By DjackNBA Playoffs are back, which means basketball will finally be fun to watch again. Sure, the regular season gives you an exciting finish here or there, but for the most part it's mediocre basketball. Come playoff time that all changes. Now players up the intensity to the next level, defense gets better, fouls get harder, and the moment is just that much bigger. To kick off the playoff we got the Cavs-Pacers in a game that most thought would be a blowout. Turns out it would come down to the final shot. Cavs were leading 109-105 with a minute to play following a Kyrie Irving steal. They were milking the clock when Kyrie passed to JR Smith, JR Smith went to pass back to Kyrie, it went out of bounds, turnover, Pacers ball. Paul George then gets the ball early in the shot clock puts up a deep 3, nails it. Cavs up 109-108 with 40 seconds to go. Now, Lebron runs down the shot clock takes a 3-point jumper to try to put a dagger in game one, misses, rebound Pacers. 20 seconds left, Pacers posses the ball, and they inbound to Paul George. Paul George runs some clock then Lebron James comes over to help JR Smith double team George. George passes off the ball to C.J. Miles as time is winding down, Miles takes the shot, it hits front rim, Cavs win.
After the game Lebron spoke about the final play and by design that was exactly what the Cavs wanted to happen. Anyone other than Paul George can take that shot and if they hit it you can't be upset with the result because that's what the plan was. If Paul George hits that shot it's devastating because you know he's so capable of doing it and you know that's who's most likely going to take it, so if you allow him to get the open look it's almost like beating yourself. Also, Miles didn't have a very good look at the basket, they mad him take a contested shot on the perimeter, ideal for that situation. Anything outside of Paul George or an easy shot inside, I'm sure the Cavs were fine with. The Cavs couldn't have done a better job closing out the game defensively on that play. As for the Pacers, that final offensive possession was pathetic. Paul George did the right thing giving up the ball, that's the smart decision to make when being double teamed. Lebron eluded to this in his post game press conference saying when a double team occurs it turns to a 4 on 3, so anyone would give the ball up in that situation. However, Paul George said he told C.J. Miles that he has to be one to take that shot at the end of the game. Very interesting, so Paul George thinks him taking a shot while double teamed is better than an open look. I'm not saying C.J. Miles took a good shot at the end of the game, but even if it was a good look and Miles missed or anyone that takes the final shot before George misses, then he's going to cry about not getting the last shot. Obviously you ideally want your superstar player to take the final shot, but if the other team is forcing the ball away from him someone else has to take it. If you have a good look take it and if George wanted the ball so badly he should've busted his ass to get open after passing it off instead of standing in the same spot. Nonsense from Paul George, he should've been more assertive, and instead he throws his teammate under the bus. No wonder why the Pacers are going to get swept this series. I'm guessing this'll be the closest game of the series and that it might even be Paul George's final playoff series playing for Indiana. What a disaster. S/O Lance Stephenson for balling out and doing his thing, though.
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By DjackIt's hard not to feel bad for Knick fans at this point, can it get any worse. The coach has no control over the lockeroom and is not respected by the players whatsoever. The President of the team is continually making poor roster decisions while trying to implement a prehistoric offense. The superstar player on the team is aging, worth basically nothing on the market, and has a terrible relationship with Phil Jackson. Now, Kristaps Porzingis, the future of the franchise is beginning to hate the franchise himself. Can you blame him?
How is a player supposed to buy into an organization when they clearly show time and time again that dysfunction and chaos plague this franchise. From James Dolan the incompetent owner who is trying to spite his own fans to Phil Jackson who couldn't be doing a worse job, how could he possibly believe in this organization. He's playing for a bunch of selfish assholes. Phil won't leave the triangle offense in the grave where it belongs and then he wonders why he can't get any mark key free agents to come play in New York. If Phil can't get players to come to New York, like he was hired to do, he's good for absolutely nothing. Kristaps Porzingis is the only glimmer of hope for this pathetic tire fire you call a professional sports franchise, so keeping him happy should be a top priority. If in his sophomore season he's already skipping meetings and saying he's upset with the organization that's usually a recipe for disaster. I don't know what Phil Jackson is doing, maybe he's intentionally trying to sabotage the Knicks because that's about the only thing that makes sense. If he somehow fucks up Kristaps Porzingis's future with this franchise he'll officially be the worst executive of all time. By DjackThe Carmelo Anthony era in New York is drawing to a close. It's been over 5 years since Melo came home to New York to save the city by bringing winning basketball back. His first full season with the Knicks was a great success, the best season the franchise has had since the Patrick Ewing era. Unfortunately, the good days of the Melo era in New York were limited, and once Phil Jackson took over it was a total disaster.
