Consider this blog updated.
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Here's to the Pistons for representing the "weak" Eastern Conference. Yes, I am the genius who picked the Pistons to win the series against the Lakers in 6 games, which I could have been called absolutely crazy for, but they did it in 5. Let's go Pistons. I have up for auction on eBay all of my Nets stuff including my ball signed by everyone but Kidd, my other Nets autographs, and my authentic jerseys. As soon as they sell, I will be able to start buying authentic Pistons jerseys starting with Chauncey Billups. Or not.
I can't figure out why the Pistons were such underdogs though. I mean look at the matchups.
Rip Hamilton vs. Kobe - This is pretty much a draw because we all know Kobe is talented and more of a superstar than Rip by far, but he 1 on 5 style of play will not work against the Detroit Pistons as he winds up settling for crappy shots and becomes less productive than Rip. Besides, that 1 on 5 style of play makes his teammates worse while Rip's penetration and creativity makes his teammates better. Matchup is even or a slight edge to Rip.
Chauncey Billups vs. Gary Payton
The playoffs have already proven that the glove is no longer a threat. There is no need to even analyze this any further than to say Payton is no longer any more valuable than is Brandon Armstrong of the Nets. Edge goes easily to a much improved Chauncey Billups.
Ben Wallace vs. Shaq
Finally, the Lakers have an advantage. Or do they? Shaq is a better post player and more powerful than Ben Wallace, no duh. Only problem is the other Wallace. Rasheed will be there to double-team Shaq because he won't be guarding anyone. He will be assigned to Karl Malone, so he won't be guarding anyone (that takes care of that matchup). Since Malone is worthless, Shaq is forced to match up against both Wallaces. Even Shaq isn't an advantage for the Lakers. Edge goes to the Wallace duo.
All thats left after these guys for LA is Derek Fisher (if he decides to show up), and then of course the superstars found in Karim Rush and Luke Walton. Unfortunately for them, the Pistons still have Tayshaun Prince and Corliss Williamson.
Larry Brown vs. Phil Jackson
Again, this is a no-brainer. Larry Brown, although he has never won a championship, has never had a team worthy of competing. His sixers did go to the Finals to lose to the Lakers back in 2001, but that team only made it there because of him. The team was barely a playoff team, but Larry Brown can and will always win a title if given a team jus capable of reaching the playoffs. Phil on the other hand is a joke. The man has 9 of the last 13 championships. Unbelievable, I'll admit, but they are all garbage. He was supervisor of the Bulls that won those 6 championships in the 90s. Jordan was the coach, Phil just watched and nodded.
Well it's over now. The Pistons are the 2004 World Champions. They only play nationally with the exception of playing the Raptors, yet it is a "world" championship nonetheless but that's a whole different matter that can be discussed later. I just don't understand why these guys haven't been given any respect against the Lakers. Even still, I hear people saying the Lakers didnt show up for this series or they played so much worse than usual. This is frickin stupid. The Lakers showed up. The Lakers played just as well as they did throughout the playoffs before the Finals. The Pistons are just better and the Eastern Conference is not nearly as weak as critics say. The whole weaker Eastern conference is such bullshit and I'll argue that point til the death.
Yes, the teams in the West are generally more exciting, but only because they all fail to play decent defense, allowing a large amount of points. Everyone laughs at the Eastern Conference games when each team finishes with scores in the seventies or even sixties. Now that the Pistons meet up with the Lakers, look who is scoring only in the seventies and eighties. The Pistons had no problem approaching the century mark in their points totals. The teams are built differently in the East. They are built on defense. Doesnt that phrase go "Defense wins championships?" The Pistons are just the first team to prove it, and for that, I won't trade in my Nets stuff, but you just might see me sport a new authentic jersey this year from the Motor City rather than the swamps. Just maybe.
Anyway, I just don't understand why no one was picking the Pistons. I could see the Lakers getting more picks just because of their recent dominance in winning championships, but it should be obvious those days are over. Oh well.
This is going to be a very interesting off-season for the Nets. They had to leave Kerry Kittles unprotected for the expansion draft so he may wind up in Charlotte. Bobcat officials claim they are not interested in veteran players with heavy contracts, which would rule out Kerry Kittles, but I still wouldnt be surprised to see them take him. He is in his last year of his contract so they'll only have to pay for him for this one year, and he is very tradeable so they could sign him at least just to trade him away for someone else. Who knows.
