MATT DAMON. BEN AFFLECK. LIONS. LEMONS. BAR FIGHTS.

Lion Face: Boston Celtics

The Celtics somehow came back from the dead without both Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen and overcame a 27-point deficit to beat the Magic by double digits. The went on a 44-16 run to end the game, and only one lineup they used in the second half had a negative plus/minus rating. Boston held the Magic to 83 points on 38.0% shooting for the game, with just 25 of those points coming in the second half. THEY GAVE UP SEVEN POINTS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER! This was a galvanizing win for a team that needed one in the worst way.

Lemon Face: Orlando Magic

Shot Chart via ESPN

The Magic wilted under the pressure of a stingy Celtics defense in the second half. They shot 6-for-17 in the third quarter and followed that up by going an embarrassing 2-for-17 in the fourth. They let a 27-point lead disappear and came away with nothing to show for it. They had no answers once they Celtics started getting up inside them and they let it get under their skin. It really looked like this team self-destructed in the second half, and it could wind up being a sign of things to come. Worst of all, they gave the Celtics life when they could have put them in the ground. Nope, wait. The worst part is Dwight Howard says they have to “change.” Read that however you like, friends.

Lion Face: E’Twaun Moore

The rookie from Purdue had the best game of his young career, pouring in 16 points on in 18 minutes on just 6 shots. He went 4-for-4 from three and the Celtics were plus-27 while we was on the court. He and Avery Bradley spent a lot of time pressuring ball-handlers in the second half and they were able to throw Orlando off their rhythm.

Lemon Face: Dwight Howard

The Magic built their big lead with their big man on the bench with foul trouble. Once he came back in, everything started to fall apart. He was a game-low minus-25, and the next lowest man on the team had a minus-9 rating.  Dwight blocked zero shots for just the second time all season. And in the fourth quarter he was physically dominated by…

Lion Face: Kevin Garnett

Garnett, for the second time this week, looked quite good against the Magic. He bodied up Dwight Howard in one of the most physical match-ups of the season so far. He repeatedly moved Dwight off his spot, wouldn’t let him catch the ball and frustrated him to the point that you could tell Howard was going to mentally check out. He slapped up 12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocks. He blocked 3 shots and recorded 2 steals in the third quarter alone. The Celtics were plus-23 while he was on the court and minus-12 in the 13 minutes he was off. And then after the game he caught up with TNT’s Craig Sager…

That one is going in the pantheon of KG post game interviews. He drops “bar fight” 8 times in the first 18 seconds, forgets Craig is doing an interview, claims Doc Rivers has never told him anything untrue, congratulates Ray Allen on the birth of his child and says the phrase “we was down whatever we was down.” This is the stuff of legends.

Lemon Face: The Grizzlies Throwbacks

Catfish Hunter looks sharp so far.

about 15 hours ago via SeesmicReplyRetweetFavorite

@freemaneric

Eric Freeman

The Grizzlies, in their yellow jerseys and green shorts, really did look like the old-timey Oakland Athletics out there. Those things were just straight up unruly.

Lion Face: The Clippers Buffalo Braves Los Angeles Stars (h/t to our own Curtis Harris) Throwbacks

These Clippers jerseys are way better than their usual uniforms.

about 15 hours ago via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@CardboardGerald

Ben Swanson

Those Clippers throwback jerseys are tight!

about 15 hours ago via Twitter for MacReplyRetweetFavorite

@shighkinNBA

Sean Highkin

The Clips throwbacks, on the other hand, looked great. I’m a sucker for the powder blues.

Lemon Face: O.J. Mayo

OJAM was looking for his own shot wayyyy too much, especially in the second half. I’m not sure he passed the ball once after halftime. He finished the game 5-for-17 from the field and 3-for-8 from three and scored just 14 points on those shots. He had but one assist on the game and the two guys he spent most of the game guarding combined for 35 points on 26 shots.

Lion Face: Blake Griffin

Once again enacting my “one rebound and two assists away from a triple double gets you a lion face every time” rule. (For more on triple doubles, don’t forget to read Noam Schiller’s work from earlier today)

Lemon Face: Double Digit First Half Leads

The Magic and Clippers gave em away like they were going out of style.

Lion Face: Subaru Using The Pogues in an advertisement

If companies keep using bands I like as background music in commercials, I’ll keep Lion Face-ing them.

Lemon Face: Washington Wizards

When Charles Barkley says this:

"I call em the Bullets, cause I wanna shoot em." - Charles

about 11 hours ago via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@JADubin5

Jared Dubin

Then you get a Lemon Face. It’s a little-known rule.

Photo from blmiers2 via Flickr

There isn’t a single phenomenon more fascinating to the typical box score scavenger than the triple double. Supposedly the ultimate achievement for all-around dominance in a single game, we crown the nobel achievers and bemoan those who taint its special glow by besmirching the game or by being Ricky Davis.

