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15 Footer 2.9.09
Hey Mr. Augustin Man, Play a Song For Me (LAC at Charlotte):
Every day, I remind myself of just how glad I am that I flipped my view on Augustin right after the draft. Originally, I was thinking: okay, small guard without demonstratively awesome passing ability who makes tough shots but seems to just barely get them over the outstretched arms of college defender. He seemed poised to be an inefficient jumpshooter and a defensive liability. Then, Augustin appeared to me in a dream. He was wearing golden robes and looked all shiny-like, surrounded by baby animals and thriving vegetation. When I awoke I was a changed man; I was a believer.
Or else I’d be really struggling to get my foot out of my mouth right about now. I still think Brook Lopez could’ve been a neat fit with the roster, and now you’ve got all kinds of awkward with Raymond Felton. But if Augustin continues to grow and to thrive under Larry Brown, I don’t know how you could say that it wasn’t worth it. Tonight he should have a chance to thrive against the Clippers, and notably against a rookie that I was completely wrong about in Eric Gordon. On the bright side, I wasn’t wrong about the Clippers. They are pure dagnasty terrible. Get well soon, Kaman. I still demand to see the Randolph-Kaman-Camby frontcourt.
Rumor Has It (Phoenix at Philadelphia):
That movie sucks, but this game has a chance to be the game of the night. Yeah, weak slate, I know.
No one cares about the Suns’ actual games anymore, right? Everything’s devolved into the Amar’e sweepstakes? Lovely. The Mavs fan in me is delighted at the idea of a Western power floundering its way out of the playoffs, and the idea that the Suns should trade Amar’e is pretty hilarious. Especially when you put that factoid alongside this rumor that the Suns might be interested in Tyrus Thomas. Doesn’t that just blow your mind?
But this game really does have the potential to be a lot of fun. Consider it Detroit v. Philly redux, only if Detroit had a stronger commitment to interior offense, a weaker defense, and with the Philly kids a year older and a year wiser.
Oh, by the way: the Sixers have offered Elton Brand and Mo Cheeks’ contract for Amar’e. Plug that one into your trade machine, suckas!
So Needless to Say, I’m Odds and Ends (New Orleans at Memphis):
Watching the Hornets without their three best players is awesome. An:d by awesome I mean miserable. And by miserable I mean hilarious. Almost as hilarious as 80s synth pop. No official word on David West’s status after his clubbing of Mike Miller, but I’d bet on a suspension. More Sean Marks means a funny-looking win for all of us, and possibly a win for the Grizz. OJ vv. Devin Brown? Rudy Gay v. Rasual Butler? These are the marquee match-ups that make February so great.
Slightly related musing: If you removed the three best players from any team, who would have the best remaining team? I think it’s safe to assume it’s not the Celtics. Blazers, maybe?
PHIL? PHIL CONNORS? (Houston at Milwaukee):
Bad game after bad game after bad game. I can already hear “I’ve Got You, Babe” playing in my head.
I was willing to grant the Bucks with a certain level of intrigue before the injuries took over, but I have a feeling watching this game will just be watching Ramon Sessions. The Rockets are undeniably the better team, and yet their assembly of more talented parts is no trail mix. There’s no compliment, there’s no cohesion, and it should be worrisome for Rockets fans the world over. Fingers point to T-Mac, but it’s not all on him. At what point do we call the Artest acquisition a wash? Two steps forward and one step back is always the story with this team, although it’s worth noting that sometimes a step results in a minor injury. No matter how you slice it they’ve got a lot of work to do.
There’s the MJ We All Know and Love!
The Boris Diaw/Raja Bell deal was pretty strange. It worked out a little too well for the Bobcats, a little too neatly considering they gave up Jason Richardson, who was perceived to be the best player in the trade. Maybe he had to get the one good trade idea out of his system, because Michael Jordan’s back to making moves that make no sense, dealing Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown to the Lakers for Space Cadet Vlad Radmanovic.
Adam Morrison isn’t too good as an NBA player, but here’s what he’s not: a complete waste of considerable salary for the next three seasons. Supposing that the Bobcats still hadn’t seen anything out of Morrison that they liked by the end of the season, they could cut him loose by refusing to pick up his team option (of over $5 mil). Considering how Ammo has started his NBA career, they’d be perfectly justified. But instead of refusing to pay Morrison $5 million, they just agreed to pay a marginal player over $19 million for the next three seasons. Vlad will have his games where makes this deal look genius, exploding for 30-something points and playing decent D. Then he’ll disappear for the rest of the week, shooting 2-23 over three games and drawing comparisons that are insulting to turnstiles everywhere.
