Not Even Basketball
Baron Davis (photo. Land)Have you ever spent all night watching a movie or TV-show marathon that was amazing all the way through, until you got to the end and it was a total letdown? That’s what it was like watching the NBA last night. Pistons/Suns and Lakers/Warriors were both fantastic overtime games, only the nightcap ended on one of the worst calls we’ve seen since Pat O’Brien got lonely … With three minutes left in regulation, the GS announcers declared a Kobe jumper that put L.A. up by nine the dagger. But the Warriors stormed back and forced the extra frame, and down by two with four seconds left, were inbounding on their side of the court. Everyone was bunched up at the beginning of the play, and it turned into a scrum. Kobe and Baron Davis were basically hugging each other, and then Derek Fisher fell backwards while pulling Monta Ellis down on top of him, baiting the ref into calling an offensive foul on Monta (as Fish pretended to be hurt). That of course sent the Warriors announcers through the roof, and understandably. “That’s just awful. That’s not even basketball!” one of them said as the Lakers iced it with free throws. For real, even if you’re a Lakers fan, you can’t feel good about such a great game ending like that … It was probably the best thing Fisher could have done to win the game, seeing as he looked off Kobe at the end of regulation and bricked a runner. Kobe didn’t hide his frustration. And no one really mentioned it, but how about Fisher also pulling Al Harrington down on top of him by the back of Al’s shorts on the same play? That wasn’t even necessary. Ironically, wasn’t Fisher the one flipping his lid when Manu kept flopping on him in the Western Conference Finals last year? … The Lakers should’ve had the game wrapped up way before that, but Baron (30 pts, 9 rebs, 7 asts, 4 stls) and Monta (18 pts, 9 rebs, 9 asts, 3 stls) just started making stuff happen, causing turnovers and transition opportunities to bring the Warriors back to life. Monta had some amazing finishes at the rim, as did Baron, but the best play might have been an underrated one where he hung in the air for what seemed like 10 seconds while twisting and turning his body between defenders and somehow getting of a shot that Kelenna Azubuike tipped in for a huge bucket … Lamar Odom had a monster stat line (23 pts, 21 rebs) and scored what was the eventual game-winning layup, but he also had moments where he looked like Tony from Blue Chips. Late in regulation Odom bricked the first of two huge free throws (which was funny to him for some reason). Then early in OT he committed a silly foul on Azubuike that led to an and-one opportunity. Then, when Monta was at the line late in OT, Odom bought him an extra shot by committing a lane violation on the first attempt … Kobe (30 pts, 11 rebs, 7 asts) took an incidental elbow from Baron and ended up with blood running down his face. Mamba looked like he’d just had a meeting with Mr. Childs after that one … The Warriors announcers made a great point, that one way to beat Golden State is to have bigger guys who can defend Baron and Stephen Jackson (29 pts) and take away their ability to post up. The Lakers can do it with Kobe (on Baron) and Odom (on S-Jack). The Jazz did it last year in the playoffs with Deron Williams and AK-47. The Mavs? They were using light-in-the-ass Devin Harris and Dirk … Sign in the crowd: “Only God can stop Kobe” … In Detroit, Suns/Pistons ultimately came down to the simple fact that Rasheed and Amare cannot guard each other. While ‘Sheed was misplaying the pick-and-roll and letting Amare (33 pts) feast on poor Antonio McDyess, Amare was getting a face full of Wallace jumpers. After hitting a crucial turnaround fadeaway near the end of regulation, ‘Sheed (23 pts) went back on D yelling, “He can’t stop me!” … ‘Sheed having the hot hand in crunch time didn’t matter much to Chauncey Billups, who played the fourth quarter and OT like he had horse blinders on. Billups (32 pts) would bring the ball up and go through the charade of calling a play, but would inevitably look for his own shot first and foremost, not passing until there was nothing there for him. But no one in Detroit is complaining, since Chauncey scored the go-ahead bucket in overtime and made free throws down the stretch … How about Lindsey Hunter being dusted off and dropping buckets? With Rip Hamilton out (hip), Lindsey saw his first action since January. He came in during the second half, nailing a big three and harassing Leandro Barbosa on D, keeping the Pistons in it while Billups was able to get a breather … Hunter’s protegee, Rodney Stuckey came off the bench and scored 13. (Said Lindsey to Detroit’s sideline reporter, “Sometimes I feel like