Song of the Day: Cake – “No Phone”

Needing the drugz, eh?

Look at that man. Look at that face. Look him in the eye. If that isn’t a Canadian drug peddler then my cock isn’t the emperor of Swaziland (a story I’m saving for a slow sports day). Now, ask yourself the question, “why would a Canadian drug dealer make it in the FaF Smear this morning?” Well, first I should probably mention that I, Septimus Rex, am writing the Smear this morning. Now go ahead and ask, “what is the only thing that Rex can write about anymore?” I’ll give you one hint: It ain’t TRAY-CEEE this time.

And the walls came crumbling down...

That’s right, my little fluffers, Dr. Anthony Galea in the top picture is a man being investigated for drug trafficking (especially the most human growthiest varieties of drugs) and specifically dealing with many a high profile athlete. The list spans from the fastest swimming MILF in the world, Dana Torres, to CEO’s superhero, Tiger Woods. Tigah Tigah Woods ya’ll.

Dr. Galea is currently getting DP’d by the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (HA! Mounted! Just like what I did last night.) On the American side they’re worried about their fragile athletes taking drugs that enhance their performance. On the more polite, more cross-dressy side smuggling, advertising and selling unapproved drugs as well as criminal conspiracy.

Now, I realize that most of all of this is sensationalist. Throw in a high-profile name in an article and sell more copies, get more hits, whatever… Even you, New York Times, beacon of holy journalist scribes (redundant much?) everywhere. In fact, most of the article is nerd shit that only Pipez would probably understand. I need more from such an endeavor as reading this nonsense. Where’s the pay off? I don’t do readz.

Dr. Galea said Mr. Woods was referred to him by the golfer’s agents at Cleveland-based International Management Group, who were alarmed at the slow pace of Mr. Woods’s rehabilitation after knee surgery in June 2008. The doctor said he flew to Orlando, Fla., at least four times to give Mr. Woods the platelet therapy at his home in Windemere, Fla., in February and March of this year. When asked for comment about Mr. Woods’s involvement with Dr. Galea, Mark Steinberg, of I.M.G., responded in an e-mail message: “I would really ask that you guys don’t write this? If Tiger is NOT implicated, and won’t be, let’s please give the kid a break.”

Ah…. Journalism, where “I would really ask that you guys don’t write this” means “oh, this is the good stuff.” (Is it time to point out that I.M.G. is the same public relations department that Pope Benedict uses? Because that’s awesome all by itself.)

You have to read through the rest of the article to get to the final bit of Tiger-related nonsense:

Two days after the first treatment, Woods texted him, Dr. Galea said: “He said he couldn’t believe how good he feels. He’d joke and say, ‘I can jump up on the kitchen table,’ and I said, ‘Please don’t.’ ”

Dr. Galea said that Mr. Woods stayed in touch, texting him after the British Open in July that his left knee had begun bothering him again. Dr. Galea said he flew to Orlando in early August and gave Mr. Woods P.R.P. therapy for a final time.

In October, he said he heard again from Mr. Woods that his knee was still bothering him, “but all this stuff started with the investigation, and I couldn’t go see him.”

You might just think that I’m a blogger, but I’m actually an internet detective. When Tiger wrote “kitchen table” in his text to Galea, he actually meant “one of my many many many many many pieces of strange I keep on the side.” There would have been more “manys” but the 140 character limit in the text message format kept him from expounding. See, even Galea had Elin’s best interests in mind by telling him not to. He might be an illegal drug trafficker, but he ain’t no endorser of philandery.

It’s hard to imagine little else going wrong for Mr. Woods at this point. The only thing that could really blow this up any further (especially if they can link PEDs to Eldrick) is if he’s found to be involved in a conspiratorial assassination attempt on President Obama. But, honestly would I really be that surprised if that story got ran tomorrow morning? Probably not.

Now, let’s get to your Houston news (not that there’s much of it):

ROCKETS – Adelman be bitchin’ bout the Rockets’ holiday schedule. Four sets of back to back games through the holidays does seem to be a bit much… Then again, I can’t really feel that badly for them. You see, I’m a normal dude that works a ridiculous schedule as well: back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back days, 50 weeks a year! Can you believe that shit? It’s called a normal job. Get one, mother fucker.

Oh, and Trevor Ariza has earned himself a one-game suspension for the forearm shiver he gave DeMar DeRozan. I also second Pipez’ sentiment yesterday. That’s one of the most annoying names I’ve ever had to type out in my life. Damn you 15-year old gurls!!

UNIVERSITY of HOUSTON – They’re students AND they’re athletes. Aubrey Coleman’s slow start against Troy State is being attributed to it being finals week. Which, when you think about it is a pretty commendable reason to start off slow against an inferior opponent. No matter, the Cougars ended up winning the game.

- Septimus Rex

[Picture from NYTimes]

Sunday’s game was an early start, 11:30 am in Houston, and it looked like the Rockets were still asleep when it started. Actually, check that, it looked like they were asleep for the entire 1st half and they were still dozing in the 2nd half.

Chuck Hayes was the pace-setter for the day. Aaron Brooks made 2 great passes to him on consecutive plays and Hayes blew both of the layups. Luis Scola was the only starter who was awake in the quarter; he was 3/3 while the rest of the guys were 2/12. He made sure not to outshine his teammates on the defensive end though as Andrea Bargnani was killing him with pump fakes and drives at will. It was a terrible period for Houston.

32 – 17 Toronto after 1.

In the 2nd frame Pops Mensah-Bonsu, my boy, came in for Toronto and did his best to make an impact against the team that waived him on November 11th. He blocked Trevor Ariza, out-worked 3 Rockets on the offensive baords to draw a foul on Ariza and then blocked Sideshow Dave Andersen. After the 2nd block he had a glare for the Rockets’ bench and, you know what, he deserved to give them that look.

As I watched Chris Bosh score 16 in the 1st half I was thinking, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a 6′10″ defender to send in to contest this guy’s jump shots?” Well, Houston used to have that guy and Rick Adelman refused to give him a chance to show what he can do. Instead he decided to give plenty of minutes to Sideshow Dave who is not scoring and is not even close to capable of playing defense in the NBA. If you’re going to have a guy out there who can’t score, he might as well be a shot blocker and rebounder and Pops could have been that. But back to the game.

Brooks hit 2 free throws to get the lead to single digits at 42 – 33 but Chase Budinger blew 2 fast break layups in a row so the Rockets could get no closer. Oddly, they would repeatedly get the lead to 9 but never closer. And it wouldn’t have been anywhere near that had it not been for Carl Landry’s 2nd half.

55 – 42 Toronto after 2.

The Rockets couldn’t get much worse from how they played in the 1st 2 periods. 1/11 from the 3, outrebounded 27 – 16 and punished for 32 points in the paint for the Raptors. These stats got better in the 3rd, but not much better.

