A Little Overboard
By the end of Spurs/Hornets, the San Antonio announcers were — just like we did earlier this week — wondering aloud why Manu wasn’t on the All-Star team. Of course color analyst Sean Elliott took it a little too far (“Are there even 12 players in the NBA better than him?”), but that’s beside the point. Manu was carving up the Hornets, posting 30 points, 12 dimes and 6 rebounds to bring the Spurs into a first-place tie with N.O. at the top of the Southwest. Every time the Hornets got close down the stretch, Manu would either get a tough layup, hit a three, get to the line, or assist Duncan (25 pts, 11 rebs, 6 asts, 4 blks) on a bucket. One time Manu took off upcourt, put the ball between Chris Paul‘s legs, then left Peja stand-still on an in-and-out. That display of handle was followed up by a bad cross-court pass that got intercepted, but the moves were ill … We’ve been over Sean Elliott’s homer-ism before, but last night he was out of control. When Bruce Bowen started to complain after a questionable foul call but stopped himself, Elliott praised him. “He wanted to say something, but held back. That’s the sign of a veteran team,” Sean said. Has he been watching the same Spurs team we’ve been watching for the last 4 years? Anyway, 10 minutes later Elliott was all “Are you kidding me?!?” and whined at length after Ime Udoka was whistled for a justifiable foul. Right after that, Bonzi Wells fouled Manu hard and Sean starts hollering, “That’s a TECHNICAL foul!” before the ref had taken the whistle out of his mouth … With 6.7 seconds left in the third, the Hornets inbounded and Paul let the ball roll for a while before picking it up. The clock hadn’t started yet, and the ref walking right next to CP hadn’t started the 8-second backcourt count, but Elliott said there should have been a 5-second call. This is a question for all the Johnny Rulebooks out there: Since the clock hadn’t officially started, does that mean the ball was still technically out of bounds? Does the 5-second inbound rule apply in that situation? What about the 8-second backcourt rule? And in case you’re wondering, CP (27 pts) finally picked the ball up, came down and calmly dropped a three at the buzzer … Mike James had a couple buckets off the bench, but Bonzi didn’t do so hot in his N.O. debut; he was 1-for-7, picked up that tech when he hammered Manu and had 3 turnovers. Kurt Thomas suited up for the Spurs but didn’t play … During the fourth quarter of Heat/Sixers, the Miami announcers pointed out that everyone on the Heat bench was standing up. And the way they were talking, it sounded like that was a rarity. Given that, plus the fact that Miami has clearly been playing with more life since the Shawn Marion acquisition, what is behind all this? Has Marion alone affected such a drastic change? Has Riley and/or D-Wade‘s attitude changed and it’s spread to the whole team? Was it Shaq who was bringing everybody down? Interesting theory, especially since all this time, we’ve been led to believe that Marion is the pain-in-the-ass locker room presence while Shaq is the big teddy bear and great teammate. Hmmmm … The Heat lost in overtime, their 11th in a row, and we learned along the way that Andre Miller can actually dunk. Really, we saw him do it. With two hands and everything … Best exchange of Lakers/Clippers: Cat Mobley drove on attempted a layup, which Lamar Odom smacked off of the backboard. Later in the half, Cat drove again and dunked in Odom’s grill. Then Cat got in Lamar’s face and told him about it even though the Clips were getting routed … Think Ron Artest would have been able to help the Nuggets last night? Denver was 20-piecing the Bucks in the first half, until Michael Redd (42 pts) and Mo Williams (26 pts) caught fire and Milwaukee pulled off the comeback W. And how about Andrew Bogut dominating Marcus Camby on the glass, outrebounding him 20-10? … Even when we saw Yi in person at the Rookie Challenge, it was like he disappeared on the court. The kid has seriously hit the rookie wall, and last night played less than 10 minutes … Jazz/Hawks wasn’t the blowout we expected, going back and forth before Utah pulled away in the fourth. Carlos Boozer taught Al Horford a thing or two about ambidextrous scoring in the post, giving him 21 points and 12 boards … If Marcus Williams wants to at least achieve a Calderon/Ford-type PG platoon once Devin Harris gets healthy instead of becoming a backup who doesn’t play that much (like he was under Jason Kidd), the best thing he can do is ball out while Harris is still hurt. Williams had 8 points, 13 assists and just 2 turnovers in NJ’s win over the Pacers, and he hit a couple of threes — something Kidd and Harris aren’t exactly adept at … Richard Jefferson dropped 36 for Jersey, while Vince had 24, 9 boards, 5 assists and a crazy-angle scoop shot with Troy Murphy draped all over him … Was Jason Richardson throwing a shout-out to Gerald Wallace with the headband/arm sleeve combo he wore against the Wizards? J-Rich put up 25 points but the ‘Cats lost. The latest on Gerald is that he’s got a concussion and will miss the next two weeks … We’re out like Yi …
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February 24th, 2008 at 4:51 am
Str8baller says:
FIRST… The str8baller is BIZACK
February 24th, 2008 at 5:10 am
Gareth says:
I really hate Sean Elliot.
