Axed and Answered
A.I.We’re officially lifting the “Big stats don’t count against the Thunder” provision, seeing as OKC has gotten much better over the last couple weeks and actually looks like — well, plays like, ’cause those unis are still a mess — an actual NBA franchise. Last night Kevin Durant and crew gave the Pistons all they could handle, playing it to a tie with eight seconds left before Allen Iverson stepped up and bolstered his currently shaky All-Star resume. Left on an island with Russell Westbrook with the game in his hands, A.I. (22 pts) drove right and pulled up for a short jumper that dropped with 0.3 left on the clock. Not much OKC could have done: Westbrook played it about as tight as possible, and Jeff Green also came over to help. Iverson simply made a tough shot. On OKC’s last possession, they ran a great play and got Green open for a lob, but he and Desmond Mason couldn’t quite connect on-point … If Green’s tip had gone down, Rasheed would be the guy getting the blame. He was guarding Green on the inbounds play, and he literally stood there and let Joe Smith set a screen on him without even trying to fight it. The replay showed that ‘Sheed had to have seen Smith coming, he just didn’t want to move … Rip Hamilton wasn’t even on the court for that last sequence, by the way, as it was Iverson, Stuckey, Tayshaun, ‘Sheed and McDyess. We know Stuckey’s been killing lately and Tayshaun is Detroit’s rock, but you’ve gotta find a way to get Rip in there. Not only is he a proven clutch scorer, he’s your best free throw shooter … Pistons color analyst Greg Kelser on Robert Swift: “He looks like the Illustrated Man.” … If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought the Celtics were at the tail-end of a long West Coast road trip and not at the beginning. In a game most people expected would be a C’s rout given the events of Christmas Day, Boston looked tired and old while getting blown away in the fourth quarter by the Warriors. Funny, earlier in the day we caught Steve Smith on NBA TV talking about how Nellie can actually coach defense, which was laughable given the way GS has (not) defended this year. But they were getting after it last night and made up a double-digits deficit in the the second half via a 23-6 run in the fourth. Stephen Jackson scored 28 for GS, who was without Jamal Crawford (groin) and Corey Maggette (hamstring) … Did you see the fan sitting behind Nellie who was wearing a jersey under a blazer? That’s unacceptable … For a long stretch of the fourth quarter against Houston, the Hornets looked like they did against the Magic on Christmas, simply unable to score. With about two minutes to go they were stuck on 79, but right when one of the Rockets announcers said it was “money time” and both teams needed to find their go-to guys, David West (23 pts) and Chris Paul (26 pts, 10 asts, 2 stls) started getting buckets. Meanwhile, Houston’s main money guy, T-Mac, was having one of those games people point to when they say he’s washed up, going 2-for-11 from the field and not cracking double figures until West gave him a gift near the end and fouled Mac on a three-point attempt … As the final seconds ticked down, one Houston announcer asked the other, “With this Rockets’ loss, do you know who’s in first place in the Southwest? That would be the San Antonio Spurs.” The other guy groaned loudly, “Are they back up there already?” … Isn’t it a little too early for anything CP does to be described as “Vintage Chris Paul”? We heard one TV head say that during the Hornets/Rockets highlight. However, Jermaine O’Neal isn’t too young for a “Vintage” night. He dumped 36 points on the Kings in what a pessimist would call a battle of two of the NBA’s softest teams … Speaking of, there’s no way the Mavs will shake that “soft” label if they keep cranking out games like Friday’s. With the Jazz missing Boozer, Memo and Paul Millsap, the Mavs still couldn’t muster enough inside effectiveness to neutralize the likes of Kosta Koufos and Kyrylo Fesenko. Those two were literally the only true big men Jerry Sloan had available, yet his squad still outrebounded the Mavs. No one’s expecting Erick Dampier to look like Tim Duncan on the block, but the only dent he made was getting dunked on by Ronnie Brewer … Dirk got ejected with about 10 minutes left in the game after he elbowed Matt Harpring in the mouth under the basket. Like a true hit man, Dirk tried to make it look like an accident, but the refs weren’t going for it. After Harpring made the technical free throw and then scored again when Utah got the ball back, it was pretty much over … While the Warriors decided to play some D, the Wolves and Knicks kept their spirit alive at MSG, giving up a combined 227 points as the Wolves snapped their 13-game losing streak. Al Jefferson went for 21 and 15 boards, while Rashad McCants dropped 23 and Bassy reminded everyone he’s still in the NBA with 20 points and eight assists. About the only moment of resistance was when Chris Duhon was cutting through the lane and got BLASTED by a McCants elbow. Duhon was bleeding all over the place, while McCants seemed more concerned with the fact that his shooting elbow was sore than the fact that he might have knocked Duhon’s eye out Allan Ray-style … We’re out like Duhon’s eye …
December 27th, 2008 at 8:24 am
P.C. Peace says:
allan ray style??? cold Dime … cold
December 27th, 2008 at 8:24 am
Craig says:
Allan Ray…what ever happened to that ‘Nova kid?
