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Manlove: The gift that keeps on giving

Season's Greetings, Basketbawful readers! Since this may be my last post of the year, I present to you an early Christmas gift, which can be found at the end of the post. I love feeling such high holiday spirits! Let's get things started.

This year's Nike puppet commercials: Die in a fire.

The Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks: Z-Bo could only help two of three categories towards 20-10-50, scoring only 10 points to go with 10 rebounds in a 97-110 loss to Atlanta. The pine riders got a chance to shine, notably Othello Hunter with 6 points, and Jason "wait am I the better player than my brother" Collins with a DNP.

The Charlotte Bobcats and Indiana Pacers: 40 free throws on the road weren't enough? Last night's 98-101 loss to Indiana set a record low 70%, which was the percentage of people watching these two teams who contemplated shoving a fork in their eyes.

Boris Diaw: Sir Vag-a-lot puts a smug smile on Suns fans' faces, submitting a 0 rebound performance in 36:02. Afterwards, he finished the entire quart of ice cream. Ugh, lets just ban any discussion on these two teams and move on.

The Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic: The fist of Chuck Norris nods in acknowledgment (with the assumption knowing it could have done vastly superior) at Dwight Howard, who swatted away 8 Dino bucket attempts. Chris "You Got Served it is" Bosh managed to collect 6 rebounds, a 300% improvement from last night. The Magic won handily, 118-99, and no jump balls needed a redo, as the Raptors roll one step closer to being the worst defensive team in the history of the NBA. And no, I don't want to talk about Hedo's return to Orlando because he sucks and this story is stupidly forced by sports media.

The Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers: The Sixers and their much awesomer revert logo kept it close with the Cavs, you know, until the end, leading to a 101-108 loss. Not much time for river-dancing in their second night of away back-to-back games (although a certain other type of dancing may appear at the end of the post). Also, apparently being a superstar means you can kick the ball off your foot, and stand on the line for a 3, it's all good.

Chris Henry: Speaking of Ohio, well, it was a valiant attempt to ride the Tiger wave, but alas we really only need one crazy car accident injury via crazy woman domestic dispute story at a time. The Bengals WR didn't get chased down by angrily swung footballs, unfortunately, as it appears he's suffered some serious injuries and is on life support. Somehow, homicide detectives are involved. Confusing holiday downer.

Sad bawful UPDATE: Reports are in, Chris Henry just died from the injuries. Like a really depressing kick in the groin. Condolences to his family, friends, and the state of Ohio.

The New Jersey Nets and Utah Jazz: Another day, another loss. If the Nets could have given me one gift, it would be 0-26. But alas, I received coal instead, as the Nyets's stone hands dropped bricks at 43.2%, while allowing the Jazz to shoot 56.3%. And while Deron Williams had more assists (14) than all NJ starters (11), everyone kept ruining their chances at lacktion by gathering minimal positive stats.

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers: Oh Holy bawful, the stars were not brightly shining in Minneapolis, it was a night of a 120-95 smack down by the Clippers. I'll just go ahead and remind everyone that the winning team has a 36.2% club history win record. Insert discussion space here regarding if NJ or the Wolves are worse, and why Kevin Love's numbers deceptively portray him as a good player, when he is in fact, not.

...

......

The Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers were kept in check by Ersan Ilyasova of Eskisehir, Turkey, unable to finish the ham in regulation with this .500 team. And to the Bucks, honestly, I'm not fond of the Kobe and all, but guarding him one on one for the winning shot in OT, using the exact same shot he used at the end of the 4th? Like, in a game where Kobe has 7 TOs, and again, used the exact same shot that may as well have worked just minutes prior? Don't let the cranberry sauce hit you in the ass on the way out. Of your own home. What the... see, this is what happens when you try to hard to force a theme in a basketbawful post.

