Tim Donaghy Tries to Ruin the Best Season Ever, Rondo Injury Update

Smack / Jun 12, 2008 / 3:32 am

Tim Donaghy Tries to Ruin the Best Season Ever, Rondo Injury Update

Rajon Rondo

It’s weird how this whole Tim Donaghy thing resurfaced when it did. Last August, it was like the NBA had gotten a gift when Donaghy pleaded out and the gambling scandal kind of drifted away before training camp; since the last thing the League wanted was that story hanging over its actual season. So then the NBA turns out this amazing ’07-08 run, and then right in the middle of its dream-scenario Lakers/Celtics NBA Finals, guess what everyone is talking about on the sports-channel argument shows? Donaghy, crooked refs, allegedly fixed playoff games and gambling … Between “Rogue Isolated Criminal” and “Singing Cooperating Witness,” David Stern has named several fantasy basketball teams for years to come … Paul Pierce‘s bad knee is a distant memory for the Celtics now that they have Rajon Rondo‘s ankle to worry about. Rondo did come back to play after he turned the ankle in Game 3 but didn’t do much, and you know how downtime can make an ankle injury even more painful. Hopefully for Boston, their point guard can go tonight, because less Rondo of course means more Sam Cassell. For what it’s worth Rondo told the L.A. Times that he almost fell out bed yesterday when he tried to put weight on it, but now he “can walk on it.” … Do you think Pierce is a better scorer than Larry Bird? Do you think Kevin McHale is the best low-post scorer of all-time? Some of the Celtics fans in the Dime office think so, and one of our guys thinks that means they’re going insane … If Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom aren’t going to step up, Sasha Vujacic will have to come through with another big game tonight if the Lakers hope to tie the series up. Yesterday someone in the office said they could see Vujacic averaging 15 points a night sometime in the next 2-3 years and becoming a Manu Ginobili-ish sidekick for Kobe. Do you think Sasha will ever be that good? … And with all the scrutiny being thrown Gasol and Odom’s way, how come no one’s calling out Derek Fisher? Where has he been during this series? … We caught some of the Bulls’ introductory press conference for new head coach Vinny Del Negro, which was one of the most honest pressers we’ve seen in a while. GM John Paxson admitted the Bulls don’t have superstar talent, but they do have good players who “lost their spirit” this season. Later on, Del Negro said, “Do I feel totally prepared right now? No.” Perhaps the new honesty policy has something to do with the fact that this organization realized they’re awful at keeping secrets … What moves would you make this summer if you were running your favorite NBA team? We asked the question HERE. Now if you’re the Raptors, priority #1 is clearly to lock up restricted free agent Jose Calderon, which also comes with the inevitable T.J. Ford trade. Now we’re hearing that the Raps may let Jorge Garbajosa walk, as some Spanish media outlets are reporting that Toronto is negotiating a buyout of Garbo’s contract. Jamario Moon‘s emergence at small forward probably makes Garbajosa expendable in the Raptors’ mind, but for a team with an obvious deficiency in the toughness department, keeping Garbajosa seems like a must. The guy is a warrior who basically played on a broken leg just to rep his country in last summer’s European championship … So Anderson Varejao is too injured to play for Team Brazil this summer, Sasha Pavlovic is too injured to play for Team Serbia, and the Cavs aren’t letting Zydrunas Ilgauskas play for Team Lithuania because they’re too worried about his back. Man, LeBron has some squad around him, doesn’t he? Oh, and Daniel Gibson might leave as a free agent … Unless they can find some way to dump one or two of their monstrous expiring contracts (i.e. Wally Szczerbiak or Eric Snow), the Cavs won’t be in the Monta Ellis sweepstakes this offseason. One team that reportedly will be going after Monta is the Grizzlies. What do you think of a lineup of Mike Conley at the point, Monta at the two, Rudy Gay at the three, Hakim Warrick and Darko up front, and Mike Miller as the sixth man? That’s not a bad foundation … In Dime #41 (the “Best Season Ever” cover) we featured Andre Iguodala, who we shot wearing some of his customized threads in Philadelphia night spot “G.” Check out the behind-the-scenes video HERE … So the NBA made some changes to its D-League affiliation system — they say — due to expansion. One of the changes? The Sonics‘ minor-league affiliate, which used to be the Idaho Stampede, is now the Tulsa 66ers. That’s right, the Tulsa, OKLAHOMA 66ers. Real subtle move there … We’re out like Garbo …

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Damon

1st
Camp Lo

Odom needs to wake-up & start playin some ball
Lamar

troisième
sans

Fish was the only other Laker to show up in game one. Sometimes y’all have shorter memories than Youngfed.