February 24th, 2008 at 5:42 am
todd says:
It was funny seeing cat talk trash to odom considering they were down big. Odom took it like a man, smiling and giving kudos to Cat. That was pretty cool of him.
I thought RJ’s and boone’s #s would go down without Kidd, man was I wrong.
February 24th, 2008 at 6:06 am
YOUNGFED says:
The way williams is playing he just mite be starting when Harris comes back.
February 24th, 2008 at 6:54 am
Dennis says:
Andre Miller can dunk!
So you can dunk too!
http://www.jumplikevince.com
February 24th, 2008 at 8:11 am
Nitsuj says:
Ummmmm. Did the #1 and #2 college teams in the country not play last night??
February 24th, 2008 at 8:23 am
fanatical grammatical says:
nice crap jumplikevince website
does the owner of this website know the difference between lose and loose?
not a good start if you want people to take you seriously dennis the menace
February 24th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Ryne Nelson says:
@Todd – When Cat Mobley trash talking Lamar Odom is the most exciting moment of the night, you know it was a pretty tame lineup of games. I hope tonight we get something to talk about with the Bulls or Cavs.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Mark says:
@austin – pain-in-the-ass locker room presence, sounds a little gay to me…
who’s gonna make it to the finals this year?!
I’d like to see Lakers- Celtics.
What about you guys.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:51 am
YOUNGFED says:
Mark it doesn’t matter as long as it ain’t the boring azz Spurs.
But either the Suns, Lakers from the west and either the Celts, PISTONS!!!!!, or Orlando.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Carter says:
The 5 second count is for the person inbounding the ball. They have 5 seconds to get rid of it. Period. It’s just like the shot-clock; you have to get rid of it by the buzzer, but it’s not a violation if the buzzer goes off before the ball hits the rim. I can’t believe Sean Elliot even thought that. The 8 second call starts when the ball is touched. I don’t see the problem with what happened here. Unbelievable.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:16 am
QQ says:
I watched the Spurs broadcast, and I couldn’t agree with you more: WTF Sean, are you getting Lebron money just to be as narrow minded as that?
Love the Bonzi sequence:
*Bonzi hits Manu FLOPobili with a questionable but somewhat common foul*
Sean Elliot: NOOOOOO!!!THAT IS A TECHNICAL FOUL!!!! *erupts
so bagly his head explodes*
February 24th, 2008 at 11:17 am
QQ says:
^badly
February 24th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Gareth says:
Man what is going on with the Nugs though? GS is ahead of them now, and they can’t stop anyone (isn’t D suppose to improve as the year goes on). I thought they had it sewed up and Houston was going to be the one going with GS down the stretch. Top to bottom in the West is 5 games pretty much every night so I guess anyone could conceivably fall out, but it looks like it could be Denver.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:33 am
mbe18 says:
All I gotta say is that Marcus Williams has been VERY impressive in a couple of his starts with the Nets and has been fun to watch.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:55 am
word says:
damn right Artest could’ve helped, wtf is wrong with Denver’s front office, what is it going to take to get them a player (besides Camby and a rare instance that Kenyon decides to put in effort) who plays D? I mean their PG sucks but that can be overlooked if they had some damn D. Melo himself needs to get on that especially since NeNe is out. They have the same problem as the suns, but at least the suns did something about it. Shaq come playoffs is gunna shut everyone up the hell up.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Bone says:
Fromt the sounds of it, Stan Kronke (Denver’s owner) had a deal for Artest in place but Karl nixed the deal. I know they were heistent to give up Klieza, but Artest is just as good a of a shooter, if not better. Plus if JR Smith can FINALLY find some consistency, they would have been fine. Granted, Melo, Ivo, Artest, and K-Mart in the same locker room would have been a handful, but Karl could have reigned it in. Look at what Nellie did with SJack in Golden State. He went from a pariah in Indy to team captain and second most indespensible out west.