December 27th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Junio Rodrigues says:
hey, Denver played, Nenê got another double-double, 13-12-3blks and a +4 diff…
AND ABSOLUTELY NO BRAZILIAN LOVE?
Come on Dime, talk about the guy….it’s getting ridiculous…
December 27th, 2008 at 8:27 am
Mister Sun says:
great move dirk. finally someone got that dirty *** harpring.
December 27th, 2008 at 8:27 am
Craig says:
Wikipedia is unreliable, if you check out Allan Ray, is player profile box reads that he’s a shooting guard with some crazy height of 10 foot 2…
December 27th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Richard Poorner says:
If the NBA didnt care enough to put NeNe on the all star ballot, who the hell else cares?
December 27th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Rigorskie says:
No mention bout K-Mart?
Go Nuggets
December 27th, 2008 at 8:35 am
rodnets says:
At one point Utah jazz looked like CSKA Moscow Jazz or another euro team, with a couple of foreign (brewer, d-will) in the lineup.
Kosta Koufos could well rank in the stupidest face to produce in an NBA game, following Jeff Hornacek legacy.
December 27th, 2008 at 8:50 am
QQ says:
Hey, where are all the bandwagon Celtic ‘fans’?
And Dime… Did you watch the Denver-Philly game? What happened during the final seconds, when Andre Miller got hit with a T. That pretty much iced it for the Sixers. Damn, the ref who called that was quick with that whistle, considering he virtually gave the game to the Nugs. I have no idea what Miller did or said to warrant a T.
Anyone else watched that?
December 27th, 2008 at 9:21 am
YOUNGFED..."I used to have it for cheap" says:
2 things today
1.) AI is Allstar certified for life and T-Mac is washed up
2.) Curry is starting to look like one of this worst coaches in the NBA this year. Wasn’t he brought in to motivate the players this dude can’t even figure out how to play them or when to play them. Joey D needs to cut his losses early
December 27th, 2008 at 9:23 am
rean the bad man says:
man, my mavs got manhandled in utah? that cant be good…
on the bright side, good job dirk! finally some fire!
vote4dirk.com!
December 27th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Hi, Jurg from Denmark says:
Hi Hi from Jurg,
I am so glad to talk so much about allan ray. He is so well respected in my basketball community. And now he is a nba champion. And I love his movie with Denzel Washington. It shows great basketball.
ANd can i say that I was away from the laptop computer for the last few days because I had a lovely christmas. And I say all the best to you from Jurg.
Hi hi from Jurg.
December 27th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Hi, Jurg from Denmark says:
hi hi,
and can i say a hi hi to mr youngfed. i have not talked to you for many times and still well respected in my basketball community because you get your own big article on dime mag smack. and jurg has got a wonderful top 10 european players list and i can send a wonderful photo of jurg so people stop saying i am borat.
this is from jurgy. hi.
December 27th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Chaos says:
youre talking about Ray Allen, Jurg not allan ray. ray allen was in he got game not allan ray
December 27th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Craig says:
Chaos…its no use….
December 27th, 2008 at 9:43 am
QQ says:
@ Chaos:
I think that’s the joke man.
December 27th, 2008 at 9:49 am
John says:
Late smack today, no mention about Bulls x Heat a.k.a. Rose vs Beasley … yet 30 lines about the Pistons and the sorry thunder ,,, not good, simply not good …
December 27th, 2008 at 10:15 am
rodnets says:
jurg is from iowa
December 27th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Johnny Knox says:
Boston on a losing streak?…the best Christmas gift of all
Also Nene’s 13 and 10 double doubles don’t warrant any mention
When he goes for 25 and 15 and he stands out as one of the 3 best players on the court for a game, then maybe…
December 27th, 2008 at 11:03 am
that's whats up says:
jurg is jurgen off behind his computer screen
December 27th, 2008 at 11:03 am
that's whats up says:
…in iowa
December 27th, 2008 at 11:18 am
RonNation says:
How many other teams could win a game without their top 3 scorers and their top 3 rebounders?
