david arquette
Courtney Cox willingly had sex with this thing. For years.

Editor's note: I didn't get my usual weekend recap finished. Sorry.

The Los Angeles Lakers: So far this season, we've seen the Knicks do it to the Bulls. We've seen the Pacers do it to the Nuggets. Heck, we've even seen Matt Bonner do it to the Thunder (see below). And the Suns did it to the Lakers.

A hot-shooting blitzkrieg.

The Lakers had a 49-33 rebounding advantage -- including 20-10 on the offensive glass -- and outscored the Suns by 40 points in the paint. And lost. At home. Hey, you don't win many games by giving up 121 points. And especially when you let your opponent hit 22 three-pointers...the second-most by a team in as single game in NBA history.

Hey, I don't want to take anything away from the Suns. Steve Nash (21 points, 13 assists), Jason Richardson (35 points, 13-for-20 from the field, 7-for-10 on threes) and even Channing Frye (20 points, 7-for-12) were kinda awesome. But Phoenix can't really count on knocking down 22 treys every time they play the Lakers.

That said, L.A.'s defense was turrible. Hands were not deployed anywhere near opposing faces. And there's no excuse for that, unless the Lakers don't have hands. It's like not opening an umbrella in a rainstorm. Or walking straignt into oncoming bullets. At times it looked like the Lakers were just kinda waiting for the Suns to start missing...which is a crazy strategy. Seriously, I was waiting for Kobe and Pau to fist bump and then say, "Aim for the bushes."


For the record, the Lakers currently rank 15th in Defensive Rating. That puts them behind the Pacers, Warriors, Knicks and Nyets. I'm just sayin'.

Lamar Odom: From Basketbawful reader Karc: "And thumbs down to Lamar for getting that T after getting the Lakers to within 2 late. Of course Nash hits the free throw, then Hedo burns them with a three after the timeout. Game over. I hope Khloe withholds sex as punishment. Then again has anyone seen her recently? It actually isn't that hard to withhold much of anything."

Said Odom: "It looked like Turkoglu was trying to foul me on purpose, I thought. Actually Ronnie [referee Ron Garretson] was in on the play and I turned to Ronnie [and said] 'And one!' and the ref off the ball called it. ... Probably it looked a little more demonstrative [to him] because my back [was turned to him]. You can't see me. It's hard to control a normal reaction. ... He could tell me to get my damn hand down, or 'What are you doing?' or something, only because it was at that point in the game."

Uh, let's look at the video and be honest...it was a little more than just saying "And one!"


Matt Barnes called the tech "ridiculous," Kobe said it was "disgusting" and added, "It's a bad, bad rule. It's a bad rule. Yes they should [drop the rule]. I mean, it's a bad one."

Said Phil Jackson: "[When] you stop the game and change the game around at a critical point in the game like that, [it] is just not the way we want the game to be played. It will even out. People will have better judgment."

Steve Nash, quote machine: "You see Pau against us, it looks like he's playing with a nerf hoop on the back of someone's bedroom door."

Phil Jackson, quote machine: "These things even out over time, but they didn't tonight. The real issue is those other 80 points that come in the paint."

Fact check: According to the box score, the Suns scored 28 points in the paint.

Matt Barnes, quote machine: "They stayed hot and had to hit 22 3s to beat us. Whether or not they're going to keep hitting them, you got to get a hand in their face."

[nods]

Shannon Brown, quote machine: "We could've got out there and contested a lot more. They hit a lot of open ones."

[nods some more]

The New York Knicks: I want to point out that Amar''''''e Stoudemire wanted this. He wanted his own team. He wanted to be The Man. More accurately, he wanted to be The 100 Million Dollar Man. Well, he got what he wanted. And, on top of all that, he got booed. At home. Only 10 games into the season.

As always, be careful what you wish for.

On the same night his old team was drilling the defending champs, his current team was falling to 3-7, including a 1-4 mark at home. And oh, what a weekend for the Knicks. On Friday, they blew a 21-point lead in Minnesota while getting absolutely beasted on by Kevin Love (31 points, 31 rebounds!!). Then on Sunday, they bricked their first eight shots of the fourth quarter and fell behind by 19 points before eventually losing 104-96.

At home.

