Spurs

Stretch Run

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We are pretty much in the 4th quarter of the NBA regular season. After losing to the LOL Lakers, the Warriors need to go 18-3 to pass the 95-96 Bulls for the best of all time. If any team is going to beat them 4 times in 7 games, they will have to take advantage of them on the offensive boards where they rank 27th in opponents offensive rebounds (OKC outrebounded them by 30 two weekends ago).

They also turn the ball over a lot. With all that being said, it takes a perfect game to even come close to beating the Warriors for one game. Of course, with all championships, teams have to be good and lucky as well. The Dubs are nicked up, let’s see if this plays a factor in how they finish the regular season.

The Spurs are only 2.5 games back of the Dubs with a 53-9 record–and guess what? They have Kevin Martin and Andre Miller added to their bench now. Come playoff time, they will be well rested.

It was a really rough week for the Thunder. Yet for all the doom and gloom coming the way of Oklahoma, the Thunder are 3rd in the west with a 43-20 record. If they finish .500 for the rest of the season, they will still have 50 wins this year. That is not bad at all for a team with 2 superstars and a bunch of scrubs. T

You could say the same thing about the Clippers who have not missed a beat without Beige Blake Griffin. The one glaring *ahem* to the previous statement is that they are only  15-14 against .500 teams and have only 3 wins all year against .600 teams. This just screams pretender to me. But they were suspect even with Blake.

Memphis is trending down despite their 7-3 record over the past 10 games. They just don’t have a way to get easy buckets. Everything is a grind for them. If Mike Conley were playing in the east (and why aren’t they?), he’d be an all-star point guard.

Dallas is just as pesky as ever. I love the addition of David Lee, but they are still a little thin in their frontcourt to make any noise in the playoffs. Mavs (dads) fans should be happy for what many (not me) expected to be a possible lottery season. I think they could take the Thunder to 6 games in the first round if the standings continue to be this way. I’d much rather see them grab that fifth spot and give the world a Clippers/Mavericks first round series.

My boy Knapp is super paranoid about all the love the Trailblazers are getting. The problem they will encounter if they make the playoffs, is that teams will find a way to take away your best options. CJ and Dame won’t be enough to push them into the 2nd round. They’ll need another certified weapon down the road if they wanna go deep into April next season. I think David Lee looks good in Maverick green, but if I’m a Blazer’s fan, I’m not sure I would not thumb my nose up at a 6’7 lefty forward who can get you some easy buckets.

The Rockets are pathetic. I’m going on record now and rooting that Mizzou Quinn can coach the SLC’s into that 8th spot. They at least like basketball. Rockets players just wanna get paid. #cashbeforefame

The Clevelandiers are still a second tier team, but you would be a fool to bet against Lebron in a 7 game series over in the east.

How about that Raptors game on Friday huh? Guess what? I still haven’t watched it yet. We just got internet at my house as of 20 minutes ago. I think the Raptors can give Cleveland a run for their money. Had they one more big man, I’d say they’d have a chance to upend the Cavs for the east title.

The Celtics are standing strong at the third spot. It is an understatement to say they are outpacing their initial expectations. They are one major piece away from being Finals contenders. C’s fans will be happy if they just make the second round this year. Like I said last week, a Hornets-Celtics first round would be a good ass series.

Would anyone outside of Miami and Atlanta be checking for a Heat-Hawks series? This has NBATV written all over it for April.

I would definitely mess with a Raptors-Pacers first round. Pacers are gritty, and I’ll take Frank Vogel, Paul George and Monta Ellis against anyone in the east. Though I have to say, I’m not sure about the Ty Lawson signing. Too many players get into trouble in citiess like Indianapolis and Cincinnati because there is nothing to do except hit the strip clubs and drink. Managment as a precaution, needs to make sure Lawson has Uber on his phone, and never let him drive for the rest of the season.

Will someone please put the Bulls out of their misery? Please? I’m tired of seeing them get beat by Lebron. Let the Pistons have a crack at em. The NBA needs a new narrative. Go to the lottery, trade Derek Rose, and build the team around Jimmy Buckets.

This week will be a slew of good ass games. Conference tournaments for the Power Five, and if I were a betting man, I’d lay money on the Pac-12 being the most entertaining of all the major tourneys. Any combination of  Cal, Oregon, Washington, Arizona,and even UCLA will be worth staying up for.

The Big 12 is the runner up for Good Ass Conference Tourney of the year. Kansas has already locked their 12th consecutive regular season title. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bill extends the bench a bit and let some players get loose for the Big Dance. Barring a major collapse they pretty much have a number 1 seed locked up. This is the most realistically confident I have felt about a Jayhawks team in years, which means they’ll get uset by Richmond in the first round. I wouldn’t leave a dollar bill anywhere near a tournament bracket this year. The field this year is more wide open than……….. well you get the picture.

Have a great week. The Good Ass Games are in bold below:

Peace,

BM

@clickpicka79

#thisagoodassgame #fullsass

thisagoodassgame@gmail.com

 

 

Monday

 

Los Angeles Clippers-Dallas

San Antonio-Indiana

Orlando-Golden State

 

“Tap That Vein Tuesday”

 

San Antonio-Minnesota

Washington-Portland

 

Wednesday

 

Los Angeles Clippers-Oklahoma City

Detroit-Dallas

Utah-Golden State

Cleveland-Sacramento

 

Thursday

 

Atlanta-Toronto

Chicago-San Antonio

 

Friday

 

Detroit-Charlotte

Portland-Golden State

Orlando-Sacramento

 

Saturday

 

Oklahoma City-San Antonio (Good Ass Game of the Week)

Orlando-Portland

Miami-Toronto

 

Sunday

Cleveland-Los Angeles Clippers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Endgame Begins Now….

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If I could have my way, the regular season would end today, and the playoffs would start next week. Last night’s “Good Ass Game of the Week” not only lived up to the hype, it obliterated any and all memory of this season’s good ass games.

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I was fortunate enough to not be in a public place and could scream as loud as I wanted after every made shot. There have been some good ass games this year (especially involving the Warriors), but none of them have matched the intensity, competitiveness, and drama as this one.

There was a major injury to the game’s best player at a key juncture. There was a halftime tirade by Draymond Green in the locker room. There was a mad surge at the very end of the game to even sniff a chance to foul and get possession back, but then Kevin Durant (after an incredible offensive night) threw the ball away at halfcourt instead of calling a timeout; after getting trapped in the backcourt. Then to compound things, KD fouled a 63 % shooting Andre Iguodala with 0.7 seconds left. Iggy had to hit 2 free throws and then the Warriors had to play defense in order to force overtime.

You knew once it got to OT, that it was pretty much over for the Thunder. You have to play perfectly in order to have a chance to beat the Warriors, and they’d given them new life. I thought if there was a game where it would be understandable for the Warriors to drop a road game–in a raucous Chesapeake Arena–then this would be it. It didn’t happen. Then to top it off, Curry hits and unbelievable jump shot (that everyone knew he was going to take) from 38 feet away from the basket, and iced the game. The playoffs came early, and if the NBA Final Four ended up being OKC-Golden State, and Toronto-Cleveland, I would not be disappointed (sorry Spurs fans–Andre Miller has no chance against Steph).

Well guess what hoop heads? They play again in Oakland on Thursday night. #goodassgamealert

By the way, if the season ended today, the same Western Conference teams that made the playoffs 2 years ago would be in again. This year proves that last year was in fact an aberration for the Pelicans, who definitely benefited from Durant’s season ending foot injury.

 

Monday

 

Oklahoma City-Sacramento

OKC takes off for the west coast after losing a heartbreaker of a game last night. Imagine playing that hard and that well, only to take an L. We know Russ and KD will show up for the game, but who else is gonna put in work? Sacramento may be able to sneak a W on the Thunder, if they come out #fullsass.