The real downer for the ‘Cats just might be losing Shannon Brown. The headlines will tell you “Morrison for Radmanovic,” but Shannon Brown has actually posted the highest PER of the three this season. Brown isn’t a fantastic player and he isn’t as consistent as he should be, but he still makes quite a difference on the court. You may not believe me, but I’m sure the Lakers do; Brown played a key role down the stretch for the Bobcats in the double-overtime victory in L.A..
All in all, Charlotte’s sending a young, struggling prospect (but notably still a prospect) and a nice role player for a veteran who still makes ‘rookie mistakes,’ couldn’t get his head screwed on right to satisfy Phil Jackson (he’s going to love Larry Brown), and tends to disappear. Oh, and just forget about that $13 million dollars or so you’ll be losing. You probably didn’t need it anyway.
How Can One Little Team Swallow So Many Lives?
Michael Redd. Andrew Bogut. Now Luke Ridnour. Shattered dreams, folks. Shattered dreams.
On the bright side, we should be given another Ramon Sessions showcase for this stretch of the season. Sessions has been buried in the rotation at times, and it’s always nice to see an old friend unearthed. No, it doesn’t exactly bode well for a Milwaukee team that’s already a bit thin, but when you’re looking at 3 significant injuries in about 2 weeks, you shouldn’t be expecting too much of a silver lining. I’m sure Keith Bogans is stoked, though.
The Bucks have been hanging on to the 8th spot for dear life ever since the undead Sixers began wreaking havoc and climbed their way to the 7 seed. New Jersey, Chicago, and New York are just chillin’ outside, waiting for a Milwaukee slip-up.
Remember Who You Are
TONY DILEO
You see, he lives in you.
[Iggy is awestruck. The wind picks up. In the air the huge image of Elton Brand is forming from the clouds. He appears to be walking from the stars. The image is ghostly at first, but steadily gains color and coherence.]
ELTON BRAND
[Quietly at first] Iggy . . .
IGGY
Elton?
ELTON BRAND
Iggy, you have forgotten me.
IGGY
No. How could I?
ELTON BRAND
You have forgotten who you are, and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Iggy. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Eastern Conference.
IGGY
How can I go back? I’m not who I used to be.
[Shot of cloud-Elton Brand, with glowing yellow eyes. He is framed in swirling clouds, radiating golden light.]
ELTON BRAND
Remember who you are. You are the one true king…kind of, not really, though.
[Close up of Iggy's face, bathed in the golden light, showing a mixture of awe, fear, and sadness. The image of Elton Brand starts to fade.]
Remember…WHO YOU ARE.
[Elton Brand is disappearing rapidly into clouds. Iggy runs into the fields trying to keep up with the image.]
IGGY
No. Please! Don’t leave me.
ELTON BRAND
Remember…
IGGY
Elton!
ELTON BRAND
Remember…
IGGY
Don’t leave me!
ELTON BRAND
Remember . . .
[Iggy is left out in the fields. There is just a cloud left where his father's image was. The wind tosses the grass restlessly. Tony DiLeo approaches.]
TONY DILEO
What was THAT? [laughs] The weather– Pbbbah! Very peculiar. Don’t you think?
Annnnnnd SCENE. Good, right? It’s alright, I don’t need your approval — I know it’s golden.
What an awful way to end the season for Elton Brand. It’s been raining acid since he took his first step in Philly, somehow corroding what seemed to be the most basic of playoff blueprints. The Sixers were a nice team with a fast, active defense that had trouble scoring in the half-court. Elton Brand is a stud at power forward (the notable hole in the Sixers lineup last season), a great defender in the post, and can run the floor. Didn’t quite shake out the way we all thought it would, and exactly why is a point that’s been debated extensively.
It’s all irrelevant now, because Brand will be watching from the bench/comfort of his living room couch. Which is both tragic and delightful, in its own way. The first few games of Pistons-Sixers last season were golden, and watching a Sixers team that strongly resembles the 2007-2008 model could still be wonderful. The tragedy is that come playoff time, even if Philly does put up a bit of a fight, it will all look strangely familiar. Cleveland, Boston, Orlando, Atlanta, it doesn’t really matter. The Sixers would fin-slap their opponents like a fish out of water, but all a true contender has to do is watch those gills come to a slow stop as the playoff air asphyxiates them. There’s a morbid appeal to watching a team flounder, and the Sixers should make a reasonable ruckus on their way out. Still, watching this team revert to their former selves, exciting as that former pre-Brand team may have been, makes me a little sad.