I’ve legally adopted Rodney Stuckey.”) For some reason no one wanted to guard Stuckey. The Suns were treating him like he was Mardy Collins or something, and he kept making ‘em pay for giving up wide-open shots. It’s worth noting that when Billups and Stuckey were on the court together, Steve Nash would guard Stuckey while Raja Bell took Chauncey … One time in the middle of a play, Raja stood in the corner working in his jump shot form, like a baseball player taking practice swings waiting to step to the plate … On April 8 the Pistons will honor their 50th anniversary all-time team. The Knicks happen to be in town that day, so we can assume Isiah is on the roster. Finally, an NBA building where Zeke won’t be booed … Speaking of, some of the Dime crew was at MSG for Knicks/Nets. Coaching contrast: In the Nets locker room pre-game, Lawrence Frank had printed out detailed breakdowns of the NJ game plan and posted a copy on each player’s locker, along with having it projected on the dry-erase board. And the game film on the Knicks playing on the TV was a crisply-edited video of New York’s last two games that only featured relevant possessions. Meanwhile, the Knicks locker room was running what looks like just a taped TV broadcast of Jersey’s last game. And of course none of the players were in the room watching (except for Jerome James) … How do elite athletes prepare for battle? Josh Boone was CRUSHING a huge platter of nachos slathered in sour cream about 45 minutes before tip-off … The Nets picked up an easy win over an injury-depleted NYK crew, with Vince dropping 27 points (5 threes) and Richard Jefferson hitting for 26. Nenad Krstic had 22 thanks to a bunch of uncontested jumpers on behalf of Zach Randolph’s generous defense … Andre Iguodala was single-handedly dominating the Celtics in Boston last night. On multiple plays he stole inbounds passes and went coast-to-coast for monster dunks, and one time had Paul Pierce posted up on the wing before he faced and went right through Pierce for a dunk in traffic. It gives you an idea how strong Iguodala is if he can do that to Pierce, who’s no Devin Harris. ‘Dre finished with 28 points and sparked a 19-0 run that won the game for Philly. By the end of it, Tommy Heinsohn was blaming Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown for the whole thing because those two have allegedly messed up team chemistry. Right … The Rockets got a much-needed win over the Kings. T-Mac managed to get hurt twice (ankle, shoulder), but stayed upright long enough to get 17 points, 6 assists and 2 steals … Rudy Gay had the kind of game every 8-year-old dreams of. Not only did he throw down some contest-worthy dunks — including a reverse jackknife two-hander (think Harold Miner) — he also hit a half-court shot to beat the buzzer. The Griz got wiped out by the Nuggets … If you don’t think guys can greatly help or hurt their NBA Draft stock over the course of one NCAA Tournament, go ask Wally Szczerbiak. Yesterday we looked at which guys are rising or falling on the draft boards over the tourney’s first two rounds, such as Eric Gordon, Roy Hibbert, Joey Dorsey and Stephen Curry … Did you see where Mike Bibby’s been demoted? The infamous Better Basketball DVD commercials used to open with an intro that included, “Or you’re big-time like Mike Bibby.” Yesterday we noticed the newest version says, “Or you’re big-time like Jason Kidd.” … Later today we’ll be debuting our own video of DimeMag.com, a behind-the-scenes look at the Gerald Wallace photo shoot from the Kobe issue. We got up with Crash in Charlotte a few months ago, riding along with him in his brand-new Bentley convertible and hanging out in Bob Johnson’s office … We’re out like Fish flopping …
March 25th, 2008 at 4:38 am
Bank says:
First, get on my balls, lick them shits good son!
March 25th, 2008 at 4:52 am
jz_smoove says:
ok…now back to a b-ball. The Pistons-Suns game could have gone either way. Props to the Pistons for taking this one though but if the Suns were at home, the calls would definitely fall their way. It’s a regular NBA game. Odom is having a good streak happening, what goin on?
March 25th, 2008 at 5:29 am
YOUNGFED says:
Sign in the crowd: “Only God can stop Kobe” … That sign couldn’t have said it better.
IT’S K-HOVA BABY!!!!
March 25th, 2008 at 5:38 am
Mike says:
Kyle Lowry looks like Nate Robinson…
check it for yourself:
Lowry:
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kyle_lowry/index.html
Robinson:
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/nate_robinson/index.html
March 25th, 2008 at 6:16 am
the truth says:
what about Andre Miller resembling Richard Pryor?
March 25th, 2008 at 6:34 am
the_don_mega says:
“what about Andre Miller resembling Richard Pryor?”
LOL!!!
