The Association

Monday Morning Point Guard

by Craig Kwasniewski

Time to roll out an old favorite of mine: Monday Morning Point Guard, which is five thoughts from the past weekend.

Z-Bo to the Clippers: Very rarely do I ever get a chance to write anything about the "other team" in LA so let's start it off with the Zac Randloph trade and how it affects the LA Clippers. First off, on paper the Clippers are loaded up front. Randolph, Kaman and Camby is a three-man rotation that could hang with the likes of the Lakers, Spurs (when healthy), Utah (also when healthy), Orlando, etc. And they got him on the very cheap as NY is selling off and clearing cap for LeBron (more on that later). The downside is by shipping off Cuttino Mobley they're every thin in the backcourt and are forced to give Ricky Davis a ton of minutes (who along with Andre Miller ranks as one of those great-on-bad-teams-but-awful-on-good-ones type of players).

And now the one BIG problem with the deal... Mike Dunleavy. Already clashing with Baron Davis over coaching styles how will Dunlevy's very hands-on approach on offense blend with Z-Bo and his reputation as a malcontent? With Rickey Davis, Baron Davis and Zac Randolph will there be an in-house revolt? Are there any deals in the near future for Chris Kaman (relegated to the bench because both he and Randolph are low-post ball-stoppers that won't mesh on the floor)? Will Camby and Boom Dizzle find the motivation to play the rest of the season now that the Clippers are playoff contenders (at least on paper)? If anything the Clippers are trying to bring in a winner "across the hall" in Staples Center... so big ups for the effort.

Crawford to the Warriors: Al Harrington for Jamal Crawford... The Warriors go from small to smaller. With Crawford the get a true three man (1 plus 2, meaning he'll call the play from the point and jack it up from everywhere) and the Warriors become the most exciting non-playoff team in the NBA. And that's just it... They're not big enough to hang with the Lakers, Utah, San Antonio, Phoenix, New Orleans and Portland and they're not deep enough to compete with Denver. So they're stuck competing for the eight seed with the Clippers and Dallas. But they'll have fun and the always boisterous Bay Area fans will enjoy this season... the regular season.

Knicks Dumping Salary: So Donnie Walsh did exactly what he came to NY to do, clear cap space and erase the Isiah Thomas regime. Done and done... and worthy of a standing ovation. A potential eight seed playoff appearance was scrapped (and rightly so) for a better shot and at THE free agent class of 2010. Here's the only problem, outside of Shaq in 1996 and T-Mac in 2001 no superstar has left his current franchise in his prime as a free agent. Read that again.

Outside of Shaq in 1996 and T-Mac in 2001 no superstar has left his current franchise in his prime as a free agent.

The Lakers tried to clear cap space in 2005 hoping to land Yao, Stat, Wade, LeBron or Melo and all of them re-signed for better $$ with their original teams. And the Lakers had a decent nucleus to build around with Kobe Bryant. Basically they all passed at a major market franchise and a title contention for extra $$ to line their pockets. What's to guarantee that LeBron, Wade or Bosh will pass up cash to play in MSG?

I would LOVE to see the Knicks back on the front pages of the tabloids for good reasons, but they better have a back-up plan in case those three take a pass. The worst case scenario is the 2001 Orlando Magic, where they dumped salary hoping to get Tim Duncan and T-Mac only to settle for Grant Hill, his injuries and an annual first round exit.

Eddie Jordan and PJ Carlesimo FIRED: One is a terrible defensive coach and the other had the worst talent in the NBA (along with the worst owner). With Jordan is was the case of it's about damn time. Wow he took a team with Gilbert Arenas, Carron Butler and Antawn Jamison to the postseason in the Eastern Conference... BIG... EFFIN'... DEAL!!!! Roll the ball out and get 45 wins from three NBA All Stars, anyone can do that! What he couldn't do was coach defense and the endless first round exits in the playoffs showed that.

