Games watched: Cavs v. Mavs, Celtics v. Sonics (Dec. 27)
While the Boozy is technically on a holiday break right now, I couldn't help but write a few tidbits about the league, as well as this week's Thursday TNT games.
Just in case you didn't know, the TNT has the best crew on television, save for the accidentally hilarious FSN South sportscasters (Thanks, League Pass!). On second thought, ESPN's Mike Breen/Jeff Van Gundy combo is great too, as long as Jeff jokes around and keeps away from sounding professional. Hey ESPN, can we hook Mike Breen up with both Van Gundy brothers? That's a comedic time bomb waiting to happen.
Since we've been away from LA, there have been a few feel-good stories in the league, none more exciting than the Portland Trailblazer's amazing eleven-game win streak. I know this has been said a million times by other writers, but you can't help but be amazed at how well the team's doing after people wrote them off after the Greg Oden injury. Remember the last do-nothing first-rounder who was part of a championship team? Darko Milicic on the 2004 Pistons. Can Portland make a finals run without their first overall pick on the active roster? Hey, stranger things have happened. Just sayin'.
What a weird game that was with the Mavs and Cavs! By all rights and reasons it should've been an easy win for Dallas but the horrid shooting by Josh Howard and Jason Terry and Dirk and... well, everybody wearing green, as well as Daniel Gibson's unlikely rise to awesomeness led to an 88-81 win for Cleveland. It's a shame that they paid so much for Larry Hughes. With Booby doing so well they don't really need him, but there's no way anybody wants Hughes with that ridiculous contract. And Charles Barkley's right--The Mavericks are one trade away from being good again. (I also love the fact that their 2006-2007 season is always referred to as simply "the 67-win season." It's one thing to be good, but it's another to have a record that says you were DAMN good. They'll never beat that record or that expectation, but everybody loves to rub it in. no wonder Dirk has emotional problems.) Imagine if they got rid of Desagana Diop and picked up somebody who plays defense. On second thought, trade anybody--if not everybody--but Dirk. Something has to got to give. Even as we speak Marc Cuban's toiling with the notion. You know he is.
Speaking of trades, my father and I were doing our own toiling as to what to do with Jason Kidd. How could we get him to the Lakers without screwing over New Jersey? I showed him the Bill Simmons four-team trade, which he immediately rejected for the mere fact that it kills the current Nets season. He doesn't fill the hole that Kidd leaves and assumes that the Nets are willing to tank the season. Do you really think Vince is going to stick around after a season in the .200s? Instead, we came up with a three-team trade with NJ, the Lakers and Seattle. I can't recall exactly how it went, but basically Lamar Odom goes to NJ, Chris Wilcox fills the gap in LA, Kwame moves to Seattle, The Radman moves to Seattle to fill the perimeter spot and the point guard gap in NJ is filled by Jordan Farmar. Something like that. But as long as Jersey gets a point guard for a point guard, the trade will work out. Do your own fun trade at realgm.com and let me know what you come up with! But please, don't screw over the Nets...
Speaking of Seattle, tonight's nightcap game against the C's was way too close a game given the circumstances. I realize this winter period before the All-star Game is going to create odd, unpredictable performances, like the Mavs no-show and the Blazer's inspired win-streak, but I guess I didn't realize it until now. It's sort of like the winter movie season. The movies you think you'll like end up sucking (Sweeney Todd) and the movies you like are the ones nobody's watching (Walk Hard). Go figure.
One cool tidbit about the Celtic's Eddie House--his nickname in Phoenix was Casa. We got to bring that nickname back. It's too good! Here are Casa's stats off the bench: 13 points, 5-for-8 on field goals (most of them on long 2's where his foot was on the 3-point line) and four rebounds in 18 minutes. Only The Truth and The Big Ticket had more points than Casa.