Scola had a great offensive rebound and put back to get the bulge back down to 9 but, once again, that was as close as it would get. Jarret Jack knocked down a 3 on the other end and Aaron Brooks responded by tackling himself on his way to the rim and falling out of bounds. Houston couldn’t make a layup or a jumper and the frustration finally boiled over in the person of Trevor Ariza.

What a dumb play! He’s definitely going to miss some money for that and he may even miss some games. How was it DeMar DeRozen’s fault that Ariza couldn’t make a basket or hold onto the ball? That was worse than Mario Williams showing out on a 6 – 7 Houston Texans team. What an embarrassment these 2 geniuses are. But I digress again.

The Houston night was summed up by a Shane Batti-eh shot from the corner that hit the top of the backboard. Awesome. Brooks did finally get it together though to lead a 14 – 4 run that did nothing but get the Toronto starters back into the game.

75 – 63 Toronto after 3.

Once again the Rockets got it to 9 but then this happened:

And Jack hit another 3 to take back the momentum. Pops wasn’t the only one in the game who should’ve been getting more looks from Adelman. Jermaine Taylor came in in the last 1:30 and hit a jumper from the corner. I really don’t understand why this kid can’t even get a look when the team is struggling so mightily to score. That is the one thing he can do at this point of his career but he never gets a chance to do it! Adelman is going to regret having such a short bench this early in the year. He’s not developing anyone except Budinger.

101 – 88 final score.

Positives:

1. Carl Lanndry – 31 minutes, 25 points, 10/13 shooting

Negatives:

1. Ariza is a dumbass. It was just announced that he is going to miss the next game because of that elbow he threw.

2. Aaron Brooks was 3/12 from the 3, everyone else was 0/12. That’s horrendous.

Insights:

Ariza was still acting like a jackass after he threw the elbow. He untucked his shirt and was talking crap to Jarret Jack. He leaned up against the scorer’s table and had more words for the referees. I couldn’t believe it. Loook, if you lose your head and throw an elbow out of frustration, then say, “Hey, my fault. That was stupid.” Don’t try to act like “man” and save face by being a tough-guy. It just makes you look even dumber.

This is just one indicator of Ariza’s maturity level. He doesn’t put in the work in the weight room or in the video room or with Battier learning how to play proper defense. It’s aggravating to watch because he could be a very, very good player if he wanted to be. It’s a shame that he doesn’t.

Disgusted,

Multatuli 

Yes, there are several things in sports going on that do NOT involve Tiger Woods.

Shortly after Allen Iverson announced his fake retirement and made us all aware that he was sulking, Iverson’s old coaches Larry Brown (Sixers) and John Thompson (Georgetown) contacted him to stroke his ego and tell him not to walk away from the game. After reconsidering, the disappointing Philadelphia 76ers talked with Iverson about a possible return. As I stated in a previous post, Iverson  simply wanted to feel loved and appreciated (more on that later), and if it took an injury to a player to push a team to that realization, so be it. PG Lou Williams was having a career season before breaking his jaw, averaging career-highs in nearly every statistical category. His injury will leave him out with some oral hardware for at least the next month, which created the perfect situation for Iverson to go back where his pro career started. He can certainly help this 5-14 team right the ship before it’s too late. While the old AI is expected to start for at least the short-term, he will have to make sure he keeps the younger and more athletic AI and Thaddeus Young involved in the offense. SIDEBAR: Iguodala was ROBBED in that dunk contest, by the way — I was THERE, and the crowd was not happy with Nate Robinson’s numerous uh-ohs. In my opinion, as long as Iverson isn’t as old-looking and lazy as Elton Brand (and his career-lows) has been as of late, his comeback is a success. Iverson desperately wants to make this work, to salvage his legacy and prove his doubters wrong. See a grown man go through puberty all over again, cracking voice and all at the 2:00 mark:

To me, that looks like a humbled future Hall of Famer that is eager to do the best that he can to show his fans and his teammates that they can count on him giving his all. After reverting to behavior akin to a spoiled little child for the past month, perhaps he is growing up before our eyes…again.

Someone please tell the New Jersey Nets that the season started over a month ago. This isn’t summer league, this isn’t the preseason, and these games actually count. This was supposed to be a promising young team. Sure, they traded away Vince Carter, but does he really make that much of a difference? I thought Devin Harris was supposed to be the truth…but maybe the truth is that these guys just suck. Courtney Lee is decent and is coming off of an injury, but I expected him to come into his own this year. I was thinking along the lines of the expectations I had for Trevor Ariza in Houston, but to a lesser degree. There’s still time for him to show some stuff, but that team as a whole is just a mess. Chris Douglas-Roberts is looking solid, and Brook Lopez is off to a good start after a strong finish to his rookie campaign. Still, as steady and solid as I think Rafer Alston can be, if he is the main veteran presence on your team, it’s going to be a long season. Sure, had the Magic stuck with him instead of a half-speed Jameer Nelson in the Finals last year, perhaps Orlando beats the Lakers, keeps the group together and the Nets still have Carter – or at least trade him elsewhere. But still…18 consecutive losses to start the season? Congratulations New Jersey Nets, you have just made the likes of the Charlotte Bobcats, Sacramento Kings, and Memphis Grizzlies look like elite franchises. Seriously, the Timberwolves have been without Kevin Love, straight-up wasted the 5th pick in the draft this past year, play in the (still) deeper Western Conference, and even they have managed to win twice so far.

Ron Artest likes his Hennessy…so much in fact that he used to make liquor runs at halftime and keep his cognac of choice in his locker when he was with the Chicago Bulls.

Since then, Artest clarified that he used to drink before games as well, but the in-game Henny benders didn’t last for a long period of time.

Do you believe that Artest was drinking before and during NBA games? I’m not sure that I do…I mean, it could help explain some of his odd behavior, but Ron’s an odd cat to begin with, so that can’t be it. Rick Adelman and Chuck Hayes don’t seem to believe it either, with Chuck questioning how one would function with alcohol in their system during a game, “especially dark liquor”. Phil Jackson isn’t completely buying into it, either. Now I’m not going to judge, because I like my Hennessy too *takes a sip*, but that’s not meant for working hours. Also in the interview with The Sporting News, Artest stated that he’s always ready to fight Ben Wallace and thinks that referee Joey Crawford handed Game 2 of last year’s Lakers-Rockets playoff series to the Lakers because Kobe is more important than the Rockets as a whole. I tend to agree with Coach Adelman in that Ron likes to say things to shock people. Whether or not those things are true, that’s for David Stern to decide.

I’ll leave you guys with a musical tribute to Iverson that should accurately sum up his feelings right now. Plus, anytime I can wedge Coming to America into a conversation, I must do so.

This is going to be a real hard season to be a fan of the Houston Rockets. It’s not that the team is going to be bad, quite the contrary. However, without Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, there isn’t a lot of hope in H-Town for a serious run at the NBA title. Well, that’s what they say.

