Tag: Phoenix Suns

Categories
Seattle Supersonics

Around the Rim: The Sonics continue to evolve


1. The sun is finally shinning in Seattle

The ever changing face of Seattle just got another nip and tuck as the Sonics finally filled their vacant head coaching spot with the ultra talented, yet blackballed, P.J. Carlesimo. Fans in Seattle have got to be ecstatic with their new, overhauled roster of young talent and now they have an experienced coach who knows what it takes to win. After all, the guy has spent the last five seasons with the Spurs as an assistant to Gregg Popovich, so he has probably picked up a couple of tricks from Pop that he’d be more than willing to use against him. And poor player relationships like the one that got his throat squeezed in a “Why I oughta…” type moment straight out of an episode of The Simpsons back in Golden State shouldn’t be an issue anymore. Not only has Carlesimo had ten years to become more player friendly, but he has a young sponge in Kevin Durant who would make any coach happy to roll out of bed in the morning. Nobody has had a better off-season than Seattle and the good times should continue coming for years to come with this new, young core of talent. Enjoy Sonics fans, enjoy.

2. Kobe’s mood swings keep on coming

The Kobe coaster continues to roll up and down through the peaks and valleys of La-La Land. The latest turn has taken us dead smack into another apology and backtrack by Bryant. Weeks after the whole, “I want out of Los Angeles…I love Los Angeles” radio talk kicked off the controversy, Bryant told the media that he apologized to GM Mitch Kupchak for his infamous on-air/video blasts. He said that he was sorry and that it all just came out wrong as he was venting. He also said that he hasn’t thought about being traded in a “long, long time.” We’re not buying it though; after all, hasn’t he been watching the TV this past week? It has got to be killing Kobe that all these teams are getting new franchise building faces via the draft, free agency or trades. Meanwhile, all the worthwhile opportunities for him to move on to a winning environment are simply dwindling away.

3. Phoenix gets even more talent
There was some talk for a while that Grant Hill could be joining the Spurs in order try and piggyback his way to the championship ring that has eluded him his entire career, but after San Antonio held onto Jacque Vaughn, Matt Bonner and Fabricio Oberto it became obvious that they weren’t going to have the funds to pay for Hill’s dream to come true. So, Hill did the next best thing: he joined the Suns roster in an attempt to become the missing piece that propels Phoenix past the Spurs in next year’s playoffs. It’s not like Mike D’Antoni really needed any more talent in the superstar diamond mine they call Phoenix, but there’s no way anyone could turn down putting Hill on their bench for a mere $2 million per season. If Hill can stay healthy and be just one-tenth of the mega talented All-Star that he was in Detroit then Phoenix could have their very own Robert Horry/Michael Finley as a nice compliment to their nucleus. Or, even better, they could get their very own Grant Hill; a potential 18ppg, 6rpg, 6apg type of guy.

Buzzer Beater: If you haven’t made your travel arrangements yet, you’re probably screwed because Tony Parker and Eva Longoria are going to be tying the knot on Saturday in France. We’re sure it will be a lovely ceremony with lots of glitz and glamour and big name celebrities. We can’t wait to hear all the great gossip about the dress and the cake and the church! Hopefully some photos will leak and we’ll get some embarrassing snap shots like the ones from A.J. Hawk’s wedding with, say, David Robinson playing the role of Brady Quinn.

Categories
General Sports

Odds and Ends: $20 says he eats it


Chris Berman has ruined basically everything good about sports and specifically football with his fat face and his ridiculous anchor work (just think “well dressed Amani Toomer” and “whoop whoop whooop”). So while this story may or may not be true, we’re going to go ahead and assume that it is and spread it around.


So here I am staring at this guy, feeling a little weird about it and it happens. This guy, Chris Berman takes his finger and shoves it as far up his nose as he can get it!! (LOL, I am laughing and typing this at the sametime) WTF..I think, maybe the booger is really bothering him. The only problem was, THE MAN DIDN’T STOP THERE.

He picked his nose none (sic) stop and in-between picks you would think he would have wiped them on a tissue, his shirt, hell, the back of the seat in front of him! But no, this man proceeded to pop each booger in his..umm..yup you got it…MOUTH. These weren’t average sized boogers either, my husband to this day refers to them as Earthworms!! Same color, shape everything. HOW GROSS!!

