Local News: Run SteJax, Run!

TrueHoop noticed something in my own local paper, the SF Chronicle, that I missed. Probably because I don't read that commie rag too religiously (read: at all). It's kind of sad how much I don't pay attention to local news (that commie comment was just to make me feel better... and they are a bunch of pinkos).
At any rate, for those of you linkophobes who didn't click above, the gist of the article is that Stephen Jackson has a court date on Thursday. Remember when he fired his gun in public last summer? You don't? Maybe that's because winning a playoff series makes people forget a lot of things.
So he has a game in Utah Wednesday, a court date in Indiana Thursday, and another game in California Friday. Essentially SteJax is gonna need a court sanctioned delay (or continuance for all you Boston Legal fans) or a jury full of Warriors fans in order to not miss Game 3. And should he be swiftly found guilty, he could be missing even more time. Like 3 to 5 years...
There's a wind of uncertainty blowing through the Bay Area today...

Monday Biz

First, big thanks to GasFace for his guest bloggerizing of the Swag. We got straight gassed, son. Stay tuned for more from the Gas one, as the Bulls-Pistons and Cavs-Nets series' unfold.

Next, after yesterday's Phoenix v. San Antone melee, there can be no doubt Steve Nash is the league's MVP. Either him or TDuncs, but whichever one of them it is, it sure as hell isn't Dirk "Early Exit" Nowitzki. In fact, watching Nash play through a Rocky Balboa-like bleeder on his face just makes the handing of the MVP to Dirk that much more of a joke.

Don't be fooled by the Pistons' game 1 shellacking of Chicago. This is still gonna be a hell of a series. The Bulls needed a game to find their sea legs. Now that they got that one out of their system, I'm expecting them to give the Pistons fits at home and hell on the road. This baby's going to 7 games. I like the Pistons to defend their home court and come out on top.

Cavs baby, Cavs. We didn't look magical, but Bronny gets the job done. That's all we need. We can ride the King all the way to the big show if we play our cards right. Look for the Cavs to dominate the match ups they can control. Nobody expects Larry Hughes to light the world on fire against J-Kidd, and Bronny on Jefferson or Carter isn't exactly a dream come true on defense for the Cavs. But Z, Gooden and Varejao should all have their ways with Miki Moore, Josh Boone and Jason Collins. I'm also looking to Eric Snow for a big defensive and experience push for Cleveland. He did it last year for the Cavs against the Wizards.

Shed a tear for TMac. I can't believe Utah stole this one. I knew it would be a tough series, and Utah's no bunch of slouches, but how does a team with Mac and Yao (not to mention Shane Batty) not get out of the first round? Either way this spells good news for the Warriors, I think. The Jazz are an excellent defensive team, but I feel like Yao would have absolutely eaten the Warriors alive in the paint. I don't think Golden State would have been able to play "small ball" against the Rockets. They should be right in their wheel house against the Jazz' 3 forward-2 guard lineup.
We still believe, Bay Area, don't let the fire die down. We can ride this wave of momentum all the way into a West Finals blood bath with San Antone or Phoenix.

WE'VE DONE IT!!

Yes we! Bay Area fans are the 6th man of this squad. We just humiliated the Mavericks. It's on!! Next round here we come!! Go Warriors!!!!!!!!

Incidentally, as the game was ending just now on TNT, Cuban said something angry to the camera as he passed by. It was inaudible, any lip readers with Tivo, get on this.

WARRRRRRRRRIORS

6 and a half minutes to go, Warriors up 21.

The Bay Area is about to explode. Make no mistake, after this game wraps up in about 15 or 20 minutes, we will take to the streets.
Lock up your daughters, lock up your wife. Lock up your back door and run for your life.
When I finally calm down, I'll get in depth about the greatest playoff upset in history.
The City is back.

Suns and Spurs

No shocks here. Suns and Spurs finish off the ill deserving Nuggs and Lackeys. Kobe's a punk. Nash is a gamer, the true MVP. Spurs Suns is about to be an excellent series. Tomorrow night, Bay Area get ready...