For my part, while I agree a title is something of a pipe dream, but I believe this team is a lot better than anyone is giving them credit for. They were, for the most part, was the only squad to give the eventual NBA Champion, the Los Angeles Lakers, any competition in last year’s playoffs. Despite being without Yao and T-Mac, the team that will take the floor tonight in Portland is better than the team that pushed the Lakers to seven games in last year’s Western Conference Semifinals. Of course, a lot of teams are better than they were last season.

Despite the lack of hope, I find myself incredibly excited about this new NBA season. A lot of it has to do with the residual pride left over from last year’s playoff match-up with the Lakers. Outside of the two NBA championships, there isn’t a moment I was more proud to be a Rockets fan than games 4 and 6 last season. This team is capable of more than it appears on paper, and it’s going to make for an interesting season. I feel it is also going to pay INCREDIBLE dividends when the Rockets do, finally?, get Yao and Tracy back next season and beyond. These guys went to war last season, and they know how good they are when they work as a team. Together, they can become a third superstar Houston has been lacking to offset those nights when Yao or Tracy was unable to produce.

This season will be a clinic on adversity, and fighting through it. In the end, they are going to know how to get things done when they need to. Right now, I believe the Rockets will be in the thick of things for either the seventh or eighth seed in the Western Conference. That will likely result in a first round dance with the Los Angeles Lakers or San Antonio Spurs, and a likely first round ouster. However, if the best the Rockets can do is a first round and out, I’m going to be a very happy fan indeed.

I’m liking the San Antonio Spurs this season, and will even go so far as to say this will be Tim Duncan’s last championship. In any case, it’s entirely way too early to make any predictions. That’s why they play the games. I just wish more people would take that into account before writing this year’s Rockets.

I look forward to watching them surprise us all.

The Houston Rockets took on the Oklahoma City Thunder at home in their 7th of 8 preseason games. With the season fast approaching, the team looks solid and ready to go, especially if the 3rd quarter is any indicator.Luis Scola sat out the game because of a slight sprain on his left ankle but the Rockets showed they can play well without him. Shane Battier continued his good shotting with a 4 – 5, 11 point showing in the 1st quarter including a banked-in 3 pointer at the shot clock buzzer.  

Battier has really been impressive on the offensive end but, more impressive than his display in the 1st period was the fact that Chase Studinger and Trevor Ariza were finishing strong in the paint all night. Studinger started them off with 4:50 left in the 1st with a hard drive to earn 2 free throws and Ariza followed suit.

After 1 the Rockets were shooting 60% from the field but the Thunder were hitting 55% and keeping pace. 33 – 33 at the start of quarter 2.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu got into the game early thanks to his performances in the last 2 games: 10.5 points, 8 boards and 4.5 blocks in only 22 minutes. He joined Ariza and Studinger with several powerful finishes throughout the game. After Ariza missed one of the few shots he failed to convert at the start of the 2nd, Pops gathered in the loose ball and powered it up for an “and 1.” In his 1st 8 minutes on the floor, Pops drew 4 fould and went to thhe line 5 times.

Maybe Pops inspired Ariza even more because with 1:30 to go in the half, Trevor exploded to the rim and finished. He was called for a charge but it was wonderful to see that he is capable of attacking the rim aggressively.

As nice as that was to see, Ariza could still learn some things about finishing from Carl Landry; Landry had a monster reverse dunk near the end of the 1st half (see video below) and the Rockets lead by one, 53 – 52 at intermission. The main 2 reasons they were up were: 7 – 10 from the 3 and, astoundingly, only 5 turnovers.

The play only picked up in the 3rd as Ariza tossed in a beautiful fingerroll for an “and 1″ and Aaron Brooks scooted through the lane for a tricky reverse lay-in. Jeff Green wanted to get in on the highlight reel so he dunked on Carl Landry on a nice spin move but the Thunder wouldn’t have too many moments like that in the 3rd. The Rockets took the commanding lead and did not let up. 79 – 67 after 3.

Rick Adelman went with his 4th quarter weapon this preseason, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, and Pops made him look good by drawing another foul then 2 monstrous dunks courtesy of Chase Studinger’s vision. Studinger showed he could do more than pass as he lit up fellow Pac-10 alum, James Harden, for 11 in the 4th to reach 17 points for the game.

Pops claimed his spot on the team (if he hadn’t already done that) by catching a ridiculous alley that only a handful of guys in the league would have gotten to. That pass was Kyle Lowry’s 10-th assist of the contest. That ended the night for the main guys as Joey Dorsey, Will Conroy, Jermaine Taylor, Brian Cook and Romel Beck came into the game with only 2:30 left to play. I was glad to see how the time was distributed because that showed that Pops has made the team over Conroy and he has even probably surpassed Dorsey in the rotation.

105 – 85 was the final score.

Positives:

1. Pops Mensah-Bonsu is going to make the team and provide a defensive force in the middle if he can get time.

2. The defense in the 3rd quarter was really good as Adelman went with the starters for most of the period and called on them to play like it was a meaningful game.

3. Studinger, Battier, Ariza, David Anderson and Brooks can all shoot the ball so, even though the Rockets may not have a great one-on-one player to go to, they can spread the floor and should be able to score from the outside plenty.

Negatives:

I got nothin’. Things look good going into the last days of the preseason. Just listen to what Chase Studinger had to say after the game:

Anxious to get the season rolling,

Multatuli

If you have read this blog in the past, you know I have mentioned my outrage over the fact that Bob Hurley, boy’s basketball coach at Saint Anthony’s of Jersey City is not in the Basketball Hall of Fame.  Well this morning I was reading about the Stephen Jackson/Golden State Warriors situation and came to realize that Warriors head coach Don Nelson is not in the Basketball Hall of Fame either.  WOW!

Charley Rosen of FoxSports.com with a piece on who he thinks should be in the Hall of Fame and who thinks should not be in Springfield.

KPTV.com in Oregon alerts us that Rick Adelman’s daughter, who is a girls high school basketball coach is in trouble again…this time she has resigned from her position.

Someone I speak to every single day about sports, movies, food and life in general who we all call, ‘10 outta 10′ tells me Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West has been watching too many James Bond movies.

Seems like it took Buffalo Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens one week into the season to start up again.  Seems like he’s calling out his QB, dropping passes and storming out of the locker room after a loss.

NBA officials are locked out.  Looks like the league will look into replacement refs.

“Ain’t no chance if you don’t take it.”

-Guy Clark

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

By Justin Cherot

How will Yao Ming's injury affect his career?

I remember watching the 4th quarter of Game 3 in the Rockets/Lakers series.  In transition, Yao Ming was consistently the last person back on defense and the last person up the floor on offense.  As a matter of fact, our very own Colin Donohue might have been the only person who Ming could have beaten in a foot race.  But, it didn’t matter.  I think if Rick Adelman had really tried to push the issue and get him out of the game, Yao would have stepped on him with his good foot and smushed him like a finished Newport.

