Why is it that I have such an issue with Vince Carter? Why is it that I despise him like he was a serial killer? I LOVE Jason Kidd (the triple double machine) and Richard Jefferson. I love Mikkie Moore. I love Clifford “Snoop Dogg” Robinson.
But Vince Carter being there makes me despise them all. It makes me want for them all to lose. Forever. Until Vince leaves.
But why?
I think for me, it all stems from these incidents …..
“But ‘Air Canada’ soon crashed on the runway. He stopped playing hard. The Raptors missed the playoffs. Then he requested a trade, destroying the franchise.
Toronto fans felt betrayed. Like a jilted lover they despised Carter, especially when he publicly admitted to not trying his hardest.”
This is what he said about starting over in Jersey after his trade:
“In years past, no. I was fortunate to have the talent … you get spoiled when you’re able to do a lot of things. You see that you don’t have to work at it. Now, with the all the injuries, I have to work harder. I’m a little hungrier. Getting a fresh start has made me want to attack the basket.”
Then there was this comment:
“I am at the point in my career where I do not have time to wait two to four years for a team to mature,” Carter writes on his web site.
But most of all, it was his willingness to sell out his own teammates that cost him the respect of so many people …
And then, once he demanded a trade, he stopped playing until he got his wish.
I think of all the blue collar people out there who DON’T get paid millions to play the game of basketball. I think of all the people who have to go to work to places they don’t necessarily like and I think to how they all suffer and plod trough their workdays. I think of all the times I’ve woken up and said “I don’t think I wanna go to work today” and got up and went anyway. I think to all the times I’ve been hurt and sick and decided to go to work.
I think that’s all anyone wanted from Vince. As strong a finish as he started. He was viewed by many to be the greatest athlete in Canada. People idolized him. Girls swooned. And one day he woke up and said “I think I’m done. I want out” and stopped coming in to work. But he was still getting paid.
Blue collar people paid his wage by buying tickets. Blue collar people went to see him play. Blue collar people perpetuated his legend. He represented the hopes and dreams of a nation. And then he turned his back on them.
I play the game because I LOVE the game, not because of the business of the game. I don’t get paid a penny and I’m out there through herniated discs, sprained ankles, jammed fingers and mere weeks after surgeries. Just to say that I play. No whining, no prima-donna attitude. Pure love, pure work.
When I see a guy of Vince’s skill and ability, and see how he’s wasted his talent, it’s actually genuinely insulting because, despite what people may think, playing basketball is not a right; it’s a privilege. Especially getting paid to play it. It’s a privilege that shouldn’t be taken for granted. The Nets may win the series against the Raptors, but the love and the respect of a nation will never be given to that man again. He doesn’t deserve it. Not when guys like Jerome Williams, Ben Wallace, Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh, TJ Ford, Jorge Garbajosa, Alvin Williams and Grant Hill are out there doing their thing like they’re supposed to, going through their good days and bad days always trying their best.
April 30, 2007 at 8:24 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Raptors 81 – Nets 102
This game was shocking even to me. I somehow expected the Raptors to come out and salvage at least one game in this gym – I never expected a 21 point pounding. But the Raps’ road record came back to haunt them as the Nets took this game and moved 1 game from advancing to the second round. This after the Nets appeared dead in the water and had to fight just to make it in to the playoffs.
The Raps had no answer for Jason Kidd who scored 17 points, but dished 13 assists and nabbed 8 rebounds in only 3 quarters of play. The Raps had no answer for Vince Carter who went for 27, 7 & 7. The Raps had no answer for Richard Jefferson who went for 23 points, and they had no answer to the X-Factor: Bostjan Nachbar, who scored 11 this game.
No answers defensively anyway.
Bargnani had his best game since coming back from his appendectomy, scoring 16, 4 & 4. Chris Bosh was contained to 13 and 10. TJ Ford was unimpressive at 13 and 5 assists. The big thing was that Anthony Parker was nowhere to be found! 5 points, 3 boards in 28 minutes?!?!? What is this guy, Joey Graham or something?!?!