Indiana-Cleveland

This pick to click is on NBATV so I’ll only be able to watch the highlights of this one. Talk about getting schmoogled, League Pass is owned by the same company, Turner Sports, but you can’t watch anything on NBATV on League Pass. FOH!!!!

 

Tuesday

 

Portland-New York

Dame gets to take a huge bite of the big apple. I love when big name players go to MSG and turn it out. Don’t be surprised if “Dame Dolla” gets 46 in this one. Also, if you haven’t already done so, check out episode 9 of the Full Sass podcast on fullsass.com. Frequent contributor and Brooklyn resident,  Alex Knapp came on a gave some in depth analysis of the Blazers season. I expect to trade at least 20-30 text messages with him over the course of this game.

Orlando-Dallas

Craig Stein’s favorite team vs. his adopted babies. I like the Magic too. They really gave Golden State a run for their money up until this moment. Of course, the Mavericks are off limits this year due to area blackout, so I’ll be watching Sportscenter highlights at best. Needless to say, I’m definitely wavering on whether I want to get League Pass next year. The juice is almost not worth the squeeze.

 

Wednesday

 

Los Angeles Clippers- Oklahoma City

Russell Westbrook almost always goes HAM whenever he gets to play in front of his hometown peeps. To see him face off against Chris Paul is going to be a treat. Do yourself a favor and put money on the over for “number of scowls made after each whistle.”

Boston-Portland

Don’t look now, but Boston is in 3rd place in the east. If the season ended today, they would play the Pacers in what would probably be a 7 game series. Every hipster NBA writer would be drooling all over themselves, to wax poetically about the coaching minds of Brad Stevens and Frank Vogel.

 

Thursday 

 

Oklahoma City-Golden State (Good Ass Game of the Week)

If there were a way that someone could bottle up what it must have felt like for Steph to hit that cold blooded three, and rip the hearts out of everyone in that building, that person would be a trillionaire. I’ve seen some cold blooded shit in my lifetime, but it doesn’t get much nastier that shot. As soon as he launched it, you could tell it was good. You can’t manufacture the kind of confidence that the Warriors have right now.

 

Friday

 

Portland-Toronto

Flip a coin to determine which team is  the 2nd and 3rd best backcourts in the NBA. I’m happy that this an east coast game because I have plans later that night.

 

Saturday

 

Boston-Cleveland, San Antonio-Sacramento, Atliens-Clippers

Meh. So many things you could be doing other than watching these games. This is a good time to do those them.

 

Sunday

 

Portland-Detroit

 

“Please excuse this lame rhyme.

Don’t matter what the game time

Right around the same time

The 4th quarter is Dame time.”

 

~BMick tha Click picka, from his debut mixtape  “Tha Pick 2 CLick” 

 

Dallas-Denver

The Nuggets are my guilty pleasure. I still have yet to watch a full game, but I’m always checking for their highlights. HAHA get it? “High”lights. Nudge Nudge. Wink Wink. Sometimes these jokes just write themselves folks.

 

We are heading into March, which means that we have basically one month of regular season ball to go. Its only going to get more complicated from here on out. My advice is to avoid the NCAA tournament as much as possible, and save all that cache up for the NBA playoffs. You’ll thank me in April–unless of course, you live in a cold weather city–then you should probably stay indoors until Spring is officially here.

Have a great week.

 

Peace,

 

BM

#thisagoodassgame #fullsass

@clickpicka79

thisagoodassgame@gmail.com

 

All Quiet On The Western Conference Front Pt.2

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I wasn’t expecting much activity this trading deadline, but things were noticably dull this year as the clock struck 3pm on the east coast. Jeff Green going to the Clippers (oh word????) and Channing Frye to the Clebrons were the biggest items of note. I like the Frye pick up for Cleveland. Frye is a decent stretch 4, but I can’t figure out for the life of me why he relocated to Orlando.

Maybe the chance to make all those monies in a tax-free state was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Who am I to judge? I moved to Oklahoma for the chance to make way less than that. At least he can go to DisneyWorld whenever he wants. My biggest thrill is leaving the state every two weeks.

Nevertheless, that sounds like a good set up for both Frye and the Cavs. I haven’t seen Frye play since he left Phoenix, but he can’t have regressed that much in a season and a half can he? I’m sure he’ll get the hell out of town the minute the season ends. I can’t imagine staying in Cleveland during the summer when you have a sweet pad in a place like Portland.

I’m not as high on Jeff Green unfortunately. He’s a decent defender, and can score occasionally, but I doubt he makes much of a difference on that Clippers team. By the way, Austin Rivers (who is hurt) and Pablo Prigioni are the two backup guards for that team right now. I just wanna know who’ll get fired first, Doc the GM or Doc the head coach.

Since there wasn’t too much player movement via trade, let’s see whose contracts get bought out in the next week or so. I hear David Lee is about to become Raef LaFrentz 2.0 when he clears waivers and signs with the Mavericks. I’m kind of into it.

Rumor also has it that Joe Johnson wants to get bought out, but his desire for a multi year extension is going hamper his chances of landing on a good team. Am I the only one who thinks Joe Johnson doesn’t give a shit about winning?

The dude has already signed two max contracts in his career. How much money does he need and what does he need it for? Maybe he is trying to help pay for Kanye’s 53 million dollar debt.

On to this week’s slate of good ass games:

Monday

 

 

Toronto-New York

My pick to click for Monday night even though the Knicks have been trending downwardly lately. Toronto may be the only team that can give the Clebrons a run for their money come playoff time.

Boston-Minnesota

This will be a competitive game. I’m not sure how entertaining it will be. Both teams can be a tough watch if you catch them on the wrong night.

Golden State-Atlanta

Last this year this was one of the Good Ass Games of the year. Atlanta has been pretty meh of late though. Regardless, its always a basketball clinic when the Warriors lace ’em up.

 

“Tap That Vein” Tuesday

 

 

Denver vs. Sacramento

“Our state got the best weed in the country.”

“No OUR state  got the best weed in the country!”

“Oh yeah? Well prove it.”

[produces a lighter and puts flame to a pre-rolled doobie]

“Wait what were we talking about again?”

This is one of those “League Pass and Chill” kinds of games. You can invite someone over and watch it or not watch it. And if you end up missing it, guess what? You watch it on archive the next day.

 

Wednesday

 

Golden State-Miami

I just want to see if Hassan will be able to play this time. He put up 25 points, 23 rebounds last night, but Wednesday may be “Dray Day”

Toronto-Minnesota

The Rookies vs Sophomores game redux. Their last matchup did not disappoint.

Oklahoma City-Dallas

Speaking of trending downwards…….both of these teams have a couple of busters on their teams. Dion Waiters has been playing even shittier than usual, and I’m officially not a fan of Chandler Parsons. I have been on the fence about Gram’s nephew for quite a while, but this season has helped me make up my mind about him. But I will say this, the first time they played was a good ass mutha#@$%ing game.

San Antonio-Sacramento

My favorite team vs. my surrogate team. No doubt I’ll be watching this one.

 

Thursday

 

Golden State-Orlando

Two good ass backcourts squaring off. I think the Magic will keep it close for exactly one half.

San Antonio-Utah

Utah is the perfect place for Gordon Heyward to land–especially coming from a school like Butler. Talk about an easy transition. Homie goes from a small mostly white school in a small all white town to an all white state that feels like a small all white town. And now he’s got his homie Shelvin Mack on his side again. Those Butler squads were fun for a mintue eh?

 

Houston-Portland

Someone on Friday coined the term “Damegry” and I immediately hit  retweet. If he continues to get slighted like this, he’ll end up in the Hall of Fame. I knew the game on Friday with the Dubs would be a blowout, but not like that (I had the Warriors winning of course). Dame was on fire. The whole team played well, and they have been playing well of late; winning 13 of the last 16 games they have played. Dame and C.J.  are averaging 45.3 points a game this year. I fux pretty heavily with the PDX.