Believe me, I'd be calling Ryan Scalabrine Casablanca at this point if it weren't for the fact he already has a nickname--Veal. Think about it.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
The Boozy Vs. The City of Charlotte
Games Watched: Magic v. Bobcats
If you're like me, which means about (approx.) 99.9% of you reading this, you could care less about the city of Charlotte. Then you, too, are wondering why ESPN had to devote an entire afternoon (PST) segment about the Bobcats, the city of Charlotte and everything about it. First, you never see similar segments about other sports cities (New Orleans exempted, of course) on ESPN, especially right before the game. Sometimes it happens in its documentaries and stuff, but never before the games. Second--and mainly due to the first--this is a transparent and deliberate PR attempt by the city of Charlotte to promote the city and pushing it as a tourist spot. And ESPN was along for the ride. I mean, they got to Bill Walton, for God's sake! Did you hear what he was saying about the Bobcats' stadium? He said it was one of the wildest, rowdiest places he's ever been to! Mike Wilbon was forced to remind him about his '86 Celtics in the Garden! He had no choice! Bill Walton was being brainwashed! DAMN YOU CHARLOTTE!!! DAMN YOU TO HELL!!!
On another note, I loved it when Walton said the Bobcats sold out nine of their first twelve games. Flash to this Friday night--It's the perfect night for basketball, and I see a ton of empty seats. Just seemed a little ironic. That's not the word...
How about poetic justice?
If you're like me, which means about (approx.) 99.9% of you reading this, you could care less about the city of Charlotte. Then you, too, are wondering why ESPN had to devote an entire afternoon (PST) segment about the Bobcats, the city of Charlotte and everything about it. First, you never see similar segments about other sports cities (New Orleans exempted, of course) on ESPN, especially right before the game. Sometimes it happens in its documentaries and stuff, but never before the games. Second--and mainly due to the first--this is a transparent and deliberate PR attempt by the city of Charlotte to promote the city and pushing it as a tourist spot. And ESPN was along for the ride. I mean, they got to Bill Walton, for God's sake! Did you hear what he was saying about the Bobcats' stadium? He said it was one of the wildest, rowdiest places he's ever been to! Mike Wilbon was forced to remind him about his '86 Celtics in the Garden! He had no choice! Bill Walton was being brainwashed! DAMN YOU CHARLOTTE!!! DAMN YOU TO HELL!!!
On another note, I loved it when Walton said the Bobcats sold out nine of their first twelve games. Flash to this Friday night--It's the perfect night for basketball, and I see a ton of empty seats. Just seemed a little ironic. That's not the word...
How about poetic justice?
The Boozy Misses Tim Duncan
Games Watched: Spurs v. Lakers
There are a couple of self-evident truths in NBA basketball that cannot be ignored, be it by coaches, players, self-indulgent columnists, or fans. They are;
-You will always pay too much for that hot dog and beer.
-There will never be another Michael Jordan. Stop looking.
And, most importantly...
-Basketball was, is, and always will be a game of match-ups.
No team has ever had to deal with such a harsh truth like the San Antonio Spurs did last night. Yes, they didn't have reigning Finals MVP Tony Parker so the Lakers defense didn't have to stuff the lane, but that wasn't the mismatch. The problem was Tim Duncan. This goes without saying, of course. It's more of an understatement, like saying "Michael Vick doesn't like Dogs" or "Tim Donaughy's been to Vegas." But Duncan's absence wasn't about the points or the rebounding. It was this...
The mismatch.
Duncan never has to have a great game in terms of stats to be significant. In fact, if all he does is simply be there, he's doing his job. Let's say that Duncan was ready to play during last night's game against the Lakers. And let's assume that means Vladi Radmanovic starts instead of Luke Walton because of size matters. (And for the hell of it, let's say I'm clean shaven and not wearing the same clothes I had on from yesterday.) Kobe's on Manu, and Derek Fisher is on Jacque "My Name Is Frenchier Than The French Guy" Vaughn. That's easy. The hard part is figuring out who, between Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, and The Radman, takes on Duncan. Bynum has to take Duncan--he's the only one who's big enough to rough the big guy up on the defensive end. That would mean The Radman takes Bowen and Odom takes Fabricio "Oh Boy" Oberto. Since The Radman would have to help double-team Duncan, that means Bowen will always be open for the easy three-pointer pass that he loves so much. I call the pass easy because neither player can match Duncan's height. Plus, if Odom is forced to double team Duncan, then Oberto gets the easy layup. And if Bynum goes one-on-one with Duncan... SEE YA! Bynum doesn't have the chops yet (or the height) to defend Duncan one-on-one. Of course , the Lakers share the same problem with every other team in the NBA--not enough big guys to shut the BIG big guy down.
