June 16, 2008 at 4:35 pm · Filed under NBA, NCAA, Videos
It’s (almost) over! June is quite the month for the NBA. The climax of the season and the climax of the offseason for most NBA teams. Fans of lottery teams are speculating about their next potential franchise player, and the two most popular (or hated) teams in the league are playing for the NBA title on Tuesday night. Enjoy June while it lasts.
Is it over for the Los Angeles Lakers? Sure, they’ve forced a game six, but it’s going to be tough for the Lakers to win two in a row in Boston, where the Celtics are 12-1in the postseason. Either we witness the Celtic’s first championship in over 20 years, or some amazing performances by Kobe & Co.
It’s (possibly) over! After an already crazy basketball career, Bill Walker has injured his OTHER knee. Left and right, both injured in the past two years. Unfortunate for him, especially because covers up some weakness in skill with his athleticism. Of course, you already knew that.
Today’s the early-entry withdrawal deadline for this year’s draft. Draft Express, as always, has a list separating the pretenders from those who elected to remain in the draft. Any news about Zach Feinstein, the college junior without any basketball experience?
The Boston Celtics are just one game away from championship banner #17, barring a crazy comeback (we’ve seen it happen in Game 4!) from the Los Angeles Lakers.
At last, the NBA has finally gotten what they wanted. A fierce rivalry renewed. A miraculous come from behind victory. A couple role players stepping up to carry their teams one game at a time (see Leon Powe). And four of the biggest stars in the NBA battling for the Larry O’Brien championship trophy.
For many young fans, it was hard to see the NBA get their Lakers/Celtics matchup. However, it provides many longtime fans a chance to reminisce to the classic 1980s era of NBA basketball.
The last time the Celtics and Lakers matched against each other in the NBA Finals was in 1987. Gas cost $0.95 at the time, and it’s not the only thing that’s changed. Soon after their Finals appearnce, the Celtics, the most successful franchise in league history, dropped into mediocrity — and worse.
At last, the Celtics have overcome their obsctacles, Antoine Walker not the least of them. Take a moment and watch the rebirth of the Celtics/Lakers rivalry, from Larry Bird and beyond.
To better prepare the NBA officials for the flopping policy next year, Daily Basketball has compiled a list of flops to be on the lookout for. This list is completed; however, it provides a good start. (If you’re reading this post via an RSS feed, you may need to click-through in order to watch the videos. Not surprisingly, most search results came back with videos of the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, and Utah Jazz.
Vlade Divac has passed to the torch to a generation of new actors, including Manu Ginobili and Bruce Bowen. And Jarrons Collins and Matt Harpring. And Shaquille O’Neal, Amare Stoudemire, and Kurt Thomas. And Chris Paul. And Pau Gasol.
The “offensive charge” flop
The most common of all basketball flops. Typical a smaller player tries to “take a charge” from a larger player, occasionally big men pretend to be knocked to the ground by point guards. Minimal contact is exaggerated, or in this case, just hallucinated.
The “fighting through a screen” flop
The flopper in the performance could either be the screener, or the defensive player trying to get around a solid pick. Screeners may pretend to get knocked over by the defensive player, and the defensive player may act like he got shouldered/kneed/tripped by the screener.
The “flying body parts” flop
Commonly, the defensive player pretends to be elbowed/shoved/punched unnecessarily. On the other hand, offensive players unfairly “flop” an and-one by kicking out their legs (see Kobe Bryant and Memo Okur) or jumping into opponents to draw a foul.
The “hurricane seizure” flop
After drawing contact, players spin, flip, fall, and flail around the court before falling to the ground. Flopping players tend to deny gravity and bounce all over the place before coming to a stop. One time when this happens his when a player loses control of the ball.
The “ref must be blind” flop
These outrageous calls normally require a six-to-eight certification course, or acting classes at the local community center. Sometimes the refs bite on these horrible plays, other times it just provides a good laugh.
The “possessed floorboard” flop
It could also be an basketball, basketball hoop, jersey, shoe, referee, coach, or spilled popcorn or drinks. Unlike the “ref must be blind” flop, these are typically unintentional flops — however, they still end in a “hurricane seizure”-like result.
A brief review
A generation has grown up trying to emulate Michael Jordan. Now the young players of the world have a new idol: Air Manu. Let your flop speak.
In the first edition of our theoretically four-part series, check out 34 reasons why Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics should win the NBA championship this season. Some are serious, others cynical and sarcastic, but feel free to add your own.
They have the Three Amigos.
So it’s not an San Antonio Spurs-Detroit Pistons matchup. The grind-it-out Spurs-Nets Finals a couple years ago was horrendous. The Phoenix Suns may have been eliminated from the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean the fast break has to be. (Yes, I know, the Spurs play great basketball that should be enjoyed by all true fans of the sport).
The Celtics won the season series against the Pistons 2-1. And they’re only loss was by a mere two points.
They’re from Boston. The Patriots, the Red Sox…it’s a pretty successful city.
The Celtics don’t have to play the Washington Wizards.
Kevin Garnett deserves a championship ring. There aren’t any “lifetime achievement” awards, but if there were, KG would deserve one. One of the top five players in the league throughout his career, Kevin Garnett is the glue of this Celtics team.
