The New NBA…

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….its soffffffffft-tastic.

First the “physicality” of San Antonio/Phoenix…and now this fruity little incident in the Cleveland/New Jersey series. Long story short, I slept my way through the first half just like all of the players. Sasha Pavlovic has a two-on-one with Mikki Moore….Basketball 101 tells you to foul. No easy baskets right. Plus its the playoffs so its not going to be a soft foul. Hard foul happens, Moore immediately raises his arms in the air to signify he isn’t trying to do anything. LeBron decides to either get in Moore’s face or hold him back..even though he’s already established it wasn’t a foul. The whole teams go down there and stand around and then Pavlovic gets up (after tripping over Jason Kidd) and acts like he wants to do something. And to prove that he was acting, he comes up from behind Moore and just says a few angry words. Moore was assessed a flagrant foul…but is this what basketball is coming to? I never was a fan of the physical era, but we are coming up in an age where basketball is completely changed for those currently 18 and under. Go play pickup basketball with some youngsters and see the atrocious fouls they call. It’s ridiculous.

Also is ridiculous is it took a semi hard foul to wake LeBron and Cleveland up and remind them they ARE IN A PLAYOFF GAME. LeBron should be the guy but he is not going to be the guy to lead the L into the next generation. There is just too much proof; no great player sleepwalks in the playoffs. None at all. But LeBron phoned in Game 3 and the first half of Game 4. Look at the current crop of superstars compared to LeBron. D-Wade killed himself to get back on the floor, risking his career to try and get his team over the hump. You think Gilbert would be this lackadasical? As a matter of fact, Gilbert getting hurt and having to watch his team struggle could be the best thing to happen to his career. Kobe…pshh I’m not even going to go there. I bet Magic is sitting in that arena right now going ‘So you were supposed to be the next me’.

I think its just that damn sneer. How dumb is that.

Watching this…could LeBron be the next Vince?

LeBron clanks two free throws and then turns the ball over. Real clutch King James. And I think I just crossed into hater territory…no, upon confirmation I have not entered hater category yet.

Cleveland hasn’t scored in 3 minutes….LeBron is passing it off. Is it bad that Pavlovic is doing a better job of attacking the basket than LeBron?

By the way LeBron is getting away with murder on his post-call antics. Seriously…if Rasheed Wallace did half of what LeBron was doing he would be ejected, suspended, fined and probably lynched in the south.

Why hasn’t David Blaine made the ‘Richard Jefferson disappears’ commercial?

Terrible make-up call putting LeBron on the line with 3:13 game. Jason Kidd can really push LeBron out of bounds? LeBron has one point in the 4th quarter. D-Wade makes his money in the fourth quarter no matter what.

How many easy shots have Vince and Jefferson missed? How awful is this game? I seriously can’t wait for whoever wins this to get sacrificed to the Pistons.

What the hell is Vince doing? As a matter of fact what is New Jersey…how do you have that big three and Mikki Moore is the damn leading scorer.

LeBron continues his un-clutch streak.

Even Eric Snow whines? Eric bleepin Snow complains about fouls? When was this acceptable?

6/23 with 24 points…abysmal night for VC. Pavlovic is unfortunately in his head, also he won’t stop fading away.

NOT CLUTCH LEBRON. Where is Fergie to spell out Gagalicious? By the way…its not that I don’t think LeBron is great, its just I’m tired of people making the argument that he is the best in the L.

By the way…that noise you hear? It’s the death of Vince Carter as a significant superstar. One-on-one against Eric Snow with the game on the line…that should be easy money. Instead its a turnover. He can’t reach that echelon, he is firmly entrenched as the Mitch Richmond of this era. Why would Lawrence Frank draw a play up for the guy who has missed 17 shots?

What happened to Phoenix’s boss orange unis? And Steve Nash is back. He laid an egg in Game 3…he is bouncing back.

Nash…not back. San Antonio’s D is zeroing in on him which is real smart. They are taking the engine out of the car and I wish I was in Arizona so I could shove this in all the dumb Sun fans faces. Note…the dumb ones which is not all of them. I’m talking about the MILFs and the businessmen. Nash has 7 assists and 5 turnovers as I write…not a very good A/T ratio period, especially when its Steve Nash. But Couper will probably write about how its just exposing how he is good but not great.

