Same Old Story
Carmelo Anthony (photo. Mannion)Is Carmelo Anthony destined to become the next Tracy McGrady? Same lead-the-League-in-scoring type offensive ability, same game/personality that’ll keep him a superstar as a player and endorser for the long haul, and — well, we’re in Year Five of Carmelo’s pro career, and he’s now looking at a fifth straight first-round playoff exit. (Does the Syracuse NCAA ‘chip buy him any more “clutch” bonus points?) And in the last two years at least, you can’t really use the “weak supporting cast” argument — these last two go-rounds ‘Melo has been flanked by a Defensive Player of the Year-caliber 7-footer in his prime, a Hall of Fame lead guard who is (amazingly) still in his prime, a coach with almost 150 playoff games under his belt, and enough overall talent to trot out one of the League’s best offenses every night. But after Denver got waxed by the Lakers last night, ‘Melo is down 0-3 and about to go home early again … You just never got the sense that the Nuggets had a chance in this one, even though they were at home and it didn’t really get into blowout territory until the second half. Kobe Bryant (22 pts, 7 rebs, 8 asts) and Pau Gasol (14 pts, 5 asts) sometimes looked like the older cousins playing the little cousins 2-on-5, going wherever the wanted and getting buckets however the wanted. But we know the Nuggets can’t play defense; it’s the offense that didn’t show up on Saturday. Carmelo (16 pts, 10 rebs) was 5-for-22 from the field, while Allen Iverson (15 pts) was 5-for-16. Those two as well as the rest of the team had a lot of good looks, everything was just rimming out … One time ‘Melo was stripped by Derek Fisher while trying to back his man down. Wanting the foul call, he stood there arguing with the refs — drawing a technical — while the Lakers were scoring on the other end … ‘Melo in the post-game press conference: “We quit. Everybody. From the coaches to the players, we quit. And I said it. I’m not blaming anyone. I’m not pointing the fingers at nobody. I didn’t play worth a s*** tonight, and I can accept that. But as a competitor, there’s no way that I should lay down and quit and lay down on my team like we did tonight.” Could that possibly motivate the Nuggets into a better performance in Game 4? Maybe. Or it could just mean Kobe smells a wounded animal and is swooping in for the kill … So where do the Nuggets go from here? (Maybe they won’t get swept, but they’re not winning this series; the closest margin of victory for the Lakers so far has been 14 points.) They can chalk this one up to simply running into a better squad and lean on the fact that they’re still a 50-win squad to justify keeping the same group of guys and making another run. The knee-jerk reaction is to fire George Karl and try to implement a different culture amongst a talented roster, but what coach out there can you see leading that turnaround? And with ‘Melo, A.I., Camby, Nene and K-Mart all making big money, they don’t have a ton of cap flexibility, so there probably isn’t one big-fish free agent out there who can push them over the hump unless they grab someone in a sign-and-trade. On top of all that, they could lose two of their key role players in Ed Najera (who at least tries to play D) and Anthony Carter, who are both free agents … Neither the Jazz or the Rockets played well yesterday, but Utah won the war of attrition to take a 3-1 lead with the series headed back to Houston. Deron Williams put up 17 points and 9 assists, punctuated by one play where he burst into the lane and caught everyone by surprise with his now-patented “burst into the lane and surprise everyone” dunk (he and D-Wade do that regularly), but Deron bricked two free throws in crunch time that could have iced the win. Carlos Boozer continued to struggle (the Rockets aren’t getting enough credit for defending him effectively with Dikembe and an assembly line of scrappy power forwards) going 3-for-13 and finishing with 14 points and 14 boards. And as a team, Utah bricked all 14 of their three-pointers. But at least they won. Houston couldn’t buy a bucket down the stretch, going scoreless over a 5-minute stretch in the fourth quarter, as T-Mac (23 pts, 10 rebs, 8 asts) went 9-for-25 from the floor — with 4 points in the fourth — and the Rafer/Jackson combo went 7-for-28 … Up by two with 7 seconds left, Deron stepped to the line and missed two free throws, but Memo (14 pts, 18 rebs) somehow came up with the offensive rebound and made his freebies to seal it … The Jazz fans were chanting “overrated” at T-Mac during the game. One of the readers on DimeMag.com said it a few days ago, something along the lines of, “You’d think Utah fans would sympathize with a 6-9 superstar who can’t win the big game.” … We know Chris Bosh can score on Dwight Howard. He gave him 39 points yesterday and managed NINE offensive rebounds (15 total), but Bosh can’t really do anything when it comes to defending Orlando’s shooters; Rashard Lewis (27 pts), Jameer Nelson (19 pts) and Keith Bogans (12 pts) all had it going beyond the arc to push the Magic to a 3-1 series lead … J.J. Redick has to be watching his teammates fire all these threes and wondering why he can’t get on the court, right? It’s not like he’s playing in a system that doesn’t work for him, which