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NBA General

Avery Johnson has a new career

Avery Johnson might have gotten canned as the Mavericks head coach following three consecutive postseason humiliations, but the Little General is already back on his feet with a new gig.

Kinda boring if you ask us. We think he could sell a lot more cars if he promoted his store in a more exciting manner.

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NBA General

Charles Barkley has an epiphany on-air

The Round Mound of Rebound finally said what we’ve all been thinking for years but wouldn’t say because we were afraid he’d throw us through a window.

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NBA General

Charles Barkley’s booty fetish slips out

Charles Barkley made an entire career out of being ridiculous and saying some of the most outlandish things on TNT’s “Inside the NBA.” But last night, in front of his boy Dwyane Wade, the Chuckster finally went too far.

Wow, Barkley and Wade really do have a lot in common, apparently they both have a thing for touching nasty bootys. Drop the charade, D-Wade, it’s ok to admit it. Some dudes dig cougars. But we have one question, how do you tell the difference between Star and Charles when they’re both naked?

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NBA General

Soulja Boy meets Marv Albert and hilarity ensues

For some strange reason, we never figured the silky-smooth voice of the NBA would be into hip-hop. But you learn new and interesting things everyday on Inside the NBA and we’re not just talking about how many thousands of calories Chucky consumed during the taping of the show.

Finally, Marv has done something to make everyone forget about how he wore women’s underwear, bit a woman’s back and went on trial for felony charges of forcible sodomy. OK, never mind, nothing can top that.

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NBA General

The NBA season is over, but the memories remain

The NBA playoffs begin tomorrow and it should be a doozey. But before we move on to the drama of the second season, we should remember back to the all good times from this year. Trust us; there have been plenty of memorable moments this season.

Of course, it wasn’t all pretty; sometimes it was pretty painful.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: West’s best finally sort out the mess


1. Set in stone
While the East has been set for a couple of days now, nearly all the playoff pairings in the wild, wild Western Conference weren’t determined until the season’s final games were played. However, now that the playoff picture is crystal clear, everyone can see this is going to be one heckuva of run to the rings. The one/eight seed matchup between Los Angeles and Denver delivers plenty of firepower with three of the league’s top four scorers going at it in a best of seven series. The seventh seeded Mavericks won’t have far to travel when they go against New Orleans, but they’ll be packing a pitiful 17-24 road record to an arena where the Hornets are 30-11. The No. 3 Spurs are going to have their hands full with the Suns and a championship hungry Shaquille O’Neal while Houston has homecourt advantage against the Jazz in a rematch of the only playoff series to go seven games last year.

2. How it happened

When the Hornets face the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs, they’ll have revenge on their minds. Dallas spanked the Southwest Division champions 111-98 behind Jason Kidd’s 100th triple-double. Kidd showed Chris Paul that he wasn’t quite ready to give up his crown as one of the league’s top point guards just yet, scoring 27 points to go with 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Dirk Nowitzki only scored 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting, but Jason Terry came off the bench to pour in 30 points, including 10 during a 32-8 run spanning the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters. The Hornets were led by David West’s 26 points and got solid numbers out of Paul (20 points, 10 ast). The Dallas victory also ensured that Denver would be traveling to Los Angeles for their opening round matchup.

3. The rematch with a little extra Shaq
Perhaps the biggest game of the night played a big role in setting up the biggest first round matchup in this year’s playoffs between two of the game’s most bitter rivals. The Spurs ensured homecourt advantage in the first round by beating Utah 109-80, locking up the third seed. The game was never close as San Antonio rushed out to a 65-39 halftime lead which, coupled with victories by Houston and Phoenix, sets up another instant classic between Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan. Expect another bloody, bruising series when the Suns and Spurs go at it. San Antonio is 33-7 this year at home and after missing three consecutive games, they have Manu Ginobili healthy. And, oh, what a difference a healthy Manu makes! Ginobili played just 19 minutes off the bench in his return but, posted 12 points (4-4 FG, 4-4 FT), six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Kevin Durant @ Golden State 43 min, 42 pts (FG: 18-25, 3FG: 1-2, FT: 5-6), 13 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk

Buzzer Beater: When Houston defeated the Clippers 93-75 in their season finale, they secured the fifth seed in the playoffs. A couple of hours later, Utah falls to the Spurs and we have a series. Despite having a higher seed, the Jazz must travel to Houston for their postseason opener because they have a worse overall record. Basically it’s a horrible situation for Utah who is 17-24 on the road this year. Luis Scola made Rockets fans say “Yao who?” after he dominated the Clippers with 22 points and 10 rebounds, covering up for Tracy McGrady’s pathetic 2-of-11 shooting performance. People continue to argue about Houston’s legitimacy , but you can’t argue with a record of 35 wins in its last 43 games, including a 22-game win streak.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Class of 2008


1. Hall of Fame time
While the NCAA national championship game might have been the most exciting event in San Antonio on Monday, it wasn’t the only ticket in town. Long before Mario Chalmers became truly Super, seven basketball legends were selected to grace the Hall of Fame. Of NBA note, Adrian Dantley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing and Pat Riley got the nod. However, nobody was more overcome by the moment than the voice of college basketball Dick Vitale. Dicky V was all choked up all afternoon as he savored the honor.

I can’t run, can’t jump, can’t shoot, but just have had a tremendous — I’d like to think — passion about the game,” said Vitale.

The fellas officially take their places amongst the other legends of the game on Sept. 5 in Springfield, Mass.

