Month: January 2015

Going DUMB!!!!

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History was made on Friday night, and the basketball world is no longer the same. Ronnie Lott, Reggie Jackson (Mr. October–not the young pg for the Thunder–we’ll get to him much later),Chris Mullin, Jerry West, E-40, and Too Short were all in the house to see Klay Thompson turn the Oracle up.

The Kings pleaded with the refs to blow the whistle , but to no avail. No one could stop Thompson in the 3rd quarter, not only did he shoot lights out, (12 for 12–did not miss a single shot), but he was blocking shots, taking dude’s cookies, and dishing out dimes.

The coolest thing about watching Klay Thompson score 37 points in the 3rd quarter, was that everyone was juiced to see it go down. Having lived in the Bay, and been to the Oracle, I know just how electric the atmosphere can be when the Warriors are rolling.

I didn’t go to sleep until 5 in the morning because of the buzz, so I can only imagine what it was like for those closer to the action. I had to watch the 3rd quarter over after the game ended, because I was only half paying attention to it, when it became obvious that Klay was “Going DUMB” up in the spot.

You can tell what type of ball club they have in Oakland right now, because not once during that NBA JAM–like performance did anyone want to shoot the ball other than Klay. They just kept feeding him the rock. I’m not sure Klay even gets close to having that kind of hot streak, if he shares the floor with Russell Westbrook, Gerald Green, J.R. Smith, or Dion Waiters. They like to get buckets too much.

It was a remarkable thing to watch, and I still get chills watching the highlights of it. Get ya money Klay Thompson! I hope Steve Kerr (who is an awesome coach) gets to start an all Golden State backcourt during ALL-Star Weekend. Klay is no doubt the best 2 way shooting guard in the league( Magic Johnson thinks Klay and Lebron are the two best all around players)–and he is only going to get better.

At the beginning of the year I thought the Warriors success would depend on the health of the frontcourt. I had no idea they would be this balanced. They have a deep bench, and everyone on the team has gotten better this year. Andrew Bogut’s attributes as a passer have been accentuated in the high post. Kerr starting Barnes over Iguodala has helped not only the starters, but also the bench depth.

They are not just beating teams, they are blowing them out. Their have been beating teams by an avg of 13 points a game. They have that look. They are young, explosive, hungry, and have a winner coaching them through pitfalls. Kerr is level headed, funny, and enjoys seeing the them succeed. It is a long season, and it won’t matter what the seedings are once the playoffs begin (no cupcakes from #1 through #8). All I’m saying is that this (36-6) is no fluke. The Dubs are for real.

Good Ass Games of the Week

Monday

Instead of watching OKC-Minny, I decided to watch some of my students play their freshman against their rival high school. As it turned out, Durant is resting his toe tonight, and the Thunder handled Minnesota–despite ROY candidate Wiggins getting 23 points. This also explains why I’m posting this now instead of yesterday. I’m happy with my decision.

Tuesday

Memphis-Dallas

Dallas has lost a couple of games they could have easily won the last few games. They still need frontcourt help. I’m not sure if signing Jermaine O’Neal (at his age now)is the guy you can count on to alleviate the depth issues.

Chicago-Golden State

No way in hell I’m missing this one. I know Chicago hasn’t been playing well of late, but this could easily be the NBA Finals. Sleep on the Bulls and you might get the horn.

Wednesday

Portland-Cleveland

“Dark Nowitzki” stepped it up Saturday night and put in work (26 points, 9 boards) despite a torn ligament in his thumb. Cleveland has been playing well of late after Lebron getting himself some rest. The acquisition of Iman Shumpbert, Timofey Mosgov, and J.R. Smith saved Cleveland’s season. This game will be played at a very high level. I’m hoping there will be an ILLARD sighting come 4th quarter.

Thursday
A good night to work on whatever you need to catch up on in the week, whether you are studying for a test, or making one for class. Just take the night off. Trust me I’m a doctor.

