from MARCA.COM IN SHORT:

How is going your adaptation to so many games? Will you try to improve your physical strength?

I think I´m doing well, I have been trying to adapt as quick as possible. I don have time to go to the gym with so

many games but I will do it in my free time once I have a month for myself.

How is Kevin Love?

He is a leader in the locker-room, but he is not a show-off. Just the opposite, he is very humble. He share merits

with everybody. As a person, he is excelent, talkative, funny.

Who is the defender who has been more difficult for you?

In Utah they pressured us quite a lot and I had a tough time. Many hands, many pressure and (the game) became

very difficult to play.

Playoff, yes or not?

I hope so, but in the West is very difficult. It might not be enough with 50% victories. We´ll try.

Trashtalking?

Nobody has told me anything.

Are you already thinking about a bigger team where you could play with better players?

No, I´m fine here. Everybody trust me, and I don´t have pressure and that´s very important the first years.

Who would you love to play with?

Pau Gasol.

Tatoos?

No.

Who has surprised you the most?

Derrick Rose.

Who do you like most among your teammates?

All of them are very good people. I´m having a great time with Kevin and Miller.

All Star?

I hope as a rookie. The big one will have to wait, although I´m grateful to all the people who are voting for me.

Why don´t you shoot more?

I´m shooting more and I know I can´t stop shooting.

Ricky is eigth among guards in rebounds.

He is third in the league in assists.

He is first in the league in steals.

Kevin Love is fifth in scoring.

Kevin Love is second in rebounds.

Kevin Love is fifth in efficiency.

And they are only 21 and 23 years old. If that´s not a championship fundation I don´t know what it is.

This year this team will develope their game and chemistry, and will find out who are the players they should keep and what are the holes they have to cover. I don´t expect them to reach the playoffs though if they don´t make a good trade before the All Star, because of injuries, lack of time to work together and the level of competition in the West. Next year they should put a few new pieces in place, push hard for playoff position and try to get into the playoffs second round. That will have meant success.

UPDATED with his last two games: Against the Heats and the Nets

Rudy is getting around 30 mins per game with the Nuggets, but they can trade him because they have Brewer, who is playing well in the last two games (Rudy is injured and Brewer is filling his spot). They could accept Wesley because he would give them a chance to bet on his youth and rookie contract. The Wolves would get a player who could help them to reach the playoffs as soon as this season.

The last time Rudy and Ricky played together in ACB, in 2008, they were a basketball machine. Rudy was the best ACB scorer, the best in steals (2nd was Ricky), the 6th best in assists (7th was Ricky), 8th in dunks, 1st in threes made per game, 1st in FT made per game (6th was Ricky), 2nd in fouls received (9th was Ricky). Their skills were really complementary and made each other and their team better. Both fit perfectly in Adelman´s systems.

In their respective last ACB regular seasons Luis Scola had an efficiency (similar to PER) of 21,1, Marc Gasol got 27,8 and Rudy 25,1, but Rudy made that number with less playing time than Marc. Time adjusted Rudy had a better record than both Scola and Marc Gasol before coming to the NBA.

Rudy is very good playing off the ball. Cutting to the rim and shooting from the three point line are two things he can do well, and those are complementary skills, because if his defender protects the rim he can shoot the three, he has such a quick release. But if the defender gets closer to Rudy, he won´t be able to provide help near the rim and will get surprised by Rudy if he gets distracted for a second. In order to get the best of these abilities, Rudy needs a point guard with great passing skills out there though, someone able to find him in the right place, as Sergio Rodriguez was in Rudy´s rookie season, when he made the all time rookie record of three pointers in a regular season and participated in the all star dunk contest, thanks to his many alley-oops from Sergio´s passes:

One Two Three Four Five

More after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

As most Spanish NBA fans I´ve been following the Rubio saga with interest. This story has been one of the most interesting and controversial ones in America and Europe. And it has almost only begun. I hope there´s nothing wrong with making a JD about a non Blazer player, so here we go.