Of course, this is stupid. Tom Haberstroh’s fantastic work regarding the experience that was last season’s Miami Heat served as a constant reminder to the risks presented by arbitrary endpoints, and it doesn’t get much more arbitrary than the triple double. Who are we to decide that the conversion from single figures to double figures is what makes a statistical achievement impressive? What if we were all Simpson characters with only 4 fingers on each hand? Would we then have the triple-octo? Would anybody in their right mind prefer a 12-13-11 night from your prime Jason Kidd over a 30-15-5 masterpiece from your prime Kevin Garnett?

And yet, we are drawn to the triple double like internet moths to a more-digits-in-box-scores flame. The likes of Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd and LeBron James would be more than worthy of our adulation regardless of where they stand in respect to this somewhat pointless achievement, but their legacies have been enhanced by how often they ascend to the top of our trivia books. And on the other side, we can always remember that ridiculous night when Chuck Hayes, completely unprovoked, went and got himself that trip-dub.

This shortened season has been completely insane in every way, so it shouldn’t surprise anybody that the triple double world has gone beserk as well. After more than a quarter of the season, we’ve had just two triple doubles league-wide: Rajon Rondo against the Wizards and Kyle Lowry against the Wolves. After discussing this a bit on twitter with HP’s own Andrew Lynch  I was left both baffled and curious: is the arbitrary nature of the triple double creating an arbitrarily small amount of them, or did something actually happen that created this numerical singularity? Could this be a post-lockout swag, such as the dip in offensive efficiency, or am I wasting my time?

Determined, I ran to basketballreference.com’s all-powerful play index. For each of the past three seasons, I checked:

• How many triple doubles we’ve had.
• How many players missed triple doubles by 1 rebound or 1 assist.
• How many players missed triple doubles by 2 rebounds or 2 assists.
• How many players missed triple doubles by 1 rebound and 1 assist.

I decided that missing triple doubles by a maximum of 2 combined rebounds and assists was a fair cutting point, but it’s very easy to see that this is yet another arbitrary endpoint – which, in a very similar manner to last season’s Heat, was created by sheer laziness. That’s life, I guess.

After taking out the games that fit my criteria, I adjusted the numbers to the shortened season by dividing the results by the number of games played (1230 for regular seasons, 271 so far this year), to create what is effective a “triple doubles per 100 games” stat for the entire league. Also, for the sake of this exercise, I chose to ignore the ever-rare points-rebounds-blocks triple double, both due to its scarcity, and because I refuse to include JaVale McGee in an otherwise pure chart. Sorry, Vale.

The results!

It’s very easy to see that 2007-2008 had dramatically more triple doubles than other seasons, and the reason why is very clear: Jason Kidd was still in New Jersey. In the 4 months of Jason Kidd wallowing in mediocrity before coming back to Dallas, the future Hall of Famer posted a ridiculous 12 triple doubles; he’s only posted 8 in nearly 4 whole seasons since. With Kidd’s usage rate dropping dramatically once he got actual teammates next to him, this should be no surprise.

Kidd aside, we can very clearly see that individual columns are susceptible to major variations on a per-year basis – clearly, a result of the small sample size that is eligible games. For example, last year we had 36 triple doubles, and another 22 games of 10+ points, 10+ rebounds, but only 8 assists. Conversely, we had only 6 games of 10+, 10+ and 9, after exactly 11 such games in each of the previous 3 seasons. Indeed, looking at this chart, it is very easy to dismiss it as completely random.

However, the column you should be looking at is the one at the far right. When totalling all of the games that fit into one of the categories we presented, we see so far this year, we’ve had 7.38 games classified as either a triple double, or close to one – a number that is nearly identical to previous years. Again, the only outlier is 2007-2008 – which drops right back into the 2008-2012 range once you take out all Nets-Jason-Kidd games.

Sometimes, things are just that simple. While the triple double is, in general, an impressive feat, it could also just happen randomly because JaVale McGee was trying too hard, or because Kyle Lowry is too good not to do so. The lockout has done many things that would seemingly help/hurt triple doubles – minutes, assists and points are down, while rebounds are up – but sometimes, things are just random.

Every week, Hardwood Paroxysm hosts a guest column from Tim Rethers, who is not a real person or a basketball fan. He gives us his unique perspective and insight, generally based on things he’s heard or accidentally learned. 

I “watched” one game this week, when I was changing the channel from Court TV. I only watched for a few minutes, but it seemed like Kobe Bryant was making more shots than the other team. My favorite part is when he makes those weird facial expressions and stares down the big guy with the beard.

Heard some interesting things around the water cooler the day after the game. Bill from IT was going on and on about that big bearded guy, so I butted in and mentioned how many shots Kobe’s been making.

“Sure, but I think he’s maybe been shooting too much.”

I snorted and walked away. Bill doesn’t know the first thing about basketball, I bet. He also won’t fix my computer. Think he might have something against me. Whatever. Sometimes people forget to invite a co-worker to Golden Corral. It happens. Bill needs to learn to live with it.

Anyway, I’m taking the subway home when I hear these two guys whispering about LeBron’s new shoes. This is how their conversation goes, in my head:

“I like spending a lot of money on shoes.”

“Yeah, I spend my money willy-nilly on stupid basketball shoes, too.”