Does anyone think that Boobie will get serious burn anywhere other than Cleveland? C’mon, his nicknames Boobie.

Where do BG and Luol end up next year? Hoping the Cavs make a run at one or the other, along with a few trades. At #19 will they draft Bill Walker? Amar at Cavalier Attitude (thanks for the hookup on a great Cavs blog, Dime) thinks that he’s gonna be the steal of this draft. Of course, his knees hafta hold up. They also worked out Mbemba–is he really slotted to go 50-60 in this draft? Where’s Ibaka ranked in these mock drafts. Ibaka seems to be the freak of nature athlete that could become the running mate that Bron needs. What’s everyone else think?
http://creampie.com the real marcus

bill walker @ 19? i dont think so… athleticism and all, ismthey’d be better off with the likes of brandon rush or even CDR, since cleveland needs the extra guns, and i mean ricky buckets-like gun-shy dudes… and ibaka might even go round 1 with teams who can afford to stash em up, like san antonio…

we’re out like cleveland’s big men trainers…
Big Sia

THE LEAGUE IS FIXED

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q1kxZpyREdE

Believe in Sheed
kobeef

- The more I read the more I think the Vinny Del Negro signing is completely bizarre. The guy has not coached in any capacity in the NBA (assisant or head coach)…it seems kind of odd that a guy who has never done a similar job before is the best fit for a team that has lots of choices.

- Mona Ellis Sweepstakes? Really? I think we are abuising the term sweepstakes here. I’m gonna bang away at my suggestion that anyone who signs Monta Ellis is going to regret it …that said, based on recent trends Memphis is likely to make that mistake. He looks nice right now with his athleticism but that knee is gonna blow and when it does you have a guy who is 6’3, can’t make plays and is trigger happy. Also, you can kind of tell this when you look at him but did you know his wingspan is just 6’2? The guy has Earl Boykins arms on a 6’3 body!! The kid looks great in GS because he is surrounded by shooters so nobody ever guards him.

- Letting Garbo walk is a good idea. Ever since he decided to tell the raps to Eat S— when they asked him to rest his injury instead of playing for Spain in the summer it has been pretty clear that Gabo is not a “team” guy (at least a raptors guy). He was lucky to get a contract in the NBA..
ya’ll must’ve forgot

I think the FINALS are still going on.

but, we can talk free agents if it makes everyone feel better
frankie

hey ya’ll, did YOU come across any changes in the series since yesterday? no? then why do we want to read about the exact same stuff they wrote yesterday?
Tbeezy

I’ve been saying all season that if Sasha ever leaves the Lakers (which i hope he doesn’t) he could be an 18-20pt per game scorer. I feel he could be a lesser version of Kevin Martin and if you put him on an 8 seed team he could get buckets. He’s only 24 and has shown improvement every year. I think he will be somewhat hot on the free agent market(restricted) and could draw a Luke Waltonesqe contract of 6yr. 36 million. (Shit I think Brian Cardinal makes more than that, no disrespect Cardinal is my boy, but he got one of the luckiest contracts in sports).
BALLZ

Tits Gibson ain’t goin nowhere.
Brown

Good riddance Garbo. The last thing the Raptors need is a 3/4 who plays the perimeter. Yeah he rebounds defensively, but he’s not as good as advertised. He might be the worst athlete on that entire team. The Raps need to get away from players who play the perimeter (i.e 90% of their team).
http://www.nerditry.com nerditry

Vujacic won’t be like Manu because he’s not attacking the basket consistently. More like Bowen in playing man defense, focusing on perimeter shooting and annoying the shit out of anyone not rooting for his team.
fallinup

Vujacic can’t hold Manu’s jock. Lemme see, Manu has won a gold medal (as the star), a couple world championships (as the star), and a couple rings (as a major piece).

Sasha has one 20+ point in the finals. Yeah….get off the kool aid guys.

Sasha can shoot when he’s open. Manu can dribble, drive, and finish. The only thing they have in common is that they are euro players and have dark hair.
fallinup

And maybe they have the same bald spot in common. Hence why Sasha is sporting the long hair. LOL
karizmatic

The Raps should not get rid of Garbajosa, I don’t think Vujacic could be a 20 pts scorer ever…he’s too inconsistent and he’s not as quick as Ginobili, nor does he play with as much heart. He’s basically a player Kobe makes look good. And Monta Ellis is a bad look at Shooting Guard for a most teams, he’s 6’3. He could possibly work for the Cavs since they have shooting guards masquerading as point guards anyway, but it’s a bad look for Memphis.
Chuck…Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms

@real marcus and Kobeef

The knee problems would be alleviated if they were doing the proper workout routines to strengthen everything around the knee. The main problem is that some of these players aren’t lifting weights at all? I don’t understand that myself? But it is a proven fact, if you stretch, and do various exercises to strengthen that knee, and DON’T pound on it all summer playing playground ball, Walker and Ellis would be fine. So I would look at their work ethic, and see if they want to work hard to keep the knees strong, that way even if they get hurt, they could still work their way back- Stoudamire,Kidd etc…..
girlybballluver

@ #7…Monta Ellis trigger happy? He’s one of (if not the most) efficient 2 guards in the L. You can’t be serious.
Chuck…Haters come in all fashions and forms so bear arms

@girlybballuver
I don’t think he was callin him trigger happy or ineffective now judging from this statement? “He looks nice right now with his athleticism”
I think he was referring to a situation if Monta’s knee failed him?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/djkianoosh djkianoosh

thanks fallinup, i was going to lose my breakfast until smacked some sense into the proceedings..

what’s best is that sasha himself knows he’s not as good manu. we heard him say this during the last series.

but as always, the getting to the finals enhances a lot of players’ reputations.
kobeef

@Chuck
I know that rehab can help but Monta’s had that injury since high school and the medical reports on his knee were one of the reason’s he was a second round pick. He could recover but I expect in the next 2 years he will need major knee surgery and I’d rather wait to see how that works out before giving him big $$ if I was a GM

@Girly
Monta shoots a high percentage…and high volume with not much passing. My poing here is that he is an undersized shooting guard and not does not have the kind of elite playmaking skills to run a team. If you have the choice you should probably not pay big $$ for an undersized, short (wingspan) and possibly injured SG. Also, the offense in GS has a way of elping everyone look like an elite scorer (see Matt Barnes, SJax) because everyone takes manhy shots. I would guess that Monta’s FG% would not be as high if he wasn’t surrounded by scorers in a high volume offense.
D

truehoop had a pretty in depth article on the donaghy thing. DEF worth a read. Donaghy’s words deserve consideration. Tons of journalists are saying that it’s the worst game of the modern era they’ve ever seen. And is it so hard to believe that a ref who admits to betting knew of other betting? absolutely not. Stern will continue to side-step the issues Donaghy brings up, but lets remember, basketball, to non-hardcore fans like those that populate the pages of b-ball blogs, was dead in the post-Jordan era. money rules and there’s no reason to believe that there wasn’t something sketchy going on. Give it some weight, investigate, it’s what the paying public deserves
Knicksinsix

Why do fans believe the league fixed the Pat Ewing sweepstakes for the Knicks back in the day but don’t believe that they “influence” games? The Spurs having one bad year when D. Rob gets hurt and they get TD? MJ gambling on basketball games and rather than suspend him he goes play baseball? The Celtics have no talent other than Paul Pierce winning what 24 games and Minnesota trades KG there for All Jefferson and Gerald Green? when other teams could have given them more value in return? Oh yeah McHale and Ainge were teammates back in the day. Does anyone other than MJ get called for the pushoff on Russell? How many times have we heard announcers say a team would have gotten that call if they were home? A foul is a foul as Mike Beasley might say – In NY, in Philly, even in Africa. Also, the superstars are supposed to have extraordinary talent far superior to the regular ballers so if the slightest tap on the elbow or wrist or the slightest body contact affects their shot so much that they get free throws how much does the same contact if not worse affect the shot of a non-superstar? yet they don’t get free throws they get the -he has no business taking that shot. Why is it that when two superstars go head to head whichever superstar is the media darling at the time usually gets the calls. You could go on for days. I believe there is some truth to some of the things Donaghy is saying. He was probably one of many refs who gambled but he got caught and was going to be made an example of – just like the street game sometimes you gotta take one for the team- and he feels slighted and now he’s doing the Nino Brown -If I’m going down, I’m taking a lot of people with me.
yallallreadyknow

there is plent of organized crime in sports. the nba included. the draft lottery HAS BEEN fixed before; but it is not fixed every year.
i knew the nba draft lottery was fixed when the Nets won the 1st overall pick in 2000 (kenyon martin). prior to that lottery, rod thorn left the nba corporate office to take front office job in NJ.
why would he accept a job with the nets (from the nba office) if he didn’t already know the lottery would be FIXED to get him the #1 pick?
yallallreadyknow

tim donaghy is puss. but you gotta consider some of the things he is saying. it dont matter if the nba fixed games outcomes or had agendas, his punk ass broke commerce laws and betting—so he guilty no matter what. taking others down with you dont mean you aint guilty–its just means you a snitch bitch.