Friday

Chicago-Phoenix

This will be a fun one to watch. Fast paced, but a defensive struggle at times. It should get up into the 100’s for both squads but barely.

Clippers-Pelicans

New Orleans and Oklahoma City are on the outside looking in right now. While I think that Oklahoma City needs to move Reggie Jackson for the sake of that locker room, the Pelicans got better by getting rid of one buster in exchange for a decent wingman in Quincy Poindexter. Both teams will be in the hunt until the end, but if they don’t make it in, they can lament on some close losses they had early in the season.

Portland-Atlanta

Atlanta is no joke. At the end of last week, they were 11-3 versus the West. They are balanced and are in the midst of a 14 game winning streak. To say I didn’t see this coming is an understatement. Here is a team that is up for sale (I’ve heard Grant Hill, Hank Aaron, and C-Webb all as potential buyers), and should be in the midst of turmoil. “Can’t Stop. Won’t Stop. Uh uh. Bad Boys.”

Saturday

Oklahoma City-Memphis

Insert any sports cliche to indicate that this will be a physical and hard fought game, and it will be completely accurate. This game will be whatever you want it to be. Of all the candidates for the Good Ass Game of the Week award, this matchup may have the strongest case. If KD plays, this game will live up to the hype.

Clippers-San Antonio

My Saturday night will be filled with good hoop. How am I supposed to choose between this, the above game and Golden State-Phoenix? I just got goosebumps. MMMMMMMPPPPHHHH

Super Bowl Sunday

Seahawks-Patriots

Seattle over New England 24-17. There will be some big hits, and it will be exciting. Damn. I just realized I gotta find a place to watch this thing.

BUSTER OF THE WEEK AWARD

I’ll gladly accept this award this week. During the NFC Championship game, my buddy and I turned the game off after Russell Wilson threw his last interception with 5:01 remaining. I thought there was no way that Seattle could come back at this point.

We started playing NBA2k15 with the Timberwolves and Kings. I was in the middle of passing into the “Boogie Down Productions” in the post when I get this text saying the game was going into overtime.

We stopped the game and turned it to FOX and sat in confusion as we tried to piece the last 4:59 seconds of regulation together. By the time we figured it out, Russell Wilson was throwing a TD to Jermaine Kearse, then weeping on national television. It was a very weird birthday for me. So I guess my gift to myself is this award. The game was over, or so I thought.

Normally I wouldn’t invest that much time and turn off into an event and turn it off during end game, but it just seemed over. I should have known better though. Had I been playing Madden, I wouldn’t have given up and kept playing through. Why would I think differently for the NFC Championship game? Straight Busterish.

Enjoy the week of Good ASS Games.

Holler at me on twitter
@clickpicka79
bobbymickey@gmail.com
#thisagoodassgame

Just the Tip

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Things are starting to get pretty interesting out on the roundball court. There were some good ass games this past week. The Cavaliers-Lakers game was weirdly entertaining. It felt like I was watching a really fun pickup game. Nothing was at stake, it was just a regular season team between two losing teams. It was cool just watching Kobe and Lebron interact throughout the affair–laughing and joking during timeouts and in less active transitional periods.

Clippers-Blazers won the “Good Ass Game of the Week” award by default, barely beating out Phoenix-Cleveland from Tuesday night’s slate of games.

I got a chance yesterday to watch some college hoops, and though Duke-Louisville let me down, I was certainly impressed with Jahlil Okafor’s game. He dominated the post in the second half of that game yesterday, with most of his scoring coming after the half. He has great footwork and soft hands. He is clearly the first pick in next year’s draft. I think Montrezl Harrell can carve himself a niche in the league too. Bro just looks built to ball.

Kansas-Iowa State was a great affair, and the cyclone fans were HYPE!!! during last night’s engagement. I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was about as loud and adverse and atmosphere that a team can go into. Kansas played sloppily and the Hoibergs made them pay with every mistake.

