I’ll tell ya right now.. Baron Davis better come with some better gift ideas than books if he’s trying to get a laptop, iphone or a beachcruiser.. I know it’s supposedly the thought that counts, but Terri Hatcher’s gonna be pissed if she shells out 2gs on a lapper in exchange for the latest Harry Potter book..

Tags: Baron Davis, Christmas List, NBA, youtube, utube

 

Congrats to the Utah Jazz for moving on to the Western conference finals. The Jazz closed their series against Golden State with a 100-87 game five victory. Utah already defeated my Secret team, and now they’ve taken down Cinderella. These are my Utah Jazz highlights from the series:

•  Derek Fisher showing incredible fortitude and heart after everything he’s been through.
• Carlos Boozer opening the eyes of the people that didn’t know about him. He was serving people for the second straight series. 
• Jerry Sloan getting Utah to the Conference finals again. He’s never been coach of the year?!?!
• Deron Williams playing like a vet. Game 5 notwithstanding.
• Mehmet Okur, Paul Millsap, Matt Harpring, and Gordon Giricek playing their roles well.
• Andrei Kirilenko leaving his tears in the first round and causing havoc for Golden State’s offense.

I don’t know anybody that’s not impressed with Utah. When the Jazz got out to the hot start at the beginning of the season, a lot of people didn’t believe they were for real. I was one of those people. The lack of playoff experience from key players had me thinking Utah would flame out in the playoffs regardless of their record. I admit it… I was wrong. Another thing I was wrong about is Utah’s style of play. I didn’t get to see them too much this season so I assumed they were a slow it down, grind it out type of team. They can play that way, but they just proved in the G. State series that they can run up and down the court too.

As far as Golden State is concerned, what can I say? They pulled off the great upset in round 1, but seemed to be out of gas and definitely over matched in round 2. Baron Davis put the league on notice for next season, and Stephen Jackson proved that the Kings have to trade Artest just to put some miles between Jackson and Ron-Ron. The unfortunate thing is, G. State was in game 5 until they started acting like the 3 point line was an alligator infested moat protected by a 12 foot, 100,000 watt electric fence. I couldn’t believe how the Warriors would stop at the line and jack a three whether they were on a fast break or 1 second into the shot clock. The Warriors need to grow up too. All of the complaining, technical fouls, and cheap shots really put G. State’s nice postseason story in an ugly light.

So again, congrats to the Utah Jazz. The winner of the Suns/Spurs series is going to have it’s hands full in the conference finals.

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By now everybody has seen Baron Davis’ rim rattlin dunk over Andrei Kirilenko.. If you missed it click here.. Baron bangin on people isn’t brand new. Baron @ UCLA:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPD9Rp_e0gY]

Ok ok..so he didn’t dunk on anybody in that video but he did shake that cat outta the gym. This is dunking on somebody:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdvEMNCQGlk]

After college Baron went to Charlotte. The facials followed:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8IP0CQZfzQ]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9wCcZhAHRE]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbiOjDJXsec]

Davis was traded to Golden State in ’05 and continued cramming on his comp:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3rhiiIxOu4]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l85W651WVI]

I hope B.D. continues to stay somewhat healthy so we can have highlights like these for the duration of his prime.

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Game two between Utah and Golden State was more exciting than game one. Deron Williams picked up 2 fouls right before the game tipped off. Dee Brown, Williams’ back-up, was lost in the first quarter to a neck injury when Mehmet Okur fell on him. The Warriors played their uptempo style, led by the increasingly impressive Baron Davis with help from Richardson, Barnes, Harrington, and Jackson (what the hell is up with Monta Ellis?!?). Carlos Boozer continuesto clown Cleveland with his play, and Andrei Kirilenko looks like a completely different player from round 1. It took overtime to decide the game.. Utah came out on top 127-117.

The Jazz fans are doing their best to be a factor in the series, but who’s idea were those powder blue t-shirts? I kept expecting Roy Williams and the Tarheels to take the floor at some point. I don’t know how it goes down in Utah but pastels are not intimidating. I do know Golden St. can’t wait to get home, back to Oakland, back to the bright yellow tees and the craziness of the Oracle.

The game was great, but that’s not the story. The story is Derek Fisher. D-Fish missed game one and arrived at game two late in the 3rd quarter because he was dealing with a family issue. His 10 month old daughter Tatum was suffering from retinoblastoma, a form of eye cancer that required a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. Tatum had several hours of surgery in New York on Wednesday, and I’m happy to be able to say that the surgery was a success by all accounts. Things went so well that the family travelled back to Utah with baby Tatum Wednesday night.

