Fantasy Junkie, writing on Golden State of Mind, about the Warriors who failed to make a game out of last night's most important game: "I honestly don't know how to describe what I'm feeling right now. It's a combination of pain while being upset, frustrated, and pessimistic all rolled in one. Part of the anger is with the loss, but the majority of my pain has to do with the way we lost. It's one thing to come out on the road in a back to back and lose a close one, it's another to completely not show up."
Here's Shaquille O'Neal, on video, doing a great job inspiring some children at the dedication of a reading and learning center. Then he commandeers one of the center's computers and shows some young boys a Jessica Simpson website.
One of the first black players in the NBA -- Earl Lloyd -- is finally getting a real moment in the sun.
Curly Neal, legendary Globetrotter, tells the Pioneer Press he could have played in the NBA: "I got letters from different teams. The New York Knicks, the Baltimore Bullets, the Detroit Pistons and the St. Louis Hawks all contacted me. (Globetrotters founder) Abe Saperstein sent me a plane ticket to come to camp in Chicago at DePaul University. There were 125 guys trying out for five positions. I could play basketball. I was a small college All-America. I played with Wilt Chamberlain for a summer overseas with the Globetrotters. Wilt wanted me to come and try out for the Lakers, but I was under a five-year contract. I never really had a chance to try out for the NBA. No doubt about it, I would have made the team, no matter who I tried out for. I was determined to be the best in every way possible."
Ron Hitley of Hornets247: "Tyson Chandler was a beast tonight, hitting all ten of his field goals for 20 points and also adding 10 boards. He took a seat with about five minutes left in the game, and promptly hit himself in the face with a towel. CST were only too happy to show several replays of said incident." How did Tyson vs. the towel not make the highlights?
Krolik, writing on FreeDarko (a vigorous PG-13): "I truly and seriously am coming to hate the MVP award. Next year, I'll just find the player who best embodies the most positive cliches and f---ing say he should win. Why bother with s--- like how well they actually played during the season when you have data like 'rebounding is about desire. Kobe wants it more, so he's a better rebounder than LeBron' at your fingertips? Kobe is becoming the NBA's answer to Juno for me-I really like him, but his supporters are so overwhelmingly fawning, pretentious, and obnoxious that I have begun to loathe his very concept." The idea that Kobe Bryant is one of the best players in history makes all kinds of sense. The people who love him most, and email about him most, however, tend to have way more passion than sense.
BlogaBull: "As you may have noticed, the 'what I'd do this offseason' diaries and comments have started to accumulate on the site. Usually they include the Bulls giving an opposing GM Rohypnol, and then having their way with their roster while only giving up Andres Nocioni."
The Pistons "All Starbucks" team -- that is guys who were on the roster just long enough for a cup of coffee. (Via Detroit Bad Boys) It occurs to me that everyone on their first ten-day contract in the NBA should be sure to at least get an actual cup of coffee, even if you don't like it. If there's any chance you'll go through life with everyone saying you "had a cup of coffee" in the NBA, make sure you actually had a cup of coffee.
The Rockets were winning with defense. Then they were losing without it. Funny how that happens.
Kevin Arnovitz of ClipperBlog on the return of Elton Brand: "EB's first bucket of the season scomes on an awkward high S/R with Smush Parker. It's not the side job we're used to seeing from Brand, but a drag toward the hole, where Parker finds him before Francisco Elson can. Elton hits a clunky layup falling away -- but it's the most beautiful finish of the season. ... Elton is clearly rusty. And it'll probably be a while before he's able to get the kind of separation and space we're accustomed to seeing when he bounces off a screen. And he's not yet getting full elevation on his turnaround jumper, though he finally nailed it over Collison on his third attempt from the same spot off the mid-left post [4th, 3:17]. Overall, though, any fears that the injury would be irreparable to his game have been quelled."
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress on some potential rule changes affecting the draft, including this one: "One of the topics on tap as the NCAA prepares to meet this upcoming weekend at the Final Four in San Antonio will be regarding a proposal to let NBA teams pay for NCAA underclassmen to travel and work out privately for them in their facilities. NCAA rules currently state that underclassmen must pay their own way to travel and attend NBA private workouts, which is difficult for players coming from underprivileged families and at times makes them more likely to hire an agent early on rather than truly 'testing the waters.' If this new rule indeed passes, it could lead to a flood of underclassmen entering the draft, since they would truly have nothing to lose."
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treak for the Cash