Finally, after the third straight losing season, Phil Jackson said Melo's time in New York is up. He stated how the Knicks just can't win with him on the court and he'd be better suited playing elsewhere. Essentially saying that Melo is going to be traded no matter what. Phil is right, the Knicks are 171-239 in 5 full seasons with Melo as their superstar. Here's my problem with this though, Jackson gets his 2yr option picked up, meanwhile he is the one that resigned Melo to the huge deal with the no trade clause. If Melo has to go, so should Phil. Hit the restart button before Phil Jackson screws things up more than he already has. If you still believe in Phil Jackson the executive I don't understand why since he's done almost nothing to help the team. Hernangomez and Porzingis will be a great front court one day, but the Noah contract, the D-Rose trade, and the Melo resigning were all horrible moves. At the trade deadline he didn't make any moves to acquire more draft picks or improve the team, so how can you possibly believe in this guy after so many failures. As for Melo's future, he's better off somewhere else. Maybe he'll go to a competitive team and help them win. I certainly can't see him waiving his no trade clause to play for a loser. The ball is in his court, he doesn't have to leave if he doesn't want to, Phil has no choice, however I believe Melo wants to get out of this poisonous relationship that he has with Phil Jackson. He loves New York, but Phil has made it unbearable for Melo to stay, which is exactly what Phil wanted. The Knicks are going to get little return on Melo since Phil Jackson diminished his value by destroying him all season long. Also, making it known you want the player gone isn't goin to make teams overpay for him. Knicks are losers, this should've been done long before, they should've never resigned him to begin with, but it's better to fix it than keep living with your mistake. It's safe to say the Melo era was a complete failure. Honestly Knick fans just be happy this debacle is winding down. Now the team can finally move forward and maybe just maybe Phil has a plan for the future. Although, I doubt that's the case. Regardless, get ready for the next chapter in the New York Knicks saga. By MukI have kept quit in recent months regarding the Heat, with the hopes of not jinxing the team and their surging success, but things fell apart down the stretch, and the Heat now find themselves headed home to watch the playoffs from the couch.
The 2016-2017 Miami Heat started out as one of the worst team's in the entire NBA, embarrassingly bad to be honest, coming into January with a 10-24 record, but then in Mid-January, something incredible happened. When the Heat faced the Rockets on January 17th, they sat at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, with a record of 11 wins and 30 losses, but from 1/17 onward, they would become the hottest team in the NBA. Winners of 13 straight, including the win over the Rockets, and winning 17 of their next 20, the Heat found themselves climbing the Eastern Conference rankings, with a record of 28 wins and 33 losses. As this season started, the expectations in Miami were abysmal, with D-Wade leaving town, Chris Bosh being officially pushed out, and with young, inexperienced players all-around, Coach Erik Spoelstra had his hands full. It was clear in the opening months of the season that this year would not be the Heat's year, but as everyone else counted them out from the start, they found something in themselves about halfway through the season that changed everything. The surging play of Dion Waiters, with the consistent help of Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic, led the Heat on one of the hottest streaks in all of the NBA this season. However, down the stretch in the last month and a half, with the stakes being raised as they fought for the 8th seed in the East, things started to stumble. In March and April, the Heat dropped 8 big games, going 14-8, and letting their chances of making the playoffs slip away. Granted, teams like the Pacers and Bulls did perform at higher levels in the last few weeks of the season than they had, but losing 3 of their final 7 games