Carlesimo got stuck in the middle of an owner dumping talent to move a once-proud franchise from the 13th largest TV market to the 36th market all to steal get a sweet stadium deal from a bunch of gullible rednecks politicians in OK City. The Sonics go from a division title and a second round playoff appearance in 2005 to dumping a very talented team for scraps just to lose fans in the Pacific Northwest. So how do they reward PJ for being a good soldier and coaching this crappy line-up the past two seasons... YOU'RE FIRED!!!!

Enjoy the NBA Oklahoma City!!!!

We're down 30 with 12 minutes to go. We're still in it... Sonics on three!!!!! I mean Thunder!!!

316 Report - Lakers vs. Sacramento: Not much to say from Section 316 at this game to merit an individual post so here are a few bullets:
-I'm digging the new goggles on Vlad Rad, the NBA needs more goggles!!!
-Spencer Hawes looks like The Machinist
-Lakers fans are more "talented" this year. Seriously, my head was on a swivel as hotties are once again showing up to Lakers games.
-Hoops-wise, the Lakers seem to be going to Kobe in the post more when the offense bogs down. Maybe we're seeing Kobe transition to a late-90's Jordan with more post moves and less hang time.

OKC Celebrates Stealing a Franchise by Dropping a Banner

by Craig Kwasniewski

Turns out, stealing a franchise is worthy of a banner dropping celebration.

The Oklahoma City Sonics Rednecks Red-Staters Thunder kick started the 2008-09 season by dropping a banner pronouncing that the franchise they stole from Seattle is officially "established" in 2008. Established? Does that mean that my car wasn't stolen a few years ago, it was actually re-established in the name of some dude from South LA? Well I guess you might as well package the product as an expansion team considering they have expansion talent.

I'm not from Seattle, so I'm not tuned into their fans, but this has to be like a final F-U from the NBA. The upside is that the Thunder (BTW - I never had a chance to comment on the name as I was in post Finals depression, but really? Thunder? All those contests and this is what you came up with? That's such a CBA, NBADL or WNBA name!)... anyway, the Thunder is years away from playoff contention so the next banner will probably praise their attendance figures like the Charlotte Hornets back in the 80's.

We're No. 1..... in attendance! Fire up the parade!!!!

316 Report: Lakers vs. Sonics

By Craig Kwasniewski

Here's a few brief takes from the Lakers 106-99 victory over Seattle last night from my seats high up in Section 316:

Not an easy win for the Lakers: Seattle rolls into town at 2-12, dead set on getting playing their young talent heavy minutes over going for W's. Should be an easy win for the Lakers, right? Not the case as Seattle's length and athleticism (specifically Durant, Green and Wilcox) wreaked havoc throughout the game. Luke Walton, still hung over from contract year-itis, was the biggest victim as Jeff Green continued to score at will from all angles in the first half. Walton's too slow, too short and frankly too white to stick with Green defensively. Seattle was able to take a 7 point lead with Walton "defending" Green in the 2nd quarter.

Injury problems expose Bynum on defense: This is hard to admit, but Kwame Brown is the Lakers best defensive big and they sorely miss him in half-court situations. For all the progress that Andrew Bynum has made on the offensive end, he still needs to learn a lot defensively. Don't get me wrong, Bynum's a decent one-on-one defender. He's able to keep his man in front of him and he stays away from committing dumb fouls. He's just too damn slow on defensive help and rotation. New Jersey learned this on Sunday and kept attacking the rim relentlessly. Tonight, he was late on several rotations and Wilcox benefitted early with 10 points in the first 5 minutes.

My favorite Durant moment: This is the first time I saw Kevin Durant in person. Obviously he's a good player, but my favorite moment of the night was when he threw a sweet two-handed wrap-around bounce pass from the freethow line extended to Damien Wilkins in the corner for a deep jumper. You don't see many two-handed wrap-around bounce passes from rookies let alone anyone in the NBA. Nice!

