What Species is Chris Bosh?

Miami Cops Nab Denver Nuggets’ JR Smith for “Illegal Scootering”

 

What appears a bit humorous on the surface may be big trouble for Denver Nugget guard J.R. Smith. Smith was cited by Miami police for riding a scooter without a driver’s license on Saturday. After a Miami blog posted a picture of Smith being initially cuffed by police on South Beach, he was subsequently released,ticketed and given a date to appear in court. 

This is not a case of forgetting your license or carrying an expired license. Smith doesn’t have a valid license after his was suspended in 2009 by Monmouth County, New Jersey officials when he pleaded guilty to reckless driving charges which involved a 2007 automobile crash that took the life of a passenger in the car that Smith was driving.Smith ran through a stop sign and struck another vehicle, Smith’s good friend, Andre Bell, was killed in the accident.

 In June 2009, Smith was sentenced to serve 90 days in the Monmouth County jail. Smith was released after serving 24 days. His license was suspended until March of 2012. It is unclear whether Smith is still on probation in New Jersey, but typically probation lasts as long as a suspension, so Smith may have a court date in New Jersey as well.

Smith has played the last five seasons with Denver and has had his share of controversies.

Smith was heavily criticized only days after his release from jail for tweeting in a gang slang jargon style. He quickly shut down his Twitter page. Smith has opened up numerous Twitter accounts only to shut them down after posting negative comments about his teammates, opponents and the media and then facing the backlash.

Smith is a free agent this summer and is not expected back with Denver next year.

Boston Celtics interested in Canadian offensive tackle? Huh?

The Celtics are going into the offseason looking for size and depth at the big man department.

Apparently, they're looking in a very strange place to try and fill that void.

According to The Regina Leader-Post in Saskatchewan—yes, Saskatchewan—the Celtics are taking a look at a guy named Matt O'Donnell, a 6-10, 340-pound offensive lineman who was selected in the second round of the Canadian Football League draft.

It's believed that O'Donnell has not signed because there has been some interest in the Canadian offensive tackle by the NBA's Boston Celtics. O'Donnell, who is listed at 340 pounds, hasn't played basketball since high school. O'Donnell and Hardaway could not be reached for comment Monday.

Taman had heard about the possible interest in O'Donnell by the Celtics, but that was the extent of it.

"The crux of the matter is we start rookie camp on Wednesday and (O'Donnell) may be the only draft pick (of five in the 2011 CFL draft by the Riders) we don't have in camp at that point,'' Taman said.

(H/T to ESPN Boston)

This can't be a true story, can it?  I mean, are the Celtics THAT desperate for a big guy?  They're going to Canada to look at bigs for a cheap price?  This is kind of like the reverse of Antonio Gates, who only played basketball in college before signing with the San Diego Chargers.  Maybe the Celtics are looking for history to repeat itself, except the other way around this time.

I just find it hard to believe that the Celtics would be seriously considering this.  I'm sure O'Donnell is a fine young man, but this is the last chance at a title for this group as it is constructed.  Are the Celtics really going to go into this final campaign with a big man collection of Jermaine O'Neal, Nenad Krstic and a Canadian offensive tackle that hasn't played hoops in four years?  It doesn't exactly sound like a recipe to success.

This can't be anything more than the Celtics kicking the tires on this guy.  At least, that's what I'm hoping.

Orlando Center Howard hints out that he's staying in Orlando

Orlando Magic superstar Dwight Howard gave Orlando fans some words of encouragement Monday, indicating that he would like to stay with the team when his contract expires.

"I'm not trying to run behind nobody like Shaq or be behind someone else," Howard said, referencing Shaquille O'Neal's decision to leave Orlando after the 1995-96 season and join with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. "I want to start my own path and I want people to follow my path and not just follow somebody else's path."

Howard's current contract finishes after the 2012-13 season, but the All-Star can void the deal one year early and become a free agent next summer. Speculation increased that Howard would bolt for a bigger market with big-name teammates (moves recently seen by the likes of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony) after Orlando was bounced in the first round of the NBA Playoffs by the Atlanta Hawks.

While Howard admits that the loss was disappointing and he needs a better supporting cast to contend for a title, he believes that can happen in Orlando.

"Not only do I need the right teammates, but I need the city behind me," Howard said. "That's the only way it's going to get done. We can change this small city that we have - this small market that we have - and we can make it a big market."

The 25-year-old Howard, the first-overall pick in 2004, spent a few days working with Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon to develop better footwork and low-post skills last summer and he saw the results this season, as he posted a career-best 22.9 points per game, while adding 14.1 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 1.4 steals per contest. This summer he said he wants to work more extensively with Olajuwon, while also hiring a shooting coach to improve his midrange game and well-publicized poor free-throw shooting.

Bismack Biyombo, No. 5, A gamble worth taking!!!!

Bismack Biyombo 2011

NBA next Serge Ibaka or not? 

serge Ibaka 2009

With the fifth pick in the 2011 SLAMonline Mock Draft, the Toronto Raptors select…
Bismack Biyombo from Club Baloncesto Illescas.
The Congolese sensation!

The only other players who seriously warrant consideration at this spot are Kemba Walker, Jonas Valanciunas and to a lesser extent—Jan Vesely and Kawhi Leonard. I’m not entirely sure any of these players will be able to translate their games successfully, or evolve past the middle of the bench, at the NBA level. Nor am I convinced that any of them possess viable talents that are greater than those already contained on the Raptors roster. Biyombo is a massive gamble, but in this draft, he’s a gamble worth taking.
For far too long the Raptors have been plagued by the forward-center problem. Forcing players out their natural position of power forward and planting them in the middle of the paint. Biyombo gives them their center piece.

The Raptors already have some potential in their front court, but no-one with an upside as high as Biyombo. He is years away from reaching his ceiling, if he ever does, but the Raptors are years away from any serious Playoff contention.

His shot blocking and rebounding prowess are a skill-set that has been woefully lacked by the Raptors for years and from that standpoint, Biyombo would be able to contribute immediately. He is pure and raw potential, or in other words- pure risk, but in a draft that holds no certainties, that risk is minimized. If Biyombo turns out to be Saer Sene version 2.0, at least the Raptors took the opportunity rather than meddling with mediocre talent. Walker and Leonard would likely be able to contribute at a faster and more substantive rate, but their potential is nowhere close to that of Biyombo.

His work ethic is apparently off the charts, he competes to the point of physical exhaustion, and he possess the size, length and quickness to lock down the paint. Pairing a developed Biyombo alongside Andrea Bargnani would allow both players to play to their strengths, letting their unique individual talents compensate for the others weaknesses. The killer B’s.

