While the Nuggets dispatching the Mavericks in five games, it could be a carry-over from this series that ultimately short circuits Denver's chances at a championship. With the Kenyon Martin - Mark Cuban feud in the rearview mirror, will the NBA not have a hairline trigger with the Mr. Blue Light Special? I don't think so. The first time Kenyon and Kobe exchange barbs or the first time he puts Gasol on his ass, Stu Jackson is going to suspend K-Mart for a game and potentially cost Denver a game. The remaining series are too tight to give a game away, but thanks to an owner Martin finds himself in a position where either a) he can't play with abandon or b) he risks missing a game. Not an enviable position and one that could cost the Nuggets.
The Lakers will finish off the 13th seeded Rockets tonight. After the Rockets pulled off a March Madness-esque upset in game four, the Lakers took them seriously in game five and without Aaron Brooks and Shane Battier shooting lights out while Jeff Teague Kobe Bryant struggled, Houston had no chance. Tonight will prove no different.
Orlando has allowed two straight games to slip through their fingers and while Superman wants to pin it on coaching, the players are just as much if not more responsible. Repeatedly ignoring Rashard Lewis's mismatch on the offensive end is a failure by both the guards and particularly, Hedo Turkeyglue. For the Magic, the answer isn't to get it to the Big Offensive Ineptitude in the middle, it's to not settle for jump shots, something they've failed to do in crunch time for two straight games. Turkeyglue, I know the step back three worked in crunch time before, but that doesn't make it a good shot. Boston will likely close this series out tonight, because good teams don't force their opponents to go scoreless for nine minutes in the fourth quarter and lose at home. Mediocre teams that rode officials to several regular season wins do.
Finally, the LeBron championship discussion. First answer these questions, would it surprise you if Kobe Bryant didn't win another title? Steve Nash never got one? Dirk never got one? How about Shaq, KG, Iverson, or Duncan? What about DWade? That's every MVP from the last decade (and the best player on the Redeem Team) not named the Chosen 1. If no one expects these players to win again or wouldn't be surprised if they didn't get to the mountain top again, how many rings will the King get? More than Kobe(3)? More than Duncan (4)? More than Jordan (6)? Or dare I ask, Russell (11)? Going after Russell would be an incredible longshot, but for a guy that is on the cusp of winning (and leading his team to) his first title at 24, chasing Russell, like Tiger chasing Jack, may be the only chance we get to seeing LBJ's full potential. If he gets a couple and gets complacent (think Shaq), we may never get to see the full extent of the King's greatness. Looking around the league, I don't see how he doesn't get in at least Jordan's neighborhood with 5, but everything will change in 2010. Even after 2010, playing with LeBron has to remain the best show in town for role players and aging veterans in search of a ring, doesn't it? Personally, I'd like for everyone to start taunting him with you'll never win as many as Russell, just to see how he responds and hope and pray his response is to prove us all wrong. He's the hybrid of Shaq and Jordan, with the speed of a track star thrown in. Dwight Howard might be Superman (and Clark Kent on the offensive end), but LeBron is part Hulk, Flash, Iron Man, and MJ (from Space Jam).
Thursday, May 14
NBA Playoff Hodgepodge
Tuesday, May 12
NBA Playoffs:Where Euthanasia Happens
Last night, the Atlanta Hawks were mercifully sent to the golf course. I'm quite certain the Malcontent was not happy about the outcome, but the Cavs' quest for fo, fo, fo can continue without any accipiters loose on the backboard. The Hawks fell by a combined total of 142 points in their loses or slightly more than 20 per game. Combined with the Hornets 123 point combined losses, they combined for the worst showing by two teams in one playoff in the history of the NBA.
The Cavs move on, but having watched this team sweep two straight teams I'm now convinced of one thing. LeBron James, who finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year awards is not the best defender even on his own team. Both Delonte West and Anderson Varejao are more critical on the defensive end for this team's success. LBJ leads the league in spectacular blocks (with all due respect to Dwight Howard, whose blocks are less-impressive based on his propensity to block shots out of bounds). He also leads the league in blocks on Sportscenter, partly because of the incredible nature of his chase down blocks, but also because of his status in the league. How many Lamar Odom blocks were on SportsCenter? Can people even recall one? I ask, because he had more blocks this season than the King. This is not to take away from LBJ's accomplishments (he deserved the MVP), but just to point to the dumbing down of sports (and sportswriters and broadcasters that vote on the award).
