Everyone’s talking about Devin Harris’s incredible game-winning shot to beat the Philadelphia 76ers. Well here’s the video of the desperation half-court heave by the All-Star. Ridiculous concentration by Harris to get the shot off after Andre Iguodala stripped (or fouled) the ball away from him. Check it out yourself:
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New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers | Tagged: buzzer beater, Devin Harris, game winner, half court shot, New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers | 
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Posted by david im
Check out this monster swat by Shannon Brown. It was called a foul but still amazing. Can’t believe MJ traded him away to get Vladimir Radmanovic. And poor Mario West. He’s forever been Youtubed.
Leave a Comment » | Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers | Tagged: block, Mario West, Michael Jordan, Shannon Brown, swat, Vladimir Radmanovic | Permalink
Posted by david im
Power Rankings have been updated as of 2/23. Check them out here.
Leave a Comment » | NBA | Tagged: NBA, Power Rankings | Permalink
Posted by david im
Apparently Shaq wasn’t the only one getting down with the Jabbawockeez. Check out this video from the missiong.com website of Kevin Durant, Kevin Garnett, and Dwyane Wade with the Jabbas at All-Star Weekend displaying their dance moves for the fans at a Gatorade event. KG is doing his thing which is no surprise, but KD actually shows some promise as a dancer. It looks like he’s got some moves. D-Wade……..notsomuch. Which is surprising actually since he looks like he’s a smooth cat on and off the court. C’mon Dwyane, you gotta work on your moves and not let the other guys show you up.
Leave a Comment » | Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder | Tagged: dance, dancing, Dwyane Wade, Gatorade, Jabbawockeez, Kevin Durant, Kevin Garnett, Shaq, Shaquille O'Neal | Permalink
Posted by david im
by Anderson, a contributor to hoopsplayground.com
With a win tonight in Minnesota, the Lakers can improve on their League-best record to 46-10. Sure, alot of that is predicated on the great play of Kobe Bryant, who has reinserted himself in the MVP race, but the lion’s share of the credit belongs to Lamar Odom, who has averaged over 16 points and 14 rebounds since Andrew Bynum’s injury. With the starting frontcourt (PF-C) tandem of Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, the Lakers’ offense seems to have opened up, especially Gasol’s, who now has the space and liberty to operate on the block without Bynum taking up additional space in the paint. Phil Jackson has to definitely consider keeping Odom in the starting lineup if and when Andrew Bynum returns from his injury and having Bynum be the team’s sixth man, where he’ll be able to spell Gasol of his huge minutes at center.
Excited about the Lakers’ championship aspirations.
Speaking of Gasol, he’s been logging in a heavy load of minutes since Andrew Bynum went down (over 42 minutes per game in the month of February). One has to wonder if this will hurt the Spaniard going into the playoffs. Keep in mind that he played into June last season with the NBA Finals and with the Spanish Olympic team. I’m sure that has to be an issue of concern with Phil Jackson. And while the departure of Chris Mihm may be detrimental down the road, expect Josh Powell to see more minutes at center and the Lakers to run a smaller, uptempo second unit with Powell, Odom, and Trevor Ariza in the frontcourt. Ariza has even played some minutes at the 4 lately. A troubling sign has to be that the Lakers aren’t blowing out their opponents and thus, forcing Phil Jackson to reinsert Pau Gasol into the lineup in the fourth quarter of games.
Kobe? Take a paycut?
