tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86601359761115555442024-03-05T13:54:00.686-08:00NBA to ZAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-27608137504614382792013-11-13T10:05:00.002-08:002013-11-13T10:05:35.026-08:00Clips clip Rockets<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBUGEojX3eLNyQ3id8XDDxf9OkdVXyj2881b3ZPlUxktYvvW8asI-usMhj2fYRqQJzpY-vmO-EqDVJWs3dMbagSPz6fk08r8FPMaCXdqtcQiZV42qDwxGkM0NyRQ6kdKHUOSikoBJoBc/s1600/paul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBUGEojX3eLNyQ3id8XDDxf9OkdVXyj2881b3ZPlUxktYvvW8asI-usMhj2fYRqQJzpY-vmO-EqDVJWs3dMbagSPz6fk08r8FPMaCXdqtcQiZV42qDwxGkM0NyRQ6kdKHUOSikoBJoBc/s1600/paul.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul and the Clippers flexed their muscles</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 24px;">Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Clippers, November 4, 2013.</span><br />
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“Tempers clash in an early-season matchup,” the promo announcer intones, and this is before the game has even started…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Studio host Matt Winer says Doc Rivers is either the best or second-best coach in the NBA, with Popovich in San Antonio. Is Erik Spoelstra biting his lip?<o:p></o:p></div>
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J. J. Redick opens the game with two jumpers, then another one a minute later. A Dukie in the starting lineup is enough to not root for the Clippers…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Blake Griffin is averaging 21 and 11, so why does he still look like he’s underachieving? The Clips are the number-one scoring team in the NBA…<o:p></o:p></div>
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James Harden launches an airball, Dwight Howard misses a dunk, and after Redick drives (!) for a layup, the Rockets are down 15-6…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Howard has two fouls with less than six minutes gone…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Chandler Parsons, fresh from the tanning salon, has a couple of nice driving layups, but the Clips are rolling. Chris Paul has nine assists in ten minutes…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Howard returns and immediately picks up his third. The Clips lead 42-25 at the quarter…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Omri Casspi (not to be confused with teammate Omer Asik) gives Houston a nice lift off the bench with 12 points, and Greg Smith has 8 points and 6 boards in the second quarter (his first points of the season). The Clippers’ defense keeps everyone in the game…<o:p></o:p></div>
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DeAndre Jordan sinks the first of 2 FT and looks around for more people to fist-bump after he finds he has only four teammates. He makes the second, too. The Clips lead 78-66 at the half, putting up a team record for first-half points. Redick has 19…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Second half is more of the same. The Clippers surge out to 15 or 20 points ahead, the Rockets threaten to threaten. Howard looks like the same old fun-loving guy. James Harden’s defense on Redick, as the color guy points out, is “non-existent.” Chris Paul does a lot of dribbling. On one possession he makes at least a dozen fakes. The Clippers return to Lob City, and after one particularly impossible throw-down by Griffin on a Paul lob, they all retire to the bench, leaving Jamal Crawford to mop up with a series of hoists somewhere over the rainbow. Final is 137-118. The Clippers still lead the NBA in scoring. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-50439627925733512982013-11-12T09:22:00.000-08:002013-11-12T09:22:17.539-08:00Warriors rule kings<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px;">
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">Sacramento Kings at Golden State Warriors, Nov. 2, 2013. “A new chapter in this epic rivalry…the excitement is back in Sacramento!” screams the pregame promo. Except someone forgot to tell the players. DeMarcus Cousins, for one, is about as excited as an undertaker…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">Greg Napear on play-by-play and Jerry Reynolds, color man and former Kings coach, welcome us to Arco Arena. There’s a pregame profile of Kings guard Isaiah Thomas, who at least pronounces his first name correctly, unlike the more famous Isiah (I-SIGH-A, shouldn’t it be?) Thomas, the Pistons imp of the perverse. Jerry calls Isaiah, a U. of Washington product, “The Hustling Husky,” which sounds like a sled dog in the Iditarod run…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">Thomas is a live wire, but Santa Claus himself couldn’t pep up this bunch…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">John Salmons starts for the Kings. We look forward to his matchups later this season with Brandon Bass…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">The game starts with two baskets by Andrew Bogut—righty hook then lefty hook, both over Cousins. In between, Cousins clangs a 20-footer…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">“The Kings’ offense is holding the Kings to 14 points in the first quarter,” Greg quips. That’s before Ben McLemore throws in a half-courter at the buzzer. 