It’s Not Bowling
Daniel GibsonLeBron didn’t have to score 40 last night to beat the Nuggets, not when they had enough trouble staying in front of Mo Williams, keeping Daniel Gibson off the board, and thwarting Wally Szczerbiak’s aerial attack. (Seriously, did you see Wally catch that dunk in the second half?) Mo finished with 24 points and took more shots than LeBron, something we all expected to see at least a few times after Cleveland made the trade, but it wasn’t the end of the world. The number of shots isn’t as important as the chemistry factor, and where Mo and Michael Redd always seemed to be fighting for the same thing, ‘Bron (22 pts, 8 rebs, 11 asts) has been playing and saying everything to suggest he likes playing with Mo … With the game out of reach in the final minute, K-Mart smashed Anderson Varejao with his shoulder and got ejected, then went off on Joey Crawford before being dragged out. It was the exact opposite of the Duncan incident in that K-Mart definitely wanted to rumble and would have taken Crawford up on any offers. “I didn’t get an explanation,” Kenyon said afterward. “It’s basketball. Basketball is a contact sport. It’s not bowling or table tennis.” … After losing five straight to Denver, LeBron bumped his head-to-head record against Carmelo to 3-8 … J.J. Hickson will earn himself more PT over the course of the year, which is a little disappointing because he’s really brought the Cavs’ bench celebrations after LeBron’s dunks to a new level. When ‘Bron caught that alley-oop in the first quarter and almost took off one of Nene’s braids when he slammed the ball on his head, Hickson led the charge and almost brought the entire team onto the court … Rasheed Wallace was having a hard time against the Warriors. There was the play when Corey Maggette drove on him and passed the ball — yeah, Maggette passed — to Kelenna Azubuike and ‘Sheed decided to just get out of the way and let AZ crown Jason Maxiell. At the end of the first half, Stephen Jackson pump-faked ‘Sheed into a frozen state before sticking a buzzer-beater on him. Then in the fourth quarter, ‘Sheed (19 pts, 11 rebs, 3 blks) gave GS the lead when he accidentally tipped in a C.J. Watson miss (he looked like he wanted to just go home at that point), and a couple minutes later missed two big free throws. But Rasheed redeemed himself down the stretch, hitting back-to-back threes to give Detroit the lead and help them pull away for a tough win. He even threw in a vintage UNC-style banger for good measure … Allen Iverson put up 23 points and nine assists, and Rip Hamilton broke out of his slump with 24 points, seven dimes and four steals. Seeing as Rip and Chauncey Billups were widely considered the NBA’s best backcourt before the trade, will A.I. and Rip hold that spot once they get used to each other? … The Pistons improved to 2-0 on this West Coast trip, but still haven’t hit their stride with Iverson. Getting past Sacramento and the Warriors is one thing, but it’s not looking too good for them against the Lakers tonight … There is a good chance Kwame Brown gets the start, though. Is this a revenge game for Kwame? We still remember the L.A. crowd booing him mercilessly when he played for the Lakers, and we’re pretty sure Kobe screamed at him a few times behind closed doors. Kwame could be on a mission, but it’s not like he’s Paul Pierce, who can vent by dropping 40 points and the game-winner. We’re seeing Kwame successfully catch an entry pass, then glare at the crowd like “Now what?!?” … What happened to the Mavs? They were up 21-3 on the Bulls midway through the first quarter and had forced Vinny Del Negro to burn two timeouts before his team hit double-figures. Erick Dampier (16 pts, 18 rebs, 3 blks) was running around wreaking havoc like a Best-Case Scenario Greg Oden, and his teammates were burying the Bulls with defense, transition points and wide-open threes. Then they just lost it. Derrick Rose (16 pts, 9 rebs, 6 asts) and crew made up the difference in no time, getting out in front by halftime and taking control by the end of the third quarter, sending Dallas to its fourth straight loss … The Bulls announcers said Jason Terry is third in the NBA in fast-break points. Really? If we had to guess, we’d think LeBron is high on that list, maybe T.J. Ford, probably a few guys off the Warriors; Terry was a surprise … When he wasn’t scoring in transition, though, Jet was getting rung up by Ben Gordon. BG scored 35, mostly on Terry, giving him fits with mid-range Js, drives and threes in his face. We’re not sure exactly what BG has to do to get the big contract he wants next summer, but he can’t do much more than what he’s been doing … We’re out like Revenge-Minded Kwame …
November 14th, 2008 at 6:23 am
kwame brown says:
ima show them what they missin out on
November 14th, 2008 at 6:37 am
solomon says:
yo kenyon – this aint football, either… and imma better search and save that wally dunk clip, coz it’d be as rare a video as a legit bigfoot sighting…
and kudos for the dampier / oden relate – both looked as old as 50 even during their rookie season…
we’re out like amir johnson’s starting gig…
November 14th, 2008 at 6:46 am
Ashlov says:
The Kwame Glare melts ice creams and makes deer explode.
