NBA Playoffs

Lovable Losers Part Two: ’99-00 Portland Trailblazers

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[Originally posted on sportsblog.com 12/29/13]

This will probably be one of the more painful posts I will ever have to write. Not just because this was one of my favorite NBA rosters of all time, but also because it signaled the beginning of a Lakers dynasty that (arguably) should have never been. Had Portland won that series, Jalen Rose, Reggie Miller, and Rick Smits may have won themselves championship rings. Rip City might have had a different decade than the one that elicited this video essay from Bill Simmons. We would be talking about Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in a whole new light. Maybe even the 2002 Kings would have managed to not get jobbed out of a chance to compete for the NBA title. As it stands, the Lakers beat the Blazers in the ’99-00 playoffs and this play will remain in NBA folklore forever. Today we will examine one of my favorite all time teams not win a dog gone thing: the ’99-00 Trailblazers.

Head Coach: Mike Dunleavy

Team Record: 59-23

Starters:

C Arvydas Sabonis, PF Rasheed Wallace, SF Scottie Pippen SG Steve Smith, PG Damon Stoudamire

Key Bench Players: PG Greg Anthony, SG Stacey Augmon PF Jermaine O’Neal, PF Brian Grant

SF Detlef Schrempf , SF Bonzi Wells

Besides Scottie Pippen, no one on the team had won an NBA championship. Scottie was supposed to be the player they needed to get them over the hump. I was never crazy about Scottie as a player (I hated the Bulls) but I had to admit the dude was good, and he definitely had championship experience playing with Jordan.

Rasheed was already one of my favorite players of all time. I had watched him as much as I could during his Carolina days and I loved his game. Rasheed could post up anyone on the block (something I always wished he’d done more of–he seemed to fall in love with shooting the 3 pointer). He could also get hot and make teams pay with his long range shooting (I remember him yelling at the Mavericks one time to “get someone on him” after he was taxing them with 3 pointers). Best of all, ‘Sheed refused to break under the iron fisted rule of David Stern. He managed to become one of the best quotable athletes of my generation (Warren Sapp is one of the other guys who comes to mind too)

Greg Anthony was one of may favorite guys too—I had first started watching hoops during his UNLV days and rooted for him when he played on the Knicks. I can’t say enough about Sabonis. I loved how he passed, I loved his shot, I loved that he was old and rickety, but still had enough old man game in him to make an impact. The whole time he played in the NBA, I wondered just how good he’d have been had he came into the league when he was young and healthy.

The rest of the guys I was whatever about. My little brother loved Bonzi for some strange reason (I think it was the head band). Mighty Mouse (Stoudamire) was an okay player, Augmon, Steve Smith, and Schrempf were good enough. I had never been too crazy about them as players, but I had owned their basketball cards at one time or another when I collected. Brian Grant seemed like a cool dude (this would be confirmed years later when I would run into him at PDX airport one summer).

There is something about game 7 of the Western Conference Finals that still haunts me to this day. I watched the game with my little brother and we laughed, oohed and awed in glee at the way the game was going. The Lakers were making mistakes and the Blazers were capitalizing on it. Los Angeles couldn’t figure out an answer to the Blazers’ offense the whole series.

Sabonis was setting up outside of the paint and daring Shaq to come and guard him. If Shaq ventured out to pick him up, Sabonis whipped a sick pass towards a cutter for an easy bucket (and for those of you who don’t know, Sabonis is one of the best passing big men the NBA has ever seen–check out this pass). If Shaq stayed in the paint, then Arvydas just hoisted up a 3 ball. Rasheed was popping it like he was known to do back then (he had 30 points in that game 7 while shooting only 2 3 pointers). There was even a stretch where Bonzi Wells seemed to be taking over the game (eliciting a “give it to Bonzi!” every time the Blazers brought the ball down).

To this day I can’t stand to watch replays of that game. My brother and I watched in uncomfortable silence as the Blazers all of a sudden stopped making baskets, and the Lakers started to digging into the (what appeared to be a comfortable) 15 point lead. By the time Kobe hit Shaq on the alley-oop, we were too stunned to speak. I spent the rest of the day trying to process the disappointment of not only the hated Lakers being back in the Finals, but my favorite cast of characters (since the ’93 Suns) losing their chance to face the Pacers. It reminded me of the feelings of bewilderment as I watched the Houston Oilers collapse against the Buffalo Bills in the 1992 playoffs.

So was it the Lakers defense or were the Blazers just standing around and settling on bad shots? I can’t tell you, and I don’t care to remember. But if you look at the box scores of that game you will see that Schrempf and Bonzi were the only two players to come off the bench and score (a combined total of 13 points). Robert Horry, Brian Shaw, and Derek Fisher combined for 25 points off the bench.

I can vividly recall the growing frustration with Portland’s inability to get buckets (there may have been a 8 minute scoreless stretch during the 4th quarter). They played great defense that game. If someone told me beforehand that Kobe would only get 25 points and Shaq would only get 18 points on 5 for 9 shooting, I would have penciled in a W for the Blazers. But it just wasn’t meant to be. No one could get any buckets in the paint (Sabonis and Pippen combined to score as many as Shaquille).

I’m sure some of the outcome has to do with the coaching match up of Phil Jackson vs. Mike Dunleavy. I’m sure by game 7 Phil had made the necessary adjustments to curb the Sabonis-O’Neal advantage that Portland had been exploiting over the course of the series. I’m also certain that Phil had made sure the Lakers stuck to their defensive assignments and forced Portland to be a jump shooting team.