I think all of you have enough knowledge about Ricky´s young career, but for those who want to know about where all the hype came from at the time just watch and listen to this Ricky Rubio Story (Documentary in English)

After been selected by the Wolves (5th pick coming from Washington), Ricky decided to stay two more years in Europe to develope his game there before coming to the NBA. At the time Ricky was unanimously considered the best prospect in Europe. Things were going to change soon at the other side of the pond:

Ricky Rubio is destined to be among the great international players such as Darko Milicic, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, and Yaroslav Korolev...

I smell a bust!...

Despite his exceptional basketball senses, his physical and athletic limitations will prevent him from being a star in the NBA. Rubio has drawn comparisons to Steve Nash, which isn’t a bad assessment given his basketball IQ and comparable physical abilities, but let’s be real; Nash is a rare breed. It’s ridiculous to expect this teenager from Spain to be the next Steve Nash.

bareknucks.com

More after the jump

Continue reading this post »

I´d like to see a post with the whole list of things Ricky has to learn to be a very good PG. Lets say, for example:

1º.- Offensive play book.

2º.- Defensive play book.

3º.- Scouting 29 teams and especially their PGs.

4º.- Reacting to been scouted.

5º.- Shot.

6º.- Taking care of the ball.

7º.- ....

Then I´d like to know how you guys rate Ricky´s present state of development in all these points, so we can use it in the future to take a look back and compare. Thought this could be a good idea. My English is too bad to try that, so I hope someone will like the idea and do the hard work.

One Art

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant 
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied.  It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

More after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Why do we stop walking in passenger conveyors and let the machine do the hard work? Yeah, they are announced

as "a comfortable and practical means of overcoming distances that would otherwise have to be WALKED!!!!!!!!!".

Man, what are healthy legs for? Why do we let glusoce rust all our veins and arteries?

Why do we eat when we are not hungry yet? Hunger is the best spice ever. What do we think hunger is for?

Why do we give gifts to our children too much in advance before they can dream about having those? Don´t we

understand the pleasure of dreaming? By the way, why do we let our children use elevators instead of telling them

to walk upstairs? I mean, just for their own good.

Motto of the day: There´s life before death!

Interesting fact: "Why" sounds exactly as "guay", which in Spanish (slang) means "cool". Why?

Rudy is very good playing off the ball. Cutting to the rim and shooting from the three point line are two things he can do well, and those are complementary skills, because if his defender protects the rim he can shoot the three, he has such a quick release. But if the defender gets closer to Rudy, he won´t be able to provide help near the rim and will get surprised by Rudy if he gets distracted for a second. In order to get the best of these abilities, Rudy needs a point guard with great passing skills out there though, someone able to find him in the right place, as Sergio Rodriguez was in Rudy´s rookie season, when he made the all time rookie record of three pointers in a regular season and participated in the all star dunk contest, thanks to his many alley-oops from Sergio´s passes). Once Sergio left the Blazers, PGs finding Rudy cutting to the rim has happened only occasionally:

With Blake.

With Patty Mills.

Rudy is a great passer, with an amazing variety, making his passing game impredictable. His basketball IQ is off the charts. Many of his teammates considered him the best passer, in a Blazer team with Andre Miller in its roster! By the way, most of them considered him the best shooter.Link

Lob especialist (Nené will be happy), mostly from pick & roll:

Link1 Link2 Link Link4 Link5 Link Link7 Link8 Link8 Link9

Between Dwight Howard's legs.

Off inbounds

In transition: Link1 Link Link3

Rudy will provide energy and effort all game long. You can take that to the bank.

Defense: Great oportunistic defender, always very active, defends the passing lanes very well, disrupts the offense and helps his teammates, sometimes a bit too risky, not great keeping his man in front of him, although he has improved last season. Again, high basketball IQ.

