By DjackJames Dolan has a huge decision to make this upcoming offseason, whether or not to keep or let Phil Jackson go. All the evidence points to that Phil should be let go, a few fans feel differently, but the consensus vote is that Phil is no longer wanted in NYC. Phil has done very little good and a whole lot of bad in his short tenure with the Knicks and his age/health aren't showing a long future for him in this position, so why bother bringing him back for the last two years of the deal. Obviously the opt-out clause is there for a reason, so why not use it?
James Dolan has been adamant about honoring the contract and respecting the fans suggestion that he stays far away from any basketball decisions. This leads me to believe he won't be opting out of this contract. Even though opting out would technically be honoring the contract still. I don't believe Dolan will do it. I don't believe Dolan will do it because he's trying to spite the fans. They didn't want him getting involved, so now he's not getting involved, and the Knick fans are suffering. Exactly what that psychopath wants, the Knick fans to suffer for blaming it all on him, even though that's not the case whatsoever. He's just so out of his mind he truly believes that. Dolan doesn't care that the fans are angry either because he's making just as much money as before. Knicks are going to sell tickets regardless, half the people that show up don't even care about the basketball game they care about the event. It's a lose lose situation for the real fans. Either Phil stays they continue to suck and try to run an ancient offense, or they fire Phil, Dolan starts getting involved again, and the organization keeps going in this circle of dysfunction for another 20 years. The GM, Coach, President is not the problem, James Dolan is the fucking problem. Knicks will never amount to anything with that lunatic running the show.
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By MukStop me if you've heard this before - Russell Westbrook exploded for a triple-double and carried the Thunder to a win, as his game-tying 3-pointer with 8 seconds left forced OT in Orlando.
With the Thunder trailing by as much 21 tonight, Russell Westbrook continued to impress by going off for 57 points en route to the Thunder's 114-106 OT win over the Magic. Westbrook also recorded his 38th triple-double of the season, pulling himself within 3 triple-doubles of tying Oscar Robinson's single-season record, with 8 games to go in the season. His 57 point, 13 rebounds, 11 assist game also marked the most points ever scored in a triple-double performance in NBA history, surpassing James Harden's 53 point triple-double from earlier this season. Russell Westbrook is going to average over 30 points and a triple-double for the season - let that sink in. In a generation that has grown up watching Lebron James do it all on the floor, it's crazy to think that what Russell Westbrook is doing hasn't been done in 40+ years. He is coming out every single night, and leaving absolutely everything on the court, and I don't see how anyone can knock him for it. I understand in the eyes of the voters it's all about "the team", but what Westbrook is doing for the Thunder is something that no one, other than Lebron, would be able to do. He bets it's all on himself each night and lives and dies by the sword that is his explosive, unrelenting game, and to me, he deserves every bit of that MVP award. PS - I am still very, very open to a Co-MVP deal with him and James Harden, because what Harden is doing each night is equally as impressive. By MukAfter last night's 103-74 blowout loss to the Spurs, the Cleveland Cavaliers' find themselves in second place in the Eastern Conference for the first time since November of 2015 (from then till now they had at least shared the first place record). In their last 17 games, stemming from February 25th, the Cavs are a measly 7 & 10.
