The veiling shadow that glowers in the West takes shape. There is a union now between the Two All-Stars, Payton and Malone. I love the Glove, but, for the League’s sake, at this point I have to hope that one of these two mercenaries turns out to be a locker-room cancer. And, while I’m on the subject of the Lake Show, perhaps I should be glad that the media has taken innocent-until-proven-guilty to heart. Nevertheless, I find it somewhat troubling how the press has circled the wagons around Kobe before all the facts get out. These are the same writers who jump all over Sprewell, Kidd, and/or Iverson, to take just three examples, whenever the rumor mill starts a-churning. What’s good for the gangsta is good for the golden boy.
Tag: NBA
Payton’s New Place.
I’d heard rumors of this a few days ago, but assumed if I didn’t blog it it might not come true. Alas, Gary Payton is joining the Lakers. Bleah. Particularly if LA succeeds in signing Karl Malone too, I’d say next year’s season is all but ruined. That is, unless Kobe’s in jail…
You can’t teach height.
While the NBA draft this year was slower than usual and surprisingly free of interesting trades (with the exception of Cassell to Minnesota, which happened the next day), I thought the Knicks did reasonably well this year. The Sweetney pick at No. 9 was a terrible, Laydenesque call, but picking up the free-falling seven-footer Maciej Lampe at No. 30 sounds like a steal (presuming his contract negotiations work out.) The 7’4″ Slavko Vranes sounds like a decent second-round choice too, far better than Frederic Weis at any rate. Now the question facing Knicks fans is how the trade winds will blow.
Fire Dolan!
With the 2003 NBA draft coming up on Thursday, the Knickerbockers are starting to sound desperate and – sadly – it looks like the Sprewell Era might be over. Can’t we just get rid of Dolan and Layden instead?
On the Prowl.
The new Bob Johnson-owned NBA franchise unveiled their name, logo, and uniforms on Wednesday, and they’re the
Small Man in a Big State.
Word on the street is Jeff Van Gundy has decided on the Rockets over the Wizards. To my mind, Houston just became a dangerous team to meet in the first round. Rudy T may be the nicest guy in the world, but Houston’s offense this past year was embarrassingly bad…basically Steve Francis, Moochie Norris, or Cuttino Mobley would speed to the hole and try to score 1-on-5 while Yao stood around looking confused. With a disciplined O and Van Gundy’s trademark tenacious D, the Rockets could turn a few heads next year.
Diamond in the Rough.
Bleah…so much for ABC’s “Old School” advertising strategy. Game 3 was some of the worst NBA basketball I’ve ever seen, and this is coming from a guy who really enjoys watching Knicks-Heat series. Just plain ugly…Kinda sad when the most memorable part of the game is the halftime show. Speaking of which, I’m more out of it than I thought. From what alternate universe did this Lil’ Kim version of Jewel come from? I remember her as an adorable snaggletoothed and deadly earnest folk chanteuse. She’s the last person I ever expected to drop the acoustic guitar and start hip-hopping to a Britney bounce. Well, I can’t say I’ve ever been a big fan, but with its infectious hurdy-gurdy backbeat, “Intuition” seems like it might just be this summer’s “Get this Party Started” – the bubble-gum pop song you can’t get out of your head. And from Jewel too…Who knew?
The Mercenary.
With NBA coach firings coming fast and furious, Slate takes a moment to burst the Larry Brown bubble. I have to say I’m inclined to agree. Given both his own coaching tour and his often inexplicable trades every year, it seems Brown’s got a terminal case of basketball ADD. Is he really the right guy to take Detroit over the hump?
Kerrazy shooting.
Can’t say I was rooting for the Spurs last night, but it was kinda heartwarming to see Steve Kerr get in a final three-ball spree. Now this should actually make for an interesting Finals, as the Spurs are worse than last year’s Lakers and the Nets are better than they were last year. Here’s hoping Jason Kidd leads the East to glory.
Race and the Hoop.
“For years, black ballplayers were stereotyped as not being interested in playing defense. When black players became very good at defense and began to dominate the league on the defensive end, the NBA loaded the dice. And this is precisely where the Euro players stepped in.” Dan McGraw talks about race and the foreign invasion of basketball in the Village Voice. I’m not sure I buy the zone defense conspiracy theory being promulgated, but there’s some interesting food for thought here nonetheless. And it is pretty sad to see how far the league will go to pander to white people — For example, the Frank Sinatra ad mentioned, or the ridiculous soft-focus Finals ads (“This is old school basketball.”) on ABC right now.