Bobby Mickey

Winding Down [originally posted 4/1/14 on sportsblog.com]

Posted by

0

The life has been sucked out of this town since the Sunday of round 2. It’s amazing to see how many people living here in Lawrence don’t really care about basketball– just KU basketball. Everyone I talked to said “wait until March Madness, the town is so fun around that time.” I guess that was assuming the Jayhawks would make a deep run in the tourney. After what I have seen out of Naadir Tharpe the past few weeks, I’m no longer as confident about Kansas’ title chances come next year. Am I out of line for questioning this guy’s judgment?

We’re down to the Final Four. If you picked Wisconsin, Florida, Kentucky, and UCONN in your final four, then congratulations, you’re a liar…. the sweet sixteen was anything but sweet for my bracket, and now I only have one team left standing. The dream is over. I had KU taking it all last year, and my bracket then wasn’t anywhere near as disastrous as this year (and this is the MOST college hoops I have watched in a very long time). Regardless of how I picked ’em, I’m very happy with the match-ups for next weekend. The last two rounds brought some phenomenal games–especially the ones involving Kentucky. Let’s pause for a minute and reflect on the run UK is on. K-State, an undefeated Shockers team, Louisville in an epic game, then Michigan in a barn burner–you gotta give Coach Calimari props.

Poor officiating aside (been a long running story all season), its been a heck of a tournament. I really enjoyed the Iowa State -UCONN matchup. Shabazz Napier went ham, and has made me a believer. He was in control of the game the whole time, and got to the rack whenever he wanted. Deandre Kane only got 16 points on 18 shots, but it was only a matter of time until they ran out of steam after losing their starting center. Props to Iowa State for the season they had. With the “Mayor” running the helm up in Ames, I feel confident that they will push KU next year for that Big 12 regular season title.

Frank Kaminksy and the Wisconsin Badgers have made me question my beliefs about the Big Ten conference. Even though they are so boring to watch, they still find ways to win. They play defense and they are well coached. I’m not sure if they’ll have enough to keep Kentucky from making it an all SEC final. The same can be said for UCONN and Napier.

I really enjoyed Grant Hill’s analysis and insight this tournament. He has a great sense of humor and wears awesome suits. It’s hard to freely give so many compliments to a Duke guy, but man the cat is as smooth off the court as he was on the court. I hope I can raise a son to grow up to be that classy.

Lastly, I’m sorry to say goodbye to the last set of really hot cheerleaders. University of Arizona is a close third to UCLA and Arizona State for hottest cheerleaders in the nation. I see now how they get recruits down to that part of the country. If I were a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers, Pac-12 games would be my bread and butter. It’s probably a good thing I’m not one, because you’d probably find me on Reddit, with a selfie of me and two of Arizona’s finest. Some good games this week, and I’m not just talking about the tournament. Don’t get too excited about the Spurs-Thunder on Thursday night. It’s a back-to-back for San Antonio and “Pops” will probably rest the starters. Just saying.

What tha Kentuck? [Originally posted 4/7/14 on sportsblog.com]

Posted by

0

Since I started watching college basketball back in 1991, I have never correctly predicted a tournament winner. This year was the most perplexing field to predict this year because there was no clear cut favorite and the region that had my favorite teams to watch, was also the toughest one to win. What Kentucky has done to emerge from the Midwest is nothing short of incredible. Aside from the opening round (in which I incorrectly picked K-State beating them), every game they ended up being the most entertaining game each round. As much as I dislike the history of Kentucky hoops, I find it hard to root against Texas boys, Julius Randle, and Aaron and Andrew Harrison. I don’t see them spitting the bit in what amounts to a home game for those three young men. Now with Myles Turner and Emmanuel Mudiay both stepping onto the scene for next year, Texas hoops has to be on the map for putting ballers out into the spotlight.

I watched the game on Saturday with a die hard Kentucky fan, and hanging out with him, reminded me of the downside of blind fan loyalty. Instead of enjoying what was a classic game, the guy sat on the couch, red faced and screaming, agonizing over every possession. It didn’t look like fun. After he went nuts over the Aaron Harrison game winner (again????), he slumped down onto his sofa in relief. I’d forgotten how nerve wracking rooting for your favorite team can be (because it seems like forever since I’ve watched a Jayhawks game). I had a brief flashback of the Christian Laetnner shot back in 1992, and instantly wanted to inch out of his apartment in case, another one of those miracle endings happened. I don’t feel sorry for people very often, but I would have if that Traevon Jackson shot had gone in. As exciting as buzzer beaters can be, but you can’t help but feel for kids who lose in such heart breaking fashions.