2 steals in a row

Circus steal

Ocasional block

Steal and dunk

He´s been clutch, but we don´t have enough of a track record, because he couldn't have many opportunities in Brandon Roy´s territory, for obvious reasons. Link1 Link2

Sometimes the perfect storm happens:

3+1

defense+2p+steal+3 in less than five seconds

PG?: Last December the Blazers surprised the Pacers with Rudy at PG position and won a game they were going to lose because his only reliable PG, Andre Miller, got ill, but the experiment ended later on because Rudy is a not a good ballhandler for the PG position and teams adjusted. But he can play some point and be an unexpected weapon at point.

Rudy playing point guard vs. Pacers.

Rudy is an oportunistic offensive rebounder: Link1 Link2

McMillan said almost laughing: "This guy never takes the same shot twice". Link 1 Link Link3

-Marketable: Rudy is a selling machine. It helps that women like him, apparently.

-Very high plus-minus stats when playing with the Blazers starting unit.

Rudy can improve playing in a different system than Nate´s or with a different coach. George Karl might be a very good fit for him. Take a look at his performance in the last World Championship. He could be compared with Kevin Durant.

In their last ACB regular seasons Luis Scola had an efficiency (similar to PER) of 21,1, Marc Gasol got 27,8 and Rudy 25,1, but Rudy made that number with less playing time than Marc. Time adjusted Rudy had a better record than both Scola and Marc Gasol before coming to the NBA.

-Most exciting player to watch since I follow basketball. Lots of great Youtubes:

Rudy Fernandez 4,3,2,1...in the face of Yao Ming

Rudy Fernandez tribute to Sergio Rodriguez

RUDY! (by DMKPDX)

Rudy Fernandez mix

Rudy Fernandez - El3vation

Rudy Fernandez Just Perfect

Plato: 

I was playing in a cave. Like a prisoner I was chained. We were many. Many prisoners chained and held

immobile since  our rookie years. Arms and legs were stretched and held in place - heads fixed in place with lots of

money. I could not turn left or right. I was compelled to gaze at a wall in front of me.  

Thucydides:  This war became inevitable at a certain point when the power of the players reached such a point as to

alarm the owners enough to start a war to check the growth of that players power.

Shakespeare:

Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it;

It is not meet you know how owners  like you.

You are not wood, you are not stones, but men;

And, being men, bearing the owners´proposal,

It will inflame you, it will make you mad:

'Tis good you know not that you are their employees;

For, if you should, O, what would come of it!

Moliere:

- Tell me, can you give us a good  product?

- Yes, if you give me plenty of money.

- The deuce! Always money! I think they have nothing else to say except money, money, money! Always that same

word in their mouth, money! They always speak of money! It's their pillow companion, money!

Seneca: 

Wherever I turn, I see evidences of my advancing years. I visited lately my investment, and protested about how

much money had been spent on the dilapidated building. My comisioner insisted that the flaws were not due to his

own negligence, that he was "doing everything possible, but the house was old." And this was the house which

grew under my own hands! What has the future in store for me, if stones of my own age are already crumbling?

Bill Simmons: All right, I'll ask: why did it take until October 18th for us to have a 

marathon 16-hour NBA labor negotiating session? 

Because players are not going to sign a deal involving many sacrifices, compared to the 

previous one, before the owners show, by absorving some real damage, their serious 

willingness to fight for that new deal. And agreement before some games were 

cancelled was never an option, so it had no sense to keep negotiating until real pain 

started.

 The union´s team of negotiators would have been crucified by many players, agents 

and media (you too, Mr. Simmons) if they had signed the deal they will have to sign finally,

once and because real damage has been made, so they have shown they tried hard 

to get the best available deal. 

