The Weekend Ladder #1

This weekend in the NBA was an exciting one. Saturday night was highlighted by two rookies that went head to head, which were Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans and Milwaukie’s Brandon Jennings. These two rookies light up the night for me and they both deserve to be the front running candidates in the Rookie of the Year race. Both of these teams are at that .500 level which is a great improvement from last season. The Bucks have a chance to make the playoffs, and the Kings are in the West unfortunately, but the bright side is the improvement. These two teams are playing beautiful fundamental basketball that is led by their two rookie stars. It’s hard for a rookie to be the go to guy in clutch situations, but Jennings and Evans traded their shots in the final minute of the game Saturday, and Evans got the upper hand, but it was great to see new talent taking those big shots. The Bucks and Kings are two teams worth keeping an eye on, and they both are stepping up on this weekend’s ladder.

Sunday showcased a team that in my opinion should be in the elite set of teams. They are my favorite West team, and also wear blue and white. The Dallas Mavericks are a stacked team, with many players that can score. This ability was put on display last night when Dallas took home the victory over Cleveland, oh yeah Dallas did not have Dirk Nowitzki. That was not a problem because Tim Thomas started, and scored 22 points, while the current 6th Man of the Year, and my favorite Mavs player, Jason Terry added 19 points. This Dallas team also showcases Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden, Erik Dampier, JJ Barea, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, and other contributors. If this team could stay healthy, they have the potential to be very scary. Dallas goes up on the ladder.
It may seem all positive on the ladder, but being a fan of Grumpy Stan Van Gundy, I also have a few teams that came down the ladder this weekend. The Denver Nuggets came down a step this weekend because they lost a game to Memphis, which I love the way Memphis is playing basketball, but Denver is considered an elite team, and they can’t just give it up to the Grizzlies. It seems that the Grizzlies are not getting the elite team’s best game, like Cleveland and now Denver. If a team wants to be champions, then any team matters, just look at the Lakers (I hate saying that!). It is no disrespect for Memphis, but come on Denver should have defeated the Grizzlies, and I will let this loss have the excuse that Billups has a strained groin. Still Carmelo scored 41 and the Nuggets can’t win, come on!
On the other hand, congrats to Zach Randolph, who posted a monster 32 points, and 24 boards against the Nuggets. This guy can play, it’s just he needs to stay consistent. If Memphis can get this type of play from Randolph every night, well they are really scary because against their team is not only stacked, but are very athletic and very young.
Here It Is & Remember Tonight Orlando vs Jazz!

Magic Not At Bostons Level & Kobe Again!

The Orlando Magic are 19-6, while Boston is 20-4. Does the record really place Orlando behind Boston? Boston has not faced the adversity that the Magic have gone through this season. Many say that Orlando only made it to the Finals due to Garnett being out, but I say the Magic were without point guard Jameer Nelson (don’t forget All-Star). What argument is there for these Magic Haters?
Boston has more depth, say most Magic haters. The Magic have a 12 to 13 men depth, but yet Boston still has a deeper bench. I don’t understand why the Magic are not feeling the love. Last Night against Toronto, the Magic bench scored 53 to Toronto’s 30 some points. Wake-Up people we don’t have a 20-4 record like Boston or the Lakers, but we didn’t get to the Finals with an almost flawless record.
EXAMPLE 1, LOOK WERE CLEVELAND GOT WITH AN AWESOME RECORD AT 66-16!
EXAMPLE 2, LOOK WERE DALLAS GOT WITH AN AWESOME RECORD AT 67-15 (booted out the 1st round by Golden State)!
December 25, will be a test for the Magic, and it seems that most individuals seem to forget that we already went to Boston and got the victory on November 20th. I don’t know what else to say to people, expect that the Magic are a credible team with a knowledgable coach, and a great starting five, as well as a strong bench. Give the Magic at least a little more positive remarks rather then negative ones that ESPN and others love to throw around.

The NBA last night did not have much news other then the Lakers barely getting a win over the Bucks in an overtime game that came down to Kobe Bryant scoring the game winning shot, and gets a huge cheer from the Bucks crowd (that is SAD!). Pau Gasol also got his first 20 point and 20 rebound game of his career in over 500 games he has played. The Lakers still getting wins, but not the dominante performance they displayed when they were at home in the Staples Center.
Here It Is & Remember I love this song!

Shooting Guard Impresive and Not!