Reports indicate that Biyombo is a vocal leader and a coachable talent. He’s willing to listen and learn, he just needs the opportunity. It’s a high-risk, high-reward play, but in a frighteningly weak draft, it’s worth the gamble.

Kevin McHale is Rockets New Head Coach

From the Houston Chronicle:

After a month-long search and long sessions debating the merits of three finalists, the Rockets offered McHale their head coaching position on Friday. McHale was chosen over Boston assistant Lawrence Frank and Dallas assistant Dwane Casey after meeting with Rockets owner Leslie Alexander on Wednesday to complete the interview process. McHale has agreed in principle to a three-year deal plus a team option. 

Helping the Celtics of the ’80s capture three titles, McHale also notably contributed to Boston’s ’08 title when he sent KG to the Celts as a Timberwolves exec.

McHale’s last coaching stint was with the ’08-09 Timberwolves, stepping in after Randy Wittman’s firing and going 20-43. In that brief time McHale earned his rep as a player’s coach. But the rutter-less Rockets definitely pose a coaching challenge.

Carmelo Anthony Celebrates His 27th Birthday In NYC

 

 

 Carmelo’s birthday is this Sunday so I’m sure this isn’t his official Birthday party, probably just a night out with the fellas while the wifey away….

Really Scottie Pippen? Thats a Slap in the face to MJ; the Graetest player to ever live and play in the NBA

Scottie Pippen has committed the ultimate sidekick sin this morning…Pippen went  on air on Mike and Mike and declared LeBron James may be better than MJ….Pip says “Michael Jordan is probably the greatest scorer to play the game,” Pippen said Friday on “Mike & Mike In The Morning” on ESPN Radio. “But I may go as far as to say LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game because he is so potent offensively that not only can he score at will but he keeps everybody involved.” When would Robin ever throw Batman under the bus? We know Scottie was a sidekick to MJ, but where is this coming from? Keep in mind, when Jordan wanted to be the best assist man in the league, he was..In 88-89 he averaged 8 assists and 8 rebounds a game…I think Scottie owes Michael an explanation…and the city of Chicago.

LeBron James and the Heat ignored skeptics to reach the NBA Finals. Silence the Haters

By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports

CHICAGO – Before Mark Cuban let his superstars be the story this season, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks commemorated the Miami Heat’s lowest moment with his favorite kind of lecture: the I-told-you-so. There was one more Heat loss coming on that late November night, a 40-minute closed-door meeting of discombobulated superstars, and Cuban wanted everyone to remember his summer prophecy.

“Before [LeBron James] made his decision, what I told him was – and what I told Maverick [Carter] – was that no team had ever blown up their team … and then added a couple free agents and won a championship,” Cuban told reporters.

“It’s always taken someone coming from a good team to make it better and put them over the top.”

LeBron James and the Heat used an 18-3 run to rally by Derrick Rose and the Bulls.
(Getty Images)

 

The Heat were 9-8, reeling, lost, and perhaps Cuban and the Heat would’ve never imagined that night was a prelude to a monstrous meeting in the NBA Finals. These Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks played like they were dying to meet again, like magnets were pulling them closer and closer.

Here was Game 5 for the Heat in the Eastern Conference finals, and here was the Heat’s season: a disjointed, dispirited stupor transforming itself into sheer genius. Out of nowhere on Thursday night, out of the deafening din of the United Center, out of the anticipation of an uneasy trip back to Miami for Game 6, James and Dwyane Wade gathered themselves and obliterated the Bulls with a ferocious, furious flurry within the final four minutes. Down 12 points, and it happened again:

From James’ 3-pointers to Wade’s four-point play to the smothering of MVP Derrick Rose, the Heat left the Bulls a stunned, crumpled mass of failure. Out of nowhere, the Heat won 83-80. Pat Riley’s vision had been validated: Three stars had ruled the East, and now, Riles had to return to where he had gone in 2006 to finally get that parade down Biscayne Boulevard in Miami: Dallas.

“What’s today’s date – the 26th?” James said. “I say we’ve got about a month left, about a month left of continued hate.”

Sometimes they’ve made it so easy for everyone to feel such dark, brooding emotion for them. Sometimes they’ve invited it, embraced it, considered it a companion on the championship chase. James is the epicenter, but here’s something we always knew: Winning would change everything. Everything. It always does and it always will. There’s no scrubbing of his public image as cleansing as victory.

“I understand a lot of the backlash that came at me going to Miami,” he said.

And he understands that the redemption from his narcissistic final months in Cleveland, his beginning in Miami, requires an NBA championship. Perhaps only one player has been his peer in these playoffs, and it’s Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki(notes).

This time, Nowitzki awaits Miami with better teammates, a better coach and a better blueprint for championship basketball. He’s been the best scorer in these playoffs, but James has been the best player. James’ best basketball has come in the biggest moments, and his defense on Rose to end Game 5 was spectacular again. He trapped him, turned him over and closed out the series. James let Rose keep his MVP trophy but took everything else in this series.

LeBron James' decision to join Pat Riley and the Heat last summer has paid off with his first trip to the NBA Finals since 2007. The Heat will face the Mavs.)

 

Cuban tried to make Nowitzki his 1A star this summer, but James wanted South Beach over South Fork. For them, there’s a measure of redemption that comes with meeting the Heat again. Cuban was an ungracious loser five years ago, and should’ve watched the way Nowitzki handled the meltdown to Miami. Dirk’s regret was over his own performance, never the officiating.

And in that way, Cuban never gave the Heat the proper respect they deserved for winning the title. He blamed it on the officials, declaring that a 2-0 series lead had been blown on the disparity of whistles, on Wade’s parade to the free-throw line. For the rest of the NBA, for those who want to see the Heat fail, the Mavericks represent the last line of defense. Nowitzki and Jason Kidd(notes) will be the thirtysomething sentimental choices to beat Miami, but sentiment doesn’t go a long way with James, Wade and Chris Bosh(notes) bearing down on you. Eventually, they were destined to figure out this partnership. Outside of Miami, everyone hoped it wouldn’t be until next season.

Everything changed for them on a late November night in Dallas, where they were blown out, where they were flatlined at 9-8 and the doors shut for 40 minutes in the visiting locker room. Looking back, so much of the angst and acrimony of those times strengthened the Heat for the playoffs. Everything hadn’t come as easily as they expected, and that ultimately fortified them for moments like those in the United Center late Thursday.
The I-told-you-so out of Cuban won’t come with the Heat in these Finals, but his Mavericks. They’re a last-chance, desperate basketball franchise trying to beat back advancing age to finally raise a banner in Dallas. Nowitzki has been spectacular in these playoffs, closing games with the kind of resolve and resplendence that suddenly illuminates James.