Their guard play was pretty phenomenal, Naz Long put up 20 points and had 5 boards. 6 Iowa State players hit double figures in scoring. Even after the Jayhawks scored, the Cyclones were already pushing the ball up the court with crisp outlet passes–rather than trying to dribble the length of the floor.

They are a good passing team, and should be respected. Fred Hoiberg is legit, and he’ll be bringing his boys to Lawrence the first week of February, in a can’t miss affair.

Good Ass Games of the Week:

Monday

What better way to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther (the) King than by watching bruthas make millions of dollars for playing the most beautiful game ever created.

It would be dismissive of me not to include a couple of Eastern Conference teams on this slate, both Detroit and Atlanta have been playing great ball of late. Atlanta has won 12 straight and has a 10-3 record against the West this year. They are legit. I was one last year who was kind of skeptical of what “good” meant in the east, but the Hawks are the real deal.

Their games are fun to watch too. They pass the ball as well as the Spurs, Warriors, and Phoenix Suns. They have some ballers in Paul Milsap (who I thought the Thunder should have made a run at years ago), Al Horford, Kyle Korver (the 50-50-90 club????), and Jeff Teague have made it impossible for me to ignore their ballclub. ATLIENS, I stand corrected.

Denver-Golden State Speaking of balling, Golden State smacked Houston on the second end of back-to-back games. 131-106.

Dallas-Memphis If Mike Conley played in the Eastern Conference, he’d be a sure fire All-Star. Unfortunately the West is loaded right now. How do you sort that out? Kobe will probably get voted in since its his last productive year, which takes up another guard spot. We’ll see. The Grizzlies backcourt matches up well with the Mavericks’ Ellis and Rondo.

Sacramento-Portland will be highly competitive, and might be better than the Chicago-Cleveland game that night. Neither the Cavs or Bulls are playing all that well of late (the last 5-7 games).

Tuesday
Thunder-Heat Thing were turnt up in OKC on Friday. Durant shot 14-18 and scored 36. Westbrook had an insane stat line of 17 points, 17 assists , and 15 rebounds.

They are poised to make a run soon, and it looks like Dion Waiters may be a good fit after all. Word on the street is that “Perk” and Reggie Jackson will be the next pieces moved. Does this mean Brooklyn is willing to part with Brook Lopez for a big man, a draft pick and a little Reggie thrown in for good measure? Stay tuned.

Wednesday

Toronto-Memphis I’ve always wondered what a fight between a Grizzly Bear and a dinosaur would look like.

Houston-Golden State
Yes. Please.

Portland-Phoenix Oh so much good ass basketball this week.

Lakers-Pellies Only if you are desperate.

Oklahoma City-Washington
Worth checking out only because the game is in D.C.

KD goes HOME.

Thursday

Spurs-Bulls
 There are going to be some sick dimes thrown in this game. If you like big men who know how to pass, don’t put an ad out on Craigslist, just tune in to this game. Trust me. I was a doctor for Halloween once.

Friday

Happy Hour can’t get here soon enough with this Oklahoma City-Atlanta game to kick off the weekend.

Houston-Phoenix will be a game that gets into high 100’s for both teams. Sacramento will get slapped by Golden State. In case you forgot about this game

‘Nuff Said.

Saturday

Wizards-Blazers. The best matchup of backcourts you will see that night.

Sunday
HEY! DO I HAVE THE HANGOVER CURE FOR YOU!!!!!!!

Oklahoma City-Cleveland
Clippers-Suns

What else you gonna do, watch the NFL PRO BOWL?

BUSTER OF THE WEEK AWARD:

Oh it pains me so much to do this. This is a man’s whose career I have followed since he was running the show in Las Vegas. I watched him with the Knicks and Blazers, and enjoyed his voice as a basketball analyst for CBS and TNT.

My man Greg Anthony got busted Friday night on charges of soliciting a prostitute when he was in D.C. He was supposed to call the Maryland-Michigan State game and decided to see more than the usual tourist sights. CBS has suspended him for the rest of the year, and so has Turner Broadcasting. The only way this story can get worse is if Marion Barry and Rob Ford were hiding in his bedroom with cocaine and a videotape.

