Today in The Works, we wonder how all those high-maintenance Celtics manage to get along, provide reassurance for fans of Canadian basketball and delve into why NBA Muslims fast during Ramadan while those at FIBA are not.
But first, a Pacers star's weird entrance into the public arena.
Give Granger Some: Danny Granger called Europe, and Europeans, stinky. It was such big news that it crashed through the glass ceiling that usually hinders small market stars and ended up on Huffington Post.
Wednesday, Kelly Dwyer asked if the problem with Indiana wasn't one of perception. Namely, that its fans, and to some degree all of us, simply refuse to accept incremental progress -- ever since a legit contender came unraveled in the wake of the Brawl. Landing Collison was enormous for Granger, and Larry Bird's job security. Brandon Rush's drug suspension, which brings back memories of those old evil Pacers and proves that Bird is failing, resonates more. It's more familiar, less work, and less of a risk than realizing that this team isn't there yet, but it's closer than you think.
It's going to take a chemist, and not just a coach, to lead the Boston Celtics this season.
Things just got more complicated for Doc Rivers.
The Celtics improved their talent level this summer by first adding Shaquille O'Neal and now Delonte West, but they also dove into some risky territory with two potentially divisive players who could change the locker room makeup.
If chemistry really is such a big part of the success or failure of a team, like so many coaches say, then the Celtics admittedly are taking a chance.
It could win them another championship. Or it could destroy what they have.
"Chemistry is a delicate thing. I understand that, and I'm as cautious as anyone with it. I guarantee you, I'll be keeping my eye on it,'' Rivers told FanHouse Wednesday evening, confirming the Celtics' addition of West earlier in the day. "I don't know yet if we can make it work. It is going to be interesting, that's for sure.''
But first, Lauren Jackson and the WNBA's spirit of innovation.
A New Aesthetic Is Born:Revisiting Kwame Brown and the 2001 Draft got me thinking about the way scouts thought about their job at the time. In the wake of Kevin Garnett, all prospects -- especially the ones from Europe -- were expected to be unprecedented weirdos.
Have you read Herodotus? It was like that. Foolhardy, and naive, and yet indicative of an impulse to discover a new frontier of basketball. That's what I feel is behind all this Positional Revolution business: we want to understand, maybe even predict, where the game is headed.
I am done trying to convince people that the WNBA is closing the gap with the men's game because the fact remains, women just don't have the size, speed, and athleticism that men do. I see a league that feels a hell of a lot more like the NBA than it did when it started, something that comes across when you compare the game of an OG to one of her younger peers. That's half-full; to many, the WNBA remains half-empty.
That is, unless you're someone who still believes in the dream of 2001.
USA Basketball announced Tuesday that Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo has withdrawn from the team just days before the start of the 2010 FIBA World Championship. The team needed to cut one player before Thursday regardless, and Rondo had been considered to be on the bubble after remaining on the bench for Sunday's entire warm-up against Spain.
Just a week ago, Rondo was considered the likely starting point guard for the team after playing big minutes in Team USA's first two warm-up scrimmages against China and France in New York City. This was after Rondo had to miss a practice in NYC so he could attend a funeral for his uncle in Kentucky. In USA Basketball's release, team boss Jerry Colangelo says that Rondo withdrew in part because of family issues.
Whether that was the actual cause of the withdrawal or whether Rondo withdrew because Colangelo indicated he would be cut remains to be seen. Rondo, in fact, told ESPN's Chris Sheridan on Monday that he believed he was on the bubble based on not playing against Spain. He didn't come across as a player looking to get back home.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski hardly defused that sentiment by explaining why he suddenly prefers a Derrick Rose-Chauncey Billups backcourt. Russell Westbrook also had a pair of excellent games in Madrid against Lithuania and Spain, and replicates much of what Rondo offers on the court.
The 12 players on the Team USA roster heading into Wednesday's final warm-up game are Rose, Billups, Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Eric Gordon, Danny Granger, Rudy Gay, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Lamar Odom, Tyson Chandler. The team's tournament opens Saturday against Croatia.
Give Granger Some: 
It's going to take a chemist, and not just a coach, to lead the 
A New Aesthetic Is Born: 
USA Basketball 
