Iavaroni is in. Avery is out. D’Antoni is…well….no one knows yet. The NBA coaching carousel is in full swing as teams exit the playoffs. I thought I’d weigh in on who is in, who it out, and who is in the rumor mill. If you have been following the NBA drama season you will recognize a few of the names while a few others may surprise you. Read the rest of this entry »
Usually I’m not one to jump on the bandwagon for publicly chastising professional athletes, but Dallas Maverick’s Forward Josh Howard is the epitome of what is wrong with basketball and youth mentality for today (wow what an eloquent speech, where did that come from…lol). Read the rest of this entry »
By now hopefully you have seen Kobe’s Youtube promotion of him “jumping” over an Aston Martin in his new Nike shoes. This video has gained a lot of attention on debating its authenticity. For the record, there is no way that they would let a $100 million man be put in that kind of position.
However, Kenny Smith wanted to prove the “jumping” myth and made his own video. While some believe this clip is also a fake, I think it is real. I mean come on, it would cost more to add CGI to the video than it would to have Kenny Smith really do it…..lol.
That has to be real since Kenny can’t even figure out to put his shoes on the correct feet!
I’ve never been a New York fan for anything. The Yankees seem to dump tons of money at players so they are always contenders, while it’s not fair to small market teams, it is business. The Knicks (back in the Ewing days) were always a rough team (I think they secretly wanted to be like the Detroit Bad Boys) but it was the kind of grit that was used in pursuit of championship basketball.
Enter Isaiah Thomas. I’ve never seen such a bunch of heartless, spoiled bums in my life. No I’m not talking about the season ticket holders, I’m talking about the “team” of professional athletes they put on the court every night. A season ago some of these players bought into Isaiah’s “wisdom” and were blindly coaxed into the Dever Brawl. Well after a few other key additions (namely Zach Randolph), even the rookies and “hustle” players have quit caring. While I’m glad they aren’t following the sinking ship that Isaiah has built, they look like they have all together just quit. I’m envious that I have to bust my butt to claim my lousy paycheck while these guys get to put it on idle and claim millions.
I laughed when ESPN’s Chris Sheridan wrote “we’re going to be hearing a few more of those “Fire Isiah” chants — not to mention undoubtedly recalculating our definition of a new low — as this already humiliating Knicks season trudges forward” I laughed but also knew that this was a true statement. I thought it would take a little longer than a week, but you could feel the storm still had more life. Enter the Boston Celtics. Last night they came and smashed the Knicks 59-104. KG and company were making a statement against an evil organization. Well Sheridan posted again this week and came to yet another rationalization, “a week ago that I cautioned never to declare anything a new low for the New York Knicks, because one can always be certain that no matter how bad things may look at the moment, there’s always the distinct possibility no, make that the distinct certainty — that something even more horrific is in store.”
I’m a big fan of Karma and believe the whole Knick organization is getting what it deserves. They have an owner that blindly follows his coach, a president that hires players with bad moral character, a coach that thinks the game is about him and has sexually harassed co-workers and has intentionally ordered “dirty” play against other teams that have resulted in fights, and players that not only are selfish, greedy, and not really that talented, they are also arrogant, they get arrested, and have sex with interns in the back of their Benz while at work. The NY Times went easy on the team calling them a “FLOP.”
I feel bad for the loyal Knicks fans. That rap sheet is long enough for me to give up if I was there. I hate bandwagon jumpers and non-loyal fans, but enough is enough. My hometown team, the Indiana Pacers, went through a period of stupid crap like this that has led to me giving up my season tickets and watching them on TV. Even though they are starting to win again, I’m still not ready to come back because winning isn’t everything. As I get older, I would rather support a team that plays together and supports each other (I actually supported them during the Palace Brawl because it was nice to see them at least stand up for each other, but then I changed my mind after seeing how Artest repaid the team).
Well at least I feel better for letting that rant out, now it’s time to for Mr. Dolan to experience such a relief by firing Coach Thomas. Does anybody know where I can get an official “Fire Isaiah” shirt at? Here is some game footage of an arena full of angry fans telling team ownership what to do…
LeBron James is already “The King,” but will he be able to dethrone the current Triple Double King in Jason Kidd?
Jason Kidd has done it most of his career. In fact it is somewhat expected that he get his nightly triple double. It typically looks like 10-14 pts, 11-13 assists, and 10-11 rebs. He barely makes it in each category, but he usually makes it.Many have argued that this skill comes because he isn’t a natural scorer. Kidd is 3rd on the all-time triple double list (behind Magic (138) and Oscar Robertson (181)).
