Meet Knickerbocker Strong

Thanks to Isiah Thomas, the #9 pick will be sent to Chicago for the #23 pick. Yes, Eddy Curry was effectively swapped for Mike Sweetney, but I'm allowed to brood. With the #23 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft (the deepest in years) the Knicks select.....

Ben Strong, Center, Guilford College (NC, Div.III)

Thanks Zeke.

Meet SuperSonic Durant

Letters: "The NBA is Just Plain Ugly"

Dear Mr. East & Mr. West ... below is a letter we got from some crazy dude. We now love him.
I gotta ask you....why the hell do you even like the NBA??? Man that is some boring ass garbage to watch.

What the hell is everyone talking about with LeBron? I heard Barkley or Kenny Smith say that the floor "parted like the red sea." Kenny whatshisface on Sportscenter said it was a clear path to the basket. The TNT guys went off for an hour about how Lebron has to take over, he's not a supestar, blah, blah, blah. Seems to me that this type of pressure that has been going on for years is the cause for the selfish, lifeless, boring, bullshit hoop that I see now.

NBA games in the regular season are complete bores. Playoff games are slightly better. These guys play when they're when the want to play. It's like a league of Randy Mosses.

I hate to be this guy but I just have to be this guy right now. Womens hoops is better than mens. And its way better than NBA. College hoops is another story.
THe NBA sucks. People have to sit there and defend the league. "Well Golden State vs Dallas was good." Let's face it, there are way more crap games than good games.

These experts are fucking idiots, it's this pressure for everyone to be the superstar, to "take over the game," to prove that they can make the big shot, etc, etc. What about playing sound basketball, what about fundamentals, what about the team?

The NBA is just plain ugly. I don't see how you can watch. The end of games is absolutely dreadful. Whistle after whistle, time outs, intentional fouls, free throws, rebound, time out. Then a play that looks like the coach said okay guys inbound the ball to someone, that guy dribble it up and then you know drive to the hoop, leeeeet's break. At least baseball is supposed to be 85% boring. NBA is supposed to be Fan-tastic.

I don't know much about hoop and the plays and that stuff but I know when something looks graceful, looks like it has a flow, looks pretty. NBA has a couple players that I feel like that with. One is Nash, the other is.....there has to be another one.

Lebron has looked like garbage, attacking triple teams all game and losing the ball. The he actually draws three defenders, kicks it out for the win to a WIDE OPEN teammate and he's criticized for it!!!! What a fucking joke.


I've whittled my sports viewership down to NFL, and MLB (which is just Sox and Yankees for me). I watch some UConn womens games in order to spend time with my 90 year old Grandma and I'm telling you, they play harder in a 40 point blowout then NBAers play in the final seconds of game 7. What a bunch of bums.

People leave the bench and everyone criticizes Stern? What the fuck do we have rules for? Do we only suspend players if they'll only miss a game that isn't supposed to be a "good game." Do people actually think that the commissioner should take the level of the importance of the next game into consideration? What the hell do you do the next time? Do these people understand what setting a precedent is?

Anyway, cool blog. I watched the final 3 minutes of the Pistons game with these guys last night and I felt like it took longer then the whole torturously horrible Red Sox game I had just watched. It was just brutal to watch.

The Northwest Strikes Back!! Boston goes to Hell!!

With Mr. West living in NYC and Mr. East in Japan, Portland and Seattle represent a sort of magical far-off portion of the United States that means little to us. Hey, no offense, Northwesterners but all that pops to mind is lumber, grunge, Bill Walton, Starbucks, Microsoft. And the mighty fucking SuperSonics!

Hello, Seattle. Or Oklahoma City.

The 2007 NBA Draft Lottery just took place. We tried to tell you people over a month ago (check the post): "So, according to East vs. West, somehow the Sonics will sneak in to grab a top #1 or #2 spot. God bless them. And Portland seems fucked." OK, so we blew the Portland prediction but we got the Sonics!

Boston, this jerkoff caused your Lottery tumble ... look at him!

And how can we not send a shot out to Beantown for dropping all the way down to #5? Sixers, Nets and Knicks fans thank you for being such wonderfully unlucky bastards over the past 20 years or so. Of course, all fans of other Atlantic Division root on such shitty teams no one really cares anymore. But we still love to see the Celtics get fucked again.

We'll do a full Draft prediction post later on.

Vince Carter: Life's Little Failures

Sheesh, looks like all those Vince-hating fans in Toronto were on to something. Vince Carter got his ass handed to him in the playoff series versus the Cavaliers. Sasha Pavlovic and Eric Snow kicked his ass. And now it looks like Vince's career may not be able to recover from his own glaring shortcomings that shone so bright.

The stats don't say all that much, other than showing Vince has a sub-par series: 11 points in games 5 and 6. 6-for-23 in game 4, ending in a miserable end-of-game scenario where he faltered and lost the ball. But it was his Game 6 disappearance act that confirmed what those north of the border have been saying for years: Vince Carter is a big-game zero ... a highlight machine but not a winner ... a drama queen who shirks responsibility.

And now Vinsanity looks to be relegated to YouTube clips of Frederic Weiss being leapt. Why?

Without a doubt, Carter totally tanked his play while in Toronto to force a trade. Such an act is a true to sign of cowardice, a bitch move of epic proportions. It wasn't as if the man pulled an Iverson and went light in practice or feigned illness to skip out on some random PR event for some sponsor. Carter played so terribly as to essentially throw games. And Toronto got screwed because of it. And the NBA let Vince get away with it, to the benefit of the Nets.

Perhaps Vince listened a little too much to Homer Simpson: "Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel."

But, more likely, Vince is just one of THOSE guys. Oh, you know, the types: they play up their injuries yet also keep playing in a poor attempt to get you to say "gee, man, your leg is almost broken but you keep playing ... wow, you are the toughest man I have ever met." Those types also get offended when lesser players try super-hard against them and make life difficult for them (Bruce Bowen may be a prick but Vince shrinks like a dick dipped in ice water when playing the Spurs). Those types also do nothing to elevate the play of others when the going gets tough.

The Nets coach Frank stupidly played into the hands of the classic NBA superstar ego playbook, with chapters written by the likes of Dominique Wilkins, Wilt Chamberlin and even Stephon Marbury getting a footnote here and there. Frank's offense was reduced to handing Vince Carter the ball and telling everyone to stand and watch. Good move, Frank, just what Dr. Nasimith ordered.

So to Vince Carter, I say grow some balls. OK, that might be harsh. Grow some hair on your balls.

Steve Kerr Calls It: Bullshit!