The Cavs superstars have been very outspoken in recent months about their struggles, as we all know Lebron James has no problem airing out his teammates and pointing fingers, but now Kyrie Irving has joined in on the festivities, but he didn't hesitate to also throw himself under the bus. Irving was seen putting up shots after the loss last night, after he barely produced anything worth noting, finishing with 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 turnovers. Irving said that it was time to "face the music", and that is something we can all agree on. The Cavs have been the favorite out of the East from the moment the season started, so it is certainly cause for concern that they have been struggling as of late, particularly right as the playoffs are about to start. The East is weak after the top 3 or 4 teams, but both the Celtics and Wizards can, in my opinion, beat the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals, especially if the Cavs continue to struggle. The Wizards and Celtics have not only been strong all season, but they have continued their success as of late. The Celtics have won 7 of their last 10, and while the Wizards have only won 6 of their last 10 and have dropped 3 bad losses, I still don't doubt they will come out hot in the playoffs. Personally, I want the Cavs to get their act together, because although I find Lebron as annoying as the next person, the last thing I possibly want to see from this NBA season is a Warriors Championship, and I think the Cavs, and Lebron are the only ones who can beat the Warriors. The Cavs need to get their heads on straight, and start coming out hot and finishing games, and stop pointing fingers. Oh, and maybe Tristan Thompson should cut the-liability-that-is Khloe Kardashian loose, and get rid of that Kardashian-Curse just like James Harden did... don't be selfish Tristan.. do what's needed for the team!! We know you love your baby momma more anyway, and so does Khloe! By DjackThe Commissioner of the NBA Adam Silver, has been all for progressive moments by the NBA. Silver takes it upon himself to take the league to new heights and explore new boundaries, it's one of the qualities that have made him such a successful commissioner thus far. In his latest run in with the media he said he expects to see a women head coach sooner rather than later and expects to add more women officials as early as next season. There's only one women official in the league right now, there have been two before her I believe, but that's all about to change with this new initiative. Silver will have no problem hiring more women to officiate games and I'm sure no one will even notice the difference, which is ideal when it comes to officiating. However, the head coaching situation is a completely different animal.
I agree with Adam Silver, I believe a women head coach will be hired within the next couple of years, I'm pretty sure I know who it's going to be, but we'll get to that in a minute. One of these teams like the Kings, Magic, Suns, Nets, and maybe even the Spurs post Popovich might even be a viable option, these are the organizations that I believe are most likely to pull the trigger on signing a women head coach. There's obviously going to be some questions behind whether or not a women is capable of handling the job of coaching 12 grown men. If she knows her shit and can command a room I don't see why she can't succeed, the skeptics will be out to get her though, so the first women better do a good job or another one might not get a chance. If it's an absolute disaster it could really set back the league in terms of a women head coach being hired, so it's imperial that the first one is set up for success in some regards. Adam Silver will do everything he can to make that happen I'm sure. As for who the first women's head coach will be it's pretty obvious if you've been paying any attention to the sports headlines this week. Becky Hammon, assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs turned down a job to become head coach of the University of Florida women's basketball team. Now why would she turn down a job as a head coach to stay as an assistant, well I'm sure there's a lot of reasons that factor into making that decision besides just a title, conversely it's just instinct to believe she's staying around waiting to pounce on this opportunity to be the first women head coach in NBA history. Will she be the heir to Gregg Popovich's throne in San Antonio, or will another team try to snag her first. Regardless, I believe Becky Hammon will be the first women's head coach in NBA history. By MukRussell Westbrook and James Harden are having two of the most impressive seasons in NBA history, and you're telling me we have to only pick one of them for the MVP? Impossible if you ask me, and apparently, if you ask one of the greatest players in NBA's history, Kobe Bryant. "It’s tough, man. It doesn’t make sense to me, hard to come up with a rational decision of who should be MVP, so it’s tough. You might see our first co-MVPs this year.” We have Russell Westbrook who is averaging over 31 points and a triple-double per game, while James Harden is as close to 30 points a game as you can get with 8 boards and 11 assists, and while Harden's Rockets are sitting in 3rd place in the Western Conference, and Westbrook's Thunder are a few spots behind in 6th. I know in recent years we have seen a large part of the MVP race based off of the success of the team, but I think we can all agree the Rockets are truly a better all-around team than the Thunder, and while neither team is soaring or struggling, we can directly contribute the overall achievements of these teams to these two players. Both of these guys have been making history all season, and it seems like every week there is another accomplishment worth making note of. Russell Westbrook is within reaching distance of the single seasonTriple-Double record, and James Harden just became the first player to score and assist on 2,000 points. Not only are these individual records impressive, but this NBA season is the first to ever feature two-players record at least 20 Triple-Doubles. There are going to be arguments from the fans of both of these superstars as to which one is more deserving, but I genuinely feel the best case scenario is to make these two studs Co-MVP's. To make it even better, these two are actually very great friends, and I can absolutely bet that they would rather share the award, than lose it, AGAIN. Both of them can make arguments that they were robbed of the award in the last two seasons for that softy-Curry, who only got the award because of his team's success. And you won't convince me otherwise. Yes, Co-MVP's have never been done before, and this is certainly an unorthodox move, but if there has ever been a year in recent memory that deserves to break the mold, it's this one. The writers need to get this one right, which I doubt they will, but I would truly love to see this move happen. From triple-doubles, to 50-point games and game-winners, these two have done everything possible to carry their teams, and no matter who the award goes to, I hope their individual seasons are not forgotten. By MukIn recent weeks, one of the NBA's biggest storylines has been whether players should, or should not rest during regular season games, for non-injury related reasons. We have had just about every player questioned, past and present -other than those who do rest (the Cavs, Warriors, and some Spurs) - say that it is absolutely a problem, and even a "disgrace" to the league, and I completely agree.