is why the lack of PT makes even less sense … On offense at least, Dwight was making Bosh look like a little kid early in the game, but in the end made his biggest impact on D. One time he almost sent an Anthony Parker offering out of bounds, but after it was recovered and Bosh tried to go to the rack, Howard swatted that one too. He ended up with 8 blocks … By the way, has anyone seen Andrea Bargnani this month? Is he still on the Raptors? Is he still in the League? … Beyond the fact that it was just cool to see the Hawks reward their fans with a W in their first home playoff game in forever — unleashing confetti and streamers from the rafters that have been up there for who knows how long — now we’ve got a series between them and the Celtics. Josh Smith finally looked like the guy some people were saying should have been an All-Star, dropping 27 points while dunking on any and everybody in green that came across his face. The one on Ray Allen was sick and the one where he took off from the dotted line was sick, as were the half-court alley oop from Mike Bibby and the other lob from Bibby where Josh double-clutched and hung in the air for what seemed like a good five seconds … Joe Johnson also had his first real good game of the series, putting up 23 points, 7 boards and 6 assists. When his long-range jumper is falling — he hit 5 threes yesterday — JJ is as hard to stop as any two-guard in the League. He’s damn near power forward size and has some of that Paul Pierce in his game where he’s not an amazing athlete but just a professional scorer … Speaking of Pierce (17 pts, 8 asts), there was a telling camera shot of him kneeling by the scorers table waiting to check in when Josh Smith hit a huge three and Pierce dropped his head like he’d fell asleep at the wheel … Pierce did show some fire towards the end, after Al Horford (17 pts, 14 rebs) gave him a little lip and Pierce went over to the Hawks bench looking like he was trying to fight everybody. Fortunately Brian Scalabrine made himself useful and dragged Pierce away … Rajon Rondo’s reverse layup with two guys draped all over him that he bounced off the “Hawks.com” sign on top of the backboard was crazy and pretty much impossible to recreate in H-O-R-S-E … Did you watch the NFL Draft? Keyshawn Johnson was killing us with his suit: brown pinstriped jacket, black-and-white checkered shirt, pink spotted tie and green pocket square. That’s five different colors and four different prints … The Bobcats fired Sam Vincent. We’re assuming this has less to do with a rookie coach being that bad at his job and more to do with Larry Brown being available. Because while the ‘Cats had a disappointing season, it was premature to get rid of Vincent based on his merits alone. Charlotte pulled off some big wins over the course of the year and played the powerhouse Celtics about as well as anybody in the NBA. And seeing as this was Vincent’s first time ever as a head coach, you have to give him some time. If you were gonna judge that harshly, you should have hired a veteran coach in the first place. So assuming MJ makes a strong play for LB and gets him, that means twice a year we get to see Larry return to Madison Square Garden. That should be fun … We’re out like Keyshawn’s stylist …
April 27th, 2008 at 6:48 am
M.Balla says:
C’mon Dime!!!
Karl’s the problem. No plays are called on both sides, no heart, no passion, players just quit on him. Nuggets are a ISO team on 90% of their possessions and they don’t defend never ever. Everybody knows how predictable we are. And we still won 50 games on west. Go figure.
If we had somebody like Phil Jackson coaching I would be buying tickets in Boston. Take a look at firegeorgekarl dot com, and get an insight…
Plus, are we losing Anhony Carter????? He doesn’t belong in this league at all. Nobody would offer him s***. I would be so glad to lose him… Keep talking about NY, LAL and big market teams because it’s clear you don’t have any idea on what’s going on in Colorado.
April 27th, 2008 at 6:49 am
Amar says:
gotta make that comment, anything to bag on the mailman. lol. he won enough big games to at least make it out of the first round, and even when he was 39 years old he had the best FG% in the 4th quarter, out of everyone in the L, as tabulated by USA today.
hate on Karl all you want, but his career and t-mac’s are nothing alike. for one, t-mac uses injury as an excuse. karl used to treat injuries like jayson williams treats limo drivers.
crappy game, rox are playing good d, but where’ the props for the jazz d? a team doesn’t shoot sub 40% by accident. T-mac scoring 4 points is weak. didn’t kyle have more in the 4th?
jazz didn’t make a three, but at least made their FTs (mostly) this time around.
April 27th, 2008 at 6:58 am
YOUNGFED says:
@SAS and GayforRudy
It’s K-HOVA BABY!!!! lol
I don’t care if yall hate it or love it it’s still K-HOVA allday.
@Austin
WTF did you oversleep or something, get on your job HOMIE!
Also I saw yesterday’s post and did you really let GayforRudy call you KOC? lmao
@All the readers who thought I was hidin’
“Guess Who’s Back, Back Is The Incredible” – Chuck D, Public Enemy
YOUNGFED aka PUBLIC ENEMY #1
BTW – T-Mac is Ova Rated, Also Yall better keep quite before yall awake the Sleeping Dragon aka Crouching Tiger aka Detroit Pistons.
