First Cup: Tuesday

• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: "Michael Redd is facing his own departure from the only pro basketball franchise he has ever known. He played 15 minutes and scored two points in the Bucks' 93-86 victory over Toronto at the Bradley Center on Monday night, knowing it likely was his last home game with the team. ... Redd is at the end of the six-year, $91 million contract he signed in the summer of 2005, the deal that often made him the target of angry fans when the Bucks fell short of expectations. And he is coming off successive major surgeries on his left knee that limited his involvement with the franchise in the past two seasons. He was out for more than 14 months before returning to the lineup in Charlotte two weeks ago. ... The Bucks are not expected to make a run at re-signing Redd next season, even at a sharply reduced salary. He was the league's fifth-highest paid player this season, earning $18.3 million. It's quite possible he could end up as a key player off the bench with a contending team, playing a new role in the final years of his career."
• Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald: "The Heat has gone through multiple lineup changes throughout the season, but it appears the team has settled on its starters for the playoffs. Complementing LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in the opening round will likely be center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and point guard Mike Bibby. The Heat didn’t arrive at this lineup easily. Miami has started three different centers and two different point guards during the season, not to mention experimenting with several roles for James, the team’s versatile superstar. ... Why the switch to Ilgauskas so late in the season? 'Our game is different than when he was originally started for us,' Spoelstra said. 'We were a jump-shooting team at the time, and we had not developed a halfcourt game that would get us paint attacks. We’ve changed that now in the last few weeks, and [Ilgauskas] actually helps us with that game because he spreads the floor and gets the center away from the basket and that helps.' Ilgauskas replaced Erick Dampier in the starting lineup last week. While Dampier has started the majority of the games since the All-Star break, Ilgauskas has actually started more than twice as many games as Dampier this season."
• Mike Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times: "Like a machine, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau stood near the top of the key at Madison Square Garden at the end of the Bulls’ practice Monday, feeding one pass after another in rapid-fire fashion to center Joakim Noah in front of the basket. And each time, Noah turned and shot -- right-handed off the glass, left-handed off the glass. Right-left-right-left-right-left. It was a lesson in timing, rhythm and, most of all, hard work -- the only solutions Thibodeau knows for whatever it is that’s preventing Noah from operating at peak efficiency since returning last week from a sprained right ankle. '[It’s designed for me] to get �better and be as ready as possible for the game [against the Knicks �tonight],’ Noah said. Whatever the idea of the drill, Thibodeau’s hands-on approach surely made an impression on Noah. With the playoffs beckoning, the Bulls need him at his best. Since missing three games with the bum ankle, Noah is averaging 5.5 rebounds in four games -- all of them victories -- half his season average of 11.0 before the injury. 'We did it a lot this summer,’ Noah said of the individual work he did with Thibodeau. ‘I know I need some extra work right now, so I’m just working hard. Thibs just makes sure that I get my drills in, what I need to do.’ "
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: "On Monday, the Magic held a shootaround -- something the team almost never does on the second leg of a back-to-back. Coaches hoped to fine-tune the offense for the upcoming series against the Hawks. 'It was just working on a couple plays that we haven't run yet, just getting comfortable with certain sets,' center Dwight Howard said. Stan Van Gundy didn't think he taxed his players too much during Monday's 80-minute shootaround. 'I don't think being rested for tonight is as big a deal for us right now as getting ready for the weekend,' Van Gundy said afterward."