The suspensions handed down in the Suns-Spurs series got tons of coverage, about 75% of the opinion that the NBA's suspensions were poor. But only Steve Kerr, writing for Yahoo!, made a key point that shows a major flaw in the NBA's policies it has concerning leaving the bench.

"However, if the league decides to suspend Diaw and Stoudemire, it may have to suspend Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen as well. In a play that went entirely unnoticed until well after the game was over, both Duncan and Bowen actually left San Antonio's bench early in the second quarter after Francisco Elson and James Jones were entangled. Replays clearly show Duncan walking several steps onto the court as Elson and Jones appeared to be ready to get into it. Bowen then followed Duncan onto the floor, grabbed him and led him back to the bench. If the league does indeed follow the letter of the law, both Spurs players would also be suspended for Game 5."

Kerr brings up a key point: if the NBA follows the letter of the law, why aren't Duncan and Bowen suspended, too?

The NBA Shanks the Suns, Fondles the Spurs

Mr. East rages on!:The NBA is possibly the worst of all the professional sports leagues.

Why? Because they don't understand their product. The NBA has so little confidence in it's own sport that it has to make up artificial reasons to go to games. Halftime shows by B musical acts, juggling monkeys, and all the rest of the crap that makes up the circus side show of an NBA game. I'm not here to rant about all that though. I'm on a rant about the actual product.

The NBA suspended Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for leaving the bench during an altercation against the Spurs involving "Big Shit" Bob. What would you have done if the league refused to protect its reigning 2-time MVP from a bunch of no talent thugs? You'd bust someone's ass. That's what I'd do, and I think rightly so.

Hockey has too many stupid fights, but when a guy clubs another guy with a stick they brawl. That's a good thing. It prevents teams from sending goons out there to hurt someone. When a shit pitcher beans a cleanup batter, benches clear and guys get into it. Why? To protect their teammates from bullshit, dirty play. It's a built in mechanism to deter "hackery".

The only way any of these leagues can do something about dirty play is levy hefty suspensions for each incident. Bowen would have been out multiple times by now. Horry would be gone the rest of the postseason. By not having the balls to step in and stop the violence, the league gives San Antonio a license to keep playing that way. By suspending the Suns guys for leaving the bench to dole out some much needed justice, they leave it open for Bowen and his crew of thugs to goad more Phoenix players into retaliation. If that happens, Phoenix loses. Simple.

What kind of effect does this have on the series? It's huge. The Spurs have gotten away with virtually every dirty tactic in the game and then the Suns get punished. It almost guarantees the San Antonio boys will advance to the Conference Finals, while the best thing that has happened to the league since "Showtime" met Bird and Company goes home.

The Spurs are awful to watch. They are cheap and grind the entire sport to an unenjoyable halt.

Bruce Bowen knees Nash in the groin and we get to see more Spurs basketball.

Robert Horry throws a clothesline, and the Spurs wear the crown.

If you ask me, cracking down on the Spurs' dirty play and suspending Bowen and Horry would be a good start. If there's another incident, suspending Coach Jackass would be a great move. It won't happen because the NBA has no balls. They are a gutless bunch of bureaucrats who can't assure that the most entertaining brand of basketball is played every night. If they strapped on a pair, maybe the rest of the league would look more like the Suns.

If I were the Suns, and the waning seconds of my season were upon me with the knowledge that it was over, I'd go seek out Horry and Bowen and kneecap them. I'd undercut them a la Charlie Ward and P.J. Brown. Maybe I'd jab Duncan in the eye with a thumb or pull Ginobili down by his shoulders as he drove to the basket. Why not? The season is over and the Spurs got to advance via dirty play. May as well take out a few frustrations on them the way they've manhandled you. The league isn't going to put an end to it, so maybe the Suns can exact some serious street justice and make the Spurs understand that one dirty play is cause for another. A season ending eye-gouge to Duncan would make Bowen and company think twice before they did anything dirty again. By the way, yes, I am suggesting that inflicting an intentional injury to a star player is a good idea. Not just a bruised knee either. I'm talking about something that is going to hurt for weeks and will seriously affect the ability of that player to play his game at the level he is accustomed to playing. Nothing permanent or career threatening, but something to send a real message to the Spurs. Hockey mentality basketball.

Only something that insane and drastic will make the NBA change its ways.....Only, the Suns have too much class and professionalism to do something like that, right? Too bad.

Mr. West Piles On!:
I understand the letter of the law and I understand the spirit of the law. And the suspensions of the Suns players and the subsequent fallout debate centers around "letter vs. spirit." Fine, clear enough. Or, in this case, unclear enough.

But the NBA is exhibiting classic chickenshit authority. I'd argue they actually got away from being so anal after the Pistons-Pacers brawl by basically saying "we don't give a shit what precedent we set before or what the Union says or anything else-- we're handing down punishment for what we think happened." And I thought they did a good job in that case. Why they are sticking their heads in the sand now is stupid because this is a crucial series, one which most hardcore fans realize is truly the NBA Finals as these are the best teams left playing.

The NBA allowed Bruce Bowen to get away with two cheapshots (the Amare achilles squash and the Nash knee-to-the-groin) but now can't go back in time to suspend him. In theory.

As Mr. East wisely put it to the Suns, a la Sean Connery as his character was dying in "The Untouchables", now what are you prepared to do? Athletes and sports teams are so un-political these days, they have no idea of the power they weild and influence they have. If the Sun sit back and take this, they are stupid. And I'm not suggesting violent tactics, I mean somethign yet smart. Here are some ideas I have for the Suns:
1. Stage a sit-in, on the court, before tip-off. Protest the suspensions. That will generate some good attention. Agree to play only if Bruce Bowen is suspended for a game. You think the NBA will call a forfeit? No way!
2. Put in a total scub and have him pick a verbal fight with Popovich and players everytime down the court near the Spurs bench. Then attack a small Spur, like Tony Parker, right in front of the bench, thereby drawing Spurs right in front of the action to leave their bench.
3. During the game, have anyone being guarded by Bowen literally run into him while dribbling. Force the refs to call "block" or "charge" every single time donw the court. They will foul Bowen out, guaranteed.

To the Suns, I say you have been fucked by the NBA and the Spurs. Let's see what you've got!

Bowen: A Total Dick or Just Misunderstood?

Bruce Bowen's antics have become a headline these playoffs as a knee to Steve Nash's groin and a foot on Amare's heel caught some attention. In typical fashion, the media and even players alike have been very wary of even taking on stand on the matter:

Is Bowen a dirty player or not?

Mr. West says:
Damn fucking straight he is a dirty player. A total dick. I'll call him out.

Like a European soccer thug, he has mastered the art of acting innocent while hurting players. To the fastass on the couch and to the refs who need crystal clear proof, Bowen's moves are pure accident. To anyone who balls a lot and has played in some very testy streetball games, Bowen's tactics (not moves!) are plain as day.

