NBA Randomness

With the NBA All-Star break looming in the near future, and most teams having played roughly half of their games, now seemed like a good time to update everyone on the state of the league. So here are some news, notes, likes, dislikes, and other randomness devoted to the NBA.



Everyone knows that Boston is really good. But did they wear themselves out with that amazing 29-3 start? The Celts are 5-5 in their last ten games (and should be 4-6 if the Wolves don’t blow that game on Friday night). Granted, it’s not realistic to expect them to pull off a Bulls-like 72-10 record, but they have been losing to some very average teams lately (Charlotte, Washington, Toronto). Additionally, both Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett have missed time due to nagging injuries. Is it possible that playing a couple of 30-something year old guys over 40 minutes a night isn’t the best idea in the world? Jeez, you’d think a stellar coach like Doc Rivers would know that.



You know who’s really good? Chris Paul. He might be the most complete point guard in the league. The kid can seriously do absolutely everything at an amazingly high level. And his play, along with David West, Tyson Chandler, etc., has the Hornets with the best record in the Western Conference. This doesn’t appear to be an aberration either. New Orleans is very balanced at all positions and, barring a major injury, could make a nice little run at the end of the year.

You know who sucks? The San Antonio Spurs. Not in a win/loss type of way—obviously 28-14 is pretty darn good. More in an “I can’t stand anyone on their team” way. I really don’t think there is one player on the Spurs that I like. From Tim Duncan’s ho-hum, another bank shot game to Manu Ginobili’s flip-flopping, Euro-trash style of play, I think I hate them all. Even a guy like Tony Parker, whom I didn’t mind before, bothers me: you’re married to a famous actress, we get it.



The other night San Antonio was on and even perennial bench warmer Brent Barry managed to piss me off. Quit jumping out of your seat cheering about a first quarter jump shot. And don’t cock off because you hit a wide open three—that’s the only reason you’re still in the league. Even whiskey nose Popovich bugs me. I simply cannot stand this team.



Jason Kidd apparently wants out of New Jersey. I can’t say that I blame him, but for a guy who is yearly mentioned in trade talks, now seems like an odd time to demand a trade. Also, coming out publicly that you want out absolutely kills any leverage that your current employer could have in the trade market. Way to throw the Nets under the bus. That said, I’d love to see him go to LA to play with Kobe and Co. Having a guy like him to run the offense and distribute the ball would make an already good Lakers team very dangerous come playoff time.



The 8th seed in the Eastern Conference right now, the Indiana Pacers, are seven games below .500 at 19-26. Yuck. By comparison, the 8th seed in the West, the Utah Jazz, are eight games above .500 at 26-18. So much for that power shift over to the East creating a balance between the two conferences, as many NBA “experts” predicted at the start of the season.



From the Kevin McHale is a genius file: Brandon Roy is averaging roughly 17 points, 4 assists, and 4.5 rebounds a game for a Portland team that is in the playoffs as of right now. But hey, Randy Foye played 15 minutes in a half-assed scrimmage the other day and “felt great”. So we got that going for us.



Speaking of the Wolves, they are absolutely on fire lately. The local squad had won 3 of their last 4, and would be on a 4 game winning streak if they could have held on to the ball at the end of the Boston game the other night. And we’re talking good teams here—Golden State, Phoenix, Boston, and New Jersey (ok, they suck). Looks like that rebuilding is starting to take form. The leader of this resurgence is Big Al Jefferson. He has been simply unstoppable as of late, capped off by his 40 point 19 rebound performance against the Nets the other night, including four monster free throws at the end to seal the victory.



One last Timberwovles-related note. If any of the following players are on the 08-09 roster, I’m going to find Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale and personally beat the piss out of them: Greg Buckner, Michael Doleac, Theo Ratliff, Antoine Walker, and Gerald Green. I’d rather JB Bickerstaff traded in his coaching suit for jersey than watch any of these scrubs play on this team anymore.