put the Heat in a hole they could not climb out of. However, this season is something to build off of, because with all of their talent being young, potential stars, the Heat find themselves in a good position for next year if they can add some key pieces in the off-season. Whiteside is blossoming into a superstar at the Center position, and Dragic continues to get better, and with the amount of young talent, there is a really big upside for these guys. Coach Spo would have been my easy choice for Coach of The Year if the Heat had made the playoffs, turning this team from the dumpster fire they were into playoff contenders, but with them slipping at the end that may be a tough sell. We will be back, don't you worry about it. Now bring D-Wade home. By MukIt's been one full year since we have last seen "The Black Mamba" shoot a basketball in an NBA game, and it has been a long year without the greatest competitor of our generation. Kobe Bryant is arguably one of, if not the greatest, basketball players off all-time, and on this day a year ago, he made sure we would remember that. When Kobe took the court for the final time on April 13th, 2016 against the Utah Jazz, I don't think even he could have imagined how incredible of a night it would be. The Mamba finished the game with 60 points, shooting 44% from the field, while also tallying 4 rebounds and 4 assists, all while only turning the ball over 2 times. It was hands down the greatest final career regular season game performance in NBA history, and the Lakers were able to cap it off with a win as well. After the game, Shaq had said that he challenged Kobe to score 50 points that night, stating "I challenged him to get 50, and that motherfu**er got 60". To me, the support from Shaq in Kobe's final season, and that game, was the true culmination of Kobe's career coming full circle, seeing these two friends-turned-foes, once again show the love and support for one-another that had helped them win 3 straight NBA championships, and produce one of the most dominant stretches in NBA history. Watching that final game live was genuinely something I will never forget, because it was as close to Vintage-Kobe as we could ever ask for. People love to hate on that final game, saying that yeah of course he scored 60 points when he shot the ball over 50 times, but I just simply feel sorry for those people, and their inability to just enjoy the greatness that we witnessed and how Kobe left every single thing he had left in him on the court that night. Kobe Bryant left his mark on the NBA and the game of basketball as a whole, and he will never be forgotten. As not only one of the greatest to ever step on the court, he is also the greatest competitor in NBA history not named Michael Jordan. He would not be denied, no matter the challenges or the obstacles. From 81 points, to his 5 rings, to being screwed out of multiple MVP awards, Kobe didn't care about anything but winning and being the greatest ever. He is the closest thing we have ever seen to MJ, and I truly salute the Mamba's career from start to finish, top to bottom. From his on the court dominance, to his fierce competitive spirit, Kobe Bryant gave the fans 19 years worth of memories, and for that I will forever be thankful. Third All-Time in scoring, a 2 time NBA scoring champ, the second most points ever scored in a game (81), 5 Championship rings, 2 Gold Medals, the 2008 MVP, 18 All-Star game selections and 4 All-Star game MVP titles, the list goes on and on. There should never be another Laker to wear #8 or #24, and I doubt there ever will be. Thank you Mamba, I hope you're enjoying retirement. By MukIn somewhat of a bizarre PR stunt - well I guess when it comes to Mark Cuban, nothing is "bizarre" - the Dallas Mavericks "signed" Tony Romo to a contract, and had him dress for last nights game against the Nuggets. But too the surprise of me, and many more, Tony Romo actually looked good on the court. Caron Butler said a few days ago that back in his prime, Tony Romo could have played professional basketball, and while that seems like a real stretch, he did impress me during warm-ups last night. For a 36-year old QB with glass bones and paper skin, he looked legit.
