Holiday spirit

Not everyone has embraced the giving spirit involved with the holiday.

The Kings weren't in the sort of giving mood the Knicks had hoped for. The Trail Blazers certainly didn't extend the sort of hospitality to the visiting Nets that could have saved the season for our friends in New Jersey.

In fact, teams from Charlotte to San Antonio, teams played the role of rude host to perfection in the hours leading up to this special day.

But just because Thanksgiving will be a much-needed day of rest for some, mainly in the Tri-State area, doesn't mean it won't be a special day for others.

A few things NBA fans around the nation should be thankful for:

Fans in Dallas are grateful to have witnessed the start and continued support of Jason Kidd's assault on the league's all-time assist record (he is No. 2 now), per Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News: "But what Kidd has done in his career is special. And the truly impressive part of his passing ability is that he's both a crafty magician with the basketball and a meat-and-potatoes passer.

He's got "the ability to not only see the court, but to deliver the ball in rhythm on time and on target," coach Rick Carlisle said. "I've seen some of the most amazing passes in the last year and a half -- 50 foot bounce passes with side spin on them that come up in the guy's hand to finish on the break. Amazing stuff. And he understands the importance of simplicity. He's just one of the rare greats."

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In Miami, Heat fans are thankful for Michael Beasley and Dwyane Wade and their late-game heroics, even on an "off" night, as Miami Herald columnist Israel Gutierrez makes clear: "Beasley was only in the game in the final seconds because James Jones had fouled out when he intentionally fouled Jason Williams with 9.5 seconds left and the Heat trailing by one. Williams, who had a brilliant first three quarters and finished with 25 points and eight assists in his first game against the Heat since leaving Miami two seasons ago, missed both free throws to set up the final play.

"Michael was focused, and every timeout he was right over my shoulder and knew what was going on," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of his second-year forward. "Dwyane's trying to claim that was an assist. Not a chance."

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Folks in Northeast Ohio are especially thankful for the Global Icon that calls Cleveland/Akron home, writes Mark Podolski of the News-Herald: Some of us are incredibly fortunate and have plenty of reasons to give thanks. Now the bad news. You guessed it. It's our sports teams. Now, now, everything isn't all bad. A lot of it is, however.

Let's go down the list and analyze what we as sports fans from these parts should be thankful for: -- LeBron James. Arguably the best player in the NBA runs up and down the court at Quicken Loans Arena, and hopefully no one takes that for granted. It could all be taken away from us prior to next season. You know what I mean."

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Warriors fans can be thankful for one thing, even on a night when their six-man crew doesn't get the win, and that's Monta Ellis. Marcus Thompson II of the Oakland Tribune explains it best: "One player stood out most Wednesday night at the AT&T Center. For most of the game, he looked flat-out unstoppable. It wasn't Tim Duncan, the man many consider the greatest power forward ever. Nor was it Tony Parker, the lone perennial All-Star point guard on the court. The best player on the court was, unquestionably, Warriors guard Monta Ellis.

His career-high-tying 42-point effort was hardly enough to keep the Warriors from dropping their 23rd consecutive game at San Antonio 118-104. But it did underline two emerging truths for the Warriors: Ellis is looking like a legit star, and the Warriors have to find him some consistent help. "Monta's been amazing the last couple of games," said assistant coach Keith Smart, serving as head coach for the second straight game while Don Nelson recovers from pneumonia. "Just didn't have enough, didn't have enough left in the tank. We needed someone else to play very, very good tonight for us to have a shot."

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Hawks fans should be thankful that they have a team worth watching, writes Ken Sugiura of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Now if they'd just come out and watch tonight's Hawks-Magic game: "We're happy that we're up, particularly in today's economic climate,' said Tracy White, the team's senior vice president for sales and marketing. 'But, honestly, the way the team has performed, as good as the product is as we have on the court and as exciting the brand of basketball is that our guys play, I would like to see us be substantially up more than we are now."

A number of factors likely are holding down attendance, the economy chief among them. The Braves, for instance, went from 72 wins in 2008 to 86 in 2009, and saw their attendance dip about 6 percent. The Thrashers also are slightly down despite a promising start. "To be honest, yeah, I was expecting a bigger turnout, but I understand with the way the economy is and everything," said center Al Horford. "I don't really know what's going on, but I just hope that our fans start coming out more and really supporting us more."