March 25th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Elyse says:
You know, Lakers are number one in the west, and I am trying to remember the last time I heard you say something good about them. I am not sure about that last call, I didn’t think it was terrible, but there were some pretty terrible calls all night in golden state’s favor.
Coaches always say “it’s not the refs fault, it’s our fault for letting it be that close”.
March 25th, 2008 at 8:12 am
K Dizzle says:
I’d normally be ashamed of how my Lakers took it last night, BUT( and you knew there was a but), the west is too loaded to care how we get it done. Back on top in the west without Pau, AB and Ariza; I’ll take it.
Can I mention it one more time how glad I am we didn’t trade for Kidd? I heard Dallas ain’t beat a team above .500 since they traded the future for him. Is that true? Teams just pack the paint and make him shoot, which he couldn’t, can’t, won’t. Vindication is sweet
KB24 = MVP
March 25th, 2008 at 8:17 am
flo rida evans says:
No man,Kyle Lowry looks like the artist formerly known as Murder Mase.
March 25th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Sam I Am says:
Why is his name MAMBA ? ? Please someone share
March 25th, 2008 at 8:29 am
E$ says:
That was a good game between the Fake show & Golden St. Fisher should be acting, not playing basketball. The part when he’s on the floor holding his knee was the worst, aren’t you glad he had a little girl so we don’t have to watch his son do the same thing in the future?
March 25th, 2008 at 8:31 am
E$ says:
by the way, Rick Alderman got his 800th career win vs his old team. It wouldn’t hurt to mention that DIME
March 25th, 2008 at 8:32 am
E$ says:
I don’t see anything about Rick Alderman winning his 800th game vs his old team, your slipping DIME.
March 25th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Dip Set City says:
No love for JR Smith, dropping 7 3’s in one quarter?
March 25th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Celts Fan says:
Heinsohn basically said that we let last night’s game get away because of bad chemistry because Doc was messing around with lineups trying to develop a chemistry for the Playoffs. It’s a legit claim and wasn’t a blame thing. We’ve basically got #1 in the East locked up. Now Doc’s trying to get the new guys some experience in a new system.
Yes, Tommy’s a HUGE homer, but that point was actually legit. It’s not an excuse, we lost the game, but we have more important long-term goals than beating the Sixers.
March 25th, 2008 at 8:40 am
Dennis Castro says:
Let’s go Sixers!!!! Huge win for them last night. Pierce’s trash talking really set Dre Dala off. I love the way they’re playing right now.
And the Celtics as a team annoy the hell outta me. I mean I respect KG, Pierce, and Allen, but the rest of those guys like Perkins, Powe, House all act like they have a sense of entitlement. They haven’t done ish in the league, haven’t won ish and are pretty much riding the 3’s coattails.
Here are a couple look-a-likes to me:
Kendrick Perkins looks like an overweight Kanye West
Monta Ellis reminds me of Buckshot.
March 25th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Willis says:
Jarret Jack looks like Ne-Yo
Darius Miles IS Plaxico Burress
Troy Murphy looks like Ryan Gosling
Steve Blake looks like a sesame street character
Greg Oden looks like Lebron James’ dad
Kevin Martin looks like Doug Christie
Zach Randolph looks like a Goomba from Mario.
March 25th, 2008 at 9:30 am
FK in T-Oh says:
How bad are the Homers calling the Pistons game? I laughed out loud when they were praising Rasheed at the end of regulation for hitting rim on his ill-advised three attempt – saying its those small things that allow the team to win.
March 25th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Heavy D says:
The end of Lakers-Warriors game did leave me disappointed. It was like 2+ hours invested and I’m left with this. But it was a smart, sneaky move by Fisher, a bit risky too. I can’t believe the ref fell for that crap or that one of the other 2 officials didn’t come in with a better angle. That’s the real shame, that the ref on the back side with the perfect view of the play didn’t even try to share what he had to see. Of course, if they huddled and reversed the call the Lakers fans would be outraged. That was Fisher’s risk though. If he actually got called for cheap theatrics and Monta went to line to tie it and GSW kept the ball (by rule since the foul occurred with the ball out of bounds).
BTW, the Lakers were already up 2 and there isn’t a guarantee that the Warriors score with 4 seconds left, but we were denied a chance for a clean finish. The fake I’m hurt routine I found particularly distasteful, but I guess he had to sell it.
The call in the Detroit game wasn’t as bad. I mean Raja Bell did push McDyess, but way the ball was coming off the rim made me feel that it didn’t actually cost the Pistons a rebound. Again, the Pistons were already up (by 4 I think), but that call did stick a fork in the proceedings.