If you are not battling a serious injury, or haven't been in the league for 10+ seasons grinding away for all 82 games plus playoffs each season, then you don't need to rest. This is your job, and there are 1,000 other players around the world who would kill to play 40 minutes night in the NBA. These NBA players are nothing without the fans, and this season we have seen more fans outspoken and furious over making trips to games to see these star players play, just for them to sit on the bench because they're "tired". The only player who I can give a break to for resting is Lebron James, and that is solely because I have seen what he has done for 13 seasons in the league, and just how hard he goes every night, but I think Lebron needs to get off of his high-horse and stop acting like this isn't a clear-cut issue. I love seeing players like Westbrook and Harden coming out and saying that it's just something they would never do, because they love going out and leaving it all on the court each and every single night. And these are not two players who are not going out there and giving it 1000% each night - these are the two MVP Candidates - and their opinion's carry some serious weight. It's one thing if the number of players resting, and the number of games being sat out were minuscule, but it is a clear issue throughout the league, for some of the league's top teams. These are games, and players, who fans from not only around the country, but the world, come to watch. The players and league can't afford to have the fans, and even some of it's players and owners - let alone the commissioner - pitted against each other. Man up, play the game, bring every bit of what makes you a professional athlete and leave it on the floor - injuries and father time are one thing - the rest is just excuses. By DjackFinally, after 18 long years Mark Few and Gonzaga have punched their ticket to the Final Four. After only losing one game all season long, many including myself still doubted if Gonzaga was actually the real deal. Well, I think they've answered that by securing their first Final Four appearance in school history. With that being said of all the teams that'll be in the Final Four it's safe to say Gonzaga had the easiest road. They had to play a 16 seed aka an automatic win, a very mediocre Northwestern team, and West Virginia who shot the worst percentage I've ever seen in a game. Tonight they took on Xavier and it was more of the same.
Xavier without a doubt was the Cinderella of the tournament coming into the Elite Eight. Now, Xavier is obviously a pretty good team if they were able to beat Maryland, FSU, and Arizona. Unfortunately, Gonzaga is the same team as Xavier, except in a different conference, and a lot better. What I mean by that is these two teams come from mid major conferences, however they're the consistent dominant power of that conference. Xavier is a smaller team built on speed and shooting 3's. Gonzaga likes to get out and run as well, but they can also pound it inside to Karnowski. Well, Xavier decided they were gonna collapse their defense to try shut down the easy shots in the paint, too bad Gonzaga's guards were on a mission not too miss. Gonzaga shot 50% from deep compared to Xavier that shot 12.5% from deep, that ultimately was the difference in this game. Gonzaga hit shots and Xavier didn't, simple as that. Typically when a team makes ten more 3's than you do they're going to win. Gonzaga just shot the lights out while Xavier couldn't buy a basket and that's why the final score was 83-59. Mark Few finally gets the monkey off his back, he had the most wins for a coach that never made a final four, and I'm sure that's a record he's glad he no longer holds. I always look forward to the Gonzaga collapse because I know these teams don't endure the same grind of a season facing crazy talented teams basically every game like they do in these power 5 conferences, so I don't respect their body of work as much. I am happy Mark Few got to the Final Four and I hope he wins it, he's too good of a coach to not be respected as one of the best ever. We all know the only way you get respected as one of the best though, is if you win a championship. Regardless the outcome, Few needs to be respected for what he's done. When you can build a program that's won 20+ games for the past 18 seasons never missing a tournament in the process, is a seriously impressive feat, I don't care what conference it is. Congratulations to Gonzaga for finally cracking the code and getting into the Final Four, hopefully they don't get content with this accomplish as the ultimate goal is yet to be reached. By DjackUCLA took a bad loss to Kentucky last night in the sweet 16, only thing that could've made it worse was to find out head coach Steve Alford was leaving for Indiana next season. Thankfully, UCLA didn't have to deal with that additional emotional distress because Alford put the rumors to bed right away. Alford said, "I am absolutely 100 percent not going to Indiana. Staying at UCLA. I am happy. Love it here. Have a great (recruiting) class coming in, and a brand-new practice facility. Obviously, I love my alma mater. Committed to UCLA. I am not going to talk to Indiana. I am staying a Bruin."