The Detroit Pistons and New Orleans Hornets: The Hornets fell behind in two quarters to the short roster'd Pistons 55-42. Thankfully, things looked like old times with the Paul and West show, as the New Orleans cruised to a 95-87.Also, if anyone can explain to me why Ben Wallace is still playing in the NBA, faster than I can shotgun Mexican beer while gazing into a Steve Nash poster, please do.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks: For their tacky bright orange shoes, called "Creamsicles" (no, really, I did not make this up) that made them look like their Turbo button was stuck. I mean this is how NBA Jam should be played anyways, and this is probably too awesome of a description for how it actually looked... maybe more like ducks with racing stripes. And since I can't really think of anything bad to say about the Mavs, here's a closeup of said shoes:

90041727LS011_Mavericks_Thunder
BOOM SHAKA LAKA

The Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets: Someone must have sent George Karl a link to 82games, showing Kenyon Martin's numerical impact on defense, as he logged 43:27 MP in this 111-101 victory. In other news, Aaron Brooks is fast and Carmelo is still scoring points faster than Taiwan Apple Daily News can churn out CG Tiger videos. T-Mac played another 7 minutes for a +/- of -10 and a delicious appearance in the lacktion report: a beautiful +3 of suck. Renaldo Balkman: still crappy. I blame the Knicks.

The Washington Wizards Generals and Sacramento Kings: Dare I say it; this sorta close game was actually kinda exciting to watch? Much like the Little League World Series, or a midget boxing match, only with less crying and forged birth certificates. The crowed was definitely into it, undoubtedly motivated by dollar priced liquid courage. The ending sequence included unnecessary offensive rebounds allowed while in zone, airballs and near airballs, getting beat in transition...after an OUT OF BOUNDS, two hilariously easy/bad steals, some confusing fouls, and probably more. I can't even remember which team did what, I was just excited to be a part of it. I've had to re-write this section 4 times, because I was trying to write and watch at the same time.

Paul Westphal: chris, I know you probably couldn't hear it due to your seat location and copious amounts of dollar beer running through your veins, but your coach just told your players, courtesy ESPN WIRED: "All I ask, is you stay aggressive. Offensively, I'd rather have us attack, than doing this and what are we runnin' 'oh let's play smart', forget that. Let's attack, let's play basketball."

(Chris: Well, AnacondaHL...three offensive rebounds in the final minute, only to be nearly choked away by an inbounding foul...only to then return to boisterousness after Agent Zero's dribbling fail with 5 ticks left on the clock...ah, purple paupers vs. Generals. Indeed. Let's play basketball without a conscience, yeah.

And a few other game notes:

- I missed out on the $1 beers (I did get a $1 Sprite and a $1 lemonade) because...it only applied to FOUR beer lines in the entire building, while everyone else charged full price! So guess what, those four beer lines were as long as the list of players more fit than Oliver Miller.
- Someone on the front row was actually wearing the jersey of trillionaire Jon Brockman, and it wasn't Brockman himself!!!!!
- Speaking of painfully obscure, I saw at least two Kansas City Kings jackets (one which looked faded enough to be authentic to the era) and FOUR different pieces of Kansas City-Omaha Kings attire (all of which looked like replicas). The Association: Where Omaha Happened. Huh?!
- Someone actually wore a Gilbert Arenas Washington Bullets jersey to the game. What's next, a Canswer Vancouver Grizzlies shirt??!)
- Fabricio Oberto was chained to the bench. Sadface.
- Halftime show? Some guy with FOUR Michael Jackson marionettes attached to him. No, I am not kidding. Yes, I have photographic evidence that this really did occur/exist!
- The ESPN fan zone outside was giving away free sign blanks to use for the game...so on the suggestion of Dan B. and the encouragement of Mr. Bawful, I Sharpied in "SIGN OSTERTAG" on mine. I got a "Are you SERIOUS!?" from one arena employee, a smile from a walking food vendor, a "Hey! We SHOULD sign Ostertag!" from a regular at SactownRoyalty, and plenty of amusement on seeing people mildly intrigued by the idea - an idea core to this site's celebration of non-ideals.
- Pictures up soon for everyone to enjoy/groan/guffaw over.
- I will be at the Crabs-Kings game next week so I'm crossing my fingers for an epic non-performance by either Jawad Williams or Darnell "Lacktion" Jackson!)


