The Association

Photos: The Dunk Contestants Needed to Channel Ruby Rhod Last Night

By Craig Kwasniewski 

What was that honey? It was BAD! It had no fire, no energy, no nothing! So tomorrow from 5 to 7 will you PLEASE act like you have more than a two word vocabulary. 

Or in this case some personality in the dunk contest!  Fitting that with Chris Tucker in the house, all I could think of what Ruby Rhod from the Fifth Element said to Korben Dallas (coincidence?) after showing zero personality.

Seriously, wow did THAT suck! I guess not every dunk contest is a home run. Not every one craps out an iconic dunk. In fact this was the worst contest since the 2004 one in LA... oh the ONLY one that I ever attended in person (heavy sigh). 

Anyway, Dunk contests have very little to do with the actual dunk itself, it's more to do with the entertainment and hype that surrounds each dunk. This is what Dwight Howard, Nate Robinson, Josh Smith and Gerald Green all understood in past competitions. Energy, pop, creativity, showmanship, pizzazz (doing the Hollywood producer finger snapping thing right now)... the dunk is just the finishing touch to each attempt, the icing on the cake if you will.  Again, just listen to my man Ruby Rhod... fire and energy!

Last night three of the four contestants went retro in a bad way and just assumed people just wanted to see dunks. Yeah that was great if it really was 1986 and we were in Reunion Arena, but that just doesn't fly today. Not after seeing Superman, Kryptonite, The Sticker Dunk and The Cupcake Dunk. It's just too bad the contestants didn't possess the same type of creativity as their pre-contest studio shots. Check it out, Shannon Brown, Gerald Wallace and DeMar DeRozan all exuded personality in these photos... personality that seriously failed to make an apperance in the American Airlines Arena last night.

   

It's official, Charlotte owns the Lakers!

By Craig Kwasniewski

That Larry Brown is one hell of a coach! Who else can find a way to: get Trevor Ariza concussed, force Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol to be a complete no-show (I hope I read about flu-like symptoms for Gasol because he was terrible!), force the Lakers to play Luke Walton key minutes down the stretch, force the Lakers to freeze out Bynun, their best player in the second OT and foul out Kobe Bryant. Only the brilliant Larry Brown could find a way... (standing clap)... This bud's for you!

Yep, the above happened and the Lakers STILL almost pulled out the W against a very stubborn Bobcats but instead they dropped a very entertaining game in double OT 117-110. A few thoughts from my seat in 316:

Charlotte owns the Lakers: The numbers don't lie, the Bobcats have won 5 their last 6 against the Lakers. Despite heavy warnings in Tuesday's LA Times, the Lakers still took the Bobcats for granted and CLEARLY didn't show up defensively. The best/worst thing about the NBA regular season is that talent doesn't always triumph over effort. But props to Charlotte for battling and neutralizing most of the Lakers front court with they typical Larry Brown D.

A watershed moment that almost happened. Kobe fouls out in the first OT and with Pau Gasol a complete no-show, the Lakers were forced to call on Andrew Bynum's number to win... and for the first two possessions it worked! Flashback to the pound-it-inside Shaq era as Bynum carried the Lakers early in the second OT with excellent and very patient post moves. And like much of the Shaq era, the Lakers stopped calling Bynum's number, which totally makes sense! Bynum is 2 for 2 with Staples Center feeding off his energy and instead Odom and Vujacic jack up a few terrible shots and provide stellar masonry work... Ballgame Charlotte!

Bynum showed a lot early by willing to shoulder the Lakers offense. Unlike Odom and Gasol, who always fight bouts of sphincteritis down the stretch, Bymum calmly demanded the ball, gathered himself down low and performed well in the post. It's good to see Bynum hold his own with the team relying on him. 

Luke W. no longer deserves the Walton moniker. Horribbble... Terrrribbble...Give up your name Luke! Bill Walton made a name with superb fundamentals and a high hoops IQ. So what does Son of Walton do tonight? With the game tied with 6 seconds left in the first OT he throws away an inbounds pass (despite having Sasha Vujacic W-I-D-E O-P- E-N five feet away), killing the Lakers chance at a last second win (they didn't even take a shot!). Instead Charlotte gets possession with a chance to win with 4 seconds left and because Walton wears forum blue and gold, they didn't turnover the inbounds pass. How do you not pass to the open man FIVE FEET AWAY???