Now LeBron has decided to give his own interpretation of the triple double. He posted 30 points, 11 rebs, and 10 assists last night against the Pacers. This coming after 37 points, 12 rebs, and 12 assists the night before. (Man I’m glad I traded for him last year when he was in a “slump” in my keeper fantasy league.) Not only is the triple double there, but 30+ points? There has never been doubt about his ability, now it looks like his summer with Team USA is paying off huge dividends. Here is a sweet poll that ESPN.com is running about this topic right now (which has James winning the vote 59% at the time of this post). James may win the title this year, but the Triple Double Czar, Oscar Robertson, is far from worried about his prestigious record where he went as far to average a triple double for an entire season (almost 2 seasons).
Okay for all you Star Wars deadheads, the Riley/Van Gundy mentor path isn’t quite that extreme, but a lot is being made of it (ESPN.com rates it as a top 10 Grudge Match) . The reason is simple, a lot of people know that Van Gundy is a pretty good coach and he was stepped on by his former mentor for a championship run with Miami.
Van Gundy did everything right at Miami coaching wise. The team improved each season, they went the the Conference Finals and then the team was taken away by a greedy Pat Riley. Don’t get me wrong, Riley is a great coach, but that wasn’t his team anymore and he was out of the spotlight. So Van Gundy being a character coach didn’t want the backlash from challenging his mentor and gave the team control over (he still won’t say anything negative about Riley).
Well a couple seasons later and Van Gundy might just get his reward in a matchup with his former team. The Orlando Magic look like a legit contender in the East while the Miami Heat look like a shell of their former selves. Orlando has the dominant center in Dwight Howard that resembles what Miami’s Shaq used to be.
Riley may have gotten the ring, but I’m sure that Van Gundy wouldn’t trade rosters or places right now. Good things do come to those that wait and nice guys don’t always finish last!
The official count for the new look Boston Celtics being one of the greatest team ever assembled is officially on.
Click HERE to see an updated comparison of records to the ‘95-96 Bulls.
This topic seems to be Kobe-esque in the fact that there are either haters or lovers and no one in between. The Haters say that the East in the JV division and that the Celts haven’t played anyone of merit. The Lovers say that this is the NBA where any team can win on any given night and the Celts have dominated. Chad from Hoopsblogging has a great piece on this debate.
I will admit that I was skeptical at first (after all the whole Jailblazers All-Star team and then the Malone and Payton Lakers era were huge disappointments). But these guys are for real. You have 3 legit superstars who seem to like each other. They share the pain of never winning a ring and are willing to shelf their egos in a quest for it. It is true that they haven’t seen much adversity yet in the form of injuries, close games, or a loss yet, but you could see the mentality change the other night when Paul Pierce got whacked hard by Jamal Tinsley and did pushups instead of reacting (arrogant, yes, but effective advice from KG) and then continued to kill Indiana.
Good luck Boston, I always love seeing history being made!
I would just like to add my voice to the multitudes of Bulls fans (I’m not one) and Fantasy Managers who are bemoaning the poor start of the team and horrible statistical production of their various players.
This defensive-minded, hustle-oriented team regularly expects its defense to translate into offense, but sadly the Bulls are clearly losing something in translation over the first 7 games of the regular season. In spite of this awful start, coach Scott Skiles isn’t too worried. Perhaps he need not necessarily be, the team DID start off slow last year and yet ended up strong, allowing them to make the Playoffs.
Fantasy-wise, Bulls players leave much to be desired in terms of their lack luster performances that contributed to their 1-6 start.
Previously reliable, backcourt starters, Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng have been plague with terrible offensive games. Over the course of the first seven games Ben is averaging 37 FG% (8 pts below last year); Kirk is shooting at a vomit-inducing 34.% - that’s a whopping 10.2 percentage points below last year’s average; “Mr. Efficient“, Luol Deng is averaging 3.5 less points at 5.2% less efficiency than season!
Terrible, terrible - did forget to say “terrible”? - fantasy start for all 3 of these guys!
Ok, so we know the offense is sloppier than a soiled baby’s diaper at the moment, but I feel a major contribution to this poor performance, is the injury the “Big Ben” Wallace is playing through. He hurt his ankle early into the first couple of games and it has clearly affected his game. He’s definitely struggling and this can be seen through his “HALF-average” production. Across the board his defensive numbers (well they’re the ones that count most anyway) are only half of what he was averaging last season. Ben is literally HALF the player he was last year!