Looking at things now as a 35 year old man, and not as an emotional 21 year Lakers hater, adds a little context to the situation. If I were to watch that tape now, it would probably be more of an examination of how brilliant of a coach Phil Jackson was, rather than revisiting one of the greatest collapses in sports history. The final score of the game was 89-84, Los Angeles, and the rest is history.

The Lakers became a dynasty and Portland well…. just watch the video essay by Simmons. I can’t necessarily say the Trailblazers were losers, they fought back from a 3-1 series deficit to get to that pivotal moment for both franchises. I can say that every Trailblazers fan I have come across since that night wears the same look of disappointment when that game 7 comes up in conversation. If you watched game 7 of the Western Conference Finals that year, its something that is impossible to forget.

Unfortunately Sabonis never got a ring, neither did Anthony,or anyone on that team other Rasheed (2004 Pistons). Only three players from that series are even active now, Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, and Jermaine O’Neal. Of the three, Derek Fisher is the only one not on the injured list (I’m not sure what this says about OKC that they are still relying on his production). O’Neal broke his hand playing for the Warriors, and Kobe of course broke his kneecap.

You know what? This post wasn’t quite as painful as I thought it would be. After careful examination, its much easier to give props to L.A. than to chastise Portland for choking. A few years ago, my buddy and I replayed this game on X-BOX, with me as Portland and he the Lakers. The game wasn’t even that close. He smashed me. Besides an occasional 3 pointer from Sabonis and Wallace, it was difficult getting buckets. I figured Greg Anthony and Schrempf would keep his team honest, but if the jumpers weren’t falling, I was in trouble. Every time I took the ball in the paint, my players would get blocked by Shaq or the ball would get stolen by one of his lengthy defenders. The frustration was building and soon I was cussing and yelling at the players on screen. His response was classic. ” Why you getting mad dude? There is a reason why they didn’t win anything. Pick a better team next time.”

Sometimes it’s not meant to be. Just ask Spurs fans.

#THATWASANASSWHUPPING

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“When you talk about a teammate, that’s everything you want in a teammate. I gained so much more respect for Serge for sacrificing himself for the team. Regardless of what happened tonight, that’s something you want beside you.”

Straight from KD’s mouth right there.

Man. I’m not gonna make no HGH accusations and say that bro was on that Gazelle antler spray tip. Professional athletes have mutant healing powers, and the best medical staffs available to man.

Serge Ibaka just went from “OUT TO THE PLAYOFFS” to “day to day.”

They called it a miracle.They said his calf just managed to stop swelling. Did one of the reverends that do the pre-game prayer lay hands on Serge Ibaka? Did Dennis Haybert come into the locker room and sacrifice a bucket of chicken?

For all the talk about how Russell Westbrook’s absence affected the Thunder play, they are a totally different team without Serge Ibaka–regressing back to 2011 OKC. Ibaka affected how the Spurs attacked the rim and he put in 15 points on the offensive end. The spacing he was able to provide allowed Russ more room to attack the rim. His presence alone gave the team and the crowd an emotional lift was akin to a college basketball event. It was loud and the crowd was juiced. San Antonio wasn’t ready for that kind of intensity. Ginoboli said the Thunder “showed them reality.”

Besides Ginoboli, no one on the Spurs played well. There were flashed of Spurs sprinkled throughout the first 3 quarters, but let’s face it, they were outrebounded, and outhustled. They had to work twice as hard on defense because they couldn’t get rebounds. They also picked up a lot of stupid touch fouls while in the bonus (I didn’t think the refs had a good game last night).

I think this game 4 is going to determine who wins this series. A Thunder win will dredge up bad memories for this San Antonio team, and could give the Thunder yet another psychological boost. A Spurs win can ease a lot of minds in the San Antonio camp. Either way, the next 3 games are going to be dogfights. The energy from last night’s game was contagious, and if Serge is healthy enough to play again, expect some drama. Scott Brooks is right when he says the Spurs are not “that much better” than the Thunder.

They definitely are longer, bigger, and more athletic than the Spurs. If they continue to play smarter than the Spurs this will be 2012 all over again; including another ass whupping from the Heat in the finals. Which is why I’m rooting for the Spurs to take OKC down (Spurs are a much better match up against Miami–I think they can beat them this time). Fuck Lebron’s three-peat.

Kawhi Before Our Very Eyes

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When its all said and done, Greg Popovich’s face should be on a postage stamp, “Spurs Forever”
Besides trading away Luis Scola and signing Richard Jefferson, can you think of any other glaring mistakes that the front office in San Antonio has made (I bet their front office is about as tight lipped as the KGB on draft nights. Even the slightest rumor that the Spurs are high on a player will raise their stock)?

Drafting the Admiral and Timmy “Time Machine” were both no brainers, but how did they know Manu Ginoboli and Tony Parker would be so damn good? Now they have Kawhi emerging as a legitimate two way threat. I don’t think he’ll ever be more than an 18 and 10 guy (He doesn’t strike me as the kind of player who’ll carry a team by himself–nor should he be asked to), but the impact that he has on a game can’t be ignored. The guy made three pivotal, mouth gaping, “HOLY FUCK” plays last night.
Kawhi’s presence cannot be ignored. There is going to come a point where Tony Parker won’t have the wheels and will have to say “You have the juice now Kawhi.” And Spurs fans will solemnly nod and cheer their team on to another 50 win season. Kawhi fell to # 15 in a weak 2011 draft and I would argue that he is clearly the best player to come out that year. I see why Mavs fans hate the Spurs so much. Imagine how mad they would be if the Spurs somehow landed Rick Carlisle as the successor to Popovich. They’d be swollllllllll.

