Tainted Legacy

By kirbygarlitos, Section NBA
Posted on Sun May 11 2008 at 3:22 PM EST
More on: Houston Rockets, Tracy Mcgrady (all tags)

0 for 7.

For all of Tracy Mcgrady's achievements, this is the one figure that might inevitably define his legacy.

(530 words in story) Full Story

Steve Kerr's Unnecessary Gamble

By kirbygarlitos, Section NBA
Posted on Sat May 10 2008 at 11:54 PM EST
More on: Mike D'Antoni, Steve Kerr, Steve Nash, Shaquille O'Neal, Amare Stoudemire (all tags)

If Steve Kerr wants to reap the fruits of his highly controversial trade for Shaquille O'Neal, letting go of Mike D'Antoni is a move he should not, under any circumstances, make.

(2 comments, 647 words in story) Full Story

Translating the NBA for your Girlfriend

By leftcoast, Section NBA
Posted on Sun Mar 30 2008 at 8:34 PM EST
More on: (all tags)

Have you ever tried to get your girlfriend or wife to watch a basketball game with you on T.V.?  You would swear you were pulling teeth, right?  Well, I had to sit through a "Desperate Housewives" marathon, along with "The Hills".  The only redeeming factor is that they have some good looking chicks on there.  I don't get why basketball is so foreign to some women.  It has world class athletes, drama, and is a relatively easy sport.  My girlfriend is the worst at trying to speak metaphorically.  She makes me more confused than when I start sometimes.  Recently, she tried to explain "D-H" to me using metaphors that I can't honestly even remember.  I looked at her the same cocked-head way a dog looks at something strange.  She challenged me to describe the NBA to her in terms she would understand.  So I did.  I thought I would share.

(1 comment, 899 words in story) Full Story

Striking Gold

By kirbygarlitos, Section NBA
Posted on Sat Feb 23 2008 at 4:30 PM EST
More on: Pau Gasol, LA Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Mitch Kupchak, Kobe Bryant (all tags)

Mitch Kupchak learned a lot from his mentor Jerry West. With the trade of Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Los Angeles Lakers, you can say that Kupchak also learned the art of fleecing other teams from Jerry West.

For us who weren't around when West dominated the NBA in the 60's, the only memory we have of him was his cunning guile and craftiness as the general manager of the Lakers during the late 90's. After all, he was the one who signed Shaquille O'Neal away from Orlando and duped the then-Charlotte Hornets to trade their 1996 first round draft pick - a tall, skinny high school kid from Philadelphia - for Vlade Divac.

Jerry West made the Lakers a championship contender with those moves. And now - after a history of questionable moves - the apprentice finally made the trade that would make his teacher proud.

(4 comments, 829 words in story) Full Story

Enter the Matrix

By kirbygarlitos, Section NBA
Posted on Sat Feb 23 2008 at 4:29 PM EST
More on: Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Shawn Marion, Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade (all tags)

The American Airlines Arena didn't have a three-story billboard of himself. There weren't any balloons, water guns, and certainly no black SUV's with Superman-inspired rims.

What there was, however, was a long table with a requisite Miami Heat backdrop, a few chairs, and a couple of unopened bottled waters.

And that's about it.

(1 comment, 723 words in story) Full Story

Devil in a Blue Jersey

By sign arenas, Section NBA
Posted on Fri Feb 01 2008 at 6:54 PM EST
More on: (all tags)

Used to be, the two months between the Super Bowl and baseball's opening day was the worst time of year.  The Warriors were always dead and buried by February, so we in the Bay Area were forced to sit and wait for 60 days until the A's and Giants returned and restored hope to our lives.  The Warriors are the only good team in the neighborhood now, but that hasn't stopped them from trying to inject some life into these two months anyway.

(2975 words in story) Full Story

The Main Event

By sign arenas, Section NBA
Posted on Tue Dec 11 2007 at 4:37 PM EST
More on: (all tags)

"Did you see the Warriors game last night?"

Used to be, if someone asked you that at work in the morning, it was followed by something like "Tracy McGrady dunked on six Warriors at once", or "some of the fans ran onto the court and beat the Warriors in a pickup game".  But no more!  Finally, regular-season Warriors games are now events for all the right reasons- most importantly, the team wins most of them.  And they're winning in style now, stealing the close games against good teams that they used to squander, and running teams in the bottom half of the standings right out of the gym.

(1 comment, 3213 words in story) Full Story

Trailblazers Climbing to a Bright Future

By dflack, Section NBA
Posted on Mon Dec 03 2007 at 10:28 AM EST
More on: NBA, Portland Trailblazers (all tags)

The Portland Trailblazers are a team loaded with young talent that is on the rise like basketball fans in China, but the most impressive young talent on the team might be LaMarcus Aldridge.

(2 comments, 576 words in story) Full Story

Kevin Do Not

By kroberts, Section NBA
Posted on Sun Nov 25 2007 at 12:15 AM EST
More on: Kevin Durant, Seattle (all tags)

Why are we still talking about Kevin Durant like he's the second coming of Lebron James, or even the second coming of Carmelo Anthony, for that matter? I mean, his situation relates in some ways better to Anthony, as a matter of fact, but you get my point. We're ballooning this kid into this great statue of a player, and he's played just 8 games. We're buffing him and sculpting him into something his fragile frame cannot handle. I mean, really. He moves around like a high school player. The kid couldn't even bench 180 pounds at pre-draft workouts. Not even once. And don't tell me that has nothing to do with basketball. It has plenty to do with basketball. Look at Lebron, Kobe, and T-Mac. These guys are finesse, yet complete players. They take it to the rim with moves, swagger, confidence, but most importantly, physical play. They rely on their muscle, explosion, and finishing touch to dominate their opponents, and I'm here to tell you, that is something that our chosen one Kevin Durant severely lacks.

(2 comments, 756 words in story) Full Story

Something Sinister in Seattle

By DoNoUhOh, Section NBA
Posted on Tue Nov 13 2007 at 12:52 PM EST
More on: seattle, sonics, clay bennett, david stern (all tags)

     David Stern recently said if Seattle lost the Sonics they would not get a new team in the foreseeable future.  This is an attempt to increase the pressure on Seattle and the state of Washington to do whatever necessary to keep their team.  In the mind of David Stern whatever necessary means the building o a new state of the art arena using tax payer money.  The use of public funds for a new arena can be classified as nothing but a rip off.  It is the creation of massively expensive infrastructure for the super rich to use to become more super rich.  There are times when the surrounding neighborhood may become revitalized but there is no guarantee and before the bonds are paid off most stadiums are considered obsolete, hurting their investment value.  

(865 words in story) Full Story