The Washington Wizards's desperation: ESPN.com is hosting a contest for fan-submitted inbounds plays, with the best chosen to reportedly be used in an actual game. If you have an Insider account, I'd highly recommend the "Agent Zero 30ft Money Shot", as designed by me, since you know this is all they are capable of:

basketball_half_court_nba play

(Author's note: I shit you not, I wrote this section and made this picture well before the game, and it's almost the exact inbounds play they used, twice. By the third time they used Butler and Boykins for the 35ft Double Penetration. I am stunned and giddy how well this turned out.)

The Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs: A classic Duncan game (27/15/4blk) matched an uncharacteristically low TO performance by Monta Ellis (1TO, with 35/6/5), but then again, freaking Vladimir Radmanovic started at center last night. Vlady Rady went 0-8, with 1 point in 24:40. Gregg Pops is 1 win away from 700 wins, and -247 flops away from wishing he was back in Russia as a spy.

Yao Ming: I just need to remind everyone of this, since for some reason Blizzard keeps targeting the NBA with its World of Warcraft commercials. From what I hear from folk who know mandarin, the translations are closely accurate. Yao on playing WoW:


ElfYourself: Bah Humbug. Oh wait, I mentioned something for the end of the post, right. The moment no one was waiting for: AnacondaHL's Christmas present to Basketbawful! Hit that fullscreen button, turn up the volume, and have a happy holidays.


Lacktion report: When Chris witnesses yet another trillion in person, how can he not celebrate the celestial comatose play of the Assocation's hibernators?

Crabs-Sixers: Philadelphia's Rodney Carney got hit with a brick for a +1 suck
differential
in 5:24.

Jazz-Nyets: Despite one block, New Jersey's Sean Williams took a foul in 1:48 for a 1:0 Madsen-level Voskuhl.

Clippers-Wolves: Steve Novak clearly is in a serious slump, as despite recording no other stats, HE HAD A 100% SHOOTING PERCENTAGE TONIGHT FROM HENNEPIN AVENUE!!!! So Sterling and Dunleavy called on Brian Skinner to lack it up, and he did not disappoint, losing the rock once in 7:25 and adding four fouls for a +5. (This also counted as a 5:0 Voskuhl!)

Lakers-Bucks: Sasha Vujacic apparently is Phil Jackson's choice as this generation's Jud Buechler, this time enriching the defending champs with a 2.55 trillion (2:33). For Milwaukee, Kurt Thomas negated a board in 6:08 with a brick and three fouls, resulting in a 3:1 Voskuhl.

Rockets-Nuggets: Despite a Houston loss, Brian Cook and Jermaine Taylor each took a Star of Invincibility for a 35 second stint as Mario Brothers - with Taylor punching out a +2 via rejection and brick, while Cook amazingly managed to make a three!!!

Generals-Kings: At $1 Beer Night, Jon Brockman had gotten enough non-contributory time in the first half to potentially buy himself 1.1 trillion (1:08) brews! Given that he didn't play at all afterwards, he probably could have survived the massive lines and gotten himself at least one cup of cheer before the end-of-halftime deadline.

Spurs-Warriors: Malik Hairston popped a wheelie on Excite Bike for a 39 second Mario! Meanwhile, Nellieball put Chris Hunter's name on the list again, with a +2 via rejection and brick in 2:34. Vladimir Radmanovic made a free throw and a board to avoid a sucky score as the Warriors' starting center, only to litter his 24:40 stint with 3 fouls, 2 rejections, 2 turnovers, and a stunning 9 bricks (4 from Lake Merritt and 1 from the charity stripe) for a 5:2 Voskuhl.