Derek’s flight landed in Salt Lake City and he was whisked to the game, led by a police escort. He didn’t get a chance to warm-up or anything.. He entered the arena to a standing ovation and went directly to the scorers’ table to check in.

Fisher played great defense down the stretch of the game, and scored all 5 of his points in the extra session. He didn’t have the statistical game of his career but his presence was bigger than anything that happened on the court. Derek couldn’t put the experience into words after the game:

“I don’t know how I got through this tonight. I really don’t. My daughter’s doing very well. We had a successful operation in New York and I flew back, got off the plane, came to the game. I’m speechless.”

I don’t know how he got through it either. If you didn’t feel for Fish watching his post game interview then you’re a robot or completely heartless. It was a tremendous and special moment.

I hope this puts to rest all of the speculation about why Fisher missed game one. I can check a number of things through my blog stats. I can see how many views an individual post gets, I can see what sites link to my blog. I can also check what search engine terms people use to find my site. I was disappointed by these:

• Derek Fisher suspended
• Derek Fisher marriages problems
• Derek Fisher arrest

I hope the people that were expecting the worst of a genuinely good guy feel like jackasses now. The truth is out, the verdict is in, Derek Fisher is a MAN.

Thoughts and prayers to the Fisher family.

Pure Hollywood. Courtesy of ESPN.com True Hoop

Retinoblastoma. Courtesy of Web MD

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While the Eastern Conference has Detroit rolling Chicago and the who cares fest of New Jersey and Cleveland, the Western Conference is getting busy. The Suns/Spurs series is being billed as the NBA championship, and Golden State v. Utah got off to an electrifying start.

The Warriors began game 1 in Utah like they ended game 6 in Oakland… Ripping and running, shooting 3s, and getting their And1 on. The Jazz were able to weather the storm even though they trailed by 3, 66-63, at the half. The point guards in this series, Baron Davis and Deron Williams, are giving me flashbacks of Tim Hardaway and John Stockton. Carlos Boozer was a beast down low for Utah (17pts, 20rbds), and Stephen Jackson, well, he’s being Stephen Jackson(16pts, 4ast, 3stls, 12 scowls).

The tempo of the game was up to say the least. Even though both teams were dedicated to pushing the rock there was a little defense played. Kirilenko had 7 blocks and 0 cries while Andris Biedrins had 2 blocks and 3 steals. The most amazing part of the game was Al Harrington’s re-emergence as a member of the Warriors. Harrington carried the Warriors in the 1st quarter with 3 3pt shots, and I was surprised he didn’t get a little more time on the floor.

If the Western Conference can give us 12 more games like the first two of the semis, it’ll more than make up for the Leastern side. While I’m dissing the East, would any of you be surprised if the Pistons won it all? I wouldn’t.

If you missed the Jazz/Warriors game, and you didn’t get a chance to see the highlights, watch the video below for a recap. Utah’s the one in all black.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYxB4iQWOJ8&mode=related&search=]

The actual game was just like that. The two teams went toe to toe and traded blows right down to the end.

This next scrap didn’t work out so well for Jazz fans.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfqHZsz270Q]

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Wow.. What a series!!?! I didn’t want it to end.. Especially since I famously picked the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games.. More on the Mavs in a sec but right now it’s all about the Bay Area and the Oakland Golden State Warriors. When the series started I didn’t think the Warriors could win, but by game 2 it was pretty clear this was at the minimum an evenly matched series. As it turns out, the better team won. Styles make fights, and apparently the Mavs forgot what happens when you style on somebody.

Back when Golden State traded Troy Murphy and MDJr. to Indiana for Al Harrington and Stephen “Bishop” Jackson everybody thought Golden State got the better of the deal… And they did. Al Harrington is a talented player even though he was a no show in this series and SJ is a cold hearted assassin that will ride for his boys. I know this series had to be tough for Murphy and Dunleavy to watch. How do I know? Look at Dunleavy watching the game last night.. Nothing says “Damnit, why did they have to trade me!?!?” like sitting around in your drawz and sneakers, drinking a bottle of Napa’s finest.

