3 Ways that the NBA talks could demise

If we as basketball fans really are following this NBA collective bargaining closely, Tuesday would have been the day for whiplash.

At long last, there was straight talk about serious movement in the offers. David Stern confidently announced that his owners could have been convinced to offer players 50 percent of basketball revenues -- long thought to have been the magic number. Stern also revealed the owners previously had given up fighting for rollbacks of existing contracts, contracts that are only partially guaranteed and, significantly, a hard cap. 

Seriously, Stern... put a cork in it...seriously.  

In other words, the owners were in the realm of reality on the money issue and had made important concessions on the players' "blood" issues.

And yet ... on that very day, the talks broke apart entirely. Union executive director Billy Hunter says it could be months before the two sides meet again, and the league says it is less than a week from announcing the cancellation of the first two weeks of the regular season.

What is a fan to think? There are three possibilities for what could happen next:
Scenario 1: Bump in the road

Stern says the discussion of splitting BRI in half took place informally, with key personnel from each side agreeing to attempt to go back to their respective groups to try to sell them on the deal. Stern says that while he was talking his owners into it, there was a knock on the door. It was the players, saying their group would not go for a 50/50 deal.

In telling the story, Stern and his deputy, Adam Silver, expressed all manner of surprise and disappointment at this news.

Meanwhile, a union source disputes some of the fine points, saying that first and foremost, it's a major breach of negotiating etiquette to publicly expose the contents of private sidebar conversations. The source also says (and the league denies) that the league did not exactly offer half. Instead, according to the source, it offered to guarantee players 49 percent of revenues, while giving them the right to earn as much as 51 percent of basketball revenues if players could command contracts worth that much.

The union source also maintains that the players did not flatly reject the NBA's offer, as described, but offered another wrinkle in response, to reduce the minimum amount players would be guaranteed from their previous position of 53 percent. (To what, the source wouldn't say.)

However, disgusted as union sources might be with the NBA's handling of the public relations, the fact is that the two sides are not, after all this, very far apart. In fact, they are much closer than they have ever been.

And here's another wrinkle: Two sources in the room agree that the particular players present Tuesday (the list includes Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Theo Ratliff, Maurice Evans, Matt Bonner, Roger Mason Jr., etc.) were particularly strident, more strident than the average player.

Garnett, in particular, has been mentioned as among the uncompromising.

And these are the players who did not play ball with the NBA's offer.

In other words, maybe if the rank-and-file of the players' union were to fully understand the NBA's best offer, the mood would shift.

The NBA says it needs a handshake deal by Monday or it will cancel the first two weeks of the season. Despite all the hard rhetoric, maybe that's still possible. The two sides were hundreds of millions a year apart Tuesday morning. Now they're down to a couple of percentage points. There is a deal to be had, if there's a will to make it happen.
Scenario 2: Now is not the time

Generally, it has been assumed that the passage of time hurts the players, who lose all their NBA income in a lockout. The owners, on the other hand, generally have massive income from other sources and in most cases are losing money by operating their NBA teams anyway.

Billy Hunter says he knows some of the owners have long had the idea of getting players nice and desperate from missed paychecks before forcing them into tough deals.

If feeling the pain of lost income, something that applies to all players and some owners, is the key to getting each side's best offer, maybe this can be a repeat of 1999, with both sides experiencing life without basketball for a few months before the bargaining gets serious enough to end with a handshake.
Scenario 3: Pandora's box

It does not come naturally to the supremely self-assured Stern to express worry or doubt, but he has long expressed the concern that if the players and the owners did not strike a deal to save the full season, it could indeed get very ugly.

To the extent he has explained that comment, he has alluded to the two sides' positions "hardening," something Hunter also has discussed.

But it's more than a hardening. There is also the matter of the courts. These two combatants have a lawsuit active in the Southern District of New York with a hearing set for Nov. 2. They have complaints before the National Labor Relations Board.

And they have a band of agents agitating for decertification, which threatens to not just make talks with the league incredibly complicated and legalistic, but to destabilize the union entirely.

Any one of those legal actions could lead to delays, hassles and indignation.

Most notably, if the union were to deceptive, something Hunter has never been enthusiastic about, it likely would be against the will of the union. Which means players would end up being represented by a lawyer to be named later, likely, sources say, someone who has not been part of the process yet at all. That lawyer presumably would be selected by the agitating agents, and it's anybody's

In other words, there could be an almighty tangle of judges, legal expenses and agitation.

It is entirely possible that a negotiation that is paused over $100 million or so in revenues could disintegrate into $100 million or so in legal fees. 

Blake Griffin announced as Rookie of the Year

Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin will be named the NBA's Rookie of the Year Wednesday, according to a league source not authorized to speak publicly on the announcement.

Worth The Wait

Good things come to those who wait -- just ask Blake Griffin. On Wednesday, he will become the fourth player in NBA history to be named Rookie of the Year after not playing the year he was drafted. Here's that list:

Season	Player	Drafted
2010-11	Blake Griffin	2009
1989-90	David Robinson	1987
1979-80	Larry Bird	1978
1963-64	Jerry Lucas	1962

The Clippers on Tuesday announced a news conference for the presentation of a major NBA award.