Mihm needs to be wished into the cornfield: Time to put Chris Mihm out to pasture. He's too slow, can't jump, can't block out, can't rebound, can't rotate defensively and can't shoot the ball... other than that he's a great basketball player. Obviously he hasn't fully recovered from that brutal ankle injury of a few years ago and maybe it's time to admit that he never will. All I know is that he's a huge liability on the floor and the Lakers would be better off using his roster spot for a healthy big.

Reason why I like Kobe: The guy never backs down from a challenge (even while he wants out of LA). Seattle switched Durant on Kobe in the 4th quarter and you just knew Kobe (who's been playing the role of facilitator all year) would go right at him at the first chance. Kobe eyed him up, dribbled out the clock and fired up a three from the top... MISS. Durant's length threw off Kobe's shot (flashes of the 2004 NBA Finals with Prince), but I love when two top players go head-to-head.

Reason why I hate the 2007-08 Kobe: Call it facilitator or call it Kobe's version of tanking, but he's lacking the killer instinct from 05-06 and 06-07. Back then all the Lakers had to do was keep the game close and Kobe would cut out the opponent's heart in the clutch. Usually he'd hit an array of sick baseline fade-aways or deep three pointers with Staples Center erruting in MVP chants. Not this year. Instead of closing out a very inexperienced Seattle team, Kobe spent much of crunch time dribbling out the clock looking to distribute to his teammates. Look, I have no problem with Kobe facilitating for three quarters, but he needs to close out in the fourth.

2007-08 Sonics Gameplan: Ugly it Up!

By Craig Kwasniewski

Even go to a bar and see some smoking hot blonde and her ugly ass friend? I always loved this, it's not enough that the blonde's turning heads, but she has to roll out with her bitter troll-like friend to eliminate all competition.

Well, the 2007-08 Oklahoma City Sonics are going with that theory. Not only did the Sonics ship away all their talent in Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, guaranteeing that this truly is Kevin Durant's team on the floor. But, they also signed the ugliest teammates and coaches in the league, guaranteeing that Durant will secure every single endorsement deal out there. So on and off the floor you have no choice but to focus in on Kevin Durant. Brilliant!

Back to the hot blonde and her friend... This situation puts a lot of pressure on the wingman. His job is to occupy the ugly chick until the hot blonde is "secured." One misstep and the troll-ish one is grabbing her blonde friend and taking off too soon... hence the phrase Troll Killer. It's the true test of the wingman's ability and dedication to play that roll... and believe us, Brett and I have done our share of troll killing.

Anyway, take a look at Durant's troll-like team, even down to the mascot, Squatch (but thankfully not their dancers... wow! They're definitely worthy of a post of their own).:

316 Report: Lakers vs. Sonics

By Craig Kwasniewski

The Lakers are playoff bound!!! Champagne, cigars and Britney Spears all around! The parade starts on Monday ending with a banner dropping ceremony inside Staples Center. Stand proud Laker Nation! I can see it now, at the ceremony in front of thousands of Angelenos, Smush Parker grabs the mic and proudly utters, "IIIIII STILLLLLLL SUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!" followed by cheers not heard since the days of Mark Madsen.

Anyway, a bunch of thanks all around after watching (from section 316) the Lakers beat Seattle 109-98 to clinch a chance at being swept by either Phoenix or Dallas:

Thank you Sacramento: Thanks for beating the Clippers earlier today 105-100. Though I was this close to driving to Staples Center and punching out Coach Musselman for not playing Mike Bibby as the Clippers were feverishly rallying from a huge deficit in the fourth. Then I realized... he must be drunk.

Thank you Clipper Groupies: The Clippers picked the worst night of the season to "enjoy the fruits of their labor." How else can you explain that debacle? All "Clipper Nation" had to do was win three games against teams playing out the season (SAC, PHX and NOOCH) and they're in the playoffs. This loss spared the Lakers of having to win a BRUTAL road game against SAC to make the playoffs.

