sad faces
Giant Cardboard Carlos Boozer Face and his baby sidekick cry for Cleveland.

The Cleveland Cavaliers Cadavers: The streak continues!


As Dr. Evil might say, the details of this game are quite inconsequential (although I'll go ahead an note that the Cadavers were outrebounded, outscored in the paint, gave up 24 points off 17 turnovers, trailed by as many as 17 points, etc.). The only thing that matters is: 26 losses in a row. That ties the 1976-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the 1889 Louisville Colonels for the longest losing streak in the four major professional sports.

Said Clevelan coach Byron Scott: "I'm mad as hell. I can deal with losing, especially when our guys play as hard as they have in the last couple weeks, but I find it very hard to deal with when guys don't come out ready to play."

Added Boobie Gibson: "Everybody's mad as hell. To lose like that and for it to get to this point and still sometimes not see a sense of urgency, I can see why it would push you to that point. What are you going to do? It's either do it or don't. The guys have to figure that out."

And Howard Beale concluded:


Unbelievably, and as Basketbawful reader Clifton pointed out, the AP recap actually quoted something LeBron James had said the previous night: "Something has to give when they play the Wizards. I think that should be a nationally televised game, honestly."

I'm not even gonna say it. (cough*superdickery*cough!!)

People...we are one game away from the worst losing streak of all time.

give up cle
No. Really. Give up.

Tracy McGrady, quote machine: "You don't want to be the team that loses to them. Tim Legler, we heard you. You gave us some bulletin board material. We used that. As crazy as it sounds, I want to see them and Washington play. I don't wish anyone to have a bad losing streak, but I want them to get to Washington, 0-and-whatever they could be, and see whose streak ends. That would be something that would be interesting to watch."

Bobcraps-Pacers: Want a depressing reminder about the sorry state of the Eastern Conference drop-off in talent after the Celtics, Heat, Bulls and Magic? Well, then, here you go:

The [104-103] victory moved Indiana (22-28) into eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings, just ahead of Charlotte (22-30). With the victory, Indiana also clinched the season series against the Bobcats, and would hold a postseason tiebreaker over them.

"It's big right now, but we have higher aspirations than the eighth spot," [Pacers coach Frank Vogel] said. "We think we're a very good basketball team. We're hoping to make a run down the stretch that's going to be special.
Ah. There's nothing quite like teams well below .500 duking it out for a playoff spot.

Now, supposedly, the last play was controversial because Stephen Jackson leaped in the direction of Darren Collison, flailed, and didn't get a call. Whatever. The refs were right to swallow their whistles on this one. But here are the quotes from the AP recap:

"I just went up for the shot and didn't get the call -- got to live with it," Jackson said.

Silas called the play "a judgment call."

"The referee had the right to make a call," Silas said. "He said it wasn't a foul, so you have to go with it."

Collison was asked afterward if there had been a foul on the play.

"I didn't feel like I fouled him," Collison said. "I made a play and whatever happened, happened. I'm not answering that type of question because I hate lying."

Said Vogel, "I'm not really concerned about that. We got a 'W."
Yaaaaawn.

The New Orleans Hornets: Wait, wait, wait...Chris Paul (4-for-15, 7 turnovers) was thoroughly outplayed by Sashs Vujacic (25 points, 9-for-14, 5-for-7 from downtown) as the Hornets lost in overtime to the Nyets.

Man. I feel like Ash did in the alternate ending to Army of Darkness.

Said Paul: "I don't care what anybody says about a bunch of different things happening over the course of the game. I feel like this was my loss. The turnovers. The decision-making down the stretch."

Make it four losses in a row and six in seven games.

The Philadelphia 76ers: The key to last night's loss: Dwight Howard knocked down 14 of his 19 free throw attempts. Nobody saw that coming. Nobody. After all, Pumaman normally hits less than 60 percent of his foul shots and, in fact, went 20-for-39 in his last two games against the Sixers.

Said Philly coach Doug Collins: "The big difference is Howard stepped to the line and made his free throws. You have to give him credit."

Maybe even too much credit.

Said Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy: "I will maintain until I'm put in my grave that he's capable of being a 70-percent free throw shooter."

Uh huh. And he makes them when they count, right, Stan?

Doug Collins, coach of the year candidate: "Our guys played well. Orlando made big shots when they had to. I don't think it was anything we didn't do. They showed they are a better team. That's not anything to be discouraged about. That's a team that was picked to possibly make the Finals."