November 14th, 2008 at 6:50 am
Jamal says:
Bron did it!
http://www.squidoo.com/LeBronJamesDunk
November 14th, 2008 at 7:11 am
bakedbeing says:
Can we filter any comment with “squidoo” in it?
Good to have Rip City back, go you Pistons.
November 14th, 2008 at 7:27 am
the_don_mega says:
the Spurs goin’ on a slump is somewhat justifiable… but the Mavs??? they aint got no excuses or nuthin’….
November 14th, 2008 at 8:25 am
fallinup says:
Boy, Dallas laid a shit burger last night. And give it some more time…Motown is just starting to click.
November 14th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Skeeter McGee says:
“We’re seeing Kwame successfully catch an entry pass, then glare at the crowd like ‘Now what?!?’”
I’m sorry but that had me rollin man…
November 14th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Logan Light says:
So what does Dirk have to say to the media now? The Mavs are DONE. Consider them out of any championship talks for the next couple of years.
They’re imploding… quickly.
It may be early, but I’m calling it.
LL
November 14th, 2008 at 8:55 am
E$ says:
Gerald Green is the only reason to watch Mavs Basketball….”It was all good a couple of years ago”
Avery Johnson is somewhere smiling
November 14th, 2008 at 9:06 am
GEE...always smell it and look at it first! says:
Houston up!
Kwame comment was classic! LOL @ the entry pass and stare.
Bullets!
. There is pretty much almost no easy win in the L right now. I mean you would think the Thunder but Durant can drop 40 at any given time.
. If A.M. goes back to Detroit in December that could be something fa real. I think Detroit is going to be more dangerous as a playoff team than reg. season. Feel sorry for the first round squad facing them.
. Captain Jack’s buzzer beater was ….ill. Is he maturing (emotional wise) by the way?
. Yea I forgot to put Kenyon Martin on my squad who basically will fight for no reason really:
Nate Rob.
Skip
Captain Jack
Kenyon
K.G.
Again K.G. ain’t gonna fight, but he is gonna talk trash and scowl enough.
. Mavs got to many decent players to be doing this. Bet Avery is crackin up nightly.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:07 am
it aint easy being green says:
i smile from ear to ear when things like this happen to the mavs. where was dirk’s “clutchness” last night? nowhere to be found.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:19 am
Young Lebron 23 says:
“When ‘Bron caught that alley-oop in the first quarter and almost took off one of Nene’s braids when he slammed the ball on his head, Hickson led the charge and almost brought the entire team onto the court” LOL about Nene’s braids.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:29 am
QQ says:
HAHAHAHAHAHA. LOL at the Kwame joke. Classic. hahahaha.
I also see him doing that after successfully inbounding the ball. Now that would be really a high point in his career.
PS: Damn. That Rose kid is GOOOOOOOOD. ROY anyone?
November 14th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Ansonious says:
Man Texas teams are fucking up the one state teams feared entering is now a place where teams have a chance, I remember last year when the C’s got mad props for running thru the lone star state with nothing but wins, and in my eyes Texas has made the western conference look weak. I wonder how long before Mark Cuban dismantles this team and goes back to the drawing board, at least the spurs are without their two key players, and the Rockets aren’t bad but show a lack of chemistry for me not to think of them as a legit chip contenders but will make the playoffs(probably the 6th seed.) @ dime will texas rise from the ashes?
November 14th, 2008 at 9:33 am
that's whats up says:
Pistons are gonna punk the Lakers tonight – believe dat !!!
November 14th, 2008 at 9:59 am
jl90 says:
has anyone noticed how MASSIVE Kelenna Azubuike’s nostril are?
November 14th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Tom S. says:
Wally had a nice dunk against the Mavs last week, too.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:14 am
dapro says:
classic line “We’re seeing Kwame successfully catch an entry pass, then glare at the crowd like “Now what?!?”
Pure comedy Dime,
I think the Pistons take this game tonight, I can see the old vets on Detriot playing this as a pride game. Maxiel makes some noise this game, 12 8 2 blks
November 14th, 2008 at 10:57 am
sans says:
i noticed how massive AZ’s hops are
November 14th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Robin says:
Sorry but actually not able to understand what all wanted to convey with these comments. But understood you to great extent.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
P_Dizzle says:
Sorry this has nothing to do with the Smack today. I was just talking to a co-worker who was going ballistic over CP3’s 20/10 stats. That got the conversation going about PG’s.
Here’s some crazy stats that show how the NBA recognizes PG’s more now then they used to.
John Stockton in 89-90 averaged:
17.2 pts 14.5 asts 2.65 spg 51.4% fg 41.6% 3’s 81.9% ft 3.49 to
Steve Nash the first year he won MVP:
15.5 pts 11.5 asts 1.0 spg 50.2% fg 43.1% 3’s 88.7% ft 3.49 to
Stock finished 9th that season in MVP votes. The next year put up about the same stats and came in 12th.
A lot more pub goes to the PG position now.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
karizmatic says:
BG has to grow about 3 or 4 more inches to get that contract he wants. Good luck with that.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
I say the Lakers take this game with Ariza killing it on D and Kobe droppin a modest 24, Pau will have 28, and the Bench Mob will have 40 with a sick alley oop from Farmar to Ariza. I say the Lake show by 20
November 14th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
karizmatic says:
@ P-Dizzle…yeah that’s because back then it also mattered how well your team was playing and if you were actually the best player in the league. Yeah Stock had great numbers, and his team was good, but who was going to argue at that time he was the best player in the league, or even the best point guard. These days they want everyone to have a chance to win a damn MVP…so guys like Nash get it twice when they clearly aren’t the best player in the league. MVP just has a different meaning these days, it used to mean Best player, now it’s closer to most popular. I mean let’s be real between now and 1980 there have been maybe 8 real mvp’s. 1980-1990 either Magic or Bird 1990-1998, Jordan, and Hakeem whenever Jordan retired. 1999-2005 Shaq and Tim Duncan 2006-2008 Kobe and Lebron, that’s it, those have been the best players in the league basically the last almost 30 years, you can throw in a Kareem probably, and argue Isaiah but that’s pretty much it. They all except Lebron should probably have way more MVP’s than they do, but hey that’s the new NBA.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
P_Dizzle says:
@karizmatic…
You make a hard point to argue against. I agree with you. That was a point I should of made is that now it is more of a popularity contest than who is actually the most valuable player in the league. No way Nash deserved that MVP over Shaq.
November 14th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
karizmatic says:
fa sho, P.
November 14th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Da Chi 23/33 says:
@ karizmatic
I mostly agree with your list and the fact that Shaq only has one MVP and Nash has two is nearly tragic… But ‘01 iverson was definitely MVP that year. Period point blank. No one could stop him the entire year and did you see the team he carried to the finals! It prominently featured Eric Snow and Aaron McKie as starters….not good!
Is anyone else surprised at the ease that Derrick Rose is scoring in the L. I expected a lot more growing pains, on this pace he will be scary good in 2 years. He’d have a ton more assists too if Tyrus Thomas wasn’t his starting PF!
