It's an open question whether or not there really are people who perform better than others in crunch time. Basically, it's almost impossible to find evidence of teams or players who consistently outperform what you'd normally expect. One exception, however, for years now, has been the Dallas Mavericks. This is a must-read.
Kevin Pelton (Insider) says Rick Carlisle has outcoached the opposition in every playoff series.
One thing Carlisle does that raises eyebrows: He gets his players, even Dirk Nowitzki, plenty of rest, even though that hurts the team. Fascinating point, however: Erik Spoelstra doesn't do that. LeBron James is averaging a fair chunk more playing time than Michael Jordan did in his day. Something to consider for a player who has not been his best late in games.
Jay Aych of The Painted Area on Ricky Rubio: "Rubio needs to be able to improvise on the offense like Nash, shouldn't be hemmed in by a rigid system of set plays. Allow him to free-lance, let him probe, let him create angles. Ricky needs the ball in his hands a lot, running tons of pick/roll." When's the last time an NBA rookie got to do that?
Nick Young's Twitter account asks an important question: If you get pulled over for talking on your cell phone while driving, and having your windows tinted too dark, does that mean your windows weren't tinted dark enough?
Ethan Sherwood Strauss of Warriors World tells of meeting the new Warriors brass, including coach Mark Jackson: "If Jackson walks down the street, people call out catch phrases. If Keith Smart walks down the street … Keith Smart walks down the street." Also: "I asked Mark Jackson if we could glean any insight about his coaching from those broadcasts: 'There will be no play called mama there goes that man. There will be no defense called, hand down man down.'"
Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game: "Dwyane Wade is injured, but on that matter I share an opinion with Jason Terry; when Wade is on the floor, he’s a threat. Period. He may be ailing, but he’s still plenty capable of torching the Mavs, and he scored 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting in the fourth quarter to prove it. I’m sure that whatever Wade is experiencing with his hip isn’t pleasant, but basketball fans should know the terrors that Wade can bring for opposing teams. The Heat have their backs against the wall, Wade will have time for treatment and recovery, and Dwyane Wade is still Dwyane Wade."