These Heat have obliterated the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls, obliterated Mark Cuban’s prophecy. Now they come to Game 1 on Tuesday night on the shores of Biscayne Bay with an unmistakable mandate: Win it all, or watch the nation rejoice in their failure.
Some kind of burden for some kind of NBA Finals.

High School sophomore Aquille Carr offered $750k to play in Europe

 

ESPN Aquille Carr Profile

More often than not, high school sophomores who are 5'7", 145 pounds are the kids that get picked on.  They're the ones who are shoved into lockers by the goon football players.  They're trying out for quiz bowl.  They're pretty much Screech Powers.  Not Aquille Carr.  He's Allen Iverson in a smaller package (which is hard to do because Iverson played at 6'0", 165.

Aquille Carr , of Patterson (MD) High School has been offered $750,000 to skip his junior and senior prom and head to Italy to play for Lottomatica Virtus Roma of the Italian League.  Carr just recently returned from Milan, Italy in which he played for a United States team.  It wouldn't be the first time that Lottomatica Virtus Roma tried to woo an American high schooler.  Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings chose to go to Italy instead of attending the University of Arizona.  Jennings was drafted one year later.

Carr, already 17 years old, could also be in line for an Under Armour shoe contract should be bolt overseas.  Under Armour has a deal with Jennings and is said to be looking for a new face on the European circuit.  Carr is no joke.  In a recent interview, Carr said that he will keep the offer in mind.  "I don't want to make my decision so fast.  But perhaps we might do that."  If you ask me Aquille (and I know you won't), I'd already be eating a plate of spaghetti made by a woman who talks way too loudly.  Take the money and run, kid.

Blazers requesting Roy to retire

With $68 million owed to Brandon Roy for the next 4 years of his contract, the Portland Trailblazers are silently wanting Brandon Roy to announce his retirement. Deteriorating knees that doctors say will only keep him in the league for a 2-3 more years have hampered Brandon Roy from reaching the skill-set many thought he once could. Add in the emotional outbursts to the media about his own team and he has sadly overstayed his welcome in Portland. Without a General Manager, Portland is contemplating many decisions this offseason about how the Trailblazers should look in 2011-12. So while Portland searches for a GM, owner Paul Allen or other Blazer officials are reportedly planning to ask Brandon Roy to retire this summer rather than rehabbing. Paul Allen is one of the richest owners in sports. So if Allen wants Roy gone, expect Paul Allen to offer a worthy buyout for Roy to end his career prematurely.

Dirk and the Mavs Back in the NBA Finals

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

DALLAS: Dirk Nowitzki scored a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:14 left and Shawn Marion followed with a three-point play as the Dallas Mavericks booked a spot in the NBA finals with a 100-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

 

The pivotal plays keyed yet another fourth-quarter comeback, this one helping the Mavericks close out the Western Conference finals in five games.
After clawing back from 15 points down with 5:04 left in Game 4, the Mavericks were down by six with 4:37 left in this one when they rallied again, outscoring the Thunder 14-4 the rest of the way.
Dallas has never won a championship, and neither has any of its players. Nowitzki and Jason Terry were part of the only Mavericks team to make the finals, in 2006. They were up 2-0 and leading late in Game 3, but lost the series to the Miami Heat in six games.

Dallas could get another chance to play the Heat.
LeBron James and Miami lead the Chicago Bulls 3-1 in the Eastern Conference finals. If the Heat win Thursday, the finals will begin Tuesday in Miami. If the Bulls win Thursday, the finals will begin next Thursday in the East winner’s city.

“All I can tell everybody is, we ain’t done yet,” Mavs owner Mark Cuban said during the on-court trophy presentation ceremony. Seconds later, fans began chanting, “Beat the Heat,” drowning out coach Rick Carlisle’s on-court interview.

Nowitzki and Marion each scored 26 points, and were at their best in the fourth quarter. Nowitzki scored nine in the final period, and Marion had 15. J.J. Barea added 14, Terry scored 12 and Jason Kidd had 10 assists and seven rebounds in a victory that set off the biggest on-court celebration in franchise history.
The only other time the Mavs made the finals, they won in Phoenix. This time, the home folks got to enjoy it, including franchise founder Don Carter, who traded his signature white cowboy hat — the one that used to be featured in the team’s logo — for a black hat that read “The Finals 2011” with a Mavs logo and the championship trophy. Fans roared again when the overhead video board showed Nowitzki wearing the hat.
Russell Westbrook scored 31 points and seemed to be on a mission to force the series back to Oklahoma City. But he had two crucial turnovers during the furious finish.

Kevin Durant and James Harden finished with 23 points apiece for the Thunder, who bowed out with only their second three-game losing streak of the season
Considering their youth and the experience gained in this series, Oklahoma City can expect to close in on many more titles. But that was little consolation Wednesday.

By far among the best shooting guards in the NBA, Top 5 Guard forsure!

Under-rated guard is difficult to guard like D-rose

You are here : Los That Sports Blog » Headline, NBA, NCAA » Russell Westbrook: Too Much Ambition Russell Westbrook: Too Much Ambition

The opening shot fixes on a stoic, contemplative Russell Westbrook, sitting on the team charter bus alone. No headphones, no mobile device, just a player alone with his thoughts. Bodies move around him getting situated; teammates, coaches, media, etc. Nothing seems to effect or distract him. It’s as if he’s in a separate dimension.

You’ve seen this movie before. Take the plot for “Gattaca”, sprinkle in some “Hoop Dreams”, a dash of “He Got Game”. Set it in a post-Rapture America, and you have “Russell”; a post-modern take on how ambition, the driving force of a capitalist society, can be deconstructed as undesirable.

Act I

The protagonist of the story is named Russell. The odds are stacked against him from the start. Born and raised in South Central California, he was protected from the trappings that tend to get so many of the young men in his immediate environment, thanks in large part to the closeness of his family.
“I would say Russell grew up the majority of his life, probably in South Central,” says Reggie Morris, his coach at Leuzinger High School in Lawndale, Calif. “Yeah, he grew up in a rough part [of town] but he had his mom and his dad and they always steered him straight.” – Dime Magazine, 2010
Rising Actcion: Still, he was largely unheralded as a basketball recruit out of high school, despite playing in a hotbed of basketball talent. Entering his senior season, he was a 5’9″ shooting guard and wasn’t offered a scholarship to a top-flight school. His best offers were from the likes of Loyola Marymount University and the University of San Diego). It wasn’t until a relatively small growth spurt to 6’2″ coincided with the local university (UCLA) coming off a Final Four championship appearance needed depth at point guard after unexpectedly losing their starter (Jordan Farmar) to the NBA, that he got a scholarship offer he felt he deserved.