Tracy McGrady returns to the Rockets line-up with 90 minutes left before the game. Why did the Roackets change their mind to put McGrady in the line up, whne just 24 hours earlier they said thar T-Mac would not be in, even with Ariza’s suspension? Are the ROckets showcasing T-Mac for other teams? Are the Rockets shopping T-Mac around the league? Was T-Mac’s return game a great preformance?
T-Mac did not play but 7:44 with one three pointer made. Defense was not at all that special fom T-Mac and he did hit a three at the top of the key. In total T-Mac had one shot made, and only three points. If the Rockets were showcasing T-Mac then it was not much of a showase. T-Mac played limited minutes, and did not have much time to showcase and polish himself up for any trade. The reason for the game time decision to play is unknown, and this may have been the Rockets trying to increase intrest form other teams of the NBA head office in general. If you didn’t see T-Mac’s return game, then nothing was missed much.
The Rockets defeated the Pistons with Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola. Scola posted 23 points and 8 boards, wile Aaron Brooks posted 23 points and 10 assist. The question that is on everyones mind is, how can Tracy McGrady fit into the hard and successful Houston Rockets line up? I don’t think he will be a great fit, and he really needs to leave because the chemistry the the Rockets have is surprising, but reallt great simple basketball. The Rockets won 107-96.
Kobe Bryant is a true warrior. He really is an amazing player, and a tough one. Kobe played against Chicago, and really turn it on when the Lakers needed it. Kobe scored 42 points in the game with again a broken finger. He played with a plint on his finger, and still got 42 ponts. How much scarrier can the Lakers and KB24 become. I am not a true fan of Kobe, but I respect a guy who plays that hard for a game in the regular season.
The Lakers won the game 96-87. Other than Bryant, the other Lakers were not too spectacular. Gasol had 10 points, and Bynum had 11 points. This was a road game, and it shows the fear about L.A. If Bryant does get a worse injury and cannot play, then what happens for L.A. As a Laker Hater, I am so excited to see this bad news for L.A. Kobe wont be able to post up 42 points everynight because history sows he doesn’t. Bryant gives significant points but if he scores 42 every night that means a lot of minutes, which means he will have tired legs for the playoffs, which is not good news. The Lakers need to do better because they were facing the Bulls,which is not even in the good teams of the NBA? Wake-Up call L.A.
Here It Is & Remember dancing is a dream for your legs!

Magic Woes & Sad LeBron!

The Orlando Magic are in a state of woe at the moment. Jameer Nelson is out, VC15 seems to have several nagging injuries, and they lost two road games in a back to back schedule against the Utah Jazz and the Pheonix Suns. Orlando got spark after defeating the Indiana Pacers led by Dwight starting to return to old playing performance.
The back to back losses were tough especially after the Magic had an 18 point lead in the second quarter, and then lost the game 120-111 against the Jazz. There were internal problems with Rashard not going back in during the second but the real problem was Deron Williams, and this is why Jameer is missed. Deron Williams is younger, stronger, and faster then Jason Williams or Anthony Johnson. Deron got into the paint too many times, and tore apart the Magic defense.
The loss to the Suns also proved that Jameer is missed because Nash needs to defend a scoring point guard in order to slow down transitions, and this is not the case with Jason Williams or Anthony Johnson. The loss was by three, and Orlando had a chance, but they came up short and received another road loss. Magic fans were a little worried, but they are a bounce back team.
The Magic were losing for most of the game against Indiana, but fought hard to come back with Dwight positng his second 20/20 game of the season, and an unlikely pair of heros in Anthony Johnson and JJ Redick kept Orlando in the game during the second quarter. VC15 scored great, and the Magic pulled away in the 4th with a 106-98 victory.
The Magic have the same record that they had last year at this time with 17-6, but more three pointers per game (is that even possible), and more points scored per game at 102.5, and still keeping teams scoring in the mid-nineties at 96.5 (only one point higher than last season). These stats show good offense and defense. The Magic and every NBA team goes through the downs, so Magic fans do not worry.
LeBron James is in a sad state. He still needs to score 43 points in order to keep the Cavs in a game vs Memphis. He needs to score a season high 44 pts in order to win against Oklahoma City Tunder. It’s great to see James score like a machine, but its sad in a sense because the adition of Leon Powe, Shaq, Moon, and Anthony Parker should take the load off of James a little and allow for an all team type of scoring play. Stars need to be stars, but the Cavs have a worse record than last season, and seem to be elite sometimes, but then fall back to earth.
Funy notes with James and Willaims, who both had awesome plays during the Thunder game. James got a seal and then ate some fries from a fan in the front row. Williams hit a great halfcourt shot. Willaims has shown he can shoot and score, but the real questions comes in the playoffs, when his point really matter.