The high-flying rookie from Oklahoma had one of the best rookie season's in NBA history. He averaged 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists.

The 6-foot-10 power forward made the West All-Star team, becoming the first rookie All-Star in eight years, since Yao Ming in 2003, and even won the dunk contest in front of his Staples Center fans with an iconic dunk while flying over a car.

He was so dominant, the Rookie of the Year award was a virtual lock for the last two months of the season.

"If someone doesn't vote for Blake, they haven't watched a lot of basketball," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said before the team's season finale against the Memphis Grizzlieson April 13.

Griffin sat out all 82 games last season after hurting his knee in the final preseason game and having surgery. He was the only player to appear in every game this season when injuries plagued the team.

Griffin was named the Western Conference's Rookie of the Month six times, becoming the first player to sweep that award since Chris Paul did it with New Orleans in 2005-06.

The power forward had 63 double-doubles while single-handedly energizing the Clippers, who still missed the playoffs for the 13th time in 14 seasons. Los Angeles went 32-50 in its 18th non-winning season in the past 19 years, but Griffin's nightly acrobatics and toughness always made the Clippers interesting.

Griffin was the NBA's fourth-leading rebounder and the 12th-leading scorer -- the only rookie among the league's top 45 scorers and top 20 rebounders.

Washington's John Wall, the No. 1 pick last summer, was Griffin's only significant competition for the award, but Griffin could win the award unanimously. Sacramento'sTyreke Evans won the award last season.

Griffin will be the first Clippers player to win the award since the star-crossed franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1984. Terry Cummings won it with the San Diego Clippers after the 1982-83 season, while Adrian Dantley, Bob McAdoo and Ernie DiGregorio won the award during a five-year stretch with the Buffalo Braves, who moved to San Diego in 1978.

Celtics have time to recover .. No hope is lost from me

As a huge Celtics fan... many of you probably know that write this blog is difficult. Yes, I am pretty pissed...but not hopeless for a team that I have adored since the age of 14. Lately, when I see a person rocking a LeBron or Wade jersey in my presence; I want to spill blood on it as if they were wearing fur. 

But in the words of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers in his simple message to his team after yesterday's 102-91 loss to the Miami Heat put Boston in its first 2-0 hole of the Big Three era: Just relax.

And you know what, Mr. Rivers. I will just do that......for now. 

Rivers was referring to the first of three off-days before Saturday's Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, but it's advice the team could apply in general terms as well. The Celtics emerged from Tuesday's game battered and bruised, in more ways than just their confidence, after dropping the first two games in South Beach.

Captain Paul Pierce suffered a left Achilles strain in the first quarter Tuesday and spent time in the locker room getting it iced before gutting out the final three quarters. Ray Allenabsorbed an elbow from LeBron James in the second half and had to retreat to the locker room in the fourth quarter due to a shortness of breath. Rajon Rondo couldn't get his back loose all day and needed attention on the sideline during a brief fourth-quarter respite.

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Steve Mitchell/US PresswireLeBron James and the Heat have been able to swat away whatever the Celtics and Kevin Garnett have tried.

"[Team trainer] Eddie [Lacerte] and Dr. [Brian] McKeon did a hell of a job today, I'll say that," Rivers said. "We had a circus going on at one point. Ray needed to be taken to the locker room, Paul was coming out of the locker room, Rondo was asking to come out, almost simultaneously, and it was sketchy."

About as sketchy as a 2-0 deficit. But Boston put itself in that position with lapses in play.

The Celtics managed to claw their way back from a seven-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter, leaning on their bench while pulling even at 80 with 7:09 to play and the starters rolling back in.

It's a moment Boston may look back on and lament. Despite two inconsistent overall performances to start this series, coupled with the injuries, the Celtics still had a chance to steal a win and put all the pressure on Miami.

Instead, the Heat responded with a 14-0 run, Mario Chalmers splashing a monster 3-pointer before James scored seven straight points by essentially imposing his will on the Celtics. James put back an offensive rebound for an and-1 dunk, added two more free throws soon after, and drilled a 20-foot jumper as Miami's lead reached double digits for the first time all night.

"We were at 80-80, a great position to be at on the road, and they went on [a 14-0] run,"Kevin Garnett said. "That can't happen."

And now the Celtics find themselves in the undesirable -- and uncharted -- position of being down 2-0 as the series shifts to Boston. They'll have three days to think about missed opportunities. As teams that find themselves in this situation are wont to do, the Celtics suggested after Tuesday's loss that they have no other option but to rally.

"It's very difficult, but it is what it is and we've got to deal with it," Garnett said. "Now we've got to go home, protect our home court, period. Ain't really much to talk about. It's do or die."

The toughest part might be the three full days to sit on this loss. Which is why Rivers suggested the vacation day Wednesday.

"We'll be ready, I can tell you that," Rivers said of Game 3. "I can guarantee you that. In this case, the rest is good. It's very good for us because we are a little banged up. So I told [the players] to go golf or do whatever they want to do, stay away from each other, stay away from film, stay away from basketball and just relax.