With Odom’s resurgence, chances are he will command a hefty sized contract when he becomes an unrestricted free agent over the summer. Sure, the Lakers traded Vladimir Radmonovic’s unwarranted $42 million contract and sure, teams are trying to cut costs in the midst of this struggling economy, but they also did resign Andrew Bynum at about $18 million a season over the next four seasons. Throw in the fact that Trevor Ariza is also an unrestricted free agent going into the summer as well and Jordan Farmar will eventually do the same the summer of 2010. What people are forgetting is that Kobe Bryant can opt out of his contract after this season and test the waters as well. Now, I’m not saying that Kobe will leave the Lakers, but remember the frustration that Kobe went through a few summers back to the point that he requested a trade? With the team playing so well and management accommodating his wishes for a talented roster that are perennial contenders, it’s now on Kobe to do the right thing: and that is to repay management by resigning at a reduced price in order for them to keep the talent that they have. Sure, Jerry Buss and his family are rich, but as the costs of the roster and pending luxury taxes loom, those costs will trickle down to fans in the form of rising prices of tickets. If the Lakers win the NBA Championship in June and Odom remains a factor the rest of the season, I believe that it’s Kobe’s civic duty to his teammates, management, and fans to give up a few dollars on his next contract for the sake of retaining Odom, Ariza, and Farmar, who are critical components of the league’s best team. That’s right, I’m calling you out Kobe. Do the right thing and take a paycut ala Gilbert Arenas.
Lastly, Phil Jackson has made it clear that his time as Lakers coach is coming to an end soon. He has not made a commitment beyond this season and health issues regarding his hip loom for the Hall of Fame coach. I believe that he will coach out this season and next season as well regardless of whether or not the Lakers win it all this year. One darkhorse candidate to replace Jackson to keep in mind is Jeff Van Gundy. And while this would force the Lakers to tweak their offensive philosophy, none of assistant coaches that are currently on Phil’s staff are qualified to step into that head coaching role just yet. Kurt Rambis is one name that comes to mind given the small success that he had in his short stint as the Lakers interim coach during the lockout season that saw Del Harris lose his job. But getting back to Van Gundy, he is very complimentary of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol as a commentator in his broadcasts on ABC, and one has to wonder why he didn’t pursue a head coaching position last offseason and seems to be at ease this upcoming offseason as well. I’m sure management would love the defensive mentality and toughness that he would bring to the team. Just a thought and definitely something to look out for ladies and gentlemen…
Leave a Comment » | Los Angeles Lakers | Tagged: Anderson, Andrew Bynum, Chris Mihm, Finals, Jeff Van Gundy, Josh Powell, Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers, Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers, MVP, NBA, Pau Gasol, Phil Jackson, Trevor Ariza | Permalink
Posted by david im
Since I’ve started this site, I’ve been somewhat of a blog nazi, writing and maintaining everything myself. But it gets tough to constantly update because unfortunately, my job (that actually pays the bills) and life in general gets in the way. So in order to better provide for you guys I’ll have contributions from other basketball aficionados from time to time, offering their opinions and analysis on events going on in the hoops world. Here’s the first…
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Posted by david im
The trade deadline came and went and all the blockbusters we were expecting to hear about never came to be. Amare Stoudemire to the Grizzlies? Nope. Vince Carter to the Blazers? Never happened. Antawn Jamison to the Cavs? Shaq to the Cavs? Richard Jefferson to the Cavs? The biggest name that moved this deadline (not counting the Jermaine O’Neal/Shawn Marion swap nor the Brad Miller trade) was Tyson Chandler. Oh wait. That trade got rescinded. The biggest names were Rafer Alston and Larry Hughes. The Orlando Magic panicked after Chris Paul destroyed them on Wednesday night but fortunately didn’t have to give up much to get Skip. I doubt that first-round pick has much of an impact on the Grizz unless they’re able to package that pick along with some other assets in an offseason deal. I don’t think Orlando thinks Rafer will bring them a championship but he’ll probably allow them to get that #3 seed in the East.
As for the Hughes deal, it doesn’t have much of a playoff implication since it’s possible both the Knicks and Bulls will miss the playoffs but I like the deal for New York since they get rid of Jerome James. Finally. I mean the guy only played in four games in the last two seasons. Donnie Walsh has somehow gotten rid of almost all the worthless players Isiah Thomas brought in so that in itself has to be a victory for New York. I think Hughes will actually be pretty decent and Mike D’Antoni will utilize his slashing skills because we all know he’s not much of a shooter. (And for the record, I like the Chris Wilcox deal. Athletic bigs are built for D’Antoni’s system). Tim Thomas will provide some offensive spark for the Bulls but he won’t have much of an impact. But I guess he’s better than a benched Hughes.
