1. Don't look now, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are 7th in the West.
What do you know, I was right about something!Recall my post at the beginning of the year, when I predicted OKC would fight their way through the loaded Western Conference competition and emerge from the regular season fray with a playoff spot.
And here they are, halfway through the season, poised to make a run to the playoffs. And NOBODY wants to play 1 game against these guys, let alone a 7-game series. They're young, they're athletic, they're big and long, and they have Kevin Durant, who is averaging almost 30 points per game. Damn.
They've scored wins against elite competition, including impressive home victories against the Mavs and Magic. And they've crashed the party on the road in Phoenix, San Antonio, and most recently, in Atlanta against a REALLY good (and similarly athletic) Hawks team. At 12-9, they've quietly built the third-best road record in the West.
From an outsider looking in, here's my take: they're missing a big man and a pure point guard. But even that's nitpicking. Really, experience is the most important missing ingredient. Sure, they're not winning any playoff series for a year or two, but their future is very bright.
2. As much as I hated Shaquille O'Neal four years ago, I love him now.
And if that NBA on ESPN commercial isn't enough to convince you, wait until you hear his proposal for this year's Slam Dunk contest. First a little background:
This year's All-Star Weekend on Feb. 12-14 will be held in my current home in Dallas, TX. Which I'm pretty excited about. But the NBA announced the field for the Slam Dunk contest on Monday, and it included Nate Robinson, Gerald Wallace, Shannon Brown, and either Eric Gordon and DeMar DeRozan (pending a dunk-off).
All fine athletes; I have nothing against any of them. But I was a little excited about the hype generated last year when LeBron, in usual prima donna fashion, would neither confirm nor deny his presence in this year's dunk contest. (For those who are unfamiliar, the slam dunk contest has declined since its pinnacle in the 80s and 90s, as the biggest stars refuse to risk injury by participating.) The announcement, obviously, removes all doubt that he would NOT grace the court of the American Airlines Center.
Enter Shaq. Last night he proposed: "As his manager, I will only allow 'Bron to do the dunk contest if Vince Carter comes back out. If Kobe comes back out and if another big name comes back out ... if we could get a big prize and have half of the money go to the people of Haiti and the other half to the winner. ... I want to see Kobe. I want to see Vince, and I will allow my client to enter."
I guess the only ones who get screwed are those slated to dunk right now. But surely they would gracefully step aside if it involves the disaster relief effort in Haiti.
I like how the Shaqtus thinks. But alas, Kobe's too cool for the idea, I guess.
3. The three most dominant home teams are the Lakers, the Nuggets, and the...
Go ahead. You'll never guess.
The Charlotte Bobcats?? At 18-4, only the purple-and-gold have more home wins (23-3), and Denver is only a half-game better on their home hardwood (18-3). That's after embarrassing the Heat on Monday 104-65. BUT, only the hapless Nets have a worse road record. Don't count on this team making too much noise this season.
4. I prefer the chair-throwing Bobby Knight.
Alright, time for a little break from the NBA, because I just couldn't pass this up.
I've heard nothing but praise for Bobby Knight, as he's made the transition into the broadcasting booth. I hadn't heard him say much, so I didn't have much of an opinion. And I will never question his basketball IQ and analysis.
But as I was watching Kansas State take down the top-ranked Longhorns the other night, Coach Knight made my jaw drop straight to the floor.
The crowd, who had started chanting things like "Overrated" and "Don't Storm the Court" (i.e., we're so good that beating the #1 team in existence is not an upset). And they'd earned that right.
A mildly disgusted Bobby Knight took issue, saying, "I'd love to see in a college game where the fans, instead of degrading an opponent, [saying] 'Overrated! Overrated!', thank their own team and say 'Thank you! Thank you! Well done! Well done!'"WHAAAT??? They're a crowd at a college basketball game, they're supposed to degrade the opponent. I'm all for sportsmanship, but that's just ridiculous.
And what have they done to Bobby Knight?? Talk about losing your edge. The man who routinely verbally abused referees has now become softer than a marshmallow soaking in a bathtub.
5. After Tuesday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Phoenix Suns have lost 18 consecutive games when broadcast nationally on TNT.
Amazing, especially for a perennially decent team like Phoenix. Don't think I need to say anything else.
6. The 2009-2010 Dallas Mavericks
I don't quite know what to think of these guys. Allow me to overanalyze:
They never start well, regularly falling behind by double-digits in the first half. Reigning Sixth Man of the Year Jason Terry is in the longest slump of his life, and is shooting well below his career average from behind the 3-point line. Shawn Marion is not producing as much as we thought he would on the offensive end of the floor and on the glass. They can't defend their home court: they even lost at home against a Golden State team that only played 6 men all game long. Then, Josh Howard came back from injury but can't buy a decent game. Seriously, when J-Ho shoots, I'm reminded of watching a younger Tony Romo fling a 32-yarder down the field into double coverage: I choke on my own breath, stumble off of my couch, and yell "Noooo!" to my TV.
But at 28-14, they're second in the Western Conference.
Besides your lucky stars, you can thank:
(1) basketball IQ/experience in close games (12-4 in games decided by 5 points or less, and 9 straight wins in 1-point games).
(2) Erick Dampier's unprecedented presence anchoring the center spot.
(3) Drew Gooden not playing like a knucklehead (after the first week of the season).
(4) JJ Barea having a ridiculous stretch starting at the 2-guard.
(5) Shawn Marion doing the little things you don't notice, like guarding the LeBrons and the Carmelos of the world, and oh by the way,blocking game-winning shots.
(6) A ridiculous road record (15 up and 7 down), including wins on the two most dominant home teams in the league (Lakers and Nuggets), AND
(7) Jason Kidd, at almost 37, playing on a whole other intellectual level than the rest of the league.
Oh yeah, and some German guy named Dirk Nowitzki. All he's done is carry the team through its offensive doldrums averaging 25.5 ppg, registered over a block a game, and hit big shot after big shot after big shot (usually of the "Uberman's One-Legged Euro Lean-Back" variety, which DallasBasketball.com famously coined).And I'm especially bitter tonight, because for some CRAZY reason, he wasn't voted in as a starter into his own town's All-Star game. Tim Duncan, whom Dirk recently beat out to the 20K career points plateau sneaks in at the last minute.
No respect, I tell ya. No respect.Seriously, I think Duncan, class act that he is, should step aside and let Dirk start, IF ONLY BECAUSE DALLAS IS HOSTING THE GAME. (Well, Arlington, but you know what I mean.)
But back to the point at hand...it's amazing that, despite all that has gone wrong, they are STILL second in the West. Which tells you this team knows how to win, even when things go wrong. That's the hallmark of a great team. They've still got something left to prove in the playoffs, and a ways to go before they even get that shot. But I like where they're at. Only one recommendation, astutely pointed out again by DB.com: start JET at the 2-guard. Get some early scoring punch (a real weakness this year), get J-Ho coming off the bench, and get this team's confidence and swagger back.
7. FINALS PREDICTION
Too tired to provide lots of reasoning, so I'll spare you and end this blog with one simple prediction: LA over Cleveland in 6.
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