Matt Barnes: It's Getting Ugly in Here

When asked about relations between the Mavs and Warriors, Matty Barnes had this to say (from Mercury News):

"The bottom line is, we don't like each other," Warriors forward Matt Barnes said. "We don't like them, they don't like us. It's going to get chippy, there's going to be hard fouls and that's the way we like to play."

I love this kind of mean spirited trash talk. Matt Barnes deserves special recognition for how he's played in this series. He's been phenomenal. Clearly Baron is the MVP, but Barnes has been the lightning rod, the intangibles factory, and the clutch-shot machine for the Warriors.
Add tattooed, ass whooping, Dirk dominating, destroyer to that list.

Cuban: Crazy or Right?

Part of me loves Mark Cuban. His fire, his money, his team, the fact that he's one of a small handful of owners who look like they genuinely love the game and want their teams to win beyond profits.
The other part of me wants to punch this whiny, spoiled, entitled, chubby faced, goatee-sporting assbag right in his man-boobs.

When he bitched and moaned about a referee against Dallas, I ignored it as the crybabying of a rich punk. But the refs have done everything in their power to hand this series to the Mavs. Last night Baron got a 6th foul on a no-contact play and, moments later, Stephen Jackson was ejected for what appeared to be absolutely nothing. This all handed the Warriors legendary victory right to Dallas.

But it doesn't phase me.

No, the Warriors will not be stopped by such foolishness. Tomorrow in Oakland, Baron and the boys are gonna TCB.

Okay, enough posturing. I don't think there's a "conspiracy," of any kind, but it's just clear; Golden State has Dallas' number, and the refs don't know how to play it. They're either calling fouls at the worst possible time, for no reason, or they're letting the guys play knock down, drag out ball with no calls in the early going.

I wish we could just let them play.

If the foul doesn't clearly alter the play, keep your damn hands off the whistle. It always ends up looking like the refs were out to screw the losers when their calls end up deciding the game.

So no, Cuban's not right. And he's also not crazy. But he clearly wasn't complaining after the refs gift wrapped game 5 for him last night.

WARRIORS

It's good to live in the Bay Area. Baron Davis, Matt Barnes, Stephen Jackson, Mickael Pietrus are legends. 5:49 to go in the fourth quarter of game 5. Warriors up a point and they have the ball. Is history about to be made?


UPDATE: The answer is no. history will have to wait for thursday night in Oakland...

Bulls, Pistons, Cavs, Nets, Suns... Warriors?

San Antone and Denver is an interesting series. The Spurs are clearly superior, but Denver is an excellent team and they're playing their asses off. Houston and Utah is damn sure turning into a 7 game duke-fest for supremacy. So none of them can be lumped into the group of teams whooping serious ass in the first round.
The Bulls and Pistons successfully completed sweeps, humiliating their respective opponents. The Cavs should join that club by finishing their sweep of the Wizards tonight. Despite all the shit being talked all over the league about how great the Raptors are, they will likely be shown the door tomorrow night on their own home court. The Nets have pretty much wrapped up a very convincing argument that they are not only better than the Raps, but so much better it's not really even a contest. The Suns gave me a scare losing that one game to the Lakers, but as I expected, Kobe's heroics are really only good for 1, maybe 2 games in a series. Unless a miracle occurs, Suns should take it in 5.
Which leaves only one series. I certainly expected that I'd group that series in with the other slaughterhouses. But I expected to be talking about a Mavs sweep. I never thought in a million years I'd be writing about the Warriors with a 3-1 lead. I was at Oracle arena in Oakland last night to watch Baron Davis wash away years of bad memories of shoddy work ethic, poor conditioning, injury, disappointment, lack of leadership, bad breath and dandruff, with a legendary performance in a blemish-free Game 4 take down of the Mavericks.
It was a glory to behold.
The Warriors played defense. For real, no-shit, man-up, lock down defense. Dirk had a good game, but he looked tamed out there. Mikael Pietrus is a defensive whirlwind who can drain 3s. Matt Barnes may be the most energetic, level headed, fundamentally sound 6th man in the business. Biedrins is a spry 7 ft rebound machine, and he's faster than the dickens. Monta Ellis is a breath of fresh air in a sea of disappointing prep-to-pro air heads. Jason Richardson? How about one of the most versatile, athletic, high energy guards in the league. Al Harrington has been cold on the offensive end, but never out of energy. Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson are writing their names into playoff legend. They're hitting shots, creating shots, playing D, and hyping up the home crowd like you can't imagine.
When Baron hit a nearly half-court 3 pointer at the buzzer before half time there was a palpable feeling in Oakland. A foreign emotion for Bay Area basketball fans that's as tangible as the 20,000 "We Believe," towels being twirled by the Warriors faithful:

We can win this.

And not just one game, or one series. The Warriors are a threat. A scrappy, energetic threat to the NBA's Southwest power elite. Dallas is soiling their pants wondering what to do next. That's for sure. But you have to start wondering if Houston, San Antonio or Phoenix can have much more luck against this rowdy bunch from Oakland. Buckle up Bay Area fans. The Warriors mean business.

Game 1 MVP

Call him Baron, call him B-Diddy. Call him what you want, just call him domination.

Baron Davis in Game 1 against the Mavs:
33 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 4 three pointers, 55% FG, 88% FT, 3 TOs

If we see a better game than that all playoffs long, I'd be surprised.

Good to Be a Cavs/Warriors Fan

For Cleveland transplants to the Bay Area, such as myself, there hasn't been a playoff this exciting in a looooooong time. In fact, the Cavs and Warriors haven't won playoff games in the same year since the 1991-92 season. So for 415/216 hybrids like myself, yesterday was a foreign emotion. I couldn't believe my eyes; both the Cavs and Warriors won, and pretty handily at that. Neither team looks like a title contender, but they both look interesting, and they both have a good time in store.
The Warriors barely squeaked into the post season, and being their first time in 12 seasons, they could've gone out 4-0 in thirty point poundings, and you still couldn't wipe the grin off Bay Area faces. We don't care how bad they lose, and neither do they. The result is that they're playing loose, comfortable, scrappy and chaotic. In short; they're playing Nellie Ball. As Dallas fans can attest, it'll never get you to the big show, but it makes for enjoyable and exciting games, lots of three pointers, and just maybe a prayer. With an impressive game 1 steal, the Warriors, once again control their own destiny. All they need to do, however unlikely a feat, is defend Oracle Arena. As long as they can run the board in Oakland, there's a growing possibility we'll get to see Mark Cuban have an aneurysm on national TV.
The Cavs certainly didn't look as punishing and controlling as I may have hoped. And the announcers/pundits/bloggers/assholes have been making them pay. Despite winning by the largest margin of any of the opening games, the Cavs have been roundly panned as the least persuasive winner so far. But I honestly don't mind. Charles Barkley insists the Wizards should be heartened that they can win games, possibly the series. I don't know what game he was watching. The Cavs should still sweep the Wizards, and I don't care if they they win the rest of the games by 1 point each. Getting to the next round in as few games as possible is the priority. The Cavs'll do fine. Pacing themselves in the first round against a sorely over matched opponent is no different from pacing themselves in the regular season. When the Cavs see the Pistons/Bulls/Heat in the conference finals, I want them to be as rested and hard to read as possible. Wish granted.

