I was in shock as I began to write this yesterday, not only because it was the second straight year that the NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers and MVP LeBron James went fishin’ early, but because of the utterly disappointing way it all happened.

LeBron looked disinterested, like he had given up all hope on his fellow Cavaliers and their ability to win a ring and even more obviously lost faith in Mike Brown’s ability to coach his way out of a wet paper bag. Sure he put up a triple-double (27 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists) but he still didn’t look like his normal self and he was also one turnover away from a dubious quadruple-double. The Boston Celtics dominated throughout.

As for his teammates, referred to as the LeBronettes through the years, they looked genuinely terrified of the whole situation. It didn’t matter whether they were former champions, all-stars or rookies and scrubs, they all paled in comparison and fell pitifully short of giving him anything other than an average set of players at his side.

To put it simply, the Cavs looked awful last night. I was ready to put James in the dreaded Karl Malone, Chris Webber category.

I say was because after a good night’s sleep and a few hours to digest it all, it isn’t as horrific a blemish on LeBron’s legacy as I first though. Allow me to explain.

As I hinted at just a few sentences ago, LeBron’s supporting cast just isn’t anywhere near as good as their records or hype would indicate. Even with the deadline-day move to get Antawn Jamison, the Shaquisition, and the Mo Williams (All-Star in name only), Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker pickups, they still were not a championship level team.

Be real with yourself for a second when you look at teams like Boston, Orlando and the Lakers. If you honestly believe that Jamison, Shaq, Mo Williams and Parker are equal to or better than Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter, Pau Gasol, etc then you’re plain crazy.

As constructed, the Cavaliers are great frontrunners who can dominate regular season games against the mix of great, mediocre and awful teams. But when the playoffs come and the pace slows, the pressure builds and the defenses focus on LeBron, it all falls apart. We saw it last year with the Magic series and just because their major flaws got exposed one round earlier doesn’t mean LeBron has some sort of fatal flaw. His team and his coach just aren’t that good, period.

I’m not giving him a free pass though, so relax all you LeBron Haters Kobe Fans, he didn’t do his part, especially if he wants to live up to his 2-time MVP status and ever belong in a conversation with guys like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. All I’m saying is everyone needs to relax with the “OMG LBJ IS A QUEEN NOW” talk because his letdown wasn’t the first “I just give up” job by a superstar (see: Kobe Bryant vs Phoenix 2007).

He’ll be back (I don’t mean in Cleveland either, who the heck knows where he’ll go) and he’ll finally get a worthy sidekick (like Pippen or Kobe) and win a few rings.

Before I go, I’d like to point to ESPN columnist J.A. Adande and a great recent point he brought up. This one goes out to all the Kobe/Laker fans who had to change their pants after this series from their premature reactions to LeBron’s failure. Look, we all get it, you guys hate that Kobe’s not the best player on the planet anymore and are so insecure about it all that you act like LeBron is just another nobody. Peep game though:

“That still wasn’t as bad as Kobe’s shutdown in the second half of a Game 7 in Phoenix three years ago, when he went into sleep mode like an unattended computer and took only three shots. And LeBron’s never gone three years without winning a playoff series, as Kobe did from 2005 through 2007.”

Fast forward a few years, skip the diva-like trade demands and first-round exits, throw in a gift-wrapped Pau Gasol and another championship and the revisionists act like the above never happened. So don’t worry too much LeBron fans, his day is coming.

So here we are in the middle of May, waiting for what most NBA fans figured was a guaranteed Finals showdown between LeBron and Kobe. As much as it seemed like destiny, there are still a few bumps in the road, especially with the way the Los Angeles Lacklusters, scratch that, Lakers have been playing.

If you would have asked most people which Western conference team would have coasted to the Conf. finals with a nearly flawless record behind a dynamic perimeter player and great production from its frontline, I highly doubt anyone would have envisioned someone other than the Lakers. Just look at the criteria: Kobe – great perimeter scorer, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom – great frontcourt.

There’s no doubt as to who would be the easy Western champion right?

Unfortunately for fans of the purple and gold, the answer to that question hasn’t been LA. Not by a long shot. Instead, much to the enjoyment of those in the mile high city, it’s been the Denver Nuggets.

Nene, K-Mart, JR Smith and Chauncey celebrate their run into the Western finals.