Many politicians know that they will be out of the job if they impose sacrifices on people, 

trying to anticipate a solution for a future problem, before people have felt the direct 

effects of that problem. It has always happened in Spain with fishing. We lost most of 

our resources because politicians were afraid of taking protective measures, which 

would have been fought by the fishermen with protests. Then, when there were no 

fish, and fishing boats were coming back to ports with no product, the same fishermen 

asked to take those measures they were opposed to before. So that´s when 

politicians, these who know how to survive in this dirty job, react. Always a 

little bit too late, once real damage has been made to the people they ask to accept 

real sacrifices. People worried about greenhouse effect understand what I´m talking about.  

Some politicians try to anticipate a reaction using the "fear about the future" weapon,

trying to increase people´s level of tolerance to sacrificies. And it works, but only partially. 

That´s why Stern has put on the table his "observation"  "season is in jeopardy",

 while Billy Hunteris trying to avoid any responsability for all the damage coming soon, 

by saying that sacrifying half of the season was part of the owners strategy from the 

begining, what Stern tries to deny by saying how much the owners have lightened their

demands. And so on.

Sadly, I think both parts have put themselves in position to force negotiators to explore

the painful way. And, as some of you have said, the players will double their pain with a

lost season and a worse deal. 

The NBA model the owners are proposing is the way to allow teams to compete and avoid  financial troubles coming soon. We can´t say there´s no need for that system, "they just have to be financially sound", because that does not exist. Nowhere I know.  Once there are no rules about spending there will be an arms race, and then you die quickly if you don´t spend or you die slowly if you spend. How things are rolling in Euro soccer  is a good example. Give this a read: european soccer eating itself 

You have to take into account that in Euro soccer there is a hierarchy in competitions, and teams can lose their spot in the best ones if they are among the 3 worst teams in any given season. Losing that spot has serious consequences in their economies, so there´s big pressure to spend even for small market teams. 

[UPDATE (7/24): Mirotic's Spanish team won the tournament, and he walked away with MVP honors.]

Mirotic continues impressing in European U20 Championship of Bilbao (Spain).

After yesterday game against Germany his statistical ranking looks like this:

• » Ranks #1 in Points Per Game (27.6)
• » Ranks #2 in 2 Pts Field Goals Attempted(13.2)
• » Ranks #1 in Double-Doubles (3)
• » Ranks #5 in Defensive Rebounds (6.0)
• » Ranks #2 in 2 Pts Field Goal Percentage(68.2%)
• » Ranks #1 in Field Goals Attempted (16.2)
• » Ranks #1 in 2 Pts Field Goals Made (9.0)
• » Ranks #3 in Total Rebounds (9.2)
• » Ranks #1 in Field Goal Percentage (63.0%)
• » Ranks #4 in Free Throws Attempted (7.2)
• » Ranks #16 in 3 Pts Field Goal Percentage(40.0%)
• » Ranks #8 in Blocked Shots (1.4)
• » Ranks #2 in Free Throws Made (6.0)
• » Ranks #4 in Free Throws Percentage (83.3%)
• » Ranks #1 in Field Goals Made (10.2)
• » Ranks #4 in Offensive Rebounds (3.2)

Via fibaeurope.com

Sorry about any translation mistake. I´m still learning English :(

I guess your first shock was to arrive to the airport of Minneapolis and see a lot of fans waiting for you.

Well, I have to tell you the truth. I was going to travel wearing a jogging suit, because it´s most confortable, but when I was ready to go my American agent called me and told me "dress you up a little bit because you may find some media and fans waiting for you at the airport." So I change my clothes. And when I got there ... I was very surprised. I was thinking there could be about 50 people and when I saw that I thought "WOW, what is this, what embarrassment!, what am I doing here" .

And there were many young people...

Yes, very excited and wishing to watch me playing in Minnesota. That´s very encouraging and gives me confidence that I took the right decision leaving for Minnesota, because it was a very difficult decision considering how well I was treated by Barcelona. Joan Creus and Xavi Pascual treat  players like people and not like currency or something.

The following shock was your presentation press conference…

Well,  I had a meeting with some team partners previously, people who seat on the first rows. The press conference impressed me, because there were a lot of media. I was a little nervous, only because I don´t have a very good command of English. I can understand and speak, but I´m not at Pau´s English level, he speaks English almost as well as Spanish.