Yes, the Rockets lost that pivotal Game 3, Ming and eventually the series, but until the last few days there was plenty of room for optimism.  After all, the Rockets were able to push the Lake Show to the brink with a cast of characters that on paper couldn’t have taken the L.A. CLIPPERS to a seven-game series, and they would get their two studs back to start the next season to compliment Ron Artest’s, um, swagger.

But, oh, how quickly things change.  Yahoo!  Sports (really?) broke news today regarding Mr. China’s ailing foot and how it was not healing as expected. The hard truth that Rockets’ fans don’t want to hear: not only is next season in Alex Trebeck for Yao, but it may be career-threatening. As in, you’d see Michael Jackson make another album before Ming stepped onto the court (R.I.P Jacko).

Anybody who works anywhere knows that every once in awhile a little bit of time off can be therapeutic, from a physical and mental standpoint. I work at Lowe’s, and I remember being at the tail-end of a ten-day streak with an ailing back and a fried psyche. A customer was really working my nerves, so much so that they almost caught Class V porcelain to their grill.

This was after ten days (yes, I know, I need counseling). Imagine how Yao must feel after essentially 365 days of basketball for six seasons.

It seems like every year he struggles with some type of injury… whether it’s a nagging one that he can just play through or one that derails him completely. T-Mac has had a similar pattern to his career, but whereas McGrady can slowly rehab and work his way back into shape, Yao–due to contractual obligations from his mother land–requires him to play internationally. Case and point: last year he broke his leg in February, and was back training with his Chinese teammates in June, willing them to an appearance in the medal round.

Typically, lower extremity injuries are not kind to big guys. Bill Walton was voted one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest players in 1996, an amazing accomplishment considering foot injuries put a cap on the latter part of his career. Look at Greg Oden now. Supposedly he’s magically better, but I don’t think I’ve seen him run right since he hurt his foot opening night. A subtle foot injury–combined with old age–limited Parick Ewing late in his career.

Being that Colin is my buddy, should I even mention Gheorge Muresan?

Despite the history, I don’t think you should count the gentle giant out. Much like how he stayed on the court during the waning moments of that Game 3, I just don’t see him fading into obscurity. If he follows doctor’s orders and takes a break–no pun intended–, I think we’ll see him back on the court at some point next year. It speaks to his high competitive nature. So what if not too many big men have made it back following serious foot injuries?

Yao Ming is not like other big men.

I’ve watched a ton of basektball over the last few months and there are two teams who have attracted my attention as teams who easily made the playoffs but have/had no chance at taking the title: the Magic and the Hawks.

The Atlanta Hawks could be in trouble for awhile. Right now, they have a roster that will take them to the playoffs every season. They have a scorer, Joe Johnson, a shot blocker, Josh Smith, an offensive point guard, Mike Bibby (assuming he is resigned) and inside presence, Al Horford.

What they don’t have is a leader.

When I watched this team play in the playoffs I didn’t see anyone lead them during timeouts. Paul Pierce and KG did it for the Celtics. LeBron and Kobe do it this season. Jordan was great in the huddles. Gregg Poppovich fills the role for the Spurs because everyone on those Spurs teams completely buys into what he says and none of them have egos. But the Hawks look disfunctional. Josh Smith and Mike Woodson aren’t on speaking terms. Half the team looks to be wandering into space. There are a few claps in there but I really don’t see any of that burning passion getting ready for a defensive set.

But maybe the Hawks just don’t have a vocal leader on the team. In that case, I look for the teams top scorer to lead by example. Unfortunately, Joe Johnson was nowhere to be found against the Cavs. Johnson’s stat line decreased almost across the board from the season to the playoffs: Points from 21.4/game to 16.4/game, assists from 5.8/game to 3.5/game, field goal percentage from 43.7 percent to 41.7 percent. Even Johnson’s free throw percentage went from 82.6 percent to 62.2 percent.

His mental status wasn’t much better, commenting after game 3, “It’s bad that we come out and play the way that we did, and not even play with any pride or sense of urgency.” He also added, ”You never know which Hawks team is going to show up.” Isn’t he the guy who should dictate the pride, urgency and which team shows up?

My point with this is not to bash the Hawks. They just played the LeBron’s who are on an absolute mission and it’s not looking like anyone is going to stop them, certainly not out of the East. The Hawks have a roster that will get them in the playoffs every year and be a top ten team in the NBA. However, the goal of every franchise is to win a championship and I don’t see that with this roster. Well, DUH, only 1 team wins it every year, so that’s not rocket science. The problem is, the Hawks are in a position where they can’t really improve. Let me elaborate.

The Hawks won 47 games this season and got to the second round, a phenomenal acheivement for a team that won 13 games four season ago. But while they were winning 13 games, they got high draft picks that enabled them to rebuild. Or, it should have. We all know the Hawks were infamously poor at drafting: Marvin Williams over Chris Paul/Deron Williams and Shelden Williams over Brandon Roy/Andrew Bynum. They did grab Josh Smith at the 17th pick who has basically lived up to the hype. During this time, they acquired bonafide scorer Joe Johnson. Al Horford gave them the presence they needed in the paint. Allowing Smith to mature to be a comptent rebounder, shot blocker and a player who can get the crowd going with a Thunderdunk, combined with Johnson’s scoring ability and adding Mike Bibby to the severly lacking point guard position has made this team a 45-50 game winner. Unfortunately, that’s the ceiling for this team. When you win 45-50 games each year, you’re relatively screwed. Your draft pick will be around 20 where there are virtually no star players left, especially given the Hawks draft history. It doesn’t look like they will be able to compete for any of the 2010 free agents because they’ll probably resign Joe Johnson to a huge deal. So where do the Hawks go from here?

They really need a young, energetic point gaurd. Help for Al Horford in the paint wouldn’t hurt either. And a coach who is on speaking terms with the team’s 23-year-old star is a key. The real question is, can they get this in the next couple of years? They could try and throw a ton of money at a guy like Ben Gordon but that makes the Hawks really small with Bibby, Gordon at the 2 and Johnson sliding down to play SF. There aren’t any point guards who will be available in the next couple of years who will be a significant upgrade over Bibby. Amare Stoudemire is available in 2010 and could be a great fit alongside Horford but I don’t think the Hawks will have the money to sign him and Joe Johnson. The best solution may be to trade a key player for a high draft pick, say Josh Smith and a  couple of first rounds for the chance to get Ricky Rubio. The Hawks don’t really need draft picks as they already have a core of young players. That may also open up enough cap space with Smith’s large contract gone and if Johnson would be willing to take less to get Stoudemire to join the team. Your new roster would be, Rubio, Johnson, Williams, Horford and Stoudemire. That’s a pretty damn good roster.

I’m not sure what the chances are that Smith and two draft picks in the 20ish range would land you a top 5 pick, but it’s the direction the Hawks need to go to get to the next level.