Hmmm... What's my point again...?
The point is, with Duncan on the field the Spurs are the finals favorites. They win the mismatch every time with every team. Go ahead and try to make an argument for the Mavs or the Suns--the Spurs will always have the advantage with a healthy Duncan. That's why columnists nationwide predict back-to-back championships for the Spurs--even though they've only won during years ending in an odd number (1999, 2003, 2005, and 2007).
And here's the scary part--The Spurs only lost by five points. And that's without Parker AND Duncan. I would've thought that the team would drop to the Memphis Grizzlies level (at best like the Nuggets or Jazz) but they managed to go toe-to-toe with the Lakers, even leading at the beginning of the fourth quarter! That is just insane. But then again, nobody expected Bruce Bruce to drop 22, but that's beside the point. Without Duncan, the Spurs are still great, and are still playoff contenders. But once you put him back to the lineup, you have the undisputed number one team in the West. They're like the NBA Patriots.
That is, they WOULD be, if the Celts weren't already the NBA Patriots. That. Just. Happened.
There are a couple of self-evident truths in NBA basketball that cannot be ignored, be it by coaches, players, self-indulgent columnists, or fans. They are;
-You will always pay too much for that hot dog and beer.
-There will never be another Michael Jordan. Stop looking.
And, most importantly...
-Basketball was, is, and always will be a game of match-ups.
No team has ever had to deal with such a harsh truth like the San Antonio Spurs did last night. Yes, they didn't have reigning Finals MVP Tony Parker so the Lakers defense didn't have to stuff the lane, but that wasn't the mismatch. The problem was Tim Duncan. This goes without saying, of course. It's more of an understatement, like saying "Michael Vick doesn't like Dogs" or "Tim Donaughy's been to Vegas." But Duncan's absence wasn't about the points or the rebounding. It was this...
The mismatch.
Duncan never has to have a great game in terms of stats to be significant. In fact, if all he does is simply be there, he's doing his job. Let's say that Duncan was ready to play during last night's game against the Lakers. And let's assume that means Vladi Radmanovic starts instead of Luke Walton because of size matters. (And for the hell of it, let's say I'm clean shaven and not wearing the same clothes I had on from yesterday.) Kobe's on Manu, and Derek Fisher is on Jacque "My Name Is Frenchier Than The French Guy" Vaughn. That's easy. The hard part is figuring out who, between Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, and The Radman, takes on Duncan. Bynum has to take Duncan--he's the only one who's big enough to rough the big guy up on the defensive end. That would mean The Radman takes Bowen and Odom takes Fabricio "Oh Boy" Oberto. Since The Radman would have to help double-team Duncan, that means Bowen will always be open for the easy three-pointer pass that he loves so much. I call the pass easy because neither player can match Duncan's height. Plus, if Odom is forced to double team Duncan, then Oberto gets the easy layup. And if Bynum goes one-on-one with Duncan... SEE YA! Bynum doesn't have the chops yet (or the height) to defend Duncan one-on-one. Of course , the Lakers share the same problem with every other team in the NBA--not enough big guys to shut the BIG big guy down.
Hmmm... What's my point again...?
The point is, with Duncan on the field the Spurs are the finals favorites. They win the mismatch every time with every team. Go ahead and try to make an argument for the Mavs or the Suns--the Spurs will always have the advantage with a healthy Duncan. That's why columnists nationwide predict back-to-back championships for the Spurs--even though they've only won during years ending in an odd number (1999, 2003, 2005, and 2007).