Does this surprise anyone? (Via Sports By Brooks)

In other news…

[Orlando Sentinel]: MLB wants to charge fantasy sites for using players’ names

[Sportsline]: Former NFL DL charged with bank fraud

[Philly.com]: Brett Myers, former wife beater, is rehabbing his image while on rehab

[Our Book of Scrap]: Ghetto Tranny Fight Club?

[Bright Side of the Sun]: Suns fans just a little bitter about the Spurs dynasty

[Steroid Nation]: TMI, Cuban, TMI

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: The NBA Draft wars have begun


1. Kevin Durant didn’t do himself any favors
Kevin Durant was unanimously chosen as the best player in college basketball last season but it certainly looks like he’s going to be playing second fiddle to Greg Oden when the draft comes rolling around at the end of the month. While Oden impressed the heck out of some scouts, Durant couldn’t even bench 185 pounds and finished 78th out of 80th prospects who showed up to Orlando last week. Oden did significantly better in the vertical leap, an agility drill and finished with a better time in a three-quarter court sprint. Looks like Kevin better get used to idea of playing in Seattle. Wait, didn’t this happen to a Longhorn once before? Ah, yes; some guy named Vince Young blew the nonexistent roof off the Rose Bowl and then everyone started questioning him after a pathetic Wonderlic score. Last we checked, V.Y. was the R.O.Y., but only time will tell if Durant can do the same.

2. Ladies and gentleman, Steve Kerr

Steve Kerr made his debut as the Suns’ general manager on Wednesday and his first order of business was to crack up the media with a sarcastic answer to a question of his plans for the Suns. “I’m going to shop Nash immediately,” Kerr said. Not a bad start; but what does the reporter think he’s gonna say. What’s up with all these people saying that teams like Phoenix and Dallas should be blown up because they didn’t bring home the trophy. Obviously these guys came up short in the postseason…again, but teams that win 60+ games don’t need to be blown up. Tweaking is all that’s needed for these guys; tweaking of expectations that is. Just because you win the regular season doesn’t mean your gonna win the postseason; sometimes it’s just a few tough breaks that can cost a series or even a championship. Listen, disappointment is tough but the West is even tougher. But don’t forget that persistence pays you guys, it took San Antonio over a decade of David Robinson disappointment before their big break came.

Buzzer Beater: And we are finally less than 24 hours away from the NBA finals between the Cavs and Spurs and it’s a good thing because we’re getting ready to pop at the seams. For as much hate as the NBA gets, this should shape up to a pretty good series. On one side you’ve got the future of the league in LeBron James and on the other side you’ve got the best player of his generation in Tim Duncan; unfortunately for James, in addition to having a ton of championship experience and some of the toughest defense in the league, Duncan also has another pair of All-Stars on his side of the court. Cleveland has some solid players but there shouldn’t be any doubt in any fan’s mind that the Cavs are completely outclassed. Well, those Cavalier fans might not agree with that but they know it’s true deep down inside. That’s not to say that we’re going to have a sweep on our hands; LBJ is good enough to single handedly carry his team to victory on any given night, but the question is can he do that four times? Probably not; once or twice is more likely. San Antonio knows how important these first two games at home will be because with a Golden State-esque electricity running through the building in Cleveland it’s gonna be really tough to grab more than one victory battling that type of emotion.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: King of the road


1. Video game James
There has been lots of criticism about LeBron James‘ game of late, but nobody can say anything about the league’s young King anymore. Scoring 29 of your team’s final 30 points in a double overtime Game 5 road game victory has a way of shutting people up. LBJ ended up with a career playoff-high 48 points as he led his Cavaliers to a 109-107 win that put his boys up 3-2 in the Eastern Conference finals and just one win away from a finals appearance. Oh, and let’s don’t forget about his nine boards and seven assists; the kid is multidimensional, ya know. However, Detroit has been making it easy for LBJ to win games for his team; just like they’ve blown a 2-0 lead in the series, the Pistons blew a seven point lead in Game 5 with 3:15 left in regulation. But the Bad Boys could have been up by 20 with the clock winding down and James was going to find a way to win that game. Big shot after big shot after big shot; it was an incredible performance. And even though the reference is way overused when it comes to some of today’s young superstars, LeBron’s takeover of Game 5 was definitely Michael Jordan-esque.