“I probably don’t have a 401k or anything.”

“Something something fourth quarter.”

LOL.

Not sure what else there is to say. Think I might watch a few minutes of a Lakers’ game tonight, so I can really burn Bill on Monday. Maybe I’ll bet him that one team will score more points than the other, or however that works, and he’ll be forced to fix my computer.

Actually, just had this idea for a bet:

If Kobe scores more points than Beard Guy next game, Bill never gets invited to Golden Corral. Ever. We’re talking lifetime ban.

If Beard Guy scores more points, I stop sending sarcastic memos about how “IT” probably stands for “Idiot Training!” Ha! 

Have a good week!

Tiago Splitter leads the league in field goal percentage, shooting an unreal 63.2 percent from the field. This wouldn’t have mattered much last year, when Splitter saw scant minutes here and there. But this isn’t last year. Splitter is playing significant minutes this season, and his play of late has been somewhat of a resuscitation for crestfallen fans coping with Manu Ginobili’s absence. Splitter is playing with confidence making plays that toe the line between “Finally! This is what we’ve been waiting for,” and “Wait, I had no idea he could do that.”

After 19 games, Splitter has doubled his scoring output from a season ago from 4.6 to 9.2 points a game. Splitter has scored in double-figures ten times, surpassing last season’s total of double-digit scoring outings (9) in less than a third of the games. These aren’t mind-blowing numbers, but if his last three games (17.6 points on 77.8 percent shooting, eight rebounds a game) are pointing towards a trend, the Spurs have not only found themselves an intriguing low post scorer, but a way to continue to stretch and ration Tim Duncan’s contributions to the team.

While his productivity has been off the charts, Splitter won’t win many hearts aesthetically. His post game is advanced, but lacks charm or grace. His hooks are a curious, curious thing. They have a seriously low trajectory, floating towards the rim mere millimeters out of reach for the defender’s outstretched arms. His hook shots, flip shots, and contested layups all share a common flatness. It’s definitely ugly, but to his credit, he’s been incredibly accurate with his array of shots. Splitter uses fakes and spins extremely well, but they are used to gain position and footing for an unsexy finish. Splitter doesn’t wear denim to be fashionable. He wears it because it’s a fabric tough enough to handle the rigors of his trade.

When he isn’t creating his own shot around the rim, he’s busy catching and finishing passes at an even more impressive rate. According to mySynergySports, Splitter has converted on 73.3 percent of his shots off of pick and rolls and cuts, which combined account for 42 percent of his field goal attempts. He has great hands and rolls to the basket fast and strong, as any Kobe System practitioner would. No one will confuse Splitter with Dwight Howard, but then again, they’re converting on pick and roll opportunities at a very similar rate.

Splitter’s recent string of outstanding performances should (if they haven’t already) lead to serious discussion about the allotment of minutes in the Spurs frontcourt. Being a much (much, much, much) better defender than DeJuan Blair, it’s become obvious that Splitter deserves to be a starter. Unfortunately the Spurs are forced to use the Splitter/Duncan tandem sparingly due to how pathetic Blair and Matt Bonner are on the defensive end. Playing Splitter and Duncan together is the Spurs’ best frontcourt pairing by far and increasing their minutes together would logically produce better results on the field, but it would inevitably bring about a Blair/Bonner duo, which is the scorched-earth policy of NBA frontcourts.

So while Splitter has been one of the Spurs’ best players thus far, the team almost can’t risk giving Splitter too many minutes. Their frontcourt is a delicate, imperfect balance with one competent defender to go with an awful one. Any injury or over-exhaustion of Splitter would lead to the complete demise of the Spurs interior defense. Though, if Splitter keeps playing at such a high level, the Spurs might want to consider playing their odds.

I am of the firm belief that you cannot possibly put a number on how much social media has enhanced the sports viewing experience. The real tipping point came sometime between 2007 and 2008 when Twitter went from being a novelty website that was a nice complement to Facebook to seriously challenging and possibly, depending on who you talk to, passing Mark Zuckerberg’s creation in terms of popularity. Per The Telegraph, It was in this timeframe that Twitter went from 5,000 tweets being sent per day in 2007 to 300,000 per day in 2008 to 50 million per day in 2010. Twitter has become the source to go to for breaking news in the world. Yes, there is misinformation out there as there is with all news sources; if you kept track of Joe Paterno’s health over the weekend, this is still fresh in your mind . Ultimately though, no other site or service offers the kind of instant emotional reactions that you see during a big moment or game like Twitter. I thought it would be fun to go back and review some of the more memorable moments in NBA history and talk about how they would have been remembered had Twitter been popular then.

Jordan’s Flu Game

The Moment: Michael Jordan shakes off the flu to have one of his most epic games of his life. With 15 points in the fourth quarter including the game winning 3 pointer coming with 25 seconds remaining in the game, Jordan leads the Bulls to an 88-85 victory allowing Chicago to take a 3-2 lead in the Finals.

