Jason Kidd acknowledges Team USA is struggling with the three, but I agree with him when he says at the end of the day the team will enjoy the international line. It’s only a matter of time before the open looks start to go down.

Kidd went on to say that the Redeem Team’s defense is better than Dream Team II’s defense. The 2008 team, which has the most talent since the 1996 team, doesn’t have four guys that can lock it down like Gary Payton, David Robinson, Hakeen Olajuwon, and Scottie Pippen could.

Also, nice subtle slight to Kobe from Kidd when he said the defense begins and ends with LeBron, and then added Kobe a little later. Losing in the NBA finals made it open season on the Mamba. Since the Boston Celtics defeated the Lakers for the championship Shaquille O’Neal, some little kids, Paul Pierce, and Michael Jordan have taken shots at Bryant. If Team USA doesn’t win the gold medal the size of that list could triple.

Jason Kidd, Team USA, interview, youtube

Team USA defeated Russia 89-68 in their fourth of five Olympic tuneup games. The Russians slowed the game down and, held Team USA to their lowest point total and 29 points below their 118 point average. The bigger story after the game was Jason Kidd not playing in the second half by coach’s decision. I thought J-Kidd was being given a rest, but there are rumblings that say Jason Kidd is the odd man out in the three point guard rotation.

Team USA, basketball, video, youtube

Steve Nash and Claudio Reyna put together a celebrity soccer game at Sara D. Roosevelt park in New York City. The match brought out some big names and a huge crowd in the name of charity. Fans climbed fences, trees, and light post to watch Baron Davis, Jason Kidd, Leandro Barbosa, and Raja Bell join up with Thierry Henry, Steve McManaman, and Robbie Fowler. Steve Nash’s team won the game 9-4 which probably doesn’t matter as much as the overall entertainment provided by all of the players.

Thierry Henry:

Baron Davis played soccer in seventh grade, but that didn’t stop him from committing two hand-ball fouls which led to penalty kicks.. And he got carded. It wasn’t all bad for BD though.. Check out his game below:

It’s fun to watch the NBA players on the soccer field but you know the Golden St. Warriors were nervous. Baron Davis is injury prone and the team might be trying to move him. One wrong step and their 2008-09 season and the hopes of a deal were done.

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Steve Nash, Claudio Reyna, Thierry Henry, Baron Davis, video, youtube

Now that one game has been played in each series of the NBA playoffs it’s time for people to overreact to the outcomes. We’re constantly reminded that 79% of game one winners go on to win the series, and if that number holds true six of the eight match-ups have already been decided. That’s bad news for me. Three of the teams (Phoenix, Dallas, Detroit) I picked to advance to the next round lost their first game.

I’m not worried about two of the teams.. Sometimes things happen. The third team has me in a one game panic. Here are a few things I noticed after two days of action:

1. Phoenix is OK: Shaquille O’Neal and Amare Stoudemire played a combined 76 out of a possible 116 minutes. Yes Phoenix had control of the game and let it slip away, but if Shaq-n-Stat stay on the court and out of foul trouble, San Antonio won’t be able to handle the Suns.

2. Detroit forgot to flip the switch: The Detroit Pistons will still win their series but they’re proving why they won’t go to the NBA Finals. I won’t even start on Sheed’s antics with the game in the balance. A team with true championship aspirations doesn’t assume victories. Since winning the championship in 2004 the Pistons have walked around like they’re the 90s Bulls. This loss probably woke them up, but if Detroit thinks getting to the Eastern Conference finals is gonna be easy from here on in, they’re dreaming.

3. The Boston Celtics are The Great Debaters:

I wonder what topics are up for debate on the Celtics bench during a playoff game. Health care? Immigration? ‘Yes or No?’ with the Boston Celtic cheerleaders? Garnett says everything isn’t “peaches and cream” in Boston.. He obviously doesn’t keep up with the New York Knicks situation.

Speaking of the Celtics. The fellas over at Kicks On Fire are giving away a pair of Reebok Pump D-Time Dee Browns.

This is Dee Brown’s signature shoe, given to him after he pumped up his Reebok Omni Lite in the 1991 NBA slam dunk contest. Kicks On Fire gives away a pair of shoes a week, this giveaway ends Thursday, and it’s always free to enter.

4. Dwight Howard might really be Superman: Dwight Howard dominated both ends of the floor by dunking and blocking shots. 25 points, 22 rebounds, and 5 blocks barely explains how Howard controlled the game. The win was Orlando’s first playoff victory since 2003. It looks like this is the year the curse of Shaq is broken. No organization that has gotten rid of Shaquille O’Neal has won a playoff series since he left… And now it will happen twice in the same season.