To the Yao Ming-less and Aaron Brook-less Rockets.

Said a "visibly dejected" STAT: "I don't understand why we're not playing with the urgency. I'm not used to that. We don't have that sense of urgency. It's almost as if it doesn't matter. That's something I'm not used to. I try to instill the fact that we have to play with sense of urgency. It's not like we won four games in a row, we lost four games in a row. We just still are not having the sense of urgency. We're not showing that we really want it."

This is as good a time as any to remind Stoudemire -- and everybody else -- that he was good for 20.6 PPG (on 47 percent shooting), 9.0 RPG and 53 losses in Phoenix the season before Steve Nash arrived. His coach for that season of dread? Mike D'Antoni.

This season, again under D'Antoni's offensive free-for-all, STAT is averaging 20.8 PPG (on 46 percent shooting) and 8.1 RPG. And it looks like he's heading for another 50-loss season.

I'm just sayin'.

Leaders lead. Finishers finish. Nash is the former. Stoudemire is the latter. That's why a team built around Amar''''''e is never gonna work. Not unless they can bring in somebody who can actually make his teammates better.

Bonus egoectomy from the AP recap: "Former lottery pick Jordan Hill, traded by the Knicks to the Rockets in a cap-clearing move as part of the Tracy McGrady deal, raced by the Knicks for two fast-break dunks in the second quarter."


Mike D'Antoni, quote machine: "Obviously nobody wants to lose and everybody is pressing. The reality is we're 3-7 and we've got a game on Tuesday. So you just try to figure out what's going wrong, how can you get a little bit better, who to play in the rotations and hit it on Tuesday. At this point that's all we can do."

Chuck Hayes, quote machine: On the Knicks: "It happens to every team. You get frustrated. Everybody starts pointing fingers. Once you get a team like that, you have them with their backs against the wall, you want to keep them like that."

Shane Battier, quote machine: On Houston's continuing injury saga: "Welcome to my life the last five years as a member of the Houston Rockets. We have not been blessed with health. So you get a certain sort of mentality when you come here and you learn real quick that there's not a lot of excuses or pity when guys get injured or go down. Next man in line and you better perform."

The Atlanta Hawks: Well...they managed to avoid a five-game losing streak. Barely. And not before the Timberwolves -- specifically Kevin Love (22 points, 17 rebounds), Michael Beasley (25 points, 10-for-16) and Sebastian Telfair (18 points, 8 assists) -- put the fear of God into them. The Dirty Birds were saved by the combo of their 39 free throw attempts and the 21 turnovers committed by Minnesota.

Said Telfair: "They outhustled us. They got second-chance points and rebounds and stuff like that. But our problem tonight was, between me and Kevin and Beasley, we had 15 turnovers. And we're the guys that have the ball in our hands the whole game. That shouldn't happen. Not for us to win."

Replied Jamal Crawford: "Right now we just have to take it any way we can get it."

Darko Milicic: Last night's Manna from Heaven: 20 minutes, 1-for-7 from the field, 0-for-2 from the line, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls. But his Offensive Rating has jumped to 70 points per 100 possessions. HE'S ON FIRE.

Kurt Rambis: Sorry, but I really have to ask this again: What the f**k took you so long to start giving Kevin Love big minutes, Kurt?

The Sacramento Kings: Oh, those poor Purple Paupers. Since their surprising 3-1 start, the Kings have lost five in a row...including four straight in Sactown. Last night's home court flameout came against the "surging" Pistons, thanks in no small part to Ben Gordon's Ben Gordon-y three-pointer with 23.9 seconds left to put Detroit up 99-94.

Said Gordon: "That's where I've made my money -- in the fourth quarter. On the 3-pointer, Tayshuan [Prince] posted up and my man went to help and turned his head. That left me open for a split second and I hit the shot."

Little Ben scored 16 points on six shot attempts. Not bad.

Added Gordon: "We thought we could have won all five of those games [that the Pistons have lost this season]. Now we're finishing games out like we know we can."

Reality check: The Pistons have won four out of five. But those four wins have come against the Bobcats (3-7), Warriors (not as good as their 6-4 record), Clippers (1-9), and Kings (now 3-6).