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39 Comments:
Blogger Unknown said...
Just got done watching wiz v queens and realized Gil went to the line for the wiz and sunk both throws but was only awarded one point. Did dollar beer night apply to the score keeper? How did nobody notice this?! The last 2 posessions for the wiz change in strategy if the score is kept correctly. Am I trippin or did I see that really happen? Please someone confirm my sanity.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Re: the Wizards, every game is like that for them now. In the month of December, they have mastered the art of playing *exactly* to the level of their opponent, every single night. This month, their games have been +4 (win), +2, -2, -4, -2, -1, and -3. Sure, it makes sense when they're playing the other dregs of the league that the games would be close, but how did they only lose to Boston by 2, and have multiple shots to tie/take the lead in the last 30 seconds?

I'm a Wizards fan, and with their record, there's no reason I should care about their games, but I keep watching because every single night it's absolutely compelling basketball to watch (note that it's not necessarily that high-quality). Just when I think I can get away, and they're about to get blown out, they put on a furious rally to make the end of the game dramatic. Tonight was a perfect example, as you saw . . .

Also, they keep coming up with new and creative ways to lose, which is always entertaining, even when it's your team that's losing.

Blogger chris said...
Brandon: Are you referring to the technical foul towards the end of the game? I'm not sure which one you're referring to, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary while I was there, but then again I was mostly mesmerized by the bizarreness of that final minute.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
AnacondaHL - First off, that ElfYourself video is fan-fucking-tastic! 100% pure hilarity :)

Second, I didn't really see much of what happened in the NBA other than the Lakers-Bucks game, but you're right on the money that Milwaukee must be crazy to have let Kobe get off that last shot with only single coverage on him. Speaking of Kobe, after firing up 28 shots tonight I noticed that prior to breaking the index finger on his shooting hand Kobe had been attempting an average of only 21.6 shots per game; but since breaking that finger he's now averaging 26 shots per game. It's a small sample size, but don't you think breaking the index finger on your shooting hand should lead to less shots? In addition, Kobe has had 15 turnovers in the last two games. Just wanted to point that out.

Also, has anyone noticed that Pau Gasol has suddenly transformed into a rebounding machine? The dude has had 78 rebounds in the last 4 games. That's an average of 19.5 boards per game! What the hell is going on with him?

Anonymous Anonymous said...
"Also, if anyone can explain to me why Ben Wallace is still playing in the NBA, faster than I can shotgun Mexican beer while gazing into a Steve Nash poster, please do."

How about...

Ranks #12 in the NBA in Rebounds Per Game (9.8)
Ranks #4 in the NBA in Offensive Rebounds Per Game (4.2)
Ranks #30 in the NBA in Defensive Rebounds Per Game (5.7)
Ranks #21 in the NBA in Steals Per Game (1.52)
Ranks #31 in the NBA in Blocks Per Game (1.12)

He's just the most important player on the floor for the Pistons. His energy and veteran leadership are really indispensable for that squad.

Sure he ain't what he used to be a couple of years ago, but he's still pretty damn good. Defensively.

Blogger Dan B. said...
Anonymous Wizards fan -- That's very considerate of your team. I'd rather watch an exciting team lose than watch a boring team win OR lose I suppose. To a degree.

Anonymous Ben Wallace defender -- "He's just the most important player on the floor for the Pistons." Good God. Well, I guess that's one reason I'm not too upset by the fact that I haven't seen a single Pistons game on TV this year.

After I got home from Christmas shopping and grabbing some dinner with a friend, I played a little 2K10 last night (I know, unbelievable, right?) while texting back and forth with Chris as he waited for the start of the Generals/Kings game. I decided to finally up the quarter length to 8 minutes, and it definately helped the gameplay aspect, but I'll have to write up a more detailed post about it for BAD tonight.

