Golden State-Dallas: The NBA Cares

Steve Kerr started the excuses with 5:56 left in the third quarter. They didn’t play any meaningful games in April. They went 6-4 down the stretch. They won 67 games like the Pistons won 65 last year. Yeah, and They butt cheeks was squeezed so tight you could see them breathing out the back of their shorts as the game faded from their grasp.

The Crown Prince of the LBC was in attendance all in black and chained down by his 12-gauge gold ropes. Shoot, even Hollywood marijuana’s favorite son got down in the place where they dump people who can’t afford L.A. … The King of Slauson pulled up hammy hurt early and played on one leg; of course soon after his college running buddy Beta Dog did, too.

But not to be thrown into despair, Stoneface filled in for valuable minutes and Crispus Attucks took all the bullets and shot all the shots until The King could right himself. Soon after it was —— one-legged treys, set shot treys, fade-away treys, got bumped reached in on hopped backwards and to the right treys started fallin’. Damn the Oaktown rain was comin’ down hard.

NBA Playoffs Game Notes: The Warriors Come Out to Play – and Learn

They are a team given to nicknames. Show out on the road in black, begging to revive the, “Warrrriorrrs, come out and plaaa-ay” refrain. They miss 10 shots in a row, turn around and make eight out of nine; it’s all the same to them. They scream at each other, scream at the officials, and face down the other team. They could be the cast in a black version of The Usual Suspects with the crazy non-English speaking white dude thrown in for effect:

The Unusual Suspects Starring: Monta Ellis – Stoneface; Matt Barnes – Beta Dog; Stephen Jackson – Crispus; Baron Davis – The King of Slauson; Andris Biedrins – The Undernourished Lover; Al Harrington – Silent Assassin; Jason Richardson – Barney Rubble; Mickael Pietrus – Cro-Mag’non

It’s also hip-hop heaven versus the high-tech money ball – with a twist. One coach is paunchy with coffee no-sleep eyes while the other is a Southern gentleman. One coach believes in regimentation and the power of positive micromanagement, while the other might say nothing at all during a timeout.

You tell me which coach is white.

Spotes Notes 4.30.07: Riles’ Team Stinks, So Does Dirk; Don’t Feel Sorry For Brady Quinn; Randy Moss and the Pats; Vick Needs a P.I.; Beer Cans and NASCAR

“Spotes” = Sports, as in, “AYo, you play spotes – whaddayou play?”
“I play cricket myself.”

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**Pat Riley had to know this team didn’t have what it takes to repeat as champion. He had to know on day one when they got blown out by 42 against Chicago. What a wonderful way to show the world you’re a championship team. It’s only fitting they got busted up by the Bulls – a jump shooting team, for crying out loud; a team that has to send too many players to the boards to make up for their lack of interior players. I wonder how Shaq will feel next season when the only meaningful player around him is Dwyane Wade.

Oh, and by the way, Tayshaun Prince is waiting for Luol Deng and Chauncey Billups is waiting for Kirk Hinrich. It’s been a nice run for Chicago, now it’s time to come back to Earth.

AOL Fanhouse Excerpt: So Far, It’s Another Terribly Officiated NBA Postseason

The NBA honchos must have urged ESPN announcers to keep their critique of referees to a minimum. The J.R. Smith foul of Manu Ginobili was not in the least a flagrant foul. Ginobili was never hit in the head or near his head. Smith hacked his arms ensuring that there would be no layup. Ginoblili went into his patented, ‘I was just assaulted’ flop and the referees fells for his tactic – for the umpeenth time.

The “pundits” who believed there would be a backlash by officials for the suspension of Joe Crawford are out of touch with the game. The referees today have as little in common with Crawford as Jerry West does with today’s player. The officials of the NBA today mirror society; self-centered to a fault – protecting their own hides is paramount – and after the instant gratification of a good postgame report.

Joe Crawford cared little for today’s way and for the newer refs, it was a good thing to see him go; one less old school referee to look at them in disgust when they overrule on of their own because of what they thought they saw while out of position; one less old ref to admonish them after a game.

(Click here for the remainder of this piece over at AOL Fanhouse)

A Peek at Tomorrow’s NFL Draft

**Al Davis says JaMarcus Russell has an arm like John Elway. Russell will be the number one draft choice because you don’t pass up Elway…. then again, they could draft Calvin Johnson and pick up one of the sleeper QBs in the second round?

So, who are those sleeper QBs? Stanford’s Trent Edwards, BYU’s John Beck, Houston’s Kevin Kolb and possibly Drew Stanton of Michigan State.

Hmmmmm, the Raiders war room might be working right up to the last second before announcing who they will take with the number one pick.

**All the scouts whose snippets of info I’ve been privy to say Florida QB Chris Leak needs to start understanding the nuances of the Arena League. Is it his size? Arm strength? Mobility? Leadership qualities? No one really want to answer these questions. But the whispers are that Leak has a dreaded word attached to his name ——— soft. If that’s the case, even taking a David Carr-like beating may not help him get rid of that label.