Thank you Smush Parker: For being so fucking bad that Phil Jackson was relegated to start a rookie in your place. Phil Jackson NEVER starts rookies and you made him change his ways... in his 17th year as a NBA head coach.

Thank you Phil Jackson: For finally making the key adjustment by starting Jordan Farmar. The Lakers opened with their best defensive quarter of the season, leading 20-6 eight minutes into the game. The Lakers are a better defensive team, they're more fluid on offense and the fans really respond when Farmar's on the floor. This game had blowout written all over it... until Smush came in in the second quarter. Seattle gained some momentum and point guard Mike Wilks gained confidence against Smush. Suddenly the Lakers had themselves a dogfight for the rest of the night. I'm telling ya, this is a blowout if Smush gets a DNP-CD... he's THAT bad. Mike Wilks of all people was absolutely killing Smush with the cross-over... Mike Wilks!!!

Thank you Kwame Brown: For fighting through the pain of an inflamed vagina and suiting up tonight. Sorry for the cheap shot, but if Phil Jackson's making cat noises when you walk by and holding a white handkerchief for your tears in a press conference... well something tells me you're not familiar with the concept of playing through pain. Look, you're the Lakers best defensive big with your defensive end-like quickness and strength. Nine days ago, Chris Wilcox dropped 32 points and 18 rebounds against Bynum and Turiaf. Tonight, with Kwame Brown on the floor, Wilcox was a more manageable 20 points and 10 rebounds. Not great, but good enough to win.

Thank you Kobe Bryant: For putting up with this shit and calmly dropping a 50-spot. The Lakers aren't making the playoffs without his incredible scoring explosion in the past 30 days. Does it make him the MVP? Hell no! The Lakers have to be better than 42-40 for Kobe to even sniff an MVP award (and the media would still ingore him). Though it's a crime to see one of the greatest players in NBA history waste his prime years playing with such crap. Yet as long as the Lakers are being run into the ground by Mitch Kupchak, Jim Buss and Ronnie Lester, expect more of the same for the next 3 years. Basically Kobe dropping 50-plus during the regular season with the Lakers being a second round elimination at best. Good times.

Thank you Laker Fans: For continuing to be the most complacent, unintelligent and gullible fanbase in the NBA. You're paying 40% more than Clipper fans and all that matters is watching Kobe drop 50-plus a game. You have the best coach in NBA history, the modern-day Michael Jordan and you get a rebuilding project for the third season in a row. Yet there's no anger, no animosity... nothing! Instead I'm surrounded by "come on Kobe!" as the Lakers lose to the lower tier teams. The Lakers are one of the marquee franchises in all of professional sports, yet the fans continue to buy into the excuses crapped out of the front office mouths. Injuries, youth, promise... bullshit! I'm looking at a supporting cast of injury prone players with very average talent. Ending the season in the first round of the playoffs is NOT a good finish.

Clay Bennett: I'm Not Tim Hardaway, I Love the WNBA

By Craig Kwasniewski

I love my dead gay son!

According the Seattle Post-Intelligencer,

Two members of the new Sonics ownership group are heavyweight financiers of a national political group dedicated to banning gay marriage.

Together, co-owners Tom Ward and Aubrey McClendon donated more than $1.1 million to Americans United to Preserve Marriage, a conservative Christian group that opposes gay marriage.

According to the group, gay couples "flout marriage by using it for their own political agenda (and) cheapen the institution."

Some people are trying to equate this to the recent Tim Hardaway situation. That's a stretch. To me, one of the benefits of living in the USA is the right to do whatever you please, have a gay-marriage or fund an opposition group to gay-marriage. This is who we are.

What I see is just another bit of evidence to the fact that Clay Bennett is more Oklahoma City than Seattle. As I said last summer, the Sonics move is just a matter of time (Oklahoma City Sonics?).

