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Archive for April, 2008

How Stupid Are The Wizards? Very.

Apr 21

Posted by kit in 2008 NBA Playoffs, basketball, Charles Barkley, Cleveland Cavaliers, DeShawn Stevenson, Detroit Pistons, Gilbert Arenas, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Madison Square Garden, Miami Heat, NBA, New York Knicks, Playoffs, Reggie Miller, Spike Lee, T.J. Ford, Toronto Raptors, Uncategorized, Washington Wizards | 2 Comments

You don’t tug at Superman’s cape, and you don’t ignite a fire under LeBron James. With some careless trash-talk, the Wizards have given LeBron and the Cavaliers more to win for this post season. “He’s overrated…and you can say I said that,” Deshawn Stevenson said of MVP candidate, LeBron James. First of all, Who the hell is DeShawn Stevenson? Stevenson is a nobody. LeBron showed that he’s a nobody by owning him in the first game of the playoff series, winning 93-86. In the game, LeBron scored ten times as many points as Stevenson. Stevenson put up a total of 3 points, compared to LeBron’s 30. Stevenson needs to shut his mouth very quick because already he’s been proven wrong. If you’re going to talk trash about some one, make sure they’re a worse player than you. Here are LeBron’s season stats next to DeShawn’s.

Stevenson\'s stats pale in comparison of LeBron\'s MVP Candidate LeBron James

DeShawn Stevenson VS. LeBron James

PPG: 11.2 PPG: 30.0

RBP: 2.9 RPG: 7.9

APG: 3.1 APG: 7.2

SPG: 0.8 SPG: 1.8

BPG: 0.2 BPG: 1.1

FG: 38% FG: 45%

If that’s not enough to make Stevenson shutup than maybe these examples of “Jordanism” that LeBron displayed this season may. In a game against the Toronto Raptors, T.J. Ford had a few fans on the sideline who began heckling James. LeBron, noticing that they were there for his opponent Ford of the Raptors, went on a hot streak which brought the Cavs back to win. He yelled at the hecklers, “it’s your fault!!”

In yet another episode of Jordan-esque like performance, maybe more remniscant of Reggie Miller, LeBron scored 50 against the Knicks. Spike Lee was of course on the sidelines, jarring at LeBron. LeBron mouthed, “50″ to Spike, and then went on to hit a string of three-pointers which gave him a 50 point game in MSG.

Stevenson’s comments even startled Charles Barkley. Barkley went as far as saying, “I think the Washington Wizards have got to be the dumbest team in the history of civilization.” That sounds about right, even coming from Chuck.

Stevenson isn’t the only one talking for the Wizards. Even Gilbert Arenas got into it. He didn’t gave the courage to talk openly so he decided to do it in blog form. “I think everybody wants Cleveland in that first round. They’ve been a .500 team ever since they made that trade and everybody wants a chance at that matchup. We want Cleveland for our own reasons, we don’t think they can beat us in the playoffs three years straight. It’s hard to beat a team three years straight. We want to try our luck.” Arenas said in his seasonal blog he posts on the NBA website. Arenas has posted more blogs this season than he has played games. Isn’t that something? And, just remember the old saying Gilbert, be careful what you wish for. So far, LeBron has made the dream of playing the Cavaliers a nightmare.

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Isiah Thomas Removed as Knicks Coach

Apr 18

Posted by kit in basketball | 1 Comment

Breaking News, excerpted form the NYTimes

The Isiah Thomas era officially ended Friday, and a major Knicks rebuilding project is now underway.
Barton Silverman/The New York Times
Isiah Thomas had a .341 winning percentage as the Knicks coach.
N.B.A.

Donnie Walsh, who two weeks ago replaced Thomas as the team president, removed Thomas as head coach, but said he will remain with the team, but will have no title and no direct reports.

“I value Isiah’s knowledge of the game and his opinion,” said Walsh in a conference call Friday afternoon. “I will use him as a resource. He will be reporting to me.”

Walsh said that James L. Dolan, the Madison Square Garden chairman who stripped Thomas of the team presidency on April 2 in favor of Walsh, had no input in the decision.

Since being hired, Walsh, the Pacers president who hired Thomas to coach Indiana in 2000, had promised not to make a hasty decision on Thomas, but the outcome seemed inevitable in light of Thomas’s poor record.

Thomas posted a 56-108 record in two seasons as head coach. His.341 winning percentage ranks him among the bottom five coaches in franchise history. They went just 23-59 this season.