November 14th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
karizmatic says:
@ Da Chi Yeah I thought someone might say that, and it’s arguable, but was AI really better than Shaq? I mean that year you would have rather had AI on your team than Shaq? And just for disclosure AI is from my hometown I’m not biased for Shaq, but think about it. I know your argument…I respect it. That year I thought Eric Snow was the worst player in the league and Mckie wasn’t much better. But AI no matter what he did was not better than Shaq. Remember my criteria is simply who was the best as in most dominant who dominated the most games, who if you were starting your team would you have picked to start it with if you could pick any player in the league. You can’t tell me you would have picked anyone over Shaq those years.
Oh yeah and I am surprised at how good Rose is..I honestly thought he might be a bust, but he is good. I definitely am keeping an eye on him.
November 14th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
flam says:
BG is a bench player, a career bobby jackson, he better be happy he is even on the court. dude is a ball hog in every which way. send his butt back to NY, we dont like that in the Chi
November 14th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Smackdown says:
I think it’s officially time for the Mavs to do what they should have done last year and that is trade Dirk! Can anyone think of something that would work? No way the Raps would do Dirk for Bosh, maybe Dirk and Diop for Okafor, Wallace and Nazr? The Bobcats are hungry for a legit all-star. Maybe to GS for Monta Ellis? Ownership seemed pretty steemed with him after the accident? For Jamison or Marion? I’m sure the Knicks would offer some garbage lol.
November 14th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Da Chi 23/33 says:
I agree Shaq was the most dominant when he decided to be, but Shaq basically took about half of that year off. If you just look at down the stretch it was definitely Shaq. As far as who I’d take you you have to always take the dominant big man over the perimeter player especially when the perimeter player is 5′10 and 165 lbs. But adding Shaq to Philly and AI to LA, I just don’t see Shaq getting to the Finals with that team. Maybe because they weren’t built to play around a dominant center but mostly because they were terrible!! I think AI and Kobe can still at least get you to the Finals in LA.
LMAO @ Eric Snow being the worst player in the League!
November 14th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Da Chi 23/33 says:
How about Tyrus Thomas for Dirk? lol We will even throw in Aaron Gray!
November 14th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
karizmatic says:
I feel you, that might the case but Shaq still averaged something like 28 and 12 that year and like 30 and 15 in the playoffs. He would have averaged 40 on Philly especially with Larry Brown coaching them because Larry Brown would have permanently benched anyone who didn’t pass him the ball. AI and Kobe, not so sure. They would have had a hell of a time getting past Portland and Sacramento, and maybe even San Antonio back then, with two trigger happy guards and no big man to pull rebounds. But if you want AI I can cede the point. The other thing is if you look at all the other players I named, they all changed the rule that you want a dominant big man first. In the 80’s it would have been hard Magic or Kareem, you might go with Kareem, but many would have gone with Magic or Bird over Kareem. In the 90’s Jordan basically proved you don’t need a dominant big man if you have Jordan. And I think LBJ is on his way to proving the same thing, unless of course he ends up on a team with Dwight Howard. But in AI’s case you definitely would want Shaq first I think.