You know, I don’t really see any trade winners or losers. There were some cost-cutting moves and some moves to free up roster spots. Like I said, there weren’t any of the blockbusters we’d been hearing about and no superstars were on the move. The biggest surprise was hearing that Shaq was rumored to be going to Cleveland. Good thing it didn’t happen though because I couldn’t see Big Z and O’Neal playing together (nor could I picture Shaq in a Cavs uniform). But the team whose strategy I can’t quite put my finger on is the Kings. I thought they could’ve gotten more for Brad Miller and John Salmons but settled for mediocrity. And they didn’t even get any draft picks. I am looking at their roster and they have long-term contracts tied up in Kevin Martin (who is good), Andres Nocioni (who is okay but I can already picture them trying to trade him soon), Beno Udrih (who they want to get rid of), and Francisco Garcia (who I’m sure they’ll also be looking to trade). Not exactly the makings of a championship nucelus. I do like the trade with TWolves though. Brushing my UNC bias aside, I do like the deal bringing in Rashad McCants because he’s talented and they can see what he can do these next few months then decide what to do with him. Shelden Williams isn’t even the best basketball player in his own house (that distinction goes to Candace Parker) so he was pretty much wasting space. I don’t know what the Kings are doing and they look like they will be doormats for the foreseeable future. I’ll take a stab and say Geoff Petrie will be fired by this time next year. Kings fans, help me out and let me know what your team is doing.
I was terribly disappointed with the trades this year because like I said, there were a lot of superstar names on the block. I expected to see at least a few of these rumored deals come to fruition but the contenders pretty much stood pat. I guess this crappy economy is even affecting the kinds of trades we’re seeing in the NBA. Oh well. Maybe next year things will be more exciting.
1 Comment | Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings | Tagged: Brad Miller, Chicago Bulls, Geoff Petrie, Houston Rockets, John Salmons, Larry Hughes, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Rafer Alston, Sacramento Kings, Tim Thomas, trade deadline | Permalink
Posted by david im
Here’s what Hornets fans will be missing…and what Thunder fans probably will never see.
In a move that effectively ends any kind of hope for a championship, the New Orleans Hornets shipped Tyson Chandler to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox, and the draft rights to DeVon Hardin. The Hornets now have a gaping hole in the middle. I just looked at their depth chart on espn.com and it lists Sean Marks as their starting center; the Sean Marks who averages just over 3 ppg and 2 rpg for his career. Now Hilton Armstrong will be starting but he averages 3.4 ppg and 2.6 rpg over HIS career and is not exactly the target Tyson is on those alley oop passes for Chris Paul. Now I believe that Chandler is overpaid for what he does but he seemed to be the perfect player to play alongside CP3 (actually the perfect player would be Dwight Howard but what are you gonna do). He had the best years of his career playing with Paul, averaging career highs in points and rebounds and he clearly won’t be as productive in OKC. (Russell Westbrook is a nice player but he’s no Chris Paul). They didn’t trade for him to score but I don’t think he’s as effective on the defensive end as people make him out to be and Thunder fans will probably be wondering why they traded for an unproductive center who makes $12 million a year. He’s still better than what they have on the roster right now so it’s a worth a shot but I wouldn’t really expect much.