If Twitter Existed: I’m not sure exactly when the torch was passed to Michael Jordan and he went from collectively being known as a great player to being known as the greatest of all time, but Twitter following this game certainly would have accelerated this process. Jazz fans tweet about their #GoldenOpportunity going by the wayside; after all, the greatest player ever was operating at 50%! Bulls fans are quick to deem Willis Reed as #Overrated. Darren Rovell immediately begins assessing the market value of a Jordan endorsed brand of flu shots next year.

Reggie Miller’s 8 Points in 9 Seconds

The Moment: Down 105-99 with 18.7 seconds left, Reggie Miller hits a 3, steals the inbound pass, and drills another 3 to tie the game at 105. Following two missed free throws by the Knicks’ John Starks and a missed shot by Patrick Ewing, Miller is fouled and makes both free throws to put the Pacers ahead 107-105. The Knicks never got another shot off in the game.

If Twitter Existed: One of those moments that tweets go from “Reggie cuts it to 3 but it could be too little, too late” to “OH MY GOD HE STOLE THE INBOUND” to “R3GGI3 MILL3R!!!!!!” to “#EpicChoke by the New York Bricks” in the span of a few minutes. Pacer fans become convinced that this is the year that Indiana brings home their first NBA title. Spike Lee refuses to tweet for 20 days.

LeBron’s 48 Special

The Moment: LeBron James goes supernova and scores 48 points against the Pistons in a double overtime, Game 5 Eastern Conference Finals victory. LeBron scores the last 25 points of the game for the Cavaliers and 29 of their last 30 points overall. Bill Simmons goes on to dub it LeBron’s 48 Special.

Quick diversion here…I remember just about everything about this game, but most vividly, I remember sitting around with a bunch of fraternity brothers and other friends watching it. Being from Cleveland and going to college in Indiana, my fellow Hoosier natives would cheer against Cleveland teams just to irritate me. From about halfway through the fourth quarter to the end of the double overtime though, every person in the room with me went from saying “Go Pistons!” to “I cannot believe what I am seeing right now.” Absolutely one of my favorite moments in college.

If Twitter existed: Marv Albert calling it “one of the greatest performances in NBA history” immediately results in #MarvAlbert becoming a trending topic worldwide and people instantly declaring it the single greatest performance in all of sports history. Pistons fans are in awe and tweet things like “…” and “I have no words for what I just saw.” No Cavs fan can resist tweeting “I am a witness!”

Len Bias’s Death

The Moment: Drafted on June 17, 1986, by the defending champion Boston Celtics, Bias died of a cocaine overdose just two days after the draft. Though they would go on to make the Finals anyway the following year, Bias’s death prevented the Celtics from ushering in a new era of Celtics basketball, and it would be 21 years before the most storied franchise in the league collected another title.

If Twitter Existed: Shock. Outrage. Anger. Sadness. Without a doubt, this is the most emotional of the scenarios on this list. Of course, the cycle of how the news is relayed to the public most likely looks something like this: the initial news breaks that Bias was found not breathing, speculation begins as to what killed him, some guy that you’ve never heard of before reports Bias has died, legitimate news sources will deny this report citing sources close to the hospital, a respected reporter at CBS, Yahoo!, AP, or ESPN finally confirms his passing after it actually happens. Tweets are  split 80/10/10 among those wishing him condolences/those blaming the prevalence of drugs in the 80s/those reacting to how it impacts Boston’s title chances next season.

Malice in the Palace

The Moment: With 46 seconds to go in a Pacers-Pistons game in November 2004, Ron Artest fouls Ben Wallace hard. Wallace goes after Artest by shoving him, and both benches subsequently clear. After it seems that cooler heads have prevailed, a fan launches a cup at Artest which causes Artest to go into the stands and fight some fans. Chaos ensues. When the dust settles, it results in 146 games worth of suspensions, $11 million in fines, and may have cost the Pacers a chance at the 2004-05 title.

If Twitter Existed: Pacer fans over the course of the night slowly come to the realization that there is no way that Artest will be seen again this season. They begin furiously tweeting @NBA insisting that Ben Wallace was the one who started the entire mess, and the Pistons fans were the ones who caused it to spill into the stands. Detroit’s reputation for being a dangerous area is reinforced as the brawl becomes the number one trending topic in the nation. Ron Artest sends out 45 tweets in a row afterwards which are completely incomprehensible, yet shatter the record for most exclamation marks used in one Twitter session.

Jordan’s Last Shot

The Moment: Down three with under a minute to go, Jordan scores a bucket, steals the ball from Karl Malone on the defensive end, and hits a 20 foot jumper with 5.2 seconds left to seal the Bulls sixth title and win the game 87-86. Jordan would retire on top of the world, his lasting image being him posing at the top of the key with perfect follow through form. Note: I refuse to acknowledge that the “Jordan on the Wizards Era” actually happened.

If Twitter Existed: Jazz fans immediately call for all three referees’ heads for failing to call an offensive foul on Jordan after discarding Bryon Russell just prior to the shot. #ConspiracyTheory, #NBAIsRigged, and #FireStern all become trending topics in Salt Lake. Bulls fans fire back saying MJ broke Russell’s ankles. Chicago sportswriters immediately begin tweeting their favorite memories of Jordan as they reminisce about his incredible career. At least one sportswriter embellishes his story involving Jordan and a casino to the point that absolutely no one believes it actually happened. Everyone agrees that they will never, ever see another Jordan.

