'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?

'Rest So Hard David Stern Wanna Fine Me?'

Maybe Pop will learn now, a little courtesy goes a long way.

Gregg Popovich is a great basketball coach, and I respect his demeanor and the way he goes about teaching and motivating his players, but I can no longer consider myself a fan of his. On a night where his San Antonio Spurs were scheduled to face off against the defending champion Miami Heat in South Beach, Pop announced Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Danny Green were sent back to Texas and would not play in the game, because he wanted to "rest" them.  Granted, it was the fourth game in five days, (the three previous games of the road trip examined later in this post) for the Spurs, with all games played on the road, and the Heat game in particular coming on the second night of a back-to-back.  Despite all of that, my initial reaction was, 'It's November and you're resting players? That's nonsense!'

I know that strategizing for a possible Finals matchup with Miami was a possible reason for this, because you don't want to 'show' them anything they can get a book on.  But it's freaking November!  Should you not have any obligation to the league and it's fans that pay you/made you who you are today by putting the best quality basketball on the floor each night? How different is this than teams that tank?

People have defended Pop, saying, 'he always does this', but he's not the only coach in the league with key players that are older and, as far as i know, he's the only one that does this. If it were after February, it probably wouldn't have solicited a response from NBA commissioner David Stern, but "resting" players in November that people pay good money to see, for an NBA showcase game, comes off as a bit of a spiteful gesture to the leaugue and its fans.

$250,000?!?!?

Furthermore, the timing of when Popovich announced that those guys weren't gonna play is very suspicious.  The NBA schedule has been out for weeks now.  Pop knew that this was gonna be the fourth game in five days and his best players are old.  He had to know that announcing that he was sitting his best four players for a showcase NBA game, like half-an-hour before tip-off, would rub some people the wrong way.  (The league should implement a policy in which you must announce players' game time status in a timeley manner.  You have to do it in the NFL, why not in the NBA?)  Could've been done after the previous game in Orlando Wednesday night at the postgame presser.  Could've been done before shootaround on Thursday.  Common courtesy was so evidently void in the situation that Stern reacted in a way that most humans do when they feel disrespected:  he overreacted.

To fine a team for something that is an unwritten rule, and as substantially as 250k, comes off as a power trip move on Stern's part.  He definitely took Pop's move as an indirect shot at himself.

Look, it's not that I think Pop hasn't earned the respect in the league to be able to have carte-blanche when it comes to his team and do whatever he feels is in the best interest of his team.  Rather, I simply do not subscribe to this kind of childish/spiteful behavior.  I'm not naive enough to think that Pop's decision was purely strategy, and in no way was a sideways shot at Stern, the league, and the fans.

BONUS MATERIAL:  We already know that the Heat game was the fourth game in five days.  I got curious as to see what the previous three games were and what the minute distribution was between the players that were held out.  Here's what I dug up.

@ Orlando Magic, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 7:00 PM EST: 110-89

Duncan: 27 minutes (DNP 4^th quarter)

Parker: 29 minutes (DNP 4^th quarter)

Ginobili: 23 minutes

Green: 31 minutes

No opponent, Tuesday, Nov. 27

@ Washington Wizards, Monday, Nov. 26, 7:00 PM EST: 118-92 (W)

Duncan: 23 minutes (DNP 4^th quarter)

Parker: 22 minutes (DNP 4^th quarter)

Ginobili: 20 minutes

Green: 17 minutes (DNP 4^th quarter)

Quotes from after the Wizards game: "What are you guys talking to him for? He played like half the game!" -- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich walking past Tony Parker, who was talking to reporters about the role Boris Diaw played in the win.

"It's just great to sit there in the fourth quarter, especially after the game we had last night," – Spurs center Tim Duncan talking about the double-overtime game the previous day against the Toronto Raptors.

@ Toronto Raptors, Sunday, Nov. 25, 1:00 PM EST: 111-106, 2OT (W)

Duncan: 41 minutes

Parker: 46 minutes

Ginobili: 36 minutes

Green: 48 minutes

8 Things To Watch For Now That The NBA Lockout Is Over

1 - Will LeBron, Wade, Bosh, make the Finals again?

The Heatles have one year under their belt together and should put together a sound round through the Eastern conference on the way to the Finals.  Atleast that is what the talent of the roster indicates.  Pressure is on LeBron James again to see what he can do down the stretch.  I'm not sure his career/legacy can take another 4th quarter late playoff meltdown/disappearance.

2 - Chris Paul, Dwight Howard on the move?

King James can't afford another 4th quarter playoff letdown.