Golden State Warriors-Dallas Mavericks Game Notes

Josh Howard is good. Mainstay of the Dallas Mavericks good. Better than Dirk Nowitzki good. Top 10 player in the league good; at least for a night.

When Dallas needed someone, anyone, to step up and act like they played on a team that won 67 regular season games, Howard led a three-headed Mavericks monster that included Jerry Stackhouse and Jason Terry on a decisive 29-14 run in the final 9:49 of the third quarter of last night’s Game 2, 112-99 series win over Golden State. That Dallas run led to Baron Davis’ ejection and flattened the emotions of the entire Warriors team.

Howard’s line from last night’s game was an NBA fantasy league participant’s dream: 22 points, 11 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists and 2 blocks. For his part, Dirk had a quiet 23 points and added seven boards.

Kobe Is the MVP – Nash Is the MVP: A Post Open for Mass (and Massive) Discussion

I’ll keep this brief.

I said I’d stay out of these conversations. However, after watching game two of the L. A. Lakers-Phoenix Suns series last night I have to add my penny’s-worth (look for more on this topic in maxairington’s Lakers-Suns game notes later today).

Anyone who believes Steve Nash and not Kobe Bryant is the NBA’s Most Valuable Player is a fool. This was confirmed at the 9:04 mark in the 4th quarter with Phoenix leading, 107-76. Kobe played “team ball” and got everyone on the Lakers involved in the game. His reward for his unselfish play was sitting on the bench in the final quarter watching his team get absolutely drilled by the Suns.

With 8:52 left Bryant re-entered the game. Why, I do not know – though the simplest answer is that his competitive nature wouldn’t allow him to sit and watch the Lakers get punished by the Suns – because he almost immediately turned his ankle. Though he returned to the floor after a timeout, about one minute later he was limping to the locker room.

Spotes Notes, 4.24.07: NBA Playoff Style: Oscar Would Rather Pass to Kobe than MJ

“Spotes” = Sports, as in, “AYo, you play spotes – whaddayou play?”

“I play cricket myself.”

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**Sam Mitchell is the 2006-07 Coach of the Year. But isn’t this the guy that all the “pundits” said would be the first coach this season to be fired, the guy the pundits thought shouldn’t have a head coaching job this season?

Yup, same Sam Mitchell. Strike one for organizational continuity in the NBA.

**Leandro Barbosa, yesterday, was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.” Huh? Isn’t he the back up to the brightest of all the stars in the NBA, Steve “Little Stevie Fingertips” Nash?

So, if Barbosa is the NBA’s best sixth man, does that mean the Suns really aren’t bad off in the long run if Nash was injured? Without Nash this season, the Suns’ record was 1-3. Hmmmm, that’s not a large enough sample size to draw any meaningful inferences about the true value of Nash or Barbosa to the Suns. But this I do know, relative to the L. A. Lakers-Phoenix Suns series, the question being bandied about the Lig is, how are the Lakers going to stop Barbosa?

aka Jason Whitlock, Seriously

According to Neil Best of Newsday, Mr. Chitlins aka Jason Whitlock aka Big Greezy interviewed at WFAN in New York to fill the spot forcibly taken from Don Imus.“I might be interested after thinking about it, I might not,” the provocative columnist for AOL Sports and The Kansas City Star said, citing concerns about moving to New York and living the morning radio lifestyle.

I thought about Best’s calling Chitlins “provocative.” I agree, Chitlins does stimulate and provoke. He does border on indelicacy. When Chitlins writes I am immediately provoked to wretch, which means he stimulates certain gastric juices that don’t necessarily agree with me keeping my food down. And, border on indelicacy? There is nothing delicate about Chitlins’ approach.

He is a fat, “wish he had a bully pulpit”-type of negro who masquerades as the leader of his own “new civil rights” movement; a movement of “We Shall Overcome” negroes stuck in the days when Bull Connor was the face of racism and voting rights for black people was a priority. His platform for advancing black people today is to rid the world of misogynist, “self-hating” rap artists, or anyone who uses the words “bitches, “hoes,” or “nigga” in their lyrics.

Barry Bonds: A Step Closer to Aaron, A Step Farther from America’s Hearts

If the sports media was fair and balanced and not in the FOX News way, the April – it’s April, baseball folks – series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees would be mentioned in passing. Just like it was before some major sports media outlet realized it was right up the road from the Big Snapple; right before it moved too much of its operation to the Big City.

If the sports media was fair and balanced the big story in baseball would be – Barry Bonds’ pursuit of Henry Aaron’s home run record.

Alex Rodriguez’s hot start? Who cares? There are so many hot Aprils in baseball that fizzle by June it’s not worth recounting any of them. The Sox-Yankees? Is this matchup any more important than this weekend’s Cubs-Cardinals series – the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals? Of course not. And you could argue that the Cardinals 7-10 start is more important, more telling of where St. Louis stands than any hot start by any single player – right?