Yes, those Denver Nuggets. You know them. I’m sure you’ve heard of their selfish players, their underachieving coach, their “thug” image and their immaturity and lack of defense. If you’ve followed the league at all in the last five years, most likely all you’ve heard about the Denver Nuggets has been bad.

Carmelo Anthony and his coach, fighting or DUI troubles, JR Smith’s me-first attitude, Chris “Birdman” Andersen’s drug troubles, K-Mart’s history of tough hits, and the five consecutive first-round playoff exits all did a number on the Nuggets image. They are also probably the easy winners of Most Tattooed team, with a roster full of guys covered almost head to toe in ink.

In spite of all that criticism and poor reputation, the 2009 Nuggets have bonded around each other, accepted their roles and seemed to thrive in their underdog position. The first-round losing streak? Over.

They’re tough, they’re physical and they love to run. They’re amazing at home and not that far off on the road so far. If they get a chance to step on an opponent’s neck they don’t hesitate to do it. So far they are 8-2 in these playoffs, with both losses coming by only two points each. Only the Cavaliers have been as consistent or better than Denver.

Most importantly, this team looks like it loves to play with each other, the coach seems like he actually cares about his team’s fate (take note Phil Jackson) and it turns out that so far in these playoffs, Mr.Clutch doesn’t rock a 24 jersey, but rather a 15 or 7 instead.

‘Melo calmly stuck a dagger in the Mavs’ playoff hopes with this game-winning 3.

In what was once again supposed to be “the” year Kobe silenced critics of his leadership abilities and championship mettle, the self-proclaimed Black Mamba has seemed to be slinking away into a corner rather than ferociously disposing of his prey.

In his place we’ve seen ‘Melo light up the Hornets and Mavericks with game-winners and a ton of points night after night and watched Chauncey Billups further polish his “Mr. Big Shot” persona with extremely solid overall play.

Some people have called the Nuggets contending for the championship David Stern’s worst nightmare, and it many ways it is. Not only are they not the Lakers, which ruins the immensely marketable match up with LeBron, but these guys aren’t some soft Hollywood socialites either.

The Dallas series made that clear, with an ugly exchange initiated by Mavs owner Mark Cuban’s lack of class and anger boiling over to the point that he personally insulted Kenyon Martin’s mother. It’s a well-known fact around the NBA that Martin isn’t someone you really want to mess with, much less his mother, and the whole situation grabbed big headlines and didn’t end well at all. From K-Mart unleashing a barrage of insults at Cuban after game 4 in Dallas to several members of the Nuggets family having things thrown at them and being forced to leave, it’s obvious that Denver isn’t afraid of getting itself dirty.

K-Mart is one of many Nuggets who are not afraid of physical play.

To put it simply, they don’t exactly look like a team you want visiting the White House, and like it or not, that matters to the suits up in the NBA offices. Sadly, it also matters to many of the fans, as seen by the constant mention of the word “thugs” to describe the primarily black team full of tattoos and mean mugs. It might not be the easiest subject to talk about, but the very loose manner in which the word is thrown around has a not-so-subtle racist context to it. I’m not the only one that sees it either.

As we’ve seen through the first two rounds though, a bad reputation or checkered past doesn’t always mean you can’t succeed, and that’s something that the NBA should be eager to exploit. These Nuggets are the ultimate success story waiting to happen. A tale of a scrappy group of guys who had an endless supply of heart and a desire to win so strong that they overcame poverty, drugs, alcohol and so much more to being only four wins away from reaching the NBA’s highest stage.

Sure they’ve had their bad moments, both in and out of the public eye. But they’re also an example of maturity and growth, of shedding previous stereotypes and becoming better players, teammates and citizens. From K-Mart’s charity work to Chris Andersen’s great story of redemption and J.R. Smith’s evolution into a reliable sixth man, these Nuggets are worth rooting for.

The team’s resurgence has included a bevy of awards, with Billups winning the 2009 NBA Sportsmanship award and making 3rd-team all-NBA with ‘Melo, plus team VP of basketball operations Mark Warkentien was named the 2009 executive of the year, after trading away Marcus Camby. Let’s not forget they finished with the 2nd best record in the West either. Talk about a turnaround.

So even if they keep getting hated on, underestimated or ignored, I’ll take joy in watching the Nuggets push along their path toward a ring. Tattoos, scowls, Mohawks and all.