The Orlando Magic is a team that really fascinates me. Dwight Howard is a FREAK. I really can’t get over it. He’s a huge, athletic specimen who wins dunk contests on the reg. Rashard Lewis is a quick 6′10 shooter. You can’t defend those guys!! There is no one in the leauge who can really defend Howard’s size. There are very few guys in the 6′10 range who are quick enough to get out to the wing to watch Lewis’ jumper and help with Howard. Maybe Garnett last year. Maybe. Unfortunately, their gaurds are so unintimidating. Hedo Turkoglu can hurt you with his patent pending step-back 3 but he’s not going to take over a series. Jameer Nelson was a good enabler to Howard but also wasn’t really going to beat you by himself.

But that’s not their main problem. In 2/3 years this team may be the best in the NBA (assuming LeBron and Wade don’t both join the Knicks!!) because they have a couple of young gaurds, the afformentioned Nelson and Courtney Lee, who could become legitimate threats. The only way teams are able to beat the Magic right now is by crashing down on Howard and Lewis because no one is afraid of anyone else. But this team is so mentally weak it’s really unreal.

I haven’t seen a team worse in the 4th quarter that I can even remember. They’ve lost or come very close to losing 4 games this postseason after having double-digit leads heading in or during the 4th quarter. Shaq was almost 100% correct when he said Stan Van Gundy’s crazy attitude would cost them games in the playoffs. Hell, forget almost correct, he was right on the money. Stan freaks in the 4th quarter and the Magic start making crazy plays. It’s always tough from an outsiders perspective to wonder how the coach really effects his team outside of subs, playcalls and timeouts. Stan Van Gundy demonstrates it well because you can see exactly how his nervous antics directly show up on the court. It makes you realize the effect that a cool coach has on the team, Jackson, Poppovich, Adelman are all cool guys on the bench and it shows when their teams don’t panic. They trust the system.

This team needs a couple of things. A calm coach. The anti-Avery Johnson if you will. Billy Donovan would have worked very well with this team. Erik Spoelstra is another guy I really like. Obviously those two guys aren’t leaving (even if they say they are!) but guys with that type of mental attitude will work wonders for the Magic. They also need Turkoglu to carry less of the load on offense. He’s not a good enough passer and is much more useful when he’s waiting for his jumpshot. Those are a couple of easy fixes. This team has a very high ceiling.

The Knicks need 2010 to hurry up. So do I.

Until next time, Ball Hard.

I don’t want to put too much effort into a review of the Piston’s season because anyone who finds this blog will more than likely have already read one from any of the Pistons sites on the left. I’ll admit, I was one of the fans that thought we were getting this Iverson when we were really getting this one.

For me, the highlight of the season was the Cavs game at the Palace on November 19th. It was the only game I attended in-person this season (lame, I know, but it’s all I could do on a college budget) and was probably the peak of the Iverson-as-a-Piston hype.

There were other great moments, like Stuckey’s 40-point game, Chauncey’s return to the Palace (via Need4Sheed) and McDyess’ 21/22 night, but in reality the season was over when the Chauncey-Iverson trade was made. If you haven’t read Tom Friend’s piece on Chauncey up at ESPN, go now. Seriously, now. Articles like this are few and far between.

The Pistons are absolutely lost without him. Before he left, Chauncey had been Pistons head coach Michael Curry’s truest ally, and even had hired Curry’s sister-in-law to be his nanny. But, without Chauncey, Curry has no sergeants, no one to talk Rasheed Wallace off the ledge or lower Hamilton’s blood pressure.

-

Meanwhile, back East, the Pistons — who finish their season under .500 — are being swept by the Cavaliers. Iverson has spent the year griping about playing time and is out with a back injury. “I guess they found out what I meant to the team,” Chauncey says.

Pure gold. As sad as it is to be out of the playoffs this early for the first time since I was thinking about my prom date, I couldn’t be happier to see Chauncey revitalizing his hometown Nuggets. Like many Pistons fans, I hope they are able to beat the winner of the closer-than-expected Lakers-Rockets series and fend off the Cleveland LeBrons Cavaliers for an NBA title. Chauncey has always been a stand-up guy and I’d love to see him get the second title he should have had four years ago.

As for the Pistons, I want to see Joe D go after a big-time post presence this summer, even if it means the end of the line for Rip Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince in the home whites. Chris Bosh and Emeka Okafor are names that come to mind, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Joe D pulls a stunner for one of the high draft picks to take Hasheem Thabeet or, God-willing, Blake Griffin.

One name I do not want to hear from John Mason next season is Ron Artest. I’ve heard rumblings about how Artest is playing much more under control and would be a great fit to guard LeBron and Paul Pierce in the East, but there’s no forgiving The Brawl. Also, Artest has been a head case on every team he’s ever played for not coached by Rick Adelman. Michael Curry would be even more of a deer-in-headlights than he ever was this season with Iverson, Hamilton, and Sheed doing whatever they pleased. It would be very hard for me to root for this team next season if Artest is on the payroll.

All in all, it is an understatement to call this season a disappointment. I have faith that Joe D will put this team back on the right track for the future. We may struggle next season, especially if LeBron and the Cavs bring a ’ship to Cleveland in June (much like Jordan and the Bulls in the ’90s), but believe this: the Pistons will be back.

LA Lakers 108, Houston 94
     Lakers lead series 2-1

Now that is how you play and win a playoff game.  Not just any playoff game, either, but a potentially series-swinging one in a contentious match-up against a serious contender. There was very little in the way of “afters,” as they would refer to it in soccer, referring to the extracurricular activities that marred game 2. There were a couple of contentious moments, but other than that, both teams just played hard, playoff basketball and gave it absolutely everything they had.

The normally stellar refs had another good game under difficult circumstances. They managed to keep a lid on what could have been a powder keg of a game, and they got the Vujacic call right even if they got the Artest call wrong. Sasha did come down a little hard on Wafer on that three-point shot, but in reality the Nilla-man jumped at a 45-degree angle into him, which could have been called a foul on the Rockets player instead. They gave him his three free throws and got on with the game, as they should have. The Artest call, on the other hand, was not so artfully handled. Yes he came across Pau’s head a bit and he crashed awkwardly to the ground, but he at least appeared to have some intent to go for the ball and clearly wasn’t looking to cause any kind of injury. It was either a hard regular foul (my vote) or a flagrant 1 at most. I could have understood the refs going with the flagrant 1 because of the circumstances of this series, but a flagrant 2 was pretty excessive. I fully expect that one to be overturned or at least reduced, and certainly no suspension handed down.

And the game. What a game. As a Laker fan, it was about all I could have hoped for. At this point you know they’re not going to blow anybody out and keep them down double digits the whole way, especially not against as tough a team as the Houston Rockets, so grinding out a convincing victory even through the nail-biting moments is as good as it gets. It shows that kind of champions poise that we’ve been looking for in them, and which they lacked woefully in game 1, and it is the first serious indication that they may be back on the right track. 

