Further evidence that proves the NBA's slam dunk contest is a joke

Here's an idea for the NBA. Take the best NBA players, make them enter the dunk contest, add guys from this video below to the contest, and make the contest wagers work this way... If an NBA player wins, he gets a million dollar bonus (the NBA can make/generate this million easy off of advertising money by the way). If a non-NBA player wins, he gets to take an NBA player's roster spot for a week and collect his game checks. Just an idea. It won't ever happen and it's probably not the best idea someone's come up with so far. But it's just an idea.

Last-Minute NBA Playoff Round 1 Predictions

Celtics over the Knicks in 7 games. Do not underestimate how the tragedy might help bring Boston as a city together and the Celtics as a team together. And I already had the Celtics winning this series prior to the tragedy but now that they have just that much more to play for, I don't think they're going to go out in the first round. It won't be easy, but they'll pull this series out in 7 games. Not to mention if the Celtics can play consistent defense and get the Knicks to start shooting bad, it'll be 6 games instead of 7, lol.

Chicago over Brooklyn in 6 games. Neither of these teams are very noteworthy but Chicago is a tougher, grittier team with more heart.

Indiana over Atlanta in 5 games. Atlanta is not tough enough or consistent enough to beat Indiana. Not that Indiana is that much better than the Hawks but they're defense and solid big man and swing man play will make this a relatively quick series.

Miami over the Bucks in 5 games. This should be a sweep but I think that Miami has a tendency to play down to their competition (ie - those close games during the 27 game winning streak) and I think the Bucks can steal one.

Golden State over Denver 7 games. This one was really a toss-up for me but I think with Galinari being out, the Warriors have a great chance. This is going to easily be the most exciting series - in terms of points scored - in the first round.

Clippers over Memphis in 6 games. The Grizzlies can slow down the Clippers for a couple games but even when they do, Chris Paul is the best floor general in the game. I am very interested in seeing how rough Z-Bo plays Griffin though.

Lakers over Spurs in 7 games. This is a great match-up for the Lakers. If Steve Blake and Jody Whatley Meeks show up every game, the Lakers have a really good chance to win. The Spurs do not have big men that can stop both Pau and Dwight if they're both aggressive. And from what I hear, Manu may be out and if that's the case, it could get very ugly for the Spurs. I tihnk that Tony Parker will play better than he has been but I don't think that he and Tim Duncan can do it by themselves. I just have a gut feeling the Lakers are going to pull this one off.

Oklahoma City over Houston in 4 games. Unlike the Heat, the Thunder will sweep The "Asian Beards".

"Yeah I saw him there... I guess he ain't see me!"

First DeAndre, now this smh.

Then I came to find out that Jason Terry said he wasn't impressed with what the Heat have done on their 23 game winning streak. I wonder how he feels now, lol.

Why Brandon Knight? WHYYYYYYYY????

The sound of this bama Brandon Knight hitting the ground though, smh.

My vote for the best dunk contest dunk of all time

Of note, I did not say "hardest" or "most difficult" dunk of all time though I think this dunk is a lot harder than people realize. You try jumping and doing a 360 dunk. Let alone a windmill at the end of it. Let alone a windmill where you are spinning your arm in the opposite direction of the way your body is spinning (read: fighting your body's momentum - which weighs significantly more than your arm). But a 360-windmill against your body's momentum all-in-one!!!! Sheeeeeeeeeeeeit, that's tough!


Shot-out to that dickie Kobe is rocking under his jacket.

Sports Round-Up

NFL Draft

• The Irsays Colts should take RGIII but they're gonna take Luck.
• The/My Redskins should trade up to get RGIII at the second pick or stick with the 6th pick, take Morris Claiborne, and try to get Matt Flynn. I do not under any circumstances think that the Redskins should take Ryan Tanneyhill. I'm also not pumped about the Redskins taking Peyton Manning for a 2-year project that'll only end with one, maybe two playoff appearances, and no titles.
• Apparently there's some 346-pound guy that ran a 40-yard dash somewhere right below or above 5 seconds. Message to all mother's... Do not let your sons play quarterback. Encourage him to do something more lucrative and less painful, like becoming a baseball pitcher/player.
• Based on what I've seen on Sportscenter, RGIII had to have had a top-10 40-yard time out of everyone at the combine. And he's a quarterback. That's kind of awesome like the time when Mike Vick ran a 4.33 at the combine like he was chasing down some dogs (I can totally say that now by the way).