The Milwaukee Bucks: You expect crappy offense from the Bucks. But shoddy defense, too? Last night, the Washington Wizards Generals put up an Offensive Rating of 111.1. Mind you, they rank 27th in the league with an average O-Rating of 102.6. And they made it look pretty easy:


Mind you, the Generals were shorthanded, as noted in the AP recap: "The Wizards dressed only 10 players, and all the missing notables were forwards: Al Thornton (dislocated right middle finger), Yi Jianlian (sprained left ankle) and Josh Howard (sore left knee). In addition Rashard Lewis played with stiffness in his right knee and scored only three points in 29 minutes."

And yet Washinton led by as many as 22 points.

Said Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles: "They pretty much dominated us all over the floor. They outrebounded us. They went 10 for 16 from three. We couldn't get to the line. When we did, we couldn't make our free throws. We tried to hang in there, but we just couldn't."

The Deer are now 11 games under .500 and looking up at the Pacers and Bobcraps in the standings. And to think: Several experts picked them to win their division.

Brandon Jennings: 9-for-24 and 1-for-6 from downtown. Kid still can't shoot.

Said Jennings: "I'm still struggling with my outside shot -- no legs, a little bit -- but just trying to get to the basket to do what I can."

His career FGP: 37 percent.

The Toronto Craptors: Spurs versus Craptosaurs. Let's cut to the chase:


San Antonio shot 58 percent for the game and DeJuan Blair matched Toronto point-for-point during a fourth quarter in which the Craptors got outscored 30-16. Seriously, Blair (28 points, 11 rebounds) made Toronto's frontcourt look like a bunch of fifth graders with hormone issues.

Said Blair: "I'm one of the shortest centers in the league but at the same time I think I've got one of the biggest hearts as well."

And the Toronto's team heart is three sizes too small. In related news, the Craptors have lost 15 of their last 16 games.

Advanced stats of the game: The Spurs had an eFG% of 61.7, an ORB% of 30.3 percent and an O-Rating of 125.0. Suffice to say, the Toronto D has struck again. Speaking of defensive collapse...

The New York Knicks: Baron Davis had a season-high 16 assists. Randy Foye scored 17 of his season-high 24 points in the fourth quarter. The Clippers -- who had lost seven in a row on the road -- led by as many as 20 points finished with an eFG% of 60 percent, an ORB% of 35.3 percent and an O-Rating of 126.1. Now compare that to what the Spurs did to the Craptors, and remember that these are the Clippers we're talking about, and, well...

...major defensive fail by the Knicks.

Said Amar''''''e Stoudemire: "We're not playing hard, we're not getting loose balls. Seems like we're afraid out there. I said it before the game. We've got to have supreme focus. I guess they figured I was just talking to the wall."

Leadership 101 by STAT.

The Sacramento Kings: Dirk Nowitzki was off (4-for-14) but, again, these are the Purple Paupers we're talking about. So Jose Barea erupting for 15 points in the fourth quarter to down the Sactowners 102-100 should surprise...nobody.

Said Kings coach Paul Westfail: "Whatever problems we have had closing games, that was not evident tonight. We did everything that you need to win a game and came up short against a great team that did a little bit more to win the game."

You go ahead draw an X in that "Moral Victory" column, Paul!

The Denver Nuggets: I know I keep quoting Offensive Rating stats today, but one team lets the other team score nearly 120 points per 100 possessions, I've just gotta shine a spotlight on it, you know?

Well, that's what _enver _id last night in Gol_en State. Both teams were awful on defense -- the Warriors let the Nuggets score 117 points per 100 possessions -- but one team applied even less handage to opposing faces.

Go. Nuggets. Go.

The best (read that: worst) part of the game, though, was _enver's clusterbumble of a final possession. Down only two points with less than 10 seconds to go, J.R. Smith grabbed a rebound and -- instead of handing the ball off to a waiting-with-arms-wide-open Carmelo Anthony -- took off downcourt. A few seconds of hot potato ensued, 'Melo never got a whiff of the rock and the game ended on a Nene jump shot.

No timeout. No play. Just complete and total basketbawful.

Said Anthony: "We made a good defensive stop, J.R. [Smith] got the rebound, I was calling for it and then I saw him just take off. And then I'm thinking he's going to take it across half court, get control of it and call timeout. But it didn't happen like that. And then I'm thinking, 'Why didn't George call timeout either?' Even if we did call timeout, we had a chance to set something up. We still had a chance to take a shot that we might have felt good with. To have seven or nine seconds left in the game, I feel pretty confident at that time with the ball in my hands to make something happen."

