Apples and oranges: Kobe and LeBron

Horford credited the patient approach of his rehab therapist. Horford said that as a player, the urge is to rush through the process.

When Howard was traded to the Lakers in August, O’Neal analyzed the situation this way: “You have to care to have a reaction. I’ve got businesses to run. I always tell people that in order to step in my shoes, you have big shoes to fill. For him, he’s going to have to at least win three to get people’s respect.”67856

But that doesn’t mean O'Neal has to keep bringing it up. Just sit back and relax, Shaq. You did yours, and we respect that. But nobody has to hate Howard to love you.f4343afa

It’s too early to tell how good Waiters will be right away, but here's what we think we know: He’s a streaky shooter from the perimeter, he can get to the basket practically at will, and as coach Byron Scott said, “he can go over the top” of defenders once there. Overall, he's looking pretty good.hfg344334

Again, it’s early, but that is the way it’s looking. Samuels and Leuer are both expected to back up second-year man Tristan Thompson at power forward. Samuels is more of an inside threat, Leuer is a big man who’s effective from the perimeter. So it’s a safe bet Scott will play each according to matchups.jfdh54534

Scott has offered nothing but praise for the backup point guard, acquired in an offseason trade (with a second-round pick, for D.J. Kennedy).ghd545

Pargo is a bit of a good-natured prankster and just generally fun to be around. But his coach is a fan because of the way Pargo pushes the ball in practice.gfdsg4e34

Then again, Scott has already said it’s possible the Cavs keep both Pargo and Sloan, and Harangody just accepted the team’s qualifying offer over the summer. So keep in mind, all the names mentioned are pure speculation. And a few of them will make it.bvdvsdf4343

The new Big-3 era was really only supposed to last three years. The Celtics were supposed to have a very short championship window and, when the three years were over, they would have to start anew around Rajon Rondo and whatever other draft picks may have matured into contributors along the way. Instead, they have now nearly doubled their life expectancy, entering this season as one of a handful of teams who should not be making any plans for June golf outings. Meanwhile, the success of the original Big-3 has spawned copycats around the league who saw Boston's immediate, dramatic turnaround and want to experience it themselves.hsdfgsre34

There's no anointing or Hall of Fame predicting going on right now, but it's safe to say that Pistons rookie Andre Drummond is a very exciting prospect -- a player unlike any they've had in a while.

But for witnesses of Nash's wizardry in screen-roll and other facets of the Suns' signature offensive system, this wasn't exactly typical. Without the usual triggerman, Gentry and the Suns are incorporating some swell scoring techniques often traced to current Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman.

Johnson took advantage of Blazer defensive help and slow recovery in bagging 4 of 7 shots – including 3 of 4 from behind the arc – to contribute a dozen points off the bench in his Phoenix debut.

Morris, looking very much like a player who put in work during the off-season, led the Suns with 14 points. Markieff also collected four quick fouls in the first half, looking very much like the player from last season on the defensive end.o8p9889

“We’re doing good,” Perkins said. “We’re making positive steps going forward. We got Coach (Scott) Brooks locked in. We got Serge (Ibaka) locked in. And, we’re getting close with James, and we’re getting close to keeping our unit together. And we’re still hungry.

Of course, with Love out for another five-to-six weeks and Ricky Rubio on the mend until right around the winter solstice, a lot will fall on Kirilenko in terms of holding down the fort while the team’s two biggest starts get healthy.