Look at the clips:


Bowen's favorite move is a variation of the Euro defensive hoops move whereby players feign an undercutting move as the opponent shoots, which throws the shooter off. No one does this in US play, it's very Euro, a tactic developed by slower guys who could not compete with leaping ability and instead positioned themselves underneath shooters. But Bowen had gone a step further by sticking his foot out on purpose after the shooter leaves the floor to elevate. The foot is planted underneath the shooter so the shooter therefore either lands on it and lands to avoid it, throwing off the rhythm. Bowen is even so cagey as to turn his head away from the shooter, following the flight of the ball, as he sticks his foot out. This gives the illusion it is a natural move simpy because he is not looking at where he plants his sneaky foot. Please, people. No one does this unless they mean to do it.

The Bowen Ankle Breaker has been used on other top 2's notably Ray Allen, Kobe, Rip Hamilton and Vince Carter, plus a couple of Knicks as of late.

Ray-Ray going after Bowen kicked his back while both were on the ground.

His other moves are typical cheap shots- usually involving his feet and even his head. Like I said, very Euro. Watch the Vince Carter clip all the way through. The Bowen Ankle Breaker on the shot is clear. But wait until they show you the clip of Vince Carter "headbutting" Boewen earlier. Watch what Bowen does beforehand-- yes, he slips his head into Vince's to instigate it.

In the 2007 Playoffs, his attempt to step on Amare's achilles heel is no joke. Watch the extension to plant his foot on Amae's backside during take-off. Dirty shit. Bowen, you are a dirty dick.

Now, does playing dirty make it "wrong"? I'd argue yes. I am not one of those types who thinks Bowen's play is OK just because he helps his team win. Do others play dirty? Sure. But no one getting serious playing time plays with the malicious intent of Bruce Bowen, and that is the difference.

I just wonder why the media is so slow to admit to what they see and why other NBA players downplay it as well (except for his victims, who want to kill the guy).

Mr. East says:

There have always been rough and borderline dirty players in the NBA. The Pistons of the late 80s were one of the dirtiest teams around. Rodman was the leader of the Bad Boys, and regularly clipped, tripped, and tried to injure Scottie Pippen. It worked and the Bulls took a long time to figure out how to beat them. In the meantime, the Pistons won a couple of titles at their expense. Zeke was dirty. Mahorn was dirty. They won.

The Knicks of the 1990s were among the successors to the Pistons hackish style of play with Pat Riley goading Anthony Mason and Charles Oakley to be rough on opposing bigs. Starks was a tough defender but he flopped and chopped his way into the hearts of Knicks fans by abusing Jordan and company as well. The Spurs are the inheritors of that legacy in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Bowen is a good defender, but one of the most aggregious hacks in recent memory. He's just plain dirty in a far more dangerous way than the others I've mentioned so far. Rodman was occasionally dangerous with his below the knees stuff on Pippen and company, but he was also an All World defender without the dirty play. Bowen is nowhere near the defender that Rodman was, but every bit as dirty. One of the main reasons I hate the Spurs with every last breath is that they ugly up the game.

It's a little hypocritical for me, as a Knicks fan, to call out a club for uglying up basketball games, but it's true. People hated the Knicks because the won dirty. The Spurs are the same. Duncan is great. Giniboli is occasionally great. Parker is a good point guard, if not great. Everyone else is a role player.

The main claim to greatness for the club is their tough defense, but it's led by a shady character that wouldn't even be a professional player if not for his defensive reputation. Much of that reputation comes thanks to his ankle breaking, groin-kneeing techniques that are designed to worry athletes about their health and career viability on every play. That's bullshit.

Dirk is Dead, Long Live Baron!

Since supposed experts of the NBA and sport NEVER look back after they publish something, we at East vs. West always are forthcoming about how our picks panned out. That said, Round #1 of the 2007 Playoffs are finished ... how'd we do?

Dirk looking better here than trying to take any Warrior off the dribble

Pistons Sweep Magic (East: Pistons over Magic in 5. West: Sweep)
Neither of us gave the Magic much of a chance, but Mr. West gets kudos for being aggressive with the "sweep" prediction. I thought that Howard and company might play well enough to make a little dent in the awe-inspiring Pistons, but it wasn't to be. You have to think that the Magic will need some serious changes in the offseason to have a real chance at the Finals while Howard is young.

Cavs Sweep Wizards (East: Cavs over Wizards in 4. West: Sweep)
This one was too easy. No Arenas and no Butler meant no chance. Simple. The NBA is too tough to predict anything but a sweep when 2 of the 3 star players on a roster are injured. This is not the NCAA Tournament or the Lake Placid Olympics and we don't believe in miracles.

Nets beat Raptors in 6 (East: Nets over Raptors in 6. West: Nets over Raptors in
6)
We both pegged this one, too. 6 games seemed about right. The Nets are good, but they are thin up front. In the playoffs you can't pick a team with such little frontcourt talent to dominate, regardless of how good the backcourt is. The Raptors were too green. The only exception I can think of to that rule is the Jordan Bulls, who used MJ in the post during the best years.


There it is, Fat-Ass. That is the exit. Please, take it.

Bulls sweep Heat (East: Bulls over Heat in 6. West: Bulls over Heat in 7)
We both made the pick, so give up credit. We also thought it would be a little competitive, which it wasn't. I suspected that the Heat would lose because Wade and Shaq didn't have enough time on the floor together this season to mesh. They were also less than healthy. Both of those factors meant that the team would have to rely on Antoine Walker, James Poser, Jason Williams and the rest of the has-been cast. Expect big changes in Miami this summer.

GS over Dallas in 6 (East: Golden State over Dallas in 7. West: Dallas over
GS in 6)
The feather in Mr. East's cap, picking the fucking Warriors to win. He saw this one coming a mile away. Dirk is a great player and he probably deserves the MVP. Butt it also shows that the regular season doesnlt mean too much. He needs to look at himself in the mirror for the loss in this series, but let's all be honest: Baron Davis is MUCH better than Jason Terry. Jason Richardson is MUCH better than Stackhouse or Harris. The GS supporting cast of Barnes, Harrington, Ellis, Biedrens and Jackson is MUCH better than Diop, George, Croshere, Dampier, Kevin Willis, and Ronaldo Blackmon. The Warriors finished the year hot and healthy. That's the only reason they weren't a 5 or 6 seed, instead of an 8.

Suns beat Lakers in 5 (East: Suns over Lakers in 6. West: Suns beat Lakers
in 6)
We both picked this one as well. The Lakers put up a bit less of a fight than either of us thought, but is the outcome at all surprising? Kobe is bizarrely gifted, but everyone else is crap. He should have gone to the Clippers when he had the chance. Speaking of which, the Clippers kinda sucked this year, huh?