This was originally fifth on my list of things to watch for before the events of this past week transpired, with Paul almost becoming a Los Angeles Laker and Howard seemingly on the cusp of becoming a New Jersey Net.  It's going to be interesting to see now how the league handles CP3 and the league-run New Orleans Hornets.  Paul may have to just become a free-agent as it will be difficult for teams to propose a trade for him without other league owners having a problem with it and urging commissioner David Stern to step in once again.

3 - Can Kobe be a good teammate without Phil Jackson as coach?

Mike Brown is the old coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the new coach of the L.A. Lakers.  So this means he is going from coaching LeBron to coaching Kobe Bryant.  If Brown couldn't really check Bron's ego, what the hell is he gonna do when Kobe starts throwing up 30 shots a game?  It will be something to watch to see how coach Mike handles that yearly slide that the Lakers always go through, when they're losing to teams they shouldn't lose to and people act like the world is coming to an end.

4 - What rookie will take the NBA by storm?

It's happened for a good four straight years now where a rookie has hit the scene and looked like a future dominating presence in the NBA (see John Wall, Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin, and Kevin Durant).  It's been a while since we've seen these guys because of the lockout but write me down for Minnesota Timberwolves forward Derrick Williams and Sacramento Kings guard Jimmer Fredette as the top two rooks to have big impacts.

This might be the last chance for the 'Big 3' to get that second ring.

5 - Boston Celtics 'Big 3' final run?

When Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge put together the team that would eventually win the 2007-08 NBA Championship in its first year together, most basketball fans found it likely that this team probably could win a minimum of two rings barring any major injuries.  But of course, sports are sports and injuries do happen.  Kevin Garnett went down with a knee injury the following year and really gave the C's no chance of repeating.  The 2009-10 squad made it back to the Finals, only to squander a 3-2 series lead at the hand of the rival Lakers.  Last year, most Celtics fans would blame Ainge for the team not making the Finals, as long time center Kendrick Perkins was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder late in the season, effectively destroying the team chemistry and morale.  But Boston still has K.G. (age 35) along with Paul Pierce (34) and Ray Allen (36), but the window of oppurtunity for that second 'chip keeps getting smaller.

Dirk is the reigning NBA 'baddest man in the clutch'.

6 - Can Dirk establish himself as one of the greatest players of all time?

Dirk Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks to the franchise's first championship ever last year while running through the Western Confrence and the likes of Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant and stunning the star-studded Miami Heat in the Finals.  This was no doubt one of the best individual playoff runs in NBA history, as the Mavs were not anyone's favorite to win the title before Dirk began his unconscious tear.  Can Nowitzki repeat this type of playoff performance in 2012, with the target of 'baddest man in the clutch' squarely on his back?

7 - Short season to benefit veteran teams or young teams?

You would think that this short season would help the veteran teams because logically they already have chemistry playing together, but I'm not so sure.  Sometimes it takes the older guys some time to get things rolling, it's only 16 less games, yeah, but those games definitely could effect where teams are seeded when playoff time comes.

8 - Blake Griffin?

What do I really have to say here?  It's Blake Griffin folks!

Look out below!!!

8 Reasons Why There Will Be No NBA This Year

Stern has his work cut out for him.

The main two reasons that the National Basketball Association is poor: (1) teams pay way too much money for average to below average big men and (2) guaranteed contracts.  Don't believe me?  I bet you didn't know that Sacramento Kings center Samuel Dalembert gets paid more than Steve Nash, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Jason Terry, Danny Granger, and Rajon Rondo.  Or that former New York Knicks free agent bust Jerome James was traded to the Chicago Bulls two years ago, was waived without ever playing a game for them, but collected over six million dollars in each of the past two seasons!  If NBA owners and commissioner David Stern don't come up with something to figure this out, the league as we know it is in deep trouble.  Check out this list of player salaries compared to their production during those same years.


Jermaine O'Neal, 2009-2010 Miami Heat - $23M/ 13.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg
Jerome James, 2008-2010 Chicago Bulls - $12.8M/ did not play
Etan Thomas, 2006-2009 Washington Wizards - $19.1M/ 4.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg
DeSagana Diop, 2009-2011 Charlotte Bobcats - $12.5M/ 1.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg
Joel Przybilla, 2008-2010 Portland Trail Blazers - $13.1M/ 4.8 ppg, 6 rpg
Michael Redd, 2008-2011 Milwaukee Bucks - $51.1M/ 12.5 ppg (61 GP)
Dan Gadzuric, 2009-2011 Golden State Warriors/ New Jersey Nets - $14M/ 2.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Rashard Lewis, 2009-2011 Orlando Magic/ Washington Wizards - $38.4M/ 12.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg

*salary info courtesy of basketball-reference.com

Throwbackz: Headbandz



No one f*cked with Uncle Cliffy

Rockin' a headband in basketball is more than keeping the sweat out of your eyes or hair from getting in your face.  There's a certain swagger involved in it.  Melo wears his close to the eyebrows with the NBA logo to the side for a more hood-like streetball look.  Rajon Rondo used to wear it with the logo upside down, but David Stern didn't like that and threatened to fine Rondo and any other player that did it (WTF Stern!?!? I hate to say it, but stop being such a Jew!!!). Guys like Paul Pierce, Rip Hamilton, and LeBron James rock it straight forward for the more mature-game headband look, which is probably more a device to cover up a receding hairline more than anything.  Wilt Chamberlain wore one back in the day and so did Bill Walton, but Chamberlain did it 'cause he used to sweat like a wilderbeast (remember him in the Conan movie?) and Walton had the hippie hair. 

Now that's Slick.

Slick Watts was the true O.G. that brought out headband swagg, in the '70s for the Seattle Super Sonics. The headband is still in by today's NBA standards but didn't start to really catch on until the early 1990s when one Clifford Robinson came into the league as the Portland Trail Blazers inside scoring threat and enforcer.  Uncle Cliffy made the headband hardcore.  When you saw that bald-headed band clad bruiser come down with the rebound with elbows up, there wasn't nothing left to do but run down the other end of the court.  Allen Iverson made the head strap look cute for this young flashy generation, but I'll always remember it as the rugged look donned by Cliff Robinson.

Honorable mention:
Quentin Richardson
Rasheed Wallace
Jermaine O'Neal

How they keep that thing on all game?

Jason Terry
Glenn Robinson
Ben Wallace
Stephen Jackson
Chris Andersen
Sasha Vujacic
Boobie Gibson
Anyone that rocks the headband above their hairline

Ballin' Outta Control



On tha ground, or in tha air, Peppers delivers.

 
Julius Peppers is a beast.  The man ain't no ordinary defensive end; he's an all around athlete with the agility of a free safety and the body frame of Frankenstein. We've seen Julius on the gridiron, a steam engine, plowing through offensive lineman en route to the quarterback. But have you ever seen him on the hardwood, running the floor on the break and skying above the rim to catch and throwdown alley-oops?  Yeah, Peppers was big man on campus at North Carolina for the Tar Heels in the early 2000s, playing in the NCAA Tournament twice in his career.  He's not the only guy in the NFL though that could hoop in college.  Donovan McNabb played for Jim Boeheim at Syracuse long before Melo did and Antonio Gates didn't even put on pads while at Kent State; he was too busy averaging 17-and-8 for the Golden Flashes basketball team.  There's alotta guys in the NFL that I think would've been nice at ball too, even thought they didn't play in college . . .

The Johnson Brothers

5.  Andre Johnson, WR, Houston Texans, 6-3 225.  I can picture this smooth route runner pushing the rock in transition and going in for a Jason Richardson-like tomahawk dunk or pulling up for the outside 'J' like, say, Joe Johnson . . . they kinda look alike anyway.

4.  Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots, 6-4 225.  He's not quick but tell me he wouldn't be the smartest player on the floor!?!?  I can see Tom Terrific being  a combination of Larry Bird and Steve Nash.  Bird for the court vision, pinpoint passing and anticipation, and knack for coming up big when it matters the most.  Nash because of the haircut. (I can see Brady tucking his hair back behind his ears while standing at the free-throw line  and waiting for the ref to hand him the ball, bending his knees while repeating his follow through, then blowing a kiss to Giselle in the stands.)

The Greatest Boston Athlete Ever

3.  Chad Ochocinco, WR, Cincinnati Bengals, 6-1 192.  The only player in the league with a big enough ego to compete with LeBron's.  The antics would be so hilarious that David Stern would hate him immediately.  (How about the Black Mamba vs. The Black Mexican?)He'd be like A.I., the Glove, Rodman, and Shaq rolled into one.  He'd be the biggest trash-talker on the court: "You think anyone in tha league could guard me????, CHILD PLEASE."

2.  Brian Urlacher, LB, Chicago Bears, 6-4 258.  I'd bring him in off the bench as a defender and enforcer; ya know, throw around his weight and rough up Kobe.

1.  Mike Vick, QB, Philadelphia Eagles, 6-0 215.  A throwback floor general in the mold of Isaiah Thomas. Outside of Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo, no one in the league would be faster with the ball in their hands than Vick.  If you don't think so just watch his NFL highlight reel and witness the ridiculous ability to change direction and just flat out make people look stupid.  Nuff said.