On a bright note, ALL the Raptors’ active players scored in the game, but that’s small consolation when you lose a critical playoff game. Like all the other playoff games, the team stats were close. 28 of 67 (41.7%) for Toronto and 36 of 76 47.3%) for New Jersey from the field. 22 of 28 (78.5%) from the foul line for Toronto. New Jersey went 16 of 22 (72%). New Jersey won the battle of the boards by 2 (42-40) , steals went to Jersey (9-8).
I suppose the stats that stand out are 3 of 13 (23.1%) from 3 point range for Toronto, while Jersey was more efficient at 14 of 27 (51.8%). Jersey dominated the assists category at 29-19 and Toronto was sloppy with the ball, committing 22 turnovers, to the Nets’ 17 .
Toronto is now one game away from elimination and, as things go back to Toronto for the must-win Game 5, they’re gonna have to dig deep if they hope to vanquish this formidable foe.
The biggest problem that I see is that Toronto’s guards do NOT play good D on J-Kidd. Parker and Graham do their best against Carter at the 2 guard. But when you have no answers from the point or 3 guard, things are going to be an uphill battle. The problem is that they wanna stop ONE player and hope that the rest of the team stops playing. But with NJ, you have to stop 3 players. And everything … EVERYTHING … hinges on them stopping Jason Kidd. Once he’s out, it’s easier to stop the other two guys; Carter and Jefferson. But when Kidd dishes 13 rebounds and keeps getting to the glass, they’ll never get a chance. Ford and Calderon need to be more active, aware and physical with Kidd. Rough up Carter, he hates physical contact. Jefferson, put a hand up. He’s not a great shooter.
I hoped against hope that they would win. I even predicted it. But in a previous blog post I also said that I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Nets take this series.
They have 2 more days and one game to get their act together.
April 30, 2007 at 8:01 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Mavericks 99 – Warriors 103
The #8 seed in the West is one game away from eliminating one of the best regular season teams in NBA history! ESPN calls it a Sunday Stunner, I call it “Saucy!”
Baron Davis drops 33 and 8, J-Rich puts 22 and 5, and Stephen Jackson adds 19 and 3 along with Michael Pietrus’ 16 and 5 to make this one of the most stunning and interesting series in the NBA in a LONG time.
Josh Howard’s 22 and 12, Stackhouse’s 24, Nowitzki’s 23 & 15 and Terry’s 16, 5 and 4 were simply not enough on this day as the 6 more turnovers appeared to be the main difference for the final score. Statistically, every other category was even. The Warriors shot 2% better (45.9%) than the Mavs (43.8%), they nabbed 15 more rebounds, had 4 more blocks but were outshot at the foul line 20-26 (76.9%) compared to the Warriors 62.2% shooting on 23 of 37 foul shots.
If Biedrins and Ellis would have shot better (combined 2 of 9), who knows how this game would have ended up. Regardless, the Warriors are now up 3-1 in their series and look to go back to Oakland to finish this series off. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Mavs win the next one, but the Warriors look hungry and are playing great.
WOW, did the Heat ever look like crap. And wow did the Bulls ever look GOOD! So pull out the brooms folks, the defending champs are GONZO! We’re crowning a NEW champ this year!
Dwyane Wade tried his best. He really did! 24, 5 and 10 assists shows that. Shaq’s 16 & 7 showed that he wanted it too. But when the rest of your starters combine for 18 points on 7 of 23 shooting (30.4%), you have little hope. Let me rephrase that. When Alonzo Mourning (a greatr defensive player, mediocre offensive player) scores 14, things need to be examined in Miami.
For the Bulls, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng proved to be the X-Factors in the series and the only players who consistently were able to break the Heat down and expose all their weaknesses inside and out. The 22, 12 and 4 steals from Deng and 24 points from Gordon, along with 13 & 11 from Big Ben and 11 & 5 from Nocioni were great performances. But I’m sure the BIGGEST thing is that they got even with the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last year.
It’s astounding that they won when you look at the final team stats too.
The Bulls shot 32 of 84 (38.1%) from the field while the Heat were much more efficient at 31 of 72 (43%). Though Chicago’s high octane offense directly means more shots.