NBA Finals Prediction

This is going to sound super lame but barring injury the Heat will be in the Finals. In the West, I'm not sure OKC is a lock because Westbrook has a prima donna in him that comes out at the wrong times (see last years playoffs for an example). Dallas and San Antonio will not go quietly I'm sure and the Lakers and Clippers will also be in the mix as well. The sleeper out west is Memphis but I think they're the Atlanta Falcons of the NBA so I can't pick them. With all that said, I'm going to root for (and pick) a Dallas/Heat rematch, especially if the Mavs somehow land Deron Williams.

NASCAR



First, Danica Patrick was out there driving all weekend like she has a Virginia license. Crash after crash after crash, sheesh. Second, Juan Pablo Montoya almost blew himself up accidentally crashing into the Jet Dryer car (this could really have been a lot worse but it was still pretty bad). Third, in 54 years of having the Daytona 500 this is the FIRST time it's been rescheduled because of rain? Let me get this right... In 54 years an outdoor event in Florida had NEVER been rescheduled due to rain. I'd call that a miracle before the race even began. Last, why in the hell is the most popular race of the year the first race of the season? Wouldn't Nascar be better served by having more minority driveers making the Daytona 500 the final race of the "chase"? I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of this and there has to be a better reason, I just don't know what that reason is. Someone please enlighten me.

Baseball

Ryan Braun should shut up and just play baseball. You failed the test bro but some technicality in the way the sample was handled got you over. Wipe your forehead, say "whewww", and move on and play ball. Now you're going to cause even more of a shytstorm by speaking out as if you were persecuted by MLB. You were persecuted by ESPN and other sports media outlets if anyone. You know, the same outlets that aired you're rebuttal speech when your suspension was revoked. Play ball and let your play do the talking. We'll see this year if your numbers drop like Brady Anderson's after he got off the juice. That'll really tell the story.

Golf

Tiger ain't got it no more. Plain-and-simple. I don't care about the Navy SEAL stuff (his dad was in the military so it makes sense for him to have an interest as well) and I don't care about all the different swing coaches and the new caddy. Tiger just doesn't have that fire anymore. Jack Nicklaus's record is safe [white people].

Jeremy Lin Skit: Another Reason Why Saturday Night Live is DOPE

This skit pretty much undresses all the underlying racist shyt going on surrounding Jeremy Lin.


More on this skit at the Huffington Post. Thanks K for sending this to me.

Oh My Goodness Blake Griffin!

On the night of 1.30.2012, this happened...


Blake's dunk reminded me of Dwight Howard's Superman dunk but I appreciate Blake's more because his hand actually touches the rim.


As far as power and explosiveness, nobody's dunking like Blake Griffin is right now, including LeBron. But I still think this might be my favorite Blake Griffin dunk of all time.

Norris Cole and why the Miami Heat fans had it right last night...

I'm sure I wasn't the only person last night that tuned in to the Celtics/Heat game. I really wanted to see if the Heat would come out at a blistering pace again like they did on Christmas against the Mavericks. And secondly, I wanted to see how Norris Cole played. And Mr. Cole did not disappoint late in the game. He showed poise, the ability to hit open jumpers, the ability to drive and finish/dish, and as a result the crowd in Miami starting chanting "M-V-P!" when he shot his free throws, lol.

The chants were blatantly premature of course but they do underscore something much more important and something that it seems Miami fans have figured out early this season. That is, that they need a much better point guard than they had last year!

With all that said you might be wondering who the hell is Norris Cole?