Spurs over Nuggs in 5 (East: Nuggets over Spurs in 6. West: SA over DEN in
6)
Where Mr. East hit on Golden State, he blew it on the Nuggets. Iverson is by far the best player on that team, but he deferred to Carmelo a bit too much. And Mr. West thinks the Iverson-Denver dream will now end. The Spurs' defense pisses off its opponents, and it pisses off anyone who cares about entertaining quality basketball. We hate watching Bruce Bowen. They'll probably win it all. Dicks.


Oh my god! McGrady lost in Round 1 again? I'm SOOOOO shocked.

Jazz over Rockets in 7 (East: Rockets over Jazz in 4. West: Rockets over
Utah in 7)
Ooph. At least West picked this series' games correct. One thing Mr. East kept thinking to himself was, "Van Gundy's got T-Mac and Yao. He's got the 3-point shooters to spread the defense, and he's got the role players to do the dirty work in Battier and company. How can he lose?" He lost because he doesn't understand how to let players blossom. He tries to control everything so tightly that his teams habitually play to the level of whatever opponent is in front of them. The Jazz are a good team, but the best two players in the series were on Houston. As soon as the series went to 7, we knew the Jazz could win since the Rockets are so mentally weak. We also suspect that Van Gundy would be out. Good riddance.

Yo, Vegas! Mr. East picks them ALL right!

OK, so all of the first games of the NBA playoffs happened. And Mr. East corectly picked every single one of them. So I'm flying him over from Japan to hit Vegas, mortgaging my house, selling my Simpsons goodies, and putting it all on whoever he picks next. "oh, big fucking deal!" I can hear you saying. "Anyone can pick the Pistons, Suns, Cavs and maybe the Nets to win in an upset!" Yeah, well, he also picked the Nuggets, Bulls, Rockets and the amazing Warriors.

Granted, it was only game #1. If his picks hold up, everyone better kiss his ass.

2007 Playoffs Picks! Bulls, Warriors, Crack, Freebasers!

Stephen Jackson- Hero to Some, Dapper to Others

The 2007 NBA Playoffs are in effect! We gaze into our crsytal ball and see ... nothing. We don;t own a crystal ball. We own a Spalding "never flat" which is, duh, flat. The pix:

Mr. West's picks...

Pistons over Magic in 4. Detroit has it all and the shallow Magic aren't in any position to expose the weaknesses. Dwight Howard might get in some highlights but this series looks done before it started. Maybe Detroit gets lazy for a game but that's it.

Cleveland over Washington in 4. LeBron gets the best break of his career so far when Agent Zero and Caron Butler miss this series. Coulda been a good revenge series from last year. Much as I don't trust Larry Hughes, Eric Snow and Sideshow Verajeo, no group led by Jarvis Hayes and Antonio Daniels is gonna pounce.

Nets over Raptors in 6. The NBA playoffs do not reward teams who have underperformed all season. Nets are pretty much the only underperfomers of this season who can turn it on and thrive bu only because they facee Toronto. The Nets Big 3 are overrated but no one on Toronto can even spell "playoffs."

Chicago over Miami in 7. Many predict the Heat to fall this year. I say it starts early. The Bulls earned some respect last year in the playoffs and their tough, balanced approach is more than an older Shaq and damaged Wade can handle. You think old bastards like Payton, Posey and 'Toine are gonna make the difference in a seven games series? Uh, no.

Dallas over Golden State in 6. Why can the Warriors cause the Mavs some stress? They are a bunch of crazy fuckers who don't even know any better from the top on down. I'm gonna rely on Dirk and Jason Terry before I rely on Stephen Jackson and Jason Richardson & Co. I could see some great, fun games developing, though.

San Antonio over Denver in 6. The Spurs are back in form as the dark, evil empire. The Nuggets have recently gotten Iverson in the mix properly but is it enough to take the Spurs? Bad bet. If Nene and Camby deliver solid D and a little O, watcch out. Spurs have a habit of losing early round playoff games.

Houston over Utah in 7. T-Mac is overrated and a slacker. What's worse for the Rockets is that they are thin and Utah will match their desire to make each possession count. I see Utah trying to beat up McGrady and Yao- and failing. AK-47 regressed this year, so expect McGrady to go off and earn some respect.

Phoenix over Lakers in 6. Kobe can do what he wants but it won't be enough. Nash will do his thing, and the star of the game will rotate each game from Amare to Marion to Bell as they get hold and cold. But the constant of Nash will not relent in this series.

Round 2 will go as follows:
Cleveland over Nets in 7.
Detroit over Chicago in 6.
San Antonio over Dallas in 7.
Phoenix over Houston in 6.

Conference Finals:
Detroit over Cleveland in 6.
San Antonio over Phoenix in 6.

Finals:
San Antonio over Detroit in 6.

Mr. East pix ...

Pistons over Magic in 5. This could be a surprise in the making. Dwight Howard might be the best
player in the series, but he won't quite be enough. The Magic have a puncher's chance against the might Pistons, but Chauncey Billups is too much for anyone trying to defend him.

Cavs over Wizards in 4. The Wizards have no chance, right? No Arenas. No Butler. It's over. I agree. I would have picked the Bullets if Mr. Hibachi was around, but he isn't.

Nets ovr Raptors in 6. The Raptors had a nice little season. They won their first (watered-down) division title and found a nice mix of players to help them compete for years to come. The Nets are a better team. Watch. Yes, Chris Bosh is great. Anthony Parker has translated his EuroLeague success to the NBA. Bargnani is good. You still have to figure out how to stop Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson. In the end, I think the Nets will win this one, despite a very strong showing by Bosh. T.J. Ford is NOT the man.

Bulls over Heat in 6. The Heat are the defending champs. They have Shaq and Wade. Well, they have a 90 year old Shaq, and a one armed Wade. You can tell me that Eddie Jones, Antoine Walker, Jason Kapono, Alonzo Mourning, Jason Williams, Udonis
Haslem, and James Posey are enough to make up for the crippled stars. No way.

Golden State over Dallas in 7. This will be a fun series. I actually give the Warriors a puncher's chance in this one too. Baron Davis, Jason Richardson, Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, Anthony Biedrins. Sounds good to me. I know the Mavs are great, and I know that Nowitzki should be the MVP, but I just don't know. I like the Warriors post-All Star break edition and they are very hot. I'm going upset.

Suns over Lakers in 6. Kobe is a machine. Cyborg. Terminator. Odom is very good. That's about it. It's a testament to Kobe's greatness that they are even in the playoffs. Not for long. Kobe will win two games by himself.