Added Nuggets coach George Karl: "I thought we'd miss some by trying to score without their defense being set. I thought Ty [Lawson] had a great opportunity to attack the rim and he kind of deferred to Nene. He got a good shot, but not great shot. I always liked pushing that play, and it didn't work tonight."

No. No, it didn't.

Deron Williams, worst player of the night: His man (Derrick Rose) scored 11 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, D-Will dished out a game-best 12 assists, but he scored only 11 points (10 below his average), shot 5-for-13 (eight percentage points below his shooting average), missed all three attempts from beyond the arc (35 percentage points below his average), made only one trip to the foul line (despite averaging nearly seven free throw attempts per game) and committed a game-high 5 turnovers.

And three of those TOs came on back-to-back-to-back possessions in the final minute, as Williams had the ball stolen by Rose, Carlos Boozer and then Ronnie Brewer. For example:


Chris's amazing lacktion ledger:

Pistons-Cadavers: Ryan Hollins went 100% from the field (on one attempt) in 10:17 and even had two boards, only to lose the rock thricely and foul twice for a 5:4 Voskuhl.

Bobcats-Pacers: Charlotte's Dominic McGuire fouled once in 1:38 for a +1 suck differential, while Jeff Foster gave Indiana a 3:1 Voskuhl in 13:55 by countering a board with three fouls.

Hornets-Nyets: DJ Mbenga slammed the congas for 31 seconds for a Mario, while New Jersey's Quinton Ross tossed a brick and gathered up a foul in 7:24 for a +2.

Spurs-Craptors: Steve Novak continues to return to lack with a celebratory 2.45 trillion (2:27), while Chris Quinn plugged in his Famicom in just 21 seconds for a Mario. For the uncoordinated rollerskaters, Alexis Ajinca assembled a brick in an underground water supply system in 55 seconds for a +1 and a Mario, while Julian Wright had 8 seconds of 8-bit gaming for a SUPER MARIO!

Bucks-Generals: Chris Douglas-Roberts collected a 1.15 trillion (1:10) for Milwaukee, while Washington's Kevin Seraphin subordinated a field goal and two boards in 7:27 with three fouls and two turnovers for a 5:4 Voskuhl. Fellow General Hilton Armstrong checked into Hotel Mario for a 58 second stay!

Bulls-Jazz: In the highly unanticipated rematch of the 1997 and 1998 Finals, Ronnie Price missed once from City Creek Center for a +1 in 5:04.

Nuggets-Warriors: Ekpe Udoh undercontributed with a brick andr two fouls in 12:30 for a +3, while Jeremy Lin joined the celebrastion by losing the rock once in 4:15 for a +1.

Labels:

61 Comments:
Blogger Will said...
We're hoping to make a run down the stretch that's going to be special.
I think he means special in the short bus sense of the word.

Blogger stephanie g said...
At first the losing streak was funny, then pathetic, then it actually got kinda depressing and made you reflect on the state of the NBA and how little most teams matter in the grand scheme of things and how it's unlikely Cleveland or any other small market team will be relevant for several years if not decades...now it's funny again.

I would recommend against anyone physically going to the Washington-Cleveland game. A meteor is going to strike the arena. Or the Earth will open up and swallow the city. Or an ancient Russian ICBM will glitch and launch at its target. Or a Great Old One will awaken and begin to feast on the unclean. Something like that.

Anonymous Niko said...
Dude, wtf? Suns need a damn 4; Frye's a POS. Plays no D, doesn't rebound (6 rpg for a 7 foot guy?!?). So what do we do? We trade Earl Clark, because he hasn't cracked the rotation--which is bullshit, we signed 3 SF's over the summer that took his playing time. So we trade him, past four games he has had consistent playing time and produced this: 9 ppg, 6 rpg, .75 bpg, .75 spg, 19 mpg.

I watched last night's game, I barely recognized the guy. He has been gone a month and a half and I swear he's put on 20 pounds at least of muscle. He now looks like a legitimate 4 (maybe in an inch or two undersized but his physique makes up for it). FUUUUUUUUUUUCK Suns are so fucking retarded. Had we kept him we would have had a solid foundation to build around post-Nash (Gortat, Dudley, Dragic (still not 100% sure about him), Clark, and maybe Lopez). Forgot where I read it but Orlando even trade moving up in the draft to get Earl Clark two years ago. The whole trade can be summarized by, "ITS A TRAP!".

Oh yeah, and the above stats are on 46%FG, which I know isn't amazing but when you consider how little game experience he has they're not bad. Prior to these past four games he had played a total of 455 minutes over two seasons. For Orlando he has logged 174--79 of which have been over the past four games.