Here It Is & Remember that I have nothing weird to say today!

Scary Lakers & Tough Houston!

I am an avid Lakers Hater, but I still give credit where it is due. This Lakers team looks stronger than the one that won the championship. They have a record of 17-3, best in the NBA, and are riding a 10 game win streak. In a Lakers game it seems that Bynum or Gasol keep the game close with the other team until half time, and then after the half, Kobe unleashes and the Lakers get a victory usually. The Lakers game plan is strange, but with the firepower the team has, it can be complacent like that, which is scary.
They played the Jazz last night and the game stayed close, with the Jazz leading the Lakers at the half by 7. Then after the half the Jazz had many shot clock violations, and the Lakers tight defense caused them to garner only a total of 6 points in the entire fourth quarter. The Lakers are doing very well, and it’s scary, but the early part of the season doesn’t have any elite teams in the schedule. It will be interesting to see if they can continue their success.
The Houston Rockets defeated the Cleveland Cavilers 95-85, and that makes the Cavs on a 2 game skid. The Houston Rockets are 6th in the West with a record of 12-9. This is incredible because Houston lost Ron Artest over the summer, Yao Ming is out for the season with a foot injury, and Tracy McGrady is on the bench with injuries. The Rockets biggest star is Trevor Ariza, coming of a championship victory with the Lakers. They have the shortest starting center, Chuck Hayes, in the NBA at 6’8”. Hayes guarded Shaq last night and kept Shaq relatively irrelevant in the game. Aaron Brooks is a growing point guard with talent, and Scola is a hard working undersized power forward.
The reason for such success needs to be pointed in the direction of the Rockets head coach, Rick Adamle. It should be no surprise because Adamle took the Kings as a top contender in the West against the Lakers, and with no relatively big stars. Adamle’s coaching style causes his teams to play tough, scrappy, and physical ball. This was a problem for the Cavs and got Mike Brown two technical fouls and kicked out of the game. Houston is a team that is never boring to watch because their scrappy play causes for anyone to cheer for them because they are truly underdogs. Scola is one of the Rockets toughest players. He got poked in teh eye and it bleed, but he came back out with goggles to protect his 7 stiches.

Here It Is & Remember ball handling and dribbling are my strongest weakness.

Unseen Upsets & NBA Villianless?

Three NBA games last night proved that although a team is called “elite” doesn’t mean they can’t taste defeat. There were three upsets last night. The Nets defeated the Bulls 103-101, the Bobcats defeated the Nuggets 107-95, and the Grizzlies defeated the Cavaliers 111-109. Two games came down to a shot, and the other had a great passing game.
The Nets were victorious over the Bulls in a hard fought effort. This game spelt positive news for the Nets, and the coaching change has gotten 2 wins. The Bulls head coach, Vinny DelNegro, doesn’t seem to have a very long amount of time left in Chicago before the wind carries him away with the echo of “YOU’RE FIRED!” It’s pathetic for a team that garnered great expectations (terrible novel by Charles Dickens) after putting on the most exciting series this decade saw in the playoffs against Boston. Having John Salmons take a three point shot, when the Bulls were only down by one was STUPID, and not having Rose drive in for a layup and possible trip to the free throw line is pathetic coaching.
The Bobcats showcased a fantastic passing game in order to get past the Nuggets. Although, it seems like the Bobcats did something nobody saw coming. The fact is Denver came from Philly the night before after playing catch-up against the 76ers in the 4th quarter. This was a back to back game, and many NBA teams are not great at these. The Bobcats do have some highlights in the fact that Gerald Wallace leads the league in rebounds at 12.4 per game, but expect that to drop off. Chandler & Diaw have been on and off for games, and last night they were not really a big factor. Stephen Jackson, has supplied scoring for the Bobcats, which is nice but won’t do much but fill the box score up a little more. If you’re a Cats fan, then take the victory for what it’s worth, which is nothing but the Nuggets being tired.
The biggest upset was the Memphis Grizzlies who have played fantastic since the “ANSWER” Allen Iverson departed, gaining the victory over a Cleveland Cavaliers who had a LeBron James high 43 points this season. Jamaal Tinsley has been surprising since he joined Memphis, and the team has won their last 8 out of 12 games, and they are on a 3 game win streak. Mark Gasol has been an underrated center for the team, and although his numbers didn’t show it last night, he did the little things like take up space in the paint so LeBron had to alter his shot. Mike Conley was a true point guard playing at a star level last night. Having two credible wingmen in Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo helped get the win. Cavs got a little 1 on 5 happy, like usual in the fourth quarter, and it was not a good game plan. Memphis did have LeBron dancing his way out of the arena with a loss.