 

Friday

 

Orlando-New York, Cleveland-Toronto, Denver-Dallas, and Los Angeles Clippers-Sacramento

All of these games will be good, but I would recommend you do something else. Take your sweetie out to dinner, go see a movie, or a gallery opening. Cash in on date night another time. It won’t be worth it this evening trust me.

 

Saturday Night Fights

 

Oklahoma City vs. Golden State (Good Ass Game of the Week)

Did you see the way Oklahoma City got that head beat in this afternoon? Besides KD and Russ, who else on that team can you count on every night? They could have traded for Pau with some kind of package. I would be a fool to say this team is bad, because they aren’t, but this team is what I call “Oklahoma good”.

This is a term I reserve for things in this state that in a vacuum are not bad, but compared to things in other states, they fall short. This includes barbecue, Mexican food, football, and basketball. A ten rating in Oklahoma is equivalent to an 8 rating in Texas (And no I’ve never used  this rating system to rate women………..well okay maybe I have, but that’s another story for another day).

 

Sunday

 

Minnesota-Dallas

It’s games like this where League Pass pisses me off. You know how hard it is trying to find a clear streaming game on sites like “Milf Hunter” and “VIP Box”???  #Lisforlocalblackouts

Portland-Indiana

Monta ball vs. Dame Dolla.

Charlotte-Atlanta

I love both of these cities. I could see myself living in Charlotte under the right circumstances. Atlanta is a little too big for me, but if TNT ever came a calling, I’d make that move. I’m hoping that I can catch a game next year in Charlotte then hit Tobacco Road for a game in Durham, then a game in Chapel Hill. Anyway, this might be a decent ass game if you give it a chance.

 

Anyway, that’s all I got. I’m bout  to throw on that Utah-Portland game. From what I’m seeing on twitter, its a #goodassgame.

 

Peace,

BM

#fullsass #thisagoodassgame

@clickpick79

thisagoodassgame@gmail.com

 

Ready? Break!!!!

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920x920

 

I apologize for letting you down hoop heads. I took the weekend off to record a new episode of Fullsass, and decided to post today rather than Monday or Tuesday, since there were no slated NBA games until Thursday. There were some college contests the last couple of nights, but not what I would call good ass games (though Iowa State and Baylor was about as good as a college game could get).

Before get into this week’s good ass games, I just want to go on record and say Aaron Gordon got robbed. No disrespect to Zach LaVine–his dunks were on point, but saying Aaron Gordon’s dunks were on the same level as LaVine’s, discredits the difficulty and creativity that went into Gordon’s display. When Gordon dunked over that mascot on the hoverboard, he should have gotten straight 15’s. You be the judge.

As for the game itself, well its weird to say this, but watching three straight alley-oops thrown off the backboard can get a little…..tiresome?? All Star games sometimes play out like BET hip hop cyphers, huge and overblown, vulgar, repetitive and sloppy, but also kind of exciting at times.

I watched the first half with some friends, and no one argued against doing something else for the second half of the game. As much as I like Toronto, there is no way in hell I’d want to be up there this time of the year. It looked like everyone enjoyed themselves, and thanks to a longer break, I was able to recover from my long weekend.

I spent a lot of time thinking about this upcoming deadline. There are some role players around the league that could have a serious impact on the few contenders. Jeff Teague, Joe Johnson, P.J. Tucker, and Markieff Morris could really make a difference down the stretch if they go to the right team.

Outside of OKC, Golden State, Cleveland, and San Antonio, there aren’t any other teams who can realistically win it this year. Unless the players moved are game changers, it seems like it would be best to stand pat on any major moves (though I would love to see a Blake Griffin for Carmelo Anthony).

I plan to watch more games this second half (Although I’m certainly getting my money’s worth on League Pass); in particularly Utah, Portland, Boston, Toronto, and Denver. These teams are certainly better this year, and could make some noise in the years to come.

Now that all that is out of the way, let’s get to these good ass games:

 

 

Monday

Nada Wey.

 

 

Tuesday

Texas 85 West Virginia 78

Baylor 100 Iowa State 91

Don’t be disappointed if you missed these games. You can re-watch them on ESPN if you are really jonesing. I’ve watched about 5 full college games and only 1 of them lived up to the hype. That being said……..

 

Wednesday

Duke-North Carolina (Good Ass Game of the Week)

This is worth watching for the atmosphere alone. The first of this 2 game series is in Chapel Hill, and I have a feeling this will be as good as the time Austin Rivers hit that shot at the buzzer to upset the Tarheels. Plus, its Michael Jordan’s birthday. michael-jordan-sam-perkins2

 

 

Thursday

 

Los Angeles Clippers vs. San Antonio

Spurs still on the road. Clippers still without Blake.

By the way,  “Verse of the Year” so far goes to Kendrick Lamar on “No more parties in L.A.” He and Kanye did justice to that beat. #MURDEREDIT

 

 

Friday

 

 

Golden State- Portland

This may be a blowout, but you know C.J. and Dame will come with it. 2 years from now, if things continue to go well for both teams, this could be the Western Conference Finals.

 

 

 

Saturday

 

Milwaukee-Atlanta

New York-Minnesota Rising Stars Game Part Duex.

Los Angeles Clippers-Golden State 

This would be the “Good Ass Game of the Week” if Blake were healthy. Clippers may be able to hang with the Dubs for 3 quarters before it gets busted open.

 

 

Sunday

 

Utah vs. Portland

I think I would have a lot more respect for the Utah franchise changed their name. How many times have you heard people say, “There’s no jazz in Utah.”? Please! Send the name back to New Orleans (The Pelicans name may be exhibit #1 in Tom Benson’s capacity dispute case) and take on a more apt nickname. The Utah snowboarders, the Salt Lake City Punk with Matthew Lillard as an ambassador, or maybe even the Utah Squares…….Bring the Jazz back to New Orleans!

 

Cleveland vs. Oklahoma City

I’m curious what is going to happen between now and Sunday. Both teams need to bolster their bench. Otherwise,this game will only be as good as the role players’ contribution.

 

black-mamba

 

The Kobe countdown has officially begun. This is the last half of his final year. Enjoy it you Black Mamba sycophants. It’s about to be over. I wonder if he’ll be an analyst, and work with one of the major networks. I can imagine what that first year of retirement will be like. Can you imagine being a house guest at his spot and waking up with Kobe standing over you at 3:45 in the morning?

Kobe: “Sup dawg? You tryna hit these weights with me? There’s this 16 year old who wants to work out at UCLA.”

Friend: “Man we just went to bed 3 hours ago.”

Kobe: “C’mon bro. We gotta beat this traffic. After we get through working out. We’ll pick up the girls and go get some pizza.”

Friend: “Pizza Buona?”

Kobe: [laughs] “Nah man. We gotta fly out to Italy actually. It’ll be dope. On the way there we gotta stop in Germany to get my knee drained. C’mon dawg. We’ll only be gone for a few days.”

Friend: [sighs] “Fine. I’m getting up.”

Kobe: “Good. Bring your winter jacket too. I booked us a rock climbing lesson for when we hit Iceland on the way back.”

Dude has no chill.

 

It will be an interesting week full of good ass games. Enjoy the trading deadline. Hopefully some stuff pops off.

 

Peace,

BM

#thisagoodassgame #fullsass

@clickpicka79

YAY AREA!!!!

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It was a festive weekend out in the Bay Area. The Super Bowl was in San Jose, and all the celebs and big time ballers were in town to take it in. When you’re rolling in dough it makes sense to peep the “Good Ass Game of the Week.”

Just because a game is close doesn’t mean it was a “Good Ass Game.” The “Roaracle” was strangely silent Saturday night, and it took me half the game to figure out why. I was thinking the game would be ridiculously hype, but then I realized that a lot of the real fans got priced out. The average ticket price online for Warriors-Thunder was $1400 bones (rumor was that it was easier getting into the Super Bowl).