Everyone around college basketball thought it was sure fire deal, Alford leaving for Indiana after this season made too much sense. For one, Lonzo Ball is leaving. He's one of the best players in college basketball in quite some time, let's not act like he wasn't the reason for most of the teams success. Yes, his brother LiAngelo is coming to UCLA next year, but from what I hear he isn't half the player Lonzo is. Also, Bryce Alford, Steve Alford's son, is graduating, so it's not like he would be leaving him behind. The bond between Steve Alford and Indiana may have been strong, however the lifestyle of LA has proven to mesmerize almost anyone who has experience it in all it's glory. One argument for him to go back was Indiana is a more prestigious job, I don't agree with that whatsoever. LA is a more attractive place for recruits to come play and the history at UCLA is just as legendary if not more legendary than Indiana. Steve Alford went against the consensus opinion and I have to respect him for that. His reasons for staying seemed genuine and valid. The fact he came out so quickly after being eliminated from the tournament to put these rumors to rest was impressive, if only more coaches were as transparent as Alford there'd be a lot less confusion in sports.Anyways, it's not like it's all bad for Alford now the Lonzo Ball, Bryce Alford, and T.J. Leaf are all leaving. UCLA still has LaMelo Ball who is supposedly filthy, committed to playing for them in a few years, he has that to look forward to, and I'm sure he's getting plenty of other highly talented recruits to play there as well. I wouldn't be surprised whatsoever if UCLA made it to a final four or won a national championship before Indiana. As a matter of fact, I guarantee they will. Watch coach Alford lead these Bruins to the promise land and create a greater legacy in Los Angeles than he had in Bloomington. By DjackLast night, Devin Booker, the 20 year old shooting guard of the Phoenix Suns, scored 70 points against the Boston Celtics. Booker was feeling it last night, he shot 21-40 from the floor, 4-11 from deep, and 24-26 from the free throw line. Booker is 1 of 5 players in NBA history to score over 70 points, so he joins a pretty exclusive club. He also joins another pretty exclusive club by scoring 70 points and still losing the game. Only two other players have done that, Wilt Chamberlain and David Thompson, both hall of famers. It was the greatest scoring performance since the 81 point outburst by Kobe Bryant, everyone loves to see a player put up a ridiculous number like that, and that explains why the Celtics fans were actually cheering for Booker as he torched the Celtics defense. It didn't matter to them since the Celtics still won, just thought it was very cool that the home fans were cheering for a player on the opposing team. Anyways, the Suns did get a little carried away with themselves after Booker's performance. After the game they posted this picture. Obviously the guys are just kidding around trying to emulate the Wilt Chamberlain photo after he scored 100 points. Good joke, I appreciate the effort and all, however you guys lost, and Booker fell 30 points shy of wilt's record and 11 points shy of Kobe's, so he didn't really accomplish shit. With that being said the Suns haven't had much to cheer about this year, or just in recent memory in general, so they needed this more than we know. Although, one of the Celtics players didn't seem to take too kindly to the picture... For those of you that don't know, Bossman99 is Jae Crowder the small forward for the Boston Celtics. Have to agree with Crowder on the whole team being extremely happy after a loss, like come on now, your team is still 22-51, stop acting like you won the NBA Finals. Devin Booker fired back with the "you can't guard me" jab. Short, sweet, and to the point, I can respect that. Even though, Crowder and the Celtics get the last laugh because they're going to the playoffs, they got the win, and they have a much brighter future than the Suns. Enjoy this moment Suns fans, these don't come around very often for you guys.
