The New Number 1
LeBron James, Dime #47
While the “Everyone but L.A.” portion of the West playoff bracket is going down to the last day of the season, LeBron helped at least bring some clarity to the top of the East last night. ‘Bron put up 27 points and 10 assists in Philly, a win that secured the No. 1 seed for the Cavs … LeBron (described as “a package built for punishment” by the Sixers’ color commentator) showed up to the arena in a leather jacket and tee right out of The Rock‘s That’s A 500-Dollar Shirt! menswear collection. So apparently the dress code only applies to some of the people some of the time … From tip-off, Cleveland’s game plan was (for reasons unknown) to get Anderson Varejao the ball early and often. On the first three possessions he missed a layup, horribly bricked a jumper, and missed another layup. After LeBron and Mo Williams briefly took over just to make sure the game didn’t get away from them, it was back to AV, and he responded by air-balling a jumper … Andre Iguodala (26 pts) was one of the only reasons Philly kept it close. On the last possession before halftime, he was iso’d up top against LeBron, skipped past him with a lefty hesitation dribble, and dunked on LBJ’s head with a two-hand double clutch. The Sixers bench and crowd went nuts, but Iguodala acted like it was nothing … Do the Sixers always play “Let Me Clear My Throat” for their pre-game intros? No wonder they have the second-worst home record out of all the East playoff teams. Who’s getting hyped up with that soundtrack? Get a new song next year, repaint the court to look like the old Spectrum, and guarantee the Sixers go something like 32-9 in their gym … Meanwhile, the Magic inexcusably blew a home game to the Knicks, falling two games behind the Celtics for the No. 2 spot after Boston took care of business against Miami … Typically frustrating Tommy Heinsohn sequence (if you’re not a Celtics fan): Paul Pierce got away with a hack on Yakhouba Diawara, prompting Tommy to mock Diawara’s complaining. “Not in this League,” Tommy laughed. Not 20 seconds later, Big Baby dunked on Jermaine O’Neal with some contact, and Tommy was livid. “Blow the whistle, will ya?” he screamed … You think D-Wade is worried about Stephon Marbury? The moment Steph checked in at the end of the first quarter, Wade (31 pts, 9 asts) measured him for a sec, gave him the crossover and drained a jumper in his grill. Steph was actually pretty solid, though. In the second quarter he ran off quick eight points, mostly killing Chris Quinn, but even after Wade took over, Steph blew past him and broke out some MJ-like hangtime before scring over Mike Beasley …
Paul Pierce, Dime #5
With 1:30 left in the fourth, Pierce (28 pts, 8 rebs) gave Boston a two-point lead at the line, then Big Baby (22 pts, 8 rebs) scored over O’Neal to push it to four. Big Baby and Kendrick Perkins then turned into a 2-for-1 KG clone, thwarting repeated attempts at the rim by Wade and J.O. to preserve the win … As vicious as Kobe was when the Lakers needed him to take out the Nuggets on Thursday, he just didn’t have it in Portland last night. The Lakers were down three in the final minute — they were lucky it wasn’t six after fourth-quarter All-Star Travis Outlaw missed a wide-open three on the previous possession — when Kobe (32 pts, 9-24 FG) squared up on Brandon Roy (24 pts, 8 asts) and launched a three that hit only glass. Steve Blake split a pair of free throws to put the Blazers up four, followed by Kobe trying a bad cross-court pass that Blake intercepted for more clinching free throws. Finally, on one of L.A.’s last-ditch chances, Kobe air-balled a three under pressure … That’s eight straight wins for the Blazers over the Lakers at home. If you’re a Lakers-hater, that’s one team you hope they run across in the postseason … And it looks like L.A. will get the Jazz in the first round, who lost for the fifth time in their last six games last night when Tony Parker (31 pts, 6 rebs, 7 asts) out-dueled Deron Williams (25 pts, 10 asts) … Other big stat lines from Friday: Dikembe Mutombo posted 10 points, 15 boards, four blocks and four finger-wags while filling in for Yao Ming in Houston’s win at Golden State; Chris Paul lit up the Mavs for 42 points, but his team lost; Josh Smith had 30 points, 10 boards and three steals in a win over Indiana, while Danny Granger dropped 35 in the loss; Antawn Jamison put up 24 points and 12 boards in a win at Toronto; and Kevin Durant posted 20 points and 10 boards in a win over Charlotte, while Russell Westbrook almost had the Ugly Triple-Double with 10 points, 11 dimes and nine turnovers … Unedited post from UConn Marcus Williams‘ Twitter: “(ladies)if u throw the box to a dude and he dont take the 1st night, do u think he gay? what about the 2nd time??” Deeee-zam … We’re out like DJ Kool …
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April 11th, 2009 at 3:53 am
AK47 says:
FIRST Mothas
April 11th, 2009 at 4:04 am
K Dizzle says:
So CP3 put 42 on the Mavs? Couldn’t have been Kidd or Terry on him cuz apparently, Steve Nash the only bad defensive point in the l.Point made.