And here's the scary part--The Spurs only lost by five points. And that's without Parker AND Duncan. I would've thought that the team would drop to the Memphis Grizzlies level (at best like the Nuggets or Jazz) but they managed to go toe-to-toe with the Lakers, even leading at the beginning of the fourth quarter! That is just insane. But then again, nobody expected Bruce Bruce to drop 22, but that's beside the point. Without Duncan, the Spurs are still great, and are still playoff contenders. But once you put him back to the lineup, you have the undisputed number one team in the West. They're like the NBA Patriots.
That is, they WOULD be, if the Celts weren't already the NBA Patriots. That. Just. Happened.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
The Boozy on TMNT II, Greatest Beatdown, and the Golden State
*Editors Note: This blog was written prior to the events of Dec. 4th*
Thursday, November 29, 2007, was a day for the history books. The Celtics decapitated their division rivals in the widest margin of victory ever for the two teams. The impact of all this goes beyond the 45 point differential, beyond NY’s measly 59 points and goes light years beyond Nate Robinson’s last shot, which in the end meant nothing (but gave him the only double digits for a player on the entire squad). This was a total statement game, with the Celticsmaking the Knicks look like JV. No, even worse… Like some intramural college club that was just happy they got the opportunity to play.Usually in high school football games where we were blown out by halftime our coach would say, “don’t worry about the points! It’s about pride now!” What could Isaiah talk about after that half when they were already down by 23? Pride? I highly doubt it.
“Losers! LOSERS! All of you are terrible losers! Why are you even here?”
“That’s actually your fault, coach.”
“Shut up, ‘Fartbury!’ You’re the worst! And don’t you ever blame me for this again. Never. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!”
[a la Tyrese in“Annapolis”].
In many ways, this was the crowning achievement for the Celtics franchise. Yes, they have 16 titles and they’ve had all those hall-of-famers, but have they ever beaten down their rivals like that before? Have any divisional rivalry games been that lopsided? And what about the Knicks? The next time they have to play the C’sthey’ll be thinking about that last game and shivering in fear like when the Ninja Turtles see Super Shredder for the first time in TMNT II. If only the Knicks could get their hands on that ooze.
And if you were a Celtics fan watching that game, you didn’t stopwatching after halftime. You just kept watching just to see how bad the beating would be. If it were any other blowout, you’d stop watching and pick up a book or talk to your girlfriend or something. But when it’s against the Knicks… You don’t stop watching until you’re positive you’ve seen the greatest beatdown of your lifetime. And it was, at least for me.
Now that that’s out of my system, let’s talk about the other feel-good story in the league… the Golden State Warriors. Yes, they lost last night, but look at them. The Warriors went from 0-6 and last in the division to a respectable 9-8 record. Until last night they had a six-game winning streak. Crazy, right? I mean, these are the freaking Warriors, the eternal second-worst team in the division and probably the whole league (The Clippers, obviously, are the eternal worst). But they stand now with the same record as the second-place Lakers, and have the same record in the past ten games (8-2) as the first-place Phoenix Suns. And although the top players—Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson—are finally playing like they’ve found the true meaning of Christmas, the real surprise for me is Andris Bierdins. I think he’s underrated as a center in this league and does a great jobof dishing it out to the stars and getting the quick points they need from him off the bench. If he keeps getting those double-doubles like he did last night, then there’s no telling what this team can do…
…Unless Baron Davis gets injured again.
Thursday, November 29, 2007, was a day for the history books. The Celtics decapitated their division rivals in the widest margin of victory ever for the two teams. The impact of all this goes beyond the 45 point differential, beyond NY’s measly 59 points and goes light years beyond Nate Robinson’s last shot, which in the end meant nothing (but gave him the only double digits for a player on the entire squad). This was a total statement game, with the Celticsmaking the Knicks look like JV. No, even worse… Like some intramural college club that was just happy they got the opportunity to play.Usually in high school football games where we were blown out by halftime our coach would say, “don’t worry about the points! It’s about pride now!” What could Isaiah talk about after that half when they were already down by 23? Pride? I highly doubt it.
“Losers! LOSERS! All of you are terrible losers! Why are you even here?”
“That’s actually your fault, coach.”