Fighting the Doldrums [originally posted 2/10/14 on sportsblog.com]

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Winter has hit us pretty hard here in Lawrence. The snow we had shut things down for a few days. By Friday I was sitting at my desk watching the Pebble Beach Pro-Am just to have some sort of escape from out beautifully dreary weather. I think I’m going to start watching the golf channel whenever I need to take a nap. I find it oddly soothing. Something else I learned from watching golf this weekend, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are pretty decent golfers. For all the talk about how ‘humble’ both players exhibit on the football field, their real life swag as rich white men couldn’t be more noticeable in their relaxed golfing attire of pullover sleeves and brown corduroys pants. forget what the scoreboard has read in past Super Bowls, both men are winners at life.

Anyway, I managed to watch a little basketball this weekend, but not nearly as much as I wanted. Living with 30 plus people during a snowstorm doesn’t lend to great bandwidth. It’s also embarrassing to admit that I fell asleep midway through the KU-WVU game on Saturday. Either I’m getting old and need more sleep, or I’m just bored with the way conference play has turned out. Either way I snored my way through the 2nd half. Impressive eh? I looked at the box scores and things seemed rather ho hum. Maybe the “little brothers” (who by the way put it on the same UT horns who thumped the Jayhawks last week)will provide some drama in the little apple tonight. Here are some random notes from the last week of Snowpocalypse:

From what little I did see of the game, Juwan Staten and Erron Harris make up a pretty good backcourt. I heard a couple of analysts say possibly best backcourt in the conference. I looked in the box score and saw they accounted for 39 of the 69 Mountaineer’s points. They definitely have my attention. The next time they face a good team, I’ll probably tune in and check out their game.

Melvin Ejim- WTF! 48 points 18 rebounds on 20-24 shots. Unreal. I know its just TCU, but the horny toads are still a D-1 school. He only missed four shots as well. Pretty dang efficient if you ask me. I don’t know what this means as far as his future in the NBA, but it certainly makes a person pay closer attention to what is going up in Ames.

I got to watch a little NBA action this week. Golden State vs. Chicago wasn’t as good of a game as I was hoping, but I did enjoy it. Besides reminding me about how good of a passer Joakim Noah is (his passes to Taj Gibson out of the High-Low sets not a surprise if you remember his playing days with Horford), this week gave us this tweet.
When his playing days are over, and he can keep it one hundred without fear of repercussions from the league, Noah is going to make a great interview. I’m officially a fan.

Illard!!!

Pacers vs. Trailblazers was everything you could ask for in a game. It was back and forth, a couple of game changing shots in the last minute, and overtime. There was an ILLard outburst, with a 38, 3, and 11 line for the box scores (in OT it felt like he was the only one with anything leftin the tank for Portland) and a humongous game by George Hill (37 pts, 9 boards, 8 assists, 2 steals and 1 blk). The back and forth nature of the game kept me squealing and you could tell that Jon Barry was getting into the excitement as well. David West was hitting clutch buckets, and Wes Matthews put on a show down the stretch too. This was one of the better games of the year. I’m glad I got to watch it in real time.

KD for MVP (revisited)

I’m hoping that KD’s performance yesterday can finally put to rest any doubt that Durant deserves MVP over Lebron. Guarding Carmelo most of the game, Durant managed to score 41, grab 10 rebounds, dish out 9 assists, and keep Melo scoreless for the 4th quarter. I have heard people argue that Durant is only a scorer, and that may have been true going into last year. But people c’mon. KD has done nothing short of step up when his team needed him the most. In fact, everyone on the team has stepped up in Westbrook’s absence (especially Serge Ibaka) and a lot of that is KD making everyone else around him better. You can even see it during the huddles and timeouts; KD directing traffic, and giving feedback when needed. No one knows how the second half of the season will play out, but if MVP were voted on today, I think he would have to be the winner.

Big game tonight against K-State. Although he’s been flashing bits and pieces of brilliance, seems like Joel Embiid has been slightly off his game (from what little I have seen the past few ballgames). He’s still rumored to be the number one pick; which got me to thinking about the ideal spots for Embiid to land next year, should he decide to leave Lawrence. He can’t drive a car yet so maybe that would affect the scenario a bit, but I’m going to give it a few days and chomp on this a bit, and get back to you. Hopefully he’ll get in a groove tonight and have a monster game. All Star weekend approaching and all this snow outside makes me wish I made plans to be in New Orleans this Saturday and Sunday. What perfect timing to be in the N.O.–warmer weather, a great line-up of festivities, Mardi Gras approaching, and of course, its New Orleans. I’m a little jelly of those who get to make it down there. As exciting as it would be to go to New York for next year’s All Star Weekend, it will still be February in New York. Not quite the same. One thing is for sure, I won’t be leaving the house unnecessarily for the next 6 weeks–perhaps this will result in more blog entries and less shenanigans. We will see.

Stay warm out there.

Final Four

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We’ve got our Final Four and for all my bitching about seeding and who had the easiest path, it still played out how most people predicted; Oklahoma City vs. San Antonio and Indiana vs. Miami.

