Back in the Habit

The point of this post is not to reference Sister Act 2, but rather to force myself back into the habit of writing. Expect numerous short posts. Longer than Twitter for sure, but not near as long as I would eventually like to reach. But I digress...

Sunday. Orlando looks week. Howard's amazing first half is mitigated by a lack of the magic forcing the ball inside for the next 24 minutes. Hedo Turkoglu looks disinterested. He is one of those guys that needs touches in order for him to care about the other aspects of the game. Gil looks bad and worse, slow. Jamneer Nelson is what he always is, good but not great.

Hubie points out awful truth: Outside of Howard and couple bench players, this is not a good defensive team. Bass being healthy will help with defensive rebounds and toughness, but Orlando is soft. I do want to point out that when Reddick came into the game for the first time in the second half, he hit a runner and a jumper as Orlando made a mini run forcing a time out. Reddick reminds me of Landry Fields, though Fields will be better. They are play the right way and are efficient. Reddick shouldn't even be in the league. When shooting specialist go cold they should simply disappear, but to Reddick's credit he turned into a hustle guy who can defend.

Boston, Miami and the Bulls are all better defensive teams in the East. Congratulations Bulls, you now are my 3 seed. Orlando you are still above Atlanta at 4. Joe Johnson never seems to bring it during the playoffs... but maybe I am having selective memory.

Also the Celtics are rugged, if they are healthy they win it all.

Allstar Weekend Part 3

The Allstar game is long past so I am going to keep this one short. The game was boring by Allstar game standards. I know Kobe likes it when guys want to win and play some defense, but if this weekend is for the fans like every player interview said, there needed to be more dunks, more flare. My only note about the game was that Deron Williams had a great first three quarters, really put on a show, I was happy to see that. While Deron Williams made some mistakes in the 4th, Billups took over and showed he is still Mr. Bigshot. I thought his performance in the 4th was the best of the night.

Alright, winners and losers time.

Losers

TNT: Way to botch the HORSE game completely. The ending was atrocious. Their were also some horrible problems with the broadcast. Commercial spots were botched left and right, and there were numerous mic problems.

LeBron James: LeBron had a good Allstar Weekend, but he is the King and the new face of the NBA, so to be a winner he needed a great Allstar Weekend. Fair? No, but that's just how it is. He lost the Allstar Game MVP to fellow Eastern Conference player Dwayne Wade, but more importantly he sat out the Dunk contest despite being the one player everyone wanted to see. Instead LeBron left us to watch the worst Dunk Contest ever.

Chris Webber: Awful performance in the Haier Challenge reminding us how he always came up short.

The Fans: A boring HORSE game, an abysmal dunk contest and no Kobe.

Winners

Stephon Curry: Got a chance to be on the national stage because everybody knows the Warriors are almost never on national TV. Had a great first round in the three point shoot out and eventually came in second.

DeJuan Blair: A role player on a boring team, and a big man in a guard oriented game, these are the factors that work against Blair getting attention throughout the season and during the weekend. He overcame both the be the crowd favorite. I heard that he said in the locker room, "I am the only big so I am gonna get all the boards." OK, so despite the quotes that is paraphrased, but he did deliver on his word. I also love that he was born with no ACL's, makes the best little tidbit that announcers will give you for his whole career.

Charles Barkley: Hilarious. Quotes so big they were off the Richter Scale.


And finally, the commercials.

Worst Commercial: All of the Luke Wilson AT&T commercials.

Luke looks like he ate Owen to try and steal his power. Remember in the first Men In Black when the Bug kills that farmer Edgar (Vincent Donofrio) and wears his skin like a suit, an "Edgar Suit." Well it looks like someone is wearing a "Luke Wilson Suit."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQR67HXVt14

Best Commerical. 3 way tie between Old Spice Men's Body Wash, Dante's Inferno video game, and Cop Out previews.

Old Spice has been making great ads for a couple years now, starting with their Bruce Campbell in the Armchair ad. This is a continuation of their great streak of commercials.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZOm2YhOI4c

I don't care about the game Dante's Inferno, but I absolutely love the song Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone and I find it hilarious that it is juxtaposed to such ridiculous and images that are polar opposites to the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rbeAGdYk_0

I love the preview because it sets you up with the grand music, the references to Training Day and The Departed, and then coming in with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. But it really wins because they nailed the demographic and showed it some many times at least half of the people who watched the Allstar Game are now going to see the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3arJ0nQyMc

Allstar Weekend Part 2

Allstar Weekend Was Really Bad in fact...

The Jet Soars!

Believe it or not, the Haier Skills Challenge is one of my favorite events, especially from this year's Allstar Weekend. Unlike the three point shoot out, dunk contest and HORSE game, there is a continual flow of sustainable action which is a nice break from the constant stopping and starting in other events. But more than that, it is straight up fun to see the old guys get out there. That's right Kenny Smith, in NBA years you are old now. I really appreciated Webber missing 5 straight mid-range jumpers. This is the Chris Webber I know and love. Webber's biggest problem is that his memory of his own career is drastically different than how other people remember it. I remember reading an article on ESPN or some blog that just creamed Webber for saying how some young player needed to play more like him when the game was in crunch time. I saw it. I couldn't believe that he kept a straight face. I really couldn't believe that none of his co-anchors kept a straight face. Needless to say those 5 missed shots were great validation for many out there.

Brent Barry showed that he is the better of the two brothers. He is not only the one who got blessed with superior skill, but also basic human things like facial expressions and hair.

Kenny surprised me by shooting his half court shots off two planted feet instead of the runner that everyone else did. But he came through and hit it so I really can't knock on him. Not that I want to, I like Kenny. Kenny would make a great politician. Kenny does not flip flop or waiver, every statement that comes out of his mouth is a cold hard lock, and he says it like he means it. (He is also REALLY, scary good, at pointing out when other people flip flop.)


A Horse, a Horse, My Kingdom for a Horse

The HORSE game was ATROCIOUS. It is consistently the worst event every year, but not by design but rather by execution. The HORSE competition is so bad they have to have Kenny, Barkley and Webber basically riffing the whole time on whatever they could come up with to keep viewers from passing out. The pace is to slow, but what's even worse is its boring. I lost a lot of respect for Durant because he is the most boring HORSE player I have ever seen. Half of the shots were just three point shots from various spots around the arc. Listen, you are here to entertain. You are here to display that some of your personality. (If you saw the filmed segment at his house you know he doesn't really have one.) Rondo on the other hand showed me a lot. Not only did he knock down some his fair share of threes in the "TNT's first of many screw-ups in this whole broadcasting thing" shootout to end the competition, but Rondo showed a little character, showed his gym rat side, with some of shots he tried. I particularly like the off the shot clock attempt. Given his shooting from the top of the arc, and how many he hit, I wonder if A. it is a more mental problem with his outside shooting, or B. that he is a much better set shooter than jump shooter and should switch his in game shot because know one is close enough to block it anyway.

Other notes, Casspi was horrible and I felt bad for him, especially with Charles as his coach. Next years how about bigger personalities and no rookies. I will tell you what, if there is mandatory trash talk between the contestants I am so tuning in. Then you get those added elements of mental toughness, comedy, and you get to see who really has some swag. I want Pierce in there because you know he can talk trash, and I want LeBron because he has the personality. I would also take Baron, Nate Robinson, Arenas and of course Hash Weed (Rasheed Wallace).

The aforementioned shootout at the end was horrible, the pace was too slow. I am convinced that if it kept going Rondo would have won with some real crafty stuff, I mean he is the point guard of the group.

Paul Pierce Winning the 3-Point Contest is Some Real X-Files S***

Paul Pierce (The Truth) has no business winning the 3-point contest. He has proven that he can hit some big shots when it matters, but he is not a three point shooter. I am gonna leave you with one stat. Three of the top ten three point shooters by percentage were in the contest. Big names were chosen over good shooters. Anthony Morrow, last years league leader in 3-point percentage was not invited AGAIN. Curry is a better 3-point shooter than Pierce, just not on that second round. All I am saying is if there were a few more real shooters in the field, one of them would have beaten Pierce's anomaly of a second round. I have decided for the good of mankind, Pierce can NEVER win ANYTHING ever again. After he won the 2008 Finals MVP he came out and said he was the best player, and that "the ball doesn't lie." Listen, you are not the best player in the NBA and I don't want to hear that garbage. Now that he has won the 3-point contest he has proclaimed that he's now the best shooter in the NBA. How about no. Pierce can't win anything ever again simply because I might stab my own ears if I have to hear him stroke his ego again. Pierce speaks everything but the truth. (I love how Barkley called out Pierce saying he wasn't even in the top 10 on the list of the best Celtics of all time, talk about a lack of respect from your peers).

"You can't Handle the Truth!

Are You Not Entertained?

The dunk contest is just like the movie Gladiator, which is one of the best TV movies of all time. Anytime that, any of the Die Hard's (except number 2) or the 5th Element is on I will watch it. You must win the crowd, that is obvious. But the Allstar weekend is about entertainment primarily, while the rest of the season is about the game primarily, the entertainment aspect is a byproduct of the game. Everyone seemed to miss this point, except for Nate Robinson. Nates problem was he couldn't really think of anything new, but he had the showmanship part down. I can't believe I am writing this, but those Dallas cheerleaders are exactly what the Dunk Contest is about. Everyone in that dunk contest, other than my man Nate, is not someone I want to hang out with. They were quiet, sheepish, had no, well, swagger. I want someone who has a personality, or at least come across as a man during an interview. Gerald Wallace's interview was painful. Just painful. DeRozan's was worse. Give me a competitor like Kobe or Jordan. Give me a showman like LeBron, Nate or Dwight. At least give me someone who understands the concept of the dunk contest.

Speaking of Die Hard and the 5th Element, TNT showed the preview for Cop Out so many times that I think Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan got more face time than 80% of the participants at Allstar Weekend. In other news I will be going to see Cop Out with my old man on February 26 when it comes out.

Barkley was on his A game in terms of quotes, that's all I got to say. Alright, that's all folks.

Allstar Weekend Part 1

Alright, lets just dive right in, the Celebrity Allstar game. First of all, the lack of talent on that court was astounding. Besides people who do or did play the game of basketball professionally there was next to no skills on display. T.O. can dunk, but he doesn't really have a jumper or any sort of handle, and he is well, T.O. so I have less respect for him from the get go. Common (a rapper for those of you not familiar with the Chicago Music scene or rapmusic) was a nice surprise. He came in late just like D Fish in the Utah/Golden State playoff series a few years ago, to be put in right away. The guy really changed the game. The tempo quickened and there was finally some energy injected into the game. The guy had some handles. The other player I was impressed with was the young Asian golfer for the West, Anthony Kim. No one bothered to point it out but he ran the pick and roll perfectly with Michael Rapaport and dropped him a perfect dime. Too bad Magic Johnson kept Kim on the bench most of the game. Also, was it me or was Magic a little mean and brutal on his ripping of Alonzo and bringing out the number of championships. I had to laugh though when he said that no one there was close to his number of championships, at which point everyone watching the celeb game, all 150 of us nationwide?, went, "wait, didn't they just announce Robert Horry and put up on the screen that he is a 7 time champion?" Last fun fact of the night from those introductions was that Rick Fox was introduced as an NBA legend. I am pretty sure his game off the court is more legendary this his on court game.

Mike Breen was the celebrity ref once more and I was impressed with a couple of the jump balls he called. I fell that is a call that is often called incorrectly in the NBA. Often a foul, travel, or no whistle is blown when jump ball is the correct call. Breen also ran the same skit with one of the Globetrotters to throw a bucket of stuff at John Barry. Problem was unlike the year before when it was confetti, this year it was water, and John was pist. To be fair, I would have been too, but it was uncomfortable watching at home because you could tell that Barry was just stewing in it. Not good TV people.

Alright, the Rookie Challenge. First of all the sophomores were at a disadvantage without Derrick Rose, but none the less they just seemed to be the less talented team. Other than Westbrook, Mayo, Marc Gasol a.k.a. Baby Jesus and Lopez, I can't really think of who else was on that team, that's how lack of talent they were. (I also remember Anthony Morrow but that's only because I am from the Bay Area and a tortured Warriors fan).

Side note: I do my best not to be a homer for the Warriors when I write about the NBA, and to be honest I think its a lot easier than it is for other writers cause the Warriors are really bad and dysfunctional, and have been for a while.

I love that Dwight Howard came on and talked a bit with the color guys at TNT. By far the best was his aforementioned nickname of Marc Gasol, which is Baby Jesus. Dwight's right too, Marc looks like the white, Anglican version of Jesus, with the light beard. Later they christened Jame's Harden's facial hair as "The Moses." I really really like the biblical theme they had going on and I wanted to add one more to the list. It is the Ramses II beard, also known as the Amen-Hotep or Pharaoh's beard. Monta Ellis is known to sport this look. Speaking of facial hair, why does Kobe have a goatee in those MVPuppets commercials? Other notable facial hair shout-outs go to John Salmons who has a beard I can't really describe, and of course Baron Davis who now has a thick enough beard that small mammals could make a home in it.

For the rookies, it was the DeJuan Blair show featuring almost every rookie point guard in the league except for Darren Collison. Collison would have been great in this game. He didn't deserve to go because he didn't start putting up numbers till Chris Paul got hurt and it was too late, but he definitely has the talent. Most of all I would have loved to see Collison matched up on Westbrook. Both were point guards at UCLA and even played together during Westbrooks one season at UCLA. It would have been the prodigy who left after one year against the four year college player. I am sure someone, somewhere would use the outcome to make an argument for or against players leaving college early versus staying four years.

Blair was great, not just because he had the 20-20 game, but because he got the fans excited, and really, that's what it is all about. I do however, HATE that Tyreke Evans was booed when he got his MVP trophy for the game. It is not his fault that the fans voted him in via text. Tyreke also had a hell of a game, as did Jennings. Johnny Flynn and Curry had very respectable games too. I thought that Curry's biggest problem was he passed the ball too much when all the other guards were very hesitant to give up the rock, especially Flynn. Flynn had one really nice dime but it came after he almost lost the ball and had to terminate his dribble. That sequence pretty accurately shows what it took to get him to pass the ball that game. The Rookie challenge was actually my favorite event from Allstar weekend because of the individual performances from some of players (maybe cause the bar is set much lower for them than the allstars) but all the game was faster paced, energetic and just plain lively. The fact that it was an upset with it being the first time the rookies have beat the sophomores in 7 years made it that much better. I feel bad for Brook Lopez who couldn't even get a win at Allstar weekend, but I liked it when he got pissed off at the end and fouled Blair hard, I like to see that in a player, even on Allstar weekend.

So It Shall Be Written, So It Shall Be Done

Anytime we throw Yul Brynner some love, it's a good night.

Anyway, there NEEDS to be a Oklahoma City/Portland rivalry. It occurred to me in the first half of their game tonight when Steve Blake and Westbrook were going at it and Westbrook leaned in on a jumper with his elbow out and caught Blake on the chin sending him to the locker room for stitches.

Think about it, both teams are the young and upcoming teams in the West. We have the Westbrook and Blake bad blood brewing. We have the the two Allstars going at each other with Durant and Roy. (The difference is Durant is a legitimate superstar, a future MVP candidate. He simply has a higher ceiling than Roy.) How about budding backup guards Harden and Bayless going at each other? For those of you not in the know, Harden went to Arizona State and Bayless went to Arizona so we have the PAC-10 rivalry there.