He steps foot onto the campus of one of the most storied basketball programs in 2006 as almost an afterthought. He spends his freshman season coming off the bench and learning the point guard position for a rigid defensive-minded coach, Ben Howland. he was a bench player for a team that made a repeat appearance in the NCAA Championship game. Westbrook earned a reputation as a defensive player with tremendous natural athleticism, as well as one of the hardest workers on the team.
Westbrook enters his sophomore season as a starter, yet still an unknown commodity. He shares the backcourt with future first round pick Darren Collison, giving UCLA the fastest backcourt in the nation, without truly deciding who the actual point guard is. But that’s not the big story for the 2007-08 Bruins. Instead it would be incoming freshman Kevin Love, the 2007 Gatorade Men’s Basketball player of the year who would take a stranglehold of the Bruins headlines. Westbrook is viewed as a liability.

He wasn’t a true point guard. He wasn’t a top-level recruit like UCLA was used to having. He was a guy who Howland would have to hide, not feature. You want the ball in either Collison’s, Love’s, Josh Shipp’s, or Luc Richard Mbah a Moute’s hands (yes, that Luc Richard).
Not Russell’s.

Act II

Westbrook exceeds all expectations his sophomore year, something that would become a recurring theme in his saga. He, his roommate Love, and Collison would lead the Bruins on a return trip to the NCAA Championship game in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Westbrook averages 12.7 points and 4 assists, and earned Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, All Pac-10 Defense First Team, and All-Pac 10 Third Team honors.

But the larger awards were reserved for Love, who averaged 17.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, and had 23 double-doubles. Oscar Robertson nominee, All-American First Team, Pac-10 Player of the Year, Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, and All Pac-10 First Team were awarded to the true freshman, who by comparison was given nothing but praise by the fans and media since announcing his decision to come to UCLA. When Love announced after the season that he would be turning pro, it was greeted as a matter of fact that it was the right decision.

Rising Action: Yet on the biggest stage, the Final Four game against Memphis, it was Westbrook, not Love, who led the Bruins with 22 points on 10-19 shooting and 2 steals. Westbrook spurred a late-game comeback before ultimately fell short to the Derrick Rose (remember that name) led Memphis Tigers, 78-63.
Love was held to 12 points and 9 rebounds. Kevin didn’t come up big when it mattered most. Kevin left Russell hanging.

Act III

When Westbrook announced he too would turn pro, he was in no way considered a sure thing. He would be an NBA point guard, but had only begun to learn the position over one-year-and-a-half at UCLA. He was projected as a top fifteen pick, maybe even as high as 7 overall. But not much more than that.
Coach Howland, however, endorsed Westbrook’s decision to turn pro, saying “Russell Westbrook has worked very, very hard to put himself in a position where he could be a first-round draft pick. I haven’t had a player who improved more in one year, ever, than Russell.”
Sam Presti, GM for the then-Seattle Supersonics, must have liked what he heard from Howland, combined with what he saw from Westbrook, because he selected Westbrook at number 4, one spot ahead of his roommate Love, in what even the most optimistic scouts saw as a gamble.

“Russell Westbrook is, in our opinion, the best perimeter defender in the draft. We had him targeted from early in the year. He is a competitor, and he is the ultimate teammate. Obviously he comes from a winning background at UCLA.” – Sam Presti, Seattle Times, 2008

“A lot of people seem shocked the Sonics went with Westbrook this high, but I’m not. His combination of length, athleticism, motor and defensive toughness makes him an ideal fit with Kevin Durant. Westbrook needs to improve offensively, but at worst he is a defensive stopper. And he could become one of the best point guards in the league down the road. I had him rated as the fourth-best prospect in the draft, right behind Rose, Beasley and Mayo.” – Chad Ford, ESPN Insider, 2008

Others weren’t so high on Westbrook’s potential.

“They might have some explaining to do,” NBA analyst Mark Jackson, Seattle Times 2008

“It doesn’t make sense,” “Seattle will look back on this and realize they made a big, big mistake. Love would have been fantastic for them.” - college basketball analyst Dick Vitale, Seattle Times 2008

Rising Action: Westbrook never played a game for Seattle, as the Sonics were in the throws of an ugly relocation process to Oklahoma City. They already had a franchise player, whose name, ironically, was “Kevin”. Despite being the fourth overall pick in the draft, Westbrook’s main responsibility for the newly christened Thunder would be to not mess up, continuing to learn to play the point, and most importantly, stay out of the way and let Kevin Durant do his thing.

Act IV

Westbrook averaged 15 points, 5 assists, and just a shade under 5 rebounds a game his rookie season, enough for him to steal two first place votes for Rookie of the Year away from the eventual winner, Derrick Rose (again, remember that name). He was named to the All-NBA Rookie First Team, alongside Rose, and ahead of his former roommate Kevin Love.

Rising Action: Fast-forward to the 2009-10 playoffs. The Thunder improved by 27 games, entering the playoffs as the Western Conference 8-seed . Durant leads the NBA in scoring (30 ppg), and Westbrook puts up numbers almost identical to his rookie campaign. For the first time since his freshman year in high school, Westbrook’s numbers didn’t improve significantly.
Conspiracy theorists point to Oklahoma City drafting James Harden (another Pac-10 combo guard) with the third overall pick a year after Westbrook, then trading for former Virginia Commonwealth University point guard Eric Maynor may have planted seeds of doubt in Westbrook’s mind.
The Thunder are matched up against the defending world champion Los Angeles Lakers. The first playoff appearance for the franchise in Oklahoma. This is a homecoming of sorts for Westbrook, the L.A. native. Also, he’s back on the big stage for the first time as a pro.
Look at his numbers through the first four games of the series:
Game 1 – 24 points, 10-16 shooting, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals (L 79-87)
Game 2 – 19 points, 5-10 shooting, 4 assists, 8 rebounds, 1 steal (L 92-95)
Game 3 – 27 points, 11-21 shooting, 4 assists, 8 rebounds, 1 steal (W 101-96)
Game 4 – 18 points, 6-11 shooting, 6 assists, 8 rebounds (W 110-89)