Well, Norris Cole is probably going to be the reason the Heat win or lose the NBA championship this year. Barring any major injuries this year Norris Cole may end up being more important to Miami than LeBron or Dwayne Wade.

The reason being is that the Heat last year did not have a point guard that could do anything other than spot up for a jump shot. Sure Mario Chalmers had a couple drives to the basket here-and-there but between Chalmers, Mike Bibby, Carlos Arroyo, and Eddie House, please let me know which one of those guys could actually drive the lane well enough to: 1) create his own shot, or 2) dish out solid assists CONSISTENTLY. Go ahead, I'll wait.

All of those guys were pretty much stand-around, spot-up shooters. And most of them are streaky jump-shooters at that (Mr. House, I'm talking about you, mainly though). What that meant for other teams is that you could concentrate on figuring out how to stop LeBron and Dwayne Wade and live with jump shots from any of those guards mentioned and also Udonis Haslem (who has a pretty good set 15-17 foot jump shot by the way).

On top of not being able to create their own shots, none of these guys were defenders that could lock down a solid (let alone good) point guard from an opposing team during the playoffs. What that meant was that opposing point guards like Rondo and Derrick Rose and even Jason Kidd (to an extent) could all create their own shots if they needed to, or create shots for their teammates. Rose and Rondo are elite-level guards you won't stop them with just one guy on most nights but when they don't even have to think about their defender being able to stop them, that's a different story.

But this year it looks like Norris Cole might just change all that. Norris Cole was apparently a two-sport athlete in high school and a solid point guard in the Horizon League playing for Cleveland State. In his senior year he was named Horizon League Player of the Year AND Defensive Player of the Year and managed to drop 41 points on Youngstown State. You're gonna say, "The Horizon League, what's that?" But dropping 41 points as a division basketball player is not an easy task no matter what league or conference you're in. He was then drafted by Chicago, traded to the Timberwolves on draft day, and the Timberwolves eventually traded him to the Heat.

Cole appears to be a fairly decent jump-shooter spotting up and off the run. He also seems to have the ability to drive to the hoop and finish and/or dish depending on how the defense plays him. I use the words "seems" and "might" strategically here because there have only been two games so far to watch him play.  But he seems like he might have the potential to bring all the skills to the Heat at the point guard position offensively that none of those other guys could. And if he can bring it on the offensive end and manage to play solid defense (which will be a tall task against guys like Rondo and Rose), the Heat have got a REALLY good chance of winning the NBA championship.

NBA Draft: What Cleveland Should Do

I have a few theories on what the Cavs should do with their picks and because I know so many people care what I think about sports (HA!) I'll share. The way I see it, Cleveland needs a few things:

1. A player that is exciting enough to help fill the seats to make up for the Post-LeBron drop-off in attendance that I *assume* took place.
2. A player that will actually fit-in with their team system as it currently exists. Perhaps this isn't as big of a need but it would be nice if the new player(s) could fit into the system rather than changing the system that is currently in-place.
3. A point guard. Even though I like B-Diddy (Baron Davis) because he's really exciting sometimes, he just isn't gonna cut it long-term. And Daniel "Boobie" Gibson isn't the answer either.
4. A new franchise-type player.

It's these four things that make Cleveland's two picks in this year's draft (number 1 and number 4) so interesting to me. In my opinion, the best player available in the draft is Derrick Williams. Dude already has an "NBA body", can shoot the college 3-pointer (mid-range game for the win), has a nice game around the rim as well as a nice game facing the basket. People are saying he's a "tweener" and all this other prognosticated bullshyt. Dude is a BASKETBALL PLAYER. Go back to Charles Barkley and he was probably a tweener when he first came into the league and he's now one of the best players of all-time. If you can play score or defend at an elite level, you'll be ok in the NBA and Williams has the body and skillset to do both. 