It'll be interesting to see what happens to his PT once Bass comes back, because that really is the only reason he has had consistent playing time.

Blogger Dan B. said...
I love that Giant Boozer Head/Crying Kid picture so much. My day = made.

Anonymous Karc said...
Cavs next game is against the Clippers. I am legitimately concerned. If there is one team that can screw up something, well, you know...

Blogger Will said...
Investors looking for the hot new stock should seriously take a look at Chris Douglas-Roberts (NYSE symbol: CDR). In the past two days his net worth has skyrocketed 6.35 trillion. Get on the bus now before he actually does something in a game.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Stephanie G - It's the same humor cycle Family Guy uses.

Blogger Michael Hsu said...
Anyone else hoping a massive blizzard hits Cleveland to delay the Wiz/Cavs game a little longer? I feel like the losing streaks may end prematurly

Anonymous laddder said...
Wait, wait, wait...Chris Paul (4-for-15, 7 turnovers) was thoroughly outplayed by Sashs Vujacic (25 points, 9-for-14, 5-for-7 from downtown) as the Hornets lost in overtime to the Nyets.....


Vujacic not only dealt his soul to the devil for Sharapova, he also included out-playing CP3.

The devil got ripped off...

Blogger Dick Sullivan said...
Niko, Dirk Nowitzki (6.8 rpg) resents your first comment.

Anonymous Nick said...
Really sad...

Anonymous allison said...
Washington vs. Cleveland -> they're going to find a way to both lose.

KSL: Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan to resign

F*CK no it can't be true, someone's trolling. Didn't he just re-up?

Anonymous Niko said...
@Dick Sullivan, I agree however Dirk provides so much more than Frye on the offensive end, and much more efficiently:

Frye 11.6 ppg, 41.6% FG, 37%3P
Nowitzki: 22.8 ppg, 52.1% FG, 41% 3P

I'll excuse Nowitzki from his low rebounding numbers.

Oh shit, sad day in basketball Sloan's gone. Wonder what that closed door meeting with the GM last night was about.

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Blogger Unknown said...
Can we please have an entire column about the incredible injustice it is that Sloan never won a coach of the year award? Pretty please? You had Worst NBA Champions, maybe you can have Worst Coaches of the Year.

Blogger Marc said...
Kevin O'Connor is a total piece of shit.

Blogger Keaton said...
Jerry Sloan resigning... a very sad day for NBA basketball

Anonymous The Other Chris said...
A sad day for basketball. They would never push him out, I guess Sloan just finally got tired of the NBA grind?

Anonymous The Other Chris said...
You had Worst NBA Champions, maybe you can have Worst Coaches of the Year

SAM FUCKING MITCHELL.

Agree that this would make a great column.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
You may have to add Sloan's retirement under the Deron Williams section, as there are some reports that an argument between them led to the retirement.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
Yeah, it sounds like Sloan is retiring simply because he can't get along with Deron Williams. If that's true, it's really gonna make D-Will a pariah in Utah. The Jazz might even be forced to trade him if that's the case. Can you imagine being the player that basically forced a coach like Jerry Sloan to retire?

Anonymous c said...
Just came over to report on a hilariously bawful brawl during the Israeli cup game (I guess I'll link to vids once they're up) but it pales in comparison with news of Sloan's resignation. Sad day indeed.

Anonymous The Other Chris said...
Oy. Deron Williams is probably going to leave eventually anyways, so when he can't get along with one of the best coaches ever, you throw.. Jerry Sloan under the bus? Is being mentally retarded a prerequisite for employment as an NBA GM?

On a more cheerful note, Landry Fields selling Landry Fields' jerseys is amazing. (From TrueHoop)

Anonymous Karc said...
Deron Williams is in a lot of trouble. If he's really behind getting Sloan out of Utah, there's enough hate to get Boozer and Fisher off the hook.

Bonus - Kobe in a photo with white college girls from Boston. Draw your own conclusions (and this was taken today, fyi) - http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/452/capturelfr.jpg

Blogger Dooj said...
@the Other Chris

That Fields video was pretty good. Nothing is more awesome than Coach B though.

Blogger Basketbawful said...
DERON WILLIAMS I WILL FUCKING END YOU!

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
I wished for the Suns to return to the playoffs over the Jazz at the beginning of the season, but not like this. Not like this.