April 27th, 2008 at 6:58 am
darko says:
i love reading smack…greetings from slovenia:)
April 27th, 2008 at 7:02 am
João says:
I just Love the Hawks x Celtics game. Dont get me wrong, the Celtics will win the series. But after watch a million hackashaq and the boring Spurs, last night game was exciting. If the Nuggets played with 50% of energy of the Hawks (last night) or the the Sixers … but it looks like they just dont care ,,,
April 27th, 2008 at 7:12 am
djKianoosh says:
The Nuggets are the most disappointing team in these playoffs. and not just the playoffs, cause we’be been saying all over these posts that you never know what team you’ll get with them. they need a coach that teaches defense, and runs an offensive system at least. karl just lets them do whatever they want on offense. that’s unacceptable from a pro team. can AI opt out? Melo needs to grow up. There’s no way I let Najera leave. he and KMart were the only guys competing last night. Melo had a loser look on his face from the jump. I think at some point during the game AI just knew this series was over. Cause he’s usually demonstrative throughout a game and at some point I just saw some bad body language from him.
talent means nothing if you can’t put it together. look at how the Spurs and Lakers are so precise and dynamic in their attack. That’s real basketball.
April 27th, 2008 at 7:13 am
What is this!? says:
I don’t even know what to say about the Nuggets at this point. Carmelo Anthony makes me laugh saying “we gave up”, no..half of the players were still trying to play the game while you were busy arguing with the ref. Iverson had a bad shooting night, but at least I felt good about his effort. Coach Karl took him out of the game at the start of the 4th and said that he was going to put him back if the score got a little closer, but it never did. Iverson said he felt he should have played still because he felt he could have contributed and felt they still had a chance. Even while they were down by 18 pts in the 4th. Thats why I have always been a fan of AI…because of the fact he is so competetive. Too bad he seems to be placed on a team with some players that aren’t.
I always thought that regardless of what people thought of Iversons teams in Philly, they never quit and always played hard. Even when they were outmatched by opponents, they always played hard and never gave up because they were molded in Iversons image. Half of that Nuggets team seems to follow AI’s lead and half seem to follow Melos. Half play hard everynight regardless of results and half don’t. Iverson gambles on defense at times, yes. He dribbles the ball too much at times, yes. His shot selection is questionable at times, yes. But his pros far outwiegh his cons and one thing that you can never question about that guy is his heart. I feel bad for Iverson and a few others on that roster, but I don’t feel sorry for Melo. As a matter of fact I wish Iverson wouldn’t have got himself traded to the Nuggets so he wouldn’t be a scapegoat and Melo would actually have to take responsibility for something for once. I said from day one playing next to Iverson wasn’t messing up Melo’s game, it was exposing him. I had hope for Melo earlier this season that he would snap out of it, but Carmelo is beyond immature and he should be embarrased that the Nuggets franchise would make a major trade for a player of Iversons caliber if they were not ready to go out and do everything it takes to win.
I read somewhere that Coach Karls job will be safe after this season, if thats true then Iverson should opt out and leave before they try to ruin the rest of his career. Coach Karl seems stuck in his ways and seems to have not figured out how to put this group together or inspired them at all. I wanted to see what that team would look like with a new Coach, because its just too much talent to go to waste. But if a player like Iverson, a player thats known for his heart and competetive nature, can’t inspire Carmelo to play every game like its his last..then who can? Really? Very dissappointing. Too many excuses and not enough results. At this point Melo and Lebron should not be mentioned in the same breath.
April 27th, 2008 at 7:19 am
GayforRudy says:
What’s up Youngfed? I saw that you weren’t going to be around until today…
I’ll just have to live with the hova shit… I am used to it at this point. But I don’t have to like it. So I might as be the one to ask while you’re around; what do you expect the pissed-ons are going to do now?
April 27th, 2008 at 7:20 am
What is this!? says:
djKianoosh
You can add JR Smith and Klieza to that list of competetors as well (I agree they need to hang onto Najera). I think Iverson is just fed up at this point. Melo has put up decent numbers this year but if it wasn’t for Iverson, that Nuggets team would be a .500 team this year in the West. I said that Melo wasn’t a leader or tue franchise player before Iverson even went to the Nuggets, and him playing next to AI just confirmed it. Melo is an All-Star and thats it. He’s a good, solid player but I don’t see him reaching greatness. Hopefully he’ll prove me wrong, but I doubt it. Some of his peers he came in the league with seem light years ahead of him at this point, hell people that came in the league after Melo are shead of him.
April 27th, 2008 at 7:24 am
Smitty313 says:
It’s funny even though the LAKERS are the number ine team in the west. Alot of the media said they would be most likely to be upset in the first round. Even though the Lakers swept Denver in the regular seasons two of the games were blowouts.
Like I said the other day Carmelo is a bust. He hasn’t improved at all since he came into the league. He has all the energy in the world to play offense but he’s resting on D.. If he would of went to the Pistons he would have not played his rookie seasons. Larry Brown dosen’t play that shit. They say Carmelo was the best player for team USA. But it was all offense. He needs to pay Bruce Bowen over the summer to learn defense. Melo use to be one of my favorite players but he just drop out of my top ten. I’m happy because Kobe is my favorite player. I blame George Karl for Carmelo’s lack of defense.
April 27th, 2008 at 7:30 am
the_don_mega says:
umm…
amar???
are you talkin’ about karl malone or george karl?
April 27th, 2008 at 7:38 am
What is this!? says:
I think Amar is talking about Karl Malone. Why? I don’t know. LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!
April 27th, 2008 at 7:46 am
YOUNGFED says:
Smitty313 says:
“Like I said the other day Carmelo is a bust.”
Dude that has to be the most retarded statement EVER. If Carmelo is a bust WTF is decent player to you Michael “Fuking” Jordan. GTFOH
GayforRudy says:
“while you’re around; what do you expect the pissed-ons are going to do now?”
I don’t really know? Seems to me that if your only job is to shoot hoops, how the fuk do you miss 15 consective shots. If I was coach I’d lock the gym doors and make everyone shoot a mandatory 1500 jumpers and 500 layups before they could leave.
I’m not gonna complain that much cause I didn’t see the last game I was at the Jay-Z/Mary J. Blige concert. BEST DAMN CONCERT EVER, HANDS DOWN. Jigga and Mary did their thang. If they come to any of yall town. “KILL YO SELF” If you don’t go check it out. If yall ain’t got the bread and your over 25 yrs old “KILL YO SELF (X)2″ LMAO
Alright I’m done……lol
April 27th, 2008 at 7:58 am
damn shame says:
YOUNGFED, you weren’t at no concert. Your best friend got married yesterday and you had to go because you were the Maid of Honor.
April 27th, 2008 at 8:09 am
Logan says:
Carmelo as T-Mac?? Not in his dreams. T-Mac at least puts forth an effort. Tell Melo to come back when he gets bounced from the first round too many times to count and he is the ONLY star on the team. I would have more sympathy if Melo had only JR to run with…
April 27th, 2008 at 8:26 am
KL says:
Andrea Bargnani.
Why is the media so kind to this #1 draft pick? If he was american bred, the term “FLOP” would be used to describe him. He’d be compared with the likes of Kwame and Olowokandi when it comes to #1 picks. I suppose he was lucky that the 2006 draft wasn’t the greatest, albiet, Roy and Aldridge are pretty damn good. I also suppose that him playing for a non-US team, he’s not getting as much attention. Regardless, being from Toronto, I’m really tired of the local media emphaisizing ‘potential’.
April 27th, 2008 at 8:26 am
XZoom says:
Nice of the Atlanta fans to show up all of sudden. Whole year that arena was empty but they show up for the playoffs. Talk about bandwagon fans Mike Bibby.
April 27th, 2008 at 8:30 am
YOUNGFED says:
@post14
You must be one of the ones that should “Kill Yo Self”
PS I hope that post wasn’t supposed to be funny.
April 27th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Greg says:
The Magic are gonna win their series in 5 or 6 games, and if Philly somehow holds of Detroit, I could very well see the Magic making a long postseason journey. They could match up well with Boston and very well steal a potential series from them
GO MAGIC!
April 27th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Bone says:
Everyone who is hating on Melo needs to shut up and look at facts. Which of these series was Denver SUPPOSED to win?
2008 – #8 seed versus Lakers
2007 – #6 seed versus San Antonio
2006 – #3 seed versus the Clippers (but the Clipps had a better record and homecourt)
2005 – #7 seed versus San Antonio
2004 – #8 seed versus Minnesota
It’s not like they are choking away high seeds. They had lost to the eventual champions twice, plus Minnesota who made the coference finals, and the Lakers this year who are going to make the conference finals at least.
People are hating on Melo for his team not pulling upsets. It’s not all his fault. He is not the only one who doesn’t play D. What do you want him to do, score 50 per game? Get off his back.
April 27th, 2008 at 9:36 am
the_don_mega says:
Bone…
nobody here is discounting Melo’s talents…
well…
amybe it’s you who’s questioning Melo and the Nuggets…
“Which of these series was Denver SUPPOSED to win?”
that’s nonesense…
if you ain’t playing to win…
then don’t play at all…
this is not about Melo’s talents…
its about HEART and the WILL/DESIRE to win…
oh…
and by the way…
were the Warriors SUPPOSED to win against the Mavs last year???
i say you’re the better one who should STFU…
think about it first before you start yappin’…
April 27th, 2008 at 9:45 am
What is this!? says:
the_don_mega
Thank you for clarifying that for the ‘misunderstood’. Melo’s fans have more excuses then him. LOL!!!
April 27th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Three Stacks says:
I can never understand how teams can give up an offensive rebound with the game on the line, the way the Rockets did last night. Yeah, I understand the ball bounces the wrong way sometimes, but that wasn’t the case last night. Carl Landry, despite playing great all night, got pushed away from the block by Mehmet f****** Okur in the most pivotal moment of the game.
Why didn’t Adelman put in Chuck Hayes between free throws in the first place, to have an extra rebounder? They were gonna call a timeout and he could’ve subbed Bobby Jackson back in anyway.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:02 am
word says:
melo doesn’t even know what he sayin, it doesn’t even make sense.
“But as a competitor, there’s no way that I should lay down and quit and lay down on my team like we did tonight.”
how does that sentence make sense? get off the booze melo, kenyon and ai too. well at least these guys still aren’t as stupid as josh howard.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Celts Fan says:
Ray Allen hammered on Josh Smith a few times in the early 3rd quarter. It was the first time I’ve ever seen him do that to a real shot-blocker… all it did was wake Josh up and he made a point of dunking on Ray Allen the rest of the night. It was actually kinda funny. Great game by the Hawks. I loved how the announcers were killing the Atlanta fans for never showing up, and when the clocks got screwed up and they just had to turn them off after a 5 minute wait trying to fix them, it was hilarious seeing the shots of guys like Paul Pierce and Josh Smith just sitting on the bench with a, “Can’t we hurry this shit along? Let’s just fuckin play,” look on their faces.
Celtics in 5…
April 27th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Steve M says:
I think people tend look at the “Carmelo is a bust” argument in the context of his draft class. LeBron has been to the Finals and D Wade has got a ring and Melo hasn’t been out of the first round. Let’s be honest here, Melo has a FAR better supporting cast then LeBron, and a comparable squad to what Wade had when the Heat won a ring. Also Melo is really only one dimensional. Granted, he is very gifted in that one dimension but thats all he offers. He has yet to show that growth in his all-around game that you would expect from a franchise player. And in year 5 of his career you have to start to wonder if he ever will.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:33 am
cameron says:
C’mon Smack, you made the same ignorant statement Barkley does (and gets corrected by Ernie Johnson) about Dwight and Chris Bosh. If you actually watch the games you’d know DWIGHT DOESN’T GUARD BOSH. Bosh plays the 4 and Dwight plays the 5. Dwight guards Nesterovich, and when they go small he’s on Bargnani. Rashard and Hedo have been guarding Bosh. Dwight comes over to double occasionally, but in no way is Bosh Dwight’s primary assignment. Let’s start watching the games, ok? Not just commenting on the Sportscenter highlights.
And about J.J., why keep bringng him up? He’s gotten plenty of opportunities this year and frankly didn’t do anything with them. We know he can shoot, but he consistently has major lapses on defense. Bogans, Evans and Dooling all can shoot the ball and put it on the floor like JJ, but they play hard-nosed defense as well. It’s obvious to everyone who watches Magic games why JJ is buried in the rotation. It’s not a talent issue, it’s a hustle and desire issue.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:46 am
YOUNGFED says:
@Word
Howard was just keeping it REAL. Half the dudes in the NBA smoke a lil weed. HOWARD is better than half the guys in the league and probably the best on his team. Dude can say wtf he want.
“What the Fuk They gone say to me, got the ROC na mean” – Jay-Z
Thats pretty much somes up how howard is feelin’
April 27th, 2008 at 10:52 am
John says:
To #’s 11 and 12:
The reason Amar is talking about Malone is from the comment about Utah fans sympathizing with a 6-9 star who can’t win big games. Just wanted to clarify that it’s you two who are getting things mixed up, not Amar.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:59 am
marcus says:
the funniest thing to me about the houston game is that adelman waited for williams to brick the free throws before bringing in another big to rebound (btw the whole time williams was at the line i repeatedly kept saying that hayes should come in to the game to rebound) , I could coach the rockets and make better end-game decisions
April 27th, 2008 at 11:02 am
daquest?on says:
u have got 2 b kidding me… the sixers can win agaisnt detroit the hawks can win agaisnt the celtics but the nuggets cant win agaisnt thelakers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! imdone fire george karl he is the problem
April 27th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Gareth says:
Yo dime, you guys gotta update the `Can Obama` ball question. Check the video out on nba.com.
April 27th, 2008 at 11:13 am
YOUNGFED says:
Quote of The Day:
“If you’ve got a team that’s more talented but doesn’t play as hard, they are going to overcome you,” Billups said. “We went through that situation last year with the Chicago Bulls. Coming into this series, maybe we didn’t think the 76ers played as hard as the Bulls did, but we are finding out that they do.”
“If we can match their energy and intensity, it would make our chances a lot better.”
The Pistons soundin’ a lil worried to me what yall think.
April 27th, 2008 at 11:15 am
What is this!? says:
Oh sorry #30…didn’t know the situation was that serious for you to clarify. LOL!!
April 27th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Jeffrey says:
Blame the Rockets management for not getting Tracy McGrady and the Rockets a third scorer. Rafer Alston is a fourth scorer at best.
April 27th, 2008 at 11:23 am
cb3 says:
did anyone else see the utah fans sign that said;
where ‘7 first round playoff exits’ happen
April 27th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Korady says:
As a Celtics fan, my favorite moment last night was when Pierce slipped going for the steal and Horford hit that jumper. First I was even more frustrated with the game, then I saw Horford jawing at Paul. Big mistake. You don’t light an even bigger fire under Paul Pierce. Especially when he has KG and Ray Ray to back him up. So when that happened, I laughed and thanked Al Horford for eliminating any chance the Hawks had at winning any more games in this series. Celtics in 5
April 27th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Dennis Castro says:
Like I’ve been saying, I’d take Caron over Melo any day of the week.
That’s why I think he deserves a 2nd all NBA team selection over Melo.
AI had to feel like throwing up after hearing that quitting comment from Melo.
Can’t wait for the Sixers-Pistons game tonight.
April 27th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
daquest?on says:
yoooo wtf is mike tirico saying…he knows nothing about soulja boy he aint a one hit wonder what about yahhh trick yaaaaah at least hubie brown admitted that he dint know n e thing
April 27th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
yoda says:
melo showed what kind of person is when he sucker punched that guy from nyk, then run away to his bench, to find protection there. and you still question his heart and toughnes? hes nothing but a bitch
April 27th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Amar says:
yeah, @30, that’s correct
and okur didn’t push off trying to get the board, tmac tipped the ball past landry and into okur’s hands. if you want to see people pushing off for rebounds look at scola and boozer.
April 27th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Amar says:
btw, okur has been putting up some monster board numbers in the playoffs — for someone who avg. 7 rpg
April 27th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Gee...Be history or make history...so sick of that crap! says:
Houston up! I usually don’t post a lot during the weekend but I will say this.
There are times as a fan you hit a wall that really hurts.
Last night watching the game with my wife I became extremely frustrated. Not frustrated with the Jazz because they honestly just have an awesome team. Not frustrated with the announcers cause they called a nice game. Yet, the refs and the calls that were made, simply put, were horrible. If it wasn’t the wrong call, it was a no call or no need for a call at a moment a call was made (hope I didn’t lose anyone there).
With errors Chuck Hayes made, the poor defense in Skip escorting Deron to making layups and dunks and Rick putting Tracy in at the wrong time and making bad decisions Houston lost one they should have and could have had.
So I come not to bury the refs but to praise Utah. I am not praising Utah on the game they played, but more so in having the right players.
The GM for Utah and Coach Sloan I will say deserve a tremendous amount of credit and praise. Utah not only drafts well but makes excellent decisions in the players they pick. The only other team that does that as well to me is the Spurs.
So congrats Utah, although it still ain’t ova now. I am just speaking on game 4. I think at this point more than anything, I am seeing a game where one GM is beating the other more so than the teams.
It hurts but this to shall pass.
I heard somewhere George Karl is coming back next year. To bad for the Nuggs. I guess they will go after Ron Artest thinking he will solve their problems. To bad for them until they get rid of G.K.
All I got to say for ATL is, that is how they should have been balling all year. They could easily be a 4-5 seed with their talent but their focus is to inconsistent.
Al Horford is one of my favorite players right now for real. I am sure P Dub will make him pay in his own way but I love seeing a rookie step up like he ain’t afraid.
Ut Oh Cleveland….ut oh!
April 27th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
daquest?on says:
I WILL NEVER PRAISE THE LAKERSS!!!!!!!!!!! FIRE GEORGE KARLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL AND TALK SOME SENSE INTO CARMELO ANTHONY
April 27th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
BLUE says:
Melo is really disappointing. Coming out of Syracuse he was one of my favorite players. Lately he plays with no emotion or passion, his game hasnt been the same since the brawl. If George Karl is back next year then AI needs to opt out and hopefully go to a team that he can win with. As much fun is it is to see him play in Denver when they are playing good, AI needs to have a shot at a ring and unless Karl is gone I can’t see that happening. Why did Karl put AI on the bench? He shot 5-15 but Melo was 5-22 or something and still in the game…at least AI was trying. Denver needs a new coach, I would like to see Larry Brown he is good at turning teams around. Too bad if Melo doesnt like him, Melo needs some guidance and tough love before he messes up his career. If AI opts out I would love to see AI back east maybe in Cleveland with Lebron, even more interesting combo than AI and Melo plus Lebron needs some help too. It sucks for the Nuggets that they have had tough first round matchups the past couple years, but a team like this should be able to win against the best teams. When AI took Philly to the finals few thought they should make it that far either but they did. And to get swept is just embarassing.
April 27th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Ian says:
bone post 21
that was all crap
so lets just give the titles to the number 1 seed
cuz no one else is SUPPOSED to win
pleaseeee
melo has a good team
melo is overrated
melo is just a scorer
melo cant rebound for his size
melo cant play d
melo is a ball hog
there
and there is no way the clippers were better than the nuggets
April 27th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
MoxWestCoastRep says:
?quest- youre gonna have to praise the lakers after they do the same thing to the Jazz, then the Spurs on their way to the W conferenece title. The Lakers are making the Nuggets look THAT BAD.
April 27th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
SAS Sizzle says:
Well the Spurs are making the Suns look pretty bad, too. They lost today but they’ll get ‘em next time around!