While we have no way of knowing what actually would have been tweeted before, during, and after these moments, we do know that there will be plenty of opportunities in the future to get reactions. What will you say?

Photo from blasaure via Flickr

There are people around the world who are incredibly gifted at playing the game of basketball. A majority of them never reach public consciousness because of their height deficiency. Basketball is a game open to anyone willing to take the time to learn it. But playing the game at the highest level often takes more than dedication. Mastery of the game’s tenets becomes secondary to the physical advantages that a select few have over the majority. Most basketball super-soldiers are built from tall, strong, long-limbed human missiles. That’s how elite-level professional basketball works and will continue to work.

There aren’t many players in the NBA with a listed height under 6’0”. While there surely have been a multitude of short players with enough talent to be successful in the league, the rigors of the NBA requires of its vertically challenged denizens a maniacal sense of pride and conviction. Short players won’t make it out alive if they aren’t absolutely convinced that they are capable of toppling giants.

We have evidence of such feats happening. Muggsy Bogues’ blindside block on Patrick Ewing and Nate Robinson’s freakish denial of Yao Ming are indelible images of David’s victory over Goliath. This season, 5’9” Sacramento Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas had an opportunity of his own.

From Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times:

In a game earlier this month, Kings rookie Isaiah Thomas got caught in a switch and was forced to guard Orlando’s all-star big man Dwight Howard in the low post.

Howard is 6 feet 11. Thomas is 14 inches shorter. This wasn’t just David and Goliath. This wasn’t a mismatch. It was a can’t-miss match for Howard.

“Here Howard was with the ball, one of the best post-up players in the league, and Isaiah stayed right with him, defending Howard the same way he’d defend somebody his own size,” Smart said Monday night in the tunnel underneath Portland’s Rose Garden. “Isaiah held his ground until help came and we were able to get the ball out of Howard’s hands.”

via Former Husky Isaiah Thomas proving he belongs in the NBA | Steve Kelley, Seattle Times (1/24/12)

The compulsion to exceed expectations and prove people wrong is a built-in mechanism for the shorter man, and it’s undoubtedly a key to Thomas’ surprising start.

Despite a proficient three-year career at Washington (and a particularly eye-opening junior season that saw his assist numbers double compared to previous years), the concerns surrounding Thomas on and around draft night were similar to past players of his ilk: too much of a shoot-first combo guard to succeed with such a glaring height disadvantage.

And yet, 17 games into the season, Thomas’ most promising skill seems to be his ability to find the open man, not his offensive firepower. Thomas had a career-high 8 assists in 28 minutes against the Portland Trail Blazers last night. Thomas probed the paint and found players camping on the wings. He was murderous in transition, bulleting passes to open teammates with ease. In an offense that doesn’t often share the ball well, Thomas has, for stretches, looked like the Kings’ most able and competent point guard.

Now, if he could only start making some shots.

Thomas is shooting an awful 30.1 percent from the field. An unjustifiable number, no matter how it’s dissected. As expected, Thomas’ lack of height affects him around the rim, where he converts at a meager 44-percent clip. Unfortunately, his percentages at the rim are by far his best anywhere on the court. More than half of Thomas’ attempts are 3-pointers, which thus far has been a tragic idea to pursue. He’s shooting 23.2 percent from behind the arc, and as seen in his 1-of-5 performance against the Blazers, he’s missing almost all of his threes on lazy closeouts and/or defenders not within five feet of him. It’s clearly not a consistent part of his game, and he’d surely be doing the Kings a favor by limiting the amount of 3-pointers he’s taking because it isn’t working at all.

Still, as the last pick of last summer’s draft, Thomas has been a pleasant surprise. Sacramento’s lack of a real point guard has given Thomas ample opportunity to show off his underrated court vision and passing skills. Last year, J.J. Barea made the severely-undersized combo guard in vogue, somehow. If Thomas’ scoring ability ever decides to come out from hiding, there could be longevity in his giant-slaying business.

Photo by Paul Keller via Flickr

They say that your character is who you truly are while your image is what others think of you. In the case of the court of public opinion, image trumps everything, and quite simply the NBA has an image problem in this country. Has the league come a long way since the awful post-Jordan, pre-Draft Class of 2003 years? Absolutely. However, the fact remains that if you asked the casual non-NBA fan why they don’t like the NBA, rarely will you get the response that they don’t like the game of basketball itself. More often than not, it’s because they have a negative stereotype of the league and the players in it. This frame of mind got me to thinking about how the NBA is like a fraternity in that way.