With Drake, Bey-Z, K-Dot, Pharrell, and Wallace from “The Wire” in attendance, the game took on the feel of an event than a regular season game (Beyonce dropping her new video and tour announcement only added to the hysteria). I have a friend who went to both games (I’m giving him some time to cool off because he is a Panther’s fan), and he said it felt like he was at the Staples Center Arena. It was weird for sure, because I’m not used to it being so quiet there. Someone on twitter said it was only a preview of what games will be like when they move across the bridge.  God I hope not.

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The game itself was decent. A lot of people are ready to say the Thunder can run with the Warriors. I’m not one of those people. Its weird to say this, because Steph Curry almost had a triple-double, but the Warriors backcourt struggled a bit; offensively. Curry missed 16 shots, and he and Klay Thompson were a combined 2-15 from the 3 point line.

I’m not saying that the Thunder can’t get lucky and win one or two games in a seven game series, but it is laughable to come away from that game with any sense of a moral victory.

By the way, I find the fake indignation coming out of the Thunder locker room laughable. The Thunder have casually become of the more busterish teams in the NBA. When I hear Durant and Westbrook say things like, “We’re not scared of the Spurs or the Warriors” I just shake my head. No one expects NBA players to be intimidated by anyone else’s team  in the league, but can we just at least be honest?

Admitting there are some fundamental problems in the way your team plays isn’t being weak–it’s just being real. How can you say stuff like that with a straight face, when your bench was outscored 42-17? The Thunder can go into the next game against the Warriors with that same attitude,but the next time Dion Waiters is the leader in +/- ratio with a +1 rating , the result will probably be a blowout.

This week’s slate of games:

 

Monday

 

Sacramento-Cleveland

Tonight’s pick to click in the NBA. Besides the various in game matchups between Rondo and Kyrie, Boogie and anybody Cleveland throws out there, this game becomes even more intriguing because this may be George Karl’s last as the Sacramento head coach. By week’s end, Karl could be joining Jeff Hornacek, David Blatt, and as of today, Derek Fisher on the unemployment line. The Kings are a bit messy right now.

OU-Texas (Good ass game of the week)

I think this will be the hypest game of the week from a crowd standpoint. Oklahomans have a lot of panhandle envy, and the only reason they are relevant in sports is beacuse they get all the Texas players not good enough to stay in state. This (for good reason) creates a lot of resentment. I can’t tell you how many Okies hate Texas and Texas teams (outside of the Cowboys–they love the ‘Boys) but have spent little time in the Lone Star State . Most Texans barely bat an eye at this.

The dismissive attitudes that Texans have towards Oklahoma only adds to the resentment. Having lived in both states for a number of years, I can honestly say that Wacklahoma is only vaguely different from Texas. Texas is only better because it is bigger and has more money. They are almost the  same place politically, and if you took away Austin, then Texas would really suck. I’d still take San Marcos and Denton over any college town in Oklahoma though. OU sucks, and you won’t catch me going to Stillwater after the sun goes down. #Hookem

 

Tuesday

 

San Antonio-Miami

The beginning of the Rodeo trip for the Spurs. Usually this 8 or 9 road game swing is indicative of what kind of team San Antonio has. No Timmy. No Manu (poor guy) for at least a month, and Tony Parker is looking his age. The young guns are going to have step up if the Spurs are going to make the Western Conference Finals.

 

Warriors-Rockets

I don’t know how the Warriors even take these guys seriously. You know a team is busterish when their own fans don’t defend their players. They know what it is (right Phil?).

 

Wednesday

 

 

Charlotte-Indiana

Mildly competitive, this will be one of the best Eastern Conference games you will watch this week.

 

San Antonio-Orlando

This could be one of those L’s that Pops penciled in on the calendar. The good news is that Boban may get some serious run that night.

Toronto-Minnesota

This will be the Rookie-Sophomore and Slam Dunk Contest all rolled up into one game. Also, I didn’t realize that Kyle Lowry has been in the league so long. It must be that baby face of his.

Los Angeles (Clippers) -Boston

“Get that shit out!!!!” Celtics might fuck around and get a #2 or #3 seed in the East.

Golden State-Phoenix

Its a long season and you gotta take things one blowout at a time.

Houston-Portland

Man, Portland has been a lot more entertaining to watch than I gave them credit for. It is a slippery slope with west coast basketball. One day you’re staying up later than normal to watch C.J. and Dame get buckets, then before you know it you’re dropping all your  plans to watch Oregon and Washington fight it out for the Pac10 Pac12 title.

 

 

“Tap that vein Thursday”

 

 

Thunder-Pelicans

I don’t even think I can stomach this one. I’d like to talk you into it, but as your attorney I advise you to use this as a catch up evening.

 

All Star Weekend

Refer to last week’s post if you are on the fence about this weekend’s activities. I’ll be taking the weekend off from watching basketball in order to catch up with old friends. I suggest you do the same. I’d rather play a pickup game than watch one.

 

Buster (s) of the Week Award goes to the Carolina Panthers offense. Wow. They really spit the bit. Not to take anything away from the Denver Broncos defense–they were animals– but how can you not make any adjustments to get Cam out of the pocket?

The amount of mental errors they made in the biggest game of their lives, was unfortunate. Fumbles, false starts, drops, interceptions, and sacks will do any team in, but this was the wrong time to do that. The last game of the season is supposed to be your best game.

As John Wooden says, “being at your best when your best is needed” is part of being a champion. Too bad. The Panthers’ players will feel nothing but regret when they think about this season, and know they were better than the Broncos–who did just enough on offense to help that savage D. They had a great defensive game plan. On offense, they were meh (Carolina’sD played well.Special teams–not so much).

Honorable mention still goes to Pete Carroll who didn’t give the ball to Beast Mode in last year’s Super Bowl, and now Marshawn Lynch is retiring. Ya’ll some bitches too Seahawks. Don’t think I forgot about ya’ll because the Panther’s played like some busters in a weak ass Super Bowl. That game ending interception was Wackarnold’s for real. Anyway, have a good week, and enjoy the All Star break. If you fumble the ball in life, at least try to get it back. Don’t just stare at your mistakes like you are stuck on stupid.

 

Peace,

BM

thisagoodassgame@gmail.com

@clickpicka79

#thisagoodassgame #fullsass

 

 

 

Upon Further Analysis

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What a crazy week eh? Spurs get their asses kicked twice in once week, social media got to witness an epic meltdown in real time by Kanye West, Blake Griffin (Buster of the Week?) broke his hand on a smaller dude’s face, and the NBA did everything it could to ruin yet another All-Star Weekend.

First of all, I’ll be honest, I usually don’t even mess with All-Star Weekend. Rookies-Sophomore game is mildly interseting, but everything else is corny.

The Slam Dunk contest is played out, but I understand why they still do it. The 3 point contest always sounds better than it ever is, and I’ve got no time to watch 2 ball, HORSE, or “Around the world”.

The All Star Game itself is almost as bad as the NFL Pro Bowl (coincidentally being played today), in that no one really tries on defense, and the only time your interest is piqued, is the very last 4 minutes of the game. Even though baseball is boring as hell to watch, they still get it right, in that everyone tries, and no one has to worry about getting hurt. You actually get to see pure competition throught the game from start to finish.

So why am I bitching about All Star Weekend? Because I can. First of all, how you going to have an All Star Game in New York Lite Toronto and hire Sting for the gig?

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This move typifies what the NBA All Star weekend is really about, which is corporate sponsorship and schmoozing. All the corny ass events and games, are really for the owners to drum up money, and make connects with other corporations.