Phil Jax and me kinda glad we got the homecourt if we gotta see Portland in the 2nd round cuz why can’t they beat the spurs?; even Oden had a sweet fake and jam on AB…oh well
April 11th, 2009 at 4:04 am
POPPI GEE says:
Houston Up!
Man Yao starting to complain about that foot. He already missed all of last years playoffs with a mysterious foot injury.
I hope he don’t come up with that lame mess again. For real if pimpin does, I am starting a campaign to get dude gone.
Props to Deke!
Nice Dunk by Joe Johnson!
Old heads showing they still got it.
It’s funny while cats make fun of Houston for being out so many times in the 1st round. Just a little note.
If by chance Houston goes out again first round (which they won’t) remember 3 other teams will be taking that fresh summer vacation too.
1
April 11th, 2009 at 4:24 am
Raj S says:
Deeee-zam?
April 11th, 2009 at 5:29 am
John says:
Damn, I dont want play Portland in the playoffs
April 11th, 2009 at 7:03 am
smity far away says:
“Let Me Clear My Throat”
thats classic and great hip-hop. if they relying on an intro song to help them win more home games then maybe they shouldn’t. or maybe ya’ll think they should play pop champagne instead…
too bad charlotte. i don’t believe in a playoff portland team yet. so unfortunately that 11 in a row stat means little to me. (even though i am formerly a (lakers) hater and would like it to mean something.)
April 11th, 2009 at 8:45 am
rangerjohn says:
so much for d-will being a better PG then TP. so much for d-will being a “good defender”. TP prooved the point once again last night NOBODY can guard parker except parker himself.
April 11th, 2009 at 9:39 am
QQ says:
@ ranger:
No, TP can’t even guard TP. Why? Because he can’t fucking defend. LOL.
But damn… he IS sick.
April 11th, 2009 at 9:54 am
danksy says:
@rangerjohn
They are 2 different kinds of pg though, williams s by far the better passer, and has a better shot, Tony P is the better scorer, he drives to the lane rather than shoot. If ur in a team with alot of scorers D-Will is the better PG to have
April 11th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Bron42 aka Had Springs Before Slamball says:
get ready for the trademark yao playoff injury/slump…
and we will see exactly who can guard TP when they get knocked out of the playoffs this year again.
April 11th, 2009 at 10:04 am
BDK23 says:
@8 – no can gaurd parker except billups and the 05 pistons
April 11th, 2009 at 10:13 am
that's whats up says:
@9 – TP has had scorers around him but not lately due to injuries.
If he needs to facilitate, he does. At this point the team needs his scoring so that’s what he does. He can pretty much do anything except consistently hit threes or play defense. I’m okay with that.
April 11th, 2009 at 10:17 am
danksy says:
@ 12
i agree but i’d still rather have cp3 or d-will in that order as my pg
April 11th, 2009 at 10:31 am
that's whats up says:
yeah, as long as the league lets CP3 play by his own rules, not the actual NBA rules, he’s probably the guy to go with
April 11th, 2009 at 10:39 am
foolio_iglesias says:
I ‘gaurded’ T-Pain once.It was ‘haurd’,but I ‘manage’d’.
April 11th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Flying_Aussie_Dutchman says:
Yer, NO had 9 assists… TOTAL as a team. Enough said.
April 11th, 2009 at 10:58 am
AB_40 says:
yeah DEKE haha the man who’s age is unknown even to him can still put up numbers in this leauge that’s either him being really good and taking care of his body or young guys just not getting that at 7’2 he’ll still block some shots just be being tall strong and wiry
April 11th, 2009 at 11:31 am
QQ says:
@ 14:
Way to be SOOO original, man. That CP3-gets-all-calls-because-David-Stern-has-a-massive-mancrush-on-him conspiracy shit is so played out. Watch a few Hornets games (not just the ones on national TV) before joining the bandwagon.