I don't dislike Kyrie Irving and I understand the PG-focused nature of the NBA at this time so it makes sense to take him with the #1 pick just as much as it does to take Williams (if not more). But based on what I've seen of Irving and the fact that he only played 11 games at Duke I liken taking him with the number 1 pick to taking a high school point guard with the number 1 pick. Has that ever happened? EVER? A high school career and 11 games at Duke and you're the #1 pick in the NBA draft as a point guard? Yeah, ok. I think Irving will do well in the league because he's definitely a pure point guard (all the Chris Paul comparisons are kind of annoying at this point though) but I don't think his impact will be felt as immediately as Derrick Williams. Two or three years from now we'll be saying "that Irving pick was really really smart" whereas next season we may very well be saying "Derrick Williams look like a rookie of the year candidate for sure and a franchise player for years to come". 

In the end, if I were Cleveland, I'd do one of two things:

1. Take Williams with the first pick and trade the fourth pick (and maybe JJ Hickson) for a proven point guard like Tony Parker who is already on the trading block and who also can take some of the scoring load off Williams shoulders. Parker isn't a pure point guard really, he's a great scorer going to the rim which means kick-outs to Williams for jump-shots or follow-up dunks for Williams off misses. Steve Nash and Johnny Flynn are also on the trading block evidently but Nash ain't going to a start-up and Flynn isn't really proven enough to give up a lot for.
2. Take Williams with the first pick and take either Brandon Knight or Kemba Walker with the 4th pick because Irving won't be around then. I know people don't like Kemba as much as Knight or Irving at this point (at least that's what analysts are saying) but I think Kemba has heart and the skill to be an effective point guard. Or, he could be the next Ben Gordon (UConn fans don't act like ya'll don't know, lol). But I think if Kemba's extra Bronx azz can humble himself and learn to be a more pure PG who can also score, he'll be a nice compliment to Williams for years to come.
3. [This was my original thought] Take Irving #1 and take Williams at #4. But it's obvious at this point that Williams won't be around that long so I think number 1 or 2 above would be the way to go.

It'll be interesting to see how all this plays out.

NBA Finals... It's OVER!

I think LeBron's looking for someone to give him some heart.


I know I know, I predicted the Heat to take this series in 6 games. And I know there are two games left in MIami. But the Mavs only have to win one. They won't get the first one more likely than not but they're going to win this series. Dirk's gonna get his ring. Jason Kidd will get his ring, and Jason Terry won't look like a complete idiot for getting the championship trophy tattooed on himself.

This series is over simply because LeBron doesn't have the heart for it.

Unless Wade plays out of his mind for two straight games the Heat will not win this series. All the allegations about Rashard Lewis sleeping with his girl aside, I just don't think LeBron has the moxy or the killer instinct right now. He had in the Boston and Chicago series' but it looks like he's lost it. From a strictly basketball perspective, his jumper is now back to suspect status so he's reluctant to shoot the jumpshot too much and instead be a facilitator (which is made a much easier way for him to go when Wade's hot). But in Game 5 when Wade was out and LeBron was supposed to take over, he didn't. He played pretty much the same seemingly unengaged and uninspired basketball. That led me to believe that he just doesn't have "it". At least not right now.

I'm a big time LeBron fan and I think he a ton of talent and still more potential. He should be out there driving to the hole battering ram style like he normally does if his jumpshot isn't clicking. But he's not. He should know that if Wade is out, he's gotta score. It doesn't seem like he cares all that much. Whether it's on-courrt confidence or off-the-court issues, LeBron just doesn't have it right now and I don't think he will in the next two games. He'll probably play better, but if these games are close and the Heat need him, can they really count on him? I dunno. What I do know is that the Mavs can count on Dirk and if the Mavs can keep these games fast-paced and Barea and Jason Terry hit their open shots, they're going to win one of these last two games for sure.

The Heat are close to pulling it off, but I don't think they have it left in them without a fully functioning LeBron.

NBA Round-Up

Mark Jackson hired as Golden State Warriors Head Coach

First and foremost, kudos to Mark Jackson on getting this job. I already like him more than Mike Brown (shot fired fool!). I've been impressed with his basketball knowledge as a play-by-play guy even though I sometimes hate his one/two-liners. If I have to hear "Hand down, man down!" or "Mama, there goes that man!" one more time this season I may just throw my drink at the screen. But hey, he's got signature lines that he uses and they haven't gotten him fired yet.