The Knicks opened the season with playoff aspirations after acquiring forward Zach Randolph last June, but they were quickly doused when Thomas clashed with Stephon Marbury, the starting point guard. Thomas threatened to remove Marbury from the starting lineup in early November, and Marbury responded by leaving the team for a day, skipping a game in Phoenix. When Marbury returned, Thomas let him play right away, over the objections of other players.

The team’s morale sunk, and their record along with it. The Knicks lost eight straight games, then hit an all-time low when they were routed 104-59 by the Boston Celtics on Nov. 29.

Thomas, who became team president in December 2003, never wanted to coach the team. But Dolan ordered him to the bench in June 2006, after firing Coach Larry Brown, who went 23-59 in his one season on the bench.

Under Thomas’s leadership, the Knicks’ payroll ballooned without any clear progress on the court. In his first season as president, the Knicks won 39 games and made the playoffs but were swept by the Nets in the first round. Over the last four seasons, the Knicks have won 33, 23, 33 and 23 games.

Thomas and the Garden were also found liable for sexual harassment last fall.

Anucha Browne Sanders, a former Knicks executive, sued Thomas for sexual harassment and received $11.5 million in damages.

Thomas’s reign was characterized by a series of risky moves for expensive, often aging players, from Penny Hardaway to Maurice Taylor to Jalen Rose to Steve Francis. He also gambled on Marbury, a former All-Star with a spotty record.

Mike Nizza contributed reporting: LINK

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LET”S HEAR IT FOR THE LOSERS!

Apr 12

Posted by kit in basketball, Darrel Arthur, Derrick Rose, Joey Dorsey, Kansas, Memphis, Michael Beasley, UCLA | 2 Comments

This is a good time to look back at the extraordinary game that ended Memphis’ run for the NCAA title. Many people have written about the incredible fortitude of Kansas and the heart and patience they showed as they climbed their way back in, and eventually win in overtime.

Kansas Wins: Photo- Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters

Kansas Wins – Photo: Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters

But I want to write about the other end of sports. I want to talk about losing. You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to figure out that there is a loser for every winner. The joy of Kansas is balanced out by the despair of Memphis. The moment of glory that Mario Chalmer’s take with him throughout life is balanced by the regrets that Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose will carry because they missed those free throws.

Robert Dozier after loss – Photo: Eric Gray/AP

How often do we talk about the one that got away? The ground ball that the steady and talented Bill Buckner missed. The easy put-backs that Charles Smith missed, denying the New York Knicks that all-important victory. The last minute fumble on the two-yard line.

Those of us who play sports and those of us who watch all-too-easily embrace the unrealistic idea that we can always win. Perhaps that why those who make the most understandable of human errors suffer far more than they deserve. There’s talent, but there’s also luck and also misfortune.

Darrel Arthur dunks over Joey Dorsey – Photo: Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters

Everybody knows that in the last 75 seconds of the fourth quarter Memphis missed four out of five from the foul line. The free throws that would have guaranteed victory for Memphis. Everybody knows that Mario Chalmers, Kansas’ great guard, hit that three-pointer with less than 3 seconds left. The question is, though, how many people will remember that Chris Douglas-Roberts had 22 points while freshman Derrick Rose finished with 18.

Mario Chalmers’ 3 pointer

Chalmers, deservedly, ended up the MVP. Douglas-Roberts and Rose, left with the most bitter taste in their mouths, will do their best to shift their thoughts to the upcoming NBA draft.

And, of course, the media absolutely loves the winner as it discards the loser. It didn’t take long to unearth the story of Chalmers’ youthful prediction. This is how ESPN put it:

Mario Chalmers had been in the Alamodome before for a title game. Four years earlier, he was a spectator and told his father he’d win a title. Against Memphis, Chalmers rescued Kansas from near-certain defeat and gave the 2008 NCAA tournament its signature.

Most of us will never, ever have that Mario Chalmers’ moment. So it’s important we think about and appreciate all those who made that final game so exciting. The game that kept us up past midnight. In the end, you can look at the stat that made the difference. Kansas made 14 of 15 free throws, an incredible .933%. Memphis shot 12 of 19, .632%

Derrick Rose flies vs UCLA

But let’s spend a moment celebrating the losers. Memphis won a record-setting 38 games this season. Derrick Rose had such an impressive rookie season, many are predicting he may be the #1 draft lottery pick. And at the worst, he may slip to #2 if someone goes for Michael Beasley. Chris Douglas-Roberts put on such a show that he too has greatly raised his stock in the NBA draft.

All props to Kansas for a great run and a great finale. They are the champs and they certainly deserve it. But let’s hear for the losers. Memphis had an absolutely great year. And like the rest of us, they are human.

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