Tyreke Evans: Starting point guard. 21 shot attempts. 1 assists. Just sayin'.

Paul Westphal, coach of the year candidate: "We had open 3s for really good shots and went 2 of 18. Sometimes that is the difference in the game in the NBA. You like to think the difference is always how well you take care of the ball, how well you rebound, getting to the line more than the other team, and all that stuff. We didn't make shots. It was discouraging."

You forgot about the "defense" part, Paul. After all, Detroit shot 54 percent.

The Oklahoma City Thunder: I warned everybody this was going to happen. Young teams that have a good season by sneaking up on the competition often find that life is a little harder when teams are gunning for you while the fans and experts are expecting you to become a truly dominant team.

Sometimes that can make a team's collective sphincter clench.

To wit: On a night were Tim Duncan played only 23 minutes, finishing with 6 points (2-for-7) and 4 rebounds, and backup point guard George Hill went 1-for-10, the Spurs still went into the Thunder's house and laid a 117-104 smackdown on the home team.

And to think, San Antonio missed nine of their first 10 shots.

Oklahoma City is now 5-4 on the season and a mere 3-3 at home.

Telling stat: OKC went 4-for-13 from three-point range. Matt Bonner went 7-for-7.

Hand in the face? Anybody?

Scott Brooks, coach of the year candidate, Part 1: "They were just getting to the basket at will and making shots from the perimeter. That's a deadly dose of offensive basketball."

Scott Brooks, coach of the year candidate, Part 2: "We over-helped, and that wasn't the game plan. We talked about that: Stay at home. The bottom line is we gave them the openings. All it takes for him is just a half a second. He's a knockdown 3-point shooter. We didn't do a good job on him."

LeBron James: I've been pointing out for years how LeBron James regularly inserts a size 15 foot into his gaping hole of a mouth. But it didn't seem that bad before, mostly because he was putting up mind-bending numbers for a perennially depressing team.

Now that he's stacking the deck? Not so much.

I'm sure you've probably heard about or read this quote, but here's what King Crab had to say after the Heat suffered a home court loss against the Comeback Kids of Utah:

"For myself, 44 minutes is too much. I think Coach Spo knows that. Forty minutes for D-Wade is too much. We have to have as much energy as we can to finish games out."
Yep. That's why they lost. Because the coach can't manage his superstars' -- I mean, superdivas' -- minutes. Nice.

Of course, Crabby was asked to clarify his statements. And he tried. I think:

"It got blew up out of proportion, saying that I told coach Spo [Erik Spoelstra] that he's playing me too much and he's a bad coach. You kind of understand sometimes what Randy Moss was talking about when he said, 'I will not be answering any more questions.' Because every time I say something, it gets turned out of character."
And that's where we're at, people. LeBron James -- the so-called greatest basketball player in the world -- just played the Randy Moss card. By way of defending himself. Also, "it gets turned out of character," LeBron? Really?

But wait. As always, there's more:

"You never want to get to a point where you say something, and it catches you from behind, or the coach says something and you say, 'Wow, I didn't know nothing about that.' That's something that me and coach had talked about two days before the Boston game, and it's something we will figure out as a collective group. The open form of communication is always important in this game, because you don't want to get to a point where you're talking through the media."
I like how LeBron put it like "...or the coach says something and you say, 'Wow, I didn't know nothing about that.'" As if coach Spo was the one who said something to the press that surprised James and not the other way around. Also, "as a collective group," LeBron? Really?

This Super Friends of South Beach thing is turning out to be bawfuler than I could have ever imagined. I...I think I just peed myself a little.

Chris's lacktion report:

Wolves-Hawks: David Kahn's Manna, er, Darko Milicic, did get two boards and one field goal in 20:21 - but also bricked six times, lost the rock twice, took two rejections, AND fouled four times for a 6:4 Voskuhl.

Spurs-Thunder: Alonzo Gee of San Antonio and Oklahoma City's Morris Peterson went to the ATM together for a 1.55 trillion payout (1:33). Meanwhile, the Spurs' Chris Quinn tossed one piece of masonry in that same time period for a +1.

Suns-Lakers: Surprisingly, a competitive battle like this one spurred tons of lacktivity!