The Bulls shot 9 of 21 (42.8%) from 3, compared to Miami’s 4 of 17 (23.5%) – This stat is HUGE! And inexcusable! How is the team with the supposed “MDE” (Most Dominating Ever – Shaq) and Alonzo going to look AWAY from that to 3 pointers to win the game?!?!?! That’s Chicago’s game, not theirs! Shaq may be old, but give him the rock and get out the way! Miami was unable to handle him the entire series … when Shaq was trying. But for this game he went 8 of 14 and 0-7 form the foul line.
Speaking of which, Chicago shot 19 – 24 (79.2%) from the charity stripe, while the Heat shot 13 of 27 (48.1%). EVEN if you take away Shaq’s bricklaying prowess, they STILL shot a sloppy 13 of 20 (65%). That is not good enough.
The asissts were identical at 11, but the 11 steals form the Bulls appeared to make a huge difference in the game as Miami’s carelessness with the ball came back to bite them in the ass. This carelessness is also displayed in Miami’s 17 turnovers. The Bulls only committed 5.
Enjoy the offseason, Payton. You too, ‘toine. I hope you guys decide to take off to Atlanta to be the “man” again. Or better yet, retire. Shaq, Wade, I feel for ya, buddies. But stop hanging around scrubs and it’ll turn out different next year. And get rid of white chocolate. Everyone knows Chocolate is bad for you.
The last game they played in Staples, the Suns looked “off”. The commute must have been tough cuz they weren’t playing like themselves. As a result of that, and the Staples Crowd, the Lakers took one from the Suns. Barely.
This game was different. Amare’s Stoudemire’s 27 & 21 were monstrous and THE key to why this series isn’t the same as it was last year. The Lakers and ALL of the LA media were saying how this was the Lakers’ best matchup in the playoffs. That it had been different last year, but that this year was an opportunity to change that.
Someone forgot to tell Amare that. And the memo didn’t get sent to Steve Nashwho dished a career (and 3rd all-time NBA) high of 23 assists to go along with 17 points. Barbosa continued to be a thorn in the Lakers’ side, going for 16 points on 3 of 12 (25%) shooting. Whu??
Yup. Shawn “The Matrix” Marion’s 22 and 11 weren’t too shabby either. Raja Bell scored 7 points (and played great D) and James Jones scored 11.
Lakers guard kobe Bryant did his best to stop the bleeding, going for 31, 7 & 9. And Lamar Odom woke up again and went to work with 19, 13 and 5 assists. They also got contributions form Luke Walton (10 points), Smush Parker and Mo Evans (11 each). Oh … and Kwame? he scored 9.
Team stats show 41 of 86 (47.7%) from Phoenix, LA went 39 of 88 (44.3%) from the field. Phoenix shot 7 of 23 (30.4%) from 3. The Lakers went 9 of 27 (33.3%). Kobe’s crew got to the line 17 times, making 13 of their attempts for 76.5%. But the Suns went 31 times and converted 24 of them. That’s a big difference in foul shots. I wonder if Phil Jackson’s gonna cry foul to gain some more foul shots for his crew. The Lakers were only outrebounded by 5 (39 to 44), but the Suns dished out more dimes (34 – 21) and stole the ball 6 more times (12-6) than LA. Six more turnovers also didn’t help LA’s cause (20-14).
In the end, Phoenix goes up 3-1 in the series and looks to eliminate LA on Tuesday IN Phoenix. You can bet that’ll be a good ‘un.
April 29, 2007 at 9:31 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Spurs 96 – Nuggets 91
Now this was more like it. The Spurs looked like themselves for this game. On a night where Marcus Camby received the Defensive Player of the Year award, the Spurs proved that ONE defensive player can’t stop 5; they also proved that 5 good defensive players are better than 1 outstanding one.
Groundhog Day was his usual self with 20 and 11, but old-timer Michael Finely went for 16 and 5! Way to go Mr. Finley! Super-Sub Manu Ginobili added 19, 7 and 5 and the Desperate House-Husband nabbed 21 and 4 dimes.
For the Nuggets, it wasn’t all bad. Iverson had 20 points and Melo popped off 28 & 12. Nene kept things hot with 18 points and 7 boards and JR Smith added 12 points.
