David Stern Tells Me He Can Get Me Out of This Mess But He’s Pretty Sure You’re Eff’ed
(Nets at Bobcats, 7:00PM EST)
Video Rated M for Mature (Curse word)
Two franchises that are down at the doldrums of the NBA. Two franchises that are still trying to build something that has eluded them for a few years now. Two franchises that possess nice young pieces. But these are two franchises headed in completely opposite directions. The Bobcats owner is profusely bleeding money from this organization with only Michael Jordan to keep him safe. The Nets are being sold to a Russian billionaire that will Voltron up with Jay-Z to offer an enticing package to LeBron James and probably one more big named free agent. So why watch this game? Because watching too recklessly composed players attacking a defense all night with nice young weapons all around can be a beautiful thing. Gerald Wallace will throw his body into the mix against Brook Lopez and Yi Jianlin time after time. Devin Harris will cut through the Bobcats efforts to stop him with incredible precision. And don’t forget you’ll get to see Brook Lopez do his thing with Tyson Chandler trying to stop that thing from doing. This game appears to be a dud from the end of the year standings but there’s plenty of entertainment to be found here.
Please, Bryon. Just Let Chris Paul Run. Give Us This One Time!
(Hornets at Knicks, 7:30PM EST)
Byron Scott, I don’t ask much of you. I understand the reasons to keep Ike Diogu out while trusting the likes of Sean Marks and Hilton Armstrong to give you a definite level of suckitude inside off the bench. Well actually, that makes no sense at all. I don’t care if the kid is injured or not ready for the system; there’s no reason to have him in a three-piece while these bumbling interior failures try to be tall while coming up short. And I understand why you wouldn’t necessarily want Julian Wright to just be an athlete, run like Gerald Wallace, and see how high on the backboard he gets before he throws a CP-tossed oop down into the hoop. Actually, that makes no sense either. Why do you have a ridiculous athlete with a sub-par basketball IQ out there trying to think his way through a game?
Screw it; I’ll just get to the point! Chris Paul should be allowed to run tonight. The Hornets should be allowed to run tonight. This slow-paced, walk it up the court and keep your fans fantasizing about what the best point guard in the league would put up with a quicker style and a lot more chances at fun style of ball isn’t conducive to what we need. We need Chris Paul to Run Lola Run. We need to see him face a D’Antoni team, buy into the breakneck speed of the game, and put up 25 assists. In fact, if you give us this one morsel of basketball goodness and let the Hornets run up and down the floor with the Knicks for an entire 48-minutes, I’ll gleefully write you up for Coach of the Year all season long if giving into the Knicks style doesn’t produce a record 31 assists from Chris Paul. We don’t ask much. Just give in this once! Pretty please?
Remember When We Were Contenders? That Was WEIRD
(Rockets at Jazz, 9:00PM EST)
It’s weird to think that just a couple of years ago, it was completely conceivable to think these two teams could meet in the Western Conference Finals. Whether it was probable or not is a whole other argument for another day. But the fact remains this could have easily been the WCF showdown. And now? The Rockets star players are dropping like characters in Identity and the Jazz are playing with house money because they’ll be just good enough to make the playoffs and have no pressure of winning a single game with the Knicks’ pick in the draft headed their way. But that doesn’t mean they won’t put up a great fight against one another. The Rockets are sporting some serious scrappiness so far in this young season and somehow has turned Trevor Ariza into a modern-day Glen Rice. They move the ball well, they make the extra pass, and they defend like Coach Carter runs them. The Jazz on the other hand is toiling in a “just good enough†state of play. They’re pretty much locked into a frontcourt of Okur, Millsap, and Boozer but only because a prettier big man won’t come and dance with them. They’re wasting away the brilliance of Deron Williams by making him play with decent but not great shooters and good but not exceptional athletes. It’s really exactly where these fan bases want their teams to be as long as they give up on post-season success (which they haven’t).
No Clever Title Attempt Needed. Watch This Game!
(Grizzlies at Kings, 10:00PM EST)
Allen Iverson is making his debut. How do I know that? Twitter told me so. Tyreke Evans is now fully equipped with adamantium and has recovered from a sprained ankle in the amount of time it takes Vince Carter to take care of one of those pesky hangnails. O.J. Mayo is coming off of a 40-point game. Hasheem Thabeet had four blocks and six rebounds in the blink of an eye against Denver. Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes need to be tested against a duo like Marc Gasol and Z-Bo. And don’t forget the historical showdown of an Iranian player (Hamed Haddadi) going against an Israeli player (Omri Casspi). And I’ll be in the building for this home opener at the ‘ole Gas Pump. This is THE game you should watch tonight. Period.
This Looked A Lot Better Before The Injuries
(T’Wolves at Clippers, 10:30PM EST)
Wouldn’t this game be so much more interesting if Blake Griffin and Kevin Love were going against each other like Superman and Bizarro Superman? Instead, we’ll have to settle for Al Jefferson going against a red hot Chris Kaman. There’s Eric Gordon trying to be quicker than Jonny Flynn and vice-versa. There’s Corey Brewer and Al Thornton battling to see who can be more of a one-dimensional niche player. And most important of all, you get to see a really solid point guard battle between Ramon Sessions (hard work, playing the game right) against Baron Davis (taking previous success for granted, metaphorically free-balling it on the court). For two teams, which are so similar in failed success, they sure do have a lot of opposite players going against each other. If only we could have seen Love and Griffin thrown into the mix…