For Phoenix, Robin Lopez negated a block in 5:39 with a brick and two fouls for a 2:0 Voskuhl. Garret Siler shooed a Koopa Troopa away after only 14 seconds for a Mario.

The Lakers brought a pair of lacktators of their own - Devin Ebanks with a two-brick +2 in 3:35, and Derrick Caracter with a brick, rejection, and foul in 2:34 for a +3 that also netted a 1:0 Madsen-level Voskuhl.

Labels:

42 Comments:
Anonymous Bill said...
I put this in the previous post, but it bears repeating:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/careless-blazers-goofing-around-with-basketball-sh,18448/

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
The reason Rambis took so long to play Love more minutes is because Love is still horrible defensively. Also you can assume he is still kinda fat and will work up better stamina as the season progresses, but this isn't like covering for a bad defensive PG. Unless you shoot it like David Lee or Dirk, (K Love shoots at hilariously low .405 FG and .510 TS), that is just too much of a negative at the 4.

This whole media bandwagon, spearheaded by Simmons and spread everywhere, needs to already consider the other side of the coin.

Blogger Basketbawful said...
The reason Rambis took so long to play Love more minutes is because Love is still horrible defensively. Also you can assume he is still kinda fat and will work up better stamina as the season progresses, but this isn't like covering for a bad defensive PG. Unless you shoot it like David Lee or Dirk, (K Love shoots at hilariously low .405 FG and .510 TS), that is just too much of a negative at the 4.

This whole media bandwagon, spearheaded by Simmons and spread everywhere, needs to already consider the other side of the coin.


Some thoughts.

For starters, according to Basketball-Reference, Love has the third-best D-Rating on the team. Yes, better than even the amazing Anthony Tolliver. I'm sure this is due in large part to the fact that Love currently leads the league in Defensive Rebounding Percentage...and as we all know, defensive rebounding is actually a pretty important part of defense.

But beyond that, Love is Minnesota's best player. This isn't even a question, okay? He's the team's best player, period, end of story. And the Timberwolves SUCK ASS. This team is going to lose more games than it wins -- a lot more -- which means that repeatedly sitting the best player makes no sense.

Maybe -- MAYBE -- if you're a short-term thinker, you bench love to...what exactly? Win an extra game or two over the course of the season. So, great, the T-Wolves finish with 18 wins instead of 16. Go Kurt Rambis! That's good coaching! You saw something nobody else saw!

No.

A good coach is going to recognize Love's deficiencies and he's going to develop that player. He's going to create schemes that accentuate the player's positive attributes and cover up for the player's faults. Look at the bullshit defense and rebounding of Amar''''''e Stoudemire the last, well, forever. Did D'Antoni or Gentry say, "You know what, his defense is killing us, we're going to play him 20-25 minutes per game to limit all the easy buckets he gives up."?

Of course not.

This isn't some new concept. Love isn't the first player to be defensively challenged. What makes the situation unique is that he's really, really good and his coach seems to think whatever problems exist are somehow solved by sitting him down. Well, guess what? They aren't. And his recent performances -- when given big minutes -- bear that out.

I check the numbers and see Love with the team's best PER, best Offensive Win Share, tied for first in Defensive Win Shares, second in Offensive Rating, third in Defensive Rating, nearly off the charts in rebounding percentages...

...and I'm sorry, but there's simply no good reason to sit him. His defense isn't that bad.

Blogger Brandon said...
Few things warm my heart more than when Lakers whine about officiating.

Blogger 49er16 said...
I dunno about Chris, but if I ever see Antonie Wright and Luther Head take another shot it will be too soon. Both of those guys can build mansions with the bricks they throw up.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
But beyond that, Love is Minnesota's best player. This isn't even a question, okay?

It is a question. Beasley is breaking out and I give him the edge over Love. Random note: look at how Bosh's performance in Miami mirrors Beasley's. Even further, Wesley Johnson may be better in time, but probably not this season.

Look at the bullshit defense and rebounding of Amar''''''e Stoudemire the last, well, forever. Did D'Antoni or Gentry say, "You know what, his defense is killing us, we're going to play him 20-25 minutes per game to limit all the easy buckets he gives up."?

They should have. But he made too much money and was a whiny baby, so they had to appease.

