Cleveland at Philadelphia (Good Ass Game of The Week)
A lot of star power in this one. I think the 76ers can give them some run.
Tuesday
No Good Ass Games Scheduled
Wednesday
No Good Ass Games Scheduled
Thursday
Milwaukee at Portland
Blazers fans are going to enjoy this one. Shout outs to Rob the Free Throw Guy. I always enjoyed his behind the basket antics– even if Wes Matthews wasn’t feeling it. I’d like to see a fake 30 for 30 short done on that cat. He was kind of a thing for a while.
Friday
San Antonio at Memphis
No Kawhi (bruised quad). No Conley (sore achilles). But maybe we’ll see a healthy Tony Parker in this one.
Minnesota at Oklahoma City
The last couple of games have been beautiful stretches of athletic basketball.
Saturday
New Orleans at Portland
Finally going to see down and watch the Blazers play this year. In an article this past week, Jusuf Nurkic was quoted as saying that he is the best big man in the league. I would like to believe that he was misquoted, and that Sports Illustrated forgot to add “besides Joel Embiid and Demarcus Cousins,” in the text. Although I just looked up his salary for the year, and the Blazers are getting him for a steal (wish I could say the same for the Evan Turner and Allen Crabbe contracts).
Sunday
San Antonio at Oklahoma City
Spurs keep chugging along. Tony Parker is supposed to see some game action on Monday. Still no word on Kawhi Leonard yet; is it time for Spurs fans to panic? Hell no, but coach Popovich says he has never seen an injury quite like the one Kawhi currently has. Stay tuned.
Bobby Mickey is the alter ego of writer and poet Edward Austin Robertson. When he isn’t involved in some basketball related activity, actively looking for parties to deejay or venues to perform comedy, he can be found recording podcasts with Craig Stein at Fullsass Studios. Follow him on twitter @goodassgame. For booking inquiries, send contact info to thisagoodassgame@gmail.com.
Anytime you can catch a marquee game at Madison Square Garden with the Knicks feed, I suggest you do it. The commentary duo of Mike Breen and Clyde Frazier is unmatched.
Washington at Milwaukee League Pass
John Wall vs the Nigerian Natural #getsome
Oklahoma City at New Orleans League Pass
New Orleans has been an entertaining team to watch, and they just got Rondo back. Ojo!!!!!!
Cleveland at Detroit League Pass
Detroit may be the biggest surprise of the season. I didn’t even have them making the playoffs, but they are off to a good start. They don’t have a single superstar on that team, but they are doing their thing. Stan Van Gundy might get Coach of the Year for his efforts with this squad. This feels like a trap game for the Lebrons.
Tuesday
No Good Ass Games Scheduled
Wednesday
Golden State at Oklahoma City (Good Ass Game of the Week) ESPN
Great read by Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher about Seattle losing the Sonics and how that shaped Kevin Durant’s decision to eventually leave Oklahoma City.
San Antonio at New Orleans
If you like watching big men who pass well, then this is the game for you.
Thursday
No Good Ass Games Scheduled
Friday
No Good Ass Games Scheduled
Saturday
New Orleans at Golden State League Pass
New Orleans will keep this close, but the Warriors offense is like a dormant herpes colony: You don’t know when it will erupt, but its an explosive display whenever it happens. Don’t get gassed up on last week’s game against Boston. They’d be lucky to win two games in a first to seven series.
Sunday
No Good Ass Games Scheduled
Bobby Mickey is the alter ego of writer and poet Edward Austin Robertson. When he isn’t involved in some basketball related activity, actively looking for parties to deejay or venues to perform comedy, he can be found recording podcasts with Craig Stein at Fullsass Studios. Follow him on twitter @goodassgame. For booking inquiries, send contact info to thisagoodassgame@gmail.com.
Lebron comes to Manhattan after sneak dissing the Knicks’ front office Saturday night, saying they should have taken Dennis Smith Jr.