Side note: There is a lot of PAC-10 between these two teams for what has been recently a weaker conference, especially this year. Roy went to Washington and Westbrook went to UCLA.

All we need now is a couple good playoff series between the two teams, maybe some T's and ejections, and we got a real rivalry. Again for those of you not in the know, rivalries are made in the playoffs, not in the regular season.

Notes on the Blazers.

Blake is a tough dude. He is sticking his nose in there even after getting 5 stitches on his chin from catching a bow. He is hounding the ball handler full court. That means Oklahoma City has less time to run their offense, and they are catching the ball a few steps farther away from the basket than they normally would. That makes a hell of a difference and gets under guys skin (see Westbrook elbow to Blake.)

Also the Blazers have too much young talent. It hurts a team when there are too many people in the rotation. Most players need consistent minutes and defined roles. Teams as a whole need to have time on the court together as a consistent unit to gel and sync up. Also teams wants to have their best players on the floor for longer, that's why benches shorten in the playoffs. The Blazers right now have 4 point guards with Blake, Miller, Bayless, and Mills. They are also 3 deep at small forward when healthy with Outlaw, Webster and Batum. On top of that if Rudy Fernandez is gonna get more minutes he is going to have to play alongside Roy who starts ahead of him, which means a 3 guard lineup with Rudy at the 3, taking more time away from the other 3 smalll forwards.

Portland could move some of their young talent for a couple vets who could help them compete at a higher level now.

And now I leave you with this...

Tuesday's with Chuck

Have not written in a few days due to a nasty head cold and sore throat, so to get back into things I am gonna break down my Tuesday observations while also attempting to broach some broader trends in the NBA.

I had a conversation with Big D again today about all the teams that are losing their stars (whether it be for a season or a few games) and how their respective teams have all rallied surprisingly well. Teams on this list include the Rockets sans Yao and T-Mac, Blazers without Oden, Pryzbilla and recently Roy, and now the Hornets without CP3 and the Lakers without Kobe.

We both agreed it would be foolish to assume that the teams are better without their stars (with a few exceptions) and that improved can be attributed to more playing time and more touches. I suggested that a good deal also had to to with players becoming more aggressive and a increased sense of urgency/responsibility. Big D of course pointed out the obvious that I failed to see, that teams stepping up when their stars go down is a sign that many players in this league take it easy, take nights off and put it on cruise control.

Flash forward to tonight's TNT halftime show of the Lakers/Spurs game and Charles Barkley basically said the same thing. Barkley, accurately, noted that the Lakers will be a better team for having Kobe sit out a couple of games because it forces a struggling supporting cast to play aggressively and perform. Chuck made certain to call out Lamar Odom, whom he dubbed Mr. Kardashian, for putting it on "cruise control" for most of the season.

Side note: Chuck has been ON FIRE lately. He, maybe unknowingly, keyed in on one of the biggest problems of the NBA as well as the answer for why teams have been able to compete shorthanded. He was also dead on about the impact that back to backs have on old teams, a fact that eludes many a fan. But more importantly, have you seen how many commercials Barkley has on the air right now, he must be raking in the paper. (I honestly wonder how many takes it took Barkley to do the Taco Bell commercial from the Superbowl.)

Unfortunately the best line of the night did not come from Barkley but rather Brent Barry. On Tony Parker's play in the first half, "Parker does more work in the paint than Picaso."

So who has had it on cruise control that has finally awoken? Well most of the Lakers win that award. The whole Rockets team has stepped it up for the whole year. They hands down win for hardest playing team. They also win for biggest overachievers, best team ball and worst mustache (thanks Shane Battier). Peja has seemed to awoken from his slumber, and had a great line tonight, 29-9-5.

There is a second group of players on these teams that are not loafers finally getting their act together, but rather players taking advantage of more minutes and touches. Heading this list for the Hornets is Darren Collison, who also put up great numbers for New Orleans. (27 points, 9 dimes and 4 steals.) For Portland it has been Andre Miller finally getting the touches he needs, and Bayless getting consistent minutes after being buried on the bench. Other players who have benefited from people leaving include Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette, Caron Butler and Antwan Jamison. After Stack Jack and Arenas left their respective clubs, there were simply more touches and bigger roles for the other players that allowed them to flourish.

Two side notes: Other than Caron Butler, all those players just mentioned are part of the NBA's largest fraternity of "I at one point played for the Warriors." The other note is that I think the Warriors Bobcat's trade was one of the few trades in which both teams truly benefitted. The Bobcats got a the most talented player in the trade who has been sensational in a Charlotte uniform making them one of the surprise teams right before the Allstar break. The Warriors got rid of their locker room problems and freed up space for Ellis, Curry and Magette. They were headed to the lottery with or without Jack so even though the trade wasn't balanced in terms of talent, they are not hurt in the short term and most likely benefit in the long run.)

As I mentioned above their are cases when a teams "star" leaving is for the good of the team. I already mentioned Arenas and Stephon Jackson and I would add to that list T-Mac and AI. While AI was not the star of Memphis, his attitude and need for the ball in his hands was substantial. One needs to only look at Memphis' resurgence since the Iverson trade to know that AI leaving was the right thing.

Moving on. Vince Carter drops 48 with 6 threes, single handedly bringing Orlando back to beat the Hornets after the worst month of his entire career. They need to make a new NBA promo with Vinsanity highlights from this game. "The NBA, where actually trying happens."

Also Jason Williams is playing amazing for Orlando, what a stellar pickup. It's like he finally realized that with absurd vision and great ball handling he can be a solid point guard for a winning team rather than being the stripper equivlant of a stripper. You pay him, he looks good, but they don't really do much but tease you. White Chocolate is the Good Will Hunting of the NBA. All he needed was a chance to throw off his janitor scrubs and realize his potential. I would pay good money for White Chocolate to drop a sweet dime and yell, "how bout them apples" wouldn't you? But seriously, great passing ability and vision.

Everyone has been saying it but now it is more vocal than ever, D Fish is old and he can't guard anyone anymore. I love Fish and he is still clutch as anything, but other PG's are lighting him up. Is Earmar or Chris Brown (Farmar and Shanon Brown for those of you not familiar with Farmar's elf like ears or Shannon Browns uncanny resemblance to Mr. Lovey Dovey Kiss Kiss They Hatin' on Me Chris Brown) gonna step up, or do the Lakers have to break the bank some more and ship in Kirk Heinrich. The best part of that trade is that the Lakers will probably ship Adam Morrison or Sasha Vujacic to Chicago. If Morrison goes to Chicago he and Noah can run the ugliest pick and roll ever. EVER. Also their patchy prepubescent mustaches can combine to make one real thick manly mustache (See Shane Battier). Finally, is it me or does Noah look like Skeletor?

Alright folks, that's all.

What Carries Weight?

I was talking with my friend Big D and we started rifting on the Cavs and how all the talk that is coming out right now is how great the locker room is, that the chemistry is there, and that Shaq and LeBron are huge jokesters.

Here is the problem I have with this; I hate it, from any team in any sport, when the talk of great chemistry is self promoted. I don't take it seriously when I hear it, and to be honest it really just bugs me. I kind of find it tacky for a lack of better words. If others are talking about how great your team gets along that is another thing.

Part of this problem, however, lies with reporters constantly asking how the teams chemistry like it's the only English phrase they know. How about some real questions? I love the in game interviews that happen in today's nationally televised games, they are just so bad. My favorite is Popovich who looks at the reporters with sheer spite and gives as many one word answers as he can. (It doesn't help when Craig Smith is dressed to give epileptic seizures to anyone who looks directly at him.) I don't thinks Pops is an ass as much as it is that he has a really low tolerance for stupidity.

What I do care about is if a team can rally, pull it together and PERFORM when the going gets tough.