NBA villain, is this possible? Absolutely, the NBA is not DC Comics or Marvel, but the league needs a villain that makes everyone watch in order to cheer for him to lose. It sounds weird, but when thinking about it, it's true. The Bad Boys of Detroit in the 1990’s were known as villains because if a player like Jordan tried to drive in for a lay-up, then they would take it upon themselves to foul as hard as possible without receiving a flagrant, and injury came with the territory. It’s hard to believe, but Jordan himself was a villain, because he had people that loved him, but also a lot wanted to see him lose. Other examples include Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Allen Iverson, Ron Artest, Rasheed Wallace. When looking at the NBA now, there seems to be too many likeable individuals. Artest has toned his rough attitude down for L.A., Kobe has matured (wow what a loser), Shaq is just plain old (his talk is not backed up anymore), Iverson is just about at his last drop of gas, and Rasheed has also aged and toned down for the Celtics.
Lebron James is notorious for not shaking the Magic’s hand after he and the Caviliers got spanked in the Eastern Conference Finals. He says he will be the first billionaire basketball player, he wants all the attention about his free agency, but then says he doesn’t want to speak of it, and finally he danced during a game against the Bulls because Cleveland was handing them an embarrassing loss. LeBron needs to be the NBA villain and he is fitting into that mold that has been put into storage for a long time now. I welcome this fact because I love to hate players (Kobe move over LeBron is now the top villain).
Here It Is & Remember Dwight Howard is 24 and he invited the L.A. Clippers to his Block Party (Happy Birthday Dwight)!

A.I.'s Homecoming & Youth Doesn't = Indestructible

"There may be one million people who love me; there may be 10 million people who hate me. What do I do? I go to battle for those 1 million people” (Allen Iverson). This quote by Allen Iverson sums up his controversial profile as a basketball player since he entered the NBA. After 13 seasons in the league, A.I. returns to his original team, the Philadelphia 76ers. He was welcomed with over 20,000 screaming voices that were in a season first sold out Wachovia arena. A.I. says he is at peace with his decision, and that is important for a 34 year old NBA player. The 76ers lost to the Denver Nuggets, but it was A.I.’s first game in a month, so chemistry still needs to be built.
A.I. rattled up 11points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assist in 37 minutes of game play. He was a little over played, as A.I. was visibly breathing for air a little harder than usual. Andre Iguodala had an outstanding 31 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals in 41 minutes of game play. Samuel Dalembert who had a great 6 blocks in the first half. The 76ers played off the A.I. return energy in the first half, but they lost to the Nuggets behind the strong second half performance and game takeover of both Billups and Ty Lawson. It’s too early to see if A.I. will only be an impact on ticket sales for the organization or if he can help them make a return to the playoffs. Only time will tell, just like A.I. proved himself as an NBA elite over time.
Andre Iguodala not only had a great game, but he created a WOW moment that will be remembered when he launched and canned a 93 feet long shot one-handed just as time in the second half expired. All he gestured after was a shrugging of his shoulder, which was appropriate.

Rip City isn’t ripping away wins like expected earlier this summer, but they are being ripped themselves by the injury bug. Their long list of injuries includes the Head Coach, Nate McMillan, Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw, Nicolas Batum, and Greg Oden. They lose to the N.Y. Knicks embarrassingly with a score of 84 (Portland) to 93 (NY). Greg is a huge loss for the Trailblazers because he was just building a nice offensive niche on the team, and already showed his dominating defensive presence in the paint for Portland. He was starting to look like the lucrative draft pick that management envisioned. The knee fracture he received just put Oden back into square one.
Oden’s injury shouldn’t be an excuse for Portland because if the aspire to be an elite team, then they need to play and win through adversity. Injuries shouldn’t set back a team that has championship aspirations. It’s time for Portland to put away the woes of injury and play, while leaning on their All-Star, Brandon Roy.
Here It Is & Remember the best place to his something is in plain view.