2. The Magic’s man

The Magic are ready to shoot up the Eastern Conference ranks with an All-Star in the middle and talented young point guard running things on the floor. And now it appears that they now finally have the superstar coach to guide take this franchise back to the promised land. Billy Donovan had fulfilled his duty to Florida by winning a pair of championships and after all his players jumped ship for the NBA there is absolutely no reason for him to turn down a five year deal worth $27.5 million from Orlando. And talk about stepping into a sweet situation! Most college coaches end up running squads like the Hawks when they get the big call; but not Donovan. Nope, a championship pedigree has earned this former Gator an immediate opportunity at success. Now we just have to wait and see if he’ll be another college punk who couldn’t make it with the big boys.

3. Movin’ on up
If you enjoy hearing Steve Kerr‘s in-depth analysis and self-references of dishing the ball off to Tim Duncan and Michael Jordan while racking up five rings o’ bling then you better be DVR-ing these final Eastern Conference finals games. Why you ask. Well, once either the Pistons or Cavs move on to play the Spurs, Kerr will be leaving the TNT booth for an awesome gig as the Suns president of basketball operations and general manager. Mike D’Antoni will be stepping down as GM so that he can be a full time coach and Kerr can be a full time fat cat. No more having to put up with Marv Albert‘s stupid comments or spending nights squeezed in-between John Thompson and Kevin Harlan while his spits out his obnoxious “Buckle up!!” catch phrase. Not a bad promotion if you ask us. We’d like to see that schmuck Mark Jackson from ESPN do that.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James @ Detroit 50 min, 48 pts (FG: 18-33, 3FG: 2-3, FT: 10-14), 9 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl

Buzzer Beater: There’s a saying that there is no such thing as bad publicity, but Salt Lake City might have something to say about that after John Amaechi gave his old home town a shout out as “the hippest, gayest place east of San Francisco.” We’re sure that Deron Williams was even happier about his current situation in Utah after hearing that excerpt from Amaechi’s memoirs. Not that there is anything wrong with that. In fact, Utah will be drenched in gayness this weekend when Amaechi serves as the grand marshal for the Utah Pride Parade. But America is still waiting for an active player to come out of the closet and lead one of these parades in uniform. And hurry it up Brady Quinn; we’re not getting any younger.

Categories
LA Lakers

Odds and Ends: Isiah Thomas to offer next 10 first round picks for Kobe


Now that Kobe Bryant has officially asked to be traded from the Lakers, the multi-million dollar question is: where to? It’s fairly amusing the fan reaction to the Kobe demand. On on hand, you have Bright Side of the Sun which basically says no way. On the other, you have Kickerblogger.net which is trying to figure out how many players they’d need to ship to LA to even out Kobe’s value/salary. And then you have The 700 Level which is asking whether Philly fans want the prodigal son to return.

Nowitzki for Kobe seems to be the most logical trade. You get superstar for superstar and you could move some minor pieces to make the contracts work out. The only problem is that Mark Cuban is hopelessly in love with Dirk. Kobe just made the pre-draft period 100x more interesting.

In other news…

[Enquirer]: Odds on when Barry will hit 756*…

[Sac Bee]: But when he does, Barry Bonds might not give any memorabilia to the hall of fame. No wonder why everyone hates him.

[Sports By Brooks]: Getting knocked out and practically ruining UFC didn’t stop Chuck Liddell from partying

[AdFreak]: Is ballpark advertising still effective if an outfielder is lying unconscious in front of it?

[Our Book of Scrap]: You can party in Cozumel with the Broncos cheerleaders

Categories
San Antonio Spurs

Is Jesus rooting for the Spurs?

The Phoenix/San Antonio series is quickly becoming one of the most exciting match-ups in recent history and the two fan bases are slowly becoming more and more desperate to put a hurtin’ on the other. But, in reality, there is nothing that the faithful fans can do other than root, root, root for the home team. Or is there? The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio think they might have a secret weapon lined up to help their boys beat those darn Suns. His name…God!

So, will the Lord will the Spurs to victory tonight? Or does he want to see a classic Game 7 back in Arizona like the rest of the nation? Guess we won’t find out until the Game 6 wraps up this evening, but we’re just glad that it sounds like God is going to forgive Robert Horry for his forearm shot to Steve Nash. It would have really sucked to be banned from heaven over a flagrant foul.

Links:

[WOAI.com]: Divine Team Spirit: Local Nuns Pray For The Spurs

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Detroit is going home, and that’s a good thing


1. Detroit makes the East finals, again
Detroit was on the verge of giving up a 3-0 lead to the Chicago Bulls but the Pistons went into Chi-Town for Game 5 and sealed up their fifth consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference finals with a 95-85 victory. In typical Detroit fashion, there was no flash or flare from any one player; it was just nine role players falling into line for the one uniting cause. The former Bad Boy and current Baby Bull Ben Wallace had to be extra disgusted as his old team celebrated in his new arena after he could only muster six points and seven rebounds in the elimination situation. Now that’s one stone cold fro! So, now there’s only thing on Detroit’s mind…

2. Who’s coming with us?

The Cavaliers will have another chance to put away those pesky Nets but this time they are going to have to do it with an arena full of fans telling `em that they suck. Then again, some Cleveland fans were making it rain boos during the fourth quarter as the Cavs shot just 3-of-16 in the period and didn’t make a bucket in the final 6:58 of the game. If Jason Kidd can manage to give another Big O type effort then this series will most likely be headed to the most loved and feared prospect in the playoffs: Game 7. Kidd is just short of averaging a triple-double for the series (14.4 pts, 11.8 reb, 8.8 ast), but don’t feel bad for the guy; after all, he is averaging a triple dip over the entire playoffs. That’s an amazing average of 14.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 11.2 assists over an 11 game stretch! And so we don’t overlook his defensive production, we should also point out that Kidd is also 1.82 steals and .45 blocks per game. He’s a virtual human Swiss Army Knife.

3. And on the other side of the bracket
We know that the Utah Jazz are patiently awaiting the winner of the Phoenix/San Antonio series, but what we don’t know is if we are going to be witness to one or two more big time brawls before the West finals are set. The Suns fans are still pissed about the Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw suspensions for Game 5 in which the Spurs barely escaped Phoenix with victory and a 3-2 series edge, but obviously Mike D’Antoni and his staff are no longer concerned with the past. They can’t be; it’s time to win or go home as the old saying goes. The Spurs have got to be a bit worried after the Stoudemireless Suns almost bucked the odds because Steve Nash now has his favorite target back in the lineup which has got to be giving Gregg Popovich some serious stress headaches. Luckily, San Antonio will have the advantage of playing at home with a raucous crowd yelling at the top of their lungs. We just hope that they can come up with something a little more clever than “Dirty! Dirty!”

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Rasheed Wallace @ Chicago 39 min, 16 pts (FG: 7-14, 3FG: 2-8, FT: 0-1), 13 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk

Buzzer Beater: First the USA Basketball committee tried to put together a team of NBA superstars who were supposed to razzle-dazzle the international competition, but instead they just got exposed for the selfish hot dogers they were. So, then the masterminds decided that they would go after the hungrier, grittier ballers who weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty against the scrappy Euros and other quickly acclimating squads. That’s a much better strategy than trying to assemble another Dream Team except for when those hardnosed guys decide to turn you down. Recently crowned defensive player of the year Marcus Camby told USA Basketball that although it was a great honor, he would not be able to accept their invitation to participate in the qualifiers for the 2008 Olympics. So, now where does the red, white and blue look for their presence in the middle? None of the superstars are walking through that door, to steal a phrase, and the lower tier Cambys and Brad Millers of the league have other agendas (family, rehab, vacation, rolling in money) and don’t want to be part of the humiliation that has become USA Basketball. That gold medal is just becoming more and more unrealistic with every day that passes.

Categories
Phoenix Suns

Phoenix’s public enemy #1: Big Shot Bob


In case you haven’t noticed, the Phoenix Suns and their fans are just a little angry with Robert Horry. His infamous forearm to Steve Nash in the final moments of Game 4 sent shockwaves through the NBA as Big Shot Rob’s actions coaxed Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw off the Suns bench which earned the duo a pair of suspensions for Game 5. It’s arguable that the flagrant foul ended up costing the Suns the pivotal fifth game and possibly the series. So, AZCentral.com has come up with this creative method of allowing the Phoenix faithful to gain a small measure of revenge against Horry; even though it was their own player’s stupid decisions that kept them out of the arena on Wednesday night. We present to you… Whack-A-Horry.

