Don’t joke with cops
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Will the “Round Mound of Rebound” be able to bounce back from this? How can a TNT commentator with the verbal aggression of Sir Charles, live this one down? If he does make it back to the studio we are going to witness some knee-slapping tongue-biting double-entendres from in-studio hosts and guests alike.
Attention JJ Redick: You cannot suck at every other aspect of hoops and only hit 30% from behind the arc. You and Adam Morisson should start a Sony PS3 Rock Band reality show and do Gn’R covers exculsively. Adam could do a stadium ballad and cry at the end.
T-Mac wants to shoot more than 4 shots per half? He should. Houston continues to disappoint this year, providing us with a great example of just how important the team general really is. The only thing general about Rafer Alston were his core high school classes.
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In the aftermath of Charles Barkley’s arrest on suspicion of drunk driving early on New Years Eve morning in Scottsdale, Ariz., TNT is remaining quiet. Barkley is the outspoken and usually praised star of TNT’s popular studio show “Inside the NBA.” TNT released a statement saying: “We take these matters very seriously. Obviously there’s a legal process and we have to wait for that to play out so we won’t have any comment at this time.” LA Times
Mickael Pietrus’s fractured thumb means that fan favorite J.J. Redick will be back in the Magic’s regular rotation for at least another month. Keith Bogans will continue to start, while rookie Courtney Lee and Redick will serve as the backups. For a third consecutive season, Redick has struggled to get consistent playing time with the Magic. His biggest problem this season has been his greatest weapon - his shooting stroke. Once college basketball’s best 3-point shooter, Redick has struggled to knock down open and contested shots from all over the floor this season. He entered Friday’s game shooting just 37.3 percent from the floor and 30.4 percent from 3-point range. Florida Today
In the past five games, McGrady has made 15 of 45 shots, averaging 8.2 points, and he said he grew discouraged Friday because he did not get more shots. “I got a little frustrated at times,” McGrady said. “It’s kind of hard to get in a groove when you touch the ball once every five minutes. I took four shots in the first half. It’s kind of hard to get in a rhythm. “I was frustrated, especially when I know there are some times I feel I could go one-on-one but our spacing isn’t good. We’re all out of sync.” Houston Chronicle
Marbury stormed out of the initial buyout talks Dec. 1 and spent the rest of the month working out on his own and tending to business ventures. The guard, who is scheduled to earn $20.8 million this season, has received four paychecks for a total of about $6.9 million, which leaves about $13.9 million left to negotiate. NY Newsday
Stephon Marbury said Boston has not made an offer. A source close to the situation said the Celtics wouldn’t be Marbury’s No. 1 choice either because of the limited role, backing up emerging point guard Rajon Rondo. Another source said Celtics president Danny Ainge has interest in Marbury, as has been reported here since the summer, but Ainge wonders if a buyout will ever be worked out. Marbury prefers to join a playoff-caliber team in a starting role, though the Celtics could be the pick if his only options require coming off the bench. NY Post
Marbury threw bouquets the Celtics’ way yesterday. “If the world champions have interest, how can I not?” Marbury told The Post in a phone interview from Minneapolis, where he visited his cousin, Sebastian Telfair. “I would be honored to put on the white and green. The team that I am on has said they don’t want me. I want to move on with my career. And they should want to move on.” NY Post
Marbury said he is disappointed because he feels the Knicks have held him hostage because they don’t want him to play in the East with either Boston or Miami. A source said Walsh and owner James Dolan did not want to buy out Marbury before training camp because they feared he would sign with either of those rivals. NY Post
Marbury still defends his decision to decline coach Mike D’Antoni’s offer Thanksgiving Eve to become the team’s starting shooting guard. Marbury said he felt D’Antoni asked him to play only out of desperation following the trades. He didn’t want to commit to a coach who does not believe in him. The Knicks still lack a backup point guard to Chris Duhon. NY Post