I remember the ulcer I nearly gave myself during game 2 of the 2011 NBA Finals, when I sat up in LOUD CITY, screaming at Danny Crawford as the refs gave Miami the W, in one of my more frustrating basketball experiences. My buddy invited me over to watch the championship game and I wonder if I should go. I think if it were me, I’d be so stressed out, that I would want to watch it alone. My dude was almost in tears when Traevon Jackson for Wisconsin, got fouled at the end of the game to set up his three free throw attempts. I asked my buddy if he was going to buy some bubbly, but he’s too superstitious to set up a post game celebration. Frankly, unless its a blowout, it doesn’t sound very enjoyable, and isn’t that the whole point of championships–to enjoy the experience? The more I think about it, the better off I am going up to Henry T’s and eating some wings and drinking a cola beverage. I don’t want to watch him crying after a defeat, and I don’t want to celebrate a Kentucky win.

Even if UCONN wins I won’t be happy. I’m still smarting over their win on Saturday against the Gators. I didn’t think I need another reason to dislike the University of Florida, but their loss on Saturday derailed my last chance at winning the house money from my bracket. A Florida win would have put me over the top in points, but thanks to Shabazz Napier (who was in control of the whole game despite only taking 6 shots) with his 12 points, 4 steals and 6 assists, a guy who picked his bracket winners based on the strength of every school’s mascots won the pot. I hope that UCONN wins, but watching tonight will be like monitoring the 2008 presidential election, I don’t care for either party, but it just so happens that the blue state represents the lesser of two evils.

At about 10:30 tonight, people will either be writing about 5 freshman putting together an unprecedented run, or they will be writing about how a senior point guard put a team of average ballplayers on his back, and willed them to an unlikely championship. Either story line works well for the tournament. No matter which teams prevail, Jerry Jones will be the real winner. Despite my dislike for basketball games being played in huge domed football fields (with elevated courts that can lead to players injuring themselves on loose balls and fans being so far away from the action), there is not a bad seat in the house. The place is gigantic, but every seat is tailor made for good viewing, AND there is a enormous screen that makes it impossible to miss any action (you might even find yourself just watching everything on the big screen–which seems a little silly). The city of North Texas (Arlington gets no love do they?) will be in for a treat tonight. Hopefully there won’t be a lot of drinking and driving or shootings at the strip club tonight.

Wrap it Up B [Originally posted 4/9/14 on Sportsblog.com]

Posted by

0

Believe it or not I’m quite happy to see the end of the college basketball season. I now have time for other things in my life, like learning guitar, taking walks, chasing tail, or watching NBA hoops. I’m going to take a little break from basketball until the playoffs start, but before I do, let’s have a quick run down of the season in whole; in addition to an entertaining campaign by the 2013-2014 Jayhawks.

First I have to give a shout out to the NCAA Champions UCONN Huskies. What a run. I still can’t believe they pulled it off. If you think about how many potential future NBA players are on the Wildcats roster and how many are playing for UCONN, forget about the seedings, that was a major upset.

People have been bubbling about how great of a tournament it was, and for the most part I agree, but the second half of the final was some of the worst ball I saw all tournament. Both teams were sloppy and careless, and besides the dunk by James Young, the second half was damn near unwatchable. Had that game been anything but the final, I would have turned it off. UCONN more outlasted the Wildcats than beat them. It seemed like both teams were tripping over themselves to give that game away.

That being said, UCONN’s backcourt was ill, and seeing what they did pretty much affirms what I have been saying all year about guard play being the key to winning the tournament. Despite some intermittent struggles, Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright carried the Huskies to a win. I’m not convinced that either will be more than NBA backups, but that takes nothing away from what they accomplished. Lebron thinks Napier should be the first pg taken in the draft; so maybe I’m wrong–it just seems like he’ll be too slow for the NBA, his dribble seems a little too high and his release point looks like his shot will get blocked consistently at the next level. It will be interesting to see him consistently face players who are as long and as quick as this year’s Kentucky team.

