Smack / Jan 4, 2012 / 1:12 am

Derrick Rose Drives Home A Point Against Atlanta; Kobe Bryant Shuts Everyone Up

By

LaMarcus Aldridge

LaMarcus Aldridge (photo. Hance Taplin)

LaMarcus Aldridge better make the All-Star Game this year. He was the best player on the court with 30 points and eight rebounds in Portland’s convincing 103-93 win in OKC. Aldridge dunked, hit jumpers and spearheaded an all-around attack that’s becoming a staple in Portland. Nic Batum was an assassin in the final frame, hitting two threes from almost the exact same spot on the wing to push the lead up to 10. He also had a couple of nice defensive plays, once blocking Russell Westbrook (22 points, eight dimes) right at the rim … Kevin Durant had a dope LeBron-like chasedown block. That was about the only thing he did well in his second straight weak game (8-for-26, 19 points) … Looking at the West, do you think the 4-1 Blazers are the best team right now? … Without Zach Randolph, Memphis played their best game of the season, destroying Sacramento by 17 in a game that was never really in doubt. The Grizzlies are piling up bodies this year like the Persians in 300, but Mike Conley (14 points, seven assists, four steals) returned in this one to key a bench that somehow dropped 54 points. Rudy Gay dropped 23 of his own for Memphis. Meanwhile, the Kings need to stop messing around and give our man Isaiah Thomas (15 points, five rebounds in 16 minutes) more run … In our rookie report of the top 10 rookies in the league so far, Cleveland had two guys make the list and they both showed out again last night. Tristan Thompson went for 16 points and nine rebounds whereas our newest cover boy, Kyrie Irving, dropped 20 points and six dimes, missing only two shots all night in Cleveland’s 115-101 win over Charlotte. In case you’re into trying to say Irving isn’t even the best point guard in his class (Not sure where this junk came from), Kemba Walker played 12 minutes and made one shot. Cleveland is now surprisingly 3-2, the first time they’ve been over .500 since the very beginning of last season … And don’t look now, but Brandon Jennings was the leading fourth quarter scorer in the league, Jennings was shooting 46 percent from the field, Jennings was s… oh wait, never mind. Last night in Utah’s 85-73 win over the Bucks, Jennings shot 4-for-19 from the field – many of them completely off-balance and forced, finishing with eight points. Al Jefferson‘s 26 and 10 helped the Jazz offset Drew Gooden (24 and 12) turning into a player … We’re out like Chris Webber‘s hipster glasses.

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  • Ian

    its been good but i have to go

  • Sporty-j

    Leroy Green congrats! Fagwaller cograts! And to my brother from another mother BIG ISLAND congrats to u to. I think im missing 1 more mav fan, but I said congrats to all. I want u guys again in june so ill be rooting for u guys to sweep the lakers again since Kobe does not want to be by Bynums bitch….

  • http://www.dimemag.com Austin Burton

    I love how @Ian gets so mad so quickly. The only numbers I brought up were Stockton’s and Mookie’s, and they played in the same era. I didn’t even bring up numbers in respect to Dwight and Daugherty. So what’s your beef?

  • Reg

    @AB. But John Stockton wasn’t out there trying to dominate Mookie. If John Stockton wanted to dominate CP3 and Mookie the dude would. And don’t bring the whole physical thing in this. Stock was the most physical player in his time. Steve Kerr called him the most dirtiest BASTARD he has ever played against.

  • beiber newz

    so much dirty language. lol

  • http://www.dimemag.com Austin Burton

    @Reg — So you’re saying Stockton didn’t play his hardest every night?

  • control

    Reg

    We talking about vince or stockton?

  • Big Island

    Sporty! My man.

    I sat quiet all day, and I can’t take it. In a regulation game, the 92 team wins 264-28, and they sit everyone with 3 minutes left.

  • Three Stacks

    @ Beiber

    You are the only person on the planet that makes talking about basketball unpleasant.

  • http://www.dimemag.com Austin Burton

    @Big Island — Now that’s just silly. Be serious.

  • beiber newz

    haha cool! can’t help how you feel though ! :D

  • beiber newz

    i second austin on that notion, but even though i don’t honestly feel big island thinks that, because i know he is much more logical than that, what i took from his comment was that the olympic team would essentially get crushed. but i don’t seriously he think he thinks the game would be a flop like that ! lol

  • Reg

    I’m pretty sure Stock played his hardest every night but when you have one of the best power fowards ever in Malone and great role players around you, you don’t need to ‘dominate’.

