boozer/millsap

Boozer is staying is Utah. Which means Utah has to either go into the luxury tax or get rid of Millsap. All i can say is, "Utah, Luxary taxes are baaaad. You should get rid of Millsap." Yes, i am drooling.

No whammy, no whammy, no whammy, Stop! Bill Laimbeer.

Curry is fired! Despite how bad things went. Public consensus was pretty sure curry would stick around one more season. I guess Joe is being honest when he says this season isn't for setting up the 2010 season.

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/06/30/pistons.curry.out/index.html

I don't have to even look at the post-artical comments to know that they are full of people clamoring for Laimbeer. Dumars (from my angle) has always been a little worried with the combining of nba prima donnas with the aggressing coaching style of Laimbeer. Do you take the risk? How much does what the fans are dying for affect the decision process?

My thought is, if the players can't handle a hard-ass stlye that knows how to win, to hell with them. I have a feeling the Detroit Shock didn't always want to hug and kiss Laimbeer. But, i think they enjoyed winning 3 titles, and respected him for knowing what he is doing.

I think Laimbeer is like a high risk/high reward scenerio. He seems possible of being a top level NBA coach, or possible for having many classic alpha male confrontations. But, how many of today's newer coaches can you see becoming a l brown, p jackson, popovich. (I got a good feeling about spolstra, i think he could be great. But, no one else. ) What better time for the pistons to gamble on a laimbeer hire, then during a time that is already such a trial.

If he became a lengendary coach, and it didnt' happen in Detroit, I think many fans would never forgive Dumars. especially since many of those finkle bastards still don't forgive him for Darko.

Yao is like China in a Bull Shop...

I'm sure you've all heard, but it may be that Yao is done....like forever. I'm still holding out hope that its worse than they are making it seem. Can't they just put adamantium in there or something?

yo jeremy

I've added to our ridiculously long news services thread. check it!

magic

They just got VC. got rid of Lee, Battie, and someone else.

So VC, Dwight, Turk, Rashard--that could work.

Though, i have not seen VC lately (who watches nets games?), he prob got some game still. I am glad he is on a real team. I had felt bad for him in jersey.

breaky

looks like my dreams may come true.
i just hope they don't have to give up landry too.

shaq

So the Big Cactus is moving to Cleveland.
I know he's kinda washed up, but i feel like they stole him by only giving up ben wallace and pavlovic. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Spurs wheelin and dealin

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4281291&campaign=rss&source=twitter&ex_cid=Twitter_espn_4281291

Looks like the Spurs just got better.

Richard Jefferson for scrubs.

soo...

this is not really a legit basketblog, i'll admit. BUT the season's over, sooo...

I was reading this article about how Wide receivers are all primadonnas, and here's what one guy has to say:


"I've always said that receiver is the closest thing in the NFL to being a basketball player. It's a 'me' position. Basketball players can try to win a game by themselves. But you really can't do that much in football. It's really a different phenomena, and you get a different type of personality that plays the position.''




wtf man? am i the only one that assumes this guy is a bonehead after reading that?
thoughts?

Tom's dream trade.

Rip Hamilton’s a name oft-mentioned as being on the block. Should the Pistons offer a package including Hamilton and its first round pick for Mac, the Rockets would be enticed to accept."

TMac for Rip? Tom would love that.

draft withdraws

everyday i see one or two reports of so-and-so withdrawing from the draft. And, now this. What is up with that? Is that normal? I have never noticed that any other year.

Bill Laimbeer quits Shock

Man, i hope this means what i want to mean.

I know you guys don't follow Detroit shock. but that team was 0-10 when they brought him in for his first season. they ended up winning the title, and have been perennial contenders ever since. He is a smart mofo, and i would LOVE for him to coach the pistons.

This artical doesn't say anything about where he might be headed, but i think it is reasonable that a guy that quits after the start of the season might already be talking to a team. Either that, or the WNBA is folding and he is getting out while the gettings good;).

