Tea Time reading (Black Friday style)

Don't let Black Friday break you down.

Don't do it.

Fight the urge to shop 'til you drop (or chauffer someone around that wants to spend 'til you're broke) and grab a few minutes for some afternoon Tea Time reading:

Esteemed colleague John Schuhmann is here to remind you that there's more to Black Friday than just shopping. There's a basketball game tonight (Bucks-Thunder on ESPN) that is not to be missed: "Who ever thought that the Bucks and Thunder would have a combined 16-12 record at this point in the season? They're two of the feel-good surprises of the first month, and they're led by two of the brightest young stars in the league.

Brandon Jennings was taken with the 10th pick in the Draft, but he became the most buzz-worthy star of the rookie class after just one regular-season game, when he missed a triple-double by just one rebound and one assist. Two weeks later, he dropped a double-nickel on the Warriors -- yeah, 55 points -- and made the Bucks more newsworthy than they've been since Sam Cassell was running point."

***

Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon has an idea for an early Christmas gift for the Wizards; how about a GPS?: "The squabbles from last week, most notably between Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler, are the outward expressions of the frustration of having the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference and the fourth-worst record in the NBA after one month of play. The Wizards were supposed to be so much better than 4-9, what with three former all-stars, so many proven starters and established role players.

What they are is lost. They don't have an identity as a team yet, don't know how they fit individually in Coach Flip Saunders's way of playing. An hour spent in the Wizards' locker room Wednesday night in the wake of Pollin's death and after their narrow victory over the Philadelphia 76ers convinced me the Wizards aren't suffering from any lack of passion. They don't lack capacity for work. And despite last week's bickering, they don't dislike each other, either."

***

My man Michael Grange of the Globe and Mail offers up some striking commentary on the plight (if we can call it that) of one Allen Iverson. In short, Grange is not one of the people begging AI to reconsider retirement: "I suppose you can make the case that he deserves some respect for his determined individualism as the first NBA star to fully embrace tattoos, braids and what that symbolized. I have nothing against that, obviously. Freedom of expression is a good thing and if he forced the dominant culture to be more tolerant, aware or understanding of a certain strain of black culture that's worth while.

"But it's also worth noting that he was paid, not prosecuted, for his choices, which makes the trail-blazing attributes a bit hollow -- we're not talking Muhammad Ali here.

But in a basketball sense? Take away one magical year in Philly when an entire organization genuflected for his benefit and were rewarded with one Finals appearance thanks to a watered-down Eastern Conference -- Philly was the only team not to lose at least 30 games that year -- and what did he really accomplish?"

***

Someone has to come up with a nickname for Kings rookie Jon Brockman, something appropriate and tasteful that also captures the essence of a man described in detail here by the Sacramento Bee's Jason Jones: "The reckless abandon with no fear of getting hurt didn't start recently. Jon Brockman has always been like this. "The first time I ever saw him, he cut his head tip dunking on someone in like seventh grade," said Kings center Spencer Hawes. "That was my first basketball memory of him."

A lot of players would tell you their first memory of Brockman involves running into one of his elbows while chasing down a rebound or trying to move him from his spot on the floor with little success. And it appears there will be a lot more players getting to know Brockman's style as he continues to earn more playing time."

***

In case you were wondering how the Lakers' annual "Turkey Trot" turned out, Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times has it all here. Just FYI, the "Fairies" pounded the "Goons" this time around: "Official stats weren't kept, but Ron Artest was unstoppable for the small team, drilling three-pointer after three-pointer. "He hit about 10 threes today," Lamar Odom said, shaking his head. "Something crazy."

Artest teamed up with Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar, Adam Morrison and Sasha Vujacic to give the "fairies," as Coach Phil Jackson called them, an easy victory. "It's like the fairies, with wings on, and they have a little star on the end of their wand," Jackson said. The "goons," as Jackson called them, were made up of Odom, Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, DJ Mbenga and Josh Powell. They spent a lot of time outside the arc instead of trying to post up.

Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant did not play, though they were part of an impromptu "We want tacos" chant on the sideline when it became apparent the small players were going to run away with the game."

***

Thanksgiving wasn't the hit in Detroit that it might have been where you are. Don't believe it? Just ask Pistons coach John Kuester. Or better yet, let Chris Iott of MLive.com do it for you: "The Pistons took Thursday off. You can bet they did not spend the day being thankful for good health.

"It is what it is, you know?" Kuester said before the game Wednesday while discussing his short-handed team. "There's an old saying, 'You've got to love the one you're with,' and you've got to love the guys that you know are going to play, and that's what we have right now. I've been very proud of the group that we have. They've competed. They've worked hard."

Instead of bemoaning each injury, Kuester points out that every player lost simply opens up an opportunity for someone else. When Hamilton went down, Gordon took over his starting spot. Rookie Jonas Jerebko moved into the starting lineup when Prince went down, which in turn led to increased minutes for fellow rookies Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers."