And if Kobe is lucky enough to get past Houston in game 7, he’ll yet again have a nightmare awaiting him in Colorado with his entire reputation on the line.

- Will.

Carmelo Anthony is disappointed in himself and his team but unfortunately “we quit” doesn’t mean the Denver Nuggets are conceding the series to the Los Angeles Lakers. Maybe the league will step in and stop the fight since the Nuggets are being outclassed and are unable to defend themselves. If Denver was gonna roll over, why not roll over in the regular season and let the Golden St. Warriors make the playoffs? The Warriors weren’t gonna beat the Lakers, but the scores would’ve been closer before G. State melted down and cost themselves the game.

So now that the Nuggets have trash-talked Kobe Bryant into embarrassing them in Los Angeles and Denver, and the Lakers winning the series is a formality, where do the Denver Nuggets go from here? They need a new philosophy more than new players. The Nuggs will continue to be first round whipping boys until they make a committment to defense, and learn to keep their composure no matter what the refs are doing.

Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets, youtube, video, utube, we quit

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

Stephen A.Smith is one of the countless number of pundits on television, sports or otherwise, that gets paid to spout opinions that they may or may not truly believe. In Stephen’s case, he believes everything he says and thinks every word is important.

SAS put down his Blackberry and Cheezy Doodles for a few minutes to join Chris McKendry on Sportscenter before game one of the Cavs/Wiz series. The conversation covered the NBA playoffs, Isiah Thomas, and the New York Knicks. After Chris McKendry made the mistake of calling the Knicks a dog of a team, Stephen A. set her straight and then explained how to fix New York’s embarrassment of a basketball team.

Let’s stop that stuff about the dog. We’re calling them dogs because of their record but if you took LeBron James off of the Cleveland Cavaliers what are the Cleveland Cavaliers? They couldn’t shine the New York Knicks’ shoes despite how bad they’ve looked this year. You’ve got talent, what you’re lacking is a true point guard and a leader. If you get a leader to put along with the talent that they have, the New York Knicks can actually be respectable. Keep in mind y’all, the Atlanta Hawks are in the postseason this year.. They’re not even a .500 team. Trust me. The New York Knicks will be able to compete for a playoff spot if they got a leader. Derrick Rose. Memphis. I keep saying that. Derrick Rose Memphis. I don’t care what you gotta do. Fix the ping pong balls, do something. Get him. Get him.

I’m sure David Stern had no problem with the broadcast partner of his league suggesting that the draft lottery is fixed or be fixed.. After all, it was Stern who fixed the ’85 draft.

FFwd to the 4:40 mark for the envelopes being brought out, and about the 5:30 point to see the bent Knicks envelope.

Whether the 1985 NBA draft was rigged or not, it was worth it for Patrick Ewing. I don’t see the Knicks getting the same ROI for Derrick Rose.

Tags: Stephen A. Smith, ESPN, 1985 Draft, New York Knicks

The San Antonio Spurs have eight or nine guys that should take the game tying 3-point shot instead of Tim Duncan. Timmay had four career playoff three pointers and none this season until he lined up and drilled the shot to send this great game into double overtime. I have the Suns winning in seven, so I’ll say blowing a 16 point first half lead, a late 6 point lead, and allowing Tim Duncan to hit a game tying three are no big deal.. It’s only one game. One hard to swallow game.

Video Courtesy of Odenized

Tags: Tim Duncan, Three Pointer, 3+Pointer, overtime, video, youtube

If you only take one positive from the NBA playoffs this year it should be that advertising works. I don’t have the ratings from the latest airing of TBS’ “House of Payne”, but episode 1 did incredibly well and the 2nd episode was basic cable’s #1 sitcom telecast of all time. OF ALL TIME. In fairness, I have never seen the show, and I have nothing against anybody that has anything to do with the program BUT.. Are you serious? “House of Payne”?!? Did all of those spots during TNT’s NBA broadcast drive the nation to watch that show? Was there a drawing for $500 million bucks during the middle of the broadcast?

I won’t judge a book by it’s cover but I’ll judge a tv show by it’s commercials. To put it nicely, the commercials sucked. I thought they were supposed to highlight the good parts of a show with commercials. HOP ads made me cringe. The commercials made me set a tivo reminder not to watch TBS the entire day that the show airs… And I don’t care what the hell the rest of you are watching, I won’t be tuning in for “House of Payne”.. I’ll stop short of saying I’ll never watch because the show’s creator Tyler Perry got TBS to sign up for 100 episodes… There is a God. And he loves him some Tyler Perry.