As for Kentucky, well who knows what is in store for them. They only have two guys who I feel confident will be immediate impact guys, James Young (who really impressed me with his play Monday night–I feel like he was only one who didn’t play scared) and Julius Randle (who I’m curious how he will adapt to playing against men his size, when he gets to the next level).

I think Dakari Johnson might be Andrew Bynum 2.0. I was on the fence about the Harrison boys. They need more time to develop but with their size (didn’t realize they were 6’6) they should be decent players.

Overall though a good tournament and a pretty good season. I wish Wichita State would have been given a fair shot , just so we could see what kind of team they really had, but I’m satisfied with the way things played out. And now, let’s move on to the local team.

2013-2014 Jayhawks

It’s hard to predict what a team what a team will do when they are as young as the Jayhawks. As up and down as Kentucky’s season was, they still made the championship game. Kansas had a better regular season than UK, but come tourney time, Calimari’s squad made more noise. So who had a better season? I guess that’s a matter of what is more important to a team, the regular season, or the tournament. So in the name of academics, let’s give these kids the first honest grades they have probably had all year.

BENCH C +

The bench play was more inconsistent than what I expected. I expected the older cats to make a bigger impact. Andrew White was a non factor, Justin Wesley’s biggest contribution was taking on the role of Wilt Chamberlain in a movie. Connor Frankamp and Brannon Greene were hard to count on from game to game. Frank Mason started out challenging Naadir Tharpe for his starting position, but Tharpe came on during conference play, and Mason couldn’t get enough minutes to get in a rhythm. Landen Lucas, Jamari Traylor, and Tarik Black improved as the year progressed (go figure; the bigs would get better while the guard play suffered–please Coach Self hire Aaron Miles as an assistant).

Guards C

I won’t get into Tharpe’s off the field play (get it? cause you know he was getting play), but now things totally make sense as to why he sometimes seemed….distracted maybe? Starting point guard for the Kansas Jayhawks is bigger than than starting quarterback for the football team. I imagine it may have gone to his head. He is going to have to do some soul searching this off season and decide how serious he is about playing, and how he wants to be remembered after his career here is done.

Wayne Selden played great at times and gave everyone a glimpse of how good he can be. If he decides to be to be the defensive leader next year, he is going to be a boss. I assume his shot will improve and he will be aggressive taking the ball to the rim. As good as the guard play will be next year (I expect Frankamp and Mason will play bigger roles in the offense next year), the offense will still need someone to focus on distributing the rock to the playmakers. This will be the biggest question going into next season. You know the Jayhawks will be stacked on wings and bigs. Speaking of……

Forwards A

Andrew Wiggins met and surpassed any expectation I had for him this year. He was the real deal. His performance alone (despite the final game against Stanford) this season deserves merit. Wiggins set the freshman scoring record, won Big 12 Newcomer of the Year award, and has the highest points scored in a game by ANY KU player.

Perry Ellis had a solid season. He took over when the team needed him to, and he was pretty solid offensively. He wasn’t much of a defensive player and I wonder if he’ll get better next year in that area. I’d also like to see if he will be more aggressive next year on the offensive end. I also wonder (depending on whether Embiid returns or not–he announces his plans for next year at 2 today) if he’ll be starting next year over Cliff Alexander. There is a serious logjam at power forward and someone is going to have to be the person to come off then bench and immediately go into beast mode.

Center A

Besides having some of the illest dunks this season, Tarik Black managed to be a calming presence in the locker room and on the floor. At the beginning of the season he fouled too much, but man did he come on as the season progressed. His play alone would have gotten this position a B.

Joel Embiid progressed faster than anybody could have imagined. He’s almost become a basketball prodigy in his three years. He’s so good, quick, smart, and fluid. He’s also a ferocious rebounder and defender. If he comes back, suddenly the hype jumps back up to full tilt. If he leaves, the Jayhawks may have a chance to fly under the radar for a little while. Whether he stays or he goes, I hope his back is able to hold up.

Overall, it was a fun year. I’m extremely happy about the time I have devoted to watching this team, and it has definitely been one of the more memorable squads in a while. I can’t wait to see how they will look when Kelly Oubre and Cliff Alexander get to town. Despite the ending, Jayhawks fans should be satisfied with the progress the team made. Despite the high expectations year in and year out, there can only be one champion, and this year its the UCONN Huskies. See you in a couple weeks when the big boys start playing.

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

Posted by

0

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]

Posted by

0

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]

Posted by

0

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

The Lie that was “Mr. Unreliable”

Posted by

0

Mike Sherman, The Oklahoman sports editor has apologized for his headline that suggested that Kevin Durant was “Mr. Unreliable” but I’m sure he has to squirm a least a little after the past week of KDTV.  If there weren’t enough reason for Iceberg Slim to be my favorite NBA player of all time, he gave this gem of an acceptance speech earlier this week (I hadn’t cried like that since the beach scene on “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”). Last night he and Russell Westbrook were both one assist away from becoming the first teammates to post triple-doubles in the same playoff game (Westbrook 31,10, and 9–Durant 32,12, and 9).

Durant’s off the court influence alone has meant so much to that community down there. He epitomizes the term franchise player (There’s no need to go into his on the court accomplishments–for someone who has had such a short career, he has compiled a pretty long list of them). When Lebron was going on cable TV and telling his hometown that he decided to go to Miami, Durant simply tweeted that he was signing an extension with Oklahoma City. Durant has been nothing short of a consummate professional on and off the court, and arguably the best ambassador for Oklahoma since Gene Autry. For the Oklahoman to print that headline is irresponsible and short sighted, and ridiculously untrue.

KD was still putting up numbers in the Grizzlies series, but Memphis was making him work for it. The article didn’t go into Scott Brooks coaching (the guy always seems one game behind in making adjustments), or that he and Russ were getting very little help from the role players. A headline like that speaks of how spoiled the OKies have become, and just how high the bar KD has set for himself and the team. People forget that KD is only 25 years old and that he isn’t superhuman (he just plays like it sometimes). FOr all the Kevin Durant has done for that state, that city, and that franchise, people like Mike Sherman and Berry Tramel should be kissing his MVP ass.

What is easy to forget (and Durant alludes to this in the SI article)
is that Durant has had to work so hard to get to this point. When he came out of high school and college, Greg Oden was always who scouts glowed about. Now that he is in the NBA, everyone is second to Lebron. But not this year, the skinny 18 year old player out of UT-Austin walked up to the podium dressed like a business man (cuz he’s a BUSINESS, MANNNN) and ripped the MVP trophy away from the clutches of Lebron James (who we can credit for forcing KD to raise his game to such an elite level).

The kid with the silky sweet jumper, who seems to glide rather than jump, who is the second best player in the world, has all the reason in the world to behave like Kobe, or Stephon Marbury, or Latrell Sprewell. But he doesn’t. He accepts criticism (even when unwarranted). He donates millions of dollars to surrounding cities that have been hit by tornadoes. I have never seen a player with so much talent have so much humility, and it was impossible not to feel happy for him when he accepted his award on Tuesday. His relationship with his fans, his teammates, and his mother, speak to the quality of his character. He proves that just because a person hits the genetic lottery and becomes rich and successful, doesn’t mean that person has to become a gigantic asshole. It is inspiring and refreshing to see someone so grounded and in touch with what makes us human. After seeing him hit milestone after milestone, it is only a matter of time before he hoists the Larry O’Brien trophy, and when he does, it’ll be waterworks all over again.

#winorgohome

Posted by

0

WOW!

From the way these guys have been celebrating , you wouldn’t think it was only the first round. This weekend brought us some great action and its hard to believe that we are only in the second round.

Game 7 in Los Angeles was as good as advertised and the two teams played with the intensity of an NBA Finals. Even though I had picked the Clippers to win, deep in my heart I wanted to see a Warriors-Thunder Second round. I think a healthy Andrew Bogut would have swung the series, but am I alone in thinking that Doc Rivers out coached Mark Jackson? For the record I think Mark Jackson is getting a raw deal. He has led the Dubs to two straight 45 plus win seasons and this year he had a patchwork team to put together with a bunch of role players and Steph Curry (No I don’t think Klay Thompson is there yet). If Warriors ownership fired Mark Jackson after winning 50 games this year (in the toughest bracket in NBA playoff history) over some personality conflicts, it would be a HUGE mistake. Can you think of a viable replacement? Neither can I. This would be them doing the old “two steps forward, three steps back routine” that they’ve been on since Mullins, Hardaway, and Webber left the team. Joseph Lacob would be shooting himself in the foot if he didn’t bring back Coach Jackson.