All I know is Kenyon will be resigned because now that his buddy Jay-Z is a part owner, he will get the contract he wants. Kidd is a big question mark because he is probably going to have to undergo the same surgery that ruined Allan Houston last season and I am calling right now, write this down, that Alonzo will be back playing in a Nets uniform in October. He also was left unprotected but the Bobcats would not pick him up because of his contract, his age, and probability he won't even play again. So he will be left in the Nets' lap to be forced to pay him for this season and Zo will not just sit around for another season. He will play, believe me, he will play.
As for Kittles again, if he is not picked up in the expansion draft, the Nets will probably trade him because they have already called a few teams trying to set up a trade. They called up the Sonics to try and make a deal that would bring Ray Allen to the Garden State (just because they know Cristi would enjoy that) and they've also tried to make deals for Shareef Abdur-Rahim among many others. I don't know how they are going to do it, but they need a shooter and a quality backup point guard or the 2005 Nets will be no better than a 5 seed in the playoffs before being kicked out early.
I can't figure out why the Pistons were such underdogs though. I mean look at the matchups.
Rip Hamilton vs. Kobe - This is pretty much a draw because we all know Kobe is talented and more of a superstar than Rip by far, but he 1 on 5 style of play will not work against the Detroit Pistons as he winds up settling for crappy shots and becomes less productive than Rip. Besides, that 1 on 5 style of play makes his teammates worse while Rip's penetration and creativity makes his teammates better. Matchup is even or a slight edge to Rip.
Chauncey Billups vs. Gary Payton
The playoffs have already proven that the glove is no longer a threat. There is no need to even analyze this any further than to say Payton is no longer any more valuable than is Brandon Armstrong of the Nets. Edge goes easily to a much improved Chauncey Billups.
Ben Wallace vs. Shaq
Finally, the Lakers have an advantage. Or do they? Shaq is a better post player and more powerful than Ben Wallace, no duh. Only problem is the other Wallace. Rasheed will be there to double-team Shaq because he won't be guarding anyone. He will be assigned to Karl Malone, so he won't be guarding anyone (that takes care of that matchup). Since Malone is worthless, Shaq is forced to match up against both Wallaces. Even Shaq isn't an advantage for the Lakers. Edge goes to the Wallace duo.
All thats left after these guys for LA is Derek Fisher (if he decides to show up), and then of course the superstars found in Karim Rush and Luke Walton. Unfortunately for them, the Pistons still have Tayshaun Prince and Corliss Williamson.
Larry Brown vs. Phil Jackson
Again, this is a no-brainer. Larry Brown, although he has never won a championship, has never had a team worthy of competing. His sixers did go to the Finals to lose to the Lakers back in 2001, but that team only made it there because of him. The team was barely a playoff team, but Larry Brown can and will always win a title if given a team jus capable of reaching the playoffs. Phil on the other hand is a joke. The man has 9 of the last 13 championships. Unbelievable, I'll admit, but they are all garbage. He was supervisor of the Bulls that won those 6 championships in the 90s. Jordan was the coach, Phil just watched and nodded.
Well it's over now. The Pistons are the 2004 World Champions. They only play nationally with the exception of playing the Raptors, yet it is a "world" championship nonetheless but that's a whole different matter that can be discussed later. I just don't understand why these guys haven't been given any respect against the Lakers. Even still, I hear people saying the Lakers didnt show up for this series or they played so much worse than usual. This is frickin stupid. The Lakers showed up. The Lakers played just as well as they did throughout the playoffs before the Finals. The Pistons are just better and the Eastern Conference is not nearly as weak as critics say. The whole weaker Eastern conference is such bullshit and I'll argue that point til the death.
Yes, the teams in the West are generally more exciting, but only because they all fail to play decent defense, allowing a large amount of points. Everyone laughs at the Eastern Conference games when each team finishes with scores in the seventies or even sixties. Now that the Pistons meet up with the Lakers, look who is scoring only in the seventies and eighties. The Pistons had no problem approaching the century mark in their points totals. The teams are built differently in the East. They are built on defense. Doesnt that phrase go "Defense wins championships?" The Pistons are just the first team to prove it, and for that, I won't trade in my Nets stuff, but you just might see me sport a new authentic jersey this year from the Motor City rather than the swamps. Just maybe.
Anyway, I just don't understand why no one was picking the Pistons. I could see the Lakers getting more picks just because of their recent dominance in winning championships, but it should be obvious those days are over. Oh well.