Now, I can almost guarantee that when I said the word “fraternity,” 95% of you who were not in one had the following image in your mind: 24/7 party, guys sitting around the “frat” house, disrespecting women, using the word “bro” 50 times a day, and generally doing nothing to contribute to society. Of course, if the only exposure you’ve had to fraternities is watching movies like Old School, Animal House, PCU, etc., I honestly can’t blame you. However, the part that you don’t see in movies is the chapters that have GPA’s over 3.0, raise thousands of dollars for philanthropies, do hundreds of community service hours, and contribute to the betterment of the community in numerous ways which aren’t going to make the school paper or local newscast. Why? Because those stories aren’t sexy or sensational enough. However, when there is one incident of a fraternity member getting into a fight, being disruptive in class, or anything else that reflects poorly on the Greek Community, you can be assured that incident will be the talking point all over campus. People are quick to point the finger and feel that their preconceived notions are confirmed. Ultimately, for every 50 good stories that actually occur with fraternities, all it takes is for one bad incident to ruin all that goodwill built up over time. The NBA is no different.

I was reminded of this when during the lockout I heard someone say the following quote, “I don’t care if the NBA comes back. It’s a league of a bunch of thugs anyway.” It was not my place to interject and engage in a conversation, but it got me to thinking. How is it that the NBA still has this reputation among the general non-fan? The NBA has made tremendous strides in the past decade in promoting its brand across the world. David Stern’s vision of making basketball a worldwide game has been borne out; long gone are the days of the United States dominating the Olympics and other international competitions as other countries have caught up to the U.S. talent wise. The NBA Cares program has raised more than $175 million while doing 1.8 million hours of service for the community since October 2005. Shaquille O’Neal has bought toys for underprivileged kids for years. Of course, these aren’t the stories that get more than a couple minutes, if any, of coverage on Sportscenter or in your local newspaper. However, when there is an incident like Ron Artest charging into the stands or Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton allegedly pulling guns on each other in the locker room, it dominates the sports cycle for weeks at a time and permeates non-sports news. And who hears these negative stories? The non-NBA fan which enhances the stereotype that they have in their mind. For every 50 good stories that actually occur with the NBA, all it takes is for one bad incident to ruin all that goodwill built up over time. Sound familiar?

There is no simple answer to prevent this from happening. There are going to be players in the league that do stupid things for as long as the NBA exists. As Albert Einstein once said, “The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.” Similarly, there will always be people whose opinions you are not going to change no matter what happens. Fortunately, there are people who may have a negative opinion of the league today, but they are open minded enough to change their feelings if someone provided them with evidence that their preconceived notions are not necessarily the truth. These are the people who the NBA must reach out to in order to begin to change the narrative. After all, I never in a million years thought I would join a fraternity when I came to college, but within two years, once my opinions had been completely changed, I was elected Interfraternity Council President at Ball State University.

When is the last time that you saw something about the NBA Cares program outside of a commercial when you were already watching an NBA game? If you somehow stumbled across this blog and aren’t an NBA fan, have you even heard of the NBA Cares program before a few minutes ago? This goes beyond just that program though. The NBA does a lot of things very well; getting the word out about the positive work that it does in communities and around the world is not one of them. There is no shortage of positive role models in the NBA today that the NBA has at its disposal to use in promotional efforts to get the word out about its product. Unfortunately, until it begins to use its assets effectively, the NBA is going to continue to fight an uphill battle turning the general public’s opinion back on its side.

Do you feel like I do, Ben and Matt?

Lion Face: Luke “Chalupacabra” Babbitt

With the Blazers up 98-86 and one minute, nine seconds remaining in the game, Luke Babbitt entered the game for Jamal Crawford (who had a fine game of his own). What could you do in one minute? For Luke Babbitt, the answer was “shower joy upon thousands of people.” Seriously, watch and listen to the crowd’s reaction when Chalupacabra lines up to take that three, and the way that reaction roars to a crescendo as the ball goes through the hoop and a distant bell chimes through the Rose Garden.

When Portland scores 100 points, they receive free chalupas. When Babbitt is the player to put them over the hump, they also receive a free side of the Dougie.

Lemon Face: Orlando’s “offense”

There weren’t many genuine lemon faces on a night of quality basketball -- outside of the Magic’s entire lineup, that is. You know the numbers by now, so I won’t rehash them -- the box score does a fair job of representing just how ugly the game was. Instead, I’ll let Stan Van Gundy give it to you in his own words:

That’s the most dominating defensive performance at least that I’ve ever had against me. There’s no singling anybody out. It’s the first game, I think, in my career I’ve ever been through where literally not one guy played well. We didn’t play well. So there’s no finger-pointing, and it’s why you get dominated. Not one guy had a good night, and I’m foremost among them.

Lion Face: Tim Duncan

The form on his game-winner might have been quasi-Shawn-Marion-esque, but it doesn’t matter if the shot goes in.

Lemon Face: Kris Humphries -- wrong place, wrong time

Humphries didn’t have a very good game -- 2-for-7 from the field, only 6 rebounds -- but he gets the Lemon Face here not so much for what he did as where he happened to be on the court during one particularly galling moment.

We all know Brian Scalabrine is nasty, Kris. When he’s coming clear to the basket like that, your best bet is to simply get out of the way, lest you get YouTube’d.