***

Eat your heart out LeBron James. You're not the only player on the Cavaliers' roster that's gone global, as Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer explains: "Jamario Moon's biggest fan follows his every move all the way from Bosnia. It's a labor of love for Chet "The Jet" Mason, the former Cleveland South and Miami University star who has been a Moon fan since the two played together with the Albany Patroons in the CBA in 2005-06.

"It was my rookie season," Mason wrote in an e-mail from Bosnia, where he was named MVP of the Bosnian Cup finals last season. "He was a vet in the league, so he took me under his wing. Now me and him stay in touch wherever we are in the world.

"Yes, I am one of his biggest fans."

***

The Bulls have lost four straight. And their annual circus trip is turning into quite the circus, writes Sun-Times special contributor Dirk Facer: "After opening the six-game road trip with a win in Sacramento, the Bulls have dropped lopsided decisions to the L.A. Lakers, Denver, Portland and now Utah.

"It's hard. It's definitely hard, ..." Derrick Rose said. "I don't know where it's coming from. But when we get home we definitely need to go over it." The problem, he explained, may be a lack of communication. "We're not communicating," Rose said. "And we are letting people do whatever."

Joakim Noah isn't exactly sure what the problem is. The Bulls, he continued, have simply got to do something to turn things around. "We're not competing like I know we're capable of competing," Noah said. "It's on nobody's shoulders. It's a team effort and we've just got to stick together as a team and get it together."

-- Posted Nov. 27, 2009, 2:35 9.m. Question or comment? E-mail Sekou

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When Magic coach Stan Van Gundy called his name late in the third quarter of a Thanksgiving night win over the Hawks, veteran guard Anthony Johnson came running from the end of the bench.

It didn't matter to Johnson that he hadn't played in the second half of two straight games prior. His number was called and he answered. And outside of Dwight Howard's 22 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks, there was no greater contribution for the Magic in a game they desperately needed to win after blowing a game to Miami the night before.

Johnson piled up 17 points off the bench in just 21 minutes of action, including three crucial 3-pointers as the Magic extended their cushion to as many as 17 points, illustrating both what it means to be a "pro's pro" while also displaying the sort of professionalism that has marked his 13-year career.

"Just the other day I was looking back at my draft (1997) and I realized that there are only eight of us left in the league," Johnson said. "The bottom line is longevity. Everybody in the league wants to play a lot of minutes every night. Sometimes it's just not in the cards. You just have to stay professional, stay patient and the bottom line is being a good teammate. You stay positive, stay ready and when the opportunity presents itself you have to advantage of it."

Johnson's took full advantage against the Hawks, one of his many former teams and one that poses a direct challenge to the Magic's hold on the Southeast Division and Eastern Conference thrones.

But instead of Hawks' All-Star Joe Johnson ruling the floor during crunch time it was that other Johnson, the one the Hawks discarded a couple years back for a younger, sleeker model point guard. The same Johnson that so many teams have discarded in the past; he's actually done three separate stints with the Hawks and two each with the Kings and Magic, during his career.

It's a testament to Johnson's relentless will to prove all his doubters wrong, including those that dismissed him on draft night when the Kings selected him with the 40th pick overall in the second round.

"It's something for me to outlast 52 other guys from my draft, a guy from a small school like the College of Charleston, and being a too slow and too this and too that," said Johnson, who maintains his offseason home in Atlanta. "There's always been a lot of negative superlatives attached to my name. But obviously I'm still doing something right. My goal is to make it 15 years and I just have to keep plugging away and making it happen."

As long as Magic coach Stan Van Gundy is around, Johnson shouldn't have a problem reaching his goal of 15 years. Van Gundy lauded Johnson's professionalism after Johnson helped drag his team across the finish line on Thanksgiving.

"AJ was incredible," Van Gundy said. "Two straight games I don't play him in the second half. And then he plays the last 14 minutes of the game and he just plays great. And you need those kinds of efforts on nights like this when you're on a back-to-back."

"Here's the thing," Van Gundy continued, "AJ has a routine and gets himself prepared for every single game the same way. And he's always ready to go. It's one of the reasons, his professionalism, his work ethic and his toughness, those are all the reasons he's had the longevity in his career that he has. He's a competitor."

It helped that the Magic got a stern reminded of what it takes to be a championship caliber team weeks ago. Magic All-Star forward Rashard Lewis spoke up at the end of a team meeting on the first day of training camp to drive the point home to guys like Johnson, not that a guy that's played on NBA Finals teams in New Jersey (twice) and Orlando needed reminding.

"Look, there's a lot of talent on this team. Not everybody is going to play as much as you might like. Some people may not be in the rotation every night. But for us to be great, everybody has to be ready when their number is called,'" Van Gundy said, paraphrasing the words of Lewis. "I reminded [AJ] about that in there after the game. And here's AJ. He gets his number called and he gets a big opportunity and gets the job done.

"Clearly, we wouldn't have won that game without him. [Jason Williams] is coming off a 40-minute game [against Miami the night before] and really didn't have a lot in the tank. He really didn't look as good as he has the rest of the year. And AJ just comes in and does the job."

-- Posted Nov. 27, 2009, 10:25 a.m. Question or comment? E-mail Sekou

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