Nuggets over Spurs in 6. Marcus Camby gave Tim Duncan fits in the 1999 Finals. He will do it again here. I hate the Spurs. They are just horribly uninteresting and while they play basketball very very well, I don't think they will be able to stop
Allen Iverson. Iverson fit in very well with the Nuggets other players, but this is killing time or it's dying time and he's an assasin. I'm going with The Answer.

Rockets over Jazz in 4. I don't like the Rockets to go far in these playoffs, if only because I think T-Mac is made of paper mache. They will easily handle Utah though. Utah is undersized to play against Houston and while they will use their quickness to counter Yao, he will eat them alive in the end. Utah has zero chance.

Round 2 will go as follows:
Nets over Cleveland in 6.
Detroit over Chicago in 6.
Nuggets over Golden State in 5.
Phoenix over Houston in 4.

Conference Finals:
Detroit over Nets in 5.
Suns over Nuggets in 7.

Finals:
Suns over Detroit in 6.

Mr. West on ... the Sun is Shining

As Mr. East has noted below, the NBA season has ended. Which means the Lottery teams are set. Using a couple of the NBA ping-pong ball simulators, here is a combined tally of the 40 scenarios we ran (Mr. East's 20 are also listed below in his posting).

Out of the 40 scenarios we ran, this is who got #1:
- Celtics (13 times)
- Sonics (10 times)
- Milwaukee (6 times)
- Memphis (6 times)
- Atlanta (2 times)
- Chicago (1 time)
- LA Clippers (1 time)
- Charlotte (1 time)

So, according to East vs. West, somehow the Sonics will sneak in to grab a top #1 or #2 spot. God bless them. And Portland seems fucked.

We'll do a full draft analysis later.

Now, concerning Phoenix. They own Atlanta's pick if it falls between #4-#6. According to our scenarios, there is a 40% chance it will happen. But it sure would be fun if it did.

Sun is Shining

The NBA Draft Lottery is still a ways away, but I started thinking of something interesting. The top pick is a matter that everyone interested in the NBA will be focused on in the coming weeks, but that's not the intriguing thing to me. I charted some possibilities for that pick using the ESPN.com Mock Lottery generator, as well as the Real GM version. The top pick was, of course, something I kept track of as I clicked refresh, but I wanted to see how likely it is that the Suns will grab the Hawks pick in the top tier of the lottery. A lot of crappy teams will be praying night and day that they fall 1 or 2 in this draft, but with a deep crop of incoming players a team like the Suns stands to really cash in. Let's look at what I found.

I clicked the ESPN and Real GM lotteries 10 times each. Of the 20 clicks, I got the following results:

The Top Pick

6/20 Seattle Supersonics
5/20 Boston Celtics
3/20 Memphis Grizzlies
3/20 Milwaukee Bucks
2/20 Atlanta Hawks
1/20 Los Angeles Clippers

The Suns

9/20 Picks 4-6
11/20 No Pick

It would seem that the Sonics and Celtics are going to be excited about either Oden or Durant come draft day, but a few sneaky surprises always make this thing interesting. The point of this was the Suns, so I find it interesting that my very small sample size has given the Phoenix boys a 45% chance of scoring a pick between 4 and 6. If I clicked a billion times, the results may vary a bit, but generally speaking you have to like their chances. ESPN gives users the benefit of a pick prediction with their lottery, while Real GM is more no frills. ESPN predicts in each of the instances where the Suns get Atlanta's pick that they will use it on Brandan Wright, freshman power forward from UNC.

Wright is a 6'10", 210 pound force that reminds many people of Chris Bosh. That hardly seems fair, does it? Phoenix adding Chris Bosh to the cast of characters they already play is potentially insane. Nash, Bell, Marion, Wright, and Stoudemire with a bench featuring Diaw and Barbosa! You know I'm going to be there cheering on the Suns on Draft Lottery day. I could care less about anything else as a Knicks fan....except maybe the Bulls pick from the Eddy Curry trade coming near the end of the dealings.

Go to Hell Ping Pong Balls

I'm not really a big Bill Simmons fan. Usually, I think his ESPN column is more geared for the fan who likes juggling monkeys during time outs, and Justin Timberlake at the Super Bowl. You know, he's the cotton candy of sports journalism. His column is full of pop culture references like the ones I used above, and the actual sports analysis is generally a bit on the thin side. Not too much to gloss over the eyes of the less inquisitive fan. He's not altogether bad, as long as you know what you're getting yourself into when you make that decision to read his work. The latest piece had a few interesting points that I wanted to highlight here.

To provide you with a little background on the piece, in case you don't want to read the whole thing on your own, he says that the NBA is suffering because teams are now inclined to tank the season to get a top pick. He tells us that the lottery was originally designed to prevent "tanking" and preserve the integrity of all the games late in the season, even involving teams long since eliminated from the playoffs. Simmons suggests that the return of this "tanking" mentality came when the Magic won back to back lotteries, snagging Shaq and Penny in successive offseasons. The league weighted the lottery, foolishly returning the incentive to "tank" to the game.

Here we are in 2007 with the big stars at home with their feet up, fantasy GMs left scratching their heads during championship week with their best players missing a boatload of games to "injuries", and fans paying premium ticket prices to watch D-League performers trip over themselves on a nightly basis. (Yes, I'm talking to you Boston.) Kevin Garnett is home again this season, and has never had a real chance at anything thanks to the excellence in mediocrity that Kevin McHale has achieved in Minny. That in and of itself is one of the biggest crimes against the sport in its long history.

Now that you know what this is all about, here are two of Simmons' three suggestions:

1. Contract the league to 27 teams and dump Memphis, Charlotte and Atlanta, three cities that can't support NBA basketball and never could. Then we'll have a league-wide lottery to determine positioning for the dispersal draft of players from those three teams. (Note: We've already sedated Chad Ford just in case this happens.) And if a contender like Chicago happens to end up with Pau Gasol ... I think we'll manage.

Mr. West and I have been talking about a piece along these lines since before the season even tipped. Unfortunately, we (I) never got around to putting it together, but we'll do something on this soon. I want to contract all the major sports leagues, the NBA being most desperately in need of the move. More soon.....

2. Change the lottery back to that of the late '80s: one envelope per team, same odds for everybody, top three draft spots only. Boom! We've solved the tanking problem. If a half-decent team happens to land a franchise player, like the Wolves getting Oden and pairing him with KG ... I think we'll manage.

