Five thoughts to start the day
No. 1: When a little seven-year-old girl is found dead a few miles from your house, it's a little difficult to get excited about basketball, isn't it?
No. 2: With his coaching future apparently ending and his decision-making ability already gone after the hiring of new team president Donnie Walsh, Isiah Thomas insists that the Knicks' future is brighter now than than when he took over from Scott Layden. I'm not sure what measuring stick Thomas is using, but I wonder if the fans in New York are buying his story, considering Isiah's acquisitions of Stephon Marbury, Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph and another playoff-less season, even though the Knicks play in the woeful Eastern Conference. And don't forget, Utah owns the Knicks' first-round draft pick in 2009 which, barring an incredible turnaround under Walsh and Thomas' replacement, could be a beauty. Better off? I don't think so.
No. 3: I wonder if anyone else has noticed, but the Jazz's homecourt advantage has obviously become an important factor to those who make the betting lines on NBA games. Utah is a 13-point favorite tonight against Minnesota. In their previous four home games, the Jazz were favored by 19 points against Seattle, 13 against Charlotte, 16 against the L.A. Clippers and eight against Washington. I have never seen such a string of lopsided lines during my years of covering the NBA, and the 19-point line in the Jazz-Seattle game was unprecedented. I have never seen anything like it, even during the Charlotte-Miami-Vancouver-Orlando expansion years. It was comparable to the line you see when the No. 2 seed plays the No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 4: It's difficult to believe that Marc Iavaroni is going to be fired after only one season in Memphis, where All-Star center Pau Gasol was traded for next-to-nothing at midseason, but that's the rumor. I guess it's easier for owner Michael Heisley to fire Iavaroni than point a finger at himself. Here's hoping Iavaroni lands on his feet. He is a good guy and a good coach who deserved better from one of the worst owners in professional sports.
No. 5: It's amazing, but when you talk to voters around the league and get their lists of possible Coach of the Year candidates, Jerry Sloan is never mentioned. Given the Andrei Kirilenko saga during the preseason and the Jazz's recovery from their December-to-forget, I'd at least put Sloan in my top five. But nobody else thinks so, apparently. From what I can tell, the favorites are Byron Scott (New Orleans), Doc Rivers (Boston), Phil Jackson (L.A. Lakers), Rick Adelman (Houston), Gregg Popovich (San Antonio), Flip Saunders (Detroit) and Maurice Cheeks (Philadelphia).
-- Steve Luhm
No. 2: With his coaching future apparently ending and his decision-making ability already gone after the hiring of new team president Donnie Walsh, Isiah Thomas insists that the Knicks' future is brighter now than than when he took over from Scott Layden. I'm not sure what measuring stick Thomas is using, but I wonder if the fans in New York are buying his story, considering Isiah's acquisitions of Stephon Marbury, Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph and another playoff-less season, even though the Knicks play in the woeful Eastern Conference. And don't forget, Utah owns the Knicks' first-round draft pick in 2009 which, barring an incredible turnaround under Walsh and Thomas' replacement, could be a beauty. Better off? I don't think so.
No. 3: I wonder if anyone else has noticed, but the Jazz's homecourt advantage has obviously become an important factor to those who make the betting lines on NBA games. Utah is a 13-point favorite tonight against Minnesota. In their previous four home games, the Jazz were favored by 19 points against Seattle, 13 against Charlotte, 16 against the L.A. Clippers and eight against Washington. I have never seen such a string of lopsided lines during my years of covering the NBA, and the 19-point line in the Jazz-Seattle game was unprecedented. I have never seen anything like it, even during the Charlotte-Miami-Vancouver-Orlando expansion years. It was comparable to the line you see when the No. 2 seed plays the No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 4: It's difficult to believe that Marc Iavaroni is going to be fired after only one season in Memphis, where All-Star center Pau Gasol was traded for next-to-nothing at midseason, but that's the rumor. I guess it's easier for owner Michael Heisley to fire Iavaroni than point a finger at himself. Here's hoping Iavaroni lands on his feet. He is a good guy and a good coach who deserved better from one of the worst owners in professional sports.
No. 5: It's amazing, but when you talk to voters around the league and get their lists of possible Coach of the Year candidates, Jerry Sloan is never mentioned. Given the Andrei Kirilenko saga during the preseason and the Jazz's recovery from their December-to-forget, I'd at least put Sloan in my top five. But nobody else thinks so, apparently. From what I can tell, the favorites are Byron Scott (New Orleans), Doc Rivers (Boston), Phil Jackson (L.A. Lakers), Rick Adelman (Houston), Gregg Popovich (San Antonio), Flip Saunders (Detroit) and Maurice Cheeks (Philadelphia).
-- Steve Luhm
12:08 PM
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4 Comments:
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We own the Knicks pick in 2010 unless they draft higher than 22.
I was blown away by the -20 spread against the Jazz. It was a good line though, I didn't know who to take!
sorry, against the Sonics, not the Jazz
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