I’m gonna let you, yes YOU, into my world for a sec… I’m watching CNN to see if Oakland has burned down yet.. Not because the Warriors just beat Dallas, but because it’s what’s known in the O as Thursday night… Now trust, I love the Land.. I useta stay near the bay, in “The Fielts” or “SquareField” to be exact. Going to Oakland, to the Eastmont Mall among other places, was always the biz. You could pick up a tight bomber jacket, get a money hat, or hopefully, meet some breezies (no Don Imus). On the way home a stop in Berkeley to hit Leopold’s Records was a must. Leopold’s and that hot dog stand that was next to it.. Damn.. The good ole days.. I miss the days of  lyin to my dad (I’m going to C’s house) to use the car and then hittin Oakland. Of course, I wasn’t thinking about an odometer at the age of 16 and I didn’t have an answer for “How the fuck did you put over 100 miles on the car going to Goddamn Vacaville!!!!?” My answer… ”Traffic?” Gimme a break I was 16…

Ok, back to our regularly scheduled blogram…Ay yo Avery, you can go ahead and pull your pants up now. Don Nelson went drunk, just got fired, abusive dad on AJ this whole series. Just because you’re mad at mom (Mark Cuban) doesn’t mean you have to take it out on the kids. The defensive scheme on Dirk and the 10k bonus motivational tactics he used on his team were perfect. He was able to coach around Jackson’s volatility, Biedrins lack of free throw shooting, Al Harrington’s absence, and Avery’s one and only game plan. I’m not an NBA head coach, but I play one on the internet. Where were the adjustments from Dallas? Going small in game one? Yeah that was great. Remember last year’s playoffs when Avery pushed all of the right buttons? This year he looked like he spent the summer reading “How to lose a series in 6 games or less”.. He obviously bought the workbook and went to a couple of the seminars too. I haven’t seen somebody look that different in the span of a year since Dr. Dre.

I know I’m all over the place with this post so I’ll start rapping wrapping it up. Here’s a few observations and thoughts before I close:

• Will the Warriors be able to get up for whoever (The Rockets) they face in the next round? They pulled of one of the greatest upsets in NBA playoff history.. Do they keep the momentum rollin or let down?
• What the hell was Snoop Dogg doing at the game cheering for the Warriors? I don’t care if G. State’s in Cali, Snoops from LA (Long Beach)… He musta got hit in the head with a puck at that hockey game. Maybe Oracle Arena is the only place on earth that still lets Snoop Dogg inside it’s borders.
• Marc Cuban was rumored to be interested in buying the Chicago Cubs.. The curse must jump on people that are even midly associated with the team. If 67 wins, televisions at every locker, and a billion dollars can’t buy an NBA championship, I don’t know what can.
• Even though the recent “Prejudiced Refs” hoopla seems to be mostly crap, I was a little nervous for the Warriors when I saw that Steve Javie, Ron Garretson, and Mark Wunderlich would be blowin the whistle for game 6. As I stated earlier, the Warriors traded away their sucka repellent.

If you want a taste of how Oaktown sounds right now (minus the .357s) check out this mix: DJ Marcelo: Dummy Live in Stockholm . I swacked it from a blog that I can’t recall… It was last year… Possibly The Nation Of Thizzlam

R.I.P. MAC D-R-E

You can take a look at my brackets here. Courtesy of Ball Hype

Live footage of what’s happening in Oakland at any given moment. Courtesy of YouTube

Here’s why the Rockets are gonna win game 7. Courtesy of YBB

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Really good conversation with Scoop Jackson. Courtesy of The Starting Five

Keyshawn Johnson would like to take back everything he said about Dwayne Jarrett. Courtesy of DeadSpin

Common rapping and Ari (Jeremy Piven) on the congas. Courtesy of I Fux is Hip Hop…

Your complete Golden State Warriors coverage. Courtesy of Golden State of Mind

Did Scott Van Pelt say “shit” on SportsCenter? Courtesy of Larry Brown Sports

Some positivity and beauty for the Houston Rockets. Courtesy of With Leather

Josh Howard, chillin tough. Courtesy of Drunk Athlete

Tommy Hilfiger went on Oprah to kill all those “I don’t make clothes for blacks” rumors. Courtesy of TMZ

Wig owners and wig brushers in the 2007 NBA playoffs. Courtesy of Dallas Penn

Why Mayweather has to win on Saturday. Courtesy of MaxBoxing.com

Piston’s fans hate Ben Wallace. Courtesy of Need 4 Sheed

Breaking down Brady Quinn’s girlfriend. Courtesy of Kissing Suzy Kolber

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 **EDITOR’S NOTE** I started working on this post well before Midnight. I got a call from an out of town friend and missed my “daily” Rockets post. I hope this doesn’t have serious repercussions for the Houston Rockets. **END EDITOR’S NOTE**

Let me make one thing clear: I AM A PHILADELPHIA 76ERS FAN. I am only supporting the Houston Rockets in the playoffs because of this post. When the Rockets win the championship or are eliminated from the playoffs, I will revert back to my normal self. There’s no need to email me and call me a traitor or a phony. I ride with my teams do or die and nothing can change that. On to the playoffs….