When the buzzer sounded at the end of Game 4, not only did the Lakers know the Thunder weren’t going quietly into the night, but that in order to win the series, they had to find a way to control Westbrook.
As for Durant, his scoring average dipped five points below his regular season average (from 30 to 25), and his shooting percentage dropped 12 points (from .476 to .350). Once again, Westbrook was left hanging by an alleged superstar named Kevin.
Which leads us to Game 5.
Westbrook and Durant Game 5 – 32 points, 9-27 shooting, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, 11 turnovers (L 87-111)

Game 5 of the 2010 Thunder playoff run was the first time America sees both young Thunder stars at their worst. The man, the myth, the Black Mamba himself Kobe Bryant acknowledged that Russell, not Kevin, was the only thing standing between his Lakers and advancing to the second round, and decided to take the defensive assignment for himself. For the first time, Russell was being recognized by not only the best players in the game, but also the national media. Bryant’s defense was suffocating – he crowded Westbrook, forced errant passes (8 turnovers), and stole the ball twice. Russell must have been flattered.Meanwhile, Durant continued to do time in Ron Artest’s mobile prison, hitting only 5 shots, and turning the ball over 3 times himself.

Game 5 was also the moment our protagonist had decided enough was enough!
Never again would Russell wait for a teammate who was supposed to be better than him to perform when the stakes were at their highest. Never again would he wait for another man to be the man.
The Thunder would go on to lose the series on a last second tip in by Pau Gasol in one of those games that was an instant classic, but since so many more classic/crazy basketball moments have happened between then and now, we have already forgotten it. Both Westbrook and Durant carried the Thunder behind a combined 47 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds.

It was Russell who took and hit the key buckets down the stretch of the close game; a pull up jumper over Derek Fisher with 3:49 left; an and-1 of of his missed jumper at 3:09, where he tracked down the ball, snatched it in front of Artest, and on the fly took it up with his left over Lamar Odom, who was actually moving quickly for once, but by comparison to Westbrook might as well been in slow motion; and it was Russell who took the last-second desperation three-pointer…
and missed…

Marion getting reality show?

Shawn Marion has been beasting in the playoffs. The Matrix has taken it back to his days with the Suns doing a great job on Kevin Durant in the Western Conference finals.
While the Mavs appear to be finals bound, Shawn is also heading to the world of reality TV.

The Ladies in My Life,  will be about Shawn and the important women in his day-to-day life – his mom, sisters and publicist.
Hmmm so does that mean we get to see how an NBA player navigates dating a few women at a time while balancing his mom and a female publicist running his life outside of the arena? I’m intrigued. No word yet on what network is picking up the show but they are planning on shooting during the finals which could be quite interesting.

Grizzlies Trading Rudy Gay To Toronto Raptors?

According to a recent report in the Toronto Sun,, if the Memphis Grizzlies make forward Rudy Gay available, then the Toronto Raptors will be ready to make a deal.
Said the paper:

What must be made clear is that if Gay is indeed available, then expect the Raptors to be involved.
Imagine a remade Raptors team with Gay as the primary scoring option, DeMar DeRozan entering his third year, an emerging Ed Davis and the prospect of acquiring via free agency a legitimate rebounding centre.

The article speculates that it may take Andrea Bargnani to get Gay, and that GM Bryan Colangelo would pull the trigger on such a deal.
Such a trade looked even more possible after recent comments by Bargnani suggested he was unhappy in Toronto.
Gay has already been the subject of trade rumors after the Cleveland Cavaliers offered their No. 4 overall pick for the 24-year-old.

Kevin Durant: “I’m Not Happy For Dirk Nowitzki”

In the presser after getting eliminated 4-1 by the Mavs, Kevin Durant was absolutely honest when asked if he was happy for Dirk for reaching the finals again for the first time since 2006.

Durant: “I’m not happy at all…” Good answer.

Warriors Trading Monta Ellis To Orlando Magic?

According to a recent report in the Orlando Sentinel, Monta Ellis of the Golden State Warriors may be made available during the off-season, and the Orlando Magic may be interested.
Said the paper:

Why the Warriors might trade him: Ellis, a volume shooting guard who prefers to dominate the ball, doesn’t mesh particularly well with Steph Curry. Ellis has been on the trading block before, but the Warriors never saw a deal they wanted to make.
Why the Magic might want him: Ellis can create his own shot, a trait no perimeter player on the Magic roster currently possesses. He averaged 24.1 points per game last season and would give the Magic a scoring complement to Dwight Howard.

Apparently the Magic are seriously looking to trade for a player to complement Dwight Howard in an effort to re-sign him to a long term deal.
It’s no secret Howard has been noncommittal about his future in Orlando, with many citing the Los Angeles Lakers as a potential landing spot for Howard.
Also named in the article as potential trade targets for the Magic were Rip Hamilton, Andre Iguodala, O.J. Mayo, Chris Paul, and Deron Williams.

Sources: Mike Brown to be Named Lakers Head Coach This Week

According to Matt Steinmetz, who is an NBA reporter for CSN Bay Area, two NBA sources have confirmed that Mike Brown will be the Lakers Head Coach.
Here is what Steinmetz had to say in his report:

Brown, the former coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, is expected to be named the new coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, according to two league sources.
Brown was considered a frontrunner for the Warriors’ job, but is expected to sign a four-year contract worth approximately $18 million with the Lakers — succeeding Phil Jackson as coach.

An earlier Yahoo report noted that a close league friend told Yahoo! Sports that, “He really wants this [the Lakers job] to happen.”
Mike Brown had five successful seasons as the Cleveland Cavaliers head coach, including a trip to the NBA Finals. Brown, was fired in 2010 after five seasons in Cleveland, where he went 272-138.
Brown also won the Coach of the Year award after the 2008-2009 season.

What Jerry West Means to the Golden State Warriors

 

Jerry West was hired last week to join the Executive Board of the Golden State Warriors. Since then everyone in the Bay Area has been wracking their brain to figure out exactly what he will and won’t be doing. Heck, right now, people would just settle for a definite title. Co-owner? President? Consultant? After hearing him talk during Tuesday’s introductory press conference, I think I’ve put my finger on it.

Jerry West is the Oracle of Oracle Arena.
From the effusive introduction by owner Joe Lacob to the sometimes folksy, sometimes modern, generally vague answers given by West, he had all the characteristics of the mystic that helped Keanu Reeves take down the machines. Minus being an old black woman.

On working with Lacob and Peter Guber: “You can’t do anything right in this world without working with great people.”
On how large his role with the team would be: “When an individual dominates the spotlight, that’s not a great thing.”