27-17 Warriors at quarter’s end…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">The camera shows Kings’ owner Vavek Ranadive (accent <i>grave</i> over the “e”) flashing the shaka sign, all smiles in spite of the prospect of a long, <i>long</i> season ahead…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">2<sup>nd</sup> quarter. Cousins collects two idiot fouls within 12 seconds of one another, hacking Bogut on one of them 20 feet from the hoop. He goes out, and seconds later Bogut gets a mismatch with a Kings guard down low. “He’s got a mouse in the house,” Jerry says. Bogut squints at the basket from the line, looking more than ever like he’s taking an excruciating dump…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">Rookie coach Michael Malone keeps a stiff upper lip as his Kings fall behind by 20. The Kings shoot two delay-of-game penalties. “This could turn out to be their best offensive weapon,” Jerry remarks…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">Luc Mbah a Moute (anagram: <i>O! Ambulate much</i>?) comes in for a spell, unable to stem the tide. 56-36 at half…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">3<sup>rd</sup> quarter. The red-hot Kings score eight straight out of the gate. Whoops—Klay Thompson hits back-to-back 3s. Bogut fires up after semi-tussle with Cousins. He slams an alley-oop from Iguodala, blocks a shot and rips a rebound, rapid-fire. When Curry buries a 3 to put the Warriors up 27, Malone pulls his starters, halfway through the quarter…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">Ground Chuck Hayes stokes the dreams of couch potatoes everywhere…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">Travis Outlaw (anagram: <i>Larva outwits</i>) slams a rebound, failing to excite his teammates on the bench, who look like members of a chain gang…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">The Warriors called for another delay of game. Jerry and Greg riff about the Warriors holding a practice session to cover not slapping the ball when it comes through the basket…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">Curry heats up, and our two announcers decide he is a bargain at $10 million for four years. He has five 3-pointers now, the same as the Kings, who are 5 for 25…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">There’s a Jimmer Fredette sighting at 3:07 left in the game. He waits a full 30 seconds before hoisting one…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">Final: Warriors 98, Kings 87. As the players file out, we don’t see anybody kissing Cousins. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-53122935542152115402013-10-01T04:06:00.000-07:002013-10-01T12:57:04.979-07:00Bob, Bob, Bobbin' alongWhat's the best first name to predict NBA stardom? <br />
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Of the Top 50 NBA Players of All Time, there are two Nates (Archibald and Thurmond), two Johns (Havlicek and Stockton), and two Jerrys (West and Lucas). There are three Daves (Cowens, Debusschere and Robinson), and three Bobs (Cousy, Pettit and Parish).<br />
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There are four Bills: (Billy) Cunningham, Russell, Sharman and Walton.<br />
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Add Dave Bing and David West to the Daves, and you've got a pretty good starting five. But sorry, not as good as the Bobs: Add McAdoo and Lanier, and bring Bob Love off the bench.<br />
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The Bobs have it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-26803595009803740292013-09-25T13:02:00.000-07:002013-10-01T12:58:31.667-07:00All-time alphabetical teamKids, if you’ve got NBA immortality in your crosshairs, you need to pay attention to one big determining factor—besides practice. <br />
No, it’s not what part of the country you play in, how tall you are or the coaching you receive. All these are relevant, granted, but by far the most important consideration is…what letter your last name starts with. <br />
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If your last name begins with Q, V, X, Y, or Z, forget it. The only remotely great players saddled with any of these initials had them in their FIRST names—Xavier McDaniel and Zelmo Beatty. <br />
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You’re not much better-off with F, K, N, or U. Only one player with each of those initials makes the “great” list—Walt Frazier, Bernard King, Steve Nash, Wes Unseld. As for L, there were Bob Lanier and Jerry Lucas, but we’re subtracting one for Bill Laimbeer, bringing the L total down to one, also. We could give them Maurice Lucas, who was marginally great, out of sympathy. <br />