It’s not too far fetched to think that his injury - with him being the Bull’s defensive fulcrum and all - is playing a key role in the team’s disheartening performance.
In fairness, Ben is NOT the BULLS. Each player plus the coach is responsible in whatever results the team generates. My buddy, Rick - contributor in my BLOG, feels that the ever-looming KOBE-trade cloud is dampening the team’s morale. I’m not discounting it as a possibility, but I feel the Bulls are at a stage where their injuries and sluggish pre-to-regular season transition has left “Mad Scientist-coach” Scott Skiles no recourse but to once again fiddle with his lineup until his team can find its winning ways once more.
Well the season’s young and there’s a lot more to follow. The Bulls and their players can get better and more frightening so, get worse. My money’s pinned on the prior more than the latter - well at least my hopes are - for the sake of several of my fantasy teams. I’d like to think positive and am willing to forecast a renaissance of the team and its players in the not too distant future, and I don’t mean them acquiring Kobe Bryant…
Ah, that was a nice rant… Feel free to jump in, the water’s just fine!
Now that I have your attention, here is the most recent trade that went down in the Official HoopStar Basketball Fantasy League on NBA.com.
Charlie’s Team sends Al Harrington (C/PF/SF), Kobe Bryant (SG), and Jason Williams (PG).
Team Sean Bower sends Paul Pierce (SF/SG), Kirk Hinrich (PG/SG), and Drew Gooden (PF).
Pros For Charlie’s Team: The addition of Kirk Hinrich adds a lot of assists and 3pts with respectable points (at least when he is not in a slump). Pierce is capable of crazy multi stat lines with the Big 3 in Boston. And Drew Gooden is averaging a double double. This new lineup is stronger for this season.
Cons For Charlie’s Team: I know all the Kobe trade rumors made this deal happen. If Kobe gets frustrated he could use a minor injury to keep him on the bench to force a trade. However, we are in a 2 keeper league and you already traded away Chris Paul earlier in the season. Your keepers went from Kobe and Paul to Pierce and Caron Butler. Hope your season goes well since you gave up a lot for next year.
Pros For Team Sean Bower: You added Kobe, a guy that can single handedly win you the points category on most nights. He is one of the highest players that have big games often. Jason Williams is putting up respectable assists right now. And Harrington gives you a multi-position eligible guy that will start and protect your lineup from injuries. You essentially traded 2 starters and a bench player for 3 starters for you team. Your keepers improved though with Kobe and Gerald Wallace.
Cons For Team Sean Bower: Hinrich and Williams are no where close to equal in value. Hinrich is in a slump right now and is still out performing Williams. And Williams most likely will lose minutes or get injured as the season goes on. Kobe is a big risk right now for missing games or being traded.
Overall Advantage: I really think this trade is wash for both teams. Charlie’s Team will benefit more this season and since he is in the highest division this is important. Team Sean Bower benefits more in the long run by increasing the keeper value and since this team is in the second to last division this will help a lot in helping to advance to the next division in a couple of seasons.
This was a very controversial trade in our league as it received 3 protests. I only overrule a trade when it is clear that someone is giving up or is making a trade that will drastically alter the league balance. Do you see anything that powerful?
Old Crazy Eyes is at it again with Zeke (Both of those nicknames should tell a lot about each person’s character). Marbury did his latest impression of crazy by bolting on the Knick’s roadtrip and becoming MIA.
I’ll be honest and say that this all puts a smile on my face. Bad things have a habit of happening to bad people. Call it karma, justice, or whatever else you want, but that whole organization is shady.
Thomas ordered the “hit” that caused a brawl. He also brought Artest (probably one of his psych ward buddies) to Indiana for that whole mess. He thought he was big enough to harass a woman. James Dolan only supported this behavior. Dolan also has hired a bunch of thugs (see Nate Robinson) and paid them a lot for little talent. Now they are the doormat of the league.
Stephon “I’m going to lead the league in DIMES” Marbury blew things early on in Minnesota by being greedy (Some sources report that he wants Garnett’s help in Boston now). Then he stayed selfish at New Jersey and ended up being overpaid in New York. This team deserves each other. Even though my Pacers aren’t good, I’m glad we dont have to put up with all that crap.