Leave a Comment » | New Orleans Hornets, Oklahoma City Thunder | Tagged: Chris Wilcox, Joe Smith, New Orleans Hornets, Oklahoma City Thunder, trade, Tyson Chandler | Permalink
Posted by david im
By now I’m sure you guys realize that I love watching basketball commercials and sports commercials in general. Recently, I’ve been seeing a ton of the new Gatorade, I mean, G commercials. And I’m a fan. The first “What is G?” commercials with Lil’ Wayne narrating were intriguing and really made me ask, what the hell is G? The new ones with King Garnett and his gallant knights are fun to watch, especially since there are so many athletes in the commercials (and parodying Monty Python is…wait for it…Genius), but how many of you have actually continued the quest at missiong.com? If you haven’t then you really should. I went to it today and spent more than an hour on the site before I realized I actually had to do stuff. (I spent a bunch of time watching the athletes from the “What is G?” commercial answering that very question.) They got tons of videos to watch and have a little something for everyone. Not only can you see a consolidated, extended video of all the “Quest for G” commercials (starring the aforementioned Garnett, Derek Jeter, Usain Bolt, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Alicia Sacramone among others, including a cameo from the Greatest, Michael Jordan. I would’ve loved to have seen Peyton Manning as a knight.), but there are tons of other web shows like Quest for G: the Series, a reality show that chooses 8 talented but underprivileged athletes who will finally be able to train like the pros they were meant to be. It’s a show that’s sure to inspire and I’ll be sure to catch it whenever I can. And for the cool kids (or those who try to be cool like me) there’s Leave It on the Floor, a show that pretty much shows you what’s cool (where was this when I needed it in high school). One episode features Shaq’s new friends the JabbaWockeez, who are pretty much the Dwyane Wade’s and LeBron James’s of the dance world. But not only that there are highlight reels of breakdancing battles between the best crews from around the world, including Super Cr3w who followed the Jabbas as champions of America’s Best Dance Crew.
(For what it’s worth, I think it’s smart that Gatorade is extending beyond the traditional sports and going into things like dancing. I mean, people need to quench their thirst from doing activities other than football and basketball. Hell, I need a Gatorade after just walking up a flight of stairs. Maybe they’ll put THAT in their next commercial.)
Keeping it in the G Fam: D-Wade and the JabbaWockeez
And to finally make this basketball related, there are a couple of videos of Alicia Sacramone at NBA All-Star Weekend interviewing current and former NBA stars like Dwyane Wade, Jason Terry, and Alonzo Mourning. (Watching Alicia is completely worth the visit). And I am sure there is tons more to come from the good folks at Gatorade so basically what I’m saying is, check out missiong.com when you’re bored at work or at home because there’s tons to watch if you want to pass the time. AND if that wasn’t enough, I’ve been told that Gatorade will donate $1 to charity (up to $25k) for every hit to the Mission G website. Remember, G is also for giving so you can visit the site knowing you’ve done your good deed for the day.
Leave a Comment » | Business | Tagged: ABDC, Alicia Sacramone, All Star, Alonzo Mourning, America's Best Dance Crew, Derek Jeter, Dwyane Wade, G, Gatorade, Jabbawockeez, Jason Terry, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Garnett, Lil Wayne, Michael Jordan, Mission G, NBA, Quest for G, Shaq, Super Cr3w, Usain Bolt | Permalink
Posted by david im
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images
In a weekend devoid of excitement, the All-Star Game was no different. I was hoping for a climactic end to the festivities, but alas it was one of the worst All-Star Games in recent memory and it didn’t even have a lot of highlights. I don’t mind a blowout in a game like this but c’mon, I want some showmanship. It was painfully obvious that Kobe wanted the MVP but unfortunately for him, everyone else tried to get it to Shaq. (CP3 was the MVP if you ask me.) Those two sure did a good job of making it seem like they liked each other (Shaq a much better job than KB24) but I’m sure the suits got involved and said it’d be in the best interest of everyone if they acted like BFFs. I wasn’t very intrigued by that whole storyline and refused to read a single article about it and them being co-MVP’s is an ironic but fitting end to that whole saga and I hope it dies a slow, painful death.
Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images
The game itself was like I said, just eh. There wasn’t much going on aside from a few nice dunks, though that give-and-go with Shaq and Cp3 was pretty good. And LeBron’s off-the-backboard dunk was pretty ridiculous. I mean, the guy’s head cleared the rim easy. I think he’s ready for the dunk contest next year. Speaking of which, with all the disappointment that came from this year’s All-Star festivities, I will go on record as saying I think next year’s All-Star Weekend in Dallas will be one of the best in history. Now I just have to figure out a way to be there…
Leave a Comment » | NBA | Tagged: All Star Game, All Star Weekend, Chris Paul, Kobe, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Shaq, Shaquille O'Neal | Permalink
Posted by david im