In exchange for the paid trip to said city chosen, players get to hit the clubs and exclusive parties with other all-stars. No doubt Toronto will be lit that weekend, and a lot of money will be made for the city (especially at the strip clubs). As for the groupies, well, let’s just say the hotel lobbies in town are going to look like the Player’s Ball. #don’tgetcaughtupfellas

Back to my point about Sting, this goes to show you just how out of touch the NBA owners are with the black audience. I doubt players are going to be hanging out by tunnels to watch Gordon Sumner sing “Desert Rose.”

They don’t make Beats commericals with Kobe banging “Roxanne” on his headphones to get hype for games. This is for the big check writers, and the potential big check writers, and their wives and girlfriends, who will be sipping port and scotch in the luxury boxes, snapping their fingers off beat (or doing yoga poses) to the performance.

To be honest, I figured they’d let that one light skinned child actor do the show in his hometown. You know that guy who is a poor man’s L.L. Cool J. What’s his name? Drowsy? Droopy? Drizzy? Oh yeahhhhhhhhhh Drake. Maybe that was too obvious, but you can’t say that young people don’t mess with him. People do love his music, I don’t get it, but I’m old. I don’t have to.

As for the All Star selections themselves, I don’t really have a problem with with who made it (for the most part). It stinks that having a not so good this year Kobe Bryant on the team robbed my boy Dame Lillard from a deserving spot.

If the NBA is insisting on letting old guys play the game for their farewell, just create a grandfather spot for them. They can put a rocking chair on the bench, get a little bit of burn to appease the fans, and then sit their old asses down.

The fan voting needs to be curbed. Its obvious that the casual fan doesn’t know shit about basketball, and the All Star voting process only exacerbates this fact. Do you know we almost had ZaZa Pachulia’s ass in the starting lineup?

I’m not saying the league should wrestle the fans’ voting rights away completely. It is after all, for the fans, but too much money is tied up in making the All-Star team. Anthony Davis almost got screwd out of 23 million because of this nonsense. Why not split a  1/3 of the voting power between coaches, players, and the fans? This seems to me the most balanced way to get the All-Star teams right.

Lastly, how is Toronto coach, Dwayne Casey not representing during All-Star weekend? Tyronn Lue had 4 career victories, and has never coached in the playoffs, and he is coaching the All-Star game? #fail

Anyway, enough of the bitchfest. Let’s get to this week’s games:

 

Monday

 

Dallas-Atlanta 

Just go with it.

San Antonio-Orlando

Tough week for Spurs fans. Watching them get beat like they did this week TWICE, is akin to feeling of dating someone for 5 months, and somehow only just finding out that they have no desire to ever have children. This of course is fine, if you are just enjoying the process and don’t care about the outcome. But if you are a fan expecting a championship (or a child if you want to continue the analogy), then you kind of already know how this is going to end.

I alluded to this in episode 4 of the FullSass Podcast when we did a brief NBA preview, when I mentioned I was worried about the health of Tony Parker–and the point guard position in general.

Five of the Spurs’ seven losses have come at the hands of speedy guards with nice handles. They couldn’t contain Kyrie Irving last night (who I’m sure will crack a ribcage sneezing sometime during the playoffs), and we saw what Steph Curry did to them on Monday. Westbrook lit them up for 33 on opening night, and John Wall and Bradley Beal did some damage during that L they took in D.C.

Tony Parker has never been the best defender, his height (or lack thereof) creates mismatches when they are on defense, but now he is old, and can’t even stay in front of dudes.

He is still at times electrifying to watch, but if anyone remembers those “Six seconds or less” Suns teams, Steve Nash would get abused on the defensive end. There is just no hiding Parker against those teams, but “Pops” can’t afford to not have him running the offense. Its a tough spot to be in, and it is something I’m not used to seeing for the Spurs. I was waiting for that other shoe to drop, and it finally did this week. You never know what can happen during a season, but outside of major injury to one of the key Warriors players (Steph, Klay, or Dray), I don’t see this being the Spurs year to get the chip.

 

“Tap that Vein” Tuesday

 

Milwaukee-Portland

This could be fun. I’m already putting aside that money I’m going to lose on the Bucks making the conference Finals. My FullSass partner suggested that maybe Jason Kidd isn’t a good coach. I’m not ready to give up on him yet. We’ll see what they are made of in year 3 next season.

 

Wednesday

 

Orlando-Oklahoma City

You never know with this Thunder team. Their role players are trash, and I feel more foolish by the day that I picked them to come out of the west. Kevin Durant and Westbrook are still fun to watch though.

Chicago-Sacramento

I hope Boogie feels better by this game, otherwise the Kings are going to struggle against the Bulls’ frontcourt.

 

Thursday

 

New York-Detroit

This will be a not so bad game, or it can be a #goodassgame. I’m not sure if there will be an in between.

Toronto-Portland

Two really good backcourts facing off.

 

Friday

 

Chicago-Denver

Don’t be surprised to see the Nugs’ on here. Will Barton has been Gerald Green 2.0, and Mike Malone is coaching these boys. They are going to ruin a team’s playoff chances late in the season.

Memphis-New York

Godzingis vs. the Spanish Bear. I’d buy that for a dollar!

San Antonio-Dallas

Este el noche cuando mi sobrino “El Gordo” le vuelve una aficionado de los Spurs. Buenas suertes “Los Mavs”

 

Saturday

 

Oklahoma City-Golden State (Good Ass Game of the Week)

Hey Russ, is anybody going to show up for this game besides you and KD?

Portland-Houston

“Dame is gonna Dame. Busters gonna Bust. All the Rockets fans. Left up in the dust.”  I almost feel sorry for Rockets fans. Almost.

 

Sunday

Sunday afternoon games should be banned from the league. Anything played before 4pm is usually sloppy and lethargic. Don’t do it. Spend some time with your significant other before you ignore them for 3 hours during the Super Bowl. By the way:

Panthers 45-Broncos 17 

Is this how black people felt when Doug Williams was the QB for the Washington Racists? #dabonemCam

 

Enjoy Super Bowl Week.

 

Peace,

BM

@clickpicka79

#thisagoodassgame #fullsass

thisagoodassgame@gmail.com

Men and Boys

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stephen-curry-032515-getty-ftr_65ib5q6vn5uj1ffzkxaxhf8n2

Last night’s Good Ass Game of the Week turned out be a sham. I had a feeling something was up when I heard Timmy D was sitting. To say last night’s results were a disappointment would be the understatement of 2016. As amazing as it was to see Curry get 37 points on 20 points, in 28 minutes of play, I missed a double OT thriller with my man Boogie putting in some work (and the Hornets still won). 

You are going to read and hear all kinds of overreactions within the next 48 hours, but the thing to remember is that it is just one game. That being said, there was a lot to take away from it:

  • Stephen Curry’s skill set makes him the most destructive force in the NBA. No one has ever seen a point guard who can shoot from anywhere on the court like he does, and it be a good shot. If J.R. Smith took the same kinds of shots that Steph takes (let’s be honest, sometimes he does), he would get skewered on social media, and yanked out of the game. He can’t be guarded, and whoever Gregg Popovich put on him created a major mismatch somewhere else. I’m not sure how he rectifies this in the future. Maybe Danny Green and Jonathan Simmons take their turns trying to wear him down?
  • The odds were in favor for this kind of game.The Spurs came in on 13 game winning streak.  They looked listless at times the other night in L.A. and I thought that was a bad sign.
  • Sometimes its good to get that ass whupped. It is easy to think you are better than you are when you play enough scrubs. I don’t think the Spurs have been particularly cocky or sloppy of late, but this was the first time they have played a team on the Warriors level. The Warriors came out more physical and aggressive, and when a few bad calls went the Dubs’ way, the Spurs were whining instead of getting big. When a team whups that ass like the Dubs did last night, either you come back stronger, or you fold up like lawn furniture (Lamarcus Aldridge, I’m talking to you especially).