Do you know your jersey could be bought at the team´s website only a few minutes after it was announced that you are going to play in Minnesota?

After the press conference I was interviewing with some media individually and when I finished they told me “I´ve already bought your jersey over the internet”. I couldn´t understand anything. I had told them that I was going to make public that I´d leave (Barcelona), but I could never imagine they were so much effective. They have control on everything there, as you can see in such little thing.

So you agree the NBA is another world …

When I went into the locker-room and the first things I watched were a kitchen, a room with Xbox, Playstation, couches … You think, ¿Am I into the pavilion or into my apartment?

You already are a popular person in Minnesota…

Yes, people recognize me in the streets.  I don´t think they have watched me playing so much.  There were promotional panels with my picture, because they had a 9 dollars ticket promotional offer.

Have you had time to visit the town?

Not much, because I was five days doing interviews and publicity. I´ve seen a pair of apartments, where I could live, and a school for my sister Laia. Some other things too, as the Skyway, but  I guess will be different in the winter. For sure I´ll appreciate more El Masnou beach.

Will your family go with you?

Well, we are still thinking about it, because we don´t even know when the NBA is going to start. Our idea is to go with my mother and sister if this season starts as usual. My father has to work here and will visit us when he can. My brother can´t go because he plays basketball here, and our idea is that a couple of friends will go too.

You have already practiced with teammates. ¿What impression did they make on you?

Great, what struck me more was their talent. Perhaps it is an individual talent, and there I ´ll try to provide my experience in Euro basketball, because perhaps the idea of team basketball is worked more in Europe, but if we assemble all that talent we can have a really great team. Someone is a little bit crazy, but I have never played at a professional level with people with so much talent and so young. The philosophy will be run and enjoy basketball (“run and fun”?). I think we missed that against Panathinaikos. We were not allowed to enjoy basketball and were very obsessed by other things (Probably he means his coach tried to make them play too much organized basketball instead of letting them be themselves and get advantage of their strengths).

Do you have any goal on the horizon, individually and collectively?

Yes, of course, you can´t avoid that. I would like to win many games, to play the rookies-sophomores games… but it´s hard to say now, because our team is not finished yet. Long term, what everybody wants: get a ring, have a nice career, be considered among the best. My role model is Pau (Gasol), because he went to the NBA after he had played well, having got titles in Europe and played several years not making noise until he got two rings in a row.  His career and what he has achieved are, for me, a dream. 

Via Mundo Deportivo.com

Run & dunk:

 Yes, he can.

Playing off the ball:

Note: Cutting to the rim and shooting from the three point line are two things he can do well, 

and those are complementary skills, or threats, because if his defender protects the rim he 

can take the three, because he has such a quick release. But if the defender gets closer to 

Rudy, he won´t be able to provide help near the rim and will get surprised by Rudy if he gets  

distracted for a second. In order to get the best of these abilities, Rudy needs a point guard 

with great passing skills out there though, someone able to find him in the right place, as 

Sergio Rodriguez was in Rudy´s rookie season, when he made the all time rookie record of 

three pointers in a regular season and participated in the all star dunk contest, thanks to his 

many alley-oops from Sergio´s passes).  

Last two seasons, once Sergio left the Blazers, PGs finding Rudy cutting to the rim has 

happened only occasionally:

With Blake

With Mills

Morer after the jump

Continue reading this post »

I´m still fascinated by this:

"UCLA small forward Tyler Honeycutt said he tried to "show some personality" and keep the mood light, but the

Lets help this guy to answer that question. You choose your ..... because....

1º.- The Blazers were coming off a back-to-back. That ain´t gonna happen in playoffs.

2º.- The Blazers were playing without Camby.  Addition by sustraction? That ain´t gonna happen in 

playoffs either.