Game 1s

I am not on fire so far. I picked home court to hold across the board, and for my troubles I got screwed by the team I picked to win it all, and the team everyone else picked. San Antonio and Dallas both lost, at home, in their game 1 match ups with clearly inferior teams. Could it be that they've both drawn their Achilles' heels in the first round? If San Antone were playing Golden State and Dallas playing Denver would it have gone down differently? Dallas can't seem to answer Golden State's free-for-all, jump shooting death squad. And San Antonio clearly has no idea what to do with Nene, who is re branding himself as the power forward of the future. All I could think when I watched Nene yesterday, was how much I'd like to see him on the Suns. He's like a 6'11" Leandro Barbosa, substituting defensive aggression for jump shooting ability. He romped all over San Antonio yesterday. And as a Golden State fan, a former off-and-on Pacers fan, with a long time closet crush on the Spurs, I can't tell you how weird it is to like Stephen Jackson. But Jacko is backo in a big way. SteJax made Dirk look like less of a MVP and more of a DQP (double quarter pounder... with cheese). Things are getting interesting all over.
Toronto focused all their energy on Vinsanity, which worked, and got pecker-slapped by JKidd and RJeff. I still like Toronto to win this thing, but you have to wonder how good New Jersey would be with Nenad. Next year, with Nenad, Miki Moore developing into a solid backup and Josh Boone and Bostjan Nachbar coming on strong, the Nets could be intriguing again next year. If they dodge the injury bug, lookout; a .500 season could be in the offing. Phoenix handled their business like the pros they are, illustrating why Kobe is a punk who will never elevate the Lakers without a Shaq-type backing him up. Detroit looked chiseled against Orlando, but I would have liked to see a nastier, more self assured victory. Ditto for the Cavs. Game 2s should be hot. Cap'n, out.

Year End Awards: Short Form

I'll do a more exhaustive version of this at the end of the playoffs, but for now let's see who's who in the NBA. Adrian Wojnarowski put this into a nice format today, so I'll do mine the same way.

Most Valuable Player
Steve Nash
Woj makes an interesting point when assessing Nash's career best season by saying Amare's return buoyed Steve's numbers. Well, I agree Amare's return made the Suns better. But Nash is shooting a career best FG% and 3PT% and I'm not sure how much that really has to do with Stoudy. Sure you can argue that Amare's tenacious play in the paint has freed up Nash to trigger 3s at will, but I think Nash's offensive output has more to do with the fact that while he's been long recognized as the best dimesman in the league, in reality he should also be recognized as the flat out best pure shooter in the game. As far as form and function go, Kevin Martin is the only guy in the league who sports a competitively frightening shooting ability. On top of the fact that Nash has put in a career best 11.6 assists and has noticeably improved his defense, I'm loathe to award him the honor for the last 2 years and not this, his best, year.
As for Dirk, he's obviously one of the beastliest dudes in the league, and is the best player on the best team. But saying that Amare's return takes from Nash's accomplishment, and not saying that Josh Howard's emergence does the same for Dirk is unfair. I would argue that Howard becoming a legit superstar and offensive threat has made life far easier for Nowitzki. It's definitely neck and neck, but I'm leaning toward Nash... again.
The rest of the guys in the discussion: LeBron is getting unfairly cut out. His "sub par" first half was still pretty stellar. His team has about as good a chance as any to win the East, and his post All Star Break performance has been arguably the best in the league. For his name to not even be discussed is criminal. Same goes for Tim Duncan. In fact, I think John Hollinger made an exceptional case for Tim Duncan as MVP... but not quite. Bringing up the rear would be Dwayne Wade. His team has been unimpressive, and he missed 2 months, but nobody's more valuable to their team than Dweeani (that's a phonetic spelling of how one would pronounce his name, not knowing that's it's the same as Dwayne).
An honorable mention goes out to Chris Bosh who had a stellar year and is clearly as important to his team as anybody. A dishonorable mention goes to Kobe, who is undeniably one of the greatest ever. However his team is so god awful (I'm more and more convinced it's his fault too) that I can't even abide by his name being thrown into discussion. If you honestly believe his name belongs in this debate, then you should really be considering, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, 'Melo, Elton Brand, Gilbert Arenas and Baron Davis, all of whom have comparable, if not better, numbers and play for mediocre to lousy teams that are more frightening to me than the Lakers.