The first quarter was close, and the biggest edge we could claim was that we won the battle of the pace of the game by putting up 30 points in the first 12 minutes. We played the second quarter even but claimed the moral advantage by taking a 2-point lead into halftime with some good play to close the half, but we really got our mojo working in the third quarter, when we scored 24 and held Houston to a mere 14 points. As always, when our defense is knuckling down, there is little anyone can do to hang with us since we have such a killer offense. 24 points isn’t exactly a huge haul for us in a single quarter, but when we hold our opponents to 14 it is as good as 30 or more. 

We rode that 12-point advantage through the fourth quarter to a victory despite a few tense minutes when the Rockets got to within 6 on a Yao Ming slam dunk. Instead of panicking, though, we simply ran our offense, upped our defense, and gritted our teeth to get the victory. The next trip down court, Farmar calmly drained a baseline jumper, and Kobe hit a ridiculous three as the shot clock was winding down to bump it back up an 11-point gap.

And that, effectively, was the game. This was a quintessential playoff game in many ways, with defense being the foremost. Neither team made it to 44% shooting, but we won that stat battle, holding the Rockets to 41.7% while shooting 43.9% ourselves. Our distributed scoring was another hallmark of our good team play, as Kobe’s 33 was amply supported by 16 from Odom, 13 from Pau and Ariza, 12 from Farmar, and 8, 6, and 4 from Brown, Walton, and Bynum, respectively. The most impressive stat of the night, for my money anyway, was the turnover breakdown. While we scored 20 points off 17 Rockets turnovers, they were only able to capitalize with 5 points off just 6 turnovers. That means that all game long, we took care of the ball every single possession except for 6. That is simply incredible, especially for this Lakers team, which often seems to think it can get away with any number of turnovers by hitting shots. 

To me, this game came down to good coaching. No disrespect to Adelman, who has clearly done an incredible job getting the most out of this team without its best player and leading scorer, but he doesn’t have anywhere near the savvy – or star power – as Phil Jackson, and PJ worked his magic again tonight. No Derek Fisher? Fine, we start Jordan Farmar and instill the confidence and readiness in him to go out and have the biggest game of his career. (His stat line was 12 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 turnover, by the way.) We lost home court and need this win to put ourselves back in the driver’s seat? Okay, our guys will come out ready and grind through a tough defensive game despite the “soft” label that is still being bandied about. The accusation that we don’t want it enough? Pfft. Just read our efficiency statistics and tell me who was better prepared for this game.

Let’s not get it twisted, now. This series is still a long way from over. That 75% number they kept quoting for teams who win game 3 after being tied 1-1 is all well and good, but it still means that 1 in 4 teams who lose game 3 come back to take the series. Those aren’t the most reassuring numbers as far as I’m concerned, and when this Rockets team is involved, I’m even tentative to call this more than a momentary advantage. But tonight’s was a huge game, make no mistake, and I do believe it will be a postseason-defining moment for us. If we can really drive the stake into their hearts all the way in the next game, we could essentially break their spirits and set ourselves up to close it out at home just like in the first round, as remarkable as that sounds. Will it happen? I’m not sure, but I’d say we have a good chance of doing it with our squad back at full strength Sunday with Fish’s return. My fingers are definitely crossed, though.

Highlights:

And here is Kobe’s 30+ footer to close the third quarter and give us the 12-point cushion that saw us through:

It’s happened a couple of times already during the NBA playoffs this past week – teams have the ball but out of timeouts after a made basket or free-throw by the opponent.  In the NBA you can advance the ball all the way to the 3-quarter mark.  On ESPN last night, Avery Johnson said last night, “always gotta keep one tucked away in the back pocket.”

Phil Jackson never likes to call timeout and Bobby Knight never was one to call for one.

What’s your philosophy on calling them?

*******************

Great piece on Houston Rockets head coach Rick Adelman on relationships and winning via Sports Tribune

“Heck, I never expected to coach in the NBA,” he says. “I was going to be a high school coach.”

After his seven seasons as a player ended in 1975, Adelman spent a year working as a sales rep for Converse Shoe Company in Southern California. With his masters degree in education from Loyola Marymount, Adelman applied for a couple of high school teaching and coaching positions. He didn’t get either job.

“I did poorly in the interviews,” he says, “and I found out I had no clue what high school coaching was all about. During the eight years I had been out of college, guys in my (graduating) class had worked six or seven years in coaching and were way ahead of me in terms of experience.”

-Coach Finamore

hoops135@hotmail.com

What is more fun than picking the leagues Most Disappointing Player of the 2009 NBA season? Maybe hanging with the Miami Heat Dance Team, but other than that, not much else comes to mind.

Allen Iverson, Elton Brand, Chris Kaman, Gilbert Arenas, Carlos Boozer, Stephon Marbury, Eddy Curry, Mike Miller and Baron Davis are all names that come mind when you think of a player that may have disappointed you during the 2008-09 NBA season. All their instances are different, one is a selfish punk, others are injured, others weren’t allowed to play and others just had rough seasons. There are many more names than the ones I named, but I thought that was a good variety of players to name.

To me Arenas was up there. He just signed a $100-some-million deal, he hadn’t played in ages beforehand and the Wizards banked on him, literally. He played in two games all season, at the very end, he didn’t even fufill his promise of the games he said he’d play. He also retired from blogging and left us bored all season. He’s definitely a front-runner for this award, but he is not the choice, there is a player much more disappointing than Arenas.

The player that I chose should be leading his team to a championship right now. The player I chose got injured, again. Even when the player played this season, he performed well under his abilities and his team never was able to come together with him on the court.

Who was the league’s Most Disappointing Player in 2009?

Before the season started, I picked the Houston Rockets to win the NBA title. They looked fantastic on Saturday night and Rick Adelman finally let them throw the ball to Yao and let him dominate, who was also my pre-season MVP pick. Of course when I said all this, I said that Yao Ming had to stay healthy and more importantly, Tracy McGrady.

McGrady played 35 games this season, his lowest total ever. I’m not going to say that McGrady wasn’t playing hurt throughout the course of the year, but his 15.6 points per game was pretty depressing to say the very least. McGrady once averaged 32 points per game, and has scored 22 a nigh over the course of his 12-year career. On top of that, he was only shooting 38% from the field.

When McGrady was on the floor this year, Houston was never that great, never that dominant and never even looked like a team that could legimately challenge the Lakers. Once it was announced that he was done for the year, the team picked up their game, they played their best ball of the season. Ron Artest started to shoot the ball better and he took helped take on much of the load offensively. The Rockets began winning ball games, they looked like a good team.

The bothersome part of it is, if McGrady is healthy, the Rockets can be a much better team. If McGrady is giving the Rockets 90% or better, the Rockets could be the absolute best team in the league. For five years we’ve seen Yao and McGrady play together, but never did they look like a dominant team with both of them on the floor together. Maybe some of it is coaching, maybe some of it is chemistry, but the Rockets have never blasted off, not as anyone expected them to do. Five seasons, no first round advances.

They definitely may do that this year, and they’re doing it without McGrady.