The big stat that stands out as a difference in this game were the free throws. Rather than send Tim Duncan to the line, they sent Manu Ginobili. He shot 10 of 11 and as a team they shot 92.9% form the line; including 2-2 from Duncan. They also went 9 of 21 from 3. These are the only two stats that stands out as rebounds, fouls, turnovers, assists and field goal percentage were near identical.
Oh, Robert Horry went 2 of 3 from 3 (both of them in the final quarter) with 3 HUGE blocks. That man is awesome. He sleeps through most of the game, comes in and gives you crucial plays. I guess that’s why he has 6 championship rings and has never missed the playoffs in his entire career. That and the fact that he’s always been on good teams.
I tried to watch the game but could only make it to half before becoming bored and going to sleep.
But what is up with the Rockets?!?!?
More than 4 players scored this game, but they only got 18 (plus 4 rebounds and 4 assists) from T-Mac and 20 from Yao (to go along with a measly 9 boards). Rafer added 12, 9 and 6. But between Alston and McGrady, they went 11 of 32 (34.4%!) from the field. McGrady needs to learn how to control the ball game, get his points AND get his teammates the ball. He’s currently great at scoring, but his dishes are pretty sad.
Let’s see … Jazz …. 15 and 10 from Boozer, 16 and 6 from Okur, 25 and 7 assists from Williams, 17 and 6 from Harpring. The big things I see are that Kirilenko only took 1 shot for the entire game and that Fisher only took 6 shots. They went 25% from 3 (2 of 8), including 1 of 6 (ew) from Okur.
Regardless, the Jazz were able to even the series at 2 games.
The Wizards are on the ropes! Oh no! Wait …. they’re only playing with JuCo players and NBA castoffs. Not as amazing as people are making this series out to be.
Sure, LeBron is putting up huge numbers. Sure, the franchise is on the verge of getting its first ever playoff sweep. Sure, they look like contenders in the East. But look who they’re doing it against! James gets 30, 6 and 9. Ilgauskas goes for 24 and 8 … all 5 starters get double digit points, they shoot 50% from the field (38 of 76), 46% from 3 (6 of 13), they outrebound the Wiz by 15, and get 6 more assists … and it all means nothing, in my opinion because it’s not being done to a better team.
For Washington, Jamison has a monstrous game at 38 and 11 and they get good contributions from Daniels who goes for 20 and 13 assists. Jarvis Hayes’ one dimensional play is on display as he only scores 15 points (sorry, I guess I should include his 4 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks in there too.) But as a team, the Wiz are trying to make this series a jump shooting series (which is not a possibility because of the lack of Arenas) and go 31.7% from 3 (7 of 22).
I sure hope the Cavs are staying realistic about this series and about how tough their next opponent will be, cuz the next team they play will be MUCH better than these injury ravaged Wizards. The Cavs will try to finish the series in Washington on Monday.
I called it before the playoffs started. I knew it would happen. And yet a part of me wishes Grant Hill and Dwight Howard could have won one for pride in this series. Unfortunately, these Pistons are pretty heartless and well focused.
All 5 Pistons scored over 11 points which made for a well balanced attack. High man was Chauncey Billups with 25 and 6 assists, Rip Hamilton added 19 and Webber had 11 and 10. 13 and 8 from Wallace and 13 and 6 from Prince.
Dwight Howard tried his best. No one can deny that after seeing his final stat line of 29 and 17 on 10 of 15 shooting. Grant Hill was everywhere with 17, 4 and 3. And, surprisingly, this series was Darko Milicic’s coming out party as he averaged 12.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Not bad for a guy who was labelled as a wash up only 3 years into his career and at 21 years of age. But the Pistons shut down Hedo Turkoglu who went 3 of 13 (23%) from the field and 0 for 3 (0% fore those who need the math done for them) from 3 point range. Also, free throws were a problem. Not so much for the TEAM who went 10 of 14 (71%), but Howard who was 9 of 17 (52%). They made two 3 pointers the entire game and were 2 of 8 for the GAME!
But it’s all over now. Their season is done. And now Grant Hill ponders retiring. When he was in Detroit, I never really liked him much. But now into the twilight of his career, I can appreciate the beauty of his game and can honestly say that I would very much miss him if he were to go now. If joined the Spurs, he’d be a great addition and would definitely have a chance to win his championship. But I don’t think Grant Hill thinks the same way as Gary Payton or Karl Malone. I think Hill is classier than that.
