You Remind Me: Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed. . .

Ed Reed is only 34 right? Then why does he look like a 54-year old Frederick Douglass?  They are both Baltimore legends, so maybe this is by design?

ADEDS NCAA Basketball Update 1-27-13: 'The Carter 1'

MCW's quickness and length make him a matchup nightmare at the 1.

The Big East has always been known for point guards that play with toughness, leadership, and a fearless flare in dramatic situations.  Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has coached against those types of players for over 30 years in the conference and has also had a few on his squad as well (see Pearl Washington, Sherman Douglas, Johnny Flynn).  That said, it's probably not surprising for Boeheim to see what sophomore Michael Carter-Williams is doing for the No. 3 Orange (18-2, 6-1 Big East ) as the starting point man this season.  But when you add in that Carter-Williams played so sparingly in is his first season at the 'Cuse (10.3 minutes per game compared to 33.6 this year), and the prospects of his size and ability at the point guard position at the next level (no disrespect to Reece Gaines of course), Boeheim and the rest of the Big East may be watching the most unique floor general to ever play in the conference.
Carter-Williams (12.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg) is currently tops in the nation in assists per game at 9.2 and fourth in steals per game at 3.1 (leads Big East).  His most memorable steals came Jan. 19 at Louisville when Syracuse was tied with the then-No. 1 Cardinals with less than 30 seconds left.  He finished off the theft with a breakaway jam that gave the Orange the lead, then sealed the game with another steal on L'ville's final possession.
Carter-Williams development has allowed Boeheim to play senior guard Brandon Triche off the ball more often, which has led to an increase in his scoring (leads team with 14.5 ppg, averaged 9.4 ppg last year).  Add in athletic forwards C.J. Fair and Rakeem Christmas, and the long range consistency of senior forward James Southerland (career high 13.6 ppg, 2.1 3pts made per game), and Boeheim has yet another squad that looks loaded and ready to take on any challengers in not only the Big East but the entire country.

ADEDS Player Watch:

McLemore is a possible No. 1 NBA Draft Lottery pick. 

F - Shabbazz Muhammad, Fr., UCLA
G - Trey Burke, So., Michigan
G - Ben McLemore, Fr., Kansas
G - Rasheed Sulaimon, Fr., Duke
C - Jeff Withey, Sr., Kansas
F - James McAdoo, So. UNC
G - Archie Goodwin, Fr., Kentucky
G - Mark Lyons, Sr., Arizona
C - Cody Zeller, So., Indiana
F - DeShaun Thomas, Jr., Ohio State
G - Sean Kilpatrick, Jr., Cincinnati
G - Phil Pressey, Jr., Missouri
F - Otto Porter, So., Georgetown
G - Dez Wells, So., Maryland
F - Lorenzo Brown, Jr., N.C. State
G - Shabbazz Napier, Jr., UConn
F - Jakarr Sampson, Fr., St. John's
F - Kenny Kadji, Sr., Miami (FL)

'NBA Trash Talk: Dave and Busters; Dirty Birds; That's Gay; We've Only Just Begun

The Clippers are good.  Really good.  Almost too good.  So much so that a point guard as talented and capable as Eric Bledsoe can only get on the court for 20 minutes per game.  Once Chauncey Billups comes back from injury, expect those numbers to dwindle down to about 10-15 minutes per game.  This for a 6-foot 1-inch 23-year old who's built like a free safety, has stupid bunnies, and can fill every major statistical category on the box score with efficient scoring on any given night?  It's really not fair for us basketball fans that we don't get to see him play more.  Maybe David Stern steps in here and forces the L.A. brass to deal Bledsoe by threatening to veto the Chris Paul trade.

I broght Chris Paul into this world, I can take him out.

The Hawks scored 58 points in a game earlier this week.  That's probably not even enough points to win a game if they played in the Big Ten.  Maybe against the Wisconsin Badgers?  Joe Johnson may be the most overrated/over paid player in the history of the NBA, but for at least one game, I must admit, the Hawks really could've used him.  Even if he had to jack up 40 shots, Johnson would have made it his goal for the Hawks to at least break the 70 point barrier.  You can say it's only one bad game, but I think this really reveals a glaring problem for Atlanta.  This team was constructed around Joe.  A bunch of blue collar guys that can contribute everywhere needed on the floor but without a true consistent go to scorer.  Time to blow this thing up now...and trade Josh Smith to the Celtics.