I like this idea a lot. Half of the contraction philosophy that I subscribe to is the notion that we need more star players paired with other star players. It's much better for the league to achieve parity via a more competitive field of teams. Diluting the field with so many franchises only guarantees that you get parity via mediocrity. Fewer teams, with more combinations of star players, achieves parity via quality. It's the classic example of quality over quantity, I suppose. It's not a problem to see Orlando win back-to-back lotteries, in my opinion (and Simmons' as well). Great. Congratulations. Shaq and Penny get to play together and one of your floundering teams is rescued. They are now likely to avoid the lottery altogether for a generation, and you can hope that another of your hard luck franchises can win 2 or even 3 times in a row.

In a perfect world, the worst team, which needs the most help, should have a greater chance at the top pick. That's how welfare works. Screw welfare. The object of the NBA is to put the most exciting product on the court, and if that means occasionally seeing one of the good teams become great, even while the bad teams still struggle a bit, so be it. It's just as likely that the worst team in the league will win the lottery two or three times in a row, as it is the team that is on the bubble. I'd love to see New Orleans, for example, get the top pick this year and add Greg Oden or Kevin Durant to a roster already rich with Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler, David West, and the player formerly known as Peja Stojakovic. That would mean a lot of big men, but it would also free the team to trade David West for a swingman or two guard of some quality.

I'd love to see the Sixers win the lottery in back to back years and score Oden and O.J. Mayo to go along with Iguodala, Dalembert, Andre Miller, and company. Just an example, but I think you see where I'm going with this. It would be good for the NBA to put one envelope per team in a hat and forgo the weighted lottery altogether. It's more exciting for the fans, and it's better for the sport. So, give those ping pong balls to Shawn Kemp and start a Beer Pong D-League.

Kobe is a Racist

There has been some, not much though, talk of Kobe's recent rash of elbows being categorized under the topic "Kobe hates white people." I'll go a step further. Kobe Bryant is a racist. And this is not some catchy title or intro. It is a fact.

Racism is defined as: "1)The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others; 2) Discrimination or prejudice based on race." In today's modern society and mixture of clashes there is a theory that racism can only exist if used by those with power for those without power cannot impact significantly as they lack power. Fine, we'll even accept that theory.

Kobe has been attacking whites on the basketball court. He has demonstrated, repeatedly, a dislike of whites to the point where he has taken cheap shots and committed violent acts on his white opponents. And only white opponents. He has been discriminating in his attacks, undoubtedly I would submit.

Let's start out with the facts:
A. There are only 89 white players in the NBA, who make up 19.7% of the total 450 players in the league.
B. Mathematically, if you randomly hit a player in the NBA, the chances of it being a white player four times in a row would be 1-in-40 or exactly 2.5%.
C. Kobe victim #1 was Mike Miller of the Grizzlies
D. Victim #2 was Manu Ginobili of the Spurs
E. Victim #3 was Marko Jaric of the Timberwolves [see Ginobili above link]
F. Victim #4 was Kyle Korver of the Sixers
G. Kobe was accused of rape in 2003 of a 19 year-old white woman in Colorado.
H. Kobe admits in his police statement he wanted to cum in the woman's face.
I. Kobe was booed by Philadelphia fans during the 2002 All-Star game as a sign of displeasure of Kobe claiming to be a Philly native when in fact he is from a wealthy suburb.
J. Kobe grew up in a self-described upper middle class environment in Europe and the U.S. surrounded predominantly by whites.

If you do not think his wild elbows on the court are intentional then you do not know basketball or you are lying to yourself. Kobe has violently hit white opponents over and over. Does this make him a racist? Yes. But why is Kobe acting like this now? It seems to be a basic case of a volano starting to erupt. Of course in typical Kobe fashion, he erupts in calculated, veiled actcs and then pretends he is innocent. He is what used to be called a classic chickenshit racist.

Kobe Bryant is lashing out at whites to compensate for his own insecurities of being black. Or not being black enough. He is perceived, rightfully so, by both black and white fans as not being like other blacks in the NBA. Philly fans, including a very vocal black contingent, disapproved of Kobe trying to claim he was a Philly native-- his attemps to fake urban credibility were rebuffed loudly. His teammates viewed him as a spoiled know-it-all mommy's boy who could not socialize with them whatsoever. He got entangled in a very nasty and public rape case where it became worldwide knowledge he, putting it kindest, had some form of sex with a 19-year old white woman who within 12 hours of the incident filed rape charges against him.

Simply put, Kobe was too white for his own liking after being too white for the liking of so many others. So, to earn credibility with black players and fans and to exact measures of revenge, he has been going after white players in violent acts. He would not dare do so to a black player, of course. That is because he would be scared to do so and wants to be one with them in at least one way. Does Kobe sit at home thinking about killing white people or dislike white people he encounters in his everyday life? Doubtful. But if he only targets whites in this rash of violent acts on the court then that is enough for me to believe the man has problems, serious problems.

-Mr. West

Mr. East Thoughts

Well, well, well. Mr. West is certainly stepping in it with this post. Interesting. I can't say I have a feeling one way or the other about whether he's right or way off on this point. The elbowing issue paints the most compelling picture for me. The rape issue may or may not be tied up in some psycho-sexual issues that Kobe has regarding power and race. I'm not qualified to say one way or the other, although it's a nice theory. Here's my take on Kobe:

Kobe Bryant has zero "street credibility". Why is that important? It's important because the modern NBA locker room is a microcosm of urban America. The NBA locker room is the place you are most likely to find an entourage. It's the place you are most likely to hear hip hop. It's the place you are most likely to get straight down home Evangelical African-American Christianity. Certainly the NFL features this kind of environment as well, but there's a broader range of personalities that inhabit that world. You get the Alice Cooper types, and the corn fed country music kids. The NBA is straight up street. Street, Kobe is not.

There's nothing to be ashamed of as Kobe Bryant. You are a fairly good looking guy. Educated, despite not going to college, and worldly, having grown up in Italy. He clearly needs that credibility though. He needs to fit in. Sports can be a very collective society, and Kobe is not only an outsider in terms of his personal background, but also an individualist in terms of his game. The acceptance comes from shared cultural experience and shared team goals. It's hard for Bryant to convince anyone that he's in fact sharing those things with his teammates.

That much, I'm fairly sure of. The racial component is a tricky call. The urban cultural component is an easy read for me. Racial distinction has as much to do with individual perceptions of the world around you and your own self-image. Knowing that, it's entirely possible that Kobe perceives himself as something(culturally "Black"), but is not perceived by others that way. The disconnect may cause him some psychological trauma that manifests itself in "lashing out" episodes as inane as the elbows, or as serious as the rape allegations. I'm only an amateur psychologist, so I don't know any of it for sure. Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.