Of course they’ll hopefully get a chance to give it another go next season, and maybe all will be right in the world of the Sixers by then. But for now — get ready for a flashback, as the Sixers remember who they are.
Note: Script “borrowed” and modified from here.
If the Well Runs Dry (Or Overfloweth with Redick), Find Another Well
I was going to title this post “In Lue of Jameer,” but I thought better of it.
The Magic traded Keith Bogans to the Bucks for some cashola and good ol’ Tyronn Lue, everyone’s favorite former Hawk/Laker/Magic/Mav/Wizard who apparently once ‘shackled’ Allen Iverson. Right. I’ve gotta say, I like this deal for Orlando, though. Going into the season, it was a bit perplexing that Milwaukee would spend over $2 mil on a third-string point without room to grow. Now we know why: so they could eventually trade him to the Magic and keep the Redick man down. Word.
Lue is 32 and a step slow, but he can still run and offense and is a much better shooter on the whole than Anthony “The Acrobat” Johnson. We’re done with ripping AJ for now, but I will say this: he’s not going to go for 25 every night. He won’t even go for 10 every night. There will be times where it would be wise for Orlando to have a back-up plan that doesn’t involve Redick or a rookie shooting guard playing point. Tyronn Lue gives them that flexibility, and this deal makes a lot of sense for them given Courtney Lee’s rise and Keith Bogan’s growing dispensability. Good work, Otis.
Bogans happens to be a perfect fit in the Skilesian school of hard-nosed, hard-working players with limited offensive skill sets. Hey, if Malik Allen and Dan Gadzuric can find a place with the Bucks, I’m sure Bogans can log some minutes in the empty vacuum that was once The Great Hitch-Shot Hope, Michael Redd. Will Bogans make a huge difference? Doubtful. He’s just not that kind of player. But he should bolster a Milwaukee defense that lacks a true wing stopper. Ridnour and Sessions have been nice this season, but neither is a Ruben Patterson DeShawn Stevenson Bruce Bowen Ron Artest, amIright?
HP Bloggers NBA Poll: Which NBA player thinks he’s a lot better than he really is, even though he actually is better than everyone?
Photo by
Which NBA player thinks he’s a lot better than he really is, even though he actually is better than everyone?
LeBron James, Cavaliers SF/Messiah…..100%
[Based on a survey of 1 blogger. Probably ripped off of this slightly less important poll.]
15 Footer 2.4.09: This Is Becoming a Bad Habit
Yi Jianlian’s Agent is Really Happy (New Jersey at Washington):
The Nets struggle without Yi. I can’t even begin to explain it.
The Wizards struggle all the time. I can’t even begin to explain it.
It’s Not About Winning and Losing, It’s About Finding Ways to Keep Yourself From Sobbing at Night (LAC at Orlando):
The tragedy of the Clippers has been temporarily trumped by the tragedy of Jameer Nelson. So bless’d, so curs’d, so fortunate, so unfortunate, so skilled, and so flawed. Supposing that this is one of those incidents that the Magic never really recover from, is there a more saddening storyline on the season? Alonzo, maybe? But in terms of team-wide tragedic influence, it’s hard to parallel Jameer’s narrative.
Strike (LAL at Toronto):
We hate the Lakers, remember?
Anything Can Be a Weapon If You’re Holding It Right (Miami at Detroit):
Miami and Detroit? Miami and Detroit?! D-Wade? Amir Johnson? JAMAAL MAGLOIRE? WHY IS EVERYTHING A QUESTION?
The Heat still puzzle me. I can’t wrap my head around how good they are defensively sometimes, especially considering Udonis Haslem plays center sometimes, Mike Beasley is in the rotation, and the point guards aside from Chalmers (who is a rookie, and they tend to make defensive mistakes) are pedestrian at best on D. I don’t want to talk about Detroit anymore. Small ball, big ball, lowball, Slamball — the Pistons are practically dead to me. To understand the full gravity of that, understand that I have the utmost respect for Iverson, am an unabashed ‘Sheed apologist, and like the rest of the world, have posters of Amir and Affllalo on my wall. (I was thinking about ending that sentence with wall-o to make it rhyme…does that mean I’m going crazy?)