Lakers Keep Heat Cold & Not The Flash, but The MVP

       The Lakers and Heat had one heck of a game last night. The expected stars of Dwayne Wade and Kobe Bryant were phenomenal. This game has a WOW moment that saw two greats lay it all out on the court. Dwayne Wade has 29 points, 7 rebounds, and a point guard like 9 assist. Kobe kept up with the Flash by scoring 33 points, 7 rebounds, and had 3 assist. Wade was kept quiet for 3 and ½ quarters, and then he exploded like he usually does with about 2 minutes left in the fourth, and he scored 9 points in that time, almost exactly like he did with the Magic last Wednesday. Jermaine O’Neal added a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Lamar Odom was ejected for receiving two technical’s and the second was after tangling up with O’Neal form the Heat. Andrew Bynum also gave his bidding for being an All-Star Center a strong push adding 19 points and eight rebounds, while POW added 22points.
       The game was a sleeper at the beginning, but a game with the high status should never be given up on, and if someone decided to stop watching, then they didn’t see the amazing circus shot by Bryant from the top of the key. That shot will be one of his most memorable of Kobe’s career. Kobe said, “it was a lucky shot”. Wade defended the circus shot beautifully, and he worked hard, but fell short, as he watched Bryant’s awkward shot bank in. Wade left straight to the locker room, and it was basically The Flash putting his hands up and saying there was nothing more he could have done. I still applaud Wade and what he has done with pieces he is surrounded with.

       Kobe received strong and loud MVP chants, but the real MVP was Wade. He was being shut down for almost the entire game, but yet kept his team in it directly by adding 9 assist. The assist he had were beautiful, and one that a point guard usually pulls off. He was doubled by Bryant and Gasol, but Wade saw this double coming and gave O’Neal a quick pass over Bryant’s and Gasol’s long arms. O’Neal then had a monstrous dunk. Wade is underrated in his passing skills, and what he does for his team. If you added the points coming off assists, saying that the shots were only regular 2 points, then wade contributed 47 points towards his team.
       The Heat is the evolutionary team more than any other. They have the aging O’Neal that use to be a 30 point, 20 rebound guy, and a current star in Wade, and a potential star in Michael Beasley. Wade helps his team in so many ways, that many others don’t. Why is Carmelo atop the MVP list with LeBron trailing, then Kobe, and Wade is fourth. Wade is needs to be called the MVP because I have not seen a player come back from such severe injuries, and then make the biggest turnaround in NBA history from his team winning 15 games in a season, and then winning 41 the next season. If Wade was on a team that was contending for a Finals spot, he would definitely be the top guy. MVP stands for Most Valuable Player, and the Heat win and loss depending on Wade’s performance, how much more “valuable” can he be.

Here It Is & Remember Grandparents are the safest and most trustworthy banks!

The Polish Damper & Ah Old Timers!

Marcin Gortat had a small break out year being Dwight’s back-up center last season. He helped to win three road games in the West when Dwight was out with a minor injury, and he stepped up against Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs, when Dwight was suspended. He then got a lucrative offer from the Dallas Mavericks of about 34 million dollars in 5 years. He was going to get the starting center role and join the other White and Blue team.


Gortat then received news that was both positive and negative, when the Magic decided to match the Dallas Mavericks offering. He was thrilled to be back on a team that could go back to the finals, and he says that he “loves the (Magic) organization” (Hoopshype). There is a problem though, and he feels that he needs to step out of the large shadow cast by Howard. He feels that he can contribute to another team more than the Magic. He is upset because he only gets to play about 5 minutes in most games.

This is understandable, and if Gortat went to Dallas he would probably be the in the top three center choices for an All-Star position, alongside Bynum (Lakers), and Nene (Denver). I feel for Gortat, but bringing this out now, when only a quarter of the season has been played, and the Magic are finding their groove is not good. He says that he wants to speak with Grumpy Stan over the summer, and wants his agent to get him traded possibly.

If Gortat leaves, will he be another great player the Magic let go because they could not satisfy him better. Will he join the ranks of Ben Wallace, Chris Webber, Shaq, and many others that left the Magic because they were not satisfied?.

The positive thing is that Gortat is in it for the game, and not the money. LeBron (CRYBABY) you may want to pay attention to what you’re a truly playing for.

The CELTICS and SPURS was a match made at a nursing home. These teams were not too exciting at all last night. The Celtics dominanted, and any time the East plays the West, you always have to go with the East. There were no amazing stats really from any player. It was a defensive minded game. The game was more defensive because they have not invented WD-40 for the old joint on both teams.

The game was satisfying because the Celtics once again showed how they won a championship two years ago. WOW only two years, time does fly. They never really blew out teams like the Denver Nuggets do, but they always grinded it out and pulled out the win defensively, which is the making of a championship team.

Rondo has got to get some props for his game play, but the mouth on this kid needs to be shut up. Why doesn’t Garnett yell at him and make him cry on the bench, Big Baby Glen Davis.

There It Is & Remember a baby is the best form of birth control!