It seems crazy to be talking this much about the Warriors when they were the team that was eliminated, but what else is there to say about the Clippers? Is there any more reason to regurgitate what a tough emotional roller coaster they had last week? Their front line was the major difference and I can’t wait to see them go against the Thunder in what will be an entertaining series.

Blake gets to play in his hometown, as does Russell Westbrook (how about that triple double Saturday night? WOW), so look for big series from both of those cats. I’m interested to see the Matt Barnes vs. “Mr. Unreliable” match up (How stupid is the Oklahoman for that headline? This is exactly why people think Okies don’t deserve a basketball team–they should be thankful that a player of his caliber WANTS to live in a shit hole like Oklahoma City). Speaking of Memphis, I knew this was going to be a tough series. Zack Randolph didn’t help his team any by getting suspended, and neither did the injury to Mike Conley (who is having a better career than I ever gave him credit for being capable of–I was wrong Mike Conley is not a bust). Much props to the Grit N Grind crew though, they made games 2 through 5 unbelievable games.

Whether or not OKC does win will depend on a few factors:

1. Can Serge Ibaka be effective? They will need him to stay out of foul trouble and make Blake Griffin work on defense.

2. Will OKC’s team defense be effective against the Clippers offensive firepower?

3. Will the Clipper’s bench outplay the Thunder’s bench?

4. How efficient will OKC be on offense, and will their turnovers and bad shots result in LOB CITY GIF explosions all over the internet?

It’s hard to bet against KD and Westbrook at this point, but I think this series will be extremely close. I’m going with OKC in 7

 

Spurs-Portland will be a fun series to watch as well. I’m hoping that we will get to see more Thomas Robinson in this series, since he played so well against Houston in what little playing time Terry Stotts gave him. Every night I got about 3 texts from my boy Sam that involved the words “T-Rob”,  “going ham”, and “he hongry.” The shot by Damien Lillard did not surprise me one bit. When I saw they had .9 on the game clock, I just had a suspicion that “Big Game Dame” was going to find a way to get  a good look. He was so wide open on the play and as soon as he shouted I yelled out to no one in particular “ball game!”

I’m interested in the point guard match up with Tony Parker and “Illard” guarding each other, but small forwards Nic Batum-Kawhi Leonard facing off is just as intriguing to me as the PG or PF (Tim Duncan vs. Lamarcus Aldridge) match ups.

Portland had a great run this year, and nothing is more magical than having that town abuzz with joy. As someone who saw the Portland-Lakers debacle back in 2000, I can be nothing but happy for Rip City. All sentiment aside, this is where they meet the fate of last year’s feel good story, the Golden State Warriors. San Antonio has a better bench and the best coach in the game. The Spurs will take what a team does best and make them do something different to beat them. San Antonio in SIX.

I’m still quasi-boycotting the Eastern Conference. After seeing so many good games out west, it really pisses me off that the Heat just get to coast their way into the NBA Finals. They would have been a five seed in the Western Conference and it would have been a dogfight. At least if they’d win out west, people would be able to tip their hats to them in good conscience. I just don’t see how the competition committee can’t at least address this. How is fair for a team that plays in a weaker conference get an easier path to the championship?  Brooklyn will at least make the Heat earn their victories, which is all you can ask for at this point. I know Brooklyn is undefeated against Miami this year, but that was regular season. Lebron ain’t even answering phone calls right now, so you know he’s focused. I’ll take the Heat in SIX, but I’m still only watching the fourth quarter of these games. The same goes for Indiana-Washington. I’m taking Indiana in SIX. This is a better match up for the Pacers, but its still going to be ugly. Let’s just hope no one has their teeth knocked out.

I’m looking forward to the start of the second round tonight and if my calculations are correct, I have at least two hours to sit on my front porch, drink some cervezas, eat some chips and salsa, and lounge. Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!