Tag: NBA

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LA Lakers

NBA Basketball is back and so is the Chuckster’s big ol’ mouth. Yippee!


After news broke of Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson’s little spat the other day, it was just a matter of time before the Round Mound of Rebound weighed in on the situation. Especially considering that the season tips off tonight and Sir Charles just happens to have his weekly forum back. You’re going to have to tune in to TNT to see what he says live, but we already have a pretty good idea of what it might be.

What Phil Jackson said yesterday, that was like they’re at the point of no return now. There’s a point where you know you can make a marriage work, but what Phil Jackson said yesterday, that was the end of it,” Barkley said at a luncheon with fellow studio analyst Kenny Smith.

“That’s the one thing I respect most about Kevin Garnett. Even though he played on terrible teams, there is not a player in the last 10 years who played harder than Kevin Garnett. And that’s the one thing that disappoints me. Phil said that Kobe’s just going through the motions. … And if your coach tells you you’re just going through the motions, that’s pretty much the end of the straw.

“The end of the straw”??? Charles, have you been hanging out with Emmitt Smith again?

But Barkley wasn’t done with the drama in La La Land just yet.

Smith said Bryant broke “etiquette rules” by publicly criticizing teammates during his trade demand. Barkley was harder on Bryant’s actions since camp opened. Bryant skipped practices and games – Barkley called it a “sabbatical” – after Buss said he would consider trading his star, and Barkley blames both of them for creating the situation.

“When Jerry Buss comes into training camp and says they’re going to trade Kobe, Kobe says, All right, I’m going to take a week’s vacation,’ ” Barkley said.

“Jerry shouldn’t have said that. Wasn’t no doubt in my mind (Bryant) was just blowing off games and practice because he was (mad) about what Dr. Buss said. They shouldn’t have said that. He should have went to Kobe Kobe you want to be traded, we’ll try to make it work.’ But the guy’s skipping practices, going through the motions.

Okay, we haven’t even started the season yet and we’re officially sick of the Lakers. Can we just skip the games and go straight to `Where We At?‘

Links:

[AZCentral.com]: Barkley calls out Kobe

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Charlotte Bobcats

Joakim Noah will officially be the ugliest guy in a NBA uniform this year


The NBA suffered a major blow when top overall selection Greg Oden went down for the year. Well, the injury bug struck again, but this time it went straight for one of the most pedestrian No. 3 picks in history. Yup, if you’re a fan goofy hair, bad moustaches and ridiculous Larry Bird comparisons then you might want to sit down for this.

Adam Morrison is probably going to be out for the year after an MRI showed that he has a torn ligament in his left knee suffered during a preseason game against the Lakers on Saturday.

Our medical staff has had a chance to review the MRI, and they’re saying right now they believe there is some sort of tear,” coach Sam Vincent said Sunday, about an hour before the Bobcats took on Phoenix in the second day of the annual Staples Center shootout.

“Until they get in there and do whatever they do, who knows? But they are saying there’s a good chance he will be out for the year. So I’m not counting on him playing,” Vincent added.

“I talked to him before the coaches and players meeting this morning when he had just gotten back from taking the MRI, and he pretty much knew the results,” Vincent said. “He’s obviously down.

And we all know about how emotional Adam gets about things. Don’t you remember his self-deprecating ad that ended with “More people should cry. And when I get to the NBA, more people will cry”?

Sorry to disappoint you big guy, but the only person crying after you hit the pros is Michael Jordan.

AKA: Charlotte’s Manager of Basketball Operations

AKA: The guy who wasted the Wizards first pick on Kwame Brown

AKA: The numbskull that made Morrison his pet project in Charlotte.

Links:

[AZCentral.com]: Bobcats’ Morrison likely done for season

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NBA General

Joey Crawford’s back and he’s ready to piss more people off


Five months ago, the biggest problem facing the NBA was a no-nonsense, technical foul-yielding referee that mysteriously threw Tim Duncan out in the final minutes of a game against the Dallas Mavericks and then, according to Duncan, challenged him to a fight. Well, after being suspended indefinitely since April, Joey Crawford has been reinstated into the league.

Based on my meeting with Joey Crawford, his commitment to an ongoing counseling program, and a favorable professional evaluation that was performed at my direction, I am satisfied that Joey understands the standards of game management and professionalism the NBA expects from him and that he will be able to conduct himself in accordance with those standards,” said NBA commissioner David Stern.

It’s amazing how little things like referees picking fights with superstars can all be forgiven when there’s some jerk-off zebra messing with the mob and fixing games.