In neither case did the call (or blown call in the Lakers game) truly decide the winner, but rather just resulted in an administrative-type finish as opposed to an action-type finish. Rather than ending the movie with a shoot-out with 1 survivor, we got text on the screen explaining how the one guy was audited and all of his assets seized by the government. The End.
March 25th, 2008 at 10:18 am
MAGIC says:
You don’t have to go to camp.
I’m bringing camp right to you.
March 25th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Celts Fan says:
Dennis Castro, what the hell are you talking about man? What SPECIFICALLY did the Celtics do last night that makes you think they have a sense of entitlement? Was it screaming every time they threw down even the most mediocre of dunks? Oh wait, that was Iguodala, a guy who really hasn’t done anything in the league yet other than put up numbers on a bad team.
(and by the way, if you think that wasn’t just Doc playing around with bench lineups trying to get some chemistry for them since we’ve all but wrapped up the #1 seed and would skip the next 3 weeks if we could, you’re crazy. The Sixers would get swept by any one of the top 4 teams in the East. A win’s a win, but let’s be realistic here…)
just a heads up, EVERYONE THAT’S NOT A SUPERSTAR IS RIDING SOMEONE’S COATTAILS, that’s why it’s called a team. If you want something where each guy is the only reason for a win or loss, go watch golf or tennis.
March 25th, 2008 at 11:11 am
GEE...yeaaa she want some of that ol totem! says:
Houston up! Number 3 is a nice number I like that. Houston most def has to fight hard for that 3 or 4 seed. 11 games left.
Just can’t front on Philly. AI2 did his thing, although Boston looked a little lazy to me. Boston starting to remind me of a team that really gets up to face big teams and just ho hums it with smaller or less important teams. The Spurs and Detroit do this to me too. Often their skill alone will allow them to blow out weaker less-important teams, but when these weaker teams really get something going, or a substantial lead, often the juggernauts seem to just give up or not try as hard to fight, as they would a higher ranked or stronger team.
Hard to feel sorry for Dirk. It be different if he was a player who went hard and wasn’t necessarily known for floppin. With all that floppin and crying he does, now that he is “really” hurt, it’s like …oh well.
When your man has dropped 33 on you, hmmm…you really shouldn’t go back down the court saying “He can’t stop me”. Muth#%^$#^# you can’t stop him!!!!! Either way, nice win by Detroit and Tay needs to pass that to the open man next time.
I have to think if Denver had JVG or Mark Jackson or another coach, they would be fighting for seeds 1-3 in the west instead of lol….8.
Can someone please tell me the purpose of the NIT? Just wondering?
Bout to link yall to one of the most horrid articles I have read in the defense of LeBron over Kobe. Granted I think LeBron should get the MVP but still there is no denying Kobe is the greatest player in the game right now.
Check this ish out http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/23190174/
Finally I got Atl getting that final spot in the East not NJ. Anybody even seen Vince Carter this year, I heard there were sightings of him playing from time to time?!?!
Playoffs are going to be off the wall this year!
March 25th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Zoom says:
Cant stand Fish’s flopping. Nice acting job Fish pretending to be hurt. Who knows maybe he was hurt but i doubt it with all the flopping he does. Fish and Manu must have the same acting coach
March 25th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Zoom says:
Cant stand Fish’s flopping. Nice acting job Fish pretending to be hurt. Who knows maybe he was hurt but i doubt it with all the flopping he does. Fish and Manu must have the same acting coach.
March 25th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Celts Fan says:
GEE, Doc kept the starters out a good chunk of the 4th and was playing around with rotations all night. That definitely had “long-term growth is more important” written all over it. He’s a terrible gameday coach, so maybe he just confused himself, but it looked like he was just throwing things out there to see what might stick for the playoffs.
For all the Vince haters out there, we’ll love this: seen on Sportscenter this weekend, Vince dunks on a guy as the #7 top play, and you just hear one of the anchors deadpan, “Shades of Vinsanity. If he would only do that every day…” and they continue to bash Wince through the next 2 Top Plays. It was great! When even Sportscenter anchors are calling a guy out over a highlight, it’s fair to say he’s been mailing it in far too often.