Anonymous The Other Ben said...
Basketbawful, unintentional dirty quote machine - "By the third time they used Butler and Boykins for the 35ft Double Penetration." Glad you spared the details.

Its stuff like this that just make my day that the office even better.

Anonymous The Other Ben said...
Yams, its Kobe chucking up bricks to give his teammates second opportunities close to the basket.

Apologies for the double-post.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Or, somehow the Suns paid $10 million for nothing, while the Pistons payed $1.4 million for contract year phenomenon. Oh well, Frye turned out better for us anyways, which I guess is still pretty crappy.

Blogger Dan B. said...
Just saw this linked from Deadspin... Shaq rocking 3D glasses.

Anonymous Hellshocked said...
I'm not sure what's up with the Love and Turkoglou hate, but that Yao video kicked ass. I guess he really does play Warcraft.

Remember when Gilbert Arenas was briefly considered one of the league's best clutch players? Within the past week or so he has twice missed two free throws in the closing moments that ultimately cost his team the game and last night he had the ball poked away by Tyreke Evans, leading to a foul and a loss. Can't wait to see what he does against Golden State tonight.

Blogger Unknown said...
@ Yams

Gasol has suddenly transformed into the best rebounder in the league, at least temporarily. Good thing, cause Bynum's numbers have dropped into oblivion.

Blogger chris said...
Dan B.: So that is why you haven't ventured north of the Ohio to watch the Granger-less Pacers!??! Not exciting enough!?

The Kings ARE plenty exciting...partially because they still haven't learned how to control their own half-court.

Blogger chris said...
BTW, Shaq rockin' the red-and-blue shades - is that him prepping for the All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium? Because Jerry Jones after all did provide 3D jumbotron viewing this weekend in a Cowboys loss, to the derision of many fans present...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
"Chris Henry: Speaking of Ohio, well, it was a valiant attempt to ride the Tiger wave, but alas we really only need one crazy car accident injury via crazy woman domestic dispute story at a time. The Bengals WR didn't get chased down by angrily swung footballs, unfortunately, as it appears he's suffered some serious injuries and is on life support. Somehow, homicide detectives are involved. Confusing holiday downer."

update: chris henry has passed away. :/

Blogger Unknown said...
The wizards had 99 and gil went to the line for two free throws. He hit them both but the score said 100 as he went back down the court. I had the game on tivo and watched it a few times because i figured I was crazy and there was no way this could happen. If anyone still has it on their DVR please check it out and let me know. I mean that changed the whole game if that was the case doesn't it? That final rip and dunk actually ties the game and everything turns out different right?

Blogger chris said...
Brandon: Okay, for some reason that play didn't stand out for me while I was there.

The game WAS televised by both local TV (Comcast Sports California) and of course ESPN so maybe having both feeds could clarify what occurred?

Blogger Unknown said...
Yeah I hope they do but man with all the other stuff going on right now like tigergate and the tragedy of Chris Henry this thing is just a minor blip.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Hellshocked: Don't get me wrong, Hedo was a great 4th banana. For one year. But constant repetition of his return to Orlando was over-dramatized and forced. And nothing came of it.

As for Kevin Love, it's a shame there's no Timberwolves fans here that can give a gushing review of why his stats can not accurately describe how much he sucks.

The Other Ben: I find it humorous that you skipped over, or didn't know, the "money shot". Also, I'm pretty sure that generally showing a picture of a penis implies that all word choice is intentional.

Blogger Caleb Smith said...
Kevin Love is a beast. That is all.

Blogger Basketbawful said...
First off, great post, AnacondaHL. And the ElfYourself video of the Crabs -- particularly the spectacularly-chosen LeBron face -- gets my highest rating for ElfYourself videos: Pee.

Now...