The Ballot: Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade
Honorable Mention: Chris Bosh
Dishonorable Mention: Kobe Bryant


Rookie of the Year
Brandon Roy
This may be the least interesting R.O.Y. race in history. Roy's been very good, Bargnani's been good too, then there's a long list of intriguing guys who didn't get as much of a chance to show their stuff. Based on sheer numbers, you have to give it to Roy. But the more interesting discussion is upsides. It looks like Brandon Roy's showed us pretty much what he can do. His numbers should improve from experience next season, but I'd be shocked if they took the type of steep uphill climb that DWade's took in his second year. On the other hand, Bargnani looks like he just gave us a taste of what's to come. I could definitely see Bargnani developing into somewhat of Dirk Lite over the next few seasons.
Tyrus Thomas, LaMarcus Aldridge, Jorge Garbajosa, Rudy Gay and Rajon Rondo have extremely intriguing futures. By the time the All Star break rolled around, it had become exceedingly clear that neither the Grizzlies nor the Celtics had anything to play for except Oden and Durant. So they both started giving their rookies chances to shine. And shine they did. Gay's turning into a frightening multi position offensive/defensive beast. I wouldn't be shocked to see him put up Shawn Marionesque numbers within the next few years. Same goes for the tenacious and scrappy Rajon Rondo, substituting JKidd's name for Marion's in the comparison. Thomas is clearly the defensive monster of the future, and if he can develop any semblance of a mid range shot, he could become a terrifying low post presence. Aldridge's game shows more equilibrium, less room for improvement, but still a promising future.
Honorable mentions go to Craig Smith and Paul Millsap, who show mad heart and hustle, which you gotta love. Dishonorable mention goes to the guy I picked as a lock to be a huge disappointment: Adam Morrison. What can I say about Morrison that I haven't already screamed about college basketball? He sucks, it sucks, end of story.

The Ballot: Brandon Roy, Andrea Bargnani, Rudy Gay, Rajon Rondo, Tyrus Thomas.
Honorable Mentions: Lamarcus Aldridge, Jorge Garbajosa, Craig Smith, Paul Millsap, Randy Foye, Tarrence Kinsey
Dishonorable Mention: Adam Morrison

Defensive Player of the Year
Tim Duncan
Dude, are you kidding me? Without Timmy's rock solid D, the Spurs would be nowhere. He can do it all, and when everybody's been warning of decline, he just keeps up the same old same old. The Spurs are still my favorite to win it all, and he's the reason why. Nobody more terrifying in the playoffs, plus, the icing on the cake of any case for Duncan as D.P.Y. is the fact that he has the hardest to defend position on the planet; PF/C in the West. He could probably convince me he deserves this award if he was covering 3rd string point guards, but he's not. On a nightly basis he's covering Kevin Garnett, Elton Brand, Dirk, Yao, Pau, Boozer/Okur, Amare, Nene, Randolph and that's not even bringing the East into the discussion, which adds Bosh, Shaq, Jefferson, Howard, Sheed, Jamison and Jermaine O'Neal. Bottom line, he does it against the best, and nobody does it better. This is a tough category to quantify, so I won't even bother ranking the rest, I'll just list the defensive stalwarts who deserve recognition.

The Ballot: Tim Duncan, Shawn Marion, Bruce Bowen, Shane Battier, Marcus Camby
Honorable Mentions: Ben Wallace, Raja Bell, Kevin Garnett, Tayshaun Prince, Emeka Okafor, Josh Howard, Gerald Wallace, Josh Smith
Dishonorable Mentions: Eddy Curry, Zach Randolph, Chris Webber