but…

WHAT INCENTIVE DO THE REFS HAVE TO FIX GAMES OR HAVE AN AGENDA?
I dont understand what a ref would get out of it?!!?
yallallreadyknow

dime

can an owner sue the nba?

i’m just saying….
lets say that 2002 kings/lakers series was fixed or disfavorable to the kings so the lakers could be in the finals again

can them maloof boys sue the nba? i mean……if you paid $400 million for a basketball team and your team couldn’t get a fair chance to compete, wouldnt you be upset and take some sort of action against the league?

…..and i remember in 2001, ray allen of the bucks complained about the officiating. ray said there is a conspiracy. he said..”its like the refs have conspired. its like they said to themselves, this is the mvp out there. we need to have him and his team in the finals”

look it up…
Dave

The officials incentive is a profitable league, and job security, seems pretty obvious, especially if you’ve ever been laid off from a company or took a pay-cut because of floundering profits.
Anyone who doesn’t think this fixing has been going on is plain naive. Of course Stern is going to dis-credit and call Donaghy names, he’s in major spin control. Come on, this is big business and they can make an extra cool million or ten by extending a series. I can’t believe anyone actually believes otherwise….the NBA has been deflecting these kinds of assumptions and comments from fans for many years so now that someone with inside information comes out, regardless of his indiscretions, you think he’s just making it up….you’re looking at it through rose colored glasses. Denial doesn’t change it and we’d all love it if the playing field was even, but it is what it is, accept it as entertainment.
doc

ray Allen was just mad E Snow was Ding his ass up.I think if the lottery was fixed the Celtics would have got Duncan.And I dont see how you can say Monta knee is hurt kobeef he been killing it for 2 years.It was high school when he hurt it.I aint no doctor but I would call that healed.
Dave

The Maloof’s aren’t going to take a chance of losing out on their money-making machine by challenging the very league that gives them that opportunity. While they may have invested $400 mil, they are still running a business and why would they take a chance on challenging and discrediting the league which would just hurt their investment for years to come? They take the hit and keep cashing checks.
These guys all know it’s big business and that some things you have to accept with a grain of salt. Notice that whenever a player or coach or team exec. calls out the officials they never, ever stick to their guns….they have too much to lose by holding their ground so they nearly always rescind or ammend their comments.
Dave

Did someone really compare “cafeteria lady hairnet boy” to Manu? HA HA HA HA HA…… he’s clanked shots all year, all playoffs (I hear he’s a machine in practice though), he has ONE game where he hits some shots and now someone in here thinks he’s all that. If the Lakers don’t score 16 of their last 18 points from the FT line nobody would even talk about “cafeteria lady hairnet boy.”
I hope the Lakers brass buys into it and gives him a big contract, would love to see him handicap them for many years.
He’s the perfect example of the “sun shines on every dog’s ass at some point.”
doc

Sasha AINT fucking with Manu all around but he D’ed his ass up about 1 week ago when it mattered.And I aint trying to hear that hurt shit.Everybody hurt.
http://Gee2.com GEE…Yall call that the shake, that’s the AL B.

Sasha is doing his thing I won’t even front he is being a serious problem. Especially the way he pulling up on dudes with the J. Still Manu is proven and more consistent than not, so let us pump the brakes before we put him on Manu’s level this year or next.

Fisher aight. He ain’t really doing awesome but he ain’t tremendously f’ing up either.

I am glad Tim Donny is doing what he doing. He should have come on with this a long time ago. I am not saying what he is claiming is true. I just think ok he is letting out a bunch of info. right now, surely some of that is truth, it’s just finding what is actually true that is the problem.

Bigger question is what should the NBA do for the teams that possibly got worked because of crooked refs, should it be true.

More than likely nothing will happen cause what the L. is going to do is ignore the claims like they throwing them off now and that way they never have to worry about reparations for any team.

It’s still messed up for teams like the Rockets, Kings and players too.