Sure, it’s not nearly as much fun as the arcade version but how could it be without the feel of a giant padded mallet in your hands. But if it can calm the rage of a city then we say whack away. It might seem a bit silly to sit at your desk and virtually beat the crap out of an animated Horry head but it is a hell of a lot better than how Raiders fans decide to take out their frustrations.

Links:

[WOAI.com]: Whack-A-Horry: Arizona Website Posts Anger-Venting Game For Suns’ Fans

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Another ESPN Instant Classic was just born



And this was the scene before the game.

1. Phoenix gets burned in the Valley of the Sun
Game 5 between the Spurs and the Suns was a tale of two halves. The first half saw Shawn Marion light up the jumbotron with 20 points and 11 rebounds en route to an 11 point lead at the break as San Antonio was a nonexistent 0-of-7 from behind the arc. Fast forward past the Frisbee catching dog or whatever ridiculous half time gimmick the Suns front office pulled out of the hat for this game and in the second half, the Spurs were a very existent 8-of-16 from three land as Marion could only score four points and grab six boards over the final 12 minutes. Algebra 101 taught us that if you add those two halves together you get an 88-85 San Antonio victory, which is equal to one whole win for the guys in black; giving the Spurs a grand total of a 3-2 lead in the series. And you thought we slept our way through high school. The Suns fought a heck of a fight without their All-NBA first teamer Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw but Manu Ginobili played terrific down the stretch, minus a few unforgivable turnovers, while Bruce Bowen and Michael Finley hit several ginormous shots. Throw in the usual 20 point, 10 rebound, 3 block (21, 12 and 5 to be exact) game from Tim Duncan and the incredibly unyielding NBA rulebook and it all simply added up to odds that Phoenix just couldn’t overcome.

2. Like nats, the Nets just won’t go away

There must be something in the water over in the Eastern Conference because the Nets, like the Bulls, keep finding a way to avoid elimination and keep their postseason hopes alive. Perhaps they’re using the Vitamin Water that failed to get Tracy McGrady out of the first round but allowed him to perform one of the sweetest sheep tosses ever caught on camera. Now, Game 5 between the Nets and Cavs was nowhere near being as interesting as the Highland Games, but how could it when the final score was 83-72 and the Nets won despite scoring just six points in the final quarter on 1-of-15 shooting. Still, what the game lacked in excitement, it certainly made up for in importance as the Nets are now within one game, 3-2, of Cleveland with the series headed back to Jersey for Game 6. Whatever the mystery substance might be that New Jersey is chuggin’, they certainly didn’t share any of it with LeBron James. His royal highness finished the game with just 20 points as he missed nine of his 14 field goal attempts. Thank goodness for free throws.

3. Whoa No Nellie!
He’s only been back behind the clipboard for a year now, but Don Nelson could be done with the Golden State franchise that he rapidly resurrected into the feel-good story of the year. Well, at least until they got eliminated by the Jazz they were. And forget about all their poor sportsmanship that resulted in tons o’ techs and flagrant fouls. But, other than that, totally a feel-good story. Still, Nellie might not be ready to write another chapter in this book because, as he says, he’s “not so sure it’s important that I stay on.” C’mon, Nelson, stop being modest. This team would be on the fast track to a Jailblazers-esque reputation without the Don around to keep this fast paced squad in check, both on and off the court. Talk about a fork in the road! Golden State could grow into a Western Conference contender with Nelson at the helm or they can take their old position alongside the Clippers, Hawks and Bobcats of the league with some other ham-fisted, poor excuse of a coach. Fans of The City better hope Nellie feels like his body can take another yearlong beatdown or they can forget about using those yellow “We Believe” shirts for anything other than wearing to the gym.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Shawn Marion vs. San Antonio 46 min, 24 pts (FG: 9-16, 3FG: 2-4, FT: 4-4), 17 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk

Buzzer Beater: Mark Cuban is one of the most annoying, childish and arrogant human beings to ever walk the face of the earth. Oh, and he cries like a baby too! Having said that, he also makes some pretty solid points from time to time. After all, he didn’t become a billionaire by being an idiot. So, as much as it pains us to agree with this jackass, here’s an excerpt of what Cubes had to say about the Spurs/Suns suspensions in his blog.