Most Improved Player
Al Jefferson
I know the popular choice here is Kevin Martin. And I'm not even suggesting that Martin isn't the better player. I like Martin a lot. In fact he's pretty much the best shooter in the league next to Steve Nash. But the thing is; I knew that last year. The only reason KMart didn't do the exact same thing last year, is that the offense was still running through Mike Bibby and Ron Artest primarily. Then the next two guys were Brad Miller and Bonzi Wells. Look at Martin's numbers from last year. They were almost exactly where they are this year in %s, and they reflected that he played about 10 minutes less per game. Which he did. I'm not saying Martin isn't awesome, he's just a guy who didn't get as many minutes, and when he did, his numbers inflated in a perfectly proportional way.
Jefferson's numbers more than doubled on less than double the minutes. He claimed the paint like a beast. He rebounds among the best in the league, he blocks shots, he shoots a high percentage. He's flat out turned into a monster big man. Things just seemed to click for him, and I gotta give him the award over the other guys 'cause I thought he was an official bust, and he flipped overnight. Monta Ellis showed a drastic increase in FG% and FT%, and that is why his minutes are drastically up, and though he's not playing quite twice as much, his numbers are doubled everywhere (unfortunately including turnovers, but that'll happen with a guy who drives to the hoop this viciously). I love Monta's energy, he's on the perfect team to get to showcase his skill set. He drives like Kevin Johnson used to, only even more controlled.
Biedrins has to be in the discussion, he's clearly got a huge future in this league. He might become one of the elite big men... but I doubt it. He's weak, and I don't buy his "tough face." I'd also nominate Sasha Pavlovic, who looks like a newer, sleeker, meaner version of himself. He's cutting to the hoop like a maniac, and almost providing LeBron the true running mate Larry Hughes was supposed to be.
Wojnorowski put Tyson Chandler on the ballot, which I can't agree with, 'cause I knew he could rebound and block shots like a beast. And he changed to a team with no other legit centers, so he got ample more space to showcase his beastliness. If you put him in, you have to put Josh Smith, but we all knew he could do what he's done too. I like this category for the guys you couldn't predict. Honorable mentions go to the 3 headed 6th man on the Golden State Warriors. Barnes and Azibuike were waiver fodder, and Pietrus in a rut, but Nelson let them break loose. Whichever one is in the game can take over. Also Eddy Curry, who is massively better, but still makes me want to vomit with his 900 TOs per game, lack of steals or blocks (or defense of any kind) and pitiful FT%. And to think, it may end up that the Knicks traded Durant/Oden for him.
Dishonorable mention to Larry Hughes who I wish I could say was a candidate here, but he continues to disappoint. Chump.

The Ballot: Al Jefferson, Monta Ellis, Kevin Martin, Andris Biedrins, Sasha Pavlovic
Honorable Mention: Eddy Curry, Mickael Pietrus, Matt Barnes, Kelenna Azabuike
Dishonorable Mention: Larry Hughes

6th Man of the Year
Leandro Barbosa
This one is a no brainer. Manu is not really a 6th man, and the difference between Barbosa and the next best candidate, Stackhouse, is not even close. This would only be a competitive category if Ben Gordon was still coming off the bench like he did in the first half of the season. Barbosa puts up (stellar) starter numbers in bench minutes. He's a blur, he can shoot from anywhere, and he's pretty much the heir to the throne in Phoenix.

The Ballot: Leandro Barbosa, Manu Ginobli, Jerry Stackhouse, Andres Nocioni, Sasha Pavlovic
Honorable Mention: Monta Ellis/Andris Biedrins/Mickael Pietrus/Matt Barnes/Kelenna Azibuike (whoever doesn't start and comes off the bench 1st).
Dishonorable Mention: LeBron James (that dude starts too damn well, he's the worst 6th man ever)

Monday, Muddy Monday

Honestly now...

God Shammgod

Him and World B. Free need to hold an annual Ridonkulous Names Charity Streetball Tournament. Apple Blythe Allison Martin (Gwyneth Paltrow's kid) & Pilot Inspektor Riesgraf Lee (Jason Lee's kid) will be the guest MCs for the event.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jewish Jordan? More like Jewish Jud Beuchler. Looking for Mr. Goodman...




>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Traylor the Jailer

Think he'll get a new nick name in the Slam?





All jokes aside, I feel bad for the Tractor and, to a lesser extent, the thousands of junkies going without a fix in Michigan...