The 12-year veteran is going to be 30 year-old in May, and it seems as if his talent and health are taking a toll on his career, moreso than ever. It appears that McGrady will never be the superstar player that he once was, he will never lead the Rockets to an NBA title and his run in Houston could most definitely be up.

This isn’t a complete knock on McGrady, you can’t generally knock a guy down for being hurt. This also isn’t a statement that I think his career is over, or that he’ll never be an all-star player again. This is me pointing out another disappointing season for McGrady and possibly an even bigger heart-breaking finish for him. Remember, McGrady has never been out of the first round and even if Houston makes it out this season, he’ll be wearing an Armani suit.

McGrady might not have worn his jersey much this season, but he always looks sharp. Here is rooting for him to comeback healthy next season.

With the 2009 NBA regular season in the books, it’s awards time. If I did have a vote, my winners would look like this:

Most Valuable Player - LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

This was a fairly easy choice for me. The Cleveland Cavaliers have the league’s best record, and LeBron is the most important reason. His new dedication to defense shows that he has become arguably the most complete player in the league (perhaps deserving of All-NBA Defensive team considerations). Another important improvement: 78% from the charity stripe, up from 71%. LeBron’s jumpers are even falling with more regularity. Wade and Kobe are good candidates, but this is LeBron’s award. I don’t see anyone else winning it.

Rookie of the Year - Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls

Derrick Rose had a rocky start to the season. As a matter of fact, I had O.J. Mayo winning the award at the All-Star break, but a lot of that can be attributed to Rose having to start at point guard while Mayo was free to run and gun at the SG spot. However, Rose led a young Chicago Bulls team down the stretch and had them playing solid basketball going into the playoffs, something no other rookie candidate can boast. His improvement throughout the year was on display as the Bulls snatched away a Game 1 victory in Boston Saturday afternoon (a game so beautiful, it nearly made me cry).

Defensive Player of the Year - Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic

Dwight Howard has been running away with this award all season. Serving as the anchor for the Orlando Magic’s third-ranked FG% defense (0.433, behind Boston and Cleveland, both at 0.431), Howard led the league in blocked shots (2.92 per game) and altered those that he didn’t get a hand on. He also led the league in overall rebounds (13.8/game) and finished second in defensive boards with 9.6 per game (Troy Murphy, 9.8/game). I definitely agree that a true measure of defense doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet, but these numbers are too good not to reward.

Coach of the Year - Rick Adelman, Houston Rockets

In my opinion, this is the most difficult award to call. There are always a few coaches that fit the bill, and everyone has different criteria. I think Adelman has done a great job of keeping the Rockets on a winning track without their chief scoring option for most of the season. Also working in his favor was the addition of Ron Artest into the equation, which is never an easy task, with him playing most of his minutes at SG instead of his natural SF spot. The Rockets also had to deal with ankle injuries to Shane Battier and Ron Artest that drastically limited their lateral movement and defense early in the season. The Rockets also traded starting PG Rafer Alston at the deadline, split PG duties among youngsters Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry, and lost Carl Landry for a few weeks to a gunshot wound late in the season. However, the most important piece of evidence is the way the team responded to the constant distraction that the health of Tracy McGrady created for the team. I would have no problem seeing Stan Van Gundy, Nate McMillan, George Karl, or even Gregg Popovich getting the award. There are even more solid candidates, and the real winner may not even be listed here.

Sixth Man of the Year - Jason Terry, Dallas Mavericks

Scoring 19.6 points per game, Jason Terry was the NBA’s highest scoring bench player. Terry was one of the most important players for the Mavs this season, and was the team’s second leading scorer behind Dirk. His ability to instantly contribute off of the bench made him an invaluable piece in Dallas. Terry is good enough to start on most NBA teams like other perennial SMOY candidates Manu Ginobili and Leandro Barbosa, but the team’s success and more consistency distanced him from the likes of Nate Robinson and J.R. Smith.

Most Improved Player of the Year – Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers

Danny Granger nearly led the Pacers to a playoff berth with his renewed play. Granger improved his play almost across the board from last year. Besides scoring 25.8 points per game (up from 19.6), Granger averaged career highs in blocks (1.4), assists (2.7), three-pointers made (2.7), free-throw attempts (6.9),and  free-throw percentage (87.8%). Had it not been for a knee injury he suffered in the second half of the season, the Pacers would be playing in the playoffs right now. Devin Harris, Kevin Durant, Paul Millsap, and David Lee are all deserving of a look, but Granger squeaks it out.

Another NBA season is beyond us, and now it’s that time of year again- where self proclaimed know-it-alls in the blogosphere use what little knowledge (bias) we have and crown the who’s-who of the NBA.  Also, with the playoffs coming as soon as tomorrow (predictions coming soon) I’ll hand out my awards before the action gets too nailbiting. 

Most Valuable Player:  Lebron James, Cleveland Cavaliers.

We all knew that it was only a matter of time until King James took his game to a level that allowed him to be crowned as the NBA’s best player.  Playing in 81 of a possible 82 games (he sat out the last game of the season due to the wishes of his coach) while averaging 28 pts, 7  assists and 7 rebounds.  We have never seen a player with the strength, size and speed of Lebron.  He single-handedly placed a team on his back and the result was the NBA’s best record (66-16) and the second best home record of all time (39-2).  Only thing left to do now is to win the NBA Finals. 

Rookie of the Year:  Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls

Averaging 17 pts, 6 assists and 4 rebounds as a rookie, Rose emerged early in the season as the class of last years draft – proving that he deserved that #1 pick.  He quickly became the leader of the Bulls and has led them to the postseason and a first round matchup with the Celtics. 

Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic

All you have to do is take a look at the image and see why Howard has become the poster child for defensive presence in the NBA.    He led the league in both rebounding and blocks (14 and 3), all while averaging over a steal a game.   Also, he changes the outcome of a game with plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet, like deflections and altered shots.

 6th Man of the Year:  Jason Terry, Dallas Mavericks.

19.5 points per game in 34 minutes. 46 percent shooting, 36 percent from the 3 pt line, 88 percent from at the free throw line. 3.4 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.6 turnovers, 2.4 rebounds, average defense, and accepting a leadership role off the bench with a great attitude that can’t help but reflect off his teammates. The Jet has been fantastic this season.  Also, his team made the playoffs – Sorry Nate Robinson.

Most Improved Player: Devin Harris, New Jersey Nets.

 Consider this season the official Devin Harris coming out party.  In one season he’s gone from a decent role playing pg in Dallas, to an all-star and the “it” guy for New Jersey.   Harris impressed while boosting his averages to 22 points and 7.0 assists; the only players with better numbers in those categories are Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul and Lebron James (all MVP candidates)

Coach of the Year:  Rick Adelman, Houston Rockets

Adelman has dealt with a season-ending injury to perennial all-star Tracy McGrady, alongside injuries to Shane Battier, Ron Artest, Calry Landry, and the loss of his starting point guard Rafer Alston to a trade, all while weaving in inexperienced players like Von Wafer, Aaron Brooks, Kyle Lowry, and Chuck Hayes.  However, the Rockets still won over 50 games and the fifth seed in the playoffs for the third straight year.