0
December 27th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Amar says:
RonNation — great point . . . or won so many games with so many starters out this season?
but whatever, apparently denver and/or portland is going to win the NW . . . jazz are 13-2 vs. the west so far. fat chance.
anyway, good game for kosta (nearly a double double with 18 and 9 i think) and kyrylo (8 points, solid defense, 3 blocks). jazz will be a good team down the stretch.
heck, even jarron collins has been injured all season long so that we’re playing with our 3rd and 4th string bigmen and still winning games. other teams should be scurred.
December 27th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
deeds says:
Here’s a thought….is it completely out of the question for Jermaine Oneal to make the allstar team as a C reserve? I mean, I realize he had a pretty shaky start to the season, and the Raptors aren’t exactly on anyones radar this year, but he’s been playing pretty well as of late. And really, what C’s in the east are THAT much better than him. Obviously Dwight gets in, but after that? Big Z, Dalembert, Horford or Sheed (if you want to include them), Bogut?
And no, this isn’t a knee jerk reaction to his big game last night….Just posing a question. I personally think that Z would get in before him due to the cavs success
December 27th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
T-Dub says:
The Celts miss James Posey. S-Jack just took over NBA Jam style and put down his vintage looping jumpers.
Damn S-Jack should play with a contender. He’s a tough-ass gamer.
December 27th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Talented says:
VINTAGE A.I. pull up J
December 27th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
KermitTheWashington says:
I GUARANTEE someone at Dime is thinking of Jurg for the next pass the mic….
December 27th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
KermitTheWashington says:
…and there’s a joke in there somewhere about Jurgens lotion…I just can’t quite bring myself to make such a joke. But by all means, go ahead.
December 27th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
BROGDEN says:
The BOTTOMFEEDERZ were HUNGRY last night baby!
Or was the competition just TIRED?
Ya gotta love the effort even if it’s a corny squad.
Thunder almost stole one. Wolves looking SHAWRP!
And Golden State just beat Boston! Man, Rondo and Ray, ewww. They’ll bounce back. Ray?!? Get it together buddy. Least Rondo had a double double.
Smog in the West – No Clarity in Parity
LAKERS. SPURS. ROCKETS. BLAZERS. HORNETS. JAZZ. DENVER. MAVS. SUNS — anyone of them can beat each other in a series. Sad, sad, sad that one them is gonna miss out. They match up so WELL.
Lakers - really good.
Spurs - same but older
Rockets - good D, if their stars get healthy, no one wants to face them.
Blazers - good team ball, stud in Roy.
Hornet - West and Paul and good role players
Jazz - banged up but still beating teams
Denver – JR’s stepping up, Billups stabilizes and makes everyone better
Mavs - Dirk, one of the best starters and Jet, one of the best 6th men in the L
Suns - looking good, still adjusting
Just to think this season aint even half way done yet. Aint even All Star break yet. Who gets traded in February? Who gets hurt? How does the team respond? Who else gets fired? It’s so EARLY. Who gets called up from the D-League? Who gets called up from the street, from Europe? How many college stars, and washed-up role players gonna sign 10-days in a couple of weeks? Who’s it gonna be? This season is DOPE!
Least you know what you’re getting in the East. 3 teams!
And Atlanta and Detroit got their vickies in a bunch ’cause I didn’t include them. They DID beat the best teams in their conference. And Wade is mad at me ’cause he’s been busting his azz to keep his team afloat in the standings, and is succeeding.
And not saying their post-season locks or nothing but Raja and Diaw and Okufur and Wallace and Felton look like they’re trying to F up the NBA universe and put a team from Charlotte in the playoffs. JO and Bosh getting’ on the same page…
Spring 09 could be very interesting.
Just some more thoughts:
-Pacers/Raps was battle of two of the NBA’s softest {{{—Dime, too funny!
-I like Ronnie Brewer’s game.
-Way to go DIRK! YEAH! I’M SO PROUD OF YOU!
-Won’t say nothing about N.O except…24 hrs ago, some people were OVER-REACTING big time.
-In order for the Rockets to win: As a starting pt, they need more than 3 pts from their starting pt.