3º.- The Lakers left Rudy wide open to find out if Rudy is pretending to be in a slump, as in "if he 

miss that then he is faking it". Secret weapon has been unmasked.

4º.- The Blazers couldn´t win just by having more asissts, more steals, more blocks and less 

turnovers. They also had to outscore the Lakers to win this game.  

5º.- The Blazers centers´ boxscore in this game: 0 points, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 2 fouls, 1 rebound. 

6º.- Wallace was taking off and landing during 40 minutes. With no landing gear. I´m starting 

to make myself questions about that airline safety. 

7º.- Brandon played 30 minutes.  All of them on his knees.

8º.- Rudy played. 

9º.-Wallace blamed LaMarcus for the outcome. Already pointing fingers.

10º.- We can´t complain about the refs as much as we like to. 

11º.- We might have to play Oklahoma in the playoffs.  

12º.- We want former Blazers to play well, and that was just not the case with Blake.

13º.- The Blazers could have blown out the Lakers in the fourth quarter, allowing Nate to play his 

starters against the Lakers scrubs for three or four minutes.  Missed opportunity. 

14º.- There´s no record of an alley-ooping team winning a championship. As far as I know, there´s not record of

another alley-ooping team in basketball history either. (Globetroters doesn´t count).   

16º.- The Lakers not only did lose this game, but also a litle bit of their hatefulness. 

Go ahead (Don´t worry, these are not going to be a series).

1.- Blazers won´t play against the Warrios in these playoffs, and probably will not even play against them again until 

2012/2013. Woohoooo!

2º.- Blazers played badly in a togetherly way. Nobody betrayed his teammates by playing good basketball. 

3º.- Rollercoasting has its ups and downs. Should be up anyone of the next 8 ones. 

4º.- Nate and his players are keeping things under control. Things as expectations.

5º.- Thanks to games like this one Dave won´t lose practice in his psychotherapeutic skills.

6º.- It´s great to see Blazers fans defending their players in bad times. It couldn´t 

happen if they wouldn´t have lost games.

7º.- According to Ben´s report, the "Blazers had the largest" something in this game. I don´t 

mind whatever it was. Go for all or for nothing.

8º.- Ben made a chart. Charts are great, aren´t they?

9º.- Did Brandon´s song selection "On My Level" set the tone? It would mean his 

leadership is still there. You have to like that. 

10º.- Nate didn´t execute .... his players! I still don´t know whether it is good or bad, so I will 

optimistically consider it good.

12º.- As long  as the Blazers keep losing games we can credit ourselves for being better 

coaches than Nate. I have never lost a game, you know.

13º.- Nobody rained on the Blazers parade but themselves. That´s protecting your home 

court.

Go ahead! 

Link

Indisputably, one of the highlights of this season in the NBA has been the emergence of 

Blake Griffin, the player of the Los Angeles  Clippers, whose acrobatic dunks and youthful 

exuberance have exorcised the ghosts of a rookie season ruined by injury. There is the 

impression that Griffin is looking at a medium term full of All-Star appearances and 

advertising contracts. But a shadow has loomed over Griffin´s potential stardom: Blake 

Griffin may well be a jerk. 

Being a jerk is a temptation many NBA stars can´t resist. They think they can do everything on 

their own, they do not need teammates. They forget the lessons life teaches us. Lessons as 

those ones we have learnt in nightclubs. 

A few days ago in Melbourne, thanks to my Australian host´s influence among the locals,  I 

was allowed to go into a swanky nightclub whose name I forget because of the excess of 

Australian beers that I drank in the afore mentioned nightclub. Inside the room, I had much time 

to reflect on the dynamics of the interaction between man / woman late at night, especially 

because of my condition as a man who has a girlfriend, as opposed to those seeking 

partners. I looked at a group of three boys, who I casually decided to call Blake, Eric and 

DeAndre, and I imagined two possible scenarios for them during the night: 

Blake, Eric and DeAndre go into a nightclub called Staples. Blake is attractive, gracious and, most 

important for our example, the alpha male of this group. It's a nice guy: he listen to the girls, buy them drinks and

ask them questions about their lives. As the girls like to be with Blake, they like being with the group and, when

night comes to an end, girls are circling around the three friends like bees in a garden in spring. 