Apparently, the ball does lie.

Of all the precarious ongoings of Knicks president James Dolan, this one takes the cake.  He's hired a guy to record Carmelo Anthony during games to hear if players are going overboard with the trash talking.  Really?  For what reason does this benefit anyone?  Are we going to start penalizing players for saying offensive things?  As if the NBA wasn't soft enough.  Great, let's start handing out fines and suspensions for this.  I can see it now:  'Chris Broussard reports Sacramento Kings F/C DeMarcus Cousins will be suspended 1-game for saying Memphis Grizzlies F Rudy Gay's 'last name suits him' and calling him his 'little bitch'.  Gay is listed as day-to-day (took it personal reasons).

"And then he said I was ugly, and I couldn't read good."

I know the NBA season just started guys, but the Lakers are 2-0!  And they're just not eeking out wins folks, they're crushing it!  They beat Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers (w/o Anderson Varejao) 113-93 and dismantled the Milwaukee Bucks (in L.A.) with coach Mike Brown (D'Antoni) opting to use Kobe as the key defensive stopper rather than the focal piece of the Princeton offense.  As brilliant as they've looked, they have a very tough test tonight against the defending NBA champion Miami Heat.  If they can get the W, and a Minnesota Timberwolves loss to the Clippers, that would put them at 3-0 on the season, and leave them in sole possession of 1st place (10th) in the Western Conference.  Are the Showtime Lakers back?  We will have to see!  The NBA season is back y'all, get excited!

Really?...Really?...........really?

NBA Trash Talk: American Psycho; Don't Kill My Vibe; By Oden's Beard

Carmelo suspended one game for waiting for Kevin Garnett at the Celtics team bus?  Yeah, there's no way I'm disagreeing with the NBA on this one, there's just no real way of legitimizing it.  It's not that Melo deserved the suspension because there was a 'confrontation', because as far as the reports show, no hands were thrown.  The reason the suspension is valid is because, if you let a player get into your head to the point you wanna fight him after the game, maybe you need to take a break from playing for a while.
Thing about KG, he's a guaranteed first ballot NBA HOFer.  And also, he will go down in history as one of the greatest trash talkers in the history of sports.  Taunting Charlie Villanueva by calling him 'cancer patient' is not below his standards.  Physically, his game is just as grimey as his speech.  From punching Chandler Frye in the balls to the discrete forearm shiver to Tyler Hansborough's orbital bone last week, there's more than enough evidence to reveal Garnett's obvious propensity for on-court psychotic fits of rage.  Carmelo was trying to show that he's not a bitch, and all that KG tough shit looks and sounds good on the court, but don't mean shit in the real world.  I get where you're coming from Melo.  But on the NBA premises, you will always lose.  In this case, Carmelo let KG beat him twice.  KG succesfully took you out of your game (not to mention some surprising lockdown D by Jeff Green) and you shot 6-for-26 while phasing out your teammates and it was ultimatlely the reason the Knicks lost the game.  And now your team has to play without you in the next one.

Ya wife told me you have a little dick nigga!

There are few things in the NBA I enjoy more than when Kobe Bryant goes into full-on Kobe Mode.  This is the point in the game where Kobe feels like his teammates' intensity is lacking, and it's up to him to be the hero and pull out the win for the Lakers.  As a result, basketball fans get to witness the entire Kobe Bryant offensive repertoire.  You don't know how he's gonna score next: circus layup, miraculous fadeaway, 5-feet behind the line 3-pointer.  But we all know one thing is for certain; he's not passing it no one, no matter what.

Here; give this to Kobe.  I'mma go box out.

It's being reported that former college basketball National Player of the Year and No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden is rehabing his re-surgically repaired knee and plans to make a return to the NBA.  The team being reportedly interested in him is the Miami Heat.  If this were to go down, there isn't a better possible thing for Oden to come out of destroying every possible ligament in your knee after being drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers and before playing 100 games in about a 5-year span.  Oden will get to rehab in Miami, which in itself needs no more further explanation.  And he'll get to come off the bench/sit on the bench and have a high-percentage chance of winning a championship ala Juwan Howard.  At the very least/best, Oden could provide the same amount of impact as Joel Anthony or Dexter Pittman.  Meanwhile, Kevin Durant has all the pressure on him to lead OKC to a championship, and he was the No. 2 overall pick that year.  Now that's what I call coming out on top.