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The letters I and O haven’t been very auspicious. There are Allen Iverson and Dan Issel—Issel not making the NBA’s All-Time 50 Greatest list is a grave injustice—for the I’s, and for the O’s, Hakeem and Shaq. <br />
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Not much better are E or T. We count Julius Erving, Patrick Ewing and Alex English for the E’s, and David Thompson, Isiah Thomas and Nate Thurmond for the T’s. <br />
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A and S are only a bit better: Paul Arizin, Nate Archibald, Abdul-Jabbar and Ray Allen for the A team; and John Stockton, Bill Sharman, Dolph Schayes and Jerry Sloan for the S’s. But Allen and Sloan are just borderline. <br />
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C, D, P, and R claim five players each, by our reckoning: Cousy, Chamberlain, Cowens, Billy Cunningham and Tom Chambers for the C section (even though the last two are iffy, they make it for being two of the greatest white leapers ever); Duncan, Dantley, Debusschere, Drexler and Bobby Dandridge (a forgotten great) for the D’s; Pettit, Pippen, Payton, Parish and Geoff Petrie (one of the NBA’s all-time great athletes) for the P shooters; and Russell, Willis Reed, David Robinson, Guy Rodgers and the Big O for the R’s (which ought to get bonus points for having two of the all-time top five, some would argue).<br />
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G, H and J are distinguished enough. In the G’s: Gervin and Goodrich (both double-G’s), Artis Gilmore, Hal Greer, Richie Guerin and Kevin Garnett. H has Elvin Hayes (he could also be claimed by E, as that was his nickname—the Big E), Havlicek, Heinsohn, Connie Hawkins, Cliff Hagan and Spencer Haywood. J is the most distinguished of the group, with Jordan, Magic and Lebron, not to mention Sam Jones, Marques Johnson and Dennis Johnson. Johnson is the best name, for sure, to be born with in our system.<br />
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The B team takes a backseat to nobody: Bird, Barkley, Baylor, Barry, Bing, Bryant, Walt Bellamy. Five are on the All-Time 50 and Kobe is certain to be on the next edition, and perhaps at the top. W is the equal of B, in numbers and talent: West, Walton, Wilkens and Wilkins, Wade, Worthy and Westphal (four on the All-Time 50, with Dominique a mysterious omission, to many). <br />
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The all-time best letter? M. You’ve got Maravich, the Malones (Karl and Moses), McGrady, McHale, McAdoo, Calvin Murphy, Earl the Pearl, Reggie Miller, George McGinnis and Sidney Moncrief. That’s 11 great players, four more than the runners-up. We’re talking numbers here, not overall quality. That’s another discussion.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-80583964556163799962012-04-12T04:38:00.001-07:002012-04-12T04:40:14.743-07:00Bulls vs. Knicks rematch, three days after EasterKnicks are 11-3 under Mike Woodson…Bulls are sans their MVP again, hoping that a Rose by any other name will be as sweet…<br />
Knicks are oh for six to start with three turnovers, and go down 8-0…’Melo scores seven points in a row and Knicks take the lead…The Knicks score on 10 straight possessions…<br />
Some sloppy play on both sides, and Van Gundy says: “Kids, this is what not to do on a fast break”…Carmelo has 13 in the quarter.<br />
Second Q: Mike Tirico asks Van Gundy if Coach Tom Thibodeau lost his voice when he was his assistant, and VG says that he lost his voice at birth…Knicks’ offense stalls with starters out, they go down 9…Steve Novak can’t buy one from 3—he’s ohfer 9 in last two games…Van G proposes a Basketball Week, when everybody concentrates on b-ball. We just had that in March, but in the NBA VG wants one fewer timeout per quarter (how about six or eight fewer per half in the college tourn?) and Tirico asks him how will the network recoup the ad revenue. VG says sorry, that’s not his sphere of interest, he just thinks up the ideas. Me, too…Part of Bball Week will be the elimination, VG says, of the “power-hungry T-shirt throwers”…<br />
Baron Davis bricks a couple and the Knicks are down 10 at the half…They’re struggling to find offensive help for Melo and getting killed on the boards…<br />
Third Q: Van Gundy and Tirico have a long discussion about Amare Stoudemire and whether he’d be willing to come off the bench if it were best for the team…Everybody says they just want to win but how many actually mean it, in other words…<br />
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Rip Hamilton heats up and the Bulls go up by 12 after the Knicks cut it to 5…Van G decries all the “soft” fouls; “Whack somebody!” he implores…Or at least bite them on the leg… <br />
Van Gundy: “If Kyle Korver blocks your shot you should go to some sort of penalty box”…A minute later Korver blocks another shot (as the shooter is coming down) and Van G crows, “You can’t take it in there against Kyle Korver!”<br />
