PUBLIC ENEMY #1 and #1A

Am I the only basketball fan outside of Oklahoma City that can’t stand Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka? Perkins, scowl and everything, plays dirtier than most but complains about every call. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have him on my team, but he is so dirty.  Did anyone see the play against Houston last night where he HELD Chandler Parson’s hand to prevent him from playing D against a 3-point shooting Thabo Sefolosha? The worst part of it was that the ref was right there and didn’t even make the call.  I understand home court but this was ridiculous. How is that basketball? You can’t see it from this pic but there’s a referee standing direclty behind Perkins.

As for Ibaka, he just annoys the heck out of me.  Somebody tell him the finger wag after a block was coveted by Mutumbo.  While the PF is a stud, his 13 ppg and almost 8 rpg don’t do him justice.  I just don’t understand how this guy became a tough guy after just 4 years in the league? I wish the Charles Oakleys and teh Bill Laimbeers were here to knock him on his ass.  And how did this guy slip to the 24th pick in the draft? Oh well, looks like the winner in the West is going to come down to the Clippers and Thunder.  But the way these 2 guys are playing, I don’t think the Clippers bigs are ready to mix it.

.485

If you’re wondering why the Lakers can’t get over the .500 hump, look no further then their biggest problem, coming from their biggest man, Dwight Howard.  He’s shooting .485 from the free throw line.  Called “free” for a reason.  Called “charity stripe” for that same reason.  Yet big Dwight, who runs up and down the floor so lackadaisically, just can’t seem to put it together.  Imaging how frustrating it is to make a stop on the defensive end, come down with the ball, get it to the big guy who gets fouled, is sent to the line, and misses both free throws.  And its not happening once a game, he went 3 for 14 from the line yesterday. I mean talk about demoralizing to the rest of the team.  You can see it in Kobe’s body language.  You can even see it in Nash’s body language.  Missing freethrows has gotten contagious.  I bet you didn’t know that Howard made 67% of his freethrows in his rookie year? Howard is a perfect headcase.  You knew in the first quarter that he wasn’t gonna have a decent/respectable day from the line.  You can see it in his eyes.  Try to focus for pete’s sake.  We’re not asking for much, just 50%.  Just run up and down the court with energy.  You have bad hands. That’s why people don’t pass you the ball often.  You goaltend at least 1 shot a game.  I’m frustrated.  What good is it going to do for the Lakers to make the first round of the playoffs. So we can all watch them get swept by the Thunder?  I’m predicting that they’re not going to make the playoffs so we don’t have to worry about it.  The Lakers should’ve traded Howard before the deadline.  Big mistake by Jimmy Buss. Then again, so was hiring D’antoni.

What’s Going on in LAKERLAND?!?!

Having watched all the Lakers games this season, the level of frustration has not only surpassed my wildest nightmares, but depending on the game I’ve watched, every Laker has taken a piece of the blame.  I can’t just blame Mike D’Antoni.  I do remember though how much better the NY Knicks became after they fired him.  But c’mon, a team with Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard and you can’t even win 50% of your games? Here’ my take, if anyone cares: Steve Nash: I understand he’s old, but c’mon, how many momentum killing turnovers can you have… CLEAN IT UP. Kobe Bryant’s biggest problem is holding onto the ball too long and taking WAAAAYYY too many shots…SWING IT AROUND BUDDY! Dwight Howard, I know you’re injured but ho about some intensity.  You’re supposed to be Superman for pete’s sake…. and STOP SMILING! As for Pau Gasol, I honestly feel for this guy.  He’s been playing out of position for a long time now.  Get your ass on the block.  Stop shooting anything outside the paint. And DEMAND THAT YOU START!!! I’m watching the Lakers up 10 points against the Jazz at the half but I’m not feeling comfortable.  The Lakers always blow it in the 2nd half.  Let’s see if they can pick up their 3 win of the year… I mean it almost February, why not!

‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE NBA-MAS

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am pumped about the NBA season which is set to kick off Tuesday night! Maybe it’s because I’m a Lakers homer, but c’mon, you gotta admit Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant on the same team sounds intriguing? How about the Clippers adding Grant Hill, Odom and Jamaal Crawford? Will Blake’s knee hold up? The scariest move for me was the Heat signing Ray Allen. A consistent shooter on a dangerous team like that.  I have them as favorites to win it all. I like what Boston did in picking Jason Terry but it ain’t gonna be enough. Not only are KG and Paul Pierce 1 year older, but they have no depth. I can’t wait for the annual Knicks’ Amare v. Carmelo drama to begin.  With Harden gone from OKC (BIG MISTAKE), I can’t see the any legitimate threat for the Lakers in the west.  Not even Iguodola in Denver is gonna make a difference.  Then again, isn’t it true that every NBA team is 1 injury away from going to the cellar? Look what happened to D-Rose and Chicago. Truth be told, I don’t even think he’s coming back this year.  Chicago might end up being a lottery team. Hang on folks, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!

BOO HOO MARK CUBAN

So it seems that Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban got his feelings hurt when Jason Kidd left his team in the offseason for the New York Knicks.  Let’s ponder the move: Mavericks were on a downhill spiral after winning the Championship 2 years ago.  They lost Jason Terry.  The Lamar Odom project was a failure.  The Knicks on the other hand have a roster filled with stars in Tyson Chandler, Amare Stoudemire, and Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks are headed to the playoffs while the Mavs are slowly on their way to the lottery. I don’t blame Kidd and frankly, even if the Knicks sucked, and it was his decision, he was a free agent.  As for Cuban, apparently he is not used to people “defying” him and not getting his way.  Sucks…. Welcome to the real world. I know you’ve been there before but your loud mouth has clouded your view.  Believe it or not, they’ve done a decent job retooling this offseason, adding Darren Collison, OJ Mayo, Chris Kaman and even an over-the-hill Elton Brand.  Cuban’s mistake was not hanging on to his roster, specifically Tyson Chandler and JJ Barea, after winning the title and bring them back for another run. Oh well, I wouldn’t worry about Jason Kidd, he wasn’t going to make much of a difference.  My guess is that the Lakers and the Thunder and gonna put a whoopin on the Mavs this year.

LEBRON JAMES IS WEAK

This is the second game in this series between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics that Lebron James has had the ball in his hands at the end of regulation with a chance to win it. Game 2, with a MUCH smaller Rondo guarding him, Lebron took a fadeaway 20 foot jumper and bricked it.  Luckily, he had Dwayne Wade and Udonis Haslem to pick him up in overtime and pull of the win.  Today, with time winding down and the game tied, the Heat have Wade pass the ball to Lebron, who instead of trying to create something, dribbles out most of the clock then throws a WILD pass to Haslem who is forced to take a sideways fading 15 foot jumper.  What type of leader is this guy? I’ve never seen anyone be so afraid of having the ball in his hands in crunch time. I used to think that everyone was being hard on the so-called King but after watching these playoffs, I’m selling my stock.  As for Wade, how about jumping into that sorry Marquis Daniels and get three freebies at the charity stripe.  This Heat team might get past the Cs, only because they have homecourt BUT there is no way either one of these teams beat the winner of the West. Long live the King… NOT!!!

