October 22, 2006 ...We saw the Kings beat Utah in preseason run at ARCO Arena in Sacramento Friday night. Their (Kings) defense  is so much better already than in years past—it is silly. They rotate and help each other, and always apply good ball pressure. As previously stated here—basketball IS a game of inches. Solid defensive pressure is an irritant to the opposition and will get you a few extra possessions each game. That leads to wins. ...Paul Millsap gobbled rebounds like a beast for Utah. Deron Williams looked sharp. ...Kevin Martin was solid for Sac, and so was Ron Artest. ...Later that night (early Saturday morning) Eric Musselman was arrested for DUI. The shame that accompanies such an alleged occurrence is penalty enough. But there is more. According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the coach is looking at fines, and a loss of drivers license. Counseling, enrollment in a “DUI program”, insurance rate increases, and having to perform community service are likely as well. The most important part is that Musselman did not hurt anyone physically. Alcohol impairs judgment. Hopefully this was a case of a good person making a dumb move on a night of celebration. If Musselman does what my gut says he will do - he will face the music and realize that drinking and driving is dangerous. ...NBA-TV’s Real Training Camp is good TV. Kudos for the fresh approach of simply ‘micing’ the Head Coach and using a couple cameras. I love Rick Kamla’s enthusiasm. ...Of the practices I’ve seen on the tube so far—Lawrence Frank’s were the best. He keeps the pace moving while constantly teaching and encouraging his Nets. ...Rajon Rondo looks great in Boston. The rookie point guard from Kentucky is baffling folks with his quickness, and skill.

October 17, 2006 ...Auto racing duties kept us from the roundball for the weekend. I am catching up. I was interested in the Cavs trading Luke Jackson to the Celtics. I liked Jackson lots in college but would be the first to admit that injuries have kept him from balling at the NBA level. So far—he hasn’t done squat as a pro. But Jackson, the former Oregon star, now says he is healthy. Read about it here. ...I did catch the Kings on TV at Dallas in Sacramento’s first preseason game last Thursday (October 12, 2006). The Kings looked organized and they played with passion in a romp over the Mavs. Dallas played without Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse so the Kings SHOULD have kicked their ass. And they did. ...I am not sold on Louis Amundsen. I like Justin Williams better as an NBA prospect. Shot blockers are too hard to come by to just let Justin Williams go. ...Golden State’s Anthony Roberson scored 28 in a Warriors win. ...Anderson Varejao has been impressive early for Cleveland. ...I read a story about how Willie Green’s knee tear from 2005 has affected other players. The explanation is here. 

October 7, 2006 ...Thank God the NBA is back. ...I’ve already seen four pre-season games thanks to NBA-TV and the Europe Live Tour. ...I am koo koo for basketball. Please check out the BasslineSpin Q & A with regard to the 2006-07 NBA season. ...Tower Records is going out of business. That is so sad to me. I frequented the Tower on Broadway in Sacramento—even working there doing inventory. A former DJ partner of mine worked there—at the original store. The Tower on Sunset in Hollywood - and the New York store will join all the others in phasing out over the next two months. ...In my opinion - Tower’s demise is a direct hit from the i-Pod, and downloadable music. I’ve done it. At 4 am—from my home—I can escape to the i-tunes online store and then burn my own cds. No need to drive to Tower. In the case of a recent trip to get Janet Jackson’s new CD - I rolled into Tower and found the price to be $18.99. I skipped that—and bought it at The Beat for $11.99. Sometimes I buy music at Best Buy or even Target. Tower’s only competition when I was growing up was The Warehouse. For the record - my favorite record store is Amoeba in Hollywood.

October 4, 2006 ...The Kings signed Maurice Taylor. There are but a handful of players in the NBA who’s games I do not care for at all. Taylor is one of them. He will mislead you with a solid to very good low post offensive game. He CAN score. But that is where his game begins and ends. He doesn’t pass it. He is a mediocre rebounder (poor for his size). He doesn’t block shots (233rd in blocks per 48 minutes last year). I’ve heard it suggested that Taylor can play Center for the Kings. Um, not with those blocked shots numbers—at least not effectively. How about an area where Taylor is in the top-40 in the NBA? That would be turnovers per 48 minutes. He ranked 37th in that dubious category last season. The only thing I can think here is that because he was waived by New York - the Kings aren’t spending any real cash on Taylor. They could move Corliss Williamson and still have another back-to-the-basket scorer outside of Shareef Abdur-Rahim.  Bottom line — I  don’t like it. I don’t like the Salmons signing, and I don’t like the Taylor signing. Of course I was in favor of Jason Hart last year and that didn’t work out so far. ...I was surprised to see Devin Brown waived by the Warriors already. ...The Wizards went 33-21 with Caron Butler as a starter last year.  ... Read a quick capsule of stories we read today.