The Game That Everyone’s Talking About, So I Won’t (Cleveland at New York):
Cavs win. By a lot. LeBron does not score more than 61 points. Good enough for you?
Who Are the Fightin’ Chris Pauls Without Chris Paul? (Chicago at New Orleans):
A giant bag of suck. That’s what. If NOLA is even half as shell-shocked as they were against Portland, Chicago wins this one easy. If not, Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon only go off for 70 combined. Wonderful!
A Head for an Eye (Denver at OKC):
Last night, Pop slapped the Nuggets in the face. He don’t need no stinkin’ regular season barometers, and he made the Nuggets painfully aware of that. Instead, the Nuggets almost got embarassed by the Spurs equivalent of the Muppet Babies. Sure, there will be some tired legs, and the Thunder are playing better than ever, but revenge is a powerful muse. An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind, but when the Muppet Babies wrong you, all rules are off.
That Piece of the Puzzle That You Put In Before the Last Few Pieces, But It’s Still Kinda Conclusive and Looks Good (Atlanta at Minnesota):
Could tonight be the night that Horford returns? No offense to Zaza, but if you’re looking for the primary culprit of the Hawks’ defensive fall-off, I’d look no further than awkward white centers employed by the Atlanta Hawks. It shouldn’t have to be his burden to bear, but it is. On the other hand, I worry about Love and Jefferson’s ability to coexist. They go through phases where they look like brothers out there (you know what I mean, I hope), playing off of synergy and a natural sense of where each is supposed to be on the floor. Figuring out who occupies what space is one of those basic parts of team chemistry, and Love is only in rookie year, after all. But for those times when things aren’t clicking just right? It gets ugly. I don’t want to rain too much on Minny’s parade since they are playing better, but if Love and Jefferson don’t work out together, where do they go?
IRRELEVENT UNPROVOKED TIME WARP!!! (Houston at Memphis):
Get it? It’s like in LOST!
WHEN POWER FORWARDS ATTACK! (Portland at Dallas):
Last time the Mavs and Blazers tangoed, we were treated to a refresher of a Christmas day nightcap that went down to the wire. Dirk exploded, and the Jub-Jub/Bass pick and roll (D-LEAGUE!) ruled the day. This time around, Alrdridge will see if he can’t get a little payback. Good luck, buddy.
Should be a hell of a game, though. The Blazers are coming off of that ridiculous run against the post-Paul Hornets, and the Mavs are the winners of three straight in a pretty convincing manner. Game of the night honors, indeed.
I Have Homework and This Game Doesn’t Matter (Phoenix at Golden State):
Sorry guys, major case of mail-in. It’s chronic. Troublesome, I know. How about we just say that this game won’t even be fun to watch and call it a day?
The Other Night I Dreamt of Knives, Continental Drift Divide
We know now what we’ve feared all season: a contender hangs on just the slimmest of threads, and a significant injury to a key cog is the difference between greatness and plain ol’ goodness. Bynum’s injury should make the Lakers modest, but it doesn’t even come close to the fall-out for the Orlando Magic after learning that Jameer Nelson may very well miss the rest of the season with a torn labrum.
As a completely unnoficial ambassador of the NBA, let me say that this completely sucks.
I feel sorry for Jameer, who has managed to beat his critics off with a stick during the course of this season. He was too small, he was too turnover-prone, he couldn’t run this team, he flat-out wasn’t good enough. But on the dawn of February 2nd, you were looking at a bonafide, deserving All-Star, who was doing so much more than just getting by on Dwight’s coattails. Jameer’s a baller, and he’s made me and many others forcibly insert their foot into their collective mouth in ’08-’09. It also doesn’t bode well for the Magic, who had carved out their own niche in my heart. It’s hard not to root for Dwight Howard, and from top to bottom this roster is as likable as they come.
Immediately, you have to look at Orlando’s options. They could start Anthony Johnson…or they couldn’t and pretend they did. Johnson doesn’t have the chops to be a starter on an elite team, and he was already posing problems as a backup. They could go to the D-League, but there are serious issues with starting a D-Leaguer on a team like this. Courtney Lee or Hedo Turkoglu could control the point duties, but each presents their own complications in terms of defense, turnovers, experience, and varying levels of they’re-not-real-point-guards. A look at the trading block shows some strange possibilities like Jamaal Tinsley or Beno Udrih, but nothing really jumps off the page.