“Shut up, ‘Fartbury!’ You’re the worst! And don’t you ever blame me for this again. Never. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!”
[a la Tyrese in“Annapolis”].
In many ways, this was the crowning achievement for the Celtics franchise. Yes, they have 16 titles and they’ve had all those hall-of-famers, but have they ever beaten down their rivals like that before? Have any divisional rivalry games been that lopsided? And what about the Knicks? The next time they have to play the C’sthey’ll be thinking about that last game and shivering in fear like when the Ninja Turtles see Super Shredder for the first time in TMNT II. If only the Knicks could get their hands on that ooze.
And if you were a Celtics fan watching that game, you didn’t stopwatching after halftime. You just kept watching just to see how bad the beating would be. If it were any other blowout, you’d stop watching and pick up a book or talk to your girlfriend or something. But when it’s against the Knicks… You don’t stop watching until you’re positive you’ve seen the greatest beatdown of your lifetime. And it was, at least for me.
Now that that’s out of my system, let’s talk about the other feel-good story in the league… the Golden State Warriors. Yes, they lost last night, but look at them. The Warriors went from 0-6 and last in the division to a respectable 9-8 record. Until last night they had a six-game winning streak. Crazy, right? I mean, these are the freaking Warriors, the eternal second-worst team in the division and probably the whole league (The Clippers, obviously, are the eternal worst). But they stand now with the same record as the second-place Lakers, and have the same record in the past ten games (8-2) as the first-place Phoenix Suns. And although the top players—Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson—are finally playing like they’ve found the true meaning of Christmas, the real surprise for me is Andris Bierdins. I think he’s underrated as a center in this league and does a great jobof dishing it out to the stars and getting the quick points they need from him off the bench. If he keeps getting those double-doubles like he did last night, then there’s no telling what this team can do…
…Unless Baron Davis gets injured again.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
The Boozy on EZ, 41 cents, and Terrence Howard
Games watched: Celtics at Knicks, Nuggets vs. Lakers (Live!)
Thanks to free tickets from our boy EZ, The Boozy got to go the Lakers/Nuggs at the last second last. Equipped with his Syracuse shirt (For 'Melo), they headed out.
I had an excuse to show this....
The Nuggets took an early 2nd quarter 17-point lead. From then on, it was all Lakers. Kobe scored 24 and sat out the fourth quarter. Everybody on the Lakers' active roster played and all but Chris Mihm scored. Carmelo got thrown out for an elbow, Terrence Howard kissed his girlfriend on the jumbotron, and Sasha Vujacic had a career night. Overall, it was a pretty good night for Lakers’ fans.
Some random points:
EZ and I came up with a great nickname for Kobe: 41 cents. Because that's the cost of the stamp he has to buy when he mails in games and that's how much the Lakers will get for him (41 cents on the dollar) when they finally trade him in March.
Everyone knocks their supporting cast (none more so then Kobe), but they have some really high basketball IQ guys. Luke can shoot and always makes good decision. Derrick Fisher has always been known as a great chemistry guy. I love Turiaf's game. He goes hard to the hole each time and does a lot of the dirty work. While Bynum will probably never be the next Shaq, he already has a decent offensive game and at least moves his feet on defense. He’s averaging a double-double this season and he's only 20. I think most would agree that he's going to get better, and he is already a solid rotation center. Odom is probably not a 2nd banana on a good team, but he's for sure a solid starter and would be at least a 4th scorer on every team in the league. The problem with the Lakers is that all these guys are rotation players. They are good, but not good enough. Kobe has further made this problem evident with his constant complaining and lack of trust in them. No matter how good Kobe is, he can not win a championship in the West with this team. Get them a 2nd and 3rd scorer, they are competing with the Spurs and Mavs. What the Lakers should have done was package a few of these half-decent young guys (maybe Bynum, Farmer, and the 1st round pick that turned out to be Critteon) and gotten a 2nd scorer for Kobe. That kind of deal could have gotten them Gasol, Jefferson, or O'Neal.