• Gerry Callahan of the Boston Herald: "About 10 minutes ago, Rondo vs. Derrick Rose was considered a fairly even matchup. Now it’s as one-sided as Charlie Sheen against a New York heckler. On Thursday in Chicago, as the Bulls rolled over the Celtics, Rose toyed with Rondo. The Celtics point guard looked hesitant, unsure of himself and afraid to take the ball to the hoop -- the exact opposite of the way he played for the most of the past four seasons. For whatever reason, Rondo has lost it. And as Rondo goes, so goes the Celts offense. On Sunday in Miami, Rondo had one hoop, one free throw and one assist halfway through the third quarter. By then, the Celtics were out of the game and out of the race for the No. 2 seed. The Bulls and Heat did to the Celtics what the Celtics used to do to all comers: They ripped the C’s heart out and stomped it flat. Oh, but it was a broken heart, so this is all Danny Ainge’s fault. He thought he was making a smart business decision. He didn’t know he was killing Old Yeller. He trusted his players to act like professionals. Clearly he (expletive) up. This Celtics team overcame a lot in the past four seasons, but life without Perk apparently is just too much to bear. Now it looks like this terrific run will end with a whimper and a tear and Terry Jacks singing in the background. They had joy, they had fun, they had 3A seasons in the sun ... It would be sad if it weren’t so pathetic."
• Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: "Their playoff run might be imploding before it begins, but the Lakers don't think so. 'The ailing patient is starting to recover,' Coach Phil Jackson said Monday, smiling as always, figuring the Lakers played pretty well against Oklahoma City until almost the end. Five consecutive losses? Sure. Three in a row at home? Fine. An indigestible final three minutes Sunday against the Thunder. Whatever. 'Everybody wants to put the nail in the coffin,' Kobe Bryant said. 'We've all been there before.' Yes and no. The Lakers were 3-6 down the stretch in the regular season a year ago and that turned out fine for them. But there's never been a championship ending for a Lakers team with a five-game losing streak. Never. Their latest hiccup was surrendering 120 points to Oklahoma City. They haven't shown desire for an entire game since losing to Denver on April 3. They're so banged up and their roster is so chock full of years that they couldn't even conduct practice the day before playing San Antonio on Tuesday. 'I would love to do it,' Jackson said. 'We're not physically capable of doing it.' "
• Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: "When the NBA released its schedule in September, many observers circled tonight’s game as one that could figure prominently in the Western Conference playoff race. Few could have predicted it would mean more to the two-time defending NBA champions than to the Spurs. After winning 17 of 18 after the All-Star break to put pressure on the Spurs, the Lakers have lost five in a row, their longest losing streak since 2006-07, and are closer to finishing fourth than first. The Spurs arrived in L.A. late Monday afternoon to find a seething Kobe Bryant threatening to 'redecorate the walls' at Staples Center, Phil Jackson on the verge of losing his Zen-like patience, and even the most laid-back surfer on Venice Beach feeling the bad vibrations. ... While the Lakers are looking to salvage some semblance of momentum over the regular season’s final two games, the Spurs are dealing with a different set of heavy questions. Such as, should Tim Duncan and the older starters play in these two games? Though history would suggest a heavy prescription of rest for Spurs regulars over the next two games, coach Gregg Popovich seems to be leaning toward employing a quasi-standard lineup."
• Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News: "Want to know why the Knicks, once on the brink of collapse, are riding a seven-game win streak into Tuesday night's showdown with the Bulls at the Garden? Yes, they've proven they can defend, as they did when they held the Pacers scoreless over the final 3:32 of Sunday's victory, and Mike D'Antoni said the team is rebounding better. But the other key is the subtle improvements in set plays such as 'Elbow,' which are finally working in concert with New York's one-on-one star. Just a few weeks ago, the 'Elbow' started with Amar'e Stoudemire and Shawne Williams on the wings. Stoudemire would work down to the post, while the sharpshooting Williams masqueraded as a big man before working down to the baseline to set up for a 3-pointer. Lately, it has worked differently. Williams starts the set by camped out in the corner, waiting for a three. Carmelo Anthony takes his old spot at the elbow, ready to get the ball and break down the defense. 'It used to be two bigs there,' Williams said on Sunday. 'But now it's Melo and Stat (Stoudemire). And that's Melo's spot.' "
• Marc Berman of the New York Post: "Chauncey Billups is starting to transform into his playoff persona -- and that is dangerous for the Knicks' next opponent. Billups' playoff preparation is the stuff of legend, as he's called the postseason 'money time.' Billups, the lone Knick with a championship ring, pores over game film with a fervor that would make most football coaches blush, studying his opponent's tendencies to the last detail. Soon Billups may be seeing Rajon Rondo in his sleep. Billups forgoes traditional water breaks during practice to shoot extra free throws. He almost always gives a speech in the locker room before each playoff game. 'It's just magnified 20 times,' Billups told The Post about his extra playoff film work. 'You watch every little thing that your opponent could be doing and try to beat them to the punch, try to know what they're doing before they make the play. It's hard to do, but it's necessary to be as prepared as possible.' "
• Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "Even with one game remaining in the regular season, the Dallas Mavericks still don't know who they'll play in the first round of the playoffs. They could end the season seeded No. 2 , 3 or 4, and play either Portland, New Orleans, Memphis or Denver in the first round. That makes for some interesting scouting arrangements. ... The Mavs need to win Wednesday against New Orleans and have the Lakers lose either against San Antonio or at Sacramento. If the Mavs and Lakers end with identical records, the Lakers own the tie-breaker and would receive the No. 2 seed. If the Mavs and Thunder end the season tied, Oklahoma City would get the higher seed by virtue of being a division winner."
• Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: "T.J. Ford, playing Sunday for the first time in 38 games, went scoreless in four minutes in the loss to the New York Knicks. Interim coach Frank Vogel said he plans to give Ford more minutes in Wednesday's season finale at Orlando. 'I stayed motivated,' Ford, 28, said. 'The biggest thing is wanting to play and understanding that I still feel I have a lot of game left. I didn't know if I was going to have an opportunity to showcase that.' Vogel doesn't plan to move Ford ahead of A.J. Price in the rotation to be starter Darren Collison's backup. 'T.J. understands that he's the third point guard, likely won't play unless we have injuries or severe foul trouble,' Vogel said. 'He's just going to try to get a little bit of his conditioning back, a little bit of his rhythm back. Timing may take a little longer, but we'll just do the best we can.' Ford is just happy to be playing as a rocky three-year stint with the Pacers comes to a close. He'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer."
• Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "As a follow up to the previous blog entry about why the Rockets should do all they can to keep Rick Adelman, we offer Rick Carlisle's take before Monday's game. 'He's a great coach,' Carlisle said. 'I don't know how long he wants to coach. But he'll coach as long as he wants to because he's that good and in my mind. He's certainly a guy who's going to get consideration for the Hall of Fame because of his record. And he's been a pioneer. Even before the major rules changes, his teams were the best ball-movement and passing teams that we had in this league. He's a guy who is unassuming, very humble, but if you coach against him, you know how good he is.' ... There were lots of questions asked of players after the game. They were just as effusive. You would expect that, but they went beyond the usual in the way they gushed. Adelman is not a hugger. He is not their buddy. He does not cater to egos. He coaches. And somehow, he gets players to buy in, play hard and believe in him. Incredible that they are going to give that away."
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: "Major-league athletes are some of the most jaded people I know. Not all of them, but a significant cross-section would rival bar-bouncers and homicide detectives on the gruff/cynical/seen-it-all scale. Which makes D.J. Augustin’s personality so refreshing: He’s jade-free. Augustin recently won the NBA’s Sportsmanship Award for the Southeast Division. I’m not surprised. He’s a gentleman to everybody – even annoying sportswriters -- with a patient, humble approach to life. I’ve always said he and Raymond Felton were classic products of good parenting. That made the post-game Monday a lot of fun. I asked him about that 18-foot fadeaway he launched in the final second to beat the Nets. Now, anybody would be happy to make such a shot, but he was giddy, and injected a sense of fun to the post-game interview. I asked him when the last time that happened, and D.J. -- always the pleaser -- wracked his brain for a good answer. Then it hit him: He was 10 years old, playing in a national tournament, and his shot advanced his team to the championship game."

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/27301/first-cup-tuesday-150

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