On how to turn the Warriors into a winner: “The best risk takers do the best in this business.”
Since they took over the team nearly a year ago, Lacob and Guber have not been afraid to make major decisions. They fired head coach Don Nelson and recently parted ways with his successor, Keith Smart. But their biggest risk so far might be hiring the closest thing the NBA has to a sure thing.

His accomplishments with the Lakers have been well documented. 18 seasons, seven championships and helping to acquire some of the game’s greatest players from James Worthy to Shaquille O’Neal to Kobe Bryant. Perhaps the most amazing part of West’s Laker legacy is that after the team took Worthy with the first pick in 1982, they never drafted higher than 10^th (Eddie Jones in 1994) during the remainder of his tenure with the franchise. From that un-Worthy group came a combined 18 All-Star Game appearances. Admittedly 13 of them belong to Kobe, but it’s a list of players that also includes Vlade Divac, Elden Campbell, George Lynch and Derek Fisher. Even his days with Memphis were eyebrow-raising, taking over a 28-win team and helping them make the playoffs three years in a row.

The short version is that West has had a knack for finding talent in all sorts of places, something that has eluded Warriors management in years past – especially when it comes to selecting a big man. Before taking Andris Biedrins in 2004, the last post players of any significance drafted by Golden State were Joe Smith (#1 overall, 1995), Chris Gatling (#16 overall, 1991) and Tyrone Hill (#11 overall, 1990). That’s no one’s all-NBA frontcourt.

You’d expect that West is planning to roll up his sleeves, jump in with both feet and get to tinkering with his new team. Not so fast. After all, the Oracle never battled the machines but simply pointed Neo in the right direction. With tension surrounding whether or not general manager Larry Riley would return, West rightly said that he had no plans to overshadow him or assistant GM Bob Myers.

Instead, West’s value will be as a team builder, which was something he talked about with reporters after the press conference. More than anything, the Warriors need someone who can convince everyone in the organization that it’s much easier to move forward if everyone pushes the same direction. Easier said than done for a franchise that hasn’t seemed to have a consistent plan since the days of Run TMC. For years, former owner Chris Cohan allowed Don Nelson free rein of the ballclub, allowing him to stockpile lean, athletic players who could score but do little else.

There is also a sense of stability that West brings with him to Oakland. Since Johnny Bach left after the end of the 1986 season, only two coaches have lasted beside the Bay for three seasons or more – Nelson and P.J. Carlesimo. Three is apparently the magic number for West, who said that any coach should have at least three seasons before he can truly be evaluated.



But the best attribute that Jerry West can bring to the organization is being Jerry West. For an ownership group that has made promises about being serious to compete for championships, being able to say ” Jerry West Golden State Warriors Advisor ” lends credibility. For a fanbase hungering for anyone that can create lasting success, West will be given lots of leeway. For Riley, Myers and everyone else involved in the decision making process, it means that they would be wise to heed his advice.
However for the second straight season, Warriors fans have reason to be hopeful again. Last summer’s sale of the club removed the stench of the Cohan era from the East Bay. Now West’s arrival means the team may finally find a direction and with Lacob and Guber’s finances, they’ll have the resources to get there. With so many young stars migrating to the Eastern Conference and many of the West’s remaining stars getting long in the tooth, there is an opportunity for Golden State to make a move.

That means he’s decided whether its Stephen Curry or Monta Ellis who will be traded, right? Nope. In fact, he was equally vague on that subject, talking about how much he liked both players and how he thinks they can play well together. But he also pointed out how he traded Norm Nixon to make room for Magic Johnson. So on the “do you trade Curry or Ellis?” question, West answered with a resounding “maybe”.
Then again, no one ever said the Oracle had all the answers.

Tough Times Abroad Have Made Jeremy Tyler NBA Ready

 

On June 22, 2008, Brandon Jennings became a trendsetter.

He said ‘No’ to the current system of reaching his dreams of NBA basketball, heading overseas to play basketball for a year. He planned on returning to the states a year older, wiser, and ready to enter the NBA Draft. Jennings was drafted 10^th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks the following year, made the All-Rookie First Team, and has since been a phenomenal player for the Bucks.
Ten months to the day after Jennings announced his intention to head overseas, Jeremy Tyler, the much heralded college product out of San Diego, did the exact same thing, skipping the advances of Louisville to spend a year outside of the United States, playing basketball and getting ready for the NBA.
Tyler’s journey abroad was not as successful as Jennings’s experience. Tyler started out with Israel’s Maccabi Haifa, but quit the team after playing just ten games between August 2009 and May 2010. Later that summer, after returning to San Diego, Tyler signed up with Japan’s Tokyo Apache, and ended his overseas trip on a high note, playing in 33 games while averaging 10 points and 5.5 rebounds in just 15.4 minutes per game.

Now, Tyler has entered his name into the 2011 NBA Draft. As a 6’11”, 263-pound center, scouts have begun to drool over the man who spurned the NCAA. His combine workout reminded many around the league why he was such a highly prized collegiate recruit before going abroad. Prior to the workout, Tyler was expected to be a mid-second round draft pick. Now many, including ESPN’s Chad Ford, project the Californian to be selected in the latter half of the first round, with still a month to go before draft day.
Tyler’s ability was certainly hindered by his decision to move abroad, and if he had gone the college route, it’s very possible he would have been a lottery pick. But the near 20-year-old has matured during his adversity, and he has proven through workouts that he is NBA ready, both mentally and physically.

Chris Bosh Game 3 Was By Far The Best game In His Playoffs Career, Can He keep It Up Tonight?

Tony Allen car gets hit from behind from an old lady and weets it all and live haha

Few players have ever found a fit as good as Tony Allen(notes) in Memphis. He's tough, gritty, and a little scuzzy, a perfect match for a city that embraced this year's upstart Grizzlies with a fervor matched in few other NBA cities.


But that doesn't mean he's immune to all harm inside the city limits. Earlier Monday, Allen got involved in a fender bender with an elderly woman while taking his child to school. He tweeted from the scene (via SB Nation):

Who [fault] is it if some 1 run into 2 u!!from the back
(Thank GOD I'm ok!! But I feel bad this elderly lady is panicking she think I'm a crook with no insurance! She will not exchange info
She say she waitng on the cops ) but she hit me
She called her home gurl aswell
This lady called 1 of her goons!! Lol http://yfrog.com/h4gy0srj

Oh, what a delightful old lady who apparently thinks Tony Allen had stolen a rental car (?????). That is a perfectly normal reaction to a basic low-speed accident.
That last photo link takes you to the picture within this post. It's vaguely artistic and proves that Allen could have a career in photography when his playing days are done.
At any rate, the plot continued to thicken. More tweets from Allen:

My baby has 2 be inschool!! Where the cops at
Locking my doors http://yfrog.com/h4qkmyzhj
Ok got a go ( 5"O
5"0 http://yfrog.com/h6iicrrj
Ami going 2 jail!! For taking the cops pen!!

