Monday Bullets

• The strange psychosocial politics of which athletes are or are not lauded for taking the time to appear in movies, as Kevin Durant may be doing.
• Derrick Rose has his game face on. Starting to wonder if he ever takes it off, and I love him for that.
• A reality of entertainment in our time: Now that the internet has allowed almost anybody to potentially entertain us, it's clear there are a hell of a lot of very, very skilled athletes and entertainers out there. (Seriously, click that second "very" link. Might be the most adrenaline I've ever seen in video.) Basketball on TV has a lot of competition. Or, in other words: Our celebrities just aren't famous enough.
• On ESPN 540 in Milwaukee host Homer asked Dwyane Wade to tell secrets about LeBron James: "I don’t know man. LeBron is one of my best friends. A lot of the things in life we have similar from an upbringing and some of our beliefs. He’s human. He makes mistakes like all of us, like every other human being, and he’s going to do a lot of great things as well. I don’t know anything that no one doesn’t know. He’s a big kid man. He’s giddy, he’s goofy, but at the end of the day he’s a great teammate. He’s one of those guys that will bring everybody on the bus coffee in the morning, he’s one of those teammates." (Via Sports Radio Interviews)
• Not sure I'm ready to recommend the "Nick and JaVale Show," but in a lockout, it's worth keeping an eye on. For the record, though, the comments are strongly anti-Nick Young's big hair, which to me is the highlight of the show.
• The biggest game of the summer ended with the Drew League bitter that losing to the Goodman League cost them all that money in travel expenses. You see what happened there? Big name NBA players played for a sold-out audience in a high-profile game and lost money. We're a long way from a domestic barnstorming tour making these players anything like as much as they could earn overseas, where stadiums, sponsors and all that is in place.
• Beckley Mason of HoopSpeak on DeMarcus Cousins: "If a typical box score was available, I’ve no doubt the Kings center would have easily tallied the highest plus-minus rating. He was a bully, blasting smaller players (including McGee) out of the way and using his long arms and soft hands to gather nearly every carom (nevermind that he finished the game with seven or eight fouls). Cousins does many things well, reliable shooting form, nifty passing, exquisite footwork near the rim, but the thing that really jutted out at me was his dexterity. He has incredibly skilled hands for such a young, humongous player." Cousins highlights. Mason also compares James Harden to a young Manu Ginobili, a comparison that could stick.
• There has been a lot of talk about a Goodman League vs. Drew League rematch, and people from the Drew League have been talking about adding Kobe Bryant to their team. The Goodman Twitter account, maybe or maybe not run by Miles Rawls: "like I said if JESUS CHRIST dont walk in the door we not scared of nobody ..WE DONT CARE WHO PLAY! KOBE AINT JESUS! not scared"
• A logo for those who think Paul Pierce fakes injuries.
• A little Marshon Brooks video teaser: jumpers from half-court.
• Andray Blatche has earned some nice cake.
• Yi Jianlian doing what everybody always wanted him to do.
• Brandon Jennings.
• Back when Tracy McGrady was compared to Michael Jordan.
• Power rankings for the upcoming EuroBasket tournament. Spain is the favorite.
• Police reportedly searched Zach Randolph's home after an incident this weekend. His complicated story stays complicated.
• The Lithuanian team apparently doesn't need the guy the Rockets just drafted.
• How Italy plays offense.
• Somebody owes Kris Humphries a dance or two.

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/31634/monday-bullets-219

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