What was really funny about the new controversy is the press release issued by Clay Bennett to counter the Hardaway label,

Since purchasing the franchises last year, I’ve come to fully appreciate the passion and loyalty demonstrated by both Sonics & Storm fans. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the success of the Storm. They are rightfully regarded as one of the most successful franchises in the WNBA, and for that, as an owner, I’m very proud. During last year’s playoff game, I was able to witness first hand the powerful connection between the Storm and its fans. I am looking forward to this season and supporting our team’s success while continuing our efforts to keep the Sonics and Storm in Seattle.

Seems to be a lot of emphasis on the Storm there. Are you trying to tell me that a lot of WNBA players may be gay? NO WAYYYYY!!!

Photos: Ridnour Redemption

By Craig Kwasniewski

Sonics guard Luke Ridnour hit a runner down the lane at the buzzer to lead Seattle to a 105-103 win over Indiana. This was a nice way to make up for blowing a chance to seal the win by missing two freethrows with 19 seconds left. Here's the photos from the winning shot:

Game Report: Sonics' Adjustments

By Craig Kwasniewski

We're walking a fine line between NBA Blog and Laker Blog, or as regular contributor and Clipper fan, Chris Tagawa has said, "Lakers, Lakers, Lakers. That is all I ever get from this site."

So rather that tell give a review of the Lakers-Sonics game I just attended and talk about Kobe's return, Ronnie Turiaf coming up huge or Lamar Odom continuing his incredible start... let's look deeper into how Seattle played and what adjustments were made in the game.

Early Blowout: The Lakers had a 20 point lead at one point in the first half. It looked like a cakewalk and a great chance for Kobe to rest up in the second half. Seattle looked like the 2005-06 squad that played zero defense and shot a bunch of threes.

Defensive Adjustment: Seattle made some adjustments in the second quarter. First, they doubled on Lamar Odom in the post and played him to his weaker right hand. Despite Rashard Lewis' length, Odom was able to get involved early in the game. By bringing the double team, Odom was forced to play more on the perimeter. It was Odom and Bynum posting up and creating from the inside that got the Lakers an early lead. This adjustment hurt some of the Laker momentum.

Later, Seattle mixed in some zone defense to disrupt the Lakers offense. This also changed the pace of the game and removed a lot of the backdoor cuts that Luke Walton and other Lakers were getting. The zone seemed to confuse the Lakers a little bit, who started throwing careless cross-court passes that the Sonics easily picked off. Maybe the early glow of a 20-point lead played a part, but the Lakers were lacking patience in the Triangle and went fell into relying on "Kobe-on-Five."

With Kobe not nearly at full strength (rejected by the rim on a dunk, airballing a driving lay-up), the "Kobe-on-Five" hardly workd.

Offensive Adjustment: Seattle went to small-ball and exploited the Lakers apparent lack of speed. Their offensive set was the basketball equivalent of a "Shotgun, Five-Wide." Seattle stretched the defense by running pick-and-rolls outside the three-point line with 4 players running the perimeter. The screen-and-roll activity drew attention from the defense allowing the two off-ball perimeter players to spot up for open three pointers. Chris Wilcox, Damien Wilkins or Nick Collison roamed the key area looking to grab long rebounds for put-backs.

Wilcox's athleticism caused the most trouble for the Lakers. He would simply out-jump the likes of Odom, Cook, Radmanovic and Bynum for rebounds. It wasn't until Jackson countered with the equally athletic/active Ronnie Turiaf that Wilcox was neutralized.

The adjustments almost worked as Seattle was able to rally from twenty down and actually had a five point lead in the 4th quarter. There was a long stretch were it seemed as though the Lakers had no defensive answer for Seattle's spread offense. Ridnour, Watson, Lewis and Allen all took turns hitting jumpers moving all around the perimeter, creating space and mismatches.

In the end, the hustle play from Turiaf helped rally the Lakers, especially two huge blocks as Seattle was threatening late in the game. Seattle lost, but these adjustments could help in Sunday's rematch at Key Arena.