 

Like I said, this is one game in January. No one wants to peak in January, and this is a good L for the Spurs to take. We’ll find out what they are really about in the next 3 games against the Warriors. One blowout is an aberration. If this happens 2 more times, then it is a trend, and we have to take it for what it is.

I was just as impressed with the Warriors defense as I was anything else (27 turnovers!!!!!). The Spurs struggled to get any consistent offense. They certainly helped Golden State by being stagnant with very little to no movement on the wings, but let’s give the Warriors credit for how voracious they were.

The Spurs had some unforced errors, but that is also due to the mental pressure put on them. The combination of that defense and the roar of that crowd had them shook. Dudes were very unSpurs like, and that is something you rarely see. It would be hard for me to imagine them playing that poorly, and the Warriors playing that well for 4 straight games in a 7 game series. As they like to say in the Bay, “Don’t even trip.” It’s hella early in the season.

 

BM

@clickpicka79

#thisagoodassgame #fullsass

thisagoodassgame@gmail.com

F#@$in’ up

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david20blatt

I can’t say I’m shocked that the Cleveland Cavaliers fired their coach midway through the season–a season where they only had eleven losses and are almost assured to come out of the Eastern Conference, but I am a bit surprised. I foresaw a panic move after last a loss to the Spurs, and a Warriors beat down on MLK day, but I thought that would involve a trade.

Blatt’s regular season record makes him the coach with the highest winning percentage to ever get canned in the middle of a season. The front office couldn’t even wait until All-Star weekend to quietly make a move. They wanted this guy out immediately.

Don’t get me wrong, I never thought Blatt was the guy for the job. I was shocked to see him return after all the sneak dissing thrown his way last year. So it makes me wonder what changed between June of last year (after they got that ass whupped in the Finals) and Friday.

This move reeks of desperation and dysfunction. It’s just such a “Clevelandish” thing to do. Unless you plan on suiting up Tyronn Lue as a player-coach (something I certainly don’t wanna see, I don’t see how this is going to help the team right now.

Is it David Blatt’s fault that the front office has whiffed on every lottery pick not Kyrie Irving? It isn’t a stretch of the imagination to say that Cleveland could easily throw out a crunch time lineup of Andrew Wiggins, Victor Oladipo, Tristan Thompson, Lebron James, and Kyrie Irving.

The Anthony Bennett pick over Oladipo was a major setback, and I’m not sure Kevin Love isn’t a “good stats,bad team” kind of player (a theory espoused years ago by the great Charley Rosen). The Cavs just don’t have the horses right now to keep up with the Spurs and Warriors. Phil Jackson could be coaching that team and they’d still get beat in the Finals.

As for Blatt, kudos to him for making the best out of a bad situation. He may be getting off lucky. No one should have to coach on a team where the superstar undermines your authority, and the front office won’t give you any support. In all honesty, Blatt seemed a bit overwhelmed anyway.

The good news is that he got the opportunity to get the hell out of Ohio. The best things to come out of that state are Raymond Bradbury, Bone Thugs N’ Harmony, and Ken Griffey Jr. Some sports cities just don’t deserve championships, and Cleveland may be one of those cities.

None of the major franchises there can keep a coach for longer than a season or two, they fire people before they have a chance to get a foothold on the team. That kind of impatience is a recipe for basement dwelling in any sport. But judging from the way the city’s infrastructure is run, this can’t be too surprising. This city is getting exactly what it deserves. I can’t wait to see their crying fans at yet another Finals loss in June. #$%# em!!!

 

This week’s Slate of Games:

 

 

Monday

 

Golden State-San Antonio (Good Ass Game of the Week) 

No Timmy D. No problem. But damn it if it doesn’t take a little bit of luster off the matchup. You can’t replace Duncan’s presence on the court, no matter how deep the Spurs frontcourt is right now. I doubt there will be a Boban sighting tonight, but then again you never know. Speaking of Boban–you figure he’d be the first choice if there was ever a Princess Bride redux right?

boban-crate

Geezus those shorts are scary! Alright moving on.

Tuesday

 

Oklahoma City-New York

Thunder players have 2 nights off in New York before this matchup. That is a lot of time to get into some stuff. Its always fun to watch KD come to New York, but now that the Knicks have Godzingis to complement their decent lineup, the Knickerbockers are suddenly watchable.

Los Angeles Clippers-Indiana 

Even without Josh Smith, this team still has too many busters in their locker room. Maybe they should try and trade Lance Stephenson to Brooklyn. that may be the only team crazy enough to take on that contract.

Sacramento-Portland

Speaking of crazy, the “Boogie Down Productions” crew in Sactown snuck up in that eigth spot. Cousins has 7 games of 30 plus points, 10 rebounds  this month. No one else in the NBA has more than one in January (thanks to my boy Phillip for hippin’ me to that stat).

This battle of Rondo vs. Lillard will be a fun one. I will certainly be all curled up in bed watching this one.

 

Wednesday

 

Los Angeles Clippers-Atliens

If you are really jonesing.

Houston-San Antonio

As if Houston weren’t busterish enough………that being said, they’ve been winning of late. Who was that one guy who said don’t overreact to the early trend of the East playing better than the West? Some blogger–I hear he moonlights as a teacher or something like that? I hope he doesn’t dislocate his shoulder patting himself on the back for pointing out something so obvious.

Dallas-Golden State

Speaking of misplaced self-fellatio, the Mavericks are low-key trending downwards. They have beaten a few decent teams. I think I placed them appropriately as a middle tier team in last month’s power rankings. The bottom may fall out real quick in a couple of years once Dirk retires.

“Tap that Vein” Thursday

 

New York-Toronto

The Raptors right now are more entertaining off the court than they are on it.

 

 

Friday

 

Cleveland-Detroit

I think Van Gundy’s boys could push Cleveland to a six game series if they met in the playoffs.

Charlotte-Portland

Kemba vs. “Good Ass game” Dame. Lillard is the hottest player this month not named Demarcus.

Houston-Oklahoma City

You will need to take a shower after this game. This is like “Buster Brown All NBA Buster” showcase. If this were a real showcase, it would probably be

Josh Smith, J.R. Smith, Dion Waiters, and Nick Young vs. Austin Rivers, DeAndre Jordan, James Harden, and Evan Turner. They could run 4’s at the Staples Center with pickup ball rules. You wouldn’t be able to give tickets away to this game.

Saturday

 

San Antonio-Cleveland 

All six of the Spurs losses have been on the road. I could see them dropping tonight’s game and not even starting the major players for this rematch against Cleveland.

Kansas vs. Kentucky 6pm

Allen Fieldhouse will be rocking. People don’t know that John Calipari had a brief stint in Lawrence working for Larry Brown. I hope the score gets up into the upper 80’s. #loweredexpectations

Sunday

 

Golden State-New York

Knicks may hang an L on the DUbs this week. By the way, The warriors play the Spurs and Thunder a combined 7 times the rest of the season. I can see them losing 2–maybe even 3 games. It will be difficult getting that 74th win. I don’t even know if its worth it really. If they have to go through Thunder and Spurs on the way to the Finals, then I’d rather my team be well rested. Just a thought.

Minnesota-Portland

Could be a fun way to spend bye week Sunday.

Chicago-Los Angeles Clippers

It is hard to write this with a straight face. I don’t even enjoy watching these two teams play– you know what. Don’t do it. THe highlights will be better than the game itself.

 

As for the Super Bowl, don’t bother watching if you are rooting for a Manning win, or you are a Cam Newton hater. You’re bound for a long evening of disappointment. It is going to be a lot of people mad this year, because Cam gonna dab on fools. That Denver offense will be worth at least 3 turnovers. You may as well watch the Super Bowl from a couple of years ago, because it will be a similar result.  But you never know, anything can happen. I wouldn’t put my money on the Broncos though, unless you like giving away money.

Cam Newton

Enjoy the games this week. Tonight’s has the potential to be as memorable of a regular season game as you will ever see.