I check the numbers and see Love with the team's best PER, best Offensive Win Share, tied for first in Defensive Win Shares, second in Offensive Rating, third in Defensive Rating, nearly off the charts in rebounding percentages...

...and I'm sorry, but there's simply no good reason to sit him. His defense isn't that bad.


And Amar''''''e's numbers seem good too, but we all know his effort on the defensive end is bad, and has cost the Suns on numerous occasions. Same story for Love, only possibly even worse. With Milicic going for the blocks, Love is costing his team more than a raw DRtg will show. He's terrible against tough traditional 4s, and can't switch out of rebounding mode to atleast attempt to cover shooter 4's. But I do have numbers to support it:

Here's Minnesota's current On/Off values, and even in the unadjusted 1-year Love is pretty terrible.

Blogger Michael Hsu said...
How many traditional 4s are in the league now? 2? Duncan and Gasol? Maybe Amar'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''e

Anonymous greg said...
I've never heard of a professional athlete complaining about receiving TOO MUCH playing time before.

Anonymous neil said...
Dammmm I was hoping for a Worst of the weekend post, I was looking forward to reading about Orlando's epic fail vs the Craptors, and almost fail vs the nets. They were foiled in the end by the defense of Jose Calderon, and Sonny Weems 3pt shooting

Blogger Will said...
Jamal Crawford sounds like an out-of-work porn star in that quote.

Anonymous Czernobog said...
I think Al Jefferson is more of a traditional 4 than a 5. I'd say scola fits the bill too, he doesn't rely solely on his midrange game.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Can we give the Spurs their props? Everyone says they're too old and some even think they won't make it in the top 4 in the West, but Richard Jefferson has been an absolute beast lately.

Gary Neal, James Anderson, and Tiago Splitter all look to be solid pick ups. I don't expect the Spurs to finish ahead of the Lakers, but this team is definitely better than last years.

Blogger Basketbawful said...
And Amar''''''e's numbers seem good too, but we all know his effort on the defensive end is bad, and has cost the Suns on numerous occasions. Same story for Love, only possibly even worse.

There's a significant difference you didn't address from my previous comment.

STAT's lapses cost the Suns big games, possibly even a shot at making the NBA Finals last year.

Love's lapses...what are they costing the Timberwolves really? Is sitting him going to make them a significantly better team? Or even better at all?

Look, if you are a young team that's rebuilding and you have a legit talent like Love, it makes more sense to develop him. That's the coach's responsibility. Rambis is either throwing his hands in the air and saying "can't be fixed" or he seems to think he can shame Love into being a different player by sitting him.

That's bad coaching.

If the coach doesn't have Faith in Love's future with the team, trade him. Otherwise, work with him. Minnesota's going to win, what, 15-20 games this season? I mean, that's pretty much their max potential, which means developing Love is the only logical thing to do. Even if all you're doing is building up his trade value.

But sitting him? What possible sense does that make?

Blogger Basketbawful said...
Dammmm I was hoping for a Worst of the weekend post, I was looking forward to reading about Orlando's epic fail vs the Craptors, and almost fail vs the nets. They were foiled in the end by the defense of Jose Calderon, and Sonny Weems 3pt shooting

Yeah, I know, my bad.

Anonymous AK Dave said...
@greg: (/nods head)

@Michael Hsu: Good news! I saw a Sketchers commercial and it looks like the Mailman is making a comeback! We'll finally have a real 4 in the NBA again!

I don't want to get into an argument about Kevin Love, because it's obvious that I'm an irrational fan-boy. Still, I think it's logical to say that if you rebound on the offensive and defensive end like that, you're doing more good than harm for your team.

And yes, he shoots a low percent, but he is also going to the FT line a lot (5makes/6takes per game) and shooting 85% this season. His 3-pointer is also coming along. The good news is that he is not falling in love with the perimeter shot. Hopefully that continues.

Seriously though, I think Darko is going to break out soon. (/trying to keep straight face)

Blogger Cortez said...
"I've never heard of a professional athlete complaining about receiving TOO MUCH playing time before."

Certainly not a 25 year old one in the prime of his career (both physically and professional accolades). Plus, at the same time playing with another elite 28 year old superstar (and former finals MVP) in the prime of his career.

Unbelievable.