Lion Face: Brandon Bass

8-for-14, 19 points, 8 rebounds against his former team. Pick the thought process you find more appealing:

“My name is Brandon Bass. You traded me for Glen Davis. Prepare to die.”

or

“Revenge
I’m screaming revenge again”

Lemon Face: Brandon Jennings’ shooting, again

Come on, Brandon! I want to like you. You almost went to Arizona, so I’m already halfway to having an affinity for you. Then you go out and have another night where you take more field goal attempts than you score points, and I have to give you a Lemon Face.

This hurts me more than it hurts you, Mr. Jennings.

Lion Face: Kyle Lowry

Lowry is letting those who have ignored his prowess finally get a glimpse of how good he really is this year by shoving their faces in it. KLOE* posted the second triple-double of the season last night, and I actually doubted that he would going into the fourth quarter, as he had only six rebounds at the time. Serves me right for doubting the Omnipotent One.

*That’s “Kyle Lowry Over Everything, for the uninitiated.

He is Tim Hardaway, and I am Charles Barkley.

Lemon Face: Offensive post play in Pistons/Thunder

Greg Monroe (3-for-14), Ben Wallace (0-for-2), Serge Ibaka (3-for-10) and Kendrick Perkins (0-for-2) didn’t have the best offensive night cumulatively. Granted, the roles of several of those players isn’t to score on a regular basis, but the inefficiency is mind-boggling -- especially for Monroe, whose offensive production has taken a step back recently after coming out of the gate red hot. Whether it’s due to fatigue, defenses keying on one of Detroit’s few offensive weapons, an undisclosed injury or a combination of factors, the Pistons are going to be in trouble if Monroe can’t pick his game back up.

Well, more trouble than they’re already in. You know what I mean.

Lion Face: Marcin Gortat

Are you a fan of high comedy? Do you want to watch Marcin Gortat shoot three-pointers?

Then cheer for the Polish Hammer to continue to secure rebounds at a beastly rate. Gortat only had 17 boards on the night, but coach Alvin Gentry has reportedly told Marcin that if he grabs 20 rebounds in a game, he’ll let him shoot a 3 or two. And that’s something which we can all get behind.

Lemon Face: 7:46

That’s how much time was left in the game between the Grizzlies and Warriors when everything went haywire. Golden State was up by 17 points when a seemingly innocuous Tony Allen putback-and-1 sparked a 31-10 Memphis run. The Warriors made only five more field goals from that point on (including a last-second three by Monta Ellis that had no bearing on the result, other than to suppress the final margin of victory).

Fan night! Wooo!

Photo by robwatling via Flickr

For Orlando’s next trick, pretending the game against the Celtics never happened! (Magic at Pacers, 7:00 PM EST)

Holy Shammgod, do the Magic need a mulligan. Orlando got repeatedly punched in the face, figuratively, by an over-the-hill Celtics team that was without its starting backcourt yesterday, and the best thing they can do is move on and get the next game under their belt.

This Indiana team, though, won’t be a pushover by any stretch of the imagination. After breaking his nose on an inadvertent Kobe Bryant elbow, center Roy Hibbert came back into the game and looked no worse for the wear. The Pacers will need a big game from their entire frontcourt, as Howard tends to have big games against Indiana. With David West now on the team and Tyler Hansbrough always down to do a little dirty work, the Pacers should have enough fouls to go around if they’re unable to stop Howard from getting the ball in his spots. The presence of Ryan Anderson, however, presents some matchup problems for Indiana, opening up the lane and moving defenders away from Howard in the post. As always, the key against the Magic will be defensive effort and choosing one’s poison wisely.

All hail MacMelo (Knicks at Bobcats, 7:00 PM EST)

Third Witch: Hail! 

First Witch: Lesser than Macbeth, and greater. 

Second Witch: Not so happy, yet much happier. 

Third Witch: Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none: 

So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!

Perhaps Carmelo Anthony believes that he should take fewer shots in order to help the Knicks offense. Perhaps he doesn’t, and he simply said it in the heat of the moment after another disappointing loss. It’s often difficult to parse the words of the king of equivocation. For now, Amar’e Stoudemire stands by his king, though he is seen more as a threat to the reign of Melo and the Knicks than as the trusted ally he had the potential to be. And the Bobcats -- no fierce army, yet a threat to a team as unstable as New York -- bear down on Dusinane, bearing the wood of Biyombo.

A change in tone (Cavs at Heat, 7:30 PM EST, NBATV)

I trust that we’re beyond all of that “The Decision” nonsense when it comes to meetings between these two teams. I understand that LeBron James and the Cavaliers will always be connected by circumstance, but it’s a new year, and the Cavaliers have players of their own on which to focus now. True, the team as a whole is awful, but Kyrie Irving is an exciting young point guard, Tristan Thompson has shown the potential to potentially have potential and the “How high can Antawn Jamison’s trade value go?” game is in full swing.

Take this game for what it is -- a contest between a very good team and a very bad one that means little else in the long run - and not what it once was. If Cleveland somehow pulls out a victory, it’ll be a nice win -- not revenge. You are free of the fear and the pain, Cavs fans. You have entered a safe place where nothing can harm you.