 

Peace,

BM

@clickpicka79

#thisagoodassgame #fullsass

thisagoodassgame@gmail.com

 

 

 

(Separation)Tried to Told Ya’ll

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Thursday’s Finals preview between the Cavaliers and Spurs gave us a glimpse into what we can expect in June (Next Monday will give us a glimpse into what we can expect during the Western Conference Finals if the Warriors and Spurs meet). I am convinced that there is no way that Lebron James woke up Friday morning and thought to himself,”We have the horses to beat San Antonio or Golden State in the Finals.”

Like most teams, the Cleveland  1-5 starting lineup can run with anyone. You can roll out Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Lebron James, and 2 role players against any team, and 9 times out of 10 will result in a W.

What the average fan doesn’t realize is that championships are won with players 4 through 9. Once teams are deep into the playoffs, the 1-3 matchups are more often than not nuetralized by the other team’s superstars.

This will be Cleveland’s fatal flaw if they run out the same role players for the NBA Finals. Matthew Dellavedova is a decent player, but his deficiencies get exposed if he is on the court for longer than 15-20 minutes a game.

If this were 2002, I’d be impressed with Richard Jefferson coming off the bench for the Cavs. I’m not sure if Timofey Mosgov is hurt or not, but he hasn’t been playing all that well either. He’s only averaging 4 rebounds in 15 minutes, the last 10 games he has played.

The Cavs frontcourt thins out after Lebron and Tristan Thompson, and Kevin Love looked like a major defensive liability the other night against the Spurs.  If the Cavs are serious about winning in June, they will need to make a deal or two during February.

It was a good week for Los Spurs however; their home winning streak is still intact. They are also on a 10 game tear after smashing on the Mavericks last night.

If anyone is equipped to knock off the defending champs, it is San Antonio. They are deep in the back court, their front court has David West coming off the bench (who by the way really changed the game once he came onto the court against Cleveland on Thursday. I’m a huge fan of West).

Never forget the ever refined Boris Diaw on the second unit. Not only does he rebound, pass well, and can score anytime he wants, but the man keeps an expresso machine in his locker. Jordan made people want to be better ballplayers. Diaw makes me want to be a better man. He is like the Gordon Parks of hoops.

I understimated how good the backcourt for the Spurs would play. They are deep and at times long. Jonathan Simmons and Kyle Anderson complement Patty Mills quite well on the wings.

And of course, my pick for this season’s MVP, Kawi Leonard played a spectacular 2nd half against Lebron on Thursday. James still put up his stats, but he had to put in some serious work to get 22 points. Kawhi is the only player I can think of who can hold Lebron under 30 semi-consistently.

The Spurs are lucky to have such depth, to the point wherre Tim Duncan and Lamarcus Aldridge don’t have to get 20 and 10 every night for a win. Having that kind of depth lends to a well rested team come playoffs. A lot can happen between now and then, but I’m hoping for everyone’s sake that all of the elite teams have their superstars when the big money games begin.

To be continued.

This Week’s Good Ass Games:

 

 

Monday (Good Ass Game of the Week)

 

Golden State-Cleveland

This will be a good test for the Warriors, who to me, seem a little bored the last couple of weeks. Ever since they lost their first game, the aura of invinciblity around them has popped. They are like Super Mario after he loses his invincibility star. I doubt this will be as bad as the Christmas game.

 

 

“Tap That Vein” Tuesday

 

Oklahoma City-Denver

I watched my first Denver Nuggets game of the year last night, and somehow forgot that Mark Malone was their coach. They play an entertaining brand of ball. Despite playing in hoops obscurity, Kenneth Faried is still bodying dudes. Will Barton had some highlight worthy plays last night against the Pacers.

Malone seems to bringing along the youngster Mudiay, and Randy Foye hit a couple of timely shots. They may get murked by the Thunder, but I think this will be a better game than Milwaukee against Miami.

Speaking of Oklahoma City, I finally got to see them in person this year. Russell Westbrook got ejected in the 2nd quarter, but it didn’t matter. The Mavericks sat all five of their starters. The Mavs are a pretty thin team this year, especially in the front court, and they got drubbed.

Dion Waiters was feeling himself too, slicing to the rim during garbage time and post dunk posing for the crowd. The problem with that he did this during a live ball, which led to a 5 on 4 fast break, and someone had to foul to stop the ball.

Then about a minute later, this joker starts making snow angels on the court after getting fouled for an “And 1”. Dion Waiters strikes me as the type of dude who habitually leaves a woman hanging because he “got his.”  I mean, look at this cat.

 

the-cleveland-cavaliers-shocked-everyone-by-taking-dion-waiters-4th-overall-in-the-nba-draft

Good luck leaving your woman alone at the table if this guy is in the restaurant.

 

 

 

Wednesday

 

 

Golden State-Chicago

This will be some high level basketball. Golden State will either be licking their wounds after that Detroit loss and tear into the Bulls, or they will ride their momentum into tearing into the Bulls. I don’t care how many points Jimmy Buckets gets in a game (53 to be exact), I can’t bring myself to watch the 76ers.

Atlanta-Portland

Two teams I haven’t had a chance to watch enough. I may have to make time to peep. Lillard is balling right now. By the time you read this, he may be the conference player of the week.

Charlotte-Oklahoma City

Kemba vs. Russ. L.A. vs. New York. I expect this to be a decent run just from this matchup alone. I think it will at least be entertaining even if it isn’t close.

Minnesota-Dallas

This will be a fun one to watch, but it bums me out watching the Timberwolves. Like most young teams, they keep finding ways to lose. I’m still not convinced Zach Lavine is their third dude. There is a guy on my rec team who went to UCLA during the Lavine, Shabazz, Jordan Adams, Kyle Anderson era.

When he told me that Lavine is an extraordinarily nice guy, I initially winced. I almost felt bad talking shit about him until I realized that I didn’t say anything over the line. It isn’t like I said I wanted to punch the dude in the face. I just want to see him pass more. Nothing personal.

 

 

Thursday

 

 

Clippers-Cavaliers

I have as much interest in this game as I had in watching the Steelers-Broncos yesterday. Kyrie vs. Chris Paul is a very seductive matchup though. I’d rather just watch highlights. Too much whining, and too many fouls, and too many scrubs at the end of the bench.

Atlanta-Sacramento

Even if the Kings landed the number 1 pick, I’m not sure they would do the right thing with it. I’d rather see them get knocked out in the playoffs than Utah. Who doesn’t want to see Boogie and Rondo in the first round? It would be a fun and new narrative no?

 

Friday

 

Indiana-Golden State

A good week to watch the Warriors. They’ll have to be attentive this week, because they could easily take a couple of L’s if they try going half sass on this road trip.

Oklahoma City-Dallas

I love me some J.J. Barea. Dude is fiery, and he refuses to get pushed around. At 5’8, I figured he was kind of a novelty act–basically a Puerto Rican Mugsy Bogues, but homey can ball. I love that he didn’t back down from Russell Westbrook’s horsehshit. Off the Court, Russ is closer to Kirk Cameron than he is Cam’ron. #faketoughguys

russell-westbrook-shirt

Los Angeles Clippers-Knicks

Don’t sleep on the Knicks. This will be a physical game. I hope it gets chippy.

 

Charlotte-Orlando

Kemba vs. Elfrid? I’ll take it.

 

 

Saturday

 

Chicago-Cleveland

You’ll get plenty of this matchup during the playoffs. If you have to choose between Friday and Saturday as your “date night”  I would advise you to go out Saturday.

 

 

Sunday

 

Dallas-Houston

Ugh. Poor Rockets fans. Making the playoffs is “Fool’s Gold.” Blow the team up. Just start over. Your window has closed.

Los Angeles Clippers-Toronto

Meh.

 

Enjoy your what is left of your holiday weekend. Championship weekend will be worth tuning into as well. Have fun this week.