Not only do they have one deserving star, they have three. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, no member of Pierce/Garnett/Ray Allen trio has won an NBA championship.
They have a better record against teams in the Western Conference that the East. If any team in the East can overthrow the Western dominance (for a year), it’s the Celtics.
The team started strong, what’s to say they won’t finish strong? The team started 27-3 start, tying the historic record for best record through 30 games.
Somebody else has got to step up, aside from Pierce and KG. (see exhibit A and exhibit B)
Everybody wants to see a 1980s Lakers-Celtics rematch. Or at least that’s what the NBA’s PR department wants us to believe.
The Celtics must be the most blogged about team in the league, not only on overall posts, but also based on the number of blog dedicated solely to the Cs. Not sure what that has to do with anything, but they’ve definitely got enough media coverage, depending on whether you count blogging as “real” media or not.
The team has managed to overcome a transparent Ray Allen in the postseason. I thought Shuttleworth “got game?”
Rajon Rondo has played well for the Celtics at the point guard (combo guard?) position. And he’s not Sam Cassell.
They’ve played in two Game 7s so far. Sure, it may be exhausting, but the Celtics aren’t getting rusty any time soon.
They led the league in scoring margin through the regular season, outscoring their opponent’s by over 10 points per game.
Two-thirds of SportsNation believes in them.
They’re the only team in the league to beat every opponent at least once.
A championship redeems Danny Ainge. A year ago, fans called for his removal. Now, Ainge has been named the Executive of the Year after the Cetlics broke the record for the best single-season turnaround, 42 games.
They’re old. Not as old as the Spurs (average age: 31.6 years), but they’ve got some decent experience.
They’ve got the Legacy.
The Celtics blew out the Lakers twice. If the Lakers are still handed the Western Conference championship on the silver platter, the Celtics should like their odds.
In addition, they swept the San Antonio Spurs in their season series, pulling off a couple close victories.
The Celtics can play on the road. It’s hard to believe, after it took them a half-dozen tries in the playoffs, but the Celtics had the best road winning percentage in the league.
They’re the Boston Celtics, for crying out loud. They’ve already earned 16 championships — the city is destined for another one.
Did I mention we don’t want another boring Spurs-Pistons matchup?
Are you cheering for the Celtics? Feel free and leave a comment on why you’re a fan. Bandwagoners need not apply.
If you are a local Utah Jazz fan, you’ve probably the headline “The Price Is Right” a dozen times on the front of the sports section. Ronnie Price has energized the team on both ends of the floor.
Here’s Exhibit B, which as been quickly circulating around the Internet after Game 4 of the Los Angeles Lakers/Utah Jazz series. I know, LeBron James pulled off something similar against the Boston Celtics, but Ronnie Price is 6′ 3″.
In case you missed Exhibit A, it’s good to see that Price and teammate Carlos Boozer can get along on the same team after this dunk of the year.
April 26, 2008 at 4:17 pm · Filed under NBA, Videos
At the beginning of the season, most NBA fans realized that the Miami Heat are not the same team that one the NBA championship a couple seasons ago. The team would sneak into the playoffs, but nobody expected the team to dominate the competition.
And they didn’t. After starting 0-5, it was apparent that things could get ugly. In December, the team managed to win two games in a row — the only time it happened throughout the season. During the month of January, the team won one game. Uno, un, ein, 一個. Just enough to end a 15-game losing streak.
The team finished 15-67. Sure, the team was severelybogged down by injuries, but this is the Eastern Conference! Every team has years when it needs to “replenish” its team, but it’s a really bad sign when you’re head coach decides to “take leave” to scout some new players.
Dwyane Wade needs a new team. That could include trading him out of Miami, or the Heat acquiring several new role players. D-Leaguers don’t cut it. Wade was the first member of the “Class of 2003 All-Stars” to win a championship, and he made it happen by carrying his team through the NBA Finals. LeBron James aside, Wade may be the most skilled player in his draft class.
How can Miami Heat rebuild this team?
The first area to look at is free agency. They’ve already got the 7th-highest payroll in the NBA, and between Wade and Shawn Marion, most of of next season’s cap space is taken — with only 2/3 of a roster to show for it. The big kicker here is that Marion has a player option for next season. You can make a case for both keeping him, and asking him to leave. The team desperately needs cap space to acquire some solid players, but Marion is likely as talented as the Heat can get.
One “benefit” of this horrible season is that the Heat will have a top-four draft pick. For now, they’ve hypothetically got #1 and #52. Assuming that the #52 isn’t ready to play, the Heat need to find one player that can make all of the difference. This year has a solid group of talent at the top. However, most of the popular votes for the #1 pick are guards (O.J. Mayo and Derrick Rose) and forwards (Michael Beasley).
The only other option is the trade market. Wade needs to demand a trade. Not for him, but to bring in new talent to play alongside him. Because they lack any big commodities besides Wade and Marion, they need to either trade the #1 pick or hope to sign-and-trade away a few of their upcoming free agents (Jason Williams and Ricky Davis).
Free Dwyane! I don’t know how you can do it, but Pat Riley, make it happen.