Blogger 49er16 said...
Check out this quote from last night.

"I think [the Pistons] are a playoff team in the East. I don't think there is much doubt about it. " Sacramento coach Paul Westphal

Any team playing the Paupers is a playoff team.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Look, by "sitting" I really hope you don't mean "sitting because we need some defensive stops to end the game" because this should be a no-brainer.

Love's lapses...what are they costing the Timberwolves really? Is sitting him going to make them a significantly better team? Or even better at all?

YES. Sit him until he starts putting in some actual effort on defense, or until the mainstream media inexplicably forces your hand with momentum of words.

Sadly, now people are going to keep bringing up his 30/30 game and the rose-colored glasses defense in the name of Love will get even worse.

And I'd argue that trying to make a point to a player about defense is far better "coaching" than building up his stats for a trade.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Still, I think it's logical to say that if you rebound on the offensive and defensive end like that, you're doing more good than harm for your team.

Not necessarily. When you're so focused on the rebound such that 1) you let guys literally run around you to get to the hoop and 2) Not get within 8 feet of your shooter, only to turn around immediately after he shoots the ball looking for the rebound, then you are harming your team. This case is rare, and usually it's the other way around (good coverage but bad box out/lacking in rebounding effort), or both (Amar'e's lack of D and rebounding), but it doesn't imply more good than harm.

Blogger Fishy said...
The moment Odom complained I knew he would get a technical and pulled out the "oh-dumb" joke... but I'm definitely noticing that the refs kind of pick and choose when to call the technical. Several players from both teams had very similar reactions (or even more "emotional") before and especially after the Odom call and didn't get a technical, and the refs were looking right at them.

Ah... just another call for the refs to be incredibly inconsistent with depending on their mood at any given moment.

Blogger chris said...
Any team playing the Paupers is a playoff team.

The way the Association treats Sacramento, they'll conveniently expand the playoffs to 29 teams, just to make sure the Purple Paupers have a minimum benchmark they can't reach.

Sigh.

Blogger Barry said...
I put this in the last thread, but it's too good to have missed:

Possibly multiple unintentionally dirty quotes:

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/20101115rajon_rondo_and_goliath_find_their_groove/

"Shaq’s our enforcer. I know he’s going to lay somebody out if need be. If a guy’s killing us, he’s going to definitely lay some wood on him. If my man gets by me, he’s there.”

“Yeah, it goes both ways,” said Rondo. “I love playing with him, and vice versa. I think he enjoys playing with me, as well.”

Blogger Wormboy said...
OK, how long until Kevin Love starts dropping non-stop F-bombs, smacking his head into the stanchion and joking that people have cancer? Do we have to wait until the twilight years of his career before his dickery peaks?

Wow, his shooting really is down this year. How can a guy Love's size be shooting .394? Kevin, get more dunks.

As for rebounding, I'll him some, err, love for a stunning 12.8 RPG average this year. But let's hold off on the Rodzilla comparisons. Rodzilla was one of the best defensive players in the league from his 2nd year onward, and won two D of the year awards.



Re: Battier and the Rockets. Damn, I like that quote. Dude has the right attitude. I imagine that the Rockets have a scale in their locker room when putting prospective picks, trades, etc. through a workout. The guy finishes up, walks into the locker room, and Daryl Morey says, "will you please take your testicles out of your shorts and place them on the scale?" Based on the ratio of balls weight to total body weight, Morey decides whether the player will fit in on the Rockets.

But what happened with T-Mac, you ask? 1) Morey didn't bring him on board. 2) Dry rot.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
I didn't get to see that Lakers-Suns game last night yet (I'm still downloading it), but I'm amazed the Lakers stayed that close if Phoenix was shooting it like that. I tend to think when a team is absolutely on fire from 3-pt range that they can't be beat since you can't just completely surrender guarding the hoop to get in a guy's jersey 23 feet from the rim. LA's perimeter D and defense in general has been pretty lackluster so far this year, but I suspect Bynum's absence may have something to do with that. In the past two years the Laker perimeter defenders could get up on shooters much more aggressively knowing Bynum was back there to protect the rim, and I wonder if that's accounting for them not defending the perimeter as well thus far this season. Either that or LA is showing some typical laziness. I guess whenever Bynum returns we'll see how much of it has been due to his absence and how much is laziness.