Memphis at Milwaukee League Pass or VIP Box
With the acquisition of Eric Bledsoe, the Bucks have gone from cute League Pass sensations to a legit concern for the rest of the Eastern Conference. It took Giannis 24 shots to get 28 points, but he affected Friday night’s game against the Spurs in so many ways. Also his breakaway 360 dunk was such a thing of beauty that it put me in tears.
Tuesday
No Good Ass NBA games on the docket, but the NCAA got some big time college games going if you’re bored. I won’t tell you who is playing because fuck the NCAA.
Wednesday
San Antonio at Minnesota League Pass or VIP Box
A team can only get so far with a bunch of role players and no superstar. Against the Bucks, they were within 2 points during the final 2 minutes of the ballgame and couldn’t get a bucket from anyone. Winning time is the point of the game where teams need their superstars to make plays, and this is where they miss Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker the most. The team just fell apart during the 4th quarter against Golden State a couple of weeks ago, but the good news is that the Calvary is on its way (right?).
Don’t panic Spurs fans. As of today, the Spurs are on pace to go 49-33 for the season, and that is without Kawhi or Tony. Everyone has raised their game over the off-season.
Pau Gasol and Lamarcus Aldridge seem a little more relaxed this season, and more comfortable in the system. Kyle Anderson has stepped up his level of play this season, and suddenly Danny Green has handles and a pull up jumper. Rudy Gay looks like he is fully healed from his Achilles injury.
Brandon Paul looks to be the second coming of Jonathan Simmons, and Bryn Forbes has become this season’s version of Cory Joseph. Dejounte Murray is playing exactly what you would expect of a second year point guard (which is inconsistent). It is a long season Spurs fans. You just gotta hang in there a little bit longer (right????).
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves are ranked 27th in the league in defensive rating after finishing 26th in the NBA last season. Surprisingly, it isn’t offense that is their biggest problem; something I would not have expected to see from a Tom Thibodeau coached squad.
Thursday
Golden State at Boston (Good Ass Game of the Week) TNT
If you are wondering why the Warriors at times look so much more dominant this season compared to last year, consider their bench: Nick Young replaced Ian Clark. Omri Casspi replaced Matt “The Barber” Barnes (because he be handing out fades), and Jordan Bell replaced James Michael McAdoo.
Friday
Oklahoma City at San Antonio ESPN
The concerns that surrounded the Thunder going into this season are real. Their bench is thin. Billy Donovan has done nothing to distinguish himself as an elite NBA coach, and their three superstars have yet to find a rhythm. But you know what? It is still pretty early, and the Jazz just lost their best defensive player for 4-6 weeks. The Timberwolves, Grizzlies, and Blazers are falling back to earth themselves. Don’t bet on the Thunder missing the playoffs just yet folks.
New Orleans at Denver ESPN
Saturday
Golden State at Philadelphia League Pass or VIP BOX
Joel Embiid had himself a rough week. Willie Cauley-Stein put the clamps on Embiid, and though he still got 22 points and 15 rebounds against “Trilly” Cauley, it didn’t come easy. Last night against the Warriors, Embiid scored 12 points on 11 shots, and had 7 turnovers;posting an overall minus nine (-9) for the evening. Still, both teams put on a passing clinic, and was one of the more entertaining blowouts, you’ll see 2 teams play in the NBA.
Sunday
No Good Ass Games on the Schedule
Bobby Mickey is the alter ego of writer and poet Edward Austin Robertson. When he isn’t involved in some basketball related activity, actively looking for parties to deejay or venues to perform comedy, he can be found recording podcasts with Craig Stein at Fullsass Studios. Follow him on twitter @goodassgame. For booking inquiries, send contact info to thisagoodassgame@gmail.com.
For starters, I can’t think of a more aptly chosen title than Giant Steps for the first autobiography by Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Not only was Kareem a giant among men with his 7”2 frame, but he was also a renowned jazz aficionado. Giant Steps, of course, was one of John Coltrane’s signature albums and considered in the canon of jazz records ever cut.
There is a wealth of information to cull through in this book. Now 70 years of age, Jabbar’s lifespan cuts through the most seminal time period of this country’s modern history. When you consider how Kareem’s playing career parallels the development of the country we now know, this book becomes an important document in U.S. history.
