Detroit Pistons

If Kobe Bryant expects to win a championship this June, he needs to trust his teammates more. If he doesn't, the Lakers will not only struggle to win the Finals, they may have trouble even getting there. Last night's loss to the Houston Rockets, putting them down 1-0 in the series, is to me, enough cause for concern. Phil Jackson needs to sit down Kobe and tell him the same thing he told Jordan: trust your teammates more.

Continue reading "Memo to Kobe: Be like Mike"

"There's no analysis here...what happened?!" - ESPN's Steve Levy, 4/27/09

The New Orleans hornets suffered the all-time-tying worst playoff loss in NBA history yesterday, getting stomped on 121-63 by the Denver Nuggets. Don't wet yourselves, Nuggets fans. The Hornets just played THAT BAD. Here are the Top 10 Reasons why they shouldn't bother showing up for Game 5:

Continue reading "Top 10 Reasons the New Orleans Hornets ..."

I'm a Kobe fan. Huge Kobe fan. He's practically my generation's MJ. Nothing against MJ, I just never saw him play much. I went to the United Center once, when I was seven, and all I remember is Scottie Pippen's crew-cut and cotton candy. Also, I'm from D.C., so the fact that MJ ruined the entire development and chemistry of an up-and-coming Washington Wizards team, just so he could milk a little more limelight, doesn't really sit well.

Continue reading "Why Lakers fans should worry about ..."

Always an interesting time of the NBA season, when all of us fans sit and wonder which NBA superstars are on the move. This year, there are some really big names that are on the trading block. Lets look at a few of them, hey they just might end up on your favorite team.

Continue reading "The NBA Trade Deadline is right around ..."

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics have indeed renewed there once coveted rivalry. The Lakers have had a very sour taste in there mouth since last year's NBA finals and this year they have come to play against the Celtics. The Lakers, yet again must learn life without Andrew Bynum. And this year things will be different. They match up so well with the Celtics. Kobe and Gasol against Garnet, Pierce, and Allen. One of the Celtics three will always shoot themselves in the foot. The Lakers bench is devised of quick, nagging, humble assassins who have come to love there role of being Kobe's sidekicks. The Celtics bench is devised of a Big Baby, a Leon Powe and a cold blooded Eddie House. I guess you could throw in an ineffective Tony Allen, as well.

Continue reading "Battle at The Garden"

The starters for the 2009 NBA All-Star game were announced on TNT Thursday night, and once again, the fans demonstrated the decision should not be theirs. Detroit’s Allen Iverson received 1,804,649 votes proving that 1,804,649 NBA fans don’t know what they’re talking about.

Continue reading "Fans Rob Harris, Wrongfully Reward Iverson"

to just flick a switch and turn it on when it counts to beat an opponent (don't believe me? Ask the Detroit Pistons how that went for them over the past four seasons since their championship.), which is essentially what the Lakers did yesterday. 

Continue reading "Are They Who We Thought They Were?"

words "thank you for trading Chauncey Billups" written in icing on the top and send it to Detroit Pistons GM Joe Dumars.  It wouldn't hurt if all of the Celtics helped (even Scalabrine), but Rondo in particular should take the lead on this one.  Stop scratching your heads and looking confused and don't ask why, you should know very well by now that some rambling, tangential diatribe of an explanation is forthcoming...

Continue reading "Raving About Rondo Part Deux: A Pat ..."

Dear Antonio,

Greetings!  I thought i'd write you to congratulate you on your successful separation from the Denver Nuggets, and to offer some advice to you about how to spend your next thirty days of unemployment before resuming the endless grind that is the NBA season.  As a sportswriter and a liberal arts college graduate, I am an expert in not having a job, so you should read carefully and really consider what I have to say.  Normally, I wouldn't give away my secrets to jobless success for free, but for you, I'm willing to make an exception.

Continue reading "For Your Consideration: An Open Letter ..."

It's been a while since the Detroit Pistons haven't been near the top of the league. Their players buy into the team concept, they play good defense, and they are consistently well coached and well managed from the front office.

Continue reading "What is Joe Dumars thinking?"

With the MLB playoffs set to begin, there is a subtle difference in the air compared to start of any other postseason. In the NHL, fans can potentially look forward to a great Canadians/Bruins series that is not only exciting, but has a historical kick to it. Likewise basketball fans always have the chance to see if the Suns can finally get past the Spurs and football fans love seeing the rivalry of the Eagles Vs the City of Philadelphia when the Eagles so much as get tackled for a loss.

Continue reading "The Ups and Downs of the MLB Playoffs"

Did you miss me?  Sorry for the extended hiatus once again, but I was busy being cooped up in a metal box for days on end, plus I had to go ahead and lose all of my money to various undeserving casinos and their patrons, so I've had no time to reflect on the world of sports.  Many of you are probably expecting to read (or at least skim) some bitter, semi incoherent rambling post about Tom Brady's left knee and the dirty Chiefs and the especially classless fans of the NFL who actually had the gall to celebrate and commemorate a horrific injury to the league's best player, but I've gotta leave something for Simmons to do, so that will not be a part of my post today.  Instead, I'm going to hide from my problems inside the twisted world of the NBA, where my beloved Boston Celtics are still champions, and my mistresses, the Portland Trailblazers are looking better than ever and are brimming with talent and potential.