Now I don’t know what happened. Apparently he just picked the wrong day to get a pro.There was a sting operation by the police. We still don’t know if she was a streetwalker or an escort, but I figured my man had more game than that. I’m not one to judge.

Things happen, and I’ve been to Amsterdam so you can probably guess what my opinion is on prostitution. I guess the law is the law. It’s terrible news though, this man’s career is in jeopardy because he is accused of trying to purchase sex. Maybe my sympathies are in the wrong place, but I feel for him. It can all be taken away so easily.

Enjoy this week’s slate of games, and remember to make good choices. As these NFL Playoffs have shown, there is a very thin margin of error that separates the winning and losing locker rooms.

PEACE.
BM

#THISAGOODASSGAME
@clickpicka79
bobbymickey@gmail.com

A Flurry of Activity

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This was an interesting week in the NBA, as we get closer to the season’s midgame.

Cleveland got better this week, but it was almost impossible for that to not happen. Getting draft picks for Dion Waiters was a steal, as the Thunder should have asked Cleveland to give them something to take Dion off their hands. In a vacuum the deal would not look that bad.

But consider that the Grizzlebees managed to pick up Jeff Green and Russ Smith, the Suns got Branden Wright; and the Pelicans found a way to trade Austin Rivers for Quincy Poindexter. The streets don’t look so hot in Oklahoma City right now. The more I watch them, the more convinced I am that Reggie Jackson won’t be there when the season begins next year.

Back to Cleveland though, Picking up Timofey Mosgov to replace Anderson Varejao was a clutch move. I like the J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert moves for them too. Will this be enough to beat a western team. Hell No! But it does make the East a little bit more interesting–though not interesting enough to spend time watching to east teams go at it.

Good Ass Games of the Week

Monday

Oregon Ducks play Ohio State for the NCAA Football Championship, in Jerryworld. You could watch Brooklyn play New Orleans or you could watch young men beat each other’s heads in for no pay, as old rich dudes make money off it. We could make jokes about it being the equivalent of Mandingo fights, but its just too soon for that joke.

I’d rather just sit back and watch Urban Meyer collect yet another National Championship, and wonder how the NCAA piss tested a whole football team that resides in Eugene, Oregon and only got one dirty UA. I find that more shocking than WR Darren Carrington being ruled ineligible for smoking weed during the holiday break. How is that not discussed with the players? If I’m Mark Helfrich, I’m driving my players by the local head shops so they know where they can get something to beat the piss tests. #poortiming

Tuesday

Spurs-Washington
Cleveland-Phoenix
Dallas-Sacramento

Wednesday

Wizards-Bulls is a great primer before two delicious match-ups. Miami will get the brakes beat off of them by the Warriors, while the quietly hot Clippers face off against the the Trailblazers. “Late Game Dame” vs. “CP-3” in what I think will be the Good Ass Game of the Week.

Thursday

Oklahoma City vs. Houston

There will of course be talk of James Harden leaving RUN OKC this week, and why KD will need to leave Oklahoma City to get that chip, because Thunder ownership is pulling the “okey doke” on fans and the team. Forget all that nonsense for a little bit and just marvel at this guy. Kevin Durant is the best.

If you wanna tap that vein, peep Cleveland vs. LOL Lakers. Even if Lebron and Kobe play I may still say “NO THANK YOU.” Oh who am I kidding? I’ll probably tune in around late 3rd quarter. What else am I going to be doing? Blogging? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Friday

Portland and San Antonio get it on again, while Golden State comes down to the OKC. If I were the type to buy myself a birthday present, I’d throw down on this game………

Saturday

It is tempting to throw Golden-State-Houston and Portland-Memphis on the list, but Houston and Memphis get to play fresh while Warriors and Blazers are on that back-to-back tip. Believe it or not, I think Sacramento-Clippers will be competitive. Don’t sleep on an ornery “Boogie Down Productions” smacking “CP-3” and “BG Knock Out” in the face and causing a ruckus.

