By now, it's no secret that Tyreke Evans began preparing for an NBA career about the time his older brothers took away his training wheels. So it should come as no surprise that the Kings rookie - who is all of 20 years old - worked hard on his appearance and his delivery prior to his Rookie of the Year press conference. Evans, who is almost painfully shy, walked to the podium clutching a sheet of paper in his left hand. His notes included a reminder to speak slowly and clearly, and listed the people he wanted to thank. Though clearly nervous, with his right foot moving back and forth, he must have been pleased with the way he handled the situation. Later, Tyreke's trainer, Lamont Peterson, revealed that the Kings point guard bought a new shirt at Nordstroms after learning he had won the award, only to switch at the last minute to a light purple dress shirt and tie combination. Just a personal opinion here, but I give the threads the thumbs up.
All in a day's work
Speaking of sartorial splendor: Patrick Mulvaney, the owner and head chef of Mulvaney's B & L, the hip restaurant that is located a few blocks from The Bee, was among the local business leaders and season ticket holders who crowded into the press room for Thursday's festivities. You couldn't miss him, actually. He must have just slipped out of the kitchen for a few minutes, because he was still wearing his cooking garb - pants, white shirt and vest. Several Kings offiicals are known to frequent his downtown establishment.
Playoff hits and misses
A few quick thoughts on the elimination earlier this evening of the Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trail Blazers:
- Nate McMillan deserves tremendous credit for leading his injury-riddled Blazers into the playoffs, and how can you not appreciate his post-game comments to his team? With TNT granted access to the locker room, McMillan thanked and praised his players for their effort, but reminded them that, in the end, they still lost. Always said that guy was tough ...
- It will be interesting to see whether Brandon Roy experiences any knee problems after returning to action so soon after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to shave some of the cartilage. I suspect McMillan also will second guess himself for starting and playing his star extended minutes, especially with Rudy Fernandez finally contributing.
- I agree with TNT analyst Charles Barkley about the significance of the Mavericks' defeat. It wasn't awful, say, like losing to those Golden State Warriors. Though the No.2-seeded Mavs lost to the No.7 Spurs, a case can be made that San Antonio is a better team that simply got healthy at the right time. The chemistry with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili is amazing, and when George Hill steps up like he did Thursday night? What happened to Bruce Bowen, anyway?
- Steve Nash committing six of his seven turnovers in the first half. A disappointed Dirk Nowitzki uttering the unthinkable - that he might opt for free agency and sign elsewhere. Amare Stoudemire throwing a perfect pass to a cutting Jason Richardson with six minutes remaining. Grant Hill, 37 years young, swooping in for a spectacular lefty block on Jerryd Bayless. Strange, strange night, indeed. Couldn't be happier for the classy Hill, though, who reaches the second round for the first time in his injury-hampered career.
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