"And then we'll get right back at it on [Thursday] and build up to Game 3, and Game 3 will be in Boston. We like being in Boston."

The question is whether a change of scenery is enough to cure what ails the Celtics. None of the injuries that plagued them Tuesday are likely to linger. Pierce appeared the worst off, and suggested he's "day-to-day." The injury won't keep him off the floor Saturday. Rondo dismissed any concern about his back, though Allen played the final seven minutes Tuesday.

The Celtics might go golfing Wednesday, but they certainly don't have plans for any other trips to the links in May. That's reserved for late June.

"It's frustrating, definitely," Pierce said of the 2-0 hole. "But like I said, they held their serve at home. Now it's our job to try to go home and get two wins."

Rarely has Boston navigated the easy route this season, whether because of injuries or self-inflicted problems. The Celtics probably could have benefited from starting this series at home, but their late-season struggles forced them to open up in Miami.

Now they find themselves facing their most daunting challenge of the Big Three era. The Celtics probably won't be able to heed their coach's advice and relax much Wednesday.

"Regardless of where you go, it's still in your mind," Rondo said. "If you love the game, it's frustrating being down 0-2, or losing any game. Regardless of what we do [Wednesday], individually, I'm sure it'll probably be on everyone's mind."

And Boston won't be able to relax until it atones for its transgressions in Miami.

Amare Stoudemire to sit Game 4?

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Amare Stoudemire played through pain in Game 3 of the Knicks-Celticsfirst-round series. If Stoudemire is in the same amount of pain on Sunday afternoon, he will sit out of Game 4.

"I don't want to do too much to reinjure it. We're just going to make a smart decision for tomorrow's game," said Stoudemire, who played 32 minutes in Game 3 with a pulled back muscle.

Stoudemire injured his back on a dunk attempt during warm-ups prior to Game 2. He sat out of the second half of Game 2 with back spasms and was in so much pain that he had to stand during his postgame news conference. He also needed a team trainer to help him put on his socks and shoes after the game.

An MRI on Wednesday revealed that Stoudemire had a pulled back muscle. He sat out of practice Thursday, staying home in Manhattan to receive treatment on the injury.

He worked out in the pool at the Knicks' practice facility Friday morning and had to make it through a workout an hour before tipoff to be cleared to take the court.

Stoudemire started on Friday night but struggled throughout the game. He finished with seven points on 2-of-8 shooting and pulled down three rebounds. He estimated that he was playing at less than 50 percent. He said on Saturday that he has to feel better to take the floor Sunday in Game 4.

"It has to be better. I knew last night I wasn't 100 percent. I wasn't 50 percent last night. I was pretty much in pain the whole game, from start to finish. I just don't want to further injure the injury," Stoudemire said, who added that his back was feeling worse on Saturday after having played on it the previous night. "We understand how bright the future is here with the organization. ... We want to continue that success out here in the next few years. So we don't want to damage anything by overdoing it."

The Knicks trail the Celtics, 3-0, in the best-of-seven series. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in a seven-game series.

"At this point in time right now, we've got to lay it out there on the court ... the X's and O's go out the window and we've just got to play basketball," said Carmelo Anthony, who followed his 42-point night in Game 2 with 15 points on 4-of-16 shooting on Friday. "... I don't want to get swept, we don't want to get swept so we've just got to go out there and leave it all out there on the floor."

Avoiding a sweep will be far more difficult for New York if it is without injured point guardChauncey Billups. Billups, who has missed Games 2 and 3 with a strained left knee, is doubtful for Game 4, according to coach Mike D'Antoni.

D'Antoni also said that guard Toney Douglas, who has replaced Billups at point guard, suffered a right shoulder injury. D'Antoni doesn't believe the injury will hinder Douglas on Sunday. Douglas had 15 points, three assists and three turnovers in the Knicks' 113-96 Game 3 loss.

Injuries to key players have decimated the Knicks in their first playoff appearance since 2004.

Stoudemire was particularly frustrated with his ailment because of its fluky origin.

Stoudemire first hurt his back while dunking the ball with one hand after hitting the backboard with the other during Game 2 warm-ups, a dunk that he completes prior to every game.

The All-Star power forward was coming off of a 28-point, 11-rebound performance in Game 1. He has averaged just 5.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in the two games since the injury.

"We felt that we had a great chance to win that game and I was totally ready to go, to dominate for the rest of the series," Stoudemire said.

It may sound like Stoudemire is ready to wave the white flag for Game 4, but the the All-Star power forward insisted on Saturday that getting a win is paramount -- for both himself and the Knicks franchise, which hasn't won a playoff game since 2001.

"It would be great to win a game ... but due to the situation right now, a couple guys are injured [so] it's going to be tough," he said.

The Knicks have been cautious with Stoudemire throughout the season. The $100 million free-agent signee has a history of serious ailments. But D'Antoni said that the decision to play in Game 4 will rest solely with Stoudemire, who went through walk-through plays only during Saturday's practice.

"He wants to push through it so if he wants to do it, then I want to go with him," the coach said.