This is going to be a very interesting off-season for the Nets. They had to leave Kerry Kittles unprotected for the expansion draft so he may wind up in Charlotte. Bobcat officials claim they are not interested in veteran players with heavy contracts, which would rule out Kerry Kittles, but I still wouldnt be surprised to see them take him. He is in his last year of his contract so they'll only have to pay for him for this one year, and he is very tradeable so they could sign him at least just to trade him away for someone else. Who knows.
All I know is Kenyon will be resigned because now that his buddy Jay-Z is a part owner, he will get the contract he wants. Kidd is a big question mark because he is probably going to have to undergo the same surgery that ruined Allan Houston last season and I am calling right now, write this down, that Alonzo will be back playing in a Nets uniform in October. He also was left unprotected but the Bobcats would not pick him up because of his contract, his age, and probability he won't even play again. So he will be left in the Nets' lap to be forced to pay him for this season and Zo will not just sit around for another season. He will play, believe me, he will play.
As for Kittles again, if he is not picked up in the expansion draft, the Nets will probably trade him because they have already called a few teams trying to set up a trade. They called up the Sonics to try and make a deal that would bring Ray Allen to the Garden State (just because they know Cristi would enjoy that) and they've also tried to make deals for Shareef Abdur-Rahim among many others. I don't know how they are going to do it, but they need a shooter and a quality backup point guard or the 2005 Nets will be no better than a 5 seed in the playoffs before being kicked out early.
Thursday, April 29, 2004
The first round of the 2004 playoffs is over for the Eastern Conference-dominating Nets and we've finally learned the difference between the cross river rivals. The Nets come to the playoffs with a vision of a championship. Every game is a stepping stone to the bigger picture, but above all, they approach each game to play basketball. Playing the game has become a concept lost with the Knicks who have such a lack for talent that all they can do is talk. The Nets play basketball. The Knicks talk big and forget to show up. If it weren't for Marbury's, although selfish, near 30 points per game, and the resurgence of the artist formerly known as Penny, the Knicks would have been nothing but a whining Tim Thomas.
The Knicks can only find one positive in this series against the Nets. Penny was back in all-star form. He hit clutch three pointers, got to the glass in crucial situations, and picked up the slack from Marbury by seeing the court better than his point guard. Penny found the open man every time, something Marbury is still learning. Penny kept his cool (for the most part) and knew when it was no longer appropriate to run his soon-to-be-swept mouth. He had some early quarrels with Kenyon Martin before the series and after game 1 but they worked it out, just in time for whiny Tim Thomas to pick up where Penny left off.
Finally some emotions and fire from the Knicks some would say, but that's bullshit. Kenyon thrives on this. Kenyon is not the greatest player fundamentally. His field goal percentage is sub-par and can be streaky from night to night with his sore knee. However, if you've ever watched a Nets game, you know Kenyon is an average player until he sends a block down the jersey turnpike or rocks the rim on a transition alley-oop. All the sudden Kmart emerges. Kmart is about intensity and passion. Once Kmart is unleashed, all hell breaks loose and there's no one in the NBA that will stop his 8 foot jump hooks, slow him down in transition, or find a way to get to the basket around him. Kenyon Martin is a good NBA player but Kmart is downright unstoppable. The Knicks biggest mistake? Trading a calm and collected Keith Van Horn for whiny Tim Thomas. Tim Thomas ran his mouth and brought out Kmart for the remainder of the series and the rest of the team feeds off his emotion. Make all the arguments you want about Kidd running the show with his transition game, but, as good as his court awareness is, there is no passion to spark defensive stops that lead to transition buckets to allow jason kidd to shine with Kmart basketball.
This is how Kmart showed up for practice the afternoon before Game 3 of the first round series against the Knicks. The back page of the Daily News featured Whiny Tim Thomas and Kmart taped it to his jersey.
All I can say about the Knicks is that, sadly, they hired the wrong man in Isiah Thomas. The team was already headed nowhere with no cap space and no all-stars. Whoever the Knicks hired has to be someone with patience with the willingness to blow everything up, create cap room, and start all over. By hiring Isiah Thomas, they have done the exact opposite. Thomas has cleaned house, made panic trades and ignored the cap. I loved to see Marbury have his trip home to New York to play for the only team he's ever dreamed of playing with, but the Knicks couldn't afford this panic trade. They delt away their only valuable assets (two coveted europeans, two first-rounders, and cash) for Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway who will each cost the Knicks a heavy sum of money they don't have. So have fun over the next five years Knicks fans, and pray to God that the Nets do move to Brooklyn because right now, your team is a complete disgrace.
Just a thought....what do you think the Suns think of the Jason Kidd/Stephon Marbury trade that they made with the Nets now?