Stephon Marbury confirmed Friday night that he loves the idea of starting over with Kevin Garnett in Boston. Donnie Walsh announced Friday night that he hopes to return to the negotiating table with Marbury next week to see if his banished point guard is finally ready to bring an end to his stubborn, smothering ways. Us? Friday night at Stein Line HQ was spent assembling a Steph-to-the-Celts FAQ to detail all of the hurdles involved and address your first round of questions about the growing prospect of Marbury winding up with the (gulp) defending champs. ESPN.com
As stated in Thursday’s news story, sources close to the situation maintain that Marbury completing a buyout with the Knicks after weeks with little to no progress is a far bigger obstacle than any hesitation Boston might have about Marbury’s impact on team chemistry. There is ongoing skepticism in Celtics circles about whether we’ll see a buyout any time soon. ESPN.com
Donnie Walsh hopes the latest rumor that involves the Boston Celtics is real enough to get Stephon Marbury back to the negotiating table next week so buyout talks finally can be completed. “I plan to talk to them next week,” the Knicks’ president said before Friday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers, the 16th game the Knicks have played since Marbury was banished from the team Nov. 29. “I don’t know anything about teams that made offers as reported [Friday] at all. If there is, then that would seem to be motivation to talk.” NY Newsday
A Celtics-Marbury marriage would be fascinating theater for anyone interested in group dynamics. It may never happen, however. The Knicks will not release Marbury unless he agrees to a buyout, and Marbury, who is being paid $20.8 million this season, has shown no interest in negotiating. There have been no substantive talks since Dec. 1, when Marbury stormed out of a meeting with Donnie Walsh, the team’s president, after 15 minutes. NY Times
The Knicks, who are believed to be seeking a concession in the $2 million range, also have not changed their stance. Walsh will not release Marbury outright and has no incentive to do so. Barred from practices and games, Marbury is no longer a distraction to the team. The Knicks can simply wait until Marbury’s contract expires after the season. NY Times
Also, a person involved in the Knicks’ internal discussions said that Walsh was more concerned with Marbury’s going to a team like Miami, a rival for a playoff spot. Team officials admittedly would prefer not to see Marbury hoisting the Larry O’Brien N.B.A. championship trophy in June, but it is not their greatest concern. NY Times
It’s no secret that Sam Cassell has bigger plans after basketball, so what does he think about a possible acquisition that could bump him from the roster? “I’m here to do what this team asks me to do,” Cassell said. “I’ve had a great career and I’m cool with it. Whatever the team needs from me. I want to coach. I’m almost 40-years-old … so it’s going to happen sooner or later. Either this year or next year.” WEEI
The Internet report only claims that Marbury’s preference is to play for Boston, which really doesn’t mean much for a couple of reasons. For one, most NBA players would prefer to play for the defending NBA champs. Also, the Celtics would have to want to sign Marbury, who had a memorable falling-out with Kevin Garnett when they both were young players in Minnesota. Reports of a possible reunion in Boston have been circulating since October but when the Celtics played the Knicks in a preseason game, Garnett, according to one Knicks player, said that the only way Marbury would sign with Boston “is over my dead body.” NY Daily News
Exiled New York Knicks guard and former Timberwolf Stephon Marbury attended Friday night’s game at Target Center to see from the fifth row his cousin, Sebastian Telfair, play against the Golden State Warriors. Marbury returned to the arena nearly a decade after he forced a trade to New Jersey. Since then, his career has spiraled from the Nets to Phoenix to the Knicks, where he has been told to stay away from the team after it didn’t play him for the season’s first month and then asked him to play in a game at Detroit in late November. Minneapolis Star Tribune
Marbury on whether he wonders what would have been if he hadn’t left Minnesota and Garnett: “Yeah, I have. I’m not going to sit here and say I have never thought about that. I watched the guys play in the [2004] Western Conference finals and I was like, ‘Man, I wish I was there playing with those guys.’ I’m not going to say that never happens, because it does.” Minneapolis Star Tribune