Speaking of Kobe, after firing up 28 shots tonight I noticed that prior to breaking the index finger on his shooting hand Kobe had been attempting an average of only 21.6 shots per game; but since breaking that finger he's now averaging 26 shots per game. It's a small sample size, but don't you think breaking the index finger on your shooting hand should lead to less shots? In addition, Kobe has had 15 turnovers in the last two games. Just wanted to point that out.

Kobe is in full "I will prove to the league and the world at large that my finger is not a problem by scoring lots of points and helping my team win close road games" mode. Only these games might not be as close if the Lakers took advantage of Pau and Bynum in the post. I mean, the Bulls get outscored in the paint by everybody. Everybody. I note this at By The Horns after every game. But the Bulls outscored the Lakers 38-34 in the paint. That should not have happened...and would not have happend if Kobe weren't on a Seek and Destroy Mission.

Also, has anyone noticed that Pau Gasol has suddenly transformed into a rebounding machine? The dude has had 78 rebounds in the last 4 games. That's an average of 19.5 boards per game! What the hell is going on with him?

Pau noted the other day that he's not getting many shots, so he has to make things happen for himself by rebounding. He wasn't kidding, was he?

Anonymous AK Dave said...
I know the jury is STILL out on this, and probably will be for at least another year, but it looks like Kevin Love may yet prove to be a better player than O.J. Mayo.

I know it's early in the season, and Love hasn't played 10 games yet, so the sample size for him is a little low, but OJ has played every game this season, and his production has dropped slightly from last season.

Love is still getting into game-shape after that wrist injury, is playing with a power glove, and his production is up; particularly in rebounding (12rpg). He's averaging 13.8 and 12, and seems to have added a 3-point shot?

Look, I haven't even seen the guy play yet, so what do I know. But I have seen OJ Mayo, and he's Ben Gordon v 2.0, and I don't think he's going to add anything to his reportiore moving forward: what you see is what you'll get.

Love, on the other hand, if he can shoot the 3 at a decent clip, will become very useful. He is only 21, and big men typically usually slower to develop in the NBA, and teams will take them even if they're not NBA-ready. He's got room to improve, and seems to be moving up. Guards, on the other hand, seem to reach their potential much sooner, and NEED to be NBA-ready when they arrive or else they get cut faster than you can say "Mateen Cleeves", so I really don't see OJ Mayo getting much better than he already is.

Feel free to disagree, but the way it looks, Love's stock is rising and Mayo's is falling.

WV: hermist

Hmmmmm

Blogger Will said...
AK Dave- you're probably not talking about this, but it would be sweet if Love was playing with this power glove.
http://crowdnoise.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/powerglove.jpg

Blogger Wild Yams said...
Mr. Bawful - I agree with you 100% on your assessment of Kobe. I too think he's out to prove that having a broken finger isn't going to slow him down at all. To be fair, his shooting percentage in the last two games was actually pretty good, but I definitely agree that all those shots really took the rest of the team out of any offensive rhythm. Especially in that Bulls game, where he threw up so many shots in that first quarter: even though he was on fire and was hitting almost everything, by the time he was finished he was the only guy to really get going offensively and the rest of the team struggled for the rest of the game.

In last night's game, coming out of halftime, the LA sideline reporter said he'd talked to the coaching staff and their message to the team was that they were imploring them to please go inside more. Though he was limited by foul trouble (legitimately, he committed a lot of dumb fouls), Bynum only got 6 shots yesterday. Additionally Gasol only took 5 shots that were in the paint. You can see that the Lakers are really ignoring what should be their biggest strength offensively by not going to their big men, and instead have begun relying on a volume shooter with a broken finger for most of their scoring. It's worked against two teams that aren't that great right now, but they won't be able to keep winning by playing like that.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Oh boy. A giant edit in my post is coming, as reports flood in. Chris Henry just died from the injuries.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
update: chris henry has passed away. :/


i told you that two hours ago!!

Anonymous Anonymous said...
just curious ... is boom shaka laka a reference to nba hangtime (greatest game ever) or just coincidence?