It didn’t look like the Pacers would make it this far early on, with Roy Hibbert (the disappearing 7’2 black man) having the worst playoffs of all time for an All-Star (I’m 5’11 and I can get 2-3 rebounds on accident–how he goes an entire game without getting one is beyond me). But he recovered and so did the Pacers and now they finally have home court against Miami. No excuses, this what the Pacers and now they have it. This scenario reminds me too much of ’93 Knicks vs. Bulls. Knicks had home court and didn’t make a lick of difference to Michael Jordan, the greatest player in the game at that time. The Pacers have home court, but the Heat have Lebron James, the greatest player in the game now, as a wise man once said, “That shit don’t mean fuck” to Lebron.

Heat in Six

Before we get in to the Spurs-Thunder, let’s just wish a Bon Voyage to the Los Angeles Clippers. They had a great season and dealt with some ill timed distractions, but fuck those guys. Chris Paul is the best point guard in the game but on that John Stockton “sneaky dirty” tip. He whines, he complains, he fouls, and gets pissy when calls don’t go his way. Fuck him. Fuck J.J. Redick (still) and fuck Blake Griffin. Those dudes are a bunch of floppers and they get what they deserve for signing contracts with the infamous Donald Sterling. Only dudes on that team I respect are Jamal Crawford (so smooth with it) and Matt Barnes (keeps it grimey). I’m glad they got eliminated in the second round. As my homey Adrian (a lifelong Lakers fan) says, “Fuck Clippers for Life!”

The Thunder should have eliminated them in 5 games, they blew game 4 and now have to face the Spurs without Serge Ibaka because he injured his calf in the extra game they played. I would have predicted Spurs in 7 had they had a healthy Ibaka “blocka flame”, but now without him I say Spurs in six.

Scott Brooks as a coach is like the kid who comes over to play video games and he picks the best team and just shoots with the same players over and over again. He may beat you, but not because he’s a better gamer, but only because he is running with a better squad. Put Scott Brooks on the Orlando Magic, and there is no discernible difference in the win-loss records. I’m not saying Scott Brooks is a bad coach. I just don’t think he is an elite coach and he has been getting out-coached all playoffs. He also just happens to have the two best players in the Western Conference on his team. He’s a good coach though, a good personnel guy, but his in game strategy is sorely lacking.

Personally, I’m rooting for a Spurs-Heat rematch. I think the Spurs have the best chance of beating the Heat of the last teams remaining. They have the best coach, and Tony Parker is the best point guard left playing. The Spurs also have the best role players. They are better than next last year’s team based on that alone. A healthy Spurs would have smashed the Heat in six games last year (Parker was hobbled that whole series after game 1). I want the Heat to earn it if this is going to be the three-peat year. The hardest path for them would be through San-Antonio. I think this is what Spurs fans want as well, they’ll take their chances running it back against a Heat team that hasn’t gotten better (besides Lebron) but only got older.

Eastern Conference Finals begins in about an hour and a half. Bring it!

Lastly, Big shout outs to Mark Jackson, for handling his ouster from Golden State with grace. I don’t like the way it was all handled, and Mark Jackson deserved better. I hope he chills on them checks he gonna be getting til the perfect situation opens up for him. He’s a good coach who will someday be a great coach. Its obvious now that his firing had nothing to do with basketball. All that being said, I think Kerr is the perfect replacement for Coach Jackson. Kerr is really intelligent person who will certainly be a “player’s coach.”
I think his style will be a breath of fresh air for that camp. Of course, coaching is not why they lost in the first round. Their roster wasn’t nearly as good as last year’s and yet they managed to win more games this year than they did last year (this year’s conference was arguably tougher). A coach still needs players, and if Golden State trots out the same lineup next year they will NOT make the playoffs next year. The Lacob clan need to look in the mirror and decide how serious they are about becoming an elite franchise.

Have a good weekend and let’s pray for no more series turning injuries the rest of the way……. well unless they happen to the Heat.

Shocking the World [originally posted 3/11/14 on sportsblog.com]

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I must apologize for the tone of last post. Current events can be such a bummer sometimes. So in the spirit of the human race avoiding a World War III scenario (for now), I’m going to embrace the things that I love about basketball (and life in general). Let’s go!

1) I love that I got the opportunity to see Tarik Black play for Kansas. I knew he’d be a great senior presence on the team, but hearing all the positive things said about him is heartwarming and inspiring. He describes his time here in Lawrence as life changing, and coach Self has said that “it would be hard to find a better teammate” than Tarik. At the beginning of the season I thought he was just going to be a defensive presence, but there have been a few games where he has made an impact down on the offensive block (not to mention a few memorable rim rattling dunks). How more perfect could he have played (9 of 9 with 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and only 2 personal fouls) in his last night on the Allen Fieldhouse Floor?

2) I love the defensive effort the Jayhawks displayed on senior night against Texas Tech last Wednesday. That was arguably the best they have looked on D all year.

3) I love the fire that Andrew Wiggins showed during the regular season finale against West Virginia. There wasn’t much to like about the game. The flow was klunky (I felt like I was at the local community building waiting for next–praying that a team finally goes on a run and gets 15th point), and the officiating (for both teams) was some of the worst I’d seen all season long. Missed traveling calls are one thing, but over judicious whistles disrupt the flow of the game. Let em play! But I digress. What Wiggins did on Saturday put the rest any of that silly talk about him being overrated (12-18 shooting 41 points 4 blocks, 5 steals, and 8 rebounds).