The Houston Rockets lead the Utah Jazz 3-2: The Rockets don’t take the court again until Thursday night and I can’t wait. I’m feeling Houston closing this series on the road in Utah. I don’t know what would make me feel that way since the H-Town O has been MIA in SLC. I believe that Tracy McGrady is gonna do everything in his power to advance to the second round… as soon as possible. My perfect Thursday scenario: Gabrielle Union comes over to watch the game with me and brings a bottle of JWB (Johnny Walker Black). The Rockets beat Utah and Dallas beats the Warriors giving Houston a little rest before the next series. I know this scenario is highly unlikely… Dallas probably won’t win in Oakland. Positivity time: THE HOUSTON ROCKETS WIN THE SERIES IN 6 GAMES.

The Detroit Pistons over the Orlando Magic 4-0: I was wrong with my prediction for this series. Get used to hearing that. I picked Detroit in 5 for some unknown reason. Orlando was in a tailspin for the last half of the season and they finally crashed in the playoffs. Nothing much to say about this series. It was like watching a varsity-junior varsity scrimmage. The Pistons get the feisty Bulls in the next round. It’s like the 80s all over again. How long til Rasheed says “if Hinrich were black, he’d be just another player” or something to that affect?

The Chicago Bulls over the Miami Heat 4-0: I was wrong with my prediction for this series (I’m not done yet). Don’t laugh too much, I was only off by 3 games with my Miami in 7 pick. The adolescent Bulls dominated this series in the regular and post-season. I know Wade wasn’t 100% but it wasn’t gonna matter. Luol Deng and Ben Gordon provided the offensive punch, Ben Wallace supplied the “D”, and the team as a whole out fought the old and tired Miami Heat. The Bulls’ sweep of the Heat marks the 6th time a Shaquille O’Neal playoff team has been swept to elimination.

The Cleveland Cavaliers over the Washington Wizards 4-0: Guess what? That’s right, my prediction for this series was wrong too. I had Cleveland in 5 even with Arenas and Butler sidelined for the Wiz. I didn’t think the Cavaliers were mentally tough enough to close out any team in 4 games. I was wrong. Even though I watched this series I didn’t learn a whole helluva lot. The Cavs coasted through the series and should make it to the Eastern Conference finals having lost no more than 2 games. Cleveland’s sweep of Washington completed the Central division’s dominance over the Southeast division… A perfect 12-0 record.

The Phoenix Suns lead The Los Angeles Lakers 3-1: I’m right on pace in this series. I picked the Suns in 5 and I’m sticking to it. I knew Kobe would be good for one win and one win only. I’m sure the Lakers’ Mitch Kupchak is trying to figure out a way to trade Andrew Bynum for Jason Kidd before Wednesday’s game. I doubt that would help since the Suns have the most talented top six in the league. Nash, Bell, Marion, Diaw, Stoudamire, and Barbosa are the murderers row of hoops. You could combine a couple of teams and still not have that much talent on your roster. The Pistons have the second best six with Billups, Hamilton, Prince, Wallace, Webber, and McDyess. In comparing the two, which match-up would you say favors Detroit? Sheed over Boris is the only one I see. Another positive for Phoenix: No team that has gotten rid of Shaq has won a playoff series since his departure. Orlando 0-6 and the Lakers soon to be 0-2.

The San Antonio Spurs lead the Denver Nuggets 3-1: I picked San Antonio in 6 so I’m still alive which is more than I can say for Denver. The Nuggets game one victory got everybody pumped.. Unfortunately for the Nuggs everybody included the Spurs. SA doesn’t win pretty.. They don’t get the hype that some of the other teams get.. They’re like the sheep dog in the old school cartoons. They come to work, punch the clock, whoop your ass, and punch out. San Antonio has managed to win 3 games and stay on the good side of the referees.. Kinda.. Denver has been whistled for 71 fouls, San Antonio for 73, but I’ve seen Duncan fouled at least 10 times with no call. Timmy looked so distraught over the lack of calls in game 4 that I thought he might actually brush his hair.