The Knicks appear to concede defeat and sure enough they get it. Chandler and Shumpert are the only guys playing as the game winds down…The Knicks apparently saving themselves for their match with Milwaukee tomorrow, a battle for 8th in the East.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-85524898719169862302012-04-10T09:16:00.000-07:002012-04-10T09:16:21.691-07:00Clippers vs. Grizzlies, April 9, 2012The two teams are fighting for 4th place in the West...Is there an announcer left anywhere who still uses the word <i>passing</i>? You say <i>ball movement</i>, I say <i>have a bowel movement</i>...Z-Bo snares a board within two seconds of coming in, and then another the next time downcourt...Joey "Uncle Festus" Crawford Ts up Chris Paul. Since he's yapping all the time, why now?...Z-Bo backs in on Blake Griffin and steps back for a bucket and a foul...<br />
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Second quarter: Gilbert Arenas takes all of 10 seconds to get up his first shot...Marc Gasol (anagram: <i>crams goal</i>) executes a gorgeous pirouette and step-back on shot-blocking impresario DeAndre Jordan...<br />
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Second half: Gasol gets hammered while holding the ball and gets called for offensive fall, the worst call I've seen this year...Scatter-shot offense devised (?) by Coach Vinnie del Negro puts the Clips in a 15-point hole they can't dig themselves out of, although they cut it to 4 in the 4th...The announcers caution over and over not to get Chris Paul mad. He got mad, but Grizzlies survived it.<br />
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Notes: Announcers say Griffin is a 7-footer. Is this right? He looks 6-9 or -10. He has no outside game but is good for at least one startling dunk a game...Z-Bo has 5 straight double-doubles off the bench...The Griz could be a contender--they are 10-deep with two All-Stars (Z-Bo and Arenas) coming off the bench...Is O. J. Mayo pissed at being a sub, or does he look like that always now?...Maurice Speights is a nice-looking player, and a crowd fave...Good win for the Griz, as the Clippers had won 9 of 10. They are a half-game out of 4th now.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-59262952607110308272012-04-09T08:33:00.001-07:002012-04-09T09:04:23.521-07:00Bulls vs. Knicks, Easter Sunday 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSOxSluO8-w_vsIVRKZUMXXs7lddW6y8Pwsd3khKQVU2TyORgyjOtirl4pNtZh_2ZHbPQVCtsyk8ByV23Z5hDZgBaG2KDAERZhZp6hVYfZSQT4tiUXxSpZz-losvedDz38lBHcoJ4mx0/s1600/Tom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSOxSluO8-w_vsIVRKZUMXXs7lddW6y8Pwsd3khKQVU2TyORgyjOtirl4pNtZh_2ZHbPQVCtsyk8ByV23Z5hDZgBaG2KDAERZhZp6hVYfZSQT4tiUXxSpZz-losvedDz38lBHcoJ4mx0/s200/Tom.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Carlos Boozer a first-team All-Groaner Team, just behind Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade in the voting...Tom Thibodeau looks like a guy waiting for a bus...Jeff Van Gundy coins a word: sideline interviewer Doris Burke is "indefatigueable..."<br />
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Knicks jump out to 26-6 lead...Chandler goes to bench at 2:13 of first quarter, gripping one of his tattoos...Boozer makes a layup, gets fouled, and Derek Rose claps on the bench while looking as always like he's thinking about what's for dinner...Omer Asik (anagram:<i> more saki</i>!) blocked 19 shots in a game in Turkey, Mike Breen informs us...Knicks may be Lin-less but aren't listless--the division is up for grabs!<br />
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Van Gundy decries "the state of sports journalism" in regard to the controversy swirling around his bro Stan in Orlando.<br />
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Baron Davis (anagram: <i>Bravado? Sin</i>!)passes up a wide-open five-footer, passes the ball, gets it back and goes one-on-one for a flailing fallaway, gets bailed out by a foul, but misses both FTs...A minute later Davis launches a 28-foot airball, and Bulls come down and get a 3-pointer the hard way. They're back in the game... <br />
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At the half Jon Barry points out that the Bulls are thankful on Easter for J. R. Smith, who's "just chucking away" (1 for 7 from the field, mostly ghastly 3-pointers.)<br />
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Second half: Joakim Noah puts up a patented grotesque jumper -- has no one ever worked on Noah's arc?...Rose, heating up, cuts lead to 2 but then the Knicks go back up by 5 on a 3-pointer by---J. R. Smith, of course...How much time does Coach Mike Woodson work pregame on manicuring his beard?...J. R. Smith (no anagrams) goes one-on-one and forces another dreadful fallaway, which inspires Carmelo Anthony to do the same next time down...The Bulls cut it to 1...<br />
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Breen and Van Gundy engage in a lengthy and spirited debate over Melo's shot selection as Bulls take the lead...Rose 14 points in third quarter...<br />
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4th quarter: Knicks down 5, get a steal but Davis lobs another airball, Smith clanks a 3 then passes the next time down to Iman Shumpert, who buries one...Bulls by 1...Smith goes 1 on 1, gets stuck in midair and has his shot blocked...<br />