Sunday

You can tap the vein with Toronto-New Orleans, but I will be wasting my life watching the Conference championships, which brings me to the Buster(s) of the Week award:

The NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE. It’s bad enough that the NFL thinks its viewers are idiots and that people can’t see behind the smoke and mirrors of this Ray Rice Fiasco (among other hypocrisies–I’m not going to pretend to be outraged because I’m not in the least bit surprised), but the flurry of really awful officiating in this year’s playoffs just reinforces why I barely pay any attention to football. The Calvin Johnson rule is idiotic and a giant middle finger to what makes football fun to watch. No matter who wins next weekend, I’m already over it. We all lost this weekend when they OVERTURNED that Dez Bryant catch today.

Be careful out there. The world is f%$#ing crazy!

Peace.

BM
#thisagoodassgame
bobbymickey@gmail.com
@clickpicka79

Turning the Thing Around (again)

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Two Friday nights ago, while scouring the internet for new and exciting content, I discovered that the Mavericks were playing the Lakers just four train stops from my mother’s house. I debated whether or not to go, but then figured it couldn’t hurt to at least see if I could get in the building for less than 30 bucks.

I was hoping to find a ticket for 20, but ran upon a deal I couldn’t pass on– an upper terrace seat (worth 70 dollars) for 30 dollars. Some scalpers were trying to get rid of $30.00 face value seats for up to 200 dollars. I just kept walking.

I hadn’t been to a Mavericks game since they’d played in the old Reunion Arena, back when Ross Perot Jr. owned the team (coincidentally, the first basketball game I ever attended was with my father was the 1984 playoff game against the Lakers–the only won they won that series).

By the time that Mark Cuban bought the Mavericks fifteen years ago, I was no longer living in Dallas. The Mavericks were a joke of a franchise, and the punchline of many jokes. Even people in Dallas took the time to ask the query, “Who’ll win more games this year, the Cowboys or the Mavs?”

Their ineptness led to my detachment (why in the hell would I invest my joy into a bad product?) and my detachment led me to watch other teams in the NBA, and not become a homer for any team (I think it worked out for the best).

Mark Cuban is not only one of the best owners in sports, he is also a glaring example of how one person can change the culture of a whole city. The city of Dallas doesn’t suck as much as it did when I was growing up there, and I’m sure Mark Cuban has at least a little bit to do with that.

Ever since Cuban bought the Mavericks, the city of Dallas has gotten a new basketball arena (they share the venue with the hockey team), a light rail that runs towards the outskirts of the city, and a massive growth of skyscrapers and condominiums downtown.

All that can’t be accredited to Cuban’s purchase of the Mavericks, but you also can’t tell me that the success of the franchise over the past 15 years has nothing to do with the city’s economic growth.

One of the things that makes Mark Cuban one of the best owners in sports, is that the man has attention for details. The American Airlines Center is one of the nicest venues you could ever attend an event.

It feels like a luxury hotel with a basketball court and stadium seating. Everything is immaculate, and state of the art. You will not find a single piece of trash lying on the ground, or in the arena.

The arena staff I encountered were all courteous and professional. I’ve even heard visiting players like Shaquille O’Neal say that the visiting locker room at the AAC is one of the most hospitable stops in the NBA–with a post game spread that resembles a luxury cruise buffet.

Pregame was pretty hype. The Mavs’ announcer worked hard to keep all the fans engaged. The Mavs were introduced to “Eminence Front” by the Who and fans got into that (I’m a little shocked that no rapper has ever sampled that intro and spit bars to it–I’m sure its a hard sample to clear). There were cool graphics up on the Jumbotron, and the two massive scoreboards.

The game didn’t live up to the hype though. It was the day after Christmas, and it seemed like everyone was hungover; including the fans who could barely muster any audible advantage for the home town Mavs.

