The Brooklyn Nets won’t be blaring “All of the Lights” as their theme song this season because, among other things, they’ll only be using some of the lights in the brand-new Barclays Center for BK games. And they’re special lights. We knew for a while that the Nets would use theatre-style lighting, which is what the Lakers and Knicks use, the kind of lighting that dims the crowd and puts the floor on an imaginary stage by highlighting the game. The Wall Street Journal goes into thorough detail about the set-up of six special trusses, which was deemed so important that not only did the team’s owners signed off on the idea but that the system will only be used for Nets games. The Kentucky-Maryland game there this season has to use the conventional, all-lit-everything look. What’s intriguing is the lighting company’s claim that the halogen will bring out the colors in the game more, something that seems hard considering the black-and-white graphics they’ll have. Still, it’s such a better atmosphere than the Prudential Center it’s laughable. … In a short Q-and-A, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said, among other things, that his deal sending Lamar Odom to Dallas one heavily criticized but that Odom was “distraught” at being put on the block earlier. Kupchak also hinted that they usually believe players get over such things but that Odom couldn’t handle the thought of being shopped around and needed out. … A take came out of the Philadelphia Inquirer today, a column about why the Sixers were smart to promote non-numbers guy Tony DiLeo to GM instead of taking an “analytic” like Daryl Morey in Houston, that is both bizarre for its timing and content. Ostensibly about DiLeo, the column shreds Morey and the Rockets the entire time for winning one playoff game since the GM’s arrival in 2007 and it especially takes umbrage with picking Royce White. Uh, did we miss the beginning of this random Philly-Houston beef or is the first blow? We term it that way because the ostensible defense of DiLeo, who isn’t mentioned again after the fourth paragraph, instead turns into a simple tear-down of every one of Houston’s ideas. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion but we don’t subscribe to the idea that just because one kind of manager doesn’t work in City X, it couldn’t work somewhere else. We admit Houston’s GM is polarizing, but didn’t Philly’s offseason moves make a number of people say, “huh?” too? … Tim Duncan and Tony Parker hung out for the first quarter for the Spurs but then it was the backups who took San Antonio to a 116-107 win over the aforementioned Rockets on Sunday. Wesley Witherspoon had 17, Danny Green had 15 and doghouse dweller DeJuan Blair had 16 points for the Spurs. Donatas Montiejunas led Houston with 16 points but Jeremy Lin was just 1-of-10 shooting with four points. In fairness to the $25-million man, he had almost no one to work with offensively alongside him with Kevin Martin and Patrick Patterson in street clothes. … The Clips and Heat were back at it in China, this time facing off in their exhibition in Shanghai. L.A. won, 99-89, over Miami with DeAndre Jordan leading the way with 18 points (on 8-of-8 shooting, impressive) and nine boards. Rodney Carney had 15 to lead the Heat. It was Lob City Far East with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James returning the favor to each other, Jordan getting some flight time too in Chris Paul‘s debut. Jamal Crawford had some nasty crossovers in the game, too. … Hit the jump to read about Al Horford‘s facial on Quincy Pondexter.
Adam Morrison doesn’t want to acknowledge that his comeback to the NBA is done. He’s not pushing this idea that he’s made it after a non-guaranteed invitation to Portland’s training camp. In fact, it may have just become harder to make the team after the Justin Holliday (you know him as Jrue’s brother) was added to the roster before the weekend. For his part he’s saying all the right things and demurring when people try to lead him into saying he’s made it. Wisely, he’s setting the bar low — but this is really low. He says that after willing himself to get back into basketball — not just basketball shape, but the game itself — he’s proud he’s not going out “a quitter.” The Oregonian‘s story has some mint quotes about that comeback so far and especially about his time in Serbia last season. His coach there for 2.5 months was a legendary hothead who drop-kicked a ball right into a player’s chest from only a few feet away for making a mistake. Yikes. Back-to-backs don’t sound so bad at all. … It wasn’t quite a Steve Novak impersonation but Mike Conley Jr. hit all five of his threes in Memphis’ 110-102 win over Atlanta, and he finished with 18 points, to close out Sunday night’s preseason action. The Grizzlies actually shot barely a percentage point worse from three than it did from the field. Al Horford led the Hawks with 13 points and got in a huge posterization of Quincy Pondexter that should have him hiding his face around the FedEx Forum for the next couple days. Horford found himself at the top of the key with no one in front and just charged ahead. Pondexter slid underneath because someone had to but got flushed on for his trouble. … In Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, Indiana put a six-point loss on the defending champ Lynx. We read that this was only the second loss at home all season for Minnesota. … Just a heads up that Utah plays the Lakers tonight at Staples Center, which means that Enes Kanter is loose in L.A. Could be the perfect time to start following one of our new favorite players on Twitter. … We’re out like balling in Serbia.
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