Tuesday, October 06, 2009

After watching Tuesday's game, just wondering if anybody else flashed back to last season, when the Jazz were playing the Bulls and the long rebound from Derrick Rose's jumper went right to Larry Hughes, who let fly with a game-winner at the buzzer?
Different continent, same result, I guess, although it was the preseason and neither Jerry Sloan nor Vinny Del Negro opted to bring back his starters in the final minutes.
More on the game in a second. NBA commissioner David Stern held a news conference beforehand and had several interesting things to say about some issues of the day around the league.
It's fascinating to watch Stern, who's essentially a head of state for an entertainment. He walked into The O2 arena interview room with no fewer than eight people in tow. He's heading from London to Taiwan for another preseason game the NBA is hosting.
The most interesting thing Stern had to say was in response to a question from the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson about his reaction to Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame speech. Stern was present for the ceremony in Springfield, Mass., last month.
"What I took from Michael was that he needs to feed off of perceived disrespecting," Stern said. "He looks for the motivation - - not uncommon in our league. And I think that is what drove him to probably be the greatest competitor in the history of our game.
"And he put some of that on display for us and he knowingly did it. He said, ‘I want to tell you what motivates me' and then he shared it with us.
"I think it's interesting for those of us who seek to be great, it was an interesting insight into how one great athlete in this history of the world probably uses perceived slights, real or imagined, and likely if those weren't the slights he would have invented a few more because he motivates himself."
Stern said he is hopeful of bringing a regular-season game to London in either 2010 or 2011 ahead of the 2012 Olympics. He also talked about the league's new television deal in the U.K. with ESPN to broadcast 100 games through the NBA Finals.
He also said there has been no progress with the league's officials in respect to a new contract.
"Right now we are not discussing anything with the union, but they know how to reach us," Stern said. "They haven't even told us why they rejected [the last offer], and left us with little choice but to go ahead and start the exhibition season with replacement referees."
Stern said the league has been "stealth hiring" at its offices, despite the recession, and said the league is planning to open several new international offices - - one in India, one in the Middle East and one in Africa, likely South Africa. He added that the league expects to have three offices open in Africa by the 2012 Olympics.
"We are very intently focused in Africa, based upon the response and the 900 million people that Africa represents," Stern said. "In addition to the extraordinary richness of the talent pool coming from Africa, the business opportunities are going to be very important to us."
Stern even entertained a question from an international reporter about his expectations for the Jazz and Bulls this season.
"I'm fascinated by Utah, which now has four international players," Stern said, "and what can I say, they always make the playoffs with rare exception."
Stern went on to call Deron Williams "one of the point guards of our future."
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As for the game, the Jazz opted to finish with a lineup of Eric Maynor, Ronnie Price, Andrei Kirilenko, Paul Millsap and Kosta Koufos. Millsap scored 10 points in the fourth quarter while Koufos had two shots blocked by Joakim Noah in the last 1:10.
Jazz coach Jerry Sloan by Maynor's play, saying: "I thought Eric did a good job for us trying to run our offense and get us decent shots every time. . . .It's nice for him to have the opportunity to be in there in those situations and hopefully he'll grow from that."
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Neither Derrick Rose nor Tyrus Thomas played for the Bulls, offering another reminder that Tuesday's game was just the preseason. Have to admit that I'm shocked that Luol Deng didn't play a minute in the fourth quarter of what was a homecoming game for him. Deng scored 18 points in the 25 minutes he did play.
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Jazz president Randy Rigby said the team's decision not to broadcast this week's games in Europe on the radio was purely based on cost as well as potential audience in the middle of the workday.
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Got the chance to do a morning of sightseeing in London, including a stop at Harrods, where we saw not one, not two, not three, not four, but five watches on display costing 125,000 pounds or more. Harrods is so spectacular, it has everything from an entire area devoted to pre-Colonial maps to a section of ancient fossils. Upon closer inspection, the fossils come from Lincoln County, Wyo., and are sold through a company in Logan. Two of the most impressive cost 10,000 pounds or more.
--Ross Siler