I did find it a little curious that he has been hired with no coaching experience at any level, ANY LEVEL. Not high school, college, or the pros. Maybe he coached a kids team before I don't know, but it just seemed a little odd to me. Like he mentioned on ESPN last night, he has had experience as a "coach on the court" during his playing days in the NBA. That's a good point and I do think that having NBA playing experience works in his favor but I'm not so sure that it correlates to being a good coach and/or substitute for relevant coaching experience. Nevertheless, I hope he is successful because he seems like a smart basketball mind and a straight-shooting guy. I'm also curious as to whether he'll try to bring former coach and current co-analyst Jeff Van Gundy on as an assistant since Mark has stated that he wants his team to be defensive-minded and Van Gundy's a pretty good defensive coach.

Dirk Nowitski's Game 4 Performance

Dirk played great last night considering he apparently had the flu. But let's not get carried away with the Jordan 38 point with the flu in '97 comparisons. This also reminds me that I'd like to introduce the "medical term" Dirk Flu into existence. Not to be confused with Bird Flu (though someone - not me - might say Dirk kinda looks like a bird). The Dirk Flu means you have a 102-degree temperature but still shoot like Larry Bird at the Garden but the downside is that you will miss a single free throw.

Who is feeling more pressure about Game 5 of the NBA Finals?

Miami. Or better yet, LeBron James. If Miami loses I still believe they have a solid chance to win in 7 but the pressure will be on. They'll be returning home to Miami to play a potential series-losing game 6 on their home court. That's pressure! No one wants to lose at home to close out the NBA Finals. And most of all, LeWosh does not want to lose at home in the Finals after all the hoopla surrounding them prior to and during this season. One thing you can't take away from them win-or-lose however, is that they had a hell of a season and made it to the Finals in their first year together. To pull that off wasn't easy and if they win this series there will still be a lot of hate to go around but there'll also have to be some respect given as well. We'll see what happens.

Speaking of LeBron...

Chris Broussard was on Sportscenter this morning talking about how he was in communication with former LeBron teammates or associates and how during the game they were saying that LeBron gave up like people think he did against the Celtics last year in the playoffs. I'm not so sure I buy into this. Wade had an amazing Game 3 and was off-the-charts in Game 4 so I'd guess that LeBron was being passive because Wade's been the hotter hand. I do agree that James looked lazy at times during the game but "mailing it in", I don't think so. Meanwhile, doesn't Chris Broussard remind you (just a tad) of Bob from the Martin TV show?

NBA Finals Game 4 Prediction

I missed my prediction for Game 3 because I was too busy. I actually thought the Mavs would take that game but Dirk couldn't pull off the heroics like he did in Game 2. Instead, Dwayne Wade dominated for Miami and Chris Bosh hit his standard 17-footer to ice the game. Dirk had a shot to win it but Haslem's defense was pretty solid and Dirk's shot was just a little off. I don't think anyone in the entire building would have been surprised had Dirk nailed that jumpshot to take the game to OT. But I will say that Haslem's defense at that moment in Game 3 was far better than Bosh's defense at that same moment in Game 2 where he basically let Dirk drive to the basket and get a relatively easy lay-up rather than forcing him to shoot a jump shot. Haslem did have a two-point lead (not a tie ball game) so he had a little more leeway to be aggressive because he could have just put Dirk on the line to tie the game rather than win it (you know Dirk don't miss free throws, lol).

My prediction for Game 4 is the same as what it was from Game 3. I expect the Mavs to win this game. If they don't the series is over in 6 like I mentioned in my original prediction for the series. Jason Terry's dumb azz went and called LeBron out in a not-so-aggressive way so I expect LeBron to have a big game and I also expect Wade to have another solid game.