Anonymous Stockton said...
Well, part of me was shot to death by Bavetta and his peers in 98; then stock's retirement and Malones's... hmmm... retirement spa in LA were hard daggers, but this... it's just... I cannot believe then Williams is f####ING STUPID enough to kick out one of the BEST coaches in the league. Jazz will implode. Period.
Congratulations, d-will, you can stop executing the pick and roll.

Blogger Basketbawful said...
"I think I'm the best point guard in the league. No reason. I just think I'm the best."

That's what D-Will proclaimed last April as the Jazz were whuppin' on the Nuggets and he was humiliating an obviously declining Chauncey Billups. And I knew that was gonna be a problem.

Williams sees guys like CP3 and Derrick Rose basically doing whatever they want, and he's thinking, "Hey, I'm the best, why isn't my franchise turning the team over to me?"

That's conjecture, of course. But I'm telling you, I knew there would be trouble after Williams named himself The Best. That move was more Starbury than Magic.

Anonymous Stockton said...
Add the Jazz to the list of teams in which the players run the show...

Blogger Dooj said...
I'm not a Jazz fan and I want revenge on anyone that caused this.

Blogger Interstate08 said...
Wow that's awful if it turns out D-Will is somehow forcing out Sloan. He's a legend and the Utah front-office would have to be out of their mind to let this happen.

Anyway I was semi-hoping the Clippers would beat the Knicks last night just so they would have a bit of road momentum heading into Cleveland. This way there'd be a better chance of securing the matchup of zeroes we all want to see the following game.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
The best coach in all of pro sports is gone. What a role model - Sloan was loyal, preached and practiced work ethic, good sportsmanship, class, and showed passion for twenty years as a coach.

One bit of news instantly changed the way I look at Williams. Before - Boom Beard Lite. After - rotting corpse meat steaming in a July sun.

Blogger Unknown said...
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=6109391

I'd say this sums up the Bobcraps:

"He's Mike. He's been kicking our [butts]. He still has it," forward Gerald Wallace said. "He doesn't have this quickness, but he can score, he's a shooter. The last thing to ever go is your jump shot and he has that."

Anonymous Marc d. said...
If I was the Jazz GM and I had to choose between the two I would have made Old Man Sloan my PG and traded/benched/fired Deron Williams, just on principle.

Wait, hey, does this mean Jerry is available? How does he feel about cold weather and lazy pasta-eating 7-ft jump shooters?

Blogger Bakes said...
@Karc

Deron Williams is in a lot of trouble. If he's really behind getting Sloan out of Utah, there's enough hate to get Boozer and Fisher off the hook.

Fisher? I hope you don't mean who I think you mean or that I'm just missing the joke.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...

Anonymous Reignman said...
And thus, Deron Williams goes from the "Grant Hill" category (nice guy, great player) to the "Lebron James" category (great player, should fucking retire, lose forever, die -slowly- and/or get raped by a rhino!)

Seriously, what the hell is going on?! You've got one of the best coaches in the history of the game and you let him go to please a guy who might bolt anyway?
The Cadaver's stupidity in dealing with star players is spreading through the league. I swear, if someday in the future, when Duncan is retired and growing pot in his backyard*, George Hill, DeJuan Blair or any other guy the Spurs might draft does the same to Pop I'll fly to Albuquerque (by that time I expect them to be either the Albuquerque Spurs, the Austin Spurs or the Honolulu Spurs) and kill the GM and whoever else is responsible.

*As a side note, my clan's black magic rituals have allowed me to see the future of every Spurs player. Parker will be a star in french adult movies, he'll be known as "baggette-man"...so basically he'll be a french Orgazmo.

Anonymous Karc said...
@Josh - Utah fans were none too pleased that Fisher went to LA, either not understanding of the situation, or simply didn't care. Check out some of the postseason games in Utah from the past couple of years.

BTW, Ray Allen just broke Reggie Miller's record. And given that he already has 12 points after one quarter...yeah, this could get sick (and by sick I mean glorious)

Anonymous Rick said...
I'm sad that Jerry Sloan has retired and all but people REALLY need to calm down on vilifying Deron Williams and the Jazz GM. Did anyone actually read the articles on Sloan resigning?

Jazz CEO Greg Miller said he tried to talk Sloan out of retiring.

"I want to make it clear that nobody pushed Jerry or Phil out," Miller said. "I loved and respected Jerry for as long as I can remember ... I will miss him but benefit from the things he taught me for the rest of my life."


and

[GM]O'Connor said reports that Williams had said it was either "me or Sloan" were false and unfair to Williams.