  • beiber newz

    ready to see if melo has another stellar performance. GO KNICKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    and i get to see kemba walker back in NEW YORK TOO!! he gonna play hype !!! i’m hype!

  • beiber newz

    if yao ming were still playing at a high level while in the peak of his prime, he would hold the center crown

  • Lee

    I saw Stockton get DOMINATED by Penny Hardaway. If ’12 go big

    Kobe
    Durant
    Melo
    Bron
    Howard

    Who is 6’1 Stockton going to guard?

  • control

    Lee

    If LeBron is playing point, and maybe Wade over Kobe, with Griff off bench for Melo…damn, that is a very nice line up. How could anyone say that ANY team would handle them easily? They might lose, but theyd not get embarassed.

  • Big Island

    OK Austin. The whole truth, the 2012 team is a better collection of athletes. Outside of Jordan and Pippen, every single guy on the alleged 2012 team is a better athlete. But every single guy on the 92 team (Laettner doesn’t count) was a better player than every one of their counterparts on the 2012 team. I don’t know if it’s because the game is designed now so that individuals get to shine more and they can get by on raw athleticism, or because nobody went to college for any length of time to learn, or because most of the 2012 guys are younger. Anyone who says they are more athletic at 24 than they were at 18 is lying, let alone at 30. But if you aren’t a better player at 30 than you were at 24, then you never learned anything.

    Man to man, without any doubt in my mind, the 92 team would beat up on the 2012 team. I honestly don’t see the 2012 team getting within 20 of the 92 team. They’d have more ooh and aaah plays, but they would get schooled. Kobe, who IS as good of a player, has the weakness of not sharing the ball. Lebron, who I honestly admit I have never seen anyone with his ability, can’t even kill in the Finals. He lacks that thing. Everyone else is just really, really good.

    Nobody has anything for Magic. Nobody has anything for Jordan. Put Pippen on Lebron (because Bird did have the bad back, but in his prime, he was better than Lebron) and see who runs out of gas first (Lebron), Barkley and Malone are too much for Amare or Blake or Love. And no matter how you look at it, Dwight is not as good as Ewing or Robinson.

    Dwight cannot shoot outside of 8 feet. He can’t. He has no move. If I were taking centers in the 80′s and 90′s, Dwight isn’t top 8. No way. In the 80′s and 90′s we had, in no particular order:

    Kareem
    Shaq
    Duncan (He’s a damn center)
    Hakeem
    Ewing
    Robinson
    Moses
    Zo

    All of these guys are undoubtedly better than Dwight Howard.

    Ralph Sampson, Jermaine O’neal and Big Brad (injuries cut their stuff short)

    Outside of Shaq, who is a 350 pound Dwight Howard with better post footwork, hands and court vision, every single guy had a much better offensive game, and they were much more physical, and just meaner. I don’t think you could honestly say you’d rather have Dwight over those top 8 guys, and even over healthy others. Duckworth would have duck hooked Dwight for 20 and 10. Smits and Sabonis were HUGE. Shaq looked normal sized against Sabonis. Yao had better offense, but he fell alot. Dwight is the best center in the game right now, but he is barely a top 10 center back then, I would have him at 9.

  • http://www.psychodrama.com Chicagorilla

    Next time we need to all get together, with maybe some drank and stank, and have this debate. I want to see the face of the person that says Lebron is as good as Larry Bird. Or that Dwight could fuck with Admiral or Ewing. Or that Old broken down Kobe would hold his own first the most dominant “non center” of all time while at his peak powers.

    I want to record this and put it on youtube. We could make some money off of shit like this.

  • Big Island

    Chi – I am all in.

  • http://deleted dagwaller

    @ sporty – ;)

    @K Dizzle – don’t be so presumptuous. I hope you didn’t take offense when I said that Lakers fans are the problem. There are probably a lot of them (yourself maybe included) that doesn’t see the world through a purple/gold lens.

    I think that most would agree that Kobe was the 00-10 most polarizing player. The guy I saw was the one taking control of a dominant Lakers team (that I rooted against, but that’s irrelevant). I saw him take a team built around a dominant Center, tear it apart, then complain about what had happened until his team got a lucky ass trade.

    You might see something different. Then again, you’re a fan of the Lakers, so I can’t help your bad taste.

    So the guy’s a sensitive jerk already, and then you add the ball hogging. Iverson hogged the ball away from Eric Snow. Kobe is hogging the ball from Pau Gasol. He plays like an unrestrained DOUCHE.