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Smith again--clank! 3 for 15...Boozer counters with an airball...Shumpert clanks a 3-pointer, and Rose converts a 4-point play to seal it, probably (Bulls up by 9 with five to go...<br />
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Woodson starts to yank Smith, but he cans a 3 (3 for 16) and Woodson changes his mind...Smith then misses another 3...Chandler inexplicably fouls Lual Deng 32 feet from hoop with 34 seconds left, but Deng (Lual Deng anagram: <i>aged null</i>) misses both FTs...Knicks down 3, Novak comes in, Knicks run play for him and his 3 goes halfway down and spins out...But Rose misses 2 more FTs and Melo comes down and cans tying 3 (degree of difficulty 10.0)...Rose airballs at the buzzer.<br />
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Overtime: Noah finally stirs up a brouhaha--has to go to OT to do so...Smith nails back-to-back jumpers, Rose does the same...Novak and Shumpert try ill-advised 3s...Chandler plays volleyball on three offensive rebounds in a row, giving Knicks life...Melo buries another 3 (degree of difficulty 11.0) to give Knicks the lead, and Rose, harried by Iman Shumpert (anagram: <i>inputs hammer</i>) as he has been all game, misses runner at the horn. Knicks win!!<br />
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The day's heroes are Carmelo Anthony (43 points) and Iman Shumpert (anagram:<i> Triumphs! Amen</i>!)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-21744630141742970892012-04-09T04:50:00.000-07:002012-04-09T09:09:28.807-07:00The Iceman paddeth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_6exoH5MIG4DTg891lobpXK1WNbhSSssqylHwzbPwHUj97CgMzbklERoFmCjDxjsmenq0zWZLICwZ5zHE5lWAM0RswtJKU0CE8o47ueY2vmPwlhRVJs97bNNu5n2zqfOtE6uWxVr8kw/s1600/gervin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_6exoH5MIG4DTg891lobpXK1WNbhSSssqylHwzbPwHUj97CgMzbklERoFmCjDxjsmenq0zWZLICwZ5zHE5lWAM0RswtJKU0CE8o47ueY2vmPwlhRVJs97bNNu5n2zqfOtE6uWxVr8kw/s200/gervin.jpg" /></a></div><br />
On this day in 1978, the San Antonio Spurs’ George Gervin scored 63 points in his final game of the regular season to edge out the Denver Nuggets’ David Thompson for the NBA scoring title. Thompson had scored 73 earlier in the day, so Gervin was justified in piling up the points; he had the 58 he needed to overtake Thompson by early in the third quarter.<br />
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Gervin, nicknamed "The Iceman," went on to become the league’s top scorer again in 1979, 1980 and 1982, making him one of just three NBA players to capture four or more scoring crowns.<br />
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The Spurs were fun to watch, playing in the HemisFair arena before raucous crowds that often clanged cowbells in support of their guys. Gervin never saw a shot he didn't like; his signature was an underhand finger-roll from 10 feet or more. Gervin had a physique made for YMCA ball, but he scored over 25,000 points in his combined ABA/NBA career.<br />
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Thompson, in the Hall of Fame along with Gervin, was an unbelievable leaper (44-inch vertical jump) with just as catchy a nickname ("Skywalker").<br />
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After being edged out by Gervin as scoring champ, the next year Thompson signed a $4 million, five-year contract with the Nuggets, making him the highest-paid player ever in team sports at the time. But he was beset with injuries and substance abuse problems and eventually traded to Seattle in 1982. <br />
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Thompson injured himself falling down some stairs at New York City’s Studio 54 club during the 1983-1984 season and was later released by the Sonics, effectively ending a career that, had it been all it could have been, would have placed him much farther up in the pantheon of all-time stars.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-51792491056395538082012-04-08T10:19:00.000-07:002012-04-09T09:02:02.052-07:00Rondeau to Hondo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPmq9DIAl7K0P5GrTT3FPpU29uvqAwRizk1A0VN3o9VmvZOBQ3DIrXJisKN5ETf4lSTv2YP4REuL8o9sffS9i27OOI2vaCIYepkSwzHwhdLYVmi4AXLhLiM7qkT-VqQndLe0kfQ0JAyZY/s1600/hav.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="222" width="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPmq9DIAl7K0P5GrTT3FPpU29uvqAwRizk1A0VN3o9VmvZOBQ3DIrXJisKN5ETf4lSTv2YP4REuL8o9sffS9i27OOI2vaCIYepkSwzHwhdLYVmi4AXLhLiM7qkT-VqQndLe0kfQ0JAyZY/s320/hav.jpg" /></a></div><br />
John Havlicek turns 50 today.<br />
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I was never a Celtics fan until Bird came along, but I admired Havlicek. He was the first to give a cachet to the sixth-man role, and never complained about coming off the bench.<br />
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He could run all day and never break a sweat. I saw this firsthand, when I was a counselor at Red Auerbach's summer camp and played in a pickup game with him. (Jo Jo White was another horse of this stripe.)<br />