The Mark Cuban-Kenyon Martin feud grew to unhealthy proportions, but with everyone looking to dole out blame, there's an important element no one is touching on. The word "thug" has been code to mean the N-word for several years, particularly in the arena of sports. I'm not asserting that Cuban was insinuating the N-Word, but a hyper-sensitivity by Martin should not be judged too harshly. Combining the danger his mother felt, the use of thug and an emotional loss, it would be difficult for anyone not to drop a couple F-bombs. Feel free to point to someone like Jackie Robinson's restraint and remember that's one of the things that made him an American Hero.
Friday, April 10
When Small Markets Get Superstars
Yesterday, the Dallas Morning News noted that the Mavericks are extremely interested in acquiring the Hornets' Chris Paul. Coincidentally, so are most other teams in the league, but the fact that the Hornets didn't hang up at the mention of Chris Paul indicates bigger problems for their franchise. If Peja's $13 million against the cap is the albatross around their neck, Tyson Chandler's $11 million contract is the pair of cement shoes dragging the team to the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain. Peja already proved immovable this season and will likely remain so while Tyson was nearly shipped out for pennies on the dollar. Next season when CP3's new contract kicks in, the Hornets will be staring luxury tax square in the eye and with little reason to think this team will improve to become one of the elite teams in the west.
If the Hornets want to get under the tax they're faced with either giving up David West's very favorable contract or Paul's. Even if the team figures out a way to keep Paul, as his contract balloons to nearly a quarter of the salary cap, it will be increasingly difficult to field a quality team around him. If David West opts out after 2011, they'll be forced to decide whether to let him go or pay two players half of the team's cap. Without the financial flexibility of large market teams, having a superstar and re-signing them can be both a blessing and a curse. If they keep Paul and West, they risk sliding into irrelevance, but if they move one or both they are trading the first two stars in the franchise's history (during time in NO) and risk alienating their fans base. As a Charlottean, I've seen this movie before and it's tough to watch your superstars leave, even if sometimes it's for the best.
Friday, January 16
Bobcats Movin and Shakin
It may be Friday, but while Cleet and I were occupied by Sporcle the Bobcats front office was wheeling and dealing. Just a month past their last deal, the Cats have dealt Matt Carroll and Ryan Hollins to the Mavericks for defensive specialist DeSagana Diop. The move clears out yet another wing scorer making room for Adam Morrison to get more minutes and they add another shot-blocking presence at the center position to backup Emeka Okafor. This move carries with it a very important message to Bobcat fans...
This team is trying to win sooner than later. Diop's contract runs just as long as Carrol's, but while Carrol's cap number decreases, Diop's escalates to $7.3 million (player option) during the 2012/2013 contract. Adding a long-term contract at the increase of nearly $4 million and trading away a younger player in Hollins points to a team trying to win sooner rather than later.
Diop was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the eighth pick in the project-era 2001 draft (aka the Kwame draft). Early in his career he was plagued with foot problems, both in the form of fractures and inflamation. Diop has also played for the Nets, where he was sent as part of the Jason Kidd/Devin Harris trade. Diop was pursued by the Bobcats during the offseason befoer re-signing with the Mavericks. His best season was the 05-06 season when he started 45 games for the Mavericks. He's never averaged more than nineteen minutes per game in a season but averages over a block per game. One concern for the Cats is the addition of another woeful free throw shooter, where Diop is a career 50% shooter. As adept as he is on the defensive end, he's equally as limited on the offensive end, making only one shot away from the rim this season.