No that's not a shower of cocaine, it's the backboard silly.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>





Cut Short: Dwayne Casey, Bernie Bickerstaff, (soon to be) Bob Hill


Extended: Doc Rivers, Isiah Thomas and (soon to be) Brian Hill





What's wrong with this picture? How the hell are the best 3 coaches out of these 6 awful teams the ones who lose their jobs, while the 3 worst coaches in the galaxy get cushy extenshes? Something weird is afoot...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Cavs and Bulls both lost, Clips and Warriors both lost. So for all my fellow Cavs/Warriors fans out there, hope is still alive, but we've got a hell of an uphill climb. Cavs pretty much need to win the rest of their games to pull a game ahead of the Bulls and lock up a top 4 seed, and to hold off the surging Raptors for the 2 seed. The Warriors need to do the same to gain ground on the Clippers and lock up that coveted 8 seed. All you high school football players, take a knee and say a prayer for Cleveland and Oakland...

Smoketown Beat Down

I just got back from the Warriors Wolves game tonight, to which I had 11th row tickets. Golden State looked better tonight than I've seen 'em all year. They exhibited something I haven't seen from them... ever: defense. They held the Wolves to 36% from the field tonight, including an embarrassing 16% from downtown. I can't imagine what a quiet plane ride the Wolves are gonna have tonight. KG looked scary. It wasn't that he was pissed, or fired up, or disappointed. KG looked like he didn't give a shit anymore. After all the years he's put into this team, it was just heartbreaking to see the warrior, KG, broken. He's checked out, and I for one can't wait to see him in LA next year. He and Kobe will be flat out unstoppable.
For the Wolves, there were few bright spots. Foye had maybe his best game of the year, but it was mostly garbage numbers. KG was the only pulse on the court, save for rookie Craig Smith, who I was very impressed with. Even though his numbers don't show it, he far outplayed Foye. Mike James barely made it off the bench, logging 11 minutes that didn't start until late in the 3rd quarter. It's clear that honeymoon is long over. But the worst performance award has to go to Wrong Rim Ricky Davis, who had a humiliatingly awful night, exacerbated by my non stop heckling. If this game was televised anywhere, I bet I made it on TV. I was yelling for RD to screw up so hard I lost my voice.
For the Warriors, J Rich, BDiddy and SteJax all had nice outings, but Monta Ellis stole the show. I've seen him before, but until you see him in person, you just don't understand. This kid is the future of the NBA. And the future looks bright. He hit jump shots, cut through the TWolves defenses, passed, dunked, he did it all tonight. Some of his drives to the hoop looked like LeBron moves, being done by a guy half his size. He had no trouble dropping soft kisses off the glass against everyone on Minnesota, from KG to RD and he even played a little defense. But the run of the night goes to Mikael Pietrus, another dude with an extremely bright future. In the middle of the second quarter, he hit back to back threes and then got an alley-oop from Jason Richardson that brought the house down. Then he came right back 2 plays later and drained another 3.
I also had a good night, as I cavorted with 2 of the sexier Golden State cheerleaders. I didn't catch their names, so I'll just refer to them as my first and second wives.

On The Subject Of Wasted Talent

That Isaiah Rider was damn sweet. It got me thinking, this'll be an ongoing series. Dudes who were raw... and ruined their careers. This dude could still be a contributor if he wanted. This footage is even sicker than JR's. The American Dream, Latrell Sprewell.








Umm that last one was just creepy.

Monday Slices

Rafer Alston, at it again? Van Gundy's playing it down, but Sam Mitchell used to do the same thing... at first. From RealGM.

Bottom Line: If Don Nelson shuts the F up, the Warriors at the very least would've been in overtime. Nobody else to blame, no matter how bad the call. From RealGM.

This is the kind of play that would get followed by James Brown shrieking "Good god, y'all! Hey, hey. Hey!" Holy shit, I am suddenly intrigued by Tyrus Thomas' upside. This is straight murder on both ends of the court. From TaurineDream.




And since we might be reunited with these two guys, how about a couple moments legendaire: