," Higgins said. "His basketball experience as a coach and a player speak for themselves. We have been fortunate to have someone of his character associated with this franchise and we hope he will continue to be a valuable resource to us in the future."
During a Monday afternoon press conference, Silas thanked the Bobcats for the opportunity and said he would not pursue another head-coaching job.
"It's time to move on and I'm OK with that," Silas said, according to the Bobcats' official Twitter feed .
Silas said he was offered an as-yet undefined consulting role with the team, though most outside observers would likely suggest that the best thing for him, now that he is without a contract, is to run away from the Charlotte Bobcats as fast as your 68-year-old legs can take you .
Higgins didn't set a timetable for a hire to be made, but did say the front office is "going to start as soon as this [press conference] is over." General manager Rich Cho said the ideal candidate for the team's head coach would be "someone [...] who wants to be here and [the] opportunity to be part of building this team up going forward."
That raises an interesting question: Who the hell wants this job?