I wanna see the young Lakers bench and guys like Radmanovic actually produce in the playoffs against the Spurs D before you get too confident talkin’ WCF, man.
April 27th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Ian says:
moxwest lol
lakers wont do shit to the spurss ifff the lakers get by utah
April 27th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
What is this!? says:
I agree ‘Ian’…
The Lakers will find out that the Jazz team is far more disciplined then the Nuggets and if the Lakers make it past them, they aren’t getting past the Spurs with the way the Spurs are playing right now. Don’t get me wrong, I like what the Lakers are doing and they seem to have a good future..but this year won’t be their year.
April 27th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
daquest?on says:
ur right cuz this is the nuggets year lmfao
April 27th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
daquest?on says:
yo if the sixers win the series agaisnt detroit the finals are gonna b celtics vs detroit…also dont count out the pistons just yet even if they lose this game cuz they were under a same precament a few years back agaisnt t mac and the magic and they managed to win
April 27th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
MoxWestCoastRep says:
wrong, wrong, wrong. The great thing about Derek Fisher is he can defend the likes of Deron Williams and Tony Parker. SAS fans may remember a series where Fish hit a shot-does .03 ring a bell?
Those PGs are going to get off no doubt but do SA and Utah have an answer for LO, Gasol and the Mamba? I dont think so. And since the Lakers are about to sweep and get plenty of rest, you can throw Bynum back in the mix for a defensive presence.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to a great Western Conf Semis and finals either way.
And you can stick a fork in the STONES- DEEEEEETROOOOIT your run is over.
April 27th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
daquest?on says:
i meant sixers sry typo finals: sixers celtics
April 27th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
daquest?on says:
woaaaaaaaa there mox the lakers aint gonna sweep ai wont let that happen
April 27th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
nbaroundtable says:
“Amar says:
btw, okur has been putting up some monster board numbers in the playoffs — for someone who avg. 7 rpg ”
Jerry Sloan must have said something to him at the all-star break because Okur has been a beast since.
Pre All-Star = 13ppg 6rpg 42%FG (42 games)
Post All-Star = 17ppg 10rpg 48%FG (27 games)
Everything about his game is better including his defense. Utah’s defense really picked up in the second half of the season when Okur picked up the pace.
Great work by the big fella
April 27th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
daquest?on aka CB5 says:
okur is like a small foward on a centers body
April 27th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
MoxWestCoastRep says:
AI has no choice…break out the brooms in Denver. Last game was a “must win” and AI couldnt hit the back side of a barn. SWEEP.
Kobe wont let this series go back to LA.
April 27th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Willis says:
what would Stern do if it was an Orlando/Utah final?
that would be sickkkk
April 27th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
nbaroundtable says:
An Orlando-Utah final would be beautiful to watch. Utah killing Orlando with Deron-Boozer versus Dwight beating up all their bigs. Kirilenko on Hedo. Lots of fun matchups. You’d have to like Utah though, too deep, too talented, too many strengths of theirs attack Magic flaws.
Detroit have done very well coming back to beat Philadelphia here. Game Five is going to be very interesting, a battle of will.
By the way, why can’t Tayshaun Prince get it together and play like this more often?
April 27th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
daquest?on aka CB5 says:
what about iguadala… he is playing bad basketball missing free throws and shooting a terrible percentage frm the field
April 27th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
tealish says:
Lol @ you guys. Comparing the HOFer Karl Malone to T-mac. Please. No ring, doesn’t equate playoff failure. His Jazz made it to the finals how many times? Not their fault they ran into the Greatest.
Now t-mac..
April 28th, 2008 at 12:03 am
What is this!? says:
I can’t wait for the Lakers to get taken out in the 2nd or 3rd round. If they make it past the Jazz, they are not getting past the Spurs. I can’t wait, because thier bandwagon fans are all over the Internet and are flat out annoying. I don’t know why Laker fans want a Lakers vs Celtics finals so bad, for what? Just so you can watch your team get killed by the Celtics? The Lakers don’t match up well at all with the Celtics, even with Bynum. And the Celtics don’t care about the “Kobe show”…they are all about winning the chip and nothing else.
April 28th, 2008 at 1:31 am
peep game says:
The Truth threw up a hand sign at Horford after Al talked ish. According to the local sportscaster, it was the sign for ‘bounty hunter’…that’s ill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGAPpfrf4fk
April 28th, 2008 at 2:50 am
Suciniac says:
@post 65
Exactly,man.The Lakers bandwagon started even before the playoffs when they hadn’t done shit.If you remember our own DIME put Lakers as the favorites to win it all ahead of Boston,Spurs and the Suns.They are showing that they are indeed good but everyone knew that when it was announced Gasol would be coming to LA.Utah is ifinitely more disciplined than the Nuggets and play both ends of the court.
@post54
The spurs are 3-1 up against Shaq,Stat and Nash,what makes you think they can’t handle Gasol,LO and Kobe.First, play against a team who plays D before yapping.Oh and Lakers fan may remember getting there asses handed to them in the finals by a heavy underdog team.What goes around comes around so don’t sweat about a single shot that don’t mean horse shit this year.