-If Nate Robinson had Lebron’s body size, he’d be the best player in the NBA, maybe. He’s crazy athletic.
-I think I typed too much
December 27th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Amar says:
dirk has a history of acting all tough in utah, last season he flag. fouled kirilenko and injured him for a few games. this game he didn’t have an elbow, but a close fisted hit to the head of harpring.
December 27th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Bron42 aka Thugnificant says:
allan ray was just cut overseas from the team that had kristic cuz they were like 1-6
December 27th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
BRUCE says:
Allan Ray - Playing in Italy — $2 Million Contract.
December 27th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
K Dizzle says:
“That would be the San Antonio Spurs.” The other guy groaned loudly, “Are they back up there already?”
damn….so true
December 27th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
GEE...Who came up with that BCS crap in the first place??? says:
Houston up!
I can’t even say it’s early anymore. The All-Star weekend is just around the corner. In light of that T-Mac is going to have to do something to get his rhythm and all back.
Seriously if it’s this bad where dude is scoring 4 and 11 points in various games, he needs to look at retirement. That or either Houston should start lookin to trade pimpin now.
I am a big fan, it’s just killin me to see this come from him. Plus like I said the game doesn’t seem fun to him anymore anyway.
Something has got to be done. One would think this year he would suck it up more than ever with the squad he has. Perhaps he will bring it later on. I am still trying to keep hope alive lol, but man come on!
-I am glad that happened for Iverson, cause I don’t think he has been successful as he thought he would or as he thought the team would.
-Big thanks to Golden State.
-On Paper shouldn’t the Suns be running teams? Coaching perhaps?
-I thought it was pretty messed up no one, nooo one came to Harpring’s defense after that move from Dirk.
-AK gets flop of the year!
This season is going to fast lol.
December 27th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
weng santos says:
Did anybody actually expect the Spurs to not be competitive because of the shaky start and the age of it’s players?
Damn, you can’t bet against this team. It’s pointless. They always find ways to win. Always.
December 27th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Arnau says:
Allan Ray is playing in Italy, not Russia, performing quite well and making a financial killing.
December 27th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Russ says:
…last I knew allen ray was playing on the same team as brandon jennings.
December 27th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Amar says:
everyone on the jazz team hate harpring for missing all those layups / dropping the ball out of bounds on sure assists.
AK’s flop was just ridiculous. it shames me as a jazz (and ak fan) to see him pull that in a game. really bad flop.
December 27th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
JCARR "K1N6" says:
The warriors beat the Celts =… lol
December 27th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
girlybballluver says:
Hey, the Heat won a game, and my boy Wade didn’t have to put up 30+ for a change…guess you guys didn’t watch that game either huh?
December 28th, 2008 at 12:45 am
Me says:
Was the Heat game even aired? I have the League Pass and it wasn’t listed on my tv yesterday. Likewise with yesterday’s Memphis game.
December 28th, 2008 at 1:27 am
QQ says:
@ post 24:
Gee, truer words can’t be said…
‘I am a big fan, it’s just killin me to see this come from him. Plus like I said the game doesn’t seem fun to him anymore anyway.’
That’s the mark of a true fan, it’s not all bout love, sometimes you also see the downs, the setbacks.
ANd to all fucking bandwagon assholes, saying ‘what?! TMAC IS THE BEST EVER! DON’T FUCKING TALK SHIT BOUT HIM!’, follow Gee’s lead…
December 28th, 2008 at 1:27 am
QQ says:
I meant ‘@ post 34′
December 28th, 2008 at 2:38 am
doc says:
Fuck T Back soft ass.
December 28th, 2008 at 3:54 am
Ian says:
brogden
“If Nate Robinson had Lebron’s body size, he’d be the best player in the NBA, maybe. He’s crazy athletic”
so u r sayin he be lebron
actually u kinda can do that with any player
lets take the top 3 in the nba u already did lebron
lets do the other 2
if amare had duncans fundaments he be the best pf ever
if richardson had kobes skills he be the best sg in the league
u do with what u got i dont like the what ifs in the nba (tmac)
December 28th, 2008 at 11:48 am
BROGDEN says:
Ian you’re right. I saw some of the plays he made in the Wolves game and got a lil’ too hype. The ‘what ifs’ are infinite, a slippery slope exercise in futility.
PS- yup he would definitely be Lebron, but better.
PSS- DOH! There I go again.
December 28th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
doc says:
U give Chris Bosh some balls hed be a man.