No, Tony, you are probably not going to jail. But here's hoping you stay safe on the road and escape the wrath of any more old ladies. We wouldn't want you to get a bad opinion of the city that's accepted you with so few reservations.

Contest: Take A Sheet With LeBron James

You may have been exposed to Sheets™ Brand Energy Strips through Amar’e Stoudemire’s Times Square billboard or a Danilo Gallinari post-game interview. The rapidly expanding company recently offered up its latest opportunity: “taking a sheet” aka hanging out with co-founder LeBron James. The Grand Prize Winner will win a trip for two to a Heat game and a personal meet and greet with LeBron (Approximate Retail Value: $4,200.00). There will be several other winners as well.

No purchase or payment is necessary to enter or win; all you need to do is visit Sheets on Facebook, and become a fan by clicking the “Like” button and then following the instructions to submit the entry form. If you are already a fan of the Sponsor, you can enter the Sweepstakes by visiting Facebook Fan page and following the links and instructions to complete and submit the registration. All entrants must have a valid email address. For complete rules, check out the Terms and Conditions.

Trade Rumors Began!!

by Sam Riches / @sam_riches

  With the NBA draft positions now locked in, the trade rumors are beginning to swirl. The Cleveland Plain Dealer suggested earlier today that the Milawakuee Bucks are open to trading Brandon Jennings. Jonathan Givony from Draft Express tweeted that the Cavaliers offered the Memphis Grizzlies the number four overall pick for Rudy Gay, who has also been rumoured to be on the trading block for Andre Iguodala. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Journal Constitution proposed that it’s time for Josh Smith to pack up his bags. So what does it all mean?

Probably nothing.

There will surely be trades on Draft night and the days surrounding the event, but until the selections are made, it’s all hypothetical. This year, the speculation is muddled even further with the possibility of a lockout. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Ricky Rubio are currently facing that scenario, as the Pioneer Press reports:

“Rickey Rubio would prefer to know if there will be a lockout before committing to joining the Minnesota Timberwolves for next season. The NBA’s labor agreement expires June 30.

The Timberwolves would prefer to know before the draft whether the 20-year-old point guard, their top pick from 2009, will buy out his contract in Spain. The draft is June 23.

‘That is the question,’ Wolves owner Glen Taylor said this morning. ‘He’s asking how that (lockout) might affect him, if we don’t play or if we will play. And our answer is, ‘We won’t know the answer to that question. You’re going to have to make your decision before that.’

‘We (NBA owners) are negotiating with the players right now. We’re hopeful we’ll play. But I don’t want to guarantee him that because there’s no way that I know that.’”

The lockout itself remains a debated issue, as the players and owners continue to offer divergent opinions about the possibility. Only a handful players are truly untouchable and as the draft approaches, expect the rumblings to get louder and louder.

Source: Slam Mag

Portland Trail Blazers GM Gets The Boot After Just One Season!

The Portland Trail Blazers front office began shaking things yesterday when they fired the team’s General Manager of operations, Rich Cho, after just one season.

Cho was hired last July to replace Kevin Pritchard, whom the Blazers fired on the night of last year’s NBA draft. Trail Blazers President, Larry Miller, commented on the team’s decision to part ways with Cho:

“I think over the course of time that Rich has been here, there was the realization that the chemistry just wasn’t there, and we didn’t feel it was going to get any better moving forward,” Blazers President Larry Miller told The Associated Press.

The unstable chemistry Miller was referring to is the fall out between Cho and Blazers guardBrandon Roy which could’ve potentially affected the team as they moved forward.
According to The Oregonian, Cho wanted to suspend Roy for his plea for more playing time during their first round series against the Mavericks. No one else agreed with Cho’s ridiculous suggestion, and that may have been the last straw for the organization.

Trail Blazers owner Paul G. Allen realizes their is still much more work to be done in order to build a championship team in Portland:

“The move is part of the franchise’s commitment to building a championship contending team. “This decision, as difficult as it was to make, reflects our willingness to admit and recognize that things haven’t worked out,” Allen said. “We’re going to be tough on ourselves in assessing what we could have done better, and then go out and find the executive who is the best fit with the needs of our franchise. That chemistry and connection is critically important.” -Source

The team’s director of college scouting Chad Buchanan, will serve as acting general manager. Hopefully this ignites an active off-season that the Blazers use to improve the team on and off the court.

Joakim Noah’s Anti-Gay Slur Leaves His Wallet $50,000 Lighter!

Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah should consider himself rather lucky that the NBA front office only fined him $50,000 for his anti-gay slur toward a Heat fan during the first quarter of Game 3 this past Sunday (May 21).

Some may not agree with the amount of Noah’s fine seeing as Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said the exact same thing to an NBA official and was subsequently fined a whopping $100,000.
Here’s what Noah had to say about the league’s decision:

A fan said something to me and I was really upset about it. I said some things I shouldn’t have said,” Noah, who had one point in Game 3, said in an interview on the team’s website. “It wasn’t right and I’m going to deal with the consequences. I don’t want to be a distraction to the team.” Source

Noah and his Bulls team currently sit in unfamiliar territory losing two straight for the first time since February. They currently trail the Eastern Conference Finals series 1-2 to the Miami Heat.

Ent Misbehavin’: Monta Ellis Got A Mythical Tree Tattooed On His Chest

Granted, Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis’ brand new tattoo lacks the panache and overt mythological-fantasy epic bent of Andrei Kirilenko’s super awesome and ginormous “Paladin Riding A Dragon” back tattoo, but  if you look at his new chest tattoo from a perspective that is a tad askew, while it appears to represent a family tree, it could be argued that instead of that boring reason, it is a tattooed homage to an Ent, the speaking tree beings from Lord of the Rings. Perhaps it’s even Treebeard. But where are Treebeard’s human-like qualities? Who knows, but it is this blogger’s opinion that the tattoo artist totally botched this one. If it was meant to be Treebeard, that is. Which very well could have been the plan all along. Or not, but possibly. Okay, fine. It’s not. But it would have been cooler if it had been.

ESPN's 'Player X' Claims Players May Leave the NBA And Never Come Back

ESPN has caused some waves in recent years with their “Player X Blog,” a weekly article written by an anonymous athlete who freely talks about his trade behind the name Player X. With that freedom, players have divulged shocking information that would never reach the media if there were a face and name to put behind the quote.

