Delonte West: A case study in what it means to be tough.

Last night Delonte West played a season high 30 minutes. In that time, he logged 8 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. But it's not about the numbers. It's about the fact that he made it on to the court at all. Doc Rivers sat him out at the end of Fridays game against Charlotte because his sprained right ankle flared up again, and he sat out of practice yesterday because of the injury. But with Rondo sidelined by a sprained right pinky, Doc Rivers turned to Delonte to fill in as the starting point guard. Mr. West came through with intense focus, and provided a stabilizing presence so desperately needed by the recently waning men in green. Chris Forseberg eloquently summarizes one of Delonte's notable plays last night:

"...maybe nowhere was that more evident than with 28.9 seconds remaining. With Boston clinging to a three-point lead -- this after the Timberwolves rallied from a 25-point deficit and actually pulled ahead in the fourth quarter -- Kevin Garnett misfired on a 13-foot turnaround. West sneaked into a circle of white jerseys and snared an offensive rebound that prevented Minnesota from having a chance to tie. The Timberwolves ultimately fouled and Paul Pierce sank two freebies to ensure the Boston victory."

The player of the night was probably Paul Pierce (he scored 12 of Boston's 21 4th quarter points), but Delonte deserves immense praise for being so effing tough and playing a heck of a game despite all of the odds stacked against him... Come to think of it, playing and impressing the nay sayers is kind of the story of his whole career. We should add resiliance to the ever growing list of positive things about Delonte West. As many times as he gets knocked down (both literally and figuratively), he always gets back up.  I hope that Doc Rivers is right, and that Delonte will be able to continue playing through all of the injuries plaguing him. I think he's a really important factor for this team, especially come playoff time. 

P.S.- Did you ever hear the one about Delonte West and Vivica Fox? Me either. But when I was looking for a picture of him for this post, I stumbled on the story. Check it out here if you want. If they ever were together it obviously didn't last. If you were curious, she's engaged to someone that is not Delonte West... And Delonte West is married (and now divorced? I'm not sure) to someone that is definitely not Vivica Fox. 

News around the NBA

Adrian Wojnarowski tweets that there have been new developments made in the ongoing drama-fest between Carmelo Anthony and the Nets. 'Melo is looking for instant gratification: after 7 years in Denver and 0 rings, he wants to move to a new team, be surrounded by veteran talent and have a legitimate chance of winning the whole thing right away. It's no secret that 'Melo really wants to end up on the Knicks. It's also no secret that Denver isn't interested in making a deal with New York. Melo's agent is now pushing for  Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton to be the complementary pieces that convince him to take the plunge and sign the 3 year/64 million dollar deal with the Nets. The proposed deal between Denver and NJ is as follows: the Nuggets would send 'Melo and Billups to NJ and NJ would send Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and multiple first round picks to Denver. Acquiring Richard Hamilton would obviously bring a third team, the Pistons, in to the picture, and that always makes things more complicated. NJ offered Troy Murphy and Johan Petro to Detroit in exchange for Rip and a future first round pick, and this offer was promptly rejected. Apparently the Pistons are looking to rid of Rip, due to the 25 million dollars left on his contract and his dip in productivity, but they're not looking to part with the future first round draft pick.

Personally, I'm not sure how realistic this all sounds. 'Melo wants to go to New York to be with Amare Stoudemire. Why would he look at a team made up of himself, Rip, Billups and Brook Lopez and think it's comparable to a team made up of himself, Stoudemire, Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler and a promising young talent in Landry Fields? Rip and Billups aren't the same players that they were during those Detroit wonder years, circa 2004. And even if 'Melo is banking on Chris Paul joining him in 2012, what other pieces does New Jersey have to offer that would make it a more complete and competitive team than what the Knicks have to offer? Nada! Maybe I'm wrong, and 'Melo will look at it differently than me, but all of this just seems to indicate that the silly drama and posturing is going to continue on as the deadline of February 24 draws closer and closer.

Also- I think that 'Melo is acting reaaaallly wack. To me, it's his job to show up and play as hard as he can for the Denver Nuggets, because that's what team he's on right now. Instead, he's just kind of going through the motions of playing, and he's walking around a good 5-10 pounds over weight. Maybe it's just my view from the starry eyed perspective as a fan- but if I liked the Nuggets, I'd be none too pleased. Don't get me wrong- I'm a Syracuse fan, I love Melo. I just think he should be more thoughtful- or at least tactful- after 7 years on the same team.

In other news, the Timberwolves offered Jonny Flynn to Houston in exchange for Aaron Brooks. Houston said no thanks. Shocking, really! Except not at all. Why the Wolves would think the Rockets would be interested in that is beyond me... And again. Don't get me wrong. Go Orange, I like Flynn too... But come on now! My dad calls him Jonny No-D-Flynn. Clever.