Also, I hope this series teaches Amare Stoudamire and Shawn Marion something; they will never be the main guy on a team. They have not been able to turn the series towards the Suns and they are the two guys that can. Amare simply put is very overrated and Matrix has an overinflated ego. Also, San Antonio has this pace right in their favor. Phoenix is a decent defensive team but they have no chance at this pace. The Spurs are playing perfect Spurs basketball. Its not fun to watch and it is dominant. They may only be up by nine, but it feels like they are up 20. How many teams can do that? On offense they are so patient and getting whatever they want. They have succesfully taken the fun out of the Suns.

And yes I’m still steaming over my pipe dream of Phoenix/Golden State being replaced by Utah/San Antonio. Someone check on David Stern and see if he is still alive or has been replaced by a body double. How could he allow this to happen?

Seriously…stop with the “physical” talk. Flopping doesn’t mean its physical. Freakin ay Steve Kerr you should know this. I’m disappointed in you.

Do little white girls really ask their parents for alcohol? Why am I acting like I’m shocked.

Pick and rolls are dangerous. Think about it…Ginobli is either turning the corner, or they are hitting Duncan or they are going to hit the shooter for the three. Virtually unguardable. Remind you of another team? *Ahem* Utah.

Big stretch here for Phoenix…they have to get this lead with Duncan out of the lineup. Michael Finely says no though, that is another huge three. That’s almost a backbreaker. I say almost becaus Barbosa comes right back with a potential And 1.

Games like this are why I love the game FYI.

The difference between Kurt Thomas guarding the pick and roll and Amare guarding it is…large.

Man….Nash has brought them back but his 7th and 8th turnovers were huge and un-Nash like. Now the Suns are down 7 and Duncan is nowhere to be found. Nash seemed a little unsure of himself on those two TO’s like he didn’t know if he wanted to shoot or pass.

Without Duncan the Spurs rely on Parker and Ginobli to penetrate. While that is dangerous, it forces them to play quicker (and less deliberate) which plays right into Phoenix’s pace. And that’s why they are still in this game. Nash is able to push it now, guys are running, he’s shoveling passes like it is nothing.

Huge play by Raja to see Marion at the last minute.

Great defense by the Suns on the last few possessions, you have to give it to them. What a freakin game. Now this is what the playoffs are about. And Coup..you can’t hate on Nash’s pass to Amare that put them up.

How can both Ben Gordon and Baron Davis use magnets. Sheesh David Blaine.

I don’t like that playcall by Pop…they should have gone back to Duncan. But anyways…another unbelievable behind the back pass to Amare and credit Amare for finishing. I still think he is nothing without Nash but booooooooooooooooy he is making some clutch layups.

Wow. What the hell was Robert Horry thinking? If they lose Horry for the next game…that is a big subpl
ot. Good ass reporting by Sager to jump right on top of the debate of Amare’s suspension and let them know that he could have an out. Take notes ESPN. Who cares if Boris gets suspended what does he do anyways?

I would be lying if I told you I thought Phoenix would comeback and win. I mean really, San Antonio was playing their basketball. They were always in it but it felt like they were down 20. I think the biggest point of the game was when Duncan came out, and while San Antonio went on a run the Suns got back into their pace and rhythm. They kept attacking, played great defense down the stretch and battled. I think this is an enormous win for Phoenix. That was a championship caliber win. Extremely impressive…the big question about a team like Phoenix and the way they play is can they stay poised? Can they keep it together? Contrast the Suns and the Warriors; the Warriors cross that line and become reckless while the Suns have proven that they can stay in it and impose their will. And that is what they did…for one of the few times in the D’Antoni Era, the Suns were able to pull something like this off. They always seem to fall short in the playoffs because of their inability to do what they did tonight. Think about it…they finally doubled Tim Duncan, but it was the timing that was important. They attacked him subtly and late and it worked out. Now this series is far from over…but it is a series again. Phoenix has home-court advantage, and they also have to have a lot of confidence. Had Steve Nash not donned the crimson mask in Game 1 we could be talking about a 3-1 advantage. I’ve attacked Phoenix, I’ve debated their fans, I’ve questioned their ability to get over the hump…but they did it when they had to. A great, gutty win.

That being said, they still have to win two of three against the Spurs. That is not an easy task. San Antonio has got to bounce back and they have the veteran players to do it. The thing is San Antonio did everything they could to win this game. I seriously feel this is the best game they have played and they have nothing to hang their head on. At the end of the day the series is still in their hands. Ginobli disappeared again…Duncan and Parker had 11 turnovers…and they still had control of the game. It is a little disheartening when you force Nash to 8 turnovers and you still lose. But at the end of the day, you still have the best player on the court.

David Stern is probably gonna suspend Amare.

That makes me sad.