If HOP is pulling numbers for TBS, what’s a show produced by Kenny Smith and Jamie Foxx gonna do? You can listen to Kenny talking about the new show here.

TBS and Tyler Perry Brings Major “Payne”. Courtesy of EUR Web

Kenny Smith Interview. Courtesy of Sports Interview

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The Spurs rolled to their 4th championship in 9 years a little easier than I thought they would. I thought Cleveland had the chance to win at least one game in the series, I predicted two, but San Antonio was too much. The Spurs are a well oiled playoff machine. Even when they don’t win the title they’re in the mix. The Cavaliers are a franchise with a Superstar and a subpar supporting cast. They could be title contenders for years to come but they’re gonna have to shake up the roster.

The Spurs deserve their congratulations.. Tony Parker earned the Finals MVP award. Parker’s penetration, steady jumper, and clutch shots made him the hands down winner. Robert Horry picked up his 7th ring. That’s nuts. Guys are happy to play 7 seasons, Horry has 7 RINGS. Barkley, Stockton, Malone, KG, and Elgin Baylor 0 rings between ‘em. Robert Horry 7. Wow.

Props to the San Antonio Spurs, the NBA Champions.

Spurs/Cavs Game 4 recap. Courtesy of ESPN.com

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

Remember when these “Trophy Love” commercials were all the rage? The thing that always bothered me is that the name of the NBA trophy is the “Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy”… It seemed weird to me that all of those cats were in love with someone named Larry. Anyways…

The San Antonio Spurs are on the verge of capturing their 4th LOCT, and LeBron James is about to have a long summer. In a game that was viewed by many as Cleveland’s best chance to take one from San Antonio, both teams put the scoring on hold and locked down on coughcough defense. Tim Duncan played only 33 minutes and Cleveland still couldn’t capitalize meaning my predicition of Spurs in 6 is gonna need a miracle in order to see the light of day.

Here’s a few other things I was wrong about:

1. “Tim Duncan is the Finals MVP”. I’m not completely wrong on this but Parker is probably the leader for the award right now. If the Spurs wrap up the series in game 4 and TD has a big game, Duncan could still be the MVP.
2. “Cleveland wins their first game at home”. It was all there for the Cavs to take but they couldn’t hit an open shot to save their lives… Or their series. Tim Duncan had the foul trouble that I thought he would, but Cleveland’s scoring trouble was the bigger factor.
3. “We are all entertained”. The ratings suggest that very few of us are entertained but let’s not rush to make this an NBA issue. People just aren’t watching sports the same anymore. You can look at the World Series declining ratings here or flashback to 2006 when game 1 of the World Series flopped. Everyday can’t be Superbowl Sunday.

As for LeBron handing off to Anderson down the stretch of game 3, I honestly believe he expected to get the ball back. Unfortunately for LBJ, Floppy Jao took matters in to his own hands and frankly, he’s gotta make that basket… And LeBron was fouled by Bruce Bowen at the end of the game. There’s no question about it. The continuation call could have gone either way but James should have gone to the line for at least two free throws.

The biggest thing I’m taking away from this series is that if Cleveland’s front office can get LeBron a Scottie Pippen, the Cavs will rule the East for years. All of the players on the Cavalier roster are role players. There’s no Scottie Pippen, there’s no Dennis Rodman. There’s nobody else on the roster that the other team has to truly worry about. Michael Jordan was surrounded by the right mix of players to highlight his talents. Danny Ferry and company need to do the same for LeBron.

Cavaliers And Spurs Final(ly)

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It was set up as a great night to watch television if you’re a fan of mob shows and the NBA. I had to decide what I wanted to record and what I wanted to watch live. I ended up watching The Sopranos, and when the show was over I flipped over to the basketball game just in time to catch San Antonio putting the finishing touches on a first half beatdown. Needless to say, I didn’t go back and watch the first 21 minutes of the game that I missed.

Before I go on and talk about Tony Soprano and the rest of the gang, I’m saying loud and clear, **SPOILER**.

If you’ve already seen the show or don’t mind having some of it ruined for you then go ahead and proceed.