When you think about the 1 win Dallas has so far it was really a fortunate situation in that the Heat shot horribly in that final quarter and squandered a double-digit lead. Had the Heat shot a solid percentage that game would not have been close and Dirk would not have had the opportunity to hit that game-winner. Game 3 was similar but the Mavs took a lot of the momentum in the 3rd quarter with a huge run. The fourth quarter was pretty tight and Dirk kept them in it. But in the end, the Heat's stellar defense and multiple offensive options kept them in the game... And a little bit of a lucky roll off the rim at the end.

If the Mavs don't win tonight Miami's going to end this thing as soon as they get a chance to play in Miami again. I think the Mavs recognize that and it will show tonight. I expect another close game but I think the Mavs will come out on top this time.

NBA Finals Game 2 Prediction

In my original post about this series I predicted that Miami would win the series in 6 games. Well, after game 1 I reconsidered changing the prediction to 5 games, but I won't. Game 1 was a close, slow-paced, but good game. I was joking on Twitter about how the first team to 90 would win (which actually did happy by the way, lol) and after the first quarter I joked that I might need to change that to first team to 80 wins. It really was a pretty slow game and there was solid defense on both sides of the ball. That is until…

LeBron and Dwayne Wade took over.

The 4th quarter of game 1 exemplifies just how difficult it is to stop two GREAT players that really really want to win. Miami kept the game close until the fourth when they just seemed to impose their will on the Mavs just like they'd done with the Celtics and Bulls (more so the Bulls). You can tell these guys have the composure, will, and talent (because composure and will only gets you so far, right) to win these games at the end when the tension is high and so are the stakes.

I think Game 1 was a "feeling-out" game for the most part. Dallas was feeling out Miami and vice-versa. I expect Dirk (torn ligament/tendon/heart and all) to have a better game but the question still remains whether Dallas's shooters can knock down shots and whether Dallas can somehow keep Wade and LeBron from showing up and showing OUT! I'm sure the defensive game plan will change a little in Game 2 for Dallas but does that mean that Bosh goes off this game? He's been playing well lately and he's probably due for at least one big game this series. Or are LeBron and Wade going to continue dominating the 4th quarter and lead Miami to a 2-0 lead? Who knows, I sure don't. But it's gonna be fun to watch!

My pick. Well, I'm going to pick Miami to win game 2 because LeBron still seems focused and Dirk seems a bit dejected in his interviews since game 1. They say a series doesn't start until a team wins on the road so I'm gonna guess that this series won't start till game 4 when I expect the Heat to go up 3 games to 1 on the Mavs. I guess I just gave my game 3 prediction too huh, lol.

My Pick for NBA Champion

First and foremost, this has been a great NBA Playoff season so far. Even with the Lakers and San Antonio getting ousted earlier than most of us probably expected, we've had other young/up-and-coming teams step-up and make their mark. The NBA has a bright future and it's shown throughout these playoffs.

Now for the NBA Finals match-up between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks. I'm happy to see Dirk and J. Kidd get another shot at winning it all. I'm also happy that my favorite player, LeBron James, is also going to get another shot at winning it all. Both of these squads seem to be peaking at the right time and they both have at least one superstar that can carry the team (in Miami's case, two, maybe even three). I think this series is going to come down to a couple things:

1. How well can Miami's defense close-out on Dallas's streaky but most of the time hot 3-point shooters
2. Can Dallas contain 2 of the Big Three for Miami? It seems like Bosh can be neutralized the easiest since Chandler is a solid defender and Haywood is another big body they can throw at him. But whose gonna stop BOTH LeBron AND Wade?
3. Can the eat guard J.J. Barea? This may sound funny but I think the series may come down to Barea. If he can penetrate the lane and dish out for wide-open 3's or pull his crafty lay-ups around the rim, it's gonna be a tough series for Miami. And I'm not sure if Miami has a PG that can keep up with Barea. Maybe Chalmers but definitely not Bibby.

Taking all those things into consideration, I think this will be at least a 6 game series.