First, let me go on the record as saying that in the event that a vote comes up to change the rules about suspensions for players leaving the bench, I will vote against changing it.

Why ? Because its incredibly simple to educate players about the rule. Its a rule they fully understand and they understand the consequences of violating the rule. That makes the NBA stronger because it removes uncertainty. Can it result in a game(s) being impacted , yes. However, that impact results from an action a player knew violated the rules and was a mistake. There is no uncertainty about it. All they had to do was not leave the bench.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: The West is almost set


1. No Mailman needed for this West finals delivery
The best story in the NBA postseason is finally over as the Jazz put together a late run and sent the league’s version of Cinderella packing for the offseason with a 100-87 victory in Game 5, but, more importantly, the win put Utah into the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1998. But just because Golden State is out of the picture doesn’t mean that there are no true heroes left. At least that’s what the media keeps shoving down our throat about Derek Fisher. Handling the rock in all the critical moments and knocking down his shots with a sharpshooters’ precision (7-10 FG, 4-5 3FG), Fisher left his fingerprints all over this game. Now the Jazz are left to practice, watch, wait and repeat until the dramatics over in the other half of the West bracket finally get hashed out. But GS can still be proud of what they did this year and how they played. Unfortunately, they were just a bit too raw for the refined playoffs and while it was rabid emotion that carried the Warriors over the Mavericks, it was that same enthusiasm which would eventually be their downfall. There was a whirlwind of whistles directed at The City ballers toward the end of the third quarter and the Warriors just began to slowly unravel over the final 12 minutes. We all knew that the Golden State run would eventually end but it still doesn’t make it any easier to say goodbye to Jessica Alba.

2. Who’s getting Bull-ied around now?

Two games ago, the Bulls were beaten up, thrown around and left for dead on the side of the road after falling down 3-0 to Detroit. But unlike those bloated deer that get blasted by speeding SUVs on streets across the nation, these guys rose from the dead to win two consecutive games against the Pistons. Never seen road kill do that before. Ben Gordon was obviously alive and well as he scored a game-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field that included a 5-of-6 performance from behind the arc. Kirk Hinrich didn’t resemble a dead armadillo or opossum either as he dished out 13 helpers to go with 17 points in the 108-92 Chicago victory. The Pistons are known for blowing comfy leads in the postseason but they are also known for winning the games that they have to have. But if they want to end this series quickly they are going to have to take care of business on the road. And Chicago is where Ben Wallace has had his biggest games of the series. In the two games in Chi-Town, Big Ben has pulled down 29 rebound while he only has 20 boards in the three Detroit contests.

3. The commish shows no love for Amare
We all knew that there would probably be suspensions handed out by David Stern after Robert Horry sent Steve Nash flopping flying into the scorer’s table. The incident had Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw hopping mad, and unfortunately for the Suns they hopped off the bench and onto the court which earned each of them a game suspension. Guess the whole “I was checking into the game” strategy didn’t work out for Amare. On the other side of the series, Horry’s actions earned him a two game suspension. It would seem that the Suns just lost Game 5 but now there is a ton of extra pressure on the Spurs as the suspensions have put them in a must-win situation that they must capitalize on. But, hell, we think it’s pretty safe to say that any coach in the league would rather be in Gregg Popovich‘s loafers instead of Mike D’Antoni‘s in this pivotal Game 5.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Andrei Kirilenko vs. Utah 34 min, 21 pts (FG: 8-12, FT: 5-5), 15 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl

Buzzer Beater: Dwyane Wade had to be feeling like a total idiot as he started putting on that stupid paper garment before going under the knife to repair both knee and shoulder. This was a surgery that he could have done back in February but instead opted to skip the procedure and rehab his way back into shape for the playoffs. And we think everybody knows how productive that decision turned out to be for Flash. Turns out that Dwyane’s pains were primarily coming from his knee and not the shoulder that sent him sobbing from the arena in a wheelchair. The recovery will probably take the entire offseason and possibly longer. Unfortunately, for Miami the “jumper’s knee” condition is nothing new to the franchise. Jason Williams had a similar operation performed last July and he was still in pain for half of the season.