The most notable items from this autobiography are:
How Kareem’s Catholic upbringing affected his development as a person and a student athlete.
Growing up in New York (especially Harlem) during the 1950’s and 1960’s and how that affected his self-identity.
Playing for Jack Donohue at Power Memorial High School.
The culture shock he encountered while he attended UCLA during the height of “Flower Power” era.
Playing basketball under the tutelage of Hall of Famer, and master strategist John Wooden.
His religious conversion to Islam and the subsequent change of his Christian name, Lou Alcindor.
His disastrous first marriage (an extremely honest and vulnerable chapter).
His playing days in Milwaukee.
His perspective on the infamous “punch” by Kermit Washington to Rudy Tomjanovich’s face.
The trade that sent him to the Lakers and playing during the “Showtime” era.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar is your quintessential renaissance man: intellectual, one of the best athletes of all time, and add to his resume, accomplished author. This a great book and easy read (unlike his other biography, Kareem which at times felt like a long laborious affair). It feels like you are sitting underneath Kareem’s veranda at his house in Hawaii, listening to him tell these stories over a cup of organic tea and a joint. His pen game is highly eloquent, and Jabbar has quite a keen sense of observation for the time period he came of age in, and the historic events that he lived through. This book gets a solid A+ for being so engaging and thorough.
BM
Bobby Mickey is the alter ego of writer and poet Edward Austin Robertson. When he isn’t involved in some basketball related activity, actively looking for parties to deejay or venues to perform comedy, he can be found recording podcasts with Craig Stein at Fullsass Studios. Follow him on twitter @goodassgame. For booking inquiries, send contact info to thisagoodassgame@gmail.com.
“Let’s face it You can only block a shot ten or twenty percent of the time. Your man develops these habits over the years and so you have to learn to make them do what you want them to do; make them switch from their accustomed habit into something new where they are instinctively uncomfortable. If you can do that, then you have them halfway beaten. If he likes the foul line shot, then make him go two feet further back.”
On defending fast breaks:
“Now if there are three guys or two coming at you on a fast break, you must work on the same basic system. The first thing, make them slow up and stop. The second is make them throw a bad, hurried pass. The third is make them commit on a bad shot. The fourth is–block the ball.”
Other basic tenets:
Learn the other man’s habits. Then make him go exactly the opposite to what he likes to do.
When he gets to a position where he is away from his best shot, even if it’s only a foot, make him commit himself and shoot and count on the law of averages being on your side.
If you’re successful, just smile at him as though you can do it every time.
Bobby Mickey is the alter ego of writer and poet Edward Austin Robertson. When he isn’t involved in some basketball related activity, actively looking for parties to deejay or venues to perform comedy, he can be found recording podcasts with Craig Stein at Fullsass Studios. Follow him on twitter @goodassgame. For booking inquiries, send contact info to thisagoodassgame@gmail.com.
Minnesota at Golden State (Good Ass Game of the Week)
Thursday
Cleveland at Houston
Friday
Los Angeles Clippers at Oklahoma City
Milwaukee at San Antonio
Saturday
Philadelphia at Golden State
Sunday
No Good Ass Games Scheduled
Bobby Mickey is the alter ego of writer and poet Edward Austin Robertson. When he isn’t involved in some basketball related activity, actively looking for parties to deejay or venues to perform comedy, he can be found recording podcasts with Craig Stein at Fullsass Studios. Follow him on twitter @goodassgame. For booking inquiries, send contact info to thisagoodassgame@gmail.com.
Bobby Mickey is the alter ego of writer and poet Edward Austin Robertson. When he isn’t involved in some basketball related activity, actively looking for parties to deejay or venues to perform comedy, he can be found recording podcasts with Craig Stein at Fullsass Studios. Follow him on twitter @goodassgame. For booking inquiries, send contact info to thisagoodassgame@gmail.com. 
FULLSASS Presents: THIS A GOOD ASS GAME 