 

Peace,

BM

#fullsass   #thisagoodassgame

thisagoodassgame@gmail.com

@clickpicka79

Powerball

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Things are pretty keyed up for a lot of people right now. NFL playoffs started on Saturday, and there are a couple of midwestern fanbases whose teams let them down in typical disappointing fashions.

As a (recovering) Cowboys fan it is hard to empathize with either Vikings or Bengals fans. Anyone who knew anything about the history of either franchise couldn’t have been surprised at the way both teams melted down in the clutch.

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In other news, by the end of the week, someone is going to win enough money to buy their own sports team (sounds like a great premise for a movie–NBA superfan wins a billion dolllars in the lottery and buys his favorite basketball franchise).

Last week had its share of the dramatic, I nailed the Good Ass Game of the Week pick with the OU-KU triple overtime game. Big ups to Buddy Hield, who put in some work on a team that really only goes 7 deep (46 points).

Big ups also to the Jayhawks upper classmen for stepping up during winning time. I’m not sure if any of them will get much run in the NBA (Selden maybe if he can prove to be a good perimeter defender–but I’m still not sold on his shooting), but they look like they are ready to make a legitimate run in March.

The game was everything I was hoping it would be, evoking memories of those old Big Mondays from the early 2000’s when the Big 12 was easily the best basketball conference in the country. It was an instant classic, and I was proud of the Allen Fieldhouse faithful for showing up and being loud.

I’ve been disappointed with the crowd participationover the last few years–even once being asked to sit down by an usher during an intense non-conference game against Georgetown a couple of years ago.

Everything about this night screamed #Good Ass Game, to the point where even the Jayhwaks fans had to give a standing ovation to Buddy Hield well after the end of the game. I don”t know how the Kentucky game can even come close to atmosphere in this contest–especially after seeing how weak they looked against LSU on Tuesday.

Speaking of LSU, I only got to se about 30 game time seconds of Ben Simmons, but I’m convinced he is the real deal. He might be a light skinned Lamar Odom (minus the pension for candy and dramatic Persian families).

He is so good that any of the following lottery teams: the Knicks, Hornets, Magic, Blazers, Kings, Teen Wolves, Pelicans, Suns, and Lakers, could end up in the playoffs if they draft him. He even has Magic Johnson’s endorsement.

Simmons didn’t even get loose like he could have and they still beat Kentucky. That says a lot about both how god he is, and how weak Kentucky is playing right now. That being said, I’m still trying to get in the building come January 30th.

We are in for a treat this week. This week’s slate of basketball is going to be really good, and of course the Divisional Playoffs for that barbaric game with the oblong leather object begin on Saturday. So let’s get to it eh?

 

Monday

Golden State-Miami 

We finally get to see Draymond Green and Hassan Whiteside settle their debate over “smallball”. It should be good.

 

 

Tuesday

San Antonio-Detroit

Just the first of many tests this week for what I believe is the league’s best team. Detroit is going to give them some good run.

Boston-New York

We are a far cry from these days. But it will no doubt be a good ass game.

Cleveland-Dallas

Cleveland doing the Texas trifecta this week. Teams rarely come out of this unscathed. We’ll find out what kind of team they have after this week.

Oklahoma City-Minnesota

Just for Funzies….. I can almost guarantee that Zach Lavine is going to try and do too much in this game. I hope Russ takes his fellow alums out for dinner, and on the ride out to Mickey Mantles or KD’s, he plays Zach a song from the Yeezy catalog. Zach thinks he is ready, but he aint’ ready. It’s okay man, we’ve all been there.

 

Wednesday

Dallas-Oklahoma City

I’ll be in the building for this one. Normally I’d take a pass, but a buddy of mine happens to be passing through and really wanted to see the “Hustle Westbrook” live in the flesh. I can’t let him do that by himself can I? Those nosebleed seats can be tough to navigate at the “Peak.” Besides it’ll give us something else to talk about when he makes an appearance on the next episode of the “Full Sass Podcast.”

Atlanta-Charlotte

I of course won’t be able to watch this one, but it may be worth keeping an eye on in the 4th quarter.

 

Thursday (Good Ass Game of the Week)

San Antonio vs. Cleveland 

Drop everything for this one. I know what I said during the NBA preview, but this will probably be the NBA Finals preview. Kawhi vs. Lebron is worth the stop through alone. Unfortunately, there won’t be any garbage time. The Spurs are the only team I actually enjoy watching the bench guys during garbage time. I’m trying to tell you, this team is DEEP!!

 

Friday

Dallas-Chicago

Always a good time. You can double down on the Timberwolves-Thunder if you didn’t get enough on Tuesday. #tapthatvein

 

Saturday

New York-Memphis

Knicks have been balling of late, and they were a couple of inches away from ending the Spurs home winning streak the other night. I fux with the 3-6 Latvia. Porzingis is the real deal. Dude does not get fazed. He ready!!!!

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Golden State-Detroit

Man who am I kidding? The only reason to watch this game is to see what kind of crazy shit that “Curry the Conductor” orchestrates.

Sacramento-Los Angeles (Clippers)

Speaking of balling, Boogie “Down Productions” has been putting up some monster numbers. He is the best big man in the game. There really is no excuse for the Kings not making the playoffs. The 8th spot is up for grabs and it would be a shame if they didn’t take it. While my Full Sass partner, Craig Stein, loves the Orlando Magic, my surrogate team is the Kings.

I know. I know.  Rondo is a renowned homophobe, and Boogie is a malcontent, but what can I say? I’ve always had a soft spot for the problem children. Besides, next to the Pendejos Clippers, they look like choir boys. The Kings are at least amusing. The Clippers are just annoying.

 

Sunday

 

Dallas-San Antonio

This could very well be another playoff preview, but more importantly, I’ll probably be watching this one alongside other #fullsassers. This may call for a dual live tweet as the game progresses. I may be more excited for this one than I am about the #goodassgameoftheweek. 

Miami-Oklahoma City

I took a break from writing this post to tune into the last 7 minutes of the Trailblazers-Thunder game, and I’m glad I did. On one hand you could say OKC blew it down the stretch, or you could Lillard went into #illard mode and destroyed them with 7 second half three pointers. Earlier this week I said I didn’t think he was an All Star this year. I gladly take that back. “Video Game”Dame is no joke. Respect.

 

“Buster of the Week Award” could go to a lot of people this week. There were definitely a lot of candidates. Maybe this is not the platform to say something so #fullsass, but I’m going to give it to Mr. President Barack Obama.

I’ll admit that nothing about politics surprises me, but I must say that this push for gun control mystifies me. If Obama pushed half as hard against the obvious imbalances in our justice system as he has about gun control, I’d have more respect for his time in the White House.

I feel like we are ignoring this gigantic elephant in the room by ignoring the violence perpetrated by the police and “stand your ground” vigilantes.

“When guns are outlawed, only the Government will have guns. The Government – and a few outlaws. If that happens, you can count me among the outlaws.” Edward Abbey

I’m not saying I’m cool with “Open Carry” laws either. I was in Texas last week, and that was just as weird, trying to guess who was packing and who was not. Believe me I know where every exit is no matter if I’m in a restaurant or movie theatre.

As a black man in this country, it would be dangerous not to be hypersensitive about this issue. I think gun control is important, but to invite this discussion without also talking about (a sometimes overzealous) law enforcement’s access to guns is irresponsible. I think the Tamir Rice tragedy deserves just as much attenton as the Newton shootings.

#shootbasketsnotpeople

Honorable Mention: Paul LePage, Adam “PacMan” Jones, Vontaze Burfict, Adrian Peterson, Jeremy Hill, Blair Walsh

Enjoy all the games this week, and stay warm.

 

Peace,

BM

#fullsass #thisagoodassgame

thisagoodassgame@gmail.com

@clickpicka79