-Mr. East

EVW2K7

I updated this blog to "New Blogger", which has some cool features, but sucks for layout. It's easier for everyday schlubs like Mr. West to tap into, but leaves a lot to be desired from a design standpoint. Whatever. This blog is not about design. It's about in your face hoops commentary, or something like that.

Thinking of a few topics to run here in the near future. Gotta get with Mr. West to sort them out, but I think it would be good to do:

1. Fantasy hoops year in review
2. NBA Playoff preview
3. Some other shit

Come back soon, and there will be some other shit to read.
Mr. East

Final Four is set, so where's my money?

Mr. West, unlike Mr. East currently living in Japan, has been following college hoops this year. And, like all of you, I filled out more than one NCAA bracket. In all of them, I have at least 3 of the final 4 teams. And in the big money pool, I got the entire Elite 8 correct plus the entire Final Four. A bragging genius? Well, yes, but that's not the point.

This year is perhaps the rarest of years when it comes to top seeds winning. Through the Sweet 16, the only #1 or #2 seed to lose was Wisconsion, with top seeds going 22-1 or so up until that point. Wow. So chances are you, me and my mom all have Florida, Ohio State and maybe UNC or G'Town in our brackets, and UCLA is not so uncommon.

So the question I have is this: does Las Vegas have bracket pools or is it simpl game-by-game betting? Someone who gambles please let us know so we can fool ourselves we would have won money. Thanks in advance!

C-Webb is Back

I don't give a shit what anyone says, Chris Webber can still play this game. Everyone loves to hate C-Webb.....just about as much as they love to hate Allen I. In that way they were perfect together in Philly. I love Chris Webber. I'm about the biggest University of Michigan fan there is, and I was a university student during the Fab Five era. I'll go to my grave loving that group of players and their cocky, arrogant, flashy, illegal booster money taking game. I don't care if they took money. I don't care if they were too arrogant. I don't care about any of it.

You should call me out as a hypocrite because I also tend to believe that honesty and righteousness are virtues we should all adhere to. Yes, I'm a hypocrite and I don't care.

Chris Webber is one of the best power forwards to play the game. He is bright, strong, and has the kind of court vision that only point guards usually possess. His hands are like giant mitts and you can throw him just about any kind of pass and he'll catch it. He's slow now. He isn't explosive for the most part. He isn't going to do the kind of 360 he threw down in the rookie/sophmore challenge all those years ago. He can still ball better than most. There are too many people out there that want to shit on Webber for his time out in the NCAAs against Carolina, and his marijuana run-ins at Washington, or his feud with Nellie about playing center, and on and on....

I don't give a shit about any of it. It means nothing. It just puts a chip on the shoulder of a lot of holier-than-thou people who want to shovel dirt on his grave and write him off as a scrub. To those people I say, "Fuck you." Take for example Marty Burns of CNNSI.com. He writes a piece which mentions how poor Webber is on defense about 300 times and he goes out of his way to distort quotes attributed to coaches and players that seem to mock Webber. He uses disconnected statements about Popovich's tenure as a Don Nelson assistant during the rough days of the mid-90s to indirectly associate his intended Webber bashing to Pop. That's hack journalism at its worst.

Here's my take. Webber had 38 double-doubles in 2005-06. He had 7 games of 30+ points scored and two 20+ rebound games. He had 3 or more steals 10 times last year, and as recently as April 2nd, 2006 against the Knicks had 7 in one game. Yeah, his shooting percentage has been bad in recent years. He can't attack the rim as he once did. Yeah, his man may beat him off the dribble and guys may abuse him on the pick and roll sometimes, but it's supremely unfair to ridicule and write-off a guy that is still quite capable of winning games on his own. Take this for example:

On December 23rd of THIS YEAR, Webber put up 18 points on 9 of 13 shooting, 9 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks in a lopsided victory over the Knicks. Okay, it's the Knicks. That's the Eastern Conference though. There are a lot of shit ballclubs like the Knicks out there that Webber can and will dominate. Need a tougher opponent? In a 2 point loss to the Orlando Magic on December 9th of THIS YEAR, Webber put up 19 points on 8 of 15 shooting, 11 boards, 8 assists, a steal, and 2 blocks. How can he not succeed on the Pistons? If he can still produce those kind of games with the defense keyed on stopping him and Allen I, how will he not have some big games when surrounded by Billups, Rip, Prince, and Sheed? If for nothing other than passing, the Pistons will be a better club.

Last thing on this, Burns and others like him want to stick it to C-Webb and call him washed up. They mock the Pistons' acquisition and point to some odd notion that he's replacing Ben Wallace. No. He's replacing Nazr Mohammed and/or Antonio McDyess. How many double-doubles does Nazr have in 2006-07? Two (out of 36 games played). McDyess? Two (out of 36 games played). Webber? Six (out of 18 games played). Nothing against Mohammed or McDyess, but Nazr has never sniffed Webber's talent in his life, and McDyess is even less athletic than Webber post-microfracture surgery. To all the Webber haters out there, get ready. He's not done. He may be less than what he was, but he's still good enough to beat your sorry ass.

The Iverson Crystal Ball

So, Mr. East ... what us nerdy blog fans want to know is this: will Iverson make the Nuggets a better team? Will they win more games because of him? Will they go further in the playoffs?

So far, the Nuggets stand at 16-13 and are 2-4 with him on the team including an embarrassing home loss to the 76ers (yes, Seventy Sixers!). Granted, Melo and JR Smith are still suspended but that record sucks.

The Iverson Crystal Ball, Mr. West Version:

A) What will the Nuggets record be with AI in the line-up now? 32-27.
B) Will the Nuggets land in the playoffs? Yes, around a 6 or 7 seed.
C) How far will they go in the playoffs? Likely lose in 1st round.
D) Will Iverson be on the Nuggets next year? Yes though not in 2008-2009.
E) How many teammates of Iverson want him on the team? Zero.
F) How will Coach Karl and Iverson get along? Not well but well enough.

Summary: Iverson will act like the good boy scout for the remainder of
the year, a la Sprewell on the Knicks after the choking incident. The
Nuggets don't get better in the Win-Loss column, though. And Carmelo is
pissed because his career year is now part of the AI traveling circus.
Typical NBA team bullshit will be spewed ("we needed time to get used to
each other" or "with a year of practice as a unit we will be ready next
year to compete for the championship" etc.) all summer. Iverson will
overtly hog the ball next season and someone (Carmelo or Iverson) will
be traded.

The Iverson Crystal Ball, Mr. East Version:

A) What will the Nuggets record be with AI in the line-up now? 35-24.
B) Will the Nuggets land in the playoffs? Yes, they'll be a 6 seed.
C) How far will they go in the playoffs? They'll lose in 1st round, but if they do advance, they'll go deep into the playoffs.
D) Will Iverson be on the Nuggets next year? Yes.
E) How many teammates of Iverson want him on the team? Now? One or two. In a few months, almost everyone.
F) How will Coach Karl and Iverson get along? A sucessful Love/Hate relationship.