April 11th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Big Island says:
Nah. Kobe and DWade are the only ones who REALLY get special treatment. Kobe could Brock Lesnar someone on D and get away with it, and if you even look at Wade when he has the rock you can bet you’re getting a call.
April 11th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
knock knock says:
lmao at those people who think kobe goes to the line all game..if you watch lakers his game is mostly all jumpers…watch lebron and dwade if you wanna watch some boring free throw games..lebron has the lowest fouls commmited at a ridiculous 1.7 per game..if this is because he’s now become the best defender you’ve gotta be kidding. without the refs lebron would be an average nba player sorry folks.
April 11th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
heavy d says:
I refuse to Tweet, but some knowledge for Marcus. Depends on the several factors like skank factor, psycho factor, and gold digger factor. If she is repulsive, likely to boil your bunny, or just looking to have a pup and collect a check then passing on the box don’t make you seem gay, just smart. If she’s not self-aware she may think so, but that doesn’t matter. Now if she doesn’t give off any of those vibes and you still doesn’t hit it, then she will probably wonder if you’ve got some sugar in your tank.
I would have expected him to learn this stuff in college, but maybe he was too busy stealing laptops.
April 11th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
johnsacrimoni says:
The Jazz are one full game behind the Hornets and Mavs, who are tied for 6th. The Jazz own all tiebreakers. The remaining schedules are as follows:
UTAH
H-GS, H-LAC, A-LAL
DALLAS
A-NO, H-MIN, H-HOU
NO
H-DAL, A-HOU, A-SA
So it’s clear the Jazz will probably go 2-1 here, probably Dallas too but I can easily see the Hornets finishing 1-2. A lot depends on Houston and San Antonio, and to a lesser extent the Lakers on the last game and how they play due to possible seedings.
April 11th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Big Freeze says:
#20 wrote: “without the refs lebron would be an average nba player sorry folks.”
I had to laugh when I read this. You’re worse than Skip Bayliss. Nothing about Lebron is average. He’s a freak of nature: the body of a power forward, the speed of a point guard, unmatched explosiveness, tremendous court vision, dominant defense and shot blocking. At age 24, Lebron is much better than Kobe or MJ were at that age. Just check the stats. Lebron is going to be the GOAT when it’s all said and done.
April 11th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
TBone says:
lmfao at Marcus Williams
and Raj S, it means Damn
April 11th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
that's whats up says:
@18. CP3 does love the way you take his shaft, and the base.
Eat it up
April 11th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
dagwaller says:
The funny thing about elite point guards is that they score a lot vs. anyone. Which is why I hate the “til Phoenix gets a PG that can stop TP, they’ll lose to the Spurs every time”. Ummm, Nash scores on TP, too. Ditto the with CP and DW. THEY’RE ALL GOOD. THEY’RE ALL GOING TO SCORE ON EACH OTHER.
April 11th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Ian says:
dogwaller
PERFECT some people dont understand that shit
thats the same shit i say when people say when parkers D comes into question
who cares when its parker vs deron vs paul vs nash vs billups no one is stoping no one
kdizzle said once he rather have fisher over parker because of Defense (yeah ill never forget that one sorry K) fisher is going to get lit up by everyone but he wont be able to give it back.
bron
“get ready for the trademark yao playoff injury/slump…
and we will see exactly who can guard TP when they get knocked out of the playoffs this year again”
does that bs even make sense knocked out again???? hasnt nash paul and deron been knocked out 100% of the time in their careers??? i mean what were u tryin to say lol.
btw parker was number 2 on my list last year but fuck it his one now until one of the other 2 wins or gets an mvp or something big he beat deron with a one legged duncan and no manu dropped 35 plus with the manu and dunca out yeah hes proven he can carry a team like the other 2.
spurs are just 2 games over 500 without manu and have a record close to the lakers percentage wise with him yeah role player my ass haters
April 11th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
that's whats up says:
Ian…….bringin’ the HEAT !!!!!!
I like it. I’m with you.
TP at the top until someone else accomplishes something. anything.
