i found a likable laker.

Totally Bulls.

Who wins this one, Deng or Hinrich?

Bulls sing the '80s from The Basketball Jones on Vimeo.

We Love You, Ron Artest

A Sinister Dunk.

This actually makes me like Wade a little bit. A little bit.

Made For Each Other.

If I put up a personal ad, it might look like this.



(from the wonderful Straight Cash Homey)

Impressive, To Say The Least.

Always nice to see someone pushing the limits of what a human can do witha basketball. Tell 'em, Iguodala.

Some Things Never Change.

I had the pleasure of taking in last night's Raptors/Spurs game, and am totally struck by the perennial nature of San Antonio. They, like the lotus flower, bloom for you time and time again. Didn't matter that Duncan and Parker were sidelined; sophomore George Hill performed admirably at the one, and the middle was filled by Theo Ratliff (yes, still alive), Antonio McDyess, Dejuan Blair and...Matt Bonner. Maybe this says more about Toronto's defense than anything.

Jose Calderon makes some of the worst incredulous faces in the game.

Also saw the 4th quarter of the Knicks' near comeback against the Jazz. The Knicks are truly the opposite of the Spurs, both models of consistency in entirely different ways. I don't understand how a Mike D'Antoni team could not run in transition. Chris Duhon might be the worst starting PG in basketball right now. Toney DOuglas played most of the 4th quarter and actually hit some clutch buckets. For real though, have the Knicks had a competent point guard since Clyde Frazier? Micheal Ray Richardson was decent but drug addled. Mark Jackson was good, but they traded him for Charles Smith (his legacy need not be revisited; he did once score 50 in a game though.) Rod Strickland, Derek Harper, Doc Rivers...all either before or past their primes. Chris Childs and Charlie Ward were an okay tandem, but both had weaknesses. Nobody mention Starbury.

The Future is Now.

Soak it up. Yes, I know, no Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, or Ryan Anderson. Doesn't matter. The Thunder crushed them on the boards (Thabo Sefolosha outrebounded Dwight Howard from the 2 guard spot!) and ran rings around the Magic in the second half. Really, though, all you need to know about this team you can figure out by watching that highlights clip, specifically Durant's dunk in the second quarter. The league is officially on notice, and I officially have a new team to watch until the Knicks are no longer pathetic (it could be a while.)

The Liberation of Anthony Randolph is at hand.

Don Nelson, IS YOU CRAZY?



Seriously, though, 7 minutes for Anthony Randolph, while you start Stephen Jackson at the 4? EVERY GM IN THE LEAGUE SHOULD BE CALLING THE WARRIORS RIGHT NOW. Get him out of there.

Crunch Time Lineups.

For the Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Odom, Bynum.
For the Rockets: Brooks/Lowry, Battier, Ariza, Scola, Hayes.

The fact that this game is even competitive is something of a miracle, yet there they are, in overtime. Maybe Daryl Morey's genius is real, or at least his luck remains intact (despite the bad fortune of injuries.)

I suppose a more plausible theory is that the Lakers have played two overtime games on two consecutive nights, nevertheless, an encouraging sign for the Rockets (as well as Artest/Ariza consecutive statement 3s with less than a minute in the 4th. Pure excitement.)

On Brandon Jennings.

First of all, I told you so.



And by that, I don't necessarily mean the reader(s?) of this blog; but the world at large. The kid can ball, and we all knew that he could in high school. What separates him from someone, like, Sebastian Telfair? Much like Kevin Durant, there is a difference between Brandon's swagger on-court and his personality off of it. Honestly, the inability of scouts and front offices to pick up on this stuff is stunning.

Humorously enough, Bill Simmons has been tweeting today about how the Knicks are going to regret not picking him. Sorry Bill, get off my bandwagon, you talked about how the Knicks had "the 8th pick in a 7 player draft" as recently as last week. A lot of people are eating similar words right now.