27 free throws in 1 quarter though, I blame the coaches, Stern and players for not making a bigger deal out of that when it happened. Dudes should have been going nuts. I’m just saying someone should have shown they black, white or foreign a** lol.
Dave

doc….so hairnet boy plays 15 min a game and guards Manu who was playing poorly all 35 min he played and now hairnet boy is a defensive stud? Just trying to get what you’re saying. I know he looks like he’s all over the place, what with his mop a floppin, but Kyle Korver made him look like he played d for the Thuggs…..

but if we can convice the Lakers he’s all that and the sign him long-term and eat up some cap-space that would be great.
Dave

Gee….I think Fish had a let down after facing the stud pg’s in the west figuring he didn’t need to do as much….he looks like he did last year when he was with the Jazz. Not great, but not that bad either. I would expect he’ll adjust and have at least one game where he outplays the C’s pg’s. I think he’s the key for the Lakers, he made a huge difference in the West playoffs and nobody really could deal with him. When he plays well all that pressue on Kobe is reduced.
Lee

@ 14 … UGH … Get a map, Argentina is in SOUTH AMERICA, not EUROPE !!!
doc

@ Dave.I’m saying to just say he doesnt have heart and game is BS.He cant start for me if im a GM but. He showed and proved he can be a factor if the stars line up right.Manu played poor because Kobe and Sasha handed him his ass for 4 games is what Im getting at.He look like a defensive force to me.You dont have to be a stud just make the other dude work hard.I dont see nobody working harder than Manu and now Ray this series out there.I seen him pull the trigger on some clutch shots at the end that KG would have pumpfaked 3 times before he realized he had to let it go.The dude got heart,I dont care about no dam hairnet.I rather that then them tight ass leather leg warmers Odom be rocking.
Dave

lol….legwarmers. I’ll give you that, he makes his guys work hard when he’s playing them and you’re right about not having to be a stud to work your ass off every game and make it tough on your opponent. I won’t go as far as to say he’s a defensive force, but he definitely works harder at it than most players do. Got your point, agree.
good point on the pumpfakes….Boozer killed the Jazz in the playoffs by doing the same thing. Regular season he catches and shoots, playoffs his ass puckered up and he’d pump, stand there, look around, and clank it bad.
http://GEE2.com GEE…Yall call that the shake, that’s the AL B.

Hey B-Ball heads what is better for the ps3 Live or 2k8? Please help a brutha out. I heard 2k8 just double checkin wit yall for da troof!

Dave you said nothing but the real. I totally agree there. I hope he can get out the funk and come big.
Kudabeen

Heard It Hear First:

Theory why Odom is playing the way he is. To most ball fans and players June represents the most important time of the Basketball calendar. To Lamar Odom, this is the month where he suffered his greatest lost in the death of his infant child. Remember how he had energy in past rounds? All he had on his mind was BBall and stepping up for the team. June starts and guess what starts to creep in his mind…?

Phil Jax said he looked confused. He looks uninspired. This is a guy that never really would have been described as a Ballaholic by NBA standards and when his child died he really didn’t want to play anymore.

I’m not saying this as an excuse for Odom, but it is definitely something everyone is overlooking…
K Dizzle

Gee – 2k8. Just looks and plays smoother

Kudabeen – You might be right. I felt bad for dude at the end of last game when he tried to get that dunk and got called for the offensive. It can’t get much worse for Lamar. I’m hopin he brings somethin tonight cuz if Pierce and KG bring it, Lakers gon need more than 36 from KB and 20 from Sasha.

I’m not gettin these Manu comparisions. Sasha is a 24 year old shooter comin into his own with a team that barely got into the playoffs his first 3 years. At 24, Manu was still in Europe runnin ish, winnin chips and mvps then he comes over to a great situation where the team is solid and they can bring him along til he’s comfortable. Only comparison is they both white, they not even close to the same player. Get over color and see the game. Manu is more D-Wade while Sasha is more Mike Miller with more defensive intensity.
Raptors fans tryin to get rid of Garbo got some short memories. All season, it’s been Raps need rebounding, low-post defense and toughness. Dude was a all-rookie selection, got experience, is best friends with the point guard they wanna keep and it don’t get no tougher than comin back early from a broken stick to play for your country. the fact that he plays post defense and can stick the mid range j is gravy. Dude does all the shit Kurt Thomas gets credit for and now the team that needs that skill-set wants to dismiss? Comedy
http://GEE2.com GEE…Yall call that the shake, that’s the AL B.

Preshate it K.