Summary: Iverson is trying to fit in early on by sharing the ball, and shooting less. He'll continue most of the time, even when Carmelo gets back. The thing is, at the end of the game who takes the shot. I believe it's Iverson every time, unless he kicks to an open Anthony. That's just me though and there are plenty of arguments the other way. As I see it, the worst case scenario here is that the entourage situation that is rarely discussed by the mainstream media could blow up. Iverson's entourage and Carmelo's entourage will either coexist, or they won't. If they don't the locker room will be forever divided, and things will turn ugly. On the court issues are not a problem. The rest of the Nuggets don't need the ball to be effective. Camby is a brilliant off the ball guy. Smith can shoot from the perimeter and will get plenty of open looks. Reggie Evans and the rest of the cast are all great role players.

I think this team has a shot at a title. They could surprise a lot of people if it's all peace and harmony in Denver. If the pieces find a way to mesh, it could be one of those 1999 playoff runs that Camby and the Knicks made. The problem is that they play in the strong West. A lot of things would have to fall their way to beat out Dallas, San Antonio, and Phoenix. I think they are potentially better than the rest of the Western Conference and could find themselves in the Finals this year or next if the Big Three knock each other off. Stranger things have happened. My prediction, no titles, but a lot of exciting basketball.

Rocky Mountain Answer

Everyone likes to shit on Allen I. It started when he got pegged with throwing a chair in a bowling alley fight as a young high school star of both football and basketball in Hampton, Virginia. Whatever you think really happened all those years ago, nothing about Iverson’s image would dissuade you from believing the worst. He’s tough. He’s street. He’s never distanced himself from the friends and family that supported him from his days as a young man, growing up under very tough circumstances.

Iverson’s been in trouble with the law as an NBA player as well. His car, his close associates, his pistol, his marital problems, and maybe his weed have all had the spotlight over the years. He’s got tattoos (that were airbrushed out on the cover of Hoop some years ago). He doesn’t wear a suit when he travels. He doesn’t practice much. He wears a cap tilted to the side, and cornrows. He shoots the ball A LOT. The corporate hypocrites will tell you that this is both great for business, as young kids on the street scrape together money, in whatever way they can, to buy his shoes, apparel, and all the rest. They also point their fingers at the blackness of the crimes that have the same kids killing each other for those products.


It’s more than a corporate hypocrisy though. It’s one of the great American hypocrisies that puts a black face in every living room via sports and entertainment, but refuses to get close enough to have a black face actually in the living room as a friend or family member. I pull know punches when I point my finger at the dysfunctional American landscape of race and culture. Iverson is who he is. He grew up where he grew up and faced the same issues that millions of others, Black, White, Latin, and Other face thanks to economic inequality and the failed American experiment. We gave on people like Iverson a long time ago. It’s our national shame.

The thing is, Iverson probably doesn’t give a shit about any of it. He’s happy with who he is, his genius and his personal failings all included. He makes no apologies, asks no forgiveness, and goes out on the court ready to die for a win every night. Iverson is a product of his environment, but he also possesses great genius that allows him to build a new environment for himself and all the people around him. It doesn’t make the mess that is the mean streets go away. There are some eggs broken when you make an omelet. The thing is, the NBA projects this squeaky clean image of sanitized multi-cultural harmony that incorporates country western, hip hop, and rock and roll in arenas all over America. They want to appeal to everyone.

Me, I like my reality raw and unfiltered. The world isn’t that Disney, jolly, Mayberry, American Idol nice-nice, and neither are the players. To be sure, there are guys from the same mean streets that produced Allen Iverson that take the money and the fast life and give a middle finger to the game. They don’t really care about basketball, and they only really play every night to collect their big fat checks. There are even some guys out there that hate basketball, but know where the bread is won. Shawn Bradley, one of the nice-nice Mormon choirboys that the NBA can only dream about, didn’t care about basketball. He was a 7’6” kid that had a little coordination and half a jump shot. He got paid big time, but he didn’t like basketball all that much. I believe that Derrick Coleman gave up on basketball early on in his career.

Allen Iverson has never given up. He has never let his status affect his play on the court. He got to the league by scoring millions of points, and he’ll go to his grave scoring a lot more. He plays hurt. He plays hard. He never says die, even with his team lost in the standings and down big in every ballgame. If anything, Iverson’s off court life has made him the greatest kind of warrior you can hope for on your team. He’s a guy you want to be with in a foxhole. In fact, there isn’t another professional athlete that I’d rather be in a foxhole with than Allen Iverson. He’s not clean cut. He doesn’t always make the best choices in his life, but he always does everything with his heart.

Many of the great figures of American society have come about their success by facing harsh circumstances but persevered to reach the pinnacles of their professions. This is particularly true of the greatest artists of the modern world. It’s the reason why American Idol will never produce any legitimate talent, and why the insane asylums, back street gutters, and dysfunctional homes of the world are the most fertile grounds for genius. Genius is born of both great natural gifts, and the struggle. The struggle is what the NBA and its sponsors want you to ignore. They want you to see the smoke and mirrors. I prefer to tear the band-aid off and see the whole unseemly picture.

Iverson now joins the Denver Nuggets. His days in Philly are finally over. He’ll be remembered by Sixers fans as one of the greatest figures in Philadelphia sports history when they’ve had a chance to step back and look at what he’s done. The warts will be there too, but his character on the court is unquestionable. There are plenty of people who will say that Denver made a mistake. They’ll point to all the big flaws that go along with Allen Iverson. They’ll tear off the band-aid and show the world the ugly parts of Allen I. To me those are reality. They help me understand that he’ll finish out his days in a Nuggets uniform and probably limp off the court for the last time proud of what he’s done. His teammates will salute him, and he’ll stand at his Hall of Fame ceremony with a cap tilted to the side, a wry smile, and an audience full of other street kids who know where he came from and how much he accomplished in lifting himself and a lot of other people without selling out.

I’m confident that he’ll shoot a lot in Denver, Carmelo Anthony or no. I’m sure he’ll get his 8 assists, and he’ll dominate the ball, and he’ll swipe 2 or 3 a game. He won’t change, except that he won’t be the only one out there every night that can put the ball in the hole. George Karl had a similar character on his Sonics teams. Gary Payton wasn’t all that different from Allen I when all is said and done. He’s a great coach for Iverson. Melo and Iverson will play off each other well, and the Nuggets will be in good shape. Whatever happens in the end they will compete every night, and make their fans proud. Watch.