In researching this, I found that Artis Gilmore was supposed to be stronger than Shaq but not as strong as Wilt. Everyone who played against Wilt say that he was the strongest man in the NBA ever. I don’t doubt it. The guy was a svelte 275 and he is said to have warmed up on the bench press at 450 lbs! That’s almost 3 Tyra Banks stacked on top of each other! – she weighs 161 lbs
These guys are freaking machines! It’s no wonder they dominate the paint like they do. They move players aside like paper! Yao may not be the strongest guys among this group, but 310 lbs is nothing to sneeze at.
Personally, I’ve never been a fan of bench pressing. It makes my back hurt a lot. But I imagine I might be able to bench press 100 lbs – On a good day. Ha, ha, ha!
April 28, 2007 at 1:54 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Kevin Willis is raising Kain in the NBA at the ripe old age of 44.
Surprisingly, he’s not the oldest player to ever play in the NBA. Nat Hickey takes that honor.
Nat, who at 46 years of age, played five games for Tri-Cities and Providence in 1947-48. Robert Parish played at 43 years of age for the Bulls in 1997 – this was the second-oldest, until Willis signed with the Mavericks this post-season.
Just goes to show you that experience and guile DO triumph over youth and speed!
I’m not sure that this is a fair article on behalf of the home team’s media. It appears to me that the media in Toronto are very unforgiving of any failure by a sports team. I find this to be unfortunate because those guys NEED people behind them and the last thing that you want is the media making enemies for you in your own home town!
Boo-urns to the Toronto media for not showing more support of the Raptors in trying times.
Not the greatest story, but it has some great NBA action and some funny characters. Everyone I know bashes this movie, but as a basketball fan, I can’t help but enjoy it’s goofy take on basketball. Whoopi Goldberg is funny (as was usual for her at the time) and the cast of NBA characters that lend their talents is quite impressive.
I think most people would have a problem sitting through this flick, but if you’re a hardcore basketball fan, you’ll watch it just to get a hoops fix.
I first heard this song on a streetball mixtape and it’s been in my permanent basketball mix ever since. I don’t know why I like this song so much. It’s not THAT creative or original; not like Alan Parsons Project or Bel Biv Devoe. And yet it’s a perfect basketball song due to its catchy hook and nice beat. And that’s why this song is perfect for basketball: It’s singable and quotable DURING a game.
April 28, 2007 at 9:57 am · Filed under Uncategorized
“Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them. But do not let them master you.”
- Hellen Keller -
The road to overcoming weaknesses in your game is to understand them and work at them. Make your weakness a strength and you become a better basketball player in the end. It’s never easy, but it’s always worth it.
I can definitely see this as a plausible trade scenario. Francis has a huge contract that they need to offload, The Clips need a good PG and Francis wants to shine again. Plus New York belongs to Starbury right now.
Interesting Factoid: If Steve Francis DOES go to the Clips, he’ll be re-united with once Rocket teammate, Cutino Mobley.
April 28, 2007 at 2:43 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Kidd was sensational with 16 points, 16 rebounds and 19 assists. Vince Carter torched the Raps for 37 and 5 dimes and RJ went for 18 and 6. These numbers spelled defeat for the Raptors as they were outmatched in Game 3 by a hungrier opponent and lost to the tune of 102-89.
The Raps are now down 1 game to 2 in their series against New Jersey. It pains me to even write that but facts are facts. Our boys were humbled. They allowed the Nets to shoot 52% from the field (41 of 78) – though the 23% from 3 (6 of 25) was the only blot on their resume tonight … that and the 16 turnovers.
The Nets had twice as many assists as the Raps (31 to 15), but the 18 turnovers they committed made it difficult to keep pace; combine that with below average shooting of 44% (33 of 75) and 27% from 3 (5 of 18) and it’s a recipe for disaster for the T-Dot.
Chris Bosh was all but invisible tallying 11 and 11. That’s not good enough for this team. TJ Ford had 27 and 8 assists, Anthony Parker had 14 and 5, Jose Calderon had 12 and 3 assists … and that was pretty much it. Bargnani had 9, Mo Pete and Nesterovic had 7 apiece and Joey Graham was an offensive force with his 2 points in 13 minutes. Humphries, Dixon and Jackson went scoreless in their playtime tonight.