Continue reading "Little Wing?"

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.  I’m way too burned out on the Celtics/Lakers nostalgia trip to really engage this, but I think that this is worth pointing out (mostly because it’s an opportunity to poke at the national sports media for their laughably predictable analysis and Finals picks).  I just find it somewhat strange that after so many years of going for the same fools gold, the talking heads of the Association can’t figure anything out. 

Continue reading "Cyclical History and Boxing Tips"

.  The Eastern Conference Finals gave us all a taste of the old school NBA rivalry between the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics, and now we're fixed for a main course of only the choicest and most intense NBA rivalry in the history of the league.  That's right, we are headed towards a Lakers v. Celtics NBA Finals for the first time in 21 years, and I've got to admit (even though it's damaging to my masculinity) that I am giddy about the prospects of this match up.

Continue reading "Throwback"

I know, I know, that's a really convoluded headline for a basketball blog post, but there's a good reason for it that I'll hopefully be able to articulate somewhere in this rambling tangent of drivel (and besides, I know that if Ray is reading this that I got at least one good laugh out of the title).  Want an explanation?  Ok here it goes:

Continue reading "Bastardizing Physics Without Resorting ..."

essive things before I get into the long list of the bad stuff from last night's 103-97 loss to the Detroit Pistons.  Offensively, the Celtics looked pretty good last night, shooting 48.6% from the field.  Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett both had efficient and productive games last night, as did emerging point guard Rajon Rondo, who missed a triple-double by only one rebound and two assists.  Pierce scored 26 points on 9-16 shooting and added four rebounds and six assists as well.  Garnett played even better, scoring 24 points on 11 of 19 shooting, gobbled up 13 rebounds, and added two blocks just for good measure (one of them, by the way, was an incredible feat of athleticism where Garnett chased down Rip Hamilton by himself on the break and met him at the rim for the crushing rejection that saved an easy basket).  Garnett's play was once again stellar, proving once and for all that serial panic like Simmons (and everybody else in the Boston sports media) are full of it and no better at predicting the fortunes of the Bean town clubs than anybody else, not even a lowly college grad with a laptop stuck in rainy Portland, Oregon.

Continue reading "Silver Lining?"

Today's tangent is inspired by Raymond (shockingly, with me on this one) and Matt Stauffer, who has posed a challenge to me by asserting that the Celtics will lose to either Detroit or the winner of the Western Conference for a few key reasons.  Following the game one victory for Boston, I thought I'd address a few of his concerns (convenient that I waited until a resounding Celtics victory to start talking smack, isn't it?).  Hey, hey, easy now, I'm not fixin' to start a war or anything, in fact I respect the feedback and the fact that somebody is actually reading my posts (anyone else? ...Beuller?).  I'm only out to address the argument and provide as complete a rebuttal as I can, so without further delay, let's get started.

Continue reading "Hungry Like the (Former) Wolf"

 The Detroit Pistons beat the Orlando Magic in game 4 of their series in Orlando courtesy of an amazing Tayshaun Prince runner in the closing seconds of regulation that went unanswered by the Magic as time expired and gave Detroit a 3-1 series lead.  The shot was incredible, plain and simple.  The Pistons stole the game without Chauncey Billups and have a commanding lead in the series heading back to Detroit for game 5 tonight.

Continue reading "No Place Like Home"

showed the world that he can take over the game for long stretches against tough opponents (ask the Detroit Pistons how it feels), he'll be facing a completely unprecedented challenge in the 2007-08 Boston Celtics.  The Celtics have the talent, the coaching, the focus and the intensity to win a championship, much like the Spurs of last year.  Boston is diverse on offense, tenacious on defense, and can already smell a title that's looming just over the horizon. 

Continue reading "I Swear I'm Not Crazy..."

The only problem with having 60 wins, is having 60 wins.  The better the record, the more a team becomes a favorite, the more they're expected to win.  And ultimately, constant pressure starts pushing down on them like a fat guy in a kids top bunk bed.  It can be difficult for a team (or a frightened kid below), especially a great one.   I didn't even mention the Patriots. 

Continue reading "Celts Reach Sixty With Help of Bill Bixby"

We have been waiting for this moment for months.  No, I’m not talking about the Jason Kidd trade to go through (which it did today).  I am talking to about the second half of the NBA season to begin.  The first three and a half months can be such a drag, and usually are but in the second half, everything picks up.  It is a two-month stretch run to the playoffs.  This is the time when teams like San Antonio and Detroit flip their switch on and look to be playing their best when the playoffs begin.  The flurry of trades that have gone on in the last two or three weeks has just made the second half that much more interesting.  The NBA season is about 20 games too long and it kills ratings but now is the time to jump on the bandwagon.  These next couple months of the regular season and the playoffs are going to be some of the best basketball since the ‘80’s.  The NBA, where exciting happens.

Continue reading "The NBA, Where Only the Second Half ..."