SAY GOODBYE TO THESE LAKERS

Deja vu all over again…Los Angeles Lakers blew another 4th quarter lead tonight, just like they did in game 2.  Instead of being up 3 games to 1, the Lakers just kissed their season and hopes of a Championship… GOODBYE.  I blame Kobe for game 2′s loss.  I blame the team for this one.  Changing of the guard, well that happened last year when the Lake Show got swept by Dallas. This was just a reminder for all those Angelinos that thought that the Lakers were going to pull this series out.  There’s something toxic, cancerous about this Lakers team. It reminds me of Shaq’s last year.  Andrew Bynum was dominating the 1st half. 2nd half, M.I.A.  Blame the others for not getting the ball to him. Blame Bynum for not getting open. Blame Mike Brown for not drawing up plays for Bynum.  Pau Gasol, I’m done defending this guy. Step aside Dirk Nowitzki, here’s the posterboy for softness.  Ramon Session, disappointing is all I can say. Lakers bench, what bench? Kobe Bryant, Kobe Bryant… Too many errors, too many mistakes, too many bad shots too, too many turnovers. How easy was it for Westbrook and Durant to score? GEEZ, James Harden looked like a superstar. The Lakers are gonna get blasted next game.  I promise you that they will lose by double digits. As for the offseason, now would be the time for Jimbo Buss to make a name for himself.  Put everyone on the block.  Get some heart on this team. To have 3 all-stars on 1 team and no get past the second round for the 2nd year in a row is a joke. If this same team returns next year, you can expect another playoff torching.  Buss should call Sterling and maybe join the two teams.

Los Angeles Lakers Keep Rolling

If you thought that the Lakers just didn’t have enough this year to compete, you weren’t the only one.  Then something happened: they traded for pg in Ramon Sessions, got PF Jordan Hill, dumped the crap off their payroll (i.e. Luke Walton and Jason Kapono) and then willed their way to 3rd place in the West.  Now they’ve beaten the Denver Nuggets twice…handily and are on their way to Denver to steal at least one of the next two games.  The Lakers are the only team with 2 legitimate 7 footers that can go drop 20+ points and grab 10+ boards a game.  We all know about Kobe.  Their only glaring weakness is the bench.  I’m concerned about Ron, I mean Metta World Idiot coming back and ruining their flow. Wish the league suspended him for the entire playoffs.  Either way, if you’re looking for some playoff action, head over to Ticket Liquidator where they have the best seats for the best prices.

TORN ACL ELIMINATES BULLS FROM PLAYOFFS

Derrick Rose tore his ACL with just over 1 minute left in Game 1 of their series with the Philadelphia Sixers.  At the time Rose went down, the Bulls had the ball and were up by a dozen.  There was probably a 97% chance that they were going to win that game.  Rose has been injured all year, so I ask myself, “Why wouldn’t coach Thibodeau pull him out?” I know, I’m Monday morning quarterbacking right now, but still  The Bulls just went from favorites to win the Championship to a 1st or 2nd round out.  Let’s not blame the Bulls coaching staff entirely.  I believe the league has to share about 50% of this as well. Had it not been for the lockout, the cramming of all these games in a shortened season, this would’ve never happened.  No preseason, no camp, multiple back to back to back games.  I mean, this is ridiculous.  Same thing happened to Dwight Howard, Al Horford (although he is injury prone), and now Iman Shumpert of the Knicks. Looks like Chicago’s gonna have to wait another year.  Take it from this blogger who has torn his ACL in each knee (the most recent 2 yeas ago), it ain’t fun, and rehab’s no walk in the park either.  But I’m guessing with the money they have invested in Rose, along with the state of the art facilities and medical staff, Rose should be ready to go by November. As for the playoffs, looks like the Heat are gonna coast to the finals.

Clippers Bring the Thunder

What a game! Just finished watching the Clippers abuse the Thunder in the 4th quarter, holding Durant and Westbrook to a combined single digits in teh second half and I gotta admit it, I’m sold. Don’t get me wrong, they have to make a couple of adjustments like boxing out and not allowing so many offensive rebounds. DeAndre Jordan also needs to get his head in the game.  The Clippers need his big body clogging up the pain in the final minutes.

Not much I can say about the Clipper guards though.  Chris Paul can pretty much get any shot off he wants.  As long as Mo Williams and Randy Foye keep shooting like he did tonight they’re cruise to the Western Conference Finals, at the very least.  And I gotta admit, the Nick Young trade is HUGE! Back to back 3s in the 3rd quarter plus a few other buckets kept the Clips in the game when they couldn’t buy a bucket.  I’m pumped about the playoffs, only 2 weeks left.  I know, I forgot to mention Blake Griffin. He’s awesome.  Get’s no respect from the refs. He needs to stop complaining though.  Clippers in the playoffs for the first time since 2006.  Time to make some noise.