I can’t say that I’m overly surprised. I mean, the Nets have WAY more experience than the Raps do in playoff basketball. Plus the Raptors have been terrible on the road. Particularly Mo Pete, who appears to shrivel up and disappear from the visiting team’s hardwoods. It’s not surprising given the Raptors road record of 17 and 24. They are clearly a better team when they play at home than when they are away. Unfortunately, the ONLY way for them to advance in the playoffs is if they go into other people’s homes and steal those games away.
I don’t know, man. I WANT to believe … I really do …. but maybe this team needs one more year to gel and mature. Vince Carter may be a heel, but the jerk sure can score. C’mon Raps! Pull one out of the swamp! Bring it home and be successful!
Bounce back and show the NBA that Canada is ready for the Prime Time!
April 28, 2007 at 2:15 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Bulls 104 – Heat 96
Oh dear. Look at the Baby Bulls growing up before our very eyes. Putting a whoopin’ on the defending champs, they take a 3-0 series stranglehold. They pounded the Heat at home and staged an epic comeback that saw them rebound from double digit (12 point) deficits and impose their will and play style on an older, more complacent team.
Luol Deng goes off once again, proving to be the X-Factor in the series, for 24 & 11 (on an average 9 of 17). Ben Gordon goes for 27 and 5 (7 of 16), Captain Kirk drops 22 and 6 assists (7 of 14), Nocioni chips in 10 and 8 and Ben Wallace makes his mark by adding 11, 8, 2 assists and 3 steals to go along with a MONSTROUS block of Shaquille O’Neal in the final period.
Picture it: Shaq sizes Ben’s D. He takes ONE dribble towards the middle, then he does his patented “Shaq, Rattle and Roll” ending in a right handed hook shot. Ben Wallace reads it, times it perfect and blocks Shaq’s hook as it’s leaving his hands. Shaq’s strength knocks Ben Wallace to the floor (he flopped a bit too) where he grabs the rebound ON THE GROUND and makes the outlet pass for a fast break layup.
If I can find this clip on YouTube, I’ll post it here ASAP!
Anyway, for Miami … Wade … 28, 9 and 5 … Shaq … 23, 12 … Walker adds 12, Posey adds 10 … whatever. The real story here was that DWade and Shaq went 7 of 22 from the free throw line and that they couldn’t capitalize on the 18 turnovers by the Bulls (compared to 9 from the Heat)
The one bright spot of the day was that Gary Payton didn’t play …..
Last game (game 2) it was the Warriors who lost control of their emotions. This game the tables were turned. The entire Warriors squad was sizzling from tip off right up until the last buzzer. The crowd was loud, obnoxious, rowdy … perfect for their home team. The Mavericks looked dazed, confused … and dare I say, scared! Avery Johnson was pissed, Don Nelson was happy … it was an awesome playoff game.
I have NEVER seen the Mavericks embarrassed like that this year.
Peep the stats : 20 and 9 for Josh Howard on 8 of 17 shooting. 20 and 12 from Disco on 7 of 16 shooting. 14 and 5 assists for Terry on 4 of 11 shooting (ew). A measly 10 points from Stackhouse. As a team, they go 4 of 15 (26.7%) from 3, 31 of 80 (38.8%) from the floor and commit 16 turnovers. They looked like they were trying; I’m just not sure they knew that they were playing BASKETBALL.
The Warriors came out and played! 30 and 8 from J-Rich, 16, 8 and 6 from Stephen Jackson (congrats, buddy! You made it through the entire game without getting tossed!), 10 and 10 from Biedrins, 14 points from Sixth Man Of The Year Monta Ellis, and 24 points and 5 assists from The Gold Baron (Davis). As a team, they shoot 39 of 81 (48.1%) from the field, 6 of 23 from 3 (26.1%), and commit 14 turnovers. They even had 6 more fouls as a team than Dallas!
The stats are pretty close, aren’t they? So what was it that made the Warriors absolutely disgrace the Mavs?
