Royce White: A Psychologist’s Perspective 

By Travis Heath 

“I can’t do it any longer,” the raspy, defeated and tired voice uttered through the phone. “I want to die.”

While such sentiment is something I hear on a nearly daily basis, the seriousness of what is being communicated never loses its impact.

I glanced at the clock and it read 9:17 p.m.

“I’m on my way to the office,” I responded. “I trust I’ll see you there in 20 minutes?”

“Yeah,” was the simple reply.

It might not seem like much, but I understood the courageousness of the word under the circumstances.

For the next 90 minutes we talked, we cried and we even shared a laugh or two.

A person who, a couple hours earlier, had all but given up on life had generated enough hope to make it through another day.

People ask how I do it. Truth is, I don’t have a good answer. It’s a part of my being, I suppose. This is what I do for a living. I meet people when they are at their lowest points. And I love it. It’s a tremendous privilege.

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A Dangerous Decision by David Stern 

By Tommy Beer

David Stern’s response was swift and aggressive in tone. Once word leaked that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had decided to rest four of his core players (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green) in Thursday night’s matchup against the Miami HEAT, Stern pledged to take action.

”I apologize to all NBA fans,” Stern said. ”This was an unacceptable decision by the San Antonio Spurs and substantial sanctions will be forthcoming.”

Before we dive into this “controversy,” here are a few facts worth noting:

* Since the start of the 1997-1998 season, Popovich’s first full campaign, the Spurs have the best regular season winning percentage of any team in any of the four major North American professional sport leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL).

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Is There A Market For Pau Gasol?

By Steve Kyler 

Gasol And The Lakers:  There has been a lot of talk lately that the LA Lakers and forward Pau Gasol are soon to part ways. While there is certainly some truth to the idea that the Lakers would love to get out of Pau Gasol’s deal, they are not tripping over themselves to dump him for just anything, what they really need is for him to play better.

Some NBA players can play under any circumstance. Roll the ball out and they are good to go. Others, like Gasol, need structure, routine and process to be truly be effective.

If you look at the Lakers over the last 16 months, turmoil and upheaval have been a central theme and of all the players on the Lakers roster, Gasol is the one that struggles the most with the chaos.

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Top Five Impact NBA Injuries 

By Bill Ingram 

There is little question that today’s NBA players are remarkably more athletic than their counterparts of generations past. Big men are no longer the lumbering hulks who hang around the rim waiting to dunk, and guards are no longer earth-bound creators who get most of their points from outside. Unfortunately, for all of the amazing physical advances we’ve seen in professional athletes over the years, there is one constant that remains, perhaps with even more frequency: The Almighty Injury.

Injuries are the equalizers in professional sports, and can make even the best teams on paper struggle to win games in reality. This is especially true in the NBA, where one player can make or break a team’s season in a way that is much rarer in other team sports. With that in mind, we take a look at some early season injuries that have derailed a number of NBA teams already this season. As a qualifier, we’ll only be looking at players who were not expected to be out when the season began, so Chicago’s Derrick Rose and Washington’s John Wall, for example, don’t count. The Bulls and Wizards knew they had their work cut out for them coming in.

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Raptors’ Injuries Give Terrence Ross a Shot

By Stephen Brotherston 

Despite the odds, Toronto Raptors rookie Terrence Ross has begun to carve out a role for himself on the team. Depth on the wing and a stated reluctance to risk losing games by developing rookies had suggested Ross would be spending at lot of time watching from the bench this season.

During training camp, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said that his rotation would feature “probably eight to nine” players and made it clear that young, inexperienced players such as Ross wouldn’t play unless they helped the team win.

“We are not going to use games to develop guys like we did last year,” Casey said.

However, Casey did acknowledge Ross’ shooting ability and admitted that it could help him get on the court.

“[Ross] is not that far behind because the one thing he can do that makes up for a multitude of sins is he can shoot the ball,” Casey said.

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Lakers Deep Enough for D’Antoni Offense?

By Derek Page

Keeping up with an offense led by fiery offensive guru Mike D’Antoni has never been easy. Featuring a frenetic pace intent on running other teams into submission, it takes time and effort to develop the wherewithal to carry out D’Antoni’s high octane attack.

Looking at D’Antoni’s current team, the Los Angeles Lakers  feature a whole lot more skill than young and eager legs to carry out this offensive philosophy.

This leads us to a very important question regarding whether or not the Lakers can win a championship this season: Does LA have enough depth behind their stars to execute D’Antoni’s offense?

“We’ve got plenty,” D’Antoni said of his reinforcements off the bench. “[Devin] Ebanks played good [Saturday in Dallas]. That’s the first time I’ve seen him play, looks like he has a good feel for the game, I think he can play. You’re talking Jodie [Meeks], [Antawn] Jamison, [Steve] Blake, Jordan Hill; we’ve got a lot of good guys coming off the bench.”

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NBA Rookie Watch: November 27th

By Stephen Brotherston 

The New Orleans Hornets’ Anthony Davis was the preseason favorite for Rookie of the Year, but one can’t win R.O.Y. watching from the sidelines and Davis has only played in six games this season.

Davis’ injury only solidifies Damian Lillard’s lead in the race for R.O.Y., but some not unexpected challengers are starting to make noise and this list might grow, especially if certain rookies start to get a little more playing time. When is Andre Drummond finally going to get a start beside Greg Monroe in Detroit?

1. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers: 19.6 points, 6.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.4 steals

Damian Lillard had a huge game at home in the win over Minnesota this past week, scoring 28 points while dishing out eight assists, but in all, nothing has really changed for this very successful young rookie. Averaging over 19 points and six assists on 3.3 turnovers each week has become the norm.

With Davis out of the picture, Lillard holds a comfortable early lead over the rest of this year’s rookie crop. He has been a very effective starting point guard who is helping his team stay unexpectedly competitive in the Western Conference playoff race.

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