Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Iverson Returns to Philly

Philadelphia fans played it classy tonight when they gave Allen Iverson a huge ovation in his return to the City of Brotherly Love for the first time since his trade to Denver. (Philadelphia-based pundits will no doubt praise the city's fans for their warmth but the only reason that anyone was questioning the reception he would get is because Philly fans are natural assholes.) All in all, the atmosphere was everything you could want in an NBA game. AI gets tons of love and plays well. The game, which has serious playoff implications for both teams, is close but the home team pulls it out. If you don't like that then you don't like NBA basketball.

Iverson was a two-sport star from Hampton, Va. who chose to concentrate on basketball at Georgetown University. His NBA career has showcased his brash raw talent, his anti-establishment attitude, his ridiculous crossover, and his ability to carry a team on his shoulders to the NBA Finals. One of the more interesting things about AI's career is his drastic transformation from a symbol for everything wrong with the NBA to a media darling. There is no question Iverson has matured throughout his years in the League but I don't really think he has changed much. Criticism of his tattoos or his cornrows seems quaintly racist and even his monologue on practice doesn't seem as bad considering how hard he has always played. The media finally realized that there was substance buried over there beneath all that style but, for me, the style has always been my favorite part of AI (self pass at 4:40).

It always amused me when people complained about AI carrying the ball on his crossover. How could anyone concentrate on that when The Answer was shaking the best defenders in the NBA? People forget that Iverson could dunk with the best of them (I love the one-hand-to-two dunks around the 2:00 mark). He is also a tremendous passer and he can finish with the high kiss off the glass as well as anyone in the game.

And then there is everything else. He's not above street ball. He has class... and freakish ups. His penchant for partying is legendary. I dont' really know what changed everyone's mind but I'm glad they did. Go out and watch Iverson highlights on youtube for a few hours. You won't regret it.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

KB24 Blog Day?

Today is officially Kobe Bryant Blog day. Why did why Kobe need to be celebrated in the blogosphere? I don't really know. Here are some "blog days" that would have been a lot more fun than Kobe Day.

Henry Bekkering Blog Day
Henry Bekkering was like Brent Barry's idiot savant little brother. Barry had a nice career in the league but his dunk contest win was always a little tainted by the mediocre competition and waning fan support for the contest. Bekkering, on the other hand, was never good enough to play in the League (I think he's placekicking in the CFL now) but no one questioned the quality of his dunk contest victory. More Bekkering.

(I'm not even going to bring up David Lee as another white dunk contest champion because James White was robbed. As an aside, as long as we're on the subject of people who can dunk better than they can actually ball... Slamnation!)

Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo Blog Day
This day would be solely for recognizing how ridiculous-but-awesome Dikembe Mutombo is. On the court he is primarily known for taunting opponents (thanks to this ridiculous rule) while off the court he is know for his humanitarian work. He's been mentioned in the State of the Union and he knows how to use chopsticks. His voice is funny and he's really sensitive about his age. And as much as I think the finger wag is poor sportsmanship, it really is contagious.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Notes 3/7/2008

How is Stephen A. Smith allowed to do a studio show? He is so obnoxious and his insights (if you can call them that) are either obvious or flat out wrong but are always yelled obscenely loud.

Why are the Bulls so bad? Is it because Kirk Hinrich mysteriously got a lot worse? Is Luol Deng not as good as everyone thought? Is their chemistry just fatally flawed?

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

The Birdman Set to Fly Again

Chris Andersen will return to the Hornets after a lengthy suspension for an unidentified drug that was not weed. This move should put Ryan Bowen out of a job and should give the Hornets some more energy off the bench.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Reflections from a Night of League Pass (3/3/08)

Hornets at Knicks

Wilson Chandler and Randolph Morris both FINALLY see action for the Knicks. Chandler actually got about 20 minutes and scored 6 points while grabbing 4 rebounds. Maybe he will finally get some minutes down the stretch as the Knicks play for ping pong balls? Morris plays in his third game of the year. What does Isiah have against the D-League? Well, there's this...

For the Hornets, Jannero Pargo could probably start for a number of NBA teams even though he's perfect coming off the bench for the Hornets. He's a natural point guard with a lethal pull up jump shot that he can create for himself if the shot clock runs down. I love when the Hornets play Pargo and Paul at the same time.

During a two minute stretch, Walt Clyde Frazier praised Chris Paul for finishing with his right hand while asserting that he was left-handed and then continued to praise the Hornet point guard for losing excess weight on his hips since coming into the league. I really love Walt but is he really losing it?

As for the game, the Knicks looked good but fell apart at the end. Shocking.

76ers at Clippers

The Clippers look horrible as they get blown out by Philly. Al Thornton leads the Clippers in scoring with 20 but also ties the franchise record for turnovers in a game with 10. He's a natural scorer but he brings so little else to the table in terms of rebounding (unless he's chasing his own missed shot), passing and defense. He kind of reminds me of Antoine Walker except that Thornton actually can jump.

Louis Williams is going to be a player in this league. Philly actually has a lot of talent in Williams, Rodney Carney and Thaddeus Young but they are too inexperienced outside of their starting back court to really be taken seriously. Unfortunately for them they are in the East so they should make the playoffs and miss a lottery pick.