The cold blooded part about was that he wasn’t beating his chest and yelling “Let’s go!” He had the same stoic look he always has when he’s mashing on dudes. The basket, the steal on the ensuing in-bounds pass and dunk sequence was one of those “uh oh he about to take the game over” stretches. No matter what happens to the Jayhawks, I will consider his season a success, and that was even before his performance on Saturday. He has scored the most points ever by a Jayhawks freshman, has the highest total points in a game by a Jayhawk (a record formerly held by the guy who punched Mitch McGary in the gnads), and he won Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Can the haters let my boy live?

4)I’m loving how the Shockers are the best basketball team in Kansas and the reactions from Jayhawks homers when I mention this to them. Go to any bar in Lawrence and you will hear people saying how much they hope to land in the same bracket as Wichita State so “they can run them.” I’m not sure Kansas fans feel quite as cocky now that Embiid is on the shelf indefinitely. There is a great article by Grantland’s Jordan Conn (who besides Jonathan Abrams,Zach Lowe and Andrew Sharp is one of those cats who always seem to come with it when they write) discussing how dismissive KU fans are of Wichita State’s run.

I hear the same regurgitated arguments, “They would be middle of the pack if they were in the Big 12,” or “they hadn’t played anybody yet.” 34-0 is 34-0. John Wooden said it best when he said (and I’m paraphrasing) “the only opponent is yourself.” That means that no matter who you play, as a team you are playing against a standard and it doesn’t matter who the other team is. How many times have the Jayhawks lost to an inferior team this year? How many times has this happened to the Shockers? Exactly. That means every game they played, they have been mentally prepared and didn’t allow for any letdown games.

No one talks about Arizona being overrated (for the record, I don’t think they are); playing in an over glorified softball, flag football, volleyball, track and field conference. The “Wack-12” has been irrelevant for years, but because the conference makes a lot of money for the NCAA, people disregard this fact. I would have taken Wichita State over KU before the Embiid injury, now I feel even more confident that the Shockers will have a deeper run than the Jayhawks.

5) I’m loving James Michael McAdoo’s rugged look these days. He’s rocking the “I’m going through some thangs, it may be time for me to do things differently” kind of look. It makes him look less like a petulant pretty boy, and more like a dude ready to put in some work on the boards. I’m sure by the time tournament play starts, he’ll have cleaned his look up. But it’s a good sign when a dude is coming to practice everyday looking like “Eff it. We need these wins. I ain’t got time to worry bout nothing but hoops and making grades. Eff everything else.”

6) I’m loving that in addition to Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker put in some work to get Duke a much needed W against their bitter rival, UNC. His 30 points and 11 rebounds put the stamp on the narrative for his career at Duke; on his last night in front of the Cameron Crazies. I think he’ll be the real deal in the pro’s. He may or may not be an all-star, but he can’t be any worse than Glenn Robinson or Vin Baker can he? And while I’m talking about the UNC-Duke rivalry, with UNC not being as good lately, it almost seems like UNC is in danger of feeling like the odd man out, as the rivalry between Syracuse and Duke quickly develops.

I imagine UNC and Duke as two neighborhood kids who have known each other all their lives, and then right before high school starts, an older, cooler kid moves in across the street; hits it off splendidly with Duke, thus causing some friction between Duke and Carolina. Syracuse and Duke don’t have the history, but it certainly has the intensity.

7) I’m loving the Los Spurs jerseys that the team rocked against “El Heat” (doesn’t quite roll off the tongue does it?) Sure they supposedly hinder the shots of players like Lebron James, but I don’t care. I don’t need excuses, I need to see more reasons to spend my money on NBA swag.

8) I love not watching the Rockets play. Geez their games are way too long. It feels like Rockets games last at least 15-30 minutes longer than games from any other teams in the league. The high number of fouls, flopping, and Dwight Howard’s bricks make Rockets games nearly un-watchable. I feel like Patrick Beverley is another cheap shot away from becoming this generation’s Bruce Bowen. Damien Lillard is the latest to get annoyed by Beverley’s overzealous play. This spawned an interesting analysis on Grantland about Beverley’s affect on the team

9) I love that Jalen Rose has a job in the media. Having worked both as a professional ballplayer and now as an analyst, Jalen has a unique perspective. He peels back the curtain and offers a glimpse into both worlds. With so many different media outlets trying to create a narrative when there isn’t a story to report, Jalen’s analysis is one of the few places where you’ll get the real deal. He gives the people what they want.

10) I love watching Phoenix and Golden State play. Back when I lived in the Bay Area (without a college degree), I always wanted–but couldn’t afford–to be in attendance for this match-up. Back 2007, it was Steve Nash and company vs. Monta Ellis and Baron Davis, but it was an uptempo game that would sometimes get up in the 120’s. The current Golden State roster is better than that mid-aught’s squad, with Don Nelson tinkering with lineups like a chemistry experiment. I can’t argue that this year’s squad is better than the “7 seconds or less” Phoenix teams, but they are fun to watch again. I like the Morris boys way more than I ever did while they were in college. I thought they were bullies back in their KU days, but now they just seem like really tough enforcers. They add a much needed physical dimension to Jeff Hornacek’s roster. I hope the Morris boys play their whole NBA careers together.