While Mark Cuban expressed that he had genuine interest in playing Romo last night, he said that Adam Silver and the league shut the idea down. The league has to approve every official signing and they didn't sign off on the proposal, but that didn't stop Cuban from coming as close as he could to playing Romo. He said when he brought the idea to Silver and they shot it down, he asked how much they would fine him, in typical Mark Cuban fashion. However, as someone on Twitter did point out (s/o MDub), the Mav's made it seem as if Romo was dying or something, because the only other times we have seen someone get contract deals like this where they're honored and dress with the team are for sick kids or people in rough situations. But, then again, it is Dallas, and they do find themselves to be the center of the world. As Max Kellerman said yesterday, to the rest of the United States, Tony Romo is nothing more than a QB who never could get it done, but he is admired and loved down in Dallas, so I can understand the hysteria and thought process behind this "signing". The limited number of Romo Mav jersey's that the team was selling at last nights game flew off the shelves, but Mark Cuban said it wasn't a monetary decision, and that they won't be making more Romo jersey's, it was more of a "memorabilia" situation. We will now just have to wait and see how things go in the coming months with his announcing role, and just how good he will be on camera. By MukIn last night's 100-98 loss to the Thunder, Karl-Anthony Towns went off yet again, dropping 26 points and grabbing 12 rebounds as well, and in the first quarter he surpassed Kevin Love's single season points record, when he scored his 2,011th point. Towns ended the night reaching 2,033 points, and with one game to go, assuming he plays, he will add even more to that total.
Towns has exploded this season into a full blown superstar, averaging 25.1 points, 12.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, all of which ranks among the top in the league. The Timberwolves have struggled this season, there's no question, but with the young core of Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and guys like Zach LaVine and Ricky Rubio, there is serious potential. This off-season will be important, because the Wolves need to add a few key pieces, and some veteran presence. Wiggins looked great this year as well, averaging 23.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists a game, but he needs to be more consistent and boost his assists and rebounds numbers if he and the Wolves plan to be real contenders next season. The sky is the limit for these young Timberwolves, and I absolutely hope they hit their stride and take off like they should. The Wolves also unveiled their new logo, and have embraced the new era of these young stars, and hope to ride the high's of this season into next and continue to build upon it. By DjackThe only time in my life I've been disappointed after watching my team win on a buzzer beater was last night. With the Lakers down by two D'Angelo Russell shoots a three that rattles around in the rim, pops up, and miraculously falls as time expires to beat the Timberwolves 106-105. It was hard for me to be upset after I had found out D'Angelo's grandmother had passed away the day prior, so he was dedicating that game to her. For him to have a moment like that probably made his pain go away for that brief moment, knowing his grandmother help pushed that ball back down into the bottom of the net. As a fan watching from home unaware of what this truly meant to D'Angelo at the time, was really rough.
The Lakers have won 4 straight games, there longest win streak since the 2012-13 season, pretty embarrassing to say the least, but supposedly promising for our future. All we should be doing right now is losing and since we're not, it's probably going to cost us our draft pick. If the Lakers don't get a top 3 pick, it's over, it's gone, and we get nothing as a result of this terrible season. What a kick in the fucking nuts that would be. If we would've lost these last 4 games instead of won we'd be right where we need to be to almost ensure we get that draft pick. If we lost all those games we'd have the second worst record instead of 3rd increasing our chances by a lot. Also, the Nets have been extremely hot, so we might've been able to get the 1 spot if they're able to win one of their final two games. Instead, we decided to start winning out of nowhere, and we're playing with fire as we're the #3 spot come lottery day. Not saying it's not still very possible to get a #1,#2, or #3 pick in the draft, however mathematically our chances are decreased by a lot. Why is the coaching staff or management not enforcing the tank initiative is beyond me, but they're the ones with the plan, and they're the ones that'll have to answer for why the Lakers once again suck next year, 4 years into the rebuilding process. I'll say my prayers, I'll do my due-diligence as a fan, but if the Lakers don't get this pick it's safe to say all optimism will be lost for next season. By DjackA season that'll never be forgotten thanks to this man, Russell Westbrook. In a year where NBA headlines were dominated by players resting and off the court drama, Russell Westbrook was the one constant headline for actual NBA games. Another triple double for Westbrook, can he break the record, oh there he goes scoring 50 again, these were the type of headlines surrounding Westbrook all season, and that's something the NBA should thank him for. If it weren't for Westbrook this entire regular season would've been irrelevant because this was the year of the triple double, and Russell Westbrook is officially king of the triple double.