I don't think that Dallas will have an answer for Wade and LeBron. I don't think Miami will have an answer for Dirk (yeah I know they've been saying Haslem and Anthony guard him fairly well and LeBron will have his shots at Dirk too). But in the end I think Miami's safe letting Dirk get his points and neutralizing EVERYBODY else. That is, as long as they can consistently score on the Mavs, which I don't see being such a big hurdle. Miami's the better overall defensive team and Dallas is solid on D but trying to stop Wade, LeBron, and Bosh for 4 wins is gonna be a tall task for the Mavs.

With all that said, I'm taking Miami in 6 games to win the series. It'll be LeBron's first and unfortunately, Dirk won't get his. The Heat are coming together at just the right time and clicking on all cylinders and if they remain focused on defense I believe everything else will take care of itself.

Come on Scottie. I'm a huge LeBron fan and even I know better

Take a listen to Scottie Pippen's thoughts on Michael Jordan and LeBron...


It's important to note that he was asked how good can LeBron be. I think Scottie made some good points but he didn't word his answer properly. He should have made it a point to say LeBron can be the best player ever.

Let's not get it twisted, LeBron is a beast. But let us also NOT forget that Jordan has 6 rings and LeBron has none ("Call me when LeBron has 6 championships...That's the only argument I need Sean!"). Jordan was a beast defensively and a shut-down defender. LeBron has been a shut-down defender lately, but he's been much more of a consistent team defender than a shut-down guy. Both guys are great scorers. MJ was much more prolific in his time than LeBron is now but LeBron could probably average 50 per game if he really wanted to. Which leads me to the real glaring difference between the two, which is that LeBron is just a naturally unselfish guy on the basketball court whereas Jordan was not naturally that way. LeBron likes to pass. Jordan liked to shoot. I think this is what Scottie was trying to key on when he said "everyone is a threat to score when LeBron is on the court". That's 100% true and could not be said of Jordan back in the day.

But with all that said, Scottie Pippen of all people has no place saying anyone is better than MJ because if there were no MJ, Scottie would not have 6 rings! I'm sure there's some axe Scottie's grinding that we may never know about but for him of all people to say that LeBron might be or is a better player than Michael Jordan is probably sacrilegious like Stephen A. Smith has been proclaiming. Scottie should wait a few more years to see if LeBron can get multiple rings before he starts this type of talk. Right now, it's all just conjecture because the rings are what matters, just ask Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, John Stockton, and Karl Malone. All guys who were amazing players but never won a championship simply because they played in an era where Jordan and his Bulls dominated. Once LeBron has a few rings and has kept the other great players of his era - that have solid teams and consistently make the playoffs - from getting rings, then Pippen might be clear for take-off with these type of comments. But until then....

The Knicks aren't very good (yet), but Boston isn't much better

Watching the first two games of the Boston vs. NY series has made me realize a few things...

Number 1: The Knicks are NOT playing smart, disciplined basketball when it really matters.

Game 1, Melo takes a three ball at the end of the game rather than trying to drive and drawing contact. Game 2, Jared Jeffries doofs a pass at the end of the game when he could have simply tried to actually shoot the ball. Not to mention with 4+ seconds left the Knicks let the Celtics inbound the ball and run the clock out (completely inexcusable at that point in the game).

Number 2: Mike D'Antoni teams play defense by happenstance.

Call it playing defense "when you want to" or playing defense by happenstance, either way the Knicks and D'Antoni's Suns teams were and are notorious for scoring and not playing much defense. How many times do commentators and other coaches have to say "defense wins championships" before we all realize that for the most part, it's completely true?! Melo and Stoudemire, the two stars on this team (well, one SUPERstar and one star), play defense when they want. Stoudemire's much more of a defensive force when he puts his mind to it. Melo well we all know he's there primarily to put the ball in the bucket. But imagine if he wanted to play defense at the level of a Kobe, Dwight (both are great individual defenders), and maybe even Dwayne Wade, or LeBron (two great team defenders).

Number 3: The Knicks have no real veteran leadership.

