HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Eddie Johnson

Please look no further than Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups and Deron Williams if you are trying to find some reasons why the USA is treating the Vegas tournament like they are playing high school kids. I wrote an article last year complaining about lack of perimeter shooting, but more importantly about Coach K being forced to allow the three youngsters – LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade – to dominate the ball and force the other players to stand and watch them play.

The USA needed some players that would not be afraid to take the ball out of their hands and would not hesitate to get in their face if they became selfish – but most importantly players that those three respected.

Last year, Chris Paul and Kirk Hinrich were intimidated by the trio and could not run the offense because they did not have the ball. The key to any All-Star team is point guard play and the USA has three extremely unselfish players that are making the game easy and giving the plethora of scorers high-percentage shots consistently.

Jason Kidd has attempted three shots in four games while dishing out a total of 14 assists. Kidd once boasted that he could dominate a game without attempting a shot. Well, I think he along with Billups and Williams have given the USA the key to winning in China next year.

I continue to be extremely impressed with Carmelo. He has played third fiddle to Wade and LeBron, but before it’s all said and done Anthony might become the better player of the three. He undoubtedly will be the most prolific scorer of the bunch.

Mike Miller and Michael Redd were great additions and I want to see a few more catch-and-shoot guys like Joe Johnson and maybe Kevin Durant on the roster in China.

Kobe Bryant, whom I have not mentioned, has probably been the glue to it all. Bryant understands what it takes to win and his defense on players like Leandro Barbosa and anyone else the USA faces will definitely make the difference.

Kobe is the best player on this team, but yet he too has allowed LeBron and Anthony to be the focal points. That is all fine and dandy, but understand Coach K knows the ball will be in Kobe’s hands come crunch time and every player on that team knows it too.

It really will not matter because as long as Jason Kidd has the ball, Kobe can rest assured he will touch it first when it comes to winning time and that’s why we will bring the gold back to the USA in 2008.

I never once in my 17-year professional career thought officials were purposely affecting a game for their own benefit. Now don’t get me wrong, I did have my favorite officials and I had others I did not want to see at game time because in my competitive athletic mind I did not think they liked me. Or maybe the sight of them brought back bad memories from previous games.

I have to say what Tim Donaghy has done is extremely disappointing. I know how hard it is to train and bond as a team and to now know that an official was purposely affecting games really hurts.

I have always believed that an official could affect a basketball game much better than a player could. The reason I say this is because an official can control everyone. A player can’t. An official can send players to the bench with foul trouble and they can send players to the free throw line for free points. That is supreme power and that is why I am so mad about what Tim Donaghy has done.

Sports in our society right now are taking a major hit. From the Barry Bonds accusations of steroids to the multiple arrests of athletes in all sports to Tim Donaghy. I even heard an assumption that golf should drug test. Hmmm, I wonder why? Is it because a certain minority individual is flat out dominating a game that did not allow minorities for years? So there must be an advantage!

Do you see where we are going?

As a society, we have mixed the good with the bad because we are at a point where we trust nothing. We need to stick with the obvious and continue to follow the laws of our country, which say innocent till proven guilty.

Tim Donaghy has admitted guilt and I hope he is punished for committing a terrible act.

I live in Phoenix and work for the Phoenix Suns and I can’t stop thinking if Donaghy affected an extremely close Game 3 of the Spurs-Suns semifinal series.

This is what we have to deal with as Donaghy goes through his due process. And Spurs fans who already are dealing with winning a championship during a lockout-shortened season in 1999 and this year catching flack for the Robert Horry flagrant foul that led to Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw being suspended for Game 5 will now have to hear about Donaghy’s last career game and how he called a foul 3 to 4 seconds after a shot was missed by Manu Ginobili.

Is this fair to San Antonio? Not at all. They did not know what advantage they had in reference to Donaghy. If he indeed was affecting Game 3, I guarantee no Spur player said, “Wow, that ref is trying to help us win.” They played the game hard as usual and accepted the calls as they came about and won a close game. The Suns moved on as well and accepted the loss. That’s what you do in sports – you move on. And that is exactly what the NBA will do.

I hurt for the rest of the officials right now, because they will catch the brunt of what Donaghy leaves behind and all I ask is for the fans to not throw stones.

I once heard a quote from an important person in my life – my pastor.

He said people who are “perfect” and have led exemplary lives can throw stones. He asked those people to stand up in a place of 2,000. No one stood up.

His point was this… The only difference between people who have gotten caught doing something they did wrong and you, regardless of the severity of the act, is they got caught and you didn’t. At least not yet.