Links:

[WLWT.com]: NBA Reinstates Official Joey Crawford

Categories
NBA General

Crooked NBA ref is about to get busted by the feds

We really hate when people try to bring up how sports today are fixed, normally we’d just shake our heads and save our breath because we want to hold out the hope that the courts and fields of America are centered on fair competition. Well, it’s going to become pretty hard to justify the validity of the games if the FBI is correct in their assumptions that one NBA referee has ties to the mob and was actually betting on games, including ones he was officiating.

The name of the ref is being withheld but the allegations are coming to the surface as the feds revealed that they began looking into the matter over a year ago and they are now ready to throw the ref and a bunch of his gangster buddies into the slammer. According to accounts, the zebra had a gambling addiction, bet on some games with illegal bookies, lost his ass and was forced by the mob to fix the games.

We can’t wait to find out who this punk is that’s tarnishing the legitimacy our sacred playing fields, because we really don’t appreciate it. And frankly, we’re going to have to going to have to suggest a good ol’ ferret legging be included somewhere in his punishment once sentencing time rolls around. While we don’t want to create speculation on who the crooked bastard could be, we will say that we’re praying for it to be Joey Crawford. After all, this is a blatant money making call if we’ve ever seen one:

Links:

[New York Post]: NBA In A `Fix’

Categories
Sacramento Kings

David Lee plays streetball in the projects? It’s true, Ron Artest said so.



No, no, no; not that David Lee.

If you’re curious about how Ron Artest is spending his off-season, you’d probably be surprised to know that the NBA’s bad boy is currently in Nairobi, Kenya, with Theo Ratliff, Maurice Evans, Etan Thomas and NBA Players Association president Billy Hunter in a joint effort with “Feed the Children.” Surprisingly, Artest is being productive for a change. At least he’s not the latest celebrity to treat a third world country like a petting zoo as they look for a cute native child to pluck from some village. And thank goodness, no child deserves to be raised by Ron Ron. What’s even more surprising than Artest actually participating in a charitable cause is that he seems to be learning from the experience.

These people are not eating,” Artest said. “They haven’t taken showers, and the sewers are right outside their house. And it’s not even sewers with running water. It’s like a little ditch so they can throw their feces in.”

“And little 1-year-old babies are walking around and playing right next to it, wearing clothes that look like they’ve been in a New York train station and run over by a ‘7’ train 100 times. All the ghettos in New York City, the only thing that can compare to this is New Orleans when Katrina happened. And this is worse than Katrina.

We say any maturity is good maturity when it comes to Artest, so we’re pretty impressed with his actions. But, even more shocking than Ron starting to act his age is that he plays streetball in the ghetto with David Lee.

If some crazy scenario happened where I was with the Knicks, I would want David Lee there,” Artest said. “I love David Lee. I played with him in the ‘hood last summer, and he showed so much heart. They were trying to rough up David Lee, but David Lee got rough right back. And this was the projects, you know? And I respected that.

Wow, does this sound like a real life White Men Can’t Jump or what?

Links:

[Newsday.com]: Ron Artest now a man on a mission

Categories
Seattle Supersonics

Kevin Durant almost made people forget Greg Oden wasn’t there


The top two picks from this year’s NBA Draft were supposed to hook up in the first of a career filled with battles on Sunday night when the Seattle Sonics played the Portland Trail Blazers in a summer league game. However, with Greg Oden out of commission thanks to the removal of his tonsils on Saturday, the stage was set for the kid who has been playing second fiddle to take center stage. And Kevin Durant didn’t disappoint in his solo performance.

Durant impressed the crowd with several monster dunks en route to putting up 28 points in the 84-78 loss that kept the Sonics winless in the summer league competition. But despite the team’s woes, Durant was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 23.7 points in his first four contests.

He’s a very special player that has a lot of skills,” Seattle summer coach Ralph Lewis. “Playing games is on the job training and he is growing as a player and we are growing as a team.

While Durant is undoubtedly the face of the franchise for the next decade, Seattle is still pretty excited about their other big catch on draft night. Jeff Green was Seattle’s high-scorer with 32 points. So, even with a 0-5 record, a 60 point outburst from the two kids expected to carry the Sonics out of the slums can brighten the outlook of any coach, GM or fan; even if it did little to impress Durant himself.

I wouldn’t say that this was my best game, but I got better,” Durant said.

Links:

[Chron.com]: Durant scores 28 against Oden-less Blazers

Categories
Detroit Pistons

Mr. Big Shot isn’t going anywhere



Get ready to hear “Chauncey
B-B-B-Billups” for a long, long time.

There has been lots of talk over the past few months that Chauncey Billups was going to leave Detroit for a lucrative offer from another team, but the Pistons have officially squashed any doubt that they would lose their point guard after they threw a wad of cash at him and he promptly accepted. Joe Dumars locked up his Finals MVP winning guard to a $60 million contract that will keep Billups in Motown for the next five years with $46 million guaranteed over the next four seasons and a team option for the fifth.