Who knows, considering LALs season just ended a day before this announcement, maybe PJ is retiring and Laimbeer is coming in. yes, i know that is very farfetched. I'm jsut having fun.
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Who would LA bring in though, if Phil decides he is not healthy enough for another season. Do they got a an assitant ready to move up should that happen? I mean one that can be trusted to win a final?

bad form

What the heck? Sounds like Detroit during the 80s. Good ol' fashion celebration through lawless delinquency. Can you imagine this thought process?: "Wow, what a great series! I am so happy right now! I should start a fire!"

--"Police Sgt. Andy Mathes says one of the officers was taken to a hospital and the others were treated at the scene during the scattered melees that erupted late Sunday night before the crowd around Staples Center dispersed under orders from police.

What began as a lively but peaceful celebration took on a different tone for those remaining a few hours after the game. Some in the crowd vandalized buses and police cars, set small fires and threw rocks and bottles at police.

Officer Karen Rayner says about 25 people were arrested for disturbing the peace, arson and other infractions."

Over in 5

Grats jeremy! At least one of our teams got it this year. I'm jealous after the heart breaker series Redwings had this month. I enjoyed watching LA win a lot more than i did Boston. I guess cause i am a notorius Kobe fan, and don't like Peirce so much.

You still think Kobe is a bad leader? hehe. The only person i see come close to that amount of on-floor coaching is billups.

I'm glad this championship is over. so people will stop trying to get Kobe to say he wanted to win this one to prove he could do it without shaq. Everytime they lead him that way i cringed. Why do they think he would say that. If Kobe actually did think that, it would probably only be a small part of what comprised his desire for another ring. Just too much mentioning of Shaq in general last night and during the playoffs.

Wish the series could of gone longer, but at least we had a few thrillers.
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I think sometimes SVG is too quick to make adjustments. And the effect that has is total inconsistancy on how much and when players are on the court. One night a guy(like reddick) is playing over 20 minutes. then he isn't playhing at all. One night Nelson closes, one night Alston, one night neither of them play down the stretch. I think you gotta stick to a gameplan more than that, so the players can know what to expect and be (more) ready.

I actually have had my opinion raised of SVG this playoffs. I jsut think he reacts too much, and shakes things up too soon or too often. I have thought this before this series as well, but now i am more firm on the opinion.
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Considering Bynum and what i expect from him with a full healthy season. LA is gonna be tough as hell to beat.

Sounds like shaq is headed to Cleveland. He actually kinda came back to form this year, so that could make a huge difference for Clev. Stamina is down for Shaq, but he was ballin' when on the court.

Leroy

I actually saw a commercial for this during NBA Fastbreak...

http://www.getyourbasketballon.com/

I wonder what Chappelle's been up to?

Mourning basically dissing both coaches.

http://www.nba.com/2009/playoffs2009/06/10/mourning.on.lakers.ap/index.html

Made me chuckle. I wonder what his plans are. Maybe he wants to coach. I could see him taking an assistant coach/mentor position for some future big like Ewing is doing.

Blogging Etiquette

So, I was watching ESPN and this blogger was getting grilled for writing that some baseball player might be using steroids cause he's old and doing well. These two newspaper writers were tearing him a new one cause he didn't write with "integrity".

What do yall think? Should we really consider integrity when we blog? They were talking about how its a brave new world and everyone should have to watch what they say cause we're all connected now. I dunno, seems strange that I can't call Barkley a fatass on my own blog.

300,000,000 - 800,000

(You may have heard those numbers during halftime.)

The number of Chinese playing basketball - The number of courts being put up in China. /gulp

300 million people live in the US. So by pure numbers alone, they should dominate the sport eventually. There should be a bunch of Chinese in the league in a couple generations. In six generations, we'll prob be sending our best players to play in the, um, the Zhong Guo Basketball Assoc (i only know a handful of chinese words, basketball and assoc. aren't one of them.)

NHL vs NBA..

..as far is allowance for physicality goes.