Kobe sat on the bench wearing a really nice black suit (another reason why the 200 dollar asking price was laughable), and the flow of the game was really klunky. There were a lot of “Sportscenter” worthy moments, with lobs and deep 3 pointers, but the flow was just off. Both teams were in the 70’s at one point into the 4th quarter.

On balance it was still fun. Mark Cuban understands that NBA games are a product, and everything revolving around the team shapes the perception of the product. The Mavs’ drum line, the dancers, the DJ, the PA guy, and arena staff are as part of the product as the basketball team.

Mark Cuban’s comprehensive approach to handling the team (from hiring the right coach and general manager to the way he takes care of his players) is why he is one of the most innovative owners to ever buy a sports team.

Major League Baseball made a serious mistake by not selling Cuban one of their franchises. Cuban is one of the reasons why the NBA is such a progressive sport, especially compared to the NFL and MLB.

Even the most casual of fan can have a good time at an NBA game, and the reason is because the NBA is always looking forward, not in the past like baseball–a sport steeped in archaic rituals and traditions.

If you haven’t figured out what separates good franchises from bad ones, don’t focus solely on the players. Go directly to the ownership group, then look at who gets hired for drafting and personnel decisions, then watch their track records with head coaches.

In any successful organization, it all starts at the top. Being a great leader/supervisor/coach means having the confidence to hire smart people to work on your staff and allowing them to do their jobs. This is what separates the bad, mediocre, and good from the great.

Big shout out to Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks arena staff, and all those Mavs’ fans out there who stuck with the team even when they were the laughingstock of the league. The NBA is more fun to watch now that they are good again.

These games tho:

Monday

Wizards-Pelicans
Anthony Davis continues to have insane stat lines and the Wizards continue to have entertaining games against the West. I’ll check out this game until the Los Angeles “Cakeshow” rolls into Portland and the Thunder-Warriors Part Duex commence. I feel confident that this will be the Good Ass Game of the Week.

Tap that Vein Tuesday begins and ends with Cavs-Rockets. Tuesday would be a good night to rest up if you were recovering from a hernia surgery. As the cops used to say back in the day, “Move along now. Nothing to see here.”

Wednesday

The LOL Lakers versus the Clippers. It is always fun to watch the Lakers lose to their housemates.

Thursday
Miami vs. Portland You sure you’re recovered from that hernia surgery? “Tap that Vein Tuesday” has now become “Tap that Vein Thursday”

Friday

A slew of Good Ass Games. The Grizzlies beefy front line are going to put a hurting on Anthony Davis and the Pelicans.

Bulls-Wizards give us a playoff preview of could only be a handful of possible interesting match ups in the East. I’ll tune in until the Phoenix-San Antonio and Cleveland-Golden State games begin.

“Psssst. Take you out on Friday? Nah baby, I need to be in bed recovering from hernia surgery (wink.wink.) The doc says I should do nothing that doesn’t involve lying in bed and watching hoops.

Saturday

Dallas vs. Los Angeles Clippers Battle of two of the best point guards in the West. Can’t wait!

Sunday
Grizzlies-Suns
Cleveland-Sacramento
Portland-LOL Lakers

“Oh baby. You’ll never believe this. Doctor says I can do non-basketball related things again. It’s a Festivus Miracle! We should go out and celebrate. You should grab your wallet in case I somehow lose mine. Grab your keys too, doctor says I can’t drive.”

Buster(s) of the Week award goes to:

The New York Police Department for showing mad disrespect to the city’s mayor, police commissioner, and the families of Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, by turning their back on the mayor during his eulogy for both slain officers. #Maddisrespectful.

These men have to understand that they are supposed to be the pillars of our society. It doesn’t make poor or citizens of color feel any less distrust towards the police. I don’t see any good coming out of this situation and their behavior. It just isn’t right.

Enjoy the games and don’t be foolish with ya money!!!

Peace.

BM

@clickpicka79
bobbymickey@gmail.com