By DjackButler 4 vs UNC 1: When Justin Jackson and Joel Berry play as good as they did last night, I don't know if there's anyone in the country that can beat them. Kansas is the only team that truly has a shot at bringing them down when UNC is on a roll like last night. Luckily for Kentucky, Joel Berry and Justin Jackson don't always show up like that, a la the ACC tournament semifinal. Butler just couldn't contain the two stars last night as they combined for 50 points, shooting at a great percentage from the floor. UNC also dominated on the boards and just in the paint in general. Consistently getting to the line even though they shot a garbage percentage from the stripe. The Tar Heels run away with a comfortable win as the Bulldogs were just simply outmatched, resulting in a 92-80 loss to UNC. South Carolina 7 vs Baylor 3: Baylor basketball is the fraud of the tournament what seems like every year. They'll have a solid regular season beating up on bad teams, losing to the few good teams on their schedule, get a high seed in the tournament, and exit early every time. Surprisingly enough they made it to the sweet 16 this year, which shouldn't be very hard as a 3-seed, nevertheless it's a challenge for Baylor, regardless it didn't matter because their annual exposure of being fraudulent occurred last night. The South Carolina Gamecocks, the nobody's of the tournament continue to bully teams. This one was over late in the first half when South Carolina went on a 14-0 run. The suffocating defense was getting to Baylor as they couldn't buy a bucket for minutes at a time throughout the first half. Meanwhile, South Carolina seemed like they couldn't miss shooting 40% from 3-point land, and they had 4 players in double figures compared to Baylor only having one. South Carolina was the team everyone coming into this game thought was a fraud, in turn they showed the world Baylor was the real fraud when they crushed them 70-50. UCLA 3 vs Kentucky 2: What was supposed to be the matchup of the night turned out to be quite the disappointment. In the first half it was back and forth, lead change after lead change. Sure, the scoring wasn't there like fans had expected, yet it was still the competitive matchup we were all craving. The second half was all Wildcats. De'Aaron Fox sliced and diced the UCLA defense into pieces. All he had to do was come off a screen and get the hole, he was a man on a mission to prove Lonzo Ball wasn't the only great point guard in the game, and boy was his statement received. Have to respect a performance like that. Lonzo Ball on the other hand, didn't quite show up. It's tough to say that when he almost had a double double, however his shooting was poor, his defense was poor, and he turned the ball over too much. Kentucky's guards outplayed UCLA's guards by a long shot, and that's why the result was 85-76, Kentucky moves on. Wisconsin 8 vs Florida 4:
The game of the night, the game of the tournament, probably just the game of the year. Wisconsin vs Florida last night was an instant classic. Wisconsin jumped out to an early lead, it looked like their offense was too much for Florida's defense, and Florida's offense couldn't handle the physicality of the Badgers defense. Wasn't looking good for the Gators early to say the least. The Gators stuck to their game plan and started marching back at end of the first going on a nice run to close out the half. Wisconsin's biggest lead was 11 in the first and they managed to be down by 2 going into halftime. The second half was basically the exact opposite, Florida would lead then Wisconsin would close the gap. This trend continued for the entirety of the second half. With 4 minutes left the Badgers were down by 10, Florida looked like they were on their way to wrapping this game up, although Ethan Happ and Zack Showalter had different plans. Those two basically carried the Wisconsin team back by themselves in the final minutes. Showalter would hit a 3 to tie the game up at 72 a piece and send the game to overtime. In overtime KeVaughn Allen led the way like he did the entire game offensively for Florida, however it didn't look like it'd be enough with the way Wisconsin was playing. Down by 2 with 35 seconds left, Florida's Chris Chiozza decides to come alive. He gets a rebound that turns into a fastbreak lay up to tie up the game 81-81. Wisconsin has the ball for what should be the final possession of the game, that was until Justin Leon fouled Nigel Hayes, sending him to the free throw line. Hayes hit both it looked like Wisconsin was going to keeping marching on with only 4 seconds left on the clock and no timeouts for Florida, all hope seemed to be lost. Chris Chiozza runs the ball up the court, sprints to the 3-point line, takes a running 3-point shot, it falls, Florida wins on a buzzer beater in overtime 84-83 in the greatest college basketball game of the year!!!! |
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AuthorDjack- Chief editor Archives
March 2018
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