April 11th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Bron42 aka Had Springs Before Slamball says:
@ian, its called pissin off ranger john, so ice your balls and stop tryin to be captain save a hoe wit the spurs. Obviously every one gets knocked out at some point. The issue is, this dude makes 50 million excuses the spurs do anything bad and blames everyone from the refs, to players he doesnt like, to the girl in the 4th row eattin her popcorn too loud and distracting duncan.
@big freeze, even at this point, lebron doesn’t have dominant defense or amazing shot blocking…geting 1 or 2 help side blocks or blocks from behind doesnt suddenly make him DPOY. Hell wade has more blocks than him. Not to mention its not like he locks up other sgs or sfs. Lebron is “athletically” better than jordan and kobe at this age, but they both had more skilled/refined offensive games.
April 11th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
K Dizzle says:
@ Dagwaller
it’s true, man. guys that rip on nash for his defense are simply called “haters” that’s all. Funny how dudes totally ignore his offensive accomplishments and say well TP, CP3, DWill lit him up like those dudes only light Nash up.
@ Ian
I’m not takin that back lol
Like I said, I prefer Fisher cuz he’s a better shooter (no doubt) and he’s a better defender(no doubt)
Dude is such a good shooter that whenever he has a bad shootin game(on a 60 win team, which is once every 6-7 games) haters come out in numbers talkin about how Fish is jackin, but there’s silence on his 50+ solid games a year. Tony Parker ain’t the only point who was instumental in his team gettin 3 rings.
Once again, Lakers run the triangle, basin the attack on shootin and ball movement. Tony Parker needs the rock in his hands, Fish doesn’t. Fish makes the best points work for theirs, TP doesn’t. So of course, Parker’s a better player, but for my squad and what we tryin to do, I’d rather have Fish.
See ya next time
April 11th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Dagomar says:
Dear “K Dizzle:”
Fisher is shooting 42.7% for the season. The season before he shot 43.6%. Before that he shot 38.2%. If you prefer that on your team over one of the league’s best scoring point guards (shooting over 50%, and not just on layups), then I feel sorry for you.
As for defending points: without hand checking it’s almost impossible. When’s the last time you saw one point shut down another by himself? Exactly. Doesn’t mean some point aren’t better than others in defense (D-Will is obviously better than Nash, for example), but this is not a position that can be shut down easily.
April 12th, 2009 at 12:29 am
QQ says:
@ 25:
LOL. This coming from a man who’s riding the balls of AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE who make up that conspiracy shit. Stop gargling that shit. Spit it up.
April 12th, 2009 at 1:04 am
K Dizzle says:
@ “DAGOMAR”
Please read my post again and try to understand that with Kobe, Lamar, Bynum, what MY team needs are role players, not first level scoring point guards who need the ball, when my hall of fame where Tex need to be)coach has a system in which Parker’s strengths dom’t mesh with Kobe’s strengths(meaning Tony needs the ball and in LA, Kobe gets the ball). Postin Derek Fisher’s stats when he played in UTAH and was dealing with his daughter’s health don’t mean anything to me as I am a Laker fan. Also, Fish has shot on or above 40% FROM THE 3 in the last 2 years so obviously his field goal percentage would reflect the fact that he shoots perimeter shots and isn’t driving to the hoop at all anymore. Great for Tony that he’s shooting 50% from the field, but stop ignorin the fact that dude shoots 30% from the 3. Unfortunately, if you read my post (which you didn’t cuz your arguments basically rip Fish’s shooting, ignoring the fact that, IN LA, he’s been money from the 3) and would catch a Laker game or two, it would be clear to see that Fisher provides defense, outside shooting and leadership. Thanks for your pity. Don’t need it.
April 12th, 2009 at 6:09 am
Ian says:
shit bron relax lol it sounded that u were serious besides comon you know we got some super fans here ranger with the spurs , doug with kobe , some crazy laker fans and kdizzle with fisher but its cool we all get along kinda.
besides cant i say something back to defend my team?? damn
now on lebron who cares about the refined offensive game if he can get 30 effeciently who cares how he does it and on defense hes great i think hes second for dpoy in the writers poll in cnnsi.
dizzle nah man fish is the worst starting pg in the playoffs this year and that 60 win team u mentioned fish earned around 0.3% of that
can fish carry the lakers if kobe goes down??? i know a little french dude that can
July 7th, 2009 at 3:59 am
angle says:
nike dunk