This sounds to me like Deron Williams and Jerry Sloan were having disagreements on the style of play (which I assure you happens ALL the time, especially among teams that are underachieving like the Jazz were) and Jerry Sloan simply came to the "I'm almost 70, fuck going through this again" realization. It happens, it's no one's fault. Maybe instead of just making someone the fall guy, there should be serious thought as to why the Jazz's defense is awful and they start off so slowly. Because I'm sure the answer requires both the players AND coaches to change.

...you know what, on second thought, let's just boo Deron Williams and make sweeping generalizations about "this generation" and those spoiled athletes that dare accept market value for their services. That seems easier to do.

Blogger Dan B. said...
Rick -- And I would counter that if Deron Williams DID essentially force Jerry Sloan out, the team's CEO and GM aren't going to tell us the truth. What would they gain from it? If they villify Deron Williams (rightfully so or not), it further damages overall team morale and further increases the possibility of D-Will wanting to move to another team. Until I see proof otherwise, I'm in the "Fuck Deron Williams" camp because the signs have seemed to point to him wanting to run the team his way and not wanting to be told set plays to run by his coach.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
We appear to be seeing what Henry Abbott would call a very rare occurrence: Kobe Bryant seems to actually be playing well in the clutch. Who'da thunk it?

I look forward to tomorrow's long list of excuses for why Boston lost tonight :)

Blogger Bakes said...
@ Karc

Yes, I get the reference, it's just rather annoying that the fans who do boo because of the complete bullshit they've decided to believe continue to bring it up. Thankfully they've been becoming the minority over the years.

I'm not implying you're one of those people at all, it's just such a tired, utterly manufactured "grudge" and it's really, plainly, just stupid.

@ Yams

There will be a laundry list, no doubt. And Abbott can go EABOG.

Anonymous Karc said...
@Yams - Injuries, period. No Shaq (had a underrated 10 minutes of effectiveness last game), Pierce was sick, Robinson got hurt, 3 others not even dressed. Basically treated this game w/playoff rosters, and the Lakers only won by six.

But they won, when every sign pointed to a blowout. So huzzah.

Anonymous kazam92 said...
Deron Williams might have eff'd up royally BUT he is nowhere near a Marbury or a Francis because of this. I mean, his claim wasn't outrageous that he is the best PG. I mean he's in the top 3 and it's damn close. It's not like Marbury nicknaming himself on some 55 loss teams

Blogger Wild Yams said...
Karc - Shaq was flat out awful in that last Lakers-Celtics game, what are you talking about? He had zero points and got burned a few times by Derek Fisher! The Celtics played much better with Shaq off the floor (which he was for all but 2 minutes of the second half in that game). And injuries will happen when you're a really old team. Boston shouldn't count on guys like Shaq (the league's oldest player) to be available. That's why they signed he and Jermaine O'Neal when they already have Perkins: they had to have been planning on both those guys missing a lot of time with injuries.

BTW, way to jinx your team with your comments earlier in the thread. You were right: this game was "glorious" :)

Blogger Dan B. said...
Karc -- Seriously, look at the box score. It's ugly. Rondo played 44 minutes, and Garnett, Perkins, and Big Baby Davis were the ONLY power forwards and centers. Von Wafer played 20 minutes! That's only the 3rd time this year he's seen 20+ minutes in a game.

Blogger Bakes said...
@ Wild Yams

Something tells me that, were the roles reversed and the Lakers were down the amount of players the Celtics were and lost, Karc would say the Lakers stunk it up, that Kobe sucks, that they aren't a championship contender anymore, that Boston was clearly better, and so on and so forth. Having a bias for one's team is natural. Hell we're ALL biased for our preferred teams.

But having someone be such a homer that they verge on trolling is a bit different. Look! A picture of Kobe with white girls! Cause he's a rapist! Hyuk hyuk! *snort snort*. "Draw your own conclusions." <-- Obvious conclusion: Photo op and PR. But go ahead, beat that same tired old drum. Implied rape sure is classy.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
Josh - I couldn't agree more.

Dan B. - Just FYI, it wasn't like the Lakers were overflowing with depth tonight either. Odom and Shannon Brown were the only Laker non-starters to really get much playing time tonight. The rest of the Laker bench (Luke Walton & Steve Blake) combined for 14 minutes of PT. Boston had their starting 5 going tonight, Garnett only played 34 minutes, and Perkins and Big Baby each played only 31 minutes, so don't give me this crap like they were tired from playing so much. They've been off for the last two days.