It pains me to say this, but there’s one name that the Magic should at least consider as a band-aid for their point guard troubles: Stephon Marbury.
For the record, they shouldn’t do it. There is no reason to panic on a level that would require them to sign Marbury. He’s a dominant, infuriating locker room presence on a team that seems to rely on Stan Van Gundy’s voice as an unwavering authority. SVG may not be as insidious as Riles or as intimidating as Pop, but he’s a great coach and he’s a dominant voice on that team. That spells all kinds of trouble for a point guard that’s never exactly had a reputation for hanging tough on defense, putting the team before himself, or playing nice with the other children. So, again, this move would be really, really stupid.
But wouldn’t the Magic have to at least entertain the idea of picking up Marbury, supposing he’s bought out? Who knows exactly what kind of shape he’s in, but supposing that Steph is still Steph he would at least give the Magic an OK scorer, a decent shooter, and a compentent penetrator. If the Magic attack is truly contingent on Jameer’s ability to get into the lane, then Anthony Johnson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Courtney Lee aren’t reasonable options. Desperate times could very well call for desperate measures (not really, but it seemed like something I should say), and that could mean at least taking a casual glance in Marbury’s direction.
(Seriously though, please don’t do it, Otis.)
If the Magic can find a stop-loss through trade, that would be phenomenal. If they could find a semi-competent replacement through trade, that would be dandy. If Lee or Hedo could do well enough to match the 2007-2008 Magic, I’d probably take that. But I really like this Magic team, and adore their potential for complete dominance and destruction. All I ask is that this injury doesn’t turn Orlando’s destruction unto itself, be it by means of Marbury or crippling trade reeking of desperation.
For now, it’s the end of the Magic as we know it. This time, though, I don’t feel fine.
Foiled Again
Is it too late for Superbowl talk? Now that I’ve had a 24-hour breather and some distance from Sunday’s thriller, I’ve had plenty of time for digestion.
The Steelers’ 6th Superbowl win is a pretty remarkable accomplishment, but the never-ending Pittsburgh lovefest has been throwing the Steelers around with a couple of basketball teams from Boston and L.A.. I think it’s pretty much against company policy to write anything positive about either team here (Josh has been in the stocks since you last heard from him), but I think this needs to be said: the Steelers are not the Lakers, and they’re certainly not the Celtics. They may have more Bowls than anyone in football, and that is really neato. 6 is a nice number. But you know what it’s not? 17. Or 14. This is a case where two proud franchises can throw their considerable volume around, and in that department the Steelers don’t even compare. Nevermind the fact that the NFL’s playoff format doesn’t have the quality control of the NBA or that the single-elimination format often means death for a good team on a bad night; both the Lakers and the Celtics have had longer and more frequent stretches of dominance, and in those stretches they were more successful. End of story.
Beyond that, it’s interesting that the fortunes of the Steelers are turning up just as the Cowboys are plummeting downwards. Professional sports in America are typically powered by dramatic foils. It’s more than a rivalry, really; it’s a sharp contrast that gives a team it’s definition, a sense of context that allows us to understand who a team is by juxtaposing them next to who they are not. In football, it’s the Steelers and the Cowboys, smashmouth versus glamour. In baseball, it’s the Yankees and the Red Sox. In basketball, it’s the classic east coast/west coast battle that’s been supplying fireworks for about 50 years. Too often, they rise and fall together, alternating in periods of dominance and hibernation, keeping their senses trained to the sound of the other’s alarm clock. It’s no coincidence that the Lakers rose to prominence in 2007, even before the Gasol trade. After all, the Celtics were relevant again, and it takes two to dance your way to the top of the league. They take turns leading and following, but the important thing is that they keep dancing. That’s exactly why I knew that you couldn’t just pencil the Lakers in as the champs for the next 5 years after they turned a magic bean into a seven-foot Spaniard. Inevitably, the Celtics’ age would catch up with them, and as Boston goes so does L.A..
Just when it looks as though Boston’s formerly unquestionable rule is being challenged by Cleveland and Orlando, the fates have seen it fit to take the Lakers down a peg with Bynum’s injury, at best making their lives difficult and at worst demoting the Lakeshow to the rest of the Western Conference pack. Funny how these things work.