Anonymous SirGirthNasty said...
I think the magnified hype of the Heat's early season 'meltdown' is being as amplified as the preseason predictions. They're not hitting the ground running in the same way that the '08 Celtics did or the way the Lakers did post-Gasol trade. And I think, despite the glaring holes at the 1 and 5 positions) that it'll be nearly impossible for this team to not reach near-championship level caliber by the end of the season.

That being said, let us fans here that are deeply enamored with extreme levels of 'bawful activity relish in their diva-like infighting. Everyone loves to drive by a car wreck. I kind of like this Anaconda/'Bawful debate, perhaps you're attacking each other through the media!

Blogger Basketbawful said...
LA's perimeter D and defense in general has been pretty lackluster so far this year, but I suspect Bynum's absence may have something to do with that.

As a Lakers fan, how sick are you of saying "in Bynum's absence"?

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Yams - In another fantasy league, an Ohio State fan asked me to trade Oden for Bynum which is of course hilarious. Nevertheless, I accepted and I'm now reading Lakers injury reports, and already it looks like he is shooting and, well, moving as opposed to Oden. Had he been healthy, especially given Lopez's injury, the points in the paint domination would have won the game.

SirGirthNasty - Kevin Love causes a ton of arguments, since his UCLA days to the Mayo trade to his fatness to his outlet passing. Some people are just way too pro-Love without knowing his criticisms, as others are very anti-Love without acknowledging his accomplishments. Unfortunately caught up in all this, Simmons decided to extend his anti-Kahn agenda using Kevin Love and now things are getting blown out of proportion.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
Mr. Bawful - Now that you mention it I am getting sick of it, but I guess as long as Bynum got to go to the World Cup this summer, that's what's really important.

AnacondaHL - I'm hoping that trade works out for you, especially since if so it'll be good for my team lol I'm curious to see if Bynum missing a few weeks at the beginning of the season will mean he won't have to miss weeks/months at the end of the season as he's done for three straight years now... but I'm not too optimistic. I do like that Phil called him out a while back though, saying if he gets hurt again the Lakers are going to have to start thinking of him as just a part time player in his career moving forward.

Anonymous Karc said...
All right, I am legitimately pissed now. Jazz won all four of their games on the road in a 4-in-5 scenario (@Miami, @Orlando, @Atlanta, and @Charlotte), and Stein has them FIFTH beneath the Lakers (who lost twice) and 13TH in Hollinger's poll beneath the Rockets, who are under .500.

Will the Jazz win the whole thing? Probably not. But that is BS. Don't care what anyone says. There is not a team in the league that will be able to do what the Jazz did this week for the rest of the year. To be utterly dismissed like that just so that ESPN can keep the Lakers, Heat, and Celtics at the top of the discussion is just ridiculous.

Blogger The Cruise said...
it looks like the Mailman is making a comeback! We'll finally have a real 4 in the NBA again!

Just like when Jordan came back and age and weight turned him from a 2 into a 4, I would imagine a Mailman comeback would force him to play the 7.

Anonymous The Other Chris said...
@Yams

From what I saw of the game - most of the first 3 quarters - it looked like mostly laziness. The Suns weren't doing anything terribly complicated. Pass the ball around a few times, shoot an open 3. Lakers have gone into Spurs '02-'06 mode.. they'll lumber out of their cave every once in a while to smack down whoever is making all that racket, but for the most part they're content to nap until March. Given the general bawfulness of the NBA right now, they can coast on talent alone..

Also Ron Artest taking 7 threes out of his first 8 shot probably isn't what the triangle was designed to accomplish. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

Kevin Love got 30 rebounds playing against STAT, who is allergic to boxing out. Let's all calm down a little. Anyone can stand under the rim and catch the ball when no one on the other team has the sense to get in there and try to push them out. I'm with Anaconda, Beasley looks like he's finally playing up to some of his unquestionably enormous talent and is the better player.

Anonymous bizarro said...
a little late, but this is awesome
http://allball.blogs.nba.com/2010/11/15/investigative-report-the-awkward-handshake/?ls=iref:nbahpt1

Blogger Basketbawful said...
Look, by "sitting" I really hope you don't mean "sitting because we need some defensive stops to end the game" because this should be a no-brainer.

