The Daily Blast – March 13, 2013

The Once and Future Aaron Brooks - In yesterday’s post-practice interview, Jeremy Lin revealed that Aaron Brooks gives exactly the kind of veteran advice you would expect to hear from Aaron Brooks. “Like for example, in the Golden State game at halftime, I was talking to him like, ‘How do you counteract someone so explosive offensively as Steph Curry?’ And he was saying, ‘You have got to attack him. Get him in foul trouble. If he’s on his heels then you’re going to neutralize a lot of what he does just by attacking him on the (sic) defensive end.”

Of course the defense he is referring to would be Curry’s defense. This is classic Aaron Brooks–saying the best way to slow down a great scorer is to make said scorer work to defend you. We have one more game against Golden State this year to see a conscience-free shootout between Brooks and Curry. The basketball gods of Order forbid it. The basketball gods of Chaos are drooling.

The Working Man’s Kevin McHale – One reporter asked the coach about the players having a couple days to “recharge,” unwittingly opening the door for a basketball sermon.

“I guess I’m way too old,” McHale said. “You’re playing basketball for a living. Recharge your batteries? Every morning you should get up and get on your knees and thank God you are playing basketball for a living. Someone is actually paying you–in some cases, millions and millions, and in other cases hundreds of thousands at the minimum–to play basketball.

“If you have to recharge your batteries, to play basketball…I understand recharging my batteries if I’ve done three double shifts, I’m laying cement, and then I come home. I understand that. I don’t understand–recharge your batteries for what? To be able to come out here and play basketball for a living? If you have to do that, you’re in the wrong sport. You’re doing the wrong thing. This is a high energy game that requires total commitment, but it’s a joy to play. It’s fun.”

If McHale had been holding a mic, he would have dropped it and walked off the stage.

Thomas Robinson – Cowbell Kingdom posted a great overview of T-Rob’s season so far yesterday, with a little bit of insight on how he got derailed in Sacramento: 

Robinson does however accept part of the blame for his lackluster stint in Sacramento.  The 21-year-old forward admits that he listened to the wrong people who had different ideas of what kind of NBA player he could be.  That led him to steer away from the energetic style of play that made him a top-flight prospect last June.

Like many players drafted before him in the NBA lottery, Robinson tried too hard to prove his worth.

“Regardless of where you were picked in the NBA Draft, you still gotta learn the nuances of the NBA, the game,” Smart said.  “How you play in the game, the situations of the game and that takes a little time sometimes.  But I believe he’s gonna get to his point.”

In his final month as a King, Robinson started to figure it out.   He began providing the Kings with the much-needed rebounding prowess they envisioned him bringing when they selected him with the fifth overall pick.  In the month of January, no other King posted a better rebounding percentage than Robinson’s 19.2 percent.

Related news: Robinson needs a way better nickname than “T-Rob.” This has been bothering me for weeks. Since he’s famously close to his little sister (her picture’s even on his Twitter account), I’m going with “Big Brother.” I want to hear Clyde Drexler yell this the next time Big Brother throws one down.

Omer Asik’s Groin – It’s a cause for some concern, via Jason Friedman:

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/JasonCFriedman/status/311543924143579139"]

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/JasonCFriedman/status/311548156829638657"]

All That Power – On TruehoopTV, March Stein explains the Rockets’ slide in the rankings (skip to about the 3:30 mark). Cliffs Notes version: losing to Phoenix is a bad sign.

Not So Fast – Beckley Mason over at Hoopspeak asks why more teams don’t engage in a fast-paced style like the Rockets. Reason number one?

It’s hard. Running the floor like the Nuggets, Rockets and Spurs do takes great conditioning and a mental commitment to running. In reporting on the Nuggets and Rockets, I’ve heard the same thing a few different ways: every player says they want to run until they have to run, and then they want to walk. For this style to really work, you can’t run selectively. You have to do it off makes, misses, turnovers — everything. A lot of guys just aren’t about that life.

I found this reason interesting because just on Monday McHale mentioned that Asik had dropped from about 295 lbs. down to 275 lbs. to be able to keep up with the Rockets’ style of play. It speaks to just how hard Big O works, but it might also shed light on why the team struggles defensively–they’re probably winded half the time, and it’s hard to make lightning-fast reactions when you’re gasping for breath.

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