Blogger Rogue said...
The self proclaimed best NBA point guard in the world also had something to do Sloan's resignation. Granted that the team as a whole struggled but I still can't to overlook how much a hand Deron had in this. I used to root for Deron over Chris Paul but now U suck Deron Williams, I hate you.

Blogger Jason D said...
Ahhh, nothing sweeter than seeing the Celtics lose. I love it! Go Lakers!

Seriously though, I'm very impressed with the way LA has been playing on this road trip. They're showing much better defence and intensity than they have all season. It was great to see Kobe come up clutch again after taking a back seat all game. That's the way LA should play every game; feed the bigs, and let Kobe turn Mamba if needed.

Now I just hope they don't have a letdown game tomorrow night!

Oh, and big congrats to Ray Allen!

Anonymous Karc said...
@Josh - I declared the Lakers dead after they let a 36-year-old beat them to the rim on a buzzer beater tip in at home in a game they should have won against a good team. The rest of this season is icing on the cake.

Again, the Emerson College photo was posted earlier today. Didn't really look for it. It's just a photo. Never brought "rapist" into it at all. As Colin Cowherd would say, "that's a YOU problem." Besides, given that Kobe's fans (i.e., you) immediately assumed that it involved "rape" (as opposed to the simple innocence of hard-hitting lacrosse players having a photo-op with a superstar basketball player), this doesn't exactly strike me as a good move by Lakers PR.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to make of the pic. Took the high road because I agree with you, the jokes are too easy at this point. But I certainly wasn't going to throw the first stone.

Hey, Lakers won, give them props. Would have been far more embarrassing if they lost off three days rest to a depleted Celtics roster. Just saying.

And for the record, not a Celtics fan. I just think that their run, given their health and age is far more impressive than the Lakers. They shamed LeBron out of Cleveland, punked the Lakers, who have been reacting to them ever since (though to their credit, have won two rings as a result), effectively ended Detroit's run, and have owned the Magic and the Heat at will. Lakers had the pleasure of facing Utah in the playoffs three straight times without a healthy frontline. Just doesn't seem equal in my view.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
Karc, you're as full of crap as a Christmas goose and everybody knows it. You've been trolling the Lakers for years around here, so this "who me?" routine doesn't wash. Seems kinda cowardly to me to not own up to what you're actually doing or how you really feel, but maybe that's just me. In any event, you don't need to confirm for everyone how you feel, who you root for or what you're up to. To anyone who regularly reads the comments here it's readily apparent. Nice try though.

Blogger Bakes said...
Karc

Nice try. I actually laughed. Out loud. 1/10 for trolling. You may have gotten 2/10 but you played the "it's YOU not ME" card (Cowherd is a pretty big blowhard by the way). What else could you have possibly been implying when you posted a picture of Kobe with white girls, saying "Draw your own conclusions"? You took the high road by not *overtly* playing the rape card? You didn't cast the first stone? Completely laughable. Why on earth would you post the photo telling us to "draw our own conclusions" otherwise? If you didn't know what to make of the photo then gosh, maybe you'd say something like "I don't know what to make of this photo". Saying "draw your own conclusions" means you've already drawn yours and are implying that there's a pretty obvious one to be found. Once again you completely give yourself away by saying that you don't think it's a good Lakers PR move. Please, explain why. Why would this be a bad PR move? Because... zomg Kobe and white girls? What other possible reason could there be? "Bad PR move" -- your words, by the way.

Kobe and white girls. What immediately comes to mind when non-Laker/non-Kobe fans bring up Kobe and white girls?

I'll let you draw your own conclusion on that one, champ.

Like Yams said, you're not fooling anyone. Your track record precedes you. At this point, I'm through attempting discussion with you as it's pretty clear I'd just be feeding into your "I'm the victim, I did nothing" shtick. Seriously. Audibly laughing here.

Everyone else, feel free to humor yourselves with his drivel. I apologize for admittedly kind of sounding like a dick here, but it won't happen again, as his posts from now on will just read as "waaaah waah waah waaaaah" Peanuts trombone speak to me. They'll make more sense that way.

Anonymous Stockton said...
F###, F###, F###!!!!

And to think one of the reasons the Jazz drafted Williams over Paul was loyalty, since they thought Paul would never last in a small market team...
I don't know if D-Will said "him or me"... and Sloan is reaching an age where he can't put up with crap... but we're talking about a guy who dealt with Malone (who was kind of freaky) and Ostertag... the man has a stomach... so...
Either way, Williams was bitching about the game book all season long...
And he was not happy with the loss of Brewer, mathews, Korver, even Boozman...
Now, the next target is AK and his huge... contract! Williams "pointed" that when a team has an expiring contract like that, they should use it in a trade.
So, if AK is traded, you know who is running the show...