Tried to say this clearly already, but I'll try again: playing fewer than 30 minutes a game is absurd. If you can't figure out a way to make the best rebounder in the league work for you, then you shouldn't be coaching an NBA team. You should be asking me if I know waht tonight's specials are before bringing me a refill on my sweet tea.

Look, I've watched him play for years now. I've looked at the numbers, and there are plenty to choose from. Dude deserves minutes. He's clearly willing to work hard. Nobody rebounds like that without putting in effort. It's the coach's responsibility to give a player defensive guidance. He's gotta scheme for his players. Inspire them.

That's why Rambis gets WotN.

Blogger Basketbawful said...
evin Love got 30 rebounds playing against STAT, who is allergic to boxing out. Let's all calm down a little. Anyone can stand under the rim and catch the ball when no one on the other team has the sense to get in there and try to push them out.

Did you watch the Knicks-Timberwolves game? Because he wasn't standing alone with rebounds falling into his motionless hands.

But even if we take that game as a statistical anomoly, did everybody miss the 24 rebounds Love had against the Lakers? You know, that big old team out West that tends to dominate the middle of the court?

Look, people can question Love's defense and shooting ability all they want, because to a greater or lesser extent, it's warranted. But the dude ranked second in Total Rebound Percentage last season and he's currently second this season as well. He leads the league in Defensive Rebound Percentage and is third in Offensive Rebound Percentage.

That shit doesn't happen because a dude is just standing there grabbing random, uncontested rebounds. It just doesn't.

Blogger chris said...
Tried to say this clearly already, but I'll try again: playing fewer than 30 minutes a game is absurd.

But for King Crab, it'll allow him to rest up after those oh-so-tiring 44 minute nights!!!!!111!11!111!1!

Anonymous claire said...
LeBron James -- the so-called greatest basketball player in the world -- just played the Randy Moss card. By way of defending himself.

Looks like you're the one with the foot in your mouth, Bawful. Lebron was humbled this morning. Don't you read ESPN? :

"I am who I am and I think I'm in a position of my life where I'm going to get better every day," James said after Miami wrapped up its practice Monday. "But it's too much."

I can't believe you would hate on a Person of the Year candidate like that!

Blogger Wild Yams said...
Karc - Again, those stupid "power rankings" don't mean shit. There's much more worthwhile stuff to get upset over. Marc Stein's opinion and John Hollinger's faulty calculator mean absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. Hell, it's probably better for the Jazz to fly below the radar. No team wants a target on its back.

Anonymous Ak dave said...
Kevin Love causes a ton of arguments, since his UCLA days to the Mayo trade to his fatness to his outlet passing. Some people are just way too pro-Love without knowing his criticisms, as others are very anti-Love without acknowledging his accomplishments.

Agreed.

@ The Other Chris:

I think you fall into the latter category. Getting 31 rebounds is a huge accomplishment. If it was so easy simply because it was against the Knicks and STAT, then why didn't someone do it last year, or in the past 25 years, even once? Besides, it's not like that was just some crazy outlier. Kevin Love often has 12-18 rebound games, even when he only plays 30min. He is obviously doing SOMETHING right, and so at the very least a tip of the hat is in order, if not some respect.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
I think if LeBron is worried that playing the Randy Moss card will get things turned out of character, maybe instead he should play the Mike Tyson card and fade off into Bolivian.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
BTW, I'd like to use Love's 31 boards to again illustrate that IMO Wilt's most impressive single game stat was not the one where he scored 100 points, but rather the game where he pulled down 55 boards. I mean, Kobe reached over 80% of Wilt's single game scoring mark, but when was the last time someone got anywhere close to even 40 boards in a game? Consider how often players score 60 points in a game (which quick math says is 60% of Wilt's 100 points). Now realize that the equivalent mark of 60% of Wilt's 55 rebounds is 33. How long has it been since someone pulled down that many?

Anonymous Karc said...
@Yams - I'm more annoyed that they get paid a ton of money to write that garbage.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
They get paid to generate page views though, and controversy gets more eyeballs looking at the page. Don't let their bullshit get to you :)