The Lakers Achilles Three. Once again up three with the game on the line, the Lakers defense fails to guard the three ball. The NBA is a drive and kick league so defenses are keyed in on containing penetration. But you NEED to stay at home when a three is the only thing that can hurt you! The Lakers "brain trust" of Odom, Radmanovic and Vujacic continue to struggle at defending the three with the game on the line. This could be a problem come playoff time.

A great game! Very rarely do I leave a Lakers loss feeling satisfied but so many things had to happen for Charlotte to win... and they did. Obviously, if the Lakers gave the same effort as they did on Sunday we're looking at a 15-point win. Credit Charlotte for playing hard on both ends, but also credit the Lakers for their fierce rally to send it into overtime. Charlotte missed several freethrows down the stretch to close out the game and Kobe and Fisher hit clutch threes to tie it up. Mix in the oddity of Kobe fouling out, Gerald Wallace's collapsed lung (BTW - it really didn't look like a hard foul at first, but let's hope Wallace get well soon... will Bynum get suspended?) and the clutch game-tying shot by Fisher at the buzzer and it was a good time at Staples Center.

 

316 Report: Suns Close the Door on the 7 Seconds Era After Trade

by Craig Kwasniewski

Boris Diaw and Raja Bell for J-Rich... Is that a good deal? Will this save the setting Suns 2008-09 season? How long will Larry Brown put up with Diaw's antics (taking games off, showing up in October out of shape, etc.)? Here are a few quick thoughts on the second trade of the day:

Phoenix Suns - What is the hell are they thinking? The Suns ship off outside shooting and defense in Bell to get an athletic slasher to go along with resident slashers Barnes, Hill and Stat (who is a slashing power forward off the pick and rolls with Nash). So with their biggest weakness being a lack of consistent perimeter shooting, the Suns dump another jump shooter. So OF COURSE load up with another slasher, they already have a very immobile Shaq clogging the lane (for the 50 games he plays) so it makes perfect sense.

And Nash's game of dribbling in, around and through defenses (which is spread out and guarding all the perimeter shooters during the Seven Seconds or Less era) to create open shots, how will he react with defenses packing it in?

During their losing streak to NOLA, the Hornets continually spread the defense with quality three point shooters, creating lanes for CP3 to roam through. Basically beating Phoenix at what used to be their bread and butter. Now the Suns are force feeding this new identity under Terry Porter while half the roster prefers the old one. I can't see this deal working at all.

Charlotte Bobcats - They dump one of their best offensive players for an old Larry Brown guy and a very not so Larry Brown guy. Raja Bell owes his NBA career to LB for finding and starting him back in 2001 with the 76ers. Bell will bring that defensive win-the-right-way mentality that LB is trying to instill in Charlotte. What he lacks in offense Bell will bring in leadership and heart. Boris Diaw is not a Larry Brown guy!!!! He shows up in training camp out of shape, he wanders defensively and takes random games off. What's the over/under before he's in Brown's doghouse? 2 weeks? 24 hours? 7 seconds?

Anyway, if I'm one of the 1,321 Bobcat fans who give a crap, I'm wondering where they're going with this deal. Bell seems more like a final piece to a championship contender and not a starter for a lottery-bound team. Maybe Charlotte was keen on clearing J-Rich off the payroll.

That being said, here are a few notes from the Suns-Lakers game from my seat in Section 316:

Lakers went 2007-08 down the stretch. Phil Jackson, probably tired of blown leads, poor finishes and Vujacic's slump (9 points is the five previous games), went with Gasol, Odom, Kobe, Vujacic and Fisher in the final six minutes. This is, the same lineup the Lakers used down the stretch during their playoff run last season. It worked to perfection as the Lakers held the hot shooting Suns in check and closed out nicely for a 115 - 110 win.

Teams are zoning the crap out of the Lakers. Forget defensive breakdowns, the Lakers biggest problem is their inability to score against zone defenses. You'd think that a team with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and several decent shooters wouldn't have any trouble against a base 2-3 zone but they do. Their perimeter guys are too tentative and keep waiting for Kobe to bail them out. One simple adjustment is putting the sure-handed Gasol in the high post and cutting Odom or Bryant to the hole should open up some easy hoops. Seems very basic, no?

Barnes and Hill kept Phoenix close. Grant Hills gave a good impression of 1997 Grant Hill last night hitting his J's and locking down defensively. Mix in a hot shooting Matt Barnes from beyond the arc and a very short-handed Suns gave the Lakers all they could tonight (a good sign for coach Porter, who almost lost control of the team last week.)