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In Los Angeles, Lakers fans are glad they have Magic to remind them of what's really important at a time like this, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: "Like so many Lakers fans, Magic Johnson cringed when he heard the phrase "72 and 10." It's not that Johnson doesn't have faith in this Lakers team, or in its ability to defend its NBA championship. It's just that Johnson doesn't see it as a reality for the Lakers to try to match or surpass the all-time NBA regular-season record of 72-10 held by the Chicago Bulls.

In fact, after the Lakers beat the New York Knicks on Tuesday at Staples Center, Johnson was emphatic. "They can't do 72-10," said Johnson, who owns 5% of the Lakers. "They shouldn't even try 72. First, they can't accomplish it, anyway. The main thing is playing the best you can play, getting the best record [this season] so you can have home-court advantage."

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Pacers fans are happy they have a team capable of winning on those nights that Danny Granger isn't available, according to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star: "The Pacers had to try to end their four-game losing streak without leading scorer Danny Granger.

It was far from pretty, but the Pacers did enough to overcome the loss of Granger and get past a horrendous start to come from behind to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 86-73 on Wednesday night at Conseco Fieldhouse. "I have always thought throughout my career that winning ugly is probably a great step for your team to know it's taken," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "We actually used the word ugly at halftime. We said: 'There's nothing wrong with winning ugly.' Just make sure we come out of here with a win."

The team announced that Granger had a sprained left medial collateral ligament about 90 minutes before the start of the game. Granger's knee was bothering him when he scored 36 points against Toronto on Tuesday, but he was able to overcome it. A team spokesman said Granger is day-to-day. The Pacers have yet to play a game with a completely healthy roster this season."

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Rajon Rondo's confidence is sky-high in Boston, per Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe: "Last night, Rondo was brilliant down the stretch, but what pleased Rivers most was that Rondo finally trusted himself enough to take a clutch jumper. Rondo spent the entire evening spinning to the basket, sometimes as close as a mere layup, but choosing to swing the ball to a teammate. It frustrated the crowd and while the Celtics rallied behind his defense and leadership, Rondo appeared hesitant to shoot.

"It is apparent the Celtics are a better team when Rondo controls the pace and pushes the ball. He sparked a 23-7 run to begin the fourth quarter. He scored 8 points with 3 assists and 2 rebounds in the final period, showing flashes of dominance against rookie Jrue Holiday."

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Jason Quick of the Oregonian celebrates Steve Johnson, the fill-in center that became a permanent Oregonian in Portland and one of the top 40 Trail Blazers of all-time: "A natural power forward, the 6-foot-10 Johnson was forced to play center the previous season, when in the fifth game [Sam] Bowie suffered the more gruesome of his leg fractures, against Dallas.

Johnson filled in admirably, averaging 16.8 points and 7.2 rebounds while making 55.6 percent of his shots, and was named the team's MVP, ahead of leading scorers Kiki Vandeweghe and Clyde Drexler. But the 1987-1988 season was supposed to be a chance for him to flourish at power forward, where he would no longer have to worry about guarding the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone and Robert Parrish.

"I remember I pouted for about two weeks," Johnson said. "I did not want to play center. I was always giving up so much size. But I remember going up to coach (Mike) Schuler and saying 'I don't like playing center, but I can play a lot better than I have.' From that point on, I gave 110 percent."

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In Utah, they're just thankful for a rare Jazz home game on Thanksgiving day, writes Tim Buckley of the Deseret News: "Turkey, potatoes, pumpkin pie ... and NBA basketball.

The latter isn't exactly Thanksgiving tradition -- certainly not in Utah -- but tonight that won't stop the Jazz from playing on the holiday anyway. Coach Jerry Sloan's 7-7 club plays host tonight to the Chicago Bulls, marking just the fourth Thanksgiving game in franchise history  and the first in the more than 30 years, when the team still called New Orleans home and the late, great Pistol Pete Maravich ruled the day.

For some, it's practically blasphemy -- or at least a novelty. "I'm not used to it," forward Paul Millsap said. "I'm used to spending the day with my family, you know? But I've got to come in and work. I've got a game, so you've just got to be ready for it."

-- Posted Nov. 26, 2009, 11:23 a.m. Question or comment? E-mail Sekou

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