11) Lastly, I love the idea of the NBA shortening its season. 82 games is too many. It felt like many of the good teams hit a serious lull after the All-Star Break. I know there is a lot of money to lose by reducing the season, but is there really a need for 12 extra games? Players get tired, players get hurt, and then the game suffers for these periods where key players are recovering, and rehabbing for the playoffs. I’d even be into an extra round if its about making up the lost money.

I think the NBA playoffs is long enough as it is, but if you took away 12 meaningless games in exchange for an extra round, at least the games would be of consequence. But if that happens, I’d like to see the top overall 18 teams get in, rather than this whole Eastern/Western Conference thing. Its not fair (to the players or fans) that a team can play mediocre ball all season and get rewarded simply because of geography. What sense does that make? Why we’re at it, I agree with Sir Charles Barkley’s simple solution to tanking. Lottery teams get one ping pong ball apiece. Why reward failure and bad management decisions? Philadelphia, Sacramento, Toronto, Cleveland, and Milwaukee have been perennial losers, and the lottery picks haven’t done those franchises any good. I believe in you Adam Silver. Make it happen captain!

Enjoy the conference tournaments. You best believe I’m dropping everything on my schedule to watch Syracuse and Duke if they happen to meet up again.

Peace.

Shaking Up the Narrative [originally posted 3/25/14]

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With no NCAA games until Thursday, I wanted to take advantage of the reprieve to talk a little NBA. We’re still mired in the NBA doldrums until next month, but there are a couple things I wanted to discuss:

KD for MVP Part II

According to Magic Johnson, KD has locked up the MVP this year. I’d been saying it since January, but it seems like every night, the “D.C. Sniper” does something incredible to distance himself from the rest of the pack. He absolutely killed it against the Raptors putting up 51 points, 12 boards, and 7 assists. The three pointer to end the game in double overtime was filthy. Down 110-118 with 49 seconds to go, it didn’t look good for the Thunder, but I should have known better than to doubt KD and company. After having my bracket busted earlier that day, KD’s game winner made my night.

Why not the Clippers?

For anyone who hasn’t been paying much attention to pro ball, the Los Angeles Clippers are the trendy pick to unseat Oklahoma City and San Antonio Spurs as the favorites to win the Western Conference. A friend of mine has been blowing up my phone with texts saying this was the Clippers’ year. I didn’t take him seriously for the first couple of weeks he said this, but during the most recent Warriors-Clips game, I asked myself “Why not?”

Their bench is pretty decent with Matt Barnes, Glen Davis, Jamal Crawford, Darren Collison,and Danny Granger coming off the bench.
This is the best coach any of the current Clippers have ever had (except Matt Barnes who played for Phil). Doc Rivers already has a ring, and is one of the five best coaches in the league right now. Most of the reason it was hard to take the Clippers seriously was because of Vinny Del Negro. He’s gone now though. Coaching is no longer an impediment with the team.

People were getting excited about the Warriors getting Andre Iguadola, but many foresaw them regressing this year. Their bench play has been lacking, and this has caused the Dubs to struggle more than they did when they had Jarrett Jack to help spell Steph Curry. With Phoenix surging and the Warriors not looking quite as strong, it’s going to be interesting to see who has to face LAC in the first round.

I can’t wait to see how the seeding works out, though I wish the NBA would get crazy with it and adopt this playoff model.

Speaking of playoff intensity, Miami vs. Indy tomorrow night. Clear your schedules.

Time to Ball [Posted originally on 4/18/14 at sportsblog.com]

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Now it is time for the big boys to play. Three is reason they call NCAA hoops amateur ball, and its not because college players don’t get paid. Besides the excitement of the fan base, professional ball is vastly superior to the product the NCAA plays. In college ball, its about coaches and schemes. In the NBA, its about the players. We are looking at two months of intense, non stop hoops action looming on the horizon. This was part of the reason I need a break between the end of the NCAA tournament and the beginning of the playoffs. As of April 4th, I was burnt up. As of April 18th, I’m turnt up. It is a Good Friday indeed.

The first round match ups are posted and we get a couple of pretty good opening series to start this thing off. I don’t give two shits about the Eastern Conference until Miami plays the Bulls, Nets, or Pacers. Until then, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm will be reserved for snacking, crapping, fapping, then napping. Forget about the Eastern Conference “I ain’t messing wit dem no mo”

Now that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the Varsity squads:

Clippers-Warriors

Its unfortunate that David Lee and Andrew Bogut are both hurt. Golden State is limping into the playoffs and the pressure on their back court to produce increases even more with those guys injured. W hat was burgeoning into a nasty relationship is going to be tempered a little with no Bogut. I’m sure Curry and Thompson will have a couple of explosive nights, but with the Clippers depth and their big front court, this could be a quick first round exit for the W’s. I just don’t know how they will have an answer for Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Clippers in six, because I can see the Warriors stealing a game they shouldn’t have any business winning.

Spurs-Mavs

For old school Texans like myself, this is an intriguing series because it brings back memories of the mid 2000’s when Dallas and San Antonio battled year after year to advance in the playoffs. My Dallas friends HATE the Spurs while my friends from San Antonio find these series amusing (except when you bring up Nick Van Exel or Jason Terry). The Spurs usually got the upper hand on these series except for one occasion, the ’05-06 year when the Mavs beat them in 7 games. The Mavericks have done well for themselves after not making the playoffs last year. I think they will get beat in 6 games, but it will still be an entertaining series. Watching Rick Carlisle and Greg Poovich play chess is just another thing to look forward to as well. Dirk and Monta have been fun all year, and seeing them match up against the Western Conference champs will be worth your time. No matter what happens this first round, the Mavs have nothing to lose as it has already been a successful season.