The New Jersey Nets lead the Toronto Raptors 3-2: I’m looking good here. I got New Jerz in 6 even though they shoulda closed this series out in 5. Vince Carter is the male exotic dancer and his fiance to the Raptors fan’s Payton, Cassell, and Caffey. If you don’t follow, the Toronto fans have been abusing Vince. Jason Kidd has been doing his thing, and it’s good to see RJ back in action. I like the Raps team and the direction they’re headed in. GM Bryan Colangelo is as bright as they come. Look at the moves he made with the Phoenix Suns, Tim Thomas and Eddie House, as compared to the moves the Suns made this year, Marcus Banks and Jalen Rose. Bryan’s number one priority is to sign or replace coach Sam Mitchell. If and when the Nets advance I can’t see them getting past Cleveland. Of course, as you can see, I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about.

The Golden State Warriors lead the Dallas Mavericks 3-2: I picked Dallas in 6 games and at this point the Mavs would be lucky to see game 7. The most exciting series in the playoffs has also been a coming out party for Baron Davis and the Warriors fans. BD has averaged 26 points, 5 boards, 5 assist, and 2 steals while the Warriors fans have produced Jessica Alba. The rest of the fans have been outstanding but who cares, Jessica Alba is there…

The Mavericks started the series on a bad note when head coach Avery Johnson decided to start his small lineup to match-up with Golden State. Why is the 1 seed adjusting to the 8? I’m seriously asking you because I can’t figure it out. Nellie and crew need to be given a ton of credit for the defensive scheme they’ve used against Dallas. Putting a smaller, quicker player on Dirk, and then rushing him with double and triple teams from a variety of spots has worked well to this point. So well that people are calling for Dirk to return the MVP trophy that he hasn’t won yet. This really bothers me.

Dirk Nowitzki or Steve Nash are/were the only MVP candidates this year. The MVP is a regular season award. What do Dirk’s playoff successes and failures have to do with the regular season? Nothing. Does anybody hold the fact that Nash is only the second (Kareem 75-76 & 76-77) back to back MVP to not appear in the NBA finals in either year that he won the award? Nope. Nowitzki led his team to 67 wins and now everybody wants to run him out of the league because of a sub-par series against his former coach. What if Steve Nash was going up against a team coached by Mike D’Antoni? I’d have to guess that Mike and his staff would have a good idea of how to create problems for Steve.

I don’t care who wins the MVP trophy, but it seems to me that people are grinding some sort of personal axe against Dirk. People knock him for his style of play and at the same time celebrate Mehmet Okur or the rookie Bargnani for basically playing the same way. I don’t know if it’s because Nowitzki sings Hasslehoff at the free throw line or our country’s past problems with Germany, but this guy takes a lot of flack. If Dirk and the Mavs can find a way to win the series against G. State how many people will give the MVP trophy back to Dirk? I’ll bet zero.

This is why I’m rolling with the Rockets. Courtesy of yours truly

You can take a look at my brackets here. Courtesy of Ball Hype

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 The defending Western Conference champions are on the ropes.. Dallas had to be nervous going into the game after watching the other half of last year’s NBA Finals get eliminated. It wasn’t an elimination game, but choking off a 7 point lead in the fourth quarter and then having to drive through Oakland to the airport probably made the Mavs feel like the series is over. The Warriors are feelin themselves after going up 3-1. Check out this video from the locker room after the game.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJqFqRtjxTY]

In the long history of things that go together like peanut butter and jelly, rum and coke, and chicken and waffles, there have never been two things that make a better match than Oakland and Stephen Jackson. Who here would be surprised if S-Jacks was ghost ridin his whip and turnin tight ones at midcourt? Not me..

Speaking of “Ghost Riding”, remember when the police had to do it?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okpa_StzUcQ&mode=related&search=]

If you’re afraid of the sideshowin, goin dumb Oakland, check out Sherry’s Oak-Town.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFWKSNFHpR8]

See, Oakland’s not all bad.. PLUS.. Jessica Alba sits courtside at Warriors’ games. JESSICA ALBA. I’ll take her over Penny Marshall or Dyan Cannon any day.

Neither Stephen Jackson or the Hyphy movemnent had anything to do with this. Thank you Yahoo

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