Blake returns home with the trophy, one of the prettiest girls in the nightclub, whose name 

happens to be the Most Valuable, but Eric and DeAndre defend themselves well and take 

the home telephone numbers of the sixth and ninth prettiest girl in the club. If the word 

that means "happy" were instead "championship", the group had won a championship and 

Blake would have been the main reason they would have won that championship. DeAndre 

and Eric decide to keep coming back to the Staples with Blake,  knowing that gives them the 

best chance of winning more championships. 

Now imagine another scenario and another Blake. This Blake is a jerk because he doesn´t 

pay attention to these girls he doesn´t like, and decides to talk only with the prettiest girl.

The other girls in the nightclub take notice that Blake is not very friendly, so they fly 

away from him and his friends. Blake is rude to waiters, it appears that in this night club 

these are called referees, and he has no patience with a gorilla who wants to share a laugh 

about a client who can´t still stand. 

At the end of the night, Blake is doing better than Eric and DeAndre (alpha males always do), 

but not as well as Magnanimous Blake would have done, and he is taking home  twelfth 

most attractive girl´s phone number, named Third NBA Best Team, an odd name, I know. 

Disgusted, Eric is leaving early because he prefers playing with his dog, Orlando Magic, and 

DeAndre goes to the home of his friend, Phoenix Suns. 

No one wins the championship and no one is as good as should have been. And 

all because Blake was a jerk.

Original in Spanish here

(Someone has to teach me how to put things after the jump, please).