Anonymous Mladen said...
Wow, I just came here to pay my respects to coach Sloan's career, and I find:

- D-Will getting hated on, because of a rumor that's just a little bit more credible than the "Delonte banged LeBron's mom" one
- a commenter getting blasted for *gasp* having an opinion

Look, I have to agree with one of the previous commenters, who said that Sloan's retirement seems more like an "I'm too old for this shit!" kind of moment. Seriously, the man has been dedicating his life and physical and mental health to successfully coaching a basketball team at the highest level of competition, for 23 fucking years. He'll be 69 soon, and I can understand him wanting a break. He has a family, who would probably enjoy having him around more often, especially because he's at the age when every new day is a blessing. He doesn't have to keep coaching, just because a lot of people (including myself, and apparently everyone who visits this site) don't want him to go away just yet. I know it's fucked up. He was the archetype of what a professional sports coach should be like. He was consistent, humble and, as we all know, never complacent with his team's achievements. He helped nurture some awesome players into superstars, and preached a style of play that many of us liked. When VDN wins a Coach of the Year award for basically making stupid faces on the sidelines, while Griffin and Gordon win a bunch of games for him, we will all be pretty pissed. But it seems to me that Jerry Sloan himself, is at a place in his life, where he just doesn't care about these things, and wants to lay back, and relax for the first time in a long while. There's no need to look for a scapegoat.
(Also, just like LeBron, Williams will have plenty of chances to show his true face, and possibly prove me wrong.)

As for the argument over Karc's comments: chill the fuck out everyone. The Lakers are simply not that good this season, and it's justifiable not to get too giddy about this win. I have to agree that the Celtics' season has been far more impressive so far. We'll see what will happen in the playoffs, though. My guess: L.A. will turn up the heat, and steamroll over underachieving western opponents, like they usually do, while the Celtics will be a bit tired, and probably won't look as impressive (basically, their success will thoroughly rely on the play of guys like Big Baby and Nate Robinson).

Finally, some copy/paste from an NBA.com article:

Sloan's 1,221 wins are third in the NBA behind Don Nelson (1,335) and Lenny Wilkens (1,332).

Sloan also is one of only three coaches in NBA history with 15-plus consecutive seasons with a winning record. Pat Riley and Phil Jackson, both with 19, are the others.

As a player with the Bulls, Sloan averaged 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 755 games played over 11 NBA seasons. Nicknamed "The Original Bull" because he was selected in the 1966 Expansion Draft, Sloan was a two-time NBA All-Star (1967, 1969) known for his toughness and grit. He was the only player in NBA history to average 7-plus rebounds and 2-plus steals for his career.

While he has headed the Jazz, there have been 245 coaching changes around the league - 13 alone by the Los Angeles Clippers, and five current NBA teams (Charlotte, Memphis, Toronto, Orlando and Minnesota) did not even exist when Sloan took the helm in Utah.

Anonymous Czernobog said...
I'm pretty sure I tried to comment on this already, but here's the vid of the bawful brawl in the Israeli cup finals:

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

Anonymous Czernobog said...
Er, note the bottom left corner at the 0:16 mark.

Blogger stephanie g said...
To be fair (or not), I think the meme has morphed over the years from "Kobe is an evil rapist" to "Kobe sure loves them white girls!" Back in in the '08 Olympics when there were massage parlor rumors I remember people on some boards posting pics of Kobe and LeBron surrounded by adoring Chinese fans. And the "me love you rong time!" jokes were plentiful.

Anonymous Karc said...
@Yams and Josh - Dead serious, why would the Lakers PR department release that photo? Go to their official website and check out the twitter feed. It's right there.

Again, if Kobe fans are going to imply that non-Kobe fans immediately think of "rape" (which I wasn't, the rape case never went to trial so as far as I am concerned he didn't do it), how is that a good move? Hey, it could be a harmless photo with with college students for all I know. Or a sign that Kobe's trying to make nice with Boston. As stephanie g pointed out, tons of Chinese girls that were fawning over Kobe during the Olympics. Maybe he just draws that sort of attention. I didn't know, hence I ask the masses, and this is what happens. Notice how no one else is really saying anything, but the Kobe defenders are quick to react to a photo. It's the elephant in the room, my fault for pointing it out and saying "hey, that's weird."

Blogger Wormboy said...
When did Courtney Love move to Cleveland?