Scouting Report: Sonics

By Craig Kwasniewski

Your owner's a redneck bent on moving the team back to his home town, your second best player opted out of a contract extension and will be a free agent next year, your starting center (who looks EXACTLY like his fanbase) just blew out his knee and will miss the entire season, and your best power forward is an ex-Clipper thus placing him in the same category with Darius Miles, Lorenzen Wright, Mo Taylor and Loy Vaught... sealing his fate as an overrated bust.

You are the Seattle Supersonics, and here is your Scouting Report, courtesy of the Los Angeles Lakers website:

Offensively, Seattle will look to play an up-tempo game. Ridnour is very good at catching the ball on the run and pushing the pace after makes or misses. They all do a good job of looking up the floor in hopes of finding shooters. Both Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis have the green light to shoot so we must make sure we limit their open looks, especially in transition and early offense situations. Chris Wilcox will also run the floor hard and the Sonics guards do a good job finding him in the paint or using him in pick and rolls.

One action that Seattle uses in various play sets and that we must be ready to defend is the back pick. One of the ways we will see back picks will be after Wilcox sets a pick in a pick and roll, someone will then set a back pick for him hoping to free him for a lob-dunk. Another way they will use this action is to create a post up for one of their big/post players. A post player will start high and the small/shooter will set the back pick as the big cuts to the post. This action is tough to defend because if the player guarding the picker helps on the big man for just a second, then the picker will be open as he pops to the top after setting the screen. In our pre-season game against Seattle they were effective in creating good post position for Collison and Lewis as well as getting Allen some open perimeter shots after he set the back pick.

Defensively, the Sonics are improved from last season. Assistant Coach Gordie Chiesa was brought in this season to help shore up some of their defensive liabilities as well as work with Ridnour. Coach Chiesa may look familiar to Lakers fans because he was an assistant in Utah during the glory days of Stockton-Malone. One aspect of their defense that we need to be aware of is the fact that they will occasionally pressure and trap the ball in the backcourt after free throws. Against Portland on opening night they were able to create some turnovers with this so we must be ready to attack it.

Oklahoma City Sonics?

By Craig Kwasniewski

The Supersonics were officially sold to Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett yesterday. At first glance, I thought there's no way that the NBA will allow another team to leave the Pacific Northwest.

However, after looking at the photos of the press conference announcing the ownership change, the Oklahoma City Supersonics will be a reality for several reasons:

The Name: I don't have the 2000 census, but I'm pretty sure that there's not one single "Clay" in Jetcity. That's a redneck name that belongs in the south or deep midwest. Clay will not be a resident of Seattle.

The Appearance: Just look at the two guys. You have Mr. Starbucks (Howard Schultz), looking very barista-like, like he just came from a "nooner" with his assistant before the meeting. He comes off as that sensitive guy who your girlfriend/wife chats a little too long with while waiting for their grande half-caf, non-fat, two-pump vanilla latte, 180 no-whip.

-Now you get Clay Bennett with his buzz cut, pot-belly and uncomfortable smile. He looks always itchy in a suit and would rather roll in a wife-beater with boxers, pouring beer in his Sugar Puffs for dinner. Not very Seattle. He could even attempt suicide just to fit in and he STILL wouldn't come off as a Seattleite or Seattle-ian or whatever you call them.

The Deal: Finally, the assumed reason for Clay moving the Sonics to Oklahoma City is the current stadium deal. Basically, the owner wants to make a Zillion dollars and not share it with the local government who originally paid to construct and later rebuild the Key Arena. So the obvious solution is to move to some sucker community willing to become a "Major League City" (code for allowing the professional franchise to sodomize the local community without even a kiss). In this case, you'll get Oklahoma City to lie on it's collective back for Clay.

So the writing's on the wall. One less team in the Pacific Northwest and one more professional sports owner sticking it to some small town in the middle of the country.

One last thing, what's up with giving Clay a jersey at the press conference? Is he the new starting center? Is this a weekend wardrobe improvement for Clay?