I think I know exactly what they think of it. "Shit, fuck."
The Knicks can only find one positive in this series against the Nets. Penny was back in all-star form. He hit clutch three pointers, got to the glass in crucial situations, and picked up the slack from Marbury by seeing the court better than his point guard. Penny found the open man every time, something Marbury is still learning. Penny kept his cool (for the most part) and knew when it was no longer appropriate to run his soon-to-be-swept mouth. He had some early quarrels with Kenyon Martin before the series and after game 1 but they worked it out, just in time for whiny Tim Thomas to pick up where Penny left off.
Finally some emotions and fire from the Knicks some would say, but that's bullshit. Kenyon thrives on this. Kenyon is not the greatest player fundamentally. His field goal percentage is sub-par and can be streaky from night to night with his sore knee. However, if you've ever watched a Nets game, you know Kenyon is an average player until he sends a block down the jersey turnpike or rocks the rim on a transition alley-oop. All the sudden Kmart emerges. Kmart is about intensity and passion. Once Kmart is unleashed, all hell breaks loose and there's no one in the NBA that will stop his 8 foot jump hooks, slow him down in transition, or find a way to get to the basket around him. Kenyon Martin is a good NBA player but Kmart is downright unstoppable. The Knicks biggest mistake? Trading a calm and collected Keith Van Horn for whiny Tim Thomas. Tim Thomas ran his mouth and brought out Kmart for the remainder of the series and the rest of the team feeds off his emotion. Make all the arguments you want about Kidd running the show with his transition game, but, as good as his court awareness is, there is no passion to spark defensive stops that lead to transition buckets to allow jason kidd to shine with Kmart basketball.
This is how Kmart showed up for practice the afternoon before Game 3 of the first round series against the Knicks. The back page of the Daily News featured Whiny Tim Thomas and Kmart taped it to his jersey.
All I can say about the Knicks is that, sadly, they hired the wrong man in Isiah Thomas. The team was already headed nowhere with no cap space and no all-stars. Whoever the Knicks hired has to be someone with patience with the willingness to blow everything up, create cap room, and start all over. By hiring Isiah Thomas, they have done the exact opposite. Thomas has cleaned house, made panic trades and ignored the cap. I loved to see Marbury have his trip home to New York to play for the only team he's ever dreamed of playing with, but the Knicks couldn't afford this panic trade. They delt away their only valuable assets (two coveted europeans, two first-rounders, and cash) for Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway who will each cost the Knicks a heavy sum of money they don't have. So have fun over the next five years Knicks fans, and pray to God that the Nets do move to Brooklyn because right now, your team is a complete disgrace.
Just a thought....what do you think the Suns think of the Jason Kidd/Stephon Marbury trade that they made with the Nets now?
I think I know exactly what they think of it. "Shit, fuck."
Thursday, April 01, 2004
the pressure is on. i've been feeling it all day and even a little yesterday. it's been hounding me like crazy. it seems like i'm reminded of it constantly all the time. i can't take it anymore. the pressure has just built way too much i can't take such pressure, it's killing me. what pressure you ask? anton commanding me to blog. so here goes, the monkey is finally off my back. eat that anton! and swallow!
so anyway, i have a couple thoughts i've been pondering in the past couple days. one from monday night and one from just a few minutes ago.
first off, if you were to place your hand upon a cloud, would you feel it?
this second one is inspired by anton who once asked the exact same question, but referring to something completely different. his question was "if you are asleep, does it still work?" although he was referring to something else, i wonder what the answer to this question would be when referring to a guy's baby-maker/std-spreader (call it what you want depending on whether you are a pessimist or an optimist).
i have no class tomorrow so i can stay up late tonight. whoopee. in other words, i can feed my ps2 addiction tonight.
i'm looking forward to getting home this weekend cuz school blows the big one and it'll be cool to go to the easter thing that my family does at my na-na's house every year. that actually is a lot of fun.
blogging is fun. i think it ranks in the top 10 as far as things i do. i guess that's not saying too much considering all i ever do is sit around, go on the computer, go to class, work, eat, play basketball, or play ps2. i dont feel like counting how many things i just listed, but if there arent more than 10 things there then i guess blogging isnt all that great anyway. oh well.
ramapo finally caught on to the fact that i put a hole in my wall next to my bed. it's been there since probably october. if i get fined, i'm gonna be in trouble but i doubt they'll do it since no one else gets fined for anything they do. wait a minute. nevermind. that means i will get fined. i am a pretty lucky person until i run into a situation where everyone else gets lucky in which case my luck goes to hell. that kind of ruined my day but oh well, here's something that brightens it up...