Tim Donaghy got caught and he will eventually receive his punishment. The other officials in the league have not been accused of anything and they should not be the object of anger from fans because of one man’s greed and selfishness.

We must move on from this and accept Donaghy no differently than the crooked investment firm that stole hard-earned money or the crooked doctor that charged double and did a terrible job to boot or the teacher that gave you a bad grade because she or he did not like you. Why? Because we still need these important facets of society and so we have to trust the next one. Donaghy is no different. He was a bad apple in the bunch. The NBA will move on – as will the NFL. MLB, NHL and the PGA – and will continue to provide us with what we long for every time we turn on the television or attend an sporting event – fairness, excitement and entertainment.

Reggie Miller can not only come back and play, but he would be successful without a doubt. Why? Simple. He can make open shots. That’s what the NBA is all about right now anyway. Give the ball to your stars and everyone else gets out the way. Reggie can get out of the way and be productive better than any player in the game right now. Heck, I can put a Celtic uniform on right now and get 10 points a game just by staying out of the way. The difference between me and Reggie, though, is my legs will not allow me to run back to the other end and move laterally. I am praying every night for a medical breakthrough with regards to new knees that make you feel like you are 25 again. But Reggie Miller can do it. He is one of the best conditioned athletes ever and he has not stopped being athletically tuned since his retirement. What most people don’t understand is you can never be in NBA shape unless you are playing the NBA game. That is the major hurdle for any returning player and the only ones I see right now based on weight and history of toughness are Reggie Miller, Charles Oakley and Scottie Pippen.

Reggie would fit in quite nicely with Boston. Can you imagine spotting him up at the three-point line. Players would have to leave him to help out on the Big Three. Pick your poison. If Doc Rivers puts Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Miller and Eddie House on the floor at the same time… Who do you leave? Obviously this would not be a starting lineup, but during the middle and end of the game it would be a nightmare for any defense.

I am rooting for Reggie, but I am also rooting for Allan Houston, who left the game much too early with a bad knee. Heck, why don’t the Celtics chase him too? Then they can add a few bruisers inside to go with Scot Pollard and Big Baby from LSU and look out Eastern Conference.

Reggie Miller is one of my favorite teammates ever and I personally think he should do it and help Boston in its quest to get back on the map. If he comes back, I predict he will play 20 to 25 minutes a game and average 10 to 14 points. If he stays at TNT, I predict he will be OK in that medium as well.

That’s why I say… Do it Reggie! You only live once so keep living and playing the sport you love and just maybe the Celtics can shock the world.

The Boston Celtics have just taken the elevator from the basement to the fifth floor in an eight-story building. They could reach the eighth floor before the season starts, but it will be based on the ability of Danny Ainge to find the right cheap pieces to mold around Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

I applaud the acquisition of Garnett despite having to give up everyone except the cleaning crew. The Celtics needed to make something happen to acquire Garnett and they obviously did it when they sent the fifth pick to Seattle for Allen. Garnett wants to win and I believe the Celtics will indeed win with this trio. Critics will wonder how they will mesh and I say it will be a smooth transition because of the unselfish play and leadership of Garnett.

These are three different scorers. Allen is a catch-and-shoot player who does not need to dominate the ball in order to score. Garnett will be the focal point of the offense because of his ability to pass and keep players involved and he will also get a ton of chances on the offensive glass. Pierce will be the go-to guy because he can score in a plethora of ways and get to the foul line better than any player in the league not named Kobe Bryant. The biggest challenge for Doc Rivers is to find two role players that can effectively play with these three and still produce without many touches and few accolades.

The Celtics are on the fifth floor because Cleveland, Detroit and Miami are still the top three teams in the Eastern Conference. But they have effectively leaped over Chicago, New Jersey, Toronto, Washington, Orlando and the improved Knicks.

I am sure Celtic fans will take just that position as a preview and not the question mark that would have been laid on them even with the addition of Allen. Teams with deep benches and good point guard play can go deep in the playoffs and the Celtics will have to improve in that area if they want to overtake the top three teams in the conference.

Kevin McHale obviously has not lost his loyalty for his former team. Although the Suns and the Lakers were in the running with the Celtics for Garnett’s services, it was pretty obvious that McHale was enamored with sending him to the Eastern Conference and preferably to his former team and teammate Danny Ainge. Because of this loyalty, the Celtics are now back on the map and the Lakers will have to deal with the ire of the best player in the game, Kobe Bryant, for not doing everything possible to get Garnett, who already had a home in Los Angeles.