Watching hockey on the same day as basketball is funny. Because of the enormous difference in physicality tolerated.

as far as rules go, obviously. Ones a contact sport, and one technically isn't. but, i mean more like during when play is dead and the way it is reacted to.

One example. there is like 5-6 guys scuffling. Once it lessens to two guys wailing on each other, the broadcaster says, the refs have calmed things down.

Sometimes, why guys are fighting, the broadcasters don't even acknowledge it; is so common place. Just last night (during nhl), they were talking about this year's draft. Two guys started punching each other. and the broadcasters just kept talking about the draft. Whereas, Reggie Miller would be shouting and bouncing out of his chair.

Plus, there is such a thing as a 10 minute major for fighting. Yet, they usually don't even give a 2 minute minor.

In the NBA, when guys look at each other, the broadcasters get all amped and blow it out of proportion. I'd say over half of the flagrants called should be non-flagrants.

The NBA has become too big of worry warts (is that how that phrase it spelled?) .

Kobe said he wishes they just reverted to 80s rules. Man, I wish.

Phil Jackson said: "This is the dawn of a new age, we were told in the last two years," he said. "Transparency, a wonderful word, was going to be used, and we're looking for that to help us. In that regard, we want to use all these aspects, whether it's called credibility or accountability, and use it to improve everything that can happen to this game, because it's a great game." This quote isn't really to my point. But, his response is a response to the myriad problems that have surfaced due to all the changes being made in an attempt to tighten the harness on players on the court, and the difficulty in doing that. Before these complications refs jobs were easier, and the grey areas between two opposite calls were smaller.

Really, i feel like it kinda went down hill with the Malice in the Palace. So it is all Ron Artest's fault, lol. Ever since then, the league has been overly determined to prevent a future such occurrence. But, they aren't just trying to prevent fights; they are trying to prevent anything that could possibly lead up to fight.

Unfortunately, some of the things that on rare occasions brought players past their boiling point, are things that make the game exciting. It would be like if NHL banned body checks, because sometimes that can lead to angry players, and sometimes angry people get carried away.
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This, somewhat ties in with something i sometimes feel guilty about. It bugs me how the league has become the National Best-friends Assoc. Everybody is good friends with everybody now. really, i know it is good they can be mature and be friends with their rivals. But, some old fashion enmity for your opponent is a beautiful thing to me. I feel it heightens the competitiveness. Wouldn't you be more motivated to beat the team you hate then the one you are having over for dinner?

I say give up on all this new era shit. Admit it isn't going too great, and jsut go back to the 80's rules. Impossible, i know. but, that is what is what i want.

NBA needs to not be a bunch of weeneies.

That's just like, ah, my opinion , man!

Finals

I'll get this ball rollin' with the question i been thinking the last couple days.

Seems like everyday, reports are a little more favorable for Jameer Nelson returning in the Finals.
Is that a good idea? Seems risky.

I doubt they would start him off as a starter. But still, they been on such a good run, couldn't reinserting Nelson upset chemistry? He hasn't played since feb. 2, over 4 months!

Oh, and predictions. I'll say lakers in 7.

I do wonder if LA will come out half-stride again. La plans on not doubling, magic. If they can do that they should win. Even Detroit beats magic, just cause they are able to single Howard. R Wallace is getting bad a lot things these days. But, Howard is susceptible to stripping, and Wallace is one of the best at stripping posts. He gets him all the time.

barkley-amazing, dumber than i thought.

We all know Barkley isn't smart. But come on, how can you think it is a good a idea to call your producer a pussy on air. Not to mention..family program..yada yada yada.

Boozer (supposedly) heading to det or nets.

"Apparently, rising free agent-of-choice Carlos Boozer is telling confidants he's either going to Detroit or New Jersey -- only way the capsized Nets pull that off is by doing a sign-and-trade. Word has it Jersey will have but three assistants next season and all must take pay cuts."

I don't how much i believe this though. The only place it has been published (that i've seen) is hidden in the middle of a two page article of random thoughts my some NYPost dude.