42. 42 triple doubles, what a machine. More impressive he averaged a triple double throughout the year. Yeah he didn't shoot a great percentage, he turned the ball over a little more than he should've, but at the end of the day no one played harder than Russell Westbrook. He'd take rebounds from his own teammates that's how badly he wanted the ball in his hands. The man is a cold blooded killer on the court that just wants to be fed constantly. Not only did he break a 40 year old record that no one ever thought would be touched, he also did it while winning the scoring title. I realize Westbrook had the ball in his hands a lot, however he averaged like 9 minutes less than Oscar Robertson, and still averaged better numbers. Gotta respect that. His performance last night was just the cherry on top. He captured his triple double, but what's the record mean if you get it in a loss, so what does Russ decide to do, go complete ape shit. He'd end up dropping 50 points, to make it even sweeter the final 3 points he got to get him to 50 came off a buzzer beater 3 to win the game. The shot was also from 40 feet away, so pretty impressive stuff. Oh yeah, it also knocked the Nuggets out of playoff contention. Russ is so universally beloved he was receiving high fives from the fans in Denver as he walked off the court after he had just eliminated their team from the playoffs, now that's respect. How could one not love what Russell is doing, he's doing it all so what's not to love. We all witnessed history, history that'll probably never happen again, even though that's probably what they said when Big O did it almost half a century ago. I definitley have mixed opinions about what the triple double is truly all about and all that nitpicking of Russell's game, although today is not the time or place for that. Westbrook is hands down my favorite player to watch in the league since he's by far the most explosive human being on planet earth. The triple double king has sat on his throne after a season full of hard work, but now comes the playoffs, so no time to take a break. The postseason is where true legends are made. If Russ wants regular season accolades and recognition that's cool and great for the league. However, if he wants to be known as great or even a legend, the time to lead your team to victory is the postseason. In the first round he'll take on a familiar friend, James Harden, hopefully we're in for a special treat with the top two MVP candidates facing off. Can the triple double king somehow find a way to create chaos in the western conference playoffs, or will his outstanding regular season be overshadowed by a disappointing early exit? By DjackLaVar Ball has made a lot of outrageous remarks over the past few weeks, months, however long it's been now, but this one is by far the worst of them all. When asked why the UCLA Bruins didn't make it further in the NCAA tournament, LaVar Ball had no problem pointing the finger. Ball said " Realistically you can't win no championship with three white guys because foot speed is too slow." Wow, not only did he single out a couple of teenagers for being the sole reason UCLA lost, he blamed it on their race. He was right with what he said, but completely wrong at the same time. Let me explain.
Obviously race has nothing to do with it, we've seen great white players, we've seen horrible white players, just like we've seen great black players, and horrible black players, talent is talent it doesn't rely on race. He was right about the slow foot work because UCLA had been horrible on the defensive side of the ball all season. To single those players out as the sole reason they lost is just so wrong though. You won't find many people that are higher on Lonzo Ball than me, however I still can realize he was a huge reason they lost that game against Kentucky. De'Aron Fox, the point guard for Kentucky, Lonzo Ball's matchup, dropped 39 points, LaVar Ball please explain what happened to me there, dummy. Let's not talk about being slow because your boy got cooked by the more athletic guard for 40 minutes. As for white players not being able to be on championship caliber teams because they're too slow and their footwork sucks, I thought of legit the perfect example to make LaVar Ball look dumber than he already does. A few years back their was a college basketball player by the name Aaron Kraft, white point guard from Ohio State. He was the best on ball perimeter defender in all of college basketball for basically as long as he played. 2x Big 10 defensive player of the year, 4x Big 10 All-defensive team, and he won the national defensive player of the year, so to say that a white player is just not capable of being able to defend on the outside because of their slow foot speed is hilarious. Oh by the way, Kraft and his team made it to the Final Four, UCLA didn't even sniff that. LaVar Ball shut your mouth, let your son get you rich, and stop making outlandish comments that are going to affect the relationships in Lonzo's life. |
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AuthorDjack- Chief editor Archives
March 2018
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