Memphis-Oklahoma City

I think this will be the best match up of the first round. Last year when they faced off, OKC had no James Harden, had no Russell Westbrook, and they had an inexperienced Reggie Jackson. This year they have Westbrook, Reggie Jackson was killing it early in the season before Russ came back from his second knee surgery, and KD is coming off an MVP season. Memphis came on strong at the end of the season, and they look like they are finally getting healthy. Z-Bo and Kendrick Perkins will tangle up (and one or both of them will end up getting hurt) and pushes and shoves will be exchanged. Unless there is a major injury to a player on either team, I think OKC wins in 6. If last year was any indication, then these games will be physical, and tight, and thoroughly entertaining.

Portland-Houston

I hate watching Houston play–too many floppers on the Rockets’ roster. James harden is going to average 15-20 free throws a game, and viewers will be forced to stay up until 1:00 central time trying to watch the games when they play up in Portland. I may watch to see if Lillard tees off on Patrick Beverly after a frustrating sequence of no calls. I assume the games will be up and down, but just be warned, the 4th quarters of this series will be Looooooooooooooooooonnnnnnggg. Houston in Six. Too much depth inside.

Shout out to the Phoenix Suns who definitely don’t deserve to be sitting at home watching this shit on TV. The people want to see Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe, and PJ Tucker, and Gerald Green. As Jalen Rose likes to say “Give the people what they want!” C’mon Adam Silver don’t let this happen again.
Special shout out to Craig Sager and his colorful wardrobe. The playoffs won’t be the same without you. I hope to see your goofy grin and splendid attire at the beginning of next season. Holler at Blake Griffin about getting some of that medical bro!

Have a good Easter and any other holiday you’ll celebrate on Sunday (wink. wink. Nudge. Nudge.)
Peace.

Scrappin’ [Posted 4/25/14 on Sportsblog.com]

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If you are the type of person who likes seeing hard fouls, contested layups and massively uncomfortable stare downs, then the NBA playoffs is for you. If you haven’t noticed, things have turned up a notch The past week has given us a couple of weirdly entertaining series out east, a Pacers teams that looks on the verge of an epic seasonal collapse, a youthful resurgence in Rip City, and GM’s dropping 25,000 dollar expletives.

As we get closer to the swing games of the first round series, expect the intensity to pick up. I’ve watched judiciously, easing into this two month gauntlet of masculinity and bravado, but the weight of each game is getting heavier and even the Eastern Conference is becoming just interesting enough to at least tune into the 4th quarter. The Feds seized my favorite streaming site so now I’m catching them wherever I can; pool halls, pizza joints, wing bars, and frat boys’ open windows. It’s about to get krunk, and if my roommates thought I was loud during the regular season,look out!!!!!!!! Thanks to Kevin Durant and Kendrick Perkins, I’ve already alienated myself with all the screaming I was doing. The people who live on my floor hate me.

Random thoughts from the first round:

I may have been wrong about the Eastern Conference but only slightly. From everything I’ve heard, the Pacers-Hawks series has been ugly. I’ve been tracking it on ESPN, and whatever apps you can get score updates, and I haven’t gotten the impression that its something that I’m missing out on. The same can be said about the Bobcats-Heat. If I wanted to see beat downs, I’d go on bumfights.com or look up Kimbo Slice videos. Yawn.

The Bulls-Wizards match up has been intriguing. I’ve watched crunch time of both games and the Wizards have been taking it to the Bulls down the stretch. I’m not the biggest fan of Bill Simmons by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ll give credit where its due. He said Washington would beat the Bulls before the series started. Simmons stated that the back court match up would be the difference in the series and he was right. Chicago has no real answer for Bradley Beal and John Wall when it matters most. Nene has played pretty well (I didn’t realize he was such a good passer) and the rest of the cast has been just good enough. Both games could have gone either way, but Chicago is going to have a tough time climbing out of the hole that’s been dug for them. They just don’t have enough playmakers.

The off the court theatrics in the Toronto-Brooklyn series has been more compelling to me than the on court product (Paul Pierce’s “This is why they brought me here” was exactly why he’s one of the most beloved Jayhawks of all time). Between that, GM of Toronto’s “F%$^ Brooklyn” and this weird Jay-Z- Drake “beef” (which I’m almost convinced is a publicity stunt for an upcoming duet album “Degrassi Heights”), the media has made this series into “New York vs. New York Lite, the battle for Metropolis” narrative.

While I’m talking about this, there are a couple weird things I think about this so called “beef”. Drake calling anything anyone’s raps “corny” is laughable, and for him to pretend like Toronto is this blue collar city, and the Raptors are a team for the “people” is equally ridiculous. I’ve been to Toronto. Its about as metropolitan of a city as you’ll find in North America, and other Canadians hate Toronto. Everyone please stop it. That shit is too silly.

Somehow I’ve managed to miss both Spurs-Mavs games, but luckily there haven’t been any dick punches to upstage the actual play on the court. With Dallas winning game 2 in San Antonio, it guarantees there will at least be a game 5. This will probably be when I decide to finally jump in and watch Dirk vs. Tim, Pops vs. Carlisle, and Monta vs. the WORLD.