Oden in early rehab for is imminent return to the NBA.

'NBA Trash Talk: Speaking in Tongues; Passive-Agressive; No Country for Old Men; Kriss Kross, and More'

Dirk finally back, and finally producing going forward hopefully? He had 19 points today which is huge since he's basically been scoring a little bit more than Dominique Jones and Rodrigue Beaubois since his return from knee surgery some time a couple weeks ago. They lost to the Heat but it looks like some of his swagger is coming back. Shiiit, even seen him do that litte retarded sideways tongue thing, which is inspiring.

I'm back bitches!

Jose Calderon 0 points and 13 assists today and Kyle Lowry also had 0 points but nine assists. Terrence Ross dropped a career-high 26 points and Amir Johnson had 17 points seven boards. Ed Davis had a good game too, and Landry Fields is back. Could this make Toronto relevant again? And by relevant I mean...aw fuck, I forgot what I was gonna say.

Baby, I just wanna hold you and never let go.

When is this Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey flip-flop gonna end? I mean, it's really not that difficult Lawrence Frank; put Kyle Singler's ass on the bench until he starts producing and start Stuckey while finding ways to get Bynum the basketball more. I know you don't want to disrupt team chemistry and blah-blah but fuck that. You're not making the playoffs. At least let the fans see the best available players play the most significant amount of minutes.

I don't care if he's 1-for-13 Rodney, he hasn't played 30 minutes yet.

Avery Bradley came back today. I would say his stat line but it's not really important. The Celtics suck ass right now and it's really very frustrating. Two HOFers and Rajon Rondo but no type of inside game whatsoever outside of Jared Sullinger. Brandon Bass looks lost on this roster. Jeff Green can play a little, but that's only on offense. Any big man that faces the C's imposes their will on them. Case in point: Joakim Noah and DeMarcus Cousins each have triple-doubles this year. Both games have come against Boston. I won't say anymore, this rant will take forever.

But Doc, I ain't played center since the 5th grade!

It's not the end of the world that the Clippers have lost two games in a row guys, they're just looking at the monstrous margin they've built between themselves and the Western Conference (with the exception of San Antonio) and saying, "mane, we can coast most nights" and they're probably right. They got spanked on the road by the Warriors, who have 16-year old guards Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Ain't nobody got time for chasing them young boys up and down the court all night. Especially when you have a "Look Who's On Top Now?" game coming up on Friday against the Lakers.

We finna play y'all in 5 days.  Yup, me and Klay.

It's finally been confirmed today that D.J. Augustin is in fact alive and well and does stil participate in the National Basketball Association. Augustin, who had so many dazzling plays when he was the University of Texas point guard that no one thought he would turn out worse than T.J. Ford or Daniel Gibson (at least Boobie fuckin Keyshia Cole though), but has in fact found himself to on the path to the D-League, a place where neither of the two aformentioned preceding Longhorn point men have ever achieved. Luckily, George Hill got hurt and Augustin has been seeing starters minutes and actually producing. 18 points, 6 dimes, and 4 boards sounds like what we would expect him to average on a nightly basis, but for now it will suffice as some sort of a pulse that Augustin isn't dead in this league just yet.

Mane...y'all niggas all in shape and shit.

Which brings us to Jameer Nelson and the ongoing Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball saga for yours truly. You see, Nelson is one of those guys that will either have an 8 point-8 turnover game, or a drop 30 with 5 three's, or tweak his ankle and miss four games in a row. On this particular night, Yahoo!, who uses Rotoworld.com reports, still had him with the "injured" icon, yet he played and had 32 freakin points...from my bench of course. Look, I know it's my fault: I should've checked his injury status 5 minutes before the game started, but Jesus H. Christ, can they find a way that you can check a box for a player to start if he's going to be available to play, and as soon as they receive notification, it swaps him for the scrubby utility guy (in this case, Carlos Delfino, who lit up for 2 whole points) of your liking? It's 2013. Get on this guys.

Damn, shoelaces fucked up...I ain't playin' to somebody fix this shit.