There are still some hurdles to overcome, but the Indiana Pacers are holding out hope that swingman Mike Dunleavy will make his regular-season debut in the next week or two after being sidelined with a right knee injury. “We’re hoping so, yes,” Pacers coach Jim O’Brien said Friday. “It’s going to be very important to get him back. When he comes back, it’s going to be limited, but just having Michael and Danny (Granger) being able to play together, that’s the way we went into it.” Indianapolis Star
Dunleavy’s first practice was almost two weeks ago and was limited to 10 minutes of half-court work. He has since increased his time to 20 minutes and he takes part in full-court 3-on-3 scrimmages after practice with Brandon Rush, Josh McRoberts, Stephen Graham, Maceo Baston and Roy Hibbert. Indianapolis Star
I’m consistently told that the Thunder — even though the B word has been thrown around by various media types lately — have zero intention of considering a buyout for Joe Smith before the Feb. 19 trading deadline. ESPN.com
Rumblings persist that the Thunder plan to hold out until the deadline in hopes of landing a future first-round pick in exchange for Smith. ESPN.com
NBA front-office sources have maintained for weeks that big men Chris Wilcox, Johan Petro and Smith are all available in Oklahoma City — as is Nick Collison, except that Collison doesn’t have a salary-cap friendly contract — even before the Thunder added to a crowded frontcourt group by signing Nenad Krstic. ESPN.com
The league office has confirmed that the flagrant foul assessed Tuesday night to Minnesota’s Craig Smith — a left-handed chop at the ball that bloodied Dirk Nowitzki’s nose as he drove the lane — has been downgraded to a standard personal foul. ESPN.com
Smith maintained from the start that he shouldn’t have received a flagrant foul on the hit, saying Tuesday night: “I was going for the ball and somebody yelled flagrant and I guess the refs just caught onto that. ESPN.com
Timberwolves coach Kevin McHale, doing little to dispel the idea that he was reluctantly convinced to leave the front office and return to the bench when asked if he had looked at the next 10 games on the Wolves’ schedule before agreeing to replace Randy Wittman. ESPN.com
The recent trade talks between the Knicks and Nuggets, according to NBA front-officesources, stalled because New York insisted on receiving forward Linas Kleiza (right) in a deal for David Lee, only for the Nuggets to decide, at least for now, to hang onto Kleiza. ESPN.com
The Nuggets, sources said, did not have enough to get Lee after withdrawing Kleiza and offering a package built around guard Chucky Atkins (who makes $3.2 million this season and $3.5 million next season) and two first-round picks. ESPN.co
This is not going to be a franchise-altering, mood-changing trade possibility, in the way dealing Ron Artest or Mike Bibby or Peja Stojakovic or Chris Webber was and Brad Miller will be at some point. It’s Quincy Douby and Shelden Williams, individually or packaged, and that won’t even tweak the rotation. But they are directions worth considering, because the Kings apparently have, at least in terms of Douby — the personnel boss of one team said Sacramento management has been shopping the former first-round pick. “They’re trying to” do something, the exec noted, adding, “I think they’re trying to do right by the kid.” Sacramento Bee Blog
Quincy Douby for Marcus Williams. A guy not playing for the Kings who would have a better chance of flourishing in the wide-open Golden State system than anywhere for a guy not playing for the Warriors who was once regarded as a decent prospect at point guard. The Kings have plenty of bodies at the point — Beno Udrih, Bobby Brown, Bobby Jackson — but no solid answer, so there would be worse moves than acquiring a 2006 first-round pick at no less if he doesn’t work out. Plus, it’s basically a salary match. Sacramento Bee Blog
With Raptors forward Jamario Moon in full flight, heading to a knockout punch of a fast-break slam, Tracy McGrady slowly jogged along as if providing a secret service escort, stopping before he might accidentally get in the way. At that moment, the Rockets had finally achieved something. They had gained admirable balance. They were as useless defensively as offensively. Houston Chronicle
The Rockets have lost four of six games and seem splintered. “Coach said in the locker room, in this league it’s easy to keep chemistry when everything is going right,” Yao said. “Right now, we know we played games at home … just like tonight. We need to fight together.” Asked if this team is on the same page, Rafer Alston said: “Not one bit. This is embarrassing. Again. We had this happen the other night in Houston. We had it tonight. “It’s sad, and it’s unfortunate.” Houston Chronicle
