Brian Mahoney, the lead NBA writer for the Associated Press, joins RJ Bell for a Pregame.com podcast.  News from the interview includes . . .

Mr. Mahoney sees the Celtics/Heat series as a 50/50 toss-up, even though Miami is a clear favorite in Vegas. Brian said Chris Bosh looked “scared” at times this season facing Kevin Garnett.  Amar’e Stoudemire was severely limited at the end of the series vs. the Celtics – playing at an estimated 50% effectiveness – calling into question how impressive the Celtics performance in New York truly was.

Key to Lakers success is limiting the point guard advantage of their opponent, while continuing to dominate the paint.  Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook are being hindered by not having a third scoring option on their respective teams – forcing each to take too many tough shots.

Mike D’Antoni is expected to keep his job. The feeling from insiders is that he deserves a full season with the current roster. If General Manager Donnie Walsh is no longer with the team, D’Antoni’s status becomes less certain.

Estimated 70% chance of NBA work stoppage. This likelihood is actually lower than many experts project, making Brian a relative optimistic. The key factor is compromise – if neither side is willing to move, the current distance is too great to hope for an agreement.

The Internet has allowed many younger writers to enter the journalism profession. Pre-2000, getting a job with even a smallest local paper local paper was a great challenge. Typically writers would stay with papers for decades, making the barriers to entry for new talent discouragingly high.

Newspapers are relying increasingly on wire services such as Associated Press to augment their depleted writing staff. No matter how capable the AP is, a local perspective is lost with such an approach.

AP has ultimate access, while the new media blogs are afforded little access. In this scenario, AP reports the facts, and the new media blogs provide opinions on those facts. The disadvantage to new media is a limited ability to break stories, while having the advantage of not being influenced and co-opted by the league powers. 

  Click to listen to the Brian Mahoney interview

Related links:

Follow Brian on Twitter @BrianCMahoney

Listen to more podcasts at www.PregamePodcasts.com

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