Bynum looks out of shape. There were too many rebounds that rolled by and too much of a tentative offense from Andrew Bymum to have me believe that he's in mid-season shape. Maybe that's also why Jackson benched him down the stretch. Whatever it is he's too young to let a loose rebound roll to Phoenix for an offensive board.

The Suns future. The J-Rich trade seems like the beginning of a few more deals down the road. They're one slasher too many and keen on changing from the 7 Seconds or Less era. Coach Porter survived a potential mutiny last week and shipping Diaw and Bell to NBA hell in Charlotte might ignite a fire to carry them through All-Star break. The "play hard or go to Charlotte" mantra will carry a lot of weight.

NBA Draft Trade Roundup: Jermaine O'Neal to Toronto for T.J. Ford Is the Biggie

by Brett Edwards

A few quick trades to report today as we get ready for tomorrow night's draft.

Jermaine O'Neal to the Raptors in exchange for T.J. Ford: Good deal for both clubs. Indiana gets to rebuild with two first-rounders, and Toronto gets to team Chris Bosh and JO together (for at least the 50 games that O'Neal's healthy). Also, solves that silly point guard feud about who should start for the Raps.

Nuggets give trade their only pick to the Bobcats: Looks like Denver has no interest in the players who might be available at 20, and looks like Charlotte gets a chance to improve quickly with two first round picks. Nice move for the Bobcats, curious one for the Nuggets. Some possible reasons Denver might have done this.

Portland buys New Orleans' #27 Pick for $3M: Interesting move by the Blazers, who already seemed to have too many picks and players to begin with. Could they be stockpiling to move WAY up in the draft? Stay tuned.

Cleveland & Charlotte: Wasting Time and Money on Varejao

By Craig Kwasniewski

Varejao flops his way to a contract extension.

Charlotte did their own version of drunken ebay bidding last night when they reached an agreement Tuesday on a three-year offer sheet Anderson Varejao.... for 3-years at $17.4 million!!!

Based on his career average of 5.8 ppg., the Bobcats offered him roughly $1 million per point. Using that logic, the Bobcats payroll should be around $92.4 million, matching their season average (BTW - according to hoopshype.com the Bobcats payroll is $52 million). That kind of offer falls into Isiah Thomas range for financial insanity.

Yet some websites and news organizations are claiming victory for Cavaliers GM Danny Ferry if he matches the Bobcats offer for Varejao. What the hell are they thinking? $6 million per for a 6-10 Brazilian version of Mark Madsen? $6 million per for a flopping, euro-style role player? $6 million per for the statistical equivalence of (based on basketball-reference) Jeff Foster, Andrew DeClercq and Jerome Williams?

Active, hustling players with limited talent are a dime a dozen in the basketball world. Combine this terrible contract offer with what the Cavs owe to Larry Hughes (3-years, $38.5 mil), Eric Snow (2-years, $14 mil.), Donyell Marshall (2-years, $11.5 mil.) and Damon Jones (2-years, $8.5 mil.) over the next few years and I guarantee LeBron will pull a Kobe and demand a trade this summer if the Cavs fall far short of last season's success.

It's not too soon for Knicks fans to start buying #23 jerseys for the 2010/11 season.

The Only Storyline that Could Trump Kobe

By Craig Kwasniewski

Charlotte, North Carolina... Paul Mokeski is coming for ya!

It's official, the Charlotte Hornets Bobcats are NOW contenders for the Eastern Conference Championship as they hired Paul Mokeski as an assistant coach on Monday.

BTW - As the Cavs showed us, winning the east is officially not really an achievement, any team of accountants led by a superstar and a fire-hose can win the Eastern Conference.

Anyway, according to yahoo.com:

The Bobcats hired Dell Curry and Paul Mokeski as assistants on Monday.

Mokeski, who played for five different teams in his 12-year NBA career, also spent three years as head coach in the Continental Basketball Association, the United States Basketball League and a additional three years as an assistant coach on the CBA and college level.

That's right, straight out of the NBA Stiff Hall-of-Fame, it's Paul Mokeski. New head coach Sam Vincent is my new favorite coach in the world! Now if only Shawn Bradley and Greg Ostertag can come out of retirement and the 'cats can make a deal for Chris Kaman, Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy... dare to dream!