November 14th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
tim says:
The pistons will get Stuckey back tonight…do you really thinkg Farmar or Fisher can guard him? Nope. and who will guard AI? Ariza…please. Tayshaun will have a field day…Only question will be Bynum…I want to see Maxiell block his shot and get in his face like he did with KG last year…
Pistons win by 7…
Get reardy for a lot of AI, Stuckey, And Hamilton with Prince playing Power Forward…lots of steals and fast breaks…
November 14th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
N-Truh-Kit says:
@ post 30
THANK YOU!!! i cudnt have put it any better myself. BG thinks that because he is “instant offense” (altho MADLY inconsistent) he deserves to be paid like a superstar. the nights his shot isn’t falling how does he contribute? dude doesn’t play D, isn’t effective running an offense, and keeps jacking any way. i still maintain we should have let him walk, take his ass overseas or somethin. used that money on him elsewhere. hopefully he gets traded cuz sum1 out there will be gullable enough to take him. damn, where’s isiah thomas when you need him? hell call mark cuban, offer up tyrus and BG for dirk
November 14th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Da Chi 23/33 says:
I feel what you’re saying on the rules/redifining your position clause..but we aren’t talking about a lifetime achievement award here, just the most VALUABLE Player in the NBA. And I do honestly believe that AI was more valuable to the Sixers than Shaq was to LA. Without AI Philly would have had trouble beating Temple and Nova that year. Shaq-less LA is still a above .500 squad if not a playoff contender.. But it doesn’t really matter either way I guess its all a matter of what you contend in MVP criteria. As long as it wasn’t Nash I would have been fine! lol
November 14th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
doc says:
Everybody says that 01 Sixers team aint have nobody.We aint have no star besides AI but we had the perfect role players at every posistion.We had the best D in the league.You cant discount shit like that.AI wasnt the only one locking down whole teams by himself.He was the scorer and averaged 30.You would think we won every game 30-29 how nobody else gets credit.Ai WAS the MVP that year but saying he had no squad is not right.That whole playoff run I was at mostly every home game and the role players was the shit at what me and my homies called AI assist conversions.For those who dont know that is when you catch a pass with 5 seconds or less left on the shotclock and score.That run we hit about 7 out of 10 AI conversions every game we won.Whoever followed that run know everytime Lynch,Mckie,Hill,or Radja shot that J it was going down.Tum Tum turned into Kareem on O for 2 months with that funny ass hook shot he couldnt miss.Shit even Snow was nailing them top of the key shots like he forgot who he was.AI deserve his props for that run but if people can disrespect that team by saying they wasnt shit I can disrespect AI by calling him a fucking gun who aint gonna bring shit to the D they aint been had.A 50 win season with a ass-whipping in the playoffs.Then when AI get let go and come back to Philly next year because he love the city then I MIGHT say he can win the chip.
November 14th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
karizmatic says:
OK doc, if you want to cheer for the role players, that’s your thing, but those were not top level guys by any stretch of the imagination, they were playing out of their minds and were still only good enough to be serviceable role players.
November 14th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
doc says:
I didnt say top level guys.On D they were top level for sure.And they might not have been shit anywhere else except for Deke but for that team they were built perfectly around AI.You see he aint came close to sniffing that championship series again.It aint about cheering role players its about giving respect where its due.The people from Philly know what Im talking about.We was repping them role players because they was the shit for that 1 year.To have won with AI in hisprime you needed dudes who aint complain if they aint get the ball 10 times in a row and busted they ass on D like they got it 10 times in a row.Thats one team would go to war with 4 sure.
November 14th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
SayItIsntSo says:
I watched the Cleveland/Nugget game last night LMAO because I was thinking about how much people were saying that it was Iversons fault that they played the way they did and so on…looked at lastnights game, and they were still playing the same..no set offense, terrible defense and b-ball IQ close to zero. That team is going to drive Chauncy crazy..but i’ll give them a month to see where they are at. And WTF is Karl still bringing JR Smith off the bench? I thought that when Iverson got traded that was the greenlight for JR to do his thing..they need to trade JR and quit wasting his time, that guy has a lot of potential (if developed properly) and could be on another team with a Coach that wants to bring out the best in him.
The Pistons still have chemistry issues to work out..they were playing without Stucky and have to wait for McDeyss (who will be very important)…but I seen flashes of brilliance lastnight during the third quarter, the way that Pistons team came back was real scary…the Pistons have never really been able to that before, before their offense would be stagnent and it would stay there…thats where a player like Iversons importance to this team comes in, I remember Charles Barkeley saying that with a player like Iverson on your team you will always have a shot at winning any game and there are very few players in the NBA that U can say that about. Iverson took over when he needed to in the third quarter on offense and got them back in the game..With that being said, I see them losing tonight to the Lakers, just because they still have chemistry issues they need to work out..but losing by 20 pts as suggested in an earlier post? I doubt that, some of you Lakers fans are getting a little besides yourselves. SMH
And I dont know WTF is wrong with the MAVS. SMH