    K DIZZLE: THIS DOES NOT MAKE ME BITTER. I’m a basketball fan. If any other player was a jerk that played like a douche, I would dislike him! THE LAKERS ARE NOT SPECIAL. KOBE IS NOT SPECIAL. If Kobe had stolen my chips when we were 8, and I rooted against him because of that, THAT would make me bitter or “a hater”.

    Just because he fits criteria that makes ANYONE dislikable doesn’t mean that I’m bitter.

    Sorry to make you look bad

  • Big Island

    Artis Gilmore was better than Dwight Howard.

  • trollne1

    DT 1992 could take the easy route and just play zone and DT 2012 would be baked. If DT 2012 rolls out a lineup of Wade, Durant, Melo, Lebron and Howard, you do know Magic plays PG right? And he’s 6’9″

    So Magic (or even Mullin), Jordan, Pippen, Barkley/Malone, DRob. vs. Wade, Durant, Melo, Lebron and Howard? Yeah, I thought so. Or heck put Pippen at 4, then Drexler at 3 and Mullin and Jordan at the guards. They can easily defend DT 2012 by forcing them to make jump shots. On the other hand, how is DT 2012 gonna defend that lineup?

  • beiber newz

    i love that kobe is “old and broken down” and can still drop 37 points. lakers fans have longevity when it comes to our franchise player. a “broken” athlete still capable of doing that. makes me smile.

  • beiber newz

    got ppl apologizing? for making someone look bad?.. certain lakers fans get special treatment? interesting. biasness once again.

  • b

    i know none of ya will read this…

    but the 92 team could just play zone against ’12 team and kill them. even kobe felt that in last years playoffs.

    the 92 team would destroy the zone D

  • http://www.zwani.com/graphics/funny_pictures/images/88funny-pictures128.jpg JAY

    @CHI: “I want to see the face of the person that says Lebron is as good as Larry Bird. Or that Dwight could fuck with Admiral or Ewing. Or that Old broken down Kobe would hold his own first the most dominant “non center” of all time while at his peak powers.”
    - Me fuckin too. I might shoot beer out my nose in laughter.

    LOL @ beiber
    Some people can’t be sitting near a computer 24/7 waiting to reply. We got real responsibilities in our real lives. It’s called “adulthood”.
    Who cares if someone referred to the ’92 team as “the original Dream Team”? Yes, that indicates that we can call the 2012 team a Dream Team also…. but we’ve been referring to the US Team as the Dream Team every single FIBA tourney. Antonio Davis made a “Dream Team”. And that “Dream Team” didn’t even medal.

    Let’s not forget, as Chi pointed out above, some, maybe even most of the guys who will be on the ’12 team have lost to international competition. If these guys lose 1 or more games this year(because it’s entirely possible history repeats itself), are you guys telling me that the original Dream Team would have lost to Spain/Argentina/Croatia/whoever also?? No effing way.

    With a goal in mind, ain’t NOBODY touching that ’92 Team. The only way they lose is if there’s nothing to attain and stay up all night gambling, as AB’s point about the Developmental Team indicates.

    Karl Malone vs Chris Bosh <– they should put that in some "Deadliest Warrior" type of program so we can see the results. I'd watch. I think It will be something like 800 wins for Malone out of 1000.

    And since AB is bringing up Brad Daugherty to draw parallel lines to today's centers… I'd like to bring your attention to Yao Ming. Yao's numbers vs Dwight are much better than vs the rest of the league (+5 points and +3rebs). That's because Orlando was the only team that defended in single coverage against him. Dwight does not do very well versus elite centers. I like Yao, but Ewing and DRob were better. If Yao could put it down on Dwight like that, what would Ewing and DRob do? Ewing and DRob's range would give Dwight fits. He doesn't see anybody who can step out to 16-17ft, and also turn around and drop shoulders into him. Two words for Dwight…. foul trouble. Then who do you sub? Amare?? Amare and Bosh in the frontcourt? Barkley will grab more rebounds than both of them combined.

  • doc

    So what they lost in 06.What was Bron 20 or 21?Where was MJ at that age/Or Bird?They was in college getting they ass whipped by collegians.

  • beiber newz

    @ jay, the original dream team comment i made wasn’t criticizing anyone, any team, any comment or anything.

    i just thought it was interesting to use the term .

    (*only if u were getting at me*)another person having fun criticizing me huh any way possible jay
    ?

    damn…..giv it a rest…..

  • beiber newz

    and that “people arent sitting at their computers” mention flew over my head…i dont even kno why that was directed at me. like, i really dont know what i said to get a response like that, honestly, i really dont know. and i dont feel like sorting thru close to 200 comments to find out myself. .

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