5. The Denver Nuggets are who Denny Green thought they were: The Nuggets shot more free throws(37 to 32), out rebounded the Lakers by two, saw Kobe Bryant only play 37 minutes, and still managed to get blown out. Los Angeles doesn’t need free throws or rebounds if they’re laying the ball up every time down court.

6. The Wizards and Cavs don’t need to talk anymore: We get it. The Wizards and Cavaliers don’t like each other. The beef between LeBron James, Gilbert Arenas, and DeShawn Stevenson has gone too far if Soulja Boy is being mentioned during an NBA telecast. Soulja Boy will be dropping his Pro-Wizards/Anti-LeBron rap in 3.. 2.. 1..

7. There’s always next year for Houston: The Rockets trailed after every quarter against the Jazz and never played like the team that won 22 games in a row. I know Houston likes to shoot the three but if the refs are sending you to the free throw line 29 times it seems like some of those 16 missed three point attempts could’ve been drives in the paint. I don’t wanna be one of those guys that flip flops after every game so I’ll say it now. This series is over.. Even if Houston wins game two.

8. Maybe Chris Paul is the MVP after all: Psych.. Kobe’s the MVP but Chris Paul is a close second. The playoffs have nothing to do with MVP balloting but CP3′s first game in the playoffs showed why people think he’s the best young PG in the game. Paul had 35 points, 10 assist, three boards, four steals, and only one turnover. All on Jason Kidd’s watch. I picked the Mavs to win this series so they better figure out a way to corral Chris Paul if I’m gonna be right.

Tags: NBA Playoffs, video, youtube, basketball

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will have to throw more money at the problem next year because the team’s fading 2008 championship hopes went down with Dirk Nowitzki on Sunday. Dirk is expected to miss two weeks with what is being called a lower left leg injury.. In layman’s terms that means season killing injury.

Don’t get it twisted. The Mavs weren’t gonna sniff the title this year but they were gonna make the playoffs. They’re currently in the seventh spot in the Western Conference with Golden St. a game back and the Nuggets trailing by two. If the Denver Nuggets have any balls, two weeks without Dirk Nowitzki is the final nail in the Maverick’s playoff coffin. Knowing the Nuggs like we do, they’ll make it interesting.

It could be for any number of reasons, but it seems the basketball gods aren’t happy with Mark Cuban. They waited until Steve Nash left Dallas to let him turn into the player he is today. They took a 2-0 finals lead from Cuban and the Mavs two years ago. Last year the gods let his 67 win, number one seed team lose to the eight seed in the first round of the playoffs, and this year they take Dirk Nowitzki from him during the stretch run of the season. If Cuban knows what’s good for him he’ll get John Henry, Tom Werner, and Larry Lucchino on the phone immediately and ask them how they reversed their fortunes.

There is one positive to take from Dirk’s injury… Now he has more time to check out the cheerleaders.

Tags: Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki, Mark Cuban, injury

LeBron James had a bad weekend but at least he settled his beef with Chris Bosh’s girlfriend. It was CB4′s gf that got King James heated up during a game against the Raptors in Toronto. It looks like they let bygones be bygones..

Even though the East won the NBA All-Star game, and LeBron James was the MVP, it was a bad weekend for the King. The Cleveland Cavaliers need help at point guard, but they sat back and watched Mike Bibby get shipped to Atlanta, and they let New Jersey and Dallas bumble their way to an eventual Jason Kidd deal. With all of the moves being made in the West, and Detroit and Boston blocking the path in the East, I can’t see Cleveland getting back to the NBA finals.

Tags: LeBron James, Chris Bosh, NBA, youtube, girlfriend

It’s been a year since Jason Kidd’s ugly divorce from Joumana, and JK celebrated in style… By announcing that new girlfriend Hope Dworaczyk is pregnant. Hope’s a model, and all around hottie, and she’s generous. From Hope’s Myspace page:

So she likes to party with the homeless… Ok she didn’t exactly say that, but that’s what I took from her statement. If you’re scoring at home, that’s 3 kids with Jumana, and one with Hope. 2 more babies with Hope and Jason Kidd is truly a triple double machine.

Kidd On The Way. Courtesy of The New York Post

Tags: Jason Kidd, Hope Dworaczyk, Pictures, NBA