Lets for a second say they completed a deal for Gasol....Here's the Lakers' starting lineup
PG D-Fish
SG Kobe
C Gasol
PF Radmanovic
SF Odom
And on the bench:
Walton
Azria
Turiaf
Vujaic
That's a really good team. If they had traded for O'Neal instead of Gasol, it would have been more a defensive team, but still a contending team. As for Jefferson, that would have required them to move to a more up tempo 3 guard line up. But it still would have produced a winning, competing team, in the same vain as the Suns.
As for the Celtics-Knicks, I let the other side of Boozy discuss that, but the 45 point loss was more of an indictment of how much the Knicks don't care, rather then the dominance of the Celtics. Everyone knows the Celtics are good, but it’s not a matter of that. The concern is how healthy will they be when the playoffs come around. This was a make or break regular season for the Knicks. If they make the playoffs, it will be considered a success for the Knicks. Even if they compete for a spot, I think Thomas will keep his job. After a shelling like last night, it seems pretty evident that Thomas has lost his team. I don't think Thomas lasts past the All-Star break.
Thanks to free tickets from our boy EZ, The Boozy got to go the Lakers/Nuggs at the last second last. Equipped with his Syracuse shirt (For 'Melo), they headed out.
I had an excuse to show this....
The Nuggets took an early 2nd quarter 17-point lead. From then on, it was all Lakers. Kobe scored 24 and sat out the fourth quarter. Everybody on the Lakers' active roster played and all but Chris Mihm scored. Carmelo got thrown out for an elbow, Terrence Howard kissed his girlfriend on the jumbotron, and Sasha Vujacic had a career night. Overall, it was a pretty good night for Lakers’ fans.
Some random points:
EZ and I came up with a great nickname for Kobe: 41 cents. Because that's the cost of the stamp he has to buy when he mails in games and that's how much the Lakers will get for him (41 cents on the dollar) when they finally trade him in March.
Everyone knocks their supporting cast (none more so then Kobe), but they have some really high basketball IQ guys. Luke can shoot and always makes good decision. Derrick Fisher has always been known as a great chemistry guy. I love Turiaf's game. He goes hard to the hole each time and does a lot of the dirty work. While Bynum will probably never be the next Shaq, he already has a decent offensive game and at least moves his feet on defense. He’s averaging a double-double this season and he's only 20. I think most would agree that he's going to get better, and he is already a solid rotation center. Odom is probably not a 2nd banana on a good team, but he's for sure a solid starter and would be at least a 4th scorer on every team in the league. The problem with the Lakers is that all these guys are rotation players. They are good, but not good enough. Kobe has further made this problem evident with his constant complaining and lack of trust in them. No matter how good Kobe is, he can not win a championship in the West with this team. Get them a 2nd and 3rd scorer, they are competing with the Spurs and Mavs. What the Lakers should have done was package a few of these half-decent young guys (maybe Bynum, Farmer, and the 1st round pick that turned out to be Critteon) and gotten a 2nd scorer for Kobe. That kind of deal could have gotten them Gasol, Jefferson, or O'Neal.
Lets for a second say they completed a deal for Gasol....Here's the Lakers' starting lineup
PG D-Fish
SG Kobe
C Gasol
PF Radmanovic
SF Odom
And on the bench:
Walton
Azria
Turiaf
Vujaic
That's a really good team. If they had traded for O'Neal instead of Gasol, it would have been more a defensive team, but still a contending team. As for Jefferson, that would have required them to move to a more up tempo 3 guard line up. But it still would have produced a winning, competing team, in the same vain as the Suns.
As for the Celtics-Knicks, I let the other side of Boozy discuss that, but the 45 point loss was more of an indictment of how much the Knicks don't care, rather then the dominance of the Celtics. Everyone knows the Celtics are good, but it’s not a matter of that. The concern is how healthy will they be when the playoffs come around. This was a make or break regular season for the Knicks. If they make the playoffs, it will be considered a success for the Knicks. Even if they compete for a spot, I think Thomas will keep his job. After a shelling like last night, it seems pretty evident that Thomas has lost his team. I don't think Thomas lasts past the All-Star break.
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