Canada vs. the Canadian (Raptors at Suns, 9:00 PM EST)

There are some fun storylines here -- Leandro Barbosa being back in Phoenix, the under-the-radar matchup between Jose Calderon and Steve Nash, Nash’s undefeated streak against the Raptors since returning to the Suns -- but the big news is the possible (likely?) return of Andrea Bargnani. The Raptors were a fun, decent team to start the season, and Bargnani was a big reason why. His defense seems much improved, and he was posting career highs in Total Rebound Percentage, TS%, Assist% and Usage%. Toronto needs Il Mago back desperately -- they’ve dropped to 29th in offensive rating without him -- especially since Phoenix has trouble guarding the versatile big man; he’s shot 53.6% from the field in his last three games against Phoenix.

The night-after effect (Grizzlies at Blazers, 10:00 PM EST, NBATV)

This game may boil down to two very simple factors: rest and home-court advantage. The first will be vital, a byproduct of the games the night before. The Blazers took care of business against the Kings and were able to get their starters significant rest as a result; Gerald Wallace played the most minutes at just over 34, and LaMarcus Aldridge was in the game for only 28 minutes.

Memphis, on the other hand, had four players tally more than 36 minutes in their comeback victory over the Warriors; Rudy Gay led the way with 44 minutes. That extended playing time, combined with traveling to Portland and the Blazers’ 7-1 record at home, could spell doom for the Grizzlies.

Unless, of course, the Blazers suffer from a post-Chalupa madness letdown. It could happen.

It honestly was beautifully bold
Like trying to save an ice cube from the cold
But even if we had been sure enough it’s true we really didn’t know
Even if we knew which way to head but still we probably wouldn’t go

-Modest Mouse, acknowledging the hand Flip Saunders was dealt, probably

Flip is gone. Fired. His contract went through this year and next, but his words stopped reaching the players long ago. Was it his fault? Partially. Was it the players’ fault? Partially? Front office? Partially. Fans? Partially. It doesn’t really matter, though, does it? The end result was the same: a coach couldn’t reach his players, the team was losing, the franchise was stunting its rebuild, the fans weren’t paying for tickets, and someone got fired. You can’t fire a player (well you could amnesty him, but you have to wait until the offseason), so you’ve only got so many options as an organization to shake up your position.

Flip is a good guy, and he was a successful coach for many years in Minnesota and Detroit. But he eventually couldn’t reach those teams, either. To Flip’s credit, he didn’t think he was being brought in to teach a rebuilding squad how to play basketball; he thought he was tasked with giving a group of veterans a boost in their offensive playbook. Then fingagunz-gate happened, the team blew up, Leonsis took over, and the fate of the franchise was put in the hands of John Wall. On paper, not a horrible place to be, but it’s definitely not what he expected.

At the end of the day, firing Flip is a good move for Washington, and it’s a good move for Flip. I usually don’t like to see retread coaches after multiple firings (see, for example, Washington’s new interim coach, Randy Wittman), but I honestly think there’s a place in this league for Flip. He’s got a niche: give him some veterans that need to get over a hump, and he can take care of it. Just don’t pull the rug out from under him and completely overhaul the franchise without giving him an out-clause in his contract.

This is the first of a few sensible moves the Wizards need to make. The next step is firing Ernie Grunfeld. Why fire him instead of letting his contract expire at the end of the season? Because this team needs to rebuild NOW and acquire rebuilding assets NOW, and Grunfeld (and his former boss, the late Abe Pollin) had been bad at managing both personnel and finances. The sooner a new GM is in place that has a vision for rebuilding and clearing the books, the better for Washington. Grunfeld is not that man. He’ll find a place somewhere, but not in Washington.

The next steps involve Leonsis and the rest of the front office finding ways to pair John Wall with complimentary players. Trades need to happen. Picks need to be acquired. Payroll needs to be cut. That has happened in the past few years, but still having large immobile contracts like those of Andray Blatche and Rashard Lewis have hampered this process. Leonsis has a process, and it’s a process that has a logic that can be trusted. I’ve posted it previously in the Washington Wizards’ season preview, but having another look at Leonsis’s interview with Hogs Haven on SB Nation is worth your time. After that, a new non-interim, non-Wittman coach needs to be hired. I’m not going to speculate with who I’d like to see running the show, because I personally think it’s poor form to covet other teams’ coaches while they’re still around. I hear Larry Brown is in the area, though, and while he also has a reputation for “losing” his teams in the long-run, his hard-ass attitude and boot camp mentality is probably what the Wizards need in the short term. They need someone who can teach them how to play defense, and they need someone who has a louder mouth and a bigger ego than they do. Brown fits that mold. They’ll eventually need a coach who is more comfortable with playing younger guys big minutes (but when your roster is all young guys, what choice do you have?), and they’ll need someone who wants to encourage John Wall and the rest of the team to RUNRUNRUNRUN. Maybe Brown can interim instead of Wittman. I have no idea if that’s possible or if anyone in the organization or if Brown wants that. It’s just a thought.

It’s a slow process, rebuilding is, but it’s one that has really finally just now begun.