Spmusic Mondays: Mamba = All-Star MVP
(1 Cent): All-Star Festivities
All of NBA's All-Star Weekend was pretty good -- I unfortunately missed the celebrity game on Friday -- with the Charles Barkley/Dick Bavetta foot race being more entertaining than I thought it was going to be (and it was hyped).
Honestly, right before the race, when Ernie from TNT was interviewing them both, I actually felt the feeling of strong anticipation -- the anticipation I usually feel for Lakers playoff games or when I actually play in a basketball game. Not quite butterflies, but the giddiness of not knowing the outcome at all ... and thinking about the repercussions if Barkely actually lost.
The anticipation was even pushed higher when Barkely had two false starts to the race ... it was great! Then, when Barkely seemed to have it in the bag, him doing the last halfcourt run back-peddling was priceless ... as was his falling flat on his back, victorious. The NBA ... it's faaaaantastical! You have to YouTube that junk when you get a chance ... although, methinks it won't be topped live. It was mostly about the mystery and outcome, not the race itself.
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I thought the three-point shootout was pretty good ... wouldn't have guessed Kapono to win it all and tie the final round record with 24 points. The most disappointing shooter was Damon Jones, who proclaimed a year or two ago he was the world's best shooter and had been campaigning to be in this thing. He pretty much sucked.
I thought the slam dunk contest was better than last year's (mainly because of the new time limit on dunks ... the Nate Robinson Rule). I do, though, think Dwight Howard was robbed because he had the most original, most impressive dunk of the contest and didn't get jack for it (well, if you count a 42 out of 50 jack). I think the thing that hurt him most was that you couldn't really know or appreciate the dunk until a couple replays and close-ups.
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My boy Kobe taking home the MVP was pretty fun to watch, too. It was going to be either him or Amare Stoudemire, who had a lot of good dunks and even a couple of money jump shots. You might ask, "HCP, isn't Kobe and Amare on your fantasy team?" Yes, indeed they are. It was a pretty entertaining game to watch, no matter what other columnists are writing (i.e., they think it was a bore, not good, the worst one in recent memory, etcetera). I mean, what do you want? It was a lot of scoring, a lot of alley-oops ... tell the East to play better and it might be a close game. Remember -- the West had the most fill-ins for injured players, so they should've been "weakened" by that. No Nash, Iverson, Ming, Boozer ... no problem.
With Kobe playing the point guard role (six assists), the West was fine. Plus, having Dirk, KG and Duncan (three 7-footers) helped with the boards.
All in all, I enjoyed my weekend. But, for now, back to the regular season ....
(2 Cent): Kidding Around Part 2
There was more talk at the All-Star Game about the Lakers being interesting in Jason Kidd ... which gets my hopes up even higher. There's only 4 days left until the trade deadline so time's a wastin'. The new item in this deal is that it will be a 3-way trade, involving the Portland Trailblazers and their big, soon to be expiring contract of Jamaal Magloire (yes, we refer to Jamaal as a contract now, because him as a player expired long ago).
I really hope there is some substance to this deal and that it actually goes down. Shoot, there's even talk about Vince Carter being traded ... the Lakers could use him too! It'd be even safer for the Nets to trade him, since Carter has more value than Kidd (no unhealthy back issues) and since he can opt out of his contract next year (Kidd has 3 years left), they'd at least get something in return. Plus, Kobe -- shown most recently yesterday at the All-Star Game -- can play the point and we can move Carter to the 2 (guard) and it'd be beautiful. I like this even better than the Kidd deal! Let me see what we can offer in ESPN's Trade Machine ...
... (working trade) ...
Okay, so if the Lakers trade Kwame Brown, Vladamir Radmanovic and Aaron "I Lost" McKie, that will match Carter's $15 million salary. Plus, McKie comes off the books this year, Brown comes off in 2008 and Radmanovic gives New Jersey a desperately needed shooter that will help spread the floor for Richard Jefferson. It works. It fits. Do it! Dang it - I need to be a GM pronto!
Fingers crossed that something goes down by this Thursday ....
(1/2 Cent): I'm Drawing A Blank ...
... No, really, I'm drawing a blank and have nothing to write about. No new music. No new movies. I'm lame.
Enjoy the rest of your Presidents' Day ... I know I won't!
HCP
All of NBA's All-Star Weekend was pretty good -- I unfortunately missed the celebrity game on Friday -- with the Charles Barkley/Dick Bavetta foot race being more entertaining than I thought it was going to be (and it was hyped).