Yet it seems safe to presume that Atkins will be offered up to the Knicks again between now and the Feb. 19 trading deadline, in one trade scenario or another, given his perpetual readiness to hoist a shot — never discouraged in Mike D’Antoni’s offense — and the Nuggets’ well-known desire to shed at least one more salary to get under the luxury tax line. ESPN.com
But we spoke to Robert Horry on Friday and he reiterated what he told us in November: He doesn’t expect to be back in the NBA this season, if ever. Asked if he had heard recently from the Celtics, Horry said: “Not talking to anyone.” ESPN.com
No harm, no foul. That’s what the NBA ruled about the Vince Carter-Derrick Stafford incident in Auburn Hills Wednesday, even though one could argue the Nets were egregiously fouled, as the ejection of their scoring star contributed to them losing a game against the Pistons. But the league said that no further action would be taken against the referee — whose use of demeaning language incited a very hot response from Carter in the second period — or against Carter, whom the league implied made inappropriate contact with the official. Newark Star-Ledger
Carter: “I’m just glad it’s over,” he said. “Whatever their decision would be, I just wanted to move on from it, there’s no hard feelings. It’s just a tough situation to be in, and it’s unfortunate for the team, because we were in the ballgame and possibly could have won it. We don’t know that, but I’m glad it’s over and I’m glad I was able to play today and erase it.” Newark Star-Ledger
It was Lawrence Frank’s turn to get thrown out in the second quarter last night, ejected for only the second time in his coaching career for arguing an offensive foul by Devin Harris with Luis Grillo seven minutes before halftime. The coach picked a good time for it: His team had started the game in a 7-for-24, 10-turnover rut, and once all the technical free throws fell, the Nets were in a 33-16 hole. Newark Star-Ledger
Kiki Vandeweghe confirmed Friday that there is a sudden, extraordinary shortage of backup point guards available — which is not good for his team, because the Nets are in the market. “A lot of people are looking for a third point guard — look around the league, and it’s always an important spot, and a tough one to fill,” he said. “But point guards are at a premium every single year.” Newark Star-Ledger
The final play typified their night, sloppy and ragged - and in the end, resilient. After Marvin Williams deflected Jarvis Hayes’ inbounds, Carter chased past half court. Then as Josh Smith sauntered out to guard him, Carter drilled a 30-footer at the buzzer, roaring at the IZOD Center crowd that had booed the Nets off the court at halftime, down 49-29. “Once it left my hand it felt darn good. It’s up there [with my greatest moments] . . . for a lot of reasons: We needed the win at home, we didn’t play well in the first half, I got ejected [Wednesday],” said Carter, who had 18 points, but shot just 6-for-18. He put his ejection behind him, as coach Lawrence Frank will put last night’s second-quarter ejection behind him. NY Post
How’s this for an emotional outburst? Vince Carter pulled up from 33 feet and drained a game-winning three-pointer as time expired in overtime Friday night, lifting the Nets to a 93-91 come-from-behind win over the Hawks at the Meadowlands. The Nets had the ball with 11 seconds left in OT when Carter drove to the basket and drew a foul. Since Atlanta had a foul to give, the Nets were awarded the ball with 5.3 seconds left, although Carter argued that he was in the act of shooting. NY Daily News
Carter let out a loud scream as teammates mobbed him near midcourt, and the crowd of 16,851 erupted with an even louder roar. “I wanted to hurry, but I wanted to take my time and get a good shot,” Carter said. “I had a little momentum. I was able to get my feet set and go for the jugular.” NY Daily New
There still was no resolution Friday to the Jazz/KJZZ-TV vs. DirecTV flap, but the satellite provider did ratchet up the heat a bit in its ongoing feud with the team-affiliated station. KJZZ ended its retransmission agreement with DirecTV at midnight Wednesday. That means none of the station’s programming — which over the next few months features 16 upcoming Jazz games, beginning with next Wednesday night’s against New Orleans — is currently available to DirecTV customers. Deseret News