I’m gonna do a mondo combo blog on the important end of year awards and playoff predictions.

I’ll start with the important one.

Most Improved Player.

the MIP

Although kevin durant was good last year, he does it all this year.

steal, blocks, scores, assists, and scores on the oklahoma city thunder warnings.

only other competitior is devin harris

went from a decent player to a franchise guard.

Devin Franchise.

it works

Coach of the Year:

Mike Brown?

no.

watching lebrawn do what he do must be sooooo rough.

i’m sorry, do you want me to fan you or anything else while you wait?

how about a coach that did something

Rick Adelman.

took a potential trash team that traded their starting pg and lost tracy mcgrady and his lazy eye.

and they still made the 5 seed and have a great chance of upsetting portland.

but they won’t

Defensive player of the Year:

Dwight howard?

nah.

Chris “the Birdman” Andersen?

yes.

2.5 blocks a game, and isn’t inconsistent like howard, who either gets 7 or 0

birdman gets 2.5 every night

and how does he get half a block?

don’t worry about it.

6th man

jason terry

it was basically a race to try and talk to terry at the award ceremony as the 2nd man.

2nd? how about TO

travis outlaw.

roty:

Derrick Rose is an attractive pick, but not attractive looking.

Brook Lopez is an ugly ogre.

OJ Mayo and Russell Westbrook are beasts, but not quite leaders.

and Eric Gordon only scores.

Derrick by a shaved hair over oj.

If you have a foam finger in this picture, you're ugly. Sorry

and now to the mv3

sorry, mvp

if you want my pick, its d-wade

if u want america’s biased pick, its bron bron

no dis to bronny, but again,

you know how i feel about this.

Now to the playoffs:

Lakers vs. Utah.

Boy do i want utah to win, but lakers are too good.

lakeshow in 6.

Denver vs hornets.

Denver is pretty good, but c-piddy is a beest.

Denver in 7.

San Antone vs Dallas.

UPSET SPECIAL!!!!

dallas in 7.

Portland vs houston

basically a toss-up, i say portland cuz i love brandon roy.

Lakers vs portland

lakers in 4.

dallas vs denver

denver in 5

and then denver beats the lakers in 7 to get to the finals.

now to the east.

cleveland in 4.

doesn’t matter who they play

boston scrapes by chicago, in 6.

orlando beats philly in 6.

Miami Dwyane Wade’s win over atlanta in 6.

i love atlanta, but i think d-wade carries them.

bron vs wade is a great matchup

but bron and his real team wins in 5.

boston loses to orlando because of dwight in 7.

cleveland takes out dwight and the mag in 5.

cleveland vs denver

nobody picked it but me

i like denver and the way they play, but they just can’t get cold.

cleveland in 7.

classic series

and bron and melo duel it out so it’ll be tight.

good job bronny

No, you’re not dreaming. No, it’s not the mid-nineties either. I have proof. And guess what — they beat the Spurs IN SAN ANTONIO to get there. Still don’t believe me? Peep the video.

Don’t draw up those parade routes just yet, folks. The Rockets have the Jazz in Utah up next, the same Jazz that currently sits in seventh place (gulp). The schedule after that doesn’t look much prettier with road games in L.A. (with a purple-and-yellow court), Phoenix and Dallas and home games versus Portland, Orlando and New Orleans.

After telling her that the Rockets now sit in second place, my girlfriend asked me how exactly they are winning, and who is leading this effort. I rattled off a few names, but I never really stopped. Even Von Wafer is passing the ball. Not often—it’s like a solar eclipse in its rarity—but he’s doing it. While this 16-4 record since Tracy McGrady declared his body too broken to continue truly is a team effort, I point to Luis Scola as the reason why.

Yesterday, Scola posted a very manly double-double of 19 points and 17 boards. The Rockets are a much better team when Luis hits the boards. Since T-Mac’s February 11th departure, the Rockets are 12-1 when Scola snags 10+ rebounds. The one loss? An AWFUL collapse to the Bulls in which Houston was outscored by twenty in the final quarter. That loss included some poor decision-making on the part of Artest (was hot early, cool late) and a struggling Aaron Brooks getting toasted by Derrick Rose.

The Rockets will continue to play imperfect ball. Artest will take bad shots (like at the 1:08 mark in the above video), Yao won’t shoot enough, and Aaron will underwhelm as a starting point guard. Hopefully, they can avoid getting shot and win games in a very under-the-radar fashion as they have since the All-Star break. This is the quietest leader in the Southwest Division in a while, and Rick Adelman has got to be a Coach of the Year candidate with the team’s play. When you consider the good record and add to that the injury situation and constant roster changes, he just might be a front-runner.

What are you doing to me?

Ok, so the title is slightly misleading.  It was 6+ minutes of putrid basketball.  It took 32.1 seconds for the nail to be summarily slammed into the coffin.  32.1 seconds for my stomach to turn.  10.7 seconds for me to grab my neck with both hands and beg for the Heimlich.  For those of you that watched the game you know what I’m talking about.  For those that didn’t here are some lowlights:

Let  me break that down for you a little further.  The implosion of a 17 point lead is not an easy thing to describe.  So, let’s pick it up from when the Bulls pulled into the lead for the first time in the game.  Derrick Rose with the little floater in the lane to put Chi-town up by two.  That’s key.  A two point lead…

The Rockets get the ball back, take it down the court and put the ball in Ron Artest’s hands.  Yao sets a screen for Artest at the 3-point line.  Artest uses the screen and puts of a contested 3.  Let me re-state.  The Bulls are up by two.  Less than 30 seconds left.  The shot clangs off the rim and into the aware hands of Shane Battier.  Battier is in the lane, nobody within 6 feet of him.  He turns and shoves the ball back out to Artest who jacks up another 3 sans mortar and trowel. Chicago recovers the rebound and is promptly fouled.

Hilarity would continue as one free-throw is missed and gives the Rockets a “chance” to tie the game on the last possession.  The Rockets would inbound the ball from Chicago’s half, only to have the pass tipped into the backcourt, Artest recovers the ball, bull-rushes up the court to have his wild shot blocked and end the game.  It was truly a disgusting display.

Who’s to blame?  Artest for taking 3 shit-tastic shots?  Battier for being a pussy and not taking a power dribble in the lane and going up strong to tie the game?  Adelman for having Lowry on the floor instead of his new starting point guard Brooks?  Adelman for not hammering it into his team’s head that they DIDN’T NEED A THREE-POINTER with 32 seconds left?  You have one of the better defensive teams in the nation and you don’t trust yourself to quickly tie the game and have a final possession to win it.  Grab hold of your nuts and and remember why you’re a successful team, Rockets.

Pathetic.

- Septimus Rex