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When I tell people how Havlicek played a whole game in the playoffs in 1973 without the use of his right (shooting) arm and scored over 20 points, I have to wonder if I'm even remembering it right -- but there it is, a matter of record (I looked it up).<br />
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And he had one of the great sports nicknames ever.<br />
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Happy birthday, Hondo.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-76763468007841512452012-03-25T02:43:00.000-07:002012-04-09T09:18:42.433-07:00Wilt: A remembrance<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDsTctVsqbd956qsmwWM0x1kFNvcQH5GD4iWz9PsDdJwcjzdZc9hU93JjjnEPt7d4h3T3jpZxFPzHfpbs46oPpxf-tH597IGLfvgeC__pfSNEVCn-9Q5BzjhxDwrNTriCtQxgynTxZ9RY/s1600-h/wilt.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDsTctVsqbd956qsmwWM0x1kFNvcQH5GD4iWz9PsDdJwcjzdZc9hU93JjjnEPt7d4h3T3jpZxFPzHfpbs46oPpxf-tH597IGLfvgeC__pfSNEVCn-9Q5BzjhxDwrNTriCtQxgynTxZ9RY/s200/wilt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180500118452837922" /></a><br />
When Wilt Chamberlain died, he left at least 20,000 (by his own estimate) female hearts grieving. I also loved Wilt, but not in that fashion. <br />
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Wilt wooed and won me early. I was barely a teen, but watching that big galoot play basketball — well, it was love at first sight. <br />
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“The Stilt,” one of Wilt’s monikers, perfectly describes the young player I remember. Long and lithe, with a 50-inch vertical jump, Wilt ran the floor like a great kangaroo. He was bigger, faster and stronger than everyone, so absurdly dominant that watching him you’d laugh out loud, for the sheer preposterous joy of it.<br />
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Along with his other-worldly abilities, Wilt was more animated than anyone – a man of infinite gestures. The splayed hands, the wince, the head thrown back in disgust – all these were Wilt trademarks, registering the frustration of a man infernally put-upon.<br />
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You had to laugh, seeing Wilt deflated at the foul line, having clanked another one, or bent over, beseeching a referee. The idea of sympathy for a man that large!<br />
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Everything about Wilt was a little cartoonish, including those statistics he engraved in stone. “My records are unbelievable,” he observed, accurately if un-humbly. These include averaging 50 points a game in a season, logging 48.5 minutes per game that same season (an NBA game is 48 minutes long), and never, ever fouling out of a game.<br />
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As for the 100 points he put up in one game, professional players ever afterward (before Kobe, that is) could only shake their heads in wonder.<br />
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Despite all of Wilt’s patently unfair advantages, he saw himself as an underdog. Sometimes you had to agree. Wilt was big, but what could one man, no matter how big, do against thousands? <br />
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“The world is made up of Davids,” Wilt said, “and I’m Goliath.”<br />
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Wilt could never do enough. Sure, he put up big numbers, said the Davids, but how many championships did he win? Wilt won two, a number that most NBA players would kill for, but a total pitifully inadequate to the universal expectations. <br />
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Never mind that Bill Russell, Wilt’s eternal tormentor, was surrounded by Hall-of-Famers, while Wilt was, for most of his career, a man alone. If Wilt was so great, he should have won more.<br />
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Wilt always let the Davids bring him down. If what he did wasn’t good enough, why, then, he’d do more. His inferiority complex impelled him to lead the league in assists one season, and after basketball to try boxing, coaching, beach volleyball and the marathon.<br />
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It compelled him to prove himself again and again – even in the boudoir, the Freudians will say.<br />
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Wilt’s craving for acceptance, often plaintive, was what made him mortal, finally. Had he maintained an Olympian remove, we would have revered him. Instead, he wrote dumb books and did talk shows, harping and harping on his prowess. He became a figure of fun.<br />
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As Wilt grew ridiculous, so did his records. We dismissed them, and him, as outlandish. The more he hectored us, the more we laughed. In the end, Wilt had cut himself down to our size. <br />