March 25th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
the antoine says:
damn dime.. why so much haterade on the lamar and teh lakers today.. get your facts right.. it was kobe who had the lane violation.. lamar was closing out on azubuke because vlad rad just stood in the paint.. and the refs were killing it for both sides.. –
Kobe’s “Lane Violation” ridiculous call
Bad call on Lamar’s 3 second defensive violation with his foot grazing the paint and his man well within arms length
Bad call on Kobe’s “charge” when he got a boxers gash under his eye..
Bad call on Lamar’s “over the back”
March 25th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
E$ says:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO75NJcGCqA
A D. Fish moment in a courtroom
March 25th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Dennis Castro says:
Celts Fan, why so angry? ahahahhaha, yea, so I guess it was Doc’s fault that KG didn’t know how to handle the double team/trap around half court or the fact that Sammy D man’d up against KG one on one and held his own.
I’m tired of people saying it was more faults of the opponents that led to a defeat at the hands of the Sixers than giving this team credit.
And keep thinking that the Sixers will get swept by the top 4 teams in the East, that’s cool, because that’s how teams that are favored to win get beaten.
If KG gets the credit for bringing the intensity and being the leader then he should also get the blame for making careless turnovers and not being able to take Sam Dalembert one on one, right?
And if you implied that the Celts are cruising, then where’s the intense KG that brings it every game? I respect KG a lot, but I’m tired of certain superstars getting the credit when they win and getting excuses when they lose.
The Celtics lost a hard fought game to a good team. Plain and simple.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
AC! says:
“And no one really mentioned it, but how about Fisher also pulling Al Harrington down on top of him by the back of Al’s shorts on the same play? That wasn’t even necessary. Ironically, wasn’t Fisher the one flipping his lid when Manu kept flopping on him in the Western Conference Finals last year?”
If you watch the play, you can clearly see that Al tripped Fisher, which resulted in the whole pile up. If anything, it should have been a tripping foul on Harrington. Then Harrington came down on Fisher’s knee, which resulted in the suggested fake injury.
March 25th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
doc says:
Celts why u so mad.We know yall got the big 3 of the league who never won shit now everybody think yall going to the finals except Lebron who does it to Pierce raw dog every time they play and it will get worse in the playoffs.The Sixers bust yall ass period. I’m tired of everytime they lose u blame it on Doc Rivers.Yall got that ass bust plain and simple.Iggy merked Pierce for talking shit.Thats all yall team do is talk shit and the funny part is none of them jokers did that until KG showed up now they so tough.They aint nothing but the average team with one of the top records every year that aint gonna win shit when it counts.
March 25th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
KB24! says:
First thing. It was Kobe that was in the lane violation. Not Odom. And it was a dum call. And the end where monta ran over fisher. Clearly was a foul.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Austin Burton says:
I could’ve sworn I heard the GS announcers killing Odom because he started walking toward the hoop during Monta’s first FT, hence the violation call.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
snook says:
Yeah, no mention of adelman’s win but have room for your daily manu bash? yall need to let that go
March 25th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
JSN says:
can the dime laker-haters please come out the closet?
shame on you guys…
And as a true laker fan. I’m proud of them win or lose…
The W just makes it sweeter.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
JSN says:
can the dime laker-haters please come out the closet?
shame on you guys…
And as a true laker fan. I’m proud of them win or lose…
The W just makes it sweeter.
March 25th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
d says:
Did someone just call Rick Adelman, Rick ALDERMAN? But he did make a good point. 800 wins isn’t anything to sneeze at.
March 25th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
2 Easy says:
The charge call in the Pistons/Suns game sickened me personally. Maybe Im biased because I want the Suns to do well but I thought Nash was there first and I dont believe he was in the lower circle but I could be wrong. The LA/GS game SICKENED ME. Funny thing was the GS announcers were the least homerish Ive heard all season. It wasnt until that very play I knew they were GS announcers and I dont blame them
March 25th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
kowtz says:
Rodman pulling the chair on Malone… Amusing and devious…
Fish pulling the chair on bigs… Disgusting and unfair…
Majority of the posters… Biased Haters…
March 25th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Austin Burton says:
Pulling the chair is different than physically pulling a guy down and flopping. When you’re pulling a chair all you’re doing is moving out of the way and letting his momentum carry him down.
March 25th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Tim says:
sorry Steve Nash, Chauncey is just better than you…
and one more rant…is Rondo gonna stop the ball fakes he does like 2 times a game? i want to see him do that during the playoffs and turn it over at a crucial point…
I so hope Cleveland ends up playing Boston second round…that will be awesome…then the Pistons will mop up the scraps.
March 26th, 2008 at 5:28 am
YOUNGFED says:
Hell Yeah Tim