In this week’s edition, the NBA star uses his fifth column to address the looming lockout and claims that if the NBA cannot avoid the work stoppage, players will go overseas and many may never come back.

Player X cited the examples of Allen Iverson in Turkey and Stephon Marbury in China as two players that have been able to achieve success outside of America. A few months ago in Sports Illustrated, Marbury’s tenure in China was highlighted.  The article showed how Marbury has not only been a star on court for his team, but how he has also rebuilt his Starbury brand.

But the biggest story coming out of Player X’s most recent article is his claim that “[America’s] coaches are terrible. And not just in the NBA. Coaches across the whole game stink -- high school, AAU, college.” Player X went on to claim that most coaches have made a name for themselves by riding the backs of the NBA’s greatest players. While he didn’t name any names, one would expect the writer was aiming at the likes of Tom Thibodeau and Erik Spoelstra.

“They've grown fat on our natural athletic abilities, and they've gotten lazy,” Player X wrote. “Nobody coaches fundamentals anymore. We might as well rename the NBA the AABA: African-American Basketball Association.

“It's basically a very talented street-ball league. Americans simply can't dribble, pass, work the post or shoot the rock as well as our foreign counterparts, like Dirk Nowitzki. And their coaches get the credit for that.”
The player later claimed that he is a “big-name veteran” and said that if the NBA does have a lockout, he will certainly head overseas.

Damm Jordan Sparks, hitting up two ballers

Jordin Sparks attended last night’s Cedar Sinai Sports Spectacular in Beverly Hills along with her former NY Giants daddy Phillippi Sparks, but that didn’t keep her from being popular with NBA players Blake Griffin and Wesley Johnson. Newly single and svelte, we’re sure Jordin has her pick of the menfolk right now, but if you were her, Which One Would You Hit?

Sebastian Telfair’s Younger Brother Arrested For Weapons Possession

This past Friday (May 13) Ethan Telfair, younger brother of Minnesota Timberwolves guard Sebastian Telfair, was arrested  in O’Dwyer Gardens Houses in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
Sixteen year old Ethan who attended Lincoln High School just like his older brother, was apprehended by the police for possession of three loaded guns as well as trying to bribe a police officer.
According to the authorities:

Cops said that Telfair was arrested along with four other accomplices after police spotted two loaded guns in plain sight in an open backpack. They found a third loaded weapon on Telfair.
Ethan Telfair, who lives nearby at the nearby Surfside Gardens Houses, was taken back to the 60th Precinct, where he allegedly offfered a cop a cash bribe to let him go, a police source said. Source

Finally Doc Rivers & Danny Ainge Disagree On The Timing Of Kendrick Perkins Trade

Celtics head coach Doc Rivers and their GM, Danny Ainge, aren’t on the same page regarding the Kendrick Perkins trade in late February.
After the trade went down, it wasn’t hard to see the Celtics were a different team because the big men who were on the roster who could replace Perk were an aging and injury prone duo of O’Neals.
Both Shaquille O’Neal and Jermaine O’Neal were battling injuries and never played the type of defense that Perk did for Boston.
Now, Rivers says he would have liked for the trade to have gone down after the season:

“Well, I would wait until after the year is over. I’ll put it that way. I do think Jeff Green has a chance to be a starter for us in the future and a hell of a basketball player. And Krstic can help. But making that trade at the time we made that trade, that made it very tough for us. And not only that, we added other pieces as well that we tried to fit in.
“It was just a lot of moving parts to a team that the advantage that we had was that we had continuity, everybody else was new. Chicago was new and the Heat were new. They couldn’t fall back on what we could fall back on with our starting five. Once we made that trade, we took that advantage away.” -Source

In other words, Ainge took that advantage away. Ainge will still tell anyone who listens, however, that he would trade Perk all over again:

“I don’t think that the presence of one player standing in the middle of the paint was going to [help] our offense score more, wasn’t going to prevent LeBron James from shooting step-back 3-point jump shots with Paul Pierce and Jeff Green draped all over him,” Ainge told Comcast SportsNet’s Greg Dickerson in a one-on-one interview.
“I mean, we scored zero points with four or five minutes to go in two games. That was not because of who we had playing center. That had a lot more to do with our best players not being able to score.”

He even goes on say this to anyone who questioned their toughness after the Perk trade:

“Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. We lose our toughness because we trade one player?” he said. “What do you think Kevin Garnett feels about that? What do you think Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo [feel about that]? Like, we only have one guy that’s a tough player, that brings an element of toughness?” -Source

I don’t know if Ainge knows this, but Perkins was the biggest guy on the court for the Celtics so that naturally makes him a little more intimidating then guys like Rajon Rondo and especially Ray Allen.
Point blank, Ainge was wrong to trade Perkins when he did, but he won’t admit it. He’ll throw out every reason in the book why it was a good move, but the results don’t lie.
He’s right about Perkins not being able to help their offense score more, but they wouldn’t have had to score as much if he was in the paint guarding their rim. Whether he likes it or not, he cost them a competitive advantage with the trade with the Thunder.

Who Would You Build Around… Derrick Rose Or Russell Westbrook?

Both Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook will be enjoying the intensity of basketball in late May as they’ve both help lead their respective teams to the Conference Finals.
Rose is the Bulls’ leading man and the newly crowned MVP of the league, while Westbrook is the sidekick to the Thunder’s MVP candidate, Kevin Durant. 

Despite the different roles they play on their teams, their talent is pretty similar. Both 3rd year point guards are lighting quick and great finishers around the rim who can dunk on just about anyone.
Watching these two perform is amazing, but who stands out more?
Rose shoots a better percentage from the field, but Westbrook hands out more assists. Westbrook grabs more rebounds, but Rose turns the ball over less.

Finding major differences between these two is difficult to do, but who would you rather have on your team?

Yao Ming is Finished with Basketball?

Yao Ming, 30, said he "might" know in August or September if his NBA career is officially over due to injuries. He wants to continue to play in the NBA and he wants to play in Houston still. He just doesn't know if his body will enable him, "it's too early to say still." Being born an abnormally 7'6, Yao's work ethic was and is just too much for his body to handle. Although him and many others have taken an abundant of precaution measures to keep the Houston Rockets' star healthy, the body just can not handle the work load of a decade long NBA career. Yao Ming is a free agent this offseason 9 years after the Houston Rockets selected him #1 overall. Being the most popular basketball player on Earth, China following, Yao has transcended the present day basketball on Earth. His presence in the NBA embarked David Stern to make a stronger global campaign for the NBA and all of basketball.