Oklahoma City may have possibly gotten the worst draw of the field. Memphis has always been a bad match up for them, because of how physical they play on defense, and how slow they play on offense. Oklahoma City beats most teams by their athleticism and most teams try to out run them. Memphis likes to body up KD with Tony Allen and company, and make OKC grind out their wins. It took OKC 7 games to dispose of the Grizz two years ago on their Finals run. Last year with no Westbrook, it was clear they were dead in the water. This year, with OKC fans cringing every time Westbrook hits the deck (they are such a different squad without Russ), it seems like even if the Thunder escape this round, that they may be too tired to advance much deeper than past years. Memphis has a way of wearing down their opponents.

Watching Westbrook get his kneecap worked on put into perspective how flaky life can be. 2 years ago, it seemed like the Thunder were on the brink of a dynasty, and just like that Harden is leading a team of floppers down in Houston, and Westbrook is one nasty spill away from being this generation’s Ron Harper. It just goes to show that you never know how things are going to be from year to year. Memphis was the one team that I didn’t want to get in because they made me nervous (well that and Phoenix was a bit more entertaining), and now that they are healthy again, they are going to make teams work to close them out. It won’t be pretty.

As for this Dubs-Clips series, I didn’t realize David Lee was going to be healthy enough to play this series (he’s such an underrated passer), but even with Lee it is still hard for me to believe the Warriors have the juice to win this thing. There was a moment when I realized that I used to watch Mark Jackson and Glen “Doc” Rivers when they were playing for Indiana and New York, and how I was a fan of both of them during their league days. I am starting to think that despite Mark Jackson’s oratory skills, he is lacking in the X’s and O’s department. His in-game decisions have been trumped again and again by the Doc. Jackson will always have a job in the league because he is a player’s coach (much like Scotty Brooks) but some of his strategic decisions have been puzzling at best (again much like Scotty Brooks).

Have I mentioned that I don’t like the Clippers? They are some of the whiniest, dirtiest players assembled right now, west of Miami, Florida. Blake Griffin flops more than a mud shark shoved in a Zeppelin groupie’s……well let’s leave that alone. The point is there is always a little extra with the Clippers, and that was a foul by Chris Paul at the end of the game. That being said, you can’t play that poorly for 3 quarters and then expect to get bailed out the refs. My prediction is the next game will be the last game won by the Dubs in this series. I think the Clippers will win the next two, of course game 6 might be another Oracle classic.

Let’s see how it all shakes out.

See ya next week.

#TooMuchAmazing [posted 5/9/14 on sportsblog.com]

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What a first week of playoff basketball. 7 overtime games in the first round is an NBA record, and even Magic Johnson says its the best basketball he has seen in 35 years. Of course, that’s not all Magic Johnson had to say this week.

Everyone has given their hot sports take on the Donald Sterling issue, and everyone who knew who he was can’t act like they are surprised (I like how his wife acts shocked and is trying to distance herself from him–she been married to him how long? Spending his money without any questions about his housing practices– I ain’t buying it!). C’mon folks. We all knew the score. The difference now is that he is (allegedly) on tape making these comments to his Mexican-Black girlfriend. What is crazy is that when I listened to the tape, I immediately felt sorry for the both of them.

Throughout the conversation, it sounds as if Sterling is manipulating her and Sterling is wielding the power dynamic in his favor. But then I remembered that she was taping him without his knowledge, and that she was actually the one calling the shots. Why was she taping their conversations? What did she have to gain from releasing these tapes? Two days later, Magic Johnson is involved with an ownership group that wants to take the Clippers off his hands. In the words of Arsenio Hall, “these are things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm”

Enough about that nonsense though. I’m sure every one of Sterling’s friends and associates are just shaking their heads behind closed doors, wondering how someone can be worth 2 billion dollars by being such a dummy. Sterling got played.

How ironic would it be that Magic does get the Clippers somehow, getting back at Donald Sterling and Jim Buss in the process? This is a story worth keeping tabs on from this angle alone. But the bigger issue will be if the league makes Donald Sterling sell his piece of the pie and how that will be approached. It’s hard to guess what will come about in a league where throwing a flying elbow at a superstar’s throat is less of a penalty than a minor dust-up between two players that led to innocuous results.

I’m looking forward to watching tonight’s Mavs-Spurs game at 8:30 CST. Watching the OKC-Mem series made me realize that OKC just doesn’t have the coach to win the chips. I’m not saying they should fire Scott Brooks, but I don’t think its a stretch to think that OKC would win it all if Rick Carlisle was the head coach. From everything I have read (still have yet to watch a single minute–somehow this series has taken a back page to the other series), Carlisle is giving “Pops” a run for his money. Tonight will be the first game I actually get to watch.

I’m starting to look bad on my Houston-Portland prediction, as well as my Clippers-Warriors prediction (then again who could predict such an ill-timed leak of massive proportions). I don’t mind being wrong though, especially with games as entertaining as these. Let’s see how this week plays out.

Buffalo Braves vs. Boston Celtics

Before I sign off, R.I.P. wishes to Dr. Jack Ramsey. Back when I was a kid and always grounded from television, I could only get NBA when I listened to it on the radio. Dr. Jack consistently hipped me to subtle nuances about the game that the average analysts were not putting out there. I didn’t even know about the Rip City ’77 championship until I was much older and knew a thing or two about Pre-80’s basketball. I just thought he was this cool ass old man on the radio, turns out the dude is a basketball legend. If they ever make a movie about his life I want Larry David to star in it. I hope the people in Portland do a cool tribute for the man. #basketballneverstops