Even if Denver sneeks into the playoffs, the only team they have a chance to beat in the first round is the Hornets, and that is a stretch and only because of NOH lack of post-season experience. At least the Nuggets have been in the playoffs the past four seasons.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
YOUNGFED says:
Denver needs to run AI at the point and JR at the 2 for the ENTIRE game and theyed be alright.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
mosduff says:
actually, as much as I hate the Spurs and Elliot, he’s correct. You have 5 seconds to INBOUND the ball. That means your teammate has to to receive the ball within those 5 seconds. Even if the player throwing the inbounds pass gets rid of it before the 5 count, if it isn’t caught by his teammate the ball isn’t inbounded yet.
It’s a common misconception and it isn’t called as often as it should but it’s by the book. I know this because I was a certified official a few years back.
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February 24th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Davin says:
Id the ball is on the court it’s inbounded. The clock should have been running though, its only the 2nd and 4th quarters where the clock doesnt start until you touch the ball.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
mosduff says:
sorry man, but you’re wrong. your player needs to have POSSESSION of the basketball for it to be officially inbounded.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Dennis Castro says:
Did anyone else watch the Sixers-Heat game? Violet Palmer is the WORST official in the NBA, hands down, no contest.
Quick sequence of events. D-Wade had the ball around half court, and had it stripped by Reggie Evans, pretty cleanly, could have gone either way.
Wade of course complains. Next time down, Wade gets the ball in the corner behind the 3 point line. He puts up a shot, Lou Williams runs at him, DOESN’T TOUCH HIM, Wade glares at Palmer looking for a call, and about 2 seconds later Palmer calls a foul against Lou.
That was the worst call I’ve ever seen, EVER. How does she still have a job?
February 24th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Dennis Castro says:
That call almost cost the Sixers the game, it happened in the 4th quarter.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
flyp says:
I just tried to find a clip of Andre Miller dunking on YouTube…. no luck.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Adrian Zapata says:
I didn’t think Elliot was as bad as you’d think, but last night was a bit funny. As for a lot of you hating on the Spurs… what i don’t get is why you never have a justifiable reason. They aren’t a boring team to watch anymore. Just because S.A. is a small market, all you east coast & big city people hate on them. You have no respect for the franchise of the decade.
February 24th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
loko says:
lamar and cat are friends, they were roommates.
so it’s cool.
actually cat and corey are tight with lamar and kobe, kobe’s very good friends with corey,sometimes they workout together, and cat is close to lamar.
they were having fun last night.
did you guys check when kobe went down with the ball and so kobe couldn’t call a time out, cat covered kobe’s mouth?
it was funny.
February 24th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
T. says:
Steve Nash lets the ball roll for a while before picking it up all of the time. Why is this an issue now? I imagine that the players who use that option pick the ball up before 5 seconds have passed anyway. I’m pretty sure Paul picked it up in plenty of time.
By the way, I hate listening to announcers that whine like Elliot or try to impress us like Walt Frazier. I like watching the Knicks because they are usually underdogs with heart, but listening to Walt and his ridiculous vocabulary is painful – his voice doesn’t help matters. I respected Chick Hearn so much and the current Lakers commentators tend to stay objective.
Lakers vs Celtics in the Finals 2008; LAKERS
Lakers vs. Cavs in the Finals 2009; LAKERS
February 24th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
SteveNash says:
no ncaa love for the top two teams in the country huh
February 24th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Austin Burton says:
@Adrian — I’m with you. I don’t understand why people continue to say the Spurs are boring. They run (Parker/Manu), they have guys who make acrobatic shots (Parker/Manu), they have guy who dunk on people (Duncan/Manu/Finley), a lot of their games come down to the wire (which is exciting), they have guys who hit game-winners (Horry/Finley/Manu/Duncan), they all move and cut and pass the ball … What’s not to like? Is it ’cause Duncan doesn’t act like a maniac on the floor and shimmy after he does something?
February 24th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Bone says:
From the NBA Official Rule Book:
Rule Number 8, Section 3a:
. The throw-in starts when the ball is at the disposal of a player entitled to the throw-in. He shall release the ball inbounds within 5 seconds from the time the throw-in starts.
So, as long as the ball is out of the inbounder’s hand within five seconds, it is legal.
It might not be the same in college and high school, but Elliot is not only a horrible homer, but doesn’t know the rules.
February 24th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
K-Dizzle says:
Suns-Pistons is garbage. Sheed did whatever he wanted.
flyp – you can see miller dunk on nba.com highlights of the game
didn’t lamar and cat both go to Rhode Island?
What ever happened to Tyson Wheeler?