Maybe it was the crowd. Maybe it was the small ball that Nellie plays. Who knows.
All that matters is that Golden State is up 2-1 in the series and that both of the NBA finalists are down in their series and appearing to be on the ropes against an unexpected opponent.
The idea that Jermaine O’Neal becomes a Knick may get New Yawkers giddy with joy, but the problem remains that no one would take up the salaries of seldom used, overpaid hackjobs like Jerome James. Let us also not forget that it’s Eddy Curry’s team right now and that if JO were brought in, it would most certainly cause Eddy to cry for a trade due to a lack of playing time in which to suck in public.
On top of all that, the “shoot-first” mentality of Knicks Guards Steve Francis, Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson would cramp Jermaine’s style. He needs the ball in his hands to score and do some good out there.
It’s possible, but I see the scenario where Pau Gasol and JO trade teams to be more plausible due to salary cap issues … and the NYK’s leadership decision making abilities.
Although I agree that David Lee had a HUGE impact on the Knicks this year, I’m not sure that he was better than Leandro Barbosa for sixth man of the year. The article gets it right in that Lee was better than most of the guys who started for the Knicks. I don’t think, however, that it was because Isiah was trying to string the system along and get something for him. I think it was more that if you start Lee, then what do you come off the bench with? Jared Jeffries? Nate Robinson? Jerome James? Blech.
As a coach, you always want SOME punch to come from your bench. So you don’t always play “the best” on your squad. Sometimes there’s strategy involved. Regardless, Lee was NOT a true sixth man. As was the case for Manu Ginobili. Both of those guys are good enough to start and lead teams like Memphis and New Orleans and Indiana.
He was also injured for about 30 games, which limited his exposure and effect. When guys like Marbury and Francis and Crawford stepped up to play, Lee kind of faded into the background. I think this killed his chances to be a SMOTY.
Despite all that, it doesn’t diminish what a huge jewel this guy is for The Rotten Apple. Did y’all see him in the Rookie / Sophmore game? The guy was an animal …. let me get his stats here …. 14-14 from the field, 30 points, game MVP … and it was all a show anyway.
Oh well. The guy had a great season. I hope he gets a starting nod next year. He certainly deserves it more than half the overpaid chumps on the Knicks roster.
Well at least SOMEONE’S willing to say it out loud in New York!
Malik Rose is a great player and ambassador for the game. If he gets moved from New York, it’ll be their loss, not his. Heck, he’d probably be better off by getting traded!
Regardless, I imagine we’ll see some re-tooling of the Knicks Roster this summer.
April 27, 2007 at 7:33 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Pistons 93 – Magic 77
Well, it’ll be a quick series for the Pistons if things keep going this way. Jameer Nelson (27, 3 nd 4) has seen his minutes reduced slightly after proving that he’s not capable of hanging with the big boys, Dwight Howard (11, 12) is doing his thing along with Grant Hill (8 and 6) but they both look tired out there. I don’t know. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Magic win the next game based on pride of not getting swept and the Pistons becoming lackadaisical, however I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Pistons finish them in the next game.
Yeah, the Jazz did their thing; Boozer (22, 12 & 4) and Deron Williams (11, 8 & 7) were nice. Matt Harpring (13 & 7) and Gordan Giricek (10 pts) were curical off the bench. Okur stunk it up (give the guy ONE night off, okay?!? He’s tired of guarding Yao!) and Kirilenko finally played some tenacious D (no reference to the group, please).
The REAL story … REAL story … REAL story was how there were only FOUR (4) … say it again … FOUR … players who scored for the Rockets! That has NEVER happened before in NBA history! Shane Battier (11 points, 5 boards, 2 blocks), Rafer Alston (6 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assissts), Yao Ming (26 and 14) and Tracy McGrady (24, 4 & 3) were the only people who scored for Houston! The rest of the team went 0 for 12 from the field and 0 for 3 from 3 point range.
Along the way to this historic feat, the Rockets logged something like the lowest scoring quarter in franchise history, set the lowest field goal percentage in playoff history and set the mark for the worst playoff defeat in playoff history. I saw these stats last night and can’t remember most of them, but i think this is what it was.