Honestly, right before the race, when Ernie from TNT was interviewing them both, I actually felt the feeling of strong anticipation -- the anticipation I usually feel for Lakers playoff games or when I actually play in a basketball game. Not quite butterflies, but the giddiness of not knowing the outcome at all ... and thinking about the repercussions if Barkely actually lost.
The anticipation was even pushed higher when Barkely had two false starts to the race ... it was great! Then, when Barkely seemed to have it in the bag, him doing the last halfcourt run back-peddling was priceless ... as was his falling flat on his back, victorious. The NBA ... it's faaaaantastical! You have to YouTube that junk when you get a chance ... although, methinks it won't be topped live. It was mostly about the mystery and outcome, not the race itself.
----------------
I thought the three-point shootout was pretty good ... wouldn't have guessed Kapono to win it all and tie the final round record with 24 points. The most disappointing shooter was Damon Jones, who proclaimed a year or two ago he was the world's best shooter and had been campaigning to be in this thing. He pretty much sucked.
I thought the slam dunk contest was better than last year's (mainly because of the new time limit on dunks ... the Nate Robinson Rule). I do, though, think Dwight Howard was robbed because he had the most original, most impressive dunk of the contest and didn't get jack for it (well, if you count a 42 out of 50 jack). I think the thing that hurt him most was that you couldn't really know or appreciate the dunk until a couple replays and close-ups.
-----------------
My boy Kobe taking home the MVP was pretty fun to watch, too. It was going to be either him or Amare Stoudemire, who had a lot of good dunks and even a couple of money jump shots. You might ask, "HCP, isn't Kobe and Amare on your fantasy team?" Yes, indeed they are. It was a pretty entertaining game to watch, no matter what other columnists are writing (i.e., they think it was a bore, not good, the worst one in recent memory, etcetera). I mean, what do you want? It was a lot of scoring, a lot of alley-oops ... tell the East to play better and it might be a close game. Remember -- the West had the most fill-ins for injured players, so they should've been "weakened" by that. No Nash, Iverson, Ming, Boozer ... no problem.
With Kobe playing the point guard role (six assists), the West was fine. Plus, having Dirk, KG and Duncan (three 7-footers) helped with the boards.
All in all, I enjoyed my weekend. But, for now, back to the regular season ....
(2 Cent): Kidding Around Part 2
There was more talk at the All-Star Game about the Lakers being interesting in Jason Kidd ... which gets my hopes up even higher. There's only 4 days left until the trade deadline so time's a wastin'. The new item in this deal is that it will be a 3-way trade, involving the Portland Trailblazers and their big, soon to be expiring contract of Jamaal Magloire (yes, we refer to Jamaal as a contract now, because him as a player expired long ago).
I really hope there is some substance to this deal and that it actually goes down. Shoot, there's even talk about Vince Carter being traded ... the Lakers could use him too! It'd be even safer for the Nets to trade him, since Carter has more value than Kidd (no unhealthy back issues) and since he can opt out of his contract next year (Kidd has 3 years left), they'd at least get something in return. Plus, Kobe -- shown most recently yesterday at the All-Star Game -- can play the point and we can move Carter to the 2 (guard) and it'd be beautiful. I like this even better than the Kidd deal! Let me see what we can offer in ESPN's Trade Machine ...
... (working trade) ...
Okay, so if the Lakers trade Kwame Brown, Vladamir Radmanovic and Aaron "I Lost" McKie, that will match Carter's $15 million salary. Plus, McKie comes off the books this year, Brown comes off in 2008 and Radmanovic gives New Jersey a desperately needed shooter that will help spread the floor for Richard Jefferson. It works. It fits. Do it! Dang it - I need to be a GM pronto!
Fingers crossed that something goes down by this Thursday ....
(1/2 Cent): I'm Drawing A Blank ...
... No, really, I'm drawing a blank and have nothing to write about. No new music. No new movies. I'm lame.
Enjoy the rest of your Presidents' Day ... I know I won't!
HCP
posted by HCP @ 3:06 PM
1 Comments:
At 7:11 AM,
Anonymous said…
Not much to say except that if the Lakers trade Bynum for Kidd I believe the Lakers are selling out the future of a great team for the prospect of a good team this year. How do you feel about Bynum leaving the Lakers?
P.S. Congrats on the Fantasy Court, I of course believe that your ridiculous stats are in fact real.
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