We said from the beginning that re-signing Chauncey was our top priority, and now we can move forward knowing that Chauncey will continue to lead this team,” Joe Dumars told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “One of the toughest positions to fill in this business is the point guard position, and that’s why it was imperative that we re-sign Chauncey.

Apparently Dumars has learned his lesson after he let one of the other “toughest positions to fill” skip town when Ben Wallace, one of the few legitimate centers in the league, bailed out of Detroit for the rival Bulls last year. This move goes a long way to helping the Pistons shoot for a sixth consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance; and even if they don’t make it back to the East’s championship game, an average salary of $12 million per year will make it a lot easier to cope with the pain of losing. At least for Billups it will.

Links:

[MSNBC.com]: Billups re-signs with Pistons for $60 million

Categories
Miami Heat

Antoine Walker might want to go ahead and spring for a security system


Being rich is totally awesome until some nut comes along and decides that they want to be rich too by tying you up and stealing thousands of dollars worth of your stuff. Don’t believe us? Just ask Antoine Walker, he knows all about being robbed at gunpoint.

Apparently, the Miami Heat forward was just chillin’ in his Chicago crib when some masked men broke into his home, tied him up and stole jewelry, a car and some cold hard cash. Luckily, or unluckily, one of Toine’s friends walked into the house during the stick-up.

When he went into the house, he saw Antoine’s phone on the floor. He called out for Toine. Toine was upstairs — that’s what somebody told him. And then when he went upstairs, he was put at gunpoint right then and there. They taped him up by the wrists, they taped him by the ankles and then they just took all their money. And then they took Mr. Walker’s car,” James Walker said.

But this wasn’t the first time Walker has been the victim of a theft. Back in 2000, a bandit stole $50,000 from Walker while he was sitting in his car in south Chicago. Damn, and we thought that the Dallas Mavericks had a tendency to get robbed blind.

Links:

[WLKY.com]: NBA Star Tied Up, Robbed In Chicago Home

Categories
Orlando Magic

The Magic land Rashard Lewis; take that Billy Donovan!


After Seattle drafted Kevin Durant and then traded for Jeff Green last Thursday evening, it became crystal clear that the Sonics were gently nudging Rashard Lewis out the free agent door. Okay, so it was more like a running shove, but Lewis looks like he might have found his way into a perfect situation because of it.

Lewis has agreed to a “maximum contract” with the Orlando Magic and will round out a trio of budding superstars with Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson. No terms of the deal can be announced until July 11, but it will either be a five-year deal as a free agent or it could become a sign-and-trade to allow for a sixth year with an expected income of $15 million per season. While the money is an incredible perk, the real signing bonus for Lewis will be the fact that his seasons will now extend well beyond the 82nd game of the year. No more struggling to stay afloat out west amongst all the elite big men that continually take Seattle’s lunch money. In the Eastern Conference, on a young team overflowing with potential, Lewis’ Magic will be consistently in the running with powerhouses like the Pistons, Bulls, Cavs and Heat.

If other superstars have any desire to compete for a championship, they’d be smart to follow Lewis’ lead and head for the land of opportunity. In the Eastern Conference, guys like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett could dominate on a yearly basis with just a little help from the front office in assembling some complimentary pieces. Out West, if you’re not playing for the Spurs, Mavs, Suns, Jazz or Rockets, you’re playing against them and the odds are you’re not getting past all of `em come playoff time. Seattle and Portland might think they have a bright future ahead of them and they do have a brighter future for sure, but they still have a long way to go before they catch any of the conference’s elite (SA, DAL, PHO). Put Greg Oden or Kevin Durant in Boston, Atlanta or Milwaukee and they could almost immediately compete for a conference crown.

Links:

[KCBD.com]: Lewis headed for Orlando
[SI.com]: Lewis agrees to maximum contract with Magic

Categories
Utah Jazz

Salt Lake City can finally joke again after getting pounded in the playoffs

So, there we were, thumbing through the online edition of The Salt Lake Tribune (a regular read of ours) when the headline “Jazz prospect is `very tall, and very Romanian’” caught our eyes. We were kind of taken back by the comment until we read the article and were pleasantly surprised that our Salt Lake source wasn’t reduced to merely evaluating players based solely on the criteria of their height and nationality. Unfortunately, we were somewhat preoccupied during the entire read because after that headline, we just couldn’t get this broadcasting blunder out of our heads:

There was also a comment in the second paragraph about how nothing causes more anxiety than the phrase “Benoit for three!” We’re going to assume that he means the former Jazz player and not the former lowlife, family killing wrestler.