Wow. I hope game 4 is a bit better in this “ugly duck meets ugly troll playoff series”
Kobe put 45 on the Suns, but it wasn’t HIS performance that made or broke that game. It was Kwame Brown’s! Who? Kwame Brown; you know, the guy some guy named Mike Jordan drafted #1 overall in ’01 and who was exiled from Washington after proving he didn’t have the smarts to play in the L. Yeah, that guy. He dropped 19 and 6 and Lamar Odom woke up briefly to chip in 18 and 16 for the Lakers. Aside from them, the Lakers sucked. The rest of the team scores 13 points – what else can you say?
Oh yea, how about the Suns simply didn’t want this game enough? Amare was horrible, logging 24 and 10, but sitting for most of the game riddled with foul trouble! Marion (always harping about how he’s underrated) made a real strong case for himself by chipping in 10 points and 4 boards. Nice. Nash did his thing with 10 and 13, but had 5 turnovers as well! Barbosa was the only bright spot, putting 20 on the Lake show.
Still, the entire game was painful to watch. It was like the Lakers were trying their best and still only won by 6! The Suns looked sleepy the entire game, like someone spiked the Gatorade or something. I sure hope they pull together and play better in the next game. Cuz that one was a strong case for the “Why The Suns won’t win a championship” camp.
Since Ben Wallace decided to take a year off on D (sorry Nate), The award this year goes to Marcus Camby who averaged a little over 11 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal and 3 blocks per game.
I think it’s well deserved.
And it comes at a great time for him because it’s a season where he’s played the most games in about 5 years. He’s been so injury prone I was nervous to take him in my NBA pool!
Regardless, I’m sure he’d rather have a chip. And he’s currently fighting for one. I don’t think they’ll get it, but at least he’ll have something positive to take into next season once his team is eliminated from the playoffs.
I don’t wanna say that I’m happy about this, cuz I’m not. Jason Kidd is phenomenal and i admire his game greatly. But he is the ONLY reason that the Raps are tied and not up two. He is the ONLY reason why the Nets made the playoffs. Without Kidd, Carter becomes a jump shooter.
And so it goes that the Raptors are probably licking their chops right now. And rightly so.
I hope Kidd is okay, but if he misses a game or the rest of the series, I would be happy for the Raptors.
The way that Monta Ellis (of the Golden State Warriors) tore up while Jason Richardson and Baron Davis were out with injuries was the ONLY reason that they stayed so close to any sort of playoff hunt. Well, him and Andres Biedrins. But Beidrins checked out in January while Ellis kept going.
And the award is well deserved. Way to go, Mr. Ellis!
It may not be the lifestyle of choice for most of us, but saying you hate a specific group of people is discrimination. Minorities, especially black people, should know what that feels like. I mean, they’ve gone through SO much in the US over the last 30 years and what do they do? Discriminate against another group of people!
The differences are Lifestyle vs. Genetics, sure. But discrimination is wrong no matter HOW you rationalize it.
I was watching an episode of Trading Spouses where a black family switched with a white family. Long story made short, the guy outright says:
“I’m not discriminating against White people, I’m discriminating FOR black people”
If that isn’t the absolute LAMEST excuse for bigotry and racism there is, I don’t know what is.
I’m sure White people in the slave days said “We’re not discriminating AGAINST blacks, we’re discriminating FOR whites!”
And I’m sure the Nazis said “We’re not discriminating AGAINST Jews, we’re discriminating FOR Aryans!”
There’s many ways to rationalize it, but at the end of the day Discrimination is Discrimination.
I wish people would take their heads OUT of their asses and understand that and ACT like human beings instead of instinct and emotion driven animals – yes, you too Mr. Hardaway.
I agree with this. With only Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis playing for you and no other notable role players on your squad other than Chris Wilcox (sorry Nick Collison, sorry Luke Ridnour, sorry everyone else), it’s no wonder they finished with a 31-51 record.
Rashard Lewis has said he’s opting out of the remainder of his contract as well. So with Bob Hill and Rick Sund leaving, now Rashard Lewis said he’s leaving too and things look dark in Starbuck’s Town.
Could we be seeing Rick Carlisle (now Pacers ex-coach) and Jermaine O’Neal heading to the rainy city? I’d start placing my bets …