April 28th, 2008 at 3:14 am
Boyez says:
wow laker hate is back……..Before anyone says that lakers are gonna get their asses handed to them, allow them to play the game ……
April 28th, 2008 at 4:12 am
Leandro says:
How many dunks did Josh Smith have that night? 5?
http://ezinearticles.com/?Josh-Smith-Dunk-or-How-to-Increase-Vertical-Jump&id=645235
April 28th, 2008 at 4:50 am
What is this!? says:
#69…maybe if you fans would allow them to just “play the game” before going around claiming they are about to “win the chip” and beat everyother team down in the process, you wouldn’t have to worry about Laker “hate”. Man, the bandwagon got full fast again in Lakerland…SMH
As everyone can see, I am not a fan of the NBA fixing things so it can be a Lakers vs Celtics Finals (just to watch the Lakers get outclassed) if they both make it there, fine… but I don’t care if its boring teams in the Finals like the Spurs and Detroit…whatever team it doesn’t matter, just as long as they make sure things are fair, because i’m starting to wonder about the NBA fixing sh*t.
April 28th, 2008 at 9:07 am
doc says:
Melo dont even put his hands up on D.He wasting my man AI prime with that BS.I seen AI a lot over the years and I never seen him come out a playoff game in the 4th and not even look mad.He just put his shirt on like fuck this team.Come back to the Sixers homie.We got Dre Miller running the show and play D.All we need is a top notch scorer.
April 28th, 2008 at 9:25 am
Amar says:
Memo has played well after the all-star break, and conversely, Boozer has been playing less than stellar ball.
Utah would own Orlando, they swept them this season.
April 28th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Dave says:
Okur was hurt the first two months of the year with a back injury.
Boozer’s first goal of the year was to make the All Star team, once that was accomplished he coasted. Hopefully he’s awake now and remembers the other goals he set for the season.
I can’t wait for the first time goober Gasol lurps to the hoop against the Jazz, they won’t be dodging him like Linas, MarshMelo and the Thuggs are doing. (by the way did anyone get the name of the reporter who got Melo talking about giving up on the game and then wouldn’t let it go? he asked him at what point in the game he gave up, great comedy!)
Lakers Jazz will be a fun series regardless of who wins…..Harpring on Kobe, sure he’ll get scored on, maybe even lit up, but Kobe will be working for everything he gets.
Jazz Orlando final would have been like a Jazz Indiana final in 98, no way it will happen though, C’s are too tough.
April 28th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Dave says:
moxwest……gotta tell you Fish can’t guard DWill. Go back and look at the games this year, Deron works him reguarly.
The Galloping Goober (Gasol) is going to have a wake-up call in game one against the Jazz, should be good times in LA.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Lady Luck says:
The conspiracy theorists have arrived.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Diego says:
The Celts are arrogant punks. Oooohhh, like Big Al is scared of Paul Pierce! Let’s be real, Al, Josh Smith, or Joe Johnson (who is ripped) could absolutely kick Pierce’s whining, punk ass! (And I loved how Zaza just bullied Garnett all over the place. (Nice airball Kevin!))
How the hell does everyone know Philips has been empty this year!?! Duh, it hasn’t been. There have been lots of good, big, enthusiastic crowds this year. Stfu if you haven’t been to any games and are just repeating what the TV talking heads say. They don’t know sh**. The playoffs is the first all year the Hawks have been televised, so these jerks don’t know what the hell they are talking about! Celt fans/jerks please stay at home tonight.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Amar says:
Big Al should be scared of PP, not because is badder than him, but because PP is throwing up signs for Piru Bloods in Inglewood at him. It’s who PP knows that makes him dangerous. (also the fact that he’s pretty hardcore)
April 28th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Dave says:
I called a game between Inglewood h.s. with PP and Mtn. Crest in Utah back in a Las Vegas tourney in 94 I think it was and the boys PP runs with are bad, and I would bet they’d have his back whenever/however he needs it.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:52 am
doc says:
Dave everybody in the league bad or a thug to you.I should just start calling all the white ballers skinheads.
April 28th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Dave says:
no I love PP, one of my favorites to watch and I’m happy to see him where he is. I always thought PP always was above everything that was going on around him, at least that’s what his coaches and people in the community said. I also know that he was the pride of that community and that transcended a lot of the problems that were going on at the time and that the people there would do anything for him.
I could see maybe Pollard…..
April 28th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Dave says:
I re-read my first post it sounded worse/different than I meant it…..
April 28th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Diego says:
Well, PP seriously is lucky he still is balling today, taking into account the multiple stab wounds he suffered outside a club in Boston in his early Celtics days. (Sometimes it is who you know/hang out with who can get you killed also.)
Actually, I am not all that anti-Pierce, but I wish he and Garnett followed Ray Allen’s lead a bit and let their game speak more for themselves (rather than the jabbering/whining). That was a sweet, rapid-fire slam by Ray that Josh Smith was trying to size up for the block.