Boston's veteran leadership and will to win has shown at the end of each of these first two games. They should be down 0-2 right now having dropped two games on their home floor. If the Knicks had a couple veteran guys who are committed to keeping everyone on the same page in tough situations and executing well, I think they would have won the first two games. Melo cannot win by himself. I repeat, it's GREAT to watch and he's a beast on the offensive end but MELO CANNOT WIN BY HIMSELF! That was proven in Denver and it was proven again last night. He needs help from not only Amare but some veteran guys who aren't afraid to step up, speak up, and make sure everyone is giving their all in each phase of the game when it really counts. Maybe Chauncey can play this role or does play this role somewhat, but I feel like there's still someone missing (P.J. Brown, anyone?).

Number 4: The Celtics are not looking too good.

Maybe this series is gonna be their wake-up call but after watching them almost blow two games to a Knicks team that they shouldn't be having this much trouble with, I'm not so convinced that the Celtics are going to be as tough of an "out" this year for Miami or Chicago as I initially thought. Maybe they are underestimating the Knicks a bit or maybe they're just lethargic right now and will really get-up for the next round (if they make it). Either way, the Celtics are looking a little old to me and I'm not sure they'll be able to get it together, even with Shaq in the line-up. Especially when you consider the Knicks almost won last night without Chauncey and with Amare out for the majority of the game. If the Knicks actually were a team that executed well for a full 48 minutes, they would have won.

Number 5: Doc Rivers is a hell of a coach.

I think I knew this already, but I really came to appreciate just how good a coach he is after these last two games. Last night (as pointed out by the commentators) he fooled everyone by giving KG the chance to make the go-ahead bucket. I would have bet money that Pierce was gonna get that shot. This isn't the sole reason I think he's a good coach obviously, but it's an example of where I think his coaching ability stands-out (or either he just got lucky, ha). Doc just seems to know his team very well as far as strengths and weaknesses go and he also has the complete respect and command of his team. I don't see that from the Knicks (and a lot of other teams... Hey Spoelstra!) in the same way I see it from the Celtics. Those guys in green believe they always have a chance to win and they trust their coach to get them there. The Knicks seem to believe they have a chance to win if Melo & Amare can get it done moreso than they believe in their coach and what he's asking them to do.

Looks like I'm not the only one that had an answer for LeBron

1. LeBron James is my favorite player in the NBA. Yeah "The Decision" was a gbad look but I'm talking about on-the-court, not off (shot out to Kobe).
2. The Heat have gotten off to a very AVERAGE start at best. I'm not sure of their record, but I know they won't be challenging that 72-10 record the Bulls had back in the day.
3. I've already commented on what I think LeBron should do. Apparently, there are a couple virals floating around the InterWeb that also address what LeBron should do (see below)

Shot out to Clevelanders that are "still salt bout dat".


Shot out to whoever mashed up the Jumpman and LeBron ads together. This is a pretty good job.

Your eventual 2010-2011 NBA Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin

Watch the video and realize that Blake Griffin is an athletic freak. Also realize that since he didn't play a game last year this is technically his rookie year. AND realize that he is also eligible for the dunk contest because he's "technically" a rookie.

To be honest, I'm not sure how John Wall is doing (and I'm a Wizards fan). He could be putting up stellar numbers. But the one (or in this case 10) thing(s) John Wall cannot do is stuff like you just saw in that video. Fans care about freakish dunks more than stats - just ask Harold Minor. And Griffin's capable of putting up both.

They be like John, can you teach me how to dougie?

You know why...


And for those of you that have been under a rock someplace (or stuck in the 'burbs without access to "urban" radio), here's where he got it from...


Shot out to @jasonaaron for sending me this joint.

I know some people may take issue with John Wall doing the Dougie for his introduction but I don't really see anything wrong with it. He's having fun and although there is a sense of "Hey look at me!" to it, I think it's not his intention to draw attention to himself but just to have fun with it. If he was being disrespectful or anyone else for that matter, then I'd take issue. He's like 20 years old right? That song and dance is right in his demographic so this is probably what he does in practice every day (aside from his own "John Wall Dance"). As long as he's playing well and the team is getting some wins, I don't mind the dancing though I could see why some people might.