And in unrelated news, the Heat have responded to their losing streak by a three game winning streak that includes beating Lakers, drubbing play-off team Memphis by 33 points, and then shellacking the Spurs by 30, avenging their 20 point loss to that club. Yeah, so much for them not being a threat.
After watching the ESPN 30 for 30 "Guru of Go" which was pretty good, not great, but pretty good, I turned on the Miami/OKC game. Wow. Just wow. Wade was making moves like he was 5 years older. OKC was playing their asses off and Westbrook is a beast. They just need one more piece, a little more experience, and consistency. I wish I watched the whole game. KD's sideways glances at Bosh after he scored were hilarious. Interesting how OKC doesn't get rattled by momentum changing plays. Bulls are number 1 in the East. Yes, yes they are. D. Rose is getting MVP, yes, yes he is.
I had doubts about Ty Corbin as head coach of the Utah Jazz, and still do. However, he has made one outstanding decision that bodes well for his future in the league. Namely, he benched veteran team leader and captain Raja Bell for the young, streaky shooting CJ Miles? What?! Well, it's a move that statheads had been screaming for Jerry Sloan to make for months, since the starting line-up of D Williams/Bell/Kirilenko/Millsap/Jefferson was awful and got outscored by the opposition, while the line-up of D Williams/Miles/Kirilenko/Millsap/Jefferson was one of the seven best in the league? Obviously, it's a move Sloan was reluctant to make, because of the veteran presence Bell has, and initially, that was true for Corbin as well. However, with the postseason slipping further away, he made a gutsy move to improve the Jazz fortunes on the court. (And Bell was seriously upset, as one can imagine) Before the benching, the Jazz were getting blown out in every game, including a humiliating 20 point drubbing against the Timberwolves. Since the move, the Jazz are 2-0, beating the play-off bound Sixers, and avenging the loss to the Timberwolves by beating them by 20 themselves. And oh yeah, CJ Miles scored 40 points in 31 minutes.
Not sure if anyone is paying attention, but Denver is in the middle of a Ewing Theory event. 12-4 since Melo left. While the Knicks are fighting to stay .500. Awesome.
Not sure how "Ewing Theory" that is, since the Knicks traded away a king's ransom to get Carmelo. It's not like the Nuggets simply got rid of Anthony and became better, which is what the "theory" was supposed to describe.
Let's just change the definition of the Ewing theory to allow for any time a team's best player leaves and the team does moderately well, regardless of any other circumstances of the situation so we can avoid this situation arising again and again. Focus: Does anybody think the Perkins-inflated Thunder can make a run past the first and maybe second rounds of the playoffs?
They're going to have HCA in their first round matchup, and regardless of who it is, it's going to be against an inferior team. They've got a very good chance to get out of the first round. In the second round they'll be against San Antonio, and despite their struggles against them this year pre-Perk, I think they can take 'em now. Perkins/Ibaka to handle Duncan and Blair in the interior is huge, and I have a feeling this is a series where KD's matchup advantage will allow for some huge games by him. Harden has blossomed with his increased scoring load now that Green's gone, too. In truth, I think the Thunder's move allowed them to make a run that ends with them in the finals... from this year forward. A lot of parity at the top of both leagues though. And like the Thunder, I'm not counting out the Mavs now that they finally have a true defensive presence in the block.
If they play like they did in the game against the Heat, I think they could have a good shot at winning the title. They're quick, play pretty good defense, and have the best player in the league. Lebron might be the best defensive small forward in the league, and Durant was flat-out beating him one on one in that game. I don't really see why everyone is surprised that the Nuggets are doing pretty well. Carmelo is an elite scorer, but I don't know if the rest of his game was exactly MVP-caliber. You can always get points from somewhere else, and they got good players in return. It could hurt them in the playoffs. They don't have that one guy who they turn to when they need a bucket, and losing the leadership of Billups is probably going to hurt. Going forward, though, I think that Denver is in better shape than they were before the trade.
1) It's not outside of the realm of possibilities that Denver will catch OKC and get homecourt advantage. They have two head-to-head matchups remaining and Denver's been playing well recently. I wouldn't bet on it, but it's possible. That "whoever it is" is almost assuredly going to be Denver. 2) You have to assume the Thunder's chances go up with Duncan's injury. He's still on crutches and his return date is uncertain. 3) If y'all didn't hear, David West went down with a knee injury. It hasn't been specified yet, but there's murmurs of ACL tear going around. I'd be surprised to see him back on the court this season. Memphis and Houston have to be jumping for joy.
Hmm...both the Bulls and the Celts lost last night. Wouldn't it be a bitch if the Heat won the East? WTF would people have to bitch about then?
Or maybe they'll lose to the Cavs. Looks like the top teams might be looking ahead to the play-offs already.
That seems unlikely: 1) It's a sample size of one game. 2) The Celtics and Cavs are still fighting for home court advantage in the second round. You think they don't care about that? The players aren't that dumb. 3) LeBron James and Dwayne Wade each played 43 minutes last night. Does that sound like they're coasting?
The Ewing Theory isn't a theory in any useful sense of the term. For one thing, it's only backwards-looking and has no predictive value. It ignores teams that get much worse (Cleveland anyone?) for obvious outliers. Also, obviously, their starting lineup only dropped off a bit and their depth improved. Chauncy Billups is overrated.
The Playoffs are almost here, unless shit hits the fan it looks like we pretty much have the seeding for each of the top 4 teams. Finals Prediction: Lakers v Bulls Western Conference Prediction - Lakers v Nuggets (changed from Thunder) Eastern Conference Prediction - Bulls v Celtics. Bulls are 19-5 with Boozer and Noah playing at the same time. Just saying.
Not so fast. The C's and Heat are separated by one game in the loss column, with a few left (and one head to head). That could be important come the second round in deciding home court advantage. Celtics have the lead currently and the tie breaker. Also, scary thought on the Bulls' win-loss: their record with one or neither of those two is STILL good enough to win the East. And would still be better that LA.
So according to news sites LeBrons mamma was popped for basically being *RON WHITE VOICE* drunk in public. She slapped the valet and the cops were called. From what I've read she was also arrested for a DUI a few years back. Maybe if you drink during pregnancy you squirt out a sports star! You never know man. Edited to add: And the Bulls are going to win.
A - the guy's first name is Rockefeller. That's slapworthy right there. B - He took too long to bring her car. What else is a strong, independent woman supposed to do? She can't be punked by no dude in a vest. C -- when she was arrested for DUI in Ohio in 2006, she kicked out the window of the cop car they had her in. Again, she told them to hurry it up.
What I read said he'd brought the car around, she and a friend stood around for in upwards of 30 minutes yapping so he shut the car off. She yelled at him about where the keys were and then bitchslapped him. He's already lawyered up. Shocking. When the cops arrested her she told them she "didn't trust their kind". SmRt. Seems she's got some booze and anger issues.