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But no one who ever saw him in his prime will ever forget him. He was power wedded with grace, phenomenally fast, wondrously imposing – a Prometheus in shorts.<br />
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Wilt’s at peace now. And he’s coming into his own. People look at the numbers and gape. The great deeds are acknowledged. Friends and foes grow older and mellower, and remember Wilt with fondness. And my emotions are stirred, thinking of my old flame.<br />
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I see him crouch, palming the ball like a grapefruit. I see him scowl, annoyed at the gnats swarming about him. I see him soar – and my heart soars with him.<br />
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There was a giant in those days.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-29342650670194410222008-05-07T04:37:00.000-07:002008-05-07T04:39:23.301-07:00Old enough to die? Old enough to dribbleThe foundation – and a flimsy one it may turn out to be – of the proposition to raise the legal age limit of the NBA to 21 is that both the league and the colleges will be best served by the restriction.<br /><br />The colleges will benefit because the great players that would otherwise be pros will be plying their talents for their dear old schools for an additional year, raising the level of the college game. And the NBA will benefit because rookies coming in will be armed with the requisite skills and savoir-faire to better represent themselves and, by extension, the NBA’s product.<br /><br />These seem to be sound arguments, on both sides. The only thing they ignore is the voice of the one in the middle – the athlete himself.<br /><br />Let’s say you are a 20-year-old college basketball player, and gifted. You’re six-eight or six–nine, you can run like a horse and fly like a bird, and you’re busting at the seams to test your mettle in the crucible of the NBA. <br /><br />But the powers-that-be say you need to wait another year – for your own good, of course. Even though you’re old enough to be sent overseas to fight and possibly to die, you’re not quite mature enough for the rigors of professional basketball. <br /><br />Another year of school is what you need, they agree – another year of seasoning and sophistication. Never mind that you have yet to see the inside of a classroom – that the only two buildings on campus you’ve visited are the field house and the cafeteria. <br /><br />Your university is all for you staying – at least your coach and the fans are – but you can’t see how hanging around for another year is going to make you any smarter. And for the life of you, you can’t see how one more year at State U will satisfy the people who are always shouting about the importance of higher education.<br /><br />No, you’re no scholar, but you can’t help but get the idea that you’re being used.<br />You see that your college is getting your services for another year when you could be offering them on the open market. And you figure out that the NBA is keeping its future labor down on the farm, cultivating it at the college’s expense. But since the college is raking in millions in revenue from its basketball program… <br /><br />The age-limit restriction is patently unfair to the athletes, and maybe even an illegal violation of their right to earn a living.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-40777241092580230812008-04-22T12:12:00.000-07:002008-04-22T12:41:20.389-07:00Haywood had his heydayToday is the 59th birthday of Spencer Haywood, a star of yesteryear who experienced the highs -- and the "highs" -- and lows, or depths, of pro basketball.<br /><br />Haywood led the U. S. to victory in the 1968 Olympics, averaged 32 a game as a sophomore in college, and then bolted for the ABA, the first ever to do so. He was also the first ever to sign with the NBA before his college class graduated, when he took his suit to do so all the way to the Supreme Court and left the ABA for the NBA's Seattle Supersonics. On both occasions, Haywood was vilified.<br /><br />For a great recent story about Spencer Haywood, visit<br /><br /><a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/magazine/where.haywood/index.html">Spencer Haywood at 59</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-72081075120948266852008-04-16T16:59:00.000-07:002008-04-16T17:10:43.592-07:00Jabs at JabbarBirthday of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, age...who cares?<br /><br />Kareem would still be playing if they hadn't made him quit. As it was, he went on about 10 years too long.<br /><br />Yes, the skyhook was the most devastating weapon in basketball -- and also the most tedious and infuriating. No wonder no one's ever copied it -- it's boring!<br /><br />He was a six-time MVP, but the Kareem began to curdle when he went over to the Lakers and Showtime became Slowtime, as Magic and the other racehorses often had to stand and idle until Kareem dragged his ass downcourt.<br /><br />His all-time points record is one of the most bogus in sports.