Brandon Roy Admits Legs Aren’t Back

Brandon Roy is off to a sluggish start. But the three-time NBA all-star wants to clarify two things: his knees are fine, and he’s not about to panic.
Roy has not contributed significantly to the Timberwolves’ 3-1 start. He is shooting 26.6 percent and averaging 5.7 points, both career lows. Though he has started all four games, he has not played in the fourth quarter the past three games, and he’s been passive with his shooting.
“My thing was to not come out and make a splash right away but to be ready in the later months,” Roy said Thursday, Nov. 8, after a Wolves practice. “I just need to get my legs back. My legs are still a little heavy. My shot’s been off. Once I get my legs back, the game will get easier.”

Blazers’ Lillard Not Content With Hot Start

Blazers head coach Terry Stotts couldn’t be more pleased with what he’s seen from his young floor general, especially Lillard’s hunger to improve.
“Damian is like everybody has been saying: he’s an excellent, young guy, who’s played well, but he’s not content with how he’s played,” Stotts said. “He’s had three good games that people have been putting into historical context, but at the same time he looks at it as how he can improve, and where the areas are that he can do better, so I think that’s going to help him down the line.”
Lillard has also impressed his team captain early, though LaMarcus Aldridge had seem him in summer league before training camp and preaseason and had an idea what to expect.
“If I didn’t go through training camp with him, I think I’d be surprised,” Aldridge said. “I’ve seen him all through training camp and he’s done this day in and day out, so I’m not overly surprised. He’s that good, he’s talented, he’s smart, he knows the game very well. He has that pace to his game that next-level guys have, he doesn’t get sped up, he kind of dictates the offense, so that’s good for him.”

Mavs’ Focus: Wearing Down Opponents

Featuring two 25-year-old starters that are both at least a decade younger than their predecessors in Dallas, the onus is on wearing down opponents by playing aggressive basketball on both ends of the floor.
“We understand how important it is to come out and be good every night,” Mayo said. “Start the game well every night and guard our positions then, in the third quarter, come out with a strong stance. We’re still learning and we’re still young so we’re going to make some mistakes but, without a doubt, we’re going to go out there and play incredibly hard, lot of effort, lot of energy and just try to give ourselves a chance to win.”
A key factor in the almost instant on-court cohesion between Mayo and Collison is that the pair already had an excellent rapport both on and off the basketball court.  The duo has frequently played pickup games in previous offseasons together and had developed a good relationship off the floor before joining forces in Dallas this past summer.
“Yeah, I like playing with O.J.,” Collison said. “I’ve been playing with OJ for the last two to three summers. He’s a guy that I respect off the court, and vice versa. O.J.’s a guy that continues to work on and off the court, and anytime you see that, it just brings your game up to a whole other level too. He’s excited to play with me, and I’m excited to play with him and it’s only going to be good things hopefully for the near future.”

Harden’s Contract Situation Affecting OKC?

Russell Westbrook needed only to catch a fraction of the conversation, after spotting Kevin Durant in the hallway cornered by one of those nosy media pests, to know he wanted no part of it.
“Same questions for 30 days,” Westbrook said with an unmistakable tone of annoyance, shaking his head as he left poor Durant behind.
Eventually, though, James Harden’s uncertain future becomes the focus again, as it’s basically been in Loud City from the moment big man Serge Ibaka agreed to a four-year deal worth nearly $50 million in mid-August.
Thunder players, by all accounts, have blocked the chatter out pretty well leading up to the 11:59 p.m. ET Oct. 31 deadline for OKC and Harden to reach terms on a contract extension that would prevent the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man Award winner from becoming a restricted free agent on July 1.
“The ‘James Situation,’ we really try to let that take care of itself,” Durant said. “All we focus on is getting better as a team every single day. He’s not bringing it into the locker room.

Jason Terry Knows His Role For Celtics

Perception has strayed a good distance from reality in this case, but from the moment he signed with the Celtics last summer, he became the guy who replaced Ray Allen.
“We’re two different players, and hopefully I’ll bring something that Ray didn’t,” said Terry. “Obviously Ray was a great player for this franchise over the years, and brought them the championship in ’08, but our games are totally different.
He’s a prideful bench player, and though Terry had no part in the offensive drain that plagued the Celtics bench much of last season, he still took it personally.
“It starts with me, and the stars are going to do what they have to do. It’s such a long season, you have to count on your bench,” Terry added. “I want us to pride ourselves in saying that we have the best bench in basketball. If I look at us on paper, we’re right there. You can match us up with whoever, and I think we’re pretty darned good. We’ll set the standard very high, and we’re looking to make some noise early.”
“My job doesn’t change,” he said. “I’ll be thrust into the sixth man role. Hey, I’m one of the best, and it is what it is. I take pride in it. What every team needs is that spark, that energy off the bench, and I’m here to do it. Anything other than that, and I won’t be doing my job.”

Denver Nuggets Optimistic About 2012-13

Optimism is permeating the Pepsi Center. Numerous Nuggets have been working out this month while Karl and his staff prepare for training camp. No, the Nuggets don’t have any LeBrons (in fact, there’s probably some debate about who Denver’s best player is), but they are frighteningly deep, to the point Karl describes his roster as “a big bucket of talent.” In fact, you could argue that Wilson Chandler, who would start for many NBA teams, is Denver’s “eighth man.”
And so, 2012-13 is here. Are the Nuggets still young and growing? Or have they gained enough experience to be a factor in the West?
Let’s ask George.
Q: Can you describe your anticipation for this season?
A: We just had a summer of constant positive momentum. The Olympics were great. And then you get (JaVale) McGee signed and Andre (Miller) signed, both really important to our team. All our young guys had good summers — Gallinari had a good summer with the Italian national team, Timo (Mozgov) was kind of a superstar for Russia (at the Olympics). And of course, the (Andre) Iguodala trade was the (big) piece that makes us a better basketball team, though to get a good player you’ve got to give up good players. We’ll miss Arron Afflalo. There will be some games in which we’ll say, “I wish we had Arron out there.” But in the end, we think we made a step forward, and hopefully a step to get into the top-eight teams in basketball, maybe a little bit further. Our goal in the next three to four years is to build this thing and make steps toward a championship.

Concerns About Dwyane Wade in Miami?

The knee has taken longer to heal than Dwyane Wade, the Miami Heat or anyone else would have expected.
“I understand that it’s a process and I’m going to take that process and be … I’ve been here before, guys, so I know what to do. I’ll be all right,” Wade said to reporters Friday. “I went all the way around the block just to go next door.”
In other words, he put off surgery on his knee for far too long.
The Heat will not admit it publicly, but there are concerns among those in the organization about the second half of Wade’s Hall of Fame career. Reckless abandon on the court made him famous and made him rich and made him loved in his adopted city of Miami, but now it’s making him and the Heat refocus their expectations. Wade is only 30 years old, but it’s an old 30.
Wade expects himself — as does the Heat — to play well into his 30s and at a very high level. It might seem early in his career for such things, but the team has started an aggressive plan to preserve Wade’s body for the long term. Reduced minutes, scheduled off days and a repurposed skill set are all being considered.