Austin – As a Laker fan, I think the spurs are boring. Maybe it’s just perception, but it’s also cuz there’s no drama and they predictable as hell. Tim will get 25, 15, 7, 5 on some bankshots, midrange js and putbacks. Ginobili will get thirty and make a couple sick plays and Parker’ll go coast to coast and the other dudes will hit some 3s. Maybe not boring, but definitely not exciting, no characters, no drama, no high flyin dunkers, play like they bored all season then turn it on in April-May. It’s good ball to watch if you old-school or a coach teachin fundamentals, but no flash for what it’s supposed to be: entertainment
Damn, I’m switchin to Ohio State-Wisconsin cuz this game is putrid. Suns need to figure it out
February 24th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Bone says:
Austin, people hate on the Spurs for many reasons:
1. They are good year in, year out, and play the same style with the same players. They are never the flavor of the year because their rosters is pretty much the same year in, year out.
2. They whine like a bunch of junior high girls everytime they are whistled for a foul (and so do their announcers).
3. Ginobli flops like a fish out of water at any point of contact, which is for some reason ignored by all of the national announcers who praise him but murder Anderson Varejao for the same thing.
4. Sadly, people in this country don’t like the Spurs because they are xenophobic. Except for Tim Duncan, none of their core players were big time, American born high school or college stars.
The Spurs are a good team, with great players, but their style and makeup is never going to catch on with casual basketball fans.
February 24th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
dagwaller says:
That having been said, you can’t really say that they’re boring, I noticed. Austin’s been campaigning for a while, and I have to admit that I’m finally converted: I don’t think that the Spurs are boring anymore. Austin, you win!
Think of it this way: if anyone other than Manu had done what Manu did, people would be throwing their shirts onto the floor like it was an AND1 game.
February 24th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Austin Burton says:
I can’t defend Sean Elliott’s whining, and I can’t say a lot of the guys on the Spurs team don’t whine. What I can say is that most guys in the NBA whine after foul calls, especially the superstars: Wade, Iverson, Baron (he may be the worst), Kobe, etc. In fact I’m watching Blazers/Celtics right now, and I’ve already seen Kendrick Perkins and Joel Przybilla go into Duncan-ish whining after foul calls. And Mike D’Antoni is the worst whiner out of any person in the NBA, period. He cries about EVERYTHING.
February 24th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
CDog says:
Tim Duncan’s quiteness scares me sometimes. What other 7 footer lacks the ablity to talk the way he does that isnt the 12th man.
February 24th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
sans says:
I am Johnny rule book: IF the ball has not been touched by any player ON COURT, then we are still in a dead ball period. If any foul happens it is an automatic flagrant or intentional foul. The 5 second count on the inbounder only applies while he has the ball in his hands, however the ball does not become live until it touches a (any) player who is on court.
That’s the way it is in High School at least, and I don’t think it has changed for college or the League. And Sean Elliot, however great it was for him to come back after giving his brother a kidney and get a chip, will never do anything other than color commentary for the Spurs because of his homerism.
February 24th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
CDog says:
sans Sean is just on the simple side of things, nothing Homerish. While he says stupid things at times, what about Ric Bucher or Stuart Scott? If Sean is Homer, Ric is the 3 eyed fish and Stuart is Milhouse. Take that whatever way you want.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
doc says:
The spurs arent boring. And if u watch Duncan show emotion.I love when the 4th quarter come and he gets into nobody makin shit without earning it mode on D and bust ya ass mode on O amnu put in work and TP too. I like to watch the Men In Black.
February 25th, 2008 at 1:03 am
Adrian Zapata says:
I think the whole league whines now, so i’ve just come to realize that it is part of the game. And about flopping, i think every team has a designated flopper now also. And yes, i’ll admit i’m a spurs fan, I’ve been living in the area for quite a while now. But i’m also a Kobe & Laker fan.
February 25th, 2008 at 5:59 am
YOUNGFED says:
It’s a fact that the Spurs are boring just look at last years finals TV stats. NUFF SAID….Austin.
February 25th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Austin Burton says:
That’s because the casual fan has been told that the Spurs are boring for so long, they’ve stopped watching.
And by your logic, that means LeBron is boring.
February 25th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Adrian Zapata says:
@YOUNGFED… So are you saying just because TV ratings were down, that means the Spurs were boring? I think it was just the fact that it wasn’t an East Coast team or a big market team that the ratings were down. And i agree with Austin here… so does that mean that Lebron is boring also? Because if i do recall correctly, he was in the finals as well.