The Cats lose a capable wing shooter in Carrol, but he struggled to adjust to Larry Brown's system and often saw action only in the closing seconds of periods or not at all. Dallas hopes he can regain his shooting touch to eleviate some of the pressure on Dirk and Jason Terry, the team's two primary threats from the perimeter. Hollins, an athletic 7-footer had also seen his playing time with Charlotte diminish and as an expiring contract (the trade would've worked withut his salary) he provides Dallas with a low-risk opportunity to get some young energy in the fold.
This trade doesn't feel like the last move for the Cats, as either Raymond Felton or Gerald Wallace could well still be on the move. Most importantly, the Bobcats have their first player deemed song-worthy by the YouTubers:
Wednesday, October 15
Bobcats Owner Embarrassing Performance on CNBC
There were no highlights and several lowlights courtesy of Bobcats owner Bob Johnson's appearance on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." Johnson was a guest on the show along with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to discuss the NBA's job cuts, but virtually none of the five minute conversation was about the nine percent reduction in the NBA workforce. Right from the start Bob Johnson joked, "Mark should go first, he's got the better team." It's impossible to imagine the reverse occurring. The mere notion that owners such as Cuban, Jerry Richardson, or Jerry Jones making statements such as this are preposterous. Even though few would argue with Mr. Johnson, making your team the butt of a joke just as the season begins causes even Donald Sterling to mockingly chuckle.
It would only get worse for Charlotteans and Bobcat fans... Johnson would then go on to avoid a question about ticket sales, preferring to focus on the team. "I gave Michael Jordan a blank check and he exceeded it." Exceeded what? The Bobcats are one of only five teams below the NBA salary cap. He then goes on to point out that the team just needs to, "put the right players on the field." Field? FIELD? Bob, it's a basketball team you bought. We know you never cared about the team, preferring to look at this as just another business venture, but can you at least get the playing surface right? Johnson would then go on to refer to the improved health of "Scott May." Again, it's impossible to imagine Cuban calling Dirk Nowitzki, "Deiter," but this is just another in the mounting pile of reasons why people call this team second-rate and a minor league team.
At the conclusion of the discussion Johnson makes an astounding recommendation to wealthy investors, "Here's what you do, you buy beach front assets like the NBA. There's only 30 NBA teams. Buy an NBA team." Cuban was quick to point out that his team was not for sale, but Johnson seems to imply one of two things: either he wants to sell his NBA team or he's happy and not incurring as much in losses as he wants the city to believe. Either way, Bob Johnson's performance did very little to endear himself with the fans and could easily have driven even more away. This city will not embrace the Bobcats as long as he's the owner and his name is on the jersey. With a group of young, talented, classy players it's a shame that they'll probably not get their just due in this city, because they have an apathetic owner who cares more about his socks than his NBA team. Start the movement:
Original video can be found here.
Friday, September 19
Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban's Response to Josh Howard's Star Spangled Disrespect
On his Blog, Mark Cuban had this to say about Josh Howard's comments:
"I wanted to thank all of you who took the time to email me with your comments on how best to deal with Josh. They were so good, I thought I would share a few of them with everyone. Including the email addresses of those who were bold enough to use real email addresses.Cuban then goes on to display a bunch of emails he received from outraged people. At first glance the Cuban response is flippant, but after reading the emails, it's easy to understand why. Many of them are down right hateful, and would give credence to Howard's stance. If Howard's comments were truthful, it's a shame, because thousands of Black men and women have died defending this country. If for no other reason, Howard should take pride in honoring them, but so should the thousands of other young men and women of all colors who send text messages, think they're too cool to remove their hats, or continue their conversations during the anthem. As an athlete that hears it at least 80 times a year, the anthem may become dull and meaningless to Josh, but those men and women that served and died, they gave their lives so that young men like Josh could have a life where the Star Spangled Banner becomes pedestrian, rather than the long hours of hard labor. Based on the actions of other people in the video, Josh is not alone in his sentiment, just the only one opening his mouth to say as much, a problem he's had before. You can read Cuban's original post and all the hateful e-mails here. You can see the full length video of Howard's comments here. Continue reading...
Josh realizes his comments were wrong, he understands why people are upset. He knows he has made a mistake, has apologized and will work with us . Beyond that, its a private issue."