Anonymous NarSARSsist said...
chris - I have a question for you, inspired by the latest Truehoop entry "The Kobe Conundrum". Now, being from San Antonio, I track former Spurs players quite a bit, one of which is Beno Udrih. One of the things I've noticed is "The Udrih Conundrum". Last year, few midlevel exception type players were ripped on more than Beno Udrih, and I did not understand why. For what was last year essentially 1/10 of a team's salary cap ($5.6 million out of $59 million) and 1/8 of the playing time (31 minutes out of 240 total across all 5 positions), he produced 11 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal, shooting at a reasonable if not spectacular 53% TS%. People were talking about him like his play and contract were worse than if the Kings signed Steve Francis for $50 billion. This year, he has improved his TS% quite a bit, and scoring is up, though his other stats, for the most part, have taken quite a dip. Yet, despite this and with no discernible improvement on defense, people are now talking about him like the next hot thing (such as Ric Bucher's breakout star column; if you don't have an insider account, just know that he's in a list with Ersan Ilyasova, Aaron Afflalo, and Channing Frye). So what I want to know is, what are your thoughts on Udrih this year and last?

Blogger koberulz said...
So am I the only one who couldn't really watch the Bucks-Lakers game due to the awful commentary?

Anonymous NarSARSsist said...
The Hall of Fame is considering allowing the media and fans to have a say in who gets inducted. All I have to say is, "Yao Ming to the Hall of Fame! Yao Ming! Yao Ming! Yao Ming! Oh yeah, Yi Jianlian too!" Just joking...maybe...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
oh there's wolves fans here, but no one that feels like defending such a terrible team. However saying Kevin Love is a bad player is just plain stupid.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
BTW, Mr. Bawful, your boy John Hollinger has a piece on TrueHoop up about Gasol's rebounding in which he says "While a popular theory is that Gasol has gone to the glass because he’s being starved of the ball on offense, that doesn’t explain the primary source of Gasol’s rebounds. Gasol’s Defensive Rebound Rate is slightly better relative to the league average, as he ranks fifth among power forwards in that category, but just ninth at the offensive end." So take that for what it's worth.

Blogger chris said...
NarSARSist: Sactown Royalty had some nice commentaries on that (not sure if it was just in comments or a full article) on the improvements, yadda yadda. I will say he looked pretty decent last night in the bit of action I saw him in, though the star of the show was clearly #13.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Yea, I guess having a big guy that can't really shoot or defend is just plain stupid. No need to have thought that one through, huh. Enjoy your 45% FG% and rebounds.

My favorite is the sponser on Kevin Love's page: "Kevin Love > Brook Lopez and OJ Mayo - AND THAT'S A SCIENTIFIC FACT!!! Now I don't want to hear anymore about how McHale screwed up the pick, this bus is HOF bound. So no more about MayoTheGreat or Brook Olajuwon (I'm looking at you Jonathan Watters!)"

That is beautiful. Get me some of what you're drinking in Minny.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Anonymous: Oh no you just did not.

I'm playing the Original over Sequel card. NBA Jam forever. BOOM SHAKA LAKA

Anonymous Anonymous said...
That page sponsorship is an inside joke by a RealGM user.

Anonymous Ak dave said...
"Enjoy your 45% FG% and rebounds."

AnacondaHL:

Enjoy being pompous, arrogant, and condescending for no reason and without provocation. You excel.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Well that's not good Christmas spirit. You should have gone with the UCLA approach, for a more personal attack! Oh well, a good flame war opportunity lost.

Blogger Unknown said...
Ben Wallace has played really well for Detroit this year (rebounding and defense -- he's never been an offensive threat of any kind). He's looking better than he's looked since, well, the last time he was with Detroit.

The Pistons have had a brutal time with injuries this year, and even with everyone healthy they aren't a championship contender with their current guard-heavy, light-on-bigs roster. But they have some intriguing new and young players. And Ben has been a leader for them.