2. LeBron takes it easy for a change

The last thing the Cavaliers need right now is to drop out of the top four in the Eastern Conference and lose home court advantage in the opening round. And that’s exactly why LeBron James didn’t practice on Monday. King James has been dealing with a bad back for a while now and in order to make sure the superstar is ready to finish the season strong, the Cavs gave him the day off. It’s not like he needs to practice anyway, he’s a triple-double waiting to happen for cryin’ out loud. The kid should have been shut down two weeks ago when this problem first started. Now Cleveland is dealing with an injury-laden James, a losing skid of five losses in seven games and it owns a measly two-game lead over Washington in the standings. Luckily, its next game is against New Jersey.

3. Eric Gordon follows Kelvin Sampson outta Indiana
Eric Gordon has confirmed he’ll be entering the NBA draft, meaning the Heat and the Sonics can finally start to get a glimpse of what their future’s could hold. The six-foot-four guard led the Big Ten in scoring with 20.9 points per game while setting the school and conference record for freshman scoring with 669 points. Unfortunately, all that glitz was somewhat negated when he injured his wrist back in January and his game went downhill. And with guys like Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose, O.J. Mayo, D.J. Augustin and Kevin Love possibly in the mix, Gordon could slide to a tail end top 10 pick.

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Utah (51-26) @ New Orleans (54-22)
On paper the Jazz look pretty darn good with a 50-win season wrapped up and a current grip on the fourth seed in the West. But looks can be deceiving. While owning the league’s best home record, Utah is a pathetic 16-22 on the road. In fact, the only reason they even have homecourt advantage at the moment is because the three division leaders are guaranteed one of the top four seeds. But it should still be a compelling matchup, especially at the point guard position where Chris Paul and Deron Williams will go head to head.

Buzzer Beater: Without saying he was going to pick Michael Beasley in the draft, Pat Riley said he was going to pick Michael Beasley in the draft. Of course, this is assuming Beasley goes pro and the Heat grab the top pick. But assuming all goes according to plan, Riley expects his recent scouting trip to the opening round of the NCAA tournament in Omaha to pay off. In case you don’t remember, Kansas State just so happened to open and close its March Madness in Omaha.

If the ping-pong ball falls right, I think one of the players I saw will be in a Miami Heat uniform,” Riley said. “That was why I was in Omaha.

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NBA General

Think Dr. J got the dunk contest rolling? Guess again.

Basketball sure has changed over the years. What started off as just a peach basket and a dream is now a global phenomenon that has dramatically changed the lifestyles of thousands who have reached the ultimate level. Want to see proof? Look no further than the slam dunk contest. And we’re not just talking about 7-footers gliding through the air. Back in the old days if you could master the lay-up then you were flying like an eagle.

Links:

[CollegeHumor.com]: NBL Lay-Up Competition

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NBA General

East Bay Funk Punk


Remember when Isaiah Rider used to be one of the most talented up-and-comers in the Association? Well, those days are long, long gone and nowadays Rider spends a lot more of his time behind bars instead of dribbling balls. Trouble has followed this guy for over a decade now, but it is still a surprise to see a star fall this far, this fast. His latest transgression involves a stolen car, $25,000 bail and a court date next month.

Officer Norma Eisenman said Rider was driving a car that failed to stop at an intersection in the city’s (Los Angeles) Skid Row district. Officers checking the license plates discovered the car had been reported stolen from South Los Angeles, police said. Rider was arrested and the car was impounded.

Rider played at UNLV before starting his pro career in 1993. He played with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets before ending his career in 2001.

Rider had a string of arrests during and after his career for drug use, assault and other crimes. He also racked up large fines and suspensions during his career for offenses that ranged from being tardy to practice to spitting at fans.

In January, Berkeley police answering a report of a confrontation between a taxi driver and a passenger arrested Rider on Oakland warrants alleging unlawful firearm possession and grand theft. Last year, he pleaded guilty in Marin County to several charges, including felony cocaine possession, battery and evading a police officer.

From flying high to getting high and ridin’ dirty: what a long strange trip it’s been!

Links:

[SI.com]: Ex-NBA player Isaiah Rider released after arrest for investigation of auto theft

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NBA General

When Charles Barkley is your friend, you don’t need enemies


Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan are the BFFL (Best Friends For Life), but that doesn’t mean the Round Mound of Rebound is going to show his Airness any mercy when it comes to his ultra expensive divorce settlement.

We’ve been giving Michael a hard time,” Barkley told a crowd at the SMU Athletic Forum lunch at the Hilton Anatole on Wednesday. “He just got a divorce [and it was like] damn, bro, you wrote a check for $175 million? Are you kidding me? You must have some damn money. If you can write a check for $175 million, you’re damn loaded.”

Barkley went on to say that “sports is definitely not the place to be sensitive, no matter what it is. We’re going to ride you unmercifully and we told him, `It’s probably bad to write a check for $175 million, but it’s going to get worse. When you go visit your kids, there’s going to be a guy sitting in your chair, wearing your robe, smoking a cigar.

The crowd erupted in laughter, but Barkley still had one more zinger for Jordan, saying: “You better hope it ain’t one of us. You better hope it ain’t one of your boys. We’re all looking for a woman with $175 million.

Don’t worry about it Mike. If Chuck gets you down with his wisecracks, you can always chill with Tiger and make fun of his golf swing. That never gets old.

Links:

[Star-Telegram.com]: Not even Jordan escapes Charles Barkley’s verbal darts