<br /><br />On top of that, Jabbar, nee Alcindor, was always surly and aloof, which people blamed on his freakish size but which was also a manifestation of his unfounded belief that he was smarter -- more intellectual -- than anyone.<br /><br />Just because you collect art and jazz records, that doesn't mean you're an intellectual.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-39434510548540752472008-03-30T12:22:00.000-07:002008-03-30T12:56:26.896-07:00Saint Luke, to someToday is the birthday of Jerry Lucas, born in 1940. <br /><br />Lucas played 11 years in the NBA (1963-73), with the Cincinnati Royals, the San Francisco Warriors and the New York Knicks, and averaged 15.6 rebounds and 17 points a game. Twice he averaged more than 20 rebounds a game. He was only 6' 8". <br /><br />"Luke" won a national championship at Ohio State in 1960, was a three-time MVP of the Big Ten, and is considered to be perhaps the best player ever in the conference. In 1999 he was named to <em>Sports Illustrated</em>'s five-man all-time college all-star team.<br /><br />Don't remember him? Lucas himself could help you. After his playing days he got involved with memory improvement and training. He wrote <em>The Memory Book</em> with Harry Lorayne. <br /><br />Lucas is on the NBA's 50 Greatest Players of All Time list.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-70473652358869574882008-03-29T10:50:00.000-07:002008-03-29T10:57:51.676-07:00Happy birthday, ClydeBirthday of Walt Frazier. He's 41. <br /><br />A four-time All-Star and member of Hall of Fame; named one of NBA's Fifty Greatest Players. <br /><br />His high point: 36 points and 19 assists in the 1970 NBA Championshhip's final game, overshadowed by Willis Reed limping out at the game's beginning and scoring the first two hoops. <br /><br />His low point? Maybe getting torched by Pistol Pete Maravich for 68 points on Feb. 25, 1977. If not the cheesy commercials for Just For Men with Keith Hernandez, another slice of New York ham.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8660135976111555544.post-74378376281821626222008-03-17T08:59:00.000-07:002008-03-22T02:49:21.022-07:00NBA not what it used to be?No, the NBA isn’t what it used to be—but who is? Professional basketball has changed, indeed, but whether for better or worse—well, that depends on one’s prejudices, of course, and also on one’s experience and perspective. <br /><br /> Those who decry, for example, the violence in the NBA as alarming and unprecedented should read Terry Pluto’s estimable “Tall Tales,” a chronicle of the early days of pro basketball. Pluto interviews players who recall that games would erupt in fights more often than not, slugfests that sometimes would spill into the stands, where drunken fans taunted the athletes who had to play a whole game of basketbrawl before they could start drinking.<br /><br /> Pluto also touches on the racism that was <em>de rigueur</em> in those days. Black players, no matter how gifted, were systematically blackballed for years, and finally admitted into the league only when a few owners grasped the economic imperatives of it.<br /><br /> Soon, unhappily, the sport got <em>too</em> black for America’s liking. For that reason among others, NBA games were seldom shown on television in the ‘sixties, and when the ABA came along and offered players another marketplace and bargaining power against tight-fisted owners, those that signed aboard toiled in even greater obscurity.<br /><br /> After the leagues merged, the NBA reached its low ebb in the 1970s. Even in 1980, when Magic Johnson beat Philadelphia with his sublime performance in the final game of the season, interest in the sport was so lukewarm that the game was shown on tape-delay late that night.<br /><br /> Magic and Larry Bird did spark a revival that swept the NBA into its Golden Age, which lingered through the Jordan years—but those three players were anomalies, maybe three in the top five of all time. What else did we have during that era? Dennis Rodman, the Bad Boys (with two of the most craven athletes ever, Bill Laimbeer and Isiah Thomas), Jordan going off to play baseball, Shaquille O’Neal showing his astounding lack of basketball skills as Hakeem Olajuwon tap-danced on his head in the NBA Finals. <br /><br /> Today’s NBA players are bigger, stronger and faster than ever, and none of them has green hair. They play above the rim, with breathtaking grace and speed, and every time down the court one of them—often Lebron James—is apt to do something you’ve never seen before. Ninety-nine percent of them would rather win a championship than be an All-Star. Yes, some of them are surly and selfish. But given the incredible scrutiny and ceaseless criticism they all undergo, not just from the media but from every casual and ill-informed observer with a beer or a blog and time on his hands, it’s a wonder that each and every one of them doesn’t snap and run amok in the stands. <br /><br /> We all remember a time when things were better—it was back when our parents were shaking their heads over how much worse things were than in their day.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13233622751209485147noreply@blogger.com0