• "You have gone from low to high this season, what is your feeling? 
• "Of course I did not start as I wanted. At first, I was very influenced by all the comments and everything that was said about me. Now I've picked up rythm, a good curve and the only thing I'm not satisfied is because, with so many breaks because my illness (back, flu), I'm not doing as well as I'd like physically. 
• -Explain the change of discourse, from wanting to leave earlier in the season to be so happy now ... 
• "Frankly, I'm more attached to American life and to the city, and I have the luck to be on a team where all members get along well and the key is a good atmosphere. All these things are making my season more bearable and everything is better and because of that my situation has changed radically. 
• "We have also seen you having very good friendship with Patrick Mills... Is it like a Sergio Rodriguez reincarnated? 
• "Yes it is true that he is who I have the closest relationship with, but I've also made friends in Portland and I do not feel alone. I just met a Spanish family, and I they have adopted me. 
• "One example of this is that your agent, Andy Miller, radically opposed to that transfer to Charlotte ... 
• I do not know how the subject came up, but what I have to say is that I prefer to stay in Portland because I'm comfortable and I think we can go far this year in the playoffs. 
• - Is it a bit counterproductive to your image to be known as a controversial player? 
• "Everyone who knows me knows I'm not confrontational, rather the opposite. I´m appreciated in Portland for being a good teammate and a better person, so in this respect I do not think anyone can say any bad about me. Agents always look for the best for you and sometimes they do something aggressive, but this is not my job. My thing is to worry about putting baskets and give my best on court. 
• -Has Rudy been rediscovered this season? We no longer see you only shooting triples ... 
• "Yes, it is certainly an important part of my happiness this year. In the end, my coach has noticed that I can do much more on court than shooting triples, and that for me is a huge step forward. I've also connected very well with LaMarcus Aldridge, who understands very well how I play, and with whom I´ve shared many highlights. 
• -This 'demon', coach Nate McMillan, ... the Blazers extended his contract... How do you evaluate him? 
• "He is a great coach. And I have never said anything bad about him. It is a bit difficult to adapt to his game, but for Portland he is a great choice and it is showing. With all the casualties we've had over the years, to have always gone into the Playoffs has much merit. That is great news. 
• - Where have you set your goals for this season? 
• "The arrival of Gerald Wallace will give us great advantage, and I think we are progressing with him at PF. Of course we want to go as high as possible in the standings and I´m excited about the possibility of moving forward from first round, which is something I have not yet achieved. 
• "Everybody speculates about Brandon Roy's knee, the Portland franchise player. Is it difficult to return to being the player he was before? 
• "It's complicated. When you have two knee operations is always difficult to go back to being the one before. He is looking good in recent games. It is true that he still has to get in rythm. But, where quality was, quality remains.
• - Do you think your team would be more dangerous if it played faster? 
• "Well, we do not exactly walk. It is true that we were a team playing very static, and since the arrival of Wallace we run much more. When Roy is in court we are trying to slow down, because we know that´s best for him, but the good thing is that we have more options, and that is not something easy to deal with for opposing teams. 
• - Do you see the Lakers as the favorites for the title? 
• "Yes, they are the champions and you always have to keep that in mind. They have won it two consecutive years, and perhaps the third is the hardest, because they are less hungry and their rivals have been strengthened greatly. I consider they are favorites, not by having the best team, but because the experience accumulated in such moments. 
• - Is there a lot of pressure knowing that  your team will soon aim to be at that Lakers´ level? 
• "We're a young team and we are learning from good veterans like Andre Miller and Marcus Camby. In a few years we´ll aim to get a ring, and that´s why McMillan´s contract has been extended, because his project is good, and that is also why this team has invested in renewing very good players. 
• - Can we expect you playing for the national team this summer? 
• "Of course, if Scariolo calls me I'll be there. It is a very important year for us, we want to qualify for the Olympics and to improve the image we gave last season. 
• - What do you think about the criticism your friend Ricky Rubio is receiving this season? 
• "I'm not overly familiar. 
• It´s about statistics ... 
• "I only got three points in a game the other day and I am very happy with how I played. It´s not about everybody looking at his points, but about how he is able to help his team play and win games. Everyone should know Ricky has never been a great scorer. He is a great player who can read the tempo of the game, he makes his teammates better and, from what I have seen, he still plays wonderfully. 
• "But you know "numbers matter" and many times his teammate Sada has twice his... 
• "You can´t argue about these things, and for me he remains one of the best PGs in Spain. I do not think people doubt Ricky and I certainly do not. 
• - What do you think about Messina leaving Real Madrid? 
• "In the end Messina did what he wanted. It's basketball, the sport itself and no coach likes losing his job. I know very well most of Real Madrid players and I can say that, besides being great players, they are great people, and that is a reality. Everybody is free to speak, and there are very good people in Real Madrid. Maybe Ettore was wrong with them. 
• - How do you interpret this proximity to Real Madrid? (implying "Rudy´s proximity" and past summer rumors about Rudy going there) Where there was fire are still ashes? 
• "I never want to discuss those comments or rumors, nor options. I prefer not to remember Real Madrid, because I have a contract in Portland and what is certain is that I will be here the remainder of the year and another one, and if the Blazers want to extend my contract I´ll sign the extension. Right now I'm focused on doing my job in Portland. 
• - Did you talk with the franchise to extend your contract? 
• "All that is my agent´s work, and that is quite right now because we can not renew until season ends. 
• - Have you considered another scenario in case of a 'lock-out'? A return to Europe? 
• "Yes, I have thought about it. If there is a  'lock-out', this summer will be quite unusual, in the sense that I should make a decision on whether or not want to play in Europe. But Portland still have my rights, and when that situation ends I would have to return to the United States. When summer comes we will have time to think about this issue. 
• -Scariolo has to choose between Ibaka and Mirotic ... 
• "I'm not the one to give advice. They are two great players and I do not know what would be the most ideal. I know  Ibaka more, and I can say that his performance is having a great impact in this league. If I could I would choose both, but, as that is not possible, that is a concern for Sergio and not for me.