i've been waiting ever since stephon marbury was traded to the knicks to get a swingman jersey of his. for those who don't know, a swingman is a replica jersey, but not as shitty as the $45 ones that are screen printed. these are usually $70 or $80 and are sewn onto the jersey but not nearly the quality of an authentic which are priced at $150 which obviously is a damn lot for a frickin shirt. well, i lucked out. right now, you can still only get the swingman jerseys at the nba store in new york city, but on ebay i found an authentic one for only $7 more than a swingman. it was $87 but the shipping made it $99. oh well, it's damn worth it still. wanna see this gorgeous jersey? sure here it is....
nice, huh?
that right there was the first time i've typed any html in a loooong time. that was gay. a long* time. i think thats it for this post. i'll blog again soon to avoid the pressure i faced this time.
so anyway, i have a couple thoughts i've been pondering in the past couple days. one from monday night and one from just a few minutes ago.
first off, if you were to place your hand upon a cloud, would you feel it?
this second one is inspired by anton who once asked the exact same question, but referring to something completely different. his question was "if you are asleep, does it still work?" although he was referring to something else, i wonder what the answer to this question would be when referring to a guy's baby-maker/std-spreader (call it what you want depending on whether you are a pessimist or an optimist).
i have no class tomorrow so i can stay up late tonight. whoopee. in other words, i can feed my ps2 addiction tonight.
i'm looking forward to getting home this weekend cuz school blows the big one and it'll be cool to go to the easter thing that my family does at my na-na's house every year. that actually is a lot of fun.
blogging is fun. i think it ranks in the top 10 as far as things i do. i guess that's not saying too much considering all i ever do is sit around, go on the computer, go to class, work, eat, play basketball, or play ps2. i dont feel like counting how many things i just listed, but if there arent more than 10 things there then i guess blogging isnt all that great anyway. oh well.
ramapo finally caught on to the fact that i put a hole in my wall next to my bed. it's been there since probably october. if i get fined, i'm gonna be in trouble but i doubt they'll do it since no one else gets fined for anything they do. wait a minute. nevermind. that means i will get fined. i am a pretty lucky person until i run into a situation where everyone else gets lucky in which case my luck goes to hell. that kind of ruined my day but oh well, here's something that brightens it up...
i've been waiting ever since stephon marbury was traded to the knicks to get a swingman jersey of his. for those who don't know, a swingman is a replica jersey, but not as shitty as the $45 ones that are screen printed. these are usually $70 or $80 and are sewn onto the jersey but not nearly the quality of an authentic which are priced at $150 which obviously is a damn lot for a frickin shirt. well, i lucked out. right now, you can still only get the swingman jerseys at the nba store in new york city, but on ebay i found an authentic one for only $7 more than a swingman. it was $87 but the shipping made it $99. oh well, it's damn worth it still. wanna see this gorgeous jersey? sure here it is....
that right there was the first time i've typed any html in a loooong time. that was gay. a long* time. i think thats it for this post. i'll blog again soon to avoid the pressure i faced this time.
Sunday, March 28, 2004
did you ever think you'd see a blog from me? me neither but I bet Anton is at least pumped. i'm not sure yet what the point is considering he will be the #1 (and only) fan of it.
whatever, I've got nothing better to do right now but this won't be a long post. just writing a lil bit for the hell of it but i'll make the next one longer. maybe.
so i met vin diesel this week. i would specify the day that this happened but i think saying "this week" is sufficient to avoid having to take a minute to figure out in my head which day it was exactly. anyway, i was on my way into best buy to pick up a router for my mom when the diesel himself emerged from his blingitty blangitty escalade. i got him to sign my best buy circular on none other than the router page. cool.
i also stumbled across one of my favorite quotes this week while listening to some country music. notice i said this week again. oh well. anyway, the quote is "you've got to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything". again, cool.
whatever, I've got nothing better to do right now but this won't be a long post. just writing a lil bit for the hell of it but i'll make the next one longer. maybe.
so i met vin diesel this week. i would specify the day that this happened but i think saying "this week" is sufficient to avoid having to take a minute to figure out in my head which day it was exactly. anyway, i was on my way into best buy to pick up a router for my mom when the diesel himself emerged from his blingitty blangitty escalade. i got him to sign my best buy circular on none other than the router page. cool.
i also stumbled across one of my favorite quotes this week while listening to some country music. notice i said this week again. oh well. anyway, the quote is "you've got to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything". again, cool.
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